Grown Up Grilled Cheese

This is the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever made.  Hand's down, the best!  I served it up with a Mushroom Barley soup that was amazing as well. (I'll post that recipe this week!)  But back to the sandwich... Gooey, cheesey goodness... What wouldn't you like about that?  And it's easy to make.  My husband requested this be made at least once a week.

Ingredients:

Thick sliced of white bread such as Tuscan Pane.

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup of shredded white cheddar (I love Kerrygold's Dubliner)

2 tbs of garlic & herb cheese spread (I used Boursin)

2 tbs of butter

Directions:

Spread the herb and cheese spread over the bread on what will be the inside part of the sandwich.

Mix the cheese together and pile it up on one side of your sandwich.

Close your sandwich and grill on a non-stick or cast iron skillet in a tablespoon or two of butter over medium-low heat.  You want to cook these at a lower heat than you might think so that the cheese melts all the way through before the bread toasts. Delicious, right?  

Building a Playhouse

I built a house today.  Yes, you read that correctly, I BUILT A HOUSE!!  Okay, okay, well, I had some help.  My dad came over and helped my husband and I for a few hours.  But, really I was dedicated to this house.  We bought the girls this playhouse for Christmas.  I shopped around online for a while, but finally decided on this one that we found at Sam's Club.  I really did love the little Victorian that my mom picked out, but $2,000 for a playhouse wasn't in my budget.  This one came in at around $300 and we were lucky enough to have some family help out with the cost.

My husband is a great guy.  Devoted father, (he'll play ponies for hours) thoughtful husband, he even does most of the grocery shopping.  But, he's not the handiest guy in the world.  Lucky for him, he married me!  I know, sounds silly, but I love a good project.  Refinishing furniture, painting, putting together stuff, right up my alley.  We figured a little help couldn't hurt though, so we called Papa (my dad) and he came to lend a hand.

There's my dad and husband working on the base of the structure.  It came with brackets that were already attached, but just needed to be screwed together. This was a little tricky, but we got it pretty quick.  The roof went up with out a hitch (hehe)!

We had little helpers.  They were so excited.  They were so unhelpful. ;-)

The hardest part of the whole darn house was assembling this plastic mail box.  I finally got it after way too much time and maybe a bad word. (Not good since Ella repeated me.)  Oops!! 

It even came with a covered patio!

Lily Clare was pretty happy.  We haven't installed all the fixtures inside yet, and I'm not sure that we will.  It seems like they'll loose a lot of room if I put in the counter with the sink and stove.  We will see...

Anyway, I built a house today.  It's pretty great, right?!

Shells with Ham & Peas

I got this new dish for Christmas from my sister.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I love it!  I used my leftover ham to make a tasty dinner.  If you don't have leftover ham you could use a ham steak, or even bacon!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 a stick of butter (for alfredo)
1/2 a stick of butter, melted (for topping)
1 1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (for topping)
2 tsp of granulated garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
fresh cracked black pepper
1 ham steak (or several slices or leftover ham) diced into bite sized pieces
1 cup petite peas
1 lb. medium shells
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp of fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a sauce pan over medium heat melt butter and cream cheese together.  Add garlic powder and whisk in milk.  When smooth add Parmesan cheese, basil and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Cook shells according to package directions.  Right before draining (about 30 seconds before) add peas.  Once drained, add to the alfredo sauce.  Stir in ham and transfer to a greased baking dish.  Mix bread crumbs, remaining Parmesan cheese, melted butter and parsley together and sprinkle over the pasta.  Place in oven for 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Meeting My Goals

When I started this blog in October, I was really excited about the possibilities of sharing recipes and ideas with people.  I really didn't expect it to take off the way it did.  Within two months, I went from a handful of close friends liking my page on Facebook to having over 500 likes!

