Eddie Merlot's Tempura Green Beans

If you haven't eaten at Eddie Merlot's before you should. This is my favorite restaurant of ALL TIME. The meat is the best I've ever had and the appetizers and sides are a close second. My amazing mom gifted us their cookbook for Christmas last year and after the wedding we now own a deep fryer. This means we are finally capable of trying to make their delicious tempura green beans in our own home! The recipe may seem like a lot but it really doesn't take much time at all and is delicious.

**please excuse the terrible presentation, the only picture I took was while they were drying**

Directions 

Preheat fryer to 350 degrees 

Dredge green beans in flour 

Dip in batter (recipe below)

Fry for 3-5 minutes until tender 

Serve immediately with creamy wasabi dip (recipe below) 

**THE DIP IS TO DIE FOR** 

Batter 

Combine dry ingredients 

    1/2 C. flour 

    1/2 C. corn starch

    1/4 tsp baking soda

    1/4 tsp salt

    2 tsp black sesame seeds 

    (we just used white because it was what we had on hand) 

In a separate bowl combine

    1 egg lightly beaten

    3/4 tsp rice vinegar

    3/4 tsp sesame oil

    1 1/2 C. soda water 

Pour wet ingredients into dry and gently mix - it's OK to have some lumps. The consistency should be similar to runny pancake batter. (it will seem too runny but I promise it works) 

Creamy Wasabi Dip

In your small food processor combine ingredients, cream together until smooth then refrigerate until serving (NOTE: this dip doesn't last more than a day in the fridge before separating so don't try to make it early)

    2 1/2 Tbs. heavy cream

    2 1/2 Tbs. honey

    1/2 C. sour cream

    1 1/4 C. mayonaise 

    (you could sub greek yogurt for some of this and/or the sour cream) 

    salt 

    white pepper 

    2 1/2 Tbs. wasabi powder 

    (we were able to find some at Walmart in the asian food section) 

I hope this inspires you to make some of your favorite restaurant recipes at home and that you enjoy this amazing dish. 

January 'BARK'box Review

As many of you know I am OBSESSED with my dog, Archie. He is VERY spoiled and I get so much joy out of making him happy. If you haven't seen him for a while check out how freaking cute he is.

For Christmas this year we signed him up for a 3 month substription to BARKbox. This is just like the Birchbox for humans but it comes with toys, treats, and grooming supplies for your furry friend. The January box showed up this week and we had SO much fun watching Archie get into it.

Check out the amazing products that came this month.

1. Nootie - Grain free, peanut butter flavored, training sized treats. These have been Archie approved as totally delicious - He even did his rare jump flip trick for one!

2. Ruff Dawg - Nut shaped rubber toy made to be stuffed with bite sized treats for hours of entertainment. I can't wait to test these out.

3. Jax and Bones - Elton the octopus is a non-squeak toy with 8 legs to chew on. (if you check the picture below you can see that Archie already enjoyed one tentacle) Also, a portion of each sale is donated to The Rescue Train, an animal rescue organization.

4. Barkworthies - This is a healthier chew option that is all beef and completely digestible unlike traditional raw hide treats. Archie already ate the ENTIRE big treat, in about 5 minutes flat. 

Overall, the entire contents of the BARKbox have been mommy and puppy approved. I encourage you to check out BARKbox for your furry friends next birthday or celebration.

My Etsy Wedding (Part 3) - Cocktail Hour & Reception

I can't count how many times people have asked me about where I got all the ideas for the custom touches at our wedding. To be honest, most of them came from Etsy. I thought I would share links to the Etsy stores that we worked with to help make our wedding so full of personal touches!

For the third installment I will focus on aspects relating to the cocktail hour and reception.

1. Guest Book - We tried something VERY different for a guest book, anniversary wine bottles. With the amazing help of my father we were able to track down larger than life bottles of wine (that will also be drinkable) for our 1, 5, 10, and 20 year anniversaries. The 20 year bottle was signed by only the bridal party and parents at our rehearsal dinner (which is why it is locked up in the lantern) but the other three bottles were set out during cocktail hour for the wedding guests to sign. We will open each bottle on the correlating year and read the signatures. We thought this was an amazing way to make the guest book something that we would actually see/use again instead of a book that sits in a closet for the rest of our lives. Check out the amazing labels we purchased and some of the fun guests had signing the bottles.

Thanks to Jaclyn's Weddings this custom touch to our wedding was PERFECT. 

