some bright spots in my life

Well, despite my two-year-old succumbing to the sickness (the whole works, fever, aches & pains, cough, snotty nose, etc), I still managed to make a totally yummy dinner.

This is basically The Pioneer Woman's Caramelized Onion & Prosciutto Pizza (can you tell I'm obsessed with her food right now?). I didn't have any prosciutto so I cooked some bacon in a skillet and then crumbled it on top before popping it into the oven. OH. MY. Absolutely to die for!!! I used her pizza crust recipe too (cut in half for this largish pizza). Next time I will pre-bake the crust for a few minutes before adding the toppings. I like a crisp crust. Oh and don't skimp on the onions. If your onion is on the smallish side, use two. Better to have too much than not enough. I will have a hard time making any other type of pizza ever again!

So, the other thing that made my Valentine's day happy was getting this package in the mail.

Last week I happened to chance upon these popular Metro Living Circles ON SALE! major score! I also added a few of my favorite Sugar Pop fabrics. And then from an Etsy shop, I HAD to get some of that cute camper fabric!

All in all, a great mail day!

This has been one of my favorite Christmas presents I received this year! The day after Christmas I sat down on the couch to flip through it and ended up reading it cover to cover!

I'm probably one of the last people in blogland to have heard about The Pioneer Woman but better late than never! She's so funny and I just love her story. And the food! So tasty! But don't get this book if you are serious about watching your waistline. This is good southern food and I love how she includes detailed step by step instructions for each recipe just like she does on her website.

So far, I've made the Creamy Mashed Potatoes (Hubby said they were the best mashed potatoes he's ever had! and he's not one to compliment food like that), Olive Cheese Bread, Twice Baked Potatoes, Onion Strings and the Chocolate Sheet Cake (seriously YUM!). Now, I will admit that sometimes the butter and cream and fat can be a little over the top but they can be easily reduced without detriment (well, except for the cake, I don't mess with baked goods).

Yes, I certainly have been enjoying this Christmas gift.

And to counteract all this "hearty" food (and for general health purposes) I made a New Year's "goal" to take up jogging this year. I really wanted to be able to stick with it and not just flake out after 2 weeks so I did some reading and found the Couch-to-5k plan. I'm so glad I did because this plan really eases you into it all. I just finished week 1 of the plan and so far so good! It's been very painless and a great feeling of accomplishment!

heaven on a plate

In the mood for something summery yesterday, I went to Smitten Kitchen and found this: zucchini and ricotta galette.

This was the most flaky and delicious crust I have ever made or eaten! It takes a bit of planning ahead but ooh is it worth it!

Happy Wednesday!

Hello!

Have you seen the new Twist Collective? I am totally in love with Abrazo! I just wish that I enjoyed knitting with lace weight yarn. I've started several lace projects in the past....alas, none have gotten very far. Maybe I don't have the right needles? I must give it another try.

Also, if you are in the mood for a fantastic cookie, Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, from the current issue of Everyday Food magazine, are amazing! Sorry, I don't have any pictures but others do and have written out the recipe. They are like chocolate snickerdoodles (if you leave out the cayenne like I did), yum!

Here is the quilt I showed you a snippet of recently: And these are a few others I have listed recently as well. (see more pictures in my shop)Lastly, here is The-Sweater-That-Has-Taken-Way-Too-Long. It is blocking right now, which means I should have some FO pictures here in a few days!

sometimes "making do" turns into something spectacular!

So, last night, it was 5pm and I had no clue what we were going to have for dinner (anybody with me here?). It was a chilly, damp, dreary kind of day and I wanted something to warm our bones but didn't have any of the ingredients I needed for the soups I normally make. While I was looking for inspiration I stumbled upon a tomato soup with grilled cheese sammies in an older issue of Everyday Food. I didn't have the exact ingredients called for so I made some substitutions. OH. MY. YUMMMMM!

Here is my highly modified version:


1 tbs olive oil
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
salt & pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, undrained (I used Hunt's brand)
1 can (14.5 oz) Whole Tomatoes, drained (yes, you read right, drain this can but not the other)
1/2 a can low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp of dried basil leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream (or more to taste, I just eyeballed it)

In a large pot, heat oil over medium and add onion and garlic. Season LIGHTLY with salt and pepper (do not over salt. the canned tomatoes have a bit of salt in them and you can always add more later). Cook until onions are soft, about 5 or 6 minutes.

