Homemade Cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is so easy to make & SOOOOoooo much better homemade than store bought! You can add your own touches, apples, nectarine zest, orange zest, ginger, whatever flavor you think will go nicely with the meal you're preparing. Here's my favorite version of cranberry sauce, perfect for the holidays coming up! Hope you enjoy!

1 bag cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp brandy
1 cup cabernet or other red wine
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Allspice
a pinch of nectarine or orange zest

Put in sauce pan, bring to a boil & then simmer on low until berries pop & sauce mixes together. Put in refrigerator to chill, then serve when needed. Can double or triple the batch for a large gathering. Great to make ahead also.

Another version is instead of brandy & 1 cup of red wine, instead use 3/4 cup red wine & 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. orange juice. Both versions are delicious & beat store brands any day! 

Please watch this, will be worth it, promise! Beautiful ~

The Best Pot Roast Recipe ever!

1 Beef such as Brisket, Rump Roast, etc.
2 large onions
6-8 carrots, peeled & cut
1-3 parsnips, peeled & cut
4 potatoes, peeled & cut
2 garlic cloves
1/2 bottle dark beer (optional)
1 can beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet lipton beef/onion seasoning (soup mix)
salt/pepper/olive oil

Add ins:
Turnips, package of mini onions with cream sauce (I had in fridge) I love adding mushrooms to this, but didn't have this time!

Brown roast on all sides in pan of olive oil, season with salt/pepper first. Keep in pan (roasting pan with lid). Add cut vegetables all around. Sprinkle with lipton soup, scoop cream of mushroom soup over & pour broth & beer (1/2 bottle) all over. Put in oven & cook at 350 degrees for about 3-4 hours, until tender! Simple as that & delicious! You can add to the gravy it makes on it's own by adding more broth, water, etc.

One of my favorite family Photo's

5 years ago, Wells Beach, Maine! My husband's family reunion, his sister comes up every 4-5 years or so, she lives across the Country in Washington State. His family takes a lot of pictures when they're together, so we got in on the action! LOL!

Cheap wall decor

I had a wall & it is pretty large. I didn't want to hang a little picture on it, or spend a fortune & get posters, paintings or frames. Decided, since the room is a bit country, I'd make my own design!

I had some twill that I hung across the wall. I bought at a craft store some cheap stars & spray painted them black. I then bought some tiny, cute birdhouses (which were on sale for like 20 cents!!!) & alternated them across the twill. I love the look! It may give you some ideas, it was so inexpensive, and used materials I can use for other projects, like spray paint & twill. It also covered the whole wall & is a little different than a poster, picture or painting. Ties the rest of the room in nicely. Sorry picture is blurry, but you get the idea:

Plant containers

Plant Container Re-Do! I had a table of plants, many from my Grandma who has since passed away. I didn't want to get rid of them, but the area was a bit of an eyesore. I had mis-matched pots & straggly plants. It came to me they would look better in uniform containers, in a design. I bought cheap clay pots, all the same size, except 1 slightly larger. A green paint that matches the decor in my room & black spray paint. I sprayed the pots, lightly (rustic look) & painted a green rim around the largest pot. Then I arranged the smaller pots all around the largest one, in a bit of a design. They looks so much better now! Sorry I don't have before picture, but this really makes the plant area, which is special to me, more uniform & streamline, not clutter, but adding to the design of the room.

Lunch Box Ideas

My daughter is a vegetarian, she HATES the school lunches because, well, for a vegetarian it's either pizza, pizza again, or, um....pizza! Not many choices & how quickly would one get sick of that? Also, not very healthy day after day. She was THRILLED with this lunch I made her & saves time in the morning. If your child is not a vegetarian you could add meat in the mix if you wish. I'm going to try & post more as I make them this year. Feel free to share your lunchbox ideas also!

Pictured above: Mini bagel/peanut butter, cut up peach, cheese & crackers.

Above: Almonds, mandarin oranges, orzo salad with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, dressing & seasonings.

Above: PBJ sandwich, cukes & light ranch dip!

Above: Peanut butter crackers, chocolate almonds, light ranch dip with peapods, cheese stick cup up, carrots

Veggie Bean soup

This soup is so delicious, my daughter LOVED it & called it "gourmet" lol! It was very easy to make, and the BEST part is that it's healthy!!!!!

