DIY: Salvaging a Weather-Beaten Table (Part 3)

And the painting went on for days and days and days....

After three (possibly 4...at this point I can't quite remember, LOL!) coats of Midnight Dream, here is the result:

Obviously, much darker than this... The sun was SO bright it washed out the photo some, but you can see that the surface of the table is nice and smooth.  Looks pretty good If I say so myself!

This close-up makes it look lighter and brighter than it really is....

Darker, yes.  More acceptable, yes.  The color I wanted, NOPE.  At this point, I am going to stop.  Because we have a move within the next month and a half, I will wait until we are actually in the new casa to see what color it actually is compared to the ever-changing/depending-on-the-time-of-day and angle color we see here.  Right now, I would describe it as a light navy.  It is a nice color...just bolder than I was expecting.  The picture above is probably the most realistic on what it looks like in person.  It is glossy and smooth...a definite upgrade from the crap it was before.  I'm still just not 100% sold on the color.  I also grossly overestimated the amount of paint I would need for one table and two chairs.  We bought 2 quarts and after 3 coats on the table and 2 coats on the chairs, I am probably 2/3 of the way through the FIRST quart.  So, in the end, if I decide to go darker, I'm hoping I can take the unused quart back to home depot and simply have them add a little black to darken it up a bit.  At that point, one quick coat should do the trick.  

I have visions of what I want to do with the space I am planning for this table.  The first step is a great rug, but I can't figure out if I want a neutral rug or rather something with a great pop of color (as if the table isn't enough, LOL).  All I know is that I have to find some way to break up the beige nightmare of walls throughout the whole living/dining/kitchen space.  Ideas? Suggestions? I'm open! 

Plantain Encrusted Snapper with Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce and Oven-Roasted Garlic Green Beans

Hands down, my favorite restaurant on the island is Rudy & Paco.  They feature an array of grilled seafood and steak with a Latin and Central American flair.  The food is phenomenal and you are guaranteed a great dining experience when you go.  It's not unusual to have the owner stop by and make sure that everything is up to par or even bus your table once finished with the meal.  It always causes a bit of nostalgia as their cuisine is primarily Nicaraguan-based.  As I munch on fried plantains, I always remember the fresh plantains I would eat at El Ayudante or walking through downtown Leon.

Back to the point of this post... Several weeks ago while at the fresh seafood market, we picked up a few gulf snapper filets.  At the time, we didn't end up cooking them and they ended up in the freezer.  Now, in an attempt to use up the food that we have on hand before the big move, I was trying to figure out what to do with the snapper.  It just so happens that my favorite dish at Rudy & Paco is the "Filete de Pargo Simpatico" -- Fresh gulf red snapper plantain encrusted, pan sautéed served with raspberry chipotle sauce
and topped with lump crabmeat.  I was thinking that it wouldn't be too difficult to make a quick version of this with the filets we had on hand.  I mentioned it to the Hubs and he was all for giving it a go, so he stopped by the store on the way home from his golfing to pick up the 2 things we lacked (plantains and raspberry chipotle sauce).  Here's my version of Plantain-Encrusted Snapper with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce.  I served it with roasted garlic green beans and wild rice.

Here's what you will need for the fish:

• Snapper Filets
• Plantain Chips
• Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
• Lemon
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Here's what I used on the Green Beans:

• 1 bag frozen cut green beans (you can use fresh, but I used what I had on hand)
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, sliced
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• Lemon
• Olive oil
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Now to prep the fish:
1. Make sure the fish is cleaned properly and bone-free. Next, lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. In a ziploc bag, crush a handful of the plantain chips.  This will be used to coat the filets.  Once crushed, place a single filet in the bag and jostle until coated with plantain crumbs. Repeat for the remaining filets

