Tammy Mitchell Photography

Let’s Party: Super Recipes for your Super Bowl Party

Tammy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:38:50 +0000

I love me some football…and even more the food that goes with it!! Any excuse to make all kinds of fun new foods is ok by me. I’m all into miniature right now. It’s just so cute and I love that I can try a little of everything instead of having to choose a few faves. Here are a few things I’ll be whipping up this weekend in case you want to try them out too.

Buffalo Chicken Bites

My absolute fave: (if you make these you WILL get asked for the recipe…so be prepared!! ) I wish I could remember where I got this recipe…I just have it copied and pasted into a folder…but thank you to whoever created these!! The seasoning in the cream cheese is what makes them.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

8 ounces softened cream cheese

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp old bay seasoning

12 jalapenos halved and seeded

24 six inch pieces of bacon uncooked

Preheat oven to 350

Combine cream cheese and spices in a small bowl. Spoon mixture into each pepper half, until level. Wrap each in bacon and place in on a baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove and enjoy!

(from: the girl who ate everything)

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Jalapeno Dip

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup pineapple preserves
1 pound uncooked large shrimp peeled and deveined
2 egg whites
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

Combine lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and pineapple preserves in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl beat egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

Place cornstarch and coconut on two separate plates. Hold shrimp by the tail and dip and coat the shrimp with cornstarch. Next, dip the shrimp in the egg whites and finally in the coconut coating well.

Place shrimp on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until coconut is a golden brown. Make sure to turn it once halfway through (around 8 minutes into cooking time) to make sure both sides brown.

Serve with pineapple dipping sauce.

I haven’t made this recipe before, but I LOVE potato skins and these have more of a twice baked potato vibe to them which I love too!!

Potato Skins with Cheddar, Bacon and Shallots
Makes 8 servings
printable recipe here on The Comfort of Cooking
Ingredients
8 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed
8 strips bacon
3 shallots, finely chopped
3/4 cups milk
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley, optional
2 scallions, optional

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the potato skins all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for about 45–50 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium-high heat about 4 minutes, until golden. Remove from pan, chop into small pieces and set aside. Add the shallots and cook until they soften, about 1 minute more.

Slice off the top third of each potato, horizontally. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Reserve the hollowed-out skins and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.

Mash the potato with a potato masher. Add the milk and butter, and beat until smooth. Stir in the cheddar, bacon and shallots and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and golden on top. Serve hot with extra chopped parsley, cheddar or scallions sprinkled on top, if desired.

I’m definitely making these on mini slider buns…

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Makes 4-8 servings
Ingredients

MARINADE:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound (about 2 portions) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Cooking spray

SAUCE:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

FOR SANDWICH:
4 sandwich rolls or 8 mini slider buns (or halved dinner rolls), toasted lightly
Dill pickle chips

Directions
Combine the oil and spices for the marinade in a large bowl. Add chicken to the bowl and rub spice mixture evenly over chicken. Marinade for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator. When ready, heat grill to medium-high heat. Cover and grill chicken for 15 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 180°, turning occasionally. Let stand for 5 minutes. Place chicken on a cutting board and shred with 2 forks.

To prepare sauce, heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in brown sugar and all spices; cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup and vinegar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in shredded chicken. Cook 2 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

Place desired amount of chicken mixture on bottom halves of sandwich rolls and a few tablespoons of sauce. Top each serving with 2 pickle chips and top roll half.

Are you hungry yet?? I’ll also be making my chili dip…no pictures, but it’s super easy!

one can of chili

1 cup cheddar cheese shredded

1 brick of cream cheese

heat and mix together either in a crock pot or the microwave. Serve with fritos scoops…REALLY healthy!!

AND who can forget the sweets???

The Perfect Lemon Bars

Pizookie in a Jar (I love that you can re-heat these and top with ice cream as people are ready to eat)

Ice Cream Sundae Brownies

Whew…I’m feeling like I need to go to the gym just for writing this post!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Super Bowl Weekend!!

tammy

Free Printable Valentine Party Circles: The Cupid Collection

Tammy — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:53:43 +0000

Good morning!! Can you believe it’s February?? This year is already flying by!! :0 To celebrate the launch of The Sandbucket I am giving away a free printable for the 2 inch party circles featured in my article. You can head on over to My Fabulous Fete to download them…

Have a great day!
tammy

It’s here!!! Debut Issue of the sandbucket…win your very own copy!!

Tammy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:17:36 +0000

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Horton Hears a Who, but Horton discovers a city on a speck. None of Hortons neighbors believe that it exists, and so the whos try to make themselves known to people everywhere by chanting “we are here, we are here, we are here” in unison. It is a chant that grows louder and louder as more and more people join in and finally Horton’s neighbors hear it and all is well….

Well…..I feel like a who today! I feel like I want to shout “it is here, it is here, it is here!!!” This is a project that I am honored to be a part of and I think it is an amazing thing for families. An uplifiting publication full of real stories, real people…just inspiring us all. The first issue debuts today and I am SO excited!!!

