One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese and One Heck of A Month

To say that I am so happy that February is over today, would be an understatement.  It has been one doozer of a month.

It all started off with having to say good-bye to my "dinosaur" phone of 3 years.  $$$ I am now an iPhone mom...I know what you're thinking...Apple is now up to,  I don't know,  iPhone 37 at this point, and I am just now getting one...I know!!

Then it was time to renew my four year old eyeglass prescription (now that I am 50 years old).$$$

A week later, my husband's computer decided it didn't want to cooperate...ever again. Now we have a new computer. $$$$

Friday last week my girls' vehicle decided it didn't want to start and got to take a nice little tow ride...I can't even think about where that is going to go this week.

...and speaking of later this week, my oldest daughter needs wisdom teeth $$$$$$$urgery.

In my wise old age though, I have learned that I need to value and appreciate these obstacles and not complain because....

• I am thankful that I can have a new phone to stay in touch with my family and friends.
• I am thankful that I still have the vision to see all the beauty that God creates every day
• I am thankful for a new computer for my husband to continue his work.
• I am thankful that we were even able to purchase a vehicle for my daughters and they were home when car didn't start, and not stranded somewhere.
• I am thankful for healthy children.

All that being said, I still need a little comfort for those trying days and have been searching out easy, affordable and comfort dishes.  This one hit the spot!  So, pull up a pot of this soup and continue to be thankful for those less than perfect days because remember, there are never any bad days...just some days are better than others.

One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
Adapted from damndelicious.net

1 Tbl olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
8 ounces ground beef
4 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5) ounce canned diced tomatoes
3/4 cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
10 ounces, uncooked elbow macaroni pasta
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional:
2 Tbl. chopped fresh parsley leaves
Sour Cream
Avocado, peeled and diced

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add garlic, onion and ground beef, and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks;  drain excess fat.

Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, chili powder and cumin;  season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Bring to a simmer and stir in pasta.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Top with cheese and cover until melted, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, sour cream and/or avocado, if desired.

One Year Ago:  Chicken and Dumplings
Two Years Ago: Original Peanut Coleslaw

Surviving 50 and The Birthday Flirtini

Well it's over...I said good-bye to my 40's and hello to 50 this past weekend.  I made it.  It's been a long time coming and I'm ready to see what life has for me these next ten years.

This is how I started my birthday....

I came downstairs to giant helium balloons, crepe paper streamers and happy birthday banners strewn throughout the house.  My husband was up at 4am decorating for my special morning and I was shocked as I tried to focus on everything and the daily stagger to my coffee.

When I got everyone out of the house, my next gift was almost ready to arrive.  House Cleaners!!!! Yes, when you hit 50 the only gift you want is for someone to come professionally clean your house. What a treat!!!  It had been many years since I had a cleaning service and I missed it so!  Nothing like the smell of Clorox to put you in the birthday spirit!!

The aroma of cleaners quickly became overrun with that of flowers.  The florist, UPS and postman just kept coming all day long.  I felt like the most blessed, loved and luckiest person all day long. Truly beautiful bouquets that I wish I could freeze in time and keep everyday.

After the house was cleaned and deliveries were complete, it was time for some special girl bonding and lunch with my daughters at Cheese Importers for some decadent paninis and dessert.  They brought us our carrot cake and macaroons first...worked for me!! We indulged in our sweets before the sandwiches came...another thing you get to do in your 50's!!

Next, I was off to my hair appointment.  I had enough of my $7.99 boxed color and decided to treat myself to a real colorist to nurture me and my "highlights", we'll just say.  She foiled me up and as I sat there waiting for the miracle of modern chemistry to process I looked around and saw every other woman there was around plus/minus 60 years old getting their hair done.  I smiled to myself and thought, it's official...I am old and now part of the "Friday afternoon wash and set club".  How did this happen??!!

I went home with my new "hot momma do" and changed for cocktails and dinner.  We started with a birthday flirtini, then dinner at Bonefish Grill for an amazing night and my husband even snuck in a Black Forrest Cake from our favorite Romana Cake House.

At the end of the day, I pray for many, many more years and am so thankful and blessed for the birthdays I have been given to this point of my life.  Cheers!

This is how I ended my birthday...

Birthday Flirtinini

2 ounces white cranberry juice cocktail
1 ounce good vodka
1/2 ounce X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1 ounce Prosecco sparkling wine

Combine the cranberry juice cocktail, vodka and liqueur in an ice-filled martini shaker.
Shake gently and strain into a large chilled martini glass.  Top with Prosecco.


