Blogging for my 50 free cards!

I heart Shutterfly. I really do. I have been making calendars and photo books with them for years. They make the best Christmas presents for the family that we don't see much during the year. My grandparents love the photo books I make for them every year. And every year, I make my parents photo calendars. 4 or 5 years ago, I made them one calendar for Christmas and they loved it so much, they asked me to do it again the following year. Then my mom wanted one for my office, and then my dad got jealous and wanted one for his office, too. So now I make them a calendar each year and send them 3. Now they make desk calendars, too. Before you know it, they'll probably want one for every room in the house.

I love Shutterflys photo Christmas cards and their holiday cards. Last year, I didn't do Christmas cards, but Shutterfly actually gave me 12 free cards. So I had just enough for our immediate family. They turned out so cute! This year, I am excited to be sending out cards this year. I'm just having a hard time picking out one because I love all their designs. And this year they are giving out 50 free cards if you blog about it. Here is the link http://bit.ly/sfly2010.

Here are a few of my favorite designs:

Go check out Shutterfly!

Sweet Potato fries

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges

2 teaspoons canola oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper or chili powder

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss sweet potato wedges with oil, salt and pepper. Spread the wedges out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until browned and tender, turning once, about 20 minutes total.

Serves 1-2 people

Homemade oreo cookies

the cookies:

1 German Chocolate Cake mix

1/2 c. butter (or margarine) softened, NOT melted

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:

1/2 cube (or stick) butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese

1-2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp milk

1 container coconut topping (the kind in the plastic container by all the frostings)

Mix "cookie" ingredients together into cookie batter texture, roll into balls as big as desired (walnut size). Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-9 minutes. Do not over-cook (they may seem underdone but they aren't, you want them to be soft and chewy). Leave cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes after removing from oven. Allow to cool completely before adding frosting.

Cafe Rio green pork burrito

For the sauce:

1 small can diced chilies

1 7 oz. can Salsa Verde (I used "Embasa" brand)

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm. You can also refrigerate it overnight after simmering if you are making it in advance Just reheat in the small saucepan before serving.

For the burrito:

1 LARGE tortilla shell

1 large scoop rice

1 large scoop beans

1 large scoop sweet pork

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, to taste

Green Enchilada Sauce (see recipe above)

Lettuce

Pico de gallo

Guacamole

Sour cream

Roll up rice, beans, pork and cheese in large tortilla shell to form the burrito. Slather with a big ladle full of the green enchilada sauce and top with additional Monterey Jack For cheese. Place in the oven at 450-degrees until cheese is melted. Serve with lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, and/or sour cream.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup lime or orange marmalade

3 large garlic, finely minced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed and chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil - divided use

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 pound large shrimp, shelled, leaving tail intact, and deveined

In a measuring cup whisk together lime juice, marmalade, garlic,

cilantro, 3 tablespoons oil, soy, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; reserve 1/3 cup mixture in a small bowl for dipping. In a large zip-lock style plastic bag combine shrimp with remaining mixture and marinate, turning occasionally to coat shrimp, for 45 minutes in the refrigerator. Drain shrimp and lightly pat dry between paper towels. In a large non-stick skillet heat 1/2 oil over medium-high heat until hot; sauté half of shrimp until golden brown and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Sauté remaining shrimp in remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in same manner. Serve shrimp with reserved dipping sauce.

Alton brown's guacamole

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled

1 lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Cafe Rio Salad dressing

CILANTRO RANCH

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. buttermilk

2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalepeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender. Thats it!

K so now to make it all PERFECT... Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce (we used the leafy green lettuce, NOT ICEBURG) and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). We made up some gaucamole and put some of that on the salad (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). We also added a little spoonful of sour cream. Add some crushed tortilla chips (we have yet to find the little tortilla strips), a shake of parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing and there you have it!