Coconut Shrimp and Delicious Dips

The other day I was aimlessly perusing recipes looking for something fun to make and I came across a recipe for Coconut Shrimp.

I LOVE seafood.

If sea scallops weren't approximately a million dollars a pound I'd eat them A LOT.

But it's not just the scallops...salmon, shrimp, crab...honestly pretty much anything that used to live underwater other than catfish.

Nope.  Not touching catfish.

I love seafood so much that even in those 5+ years I spent as a vegetarian I *occasionally* cheated and ate a seafood dish.

So a fun shrimp recipe?  It definitely caught my eye.

Now to be honest, I have pretty much zero experience with coconut shrimp- eating it or making it.

That being said, I enjoy shrimp.

I like coconut.

And I LOVE orange marmalade and horseradish- two ingredients in the dipping sauce.

Crab Rangoon Pizza and Unbridled Gluttony

  Crab.  Rangoon.  Pizza.

I know.  Sounds a little...weird.

Also, I know I just wrote about crab rangoon.

Sorry.

I've had this recipe on my radar for quite awhile, yet every time I mentioned making it my husband recoiled.

He might not be quite as adventurous as me when it comes to food.

Seriously, though...it might sound weird.

But we already know we like crab rangoon, right?

There is NOTHING not to like.

Mini Italian Skewers and Busy Lives

This year was the first time in a while that I haven't hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house and I have to say it was a little strange.  I've kind of become accustomed to the massive prep and recipe planning, the influx of visiting family, and the leftovers in the fridge.

Part of me really missed having that this year...and the rest of me was eternally grateful that I didn't have to handle the house cleaning, food prep, cooking, and everything else that goes along with having a house full over the holidays.

There is just no way I could have done it all this year.

Sooo...I didn't buy the big turkey this year.

No Leftover Turkey Tamales were made- though I am absolutely making tamales before New Year's!

I just brought along the Mac and Cheese recipe that everyone loves, some green beans, and these Mini Italian Appetizer Skewers from Lilly at Listotic to snack on while eggnog was being made, sweet potatoes were being chopped, and pies were being admired.

These things are so simple to put together...contributing them to the holiday festivities was literally the least I could do.

Crab Rangoon and Insatiable Cravings

Sometimes I get a craving for Chinese food.

No...not the kind from a nice sit-down restaurant.

Not that (delicious) Asian Orange Chicken I make.

Nope.

It's that super-Americanized, incredibly gluttonous, buffet-style Chinese food I crave.

Sesame chicken.

Egg rolls.

Beef and broccoli.

Fried rice.

Those super thin rice noodles.

A little bit of everything...

And crab rangoon dipped in gobs of sweet and sour sauce in the most unnatural shade of red possible.

That's a must.

It's not a craving I indulge in often, not at all.

However when the craving hits, it hits hard.

Cranberry Orange Sauced Sweet Potatoes and A Break From School

It's incredibly hard to believe that in the past four months I've only found time to post once.

That's crazy.  Honestly, I've just been incredibly busy with school and these little posts have had to take a bit of a back burner.

I've been absolutely itching to cook, you just have no idea!

I've had an ever-growing list of recipes I want to try over the course of this semester and I'm so excited to have gotten through finals so that I can finally tackle some of them.

The other day it was cold, gray, and rainy- perfect weather for staying in pajamas and having fun in the kitchen.  One of the first recipes I tried out was for Cranberry Sauced Sweet Potatoes.

It just seemed kind of fitting given the holiday season and all.

I don't know about you, but I love cranberries.

Like love.