Shrimp dip just doesnt sound fancy enough....

So... there is this recipe that I have in my depths of my amazing recipes..
And its one that I made up.

In my head.

And its also one that friends and family request.

Alot.

And until now, I have never told a single soul my recipe for this tasty bit of gold.

Until now.....

Shrimp Dip

Sounds simple, doesn't it?

Start with some cooked, peeled, and cleaned shrimp. Remove the tails.

Those don't taste all that great.

Chop up the shrimp.

Chop up a medium onion,

And throw in a bowl... along with half of a chopped green pepper.

Throw in 8 wonderful ounces of plain cream cheese.

And one jiggly, fatty cup of MAYO. Yes, do it. Its good. Don't even dare to cut this part out. You would be playing with perfection, and those who mess with perfection...

Well, I don't know. They just don't get something so perfect.

Get me?

Add in a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. This is all about how spicy you like it. I add about a teaspoon.

Mmmmm.....

Squeeze in some lemon.

Or... in my case, squirt.

About a tablespoon.

Whats the I hear?

Angels?

Angels singing?

Ohh yes, I always hear Angels singing when I see a pile of cheese..

Gather 2 cups of amazing angelic cheese....

I like the Monterrey jack blend.

Mix it all up.

mmmmm.... drool.

I mean, Shrimp Dip.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

OK, so... here is the deal.

People were already arriving at our house when I pulled the end result out of the oven.

And by the time I went back to see if it was cooled... half of it was devoured.

The picture of my end result isn't very pretty. And no amount of editing can make is look better.

But, if it proves anything, it should prove how amazing this stuff is.

Because my guests didn't mind the risk of burning their little taste buds off, to suck down mouthfuls of this shrimp dip.

So here is the end result.. in all of its unedited glory...

Serve with honey wheat crackers.

That's my favorite.

Although, I'm almost positive you could serve it on chunks of cardboard, and you will still be impressed.

FAB-U-LOUS!

Enjoy! :)

Year old wedding cake....

Being broke on our 1 year anniversary was not ideal. But, in all honestly.. I wouldn't have wanted to spend our day any different.

We woke up around noon, watched a baseball game, visited family, and spent the entire day being silly, giddy, and totally in love. It was perfect.

Since the first anniversary falls under the gift giving category of paper, we decided to write each other love letters.

Best gift I have ever received.

I cried. From beginning to end. Especially this part....
(While writing about our wedding day)

"I couldn't believe this gorgeous, amazing woman was walking up the aisle to spend the rest of her life with me"

I cried, because.. I was thinking the same thing.

"I cant believe this handsome, amazing man is standing at the end of this aisle to spend the rest of his life with me."

I know, I know.. you all are thinking, "OK OK!! Gag me!" but seriously, my husband is adorable. And he looks really cute when he wears baseball pants.

Here is the top tier of our wedding cake!!! In all its glory, wrapped in an insane amount of aluminum foil.

... And here we have it.....

In about 22 layers of cling wrap...

(Mom took this very serious!)

Tada! And there it is! Such a beauty!

And how adorable is that cake plate?

Adorable Anniversary gift idea, mom.

Perfect!

Our silver engraved Waterford cake servers.

Notice the handles are tarnished.

I purposely didn't polish them since our wedding day

.. I was going for the nostalgia feel...

We saved one bottle of champagne from our wedding day and even pulled out our Waterford wedding day champagne glasses.

All sorts of fancy like!

I get giddy just looking at this picture. I mean, seriously...

This picture= love.

Hubby slicing our cake...

Woo Hoo! Cake is sliced... and how does it taste?

Well.. this picture should answer this question.

We each took a bite. The cake part was FAB! but the frosting.. well, wasn't.

Hubby and I fed each other year old cake, toasted to a thousand more years of blissful marriage, and shared a

special PG-13 kiss.

And I went to bed with a huge smile on my face, knowing that the best year of my life had come to an end...

But, knowing that until God parts us...

every year from now until then, will be the best year of my life.

Because I was blessed with the best husband in the world.

Amen.

as long as you both shall live, with this ring, I now pronounce you....

