Peasant's Pasta

About 15 years ago, when my husband and I first started dating, we used to frequent this lovely little Italian restaurant in Lincoln Park.  We were there at least three times a week.  And every single time we went, without fail, my husband ordered his favorite dish, peasant's pasta.  And every time, he would exclaim, "This is the best pasta I've ever eaten!" 

Eventually, we became suburbanites, and our little place closed down.  But luckily, I have been able to recreate, with some success, his favorite recipe (which is also now my oldest daughter's favorite!)

We had a lot of leftover ham after our Christmas feast, and this recipe is quick and simple for using up those leftovers!

Peasant's Pasta
adapted from Cucina Bella

3 cups chopped cooked ham
2 cups each frozen corn and frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup basil, minced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
1 T olive oil
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb pasta (I like rigatoni or bowtie)
salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, saute garlic in olive oil for 1 minute over medium high heat.  Add ham and warm through.  When some of the pieces begin to brown, add your frozen corn and peas, and stir to warm through.  Add the cream and cheese, stirring frequently.  When the mixture begins to bubble, add the cooked pasta.  Stir until some of the cream is absorbed, and your pasta has a nice, creamy consistency.  Add the basil and parsley.  Sprinkle each serving with more parmesan cheese.

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The Sweetest Gift

The holidays are a time for being with family and friends.  I like to show my appreciation for my favorite people by showering them with homemade treats!  I pick a day before the holidays, and spend a day with my girls making our favorite recipes from throughout the year.  This year, our theme was homemade versions of our favorite treats--snickers, reese's peanut butter cups, oreos, and oatmeal creme pies.  Here are the links to my most favorite recipes!

• Homemade Snickers Bars
• Reese's Peanut Butter Bars
• Homemade Oreos
• Oatmeal Creme Pies

All of the recipes are wonderful on their own, but together.....it's just really something special to have all that goodness in one box all your own!

And since by now you all know I spend a lot of time at Hobby Lobby, I picked up some very festive treat boxes to pack them.  It's all in the presentation!

Delicious gifts for all your loved ones!  Enjoy!

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Not Your Momma's Brussel Sprouts

I was the exception to the rule when it came to vegetables growing up.  I loved them.  I ate my green beans, broccoli, and salad without any fuss, and even helped my dad in his vegetable garden.  I was known for picking cherry tomatoes right off the vine and popping them in my mouth.  But if you put brussel sprouts in front of me, I would not touch them.  I don't know if they were frozen or canned, but the way they were prepared just sucked (love you, Mom!).  All I saw were dull green, bitter, soggy balls of disgustingness.  I made it my life mission to avoid them.  Once I finally won at the game of "sit there until they're gone" (I think it was three hours before they caved), I made it my life mission to never eat them again.

Several years after I was married, a chef friend had us over for Christmas.  He prepared a beautiful duck with a side of brussel sprouts.  Oh, the horror!!  I had to eat it, of course.  I dreaded putting it in my mouth.  But I did....and quite possibly, it was the best thing I ever ate in my life.  My eyes were now open to what brussel sprouts could be!

I was determined not to let my children waste 30 years of their lives hating brussel sprouts.  Here's my fail proof recipe to make brussel sprouts one of your favorite veggies.  All three of my kids gobble them up!

Not Your Momma's Brussel Sprouts

1 lb brussel sprouts, shredded
1 garlic clove, minced
5-6 slices of bacon, chopped
1/3 cup chicken broth

Brown bacon in large skilet until crispy.  Add garlic and let cook 1 minute.  Add shredded brussel sprouts.  Saute over medium heat until some pieces begin to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add 1/3 cup chicken broth to deglaze the pan, sturring up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Cover and let simmer of low heat for 5 munutes, or until just tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Sophisticated Snowflakes

