Heavy Heart

I just don't understand.

What took place today, not far from my own school, is beyond conceivable.

My heart hurts for all of those that were affected.

This is a horrific tragedy!

The families and staff memebers will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

 

To all my family and friends, from states away, who were so worried for me, thank you!





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Dinner Made Easy

It's the holiday season!
 Simply stated, I have more on my to-do list than I do time to accomplish it all.

I'm sure you all can relate!

Meal time is an area that needs to be speedy but yet satisfying during these hectic weeks.

 I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. 
Not only was it quick and easy to put together, but it's on the healthy side too. 

A winner in my book.

Farfalle with Sausage, Cannellini Beans, and Kale

*Changes I made ...

pasta type {what I had on hand}
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes {drained}

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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Join My Celebration

{Image not mine, but I'd be willing to sample :) }

Today is my birthday!

Yep, I'm one year older
and a little wiser.

I've decided to celebrate all week and I'm inviting you along for the fun!

It's going to be a week of giving

as in

Random Acts Of Kindness!

Join in, the more the merrier!

Kindness is contagious. 
{feel free to share with others. 
Let's how many smiles we can share}


Please come back and share.
I'd love to hear what you did 
to brighten someone's day.

Let the party begin! :)

  ~~~

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Artichoke and Mushroom Chicken Chili

I just had to share my new my new favorite chili for the chilly season ahead of us. This was a big hit when I served it in my home.

 It began as a recipe to combine some of my favorite items and a need to clean out my frig. It's hearty and filling but the flavors are light and blend very nicely. 

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 large onion, chopped 
4-6 garlic cloves, minced  {based on your taste}
2-3 large chicken breasts cooked and shredded 
2 tablespoons rosemary 
1 tablespoon fennel seeds 
1 tablespoon thyme 
1 tablespoon dried oregano 
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
salt and pepper as desired
1 can artichokes, drained and chopped 
10 oz package baby bella mushrooms cleaned and sliced 
3 15oz cans white beans, rinsed and drained 
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock 



Directions 

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan heat the oil and add the onions and mushrooms and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. To this add the spices and chicken stock. Cook, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer on low for at least 45-60 min to allow flavors to meld.

Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread.

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Land of Light and Power

It is SO good to be back! 
Who knew how lovely the sound of a flushing toilet and garbage disposal would be to the ears! In celebration of our liberation, I treated myself to Starbucks before heading out to accomplish a few errands. The sight of Christmas red and white threw me. Due to Hurricane Sandy's timing, I have been out of school for an entire week and Halloween has been postponed until next week. When I saw the season change via Starbucks I felt a little out of sorts... I'm behind a holiday! I'll try to catch up next week with a quick turn around for Thanksgiving. Whew!



Once we were up and running with power I was able to check my school emails and catch up with my other life outside these four walls. One of the messages was requesting support for those still without power and the reminder that the temps were dropping this week so there was a great need for blankets and warm clothing. Please remember that many families on the coast lost not only their homes but everything inside them. We were affected by the storm, we have been without power, several very large trees have fallen, and our yard looks like a world war was fought on it BUT we were lucky, the only thing we LOST was power and food items. SO, one of my errands was to BJ's Warehouse to purchase items for those who are still in need. There were a few more bags of food and clothing in the back seat. I need to go through our coat closet and donate a few jackets that we don't wear and can be used by others.



Back at home the clean up has begun ... sort of! As luck would have it, my husband's chainsaw thought this would be a good time to stop working! Ugh. He has a great friend that is coming over not only to loan him his but also help with the cutting and removing of the trees! There are plenty of small limbs, twigs and leaves to keep everyone busy in the meantime. 

