Helping Dad with projects



The helper

Mark decided to put in a new floor in our laundry room. He has been talking about it for awhile but finally decided to get started on it last weekend. I came home Saturday morning from a run and found the two of them diligently working on the floor. I had to snap a few pictures of this darling little helper! I love the finished project.  I had a hard time not being able to do laundry for a week and living with the washer and dryer in the kitchen. I am now caught back up on laundry and enjoying our beautiful new floor. Mark is talking about doing the bathrooms next. I wonder how it will go with 4 of us sharing 1 bathroom for a week?



our new slate floor

Our boy is growing up!

This past week Jonathan crossed over from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. After 6 years of being a Cub Scout he is now into the big kid group. That means my sweet baby is growing up! He will be in middle school next year. I found this picture of Jonathan the other day and almost cried. So much has changed in the last 10 years of his life.  We are on to new adventures and a completely new stage of life. I hope the next 10 years slow down a little...

NYC Girls weekend

This past weekend I met up with some friends in NYC for a long weekend. The girls I met over 10 years ago when we first joined the military. They have been through births of 5 kids among the 3 of us and holidays when we couldn't get home to see our families. It was WONDERFUL getting to have an entire weekend to just us. We ate at lovely restaurants including Bobby Flays Mesa Grill. We got up at 5:30 to get ready for Regis and Kelly and actually got tickets because we were there so early. We found a place to get pedicures together in Greenwich Village. We did tons of shopping in China town and strolled along 5th Avenue. We took the Ferry to see Statue of Liberty and visited Ground Zero. We went to an indoor flea market and shopped for hours. We went to an offbroadway show "The Fantastics" and to see "Mary Poppins" on Broadway. We also ate cheesecake from Juniors at 12:00 at night. My friends and family know that this is usually way past my bedtime : ) We had a third friend take the train in for the day and we explored Chelsea Market. We found the hidden elevator to Food Network Studios but got in trouble from the security guard when we started to go on it. We talked for hours on end and never ran out of things to share with each other. I was so blessed to have these amazing friendships! The 4 days were an adventure and so much fun. We even got on the wrong bus and ended up in Harlem  (the opposite way that we were supposed to be going to the airport). I think it should be once a year occurence.

Mexican Meatball Chili



Cuisine at Home Mexican Meatball Chili

I made this Mexican Meatball Chili for our Superbowl party. I also made an Italian Wedding  with Turkey sausage. The Mexican Chili was Marks favorite. I thought I would share the recipe. It used several ingredient's that I have never cooked with before.

8 Anaheim Chili's
1/4 cup oil
4 cups diced tomatillos
3 cups diced onions
1/4 cup diced jalapenos
1 TBS garlic minced
1 TBS ground cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 TBS chopped Cilantro
3 corn tortillas finely shredded
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup corn
1 cup pinto beans
1 TBS lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

For Meatballs
1/2 cup rice
2 eggs beaten
1 TBS chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1/2 ts each garlic powder, oregano, and chopped cilantro
1 lb ground pork
Stir together rice, eggs, chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano and cilantro/ Add pork and mix until combined.
Shape pork-rice mixture into balls about the size of a walnut. Roll until smooth and chill until ready to use.

For Soup
roast chili's over a burner or on a baking sheet under the broiler until charred, turning often. Transfer chili's to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Peel, seed and dice chili then set aside.
Brown meatballs in batches in oil using a dutch oven or large pot. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
Sweat tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, cumin, oregano and cilantro in same pan used for meatballs. Takes about 10 minutes. Add shredded corn tortillas, chilli's and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add meatballs. IT needs to simmer 35 minutes to finish cooking meatballs. Off heat add beans, corn, salt and pepper. Serve with sliced green onions and sour cream. We also had good tortilla chips to dip with.

Book signing with Pioneer Woman

On Friday I went to Cincinnati with a group of friends to meet my favorite cookbook author/blogger Ree Drummond. We went down last month to get advance tickets for the signing at Rookwood Commons. I brought my beloved cookbook and her newest novel to be signed. It was such a wonderful night hearing her talk and meeting her in person. She is lovely! So elegant and sweet. She was laughing and joking with everyone she met.  I was able to show her my cookbook and how well loved it is (aka messy)! It was such a great night for all of us. After the signing we went to Sur La Table and picked out a few things and then headed to YAGOOT for frozen yogurt. This was definitely a favorite night.

An interesting combination and my obsession with the recipe until I finally made them!

I saw this recipe on a cooking blog a few weeks ago. It has been on my brain ever since. It has all of the elements of a perfect cookie. Sweet, salty, crunchy and yummy! I decided that I needed to just make them and so I would stop thinking about it. They were even better then I thought they would be. My favorite part is the cookie dough. There is something almost obsessive about these cookies. I have to admit I made them twice this past week. I took them to places and shared both batches after they were cooked but I did eat my share of the wonderful cookie dough! Enjoy with cold milk.  I found out the dough does freeze well.

 White, Dark Chocolate and Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies…with Sea Salt
1 stick softened butter, 8 tablespoons
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup white chocolate chips, to melt
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter (reserve 2 tablespoons to add to melting white chips)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup broken pretzel pieces

1 Cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Melt white chocolate chips and 2 Tablespoons peanut butter over a double boiler until melted. Add melted chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter to beaten butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt in bowl; mix to combine. Add to wet ingredients until just combined then pour in pretzels and additional white chocolate chips. With a cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With the palms of your hand, gently press down each cookie to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Sprinkle each cookie with a touch of sea salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges become golden and slightly crisp. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before removing.

3 dozen cookies

Minestrone Soup

This was a great day for homemade soup. I found a recipe from Ellie Krieger that I have been wanting to try for Minestrone Soup. I did add some extra vegetables to the original recipe. It turned out great. Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup
Recipe courtesy Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine
Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: 30 min Level:
Easy Serves:
6 servings Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.
I also added 1 bulb of sliced fennel, 1/2 cup homemade pesto, 1 leek thinly sliced and 1 cup roasted butternut squash.
Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.