Vintage Pretties

April Menu

Sources: Southern Living, Food.com, & SkinnyTaste

Summer is coming early around here -- today it reached 90 degrees!  The warmer weather is pulling me towards lighter foods.  More chicken and fish, fewer stews.  And, spicer foods -- Mexican & Asian -- what is that about?  We want our food as hot as the weather?  Maybe it's the cerveza and margaritas that so refreshingly go with them :)

Here are some of the meals that we are having this April:

Sczechuan Noodles (with Shrimp Added) and Steamed Broccoli

Parmesan Tilapia with Wild Rice and Peas

Homemade Pizza (the best homemade dough recipe I've found!)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos with Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Bacon and Gouda Burgers and Pesto Pea Salad

Curried Shrimp & Corn Chowder and My Mother's Spinach Salad

My mother's spinach salad is a family favorite and a hit at every potluck.  Here is the recipe:

Spinach Salad

1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing, made according to the package directions (I use the low fat version of the directions)

1 clove garlic

1 pound spinach cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 pound bacon, cooked & crumbled

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

salt, pepper & garlic powder

Cut the garlic clove in half & use it to rub the inside surface of a wooden salad bowl (skip this step if you do not have a wooden salad bowl). Toss the spinach, bacon & hard boiled eggs in the salad bowl.  Season with salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste.  Toss with salad dressing.

I'm sharing this post at Stone Gable's On the Menu Monday

 

Menu Planning Early March

sources: Jenny Steffens Hobick, Eating Well, An Edible Mosaic

Over the next few weeks, I'm mixing up very easy meals with just one or two meals that are little more time consuming.  I've reached the point in the semester when I need to buckle down and get cracking on papers and projects, so quick but yummy will be key for dinner. 

This is the last stretch of winter before the farmers markets start to open around here.  I'm hoping that April will bring fresh asparagus and broccoli...and give me an excuse to bring home a loaf of artisan bread from a baker whose stall always beckons.

The menu for the next week or so:

Sloppy Joes

Zucchini Fries

Kaytucky Chicken

Mashed Potatoes

Mixed Salad with Oranges & Cranberries

 

Trader Joe's Masala Sauce with Chicken

Steamed Broccoli

Rice and/or Naan Bread

 

Parmesan Crusted Fish

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

Wild Rice

 

Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

Garlic Mashed Potato Cakes

Broccoli with Pine Nuts & Lemon

 

French Dip Sandwiches

Carrots with Dill

 

French Dip Sandwiches are one of my family's favorite winter recipes -- soooo easy & soooo good!

French Dip Sandwiches

3 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed

1 can each: French onion soup, condensed beef consomme, condensed beef broth

 

Halve roast & place in crockpot.  Pour the soups over the roast.  Cover & cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Shred meat with forks & serve on rolls.  Serving cooking juice as a dipping sauce in small bowls.

I am sharing this post at Stone Gable's On The Menu Monday

Menu Planning

sources: southern living, savorysweet life, skinnytaste

Getting hungry?  So was I.  I've been really bored with cooking and what we've been eating recently. Last year was so busy with the move & starting school that I really slid into a cooking rut. 

Recently I realised that I love the feeling of coming up with a really good dinner. I feel so satisfied when we sit down together and I've put together a table full of goodness. It's like a little celebration on a regular night.

Taking time to plan a menu has really helped me get creative and devise great meals.  I've been trying a lot of new recipes as well.  Some are great, some won't get a second go-around. 

I'm sharing my menu for the current two weeks -- it helps keep me organized and maybe you'll take away a few ideas!

Chicken Marsala with Mashed Potatoes and  Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Shallots

Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce, Steamed Broccoli and Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Ginger-Cilantro Pork Chops, Wild Rice and Squash and Chive Pancakes

Ham & Bean Soup and Salad with Dried Cranberries, Walnuts, Shaved Parmesan and Poppy Seed Dressing

Honey Spiced Glazed Chicken, Balsamic Asparagus and Buttered Noodles

Herb and Potato Chip Crusted Beef Tenderloin, Brussel Sprouts Braised in Butter and Orzo

My friend Cindy told me how to make balsamic asparagus and it is now one of my favorite ways to prepare asparagus.  And, it's so easy!

Balsamic Asparagus

1 pound asparagus

1 T. balsamic vinegar

kosher salt

olive oil (about 1 teaspoon)

Cut the asparagus into 2 inch pieces and place in a skillet that has been sprayed with olive oil (or about 1 teaspoon oil).  Sprinkle on balsamic vinegar and salt to taste.  Saute on medium for about 5 minutes or until asparagus is crisp but can be pierced easily with a fork. 

You can also make this on the grill by leaving the asparagus stems whole and tossing them with the vinegar & salt before grilling.

Housewarming Party

We knew that our house wouldn't really feel right until we shared it with our  friends...and, we knew that they were so curious about the new place that they'd probably storm the place if we didn't invite them over!

Since it was the end of October, I went with a fall theme....

And, isn't it funny how you suddenly find the time to put up curtains and pictures when you know that people will be coming over in less than 24 hours????

Oreo Pudding Cookies

photo by Kim Fleming

I've got something to admit -- I'm kind of a cookie snob.  A new cookie recipe has got to be absolutely.insanely.fabulous for me to use it again, much less share with anyone.  Well, I tried these Oreo Pudding Cookies from The Girl Who Ate Everything and  I couldn't stop eating them.  I can't stop thinking about how they are some of the best cookies that I've had in years.  

