Holiday Cookies - Yum!

Before you roll out another cookie this holiday season, read this.

I have bought, made and tasted my share of sugar cookies. When asked to try a new recipe, I shrugged and thought, Okay, surely not much has changed in taste department for decades, but, why not?

I was so wrong. When I made and shared these, the whole house agreed that these sugar cookies topped all the rest – no icing needed! If all you’re after is the recipe for these sugared lovelies, then skip ahead to the recipe below.

After making not one, but two batches of these delicious soft and chewy cookies, I decided to share a few seasonal faves with others who might enjoy them. Remember, it’s important for the cook to do a taste test, so enjoy a little now and a little later!

Happy Holidays!

·     Cook’s Illustrated Chewy Sugar Cookies (Best Tasting Sugar Cookie, all on it’s own) – Recipe below

·     Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies – Recipe 

·     Fannie Farmer’s Boston School of Cooking Christmas Sugar Cookies (Best Rolled Sugar Cookie, make your favorite shapes, add sprinkles or icing and enjoy!) – Find a copy of the cookbook here 

·     Land O’ Lakes Buttery Toffee Cookies – Recipe 

·     Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Recipe 

From Cook's Illustrated.

Sugar Cookies
Makes 2 dozen cookies

Note: This recipe was developed using Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour. Cookies made with King Arthur all-purpose four, which has a higher protein content, will be slightly harder.

2¼ cups (11 ¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 ¾ cups (12 ¼ ounces) sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
½ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Place 1¼ cups sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining ¼ cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until homogenous dough forms.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces about 2 tablespoons each. Using hands, roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with any remaining sugar.

4. Bake, one tray at a time, until edges are set and beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

MittenMade at Blue House

This weekend there is a Holiday Craft Show at Blue House in Ann Arbor. It's a great opportunity to stock up on handmade gifts or find something special for yourself. 
Blue House is located at 1026 South Main St. in Ann Arbor. You can check out the link here or call 734-780-1762 for more information. 

Disaster on aisle…

Wait…who am I kidding, it wasn’t just one aisle. Stopping off for a few quick items before lunch today turned out to be a full-blown debacle.

Let me begin be saying that we started in the hole and the experience somehow degraded from there. After a lovely time at the bookstore where my little sweetie decided to see if she could outrun me the last few minutes of our trip, I told her to sit tight and we’d stop for a couple things at the grocery.

As we pulled in to park, a little voice asked, “Mommy, I’m sorry I didn’t listen good. (Pause to melt) Can we get a cart where you drive me and I drive the car?” She had just said something so sweet, I only have five items on the list, and I thought, what’s the worst that could happen?

Big mistake.

I help her wrestle her way into the cart as icicles form on our noses. I start to drive/skate my way into the store and run into two outdoor displays and the automatic doors while grabbing some greenery. We’ve only just begun. 

Being pregnant, it was nearly time for my 50^th trip to the potty. So we parked the car/cart monstrosity as far out of the way as we could and my little girl extricated herself from the cart so we could hit the restrooms. Ah, much better.

We grab a bundle of bananas, turn the S.S. Disaster Cart around and walk two feet before I hear, “Mommy, I have to go potty.” Turn the cart back around, park it and get her out again. This time the potty stop is wrought with drama. She tries to support herself with one of the handicap bars and I struggle to help keep her from falling backward into the toilet. The joys of parenthood.

I give instructions. She ignores me, probably thinking she’s doing a great service. I’m just worried she’ll regress two years if this ends up badly. Again, I’m pregnant and squatting down to hold her as she cranes herself backwards holding that darn bar. I tell her again to let go. She looks blankly at me, so I have to remove her hand before she and I both lose balance and fall in. She starts crying. This was not what I had in mind by stopping off for a few quick items!

We finish our crying jag/conversation and end up leaving without going. Awesome.