1 can beans like cannellini drained & rinsed
few handfuls of kale, rinsed
1 box of chicken broth & 1 can of broth
1 small onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 carrots diced
2 garlic cloves diced
1 can garlic & olive oil diced tomatoes
ditalini pasta 2-3 cups (or other pasta of choice)
1 potato peeled & chopped
1 loaf of rustic bread
thyme, rosemary seasoning, salt/pepper

Chop the veggies & saute in olive oil, season with salt/pepper, herbs. Add can of tomatoes, beans & chicken broth & cook until blended, warm & vegetables are cooked to liking. Add Kale & pasta & cook until pasta is done. Put in bowl, top with fresh shredded parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of cracked pepper & serve with slice of rustic bread.

Enjoy this hearty, healthy & delicious soup!

Quick Pasta dinner

Any type of pasta you prefer. I used fettucine.
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
shaved parmesan cheese
salt/pepper
Kale leaves

Boil pasta, when almost done, add kale to the boiling water. While that is cooking, chop 2 garlic cloves. When pasta/Kale is done, toss with olive oil, add chopped garlic, season with salt/pepper & top with shaved parmesan! This is SO quick & easy! My kids even ate the kale!!!! If you're looking for an extremely quick dinner, this is it! You could use spinach if you don't have kale, add sausages if you'd like some meat.

Goat cheese Tart

1 package goat cheese
Fresh Thyme
Salt/pepper
puff pastry dough
Cherry tomatoes
(could use orange AND red to make it fancy)
Pesto 1 tsp.
2 onions

Bring goat cheese to room temperature. In bowl mix goat cheese and pesto until soft & spreadable. Lay puff pastry dough out onto sheet pan. Cut onions and saute in olive oil until carmelized, about 20 minutes. Spread goat cheese mixture onto puff pastry, gently, leaving a small rim all around edges. Top with Carmelized onions. Cut cherry tomatoes in half & spread evenly over top. Season with salt/pepper and fresh thyme. Cook 350 degree oven until pastry is golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into serving size pieces & plate.

Lemon Rosemary chicken

For this meal I made Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Lemon pappardelle Pasta & side of roasted sweet potato & garlic. My family loved it, it was light, healthy & kind of fancy!

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta - 1 bag
1/2 bag plain pappardelle pasta
1 Lemon
Balsamic vinegar
Wegman's Lemon Pepper chicken breasts
2 Sweet Potatoes
1 twig rosemary
salt/pepper
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Fresh Chives

This recipe I took some shortcuts. I was pretty proud though, had very little time, was running to a baseball game, yet made an elegant, healthy meal in no time! Other parents were ordering pizza. Think ahead, have ingredients on hand & you can whip this up quickly!

Peel the Sweet potato & cut into cubes. Toss with 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper & some chopped rosemary & Roast in oven 400 degrees for about 1 hour (usually less), until golden brown.

Meanwhile, Cook Lemon chicken in grill pan. Put olive oil in pan to prevent sticking. Squeeze lemon juice over chicken as it's cooking & sprinkle rosemary sprigs, chopped over chicken also. I keep de-glazing the pan with white wine and chicken broth (I had a box in fridge). When chicken is done, browned on both sides, I cut chives over to garnish.

While the sweet potatoes/garlic & chicken are cooking, I boil the lemon pepper pappardelle with 1/2 bag of plain pappardelle. You could use all lemon pepper, but I thought that would be a little overpowering for the kids.

Plate the pasta, put chicken on top & some of the pan gravy (drippings/wine) & side of sweet potato with a clove of roasted garlic. Serve with a glass of the wine you used to deglaze the pan with. Delish! Enjoy! Easy, quick, healthy AND elegant.

Roasted Cauliflower

This is a delicious & healthy side dish. Even the kids loved it! Cut up 1 cauliflower, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary & maybe some thyme, you can also roast with cut onions and/or garlic. Roast in oven 400 degrees until lightly browned. When browned, remove from oven & toss with a little balsamic vinegar, Italian dressing & fresh shaved parmesan cheese, clip some fresh chives over as garnish & for additional flavor. Quick, healthy & YUM! Enjoy!

Eggplant, tomato & Feta

Cut an eggplant into round slices. Put on paper towel & salt. Let stand so some of the water comes out of the eggplant. Grill eggplant to brown on both sides in pan, season with salt/pepper. Spray baking dish with cooking spray & put grilled eggplant slices along the bottom of the pan.

In food processor, blend either basil or pesto with olive oil & a garlic clove. Spread this mixture onto eggplant. Top with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle feta atop the eggplant/tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt/pepper. Bake 350degrees until lightly browned. DELICIOUS on salad, as side dish, or on top of pasta. Refreshing, you could also garnish with basil strips.

