In our house, we do theme nights twice a week - Wednesday night is take out night and Sunday is "Soup Sunday".
For the last few weeks we've been working through the turkey soup I made at Thanksgiving. Thanks to a rotisserie chicken I picked up, we were able to make some homemade chicken broth and get about 3 weeks out of the turkey soup!
My favorite soup (besides lobster bisque) is Italian Wedding. The mixture of meatballs, pasta, spinach... it just doesn't get any better that that! I've never made it from scratch, but I found an awesome recipe over on Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. I tweaked it a little and am happy to say it was one of the best soups I've ever had! I would definitely add more broth since I had to add more the next day and lost some of the flavor, but this is a super easy soup for a cold winter night!
The original recipe can be found at the link above, the one below is with my tweaks!
Meatballs:
.75 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 handfuls Italian breadcrumbs
generous sprinklings of dried oregano, parsley, basil, salt, pepper
Mix all into small balls (the size of a quarter) and set aside - they will cook in the soup
Soup:
64 ounces chicken broth
1/2 lb ditalini pasta, uncooked
1 large onion, minced
2 carrots, mined
3 large cloves garlic, mashed with a garlic press (this is important to get the correct flavor)
2/3 c frozen spinach, thawed and slightly dried
dried basil
Olive oil
In the soup pot, saute the onions and carrots in a small amount of oil until soft and brown. At this point, you can put in the mashed garlic and saute a bit - I added mine directly to the soup and it was quite strong.
Add all broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add pasta, meatballs, and spinach. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
To serve, I added a small amount of shredded mozzarella cheese to each bowl, but grated Parmesan would work well too!
*I didn't get any pictures this time, but next time I'll be sure to document it!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sugar the Timneh African Grey
I apologize for the lack of posts but it's been for a good reason! We've added a new member to our family!
Sugar is an 8 year old Timneh African Grey parrot! We had been thinking about a bird for a while but since I'm not exactly a "bird person" I said it had to be the perfect bird for me. We wanted to go through a rescue - both of our dogs are rescues and the thought of giving an unwanted animal a good home just warms my heart.
We went up to Tucson, AZ on Saturday to see an African Grey named Captain but he was not the right bird for us. My husband grew up with birds but I am, most definitely, a first time bird owner. Captain needed someone a little more experienced. They brought another Grey, a Timneh - slightly smaller with a maroon backside - and she was very sweet. Sugar's owners could no longer care for her and wanted her to go to a good home. They raised her from 8 weeks old so their home was all she knew.
The first night was great, she loved us and all was calm. The next morning, she decided I was not the person for her and she let me know it! She was originally a man's bird - her old mom wasn't so sweet with her so apparently she doesn't like women very much. We're working on it though - we whistle at each other, dance with each other, she takes treats from me - I suppose slowly and surely we'll forge a relationship.
She is a beautiful bird and I have to say I'm pretty happy to have another subject to photograph!
Sugar is an 8 year old Timneh African Grey parrot! We had been thinking about a bird for a while but since I'm not exactly a "bird person" I said it had to be the perfect bird for me. We wanted to go through a rescue - both of our dogs are rescues and the thought of giving an unwanted animal a good home just warms my heart.
We went up to Tucson, AZ on Saturday to see an African Grey named Captain but he was not the right bird for us. My husband grew up with birds but I am, most definitely, a first time bird owner. Captain needed someone a little more experienced. They brought another Grey, a Timneh - slightly smaller with a maroon backside - and she was very sweet. Sugar's owners could no longer care for her and wanted her to go to a good home. They raised her from 8 weeks old so their home was all she knew.
The first night was great, she loved us and all was calm. The next morning, she decided I was not the person for her and she let me know it! She was originally a man's bird - her old mom wasn't so sweet with her so apparently she doesn't like women very much. We're working on it though - we whistle at each other, dance with each other, she takes treats from me - I suppose slowly and surely we'll forge a relationship.
She is a beautiful bird and I have to say I'm pretty happy to have another subject to photograph!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Real Simple's "Five Things You Can Learn From Your Pet"
If you have a pet, whether it's a dog, cat, bird, or lizard, you know that they are capable of showing affection and love in a way humans can't. I am a firm believer that there is nothing "puppy kisses" can't cure and snuggling up with my dogs always makes my day a little brighter. In fact, we tried to kick the Danes off of our bed and couches a few weeks ago and after a few days we gave in. It didn't feel the same, them sleeping on the floor and not laying in our laps while we watched television.
On page 59 of this month's Real Simple (if you aren't reading this magazine, you should be - it's great!) is Five Things You Can Learn From Your Pet. All five entries are written by different pet lovers and they are spot on!
On page 59 of this month's Real Simple (if you aren't reading this magazine, you should be - it's great!) is Five Things You Can Learn From Your Pet. All five entries are written by different pet lovers and they are spot on!
- Celebrate Everything!
