Month: November 2015

Noah’s First Birthday!

Our little baby (our young buck) finally turned one. I knew with his birthday being so close to Thanksgiving that I did not want to continue a harvest theme… which lead me to think about what else was seasonal. Here in the northern midwest, hunting season is well under way. Perfect! Time to take the mounted rifle off of the wall.

image

It’s kind of a tradition to go big on the first birthday. I really don’t know why, because they’re not going to remember it. But the rest of us do. Actually, using so much of our hunting and camping stuff made it pretty easy and a lot of fun. We set up camp, starting with the front porch.

image

Welcome to Camp Noah

We had a small chili cook off in the lodge (aka ‘the dining room’), which was tasty and very appropriate (at least for the hunters I know). There were four entries, and I am sorry to say I did not get a good picture of them… but you can just picture four pots of chili. And the winner went to (dramatic pause) my sister, aka ‘the chef’ because it was really good. (I voted for her chili and I had an entry myself!) I also thought it was a good idea to use all of the cast iron I could find in my cupboards to set the table with toppings and sides for the chili.

image

Camouflage was everywhere- even on the S’more inspired cake.

image

image

I love dressing for the theme.

image

We set up camp in the living room.

image

Using our undecorated Christmas tree was a nice touch (thanks mom). We also tried to camouflage the TV, with a deer.

image

I saw this really cute photo op on Pinterest. So naturally I had to replicate it. (Side note: If you are new to my blog, I have a big thing about photograph opportunities at the parties I host.) And now that I have a blog I love to post the pictures all over the internet, because that’s the kind of friend/mother/daughter/sister/aunt/wife I am.

Happy Birthday Noah! We love you!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful for… Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Love,

Sadie

Thanksgiving Desserts

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only two days away! Last year at this time I was almost to my due date with my fourth child. In fact, I went into labor on the night of Thanksgiving. (I really just wanted to sleep.) But this will be my little turkey’s first Thanksgiving dinner and I’m so excited. (Although that is the first time I’ve ever called him that. I’m just really getting into the holiday.) To top off my excitement we have been enjoying our first snow fall of the year. The chill in the air declares the season!

I thought it would be a good idea to share some suggestions for the holiday, and as I was compiling a list of ideas… it became very clear where my priorities lie. The following are some tried and true sweet treats I can suggest without hesitation that you could proudly serve your family. At least I will be serving most of them to mine.

A classic rustic dessert: Sweet Potato Pie

A tasty twist on a long time favorite: Maple Pecan Pie

It’s a sweet bread, actually being served with dinner: Cranberry-Pecan Pumpkin Bread

A decadent family tradition: Pumpkin Cheesecake

It’s just the best: Mom’s Apple Pie

Okay, this is not a dessert but I had to add it because I will be eating this goodness during the parade and food preparation so it clearly evokes the day: Smoky Cheeseball

Happy Baking & Making!

 

Sweet Potato Pie

I love this simplicity of this dessert. Ok, I love the simplicity and the taste. It’s like an anytime pie, but it’s seasonal so it’s unique. And not to toot my own horn, but I really think I’ve cracked the code on graham cracker crusts. The word candy comes to mind. (I really shouldn’t write blog posts when I’ve had so little sleep… However, my soon to be one year old has yet to sleep through the night. So I’m surprised I have any posts at all.) The original recipe has been adapted from one by Tyler Florence; which is to say, that in spite of exhaustion, the recipe is solid. 😉

As organic as possible:

Filling:

2 Sweet potatoes (orange)

1/2 cup Brown sugar

2 Eggs, lightly beaten.

3 tsp Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

Crust:

9 whole sheets Graham crackers

1/2 cup Cinnamon Crunch cereal (I like Cascadian Farms)

1 stick Butter

1/4 cup Brown sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

 

Preheat oven to 375°. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes, pierce all over with a fork and double wrap (2 times) with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour.