The yard should be cleaned up and back to normal in no time with these two power house helpers!

Bentley is in charge of watching the leaves so they don't go anywhere. He takes his job very seriously!

Bozley is the official stick chewer. These are taxing jobs and not for the light of heart. Ha!

In keeping with my celebration of electricity, I made up a new recipe for dinner. This may sound off but I was rather excited to be able to cook and serve a meal. It represented being normal ... what a great feeling! My creation basically consisted of what I had on hand and a combination of flavors that sounded appealing. This evening White bean, artichoke,mushroom and chicken chili came to dinner.  It really needs a catchier name ~ I'll work on that later. I have to say that it was delicious! Both my husband and I agreed that is was keeper. In fact, he requested that I make another batch so we could take it for lunches next week. He's a sweet talker I tell ya ;) 

 I'm having issues with blogger {shocking, I know!} this evening so I'll post the recipe tomorrow.




Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers, they made all the difference! It's so nice to have such wonderful friends :)

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Sandy's Aftermath

* I am sending this via my phone so please excuse any mistakes, and I'm sure there will be plenty! Monday arrived with an eerie dawn and worked its way to intense! We awoke to a slight breeze but nothing over the top. We lost power on Monday a little after 9am and by mid afternoon it was getting scary. There were wind gusts of 80 miles an hour! By mid afternoon the winds and weather were wild! I was upstairs organizing my closet, my lantern light, when I heard an extremely loud crack. I ran downstairs as fast as I could fearing the tree was going to land on our house and me! When the tree landed the impact shook the entire house! Thankfully it missed our home but ripped all the power lines off the house. It will take a significant amount of time to get that all back in place. Once high tide hit, with a full moon, things intensified well into the early morning hours. Neither one of us slept! Morning brought the realization of 5 downed trees ranging in 40-50 feet, many branches, all the leaves. Even with our damage, I am well aware that many others are far worse off. Many lost their homes and some their lives. My heart and prayers go out to them. School continues to be canceled due to power and road ways being blocked by downed trees. There will be no ghost or goblins trick or treating at our doors this evening. Halloween has been postponed until next week for safety reasons. To be honest, I'm not sure it's safe for me to have all this candy in my house with no other distractions! Boredom invites needless snacking! :) Thank you for all your kind words, sweet emails and prayers. They have been greatly appreciated!! For those of you celebrating, have a safe and happy Halloween!

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Hurricane Sandy

Let the wind and rain begin!

* the patio furniture is put away

* yard lanterns secured

* garage rearranged

* generator prepped and ready to go

* essentials on hand {see photo}

* house is clean {OCD}

* laundry done {OCD again}

The evacuations began this afternoon and the closings list has grown lengthy as the day has gone on.

My school, as with most schools on the coast, announced their closure early in the day. This was a huge relief since we have many rivers and streams near our home that quickly flood and make it nearly impossible to get to our subdivision. This was the case in the last hurricane and I almost had to stay over at a friend's simply because our district didn't make a safe call early enough.

At this time, our town and all neighboring towns have shut down in preparation for the storm. There is a strong sense of being in a ghost town. Only essential personal will be required to report Monday morning. I give the decision makers a lot of credit for making these calls, they are not taking any chances when it comes to people's safety. Thank you, it is greatly appreciated!

I am extremely thankful that my husband is home and not on travel which has been the case with serious storms in the past.

How the tables have turned, my son is calling and checking up on us to make sure we're safe in the impending storm :)

So sweet, Nicholas!

Keeping all those affected by hurricane Sandy in my prayers!

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Overwhelmed

This one word sums up how I've been feeling the past few weeks. I'm in hyper-drive the minute my feet hit the ground each morning.

Here are a few reasons why ...