- Just being present is enough.
- (Brain) size doesn't matter.
- Don't try so hard.
- You can get along with anybody.
The explanations are quite lengthy, so check out the page if you want them, but I think the rules are pretty self-explanatory. I know that my dogs go crazy when I come home, whether I was gone all day or just taking out the trash. There is nothing like the way they act when I'm having a bad day or when my husband isn't home - Baxter is a completely different dog when he's away, it's as though he's my personal body guard!
Check out realsimple.com for more information!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Christmas Dark Chocolate Pretzels
When you're instructed to bake something for a silent auction luncheon filled with Army spouses young and old, it can be a daunting task!
My original thought was to make a ricotta orange pound cake, but I figured everyone would be making some sort of cake or cookie. Due to my cramped schedule this week, I took the easy way out and made chocolate covered pretzels! Cover them in chocolate, decorate, and place them in a nice Christmas-y tin and viola - the highest selling (at $20) homemade good at the auction!
I used dark chocolate wafers, red vanilla wafers, and a small amount of white chocolate chips (Nestle) to achieve the swirls. I also included 3 red, green, and white non-pareil covered ones and 3 crushed almond ones. Easy as pie! (Easier than pie actually!)
Using the large pretzel sticks, I dipped them in dark chocolate, let them cool about 15 seconds and then dipped them in again. I then drizzled a very small amount of red and white chocolate, haphazardly, on the tops of the pretzels, swirled it around to mix the colors a bit, then used a toothpick to make a line down the center.
(I'm convinced it's that line that impresses everyone and makes them look more professional - the easiest part of the whole thing!)
My original thought was to make a ricotta orange pound cake, but I figured everyone would be making some sort of cake or cookie. Due to my cramped schedule this week, I took the easy way out and made chocolate covered pretzels! Cover them in chocolate, decorate, and place them in a nice Christmas-y tin and viola - the highest selling (at $20) homemade good at the auction!
I used dark chocolate wafers, red vanilla wafers, and a small amount of white chocolate chips (Nestle) to achieve the swirls. I also included 3 red, green, and white non-pareil covered ones and 3 crushed almond ones. Easy as pie! (Easier than pie actually!)
Using the large pretzel sticks, I dipped them in dark chocolate, let them cool about 15 seconds and then dipped them in again. I then drizzled a very small amount of red and white chocolate, haphazardly, on the tops of the pretzels, swirled it around to mix the colors a bit, then used a toothpick to make a line down the center.
(I'm convinced it's that line that impresses everyone and makes them look more professional - the easiest part of the whole thing!)
Friday, December 10, 2010
OPI Suede Polish
If there is one thing I hate, it's chipping nail polish! For years I had pink/white gel nails and they were perfect - never had to be painted, always looked great. Then the real world set in and $60 every 2 weeks just wasn't doable anymore. Since I've had them off, I've experimented with lots of colors and brands, but my favorites are by Essie. Their contoured brushes are awesome!
OPI makes a color I have always been a huge fan of - Lincoln Park After Dark. It's a very deep purple and looks great on any skin tone! The last time I was at Ulta, I decided to take advantage of their buy 1 get 1 deal on OPI polishes and wound up with a bottle of Lincoln Park and a bottle of their new "suede" polish in You Don't Know Jacques.
The color of the suede polish is great - it's a multidimensional taupe and, even though you don't use a top coat, seems to sparkle. I would wear it all the time if I didn't have to redo it everyday!
The major downfall of this polish is its wear time. There is a warning on the bottle that states it will not last as long as regular polish, but they're not kidding in the slightest. If you have somewhere to go, put it on immediately before leaving the house (it dries VERY quickly) or you'll get there with a mess of chipped tips. Don't think about showering with it on because you'll get side tracked by picking it off.
It is a beautiful color and I would love to try their green shade, but if you aren't willing to do daily touch ups or completely repaint them each day, this isn't the polish for you!
OPI makes a color I have always been a huge fan of - Lincoln Park After Dark. It's a very deep purple and looks great on any skin tone! The last time I was at Ulta, I decided to take advantage of their buy 1 get 1 deal on OPI polishes and wound up with a bottle of Lincoln Park and a bottle of their new "suede" polish in You Don't Know Jacques.
The color of the suede polish is great - it's a multidimensional taupe and, even though you don't use a top coat, seems to sparkle. I would wear it all the time if I didn't have to redo it everyday!
The major downfall of this polish is its wear time. There is a warning on the bottle that states it will not last as long as regular polish, but they're not kidding in the slightest. If you have somewhere to go, put it on immediately before leaving the house (it dries VERY quickly) or you'll get there with a mess of chipped tips. Don't think about showering with it on because you'll get side tracked by picking it off.
It is a beautiful color and I would love to try their green shade, but if you aren't willing to do daily touch ups or completely repaint them each day, this isn't the polish for you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)