Add cans of tomatoes and basil and increase heat to medium high. Cook, stirring, for about 5 to 7 minutes or until tomatoes begin to break down a bit (use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes as you stir it).

Add broth and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree in 2 batches in the blender (BE CAREFUL and don't create pressure in the blender by completely sealing with the lid...unless you want hot soup all over your kitchen (a lesson I learned several years ago) Leave the small hole on your blender lid open and lightly cover with a towel when you start to blend).

Return soup to pot and stir in cream. Turn heat back up to medium high and season to taste. When soup in warmed to desired temperature, take off heat and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Now, let me just say, my husband does NOT like tomatoes. He will eat spaghetti sauce and salsa but plain tomatoes NO. Well, he really liked this soup and that is saying a lot!
I think his favorite part was the mini grilled cheeses we had with it (sorry, didn't get pics of these):

Loaf of Rosemary Potato Bread (from the store bakery) or any crusty bread you like
Butter
1 slice of non-smoked provolone cheese for each sandwich

I sliced the bread into 1/2 inch slices and buttered one side of each slice with a doubled over slice of cheese in between. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until each side is golden. These were soooo good with the rosemary bread!

As I was eating my soup I was thinking how good it would be to add a few slices of roasted red pepper into the soup with the tomatoes. I'm definitely going to try it! You know, if you don't have heavy cream on hand you could probably use canned Evaporated Milk.

Jack sure did enjoy "helping" set up the Christmas tree:
I was worried he would try to topple it over and pull the lights off and generally destroy it but he's actually done really well with it. Still, we put most of the ornaments on the top half of the tree.

Ah, and here is my sadly unfinished Berry and Bramble Cardigan: I really, really want to get it done soon! It's been hard to find knitting time lately because I cannot knit when Jack is around. He constantly tries to pull on the yarn or the needles and it makes it pretty much impossible. All I really have left is the shawl collar. It's going to be a booger though. I've picked up about half the stitches and already my circular needle is full. I really don't want to buy a longer circular but I may have to.
I would love to have this finished for Christmas. We'll see. It comes so fast!

I wish everyday were Sunday

Okay, not every day but I sure have enjoyed my Sunday today and am sad that it is almost over.

I was in the mood today to get something finished. I've been feeling a bit weighed down by all my WIPs. So, the Asymmetrical Cardi is blocking:

I will have a modeled picture in a few days after it drys.

And here's another FO I've had done for quite a while now. It is a pair of Fuzzy Feet for my hubby. I used a full skein of Lamb's Pride Worsted in some blue color and then some leftover grey for the toes. These were super quick to make but took foooooreeeever to dry. I'm definitely making myself a pair of these before next winter!

Also, I we had some fun in the kitchen today and made homemade soft prezels! They came out so good and they weren't hard to make, especially since there were two of us in the kitchen. Perfect for a relaxing Sunday!

Good Times....

You know, I've never blogged about food before but I wanted to post a recipe that has become kind of a tradition to make around Christmas and New Years. It's a recipe that my mom started making years ago and she doesn't remember where she got it from. We don't even really know the name of it either.....we just call them "Bacon/Water Chestnuts Appetizer". Anyway, here's the process as I do it:

1)First, you start with a package of regular bacon, two cans of whole water chestnuts, and some toothpicks. Cut the package of bacon into thirds and wrap each piece of bacon around a whole water chestnut and secure with a toothpick.

2) Next, you broil them 'til the bacon is crispy. And you make a sauce with approximately 1 cup of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir until combined.

3)Lastly, you transfer all the bacon thingys (technical term) to a baking dish and drizzle the sauce liberally over them and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes or until everything is warmed and a little bubbling.

Now, if you're still with me, this sounds totally weird, I know, but trust me, it is crazy good....especially if you're a fan of bacon. :) It's just the perfect combo of salty, crunchy, sweet and vinegery!

So, it's Christmas evening now and we've had a great time with all our families and friends! I really love this time of year because it's one of the only times everyone can get together.
Here's a gift that I couldn't blog about for a while but now that it's been gifted here it is:
Pattern: Counterpane Accessories pouch from Handknit Holidays
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece in Red, less than half a skein
Needles: #4
Notes: the knitting was really fun but the finishing is actually quite a bit of work. I did it far enough in advance though that I was able to just do a little bit at a time.


And as if there aren't enough pictures in this post already, I leave you with this very cute one of my cat on the perfect Christmas Eve day:

Merry Christmas everyone!