Frozen shrimp isn’t supposed to taste like this, right?

The scent of Gorton’s Classic Grilled Shrimp in the oven is addicting – really smells like something special is cooking on the grill. When I tried the flavorful crusty-seasoned shrimp, I was really surprised. They also cook pretty quickly – simply line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and cook in a 425-degree oven for about 10 minutes.

As a calorie counter, I can also easily incorporate the tail-on grilled shrimp into my diet plan without feeling guilty. You also get a nice amount of protein.

Add a small side dish of veggies, rice or angel hair pasta to enjoy a very tasty meal. One bag of Gorton’s Classic Grilled Shrimp offers about two servings of eight shrimp.

By the Numbers
(one serving – 8 shrimp)

• 110 calories
• 15 fat calories
• 1.5 grams fat
• 18 grams protein

Recommended Daily Values

• Calcium – 6%
• Iron – 4%

I’m skimming though the June 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine and a recipe for Melon Slushes caught my eye. This is a must-try on my list of summer treats – right beside using the Popsicle molds that I bought so I can experiment with the gaggle of fresh fruit recipes I’ve been collecting (for years).

What summer treat are you looking forward to trying this year?

Melon Slushes
(Food Network Magazine)
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 bags green tea
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 one-inch piece ginger (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 3 cups chopped honeydew melon
• 1 12-ounce can ginger ale
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Directions

1. Bring 1 ½ cups water to simmer in med saucepan. Remove from heat. Add the tea bags and let steep 5 minutes.
2. Remove tea bags (do not squeeze). Let the tea cool to room temp. Meanwhile, bring 3 TB of water, the sugar and ginger to a simmer in small saucepan over med heat; cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves for about 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and cool. Toss out ginger.
4. Stir ginger syrup into the tea.
5. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. (2 to 4 hours).
6. Freeze the chopped up melon until solid (about 2 hours).
7. Combine half each of the tea ice cubes, frozen melon, ginger ale, lemon juice and mint in a blender and puree until smooth. Divide between 2 glasses. Enjoy!

To get my daily fill of exercise, I play basketball with my sweetie when the weather is nice. The constant pounding across a concrete court can take its toll on the body. And yes, by the end of the day, I feel it in my knees. Thanks to Yahoo Shine, I learned that turmeric contains a powerful anti-inflammatory compound known as curcumin. For example, turmeric has proven beneficial for patients fighting inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

The spice is a shade of deep yellow-gold and delivers a smoky, peppery flavor to food. Oftentimes, the spice is found in curries, mustard, and tasty Indian dishes.

Some nutritionists recommend eating turmeric on a daily basis, and Beth Reardon, the director of nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine, recommends adding the spice to almond milk with cinnamon and a touch of honey. I cannot wait to try this little concoction.

When I make the turmeric/almond milk/cinnamon/honey blend, I will post my thoughts.

For Mother’s Day, my brother, nephew, mother and I went to an eatery named ‘Mother’s Cupboard’ in Syracuse, NY (which actually got a bit of buzz by appearing on the Travel Channel’s TV show ‘Man vs Food’ in 2011). Host Adam Richman took the challenge of eating the full-size frittata on their menu. He ate all 6 pounds of the dish, which includes eggs, pepperoni, green peppers, sausage, cheese, home fries, and broccoli. I was not as brave and settled for the half-size portion of the frittata. The restaurant is also known for its large pancakes. My nephew ordered a chocolate chip pancake and the description said that it was really big (if you order two, you will hurt yourself). He didn’t believe it, but you can tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t quite ready for the challenge. Our food was plentiful and tasty!

Doesn’t it look like my nephew is hiding from his pancake?

Below is a video of the episode that of ‘Man vs Food’ and the ‘Mother’s Cupboard frittata.

The only time I was able to identify poison ivy, I was in a park that clearly alerted the public to the danger with a sign. The leaves and stem of the plant produce an oily resin called urushiol, which can cause extreme itchiness, redness and rash to your skin. Over the years, a lot of clever sayings about poison ivy have emerged, but I still don’t think I’d be able to pinpoint it in the forest. One thing I do know – I won’t touch plants with white berries or play with hairy stems.

Maybe these rhyming warnings will help the next time you’re in the woods or camping out this summer:

• “Leaves of three; let it be.”
• “If it’s got hair, it won’t be fair.” The stem and leaves of poison ivy can look hairy.
• “Hairy vine, no friend of mine.”
• “Raggy rope, don’t be a dope!”
• “One, two, three? Don’t touch me.”
• “Berries white, run in fright” and “Berries white, danger in sight.”
• “Red leaflets in the spring, it’s a dangerous thing.” New poison ivy leaflets look red in the spring. The leaflets are green in the summertime.
• “Side leaflets like mittens, will itch like the dickens.”

Don’t judge a book by its cover…this unattractive –looking biscuit pictured is melt-in-your-mouth goodness with a juicy buttery bottom.

The only thing I changed in the recipe for 7-Up Biscuits was using light sour cream instead of full-fat…a minor change.

My biscuits probably didn’t come out picture perfect because I was hasty in my formation, so they basically formed just as choppy as I left the dough. This is why I had a slightly harder exterior with a soft and fluffy inside. I am ashamed to say that I ate four…five. Yes, five biscuits – with no guilt at all except for the fact that I didn’t make chicken to go along with the bread.