I do.

I thee wed.

Husband and wife.

The BIG day.

I went to numerous dress fittings. Lost weight, gained weight, accidently lost more weight a week before my wedding sending my alterations lady and myself into a panic to pull in the seam, and there I was.. barely able to breathe once my dress was on and it was time to walk down the aisle. How does one gain and lose and gain 5 pounds in days? Lets not forget to mention, that by the end of my wedding night.. I found myself yanking my dress up discretely (I hope) because that darn thing seemed to be growing on me!

I bought 3 pairs of wedding shoes. 3 pairs. Hated all of them, except the last pair.... or so I thought. Apparently, wearing an 8 pound beaded lace gown makes your feet hurt no matter what you’re wearing on your feet. After the ceremony, and hours of pictures... I put on platform flip flops. Yes, I did. I swear. The girl who owns 739238 pairs of heels, opted for flip flops for her wedding reception. I had dancing all night on my agenda, and my "perfect wedding shoes" weren’t gonna cut it...

I had 2 hair trials. Thought it was exactly what I wanted. Until 3 hours before my wedding. "It needs to be higher! volume! I need volume!" So... my lovely girls helped to give me what I wanted. I think. I wish I would have gotten extensions. Yes, I naturally have wonderful amounts of Latin hair. But, ya know... whatever. Extensions. That’s all Im gonna say.

I remained calm throughout the day. I was the one telling my mother, maid of honors, and bridesmaids to relax. Lets not even get started on how many time I had to tell my dad to breathe. I ate a small breakfast. My wonderful maid of honor, Lauren, even walked completely across a mall to get me a Venti Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks while I got my hair done. I had a few bites of a sandwich while it was makeup time. "Are you nervous!?" My response.... "No."

And I wasn’t. I was marrying my best friend. Who would be nervous about that? I had been practicing my vows since I saw "Father of the Bride" when I was 6... I grew up wearing dresses, and could successfully walk a mile in high heels by the time I was 12. Why would I be nervous? Its only my family and friends... Seemed like such a silly question.

My bridesmaids walked down the aisle one by one, and I smiled watching them from a window.

Then my Maid of Honors walked, arm in arm.. and it was time to pull myself away from the window and stand tall.

When my flower girl and ring bearer made their way down the aisle, I laughed.. My ring bearer took his job very serious. "Throw a petal! Come on! Throw the petals!" he screamed at my flower girl while he flung around the ring pillow my mother spent weeks hand sewing and beading with crystals.

Daddy looked at me and winked.

Piece of cake.

And then the music changed.

It went from a sweet symphony to the traditional "Dun dun dun dunnnnn....."

A few weeks before, while picking our ceremony music... Ryan declared he wanted "Here comes to the bride" to not sound wimpy. He wanted it to be full of deep bass.. as if announcing the royal family...

Bad idea.

My stomach flipped. And then it flopped.. and then.... I felt like I was going to be sick in the sticky Florida May heat. "Ryan is your best friend. He is your lover. He is your soul mate. He is the father of your future children. He loves you even though you’re insane! He is the reason you’re so dang happy all the time!"

And then came the tears.

 And none of this was nerves.

All of this was pure shock.

I, Angela, was marrying the one man that makes so head over heels happy.

Every dream was coming true at that exact moment.

I had found my God given partner, and I was about to commit my entire life to him.

And silly me.

 Before I met Ryan, I never thought I would ever be lucky enough to get married.

I had just turned 22 when I met him. Pathetic, huh?

Here I am... 1 year and and 9 months after the day I had first laid eyes on him.... about to say "I do", to make a deal with God and continue to love this man forever.

I was completely overwhelmed with emotions.

And our pictures?

Shows every insane emotion that came flooding out.

And NOT in the nicest of ways......

"Ok, this is easy.. There he is. MY GROOM. Look how handsome the boys look! And my honey! I havent seen him in like 20 hours. I miss him so much."

"ok, there goes the 2 girls that know more about me then I know about me. Wait, Jessies dress is shorter then Laurens. How the heck did that happen? No biggie..."

