The Cookie Thing arrived at my door very cutely packaged.  It’s essentially pieces of wood that are cut to four specific sizes and a simple wooden rolling pin. To use it, you place the dough between sheets of wax paper.  Then you pick two matching planks from the group of four sizes, and place them on either side of the dough. Finally, you use the roller on top of planks to roll out the perfect thickness.  And there you have it – dough rolled out to the exact right size you wanted. So simple right? Exactly. Why didn’t I think of this first?

As a side note, I’ve never rolled out dough between wax paper before, but it’s so smart.  It makes the process easier because you don’t have to add extra flour to roll out the dough and then worry about all the extra flour changing the flavor.

I’m going to try the Cookie Thing on pie crust next.  Last time I made crust from scratch it was WAAAAAAAAAY too thick. So hopefully this will help.  Here’s a step by step of how I used it to make cookies.

I used the white rollout cookie recipe from The Cookie Thing’s website: 

When done, I laid a big handful of the dough on a sheet of wax paper; I made it longer across, so it was like a log.

I laid another sheet on top.  The Cookie Thing comes with four sets of wooden planks – 1/8 inch through 1/2 inch.  The smallest is for dumplings and pies, the middle for cookies, and the largest is good for things like slicing cakes in half to fill with filling.

I chose what size I wanted to use – 1/4 inch – and placed them on either side of the dough.

I placed the roller on top, and rolled until the dough was the width of the planks – perfectly one quarter inch.

When it was finished, I placed the dough (still in between the wax paper) in the fridge. I rolled out the rest of the dough, stacking them in the fridge:

The recipe I used called for chilling the dough overnight. So after it was rolled out and I put it in the fridge, I let it chill overnight.  Using the chilled dough with the cookie cutters was MUCH easier than soft dough. So this is a practice I will definitely continue.

The next day, I took a cutting board and spread flour on it.

Then I took a sheet of dough out of the fridge and removed the wax paper.

Then the fun part came – I cut out some cookies!

Look how even they are! Perfect, huh? I sprinkled them with a little sugar before I placed them in the oven.

They turned out beautiful! For more information on The Cookie Thing, check out the Facebook Page. 

Because Baby T. is sleeping in the photos, I decided to go with a dream theme, and also wanted to use this cute owl stamp I found for a few bucks at Michael’s. Here’s two of my finished products! Aren’t they the cutest?

They’re so easy to replicate – you can use he same sayings if you have a photo of your baby sleeping, or you could say something like “Hooooo wants to be your Valentine?”

First, I found these cards for $1 at Michaels. Yes – 8 notecards WITH envelopes for a $1.

I picked up some stickers for a few dollars more:

And this adorable owl stamp, which was just a few dollars.

I used a silver and black sharpie to write my words. On the pink card, I decided to use this cute candy hearts ribbon that I had in my ribbon box. I stuck it on with a dab of glue and a heart sticker.

I also used glue to stick the pictures on the inside. That was it. So easy and super cute! I think my friends will like them! Are you making any cute Valentine’s?

My Sweet Hubby has never been one to like going out on Valentine’s Day. The crowds, the prix fix menus, the PDA… its just not his thing. But don’t worry – he always remembers to send me beautiful flower arrangements or chocolate covered pretzels (my favorite!) so I’m happy to reciprocate by cooking something delicious and creating romance at home.

If you’re looking for something special to make, try veal. Veal’s one of those fancy things that I don’t cook to often, but when I do I’m soooooo happy. It’s a nice way to mix up your routine, and its much, much easier to cook with than you would think. Pair it with some heart shaped pasta to keep the love  theme going. The hubs and I both love Marsala, and we always eat Marsala with a side of pasta with red sauce. So here’s my recipe for veal Marsala with heart-shaped pasta and homemade tomato sauce. A dish that is the perfect Valentine’s Day meal. You could serve your side pasta however you like it – with butter and cheese, with a little garlic and olive oil, or with a red sauce like I did. I received the heart shaped pasta as a gift, but you can buy it online – just Google!