Before I had children I worked for Easter Seals (Disability Services) as a Marketing Coordinator.  I used to maintain their website and write about their upcoming events, campaigns, ect.  I was pretty comfortable with my writing abilities, but it's a whole different story when you start writing about yourself and your family.  You may find it funny that after my first daughter was born I wouldn't even have professional photos taken of her until she was 18 months old because I didn't want to fill out the form and put my address down.  I was worried that strangers would know where we lived and want to take my baby.  I've come a long way since then and have my paranoia a little more under control (it helps that our professional photographer is a personal friend) but, there are times when I still struggle with how much I am comfortable sharing with people I don't even know.

But, that's sort of the point of blogging, isn't it?  Finding something in common with people?  I mean, I assume that's what this is all about.  Forcing myself to open up and put my thoughts, ideas, struggles as a mother, wife, friend out there for all to read... It has made me realize it's not as scary as I was letting it be.  It's kind of freeing, really to let it all go.  When I set my blog up, I kept thinking, if I can just get 60 posts between now and the end of the year, I'll be really proud of myself.  Well, yesterday I wrote my 60th post!  I am proud of myself and I am setting new goals for 2014!  It's going to be a great year.  A year of writing, learning, spending time with my family and sharing it all with you.  I look forward to this new adventure and can't wait to see where it leads!

Happy New Year!

My Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  I was really lucky and was thoroughly spoiled by my family this year.  I got many, many things and thought I'd share a few of my new gifts that I'm excited about.  Being a lover of all things food related, I asked Santa for serving dishes, cookbooks, ect.

Loving the beautiful blue color of this stone wear dish my brother and sister-in-law got me!

My parents played a terrible joke on me and re-arranged all their kitchen drawers right before the holidays.  Next time they are out of town, look out, my handy labelmaker and I are going to have a lot of fun!

I'm well aware that Ugg boots are pretty pricey.  The last pair I bought when I was pregnant with Lily Claire.  I've worn them a lot over the last 5 1/2 years so I figured they are worth it in the long run.  I'm pretty excited to have a beautiful new pair of these beauties!

Who's Christmas would be complete without power tools?  I'm sure this bad boy is going to really come in handy on my next refinishing project.  Looks like I need to hit up the thrift stores and garage sales and find my next piece!

And of course Christmas wouldn't be nearly as fun without the kids.  Here they are snuggling up under their new blankets from Aunt Breanna.  They may or may not be eating popcorn at 8am... Hey, it's a healthy snack, right?

Hope your Christmas was a good one!  Now I better get to taking down all the decorations and tree.

Christmas Eve

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas Eve. We're spending Christmas at my mom's house this year. We have an amazing filet mignon in the oven with a blue cheese cream sauce to go with it, scalloped potatoes ready to go, green beans... The the table is set, the tree is trimmed.  We're ready for Santa!

I've Been Working on a Toy Chest...

For some reason as I write this post I've humming the tune I've Been Working on the Railroad.  Anyway, it's taking me longer than I planned to get this project finished.  I forgot to take into account that the weather is damp and cold so the paint isn't drying as fast as I'd like.  One of the things about working with chalk paint is that you need to apply several thin coats to get the desired aged look I'm going for.  I'm still hoping to get it done by Christmas...  We will see...

No Bake Holiday Treats

If you're anything like me you had the best of intentions to get all your gifts purchased, wrapped and under the tree weeks ago.  Unfortunately life sometimes gets in the way of our plans.  Last Sunday, the day after my daughter turned two, my grandfather passed away.  He had been ill for quite some time, but we were hopeful we would have one last Christmas with him.  Sadly, that was not the case.  Even with the sadness that comes with losing a loved one, I knew I still had to get through last week and get everything done.  But, Ella got sick.  She's been miserable for the last 5 days now.  Snotty, cranky baby + Christmas shopping = Not Happening!!  Luckily my dad helped out and I was able to get my shopping done.  But, I didn't get a chance to make treats until yesterday.  I love to give homemade treats to neighbors and friends.  It's an affordable way to tell someone how much they mean to you.  And who doesn't like chocolate, right??  If you're looking for a quick and easy homemade gift to give someone, look no further.  I've got you covered.  These fast and easy "no bake" candy recipes are easy and delicious!  And if you still don't get them made by Christmas, they'll make tasty New Year's treats too!