When we bought our house five years ago, I had our Christmas decorations all planned out before the contract was even signed.  As I love to decorate and be creative, my plan was pretty extensive.  In my mind's eye, upon walking into my house, one would be transported into a Christmas wonderland.  I certainly enjoyed the process, and I made most of my choices well.  A few years in, however, my overzealousness for decorating has resulted in some logistical nightmares.  The tree I insisted on putting in our family room (because the fancy one was in living room) resulted in a month of picking up broken ornaments as the dog's wagging tail hit the branches, and swear words as we all tripped over it while trying to get out the back door.  Finally, a few years ago, I moved the family tree in the living room, and the fancy tree in the dining room, pretty much leaving my family room devoid of Christmas cheer.  I was more than a little miffed at the situation (issues, I know!), but having already spent a ton on decorations, and running out of room to store them, I wasn't about to go buy more stuff.

My frustration with my decorations was severly hindering my Christmas spirit.  And this year, I decided that I was permitted to allow my creative juices to flow.

I had seen several snowflakes made out of popsicle sticks on the internet.  I thought it was an interesting idea, but they looked like, well, they were made from popsicle sticks.  I decided I had to try and make them for my front windows, as none of my trees are visible from the street (irksome).  But they needed an air of sophistication to match my fancy dining room tree!  Here is what I came up with.

Supplies
popsicle sticks
jumbo popsicle sticks
metallic gold spray paint
adhesive spray
glitter
gems
gold ribbon, two sizes (thin and thick to match the width of the sticks)
clear suction cups (I got both medium and large)
glue gun


I found all of the above at my local Hobby Lobby, with the exception of the spray paint and suction cups, which I got at Home Depot.  All I did was heat up the hot glue gun, and made some snowflakes.  Not brain surgery.  I used regular popsicle sticks for the smaller ones, and the jumbo sticks for the large ones.  I felt that this provided the visual variety I was looking for.

After I had made a bunch of snowflakes, I spray painted them on both sides with the gold spray paint.  After that dried, I sprayed some adhesive on, and sprinkled them with glitter.  I did this on both sides, since I figured the mailman and fedex guy would also enjoy the sparkle from the outside.  Once that was dry (the dog only ate one), they came back inside and I used the glue gun to embellish on both sides with some gems.  I was sure to glue on a ribbon to hang them.  Using the suction cups, I hung them from both my dining room and living room windows.  Ta-da!  Eat your heart out, UPS man!

 

Oh, and as a side note, while I was at Hobby Lobby, they were having a 50% off sale, which of course was fate telling me to figure out my family room problem.  So, storage be damned,  I bought a couple (ok, five) pencil trees and some snow.  I decorated them with some red and gold ornaments from our old house that had been in storage (see Ken, we do use it all!).  No one is tripping over anything, and our family room is dripping gushing with holiday cheer.  Hooray!  Christmas is saved!

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Infused Vodkas

Vodka is my drink of choice.  Mostly, just a vodka tonic.  I've always enjoyed flavored vodkas, but I've always found them kinda disappointing in the depth of whatever flavor they were supposed to be.  When I saw a post on Pinterest for cranberry-lime infused vodka, I was intrigued.  It never even occurred to me that I could make my own!  I immediately sent out Ken to buy some vodka.  He arrived home with two 1.75 liter bottles.  Four days later, one of them was gone.  Oops!  I guess we enjoyed taste testing all of our creations a little too much.  My friend's fortieth birthday was coming up, and as she is a martini lover, I knew that a gift of infused vodkas would be well enjoyed.  Here's what I came up with.

Please check out this link for this marvelous cranberry-lime infused vodka.  Click here.  It's perfection and I wouldn't change a thing!  First, I picked up some fancy bottles at Pier 1.  Then I poked holes in cranberries with a paring knife.  I filled the bottle halfway with cranberries, added a few lime peels, and filled the rest of the bottle up to almost the top with the poked cranberries.  I added two tablespoons of sugar, then used a funnel to fill it up with vodka.  I let it sit for a day (it was really, really hard to wait!!).  Delicious!  The recipe I used says it can last up to a month.  But trust me, it will be gone before you know it!

