 After more than three long months of being separated - I'm happy to report that my camera and I have been reunited. 📷 And it feels so good.🎶 (I couldn't resist. 😂) For a girl who picks up her camera every single day - three months was a really loooong time to be exclusively dependent on my iphone for all my pictures. 📱Let's just say that the few camera skills that I do have, didn't translate to great phone photos. I'm pretty sure that my finger is in at least 20% of the pictures that I take with my phone. 😂 Obviously it wasn't by choice that I took a hiatus from camera photography. I had a lens issue that I could no longer ignore so I finally bit the bullet and dropped my camera off at the repair shop. Leaving my camera in the hands of someone else felt like dropping my child off at summer camp. As I drove away I couldn't help but wonder if they were going to give it the same love and attention that I do. What was I going to do without it? How long would it be before I could hold it again? 😅  Fast forward to three months later and my camera and I have been reunited. 🙌🏻 Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to my lens. The camera service professionals deemed it unrepairable so it had to be replaced. 😢 As fate would have it, just after I received this unpleasant news, I celebrated a birthday and my husband surprised me with a brand new lens. #husbandbonuspoints So ladies and gentlemen... I'm baaack! I have a functioning camera and I'm ready to shoot glamor shots of my food again. 😂 I think it's time for me to sign myself up for food styling classes now. I've got the equipment - now I need the skills. 😬 Grilled Chicken Teriyaki was the perfect subject for me to practice using my new lens. It's so beautifully golden and the delicate sauce reflects the light perfectly. More importantly than its photogenic qualities - it's delicious.  Grilled Chicken Teriyaki 1 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tablespoons mirin 2" piece ginger, sliced thin 5 cloves garlic, minced 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
 The rain has finally moved out of Georgia and it looks like perfect grilling weather has moved in. (Not that I needed another excuse to make this chicken. 😉) I have a feeling that this is a recipe that I'll be making quite a bit this summer.
Ciao!
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 Kayaking, paddle boarding, sailing, boating, fishing - I love all the summer water activities. 🏄🏻♀️Obviously, some of those are out of the question this summer considering my current one footed situation. But I've been strategizing about how to get myself into a kayak ever since I broke my foot. My plan involves some well placed garbage bags, zip ties and creative storage for my crutches. I'm determined to get in some kayaking time. 😅 Can you tell that I'm feeling exercise deprived? It took some convincing to get my better half on board with my kayaking plan but I think I've finally won him over. 😉Since, he's a crucial part of my master plan, I may or may not have had to bribe him. 😂 It took a couple of weeks, but I've finally got all the details worked out. Unfortunately, the weather isn't cooperating now. But rest assured, the first rain free day next week, you'll see me out on the lake, with my booted foot propped up on the top of my pink kayak. 🛶#kayaklife Summer water activities are my favorite. What better way is there to cool off on a hot summer day? My next project is to devise a pool float with some sort of traction device that will keep this crazy foot boot dry. Feel free to send your suggestions my way. 😂  Kayaking, pool time, campfires, watermelon, s'mores - all requirements for me this summer. A classic s'more made over a campfire is the epitome of summer. 🔥 I'm very intentional about how I eat my s'more to optimize the experience too. 😂 I roast the marshmallow to golden perfection and I eat it from the outside in. Then I eat the graham cracker and then finally nibble on the chocolate. A deconstructed s'more is the best. Don't even try and debate me on this. 🍫😂 I'm a fan of everything s'more really. If you missed my S'mores Bars recipe - you NEED to check it out. They are AMAZING! And if you just feel like you need even more s'mores in your life, try my S'mores Cinnamon Roll recipe. The perfect combination of buttery soft rolls, with a dusting of graham cracker, a sprinkling of chocolate chips and a marshmallow frosting. U N B E L I E V A B L E !!!  S'mores Cinnamon Rolls 2 and 3/4 cups flour 3 Tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup milk 3 Tablespoons butter 1 large egg Filling 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 1/3 cup sugar 2 full graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips 3 Tablespoons butter Frosting 3 Tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature 1/2 cup marshmallow creme (Fluff) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons heavy cream 2/3 cup powdered sugar
 Spread frosting over warm rolls. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Why are s'mores reserved for summer? If you ask me, s'mores shouldn't be saved for a specific season. These s'more cinnamon rolls are definitely going to be making monthly appearances in the Davis house.
Ciao!  It's been said that if you love something, you have to let it go. That was pretty much the motto that I had to adopt after I married a nomad. 😂I was a girl who lived in my childhood home until I moved to college. I loved everything about my little hometown and I never even thought about leaving until I met a guy who dreamed of travelling to places far beyond my wildest dreams. It didn't take me long for the travel bug to rub off on me though. We moved to 3 different states in our first year of marriage. (#militarylife) I got strangely accustomed to packing up our things and saying goodbye to friends, houses and towns on a regular basis. I really didn't think that I would ever convince my guy with wanderlust to put down roots in a single town. Believe me when I tell you that no one is more surprised than me about the fact that we have made one singular section of earth our home for the last 15 years. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but we've grown to love this little section of Georgia that we call home.
