March 28, 2015 – Holly's Gluten Free Home

Shrimp & grits… It’s so fast…you can have dinner done in 10-15 minutes. After all of the yard work today, I’m plumb tuckered out and just want a delicious meal that I can eat while I enjoy my new view!

What you need:

Shrimp- 6-8 per person

Tomatoes, cherry or other small tomatoes

Olive oil

Seasoning- garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning

Grits

Cheese – I use Parmesan and shredded Italian blend

Tomatoes-

Mix with olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper & Italian seasoning (fresh rosemary would be great…I just used a standard dry blend), red pepper flakes. Bake for 10 min 350 degrees

ready for the oven! looking good!

Grits- quantity for 3 adults… Multiply as needed

Bring 1c milk and 1 c water to a boil

Whisk in 1t salt & 1/2c grits

Reduce heat and whisk until thickened.

Add 1/2 c shredded cheese and 1/4 c Parmesan

Serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top

whisk the grits in a little at a time to prevent clumping

Shrimp

heat 2T olive oil with 1t garlic and 2t red pepper flakes

Add shrimp, cook on med high 3 mins per side

dont stir the shrimp…let them get a liitle browned

Serve and Enjoy! Gluten free and sooooooooo easy!

deliciousness !

its it such a pleasure to have an outdoor space to relax in! It doesn’t have to be big. A small balcony, a large backyard, or even an urban yard with a zero lot line can all be converted into a nice space for relaxing, dining or entertaining! I started today with some pretty lofty goals, and I finished the day with exactly what I wanted… My Coral Gables Oasis….and an upgraded balcony at my boyfriends apartment to boot!

We started out at IKEA, Friday night… Where we got a patio set for the apartment and some lighting (solar powered!) www.ikea.com, then we dropped by Home Depot for some drought hardy, sun tolerant flowers….watering plants is definitely not my strong suit, and I have a plant graveyard to prove it!

Mission #1 – apartment oasis

We headed to downtown early, before Ultra traffic became a problem and set up the Grunnet IKEA patio set. With such a great view, it was really a shame not to have an outdoor space to sit and enjoy it! This set was not the easiest IKEA set that I’ve put together, but the table is sturdy and the seats very comfy, and for the price of $269 for the table & 4 chairs, it’s a great deal, too!

this is a NOasis

what a view! this needs high table seating to allow dining & relaxation without compromising the view

imagine coffee here every day? Definitely OASIS

Mission #1 accomplished! We head back home for some more hard work!

Break! I’m HUNGRY!

First, a yummy omlet! I made this with left over black beans from taco night, and cheddar cheese! Gluten free and SO DELICIOUS!

lunch break! black bean & cheddar omlet

Mission #2 – backyard lighting & color!

I started out last year with the IKEA Äpplarö outdoor set. storage benches ($70) with wall panels ($35) really created an relaxing seating area with adequate storage, but today, I want to add some lighting and color! I started out with trimming of all the hibiscus ($ = i buned that omlet) that were peeking out above the fence line. Once done, we installed LED solar powered pendants and lighting chains (Solvinden ($5-9.99) with Solarvet ($12.99 for 24 LED lights). I also found some beautiful indoor/outdoor solar powered stars by “threshold” at Target ($11). These were both super easy to install, and really worth it. I used small clear cable ties (like in 50 shades of my-yard-is-about-to-be-awesome!!!) to secure the light chains. My patio looks so good….and these lights with the wood panels could really turn even a zero lot line yard with a view of a cement wall into a peaceful garden!

We added some drought resistant flowers to an IKEA socker ($39.99) plant stand, and used electrical tape wrapped just below each pot bracket to improve performance & reduce slippage. Socker flower boxes were filled and hung over fence ($14.99)… Final result… The oasis I was dreaming of! Happy 🙂