I don't have the best camera to display how beautiful & delicious this was, but trust me, it was DELISH!!! Enjoy!

Cardboard Scenery

My sisters Recital scenery! Cardboard & duct tape!

Think about it:

Roast pork loin with delicious gravy

1 pork loin & season in fridge for a few hours with:

2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
Squeeze of honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Salt/pepper
Fresh chopped parsley

When ready to cook, Put olive oil in pan & brown on both sides. Reserve marinade on the side for later. Put in oven & roast 350 degree for 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked thoroughly. When done, remove from oven & let rest. In pan you browned meat, heat pan over med to medium high heat. Pour chicken broth in bottom to deglaze pan & pull up meat drippings. Add a few splashes of white wine. Season with salt & pepper & pour any additional pan drippings from oven roast into this mixture. Heat & wisk this mixture until blended. Add 2 tbsp. of butter & continue wisking. You can add a little cornstarch if you want a thicker gravy. I added 3 bacon strips crushes up to this. Pour this gravy mixture over the pork roast & serve!

Colorful Pasta

3 Cloves Garlic
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 roasted pepper
2 basil leaves
1/3 cup cream
10 cherry tomatoes (cup in half)
Handful of spinach
salt/pepper to taste

Boil pasta of your choice (penne) according to package instructions. In food processor grind together: garlic cloves, basil leaves, almonds (or pinenuts), roasted pepper. Cook vegetables in large pan with olive oil. When pasta is done, drain in colander & add to vegetable mixture, stir. Toss in spinach, add cream, stir. Toss in cherry tomatoes, spinach & season with salt & pepper, parmesan cheese. When serving, shred additional parmesan cheese over the top. You can serve with grilled chicken!

Fun Memorial day or July 4th treats!

Garlic chicken with creamy dijon sauce & almonds

My hubby loved this! You can also slightly adapt this recipe sprinkling crushed bacon on top. How good does that sound?

Chicken
Garlic - 2 cloves
Cream - 2-3 cups
Dijon mustard
Almonds - handful
salt/pepper
flour - tsp
bacon crumbled - handful
parmesan cheese
ziti
1 cup white wine

Cook ziti according to directions. Toast Almonds. Cook chopped garlic in some olive oil. Cook chicken (season each side with salt & pepper) in olive oil with garlic, on each side until browned. Set aside. Deglaze pan with white wine. When halved, season with salt/pepper, add dijon mustard, cream & flour to thicken. Wisk until thickened & combined. Put chicken back in pan to warm up & soak up sauce. Put ziti on plate, chicken on top of ziti, sauce on top, then sprinkle with almonds, shaved parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon bits (not in picture). Enjoy!

Sorry picture isn't the best, but this dish is tasty!

Fancy Phyllo Cup Party Treats

Frozen phyllo cups
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 tbsp. milk
1 package cream cheese (softened)
1 container whipped cream
Raspberry,strawberry or cherry preserves

In microwave, melt white chocolate chips and milk for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave at 10-20 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and melted chip mixture until smooth. Fold in whipped cream.

Spoon or pipe into phyllo cups & drizzle with raspberry preserves (might be easier to microwave for 20 seconds or so). Cover & refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with white chocolate curls if desired.

Farmers Porch

I did it! Re-did the Farmers porch, it's ready for spring/summer! I painted everything (cushions, furniture, pillows), made flower arrangements & cleaned. Everything is spruced up & is now matchy-matchy! Here are pictures, hope you like:

Can't wait to sit out there with a glass of wine, my hubby & watch it rain! (:

POT PIE

Chicken Pot Pie & Veggie Pot Pie! I have to make both because some of us are vegetarians & the others don't eat many veggies! Of course, YOU can make with chicken & veggies all mixed together in one dish! I'll show you my dishes though, or you could make one or the other! My daughter LOVES the veggie pot pie! I used refrigerated biscuits for the top (quicker), but you can use pie crust if you want to make it fancy! They even sell pre-made pie crust, or you can make your own. Here are my recipes:

VEGGIE POT PIE

Saute Onions, Celery, Carrots in olive oil with a little pat of butter. Add broth when they start browning & saute until tender. Season with salt & pepper. Once tender, coat with some flour (about 2 tbsp.) & stir. Then add about 1 cup of milk & stir until thickened. Empty this veggie mixture into a bowl. In the pan, add a little cooking sherry to deglaze the pan. Then add some cut mushrooms, zucchini, whatever softer veggies you have (or add at end of cooking the harder veggies, whichever works). I had leftover zucchini from a previous meal! You can do that, frozen veggies (peas are good), corn, potatoes. Whatever you have & like. Cook until just tender. I also add about 2 tsp.'s apple cider vinegar for taste & Thyme, rosemary, sage! Herbs give a lot of flavor to the dish. Do the same thing, add flour, stir then add about a cup of milk. When done, put in bowl. Stir all veggies together, then put in baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray). Top with refrigerated biscuits. Cook 350 degrees until biscuits are lightly browned & veggies are bubbly!

