Food with Zest

   

I  haven't figured out a name for this cake yet. It has been a family recipe for years and it was taught to me by my grandmother.  It's your typical pound cake mix with couple of added extras that are family secrets :-). The jamaican rum and raisans give this cake a one of a kind flavor and it is really easy to make.

Oven Fried Salmon w/ scalloped potatoes and sauteed spinach

I will be posting the recipe for the salmon later this evening.

Fashion with Finesse

$39.90 http://www.zara.com/

$39.90 http://www.zara.com/

$99.90 http://www.zara.com/

$79.90 http://www.zara.com/

Studded Steve Madden Peep Toe Pumps $149.95

http://www.stevemadden.com/ or http://www.nordstrom.com/

Food with Zest

Grilled Shrimp with cheese stuffed ravioli

I got the idea for this dish from Olive Garden.  They have a new meal called "Parmesan Crusted Shrimp". I absolutely loved the dish. It tasted excellent and I could not stop thinking about it. I decided to create my own similar dish.

I used stuffed ravioli that can be purchased in any grocery store, shrimp, white wine, spinach, tomatoes, onions, heavy whipping cream and Parmesan cheese.  I boiled the ravioli and simultaneously grilled the shrimp(season to taste). Then I made the sauce by combining the heavy whipping cream, tomatoes, spinach, onions, wine and Parmesan cheese. I laid the ravioli and shrimp in a baking dish and covered it with the sauce. I then broiled it for about 10 minutes.

Fashion with Finesse

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bag. It is a Must Have for me. The pattern and colors really pop! You can find this bag at http://www.toryburch.com/.

The perfect color pumps to have for this upcoming season. You can find these at http://www.nordstrom.com/.

I saw this blazer in GLAMOUR magazine. I like the gold details, they look metallic.

Tourmaline Charged Radiance Masque

One of my followers suggested this face mask so I wanted to share it with everyone.

• Soothes and hydrates skin, avocado oil and muru butter
• Helps protect, with anti-oxidant lycopene, from tomatoes
• Aroma-neutral-to be customized with your favorite Balancing Infusion^TM
• Extends the glow of a Botanical Skin Resurfacing treatment.
• non-acnegenic, dermatologist-tested

It can be purchased at an Aveda store or at http://www.aveda.com/product/5254/16811/Collections/Tourmaline/Tourmaline-Charged-Radiance-Masque/index.tmpl.

Thanks for sharing Chrisitine!!!

Fashion with Finesse

This dress is a nice piece to add to your closet. I can be a day dress or an evening dress with the right accessories. It can be found at www.hm.com/us/

Okay, I know this shirt looks a little frumpy but it is absolutely gorgeous on. I purchased it this weekend and I paired it with skinny pants and a pink shoe.

Always good to have a cute denim jacket to throw on.

This jacket can also be found at www.hm.com/us/

Food with Zest

This is BBQ Chicken with Mac& Cheese. I used a recipe for the BBQ sauce from Better Homes and Gardens which you can find at this website: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/chicken/classic-bbq-chicken/.
The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of cider vinegar but I would suggest that you only used about 1/2 cup. The vinegar makes the sauce very bitter and sour and it takes a lot of work to reverse that flavor. I added honey to recipe as well as Browning and it came out great!

I grilled corn and asparagus on a stove top grill. I seasoned the asparagus with sea salt and olive oil and grilled it for about 7 minutes. I boiled the corn in water with butter for about 20 minutes. Then I grilled the corn for 10 minutes.

These sweet potatoes were a project! I baked them for 45 minutes and made a brown sugar glaze to accompany them. I simmered dark brown sugar, butter and a pinch vanilla in a small pot until it had a similar consistency as syrup

The complete Dinner!!! :-)