My Holiday Cooking: Shrimp Soup & Broccoli Salad

Hey, Blogging friends!

I know that my blog has been focused lately on the arrival of our sweet, awesome, wonderful, fantastic, adorable, precious baby boy, so I wanted to be sure to add a new post that focuses back on another love of my life: cooking! While my holiday cooking this year was not as intense as last (due to previously mentioned baby), I was able to whip up a couple of my favorite dishes for some family get togethers, and I wanted to be sure to share them with you! If you follow the links, you will be taken to my step by step Snapguides of how to make these delicious dishes.

The first recipe is for a New Orleans classic: Shrimp and Corn Soup. This is one of my FAVORITE soup recipes ever. I could literally eat the entire pot given the chance. The first time I had it, I am pretty sure I went back for fourths or fifths, and it was only the appetizer for the meal! Everyone in the city has their own spin on it. Some people make a roux to thicken the soup, some use this while others use that...but it is always delicious. You can even customize the soup to include your favorite shellfish: crawfish, crab meat...maybe even lobster! This particluar recipe I have is divine! It is slightly sweet, devilishly spicy, and full of cajun flavor. I have NEVER made this for anyone who didn't go back for at least seconds, and at one party, the host packed up the leftovers and stuck them in her fridge before I even got a chance to offer. With the cold snaps going on all over our country right now, this is a must make item! You can thank me later.

Shrimp and Corn Soup

Ingredients:

3 lbs of fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 large yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 stick of butter

1 can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained

1 quart of half and half

1 quart of heavy cream

2 cans of cream style corn

2 cans of whole kernel corn, drained (or an equivalent of fresh or frozen corn)

1 pound of Velveeta, cubed

2 T light brown sugar

2 t dried thyme

3 T cajun seasoning (I like Slap Ya Mama's or Tony's)

1 T liquid crab boil (I prefer Zatarain's)

 

Melt butter in a large pot on the stove top over medium heat. Dice your onion and finely mince your garlic. Add to melted butter and saute until onions begin to soften and garlic is fragrant. (Be careful not to burn your garlic.) Add your Rotel and shrimp. Stir until shrimp begin to turn pink. Add a capful (about 1 T) of liquid crab boil and the cream and half and half. Stir to combine and bring mixture to a boil. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to keep the soup at a simmer. Once simmering, add in both types of corn. Toss in the cubed Velveeta and spices. Stir at a simmer just until the cheese has melted. Done!

The second recipe is for a simple Mississippi tradition: Broccoli Salad. You cannot go to a dinner-on-the-grounds at church or a family get together without having this light, crunchy, sweet and tangy salad somewhere on the table. It is a perfect compliment to really rich dishes. I love serving it with my chicken spaghetti. We had it over the holidays with a large family dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cabbage casserole. (There are so many things right with that sentence!)

Broccoli Salad

2 heads of broccoli

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 C of mayonnaise

1/2 C of white sugar

1/4-1/2 C of white vinegar

golden raisins

sunflower seeds

shredded sharp cheddar cheese

real bacon bits

chopped pecans (optional)

 

To prepare the salad, chop the broccoli off of the heads into bit size pieces. In a pot of boiling water, blanch the broccoli for about 60 seconds (until bright green). Pull broccoli from boiling water and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. (You aren't trying to soften the broccoli, just brighten it up.) Drain broccoli through a strainer and allow to sit and dry a bit while you make the dressing. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, white sugar, and white vinegar. Taste the dressing and adjust amounts as you see fit. (Although this dressing has mayo, it is more of a vinaigrette consistency than a creamy dressing.) In a serving dish, combine the broccoli, red onion, raisins, sunflower seeds, cheese, bacon bits, and pecans. Pour dressing over the salad and toss together to combine. Serve right away or (preferably) let it sit a couple of hours or overnight for flavors to develop.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do. They will make a great addition to any recipe box. They are easy to make and perfect for any occasion. Now, go forth and cook, my friends!

In Christ Alone,
Brittney

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DIYs of Baby Muller's Nursery

 Hello, Blogosphere Friends!