For the crust: Crush graham crackers and cereal in a sealed plastic bag with a rolling pin. (At least thats how I do it, you can turn them into crumbs any way you”d like. I like them to have some texture for this recipe.) By the way, I just have to tell you that the little bit of crunchy cinnamon-sugary cereal does a really great thing for the world of graham crackers. You are going to be happy. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add crumbs, salt and sugar. Stir until all is coated. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of crumb mixture (optional for topping). Press evenly and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate.

When potatoes come out of the oven, turn heat down to 350° and bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside. Turn oven back up to 375°.

For the filling: Carefully (using a towel or something to hold the potatoes, because they will be very hot!) slice the skin of the sweet potato and scoop out the insides into a bowl. (Discard the skins.) If the insides are tender enough, mash with a fork. If necessary use a masher, until they are soft and pliable. Stir in 1/2 cup of brown sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon and salt. (Tyler Florence adds a pinch of nutmeg too, but I don’t prefer it here because it ends up tasting more like a pumpkin pie to me. However, I will leave that up to your discretion.) Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, top with remaining crust mixture and bake 15 to 20 minutes more (until crust is browned).

Then enjoy your life because sweet potato pie is delicious.

 

 

Loving Lately ❤

Loving Lately: Cookbooks

Reading cookbooks is my favorite leisurely pass-time. I love that people share their recipes, old and new. It’s like this universal connection. People all through time and around the world can relate to feeding their family and the satisfaction it brings when they really enjoy it. I’m a long time fan of The Pioneer Woman, before she had a show on Food Network. I just appreciate her no frills approach to good food. She cooks family style with ingredients that seem to fit my family’s palate. Her new book, Dinnertime continues her trademark step-by-step photographs, homestyle meals and endearing family stories; just what I want out of one of her cookbooks. I also am enjoying her tips on meal planning, stocking the pantry and ideas for prepping ahead. And I can’t wait to make her Orange Chicken Cashew Chicken French Dip Sandwiches…

 

Return to Sunday Dinner is not a newly released cookbook, but it is relatively new to me. I found it really inspiring. Russell Cronkhite was a long time chef for various White House Administrations. I love his simple elevation of American classics. From the north, south, east and west, he highlights traditional dishes across the U.S. and credits the countries of origin and inspiration from which they came. While the recipes are valuable and interesting, what I loved even more was his admiration of a Sunday family gathering. It’s a celebration of gratitude for working a hard week and cherishing loved ones. I am honestly moved to get my wedding china dishes out of the hutch and set the table, at least once a week, because what am I waiting for? It’s not something pretentious or highfaluting, it’s about using your best (whatever that is), giving thanks and making memories. I love that! (And I think I know my next giveaway!)

Harvest Chili

This is the ultimate harvest chili. It’s loaded with autumn vegetables and goodness such as sweet potatoes, onions, apples, and turkey. It looks like the prettiest fall tree color-changing picture (in abstract food form) ever! It’s really healthy, so some of you are going to love that. For the rest of you, don’t let that hold you back because it’s also delicious. It’s a little spicy, a little sweet, a bountiful treat. And if I may, I think the ground turkey could easily be substituted with leftover Thanksgiving turkey… which would be awesome. Just sayin’.

As organic as possible:

2 large Orange sweet peppers, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 canned Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, roughly chopped

4 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped

2 pounds ground turkey

1 large Onion

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground Black pepper

1 Tbsp Chili powder

1 Tbsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Oregano

1 – 15 oz can Pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 – 14.5 oz cans Red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 – 14.5 oz can diced Tomatoes

4 cups Chicken broth

1 Tbsp sugar* (I think this adds balance, but if you prefer healthier leave it out)

2 Sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces

2 medium tart Apples (such as Granny Smith)

*Spicy Chipotle seasoned Pine nuts (Recipe follows), Optional

Place orange peppers, chipotle peppers, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven brown turkey with onion, salt and pepper. Drain excess fat (but a little left is okay). Add pepper-garlic mix, stir and cook about 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes, pinto and kidney beans, and chicken broth. (Side note: This much can be made ahead and allowed to simmer as long as needed until about 35 minutes before serving.)