All three of my chocolate bark recipes start the same way.  You'll need two 12oz bags of chocolate chips for each one.

I made three different kinds, but there are so many toppings that would be delicious.

Ingredients for Peppermint White Chocolate Bark:

Two 12oz bags of white chocolate chips

6 candy canes with the wrappers removed

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Ingredients for Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallow Bark:

Two 12oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or whichever type of chocolate you prefer) 

6 candy canes with wrappers removed 

1 cup of small marshmallows

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Ingredients for Chocolate Turtle Bark:

Two 12oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of cashews

1 cup of small marshmallows

1/2 a bag of carmels removed from their wrappers

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Directions:

Each of these bark recipes start out the same way.  Using a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  You'll want to check them every 15 seconds and stir them until they are completely melted.  Once melted pour the chocolate onto a large piece of parchment paper and spread evenly using an off set spatula.  Top the bark with the toppings for each one.  For the Turtle Bark follow the same directions for melting the carmel.  Top the bark with the melted carmel and sea salt.  You'll need to let the bark set up on the counter for a few hours, or if you want to put it in the fridge, place your parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet first, then make your bark and place in the fridge.  You can slice your bark with a knife if you want, but I like the rustic look of just breaking it into big chunks.  

Meatball Stroganoff

This recipe is one of my abso-fave weeknight meals.  It is so easy to make and is delicious.  My hubby requests this one about once a week and I'm happy to comply!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:
1 package of frozen Party Size Meatballs (Trader Joe's)
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 handfulls of sliced crimini mushrooms (button of white are fine too)
2 sprigs of fresh thyme removed from stems
1/2 tsp salt
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1/2 cup of dry white wine
2 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup of whole milk
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg of egg noodles
chives to garnish

Directions:
In a large non stick skillet over medium-low heat melt butter.  When butter is melted add flour and stir together until it becomes a paste with no lumps.  Continue to cook the flour for a minute or two, then slowly whisk in white wine.  When The mixture is free of lumps slowly whisk the beef broth in a little at a time.  It should look like a thick gravy.  Add the mushrooms, thyme, salt, pepper and meatballs. Reduce heat until just simmering and cover with a lid.  Allow to reduce and cook for about 20 minutes, until meatballs are completely cooked through.  While meatballs are cooking prepare the egg noodles according to package.  After meatballs have been simmering and are cooked through, add the milk and stir.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream.  Return to low heat and continue cooking until sauce is heated through.  Ladle sauce over noodles and garnish with fresh chives.

Chicken Piccata

Who doesn't love Chicken Piccata?  Moist chicken in a lemony wine sauce with just a bit of briney goodness from the capers...  Simply delicious.  Go ahead, make it, you know you want to try it!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts thinly sliced or pounded
1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
juice from half of a lemon
2/3 cup of dry white wine
2 tbs capers drained
2 cloves of garlic
1 diced shallot
2 tbs butter
2 tbs canola oil

Directions:
In a shallow bowl or plate combine flour, salt and pepper.  Dredge your thinly pounded or sliced chicken in the flour.  In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter and add canola oil (so the butter doesn't burn).  When the butter is melted add the floured chicken breasts.  Cook over medium heat until golden brown on one side, then turn.  When both sides are browned remove chicken from pan.  If there is a lot of extra oil drain until only about 2 tablespoons remain.  Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic and shallots.  After shallots and garlic saute for a minute or two add white wine.  Use a wooden spoon to scrape any bits of flour that may have stuck to the bottom of the skillet.  Add lemon juice and capers.  Return chicken to skillet and cover.  Allow to cook completely through, about 10 more minutes.  Remove from heat.  Delicious served over mashed potatoes or angel hair pasta.  Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese if desired.  