Back to the car/cart and start again. It’s lunchtime and this is supposed to be fast so we can grab some things and get out…Twenty minutes later we’re still stuck somewhere between produce and dairy. I bust into the grapes and rolls to try and stave off hunger crankies. Helps a little, but navigating the Disaster Cart around the tiny aisles has me ready to scream.

Somehow we work our way into and out of the aisles, hitting only a few innocent bystanders along the way and we’re ready to check out. She’s already crawling out of the cart and I’m trying to keep track of her as people go around us to other registers. Do you have your store card? Yes. Dig, digging. Found it. Where is she? Stuck between the cart from hell and the checkout counter. I help her out and keep piling the groceries, of which we have twenty or so – hey, I ran up a couple wrong aisles trying to turn the cart around, so we got what we got – and we paid.

You’d think the hard part was over, but she wanted back in the cart and I still had to trek back to the car. We only ran into one display, the door and the back end of our car before this time. She got out and decided that she wanted to roam free in the back of the car while I unloaded groceries. I think I growled and she got in her seat shortly after.

Kid locked in place. Groceries in. A neighbor stops us and we have a short chat. She is due in January, and looks fabulous. I’m due months later and feel like a cranky disheveled mess. Can we go home yet? She’s very nice, but I’m ready to eat my arm and seriously questioning my decision to make this ‘quick’ grocery run.

She bounces off to her car. I throw the last bag into the van. Grumbling the whole way, I return the Disaster Cart to the front of the store. I pause thinking that I should memorize the cart manufacturers info. so I can give them a piece of my mind when hunger strikes. We’re outtta here!

So friends, heed my advice –

Don’t go to the grocery store hungry and in need of a potty stop!

Avoid the store on free bread giveaway days.

Never, ever, under any circumstances think that you can conquer the Disaster Cart, a toddler and get though the store in less than thirty minutes – it just doesn’t happen!  

Now, will someone please help me off this seat so I can potty and get something to eat?  Please?

5 Things to Enjoy this Holiday Season

If you’re still in a Turkey Day haze, then this is for you. Here’s a short list of things that might just help put you in a holiday mood and shake off the Grinchies. Enjoy!

Movies: There are lots of great choices. Try on a little Love Actually http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azcimpWgCT0

Food: Really great food, and sweaters to hide the fact that you’ve enjoyed a little too much.

Lights: The moment that hanging the lights turns into a scene from Christmas Vacation and someone starts channeling Clark W. Griswold.

Music: The Hanukkah Song by Adam Sandler http://www.hulu.com/watch/109925/saturday-night-live-sandler-update-song

The Glee Cast’s Version of Last Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy87cq2645U

Spirit: A child’s eyes lighting up on Christmas morning, people helping others out of kindness, a peaceful snowfall, and being part of the season’s wondrous joys.

Holiday Happenings

Here’s a list of Holiday Happenings around Ann Arbor if you are looking for things to do – just right for parents and families. The list is available online and in the December issue of Ann Arbor Family.

Happy (after) Thanksgiving

It’s always a good time to give thanks.

I am so thankful for the love and laughter of family and friends. My daughter had me in tears during a recent family visit. She became upset as we left and told us, “I want to visit more family’s houses. I want to see more people we love who love us.” She just melts my heart.

If it hadn’t been for the painfully long car ride, and a potty-chair incident in the minivan, we might have been a little more gung-ho. But, instead we enjoyed the remainder of our trip and prayed that it wouldn’t take three hours to cross the city on the way home. (It worked, thank you traffic gods!) We learned that the effort it took to get there, and for our family to prepare our welcome was all worth it. Now, we just have to rest up a few months before any of us will even think about attempting it again. Then, kind of like pregnancy brain, you forget how hard the labor was, remember the end result is worth it, and do it all over again.

Thanks for a peaceful, wonderful, safe holiday!