One Year Ago: Purple Potion #49
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Layered Pudding

Mexican Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad...I'm Back

After a month of being on hiatus (from blogging that is)...I am back.  January was a month of recovery from holidays, birthdays, preparing for the new year, taking on some new additional duties and mourning the loss of friends who unexpectedly passed away, which carried a lot of emotional sadness at year's end.

It is now a new year and a new month today.  I am on the golden passage countdown and in 19 days I will be turning 50 years old.  While getting a long overdue and much deserved pedicure last week, I read a great quote from Julia Louis Dreyfus..."I try to push worry down and pull the Spanx up!", when asked how she deals with aging.  LOVE THIS!!  That has to be, without a doubt my motto!

So, in between pulling my Spanx up and trying to keep my worrying down, I am back in the competition volleyball gyms and traveling with our girls and team tournament catering every other weekend.  I am in awe of how far they have come in this sport and in their maturity and growth. They are now looking at colleges and we are praying for recruitment and scholarships to see them through their college dreams.

As always, our schedules have been beyond hectic, so quick, "post holiday figure friendly" meals have been trying to make it to the table.  I am typically the one in the house that is craving shrimp (of any kind) and my husband will always be the first one who wants "The Big Salad", (if you were an avid fan of the Seinfeld tv show, you will remember Elaine's Big Salad episode - hilarious!!).

Needless to say, I was able to pull together the best of both worlds and we had this amazing shrimp salad. It has the perfect amount of crunch, flavors and was an awesome light dinner for the two of us.

Mexican Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad

1/4 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 Tbl. olive oil (divided)

salt and pepper

1 Tbl. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 small head romaine lettuce, leaves torn to bite size pieces

1/2 small jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 small avocado, peeled and diced

1/2 cup crumbled Cotija cheese

1/2 cup seasoned tortilla strips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread pepitas on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Heat grill (or you can cook on a grill pan inside on cooktop) to medium-high.  In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the cayenne, 1 Tbl of oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Grill until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic, remaining 4 Tbl. olive oil and whisk well.  Add the lettuce, jicama, pepitas, shrimp, and avocado and toss with dressing to combine.  Plate salad and top with Cotija cheese and tortilla strips.

**Note: You may want to double this dressing portions, if you're like me and don't want an overly dry salad.

One Year Ago: Sweet Dreams Cake

Two Years Ago: Ham and Cheese Biscuit Bake

Stuffed Mushrooms and Memories

Only two days left until the beautiful Christmas holiday celebration.  My daughter and I had one last gift wrapping marathon last night and just about completed all our tasks for our long family weekend together, which is definitely overdue for all of us.

In my blog two years ago, I shared some of our special family ornaments that we have collected through our travels and hang on the tree every holiday season.  This year, we took trips to Atlanta, Georgia (for the first time) and also returned to our favorite vacation spot in Sunriver, Oregon...and of course returned with our memories and Christmas tree ornaments to treasure and remember the times with.

The World of Coca-Cola Headquarters and Museum 

and our tour of Atlanta, Georgia in March.

Memories of our Whitewater Rafting excursion

with Ouzel Outfitters in Blue River, Oregon in August.

This week while both girls were out for an evening, my husband and I decided to have one of our infamous "nosh nights".  Instead of just our typical go-to Genoa salami with Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese and rosemary garlic Triscuit crackers, I decided to take it up a notch and go for a little more fancy holidayesque platter...Crab Cakes with Dill Butter sauce, my favorite Stuffed Mushrooms and finished it off with Toasted Baguette slices with Fig Jam, Proscuitto and Cambozola Cheese, (which by the way is now my daughter's new favorite high end lunch...forget the basic grilled cheese sandwich, she is completely addicted to this.

These mushrooms are elegant enough for an 

upcoming New Year's Eve party or 

simply perfect for stay at home date night.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound white, button mushrooms
1 cup Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs
2 Tbl. butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry mushrooms well.  Pull stems from mushroom caps (set caps aside).  Finely chop the mushroom stems.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the chopped stems, onion and garlic.  Saute about 10 minutes until onion starts to turn light golden brown.  Turn heat to medium and add the panko crumbs and saute another 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the Parmesean and Mozzarella cheeses.  Stir well until cheeses have melted into the mushroom/onion mixture.

Spoon (about 1 heaping Tablespoon) each mushroom cap with the filling, pressing gently.  Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 20 minutes (check after 10 minutes), until mushrooms are tender and stuffing is gold brown.

