A Combination of Spice, Shrimp, & Graduation Celebrations!!

I've recently tried a few recipes, or concoctions that I have put together, and I thought I would share them!!  When I went back to the pictures I took, I realized that there were some similarities: we love shrimp and anything spicy in our house! 


Pictured below, this dish is called Spicy Parmesan Shrimp Skillet.  I found it on Pinterest and made it for family friend's of ours.  It's a fun mix of brown sugar, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes! It's delicious!

This next dish was a fun concoction I tried from memory.  My best friend, Whitney, had introduced this dish to me a long time ago.  One night I had a craving for this!  It definitely includes shrimp, but it is not that spicy.  It consists of pesto sauce, red, yellow, and orange peppers, shrimp, & linguine pasta (you could also use angel hair pasta).

 

Start by sauteing the peppers, and making the pesto sauce.  I simply used a packet of pesto mix that just requires that you add olive oil and water.

Once the peppers are sauteed and the sauce is done add the shrimp and sauce to the peppers.  In the mean time, cook the pasta.

Let this cook for about 5 min on high, and then add the pasta.

MMMmmmmm, YUM!

Top with Parmesan cheese, and eat up! Thanks, Whitney!! ;)

I have one more dish to share with you.   It does not have shrimp in it, but it is spicy! This was another concoction that sounded good- Tilapia with corn & rice.

 I baked the Tilapia with cumin, black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and dried cilantro.  I also took a can of drained tomatoes with green chiles.

We had this with a side of rice mixed with a drained can of corn.  Yum!! 

This may not be another dish, but it is a delicious, spicy, appetizer!!  The Hubster and I are apart of an amazing church small group that meets weekly.  We have someone, or some couple, signed up for a sweet snack and a savory snack each week.  One week that I had signed up for savory, I knew that I wanted to try this recipe on Pinterest for a cream cheese, bacon, and jalapeno crescent roll delight!  Here are my pictures of the project... 

For more specifics, you'll need to go to the Pinterest link above.  I will say one thing here though... I tried using turkey bacon bites rather than cooking bacon first, but I will admit that you could not taste these pieces.  I wonder if the real bacon crumbles would have been more tasty? :)

In other news,

I GRADUATED WITH MY MASTERS!!!  WOO-HOO!!!

For that, my mom came to visit!

We had strawberry shortcake on the square... 

& delicious spicy cajun food at one of my favorite restaurants!

Mom was happy for spicy food, and I was glad she came to visit!

The Hubster & I also celebrated, and a fancy date!  

And we had the most amazing chocolate cake!

It's still pretty surreal that I'm done!  My new job will be starting sometime next week.  There's been a lot of changes & transitions this past month for us.  More than adjusting to graduating and accepting a new job, many people that we have come to really love and care about are moving on, starting a new chapter in the story God has for them, and we are staying here.

This is new for me... I am used to being the "one to leave" & go on to the "next thing" God has for me.  When I have surrendered my life over & over again, I meant it...  

"Lord, take my life & do with it what You will... Wherever that may be."  

Sometimes God asks you to step out, but sometimes He asks you to stay where He's planted you.  The Hubster & I KNOW that we are called to our church, & to our town right now.  We also KNOW that we can TRUST FATHER to take care of the people that we love as they step out into all that He has for them.  The Hubster has continually said we need to "LOVE people FIERCELY, but hang onto them LOOSELY."  God ultimately has a BETTER, the BEST, plan for them than we do.  

I'm grateful for all that Father has been doing in us this past month... I pray He continues to do His work in us & in our dear friends as we continue to say 'good-bye' for now to those we love.

Making Memories

This lovely couple is getting married in June!!  Say "Hi!" to Reed & Lesley. The Hubster and I have had the amazing opportunity to get to know them, love on them, and watch their love for each other grow deeper during this time.