Our lower patio is under reconstruction. A new drainage system is being put in place to alleviate water in the basement during heavy downpours. 

The second family room in the basement is in the midst of being remolded. The carpet was ripped up after the great flood of 2012 and new tile is being laid. I think it will look lovely once it's completed.

Our contractor, known as my husband, is doing all the work. His talents are impressive but his *real* job has been keeping him hopping so the home projects aren't coming along as quickly as desired.

Just keeping it real here ...

Our cook {aka Me!} decided to try out new recipes for our party that required the use of every single pot, pan, appliance and utensil in the kitchen! It's blurry but you get the gist.

In every day life, I'm crazy busy at school. I have a very challenging classroom this year. It's going to be a very fast past school year with lots of activity.

For my so called *free time* I'm taking a class, more on that later, this semester. I'm really enjoying it but the additional time and work load demands have required me to pull energy from other areas.

This past week I was dealt a health scare that has me going in for more testing. I'm concerned and nervous which isn't mixing well with everything else that's whirling around in my life.

Oh, how could I forget, this weekend we are having nearly 70 people in our home for our annual Oktoberfest party and our home looks like a bomb just exploded!

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Italian Vegetable and Chorizo Soup

It was just cool enough to bring out one of my favorite soup recipes. We are still hanging out in the high 60's to low 70's which makes for enjoyable weather during the day and then dips down just enough at night so I can break out my flannels! :)



  

I make a big batch of this and freeze it in individual ziplock containers so Kevin and I can take them in our lunch. It makes for a great lunch on those chilly afternoons ~ and it's quick and easy. Gotta like that!

Italian Vegetable and Chorizo Soup

{double batch recipe}

2 cups baby carrots sliced

2 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced

1 large white onion roughly diced

8~10 handfuls of chopped kale

6-8 garlic cloves minced

4 medium tomatoes roughly chopped

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 large can tomato sauce

8 cups chicken broth

1 pound {give or take} chorizo sausage

2 tsp thyme

1 tsp pepper

pinch of salt

parmesan cheese

1/2 box of ditalini pasta cooked according to directions on box. I've also used orzo which is very good.*I don't add my pasta directly to the soup as it will absorb the liquid over time turning it into more of a stew consistency. 

Remove sausage from casing and crumble into soup pot. Cook over medium high heat until thoroughly cook. Remove from pot when done and set aside. To absorb some of the fat, I lay it on a couple layers of paper towel.

Using some of the remaining fat in the soup pot, add onions, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms. Saute for approximately 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Add the fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cook until well combined.

Toss in the thyme, salt and pepper.

Let soup simmer for at least 20 minutes.

I add the kale about 5 minutes before serving since I prefer it  just slightly cooked. If you prefer yours to be softer, add it to the soup sooner.

Ladle a small about of pasta and soup into bowls and grate on a little parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

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Change of Seasons

I know, I know, it's officially fall but I'm just not ready to accept this minor seasonal detail.

Remember when you were a child and everything was the best because you were young and carefree? Well, I had one of those summers. It was the best! 

I've been really bad about posting so I'll have to do a highlight of the season. Our summer was filled with fun times, great friends and family ~ a recipe for the best summer ever! :)

We spent a fabulous day at the Americas Cup Series. It was a gorgeous day. The weather was absolutely perfect! There was a light breeze, it was sunny and low humidity. It was so nice to have a laid back day with Kevin.

*I learned the hard way of the importance of good {as in not the cute and fun ones} sunglasses after spending the entire day in hazy sun reflecting off the water. I burned my retinas and am still paying for this many weeks later!*

We celebrated holidays and many special times. 

My sweet son surprised me with a package of Lilly goodies.  It was filled with all the important essentials for days at the beach! Yup, I raised him right :)

I'm going to miss dinners on the patio with fresh farmer's market goodies. Not to mention my favorite summer sipper ~ ruby red grapefruit margaritas. 



