Leftover Remix: Grilled Shrimp and Roasted Corn Pasta

Yesterday I posted my recipe for Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish.  Well, we had some leftovers and I decided it would be fun to turn them into something new for the following dinner.  There are very few additional ingredients for this pasta dish, but your family will never know they are eating something very similar to the night before.

If you would like to make this dish, but fear you might not have any leftovers from the night before, just plan ahead and make a double recipe of the spicy shrimp.

Leftover Remix:  Grilled Shrimp and Roasted Corn Pasta

Ingredients:

Leftover Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish (pineapple removed)

1 pound cavatappi pasta (or any shape you like)

1 package grape tomatoes

Olive oil

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

Place leftover corn relish, grilled onions, and grape tomatoes on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until grape tomatoes start to get wrinkly and corn starts to get a little color.

Meanwhile, cut up your shrimp into small pieces.  Once you remove your corn and tomato mixture from the oven, add your shrimp to the baking sheet - this will warm them up without cooking them any further.

Drain pasta.  Add all the contents from the cookie sheet into the pasta.  Make sure to scrape up all the little brown bits (this gives the great roasted flavor).  Add your Parmesan cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper (to taste).

Garnish with additional sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and serve with freshly baked garlic bread.

Now that's practically two meals in one - how great is that?  I love things that do double duty!

Pin It

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

A week ago it actually felt like spring here in Chicago (though today, not so much), so I had grilling on the brain.  One of my favorite foods is grilled shrimp and I came up with this spicy grilled shrimp recipe with corn relish that is perfect for those warm weather days.  This recipe may appear to have a lot of ingredients, but most of the spices can be found in your pantry.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Corn Relish

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Shrimp:

1 lb. raw shrimp, shells on

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Juice of 2 limes

Corn Relish:

1 bag frozen corn (or several ears fresh with kernels removed if in season)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Extras:

1 red onion, sliced

Pineapple, cubed - fresh or canned chunks

Rice, of your choice

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients under "shrimp" to make a marinade/paste for the shrimp.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.  Add shrimp to marinade and let sit for 20 minutes before grilling.  You do not want to over marinate shrimp.  The acid from the lime juice will start to cook the shrimp ever so slightly and if you marinate them all day then you can end up with some tough, over cooked shrimp.

Drizzle the remaining marinade over your sliced red onions.

Cube pineapple or used canned pineapple chunks.  If you would prefer to do these as kabobs, just cut your onions into chunks rather than slices.  We happened to have one of those pans that go on the grill (so nothing will fall through) and just decided to go with a deconstructed kabob to make our lives easier.

Defrost your frozen corn and combine all ingredients under "corn relish".  Allow flavors to come together.  This can be made up to a day ahead of time.

Heat up your grill.  Add the onions, then the shrimp and finally the pineapple once the grill is hot.  The shrimp should take approximately 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side), but the onions will take a bit longer.  If you are doing a kabob, just put everything on the grill all together.

Serve with corn relish and rice of your choice (I made some red beans and rice)........my mother always told me to make sure you garnish your plate (something she learned from her mother).  Doesn't that fresh bit of cilantro just make the plate look so much more appetizing?  I think garnishing is worth the effort - it shows your family that you truly care and that the food you serve them is filled with love.

Tomorrow I will show you how I turned the leftovers from this meal into a fabulous pasta dish!

Pin It

Sponsored Pattern Giveaway - Sara Norris, LTD

We've got quite a few fabulous new sponsors here on the blog and I've got another great sponsored pattern giveaway for you today.  Today's giveaway comes from the pattern designer Sara Norris, LTD.

A few words about Sara Norris, LTD.

Sara Norris Ltd. is a design house specializing in beautiful things for a baby's clothing layette and children's special occasion and play wear. Sara has 25 years experience in designing and sewing for her clientele as well as her own children and now, her grandchildren.  Sara believes that every child is a special gift from God, and that because the days of infancy and childhood are so fleeting, they should be celebrated with beautiful clothes.  Each garment is made in house, with attention to detail and the use of exquisite fabrics and trims. Her clothing is made to be worn and loved, is timeless in style, and seasonless.