3. Place on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes or until the fish is flaky, white.

For the green beans:
1. Make sure the green beans are thawed.  If they aren't, you can thaw by running under water for a minute or so.  Place the beans in a large bowl.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, 2 TBSN is more than enough.
3. Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
4. Add sliced garlic
(4 1/2. I had every intention of adding a little lemon juice and zest to this, but the Hubs forgot the lemon. It's ok...I forgave him... so if you have some on hand, give it a try.)
5. Mix well
6. Spread on foil lined baking sheet 
7. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese

8.  I baked the fish and the green beans at the same time.  400F for 10-15 minutes, until tender.

My second side was a huge cheat, but went great with the fish.  It was Uncle Ben's Ready Rice: Long Grain and Wild.  Simply pop it in the microwave for 90 seconds and done, ready to serve.  Now, it's not as good as long grain and wild rice cooked over the stove, but for 90 seconds it isn't bad.  There are multiple flavors of Ready Rice but so far this is the only one I care for.  The others have  strange taste to them...just personal preference.

So once everything is finished cooking and ready to serve, pull out the secret weapon:

Honestly, I can't imagine anything made with this that tastes bad!  Serve the fish with a dab on the side or a little on top.  You won't be disappointed. Then squeeze a little lemon juice over it for the acid.

Total prep and cook time: about 20 minutes.  Can you tell??

And no, I couldn't let the extra plantain chips go to waste! LOVE THEM!  Overall, my attempt was pretty successful.  Don't get me wrong, it's no Rudy & Paco but it is a pretty darn good "HOME" version! I'd definitely make it again :)  If you give it a try, let me now what you think!
BLESSINGS!

Shrimp Taco Love

If you know me at all, you know that I love all things shrimp.  I mean seriously, I've never had a single thing made with shrimp that I didn't like!  One of my all-time favorite shrimp dishes is Shrimp Tacos.
We have multiple variations of this amazing meal that make the rounds in our menu, but as of recently Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Sauce have been the hit.  I will post the others as they make it through the menu circuit.  You will be surprised how amazingly simple these are!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp (ALWAYS deveined!)
• Seafood Seasoning (my favorite is the HEB brand--see below)
• 1 ripe avocado
• lime
• mayonnaise 
• 1-3 garlic cloves
• 1 small can (3.5 oz is plenty) chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1 large onion
• 1-3 TBSN butter (you can sub oil if you prefer)
• Purple Cabbage
• Corn tortillas

1.  Rinse cleaned shrimp and place in large bowl.  Season lightly with Seafood Seasoning in bowl.  Set to the side.  I just discovered HEB brand Seafood Seasoning.  This stuff is awesome!  You literally need to add NOTHING else.  It is a great blend.

2.  Next start caramelizing your onions.  Take your onion and slice into rings.  Personally, I think using a cast iron skillet brings out the best flavor, also, butter is soooo much better than oil for this.  I use 1 TBSN.  Melt the butter in the skillet and then add the onions.  Cook slowly over a low fire until the onions are a nice golden caramel color.  The key is low and slow!  You can always add a pinch of sugar toward the end if you like your onions extra sweet, but I think the natural sugars come out without it. 

3.  For the sauce, take 1 chipotle and chop very finely.  Depending on how much spice you like, you can add more or less pepper.  Add pepper to small bowl.  Add a small amount of the adobo sauce from the can, do so in very small amounts, tasting frequently.  

Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic into bowl.  Add 1/2  cup mayo.  Squeeze in lime juice to taste.  I usually use the juice from a half of a lime.  Stir ingredients until mixed well.  

4.  Now it's time to cook the shrimp.  I always wait until everything is basically finished before starting the shrimp since they only take a few minutes.  If you cook too early they will end up cold and rubbery.  In a skillet, melt 1-2 TBSN butter over medium heat.  Add shrimp, separating well so that each shrimp is touching the bottom of the skillet.  Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, just until the side is pink when flipped.  I then flip them over individually allowing the opposite side to cook.  It literally takes less than 5 minutes to cook them completely.  