We like our marsala sauce with mushrooms and lots of onions, just like or favorite restaurant, Presto, makes it. fF you’re a traditionalist you can skip the onions. (Although I don’t know WHY anyone would skip onions in pasta sauce! They’re delicious!)

Here’s my basic Marsala recipe, which I’m still perfecting to be just how we like it. This sauce recipe is good for four people.

You’ll need:

• Veal (2-3 pieces per person, depending on size.) 
• 1 onion
• 1 bottle Marsala wine (the bottle I use is 12.7 ounces.)
• 1 cup chicken broth (I use high salt, high fat, because that’s much more delicous!)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 12 or 14 oz. package of sliced mushrooms. (You could use less, but WHY?!)

Serve on individual plates with lots of mushrooms ad onions!

I was in Target the other day and saw these little goodies:

I spend alot of time at Target these days. Like hours and hours.  It’s magical when its cold outside and you’re going stir crazy in the house and you have a baby.  It’s filled with never ending aisles of everything you could possibly need. Like that bag of Hugs. Which got me thinking about this box of deliciousness:

And these frozen berries that were in my freezer:

I started thinking that those three things would be just like those Hugs…. only so much better. Because if you’ve ever had Ghirardelli brownies, you know nothing is better than those. Even homemade brownies can’t come close.

So I set out to make a delicious – but easy  – Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie.  And I did! They are easy, delicious, and perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat. I made two versions, depending on your Cheesecake flavor preference:

These two (above and below) have Hugs on top. Lesson learned about the hugs – don’t put them in the oven, put them on when you take the cupcakes out. Or they’ll brown on the top like below!

So here’s what you’ll need and what to do! My recipe made 16 Brownie Cheesecakes.

• 1 Box Brownie mix – and the things to make the brownie mix according to directions. We know my favorite – Ghirardelli. But any will do!
• 1 package Philly cream cheese (softened)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Handful of frozen (or fresh if they’re in season) raspberries

Preheat the oven to 325.

Make the brownie mix according to the box. Mix by hand and let it sit while you make everything else. This will help it thicken up so it sits nicely on the bottom of the cupcake!

Take your frozen or fresh raspberries and blend them in the blender.  If they’re frozen, let them defrost for a few minutes. This many will do:

I just love how pretty raspberries are.

Set them aside to continue to get soft. (That’s the cream cheese getting soft behind them!)

Next mix the cheesecake layer.  With a hand mixer, blend the package of cream cheese (let it soften first), sugar, vanilla and and egg. It should nice and smooth when done.

I use this vanilla because its amazing.

Now its time to layer! I found these pretty red paper cupcake wrappers in my cupboard and decided to use them.

Place these in a cupcake or muffin pan. Fill them just less than half with brownie mix.

There are two ways to do the cream cheese. For Raspberry Swirl brownie cheesecake:

Then add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top. Spread it around with the back of a spoon.

Then dip a knife or toothpick in the raspberries so you get just a touch of them on the end and swirl into the top of the cheesecake mixture.

OR – if you want make Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies: 

Mix a large spoonful of raspberries into the cheesecake mixture.

Then apply a dollop of this mixture on top of the brownie mix. Spread with a spoon.

Place them in the oven on 325. Set the timer for 45 minutes and see if they’re done. The spoon should come out clean, possibly a LITTLE gooey on the brownie part if you like very gooey brownies.  If you want, top with a hug immediately after taking them out of the oven. Store in the fridge and enjoy!

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So this week the temperatures in the Northeast dipped. You may have heard. Or seen on Facebook. Because apparently it’s all anyone can talk about when it’s winter. How cold it is.

I’ve tried hard not to complain because our unusually warm winter is kind of scary to me, even though I can’t lie – global warming is kind of great for that one reason. (Not all the other reasons! But that one we can kind of agree on right?) Anyway, when the temperature is 11 degrees, but feels like -3 degrees, you sort of lose the desire to do anything that involves not being three inches or less from your radiator. So, driven indoors, I started in on the jewelry box I found in my community giveaway pile that I shared a photo of last week. 