 

 

Ok, I was hooked!!  The next day, I just happened to see in the December 2012 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, a recipe for peppermint infused vodka.  (It was fate telling me to drink more vodka.)  All you need to do is crush up twelve candy canes in a food processer, add it to 750mL of vodka, and let it dissolve.  It takes about half an hour.  Two ounces of this peppermint vodka with two ounces of Godiva chocolate liqueur in a martini glass drizzled with chocolate syrup???  Heaven, that's what it is.

 

What else can I do??  I had tons of clementines in the fridge.  I washed them, rolled them on the counter a bit to release the juices, cut them in half and filled a carafe.  I then filled that with vodka.  I let that sit for two days as well, before I strained it and put it in a bottle.  Especially tasty with tonic water! 

 

 

 

Finally, I decided to try and spruce up my bloody marys.  Three tablespoons of black peppercorns added to 750mL of vodka really does the trick.  Let it sit until it turns a disgusting brown color (sad, but true) and then strain it. Again, two days for me.  Just use it along with your favorite bloody mary mix (We like Zing Zang).  Bloody marys will never be the same.

 

I decided on Peppermint, Cranberry-Lime, and Clementine for my friend's birthday.  Here's how it turned out.  Put in cute bottles with some Fabulous Felt Ornaments  (martini themed, of course!) and you've got a great holiday (or birthday) gift. 

 

 

 

I can't wait to try some more!  But sadly, my vodka budget is used up for the month.  LOL.   I'll update you with any new ones I try, and please let me know if you have some ideas, too! 



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Sugar Scrubs

This past weekend was full of holiday cheer!  I attended a Martini and Mashed Potato party for the moms in my daughter's second grade class.  It was given by two of the loveliest moms I know, and I wanted to bring them something special for organizing such a wonderful event.  The party was absolutely amazing!  Hopefully they enjoyed some pampering after our night of martinis, in the form of this lovely sugar scrub that I found on Pinterest.  Click here.

Basically, here's the low down.  One part coconut oil to two parts sugar.  Melt your coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat and add stir in sugar.  Then add your essential oils to your liking.   I used grapefruit because I love the smell, but I think the peppermint would also work well, epecially for Christmas gifts! I also used just a few drops (like two) of red food coloring. Just enough to give it a gentle pink hue, but not enough to stain anything.

I put the scrub in some cute mason jars, and took it upon myself to jazz it up.  Here's the finished product!

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Creamy Chicken Florentine

Usually, the weekend after Thanksgiving is a blur of me trying to put up all the Christmas decorations.  Each of the girls get their own tree, there's one in the dining room, one in the lving room, and even one in the playroom!  In past years, I have stressed myself out trying to get everything up and out of the way.  I end up in such a hurry that no one else really gets to participate. Feed yourselves, people, I'm busy! The perfectionist in me demands that everything look a certain way, which usually means I am dictating orders to everyone else.  After a little self-examination, I decided to slow things down a bit and add back in the fun.

I've never wanted a real tree.  It seemed like such a hassle!  Sap, needles, it not being a perfect triangle.....(I have issues, I know!).  This year, in my quest to bring back the magic to Christmas, I decided to completely change it up.  We went to a farm to cut down our own tree!  Ken raised his eyebrows at me, thinking I was not going to be able to handle the spontaneity.  The day was beautiful, with crisp air and bright sun.  It did take a little while to find one that met my qualifications, but I think we did alright!  Afterwards, we enjoyed an apple donut and hot apple cider.  Oh what fun!!  We may have started a new tradition. 

Upon arriving home, we were chilled to the bone, and needed something quick, creamy and warm to fill our bellies.  After scouring the fridge, here is what I made.