Picture of Mushrooms cooking:

For the chicken pot pie, make exactly as above, except add cut up chicken. Great way to use up leftover chicken! Here's my veggie & chicken mixture in the bowl.

Here's the mixtures in the baking dishes with biscuit tops:

...and wallah! The dishes:

VEGGIE POT PIE:

CHICKEN POT PIE:

Armenian Rice & Healthy grilled Pork

Made this dinner last night. Armenian rice is basically homemade rice a roni. A good recipe to have on hand. The pork recipe got out of a weight watcher cookbook. Paired with baby peas & grilled onions, red, green & yellow peppers.

Armenian Rice:

Break apart spaghetti (or use thin noodles), use as much as you like. I used whole box & used whole wheat thin spaghetti. Use about 1/3 to 1/2 stick of butter & brown the noodles. Add chicken broth to fully cover the noodles (about 3 cups) & add white rice (bag jasmine rice from trader joe's) or any kind you wish. Then add 4 bouillion cubes & cover & simmer until liquid is absorbed.


Healthy Grilled Pork:

Mix in bowl:
Light coconut milk (1/2 can)
2 tbsp peanut butter
red pepper curry sauce

Cut a pork loin into chunks & coat with peanut butter mixture. You can put on skewers & cook on the grill, or cook in a pan until cooked through & no longer pink. The kids loved this meal & it was pretty healthy!

Best Job | P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film

Beautiful! A must watch. Makes me cry every time.

Pasta Fritatta

Yesterday, I was hungry, wanted something quick. I had leftover whole wheat spaghetti & didn't feel like having spaghetti. I decided to toss the leftover spaghetti with 2 eggs, parmesan cheese (about 1/3 cup) & season with salt/pepper. I also tossed in some peas because that's what I was in the mood for, but you could use any vegetable. I think asparagus would be delish in this. I then heated a small frying pan with olive oil & tossed the spaghetti/egg mixture into the pan. I let it cook until the bottom browned, then flipped it over & browned the other side. This was DELICIOUS, super quick, filling & I used up the leftover pasta. It could be eaten with a salad or alone.

Spinach Dip

This dip I made because I didn't have artichokes in the house, didn't feel like going to the grocery store to get them! Instead of making my artichoke dip, which is YUM, I made up a new recipe, tweaked a few things from the spinach dip recipe I had & this is what we got:

1 bag of spinach (cook in microwave for 7 minutes), 1 block of cream cheese few dashes of hot sauce few dashes of worcestershire sauce About a cup of cheese: I used some parmesan & cheddar mixed Ground in food processor: olive oil 2 cloves of garlic 1 medium onion Mix all together, put in baking dish, heat 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour & serve with crackers (or baguettes, bread slices, or nacho chips). It was very good. Enjoy~

Ways with Leftovers

My family loves this quick easy meal, made from leftovers. You can be creative & tweak this dish a million ways. Just sharing this idea, when I have leftover chicken, I shred it, cook it in olive oil with garlic, salt & pepper, a little chicken broth & put over pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. I made in a separate pan the same thing (garlic, salt pepper, broth) with broccoli and/or cauliflower. You can make together, but half my family doesn't eat vegetables & the other half are vegetarians. I know!!!!

Here's the chicken Pasta:

You can also make this meal with sausages. They sell all kinds of awesome sausages, chicken sausages with peppers or apples, tomato, basil sausage etc. You can keep in freezer for another night you need a quick meal everyone loves. It's best when you deglaze the pan the sausage cooks in with some broth & toss the pasta right with sausage to get full flavor. Here's a pic of that cooking also:

Here's the broccoli/cauliflower mix over pasta. I added some butter beans too! YUM! My daughter & I love this & how healthy? I love eating this with sriracha sauce!