Stir in sweet potatoes and apples. Bring to boiling and reduce to simmer, about 25-30 minutes until sweet potato is tender. Taste for seasonings. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, about 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with Spicy Chipotle Seasoned Pine Nuts (Optional), or corn chips. Enjoy!

Spicy Chipotle Pine Nuts

2 Tbsp Butter

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Water

1 tsp ground Chipotle chili pepper

1 tsp snipped fresh Rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp Celery salt

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1 1/2 cups Pine nuts

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside. In a small saucepan melt butter, add Worcestershire sauce, water, chipotle pepper, rosemary, celery salt, and garlic powder. Simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes. Stir in pine nuts and remove from heat.  When well coated, spread onto prepared baking sheet and bake about 10-15 minutes (shaking pan a couple times in-between), until lightly toasted. Sprinkle with salt while warm. (Side note: Nuts can be prepared ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. They are delicious on their own, and would be a nice addition on top of a salad too!)

This recipe has been adapted, tweaked, and changed from a Chipotle Harvest Chili recipe I found a few years ago in a Midwest Living Magazine. I think it’s perfection.

If you were going to use leftover turkey, I would sauté onions in 1 Tbsp olive oil for a couple minutes. Add pepper-garlic mixture and let cook 5 minutes more. Then add turkey with the tomatoes, broth, etc., and follow the remaining instructions.

 

 

Remembering Aunt June

My family has a marina business just off of the Detroit River. Every year growing up, at the end of the boating season on the second Sunday of September, my grandpa would throw a large party with a live band (or in later years a DJ) with food and refreshments for all. The boaters loved this celebration, but I think the grandkids loved it even more. To me it ended up being more of a family reunion, with distant aunts and cousins gathering together sometimes from far away places like California and New York. I remember my Great-aunt June coming to Michigan for visits at some of these family gatherings. I was struck by how she wore her hair longer than my grandma, and the other two of my grandmother’s sisters that I knew. She was warm and endearing with a very gentle way and a great laugh.

427291_3322045975876_1742012993_n

My grandmother had 5 siblings. Her sister Kathleen and brother Bud died before I ever had a chance to meet them. But I feel very blessed to have known the four sisters I did. Donna (my grandmother), Esta, June and Shirley (as shown below) had amazing wit. They could find the humor in anything and often did. I loved watching them together. Since June and Esta lived far away, when they came to to town it always seemed special. It was always as if no time had passed, the love and laughs… like they had never been out of each other’s company.

10391506_1252430755536_2696215_n

Aunt June was an extremely talented artist. My father told me about baskets she would weave out of porcupine needles. He shared a time with me when Aunt June made his family’s Christmas tree look like a dream from tinsel, a surprise when they woke up like something out of a holiday story book. And I am fortunate to have one of her many paintings hanging in my home, where it has for many years like when my grandparents lived here.

IMG_6110

My dad told me that he always remembers how nice she was, how he never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. Aunt June was considerate of animals too. I was told a story about how once when she was outside with a relative of mine that a bee stopped on the pavement in front of them. Her response was to the effect of “He ran out of gas.” Then she placed a piece of candy next the bee, of which it partook and flew away. Isn’t that mindful? It makes me want to be a more thoughtful person too.

She leaves behind her many loving nieces and nephews, her sisters Shirley and Esta, son-in-law Ron and daughter Nancy. Aunt June you are well loved and I am glad to say one day we will see you again.