I love this picture.  I did not realize that this was the only picture I had of them together, but it really does speak to who they are as a couple.  They are dressed like this because of a work event that served mothers and their sons for a fun evening.  Though it was for work, these two have such amazing hearts for people and continually go out of their way to love on others and be a blessing to those around them.  I know the Hubster and I have been effected by their love.

Anyway... THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!  Lesley's roommate and bridesmaid, Caiti, met with me to discuss throwing a lingerie shower for Les.  We were really excited to bless her and just pamper her with a girl's night of dinner, gifts, and fun!!  We decided to start with a fancy Italian dinner at a restaurant.  We would then head to my house for drinks, desserts, and gifts!!

Here were the invitations that I made... (with the help of my friend, Tracy).

The night was definitely memorable, and we had the ladies all dress up to add to the evening!  I was in charge of drinks, and Caiti & Allissa took care of the desserts.  Here's what our collaboration came up with:

 The cups each contained two ice cubes with blackberries frozen in them.  Next to the cups was a refreshing Berry Bubblin' Sangria. I made it with one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, one bottle of Sparkling Wine, and half a batch of raspberries and blackberries.

 Spa Water also seemed like a necessity!!

 If you can not read the label, this was the Strawberry Kiwi Virgin Spritzer.  It was made with half strawberry kiwi juice and half sprite.  Berries were also added to add to the cuteness and flavor.

This one was one of my favorites!  My maid-of-honor, Whitney, had gifted the Hubster & I with a bottle of sparkling wine and a bottle of champagne for our wedding, and she had a veil on one and a tux on the other!  I loved it, and we've kept them so I thought it was only appropriate to incorporate the veil for Lesley's shower!!  The label says, And the Bride Wore White...Wine!!! LOVE it!

 I also added these napkins!!  They were given to me by one of my besties, Sara.  Love her & her obsession with gifting fun napkins :)  They definitely were a great accessory for the shower!!

Caiti found this recipe for champagne cupcakes!!  If you are thinking, " That sounds amazing!!"... you are right.  They were amazing! In case you can't tell, they also have little elegant edible pearls on them!  SO good, & cute!  If you notice, in the far right there were also chocolate dipped pretzels!  Also, really good!

These were also pretty great! Strawberries and angel food cake drizzled in chocolate!!  DELICIOUS!

Gift table!!

A lot of the pictures above came from my girl, Michelle.  Love her!  (thanks Michelle!) She also wanted a picture of the 'hostess'... Here I am with the goodies, but I would not have done it without Caiti!!  Really grateful for the community of women God has blessed me with.

 These were the ladies at GRATZE! for dinner!! Cory also came later.  

It turned out to be a great girl's night!

 I love this picture of Caiti and Lesley!  They have such an amazing story of how God placed them in each other's lives!  Now they're friends for life... regardless of near transitions nor the distance that may be between them. Father truly provides good gifts!  I know this memory of them will be a gift that I will continually cherish!

IN OTHER NEWS.....

This past Wednesday was another moment that I won't forget!  It was the last full week of classes, and I just happened to (FINALLY) get an interview.  Well, without going into too much detail here, I was offered the job on the spot!!!  I told them I would need a week to decide.  This means I need to let them know by this Wednesday.  (Exciting!!... Right?!)

I was home for maybe 20min from the interview when I received a call from another potential employer for a position that I had applied for.  They wanted to set up an interview and it is scheduled for... you guessed it... this next Wednesday. Ha!  Can you believe it!?  Crazy.  Well, God is never late.  One week until I graduate with my masters.  

I called and told the Hubster the news while I went to my last night class ever.  When I got home, the Hubster was super excited and showering me with hugs & kisses.  He proceeded to tell me how he was so proud of me and that he got something for me...

& then he popped open a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate!! It was a fun surprise!!

...BUT

We weren't done with the surprises!!  

 The Hubster proudly displayed what he received in the mail today....

