Sweet Tutorial

I'm running out of time to share all of the holiday posts that I wanted to. So, even though my birthday was yesterday and it was the single bestest birthday a girl ever had, I'm not going to tell you about it today. Nope. I'll save it for later and leave you hanging so that I can share with you this yummy Peppermint Bark tutorial. I hope you are loving every moment of these last days of the holiday season.

There are 2 versions of this recipe that I make. This one involves a bottom layer of melted semi sweet chocolate followed by a layer of the melted white chocolate topped with a swirl of more semi sweet chocolate. That's what I made this year but most years I just do the white chocolate with the semi swirl.

Jen's Peppermint Bark
1 or 3 12 ounce bags of semi sweet chocolate (depending on which recipe you choose)
3 12 ounce bags of semi sweet white chocolate
2 6 ounce boxes of candy canes, crushed
2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4 inch chunks or smaller. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. When melted add candy cane chunks & peppermint extract. Separately melt 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Pour white chocolate mixture onto a large cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and spread white chocolate out to edges.

Pour melted semi-sweet chocolate in ribbons over top and swirl up and down and back and forth with a butter knife.

Put in refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle) and package in cellophane bags.

To do a layer of semi-sweet chocolate on bottom, first melt 2 bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips and pour onto large wax paper lined cookie sheet and let harden in the refrigerate before following recipe above.

Hello Cupcake

I have recently developed an addiction to cupcake toppers. In order to justify this addiction I must make cupcakes. This seems like a reasonable sacrifice to make. I made these festive Red Velvet Cupcakes using this recipe but using my own cream cheese frosting recipe. Topping them with a little crushed candy cane gave them the perfect Christmas touch but I can't lie, they are best in their pure state.

Jen's Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups powdered sugar

Beat together all ingredients except the powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar beating until incorporated and then add the rest. Add more powdered sugar or vanilla as needed for desired consistency. Makes about 3 2/3 cups.

Can't Pie Me Love

Okay, well maybe you can. Do you remember awhile back when I mentioned the movie Waitress? Well, the long awaited day came and the DVD was finally released. This time I was prepared for the craving that I knew would come, and baked a pie to enjoy hot out of the oven while we watched the movie. I highly recommend purchasing this movie but you might want to consider the consequences of your expanding waistline beforehand. Here is a recipe for those of you brave enough to watch it.

Oh Me, Oh My, Oatmeal Pie

9 inch pie crust (I usually use Martha's recipe)

3 extra large eggs

1 stick butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup chocolate chips

(edited to add the amount of chocolate chips!)

Add the eggs, butter, vanilla, sugar and corn syrup to a large bowl and mix well. Add oats and chocolate chips and stir until blended. Pour into unbaked pie shell and cook 50-60 minutes or until the filling is firm and set. Let cool 20 minutes and serve with ice cream if desired. It is also really cold straight out of the fridge the next day.



If you are looking for a great pie cookbook try Sweety Pies by Patty Pinner. You will want to run straight to the kitchen and start baking.




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Thank you for all the wonderful comments on my last post. I'm so happy to be in the company of so many like minded people. I want to make it clear that both of those pictures were inspiring my simple decorating and are not of my home. I wish! I believe they were from Country Living and BHG respectively. I would love to make a wreath like that some day though, and have been gathering the materials. I don't think that will happen this year.

Thanks and Giving

I've been short on time this week, as are most of you, I'm sure. I'm not hosting this year but we have an 11 hour car ride ahead of us to get to our Thanksgiving dinner. I love road trips, relish the chance to curl up in the passenger seat with a stack of unread magazines and books without the guilt of all the things I should be doing instead. While the girls are plugged into their electronics in the backseat, I love having the time to sit and talk to Sweet Hubby about our life and dreams- things that really matter to us, without the constant interruptions of our everyday life.

While I'm excited to go have these experiences and to see family that we don't get to see nearly enough, I'm yearning, before I've even left, to be back home, surrounded by my things and those only found at home sights & smells. I look forward to returning & closing myself in my studio to make the things I will be dreaming about while I am away. I am really such a homebody & love the idea of going places but the reality is always hard for me.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that you have much to be thankful for in your lives. I am thankful for all of you and for your generosity of words and spirit. I especially want to thank all of you for your kind responses to my Who I Am post-such wonderful women you are.