Guests signing the 1, 5, and 10 year wine bottles. 

2. Straws - This was an easy and inexpensive way to provide a personal touch. We purchased stripped paper straws in both yellow and grey (our wedding colors) to have at the bar for cocktail hour. I was amazed by how many people noticed and commented on this addition. This was a great way to get people in the party spirit... even the bride (me). Check out the pics below. 

Thanks to In The Clear we were able to add personal flair to every drink from the bar.

The bride(me) enjoying my amazing straws. 

3. Favors/Escort Cards - I found that picking out favors was one of the most difficult tasks of wedding planning. I didn't want to send people away with something that would just thrown in the trash or that some guests wouldn't be able to enjoy (chocolate etc.). Matt it a LOVER of plants so I attempted to incorporate his love of nature in our favors. I cannot say enough about our experience with The Succulent Source. After the initial plan of air plants became a disaster just 2 weeks before the big day the people as The Succulent Source were AMAZING to work with. The wedding vision would not have come together without our adorable favors.

Thank you to TheSucculentSource for making our favors everything we envisioned them to be. 

 A single favor/escort card

4. Table Runners -  During the planning meeting with our caterer we were expected to decide on linens (a HUGE surprise to me). After searching through binders full of options I realized there wasn't anything I really liked (I was dreaming about chevron). Leaving the meeting feeling a little defeated I searched the web for rentable and custom made chevron table runners and found an INCREDIBLE shop. We not only had our original order 2 weeks ahead of schedule but when we placed a last-minute order for a few more because we upped our table count they showed up in plenty of time. I feel so blessed to have found someone that was able to help make my vision a reality. With yellow/white and grey/white chevron table runners throughout the spaces our wedding was truly a vision. 

Thanks to Longrunners our tables look flawless. 

Cocktail hour tables

Reception Tables  

5. Sweetheart Table - This decor was a BIG surprise from my parents. I was REALLY worried about how to make our sweetheart stand out from the rest of the wedding decor but wasn't willing to budget for the amazing rhinestoned "MR. & MRS." that I wanted. When I arrived home for wedding weekend my Dad had spend HOURS glueing the letters to a board and painting it so it could stand on our table as a decoration.

Thanks to IDoBling our sweetheart table really stood out. 

6. Toasting Flutes - I spent A LOT of time searching for the perfect toasting flutes and in the end a simple, modern Mr. & Mrs. was the perfect pair of etched flutes for us. I had several wedding guests complement how cute they were on the day of. Jennifer has many different designs on her site. 

Thanks to Glass Engraving by Jennifer we had a pair of beautiful hand crafted toasting flutes. 

I hope you found these ideas inspirational. With every post I find myself more amazed at how much these personalized touches and details really impacted the guest experience at our wedding. 

January Birchbox Inventory

If you haven't heard of Birchbox I cannot encourage you enough to check it out. Once a month I receive a little pink box full of high-end makeup, hair, and skin care samples. (You can even send a 3, 6, or 12 month subscription as a gift) Every once-in-a-while I love a product so much that I buy the full sized version. Come back later this month for some product reviews.

Check out the contents of my January box (that I haven't used up, haha). I haven't tried any of the products below yet but I know incorporating them into my beauty routine will be a blast. 

Top - Juice Beauty organics-to-go kit; Left - Juicy Couture perfume, Middle - Embryolisse lait creme concentre, Right - Thebalm "put-a-lid-on-it" lip balm

Hope this inspires you to break from your normal makeup/cleansing routine and try something new. Can't wait to share reviews on some of the amazing products I have tried. 

<3 The Boilers MJK

My Etsy Wedding (Part 2) - The Bride

I can't count how many times people have asked me about where I got all the ideas for the custom touches at our wedding. To be honest, most of them came from Etsy. I thought I would share links to the Etsy stores that we worked with to help make our wedding so full of personal touches!

For the second installment I will focus on aspects relating to the bride.

1. Bride Hanger - I have to admit that I purchased my own Mrs. Kammer hanger. I know, I know, you are supposed to let someone buy this for you but if you know me at all then you know that I am kind of a control freak and I really wanted one that was BLINGED OUT! 

Thanks to Emily's Emporium I was able to have my dream wedding dress hanger. I have to say this was one of my favorite touches that wasn't really seen by anyone but I loved knowing was there!