It's hard to believe that I live 40 minutes from downtown Atlanta. 👩🏻🌾 These old barns, the green pastures that surround them, the animals that occupy them and the people that live near them are some of my favorite parts of this community that we call home. 🐄 Clearly, I'm not cut out to be a big city dweller. I crave open fields, dirt to dig in and the shade of giant trees. Families and friends gathered around campfires is not unusual for country living. 🔥I may get kicked out of Georgia for this confession but, we don't have a fire pit, a fire place, a burn barrel or any place to burn random stuff, at our house. That doesn't mean that we miss out on the campfire food though. We grill hot dogs and hamburgers on our Big Green Egg and we make S'mores in the oven like city folks.  There's a lot of reasons that you might want to make indoor s'mores too: --- You don't have access to a campfire --- It's raining, hailing or snowing --- You're out of firewood --- You lack the energy it takes to drag all of your s'more ingredients outside If any of these apply to you - check out my S'mores Bar recipe. They bake in the oven in 15 minutes and they're AMAZING!
S'mores Bars 7 whole graham crackers 1/2 cup flour 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 Tablespoons butter, melted 6 (1.55 ounce) Hershey Bars 1 cup marshmallow creme 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
 Bake 15 minutes.  Chop remaining chocolate and sprinkle over warm bars. Chill then remove using foil sling.  Let cool at least 4 hours. Spray chefs knife with cooking spray before slicing.  S'mores are a quintessential part of summer. It falls into the same category as watermelon and fresh peaches. 🍉🍑I can't imagine summer without them. Now I can indoor s'mores whenever the mood strikes. (This could be dangerous.) 😂
Ciao!  Treading water in the pool while all of your friends are stanind with their feet on the bottom. Jumping over puddles that normal people just step over. Sitting on your jacket at the theater just to get a glimpse of the stage despite the human giraffe that inevitably sits in front of you. If any of these sound familiar - you might just be shorter than the average human. #shortgirlproblems I'm only 5'1" - but I think I've learned to compensate for my petite frame pretty well. I know how to step on the bottom shelves at the supermarket to reach the last can of tomatoes off of the top shelf. 🥫 I'm an expert at diving into the bottom of the frozen food cooler to get the coldest bag of shrimp. 😂🍤 I stand on a stool when I spend long periods of time at my kitchen counter just to bring me up to "normal" height. Cooking really becomes more of a workout because I have to climb on my counters multiple times an hour. 💪🏻But, even though my legs don't reach the floor in movie theater seats - I wouldn't want to be even 1 inch taller.  If you think about it, there are a lot of great things that are short - and I'm not just talking about myself. 👩🏻 I'm into short hair, short films, short horses and short ribs. I also like recipes with a short list of ingredients and a short list of directions. Sometimes it just isn't practical to roast a whole turkey for Thanksgiving and a half turkey breast is sufficient. What this garlic and herb roasted turkey breast recipe lacks in level of difficulty, it makes up for in flavor. There's no rule that says that you have to wake up at 4:00 am to put a turkey in the oven. Opt for this turkey breast recipe instead that will take a lot shorter time to cook and be just as juicy and flavorful as a whole bird that you have to cook all day.  Garlic and Herb Turkey Breast 6 lb bone in half turkey breast 5 tablespoons butter, softened 1 clove minced garlic 1 teaspoon dried sage 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary leaves finely minced 1 tablespoon thyme leaves finely minced 2 tablespoons parsley finely minced 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 lemon, juiced
Combine butter, garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper.
 Skim fat from gravy and serve with turkey breast.  Just remember short girls: when someone makes fun of you for being short, they're basically saying that the worst thing about you is that there just isn't enough of you. 🙋🏻♀️
Ciao!  We just never know what we might find on our afternoon trip around the neighborhood. Yesterday we spotted a family of foxes happily frolicking around in the afternoon sun. So, obviously, I "ran" home as fast as I could (on one foot), picked up my camera and went back to try and capture some of their cavorting. We stood and watched the three pups playing near their den for at least 20 minutes while they seemed somewhat oblivious to the fact that we were looking in on their playtime from afar. They were fascinating to watch. Watching these fox pups was a great afternoon break from a morning spent leaning on the kitchen counter, decorating cookies. In case you were wondering, yes, I'm still taking catering orders. I've had to modify my methods and factor in more time to bake while navigating my kitchen on one foot but - I'm still doing what I love to do. 👩🏻🍳  Slow is the name of the game in the kitchen though. Nothing happens quickly when your on one foot. 😂#crutcheslife Slow braised turkey tacos is just about the perfect meal for this one footed, cook. I love tacos and I like to experiment with different tortillas. I'm usually a corn tortilla girl but I recently found a corn/flour combination that I absolutely love. I'm also partial to the mini "street taco" size tortillas. I feel like I can eat more tacos when their mini. 😂🌮  Braised Turkey Tacos 4 bone in turkey thighs (or chicken) 2 teaspoons table salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 3 Tablespoons tomato paste 2 cups chicken broth 1/3 cup orange juice 3 Tablespoons lime juice corn tortillas fresh cilantro
 Serve turkey meat with fresh cilantro on tortillas.  These Braised Turkey Tacos are amazing and if you have trouble finding turkey thighs, you can substitute chicken. It really doesn't matter which type of poultry you choose - just make these. You will NOT regret it.
Ciao! |
