When Life Happens

This week has been a little crazy around here! I have spent the last 3 days consumed with pink cupcakes: finding recipes, testing and retesting, baking and more baking, and then finally having a wonderful photo shoot with Erin Creel Photography. The first session was for my daughters and then we added in a little shoot with the cupcakes for a local magazine! Whew! It feels nice to have lived through it all. My husband has been slightly deprived though. I have not made dinner in three nights! I am totally fine living off of pink strawberry cupcakes, but Clay needs real food. I hope to redeem myself tonight with dinner. I can cook for Clay, but I cannot cook for all of you. Well, I could, but we would have a hard time squeezing into my house! So, because I don't want to leave you without all of the great recipes I have missed out on making, I am going to link them up for you. I may add them in a later Menu, and if I do I'll post them with my pictures. Tonight I am going to do a chicken version of the Pork Scallopine (are you totally shocked?) but I would love it if you substituted boneless pork chops in the recipe. Publix has a pork loin on sale this week and I was going to have the butcher cut it into chops for me. But, I have chicken in the freezer and I'm not getting dressed to go to the store today :) I am going to work on getting the cupcake recipe posted as well as the cookie recipe from Thursday night.

In the meantime, here's what got knocked off the schedule this week:

Blueberry Baked French Toast I WILL make this one day, I just forgot to make it last night before I went to bed. The Pioneer Woman is fabulous. Her post will actually get you further than mine would have. Please let me know if you try this before I do. I have missed making it the last two times I put it on the Menu!!

Mexcian Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas This is from a GREAT new site I heard about last week! (Thanks Lauren Kessler!) I was going to try this with the pork loin that was on sale at Publix this week. The pork shoulder she talks about in the recipe is usually called a Boston Butt around here. I think the pork loin would work great too, especially since she trims her pork of all of the fat. It would be fabulous wrapped in those flour tortillas we all stocked up on last week!

Grilled Cream Corn (This one was in the most recent Everyday with Rachael Ray, so its not online yet) This recipe looked so good! Since its raining today, its really not the best day to be grilling anyway. I will make this one day. Corn is in season and I love using the grill on the weekends! Publix had corn this week on sale 8/$2. If you try this one let me know!

8 ears corn, husked
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons cream cheese
salt and pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat grill to a medium-high. Arrange the corn on the grate and grill, turning occasionally, until the kernels are golden-brown and softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the corn kernels from the cobs; discard the cobs. (You should have about 5 cups kernels). Lower the grill temperature to medium.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over the grate. Add the butter to melt, then whisk in the flour until combined and foaming, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and cream cheese and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the corn kernels; season with salt and pepper (and the cayenne if using). Cook until heated through, about 1 minute.


I am going to make "Chicken" Scallopine tonight. I have really been looking forward to that one! Let's hope next week is a little more predictable!