You know how I love beautiful photography, well this magazine is chalk full of it. It is amazing. Here’s a little more about the sandbucket from it’s founder and publisher Sandi…

Join us for the debut issue of The Sandbucket. This issue is chalked full of fun articles. Come be inspired to get reading with your children. Gather new recipes that you’ll want to try out for yourself. Throw a fun Valentine Party with ideas from Tammy Mitchell. Get to know Denise Demarchis of Matilda Jane a bit better. Read of the giving adventures of families in Atlanta as they went out to feed the homeless. All this and many more articles that touch upon raising and teaching our children. There is even a fun teen section where we meet some real teens and talk about their talents as well as some fun DIY projects. Each page of the magazine is filled with beautiful and useful content, never being interrupted with ads. Only useful content that can strengthen you and your families.

The Sandbucket is available as both a digital download and a printed copy. (bonus…if you buy the printed copy you receive a free digital copy too!!!) Would you like to win your very own digital copy of the Sandbucket??? I have ONE to giveaway to a lucky reader. Please leave a comment in the comments section for your chance to win. The winner will be randomly selected and drawn on Wednesday….good luck!!!

Here’s more information on where to grab your own copy….

The Sandbucket

Have a great day!
tammy

Let’s Party: A Garden Wedding

Tammy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:59 +0000

I’m so excited to be working on a few new wedding projects. Here’s a sneak of one I’m in the process of dreaming up…

I am loving the rich color palette that this bride likes…that mustardy gold…YUM!!

Have a great day!

tammy

Creative Gift Giving: THe perfect Valentine

Tammy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:45:54 +0000

Are you looking for something cute and creative this year to give your valentine? Maybe something fun to send to school with the kiddos that you can make yourself in a matter of minutes? How about a few of these cuties??

Aren’t they adorable?? I can’t get enough of them!! Here’s the good news…you can make these with a few molds from Michaels, some chocolate melts in your chosen color, and a few minutes. Save up your 40% off coupons. All you’ll need is a microwave to make them. The instructions are on the back of the chocolate melts packages. Happy sucker making!!

Have a great day!
tammy

Everyday Life: A new Project

Tammy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:01:15 +0000

I’ve been busy this month working on something new and fun…I can’t wait for it to make it’s debut at the end of the week so I can share it all with you! Until then…a sneak peek!!

oh…and for those of you that ordered boxes…they have arrived!! I am packaging and shipping this week!

have a great day!
tammy

{Picture Perfect} Online Digital Photography Classes 2012 Class Schedule and Enrollment Now open

Tammy — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:25:00 +0000

Well, there must be a bunch of you out there that received fun new cameras for Christmas!! I have had several emails come through asking for the 2012 {Picture Perfect} class schedule so that you can learn how to use them!! I’m excited to announce the new class schedule for 2012! It always makes me excited to teach people about something that I LOVE and that I KNOW will make a wonderful change for you and your shooting abilities forever. Once you know how to tell your camera what to do, instead of having it pick for you, your pictures WILL change for the better and you will be AMAZED!!! This is the PERFECT class for mommies who want to learn to take better pictures of their kids. That is what drove me to become a photographer and I know it is what drives many of you to want better pictures!

Session #1 will begin February 6th. Enrollment is now open and these classes do fill up, so don’t delay! :) I limit the number of students each session to keep them small so that I can give each student the amount of attention that they need.

Here’s a little reminder of what this class will cover…

If you are the proud owner of a Digital SLR camera (you know, one of those fancy cameras that you bought at costco or somewhere that allows you to change lenses) that you use as a really expensive point and shoot than this class is for you!!

If your camera has never left the safety of auto mode, than this class is for you!

I know there are thousands of you out there!! You bought those cameras because you wanted better pictures…well, the magic isn’t really in the camera…YOU make the magic happen!!!

Join me for this jam packed, super fun and informative six week online course full of VIDEO tutorials (that’s right, you get to WATCH something just like you were in a classroom, I am the only class that I know of that offers more than just an audio file!!), fabulous handouts, creative and technical assignments…all to help you grasp the exciting world of manual photography!!

This course will include getting to know your camera, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, lighting and composition.

The classes offered this year will be:

Session #1 begins February 6th

Session #2 begins March 5th

Session #3 begins April 9th

Session #4 begins May 7th

Session #5 begins July 9th

Session #6 begins August 13th

Session #7 begins September 10th

Session # 8 begins October 8th

Session #9 begins November 5th

Class size will be limited.

cost:$ 200

You can register now securely through paypal for any of the sessions to hold your spot.

For those of you worried about vacations, three day weekends and such and worried about timing, I want you to know that these are VERY flexible classes. There are 6 lectures, and I leave everything up and running for about 12 weeks so you have quite a while to watch everything, even multiple times if you want. Along with every lecture there is also a .pdf file of the lecture with all the images examples and text so that you can print it out and put it in a binder to reference later. It ends up being about 125 pages of image examples and how-to information. Just for those of you concerned about missing a week!