Before I rush off to finish the laundry, packing and baking that is required before we can leave, I wanted to share with you a recipe of mine so that I could give a little something back to you. Enjoy and warm wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll be back next week with a lot to share.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
1-15 oz can pure pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 c. oil
1/2 c. cold water
3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
3 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2. c. chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin eggs, oil and water. Mix flour, baking soda, sugar, spices and salt in separate bowl and add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Place batter into 2 well greased loaf pans and bake at 350° for about 1 hour or until done.

Potluck at the Cottage

Hey y'all! Welcome to the potluck. I can't believe I've only been gone less than a week. It feels like a year. I've got lots to tell you about Silver Bella so you can look for those posts in the days to come and before I move on to the topic at hand, let me just tell you that this trip changed my life in more ways than you can imagine. I'm so thrilled that I took the leap and that I was holding Cammy's hand when I did it. Miss you so much girl!

Okay back to business. Here's what I would love for you to do. Sometime between now and this Friday please post your favorite cold weather recipe: soups, casseroles, crisps, whatever appeals to you and leave me a comment on this post and I will add your name and a link to your blog and recipe in the post. Anyone that wants to play along that doesn't have a blog can feel free to leave the recipe in the comments.

Here's mine:
Broccoli Chowder with Corn and Bacon (Everyday Food)
Serves 4

4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli (about 1 pound), cut into bite-size florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup whole milk
Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Increase heat to medium. Cook onion, stirring, until it begins to soften, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Add broccoli, corn, thyme, and milk. Cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with bacon.

I'm actually making this for dinner tonight. I look forward to all of your recipes.

Please go and visit:
-Jennifer @ Midwest Neurotica who is sweet enough to share 2 of her favorites Turkey Hot Dish and Ranchero Breakfast Burrito.
-Karlene, my sister in glitter @ Bloomstudio who is sharing a great cheat recipe that uses a store bought roasted chicken.
-Meagan @ The 504 Cottage shares a recipe for Creamy Hash Brown Casserole in the comments section.
-Kimber-Leigh @ New Every Morning shares a recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup and Oatmeal Brulee with Creme Anglaise Sauce.
-Meridith @ Simply Sages is sharing her recipe for Corn and Potato Soup.
-Melissa @ My Favorite Things wants us to try her Baked Potato Soup.

Cookie Peace

Baking for the girls' lunches is part of the school year tradition in our house. Honestly cooking in this kitchen? Not so fun, but the girls love it. I like to think that it's one of the things from their childhood that they'll remember fondly. Also, they like to share the goods with their friends. I don't know if you know this, but apparently baking is a lost art. And baking in this house means from scratch. More work? Sure! Worth it? Well, look at the kind of love and admiration the real thing inspires:

Dear Mrs. Kershner,

I absolutely loved the cookies you

made. Seriously something that

good could bring world peace.

Sincerely,

Drew Smith

Now you wanna bake something from scratch, don't you? World peace? I'm considering contacting the president with this important discovery.

This week we'll be munching on these.

Jen's Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup oats (I've used both quick and old fashioned with good results)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together shortening, butter, sugars and peanut butter til smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Mix in the oats just until combined. Use cookie scoop and drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 13 mins til edges are just browning. Do not overbake. Let cool for 6-8 mins then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen

My bags are packed. Mostly. The important stuff has been tucked away and the rest will happen later today. I'm so filled with excitement about this trip. Thank you Sweet Hubby for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and for spoiling me so much. Thank you for being so blinded by my charm that you actually think I'm worth it.

Some quick randomness before I leave for Omaha. This newest Somerset magazine is filled with an incredible amount of eye candy. If you have a creative space or wish you did, then this is worth every penny.

This is my new best friend. She actually arrived early. Does that ever happen? I've been enjoying baking for the last 5 days and to celebrate I thought I'd throw a potluck and invite all of you, my sweet friends. Come back and visit me on Tuesday and be prepared to post your favorite cold weather comfort food on your blog & to share it with us. I look forward to coming home inspired and ready to cook, bake, create and just generally be the domestic goddess I was born to be.

We Interrupt this Sunday

I'm not one to blog much on the weekends but today I had to make an exception. You see we experienced a big loss in our family this past Friday. Our beloved Betty has officially gone to the big oven in the sky. We couldn't allow ourselves to grieve for too long as we had planned on spending time with her this weekend and so an immediate search for her replacement was required.

In Autumn and Winter my dutch oven is my favorite cooking tool. Thanks to my Auntie Lane, a sassy substitute was secured. Go ahead and say that 3 times fast. This one is on sale right now at JC Penney and with the 20% discount code, R20PERKS you can have one for the bargain basement price of $27.90. I couldn't afford not to order one, right?

