food

bake sale!

Melissa 1 Comment

This weekend, my kids hosted a bake sale at church to raise money to buy farm animals for families in need. I was so proud of them – they decided they wanted to do this a month or two ago and mobilized their friends to help.
On the menu?
Cookie and Cream Cupcakes
Carrot Cupcakes
Red Velvet cupcakes
Christmas Cupcakes
Apple Bread
Banana Bread
Hot Chocolate Stirrers
Whoopie Pies
Chocolate Covered Oreos
Cookies
Brownies
mini-muffins

and more!!

Every year at Christmas, our family all gives a portion of our Christmas money to buy a farm animal for a family in need. It is so simple, but I cannot even describe how this has affected my kids. We watched the videos of how a single goat can save a family from poverty in Africa. I remember them saying, “What a cool play house!” And I had to explain that the tiny house with the dirt floor was that family’s home. They were truly amazed and humbled that they could make such a difference in a family’s life with so little. And they were instantly excited to help. They gave so generously last year – they were able to buy a goat!

This year, when the catalog arrived, they were looking through deciding what their goal was – maybe a sheep or some ducks? Then they came up with an idea. If we got more people to give, we could buy even more! We should get our friends involved! Long story short, our girls mobilized their friends to plan this huge sale – and they made double their goal and were able to buy a sheep and a goat. I can not even tell you how proud I am of them! Not only are they excited about giving, but they are mobilizing their friends to do the same.

Best Christmas gift EVER!

 

try this: hot chocolate stirrers

Melissa 4 Comments

I found these on Pinterest a few weeks ago and bookmarked them for sale at the holiday bake sale we were planning at church. They were soooo easy and SUCH a hit! I found these red and white paper straws on Amazon.

Hot Chocolate Stirrers

large marshmallows
dark chocolate for melting
straws
sprinkles

This is very complicated. Try to keep up, okay?

Melt chocolate according to package directions. Put straw into marshmallow. Dip into chocolate, dip into sprinkles. Dry on parchment paper.

That’s it!!

try this: roast chicken with thyme and tomatoes

Melissa

I found this recipe on Pinterest last week and gave it a try. Definite hit! I served it with crusty french bread and spinach sauteed with garlic.


Roast Chicken with Thyme and Tomatoes

1 lemon
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
8 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon capers
1 cut up whole chicken (or 4 thighs and legs, or 3 chicken breasts)
Kosher salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat oven to 400° F. Slice the lemon into rounds.  In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes (with liquid), lemon, thyme, and capers. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Place tomato mixture in a baking dish. Top with chicken. Drizzle with the oil. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 50 minutes.

recipe origin: my recipes

angry birds cupcakes

Melissa 5 Comments

Last week for Ellie’s class Halloween party, she requested “awesome cupcakes.”

Well, Mama delivered.

These were so easy – if I can make these, you can! This made 36 cupcakes, plenty for her class party and all the extra guests!

Supplies:

2 boxes of your favorite cake mix (We did chocolate, because I firmly believe that when given a choice, you should choose chocolate.)
3 cartons of icing (I used Pillsbury Whipped Supreme in fluffy white)
food coloring
non-pareils in red, blue and yellow (I ordered them in bulk from here)
mini marshmallows
marshmallows
gummy orange slices
black gel frosting
black licorice rope

When cupcakes are completely cooled, add food color (red, blue and yellow) to each tub of frosting.  Frost cupcake and dip in the sprinkles.

Take two mini marshmallows and – this is a very technical culinary trick – smoosh them with your finger. These are your eyes.

Then cut a gummy orange into thirds and these are your beaks.
The yellow birds don’t have bellies, but I made those by cutting a piece off the end of a big marshmallow. Press everything into place, use the black gel to make eyeballs.  Then cut two pieces of the black licorice to make “angry eyebrows.”

Ta-Da! That’s it!  These were a huge hit with Ellie’s class!
A shout out to The Crafting Chicks for the idea and for inspiring me to give it a try!

breakfast casseroles

Melissa 1 Comment

For the brunch, I tried two new recipes for breakfast casseroles – and they were a home run. (This is so me by the way. Trying a completely new recipe for a party.)

