Food

Tropical Shrimp Bites

22 · Apr 4, 2014 ·

This post brought to you by the folks at Hidden Valley® // With the weather slowly starting to warm up, I’m starting to get the itch to entertain a bit more. One of my favorite things to do when planning for a party or get together is coming up with unique menu items. Tasty dishes that are simple to make, but have a big WOW factor for my guests. Recently, the folks at Hidden Valley challenged me to come up with a new recipe for a appetizer using one of their fabulous Hidden Valley® products. I was super excited when I discovered their new Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette and instantly I thought it would pair nicely with some type of shrimp dish. After some playing around, I came up with these super tasty Tropical Shrimp Bites…

The Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette is amazing with the shrimp! I added a little coconut cream and shredded coconut to the shrimp and then quickly baked them in the oven. I topped off the little bites with some grilled mango and pineapple and together the pairing was amazing.

Unfortunately my market didn’t have any fresh mango at the time so I had to used bottled mango, but it worked just fine. Here is how I made my Tropical Shrimp Bites…

Tropical Shrimp Bites Recipe

1 lb raw shrimp

1 bottle Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette

1 cup coconut cream

6 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

1 fresh pineapple

1 mango

cooking spray

Directions

Prepare your shrimp by rinsing thoroughly and peeling off the shell if necessary. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette. Add shrimp to the coconut and vinaigrette mixture. Let marinade for no more than 15 minutes. Any longer in the marinade and the acid in the dressing will start to cook the shrimp and you don’t want that.

Preheat your oven to 425˚. Remove your shrimp from the marinade and place in batches into a bowl of the shredded coconut. Coat the shrimp and then place on top of a wire rack that has been coated with cooking spray and placed on top of a baking sheet.

Lightly spray the shrimp with cooking spray and place in the preheated oven for five minutes. After five minutes, remove from oven and carefully turn the shrimp, lightly spray the other side with cooking spray and place back into the oven for an additional four to five minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

In the mean time cut your pineapple and mango into bite sized pieces and grill either using a grill pan or directly on a grill. Grill for 1-2 minutes on one side, turn and grill for an additional 1-2 minutes on the other side. Remove from grill and set aside until the shrimp are ready.

Now all you need to do is assemble your tropical shrimp bites… I used a bamboo skewer and added one piece of grilled pineapple, a shrimp and finally a bite of mango. Your perfect tropical bite!

It’s amazing how much flavor the shrimp takes on from the vinaigrette in such a short time. You can really taste the mango with a little hint of the chipotle, it’s tasty!! Your guest are going to love this little bite from the tropics! This recipe will make roughly 40 tropical shrimp bites, perfect for a medium sized gathering. You can adjust accordingly to the size of your gathering. I served my shrimp bites on top of some sugar pea greens that had been lightly dressed with the Hidden Valley@ Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette as well. That made for some added flavor along with a very pretty presentation.

From dressings and dips to sandwich spreads and side dish solutions, the special blend of herbs and spices makes Hidden Valley the perfect addition to any recipe. For more delectable ranch recipes, visit www.hiddenvalley.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley Ranch. The opinions and text are all mine.

The Party Bunch Link Party // no. 24

0 · Apr 4, 2014 · 9 Comments

HAPPY FRIDAY… Time for The Party Bunch Link Party!!

Amy from The Idea Room, Mique from 30 Handmade Days, Heather from Whipperberry and Desiree from The 36th Avenue want to thank you for partying with us… You guys are the best!

Here are some of our favorites!

Heather’s Favorite

Icosahedron Pendant Light at The Gathered Home.

I just love the fun and unique geometric shape.

Mique’s Favorite

Pear Crisp at Clean and Scentsible.

It is almost…too beautiful to eat!

Amy’s Favorite

Nut and Berry Salad from I Heart Naptime.

This salad looks so delicious and healthy.

Desiree’s Favorite

Snickerdoodle Pound Cake a la mode at Lil Luna.

Oh my goodness…this looks so yummy!

As always thank you for so may fabulous projects and recipes!

We hope you take a minute and button up here!

Also we want to invite you to click here and follow

The Party Bunch Favorites on Pinterest.

We are featuring more of our favorite projects and recipes from the link party on this board!

Now it is time to party!

TPB Party Bunch Link Up... Every Friday to Sunday link up your projects over at theidearoom.net , thirtyhandmadedays.com , whipperberry.com or the36thavenue.com Four bloggers = ONE BIG PARTY! We can't wait to see your projects!

Here are a few things to remember before you link up!

Please make sure to share the love and grab a button here to let your readers know that you linked up with us!
By linking up with The Party Bunch, you are giving permission to any of us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media with a link back to you. Thanks!

$150 Baker’s Twine GIVEAWAY from the Twinery

0 · Apr 3, 2014 · 30 Comments

This post is sponsored by The Twinery. All opinions are 100% mine.

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I have two words for you…BAKER’S TWINE!!! I am so excited to tell you that I’ve teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers to bring you a FABULOUSLY HUGE baker’s twine giveaway…we’re talking $150 to The Twinery, to choose whatever you want!!!

