That just happened.

Behind the Scenes: Custom Wedding Invitations and Cakes

Art by Ellie & Sugar Bee Sweets participated in the "Paper + Frosting" photo shoot for the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Brides of North Texas magazine. The magazine gave Art by Ellie a palette of colors and a theme to design an invitation suite around and then Heidi of Sugar Bee Sweets had to design a cake to match the suite. You would think that is our dream – to do what we want, but it was so much more difficult than we imagined. We had no client, no bride, to tell us when we hit the nail on the head or if we were way off-base. I ended up designing about 10 different invitations in the end! But we were so happy with the end result; here's what we came up with:

The colors for this suite were fuschia, tangerine, yellow and ivory for a modern spring wedding. Included are (clockwise from top left): a tea-length invitation layered on a metallic ivory damask print stock, table numbers, RSVP response card, thank you note, and menu.

And here was the lovely matching cake by Sugar Bee Sweets:

And here was our second suite, which was supposed to have an antique/Victorian feel. Our colors were a cornflower blue, periwinkle (sort of a light blue-gray) and white. The contrast in these photos make the blues look brighter than they actually were and not much of the invitation suite is shown (just the front of one invitation holder, along with the response card and menu below. We love the lace wrap on the holder though and that idea inspired us to create those beautiful lace-wrapped invitations for Rose later on, so for that, we are thankful. Heidi loves doing all-white wedding cakes and had been itching to make a ruffle cake, so this was the perfect excuse. These turned out great.

Here are some behind-the-scenes photos I took the day of the shoot, to show you what the actual blue colors looked like:

  

And just for good measure, here are some rejected invitation ideas for the shoot... Maybe I can use them for someone else one day! 

  

    

(oh yes, I made the rosette out of metallic ivory linen cardstock and later decided that wasn't realistic because I didn't want someone to order 200 invitations like this from me - that's a lot of work!) :)

Recipe: Creamy Seafood Casserole

This recipe is a lot of prep-work, but worth it in the end. I didn't expect readers to be so interested in getting this one, but I guess everyone needs more seafood recipes. :)

This is the most unhealthy recipe I've made all month, but we just cut the serving size down so there would be 6 servings instead of 4 and had more veggies on the side, which took it's calorie count down from 760-something to about 500 - it was still VERY filling. The parsnips make it perfect.

Serves 4-6| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 55m

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 pound medium carrots (about 4), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound medium parsnips (about 4), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1.5 pounds small red potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 12 ounces skinless tilapia fillets (about 3), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp (about 18), tails removed
• 1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, parsnips, celery, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute (do not let darken). Add the wine and simmer until nearly evaporated.
2. Add the cream, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley, and transfer to an 8x12 baking dish.
3. Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Reserve ¾ cup of the cooking water, drain the potatoes, and return them to the pot. Add ¼ cup of the remaining oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water and mash (adding more cooking water, if necessary) until smooth.
4. Nestle the fish and shrimp in the vegetable mixture and top with the potato mixture.
5. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and sprinkle over the potatoes. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

By Kate Merker and Sara Quessenberry,  September 2010 issue of Real Simple magazine. Original post here.

Recipe: Deceptively Delicious Brownies

This recipe is by Jessica Seinfeld, from Deceptively Delicious. The recipe is listed below, or you can view and print it from her original post, here.

"These brownies fool everyone! You won't believe how scrumptious they are (or how good they are for you) until you make them yourself. Just don't serve them warm -- it's not until they're completely cool that the spinach flavor totally disappears." (And believe me, it does - they taste like chocolate cake!)

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup carrot puree (After peeling and trimming the ends, steam for 10-12 minutes and then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)
• 1/2 cup spinach puree (Steam for 30 to seconds, then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame.
3. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars. (I cut them into 9 squares.)

"These brownies are low in calories (only 133 per brownie) and saturated fat. They're also packed with 3 grams of fiber (which is just crazy for a brownie!), while spinach and carrots provide two powerful antioxidants that help your eyes stay healthy."