Think about it...chocolate chip cookies with oreo pudding mix with (here is the kicker) cookies and cream Hershey's bars mixed in.  To.Die.For.

Try them. You'll thank me.

Oreo Pudding Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used 3 regular sized bars, but next time, I'd use the King Sized bars, maybe 3 of them)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container. Makes two dozen (When I made them, I got more).

Incidentally, everything that I've tried from  The Girl Who Ate Everything has been fabulous!

Christmas Cookies

It has been a cookie baking factory at my house over the last few weeks.  I've been madly prepping for our annual Christmas party, the highlight of which is a table groaning with hundreds of cookies.  This year I made  sugar cut outs (some with icing, some not), peanut butter kisses, oatmeal scotchies, rice krispie treats, mini pecan tarts, sandies, chocolate peppermint balls and pretzel bark.   It sounds like a lot, but it's been so much fun to be baking all of the time. 

We are expecting well over 60 people this year & I'm hoping that we have enough room for everyone -- our home is cozy and might be even cozier on Saturday night!

 

The End of Summer

It's the official end of summer today & I have to say that makes me very happy.  It wasn't the best summer ever & I'm glad to be moving on, especially to my favorite time of year, fall. 

However, we celebrated the best of summer tonight with a meal made entirely from farmer's market ingredients...the best tomatoes, fresh basil, artisan bread and corn on the cob.  Hope really wanted to be in the picture, as you can tell.

Believe it or not, tomorrow is Hope's first day of kindergarten.  She is really nervous about it & has told us several times that she has decided that she isn't going to go, after all.  I know that she will settle right in, once she is there.

They allow parents of kindergartners to meet their kid's buses at school and walk them inside on the first day, so I'll have lots of pictures to share. 

Box From Amazon

"The Wells Fargo man is a-comin' down the street, I wonder what it could be??"

Do you all remember that song from The Music Man?  I feel like that every time that I get a package in the mail, even if I'm the one who placed the order.  Especially deliveries from Amazon, because Amazon orders are always treats.  I collect my rewards certificates from our credit card to use for the kind of things that I would never buy myself normally.  Hardcover books, fancy accessories, twenty dollar bottles of bath gel, luxury soaps, really anything that has struck my fancy in an expensive store but I can't afford.

Yesterday's box was a treasure trove of things just for me.  Cath Kidston, Crabtree & Evelyn, Mistral, and Jamie Oliver's newest cookbook.  SO excited about the last one. 

When I get a new cookbook, I mark the recipes that I would like to try with tabs so that I may easily refer to them when planning my menus. I ran out of tabs with this book!  I lurve Jamie (his three cheese risotto is to die for) & this book is looks so good.

I'm particularly in love with the idea of having an old fashioned English Sunday roast dinner...beef with horseradish, roasted potatoes & parsnips, & Yorkshire pudding.  Funny story...I had never heard of parsnips until I was 21 & had just arrived in England for my semester abroad.  When I was told that they would be served for dinner, I had not only to ask what they were ("a vegetable" was the answer), but what food "family" they were part of....green? root?  like lettuce? radish? potato?

I will update once I've made some recipes to give the low-down on the book.

This Week

How are you, my blogging friends?  It's been a busy week around here, but relaxed.  I had a full-out baking day....yum yum yum yum yum.

Chocolate chip cookies (half with nuts, half without), plain pumpkin bread, pumpkin bread with nuts & pumpkin bread with nuts & chocolate chips. Soooooo good.  I'm currently trying to resist the pumpkin bread with chocolate.  It may not work.

Registered my baby for kindergarten.  How did this happen?  I demand to know where 4 1/2 years have gone!

Spent lots of time putting new treasures onto Etsy.  I sold the typewriter on the left to a journalist friend of mine, who has been looking for one. Makes both of us happy :)

The really exciting news on Etsy is that one of my items & my shop was featured on the front page yesterday!  I had no idea until a post popped up on Facebook!  So exciting & such an honor!

I've also spent a good deal of time here:

Still looking for a job.  If you know of anyone in the Washington DC metro area who is looking for a client management professional (post sales) with over 10 years of experience, I'm their girl!

I hope that all of you are having a great week & have much to look forward to over the weekend.

Visit to Leesburg

Sorry that I've been MIA for a few days. We had visitors (yay!) & then I had a root canal (yuck!).  While we had visitors, my parents to be exact, they took care of Hope for a day while Glenn & I snuck off to Leesburg, VA for a day to ourselves. 

First stop, Leesburg Antique Emporium, home to  Sue's and Four Shabby Chicks (no longer has a website :( )! Both Sue & Four Shabby Chicks did not disappoint.  I puchased a gorgeous set of etched glasses from FSC:

From downstairs booths, I bought the COOLEST looking white thingys, which I knew would look perfect in the apothecary jar in my powder room.  Turns out that they are old electric insulators!  I also purchased 2 more hand towels for the powder room:

Glenn bought a wonderful vintage light meter from Sue, for a photographer friend of his.

Happy from all of this shopping, we had lunch at Lightfoot:
It was one of the best restaurants that I've been to in a long time.  Perfect food, wine, service, atmosphere--an A+. The interior is absolutely fabulous -- it was once an ornate old bank which they have preserved.

After this, more shopping! First, to The Cottage, an adorable shop that has been featured in national magazines.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos!  But, I did take photos of the most wonderful slice of France, right in the middle of Leesburg, Creme del a Creme.  Can I move in??

It was a fun day & a real treat to be together as grown ups!