Monday, January 24, 2011

What's Cooking: Light Italian Wedding Soup

With the subzero temperatures here in New England, I was looking for a soup recipe to warm us up. As I was browsing through my Everyday Food magazines, I came across Martha's Light Italian Wedding Soup. Since this is one of my favorite soups, I decided to give it a try.

Here is the recipe: Serves 6, prep/cooking time is approx 30 min.

1 pound ground turkey meat (93% lean)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (we used Panko Bread Crumbs)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
course salt and ground pepper
1 T olive oil
1 med onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cans (14.5 oz each) reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes in juice (we used diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, garlic)
2 heads escarole (2 pounds total) ) (we used baby spinach, and cut the amount in half)

Directions:
1. In bowl, combine turkey, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Roll mixture into balls
2. In large pot, heat oil over medium. Cook onion stirring occasionally until softened (approx 3-4 minutes). Add broth and tomatoes with juice, bring to a simmer. Add meatballs; cook without stiring, until meatballs float to surface, about 5 minutes.
3. Add as much escarole to pot as will fit. Cook, gradually adding remaining escarole until wilted and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Thin soup with water if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with sprinkled with Parmesan.

Enjoy! We loved this recipe. And per serving approx. 250 cal, 9.8 g fat, 23.6 g protein, 19.3 g carb, and 4.8 g fiber.....So enjoy and stay warm!!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

My goals for 2011


Goals for 2011

1. Each Sunday plan meals for week and stock up
2. Each weeknight pack lunch for next day during supper to minimize stress in morning
3. Make Christmas gifts though out the year (In progress)
4. Make 2 quilts
5. Pay ourselves first: continue vacation fund, and continue to save 20 percent each month
6. Make an interesting treat each month
7. Go on a date with Jon twice a month
8. Give back, donate to 2 worthy causes
9. Expand the garden and landscaping
10. Join a Community Supported Agriculture to support local farmers and increase our fruit and vegetable intake (Farmer Dave's)
11. Connect with friends weekly
12. Finish the wedding scrapbook
13. Declutter the basement and keep it that way! (In progress)
14. Go on a vacation with Jon and Brady
15. Make homemade bread
16. Make an interesting treat each month
17. Get Brady pet therapy certified
18. Read two books a month

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Happy Birthday Brady!

Our puppy is 5 today! I can't believe it! To celebrate Brady's 5th bday, I've pulled together some of my favorite shots. We love you bub:)

Brady at 8 weeks old

Brady and his sister Trouble, 3 years old

Car ride home from the beach, 2 years old

Mommy being silly! 2 years old

Mommy being silly part 2, 2 years old

Ready for the rain, 1 year old

Brady, 8 weeks old

Brady and his best friend Tedy hanging out 4 years old

Brady, North Conway 3 years old

North Conway, 3 years old

Christmas Blizzard in Iowa, 3 years old


Brady 15 weeks old

Dad being silly, Brady 2 years old

Brady meets "Island Jonny, 4 years old



Sunday, January 2, 2011

Train Wallet

My nephew Carter loves, loves, loves trains. For this Christmas, to go along with the trains we got him, I decided to make a train wallet to carry his trains.
With 2 coordinating fabrics, and black felt for the tracks, cut the 2 big rectangles to size. Then cut the felt 1 inch for the cross tracks and 1/2 inch for the long rails. Pin and stitch the tracks in place on to one of the rectangles. Then cut the pocket, allowing 5 inches deep and the same length of the rectangle. Attach the pocket to the other half of the rectangle. Allow 3 inches width for each pocket for each train. After attaching the pocket, stitch the 2 rectangles together right sides together, allowing for 4 inches open to turn right side out. Then slipstictch the 4 inch opening together and iron it flat.

As you can see he loves his train wallet:)

Christmas Gift: Aprons

For my nieces this Christmas, I decided to make them each an apron. My niece Ellie inspired me as she has been taking a cooking class at school, as well as they all love to cook with Grandma Pat! So I went to work, finding a cute cupcake fabric. As a guide, I used the Martha Stewart Pattern from her Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. Each apron has 3 large pockets and their names embroidered. They turned out so cute! I hope they enjoy them for years to come!