2. Garder Set - Similar to the ring bearer pillow I felt like there were millions of non-personal options for wedding garters. I was so thankful when I found a site that would make a garter just for me. Incorporating our colors and some vintage style my garters were perfect. 

Thanks to The Chica Boutique my garters were everything I could have dreamed of. 

3. Bridal Necklace - For as much of a planner as I am, it was only 3 weeks before my wedding that I realized I never found a necklace for the big day. After a few days of searching I found this AMAZING necklace and lucky for me it showed up THE day that we headed downtown for the weekend. It was truly the perfect touch. 

Thanks to Treasures570 I had the perfect gems for my wedding day. 

**Photos by Jessica Strickland Photography**

4. Hair Piece - As part of my bachelorette party my sister bought me an INCREDIBLE fascinator. After wearing it for the party weekend it didn't take me long to decide that I had to wear it for the big day! It was so freaking cute and I received a million complements on it. Another great personal touch. 

Thanks to Powder Blue Bijoux my wedding hair was dressed as well as I was. 

5. Honeymoon Tank - I think this was one of my favorite Etsy purchases. It was SO fun to walk around the airport on our way to Hawaii with an adorable tank top on that said BRIDE in rhinestones. I got tons on complements on it and our day was full of congratulatory comments and love! I think everyone should wear a BRIDE shirt when they are traveling to their honeymoon. 

Thanks to Prim and Proper Boutique I rocked an awesome look on our way to Hawaii. 

I hope you found these suggestions useful and I cannot wait to share the last 

two installments of My Etsy Wedding. 

<3 The Boilers MJK

S'more Treats

Did you have a favorite cereal as a kid? What about a favorite special treat?

I used to be OBSESSED with Golden Grahams. I would make a bowl of them and let it sit in the milk while I got ready. Right before leaving the house I would devour the soggy cereal and then came the best part... drinking the sugary sweet milk. I don't know what it is about them but they are addicting.

I never really had a favorite sweet treat growing up (I am pretty impartial when it comes to deserts, I love them all). However, the hubby is not a huge desert fan but the one thing I have NEVER seen him pass up is S'more! I think he would eat them after every meal if he could. For someone who passes up basically every other dessert (except butterscotch pie) this says a lot!

Needless to say, when I found a way to make my husbands number one treat out of my favorite childhood cereal I had no choice to to try it. I don't know if you can even call it a recipe because it's so simple but here goes nothing.

Recipe from Chef In Training

1/4 Cup butter
1 10oz bag regular marshmallows
1 box Golden Grahams cereal
1 1/2 Cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

In a LARGE saucepan or skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir regularly until melted. Once the mixture appears smooth add cereal and turn off burner heat. Stir until well incorporated. Next stir in chocolate chips (they will melt a little).

**It's kind of hard to take pictures of mixing because it cools so fast, sorry there aren't more**

Spread into a greased 9X13 baking dish and allow to cool and serve or store.

I think the best thing about this is that you could easily add other things or adjust it. Personally, I think it could use a littler more marshmallow so I might suggest adding an extra cup of them to the mix. If you are a big dark chocolate lover this would be great with dark chocolate chips or even 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 butterscotch. The possibilities are endless.

I hope you enjoy! 

<3 The Boilers MJK

Penne 'A La Wine'

Every once in a while I find a recipe that sounds so good that I just want to make it now and think I can tweak it to be able to make it with what we have on hand. Sometimes the result is great and sometimes it's not. This wasn't my best attempt but the flavor was so amazing that I thought I would share the original, my attempt, and some suggestions. 

My recipe is adapted from Rachel Ray Penne 

Butter and olive oil

2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed (this would be great with shrimp too)

6 Cloves of garlic, minced

2 Shallots, minced 

1 Cup white wine

1 Cup chicken stock 

2 14oz Cans diced tomatoes, run through food processor to break down further 

16oz pasta, such as penne or rigatoni 

1/2 Cup heavy cream

1 tsp red pepper flake 

Fresh basil, shredded 

Parmesan, shredded 

Brown your chicken in some butter and oil. 

In a LARGE skillet melt 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil over medium heat. Sweat the shallots and garlic until aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add wine to the pan and reduce by 1/2, this should take about 3 minutes. (I think this was the start of our issues, make sure that your heat is high enough and that your wince actually reduces by 1/2 before you move on) Add chicken stock (not broth) and tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a roaring boil, reduce heat and simmer to reduce. 

