Shannon’s World

Get your VCRs/DVRs ready!  It’s cupcake week on Martha Stewart…I can’t wait to see what fun and exciting things she has planned.

As I write this I am about 3 hours from departing for a weekend that will celebrate one of my oldest and dearest friends bachelorette party. I couldn’t be more excited to see her, some old friends and new ones. I haven’t seen Posey since Boston and that was close to a year ago. I’m sure I’ll have lots of stories to share when I get back.

As I celebrate one friends pending nuptials, I can’t help but remember my own wedding - FIVE YEARS AGO! Where does the time go? Imagine my surprise when I look at Mike’s blog to find a compilation of our wedding images. I’m not sure what it is or what Nate does to his photos, but I NEVER get tired of looking at the pics he took on our wedding day. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the lens this summer and fall to assist him.

So….Mike will be Mr. Mom this weekend….oh how I wish I could be a fly on the wall around here to see all the neat things these two loves of my life do. Libby is definitely a Daddy’s girl! To anyone in and around these parts, if you see a cute baby gal, about 1 year….big smile, no teeth, strawberry blonde hair and she’s dressed a little funny. . . just smile and chuckle to yourself, knowing her Dad dressed her and her Mom is out of town!

Can you tell my Mom LOVES polka dots?!

. . .and I have the face to prove it!

If you’re like me, you have a lot of hard boiled eggs laying around. I thought I’d share my favorite egg salad recipe, it’s from good ol Martha, Martha, Martha (and it happens to be her favorite, too!).

Martha’s Favorite Egg Salad sandwiches:

• 10 hard-boiled egg whites
• 2 hard-boiled egg yolks
• 2 to 3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 avocado, mashed, plus 1/2 avocado roughly chopped
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• Boston lettuce, arugula, and tomato slices (optional)
• 12 white sandwich bread, lightly toasted
• Using a pastry blender or fork, mash together egg whites and yolks in a large bowl; carefully fold in avocado. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.
• Place 6 slices of bread on a work surface. Evenly divide egg salad among bread slices. Add lettuce greens or tomato, if desired. Top with remaining 6 slices bread. Serve.

For those of you planning to dye eggs, I just came across this in the spring edition of Kraft Food and Family:

Want to avoid the dreaded gray ring-around-the-yolk telltale sign of an overcooked egg?  Here’s how to get perfectly hard cooked eggs every time:

1. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover them with about 1 in of cold water.

2. Bring the water to a boil, cover tightly, and remove from heat; let stand 20 minutes.

3. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let stand until completely cooled.

I’ll let you know how mine turn out!

Here’s a cute easter basket cheese cake dessert from kraft’s website (do I sound like a spokesperson for kraft or what?!).

My co-worked passed on this recipe for Easter egg nests. I remember making them as a kid, although I think we used coconut.

Easter Egg Nests (makes 1 dozen)
4 c. chow mein noodles
½ c. light corn syrup
½ c. sugar
¾ c. peanut butter

Jelly beans or egg shaped candies

In large mixing bowl, use your hands to break noodles into smaller pieces. In large saucepan, combine sugar and syrup. Cook over medium heat until sugar is melted and edges begin to bubble. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Pour mixture over noodles and toss to coat.

Carefully test for temperature. With slightly buttered hands, form mixture into tight balls using approximately ¼ c. mixture per ball. Make indent in center of each ball to resemble a bird’s nest. Place on waxed paper and cool. Place 2-3 Jelly Beans in middle.

Babies R Us offers $5 off $25 or more. You may shop in store [Store Locator] with this Printable Coupon or shop online and use code 921086.

I finished reading “My Sisters Keeper” by Jody Picoult in January and it’s one of the best books I’ve read - I highly recommend it. I love books that make you think and this one definitely did that…it made me think, sparked conversations with Mike, made me laugh, cheer, cry - you name it! I have another Jody Picoult book on my night stand “Nineteen Minutes” and I can’t wait to start that one.