The Messy House Home Tour...

Hello friends!!  How're you all doing today?  I had some friends over for coffee this morning and have been a little lazy since they left.  I was poking around on Instagram (I just love Instagram, you should follow me there if you don't already @lilyseclaires) and I came across this picture and link to a blog post over at Bless'er House.  It's an awesome blog and I love reading all the things that Lauren comes up with over there.  Her current post about The Messy House Tour inspired me to share a few pictures of my messy house.

It's not always sparkly clean around here.  I mean, come on. I have two kids, two dogs, two cats, two fish and a husband (see how I like things in twos?  except for the husband...)

On most days there are dishes in the sink, laundry on the couch or table, towels on the bathroom floor... You get the idea.

Yeah, I'm confused by the wig and guitar too...

This is our home.  It's where we visit with friends, eat our meals, read our books, and love each other. And while I love sharing photos of it all organized and clean, the reality is we are messy sometimes. We live here.  Thank you Lauren, for inspiring me to share our messy home.

Basic Alfredo Sauce

Here's a little disclaimer... I didn't come up with this recipe on my own.  But, for the life of me I cannot remember which website I found it on because I've been using it for years now.  I have been known to tweak it (on many occasions) by adding sun dried tomatoes, roasted bel peppers, spinach. Some times I leave my veggie additions whole and sometimes I use my emersion blender to puree them to a smooth sauce.  Whatever I end up doing, I always start with this basic recipe, so I thought I would share that with you today!

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (yes the entire stick!)
1 8oz. block of cream cheese (the entire thing!)
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 tbs of garlic powder
2 cups of milk
pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
In a sauce pan over medium-low heat melt butter, add the cream cheese and whisk together.  The cream cheese does not melt very well, which is fine! (Don't worry it will come together when you add the milk.) Add the garlic powder and then slowly whisk in the milk.  Continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and begins to thicken.  Add the cheese and continue to whisk until cheese is melted and sauce reaches desired thickness.  If it is too thick you can add a little more milk or a little reserved pasta water.  Serve with your favorite pasta, as a dipping sauce for breadsticks... Here are a few pictures of how I love to use this Alfredo Sauce!

Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Blue Baked Pasta

Today was Ella's Papa's day to take her to pre-school and volunteer in her class.  Which means that I was supposed to have the morning to myself to run errands and get some chores done.  I was really looking forward to that alone time...

Papa and I were going to trade cars so I didn't have to move car seats around.  When he went to start my car, it wouldn't start.  Someone I'm not naming names here (yes I am, it was my husband!) left a door open and the battery went dead.

So... I spent the morning with my friend Stacey taking the battery out of my car and over to Autozone to get charged.  I got about 5 minutes to make a bed and then the girls were back from school.

I'm a little late on getting this post up, but it was delicious and you definitely will want to make this!

Ingredients:
1lb. penne, rigatoni or rotini
3 tbs of butter
3 tbs of flour
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 tbs granulated garlic
pinch of nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
2 rotisserie chicken breasts, skinless and chopped into bite-size chunks
6 thin slices of deli ham chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of shredded swiss cheese

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pasta according to package instructions, but only boil for 7 minutes.  While pasta is cooking prepare the sauce.  Melt butter over medium heat in a non-stick pan.  Add flour and whisk until combined and the texture looks like wet sand.  Cook for 1-2 minutes to allow the four taste to cook out.  Add the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time and whisk well until smooth. Add milk 1/2 cup at a time and continue to whisk until smooth.  Add the garlic and parmesan and whisk until smooth, then add nutmeg to taste.  Try the sauce at this point and see if you need salt.  Add pepper and a pinch of nutmeg and remove from the heat.  When pasta is cooked, drain return to pan and pour sauce over the top.  Add the chicken and the ham and stir until combined.  Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Top the pasta with the shredded cheeses, then place in the oven.  Bake until the cheese is melted and golden.  Voila!

Cornish Game Hens

Cornish Game Hen's are one of my husband's favorite things for dinner. He loves the fact that he basically gets a whole chicken to himself. I love making these for him when I want to do something a little special.

I prepare these pretty much the same way that I do my Perfectly Roasted Chicken. Really, the biggest difference is that they cook faster because they are smaller.



Ingredients:
1 Organic whole chicken (with giblets removed)
8 Sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Lemons and their zest
1/2 Stick of room temperature butter
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
Garlic salt
2 Heaping tablespoons of Creme Fraiche


Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray your cast iron skillet with non-stick spray.  Place dry hens in the skillet (be sure they are completely dry or the skin won't crisp up. Salt and pepper the cavity and stuff with lemon and 1/2 of your thyme. Massage the outside of the bird with the room temperature butter. Then lightly sprinkle with salt, garlic powder and pepper. Place hens in pre-heated oven.

Baste the hens with the drippings (or chicken broth if there aren't any) every 15 minutes or so. While the hens are cooking add creme fraiche, lemon zest, juice of lemon 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper and thyme removed from stems to a bowl and stir until combined. After 35 minutes of cooking time, remove hens from oven and baste with creme fraiche mixture. Place hens back in oven and continue to cook for 10 more minutes or until the creme fraiche has carmelized on the birds (usually 10-15 mins).  Remove and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve with roasted vegetables.

Best bird, guaranteed!

October Fun

I think I've probably said I love fall about a zillion times by now, but let's go for a zillion and one, I love fall!! October is such a fun month when you have kids!  Yesterday we celebrated my little niece's first birthday and I got a chance to take a few pictures of my girls with my new camera.  I thought I would share a few with you!

I even made a little cake to celebrate our day together.  I hope you are having a beautiful weekend too, sweet friends!

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

This is one of those recipes that are so easy, they barely require instructions.  But, since I know some people (like my husband!) can't even boil water, I'll break it down for you so you can make this too. Because you should make it, it's totally worth the time and prep and is healthy and delicious!



You will need a spaghetti squash, a jar of marinara sauce, and some ground meat, any type you like. I used lean ground pork, but ground turkey would be great too, or even ground beef.  You also need some shredded mozzarella cheese, and little salt, pepper and garlic powder, and some olive oil.  And that's it!

Start by cutting your squash in half.  If it is really hard to cut, use a rubber mallet to gently tap the knife to make it a little easier. Scoop out the seeds, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Place cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 365 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Once the skin can easily be pierced with a sharp knife, the squash should be done.

While the squash cooks, brown up your ground meat in a little olive oil. I like to add a little fennel seed and ground sage (totally optional) and a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Once the meat is browned, add the jar of sauce. and stir until well combined and the sauce is heated through. Then cover with a lid and let stand until the squash is done.

Once your squash is done cooking and is soft, remove from the oven and use a fork to scrape the insides which should look like strands of spaghetti. Add a few ladles of the sauce to each half of the squash and then top with the cheese.  Place back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until they are browned and bubbly.  Garnish with basil or parsley if you have it.

Voila!  Enjoy this delicious dinner!  Serves 4.

Weekends in October

October is by far my favorite month out of the entire year.  The weather in Sacramento has usually cooled to bearable temperatures during the day and the evenings are cool enough to open up the windows and enjoy the cool breeze.

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Plus I love the colors.  Oranges and reds and golds everywhere you look.  I recently broke out the fall decor and shared a few pictures of my home decorated for the fall months here.



I thought I would share a little of our weekend outing to the pumpkin patch today.  I love pumpkins and Davis Ranch in Sloughouse, CA has really good deals on pumpkins and carries pretty much every variety imaginable.

Plus they have an awesome farmer's market with some of the best corn on the planet.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend too!