Bacon and Potato Bake
adapted from our best bites

4 cups country-style hash browns (cubes, not shredded), completely thawed
1 12-oz. package bacon
1½ c. pepper jack cheese
1 ½ c. cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 6 stalks)
4 eggs
1 c. milk (whole)
½ tsp. kosher salt
about 10 turns freshly ground black pepper

Begin by cooking the bacon.  Place the potatoes in a 9×13 baking dish. Mix the cheeses together and sprinkle over the potatoes. When the bacon is done, drain it on paper towels and reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Cook the onions in the drippings until tender and fragrant (about 2-3 minutes) then sprinkle the onions over the cheese mixture. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on the top of the mixture.  Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and, while whisking constantly, pour the egg mixture evenly over the potato mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or for 7-8 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 and bring casserole to room temperture.  Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly but not brown. Allow to stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

 

Sausage and Cheese Egg Bake
(adapted from Jo-Lynne’s recipe)

1½ cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar
1½ cups (6 oz) shredded mozzarella
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
6 green onions, sliced
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
2 tbsp butter
1½ cups cooked loose sausage (I used a tube of Jimmy Dean sausage. You could also use cubed ham.)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
8 eggs
1¾ cups whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook the sausage and drain.  Saute the mushrooms, onions, and red pepper in butter (and a bit of sausage grease wouldn’t hurt) and stir in the sausage back in.  Spoon this mixture over the cheese.  Combine the cheeses and sprinkle into a greased 13×9-inch backing pan.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.  Pour over the sausage and cheese mixture.  Cover it and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350.  30 minutes before baking, bring the casserole onto the counter to come to room temperature.  Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes.  A knife inserted in the center will come out clean when it’s done.  Let it stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

fall brunch menu

Melissa 4 Comments

On Saturday, we had Fall Brunch for the woman at church. It was lovely – fall entertaining is so easy. Pumpkin, apples, cinnamon… you can’t go wrong! I was crazy busy last week getting everything together, but it all worked out and was wonderful! The hardest part was fighting off my family from all the yummy food I made on Friday afternoon!


Our fall brunch menu:
Bacon and Potato Breakfast Casserole {recipe tomorrow!}
Sausage and Cheese Egg Bake {recipe tomorrow!}
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake {from Sam’s}
Fruit Plate {strawberries, raspberries, mango, cantaloupe, grapes}
Cranberry Scones
Cheese Croissants {from Sam’s}
Cheese Plate {selection from Trader Joe’s with crackers, almonds and concord grapes}
Apple Cake
Camelized Pear Parfaits
Walnut and Chocolate Biscotti (from Trader Joe’s)
Pumpkin Bread {my friend Julie made this and I need this recipe! YUMMY!}

 

 

try this: chicken barley soup

Melissa

Fall is soup season! And I’ve been on the hunt for new recipes. I ran across this one in Everyday Food and adapted it for what I had in the house. It was really yummy – all the kids gave it a thumbs up!

Chicken Barley Soup
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 carrots, diced small
2 celery stalks, diced small
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced small
2 cups shredded chicken
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
5 sprigs thyme
1 cup quick-cooking barley
1 package prewashed baby spinach

In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and stir a bit.

Add broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Stir in barley. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until barley is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Add spinach and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

 

french onion pot roast

Melissa 1 Comment

Ah, Fall. The magical time of year your calendar fills up and you’re stuck trying to figure out what you can make for dinner in the 15 minutes between soccer practice and ballet lessons while your children, who just came home from school, are underfoot claiming to dying of hunger.

Meet my BFF – my crockpot.

I have the 6-quart Cook & Carry Slow Cooker by Crock-Pot. I love it because its giant enough to make a double batch of whatever I’m making and the tight sealing lid makes it cook super fast. So if you forget to put your crock-pot meal in the cooker in the morning and only remember around lunchtime that you forgot, but don’t have anything else planned for dinner you are still okay if you crank it up to High. Not that this ever, EVER happens to me. Ahem.

This week, I made Pot Roast – which I almost never make. This was a huge hit with the family, so it will be making appearances all winter to be sure!

French Onion Pot Roast
(found on The Little Kitchen, a seriously awesome blog I’ve discovered)

3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast (I did a 3 pound and it was not enough – my family wanted more leftovers)
3 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 celery stalks, trimmed & cut into 3 inch pieces
4 carrots, washed & cut into thirds
10.5 oz can of french onion soup, condensed (I used Campbell’s)

Directions:

Mix flour, salt and pepper together on a plate.