 

As a follow-up to my post about Baby Muller's completed nursery, I wanted to be sure to give you an up-close look at the DIY projects I (and Prince Charming) completed for the room. When we found out we were expecting our first little one, I knew that I would want to add some personal touches to the nursery and not necessarily purchase everything. Not only did this turn out to be economical, but it really helped me feel like I was helping prepare a personal place for our baby to grow. It also gave me something to do when the nesting urges kicked in that was productive and reached beyond wiping everything down for the millionth time. :)

 

The first project was the painting of these giraffe canvases under the influence of a print I saw on Pinterest. You can see the original print here. It was truly the first thing I ever saw that inspired the color palette for the nursery and gave me a general idea of what I wanted the nursery to feel like. I also knew, though, that I didn't want to do a giraffe or animal themed nursery. I wanted the overall look of the room to remain more neutral than that. I adjusted the colors of the giraffes to better reflect the colors within the room, and instead of keeping them all together on one canvas the way they are on the print, I broke them up into three separate canvases to center over the crib. Although not identical to the print, I was really happy overall with how they turned out. I would never claim to be an artist, and I did this free-hand. The fact that they looked like giraffes at all made me happy. :) I bought the plain canvases at Michael's. The center one was larger than the two on the sides. I also bought paint colors at Michael's using the fabric swatches I received from Carousel designs to guide my selections. The entire cost of the project was around $20-$25 between the canvases, the paint, and the set of brushes I used. These have truly turned into one of my favorite pieces in the space, and I would encourage any new mom to try their hand at making some art for their baby's nursery walls.

 

Speaking of art on the walls, the next DIY was something I was really excited about making. If you have read my blog, you know that I am a huge Beatles fan. While browsing Amazon for items to add to my registry, I stumbled across this wall decal featuring lyrics from a great Beatles song, "Golden Slumbers." I was super excietd, but I knew that I didn't want to just stick a decal on the wall. I needed to brainstorm a way to display the words without ruining the wall. When I need to brainstorm, I hit up my Pinterest account. (Clearly...I have over 7,000 pins. Crazy much??) In my browsing, I saw several empty picture frames that people had used to display wall-decals. I thought this was a great solution to my problem, but I didn't just want an empty frame. I wanted to display the words over some sort of print. I had leftover gray and white chevron fabric from a project I did earlier this year, so I decided that would be the backdrop of my lyrics. After receiving the lyrics at my Beatles Baby Shower, Prince Charming and I made a run to the Hobby Lobby on the northshore to find a frame. I knew I didn't want to use a white frame because most of the furniture in the room was white. I wanted something a little more rustic and distressed. This frame was just the ticket, came in a perfect size for the decal, and was 50% off the day we were shopping. Score! When we got home, we assembled this by simply cutting the fabric to size and placing it in the frame. Then, over top of the glass of the frame, Prince Charming followed the decal directions to stick on the words. It turned out really sweet, and I love that whenever we want, we can scrape off the letters and reuse the frame. This project cost us around $25 to make from start to finish, and hung over the changing table, it is one of the focal points of the room.

 

 

The last two DIYs of the nursery were sewing projects. I received my first sewing machine last Christmas, and with friends who had babies on the way, the first thing I learned to sew on it was a simple baby blanket. I knew from the get-go this would be something I would make for my little mischka. I ordered a yard each of our nursery's crib bedding fabric and a matching minky. I thought this minky was awesome because it was different than the typical dotted or solid minky I have found at my local fabric store. I generally followed the tutorial from Sew for Home: Stylish Baby Nursery. I stuck with the easiest blanket with just a simple top stitch around the edges. All of the tutorials featured at the site are easy to follow and really cute! If you can sew a straight line, you can definitely make a baby blanket for your little one, too! 

 

The final DIY in the nursery was a cover for the changing pad. This one sort of sprung up out of necessity. While I had remembered to register for a changing pad, I didn't realize I would need to register for a pad cover. (Thank you, pregnant brain!) So, instead of ordering or purchasing one, I decided to look into making one. I had a bit of fabric left over from the blanket project, but there wasn't enough of either one to make a solid cover. I decided to stitch the two pieces of fabric together to make one larger piece of fabric that was half and half. I jumped onto my handy-dandy Pinterest account, and I found this tutorial from A Load of Craft on How to Make a Contoured Changing Pad Cover. I followed her instructions to a T, and the cover turned out really cute. I have found that I will probably need to add more elastic to the bottom than the original pattern called for, but for now, it works! I had a bit more minky than bedding fabric, so I used it to create the pieces for both ends of the changing pad. It was probably the most complicated thing I have sewed to date as it had turns and curves and required some maneuvering around the ends, but I was very happy (and relieved) with how it turned out! I think I could make another one someday, but my belly is currently preventing me from very successfully using my sewing machine. ;)

 

That's the DIYs of Baby Muller's nursery! I hope that you can find some inspiration or some helpful tutorials here to use in your own little bundle of joy's nursery preparation, and please feel free to leave comments or questions if you would like more information. Have a terrific Tuesday, cyber-friends!

Be a Blessing,
Brittney

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DIY Modern Nursing Covers ala Pinterest

Hello, Beautiful Blogosphere!