5.  While Shrimp are cooking, warm tortillas over a comal or skillet.  Also, slice cabbage and avocado.

6.  To serve, add avocado, sliced cabbage, shrimp to tortilla.  Drizzle chipotle mayo and squeeze a tad of lime juice.  

As a side, I made Spanish-Rice Style Quinoa.  It was pretty tasty; definitely more nutty than spanish rice, but not in a bad way.  I cooked the quinoa according to the directions but added spanish rice seasoning, a few onion slices, and a tsp of tomato paste (I was out of diced or stewed tomatoes).  Not too bad and SO much healthier than using rice!

Hope you enjoy! 

Blessings!

The Dance of the Dinner Decision

This may be a bit of a rant, so prepare yourself or click away.  I just need to get it off my chest how much this one particular thing annoys me.  Being the good wife, I ask the Hubs what he feels like for dinner.  His response: "I don't care.  You can decide."
My response: " Hmmm, okay.  I've been feeling like shrimp tacos; how does that sound?"
Him: "Ehhh... I really don't feel like tacos."

REALLY?! You tell me to decide and I DO!  Then you decide you DO IN FACT CARE and my choice is not okay.  Grrrrrr....  The dance of the dinner decision... so irritating!
Anyone with me on this?!

DIY: Salvaging a Weather-Beaten Table (Part 2)

I can remember as a small child, going with my dad to Wal-Mart of the local home goods store to purchase paint.  I would watch in amazement as the paint specialist would add BY HAND the right amounts of colored paint to create the color we were going after.  It was SO cool...at least to a 7 year old.  Twenty years later, technology has simplified creating paint colors.  Now, all the sales person does is open the can, place it in the holder, punch in a code in the computer, and the machine spurts out a few colors.  Done.  Not nearly as cool...
Anyway, as I told you yesterday in this post, we chose a colored called Midnight Dream.  Here is what it looks like on the paint chip:

Well, it appears that paint chips LIE!  After one coat, this is what our table looks like:

Do those colors look anything at all similar?!  NO!  I am really really hoping that after another couple of coats, it darkens up.  A LOT! I'm also very bothered by the brush strokes being so visible.  As this is my first time painting furniture, I have no idea if they will blend with additional coats of paint, but I'm also hoping this is the case....  Right now, I'm feeling frustrated.  This table has been a lot of work and I don't want to have to sand and start over again because of this annoying ugly blue.  To make it worse, I can't just paint another coat to see if it gets better!  I have to wait AT LEAST FOUR HOURS before I can recoat it despite the fact that it has been dry to the touch since about 45 minutes after I put the first coat on.  

I'm also waiting on the primer to set before I sand it one final time and put the first coat of this hideous blue paint on them. I put 3 coats of primer on the back and top of the chair and 2 coats on the seat.  I'm debating about doing a third since this area is the highest friction.  The leg spindles only got one coat. Here they are after priming:

On a brighter note, I had to give you something pretty to look at since everything pictured above is so ugly right now.  These are a few of the beauties in our front yard right now.  

Part 3 will be coming soon enough... I'm crossing my fingers for better results!

Blessings!

DIY: Salvaging a Weather-Beaten Table (Part 1)

I'm having to find things to distract myself from the ridiculously tortuous European/World Travels Vacay Pics constantly appearing on my FB news feed.  It feels like every time I check FB, there are more bragging pics to remind me that the Hubs and I won't be doing any traveling before Residency starts thanks to real life.  He starts his first day at his new job on the 30th, leaving no time for luxurious travels.  My latest project is a DIY I decided on a few weeks ago.