We were so fortunate to spend lots of time with good friends {welcome baby Graham} attended local events, and got away for a great vacation compliments of my husband planning.



Best of all, was the time I spent with my family! I love them tons. If only they didn't live so far away.  Nicholas wasn't exactly "feeling" like photos after his day of golfing {and they say girls are the emotional ones ~ Ha!}


The weather hasn't made too big of a shift towards fall yet so I'm trying to hold on to the warm sunshine filled days and ignore the reports that we are in for a cold snowy winter. 

Yes, denial is my best friend! :)

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Change Of Plans

Our weekend calendar was packed full of fun as of Friday night. 

Saturday morning arrived and wiped it clean.

~Beach and boating were cancelled~
~Sailing slipped away~

~Golf with friends was minus one~

~Dinner at friends home postponed~

~Labor Day cookout put on the back burner~

I headed off to our local market to join the holiday shoppers. My cart items definitely weren't like the others! 

One of us {husband} is celebrating the long weekend with a nasty case of stomach flu. 

Poor guy!

While I'm a little disappointed that we are missing the last few days of summer fun, I'm taking full advantage of the time to work a few projects. 

I stayed up way too late last night to finish The Kitchen House. 
It was a great read!

Happy Labor Day!

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Celebrating Us

Today is our special day ...

I feel so fortunate to fill my days and share my life with this magnificent man !




My guy is ...

loving
kind
compassionate 
funny
thoughtful
patient  
hardworking
considerate
humorous
intelligent
serious
practical
silly
romantic
helpful
creative
sensitive

My sweet husband surprised me with an early anniversary celebration while we were in San Francisco earlier this month. Our accommodations during our stay were fabulous. To add to the excitement he researched and made reservations at an amazing restaurant with such a touching sentiment.

He is so sweet and romantic!







We had an incredible evening and it was topped off with an unexpected appearance from Hubert Keller!





Yep, he's a keeper! ;)


Happy Anniversary Sweetie! 
I'm looking forward to spending many more loving years together.

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Going Home

It doesn't matter how old you are, going home is a peaceful and comforting trip.

My entire family is in Michigan. Well, with the exception of one cousin. He didn't get very far though, he and his family live in Illinois. I'm the adventurer of our family ... moved all the way to the east coast! :)



Is it wrong that one of the highlights of my trip were the gas prices? I snapped this with my phone and sent it to my friends in Connecticut. I can't tell you the last time {if ever} we paid such low gas prices. Not only were they all jealous of my bargain, they asked me to bring some home to them :) 


I probably haven't shared this before but I am gifted. Not necessarily in a good way, but gifted nonetheless. We call it L****(insert last name) Law. If there is a way for something odd or extreme to go wrong, it will happen to me. Nope, I've never ever prospered from this gift. 


Upon arrival to my brother's home he informed me that the compressor in his central air had just bit the dust. No problem, it's only 98 and humid! Michigan was in the middle of a heat wave and it wasn't due to break in the near future. 

Are you catching on to my so called "gift?" UGH! 

I had a continuous "glow" my entire visit ... it wasn't pretty.



Like the fan? :) It was a cool 95!

My brother Henry, with his two girls Mia and Molly, my son Nicholas, and me.  Kelly was taking the photo and Will was off spending the night with a friend {who had air conditioning ... I almost invited myself to join the fun}





Fresh seafood isn't readily available in Michigan so I brought a New England feast home. We had lobsters, mussels, and oysters. I really, really, really don't like oysters.  However, my brother roasted them on the grill, drained them, and then put a little sauteed garlic and butter on them and served them in the half shell. They were amazing!

These sweet little ladies are my cousin's children. I spend a delightful day in Belleville with my Aunt and a few cousins. This is the worst part of living so far away ... I miss out on all the little things in life that add up to so much! Little Francesca {being held by her big sister Sophia) was born two weeks before I came to town. She is a total sweetheart at a whopping 6lbs at 16 days old ~ I was afraid she would break in my arms :)  

