Guest Post - Shirley from Motivated Mommy of Two

Hello everyone, I am really excited to be guest posting for Dawn today. I have been following Dawn’s blog for a couple of months now, and I really enjoy all of the great recipes she provides. 

My name is Shirley and I blog at Motivated Mommy of Two. I am a mom to the two most wonderful kids and a wife to the most loving and understanding husband.

I love to write about what motivates me to keep going with my weight loss journey, the awesome times I spend with my family. And of course all of the different projects I like to work around the house.
I love cooking and trying out new recipes that I find on the internet, especially when it comes to making snacks or deserts for my kids.

When I saw a recipe at Tasty Kitchen for homemade Gold Fish Crackers I knew I had to try it.

Making the Gold Fish Shape:

• You will need an aluminum can, scissors and clear tape.
• Cut out a strip from the aluminum can and shape it like a fish.
• Once the shape is formed use a piece of clear tape to bring it together.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz Sharp Shredded Cheese
• 4 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter (Recipe calls for regular butter, I like to use unsalted butter)
• 1 Cup of Flour
• 3/4 Teaspoon of salt
• 2 Tablespoons of cold water

Instructions:

• Using a food processor combine everything except the water.
• Pulse until the mix resembles coarse sand

• Pulse and add the water one tablespoon at a time
• Keep pulsing until everything is combined
• Remove dough from food processor and wrap it in plastic

• Form a ball and chill for 20 minutes
• Once the 20 minutes have passed take out and roll the dough.
• Using the fish cutter you created, start having fun and cutting out your Gold Fish Shapes (Kids can help with this part)

• Place crackers on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 350°F between 10 to 15 minutes. It all depends on how hot your oven gets.

• Once they are ready take them out of the oven and allow them to cool off and Enjoy!!!

I hope you enjoyed this fun and easy recipe, Dawn Thank You so much for having me as your guest.

I look forward to seeing you all at Motivated Mommy of Two.

Shirley

Scrumptious Sunday #19

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday!  It's time to PARTY! Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #19 is now open. I am looking forward to reading all your recipes this week!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!

Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Cream

Do you love Avocados?  I sure do!  And how happy was I to discover the new Avocados From Mexico recipe website "Recipes From Avocado Lovers"!!  It is a great site for recipe lovers like me to find new recipes to try.  Not only that, the website also allows us to share our favourite avocado recipes, download ringtones, wallpapers and other fun items to show avocado love!

There are so many great recipes on the site, so I had a hard time picking just one to try.  I found a recipe for Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Cream that I amended so that I could use groceries that I already had on hand.  Here is what I did:

1/2 cup of white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 onion, julienned

2 avocados from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 limes, juiced

2 cups coleslaw (I used the pre-packaged coleslaw)
2 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 tablespoon taco seasoning

Whole wheat tortillas
Fresh cilantro                       

Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, boil for 1 minute. Julienne the onions and put into a bowl.  Pour the vinegar mixture over onions; chill until ready to serve. You can make this in advance if needed (and will allow for the mixture to cool more).

Using a blender or bullet, puree avocados, sour cream and half of the lime juice. Scoop into a small bowl. 

In another bowl, combine the coleslaw, half of the oil, the remaining lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Mix well.
Season shrimp with taco seasoning (I used my homemade seasoning). Use remaining oil for a skillet, heat skillet, add shrimp and sauté for no more than 2-3 minutes.

Prepare your tacos using a tortilla, coleslaw mixture, avocado cream, onions and garnish with fresh cilantro. 

VERDICT:
We had these for lunch, and they were a perfect summer lunch!  We all enjoyed them, and the baby was eating the avocado cream straight!  I think that my husband and oldest son re-discovered that they do like avocados, which is good, since the baby and I both love them!  These are tacos that we will make again, especially with the hot days of summer upon us.  They were so fresh tasting!

This sponsorship is brought to you by Recipes from Avocados From Mexico who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Scrumptious Sunday #18 - Features

Another week, another great party! Thanks for taking the time to link up, even with the Canada Day and Independence Day holidays!  I appreciate all of you!