At the point you want to get your pasta going. ** Do NOT try to save time by boiling your pasta when you start the sauce, I am pretty sure my rush was part of the reason why my sauce was so thin** The tomato mixture should simmer for the duration of pasta preparation. Once you get the pasta going you have a little down time to make a salad or garlic bread or whatever delicious side you want to serve. 

Just before your pasta is ready to drain, stir the cream and red pepper into the mixture, bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat. Toss sauce with drained pasta and top with basil and shredded parmesan. Serve immediately. 

Like I said before, the flavor of this was delicious but our sauce was SUPER thin! I think they key with this recipe is patience. Taking the time to let the sauce simmer and thicken after each round of additions is a necessity. Also, I think the addition of some garlic powder or garlic salt could make a big difference on this dish. I would love to hear how it turned out for someone else! If you make it please the a moment to leave us a comment about your experience! 

I hope you enjoy! 

<3 The Boilers MJK

My Esty Wedding (Part 1) - Ceremony

I can't count how many times people have asked me about where I got all the ideas for the custom touches at our wedding. To be honest, most of them came from Etsy. I thought I would share links to the Etsy stores that we worked with to help make our wedding so full of personal touches!

For the first installment I will focus on aspects relating to the wedding ceremony.

1. Pom Poms - Our ceremony space was simply a white box with wooden floors, so in an attempt to help make the altar more defined we used tissue poms. After hanging them there were a few extra so we put some above our sweetheart table in the reception space. Overall, they were so easy to hang/fluff and I have to say that I don't think our wedding would have been the same without them.

Thanks to Create And Adorn this addition to our wedding was a perfect touch.

Picture from Jessica Strickland Photography

2. Personal Sign - From the first time I saw this sign I knew I needed to have it. Who doesn't want a killer custom piece of art that displays their married family name and the date they were married. I thought it was a very classy way to share our story in our own home. For the wedding we decided it would be a great addition to the gift table. At our venue the gift table was right as you came in to the ceremony (since there was only one location). It actually was a great way to clearly define the gift table and show off the amazing piece of art that now graces our first home together. What a perfect purchase. 

Thanks to MRC Wood Products we were able to make this a part of our wedding. It really is a great piece that can be used in our house for years to come. 

3. Wine Ceremony Kit - As a contrast to the traditional unity candle ceremony we elected to do a wine ceremony. During our wedding we mixed two glasses of different wines together and each took a sip to symbolize two distinct entities having become one. This was a great way to incorporate a traditional idea in a modern way that also featured our love of wine! 

Thanks to Jaclyn's Weddings we were able in incorporate this personal touch into our wedding ceremony. You can't really tell by the picture, but the carafes are labeled (Milea and Matt) and the large wine glass has our monogram and wedding date one it. 

Picture from Jessica Strickland Photography

4. Flower Girl Dresses  - I did not enjoy shopping for flower girl dresses. It was so hard to find a yellow dress that didn't look like something that belonged on Belle from beauty and beast. Lucky for me I found an incredible site for handmade dresses. The girls litterally looked like tutu fairies and I LOVED IT! 

Thanks to TheLittlePeaBoutique my nieces looked ADORABLE! 

Pictures from Jessica Strickland Photography

5. Flower Girl Basket - I think a lot of people forget that Etsy doesn't just have stores for handmade items but also has many stores that carry vintage merchandise. Our vintage metal egg basket was the perfect modern looking flower girl basket for our special day. 

Thanks to Justyna Mrugala's adorable shop on Etsy we had the perfect flower girl basket. 

Photo adapted from Justnamrugala

6. Ring Bearer Pillow - There are MILLIONS of ring bearer pillows out there but I have to say that our custom pillow was an amazing addition to our wedding. The ability to choose our own fabric, colors, and ribbons helped make me feel like I wasn't just purchasing a mass produced pillow. Plus our ring bearer was SUPER cute (see above)! 

Thanks to Modern Shabby we were able to have an incredible ring bearer pillow that brought a perfect custom touch to our wedding day. 

I hope these ideas inspired you and I encourage you to take a minute to view the shops on Etsy that helped make our day so incredible. I can't wait to share the next installment of "My Etsy Wedding".

<3 The Boilers MJK

Sausage Feta Spinach Quiche

I wanted to share another amazing stand-by recipe. I used to always be impressed when people made quiche. It seemed so complicated to make a fluffy pie from eggs. My amazing mother, who is also an incredible cook, found a recipe that has changed my standards of quiche. I honesty have a hard time eating quiche that isn't this one just because it is SO good.