Recipe: Shrimp Creole

I am no expert on cajun food (this was my first time to make it), but my Hubby said this was exactly what he would expect to get if he ordered Shrimp Creole at Jazz (an amazing cajun restaurant on 6th Street in Austin). Quite the compliment! This dish has quite a kick and is really flavorful.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. large shrimp (rinse, shell and devein)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1.25 cups vegetable stock
• 3/4 cup canned tomato sauce
• 1 can peeled diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 4 tsp. Tony Chachere's creole spice or generic seafood spice
• 1.25 cups finely chopped celery
• 2.5 cups hot cooked dirty rice (I used one box of Zatarain's, which yielded the perfect amount)
• 1.25 cups finely chopped onions, in all
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, in all
• 1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:

1. Cook 1/2 cup of the onions in 1 Tbsp. of the butter in a 4-quart or larger saucepan over high heat about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until onions caramelize, 3-5 minutes. (Onions should be a rich brown color, but not burned.)
2. Add the remaining onions, the celery, bell pepper and the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter. Cook over high heat until the bell peppers and celery start to get tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Add garlic, creole seasoning and stir well. Add 1/4 cup of the stock. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes for seasonings to blend and vegetables to finish browning, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pan well.
4. Add tomatoes; reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom.
5. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the remaining stock and sugar. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (no way - lol).
7. Add shrimp and cook just until plump and pink, 3-4 minutes.
8. Serve over dirty rice; makes 5 servings.

This recipe was adapted from the one posted on the website of Jazz Kitchen in Austin, TX.

Like All Good Things...

The month-long new recipe challenge is coming to an end. This is the last week. I'm a little sad and a little relieved.

Things I won't miss:

• It's sort of exhausting making a brand new recipe almost every night — it's always more time-consuming when you make something for the first time, ya know?
• Not having the freedom to stray from a month of pre-chosen meals, but this was also a plus because I stuck to something even when it would have been easier, faster or less frustrating to just make something quick and familiar.
• Using so much olive oil - I prefer to cook with water most of the time.

Things I will miss:

• Not having to worry about what to make for dinner
• Not having to worry about what to buy at the grocery store
• Taking pictures of our new and tasty dinner conquests & sharing those with you

Thing's I've learned:

• To trust my judgment in adapting recipes to fit my family's tastes!
• To stay on top of planning meals out ahead of time - it makes grocery shopping so much easier!
• To always keep lemons and limes in the house!
• I thought I didn't like lime juice or chili powder, but I shouldn't omit them - they're there for a reason and in the right recipes, taste delish!
• We can eat at home all the time if we make it a priority, which is cheaper and healthier. We only missed 6 dinners this month from the 31 day planner.
• We all feel better when we eat at home. Hubs says he can feel the difference and has a lot more energy!
• I can go without Dr. Pepper - it's been a whole month, the longest I've ever gone without the carmely sweetness. Why stop now, right?
• I have a renewed love for coffee, which I'd replaced with a morning DP years ago.
• I can make anything! I fear no recipe!

Please let me know if you make any of the recipes I've posted - I'd love to hear how you and your family liked them.

Monday, I will post my new kitchen challenge to myself for February-early March. Stay tuned!

Recipe: Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan & Herbs

We need an excuse to eat more fish. The kids claim to not like the texture and Hubs only likes white fish, which is frustrating for me because I love salmon, but I don't buy it for myself very often so I don't have to make two dinners. But everyone agrees that this recipe was fantastic (except V - she didn't love it, but she didn't hate it either).  Hubs, my son and I all loved it. Super-fast, super-healthy dinner for four — we'll be making this again, and soon (or maybe the next time V is out of town). I wish I had a photo of it to share because it was just beautiful.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 Tbsp. low-fat mayo
• 2 Tbsp. Greek-style yogurt or sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
• juice and zest of one small lemon (about 2 Tbsp. juice)
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1/8 tsp. onion powder
• sea salt & ground black pepper
• 4 farm-raised tilapia fillets, 6-8 oz. ea.

Directions

1. Combine 1/4 cup parmesan cheese with remaining ingredients except the fish. Coat fillets wth mixture and place in baking dish or shallow platter and let marinate for 15-20 minutes. Preheat broiler. 
2. Transfer fillets to a foil-lined broiler pan. Spoon a few tablespoons marinade on top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. 
3. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until topping is lightly browned and fish flakes easily with a fork, about 5-8 minutes.

This recipe is from the Whole Foods website.

