at home with ann

I am having a serious love affair with this month's Cooking Light.  After this I might be done, but only until the next issue comes out.  Cooking Light isn't giving me anything to sing their praises (I wish!), I just think they're awesome.  Even though a couple weeks ago on an especially sleep-deprived day they called me with an offer to review a new cookbook.  I'm usually strong and hold my ground, but this time I agreed just to get them to stop talking to me so I could try to get the baby to sleep.  Shrimp and Corn Cakes recipe adapted from Cooking Light  Makes 16 small cakes, serving size is 3 Ingredients: 1/3 cup cornmeal 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 cups corn kernels 1 Tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon lemon juice Zest of one lemon 2 teaspoons hot sauce 1 large egg 1 serrano chili, seeded and roughly chopped 1/3 cup red bell pepper, roughly chopped 12 ounces...

This is not takeout sweet and sour.  No breading, nothing deep fried.  Just a light, sweet sauce that is delicious on vegetables, fruit, and shrimp.  My only advice would be to take the tails off the shrimp before adding them in, otherwise you will be picking them up with your fingers, which is not very elegant, can be messy, and is hard to do when you're holding a little squirming person with one hand. Sweet and Sour Shrimp based on recipe by Emeril Legasse Ingredients: 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons water 3 Tablespoons ketchup 3 Tablespoons sugar 3 Tablespoons pineapple juice 2 Tablespoons vinegar 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes  2 teaspoons cornstarch  1/2-1 pound shrimp (I used frozen, precooked) 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic, grated Canola oil 1 medium onion, sliced 1 bell pepper, cut into chunks 1 can pineapple chunks 1 bunch green onions, sliced In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup water, ketchup, sug...

This post is part of my vacation series highlighting some amazing recipes from my favorite bloggers! How Sweet It Is - Crispy Shrimp Tacos I still have half a head of cabbage to use up, tacos are the perfect reason!  Plus, any kind of taco will make my husband very happy. Pioneer Woman - Two Crab Dips Crab dip is one of my favorite summer appetizers.  I'd probably add Old Bay into both these recipes, because I only ever use it for crab dip, but you can never go wrong with PW.