The last photo cracks me up! Out of nowhere came this adorable little firefighter. My cousin Michael, her daddy, is a fireman so she comes by the costume naturally.  I felt very safe knowing she was there to rescue us at a moments notice!

Nicholas was on his way out of town but made the time to stop in for a brief visit. This was completely his idea. No pressure or prompting from his mom!  I love that family is important to him and makes the time to connect even when he's on a tight schedule. 

Please take note pf my stellar photography skills ... put the subjects in direct sunlight so they have to squint!  

Nonetheless, I still like the photo of Nicholas and my Aunt Rose. After my mom passed away she quietly stepped into my life offering support even when I didn't know I need it ~ bless her!

My cousin Jackie and I {love the squinting!} Can you believe she just had a baby?! It was great to catch up with her. We are working on a girls trip out here next summer. I'm already giddy with excitement! My husband may need to find a place to stay with all the estrogen! Ha.




One afternoon we went to the farmer's market for some fresh dinner items. I love the faces on my brother and Mia!  Clearly she is begging and he is giving the infamous NO :)  I'm not sure where the rest of the family wandered off to. 

Our dinner was amazing with fresh veggies, meat, cheeses, and fruit! I miss having the market in my backyard.

I will miss these girlies SO much. During my visit we did crafts, hung out at the MAC and University Club, cooked, shopped and lunched! My favorite time together was late at night when we all climbed into my bed and just talked! 

Mia, the oldest, is not only bright but an amazing soccer player. She has such grace and beauty both inside and out. What I love most about her is that she is completely unaware of her gifts.  Miss Molly makes the most out of each and every day. She has a natural talent of spinning the negative into a positive. We could all learn a lesson from her. Will wanted no part of photos. He ducked and dived and in the end rode off with his friends. No worries, we'll get him in photos next time when he isn't expecting it! :)

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Friday Night Favorite

I am so far behind in posting and catching up with you!


It's been a busy, but fun, summer so far. Rather than trying to "catch up," I'm just going to start from this point and work backwards.


So, here we go ...




We love pizza on the grill and caesar salad so this is the best of both worlds! 


There is something about the ability to linger a littler longer over dinner on a Friday night ... and enjoy a second glass of wine ;)





I don't measure ingredients when it comes to making pizza. It's all done by sight and how hungry we are.


I make my own pizza dough but store bought works just as well.


Tonight's toppings ~
*grilled chicken {marinade at bottom}
*garlic and herb cheese spread
* parmesan cheese
*fontina cheese
*chopped romaine lettuce
*olive oil with pepper flakes



Heat your grill to a low temperature.


Brush olive oil on the grill to prevent sticking ~ don't skip or you'll be scrapping your dinner off ~ not very eye appealing or tasty!


Stretch out your dough to desired thickness {the thinner side works best} and place on grill. Grill only until slightly browned and flip over carefully ~ mine had a little accident along the way. Oops.





Now you're ready to load on the goodies!


*brush on a very thin layer of olive oil
*spread on the garlic and herb cheese
*sprinkle on the fontina
*layer the grilled chicken




Put the lid down and wait for the cheese to melt {yummy!} and the pizza dough to finish baking. 


Don't venture far the grill at this point because you don't want it to burn.



Pull the pizza off the grill, top it with the caesar salad {I dress mine before I take it out to the grill} and sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese.




Come and get it hot off the grill!


I promise you'll love this ... call me when it's ready; I'll be right over!


Salad dressing


* 2 {or more if you really like garlic ~ we do!} garlic cloves grated
* 1 juicy lemon ~ you could use two if they aren't providing enough
* 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
* 1 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste ~ this is the deal breaker for the dressing so don't skip
* 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
* 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil


* 1 large or a couple small heads of romaine lettuce


This recipe makes more dressing than you'll need for the pizza so you'll have enough to enjoy for a couple of days.




Chicken marinade
Adapted from Wolfgang Puck


* 2 large chicken breasts {use 1 for the pizza and save the other to put on salads for lunch}
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 2 large jalapeno peppers seed and finely chopped {I used hot peppers from my garden this time}