Winter Garden's End

Before this week's super-freeze (temps not getting above freezing for 84 hours & bottoming out around 10 degrees), we decided to go ahead and harvest what was left in the garden.

Here's the last of our lettuce and broccoli:

Here's ALL the carrots. So awesome, but they took four months to grow. A lesson in patience:

And our beautiful bouquets of kale:

So now we have nothing in the gardens. Boo. But it is nice not to have to worry about going to cover everything with sheets in the frigid air. Until Spring, garden...!

Recipe: Almond-Crusted Chicken with Spinach

Hubs made this all by himself this week and did a fantastic job. Squeeze the lemon wedge over both the chicken and the spinach, you won't be disappointed.

Directions:

1. Make a coarse paste of 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted almonds, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt, and 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a food processor.
2. Rub onto 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves.
3. Roast in 425-degree oven until cooked through, 15-18 minutes. Slice and serve on baby spinach with lemon wedges.

This is a detox-friendly recipe is from Whole Living magazine.

A Month of New Recipes, Week 5

I did a little recipe switching on you this week. The Mushroom Stroganoff we were supposed to have had an ingredients list a mile long and after reading into the recipe a bit I decided all those wonderful ingredients would be wasted on our kids (who are not big fans of fungi). In addition, the recipe ended in the middle of step two and I didn't have the next page of the magazine pulled out... oops!

Also, the Cedar Plank Tilapia was actually a recipe for Mahi-Mahi... double-oops! So I replaced that recipe with Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan & Herbs.

Lastly, I opted not to make the Cookies & Cream Angel Cake because it is basically white angel cake mix with mashed up chocolate sandwich cookies added to it. Whoopee! Granted, it said to use a low-fat or fat-free chocolate sandwich cookie but the only low-fat sandwich cookies I could find at the store were Snackwells, and they weren't chocolate. So that left me with reduced-fat Oreos and I decided that it wasn't worth it to buy them when I only needed 6 cookies and I didn't trust myself or anyone else in this house to be left with 3/4 of a package of Oreos in the pantry. I think that was a good choice. :)

So here's what we're having this week:

• Maple-Bourbon Pork Chops (didn't get to these last week)
• Pepperoni Pizza Pasta
• Black Bean & Vegetable Tacos
• Chicken-Broccoli Divan
• Venison Chili
• Sweet & Sour Meatballs (good Superbowl weekend food, right?)

Desserts for the week:

• Upside-down Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding
• Mini Apple Crumble Pies

Last week's winners (recipes to be posted this week):

• Chicken Stuffed with Golden Onions & Fontina
• Almond-Crusted Chicken with Spinach
• Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan & Herbs (I wish I had a photo of this because it was amazing)
• Shrimp Creole
• Deceptively Delicious Brownies

PHOTOS FOR SOME OF THE RECIPES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

MAPLE-BOURBON PORK CHOPS:

MINI APPLE CRUMBLE PIES:

ALMOND-CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH SPINACH:

CHICKEN STUFFED WITH GOLDEN ONIONS & FONTINA:

 

SHRIMP CREOLE:

DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS BROWNIES:

Recipe: Blueberry Buttermilk Coffeecake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 egg plus 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup pureed pitted prunes (I know. What? But it's OK, I promise)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk or soymilk (I used plain almond milk and it was fine, too)
• 1/2 cup mashed banana (I didn't have a banana, so I just omitted - feel free to leave this out if you don't like bananas)
• 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts (whatever - I used like 1/3 cup - lol)
• 1/3 brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 13 x 9 baking dish or spray with vegetable spray.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking power, baking soda and salt. (OK, who has a sifter?! Not me. I just stirred it around with a wooden spoon.)
3. Fold in blueberries.
4. In another bowl, whisk together honey or syrup, egg and egg whites, oil, prunes, milk of choice and banana.
5. Combine contents of both bowls, mixing briefly, then pour into baking dish. 
6. Smooth top of batter with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle walnuts and brown sugar on top.
7. Bake for 40-50 min. or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool, then cut into 12 serving pieces.

Nutrition per serving: 245 calories, 5 g Protein, 5g Fat, 22 g Carbs, 14 mg Cholesterol, 292 mg Sodium, 3 g Fiber. Ovolacto/Vegan-Friendly.

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times.