I can't wait to make some of our favorite recipes, like this and this. Now I can get back to the business of being cozy.

Cozy

Today is a cozy day. Cool, brisk and leafy. I plan on making the most of it.

Yesterday I took a knitting class with this girl. After a 2 year break it came back to me pretty quickly. I think it's going to stick this time. No, really. I mean it. Nothing says cozy like knitting in the Fall.

I'm going to make this recipe for pork chops in the crock pot. With or without cranberries...I haven't decided yet. Then these biscuits. I'm always on the hunt for the perfect biscuit recipe. If you have one and want to share, I'll love you forever. Afterwards I'm going to bake this pumpkin cake.

After all that hard work, I'm going to curl up on the sofa, knitting needles in hand and watch When Harry Met Sally.

That's my idea of cozy. What's yours?

One Girls Dreary is Another Girls Dreamy

Today is rainy and dreary. Rainy and dreary are two of my favorite things. This is a dreamy, snuggly, cozy, ignore the to do lists and unfinished projects kind of day. Who am I to argue with that?

I grabbed my boots and umbrella and meandered over to Main Street and the yarn store where I took some pictures of yarn for a sweet friend that wants me to knit something for her. Then I stayed for a class and finished a mitten. That mitten pattern proved to be a killer and some alterations were made. Also, I wonder if there is any chance my two mittens will match when I am done. If not, please pretend not to notice if you see me walking around in them.

 My pace on the way home was much quicker as the rumbly in my tummy told me it was lunch time and I couldn't wait to make my current favorite salad which is filled with grilled chicken, walnuts, blue cheese and figs and topped with straight up balsamic vinegar which I seem to have developed an addiction to. Have you ever had a fresh fig? If you have resisted then I urge you to go buy some now before their short season ends, so you too can fall in love. They are perfect when they are super soft to the touch and feel like they are over ripe.

Tonight I'm making homemade soup. Butternut squash soup, to be exact. Never mind that I've never even had butternut squash and don't even know if I like it. I adore making soup from scratch. I always forget that, and then every time I do it, I fall in love with the process all over again. Go ahead and give it a try. It will transport you. You can see some of my other favorite soup recipes here and here.

Finally, I just want to say how wonderful and special you all are. You guys made Emma's day with all of your sweet comments. I know my blogging has been hit and miss lately and I truly appreciate that you guys always show up and support me here. I feel like I am finally getting my mojo back as my project list gets smaller. I will be back next time with some answers to recent questions that I have been remiss in answering. If you have any questions or think I've missed one of yours please feel free to leave it in the comments here or email me!

Wednesday Morning Random

I am super busy this week preparing for our garage sale Friday and Saturday. I will be so happy when it is over and I swear I will never have another one. Of course I say that every time I have one and you can feel free to remind me of that next time I say I'm having one. Which I won't. Because I will never have another one. By the way, those scooters are not for sale but just moved out of the garage to give me space to sort the 376 boxes of stuff we no longer have room for.

Last night I made this chili for dinner. It is one of my favorites. I'm not a beans in my chili (or anything else) kind of girl. To go along with it I made this girls fabulous biscuits that she shared with me. The recipe comes from her Grandma Carrie Wright who was apparently an amazing baker. They were hands down the best biscuits I've ever made and probably the best I've ever tasted. My entire family is in Claudia's debt and my search for the perfect biscuit recipe has just officially ended. I may have just polished off a leftover one for breakfast. Here's the recipe:

Grandma Carrie's Cloud Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Mix together dry ingredients. Cut butter into dry ingredients, until well chopped.
Stir egg into milk and into dry ingredients. Put on floured board and knead until blended.
Flatten out (but not too flat, or they won't be fluffy), cut with a cookie/biscuit cutter and place
on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.

Claudia's tips:
I learned not to flatten too much after kneading. You want the thickness of the dough to be at least a 1/2 inch or more for fluffiness, hence the name "Cloud" biscuits. Also, in my oven I've learned to bake them for 12 minutes.

Jen's tips:
Always make sure your biscuit ingredients are super cold. I dice up my butter and put it back in the fridge to get cold. Never overwork your biscuit dough. I also used buttermilk instead of regular milk because I had some I wanted to use up.