Her work has been featured in Sew Beautiful magazine. Recently, she has designed a line of sewing patterns under the label of "Rufflebunnies", which are easy to understand and construct and aimed at the beginner.  The garment patterns contain an easy heirloom technique. This summer,  Sara will be introducing her first clothing line of made to order French-inspired designs.

Today Sara is giving away her new "Millie" romper pattern to one lucky The Cottage Home reader:

In addition to the pattern giveaway, Sara Norris, LTD is offering an exclusive 20% discount off of any patterns on her website (click HERE to purchase patterns at a discount) through May 1.  Here are several of my favorites:

So go check out Sara Norris, LTD patterns!  She has a wonderful eye for heirloom sewing design and she even offers kits with fabric to go along with some of her patterns.

Here's how to enter the "Millie" pattern giveaway:

1) Leave a comment and tell us who you would sew for using the "Millie" pattern? (1 entry)

2) Become a fan of Sara Norris, LTD on Facebook (click HERE to do so) (1 entry)

3) Become a follower of The Cottage Home blog (1 entry)

4) Become a fan of The Cottage Mama on Facebook (click HERE to do so) (1 entry)

You can choose to do one or all four of the entry opportunities, so you have four chances to win!  Please leave a separate comment for each entry.  Giveaway will be open until May 1, 2011 at Midnight (CST).  And don't forget about the 20% discount off of all patterns available through May 1.  You must click HERE in order to purchase patterns at a discounted rate through her site.

**If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of The Cottage Home blog, please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com for rates and information.**

Pin It

Dick and Jane Inspired Easter Dress - Bodice Tutorial

In case you missed my guest blog post on  "No Big Dill" about a month ago, here it is...........

To me, the "Dick and Jane" books are the epitome of retro, children's storybook classics.  The images in these books bring me such comfort.  They remind us of simpler times, they remind us when life was slower and more easy going.  I often wonder if I was born during the correct time period because it seems that everything vintage always has a soft-spot in my heart.

I personally did not grow up with the "Dick and Jane" book series, but my mom grew up learning to read from "Dick and Jane" books.  The books contain simple words with simple images, perfect for the new reader.

One of the most enjoyable parts of looking through these old classics are the illustrations of the children's clothing.  If you've ever been to my blog or etsy shop, you know that I love classic children's clothing so this time period is right up my alley!

I chose to do a "Dick and Jane" inspired look because I love sweet, classic, feminine dresses on little girls which is what Jane is all about.  So I guess we could say I came up with a "Jane" inspired look.

This entire dress (aside from the notions and the lining) was made from a $1.49 full-sized sheet that I found at my local thrift store last weekend.  I was waiting for some inspiration for this look and the sheet did the trick.  I love the pretty floral as well as the vintage feel I get from the sheet.  The scalloped edging was another vintage touch that I thought would be perfect for the "Jane" look - I can just see her wearing this dress in one of those books.

The above picture is the sheet prior to being turned into the dress.  It had this fabulous border across the top and little flowers on the rest of the sheet.

I thought I would show you today how to embellish the bodice of a dress.  You can take any tank dress pattern that you love and change up the bodice to make it your own.  If you don't have a bodice pattern that you really like, you can print my party dress pattern HERE and use that pattern.

The main, featured trim on this dress is this pink picot edge trim.  You can buy this online or you may be able to find it in your local fabric shop.  Since the lines of this dress were very classic, I wanted to make sure the trims were as well.

Cut four pieces of trim that are the same height as the bodice.  I like to cut mine a little longer just to be safe.

Next, grab your Wonder-Tape.  You all are probably so sick of hearing me talk about this product but it is one of my absolute favorites!  This is a double-sided tape for fabric that disappears in the wash.  You can use it to secure any trims that may be difficult to pin or where pin marks might show.  I find it holds trims with much more precision than pins - I use this on my piping as well.  You can definitely pin if you don't have this product, but I think this makes life SO much easier.

Apply your Wonder-Tape to the back-side of each piece of trim.  When you are ready to put your trim in place, remove the paper backing.