CREAMY CHICKEN FLORENTINE

1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 oz fresh baby spinich
3 cups chicken broth
8 oz cream cheese
4 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 T cornstarch
1 T olive oil
1 lb bowtie pasta
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in large saute pan, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.  Add garlic, cook 1 minute more.  Add spinach, cook 2-3 minutes until spinach has wilted.  Add chicken, and stir to combine.  Add chicken broth, heat until just to a boil. 

In a small bowl, wisk together cornstarch with a few tablespoons of the hot broth from the pan until their are no lumps.  Wisk into the pan, stirring until the broth thickens.  Reduce heat to low.  Cut cream cheese into chunks and wisk into the pan, until sauce is nice a creamy.  Heat through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

When pasta is done, add directly to pan and combine.  Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  Serves 6.

 

 

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Fabulous Felt Ornaments

One of the most stressful things about gift giving in the holiday season?  Those small gifts we have to give to everyone that is involved in our lives one way or the other...mailperson, teachers, milkman, neighbors, hostess gifts.  I always feel like they are so impersonal.  Does the mailperson really want a Starbucks gift card....again???

I feel like at the end of the day, I've spent a whole lot of money on these small gifts that no one really wants or remembers.  My mission this year is two-fold---spend less money, and be meaningful!  Oh wait, I aslo don't want to spend forever on getting this done.

Pinterest is the answer to my prayers.  I mean really.  My life was meaningless before Pinterest.  There are so many ideas for cute, clever, handmade gifts.  And ideas for snacks to eat while making said gifts.  There are so many that I want to try!

I saw this pin depicting cute Christmas tree ornaments made from felt on Etsy.  Click here.

Instantly I remembered some ornaments on my mom’s tree that she had made when I was a baby.  I thought to myself, “Self, you can make those!”  So, I was off to Hobby Lobby to investigate.  I picked up some felt, embroidery floss, thread, and some small buttons.  I thought I could use some batting that I already had.  When I got home I set about making a template.  I just drew out my simple shapes on cardstock and cut them out.

 

After cutting out the template, I cut two of each shape out of my chosen felt.  I took one of the Christmas trees and sewed buttons on them to look like ornaments.

 

 

Then I attached the stems to each tree piece, taking care to make sure that both tree pieces match up.   I cut out some batting to put in between my two pieces of felt, so the ornament would be more puffy.  This step is entirely optional.  Making sure the pretty sides were facing out, I sewed the two trees together.  A straight stitch can be used all the way around.  Or even a blanket stitch.

Then I thought, why couldn’t I make a monogram oranament??  I opened up a Word document, found a suitable font (cooper black) and size (375 for mine).  Print and cut.

 

 

Here’s a pic of how I sewed the edges together.  Make sure to sew in a ribbon at the top to hang it!

I was pretty satisfied with my efforts!  I needed more ideas.  Back to Pinterest.  I found these cute felt ornaments.  Please check out this link!  Click here.

I of course had to change it up a bit, so mine look like this!

 

Then, just like I always do, I have to take it too far!  LOL.  I scoured Pinterest for felt ornament templates and coloring page printables that might be useful and/or inspirational for my own ornaments.  Here are some that I used...

Felt Ornament Templates

Coloring Template 1

Coloring Template 2

There are so many ideas out there on Pinterest.  See what inspires you!

By now my mind was reeling with all the possibilities.  I could include these with my small gifts! Include one with that bottle of wine brought as a hostess gift!  I could make some fancy ones for my mom!  I could make my newest niece some animals!   I think the best thing about these is that they are quick and can be as simple or as difficult as you want to make them.  They provide almost instant gratification, and don’t require lugging out a lot of supplies.  Here are some of my finished ornaments.

So, I have a tendancy to get a little obsessed with these things.  So, I thought, while I am sitting at the table working on these, wouldn’t it be great if the kids could get in on the fun??  So, while they are too young to sew, I thought paper, glue and stickers would be great.  I gathered some Christmas and winter themed scrapbook paper and stickers.  So, using simple shapes inspired by the shapes of the ornaments I was making, the kids were able to create their own!  These ornaments can go on your own Christmas tree, or even gifts to teachers or grandmas and grandpas!