Tonight I'm making these with the leftover chili. If you are one of those foodies that doesn't eat hot dogs then just look away now. I however, justify my love of them by telling myself they are all-American. It's practically my patriotic duty to eat them.

This morning I'm headed to knitting class with my girl Sarah where I'm going to attempt these mittens. Wednesday mornings with Sarah are usually the highlight of my work week but I am especially looking forward to the break today.

You see? I wasn't kidding about all of those boxes! So that's about it for me this week: clean, sort, price, cook, knit, grocery shop, sleep. Come to think of it that's pretty much a typical week if you substitute paint for price! Hope you are all having a productive week too.

Today

Today I was hoping to show you the progress we're making with our kitchen but we have been blessed with a dreary, cloudy day which is not conducive to picture taking, but which is conducive to baking. So to honor this day, I'll be baking these. I've gone pumpkin crazy. This weekend I made Jayme's amazing pumpkin cake which can be found here, only I made it as a layer cake and added a little fresh ground nutmeg and I might possibly have made a little extra frosting to make sure there was plenty to go around. That cake is insanely good. Luckily we shared with friends so there isn't any left.

This kind of weather always puts me in the mood for movies. My favorite Fall movie is You've Got Mail, although I also love Practical Magic and When Harry Met Sally. Do you have a favorite movie for this season? With the arrival of the first crisp day it's just a matter of time before I MUST watch it. I think today is the day I give myself permission to curl up with my knitting needles and enjoy. I'm not sure why I feel like I have to give myself permission to do something enjoyable during the day but that is my little crazy reality. Even as I type that I feel the need to justify it by listing all the work things I will also do in my day. I think I have a sickness. Homemaker's Disease. I'm pretty sure it's a real condition.

I'll be back in a few days with more about the kitchen. Be prepared for the good, the bad and the horribly, hideously ugly. I'm not kidding.

How Swede It Is

I'm Swedish. I am also, Norwegian, Irish and German but I'm most intrigued by by Swedish heritage. This probably stems from the fact that my great-great grandmother was Swedish royalty. Of course she ditched it all to marry a commoner. Just the first of many women in my family to make poor choices in regards to men. Any who... a couple of weeks ago I discovered this bunch of Swedish molds including an original recipe for Sand Bakkels for $3 at a garage sale.

After racing home and then spending approximately 17 days cleaning all of those scallops and groves out I decided to try Martha's recipe for Lemon Madeleines in them. Yes, madeleines are french. Clearly I'm no purist. They were de-lish by the way. I have no idea if they tasted the way madeleines are supposed to since I've never had one. All I know is lemon+powdered sugar+pretty molds=yummy to the 3rd power. Or something like that. I'm no math major.

So next I'm going to try the recipe that came with them and then I'm ordering this book so I can surround myself with Swedish yummies. Then I can regale my family with tales of how I really should be royalty and explain to them that surely someone as important as me should not be doing dishes.


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By the way, you guys rock! I love all the advice, suggestions and suck-upery that you guys gave me on my last post. Especially the suck-upery! I have already started implementing some of the ideas. I have purchased and used the Boots No7 refining serum and the day and night eye treatment. I think they are working because Emma's new Brownie Troop Leader was shocked when I told her I have a 15 year old because I look about 12. Thanks? I'm really so thankful that you ladies are always willing to encourage me!

Back to School

I began this week with mixed feelings. I knew I was going to miss these two cuties, I was nervous for both of them because they both started new schools, I was sad that this would be Maddie's last 1st day of school with us and I was worried about being left alone with plenty of spare time to think about what happened to my Mom.

It turns out I had no reason to worry whatsoever. Sweet Hubby took Monday off and we enjoyed a rare date day. The girls have had a great week at school although Maddie's got off to a bit of bumpy start in her 1st class of her 1st day. When asked last night how they would rate their comfort/happiness at their new schools on a scale of 1 to 10, Emma said a 7 and Maddie 8! All things considered I'd say that's not too bad for the first week in a new school! As for me? It's been a surprisingly good week for me. I feel like I'm getting my grove back. I even plan on getting back to some Cottage type blogging next week. Gasp!

But before I do, I thought I'd share some fun back to school things with you. I believe this is the cutest lunch box and thermos ever. Emma loves all things French as well as all things Japanese. We found this at Borders of all places!

Every year on the first day of school as well as various other school days, I make these yummy chocolate chip muffins. They are always served on these plates. We call them happy plates and clearly you can't eat anything off of a plate covered in cherries and not be happy. Am I right?

