I’m finally back in the kitchen and loving life.

I always love life, just a bit more now that I have time to breathe a bit.

Things have slowed and I’m trying to remember what happened this summer?!?!?!

It is all a bit of a crazy-fun blur that I wouldn’t change if I could!

But I have missed you!

And licking batter while blasting music, stepping over/on our cat while cooking, burning myself while trying to take pictures, and most of all, Mikey getting in my way and stealing food 🙂

So because I have missed it all so much…

I made some crazy-delicious bars for us all.

I had a bag of Oreo cookies burning a hole in my cupboard so I decided I had to make something involving Americas fav cookie.

It would be a wise choice for you to make these.

You put a bag of Oreos into a food processor and add a stick of melted butter…

Anything that begins with a bag of Oreos and a stick of butter can’t be bad.

In fact it can only be amazing.

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You may or may not know that Mikey and I were gone on vacation.

We went to Washington for some food, music and minor relaxation.

We spent three days and late nights at the Gorge Amphitheater. Google it. Now.

It was the most amazing venue in the world.

We went for the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, and saw him and many other FANTASTIC artists.

We also indulged in some great food.

Mostly at the Pikes Place Market in Seattle.

Our first order of business was to get seafood.

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Our oven is back on!!!

We have no idea how or when it happened, but I am excited.

AND, it turned on just in time for (drumroll please)…

Vacation!!!

Which is great for me but not for you.

I won’t be able to bake or post anything until after Labor Day 😦

But I will try to eat and take pictures of some delicious food (like this pasta) for you!

You may notice one major LIE that I am telling about this dish/its name.

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I didn’t always love potato salad.

It was always at every summer party and people would rant and rave over my grandmas potato salad. I remember wishing I liked it, but was grossed out by the eggs, celery, onion, mayo and mustard.

I was a picky eater.

But now I’ve grown up a bit and I LOVE potato salad.

I realized I hadn’t had any potato salad yet this summer, so I made some for Mikey/me.

This is my grandma/moms recipe and it is out of this world.

I am obsessed and wonder why I haven’t made it yet this year???

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Our oven broke.

Also,

My brother got engaged on Saturday!!!!!!

So as you can see I didn’t have the time or the tools to bake something delicious for you.

My mom made a super amazing red velvet cake for the engagement party and Mikey has a new favorite.

Red velvet cupcakes are next on my to do list!

After we have a working oven that is…

Lucky for me/you, I have this Cilantro Lime Shrimp recipe in my reserve.

To quote the Gourmet cookbook, “It’s ridiculously simple and really refreshing”.

Recipe: Cilantro Lime Shrimp 

3 Large Garlic Cloves

1 1/8 Teaspoons Salt

1/4 Cup Fresh Lime Juice

1/4 Cup Sweet Orange Marmalade

1/4 Cup Cilantro, Finely chopped

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 Teaspoon Freshly ground Black Pepper

1 Pound Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 1 teaspoon of salt.

Whisk together garlic paste, lime juice, marmalade, cilantro, 3 tablespoons oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Transfer 1/3 cup mixture to another small bowl or ramekin and reserve for dipping sauce.

Combine shrimp with remaining mixture in a bowl or large plastic Ziploc bag.

Marinate shrimp, refrigerated, stirring/turning bag once, for 15 minutes.

Drain shrimp and gently pat dry.

Heat  1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a nonstick skillet over moderately high heat.

Add half of shrimp and cook, turning occasionally, until brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes total.

Transfer shrimp to a plate and cook remaining shrimp with remaining oil.

Garnish shrimp with cilantro, and serve with dipping sauce!

I also served this with a roasted veggie and some fried rice.

It was fast, and Mikey loved it, which was all that really mattered 🙂