Now, forgive how messy it looks – projects like these are always darkest before the dawn! But I’m really happy with how it’s coming out. I should have thought ahead and done a little sanding of chipped paint before starting, so I may have to still do that over the acrylic I’m using and then fix those areas…but overall, it’s looking pretty pretty pretty good!

I am going to redo the box in brown, gray and gold, which matches my bedroom color scheme and doesn’t clash with my dresser. Here is a quick look after one coat of paint. The good news is, in these first coats, you can be a little messy. The gold acrylic I have covers everything, which is why you can see I didn’t try to stay inside the lines with the brown.

And then here is some shots after two coats of paint, and the added gray:

And a close up so you can see that it’s REALLY okay to be messy!

This weekend I should be able to finish! I’ll take pictures in better light so the quality of the photo is much better. And you can see where I still need to sand and do some clean up, but overall a vast improvement! Can’t wait to finish!

Earlier this week, Erin posted about her one hour chicken tortilla soup, which reminded me of one of my own foolproof chicken soup recipes, which has…well, no title. It’s just chicken soup. BUT! It also takes an hour, feeds me for days, and I love it so much that I actually have to check myself from cooking it week in and week out, just for variety’s sake. It is SO good.

We originally published this way back in 2009, but haven’t since then, so no time like the present! Here is the original post!

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While chicken soup for your soul is a good thing, chicken soup for your stomach is a delicious thing – and in my book that’s just a little bit better.

I confess to not being the best at cooking soups (yet!) but I do have a foolproof recipe for chicken soup that is tasty and doesn’t take long to prepare. Now that the temperatures have dipped into the freezing range, I consider this essential eating. As an additional upshot, a big pot of soup can last and last, providing a delicious lunch or dinner for days.

Hello, lovah…

To feed two you’ll need:

1. Four large carrots
2. Three medium-sized parsnips
3. Two large medium-sized Idaho potatoes
4. One small yellow onion
5. Two large containers of chicken broth
6. Chicken thighs or drumsticks. Lately I’ve been using Harvest Valley thighs because they have a lot of flavor and are both antibiotic- and hormone-free. (Skinless or not, is up to you. However, when I don’t buy skinless, I cook with it on and then remove before eating. Do what makes your stomach happy!)
7. Optional: Egg noodles

Step One: Put a large pot of water on to boil. While you wait, peel and slice the parsnips, carrots, onions and potatoes. Set them aside.

Step Two: Once water is boiling, drop in the chicken and cook until there is no pink.

Step Three: Dump out approximately half of the water in the pot and add all the veggies. Pour over one container of the chicken broth, dipping into the second container if the pot is not full. (Keeping the water retains some of the juices that flowed out of the chicken while it was boiling but replaces it with a more powerful chicken flavor.)

Step Four: As water/broth boils off, keep replacing it with broth from the second container. Meanwhile, if you are cooking egg noodles as an accompaniment start them (with the soup or in a separate pot, up to you) when you have about 15 minutes left to go.

Once the veggies are soft, you’re done! Happy eating!

A few years ago I made this super cute wreath for Valentine’s Day. When I make wreaths that aren’t made with anything fresh and can pack away easily, I always save them for the years following. This one is the perfect wreath to use over and over as you really can’t ruin the pom poms once they’re glued on.  If you use wire-rimmed ribbon for the bow, you can also just pop the bow right back into shape. If you’re not a bow person this one looks cute enough to display without a bow, too.

To make the wreath:

- Start with a green foam wreath from Michael’s or AC Moore.

- Using hot glue, cover with red and white pom poms.  You can use small ones, large ones, or a mixture, like I did.  Let dry overnight, add a bow and hang!

These days, I’m all about meals that pack in a variety of food groups but can be made quickly.  I’m trying to keep the sweet hubby and I healthy this winter, and I’m a firm believer in getting nutrition from food, not from supplements.  However, we battle some serious food allergies to raw fruits and vegetables in this house, so that requires everything to be cooked – which takes time. Funny, because that’s the one thing I don’t have a ton of these days.  The baby does take a nice long nap in the afternoon, but its just a bit too early for dinner cooking, since we tend not to eat until around eight.  Instead, I normally have to squeeze dinner making in during a shorter nap she’ll take around 7.