Trim any fat on the sides off the roast, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge in flour mixture.

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil in a skillet or dutch oven on medium heat. Add roast to heated pan and heat to sear for 2-4 minutes on each side. (Just to lightly brown.)

Add carrots and celery to the bottom of the slow cooker and add roast on top of the vegetables. Pourfrench onion soup and 3/4 can of water over.

Cook roast in slow cooker on low for 17 hours or high for 5 hours.

gluten free fall cocktail party menu

Melissa 4 Comments

This week I had a little cocktail party with some friends, two of whom are gluten free. I was immediately stumped about what to make. Just about every appetizer that came to mind had gluten in it – crabcakes, stuffed mushrooms, anything with puff pastry, crackers for the cheese plate… even the spinach and artichoke dip (which is always a hit) has flour in it.

So I scoured the internet for ideas, and then headed out to Trader Joes and Wegmans, two stores in my neighborhood that have great gluten free sections with brands like Udi’s. All the food was a big hit – even with the non-gluten free guests. Here’s my tasty gluten free menu!


First, when serving wine, you must serve cheese, right? My cheese plate had a English Stilton with apricots, an English Cheddar with carmelized onions and a third Italian soft cheese that I forget. I added figs and grapes and some rosemary almonds to the platter, along with regular crackers on one side and gluten free crackers on the other. I’ve learned from gluten free friends that you need to keep things separate, since even if gluten free food has touched food with gluten, it can cause reactions.
cheese tray for gluten freeI also served a spinach dip (check the package or make your own – many premade versions use flour as a thickening agent) with corn chips and root vegetable chips from Trader Joe’s. These are a fall favorite of mine, just because the colors look just like fall leaves!

Next up, I had Roasted Shrimp Cocktail (from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics). It was super easy and so much more yummy than regular shrimp cocktail! All you do is buy uncooked shrimp, already peeled and deveined if you want to make this dish even easier, toss it in olive oil, kosher salt and fresh pepper and throw it in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Yum.
Then, I made Mustard Ginger Sausages. These were a HUGE hit. I found this recipe on BusyGirl’s pinterest page and had to make it.
Mustard Ginger Sausages
½ cup ginger preserves (in the English food section of the grocery store)
½ cup whole grain mustard
1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce (soy sauce has gluten, so get a gluten-free version)
1 packages cocktail smoked sausages
mustard for dipping (I used a hot and sweet mustard from Trader Joe’s)
Mix preserves, whole grain mustard, olive oil and soy sauce in a bowl. Add sausages and toss to coat. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, tossing once.
roasted shrimp cocktail | mustard ginger sausages
Finally, we have dessert! I’m lucky enough to live by so many wonderful places that sell things like Flourless Chocolate Cake, but if you don’t you can make one yourself or try one of Udi’s yummy gluten-free treats! I love their cookies – you would never guess they were gluten-free! We also had a pear torte (not gluten-free, I confess!) and a great selection of wine and a fabulous fall cocktail! Its just 1 cup apple cider, a good glug of pomegranate juice and a shot rum. You could serve it warm, but it was such a warm night that I served it on ice.
fall cocktail recipe

What are your favorite treats for a fall cocktail party? I love anything with apples – or maybe a carmelized onion tart (made with Udi’s gluten free pizza crusts)! Oh! And zucchini fries, substituting Udi’s gluten bread crumbs for panko breadcrumbs… YUM!

disclosure: this post was sponsored by udi’s gluten free.

try this: black bean soup

Melissa 1 Comment

We all love Panera’s Black Bean soup in our house… and after a few tries, we found a recipe that is really, really close! It was so easy and so so yummy!! It was a hit – this will be on our table frequently this winter.

Black Bean Soup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 rib of celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups water
2 15-ounce cans black beans with liquid
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Saute onion, celery, pepper and garlic in the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Don’t let the veggies brown, just soften them up a bit.

2. Add water, 1 can of beans, bouillon cubes, salt and cumin. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or by pouring into a blender in batches. Be very careful when putting hot liquids in the blender – do very small batches and use a hand towel to hold the lid down on the top of the blender just in case.

4. Add the remaining can of beans to the soup along with the lemon juice. Combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl, then add to the soup and bring it back up to a simmer and cook until thick, about 10 minutes more.