fun. food. failure. {not necessarily in that order}

It really bothers me when I don't blog for 15 days! I get completely conflicted as to whether I should try to conjure up the beauty of the bygone days, or let them slither into the abyss of obsolete oblivion!? They were good days, even great days! Some filled with fun, some filled with food, and some filled with failure! 

Finding this donut float flooded my foodie heart with euphoria! Ever since spying it online, I had been fantasizing about owning it! And lo, and behold, when I was last at jcp, if they didn't have a stack of them perched over in the mens' sock department of all places! I would have placed them near the women's bathing suits, but nobody asked me! I was just thrilled that I had been shopping socks for Daniel so unselfishly! (ahem...I didn't buy him any socks! Only redeemed my $10 reward card for this beauty because it was just meant to be.) 

Wouldn't it be beyond amazing to own this entire collection?! But for now, the donut float just does it for me! I definitely hope to try it out this week sometime, somewhere!

Speaking of donuts....I made me one of these bad boys one evening past. No recipe needed. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. But I will give you 9 words. 

{Krispy Kreme Doughnut. Mocha Ice Cream. Melted semi-sweet chocolate.} There's nothing left to say.

I think I'm just a tiny bit obsessed with donuts lately.

Moving on to healthier matters, we had these shrimp for a light supper the other evening. A touch time-consuming to prepare, but delightful to the palate! 

Don't you just love the name? Skinny Popcorn Shrimp! You can't go wrong eating something with a moniker like this. I used 1 tsp. Old Bay and 1 tsp. Tony's. And I had to bake them quite a bit longer than 6 minutes. More like 12. Probably my shrimp were larger. 

YIELD: ABOUT 4-6 SERVINGS

SKINNY POPCORN SHRIMP

This skinny popcorn shrimp recipe is full of great flavor, easy to make, and "lighter" too!

PREP: 19 MINS COOK: 6 MINS TOTAL: 25 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp. Old Bay or other Cajun seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 egg white, whisked
• 1 lb. raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• cooking spray
• lemon wedges and chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a medium bowl, whisk together Panko, parmesan, old bay, salt and pepper until combined. Set up your dipping station with bowls of (1) shrimp (2) egg whites and (3) breading. Working one at a time, dip a piece of shrimp in the egg whites until it is covered. Then transfer to the breadcrumb mixture and toss until combined. Gently place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining shrimp, then generously coat all of the shrimp with a layer of cooking spray. (This will help the breading turn golden.) Bake for 3 minutes, then flip shrimp and bake for another 3 minutes or until cooked through and no longer translucent. Serve warm with garnishes and cocktail or low-fat ranch sauce for dipping.

And finally the failure came in the form of this chicken. It was supposed to be exotic. Our NEW FAVORITE dish! And Daniel wasn't supposed to notice that two of the ingredients were ginger and cinnamon. But HE DID! RIGHT AWAY! And proclaimed that it tasted like potpurri. And so he abhored my supper that had simmered so hopefully in the crock pot all day, and ate a sandwich instead; it was that bad. I don't think Anthony and Katie gave it much better ratings either. But they kind and forgiving didn't ask for sandwiches. I kinda liked it...but I like all weird ethnic food. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a whirl! But you can't say I didn't warn you! The crazy thing was that the spice rub smelled absolutely amazing!!! I still can't figure out why it didn't taste as good as it smelled!  Danl and I now have an agreement that I cannot try a new recipe for supper unless he approves it! 

crock pot indonesian chicken

This unique chicken recipe is so easy and delicious, and makes a great weeknight dinner recipe idea. The coconut milk is a tasty, and healthy base for this dish and still keeping it diet friendy.

Ingredients

• 8 medium sized chicken drumsticks, skin removed
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 15oz can light coconut milk
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp coriander
• Juice from 2 limes
• Zest from 1 lime
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp salt, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, garlic and lime zest. Rub over chicken thoroughly and use it all. If you have any of this spice mixture left, add it into the crock pot with the coconut milk in the later step.
2. Place chicken in a crock pot, and cover with onions.
3. Pour in coconut milk, lime juice, remaining salt.
4. Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 5 hour(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Culinary tradition: USA (Nouveau)

Entire recipe makes 4 servings
Serving size is 2 drumsticks
Each serving = 6 Points +, plus 1/6th of the sauce

PER SERVING: 223 calories; 10g fat; 8g carbohydrates; 24g protein; 1g fiber

Okay, this is getting long enough and the hour is getting late enough. Tomorrow is already the second day of Spring/Easter Break and I want to tackle odious amounts of work mixed with sleep and a dash of sun before the day is done!