Intro to Finding my Beauty Up Holy Grail Series

Hello Loves! I am starting a new series called Finding the Holy Grails of Makeup. I am so excited about this. As anyone knows me, knows I love trying makeup out and different colors and products. But sometimes a girl just needs the trusty, never fail products, that no matter what, you know will look good on you. On this quest, I need to try as many as possible. So needless to say, Sephora samples are my friends.  I will go through each category of make up. Then at the end, put all of these “Holy Grails’ or HG’s as I will call them in one makeup bag. I may do a giveaway at the end with a customized bag of my HG’s for a lucky reader! Ok Sounds fun.

As a mom, I some days don’t have time to play with my makeup. Some days I don’t  want to have to think about it….so I want to just have the fail safes to go to automatically. The areas I will be finding my HG’s are:  

·         Primer

·         Foundation

·         Powder

·         Bronzer

·         Blush

·         Highlighter

·         Eyeshadow-which will be a palette

·         Eyeshadow primer

·         Eye Liner

·         Mascara

·         And Lipstick and Lip gloss

*   Skincare products

 I am so excited to get started. I have started sampling already. Once I narrow down to two or 3 I will post a review on each one and reveal what I chose. I am starting with Primers and foundations first. I am so excited about this.

By no means will I stop trying all kinds of things. I just thought this would be fun to do! So YAY! Very exciting.

 Daily Tidbits

·         I am obsessed with Whole Foods. I love that store.

·         Currently trying to find a book to read to focus my attention on

·         I am loving Hatch Chile white cheddar cheese, it is so yummy.

·         Trying to figure out how Google + works is the pain in the booty

Have a great day!

Carlise

Monday Munchies: Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes (Cheesecake factory Copycat recipe)

James and I love Cheesecake Factory! It is so yummy! But as I can’t go there everyday and eat my favorite menu item of Sweet Corn Tamale cakes, then I figured I need to get on the ball and make them at home. So that’s what I did! The recipe is courtesy of Food.com. It is a copy cat recipe of The Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes.

A little about these cakes:  They are  made of sweet white corn and masa flour as the main ingredients. Also has butter, salt, AP flour. They are topped with a Salsa verde , Tomato Salsa, and a southwest sauce. Garnished with Sour cream, Cilantro, and Avocado. They are so full of flavors and healthy at least to me. So here we go the  recipe

Ingredients

Salsa Verde

• 2 tomatillos, diced
• 4 ounces mild green chilies, drained and diced
• 1 green onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

For Tomato Salsa

• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced Spanish onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 dash salt
• 1 dash ground black pepper

For Southwestern Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon water
• 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch onion powder
• 1 dash salt
• 1 dash garlic powder

For Cakes

• 1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup corn masa harina flour ( corn flour)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For Garnish

• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1.     Prepare salsa verde by combining all prepared ingredients. Chill.

2.     Prepare tomato salsa by combining all prepared ingredients. Chill.

3.     Prepare southwestern sauce by combining all ingredients. Chill.

4.     Preheat oven to 400°F.

5.     Prepare the tamale cakes by chopping 1 cup of the frozen corn in a food processor until it's coarsely pureed. Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar, and salt. Blend well.

6.     Add masa and flour and blend well. Mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of frozen corn kernels by hand.

7.     Measure 1/2 cup portions of the mixture and form it into 3" wide patties with your hands. Arrange the patties

8.     Carefully flip all cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until other side is browned.

9.     Assembly: Place all three cakes on a warmed serving platter. Dollop each with one of the three sauces. Garnish with diced avocado, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.

It Makes 4 and they are 606 calories per serving.

 

Daily Tidbits:

·         I am trying Greek Yogurt for the first time… its not bad. Why did I wait so long to try it!

·         My hubby is back home! Yippee!

·         I am on the hunt for this particular dog shampoo..

·         I am obsessed with redecorating my bedroom

 

In Love and Christ,
Carlise