Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Kathie Cooks. It's not the first  recipe I've shared from there and I can guarantee it won't be the last! Kathie is going to be starting pastry school soon and I cannot wait for all the yummy recipes to follow!!!

Please don't faint or pass out when you see the ingredients. I know there is enough butter, milk and cream in there to make even Paula Deen say, "Hey, y'all I think you've gone a little overboard on the butter!" Just run an extra mile on the treadmill and you'll be fine.

Ingredients

1/3 c. butter
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 lb. chicken, cubed or large chunks
1/3 c. flour
1/2 carrot, shredded (I used a whole carrot)
1 stick of celery, shredded
1/4 c. onion, shredded
1/2 c. fresh spinach, torn in pieces
2 c. whole milk
2 c. heavy cream
3 chicken bouillon cubes
cracked pepper to taste
17.6 oz. gnocchi 

Directions

On medium heat, melt butter in soup pot. Add in the garlic and saute. Add your chicken and cook throughout. Add flour and stir well until the flour is cooked into the chicken. Next add milk and heavy cream. Then add the veggies (carrots, celery, onion, spinach). Add 3 bouillon cubes. Add your gnocchi last (it only takes 3-4 min. to cook throughout). Mix ingredients well until soup thickens, stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

I cannot stress how DE-LISH this soup was!!! Next time I will make a double batch because there wasn't one drop left.

The Kitty

I was going through old pictures the other day and came across this one:

Let me introduce you to the Kitty. The mint green machine that started it all. I actually think it has been rude of me not to introduce to you to her sooner as she is solely responsible for starting me on my crafty journey only two years ago.

My original goal was to be able to make basic costumes and doll clothes for my girls. I had already been making them, but either by hand stitching or hot gluing them. I figured it was time for an upgrade.

I searched on-line, read reviews and price checked for several months before finally settling on the Hello Kitty by Janome. I’m sure you guessed that the color is what pushed it into the winner’s circle.

She has been a good friend. When I started I had never used a sewing machine and couldn’t even thread the bobbin myself. Thank goodness for the Internet, YouTube and so many crafty bloggers and friends willing to help. It’s been an amazing journey so far and I’m excited to see what the future may bring.

I have since upgraded from The Kitty, but she is safely packed away for Lo. She asks me at least once a week if I still have it saved for her! I’m anxiously waiting for the day when the two of us can sit together and sew. It's this crafty Mama's dream!

Super Easy Thyme Bread

(Sorry for the ridiculously dark picture. I promise I wasn't baking in a cave.)

We made this last week and it was instantly gobbled up by my girls. 

As you know, I seriously dislike baking (all those exact measurements make me cranky!), but this recipe was low maintenance and easy to follow. It was ready so quickly and made our house smell wonderful! When my daughter woke up from her nap she proclaimed, "Mommy! Our house smells like toast!"


Like most of my favorite recipes, you probably already have everything you need at home.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Dry Yeast
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme (optional) - I kinda laughed when I saw that Thyme was "optional" in Thyme bread, but it really gives it more color than flavor. So if you don't have Thyme-don't stress. It really is optional!
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Hot Water (120-130 Degrees F.)
• Sea Salt (optional)
• A Cake Pan Of Hot Water

Directions

Mix 3 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, thyme and salt. Pour in the hot water and beat 100 strokes (or 3 minutes with a mixer). (Those without a mixer can count their hard work towards their exercise for the day.)

Stir in the remaining flour until the dough loses its stickiness. Turn onto a floured surface. Knead for 8 minutes. (Yes, you may also count this towards your work-out for the day.)

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a warm damp cloth. Let rise for 15 minutes in a warm spot (away from drafts).

Punch down (kids love this part) and divide the dough into two pieces. Shape into round loaves and place on a greased baking sheet. Cut an “X” one-half inch deep in each of the loaves with a wet sharp knife. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt.

Place the baking sheet with the loaves in the middle of a COLD oven. Place a pan of hot water on the lowest shelf. Heat the oven to 400ºF and bake 40–50 minutes until golden brown.

This bread would be excellent served with Tortellini Soup!
Happy baking!

Toes

Remember a few days ago when I showed you the amazing things popping up in our garden? Here is another sign that warm days are near.

My poor toes haven’t seen the light of day in months (as if you couldn’t tell by their glistening whiteness!)

I composed the following in their honor:

My Toes

A Haiku By K

My toes are pretty

Time for sun, tank tops and warmth

Boots out, flip-flops in

What fun things are you looking forward to this Spring and Summer?

Bird-A-Mania

My name is K and I’m addicted to bird fabrics and prints (…and buying fabric…and Diet Coke…and wine…and my iPhone…)

I don’t think I’ve ever met a fabric with birds, owls or trees that I didn’t like. I can’t explain my addiction; I just know it’s there.

When my friend showed me this print at Joann’s a few weeks ago it was love at first sight.

Our dinning room is a light purple Venetian plaster and for years the window has been bare. I could never find the right window covering.

Until now.

The bronze and gold compliments our entryway and the black outlining looks amazing with our dark furniture. It couldn’t be more perfect!

The fabric was $20.99/yard on sale. I needed roughly 6 yards costing me $125.94 for the fabric alone. A pretty pricey set of curtains, but really…it’s BIRDS!!! You can’t put a price on birds…can you?!?! 

But even for birds I had to think about it.

And I’m glad I did…

My super shopper friend contacted me the next day with the best news ever! She found 8 yards of my fabric on Ebay for $30 TOTAL. I couldn’t believe it. That equals $3.75/yard-totally unreal for a gorgeous home décor weight fabric. I never would have thought to check Ebay for fabric, but you can bet I will from now on (somewhere my hubby is cringing at the thought of me finding another place to covet and purchase fabric)

The best part? I’m going to have about 2 ½ yards left over to make bags, pillows and more bags. The crafty possibilities are endless!

Luck of the Irish

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I don't know about you but we LOVE holidays around here...especially ones that need a special outfit!!!

The Girly Skirt from Pink Fig is one of my favorite patterns. It's super easy to make, goes from 6 months to 10 years and it doesn't have an actual pattern-you just cut out squares and rectangles. You know what we say around here...EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

My most favorite part of this skirt is that it doesn't scream St Patrick's Day. The girls can wear it all spring and summer long (something I should have thought of when I made their Christmas dresses...we're still wearing them regularly 3 months later).

Pair it with a cute custom freezer paper stenciled shamrock T and you've got on rockin' outfit!

Love Story

I blame Taylor Swift.

I've never actually met her but I feel like she is always around.

My girls have fallen HARD for T. Swift and it's hard to spend more than 5 minutes in our house without hearing her name or her music floating through the air.

They love her music, they love her hair, they just LOVE her!

Hence the NEED for curly Taylor Swift hair.





And so one night "Operation Taylor Swift Curly Hair" began...

 As you can tell by my face it was a very serious task

Is it my turn yet?!?!?

After much wiggling Lo was finally done

NoJo used the time to work on her acting...

Happy face

Angry Face

(I hope she remembers to thank me in her Oscar acceptance speech!)

And the next day...

Oh so curly and oh so Taylor Swifty!

 

And you cannot be T. Swift with out a guitar...

They spent the rest of the day playing the guitar and working on their Taylor Swift lyrics. I really can't blame them for their Taylor crush. She's beautiful, has a great voice and, as Lo has pointed out, she can sing AND play the guitar-AT THE SAME TIME!

I love that it's a love they share. They spend hours dancing and singing together.

I love watching their sisterlyness!