it's a blizzard!! the perfect soup for snowy days...

It's a blizzard! And a snow day for hubby and I! 

We have well over two feet already and it doesn't appear to be letting up any time soon! 

That used to be our stone wall! It's at least 2 1/2 feet high and we can barely see the top!  My handy husband has been out all morning trying to keep up with the snowfall.  It's a seemingly endless job!

He just came in to eat lunch with me.  We heated up our favorite chicken and wild rice soup! It inspired me to type out this blog and share this deliciousness with you! Hope you love it as much as we do! 

What you will need:

1 medium onion, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped 

4 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

1 cup of uncooked wild rice

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried parsley 

2 lbs bone-in split chicken breats (about two) (I'm sure this would work with regular chicken breast too)

10 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste 

What you do:

In your slow cooker, add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, rice, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper.

Top with your split chicken breasts, bone side down.

Add chicken broth.

Cook on high about 6 hours.

Remove chicken breast, fork shred, add meat to soup (discard bones and skin).

Remove bay leave.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy!! 

..:chocolate chip banana bread muffins

Perhaps this is a strange thing, but I am addicted to baking though I rarely more than sample my finished product.

My love, however, is a different story.  He loves all things sweet and dessert-esque. He is slim and muscular despite his dessert for breakfast habit (he despises regular breakfast foods). 

Yesterday I think I was nesting! I decided store bought soup for lunches for this week was out of the question.  Instead I made my chicken and wild rice soup in the crockpot (look for that recipe later in the week!) for the hubby and I.  In the process, I decided the refrigerator was in DESPERATE need of a cleaning and, while I was at it, the freezer needed to be cleaned out for the freezer meals I will be making for after the baby arrives.  

After all of this, I decided I couldn't let my lovely starve for breakfast and I had four banana that were just going by.  I set to work to make the most delightful chocolate chip banana muffins. I only got about twelve muffins out of this because I used a muffin tin that was a little larger than a standard cupcake size tin. Here is the recipe:

Preheat your oven to 350.

You will need:

4 ripe bananas

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 pinch of salt

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup or so of chocolate chips

Peel bananas into a large bowl, add melted butter, mash together until smooth.

Add sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Mix until just combined.

Add salt and backing soda and stir together.

Add flour and mix until all of the flour is combined (if the batter isn't perfectly smooth, that's ok).

Add in chocolate chips and mix until incorporated. 

Generously grease a muffin tin (they tend to stick to liners... I don't recommend using them).

Fill muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full. 

Put in preheated oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes (until tester inserted into the middle of the muffin is clean).

Place on cooking rack, eat, enjoy!

who doesn't love a good recipe...

Before I give you a delicious and simple weeknight meal recipe, let me first start with a mini freakout!

Ahhhhh! I am almost 30 weeks! Where has the time gone?! This baby boy will be here before we know it! 

I am having trouble getting up off the couch or out of bed, struggling to put on shoes and socks, have been dealing with those precious rib kicks (*sarcastic*), and had to do this:

Which I passed, thank goodness! However, I wouldn't trade that's experience for the world!!! Feeling so happy and so blessed every day!! 

Mommy and daddy are so excited to meet you, little one! 

It my everyday search for easy weeknight dinners (planning ahead for when baby arrives!!!), I came across a recipe similar to this one.

I switched it up a little bit and was pleased with the results! Super fast and super delicious! I made it with an Asian cucumber salad and regular salad with ginger dressing.  It was divine =) I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

Asian Scallion Beef

8 or so oz of beef tenderloin - thin sliced (I had a strip steak and used that instead) 

2 1/2 tbsp oil

3 or more stalks scallions - cut into 3" strips

1 onion sliced

3 cloves of garlic - sliced

1 tsp corn starch

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Chinese wine (I used a Chinese rice wine)

2 tbsp fish sauce 

2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

3 dashes of white pepper (you could probably use regular pepper too)

1/2 tsp sesame oil (I used a hot sesame oil... We like it spicy!!) 

1 tbsp sugar

Salt to taste

Marinade beef for a minimum of 10 minutes in corn starch, soy sauce, Chinese wine mixture

Stir fry beef in heated wok or skillet until half done; Remove and set aside

Drain wok, add oil, stir fry onion and garlic

Add beef; Stir

Add sauce; Stir

Cook until done

Add scallions

Add sugar, salt, pepper to taste (I did not use all of the sugar)

Serve warm with steamed white or brown rice

**As a side note, next time I plan to double the sauce recipe.  My husband and I ate the beef over the rice and would have liked a little more juice! 

Enjoy! 

.:Christmas cookies...

JThis weekend was a busy one for us! Working everyday of the week means that there is little time, save for the weekend, to get everything done.  Around the holidays it becomes especially difficult!

This weekend was designated for holiday baking and gift wrapping.  It was a productive weekend, but my goodness am I exhausted today! 

Two batches of cream cheese cookies, two batches of saltine toffe, and a double batch of butternut bisque later, I am in pretty good shape in terms of prepping for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There will still be food preparation to be done that day, however this puts a pretty good dent in the work!

