spice

Hello friends!!! We are two days away from May 1 which means the wedding is right around the corner–it is almost here!! I just wanted to pop in and update because I know there will be no time before May 11 and certainly none the week of the honeymoon

I have BIG news to share! I am employed as the editor of At Home Tennessee magazine. I start June 1 and am overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness!! The Lord has provided at every turn and my cup runneth over!!! Happy almost summer to you all, the next time I post I will be Maggie Weir-cannot come soon enough!

This is by far the BEST thing I’ve eaten all week, THE BEST. And you all know I have had a few of my favorites– shrimp from the beach and Blalock’s smoked tuna dip. This salad though, gosh this salad.

The romaine is crisp, the avocado creamy, strawberries are sweet and vinaigrette, tangy. You cannot beat it. AND this in my opinion, is the perfect wedding diet supper. Antioxidants, protein, fiber, healthy fats–YES, YES and YES.

My Favorite Summer Salad
2 organic chicken breast, thinly sliced (bought like this)
1/2 c blueberries
4 strawberries, sliced
3 c romaine lettuce
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/4 c sliced walnuts
1/2 avocado, slice
**make this salad with a variation of any fruits and any nuts you love

Season chicken with kosher salt and cracked pepper, oil grill, grill until 165 degrees. Let rest, slice, and assemble romaine, fruits, nuts-drizzle with the following deliciousness.

Easy vinaigrette:

I didn’t even measure this guys. Sometimes I feel like if I have to get all the measuring spoons out and mess up a handful of other dishes, I would just rather not do it. For this dressing, I mixed together a baby spoonful of grain mustard, 1/2 lemon juiced, a splash (1 tsp) red wine vinegar, pinch of kosher salt and cracked pepper. Next I whisked in extra virgin olive oil until the right consistency, 2-3 T.

Here’s a no fail recipe but the above works too

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard (e.g. Grey Poupon)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons delicious extra-virgin olive oil

Mom and I just walked in the door and we brought the beach with us! I got to spend the weekend with almost all of my close friends as we celebrated my last fling before the ring. Here are some pictures from the most fun weekend OF ALL TIME.

It’s always hard for mom and I to leave our favorite place so we try to make coming not as hard by bringing seafood back. Bo and I got to see each other last night before he heads out for his work week thank goodness. And what better way to relive the weekend than outside on the porch eating boiled shrimp.

For the shrimp we filled a big stockpot full of water, half an onion, a few cloves of garlic and a bit of crab boil. When I asked my mom just how much crab boil she shook her hand and said “about like this” since I cannot give you exact measurements I can tell you, it doesn’t matter too much. If you want your shrimp hot then leave them in the water for longer (not boiling of course) and if you want them hot hot then ice them down in the water.

We dropped our eight pounds of shrimp into the rolling boiling water for 5 minutes then cooled them off on a cooling rack over the sink with lots of ice. FRESH SALTY GOODNESS!

For the cocktail sauce:
2 cups of ketchup
2 T horseradish
1 lemon, juiced
2 tsp kosher salt
20 grinds of pepper
2 tsp of worsheshire
COMBINE.

We have been blowin’ and goin’ over here at the Giffin residence. The wedding is right around the corner and we feel it! We are stopping to eat though and trying our best to make healthy choices.

Now that the wedding is a month away I have decided to buckle down on the healthy eats. I usually make healthy choices but definetly eat ice cream 2-3 times a week and love my carbs.

I feel as though the time has come to get serious about this wedding diet. Last night we had fresh veggies and roasted a whole chicken. Roasting a chicken to enjoy for the week is brilliant. It is affordable, healthy and delicious. AND with my mother’s fabulous oven it took less than an hour on 400. We tied the bird’s legs under to ensure even cooking, stuffed the cavity with garlic, rosemary and thyme and let it go until our thermometer reached 165.

I feel like this will be a staple for Bowen and myself, so easy and you have chicken for salads all week! I’m off to enjoy the rest of the day, friends. Bowen just got in the freezing cold pool and my dad is cranking up the grill for ribs (not diet friendly) but oh well!

I miss my SPICE so much!I just can’t seem to blog about anything but the wedding becuase that is all that is happening here at the Giffin residence.

That and a big birthday yesterday!!! We celebrated my mom’s birthday alongide our May 11 team.

We had a big day yesterday meeting with Oxford Floral, Pretty Presentations and Will Jax our photographer..and the painters but that’s a whole different animal.

I just HAD to share our Walker’s supper with you from last night. LOOK AT THESE TRUFFLES. My mom and I think we had the best meal we have ever had last night, we both said we would KILL to work the line just once. HA! But really I would love to make somebody as happy as Walker’s made us last night.