Refurbishing a Toy Chest

About a month ago I spent the day thrift store shopping with my best friend. One of my many finds that day was this old toy chest. 

As you can see it is pretty dinged up. The hinges are broken and it is filthy inside. I knew it would be perfect!

One man's trash is another man's treasure, right?

Well my family has had a couple of crazy busy weeks and I haven't even touched the chest. It's been sitting in my garage collecting dust and getting dirtier every day. Today I decided I couldn't put it off another day. With Ella just celebrating her birthday and getting a ton of new toys, and Christmas right around the corner, I knew I had to have a place to put all this stuff.

Taking a two year old to the hardware store is always an adventure, but I got my paint and two new hinges! Now I just need to get her down for a nap and I can get to work! Can't wait to share my progress & my finished project with you all!

Mickey Mouse Cupcakes

Okay, Okay, I know I'm probably driving you all crazy with my photos from Ella's birthday party.  Here's a recipe to change things up a bit!  Yes...it's from her party, but I promise if you make these cupcakes, you will love them!  If Mickey isn't really your thing, they would be fantastic with red and green sprinkles for Christmas!

I made three dozen cupcakes, but I'm going to scale the recipe back a bit incase you don't need as many!

Ingredients/Supplies:
1 Dozen Vegan Pumpkin Muffins (previous post)
1 8oz. Package of Cream Cheese Softened
1/2 Stick of Softened Butter
2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Package of Mini Oreo Cookies
Paper Cupcake Cups
Piping Bag or Large Ziploc
Star Tip

Directions:
Allow Vegan Pumpkin Muffins to cool completely.  Since I have a few friends who are vegan, I set a few muffins aside for them.  In a stand mixer, or with a electric hand beater, add softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar a little at a time until completely incorporated.  If you have a piping bag, good for you!  I happen to only have Ziploc bags so I used one of those.  Snip the corner so it's just big enough for your star tip to fit.  Add the icing to the Ziploc.  Push all the air out and close the bag.  Twist so the icing is in the bottom corner where the star tip is.  Starting at the outer edge of the muffins ice in a circular motion until you reach the center.  Add one "ear" to each side.  Hello Mickey!  :)

I Have a Two Year Old!!

On Saturday my youngest daughter, Ella Rose turned two!  I posted a few pictures of her party a few days ago, but haven't had a chance to post more pictures and recipes until today.  Before I post the recipe for these cute little cupcakes, let me tell you all a bit about my little cupcake! 

 

Ella Rose was the sweetest baby ever!  I swear I'm not just saying that, she really was the best infant!  This is a picture of her on the day we brought her home from the hospital.

She was such a tiny little thing, weighing only 6lbs, but a healthy, happy baby!

As with all babies, she grew fast!  When Ella was about 7 months old we realized she had a severe allergy to eggs.  After a scary emergency room visit and allergy referrals and testing, we had to cut eggs out of our diet completely.  We learned the hard way that we couldn't even keep eggs in the house.

Before I knew it she was nearly 10 months old!  That's also around the time she started having some issues with her hearing.  She had her first ear infection at 9 months, which was the end of September, last year.  Between September and February of this year she had a total of 8 back to back infections.  Ella had developed a resistance to the antibiotics that they were using to treat her infections.  She stopped sleeping well and was pretty miserable for a while.  In February her doctors decided she needed tubes.  After the tubes were placed, she could hear again, which was fantastic!  She also seemed to be more comfortable laying down and could sleep better at night. 

 By the time she was 14 months old she was no longer just walking, she was running!  The transition between baby and toddler happened over night!  Ella is a mischievous toddler!  She has made "baby proofing" a real adventure around here!   

 

It is crazy how fast two years can go by!  Ella is in love with Mickey Mouse, so she had a "Mickey" party.  I'm sure you all saw my earlier post with more of the photos from the party.  Anyway, that's just a little about my TWO year old!! I can't believe how fast the time has flown!  I had a really fun time making her "egg free" cupcakes and will post the recipe tonight!  I hope you enjoyed meeting Ella!