Apply your first two pieces of picot edging with the scalloped edging pointing outward.  Stitch down each piece of trim in coordinating thread.  I stitched close to the scalloped edge because your second piece will end up catching the other side.

Next, place your second piece of picot trim on top of the first.  Make sure to line it up perfectly so you can't see the plain edge of the first piece.  Stitch down the side close to the scallop edge.

Take a piece of coordinating fabric to use as your center focal point of the bodice.  I used two pieces since the sheet fabric was fairly thin, but you could definitely just use one and press the edges under.  To use the two pieces, measure the distance between your trims and add enough to account for your seam allowance - I used 1/4".  Stitch both pieces of fabric together leaving the top and the bottom open.  Turn right-side out and press.

Place your fabric in the middle of your trims and stitch into place.  You can leave the top and bottom edge raw because that will become concealed once you add your collar and bodice lining.

Stitch very close to the edge of the fabric - about 1/16" or 1/8" seam allowance.

Do all the embellishing on the bodice before you start sewing the dress.  That way your lining will conceal all the stitching on the bodice and you will have a beautifully lined top.

I did three pin-tucks on the skirt of the dress.  You can do this by adding an inch per pin-tuck to the length of the skirt.  So for this skirt piece, I added an additional 3 inches. 

I used petite piping in the collar.  You can make your own piping or used a packaged variety.  Click HERE to view my piping tutorial and HERE to find out how to make your own custom piping.

I think its in the little details that make the difference between a nice dress and a truly special and unique dress.  Back in the 50's and 60's, parents definitely valued quality over quantity when it came to clothing.  It's fun to take the time to make something special for our little ones - they deserve it, don't you think?

I think "Jane" would have been proud to wear this dress and Savannah loved wearing it on Easter!  She told me, "Mama, I look like a beautiful angel." - what a sweetheart!

Pin It

Early Empire Cinch from Handmade Beginnings

I have been wanting to make the "Early Empire Cinch" from Anna Maria Horner's book, Handmade Beginnings - 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby since before I was even pregnant.  I purchased this book because it had some projects that I wanted to make for Matilda and had some really great baby gift ideas.

There is an entire chapter in this book dedicated for "Mama Sewing" and that's where you will find the "Early Empire Cinch" plus tons of other great projects for anyone who is expecting.

I had my husband snap a few pictures of me before I went out to run some errands so you could see the cinch in action.  I really made these with the intention of wearing them with some t-shirts or to wear with dresses.  But alas, the Chicago weather is still pretty chilly, so I paired it with one of my lose fitting sweaters and I think it looks pretty cute.  I love how much it accentuates the baby bump.  Oh, and by the way.......that's my 20 week baby bump in these pictures.

You can wear the cinch with the large part to the back or in front.  I tend to carry my babies pretty high, so it worked better for me in the back.  But if you carry low, it would look adorable with the large part in front.

I made two different cinch's for myself and both of them are reversible.  So that's four looks for the price of two!

I made this first cinch with a lot of scraps from my fabric stash and a little bit of yardage.  I have A LOT of scraps, so I love projects that cause me to use them up.  I made sure that the scraps were all in the same color family - mostly pinks, blues and greens.

I made the outside of the cinch with the thoughts that I would pair it with a black maxi-dress that I have for summer.  And as you can see, I made the inside brown, so I can pair this with more neutral clothing or create a more casual look.

I made the blue and orange cinch to go with a rather boxy maternity dress that I recently purchased from Old Navy.  This cinch really helps to give the dress more shape and again, emphasize the baby bump.

For some reason the dress looks a little red in these pictures, but I promise it's deep orange and it ties in with the deepest shade of orange in the teal fabric.

The inside of the above cinch is blue and orange polka dots and can be reversed to reveal and entirely new look.  Not sure what I will pair with this one, but I think it would look cute with jeans and a tee.

I don't usually take a lot of time to sew for myself, so I've been having a lot of fun creating some new outfits and accessories for my expanding figure.  I think pregnancy is such a beautiful time and should truly be celebrated.  So if you are expecting, take a little time out and make something pretty for yourself - it will make you feel great!

Pin It