Since we’re only a few short months from the welcome arrival of kid #2, my growing appetite also extends a thankful gurgle for the season’s delicious and indulgent foods. Here’s to a pie I didn’t try (yet), but it’s only because I just found this recipe – Toffee Topped Pumpkin Pie. Enjoy! http://www.goodbite.com/ultimate-thanksgiving/toffee-topped-pumpkin-pie

Success or Mess Soups – Grand Finale

Six Scratch Soups in Six Weeks? Yeah, that’s what I’m blogging about. Here’s what I learned.

Plans:

The plan was to cook one soup each weekend for six weeks. That way I had the opportunity to work in the kitchen while my husband occupied our active toddler.

Realities:

Things didn’t work out quite the way I planned. Weekends go by too fast, and time was even tighter since we had so much home construction and clean up the past couple months. Sometimes I had to dig deep to get the soup on the table.

Lessons:

Stick with the plan – make homemade soups that require time and focus when you actually have time. Say, some weekend you’re not struggling with plastic barriers between you and the stove, scrambling to paint, or moving your kitchen and dining room back into place.

Get help – whether you’ve got kids, pets or work, ask for help when you need it. Trust me, you’ll enjoy cooking more and burn a lot fewer meals (or shallots) this way.

Just go with it – sometimes you’re grand plans for a homemade Sunday supper just won’t fly. If it gets bad: take a deep breath, call for carryout and make your fabulous meal another night. You’d be surprised how many times you can pull off a scratch soup on a weeknight. There are plenty of quick-cook options to get you through and the bonus is you might find tearing and chopping a bunch of veggies at the end of a long workday truly cathartic.

Enjoy the video recap and whatever you cook tonight!

Success or Mess Soups – Italian Wedding Soup

It’s finally here – the end of the road for our Six Scratch Soups in Six Weeks experiment! And this was one of the best. I used a combination of ground chicken, chicken sausage and more to make the meatballs. Add in yummy veggies, the cutest little Dittalini tube pasta and top it with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan, and you’ve got one delicious soup.

Tune in again soon when I post the final results of our Soup experiment!

The chicken idea comes from the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe seen here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/italian-wedding-soup-recipe/index.html
Here’s my take on this delicious soup.

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken

1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed

2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

3 tablespoons milk

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 cup minced yellow onion

1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

10 cups homemade chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Franken-soup (Leek and Asparagus Soup) Results

Well, I did have a big green mess in my kitchen, but it was mostly due to the fact that I do not own an immersion blender. One is not required for the soup, but after making it, I would recommend it. This soup is much better when it has a smoother texture. So, not only did I use a blender to mix the soup up in batches once (a second bowl, blending a couple cups at a time and back into the pan), I actually did it twice. After tasting it and feeling that it needed just a little more blending time to give it that silky taste and really hit the mark.

The soup had great flavor combination of asparagus, leeks and spinach to name a few ingredients. My family really loved the crunchy leek topping – think crispy onions, but not from a can. It lent a nice light crunch and a bit of an onion and salt taste that blended very well with the smooth veggie soup.

If you’re wondering, the soup color was a very light mint green, much like the unnatural color in the recipe photo I mentioned in a previous post.

This is a make again recipe. If you love asparagus soup or just want to try a great new soup this fall, give it a try. Let me know if you have the same mess I had, or if you might let me borrow your immersion blender next time. Enjoy!

Adapted from a Williams-Sonoma Leek and Asparagus Soup recipe

Ingredients:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

4 to 6 medium leeks, white and light green portions, cleaned, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into slices1/4" thick (reserve 1 cup for fried leek garnish)

1/2  tsp dried thyme

6 cups chicken broth

1 medium russet potato, cleaned, peeled and cut into large diced chunks

1 1/2 to 2 lbs asparagus, tough ends trimmed, spears coarsely chopped

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 1/2 cups half and half

Kosher salt, 1/4 tsp, plus more to taste

Black pepper

Directions:

1.    In a big soup pot melt 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Cook the reserved cup of leeks and 1/4 tsp salt and sauté until the leeks are crisp, about 8 minutes. (I walked away at 6 minutes and they still looked light green, returned around the 10 min. mark and some were going black, so watch these and take them off around 8 mins.) Transfer the fried leeks to a paper towel-lined plate.

