Friday Favorites September 27th, 2013

Another weekly round up of our favorite things this week

Favorite Find

GEFU Spirelli Spiral Cutter (available at Amazon.com) 

 This handy little gadget makes pasta like "noodles" out of vegetables! Perfect for all of those zucchini pasta recipes I've seen all over Pinterest. 

GEFU Spirelli Spiral Cutter

Favorite Laugh
Sometimes I think It's possible to find your BFF just by seeing what other people pin on Pinterest!

Source: somecards.com

Favorite Fall Look

I love the Combination of Cranberry and Grey for this fall.

photo source: http://fashionistatrends.com

Favorite Song

I've been in a country mood this week and this one has been at the top of my playlist

Thomas Rhett - It goes like this.

Favorite Recipe

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

source: Allrecipes.com

Hope you enjoy the round up of our weekly favorites!

XO

Jess

Random Recipe: Honey Mustard Chicken

I was stuck for a supper idea tonight, and I had seen a post on facebook recently about Honey Mustard Chicken, but for the life of me I couldn't find it again..

So I went in to the kitchen and just started throwing together ingredients. 

Here's what I came up with.

Ingredients:

3-4 Chicken boneless-skinless breasts

1/3 Honey

1/3 Yellow Mustard

1 tsp Dried Rosemary 

1 tbsp dried Parsley flakes

2 tbsp minced garlic

.5 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except butter), and pour into large zip lock overtop of chicken. Let sit and marinate for at least 2 hours (the longer the better; could also be frozen for later use).
To cook, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. I used an Cast Iron Grill Griddle(grill side up) and set this inside the oven during the preheat time.

Once oven has reached temperature, take melted butter and brush onto griddle surface. Place chicken breasts onto hot griddle. The butter will keep the chicken from sticking, and add to the flavor. Let cook for 20-25 mins, then turn over and let cook another 15 mins or until meat is at desired doneness.  

Serve with a side and a veg, and you have a tasty meal, even a picky toddler will eat. ;)

Jo

Thirsty Thursday Iced Coffee

If you own a Keurig and like iced coffee, I have your go to recipe for the best "out" coffee, in!


If you don't own a Keurig, I highly recommend it.  I love mine!  It's great for grabbing a cup when you can, because if you're a busy mom like me, you never know when you'll get to drink that coffee, you just took time measuring out and waiting for to brew.  With one of these, if you have 1 minute, you can have a fresh brewed cup in your hands.  It's much better than drinking coffee that's sat there for a few hours. There's many different kinds of brewers out there depending on what you like.


Note: You can still make this without owning a Keurig, simply brew a good strong pot of coffee, and follow the same directions. 

Ingredients:
(Measurements will be on you for your desired amounts. I eyeball it when I make it, but I'll give you approximate measurements so you have a baseline to go from.)
-Strong Coffee ( I use the medium setting on my Keurig, which equals 1 cup of coffee)
-Caramel Sundae topping (1 tbsp  + drizzle amount for top)
-Chocolate Sundae topping (drizzle amount for top)
-Coffee Cream (1/4 cup)
-Whipped Cream ( 1/3 cup)
-1.5 cup of ice cubes

Suggestion:
I like a dark roast, especially when making an iced coffee, that way the flavor doesn't get lost in all the extra water from the ice. So, my choice of coffee to start is the brew over ice, Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Iced, K-Cup, available from Amazon.com.

Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Iced, K-Cup

Directions:
-Brew the coffee, and stir in caramel topping (or a different flavor, or just sugar, or whatever sweetener you like, or none if it is your preference) It's best to stir in any type of sweetener while the coffee is still hot, as it helps to disperse throughout the coffee better.
-Put half your ice into a cup. I like the insulated tumbler (as seen in the pictures), they just work well for these.
-Pour in the coffee cream (half & half, milk, almond milk, soy, whatever you want)
-Add the rest of the ice to the sweetened coffee, let sit 2-5 mins (most of this ice will melt)
-Pour cooled coffee and any remaining ice into tumbler with creamer & ice.
-Put desired amount of whip cream on top and drizzle with caramel and (or) chocolate.

At this point it should look just as good as anything your local barista can prepare! 

Enjoy :)

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Caprese Eggs

Simple, quick, and a great twist on a traditional over easy egg for breakfast. This would be really yummy on a piece of toast as well. I've been on a Caprese Kick lately, adding tomato, basil and mozzarella to everything! This one was a yummy combination that I'll be having again.

Ingredients

1 Egg
2 slices of tomato (about 1/4" thick)
1-2 fresh basil leaves
1 tbs shredded Mozzarella
drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
heat a pan over medium heat (spray with cooking spray if necessary)

on one side of the pan place the 2 tomato slices, topped with the basil leaves and mozzarella. On the other side, crack the egg. ( I was able to do this in one pan without the egg running to the tomatoes, if you're using a small pan or its a little warped you may want to use 2 separate pans.)