For those of you who are not familiar with Mass Effect 3, an XBOX game, allow me to translate.  Commander Shephard is the main character, so in this sense it is referring to Michael :)  Wrex, Garrus & the gang are Commander Shephard's comrades.  

This has been a game that the Hubster has been wanting to get for awhile now (it came out earlier this year).  He loves playing it, especially, with his brother Pat. He had no idea that Pat was going to bless him with this gift!  He absolutely loved it, and (of course) stayed up late playing it with Pat on XBOX Live.  So we both had reason to celebrate!

And then we made quesadillas!!! 

I decided to sear some red bell pepper strips in a hot skillet for a few minutes before adding them to the quesadillas.

The above picture is the beginning of my own salsa concoction.  

• 1 can of black beans (rinsed, drained)
• 1 can of corn (drained)
• 1-2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles (may add an additional can of green chiles or diced jalapenos to increase the heat!)
• 1-2 avocados, cubed
• 1-2 Tbls of white distilled vinegar
• 1-2 Tbls of lime juice
• Pinches, to taste, of dried cilantro (fresh is great, too, but we didn't have any)

You simply mix these ingredients, taste it, and add whatever seems to be missing.  Sometimes I've even put green or red onions in the mix.  Once the taste is approved, you are ready to make the quesadllas!

I really like to use whole wheat shells.  I spray the skillet, lay the shells down, and apply a small layer of shredded cheese.  I then like to add some baby spinach (we just love spinach!).  Next came the red peppers, and then spoonfuls of the salsa mixture.  More cheese is added to help the ingredients stay put... and because we also love cheese ;)  Simply brown both sides, allow cheese to melt, and then slap em on a plate!  Really easy, fresh, and delicious!  We make variations of this ALL THE TIME.  Maybe not all the time, but it definitely is a 'go-to' dish!  Enjoy!

**With all of the great memories in this post, I cannot help but be thankful.  You are SO good, Father!  Your grace & love continues to amaze me.  I pray You would continue to lead us, guide us, and provide company for us along this journey.  We love You, we worship You, and we give our lives to You.

In Him,

Rebekah

Silly Creativity

*Sigh...

Just breathe. 

A month from today I will (hopefully) be graduating with my Masters in Community Counseling from Indiana University.  It's hard to believe; I have been looking forward to this day for quite awhile.  I can honestly say that I do not know how I could have gotten through this without the Hubster.  He even came home yesterday on his lunch hour to provide the emotional support I needed to get through that day.  I am grateful for Father's grace that He provides me with the strength to continue, to finish, and He provides the Hubster with patience.  What a good team!

In the meantime, I have had another niece who has had a birthday!!  Adrienne Rose turned 9-years-old on March 15.  Over Christmas we were a little silly and took some random pictures!  I really wanted to utilize those photos for her birthday gift, and create a similar project as the one I made for her sister, Claire.  Here's what I did...

Adrienne's favorite color is purple, so I edited the pictures of us to be a monochromatic shade of purple.   I, then, printed the pictures onto tissue paper that was taped to a regular piece of copy paper.  This provides a thin, antique look when it is adhered to a canvas. The printed tissue paper is shown on the first two pictures above.  I cut out these pictures and Mod Podged them to a prepped canvas (painted with white acrylic paint). 

Next, I added captions to our "SILLY" pictures!  I also added some texture with some modeling paste.  The above two pictures provide a closer look at the project at this step.

I added yellow paint to cover up the white space.  Then I took a purple pastel crayon to outline and add texture to the piece.  The last step was to apply a fun, zebra print ribbon around the border with a hot glue gun.

I mailed this with a coloring book and the extra zebra print ribbon so she could wear it in her hair.  My sister told me she received an iPod Touch for her birthday, and had free texts.  Upon receiving the gift, Addy texted me and said, "I love my gift!  Thank you!"... It's pretty silly, but then again, she really brings out the silly in me :)

What do you think!?

Rebekah