Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Fourth of July, Part Two

I was busy doing the hosting so I didn't get many pictures.  My daughter Gennifer over at
will have much more, and they will be much better than mine.  She has become quite the photographer!  The weather was unseasonably cool for this time of year, so we didn't spend the day in the pool like we had planned.  Drew and Diana spent a few hours out there though.
 I was busy in the kitchen preparing this...
 And this...
I roasted jalapenos from my garden for our mesquite grilled shrimp tacos.  
 If you like Mexican food, I highly recommend you try this Cotija cheese to go with it.  It is more crumbly and has a bit of a salty taste to it, and adds a lot of flavor.  We love it with tacos and on refried beans.  You will too, try it!  I made a little white sauce for the tacos with sour cream and lime juice and taco seasoning.  You can do this with non fat yogurt too, if you are watching your waistline.
I also made Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler again. This is so easy and SO good!  I made homemade vanilla ice cream to go on top.  Oh la la!
Here is Mr. G cooking up the shrimp on the grill.  
 For these shrimp, they turn out so much better on the weber grill using charcoal and mesquite.  We have done them on a gas grill, but you don't get that smokey mesquite flavor that, in my opinion, really makes these so great.
 I marinated these in oil, lemon and lime juice, and the zest, lots of garlic, roasted jalapenos, salt and a little hot sauce.  Flip your marinating dish a few times to get all of the fish coated and marinated well.  A couple of hours is good.  Skewer the shrimp onto skewers that have been soaked in water to prevent them catching fire while cooking.  Cook only a few minutes each side, until pink.  Don't overcook, or they will be tough.  Remove tails and serve on corn tortillas with all the goodies, like cabbage, white sauce, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, guacamole and more fresh lime squeezed onto your tacos.  YUM!!
 Mr. G made is special guacamole for the tacos.  That is why I only have one measly avocado sliced into the bowl of toppings.  He used them all up!!!  There in the background is our neighbor Christopher.  He manages to make an appearance at all of our parties.
The kids didn't swim, but they had fun playing in the playhouse and on the swings.

Miss Claire loves her food!  After dinner, we gave her  some cotton candy.  She held it in her hand for a long time, not knowing what to do with it.  
 And what is the Fourth without watermelon running down your arm to your elbow?
We were all so stuffed that we had to wait to have this.
Some just nibbled on this instead.
After a day of eating and having fun. We put our banana loungers and zero gravity chairs out on the sport court and watched the fireworks show.  
Noah had the best seat in the house.  He covered Uncle Drew's ears for him too when the fireworks were too loud!!  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!

11 comments:

Genn said...

Well for saying you were too busy hosting, you still got some really great pictures!! Those were seriously the best shrimp tacos I've ever had in my life. So so so so so good. I wish we had more.

Wish we made it til the fireworks too. Hopefully next year.

Debbie said...

YUM YUM YUM....my goodness those tacos sound good. I could honestly just smell them. And the cobbler? I LOVE it in the first place and yours just looks scrumptious. And with homemade icecream, not you've gone over the top, haha...What a good day this looked like Kris. Love that pic of Claire. What a doll. Have a good day. HUGS

Katie said...

Oh Kristy, those Shrimp Tacos sound so Good!!! I love shrimp tacos, I will have to make some of those for my boyfriend Sancho, b/c my husband whom is from the Shores of Mississippi has the Audacity to ONLY like fried shrimp, what a Nut!

I have scribbled down your marinade for them! Did you stuff those jalapenos or did you grill them to go on the tacos?

I almost made that cobbler from PW on the 4th for our BBQ, but we went with Peach Cobbler instead, I will have to make it, you and Genn seem to enjoy it. What a fun party you hosted, you have such a Great family!

Oh, I didn't keep the highlander, it had too many gadgets, the leather seats were incredibly uncomfy and I just missed driving my jeep. Luckily Toyota holds their value and I had no trouble selling it back!

Linda said...

Looks like you had a wonderful day! We had fun at my sister's house in Orange. It was cool there as well. I like this cooler weather!All the food looked so yummy!

Kelly said...

you did get a lot of pictures evewn though you were the host! everything looked great!

Kelly said...
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Kelly said...
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Unknown said...

Kris,

Thanks for stopping by my "Popcorn" and goodluck with my CSN Giveaway.

Now, those shrimp look de-lish, living in Arizona we don't get the chance of being so spoiled with fresh shrimp like that. It all looked so good!
And that cobbler? I must make it ASAP!

Thanks again,

Lisa

Unknown said...

Kris,

Thanks for stopping by my "Popcorn" and goodluck with my CSN Giveaway.

Now, those shrimp look de-lish, living in Arizona we don't get the chance of being so spoiled with fresh shrimp like that. It all looked so good!
And that cobbler? I must make it ASAP!

Thanks again,

Lisa

Picket said...

Morning Kris...looks like a fantastic day and I loved seeing all that fantastic looking food! lol But seeing the sweet grands all around was priceless...you have a beautiful family girl and I know you adore them!!! Thanks for coming by sweetie...hope you have a great week with lots of laughs and blessings! ~Picket~

Bonnie@Creative Decorating said...

The food looks wonderful!! I love grilled shrimp! Looks like everyone had a great time!