We've had this HIDEOUS table on our back patio for the last few years.  It has been exposed to all the weather and looked beat.  Because it's a solid wood table, I figured it could be salvageable with a little TLC.  Turns out....it takes A LOT of TLC.  Whew! I'm only halfway through this project and am already tired.  The table is a round pedestal table.  The top was beginning to split in places and buckle and was covered in an odd layer of black mysterious stuff.  So, I ventured off to Home Depot to purchase my salvage materials.  Thanks to blogger Censational Girl, I had some instructions!  Go here for details Table DIY.  My shopping list included: Sander, Sander sheets (medium grit), wedge sander (fine grit), wood filler, primer/stain sealer, small foam roller, and roller tray, oh and the face mask to protect the lungs!

I spent several hours sanding down the table, most of it spent on the table top.  Here's after the majority of the sanding (sorry I forgot to take a before pic... you'll never get a true appreciation for how bad this thing was!)

I then used the wood filler to fill the cracks in the wood so that it would look smooth.  I used the foam roller to apply 2 coats of primer/sealer to the top and 1 coat to the pedestal.

Here it is after priming:

I also worked on the two chairs.  Here is one chair (the better of the two) before any work:

And after sanding:

Now I'm just waiting for the primer to set.  I will buy some paint tonight and tackle the painting tomorrow.  I'm thinking that this table might actually look good enough to go back into the house when it's all finished.  The house that we are HOPING (see THIS POST) to move into has 2 dining areas, one is a breakfast nook with a bay window.  I can see this table and 2 chairs looking perfect in that space.  Perfect to enjoy breakfast and coffee...Let's hope it works out!  For color, I'm thinking of doing a dark navy.  

Stay tuned for more pics of the finished product!

BLESSINGS!

Portabello "Burgers" and Baby Spinach Salad

Coming up with ideas of what to make for dinner can become an all-consuming thing.  Some days it is so simple and others it seems like there is this void in my brain that will not allow me to come up with anything at all.  Well, that void seemed to be present last night as we were leaving the driving range and headed to the store.  We decided on grilled chicken breast with a salad.  Savory? Ehhhh....neither of us were particularly craving this meal, but couldn't come up with anything else.  As we were strolling through the produce aisle at Randalls, I happened to notice the portabellos were on sale and were ENORMOUS.  They were seriously about the size of a salad plate and were only $2.50 for two of them! I immediately decided we should have what I like to call portabello "burgers" with our salad instead of grilled chicken.  My taste buds were going crazy just thinking about eating these mushrooms.  So here's what I did:
1. Gently cleaned the mushrooms with a damp cloth to rid them of dirt and other "stuff"
2. In a gallon ziplock, combine 1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, several cloves of garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon parsley flakes.
3. Add mushrooms to bag, coat with mixture and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.  Turn the bag every few minutes to allow the mixture that has settled to recoat the mushrooms
4. After they have marinated, place in large skillet or dutch oven with about 1 1/2 tbsn olive oil coating the bottom.
5. Sprinkle steak seasoning (I like Montreal Seasoning) over the mushrooms.
6. Cook over a low-medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.

7.  When finished, place on bun, add slice of provolone.  I like to use a toasted bun because the mushrooms retain A LOT of moisture and liquid.  The bottom bun will inevitably get soggy.  I used Orowheat Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins and really like the combo.  However, I've used a variety of different buns and rolls in the past and you really can't go wrong.
8.  You can add any assortment of veggies to your "burger".  The flavor of the balsamic and provolone is fantastic alone, but it is also great with sun-dried tomatos and avocado.

Our side was a Baby Spinach Salad with fresh strawberries, dried cranberries and toasted walnuts.  I tossed it with Brianna's Blush Wine Vinegarette.  SO TASTY! It takes very little prep; simply wash and slice your strawberries and toast your walnuts.  Voila!

Here's the completed meal, halfway eaten!

Give it a try! You won't regret it!  If you do, let me know what you think...

BLESSINGS!