2.    Use the same pot and melt 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil over medium heat and add the rest of the leeks and the thyme to the pot.

3.    Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened, about 10 mins.

4.    Add the broth and potato, increase heat to medium-high, cover and bring to a boil.

5.    Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the potato is tender, about 12 mins.

6.    Add the asparagus, cover and cook until the asparagus is bright green and tender, about 6 mins.

7.    Stir in the spinach and cook until hot, about 4 mins.

8.    Using an immersion blender, or a very large stand blender, puree the soup until smooth.

9.    Add the half and half, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

10. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the fried leeks (I kid you not, these really punch up the soup), and serve immediately.

Success or Mess: Next up…Franken-soup.

We had an eventful Halloween week, mostly due to all the housework we’re finishing. As we inch ever closer to the project finish line I’ve got more soup to make and this one should be fun.

Really, there are so many projects I’m not sure there is a finish line, but we’ll call time before Thanksgiving. There’s only so much we can take before we need a break. So, we have piles of laundry, dishes and more painting, but we’re working as fast as we can. Even with all this work, it’s nice to change gears and work on things like the Success or Mess series – I admit it does create more dishes, but it’s nice to create delicious meals and share them with others.

Tonight I will attempt a new recipe that my friend and I found through Williams-Sonoma. The fun of it is I have no immersion blender, and you need one, and the photo on the recipe card looks like unnaturally green – maybe I can convince my kid to try it if I tell her it’s some kind of goofy monster soup. I mean Halloween was just yesterday and she’s been talking about it most of today. We’ll see. Check back later to find out if the Franken-soup is a Success or if my kitchen turns into a green slimy mess. 

Success or Mess Scratch Soup – Hearty Chicken Soup

This is one of the best chicken soups I’ve tasted. It started with a really great pregnancy resource (The Pregnancy Cookbook – you can learn more about the author and find a book link here http://www.hopericciotti.com/). Of course, I made changes to it over the years to fit my family’s tastes. But, it remains a great go-to soup and it’s perfect when you crave a warm bowl of home cooking.

Hearty Chicken Soup with Greens

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Onion, peeled and chopped or diced

5 Cloves of Garlic, minced or thinly sliced

5 Carrots, peeled and chopped

5 Celery ribs, chopped

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 Bunch Kale or Collards, rinsed, stems removed, and leaves chopped (you can also use other greens such as dandelion or spinach)

4 Yukon Gold or similar Potatoes, cleaned and chopped about 1/2- to 1-inch pieces

10 Cups Chicken stock

Meat from 1 cooked rotisserie chicken, chopped or pulled how you like (keep in mind that if you pull in small strips, it can cook apart even more when reheated)

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Egg Noodles or other pasta noodles, prepared and set aside

We like to keep the egg noodles or other pasta on the side and add when serving. It keeps the noodles from getting too soggy when you chill and reheat the soup. And there should be enough for leftovers depending on your family’s size.

Directions:

1.    Heat oil over medium in a large soup pot.

2.    Add the onions and sauté about 7 minutes.

3.    Stir in the garlic and let it get fragrant for about a minute.

4.    Add the celery, carrots and salt. Stir, cover and cook about 10 minutes.

5.    Add the greens and potatoes, and stir to mix. Cover and cook about 7 minutes.

6.    Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.

7.    Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer with the lid off another 7-10 minutes.

8.    Stir in cooked noodles and simmer a couple minutes before serving. Serve and enjoy!

By the way, our house is coming along. At least the barriers, equipment and crews are gone. We just finished another big part of the project this week. It will be a welcome sight when everything is back in its place and we can relax again – well, as much as we ever do. It’s been a lot of hard work and we’re nearing the home stretch. :)

Stuffed Eggplant Recipe

I thought a recipe for stuffed eggplant was in order after the previous post. Here’s one for Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan from allrecipes.com that is worth a try.