"Arent they so freakin cute?"

"My poor mom. Spent days on that dang pillow, and junior is tossing it around like a rag... funny"

"Dun dun dun..... dunnnnn ohhhhhhh crap"

"Um.. whats my name? Where am I? What planet am I on???"

"Look at this handsome man. God, he is so amazing. And so handsome. I hope he remembered to give Joe our weddings bands. Look how dang cute he looks! Those dreamy blue eyes..."

"Woooo Hoooo! This is EASY! Keep your eyes on the prize, Angela... "

"How long is this aisle? I hope it doesnt rain. Mmmmm... my man looks yummy!"

"Crap, this is the moment they sing about in county songs. Daddy is giving me away. Crap. Swallow that  lump in your throat!!! Get it together!!!"

"Swallow that lump, I say!!!"

"Ok, its me... and him... and preacher man... and 150 people... and God. No prob... Wait. Time for vows? I have to speak? Out loud? "

"Dang it. Stick a fork in me, Im done. There is no going back on these water works..."

"In sickness and in health (sniff, slurp, sniff) til death do us part"

"Ok, that wasnt so bad... Crap, its his turn. This may be worse then my turn. Its a good thing his grandmother hand beaded this hankie Im wiping my snot all over"

"losing it here.... losing it..... He said it. He said I do. The moment I have dreamt of all my life. Sweetest words Ive ever heard!"

"Rings, rings... my rings so pretty."

*Disclaimer- I will not post a picture of our first kiss as husband and wife. It was horrible. I decided it was okay to throw my chubby little arms around my husbands neck, and I look like a lumber jack. True story.

"Husband and Wife? Husband and Wife? Oh my holy JESUS! Husband and wife!"

Marrying Ryan was the most soul calming thing I have ever done. God made it clear that I was marrying my soul mate. There are not words to describe the amount of love for each other that floated from our lips as we said our vows. I think our faces paint the entire picture.

I do.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

Forever and a day.

Bacon Bite Cup Thingys that make my mouth water....

Disclaimer- Do not make these for your next human gathering if you enjoy left overs. Because there will be zero left for that nonsense.
 -end disclaimer.

Tiny 2 bite pastry cups filled with bacon, cheese, and all sorts of yummy goodness. Super rich, almost overly delightful. Dainty enough for the ladies, and meaty enough for the men.

Bacon is F A B U L O U S. I would marry it if I could.
 No really, holy moly bacon matrimony! My mouth is watering.

And they are so stinkin easy to make! I promise.
 But what I cant promise is that your jeans are going to be really stinkin easy to shimmy on when you wake up the morning after inhaling these bites of dreamy bacon.

 But, that's not important...

Chop up 1 package of bacon. Cook until almost crispy... but not too crispy.

 Once cooked, allow to drain on a few paper towels.

In a bowl... crack one egg..

And 8 ounces of Chive and Onion cream cheese.

Add a half cup of mayo.

Half cup of chopped onion.

And about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Dump in the cooked bacon.

And 3 cups of shredded cheese.

I like using the Mexican cheese combo.

Stir together until it looks like this creamy goodness...

And stick it in the fridge.

These are the dinner rolls I use. The regular ones work just fine also...

Ya know, if 50% bigger and flaky arent your thang.....

Lay out the rolls on the counter. squish the diagonal lines together to form a funky looking rectangle.

Then, using a pizza cuter... cut the dough into squares.

Grease a mini muffin pan rather well....

Line each muffin cup with a square of dough.

Then fill with that creamy goodness you stuck in the fridge earlier....

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes, or until you see the dough turn into a golden brown.

Make these for your memorial day get together...

Before you know it, your friends and family will make up their very own holiday in honor of you and these bacon cups.

Bet cha!

*Variation- To serve them up as a mini quiche for breakfast or brunch, use a regular size muffin or cupcake pan.

Bake those bad boys for about 12 minutes, or until dough is golden.

I prefer the mini ones. I think it has something to do with not feeling so guilty if I eat 2. Ok, who am I fooling.. 3.

Alright, whatever! 12!