Back to School Muffins aka Monday Muffins aka Bad Day Muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips
demerara sugar

Grease 10 muffin cups or liners.

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil in a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups right to the top and sprinkle with demerara sugar. You can skip this part but my kids would have my head on a platter if I even considered it.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Then just in case those muffins weren't bad enough, I found some yummy fun treats at Trader Joe's. These yummy alphabet cookies

and these yummy bags of Kettle Corn. Truthfully I bought these because of the packaging. That is the most beautiful food packaging I've ever seen. And it's my favorite color! It made me want to design an entire party around it. Is that wrong?

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I'll be back next week to talk cottage with you.

From my Kitchen to Yours

Okay, well that's not really my kitchen but a girl can dream. Here is the recipe for the pie for those of you who are dying to make it.

Jen's Freaking Awesome Oatmeal Pie
1 9" pie crust (I really like the Barefoot Contessa crostada dough recipe)
2 large eggs
1/2 stick melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup*
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Make pie crust and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and then add melted butter, vanilla, sugar and corn syrup and continue to whisk until well incorporated. Fold in oats and chocolate chips and pour into uncooked pie crust. Bake aprox 45 mins or until the crust is golden and the filling is firm to the touch. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes if you can stand it.

*I've used 1/3 cup light & 1/3 cup dark corn syrup and this last time with 2/3 cup dark so just use what you have.

Notes:
This pie goes great with a viewing of the movie Waitress.

Questions and Answers

To answer a couple of quick questions, the Sunshine sign in this picture is from here and the paint color in our family room is Benjamin Moore Natural Cream. I love this color. I used it in my studio in our last house and several rooms of the new house and I'm pleased with how it looks under all lighting conditions. 

Now on to the important issues at hand, recipes. I've never known you guys to be quite so demanding. All I can figure is you must have been hungry when you were reading that last post. I hope these pictures don't make it worse for you...

These biscuits are made using the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I can't even count the number of times I've made them. They are a go to recipe. 

You'd like the recipe for the Gorgonzola Bacon Compound Butter, you say? Well, it must be your lucky day!
1 stick softened butter
2 heaping tablespoons softened gorgonzola or other blue cheese
3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and broken into small bits
Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a fork until well blended. Chill for at least 1 hour and bring to room temp before serving.

And now we come to the meat loaf. This is a recipe I've never shared before. You see, I have it in my mind that one day I will write a book that will not strictly be a cookbook, but more of a lifestyle book with recipes in it. This is one of those recipes. So. If I share it with you now, will you promise to buy the book anyway? Also, don't tell anyone. We will just keep this top secret recipe between you and me.

Jen's Italian Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I use a fairly lean beef)

1 pound mild Italian sausage

4 slices bread, edges removed and ground into bread crumbs in the food processor

3 cloves garlic, minced (I just throw it into the food processor with the bread)

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for top of meatloaf)

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp Italian seasoning

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3-4 slices pancetta or bacon

Water

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except water and pancetta and mix with a fork until well blended. Do not over mix. Add enough water to moisten mixture. Form into a loaf on a cookie sheet with sides. I shape mine about 2 inches high and rather wide. Cover top of loaf with pancetta or bacon and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Add extra Parmesan cheese on top about 10 minutes before it's finished. I sometimes like to broil it for a few minutes at the end because I love to get that crispy crust on there.

I hope you guys enjoy the recipe. Let me know if you make it.

So that's it for the Q & A today. Let me know if you have any more burning questions like...what size shoes do I wear or what time do I get up in the morning. I'm an open book people!

Cooking Barefoot

I've been in quite a cooking mood lately. Sadly, this doesn't jive well with my desire to live a healthier lifestyle. It could if I didn't love butter and cream so much. And chocolate. And pie. And pasta. And bread. And cheese.

I own all of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and I've been striving to test a new recipe of hers every week. My pick for this week is her Linguine with Shrimp Scampi from the Family Style cookbook. It's not nearly as heavy as you might think, actually quite light tasting and perfect for a summer meal on the patio. You can find the recipe here. It calls for fresh shrimp in the recipe but I actually used frozen, thawed shrimp. It was amazing. Sweet Hubby, who it must be said is not a huge pasta guy, had seconds.

Love her. Now I'm trying to decide which of these 2 cookbooks to get as a gift for a fall wedding we are attending. For you other Contessa Wannabes, which one would you choose? Well, now I seem to have made myself ravenous so I'm off to make blueberry muffins. I'll save one for you!