* 3 cloves garlic finely chopped {use less if you'd like}
* 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
* pinch of kosher salt


Marinate for at least 1 1/2 hours so it has time to absorb the flavors.


I've used this marinade for chicken skewers as well.

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It All Began with Ina

It all began with Ina ...


Her holiday email arrived in my box. The recipe looked good but I was really craving something more southwestern like without all the cheese and added calories ... I know what you're thinking, this statement surprises even myself as the words appear on the screen! What? No cheese or loaded calories??


Anyway ...


I decided to keep going with the cabbage idea and add a few other goodies I had on hand. The beauty of my so called salad is that you can add to or take away with whatever you're in the mood for at the moment. As I was going through the frig I stumbled on of my favorite ingredients ... cilantro! If I could figure out how to grow larger cilantro leaves, I'd make a salad of it each and every day. Yes, I like it that much!




Once I found my stash from the farmers market, the evening meal took a turn. 

Salad ~
2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
3 whole green onions thinly sliced
3/4 snap peas blanched and then cut on a diagonal
2 green peppers from my garden {slightly spicy}
large handful of cilantro {surprise, surprise!}


Dressing ~
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/8 cup light mayo
1 large lime juiced
1 large lime zest
1/2 jalapeno
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 heaping tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
pinch of salt


Toss the salad ingredients, mix together the dressing and combine!





I was planning to grill the basic burger but since I had a featured guest ingredient, I felt the need to share the wealth and use it in everything I was preparing.

The burgers went from plain jane to south of the border! Our toppings included my second favorite ingredient ... avocado! I don't know why I haven't thought of putting all this together before. It was delicious! I used an easy sauce of salsa verde mixed with light sour cream in place of ketchup and mustard.





Burgers ~
93% lean ground beef
cumin, chipotle pepper, chili pepper, garlic power, a little salt and pepper
garlic gouda cheese stuffed in the middle {I needed a little dairy :)}

Dinner is served!


I wonder if my husband has any idea he consumed an entire cilantro plant this evening?! ;)

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His Day

I thought I'd better get last weekend's festivities up before another weekend arrives ...


This year my husband enjoyed a two part Father's Day. On Mother's Day {yes, I loaned him my big day} we traveled to New York for a Yankees game. 


This isn't necessarily my idea of a great time but I will admit that it turned out to be a fun filled {hot} day. A good friend's husband orchestrated a bus trip for his employees and invited a few of their friends along. Since Kevin likes the Yankees, has wanted to go to a game and I'm a fabulous wife {insert hearty laugh} we happily boarded the bus. Thankfully this bus wasn't yellow and I wasn't in charge of everyone on it! :)


We were able to arrive well before any other fans and enjoyed a ballpark lunch in a private party setting. One of my dreams came true ... endless supply of popcorn! Yum :)
If only I could convince Kevin we need a popcorn machine for our home!

 


The happy guy before the game!


 


We had good seats but the afternoon sun baked us! I ended up with a lovely sunburned nose ~ my students thought it was funny. 


I caught a little grief from our friends because I didn't have any Yankee gear ~ sorry, I'm not a billboard. 



On Sunday { Father's Day} we enjoyed breakfast at The Shack after church, we worked in the yard and I made Kevin a special dinner.


We enjoyed asian chopped salad, bacon rubbed chicken skewers with a thai marinade, and manly chocolate cupcakes with kahlua frosting.  
  


Then it was time for gifts. Bentley's motto is *better to help open a gift than just let it sit there.* Much to his chagrin, he wasn't allowed to rip the paper off. 









 









 The mustache glasses are an on going joke in our home. Kevin grew a mustache last year while on the submarine. He came home and ~surprised me~ with his new addition. For several weeks he continued to annoy me with the furry patch on his lip. After my threatening to shave it off in the middle of the night, he finally relented and shaved. 


The kit is from William Sonoma ~ I'll let you know how it turns out.





 Ending a very nice day with chocolate!

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