The recipe is adapted from Pilsbury's layered spinach quiche. 

Tips to make your quiche an easier process in the morning. 

1. Brown your sausage the night before 

2. Use pre-made, refrigerated, pie crusts, also from Pilsbury

Recipe 

Pre-heat oven to 350°F

Roll-out pie crust into quiche or pie dish

Take a fork and puncture the bottom of the crust several times

Cook pie crust for 8-12 minutes before pouring in quiche mix

In a large mixing bowl combine

1/2 C. Finely crushed garlic and butter croutons 

1/2 lb. Ground italian sausage (I always use the green bob evans roll) 

1 box. Frozen CHOPPED spinach, thawed and drained

1 C. Shredded cheddar cheese (I have also used mexican blend with good results)

1 C. Crumbled mediterranean or garlic/basil seasoned feta cheese

4 Eggs, beaten (I have made this with only 3 eggs once and it still turned out OK - I would use 4 if you have them tho) 

1 1/2 C. Half-and-half 

1/4 tsp. Salt (if desired)

1/8 tsp. Pepper 

Mix well and pour into the pre-baked pie crust

Bake for 50 minutes and check for done-ness. Remove from oven and let set for 15 minutes before serving. 

I wish I had more pictures to share but I think the recipe alone should be reason enough to try it! I promise you wont be disappointed and everyone will be SO impressed! ENJOY! 

<3 The Boilers MJK

Cheddar Biscuits & Garlic Shrimp

Tonight I made two great recipes. A variation on the Buttermilk Biscuits posted on Monday and a shrimp recipe that I found in Real Simple Magazine (Online).

Cheddar Biscuits

If you read the previous biscuit post you know that I discussed re-making them in an attempt to replicate Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Tonight I did just that!

I used the exact same recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits but added

1 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Tbs. Dried Oregano

I was pleasantly surprised that these additions didn't change the biscuit quality or baking time. They were incredibly delicious. If you like seasoned breads this is the perfect simple recipe for you!

Left: Plain Biscuits; Right: Cheddar and Oregano Biscuits

Garlic Shrimp Bake

This was one of the easiest recipes I have made in a long time. The flavor was mild but delicious. This recipe was adapted from Real Simple Magazine (Online). 

Preheat the oven to 425º F

In your baking dish combine 

4 cloves of minced garlic (Ok, I'll be honest, we LOVE garlic so I probably used 8, hehehe)

2 Tbs white wine (I put in a little more because this didn't cover the bottom of my baking dish)

1 lb raw, peeled, and de-vained shrimp 

salt and pepper to taste 

In a separate bowl combine

1/4 C softened butter

1/2 C panko breadcrumbs (I always recommend the Kikkoman brand)

2 Tbs. parsley (I just used dried because we had it) 

Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the top of the shrimp. It should look something like this. 

Bake 10-12 minutes or until shrimp appear opaque. The final product should look something like this. 

Overall, this was a great recipe. If I were to make it again I would probably serve it over pasta with a white wine or oyster sauce for a little more umph. 

I hope you find the time to try both of these recipes out! Bon Appetite! 

<3 The Boilers MJK

Easy Chicken Tacos

As much as I love to cook there are still nights that I am just not in the mood to put forth much effort. One of my go-to meals for nights like these is rotisserie chicken tacos. They are so easy and delicious!

Rotisserie Chicken Tacos

Breakdown 1 rotisserie chicken - I always have Matt do this because I'm not big on things with bones still in them. But you can just use your hands.

Place your desired amount of chicken in a skillet

Use taco seasoning as you would with ground beef. **The only difference is that you will likely need ~2X as much seasoning and water** I also recommend purchasing your taco seasoning in bulk so that you can use as much or little as you like. We are big on spice in our house so I like LOTS of taco seasoning.

Your meat should look something like this. 

Bring the mixture to a boil, mixing regularly. You want to make sure that you get the chicken nice and tender and so the flavor is fully incorporated into the chicken.

Serve with shells, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, taco sauce, hot sauce, and salsa. (or whatever you like)

I just think this is a great alternative to the traditional ground beef and a perfect easy recipe for to help wrap up a busy day with a great meal and a little effort. Hope you enjoy.

<3 The Boilers MJK