Ingredients

                        2 tablespoons olive oil

                        2 medium eggplants, cut in half lengthwise and hollowed out to 1/4 inch flesh rim

                        1/2 cup chopped onion

                        2 cloves garlic, crushed

                        1 teaspoon dried oregano

                        freshly ground black pepper to taste

                        1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

                        1/2 cup bread crumbs

                        1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

                        2 cups tomato sauce

                        1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Roughly chop eggplant centers, and add to pan with onion, garlic, oregano, and pepper. Cook and stir until lightly browned. Spoon mixture back into eggplant, and sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and parsley. Place in a shallow baking dish, and cover with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until eggplant is fork-tender and cheese is bubbly. Serve immediately.

Girls’ Night & Stuffed Eggplant

Yesterday was a girls’ night out, which is rare these days. It was just after 3:30pm when I realized the day was almost gone and I was not ready – not even close. There are many days when I get so busy dressing, feeding, cleaning and caring for my kid that there’s no time left to care for myself. Moms and caregivers, you know what I’m talking about. The thought hit me that if I didn’t start something soon, there was no way I’d make it to my long-awaited dinner. It takes a lot to fit something into our busy and constantly changing schedules. I knew it could be months before I got the chance to see them all together again – and I needed this.

Fast-forward through the quick rinse and hot roller coercion of second-day locks to getting dressed. I will spare some of the details, but understand this, it’s hard enough to prepare for a night out when you’re not pregnant and harder still when you’re in one of those transitional times between elastic waists and needing a front- or back-end loader, just to get into your clothes. After some time wondering why the weather had turned on me when I’d already planned a late-summer/early fall outfit, I gave in, dressed for cooler temps and threw on some make-up.

By the time I finished, checked my look in the mirror. I knew I’d made it in time, but feared I looked like a stuffed eggplant. Not the look I was going for. A little mane taming and some accessories did the trick – mostly. Thank goodness my husband said something nice when he got home or I might have ended up wearing a trench coat. Instead, I went with what I had and made the most of it.

My friends and I had a wonderful time catching up. They were a lot of fun and so gracious to listen to the home improvement saga. It will be nice to see them again, but if it’s any time soon I may have to steer clear of brown so I don’t look like a roast turkey. J

Potato Soup & The Big Mess

The third soup I made was a creamy and indulgent potato soup. I used a little more bacon than originally planned, and maybe a little more cream, but the flavors blended so well we polished it all off in just a couple days. The best part was dunking in fresh bread and sopping up all the goodness. 

The soups, so far, are part of the success. But, the home project is really a mess with plenty of stress. As it stands, we are in week two of the project that just doesn’t seem to have an end. I am so ready for this to be over so we can move freely through the house, and get the kitchen table out of the office – where we cram ourselves each day in an attempt at a real family meal.

At least the soup was finished before the construction so I could report it now. I’m not sure what soup, if any, will get made this week. Would you settle for a take-out soup teaser? Yeah, me either. We may just have to put off soups and stews until I can use the kitchen again.

Are we done yet? Humph!

Let's Tear Down - still!

I keep thinking that if we just focus on the finish line, maybe we'll get through this. It's getting annoying to have to unzip plastic every time we want to get anywhere in our house. I cooked the first pan of anything in the kitchen yesterday, and wouldn't brag since it was only canned soup, but it's been days since that happened so I'm considering it a win. 


Are we done yet? Closer... :)

Let's Tear Down & Success or Mess (can you guess how it's been?)

Today is day five, I think. They’re all starting to run together. I can say that we got over the demolition hump and are starting to notice a difference. We’re happier now that we hit the halfway mark and survived (at least we think we did). Now, we finish the day strong and see what the next one holds. May all your home improvement projects be quick and under budget. (Yeah right, like that ever happens, but it’s something to shoot for!)

Ok, in the midst of all the work happening at our house, I forgot to mention the Second Helping of Success or Mess – a delicious Turkey Chili.