Here's the garlic broccoli mix over whole wheat spaghetti. I served it with a salad made out of butter lettuce, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes & croutons. YUM! Toss a garlic bread in the oven & dinners on. QUICK dinner! Hope you enjoy these different ideas for leftovers to please every palate!

You could also mix the sausage & chicken or use different vegetables that are your preference. I've also used leftover pork. Enjoy ~

Wicker Chair Re-Do

Wicker Set my parents gave us had seen it's better days. The wicker was faded & chipped & the cushions were a faded, dirty grey color. Wanted to freshen it up, so painted everything. Check out this awesome Wicker Chair re-do:

Wicker Chair BEFORE:

I painted & Spray painted the wicker White (gloss). Then I mixed Red colored house paint with equal part textile Medium (found @ AC Moore or Michaels) & painted Fabric Cushion.

Wicker Chair AFTER:

Looks a lot better, huh? Like New! Now it has a clean, summer look to it. Can't wait to sit & watch the world go by on these re-vamped chairs.

Broccoli Casserole

People always love this recipe! It's so easy to make, a great side dish & goes fast!

2 Bags frozen broccoli
2 cans cream of broccoli soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use hellmans, think other mayo's are too strong in flavor & overpower the dish)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs (Seasoned & panko)
6 butter Crackers, crushed
2 tbsp melted butter
Dash worcestershire sauce
Salt/pepper

Cook Broccoli as directed on package. Drain. Spray 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine: soup, cheese, mayo, milk, eggs, worcestershire sauce & season to taste with salt/pepper. Mix cooked broccoli into this mixture & stir. Put broccoli mixture in to baking pan. Mix butter, bread crumbs & crushed crackers in bowl then spread evenly over top of broccoli mixture. Bake 350 degrees until top is lightly browned & broccoli mixture is bubbly. Enjoy~

Easter Eggs

So pretty, however you make them! I will stock up on spinach for spinach salads next week. Also yummy & healthy, the kids even like: Whole wheat tortilla's, Spread a little mayo on the tortilla before assembling. Pile on tortilla: fresh spinach, crumbled egg & bacon, shredded cheese & diced tomatoes. Roll up, cut & serve. I served these healthy roll ups last night with strawberries & sour cream/onion rice cakes & my kids loved them!

Feel free to share your hard boiled egg recipes, we'd all appreciate after Easter. Thanks friends!

Daffodils! It's spring!

Roasted Potatoes

These are so easy & delicious. You can make them by cutting potatoes into cubes. Tossing with olive oil, McCormick potato steamers (rosemary & herb OR Italian seasoning). Spray baking pan with oil & spread potatoes evenly on pan. Season with a little salt & pepper. Cook 350 degrees about 1/2 hour or until done.

If you don't have the McCormick seasonings, you can also season the potatoes with olive oil, chopped garlic, Italian dressing, salt/pepper, seasonings of your choice. I personally love adding some fresh chopped rosemary. Either way, they come out delicious! Easy & delicious side dish. Enjoy.

Reeses & chocolate chip pretzel bottom pie

Mmmmm!!! Got this recipe on pinterest, made it for my family & they loved it! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Oh, was QUICK to make too!

PRETZEL BOTTOM
2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

COOKIE PIE
1 cup butter, room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups white or white wheat flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 8oz. bag reese's mini's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crushed pretzels, 1/2 cup melted butter & 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. PRess mixture firmly into the bottom and up sides of a 10" pie or tart pan. Bake for 8 minutes & remove from oven.
While crust is baking, make the filling.
Cream butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar & 1/2 cup brown sugar with your mixer.
Add eggs & vanilla & beat until combined & smooth. On low speed add in your baking soda, salt & flour until incorporated evenly. Stir in chocolate chip and reese's mini's until evenly distributed.
Pres mixture on top of baked crust. Place pie back in oven for 30-35 minutes until just set. Let cool before serving.

Before going in oven:

After baking:

Don't forget to serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Hope you enjoy!

Kevin Allen Carpentry, Inc.

Please check out this cute video I made for my husband's construction company! A cute way to advertise. My first video, think it came out pretty good. Thanks for checking it out!

Class Treat

Made these as a snack for my son's class during MCAS testing. He said the kids all LOVED them!!! Simple to make, healthy & a little sweet too. Just dip marshmallows in some melted chocolate (colored used here), read label & use regular chocolate if there are peanut allergies in child's class. Then put on kabob stick with various fruit. These are really simple & always a big hit. I literally had notes from several parents that their kids were raving about these! Enjoy ~