What a busy weekend I have had getting ready for Baby Muller! Fortunately, with a checklist in hand, I have managed to make some head-way on my baby-to-do list. The nursery is close to complete, and I cannot wait to post pictures of it for y'all to see! I will also be doing a post on all of the DIY projects I did for the baby's nursery including a baby blanket, a changing pad cover, and wall art. Today, however, I want to focus on another DIY project list I tackled yesterday: modern nursing covers. While I think the DRIA nursing cover is beautiful, it cost around $80 per cover. Being a teacher and the wife of a preacher, and loving to use my sewing machine to create new things, I knew there had to be a better way to get the same look for less money.

Thanks to the wonderful world of Pinterest, I was able to find two types of nursing covers that appealed to me and my style. One is an asymmetrical shawl, and the other is an infinity scarf style. I also created a third one that may or may not change based on an idea I had in my head, but more on that later. Here are my finished nursing covers with links to their tutorials. (Forgive me that my pics are selfies, but it is all I have time to worry about getting these days.) I purchased my fabric from fabrics.com, and they are all 100% cotton knits for breathability and ease of wear. Click on any of the titles of the nursing covers to find the tutorials on their original blogs.

Style #1: Modern Nursing Shawl as Featured on TheCoterieBlog

I initially saw this cover and tutorial on Pinterest, and I knew this would be a great option for creating a look similar to that of the DRIA Oslo cover. The author, Heather, explains that this is a terrific cover because it isn't an obvious bib-style cover, and it will offer you coverage in both the front and the back when nursing. It is also a sewing project that requires you to create just one straight line. (You can, of course, add more if you want to finish every edge, but that is optional. I left mine undone as the knit fabrics I chose won't fray.)

This is one of the images from TheCoterieBlog of the nursing shawl. 

The instructions on the site are fairly simple if you pay close attention to details and don't let the photos confuse you. To create this look, you only need ONE SEAM. There are two sides pinned in the photos on the tutorial, but one is pinned simply for stability (the folded side). The other side with the neck-opening is the ONLY side that gets sewn. Also, you need to know going in that the shawl is asymmetrical. One adjustment I ended up making: doing a 30 in x 25 in rectangle for one cover (the gray and white stripes) and a 30 in x 27 in rectangle for the other (the black cover). I found the extra two inches helped me feel more balanced out. I am 5' 5" tall, so I enjoyed the little bit of extra length. Always start longer than you may think you need. You can take off, but once cut, you can't grow fabric back. Here are my finished products:

You can see how it hangs at an angle. On one shoulder, I have the "folded edge," and on the other shoulder is the one seam that I sewed to create this cover. 

Cool bonus feature: if you spend a couple minutes scrunching, twisting, and adjusting, you can turn this cover into a cool, chic infinity scarf! I didn't do this in any particular way, just playing with it until I liked how it looked.

Here is the same tutorial in black, and this is the one I created a 30 in x 27 in rectangle to make instead of the 30 in x 25 in. 

Here is what these covers look like in the back. You can see that there will be much better coverage from that angle than you get with a bib-style cover.

Style #2: Infinity Scarf Nursing Shawl as Featured on DiaryofaMadCrafter

This was a style I also wanted to try as it is now fall, and scarves, although not always needed in a New Orleans fall/winter, are an easy and useful accessory when the weather cools down. I saw this post from Diary of a Mad Crafter on Pinterest, and I knew this was a style I wanted to create. It is another easy way to make a full-coverage cover that will provide you with some modest blockage all the way around. Here is an image from her original post: 

This tutorial was super easy to follow. You basically fold your yard of fabric in half, make sure it is square, and sew (again) a single, straight line. It took less than ten minutes to make, and it turned out really cute. Here is my finished product:

Here is the finished product being worn as a scarf. I just took the large loop, doubled it, and slipped it around my neck. 

Here is how I situated the scarf to cover my front when unfolded for nursing. It really does have a full frontal coverage feeling to it that I think I will love!

As you can see, I couldn't quite figure out how to get the back to be as full coverage as the first type, but keep reading below to see a solution! (Thanks, Pinterest!)

I did have some trouble figuring out just how to wear it in the front to make sure there wouldn't be accidental boob-exposure when nursing and how to simultaneously fully cover the back as it is just one big loop. Another Pinterest search lead me to this image and tutorial from TwoBlueSparrows that shows a cool way to wrap an infinity scarf nursing cover. I will be trying this way of wrapping next time I put this puppy on. 

It seems so obvious looking at it to wear it across, almost sash like, but that didn't dawn on my pregnant brain at 11:00 last night. Thank you, Two Blue Sparrows and Mad Crafter, for the amazing tutorials.