If you are featured, I sure would love for you to grab a BUTTON (and help promote my blog), thank you so much!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Congratulations to this week's features!

This sounds like an amazing dip, and I really really want to try it!

Hotsy Totsy Summer Shrimp Dip from Sumptuous Spoonfuls

We eat a lot of cucumbers in our home, and I think this change would be tasty!

Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices from All is Amazing

This just looks so.darn.good!  Tara, can we come over for dinner?!

Bun from Noshing with the Nolands

My hubby LOVES Oatmeal Raisin Cookies...this one is for him!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Forgetful Momma

And these look so fun - I've never worked with meringue before, except for the topping on a lemon meringue pie!

Yoghurt Choc Strawberry Meringues from With A Blast

All of these recipes will be pinned to my Pinterest account, posted on Twitter, and shared on Facebook!

Just a reminder, this week's Scrumptious Sunday Link Party goes live Saturday - at 8 pm PST. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party!

Spicy Charred Calamari

You know me, I'm always on the lookout for great new recipes.  I found yet another appealing one in the June 2012 edition of Chatelaine magazine, this time for Spicy Charred Calamari.  In the magazine it was accompanied with an Asian Noodle Salad, which I also made, and you'll be able to read about very soon :-)

I've never made calamari before, but have ordered it many times in restaurants.  When this recipe presented itself, I figured...why not now to give it a try?!  It looks like a nice summery meal...stay tuned for the verdict.

Spicy Charred Calamari (Source: Chatelaine, June 2012)

1 package of frozen calamari rings (the original recipe called for frozen whole squid....and to cut it myself...the thought of that grossed me out, so I took the easy route!)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (I used this version)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fried crispy shallots

Peheat BBQ to medium-high.

Allow calamari rings to thaw and pat dry.  In a medium bowl, toss the rings with vegetable oil, chili-garlic sauce, and salt.

Oil the grill, BBQ the calamari until slightly charred and just tender, 1-2 minutes each side.

Serve with the crispy shallots, on top of an Asian Noodle Salad.

VERDICT:
My husband and I both liked this nice change of pace.  We did find that the spicy wasn't spice enough, so next time we would actually turn up the heat in the coating on the calamari.  We did end up dipping our calamari in a hot sauce, because we felt it needed it!  But, it is a meal that we will make again!

Sweet Chili Sauce

My "free" subscription to Chatelaine magazine has inspired me again!  I say "free" because I was able to get a free subscription from purchasing yogurt.  One of those buy a few get a free magazine subscriptions deals...and I am so glad that I picked Chatelaine.  So many great recipes....so much inspiration.  Today's post is part one of two.  You'll have to come back on Wednesday to see part two. 

My husband LOVES Thai Sweet Chili Sauce.  We go through it like crazy.  Well, in the June 2012 issue there was a recipe for Sweet Chili Saice, so of course I had to give it a try!  Here is the recipe:

Sweet Chili Sauce (Source: Chatelaine, June 2012)

3 garlic cloves
2 large red chili peppers
1/3 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt

Bring out your trusty food processer :-)

Remove skins from garlic cloves, cut off ends.  Put garlic into food processor.

Washed, seed and chop the chili peppers. Add to the food processor.

Process until finely minced, scrape the sides as needed to ensure mixing.  Add the vinegar and pulse until the mixture is well combined.

Pour mixture into a small saucepan.  Turn on to medium-high.  Add in the sugar, honey and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally.  Cook until the sauce is syrupy, approximately 15-17 minutes.

Allow to cool, and you are ready to use!

Check back on Wednesday to see what I used the sauce in...

Scrumptious Sunday #18

HAPPY CANADA DAY to my fellow Canadian Bloggers!  It's a big day for us...not only is it Canada's birthday, we are celebrating our youngest's FIRST birthday today!  Woohoo!  So...let's get going, it's time to PARTY! Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #18 is now open. I am looking forward to reading all your recipes this week!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!