Cook the egg to your desired taste, and just let the tomatoes and cheese heat up simultaneously.

Transfer the eggs to a plate, top with the tomato, basil, and cheese.
salt and pepper to taste and drizzle a little balsamic vinegar on top.
Enjoy!

xo

Jess

Tuesday's Time Out to... DIY! Mini Canvas Project

 DIY!

(Also, look for future "Tuesday's Time Out to..." Crafts, Tips & Tricks, and more!)


This DIY is great for home decor.  I used this particular project to decorate in my oldest daughter's  room.  These are cute and easy miniature canvases that you turn into an almost instant wall hanging without being an artist! Let's get started!

Materials required:

-Sharp scissors (Xacto knife if you're handy with one)

-Magazine with desired photos

-Acrylic paint

-Modge Podge

-Miniature canvas (or desired size)

Instructions:

Paint the canvas the color you desire, let dry.  Cut out the image you want.  Be very careful to get as close to the edges of the image as you can. Apply modge podge to the back of the image, covering every bit of the paper, then smooth on to dry canvas in the desired location of the canvas. Be sure of the location as you can't move it after.  Also be careful not to allow any bubbling under the image.

And that's it!!

Let it all dry and hang where you want it!

Now instead of paying a fancy price for a nice wall hanging, you can easily make your own for a fraction of the cost.

You're welcome!! :)

Jo

Menu Monday September 23, 2013

Hate to plan meals ahead of time? Never know what to make for supper? That's OK, we've got you covered! Here's a round up of recipes that are family friendly.

Monday

Simple Whole Roasted Chicken

Source: Allrecipes.com

Tuesday

Italian Sausage with Tomatoes and Penne

Source: Bettycrocker.com

Wednesday

Tortilla Soup with Black Beans

source: Marthastewart.com

Thursday

Freeze and bake a low-carb lasagna.

source: LaurenConrad.com

Friday

Braised Balsamic Chicken

source: Allrecipes.com

Saturday

Baked Fish and Chips

source: Foodnetwrok.com

Sunday

Cauliflower Mac n' Cheese 

Source: cookingchanneltv.com

Let us know which meal was your favorite.

XO

Jess

Friday Favorites September 20, 2013

A round up of our favorite things this week.

Favorite Find:
Sunsella Mighty Pops Ice Pop Maker Molds
(Found on Amazon.com)
 They make perfect Frozen yogurt tubes, replacing the expensive store bought kind. Dishwasher safe and Kid approved!

Favorite Quote:

We love Shel Silverstein. My kids reach for his books often.

Picture source: Cautiously Waiting on Tumblr 

Favorite Song: 

Royals by LORDE. It's catchy, you'll be humming it all week long like us! 

Favorite Food:

Seared Scallops with Bacony Brussels Sprouts

I've been craving scallops for a while now, and I already like brussels sprouts... adding bacon is the only sensible thing left to do!

Favorite Laugh:

Who doesn't love Johnny?!

Photo Source:  Bucking Rich

Have a Favorite from this week? We'd love to know!

XO

Jess

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

If you enjoy asparagus, and are feeling a little fancy, try this out.  It's a tasty little dish. 

Ingredients:
-Desired amount of asparagus spears, trim ends.
-1-2 tablespoon olive oil
-Kosher salt
-Ground black pepper
-Parmesan
-Thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise

Directions:
Blanch the asparagus spears, (place in boiling water for about 2 mins, then into an ice bath to stop cooking)
Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle it with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss until the spears are evenly coated with the oil. Transfer them to the large plate and set the baking sheet aside.
Wrap each spear with 1 slice of prosciutto in a downward spiral toward the cut end, just barely overlapping the seams of the prosciutto. Space out each piece on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan.
Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until desired crispiness .
Enjoy :)

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Tree Birthday cake

Do you know someone who loves trees?

How about a doing a birthday cake in a tree theme. I did this for my daughters 1st birthday.  I admit, I'm the one who loves trees, but I also designed her room with a tree theme, so it seemed like a good idea.  :)
I decided to go with 2 different sized cupcakes for those at the party who might want to control the portions, or for any little kids who couldn't handle an entire cupcake. It ended up adding to the overall design, which was an added bonus.
As for the decoration, you'll see in the picture, I started with chocolate cake for the cupcakes.  For icing I used 2 different shades of green to add to the detail of the leaf part of the tree. Chocolate frosting for brown trunk and branches. I just went over top of the already frosted green cupcakes for the branches.  Then I used a lighter brown color for some lines in the trunk for detail.  I also used some lighter shade green to make grass at the bottom of the tree.

Finding a circular platter to put it on was "the icing on the cake" (hahaha, sorry for the bad pun) because I find it framed the whole thing well. 