Baker’s Twine is the perfect accessory when it comes to packaging, and is incredibly versatile. It can add just the right touch to any gift or package, and it’s a simple addition that makes a huge difference. The Twinery has an awesome selection–solid, striped, metallic, and more, plus tons of colors. You can buy them in small increments, or large spools—whatever you need!

Because it’s one of our favorite things, we really wanted to share it with…YOU!!!!

This huge baker’s twine giveaway is brought to you by these bloggers:

You can enter on ANY of these blogs!

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TO ENTER: Just follow the directions in the box below, making sure to read all terms and disclosures before entering. GOOD LUCK!!!! (You just need to enter once, on any of these blogs.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Simple DIY Art

4 · Apr 2, 2014 · 8 Comments

Simple DIY Art // Hey all! It’s Jenn from My Fabuless Life! Last month I shared my embroidery hoop bulletin board I did for my daughter’s big girl bedroom, and since then, I’ve caught the makeover fever, because I’ve moved onto my master bedroom and am here to show you a quick, simple art project you can do for less than $10. Finding large scale art for those bigger walls can get expensive, which is why I love creating my own. You can customize everything about it, for next to nothing!

I started with a 4′ x 4′ piece of thin, pine plywood from my home improvement store (in the lumber section with the peg board), and stained the whole thing. If you’re more into the painted look, you can do that too, it’s up to you.

My original plan was just to put the text right on the wood (which you’ll notice below), but after I wrote directly on the wood, it was hard to see, so I got out the paint. I wanted a really unique, sort of “messy” look, so I just grabbed one of my favorite sponge rollers and roughly rolled out the paint in the pattern I wanted. I let that coat dry, added another, and filled in some spots with a paint brush, and then it was time for the writing.

Remember, I tried writing first, so this picture is a little backwards. You’ll notice though, that if you’re writing with white, it would be just fine. Anyway, I measured for where I wanted the writing to go, and then drew a line with chalk so that the text wouldn’t be all over the place. Then, I wrote out my phrase with chalk and wrote right over it with a gold paint pen. After the gold was dry, I just wiped off the remaining chalk with a damp cloth.

I did mine free hand, but if you’d rather use one of your favorite fonts, this method is AWESOME for transferring the font to your board.

To hang it, I just hot glued a pop tab to the back of the wood like a picture hanger and hung it on a little nail. And that’s it! Super simple art!!

Easy Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

1 · Apr 1, 2014 ·

The post brought to you by Ragú® // I LOVE eggplant. One of my favorite meal memories was when my dad went out of town (he’s not a huge fan of eggplant) and my Mom took the opportunity to make Eggplant Parmesan for the first time. I was in my early teens and boy, oh boy… My mind was blown. I had grown up eating pasta, namely spaghetti like most kiddos, but when my mom paired our favorite Ragú® sauce with the lovely breaded eggplant I thought I had gone to heaven. Recently, the folks at Ragú® came to me and asked if I could jazz up the classic eggplant parmesan recipe, I was thrilled! I was for sure up for this challenge.

I decided to make a healthier version of this tasty meat free dinner. I oven “fried” my eggplant and then stack it with layers of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce and fresh mozzarella Cheese. With 11 tomatoes in every jar, Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is Ragú® richest, thickest recipe* ever and it’s PERFECT with this recipe!

Easy Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

2 large eggplants

salt & pepper

4 eggs

4 cups unseasoned Panko bread crumbs

cooking spray

24 oz jar of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese

Wash and cut eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.

Place on a baking sheet and generously salt both sides. Let sit for 15 minutes.

This will draw out some excess moisture. After 15 minutes wipe the water and salt off the eggplant slices with a paper towel and set aside.

Meanwhile, set-up a dredging station to prepare the eggplant to oven “fry.” In one bowl crack 4 eggs and whisk. The 2nd bowl will be for the Panko bread crumbs.

Take each eggplant slice and lightly cover with salt and pepper, then cover both sides with the egg wash and then place in the Panko bread crumb bowl, generously covering both sides. Place on a cooling rack on a baking sheet.

Spray the eggplant generously with cooking spray and place in a 425˚ oven for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over each eggplant slice. Spray the eggplant one more time with cooking spray and return to oven for an additional 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

Here’s the fun part. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now you are going to create towers of eggplant. Lay down a large slice of eggplant. Add a spoonful of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce and a slice of mozzarella.

Top that with another slice of eggplant and repeat the process until you have about 5 or 6 layers.

Top with a generous layer of parmesan cheese. Place in a 350˚ oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve warm.

Yields 9 servings

For more easy and delicious Authentic Italian recipe ideas visit Ragú® Facebook page. It’s full of all kinds of tasty weeknight meals that your family and budget will love.

For even more fun you can visit Ragú® Better & Better Sweepstakes. It has a ton of fun prizes that you can enter to win. You could even win a trip to Italy!!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/6/14. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, alternate method of entry, and prize descriptions, visit www.RaguSweeps.com. Void where prohibited.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ragú®. The opinions and text are all mine.

Food

Tropical Shrimp Bites Recipe

Directions

Easy Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

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