MudBugs, Houses and Names

We made yet ANOTHER trip to SAT this past weekend.  Making that drive is getting exhausting and expensive with gas at almost $4 a gallon!  The pups stayed home with the super crazy dog sitter for a day and then some good friends made use of our abode and played parents to our pups for the other 2 days.  While there, I was finally able to get everything taken care of to change my name, and get this, the man that helped me at the SSA office didn't even TOUCH the seal on our marriage certificate.  All of that drama for nothing! Oh well, it's done and my initials are now officially AA.  Yes, jokes are appropriate! LOL.

Also, after finally wrangling the home owner and getting her to commit to a time to show the house, my mom and I were able to see what will hopefully be our home for the next 2-3 years.  The house is really pretty ideal.  POSITIVES: LOTS of space! 4 bedrooms, lots of closets, 2 living areas, 2 dining areas, HUGE yard, large patio, and lots of squirrels to keep my beloved Chela entertained while I work my tail off at the hospital.  The trees on the property are amazing and the area is just beautiful.  NEGATIVES: beige walls in every room...yep, just as I feared.  However, there was NO wood paneling which makes me ok with the beige walls!  Kitchen is old and very small.  Bathrooms are also small.  All of these things I can make due with for a period.  Problem now is that the dang home owner is in no hurry to get everything in writing and seems to be putting things off.  She doesn't understand that we just want security in knowing that we have a place to live when the time comes.  Until then, we wait for her to send the paperwork (by fax, no less, because the woman doesn't do email...REALLY?!) to get everything finalized. More waiting.... She obviously doesn't know me very well!

Yesterday was a day of firsts for me.  I took my first golf lesson which consisted of an hour and a half of evaluating my approach to the ball and swing in every aspect possible.  Let's hope that it's helpful.  Strange thing is that I am sore after that lesson! How is that even possible?!  He obviously change my stance and swing enough that I was using back muscles that I don't normally use.  I'm ready to say goodbye to my 120+ score and ridiculous slice! Maybe, just maybe, this guy can help me!

After the lesson, the hubs and I went to Floyd's Seafood for dinner.  In this area, we are officially in what is known as "Crawfish Season".  Historically, I've never been a fan of crawfish.  I've had them in etouffee, bisque, fried and in jambalaya.  All of which were OK, but nothing that I would ever consider ordering for myself on a return visit to those restaurants.  For some reason this year, I have been obsessed with the thought of attending and partaking in a legit crawfish boil, the "messy, peel your own crawfish and eat everything with your hands" kind of event.  In my head, I knew that I did not like crawfish, but I was so into the idea of the crawfish boil.  So I talked the Hubs into taking me for cajun so I could prove myself wrong! I walked in desperately wanting to love them but knowing that I would leave disappointed when I realized that I really just didn't have the taste for them.  Oh. My. God.  I was so wrong! I LOVED every second of my ridiculously messy crawfish feast.  I guzzled water and miller lite because my mouth was on fire from the spice but the taste was amazing.  It was everything I had hoped and more.  How in the world have I lived this many years of my life in the dark?!  I am seriously ready to go back for more, today.  LOL.  And yes, even as a first timer, I closed my eyes and sucked the heads! I'm grossed out by even saying it, but the flavor was so intense! My next goal is to figure out how to make my own.  I'm thinking we need to have a crawfish boil once we are settled in to our new digs.  What do you think?
BLESSINGS!

Name Changing Nightmare!