And the Winner is...

Lemons!  The grapes are such a poignant reminder of those our family has recently lost.  As much as I love them, I think the lemons are inspiring and they cheer me up.  We could use a little cheer right now, so I'm sticking with lemons.  Eventually I hope that I can get one of my more creative friends to make me a pretty banner with a logo, but for now the lemons will do!

Ella Turned Two

Today my Ella Baby turned two! We had a Mickey Mouse themed birthday and she was in heaven! I will post more photos & the recipes in the next few days, but here are a few of my favorite pictures from the party!

Good bye everyone! Thank you for loving me!

Blog Makeover

You may have noticed that my blog has been going under a bit of a "makeover" phase.  I've been trying out new headers and background colors and trying to make it look just right.  I know, that'll probably never happen.  Like my home, it will always be a work in progress, but I am working on it, none the less...  With that being said, I do appreciate your feedback and welcome suggestions.  The photo currently on the header is one that my sister-in-law took a few years back at our family's vineyard in Oregon.  Unfortunately, due to my gradfather's health, the property was sold this past summer.  Even though the land no longer belongs to our family, it was a labor of love that my grandfather dedicated a large portion of his life to.

I am tinkering with the idea of leaving this as my header, however, the lemons that I previously had up here are great too.  They were from my mom's tree and I shot the photo a few weeks back.  They make me smile and are cheery, but they just don't have the same depth of meaning as the grapes.

Anyhow, what do you all think???  Grapes or Lemons?

Parenting my Independent Spirit

Many of you who actually know me and my family have seen first hand how completely different my children are from each other.  My oldest, Lily Claire is gentle, sensitive, kind, artistic...  My youngest, Ella is a bit more complicated, so far.  She's the child that is running left when everyone else is going right.  The one that carries the piano bench over to the hall closet and climbs up on it to reach the shelf with the nail polish so she can paint her "pretties".  The one who MUST pick out her own clothes and refuses to wear pants!  Anyhere, no pants!!!  Don't get me wrong, I adore her, but she is a challenge!  Every day I find myself having to "dig deep" to parent her effectively.  It got me thinking about how many people have had to do the same thing with their children and the challenges that they face daily.  I don't know about you, but it makes me smile when I read about a child who has similar personality traits to my children.  So for those of you out there in the same boat as me, you know, the one where your child is screaming on the floor at Target and throwing her shoes off because you won't buy the 8 boxes of Tazo Tea that she so carefully placed in the basket herself.  You are not alone!  And for those of you out there with children who have so many more challenges than I face, the ones with Neurology appointments, GI appointments, Occupational Therapy appointments, and so many more things on you plate, you are not alone either!  We are all parenting our Independent Spirits, the best way we can.

Winter Pesto

By now you've probably realized I've been whining a little bit about the cold weather we've been experiencing here in Northern California.  I know, I know, compared to most of the country we've been pretty lucky, but around here 23 degrees is COLD!!!  Usually I am pretty content with my "winter weather" meals, but the last day or two I've been in the mood for something fresh, light and reminiscent of summer.  Since my herb garden completely froze and I didn't want to lug two kids out in the cold to look for fresh basil at the grocery store today, I decided to use what I had on hand.  I'm calling this winter pesto because these ingredients are easy to find year round, especially in winter when it can get a little harder to find (or afford) fresh basil.  I hope you enjoy this light and tasty meal!

Ingredients:
1 handful of fresh baby spinach
1 1/4 cups of frozen artichokes defrosted
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup (maybe a little more) olive oil

Directions:
In a food processor throw in garlic, greens, artichokes, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and lemon juice.  Pulse until it begins to come together, then drizzle in the olive oil and continue to puree.  I like mine slightly chunky still, but if you want it really smooth, keep pureeing.  Serve with your favorite pasta or with grilled chicken or fish.