Tuesdays At The Table - Skinny Key Lime Pie

Howdy, chickies! Did everyone get to enjoy their long weekend?  Spend time with family and friends?  BBQ something delicious?  And - most importantly - thank a soldier (or veteran) for their service?  I hope you answered a resounding YES to everything.  :-)

I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend.  Saturday, I got a little extra cuddle time with my pups.  Then an afternoon Kristin (my cousin and one my favorite people) and her son.  We did lunch, a trip to Lowe's (where we both made out like bandits on 2 for $12 geraniums), a craft store that is closing (again, making out like bandits) and a local farm/ice cream stand.

Sunday was filled with little errands and household chores.  Monday...well, I missed a friend's cookout because my asthma is acting up.  I miss everyone, but I know they understand that almost 90 degree heat and humidity just isn't good for this girl. Instead, I spend the day with mom (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!) and reading.

This week I'm sharing a "skinny" key lime pie.  Truth be told - it's one of the few pies that I like.  :-)

Skinny Key Lime Pie

1 ready-to-fill cookie crumb or graham cracker crumb crust
1 tablespoon plain gelatin
1/3 cup fresh lime juice or key lime juice
1 cup boiling water
Sugar substitute to equal 1/4 cup
13 ounce can cold evaporated skim milk
1/4 cup cold water
4-serving package instant vanilla pudding
1/2 teaspoon of lime zest, optional
Light or fat-free whipped topping
Thin lime slices for garnish, optional

In a blender container, combine plain gelatin and fresh lime juice. Wait one minute until softened, then add boiling water. Cover and blend on high speed until all gelatin granules are dissolved. Add sugar substitute, evaporated skim milk, water, pudding mix and lime zest. (Note that you can also use a hand mixer on "high".)

Cover and blend smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes until mixture begins to set. Spoon into prepared pie shell and chill several hours until firm. Top with dollops of whipped topping and garnish with lime slices, if desired.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Reality? NOPE!

It's been one heck of a week.

I'll have some news for you lovely ladies next week.  But I'm going to bath in the joy of a long weekend, wine, friends, glorious weather and a full DVR schedule with my pups right now.  :-)

And...I blame credit the fabulous Jessica Renee for pointing out awesomeness that is Bluntcard.

My iPod Has A Favorite Song...

Do any of you have a song that keeps popping up when you let your iPod shuffle?  I do.  I spent about an hour in the car both last night and the night before commuting home.  Both nights (and it's happened before too) I hit shuffle, only to have the Muppets version of "The Lime In The Coconut" come up multiple times.

Last night...twice.  Tonight...four times.  Which brings me to the obvious conclusion that it's my iPod's favorite song.  Or it's possessed.



But let's not ask why the Muppets version of "The Lime In The Coconut" is on my iPod.  Come to think of it...let's not ask how many other Muppet songs I have either.  Mmmkay?!  :-)

Tuesdays At The Table - Cheese Poke Muffins

HAPPY TUESDAY!! I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend!

A big welcome to everyone joining in for the first time. Please drop by and visit the lovely ladies who contribute their yummy recipes each week...and share a favorite recipe (or something new we should try!) too.  :-)

This week I'm sharing cheese poke muffins from Taste of Home.  I made chili for dinner tonight and these are a perfect compliment.

Cheese Poke Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped process cheese (Velveeta)
2 tablespoons butter, softened

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.


Fill eight greased muffin cups one-fourth full. Combine cheese and butter; spoon over batter. Top with remaining batter.

Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Eeyore-like Weather

It's been raining here for pretty much a week.  Actually, I'm hearing that it's raining in a big part of the country....and rainy weather makes me think of Eeyore.  He's one of my favorite Disney characters, so it's not a huge leap.  :-)

But I'm ready for the sun, please!  :-)

Tuesdays At The Table - Parmesan Couscous

Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone is having a good week so far.  :-) Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to the weekend?

This week I'm sharing the recipe from Taste of Home that I picked up for parmesan couscous.  Super yummy...and a little lighter than your usual rice dish.

Parmesan Couscous

1 Cup water
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 Cup uncooked couscous
1/4 Cup grated parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon diced pimento
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Salt to taste

In a small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil.  Stir in couscous.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Tangled... & A Prayer Request

Last week was an extremely frustrating week for me.  (More on that later...maybe.)  To alleviate some of my pent up energy, anxiety, whatever - I decided to "craft it out".  It's kinda like retail therapy, but requires a better attention span and is much cheaper (usually).

So I chose a new sock pattern, my set of size 2 double pointed needles, a new hank of yarn from Knit Picks and dove in.  Not so fast, that hank of yarn told me!  It started pretty like this....

....and I ended up spending quite a bit of time like this....

I've conquered that hank of yarn and hopefully I'll be able to show off my new socks soon.  :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, I need to ask those that are so inclined to spare a few minutes to pray.  My dear, sweet friend Tiffany has been going through a rough time lately.  She has asked me to share that Dru's (her hubby) grandmother had a hemorrhagic stroke last Thursday.  She is still in a coma.  The family is rallying by her side - but some difficult decisions will need to be made soon.

I'm sure that she would also appreciate any messages of support that you could share on her two blogs - Munchkin Memoirs & Memoirs of A Munchkin Mommy.

Tuesdays At The Table - BLT Dip

Happy Tuesday!  All you moms - did you get some pampering/good gifts from the kids and significant others?  I hope so!!  Feel free to brag and tell me what kind of loot you got.  :-)

More and more people are joining in to our fun little recipe meme these days!  WELCOME!!  I hope everyone sees something they like from another contributor.  I have to say that I've gotten some absolutely amazing recipes from you ladies.

BLT Dip

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 tablespoon green onion, chopped

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the green onion.  Stir well and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Garnish with green onion.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Discovering Turvis

I hear all you pretty bloggers brag about how you love your Turvis tumblers.  For a while I was perplexed.  What is this Turvis tumbler of which you speak?!?!

Then, all your posts and tweets sunk in and I felt the need to jump on the bandwagon.  But, alas, I couldn't find a pattern that I really loved.

Until today...

I got this little baby at Bed, Bath and Beyond tonight.  I'm already in love.  :-)

A Bejeweled Winner!!

So sorry for the delay, ladies!!

The winner of my BambooPink giveaway is the super duper April of The Teacher's Pets.  Congrats, April!  Email me your address and I'll get your earrings ordered.  :-)

In other news...I'm contemplating a new weekly feature.  Or maybe just a short-lived series.  Any guesses?

Tuesdays At The Table - Strawberry Citrus Punch

Happy Tuesday, ladies!!  Did everyone have a good weekend?  More importantly - are all my girls in the South OK?!?!  Every time I hear about flood warning and tornadoes hitting - I just want to take attendance and make sure all the proverbial fingers and toes have been counted.

Next weekend, my cousin Kristin's little boy will be having his first communion.  I'm not Catholic...but I hear it's a big deal.  (Kidding, kidding!!!  I mean, truthfully - I'm not Catholic.  But I know that it's a HUGE deal.)  I think I might be making this punch, along with a plethora of baked goods.

Or maybe I'll stick to my super yummy white sangria.  The jury is still out.  :-)

Strawberry Citrus Punch

1 can (12 ounces) frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1 small can (6 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate
1 package (10 ounces) frozen strawberries in syrup
3 cups water
1 bottle (liter size) cold ginger ale
Ice

In punch bowl, combine lemonade and orange juice concentrates, strawberries, and water. Refrigerate. At serving time, pour ginger ale into juice mixture in bowl. Add ice ring or cubes and serve.

What's cooking in your kitchen?