Our cream cheese cookies are a Christmas tradition in my family.  As my sisters and I get older, the baking ordeal gets larger! Not only do we help mom and mammie (my grandmother) with their cookies,  but we do cookies for our own holiday festivities as well.  

The recipe is too delicious!  Please don't cringe when reading the ingredients list.  Just remember, a cookie or two won't make you fat, just like a salad or two won't make you skinny =) 

What you will need: 

1 lb butter (4 sticks softened)

6 oz. cream cheese (softened)

1 cup sugar

4 cups flour 

1 tsp vanilla 

Red sprinkles 

Green sprinkles 

Cookie press

Preheat oven to 350

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. 

Add vanilla, sugar, and flour (I recommend not adding it all at once) and combine. 

**I feel here is a good time to mention that I generally switch from using the spoon to cream the ingredients together, to using my hands to knead the ingredients together.  Good arm workout!

Once ingredients are throughly combined, load your cookie press. 

** we have the old fashioned crank kind of cookie press that we use in conjunction with the star plate.

Shape your cookies into candy cane or wreath shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheet. 

**I do mine on two separate cookies sheets so I don't mix the sprinkles!

Sprinkle cookies with red or green sprinkles and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until just turning a golden color. 

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. Enjoy! 

This recipe yields roughly 4-5 dozen cookies (they are not large cookies by any means!)

Happy Christmasing!! 

pork and littlenecks ... <3

This entry today is copied from my cooking blog that I am phasing out: wicked chic sweets.  My husband and I are planning this for dinner tonight and I needed easy access to the recipe! Enjoy xoxo

Seafood: a New England favorite!  I am a lifelong fan of all seafood dishes, but anyone who knows me knows that my absolute favorite is pork and littlenecks.

Having grown up half an hour south east of Boston, I live in an area that is heavily populated by those of Portuguese decent.  Skilled at both fishing and cooking, it is no surprise some of our favorite seafood dishes are heavily influenced by the Portuguese culture.  Not only are the dishes fresh and delicious, they are also readily available in the area.  Each of my favorite restaurants has a different take on pork and littlenecks, however each one is delicious in it's own way. 

Earlier my love and I were debating going out or staying in for dinner tonight.  We both agreed we needed to get pork and little necks somewhere. Instead of going out to dinner, we opted to stay in and cook instead. I can not take credit for this meal, it was all him (thanks babe)! The recipe is one that has been used in his family for a while now and is absolutely fabulous! The bare-bones recipe is phenomenal, however there are also plenty of modifications you can make (adding Goya seasoning, adding whole garlic, adding shallots, garnishing with hot red peppers, etc) based upon your own personal preference!

Pork and Littlenecks:

1 pound pork loin (cut into 1-inch cubes)

1 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 bay leaves

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 cup white wine (more to taste if desired)

4 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)

20 littlenecks (rinse well)

5 or more whole cloves of garlic (optional)

3 shallots, thinly sliced (optional)

Vegetable oil for frying potatoes and pork

Portuguese red pepper for garnish

In a small bowl, combine salt, paprika, pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, garlic, shallots, and wine.  Pour over pork cubes and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Drain the pork and save the marinade. 

In a large skillet, brown the pork in the vegetable oil.  Add the marinade and additional wine if you decide you want more (to taste). Over medium heat, simmer the pork until 3/4 of the way cooked through.

Deep fry potatoes in oil until browned and add to the pork and littlenecks pan.

Bring sauce to a boil and add in the littlenecks.  Cover and cook until done (when littlenecks are open).

Garnish with a red pepper if you so choose and enjoy!

nantucket cranberry "pie"

I love cooking. I love baking. One of my most favorite rooms in our house is the kitchen!  My husband and I are absolutely "foodies".  We love trying new restaurants, we love trying new recipes, and we love, love, love local flavor.  We are blessed to be from a unique area of New England that is steeped in history and culture, as is evident in our local flavors! One New England staple I can not get enough of is the cranberry!

Today, after returning home from work early (love working at a school!), I started on my cooking and baking for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Thanksgiving will be at my mom and dad's house this year,  but we have our contributions we make to the feast every year!  Our chourico stuffing (...to die for, if I do say so myself! Recipe for that in a later post!), a butternut bisque (!!), an apple pie, and a new addition this year: a nantucket cranberry pie!  This pie came out delicious!  

I recommend you try it! Let me know what you think =) 

Ingredients:

• butter to grease your pie dish 
• 2 cups of cranberries (I probably used a little more than that!) 
• 3/4 cups pecans (chopped) 
• 2/3 cups sugar (for pie filling)

• 1 cup flour 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter (melted) 
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almost extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a cake pan or pie pan (I used a glass 7" by 11" rectangle pan! It was all I had available) 

Add cranberries to the bottom of the pan. Add chopped pecans and 2/3 cup sugar.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, melted butter, eggs, almond extract, and salt. Stir until combined.

Spread batter over the top of the pie.  *this is tricky! I spooned it on the top and pressed it flat with my hands*

Bake for 40-50 minutes.

It is really that simple! How yummy does that look?!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours <3 Enjoy family, friends, food, and football (if you are into that)!!