Derek is Single!

Ok so my brother is going to KILL me when he sees this, and I honestly went back and forth for a good hour trying to decide if it was worth my death - but I've decided it is ;)

I'm hooking up with Kellys Korner: "Show Us  Your Single Boys" - and ladies let me warn you - my brother is a winner!

Derek is 25 years old and currently lives in Austin (although all his family is here is the DFW area) he is going to school at UT Law - he is starting his final year. Derek is not only brilliant, but so so sweet! He is literally the most genuine, giving person I know. He has a great sense of humor and is always up for a good time. He likes intellectual, petite girls who like to laugh and can dress up for a nice night out or can be fine in jean sand a sweatshirt. Most importantly, Derek is a Christian and loves Jesus :) So if you meet the qualities listed above and would like to know more, then please email me!

Enjoy your weekend!

Stephanie

Crawfish Etoufee

So many of you have asked me for my Crawfish Etoufee recipe, that I FINALLY took some pictures and wrote down the recipe to share with you the last time I made it =0) I love cajun food, but am not the best at making it - I have tried numerous etoufee recipes and they were either too complicated or just not good, so I kindof came up with my own just by taking different ingredients from different recipes, and well, I really like it and its pretty easy! Please let me know if you give it a try - would love to know how you like it! Sorry the pics aren't great - they were taken with my phone ha

Ingredients:

1 small onion (chopped)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
1stick butter or margarine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 cups water
3 cups white rice (cooked) more if you are feeding more than 2-3
1 package if crawfish tail meat (you can find this at most grocery stores, including walmart, with the frozen seafood)
Cayenne Pepper
Tony Cacheres seasoning
Hot sauce (optional)

Go ahead and start cooking your rice. Defrost your crawfish - you can either have already done this or I like to just take them out frozen and put in a strainer under cold water for a few minutes. Either way MAKE SURE YOU WASH THEM REALLY WELL WITH WATER, you do not want that fishy taste!! eek!

In a large pot melt your butter, once all melted, start adding the flour - a little at a time - to make a roux. Make sure to stir constantly while slowing adding the flour

You can NOT let the roux burn - if you see little brown specks it has burnt and you will need to start all over.
Once the roux is done, add in one cup of water and the onion/bell pepper - let your veggies cook for just a few minutes. Then add about half a can of cream of mushroom soup and 1 cup of milk. Stir until all blended. It should be looking like this...

Add a good tablespoon of the tomato paste - now depending on how thick you want it, you may want to add some more water - I added another cup. Slowly start seasoning with the Cayenne and Tonys - I did a heaping teaspoon of Cayenne and a few dashes of Tonys (be sure to do some taste testing!) Once you get it to the taste and consistency you want then  reduce the heat to medium/low and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Finally add your crawfish (make sure they are washed and somewhat dry). Stirring frequently let your crawfish cook for about 15 minutes - don't let it boil - so keep it on medium/low. You do not want to overcook your crawfish because they will become chewy and that's disgusting.

 Plate you up some rice and put the etoufee on top - oh heavens its so yum! And if you want some more spice give a few shakes of Tobasco or Louisana hot sauce.

* You can always add more water/milk/soup and tomato paste to make a larger serving. Also, you may substitute celery for the bell pepper (or have both).

Now Dig In!

x0
Steph

Let Freedom Ring!

I am exhausted and waking up this morning was plain awful, but the weekend was great! Chase and Zoey were with us this year - Saturday we went to the parade in Waxahachie - I really wasn't expecting much out of that parade, but it was so fun and it just made me so thankful for my cute little town. The best part of the entire parade was towards the end - they had trailers come through - the first one was "Veterans of Vietnam" and it was full of past soldiers who had fought for our country - I was so great seeing everyone stand up and cheer and clap for these men - the trailers continued with "Veterans of the Korean War" (where my pawpaw proudly served) and went through many more wars, as the trailers progressed my heart swelled more and more with pride and the lump in my throat grew bigger. By the time it got to the last trailer tears were streaming down my face - it was "Veterans of World War II" these men were at least in their 80's and were precious. I then saw something that will forever stay in my mind, there on the float was the cutest old man dressed in his green military clothes adorned with tons of medals and ribbons, he was sitting in a wheel chair and was at least 85 years old - there he was smiling and as we cheered and clapped he waved and mouthed "Thank you" to us. HE SAID THANK YOU TO US! That was a moment that stood still for me - I'm sure I looked like a complete crazy woman crying - but I don't even care. I really wish I would of gotton a picture of him - of that float, but my mind had quit working at that point and I had totally forgot to take a picture. I did get the Vietnam Veterans though ;) 

The parade was great - the weather was nice - thankfully the rain held off for a few hours that morning. Saturday evening we went to Midlothian for a kid thing they were having at the stadium - it would of been perfect had it not poured rain a hour before and the place was a big giant muddy mess! I can not deal with mud - at least not when you have to get in my car afterwards! The kids had to change clothes and Sunday was spent spraying down muddy shoes in the driveway. Saturday night we had a family tailgate party and watched the Midlothian fireworks - it was so nice (other than the mud).

Sunday evening we went to my Aunt Danielle & Uncle Davids house for some more family time - complete with a cookout and a fireworks show put on by my uncle. It was so nice and relaxing - they live out in the country with lots of land and you could see fireworks from miles away going off all around us. I didn't get many pictures from Sunday, but I will leave you with one...

I hope everyone had a fun and happy 4th of July - I know I did ;)

x0

steph

ABC

So seems like alot of people are doing the ABC's of blogging - so I guess I will too :)

A. AREA CODE : 75165
B. BED SIZE : Queen
C. CHORE YOU HATE : Hanging Clothes!
D. DOG'S NAME : Gizzy Gizmo
E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM : A Shower and some quiet time.
F. FAVORITE COLOR : Love most all of them, but my fav is RED
G. GOLD OR SILVER : I'm more of a silver girl - well actually Platinum or White Gold
H. HEIGHT : 5'4"... Ish ;)
I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: ummm I'm not too bad at the triangle ha!
J. JOB : Photographer and a Office Manager for Energy Deregulation.
K. KIDS : None so far - hopefully one day soon God will bless me with this huge desire of my heart
L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS : I own a house...
M. MOM'S NAME : Valerie
N. NICKNAME : Steph
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY : zero
P. PET PEEVE : I have some road rage issues, liars, people who try to give their opinion a little to much, passive aggressive people.
Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE : "Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but its the middle that counts the most."
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY? : Right
S. SIBLINGS : Derek and Chelsea - I'm the oldest.
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP : 7:30 ish
U. UNDERWEAR : Of course.
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE : CELERY - oh so sick
W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE : Doing last minute cleaning cause I cant stand coming home to a dirty house, checking to make sure I turned off my flat iron, doors are locked, etc...cause I'm a little OCD.
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD : Ok I've lost count...
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE : I make some great chicken enchiladas, crawfish etoufee and I'm the side dish queen! ha
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE :weird question - i think pandas are so cute!


Whew - well that was a good time waster - I'm really wanting this day to hurry up! Does anyone have any great 4th plans? We are playing it somewhat by ear, but I know we will have a blast. I absolutely LOVE the 4th - I love fireworks - I love watching them and the smell of them. I love sitting with the people I love watching them light up the Texas sky. Ok I hate to admit this, but for some reason watching fireworks can sometimes make me cry - I don't know what it is exactly - I'm just so thankful for my life and freedom! I could never tell both past and present soldiers enough how grateful I am for them. Please say a little prayer Sunday for the men and women serving our country ;)

x0
Steph