Funny story... The hubs and I got married about a year and a half ago (nov 2010).  Because of the nightmare of dealing with name changes in the middle of residency applications and medical school, I opted to wait to change my name until right before graduation.  Well, we are at that point right before graduation where it is finally necessary.  Despite my husband believing that I would never change my name, I filled out the paperwork and headed to the local Social Security Administration office.  As I walk up to the door, I notice a nice salmon sheet of paper stating that the office had moved off the island to its new location about 20 miles north of here THREE DAYS PRIOR.  Of course, I waited until the end of the business day and therefore would not have enough time to make it to the new office.  This was the day before our trip to SAT, so my visit was postponed until yesterday.  I get up with intentions of going first thing in the morning and walked out the door at 11:30.  Oops.  As usual, I got wrapped up in checking email, reading blogs, celebrity smutting (**yep, it's true**)... suddenly 3 hours had passed.  Anyway, I drove up to the new SSA office and walked in right at noon, probably a poor choice.  I walked in with my forms already filled out, passport and marriage license in hand ready to get everything taken care of quickly.  As I step through the door, I notice the large waiting area full of people and a flat panel with with numbers being called; the security guard points me to the computer in the corner to checkin and get my number.  I do just that, take my seat and within 2 minutes can quote the medical history of the man sitting behind me.  He thought the man sitting next to him wanted to hear him gripe and complain about how horrible the VA medical system is and that all he wants is to go somewhere with REAL DOCTORS...  my blood quickly began to boil since 1. He is receiving all of his care for free.  2. He was treated at the VA in Houston which is probably the best VA in the state. 3. He had absolutely no clue what he was talking about and was spouting nonsense to the unassuming man next to him. AND last but not least, 4. I will be working at a VA in about 2 months and took it a little personal when he went on his rant about how the people at the VA were not real doctors...blah blah blah.  Thank god, he was called within 10 minutes.

After about 40 minutes, my number was finally called and I headed back with my documents ready.  I sit down, tell the lady what I was there for and slid all of my documents across the desk.  She picks up my marriage license, eyes it with a scowl, rubs it, turns it every which way and looks up and tells me that she cannot accept my marriage license because it's not official.  WHAT, WHAT??!
"Excuse me ma'am, this is what the Galveston County Courthouse mailed back to us after our wedding."
"Well, I'm sorry but this isn't an official license.  The seal is not raised.  Look (rubbing her fingers across the seal), it's not bumpy."
"Yes, I see that, but this is the only license we have.  This is what they gave us.  This is what was RETURNED TO US!"
"Sorry, can't accept it."
Then she sat  there staring at me smugly from across the desk.  I seriously wanted to reach out and slap her, but I didn't.  I calmly asked for my "FAKE" marriage license back, and walked out the door.  I wasn't sure what to think of my unofficial marriage.  Should I take advantage of this and let Jaime know that we are not officially married? I mean, we could get away with calling it all off if we were getting on each other's nerves!  LOL, I kid... So I got in the car, grabbed some lunch (because i get extra cranky when I'm hungry), ran my few errands while on the mainland and headed back to the island to go argue at the courthouse about my sham of a marriage certificate.  I was so ready to let my crazy out on the county clerk if they tried to give me any trouble.  However, I was pleasantly surprised when I explained what happened at the SSA office and the clerk looked back at me embarrassingly and simply stated that they must have just forgotten to emboss the seal.  She walked around the corner, embossed it and handed it right back.  DONE.  We are OFFICIALLY married now.  I've yet to make it back to the SSA office.  I think it might be a sign that I shouldn't change my name ;-)  Really, though, I've just decided to do it on Friday while in SAT because I don't think I can deal with the ignorance here again this week.

Anyway, here are my first official orders:
Baby's first ball cap for the biggest Aggies I know...
Plain if it's little boy or with the flower if it's a little girl.

And puff stitch beanies for twin girls:

What do you think?

BLESSINGS!

Headbands

Before leaving on our Easter trip, I started experimenting with different flowers and headbands.  This was on of the first that I came up with.  Isn't it cute?  The headband is perfect for all kinds of clip-on flowers and other accessories.  The one pictured is a mum with an alligator clip on the back.  

I love this scalloped headband.  I want to add a few more flowers to either side of the one that is already on it. Doesn't the button add so much?!

 Great news!  I officially have my first 3 orders!  One baseball cap and two puff stitch beanies with bows coming up!  I have actually already made the baseball cap but was forced to use a different brand of yarn (color preference) and I'm not sure that I like how it turned out.  A redo may be in order... grrrr. I better get busy! BLESSINGS!

OH, I almost forgot... turtle set coming soon!