Overall, it was pretty easy to make, and turned out really nice, at least I think so. So now you can make a tree birthday cake too (or any occasion you might need it for) 

:)

Jo

Chicken-Ghetti

I love sharing my recipes with you guys. Problem is, I usually fly by the seat of my pants and make it up as I go. When it's done and turns out to be yummy, I never know what to call it. My kids came up with this one, Chicken-Ghetti. When I asked my daughter about the name she said "well, because it's like spaghetti, but with chicken". I realized I over complicate things, Just call it what it is! This is a great one to use up left overs. You can also use any combination of veggies that are in season or that you have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb box of spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine noddles
• 1 lb left over cooked chicken ( or cook and shred 1lb of chicken)
• 1/2 Zucchini, halved and sliced
• 1 small onion, diced   
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped ( I used 1/2 green, 1/2 red)
• 1 cup matchstick carrots (or about 2 carrots, julienned)
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 16oz can diced tomatoes with garlic and onions (undrained)
• 2 cups Tomato sauce
• seasoning to taste ( I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian blend seasoning)
• 2 TBS Olive oil

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent from sticking, until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain.
2. Mean while in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat, add carrots onion, peppers and zucchini, saute until the onions are translucent.
3. Add Chicken to the vegetables, along with seasonings, continue to saute 3-4 minutes
4. Add Tomatoes, Tomato sauce and spinach. Reduce heat to medium Low, cover. Stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
5. Add sauce to pasta, mix.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Let us know how you like it!

XO

Jess

French Onion Soup

This is a favorite of mine for fall, and it's soon going to be here. So here's how you can enjoy some for those brisk fall days.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
3 white onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cups water
2 cups beef broth
1 French baguette
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
A few sprigs of parsley


Directions:

Combine butter, onions and sugar in a sauce pan. Cook over low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes. You must cook them slow for the flavor to be right. You should look for them to be translucent first, and then as they just start to turn golden, that's when they are ready. Next stir in flour and balsamic vinegar until well blended with the onions and pan juices. Add water and beef broth and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover soup, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While the soup simmers, cut 1 inch thick slices from the baguette and toast the slices until browned. Place oven safe bowls on cookie sheet, and ladle out the soup into the bowls (leaving enough room for bread on top). Place 1 slice of the toasted baguette on top of the soup in each bowl. Liberally sprinkle cheese over top. To finish, add a small sprig of parsley (stem removed) on top of the cheese. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is melted.

Enjoy :)

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Rigatoni Pizza

Ingredients:

4 cups of pasta sauce

1 pound rigatoni pasta

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups spinach

10-15 slices of pepperoni 

1 tsp dried basil.

Special note: A spring form pan is ideal for this, but, if like me you don't have one, you can use a casserole dish.  Be sure the sides are straight up and down, not a gradual slope, otherwise the pasta will not come out.  Grease the dish well!

Directions:

Cook the rigatoni until it's slightly underdone. Drain, and run under cold water. Once rigatoni has cooled, arrange in the dish, tightly packing them, and standing them on their ends. Next, you can use a bag to pipe the sauce into the noodles, and then add a layer over top of the full noodles. 

Now add your toppings.  I used a layer of spinach over the sauce, then a layer of shredded mozzarella & parmesan cheese, then arranged sliced pepperoni on top. Last, I placed a few pieces of shredded cheese over that, and sprinkled some dried basil over top.

Prior to placing in the oven, I used a butter knife to separate ingredients from the side of the dish.

Bake at 400 for 20 - 25 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.

After it's cooked, again using a butter knife, slide around edge, separating from the edge of the dish.

Let cool about 15 minutes.

Once cooled, place a plate on top of dish,  flip upside down onto plate, quickly place a second plate on top of the bottom of noodles, and quickly flip again.  Remove the first plate from the top of the pizza and let stand about 5 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

:)

Jo

Beer Batter Baked Pretzels

Using your bread maker to make the dough for these baked pretzels cuts the work in half. They're soft, chewy, and a real kid pleaser! There are many ways that you can make these, top them with a bit of pizza sauce and cheese to make Pizza Pretzels, melted butter and cinnamon sugar for a sweeter version, and so on.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup beer
• 1 tablespoon Butter
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

Directions:

Measure first 6 ingredients in order listed into baking pan. Select: Dough/Pasta Setting and press start.

When the cycle is complete remove dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 14X9 inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut into eighteen 14X1/2 inch strips. Gently pull each strip into a rope 16 inches long. To shape into pretzels: Curve ends of each rope to make a circle; cross ends at top. Twist ends once and lay over bottom of circle. Place on greased baking sheets. DO NOT LET RISE.

Combine lightly beaten egg and 1 Tbs water; brush on pretzels. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 18-20 minutes or until done. Remove from sheets and let pretzels cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Whats your Favorite way to top a soft baked Pretzel?

XO 

Jess