My Favorite Summer Meal

Last night I whipped up a dinner, from the mornings Farmer's Market finds. I love shopping the Market for that days dinner. It feels so European. We all agreed that it was one of the best Summer meals we've ever eaten. I would have gotten a better picture of it but I was too impatient to finish eating.

Among other things, I brought home fresh tomatoes, a baguette and fresh tomato fettuccine pasta. Have you ever had fresh pasta? I had not. It's a-maz-ing. One day when I have a real kitchen again I will try making it myself.

Here's what was on the menu:

Tomato and Goat Cheese Baguettes
Split one baguette in half lengthwise. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Crumble goat cheese over it. Top with thinly sliced tomatoes. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Top with fresh basil and another drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 375° until bread is beginning to toast and tomatoes and cheese are softened. I think I baked it for around 10 mins but I'm not sure since I was just winging it and not following a recipe.

Fresh Tomato Fettuccine
There aren't any exact measurements for this either. Boil your fresh pasta, this only took about 3 mins. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Put back in pot and add in grated parmesan, seasonings and enough pasta water to make a creamy sauce.

After dinner Sweet Hubby turned to me and said "I love you so much. You are the best wife, the best cook and the best friend I could ever imagine". I'm pretty sure that a meal that inspires that kind of devotion will be on regular rotation from now on.

Blueberry Fields Forever

Another first for our family- blueberry picking. The best things in life really are the simplest. My love of all things blueberry making this one of the best ways to spend a rainy Saturday morning with my family. Here's one of my favorite ways to use them.

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 can Grands refrigerated biscuits
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup sugar

Generously grease an 8x11.5-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Cut each biscuit into six pieces, and dip each one in melted butter and then coat with brown sugar mixture. Place in baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the oats.
Combine blueberries and sugar in a bowl and toss to coat. Spoon over oats and biscuits and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 oats. Drizzle remaining melted butter on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and center is done.

Notes: To keep the calorie count down a bit I usually use the reduced fat biscuits, light butter, and splenda in this recipe with great success. Who knows if it helps all that much but it sure makes me feel like I can go back for 2nds!

On the Menu

I'm nosy, it's true. I wonder things like how much people spend on groceries and what kinds of things they cook for dinner every week. I love to see what people ahead of me in line at the grocery store are buying.

Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not just nosy about food related issues. It's just all I'm admitting to today.

I assume you also have weird food related curiosities so I've decided to share this week's menu with you. For those of you that could care less, please come back tomorrow for some lovely cottage kitchen inspiration.

Do you menu plan? I didn't use to but then I'd find myself standing in front of the freezer at 4pm every day wondering what in tarnation I was going to fix for dinner. Planning takes the pressure off. I'm not that good at making decisions under pressure. Which explains my first marriage.

Also, I love to try new recipes and this process encourages me to sift through the nine hundred and eleventy thousand recipes I have ripped out of magazines.

I meant to post this on Monday since that's how I usually plan, so this week's menus will begin there.


Monday:
Dinner:
Tri color Tortellini tossed with basil olive oil and parmesan
Dessert:
Old Fashioned Fudge Pie  (pictured above)

Tuesday:
Dinner:
Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream and rice

(I use Panko breaded Cod from Costco for these)

Wednesday:
Dinner:
Pizza baby!
Dessert:
Cream Cheese Cookies (new recipe)

Thursday:
Dinner:
Cast iron skillet chicken with onions, garlic and mushrooms

Friday:
Leftovers
or as it's known in our house Every Man for Himself Night

Saturday:
Dinner:
Farmer's Market Pasta
This consists of whatever catches my fancy at the Farmer's Market that morning, tossed with whatever pasta I have in the house, olive oil, parmesan, red paper flakes and enough of the pasta water to make a creamy sauce and I'll add in any leftover meat I might have sitting around like chicken or sausage. This is not rocket science. I usually add a fresh baguette from the market as well.

Sunday:
Breakfast: Blueberry Crumbcake
Dinner: Grilled Burgers and Fresh Corn Salad

Clearly I love to bake. A little too much according to my hips. Truthfully at least one of these meals probably won't happen because I won't feel like cooking at some point. Another confession. We eat hot dogs. Nitrates and all. Sometimes we have breakfast for dinner. Sometimes a humble grilled cheese.I'm not the perfect homemaker. I've even given up trying. Sometimes you have to admit defeat.

What are you making for dinner tonight?