 

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My Quest to Reclaim Christmas

I used to love Christmas.  As soon as the Thanksgiving plates were cleared, I was in full Christmas mode. Queuing up the Christmas music, playing carols on the piano.  The hustle and the bustle of the stores, the beautiful lights.  The cold, crisp air.  Oh, the magic of it all!

Then I got married and had kids.

It seemed as every year went by, the stress of the holiday season became greater and greater.  It started as soon as Ken and I got married.  Trying to juggle each other’s family traditions and finding time for them all proved quite complicated.  Every year involved a huge discussion deciding just how our time would be split up between our families.  And it didn’t just affect our own families—the domino effect of all the extended family involved made scheduling the holidays a near impossibility.  Tensions would rise on every side.  I would inevitably end up having a huge meltdown.  Usually on the way over to whoever won the coin toss that year.  Three years into our marriage Ken exclaimed, “It’s not Christmas unless Jen is crying!”  (Nice.)  (But also true.)

When the kids came along, I was spending Christmas Eve driving all over Northern Illinois, kids (and all their stuff) in tow.  I spent all day (and night) making sure the kids were not breaking anything, were behaving, not eating all the cookies.  At two a.m., when the last present was opened (yes, one at a time!), I was a hot mess.  My husband was a hot mess.  The kids were a hot mess.  This sucked.

Then when we arrived home, I would set out a mountain of toys out from Santa, and Ken would spend an eternity putting together all the last minute big-ticket items.  (Think play kitchens, tricycles, wagons, Scooby-Doo Mansions.)  I would help (usually by falling asleep on the couch).  Finally off to bed by five, the kids would awake two hours later, eager to see the fruits of Santa’s visit.  I loved to see them so excited, don’t get me wrong.  But ten minutes in, even they didn’t want to open up any more presents.  And I would be looking at the clock, rushing them along.  After all, whatever family lost the coin toss yesterday was coming over today.  I would have a dinner to prepare, with all the trimmings.  All the gifts from yesterday and from Santa needed to be put away.  (Because my house would NOT be a mess!!) A new set of holiday dresses, and yes, more presents.

I began to loathe Christmas.  I would see the decorations in the store after Halloween (really, isn’t that a little early?) and a feeling of dread would come over me.  Immediately the lists would start forming in my head—pictures need to be taken of the girls for Christmas cards, teachers’ gifts, family lists, what to get my mom, all the holiday parties, menus, cookies… Everything that I had loved about Christmas was gone, and all that remained was panic.

Last year, I had enough.  After a rough year of job changes and long hours, I was mentally incapable of dealing with the holiday drama.  If it were not for my kids, I would not have even put up the tree.  I told Ken, we will go to one house on Christmas Eve.  We will have the other set of grandparents for an uncomplicated meal late on Christmas Day.  No one else.  With no huge obligations to speak of on Christmas Day, we stayed in our pajamas until noon.  We hung out!  We relaxed!  The kids actually played with the toys they received!  I think I might be on to something here…

This year I am taking it further.  I’m on a quest to reclaim Christmas!  Those moments of magic were getting buried under all the, well, crap.  Too many presents.  Too much trying to jam it all in and missing everything that’s important about Christmas.  I know I can’t change all of it.  But I can make it better.  I can stop buying my kids piles of presents, and just get a few, meaningful ones.  I can stop trying to do everything, and just do a few things….really well.  I can pause and make sure we are spending time together as a family, whether it’s enjoying a meal together or doing a craft with the kids.  I can take a deep breath and look around and enjoy it all.  I’m going to get that magic back! 

So join me this holiday season as I explore simple ways to put the meaning back into Christmas.  We’ll do some crafts, we’ll make some homemade gifts, we’ll save some money, and we will certainly have some delicious food.  Hopefully by the end, the merry will be back in Christmas, and the bah humbug out!

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