It’s a hearty chili with lots of delicious flavors and perfect for a fall day! When we pull ourselves together a little more, I can share the details. Trust me, the soup looks so much better than the house right now!

Let’s Tear Down! The saga continues…

Day three lasted so long that we landed right smack in the middle of day four. A few nails refused movement. Turbulent fans and splitting wood echoed through the house, but we’re a day closer to the finish line – and I only lost it once. That I can recall. We’ll make it as long as we hang in there together. 

Let’s Tear Down! – Day #2

Last night I went to get a snack and realized we can only access the fridge…Okay, so I had a yogurt (not bad) even though I really wanted cereal. No biggie. But, this morning when we got up and wanted breakfast, well that was it. We needed a plan or the plastic around the pantry was going down. So after we ate fast food for breakfast, I felt much better. The urge to take a baseball bat to the room before we finished eased up. At least a little. We’re being extra cautious during this tear down and installation, so I shouldn’t complain. Even though I really want to. It’s smart because of our little one and the one on the way. It’s just obvious that all the build up to this point has taken time, and now that we’re beginning, it feels like it’s been forever since we started so we just want it finished!

At least I could enjoy a dance class with my little one this morning – before the pre-lunch breakdown we both had about toys, tempers and food. Thank goodness there was leftover soup in the fridge (and cookies) because, if I had to make one more stop she would have lost it, I would have lost it, and we’d have never made it home. Ah, the joys of home improvement!

So, we made it through lunch, the little one is resting, dad is working and I’m about to run yet another errand for something that isn’t fun like books or clothes. But, we’re doing it to help get through this project, which should be finished in just a few more days.  Excruciating. Maybe someday, we’ll look back at all this and laugh – or maybe we’ll just forget the whole thing and move on. Either way, I know we’ve started, I know it will end (I hope), and we just have to help each other get through it and realize we’ll be glad we did this before the baby comes…

“Are we there yet?”

Let’s Tear Down!

It’s day one of the deconstruction I mentioned in a previous Success or Mess post. Things could get interesting so let’s see how it goes as the house gets turned upside down. Right now, it’s only three hours into the project and we’re doing our best…

Is it too early to ask, “Are we done yet?”

Success or Mess Scratch Soup Week #1 – Cream of Mushroom Soup

The first week I made Cream of Mushroom Soup. I used to eat this a lot as a kid, and still love it! It’s great with crusty bread or oyster crackers. I noticed a recipe on the side of a chicken stock box that inspired me to make my own.

While I didn’t have to call in the troops, it did take a while to cook. I also had some pumpkin bread while it simmered, and I added whipped cream and loved every indulgent bite. Oh, yes I did!

The simmering time can be shortened a little, but the flavors really do best when they have a chance to blend. It’s even better the second night, so plan for leftovers.

We enjoyed this hot and hearty dish during the week, but I’d make sure the house isn’t Grand Central next time I make it. Not because it takes so much preparation and effort, but because it’s just easier to keep an eye on the stove that way. Let’s just say chopping, slicing and stirring between phone calls, doorbells and play-doh pick-up can have you running in circles.

So, clear the decks and enjoy my recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup that’ll warm you right up.

Ingredients:

5 – 6 cups of chicken stock

12 – 16 oz white button mushrooms (cleaned and sliced thin)

1 small onion diced

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon crushed dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 cup heavy cream

Dash of nutmeg

Directions:

1. Sauté butter, onions and mushrooms over medium heat about 20 minutes or until onions and mushrooms get soft. They should reduce in size and add liquid to the pot.

2. Add the flour slowly and stir until incorporated, about a minute.

3. Add thyme, salt and pepper and stir another minute.

4. Add a cup of stock at a time, to five cups, and bring to a simmer. Simmer about an hour (you can get away with a 30 minute simmer here, but the extra time intensifies the flavors) and add additional stock, up to a cup, as needed.

5. Reduce heat and slowly add cream and nutmeg. Let simmer another 10 minutes over medium-low heat.

Serve with crusty bread or crackers and enjoy!