A few things past students have said about the class:

“Tammy rocks! I definitely learned a lot and things I haven’t learned in other photography classes.”

“Thanks so much for doing this class. I have taken a few at the local community college and came away feeling like I should just sell this camera and pay for a good photographer every few months. Now I am actually excited to take my camera places and I’m not afraid of it anymore!! THANK YOU!!”

“I just wanted to extend another thank you for helping me to understand my camera. It felt so good to leave class knowing so much more about my camera then before I took the class.”

“You just really teach this very well…you are addicting..you are easy to learn from .”

“I just wanted to thank you for all the effort you put into making this such a great class. It was really easy to follow.”

I can’t wait to have you join me on this exciting adventure! Once you start shooting manually you will NEVER look back!!!

Have a great day!

-tammy

Make This: My Heart’s a Stereo Homemade Valentine and free printable

Tammy — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:42:38 +0000

I have been desperately trying to come up with something clever for Andy’s valentines this year. Boys are hard to begin with, but then when they get older it gets even more difficult to be creative and fun, but not too cutesy. We were rockin out in the car the other day to our favorite song of the moment Gym Class Heroes: Stereo Hearts and it hit me!! My heart’s a stereo…it beats for you! The challenge became building a stereo out of candy. Well…i think it came out pretty cute…what do you think?

and the back…

or you can do it without the boom box handle…

A funny side note…when I asked Andy if he knew what a stereo was he said “nope.” Feeling a little dated here!! Anyways, he loved them and thinks they are totally fun…even if he does have to explain to all the kids what a stereo is. lol!!

Would you like to create these yourself? Here’s what you’ll need:

-large (movie theater box size) box of sweetarts (Walmart or the Dollar Store are the cheapest I’ve found)

2 small boxes of lemonheads or similar

2 large chocolate coins

2 medium chocolate coins (you can find all these coins in bags at party city in their candy section)

1 small box of nerds

2 rolos

if you want to create the handle you’ll need about 6″ of ribbon. Tie a knot at each end and then glue the handles at the knots to the top of your stereo.

You’ll also need this free printable message for the back of your stereo. You know I love you guys!! Cut them to about 3.5x 5.5 size.

Download your free copy here:

Free Stereo Valentine Printable

And…if you’re in the mood to listen to the song, here you go!

have a great day!
tammy

Valentine Free Printable: O-fish-ally be mine tags

Tammy — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:41:23 +0000

Ok, here they are as promised!! I hope these make it easy for you to create! You can either use a 1.5 inch circle punch, or cut them out by hand. I would suggest printing them on a heavier weight cardstock. I just finished this years edition of Andy’s valentines and I can’t wait to share!! Stay tuned!!

You can download it here:

If you need the frosted pillow boxes to create these valentines I am now offering a limited number of them here in quantities of 10 I will be receiving my shipment by mid-late next week and will ship them out to you as soon as they arrive in plenty of time to create your valentines.
BOXES ARE NOW SOLD OUT

Have a great day!
tammy

Make This: Will you o-fish-ally be my valentine? Order Frosted Pillow Boxes Here for a limited time

Tammy — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:07:30 +0000

Well, valentine plans must be in full swing!! I am aware that these have been getting a “little” attention on pinterest and craftgawker due to the number of emails I’ve been receiving regarding the frosted pillow boxes. :) I unfortunately ordered them from a wholesale supplier of mine, without realizing that they would cause a frenzy!! So, I’ve decided to make them available here to you all. I have placed an order for them and they will be arriving by late next week, in time for me to get them out to any of those of you that are interested. I will send them first class mail and I am pricing them in packages of 10 boxes. Please order multiples if you need more than 10. (Paypal button is at the end of the post.)

These were created using frosted pillow boxes (the 3.5×5 size), a little satin ribbon, a 1.5 inch circle punch, a 2 inch scallop punch and some goldfish crackers. you know, a little salty to cut through all the sweets these little ones will be getting.

To make them easier to create I will also provide a free download for the tag, how does that sound?? That means all you need to pick up is some fun ribbon, and the fish! If you wanted to do them as candy valentines they woud also be fun with swedish fish.

i love love love the pink and orange combo, but to “boy” these up it would be really cute with a blue ribbon and tag too. blue and orange is always so striking! I will make the free printables in an orange option and a pink option so you don’t even have to go the extra step of buying colored cardstock to put under your white tag if you’d like. You will be able to just punch them out with a 3″ scallop or circle punch and ta-da!

You can find the free printable for these tags to download here:

o-fish-ally be mine tags

I hope you have fun creating all these handmade valentines! ~~Place your order now so I don’t run out of boxes!! There is a limited supply.~~ BOXES ARE NOW SOLD OUT

have a great day!
-t