 

Style #3: My Make-Shift, Oversize T-Shirt Nursing Cover

I created this cover when I first got my knit fabrics and was playing with draping them and wearing them as a cover. Inspired by the shape of the DRIA cover, I wanted to do something that was full coverage and would basically pull over my head. My hope was that it would end up looking like a chic, oversize shirt that could be worn with skinny jeans or leggings easily. I don't think I have quite gotten there...a bit more tweaking. I am hoping the neck hole will end up with a bit more of a rolled look over time. Here is what I came up with:

Here is my oversize t-shirt just being worn. Maybe adding a belt around the waist would help with the style?

This pic should give you an idea of what the shape of the garment is as a whole. It is literally like wearing two squares of fabric sewn down the sides.

That's it! It is like a hugely oversize t-shirt. I folded my yard of fabric in half, cut it into an equal square (maybe 30x30ish), pinned the sides to leave to large arm holes (for wearing and baby's breathing), and sewed two straight seams down those sides. Then, I cut a boat neck style opening about 13-14 inches across in the center of the square. That is it. It is roomy, and I will be playing with the logistics to see about making it look a bit more chic. Feel free to leave comments and ideas here. 

Nursing covers no longer have to make women feel like overgrown babies wearing large bibs thanks to creative women like those featured here and the many others who are making and sharing their ideas via blogs, social media, and sites like Pinterest. Each of these cost around $5 to make, so buy some knit fabrics you love and play around with them! Have fun, and make the styles work for you and your bambino-darling! Make sure you check out these awesome, creative ladies' blogs, and happy sewing my friends!

Y'all Come Back Now, Ya Hear?

Brittney

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Quick Bread Perfection: Sour Cream Mini-Muffins

In light of my gestational diabetes, I decided to share one of my favorite recipes for one of my most missed and beloved food groups: BREAD! As a true Southern girl, there are few foods I find more comforting than warm, fresh-baked biscuits. However, I don't always have time to make biscuits from scratch. In steps these amazing little clouds of biscuity Heaven!

This is a simple recipe that was shared with me by a lovely lady from our church family after a dinner on the grounds. She made these amazingly scrumptious, tender, buttery, biscuit like pillows of deliciousness, and I couldn't get enough! The recipe is simple and quick with only three ingredients: baking mix, sour cream, and butter. Combine together and bake in the oven at 375 degrees Farenheit for 8-10 minutes, and you get a bread that is perfect for anything. 

Serve at a shower or party with butter, clotted cream, and preserves. Serve with breakfast in place of traditional biscuits or with dinner in place of rolls. Add in a few other flavors to mix it up: dip in melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar for a sweet spin or add some shredded cheddar cheese and garlic powder for a savory version. They keep great in an airtight container or bag and are a great, quick snack! It is one of my favorites, and I hope it will become one of yours, too!

You can find my Snapguide with step-by-step photo instructions at the link below. Make some of these awesome treats this week; you won't regret it, and your family will thank you profusely as they ask for seconds!

Check out How to Make Sour Cream Mini Muffins by Brittney Muller on Snapguide.

Y'all Come Back Now, Ya Hear?

Brittney

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And So, I Sew

Sewing is something that my great-grandmother, Big Mama, was masterful at doing. She could whip up just about anything you could bring to mind. She was also a wicked-good crochet master; in fact, before she passed away in December of 2011 at the amazing age of 92, she made three neutral baby blankets for my sister and me to have for our future children. She also created beautiful needle-point wedding and birth announcements for everyone in our family. While my Big Mama was exceedingly talented in all of these areas, none of her children or grandchildren ever picked up on the craft. Now, several of her great-granddaughters, including myself, are learning at least one of the skills that she was so incredibly masterful at on our own. Not only is what we are learning proving to be very useful, but I think it makes us feel like she is still close to us.

I received my first sewing machine, a Brother Project-Runway edition, as a Christmas gift in 2012. Since then, I have already put it to good use making lovely, albeit simple, baby gifts for showers. I have loved perusing other sewers blogs to find very helpful tutorials on everything from basics to patterns, and I am so grateful to the many people who share their knowledge and resources for free. Being a teacher and the wife of a preacher, bargains are not only desirable but often quite necessary. I will share with you some of the things I have already made and the fabulous links that gave me the know-how to do them, and I will also share with you my endeavors into new and uncharted sewing territories as they arise. I am not always perfect at this (One time, I pinned together an entire blanket meticulously with what felt like a million pins before realizing that one of the blankets was right side out...needless to say, that one was unpinned and stitched free hand.), but I am loving the process of learning. Feel free to leave comments with your tips, tricks, and favorite sewing resources!

Y'all Come Back Now, Ya Hear?
Brittney

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