divian l conner

Thankful....

11:01 PM

What a wonderful week to be thankful! Not only am I thankful for the well being and happiness of my friends and family, I am thankful for the new opportunities that have come my way!

I am now a food contributor for Living Locurto! What a fabulous site full of printables, party ideas, recipes, crafts and so much more! I cannot wait to use some of the printables in my upcoming Christmas party plans with my children.

If you have not checked out the site, please do! My first recipe is listed there. I show you how to make a super easy Cranberry Chipotle Lime Sauce that you can use for Thanksgiving dinner or to use as a relish year round on a nice turkey sandwich!

Also this month, I was thankful to photograph the November Cover for Town and Gown Magazine....a local magazine here in my state. This blue and brown set up is amazing and was styled by an amazing event planner, S Is For Sweet.

Coming up soon, homemade candybars! I made my version of Whatchamacallits and they were fabulous!

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Chicken and Red Pepper on Ciabatta

7:09 PM

Hi, my name is Divian and I am a sandwichaholic. I love, love, love making sandwiches. Since I homeschool my 9 year old son, sandwiches are the quickest and easiest things to make. Since he is also taking a medication that causes him to lose weight, I try to make as hearty a lunch as possible.

This is heaven. Multigrain ciabatta bread from the local grocery, roasted chicken breasts (sliced) fresh spinach, turkey bacon, sliced roasted red peppers and a chipotle red pepper spread.

I made the spread by combining 1 can of chipotle peppers with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons italian seasoning,2 sundried tomatoes, a dash of sea salt, and half of a roasted red pepper in a blender.

I served with fresh berries and plain potato chips. My son and I enjoyed it. Yes!

Easy Homemade Fish Sticks

8:44 PM

I admit, I was one of those moms who bought the huge $7 bag of a gazillion fish sticks for my kids.

It made for a super quick dinner. Today, I decided, nope, no more bagged minced fish meat sticks for my kids....we need better!

These are so easy. You need...

Fish (I used tilapia)

Cornmeal

Water

Breadcrumbs

Seasoning (I used Creole Seasoning, added to the cornmeal)

I found it easier to slice the fish if it was slightly frozen. It made the cuts smoother and easier. Slice the fish into strips, you can cut off the ends for straight blunt edges.

Dip the sticks into cornmeal, then water, then into breadcrumbs. I press down when coating in the breadcrumbs to make sure it sticks.

Then fry in vegetable oil until brown.

Seriously, you will love these! My kids said they do not want bagged fish sticks again!

New York Strip and Garlic Pepper Shrimp

8:55 PM

Dinner tonight consisted of New York Strips. I love a good steak and when I ask most people, they all chime in that they like Ribeye the best. I have not ever tried a ribeye (sad, I know)...but of the ones I have tried, I just cannot get enough of the New York strip.

I prepared this steak very simply....seasoned with coarse sea salt and fresh ground peppercorn and seared it with a little bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I used fresh meaty mushrooms that I cleaned well (seriously guys, clean the mushrooms! They are filthy!) and sliced. I sauteed the mushrooms and shrimp in butter, then I drained and used a packet of Southern Belle Simply Fresh Garlic Pepper sauce. Seriously this stuff is amazing!

I boiled the sliced potatoes I cut for about 15 minutes,drained, then placed in the oven topped with rosemary, oregano, evoo,and salt and pepper.

The salad is made from "Artisan Lettuce"...seriously amazing stuff! Freshly crumbled feta and roasted red peppers. Oh My GOD, you must try.

Simple meal, easy and quick to make. Oh, did I forget delicious? Mmmmmm!

Easy Tartar Sauce

2:52 PM

I have never really been a fan of tartar sauce. I guess it was the relish that was in it, because I do not like pickeled relish either. I have always wanted to give tartar sauce a chance, so yesterday, after deciding to make fried fish sandwiches for lunch, I said, making my own, should not be too hard...And guess what...it is not hard at all.

I used diced up some hot and spicy Claussen spears. I also diced one regular dill pickle spear and 3 sliced of pickled cucumbers. I had just purchased a McCormick Lemon and Pepper grinder and since I did not have fresh lemons on hand thought this would work. Start off slowly with adding the lemon pepper, a little bit of it goes a long way and you can season it to your liking.

Mix well and you now have a quick and tasty tartar sauce!

*When I fry my fish, I 'double batter'. I coat in the cornmeal mix, dip in milk or water, then back into the cornmeal before frying. It makes it extra crispy.

Easy French Toast Kabobs

2:32 PM

These were a hit today with my son. Easy and quick to make, they are appealing to children and would be perfect on display for guests to take one at a brunch.

I cut up a french loaf. I mixed three eggs with 1/4 of a cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup of milk. I added in 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of brown sugar. I mixed until blended and dunked the bread cubes in it until soaked. I used a griddle to cook the toast and sausage. Cook on medium until not only browned but the french toast is springy but firm...in other words, not squishy.

Assemble with fruit and there you have it. I told you it was easy.