Pinterest Props

I originally repinned the recipe for 7-Up Biscuits from Monster Mama
who found it on Plain Chicken‘s website

7-Up Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients
(makes 9)

• 2 cups of Bisquick mix
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup 7up
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the sour cream into the Bisquick mix, and then add the 7up to make a soft dough. Sprinkle a bit of Bisquick mix on your countertop, and then add the dough. Pat it out. Melt the butter and pour it into a 9″ square baking pan. Cut your biscuits up and arrange in the pan – right on top of the melted butter. Bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes (or until golden brown) – mine were taken out at 12 minutes.

It’s sad that we live in a world where it is cheaper to purchase a brand new all-in-one printer rather than shell out the bucks for new ink. I REFUSE to purchase new ink that costs more than what I spent on a printer. I even looked for cheaper non-brand alternatives on eBay with no such luck.

However, during my inexpensive ink research I learned that Staples has a program where they will give you a $2 credit for each used ink cartridge that you bring in. Some printers use 6 different ink cartridges, so that’s a nice $12 credit that could go towards…buying new ink or…a new printer. I do believe remanufactured ink cartridges are not accepted – although there are places and people who do accept the empties so you don’t have to worry about them ending up in a landfill.

It’s funny that this week’s Friendship Friday Linky prompt (hosted by Create with Joy)  is about childhood memories because just this morning, I was walking outside and inhaled a trigger from my childhood. When I was younger, my father bought these two handmade wooden flutes that forever hung around the house. The inside of the flutes always had this distinct woody smell that I happened to detect in the air today, which was incredibly weird to experience. It felt like I was holding one of the flutes up to my nose. Anyhow, it’s amazing the things you remember from your childhood.

A few other recollections that pop into my head include:

• My father sending me on the wrong school bus for the first day of school. He chased down the bus in his car, and then carried me off (over his shoulder or under his arm – this part is hazy). I had already made new friends and had no idea what was going on at the time. He also had a habit of embarrassing me at school, including licking his hand to keep my hair down and combing my hair while sitting in principal’s office.
• David Carter (yes, I am shouting him out) tripping me in the 1st grade and I skidded my face across the concrete – I STILL have faint scars on my chin from this incident.
• Taking a walk in the middle of the night atop my father’s shoulders wearing a Smurfs nightgown to wave at a friend who was closing up his neighborhood bar.
• Trips to the laundromat with my mother.
• My mother making my semi-formal dress for middle school – I wanted to look like Cinderella in a baby blue creation. I really liked the dress, but looking back at it…I shudder at my choice. For my high school prom, she made the best dress ever (pictured) that I still have to this day. I also wore it for a formal in college.
• My Mom’s roast beef sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and mayo – cut into fours.
• Visits to my aunt’s house and playing with TT, their cat.
• Going to the zoo with my mother and brother, and riding the pony.
• Forgoing a trip to pick an uncle up at the airport (and see a plane for the first time) to hang out with my grandfather, who used to sneak me coffee under the kitchen table. On a sad note, family gatherings associated with my grandfather’s death are also clear in my head.
• My father going to a class event where we served the parents ‘Friendship Soup,‘ which was made with carrots, other ingredients…and rocks – (laughing).
• My grandmother cutting her finger in one of those old-school, heavy metal fans.
• A glass breaking in my mouth at my grandmother’s house – I swear all of our times were not this bloody…my mother had some too…
• My mother telling me not to come out onto the ice while she shoveled the driveway, and I did not listen, and ended up splitting open my lip. This one was completely my fault.
• Singing the solo and signing ‘We Shall Overcome’ for our 6th grade Martin Luther King Jr. play.

 This post is written in participation of Friendship Friday.

Kid in a candy store alert! Opening the package containing my swapped artist trading cards was like finding an unforgotten present tucked under the Christmas tree. First off, I loved the presentation of the package (great job, Kimberly from artJOYstuff) – it was wrapped with ribbon and a decorative tag. Inside, six lovely creations awaited.

This was my first artist trading card swap and it was a learning experience. I now know that I want to use a thicker material for the trading cards itself – I measured and handcut from a heavyweight paper this time around, but I really like the feel of the thicker cards.  I’m also creating information stickers to put on the back of future cards. Also, I think I’d like to work with fabric for the next swap that I participate in.

The six cards I received were created by:

• Sherry (at Creatology) – With stamp-like accents, she used a button, bow, and fabric. Makes me think of Doris Day in the movie April in Paris. I also loved her Artist Trading Card stamp on the back – how cute is that?
• Danielle Mack – Reminds me of an old-school library catalog card in a Paris theme – love it!
• Marilyn from Uniquely Ella  – A combination of sewing on paper and fabric with 3-D elements
• Laurel Dismukes – Very interesting and delicate blend of applique (?), paper and a stamp. I also love the thickness of the piece.
• PerfectlyPrinted.blogspot.com – A 3-D homage to Coco Chanel and Chanel No. 5 – it was actually decorated on both sides
• Kelly Deal – A 3-D collection of buttons, fabric and a glitter Eiffel Tower that is textually interesting.

Isn’t it cool to see how other people interpret a theme?

Below is a recap of my Artist Trading Cards taking the music route…

Disclosure: I submitted this post to Katherine’s My Favorite Things Thursday Linky.

Perfect for food, health and garden bloggers, Templates.com is offering a free fruit illustration for one week only that includes watermelon, citrus, cantaloupe, grapes and pineapple .

Every Tuesday, they reveal a free image to the public, which is replaced the next week. This is a limited time offer so don’t miss out on a graphic that could illustrate your next post or website banner. Simply sign up for an account and you’ll be able to download every week. Of course, I downloaded this one – you never know when a bunch of summer fruits will come in handy.