I found Rachel Ray’s Chicken Fajita Tortilla Soup   recipe in her Just in Time cookbook. The recipe looked tasty, and I know that Rachel’s recipes are always easy to follow and fast to make. I used her recipe, but I doctored it up a bit and made some changes.  Doesn’t it look tasty?

It’s perfect for this cold weather, and I made it from start to finish (like on the table finished) in just under and hour. PERFECT for a weeknight.  And, its packed with veggies and protein.  Yum. If you’re a slow cooker kinda girl, you could probably throw it all in the slow cooker, too, although I made it on the stove top.

Here’s my final recipe, inspired by Rachel’s.  Give it a try!

• Olive Oil – just enough to cover the pan
• 1.25 lb. package of chicken thighs (Rachel Ray uses chicken tenders – you could use those or breasts.  I prefer thighs in soup because they’re fattier, so I think they add to the flavor and help the soup stick to your ribs in this cold weather.)
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning (we buy a big container in the spice section, I add taco seasoning to just about everything – not just tacos!)
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
• Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5-6 scallions, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• 2 jalapenos diced
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 32 ounce container of chicken stock
• White Corn Tortilla Chips
• 1 cup shredded Cabot White Cheddar or any other cheddar or taco mix
• Fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:

• Dice onion, pepper, scallion, jalapeno.  Begin to cook these over medium high heat with the olive oil.

• Cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces, removing some of the extra fat as you go.  I used this package of thighs that is 1.25 pounds from Target. I don’t normally grocery shop at Target, but I find it super convenient these days when its difficult to get to more than one store in a day! And, this package is the perfect portion size!

• Add the chicken in with the onions and peppers while they’re cooking.
• Add taco seasoning and mix well.

• Add the Coriander, Thyme, Salt and Pepper. This is what Coriander looks like, in case you’ve never used it. (I hadn’t!)

• Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil for a few minutes to make sure everything is cooked. Then, bring it back down to medium and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes.
• Break some white corn chips up and layer the bottom of your bowls with them.
• Sprinkle with grated white cheddar or other cheese
• Add a couple of leaves of cilantro
  

Pour soup over the chips and enjoy!

It never ceases to amaze me what people in this city throw away. In my house, I have no less than three lamps, two end tables, three air conditioners and countless other perfectly good knick-knacks that have all come from the street. Sometimes, with just a simple coat of paint, these pieces become something amazing.  All you have to do is look a little closer.

Which is why I was SO excited to find this little jewelry box in my apartment’s community giveaway pile.

It’s perfect! Just in need of a little TLC. I can have this whole thing redone and looking brand spanking new in two hours. Which is exactly what I plan to do.

When looking to re-paint or update something, I find that the keys to knowing you have a winner are:

• Overall shape. This jewelry box has a great look to it and it’s not dented, nor is the wood splintered or broken.
• Cleanliness. The marks you see are just scuffs, easily covered up.
• Hardware. I could change the hardware on this, but it’s all there and nothing is loose or broken. Why mess with it? 

I likely won’t have time this weekend to give this the attention it deserves, but with a slow week up ahead, stay tuned! This little guy will be ready for top-of-my-dresser living in no time!

Last year for Valentine’s day I made the sweet hubby heart shaped meatloaf.  Isn’t that the cutest little dinner for two?  And if you’re cooking for kids, how cute is heart shaped food?

I’m not sure what I will make this year, but I’m thinking it just may be a heart shaped chicken pot pie.  I bought a small cake pan shaped like a heart from Michael’s, which is what I cooked the meatloaf in, and will also be what I use if I make a pot pie.  Other than placing the meatloaf in the shaped pan, the rest of the recipe was just like making a normal meatloaf – so how easy is that? You can use your regular meatloaf recipe, or you can use mine, which you can find here.

Stay tuned for more Valentine’s Day ideas!

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