One Year Ago: Blueberry-Banana Muffins
Two Years Ago: Rouladen

Holly Jolly Buckets and Bark

Every year I try to put together either Thanksgiving/Fall or Christmas/Holiday home baked goodies for our nearby neighbors.  Last year I had my act together a little earlier and made everyone my Pumpkin Bread.  This year...not so much.  I really struggled for what seemed like eternity with what, how and when to fit it all in before the holiday gets away from me.

Finally figured out some easy recipes that looked festive, along with the help of my daughters.  I proceeded with my Holly Jolly Bark and Holiday Cake Cookies.

As luck would have it, my daughters had some extra "Treat Sleighs" that they made for their Leadership Group.  So, away we went with a plan, ingredients and fun gifts for our neighbors.
I found perfect size chalkboard/galvanized buckets and labeled them in fun holiday chalkboard markers.

The boys even joined in, but between their "spa day",

 holiday baking, wrapping gifts and fitting in all the other weekend 

household duties, they couldn't stay awake another minute.

Looks like they "just settled down for a long winters nap".

Holly Jolly Bark

16 whole "Christmas edition" Oreo cookies with red filling, broken up
1-1/2 cup pretzels (long, skinny ones), broken up
1 cup red and green Christmas M&M's
1 lb. white chocolate bark
Christmas colored sprinkles

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Lay out the broken cookies, pretzels and M&M's

Melt the white chocolate bark according to package directions.

Pour melted chocolate over cookies, pretzels and candies.

Use an offset spatula to spread chocolate evenly and

add the holiday sprinkles over chocolate.

Let set for at least 6 hours, so chocolate can set.

Cut into bite size pieces and package in holiday bags.
(Use any leftover scraps from the sides as
topping for ice cream -Yummy!!)

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

One Year Ago: GGMa's Lemon Shrimp

Two Year's Ago: Thumbprint Cookies

Wassail and Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours...so much to be grateful for and the many blessings that have and continue to bestowed upon us.

We started our morning with a "turkey trot" and a glorious sunny walk with the dogs.  When we came back home, I had a nice hot batch of Wassail waiting for us, complete with my homemade Juicy Apple Popovers.

My husband has been fighting a terrible cold all week and I knew a batch of his favorite Wassail would do the trick to help him feel better.

We hope this holiday finds you, your friends and families well and full of blessings!

Hot Wassail

1 gallon apple cider
4 cups orange juice
5 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl. whole cloves
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 lemon, sliced into rounds

Bourbon (optional)

Place all ingredients in slow cooker (except Bourbon) and mix well.

Turn the slow cooker on high heat and cook for 3-4 hours (or on low for 6-8 hours).

Ladle in a mug and serve hot.  (Optional to add a wee taste of Bourbon to your mug of wassail, should you choose).

One Year Ago:  Apple Pie Martini
Two Years Ago: Juicy Apple Popovers

Bourbon Glazed Salmon with Savory Roasted Peppers

Growing up I never liked the taste of salmon, and I grew up in Alaska!  I think it took me until I was in my thirties to really acquire a taste for it and appreciate all the different ways it can be prepared. Now, I love it!  I have learned to grill, bake, and pan sear it.

Our local fish counter every now and then has their featured "Bourbon Glazed Salmon" for sale.  It has been marinated and ready to prepare. Try as I have, I cannot get them to give me their recipe for the bourbon glaze, which is out of this world..  I am still experimenting with it and trying to recreate the glaze, but until then, I'll just keep enjoying theirs.

These peppers are awesome on salmon and just about any other type of meat.  These have become a staple in our house and a quick accompaniment to any dinner.

Savory Roasted Peppers
Adapted from Kikkoman

3 large peppers (orange, yellow and/or red)
3 Tbls Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbls balsamic vinegar
2 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbl finely chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 1/2 Tbl. dried if you don't have fresh)
1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional), depending on what you are serving this with

Turn on oven to broil mode.  Cut peppers in quarters and arrange skin side up,

 in single layer on foil lined cookie sheet (sprayed with non-stick spray). 

 Broil 6 to 8 minutes or until skin is blackened.  

Turn peppers over and cook 5 minutes longer. 

 Remove from broiler; let stand on sheet 5 minutes.

Remove skin from peppers and cut into strips, set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, 

olive oil, oregano and garlic.

Add peppers to vinegar mixture, stirring to coat well.

Marinate 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Arrange marinated peppers over your favorite meat or fish.

(Sprinkle feta cheese over peppers if serving with steak or chicken)

One Year Ago: Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
Two Years Ago:  Churchill Downs Signature Barbecue Shrimp

Every good chef should have a secret sauce, 

wouldn't you agree - here is mine!