Monday's Meal

Nothing like a bowl of soup to warm you up. This is a delicious version of an Italian wedding soup. You can do a quickie version and use store bought meatballs if you prefer and it will still be great!

1 pound ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup dried Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons minced onion
2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 cup seashell pasta
3/4 cup minced carrots
1 tbsp olive oil


In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil, garlic powder and onion. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls and set aside. In skillet over medium heat brown the meatballs. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
In a large dutch oven heat chicken broth to boiling; stir in the spinach, pasta, carrot and meatballs. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, at a simmer for 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente, and meatballs are no longer pink inside. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Oh Jillian!

Those of you who know me IRL know that I am not a fan of exercise. But, alas I have realized that I'm not naturally blessed with a slim physique or fast metabolism so I work it as hard as I can. I try to keep my workout routine fresh by changing it up every few months. I recently started running (well, actually it more of an old people jog). However since the spring I hadn't been doing much strength training so I decided I needed to pick that back up. I knew of Jillian Michaels from "The Biggest Loser" and I've heard great things about her 30 Day Shred so I decided to give it a try. Let me just say I don't know if I'll actually lose 20 pounds in 30 days, but it truly kicked my ass! I consider myself reasonably fit, but I was panting for dear life half way through the program. I'll definitely try it again. I haven't purchased it yet though, I got it off ExerciseTVondemad. I'm going to see if I want to stick with it for awhile before I throw down my $10. But, for anyone looking for a quick intense workout, her dvd is definitely worth checking out.

Hey everybody, you want to make a quilt?

I'm very interested in doing a group quilt along beginning in the new year. Since I first saw it I've wanted to make the Denyse Schmidt Single Girl quilt. I would love it if a bunch of you out there would quilt along with me. I already have a couple friends who plan on working on the quilt with me. I'm super excited. The pattern goes from a baby quilt to a king size so there are tons of options. I'm having fun searching for fun fabrics to use. I'm going back and forth between some Heather Ross fabric I have and some fabric I had planned to use in another quilt. Maybe I'll check out a couple local quilt shops or perhaps I should shop my stash (now there's a novel idea!). Drop me a line if you're interested in joining in. I hope you'll join me, let's get quilting!

Work on it Wednesday

Sheesh! I'm working on trying to catch up. I was buried under the Halloween costumes (I still need to get it together and post a picture! what a slacker!. Now, I'm hard at work on Christmas gifts. We're going to see family for Thanksgiving so the pressure is on to knock out some of these gifts so I can take them with me. That won't leave much time for much else since I'm a notoriously slow crafter. I've got a long list of holiday sewing planned to...now just to find the time for it. Sometimes I wish I could clone myself, lol.

Monday's Meal

Last week was so crazy around here that I didn't blog at all. But never fear, I have 2 recipes for you this week to make up for that. I hope you enjoy them. The first is my adaptation of Nigella Lawson's Fried Chicken recipe. She suggest boiling the chicken in the milk. I don't do that step. I use a an old fashioned cast iron skillet and cook the chicken slowly uncovered over medium heat. I do however love her two dip method for coating the chicken, it yields a deliciously crisp crust. The second recipe is from a coworker. It's deliciously decadent and I've dreamed about it ever since she bought it to a potluck we had a work. Yummo!

Fried Chicken, Me and Nigella
1 whole fryer chicken, cut up
3 to 4 cups buttermilk
2 1/4 cups solid vegetable shortening, for frying
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
2 egg, beaten

In a large bowl, place chicken and cover with buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (or overnight if you can). In a large skillet over a medium heat melt the shortening, heating to about 325 degrees. In a large zip-lock bag, add all the seasonings, breadcrumbs and flour, shake to combine. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Place each piece of chicken, 1 at a time, in the bag and shake to coat the chicken. Place each piece of chicken on parchment paper to rest for about 5 mins. for the coating to settle on the chicken. Then dip chicken into the eggs to coat. Place the chicken back into the flour to coat for a second time. Repeat this method on remaining chicken pieces. Place each piece of chicken into hot oil, allow the pieces to have enough room as to not overlap. Cook slowly uncovered until the skin crisp and golden brown in color and no pink juices remain when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Serve hot with all the fixings.


Turtlecake

1 German chocolate cake mix with pudding in the mix
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 can of condensed milk
1 package of light caramels
1 bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix the cake according the the directions on the box. Divide the batter in half. Add 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of condensed milk to the first half of the batter. Pour into a well greased 9 X 13" pan. Bake for 30 mins. In a medium saucepan melt the caramels, 1 stick of butter and the rest of the condensed milk. Pour over the cake. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Pour the remaining cake batter over the chocolate chips and bake for an additional 30 mins.

Work on it Wednesday

I feel like a broken record, but I'm still doing some sewing on the Halloween costumes. Last week was busy busy and I didn't get quite as much done as I wanted. I also have to admit I was distracted by my efforts to learn about pattern drafting and fitting so I've been doing a ton of reading on the subject. I'm gearing up to make myself a fitted jacket/coat. I have decided to use this project to work out my aversion to making a muslin and taking the time to properly fit the stuff I sew for myself. I know that I'll need to make adjustments for a wide back, full arms and low bust (lol!). I am a tshirt and jeans kind of girl, but I do love beautiful clothes and want to make some for myself. I'm really excited to have a challenging project. I mean I sew for O., but there's no real challenge there, she doesn't have figure flaws to combat, lucky girl.

Monday's Meal

It's getting cold outside and that has me thinking about a good bowl of soup. My husband adores all things Italian so I thought I'd share this one with you all. Enjoy! Top with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve with a crusty Italian bread, delish!

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 1/4 cups dry red wine
5 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 zucchini, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 (16 ounce) package spinach fettuccine pasta
salt and pepper to taste


In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Drain fat from pan, reserving 3 tablespoons. Cook garlic and onion in reserved fat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine, broth, basil, and oregano. Transfer to a crock pot, and stir in sausage, zucchini, bell pepper, and parsley. Cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain water, and add pasta to the slow cooker. Mix well and simmer for a few minutes. Ladle into bowl and top with Parmesan cheese.