12196108_10208210698409806_3419158108911757215_n

Loving Lately ❤

Loving Lately: Healthy Kids

This week has been rather difficult. And as another installment of my Thursday “Loving Lately” was approaching I was struggling to find something to write about. It’s not that I don’t love short cuts to appetizers, special things that only come this time of year or finding great deals on some of my favorite things. It’s just that I don’t have time to be normal when I’m nursing my 4 kids with high fevers, some throwing up, and a couple with the crazy rashes that go along with “Hand Foot and Mouth” back to health. Then I had a Pollyanna moment. (Sometimes you have to force those.) There is nothing like having a sick child (or all four) to make me appreciate how blessed I am to have healthy kids.

I could go on about this forever, because I am a mom. And like most moms, when you have a child with a high fever all you can think about is getting them through it. And I don’t take for granted that I am so blessed to know that they will get through it. I am truly thankful. We’ve had a particularly difficult time with our youngest, Noah. (click here for more info.) We spent a lot of time at doctors offices and a little time in Children’s Hospital in Detroit. It was particularly scary when we discovered he had an alarmingly low count of a particular antibody, the one that helps your immune system fight off infection. The relief was so great it is hard to express when they ruled out the most serious (and often life-threatening) illnesses. And even though I was relieved, there was a part of me that was that was struck for all of the kids in the rooms around us and their parents who may not get the same news.

Our diagnosis was positive, but we weren’t out of the woods so to speak. He still needed a lot of attention. We’ve come such a long way that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t that long ago when things were really bad. So today I am loving that although my kids have rashes and mouth sores, they are past their fevers and the rashes will fade; because they are healthy and I am very blessed.

Erica’s Sprinkle

When you have your first baby, you are given a party where gifts are bestowed upon you like rain. It’s called a shower and it is supposed to set you up in preparation with the things you and your newborn will need. Of course, by the time the next baby comes around you (most likely) still have all of the major items you need, plus experience so the transition is much easier. However, isn’t fun to celebrate the new baby anyway? And what mother wouldn’t mind a couple new onesies, stocking up on diapers and a few new outfits! Enter the “Sprinkle,” a gathering in honor of a mother-to-be (again) and the new baby. It is especially fun when the first born was, as in this case, a girl and the next arrival is a boy. Because it’s fun (and honestly refreshing) to add a little blue to the waves of pink. The theme of this party was woodland. The cake looked like a log and was adorned with forest animals.

IMG_6018

It’s perfect for this time of year, when there is a little chill in the air… and we can bust out the lumberjack inspired flannels.

Mom and dad (and uncle) to-be.

Mom and dad (and uncle) to-be.

The restaurant is a rustic lodge inspired eatery with open log beams and buffalo plaid covered stools. The centerpieces, made by Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ryan (from a fallen tree right in their back yard), were like something you could find along the edge of a picture perfect forest.

image

The cake wasn’t the only place the little woodland animals showed up.

image

True to a hike in the woods, everyone got to take home a couple varieties trail mix.

image

We can’t wait to meet you Maxwell!

Classic Deviled Eggs

This dish has been around as long as anyone can remember. It’s such a classic appetizer for almost every holiday, cocktail party, and potluck dinner that it’s imperative every cook has at least one recipe. This is actually my mother’s recipe. It tastes the classic, but has her own updated spin. (Spoiler alert: honey mustard!) However, if you’re feeling more adventurous, crazy kids everywhere are adding spices like chipotle or curry, and topping them with the likes of pulled pork and smoked trout… Food is fun.

12 eggs

1/2 cup Miracle Whip

2 Tbsp Mayonnaise

1 Tbsp Honey mustard

2 tsp Horseradish sauce

1/2 tsp Season salt

1/8 tsp ground Pepper

Paprika for topping (optional)

Parsley for topping (optional)

Place eggs in a sauce pan and fill with enough water to cover eggs by an inch. Bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Gently drain and replace with cold tap water (more than once if necessary) until eggs are cool enough to handle. Peel, rinse and pat eggs dry with a paper towel. If time permits, seal eggs in an air tight ziplock baggy and refrigerate until cold, overnight if possible.

Slice the eggs in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolks with a small spoon and place in bowl, setting whites aside for now. Mash egg yolks with a fork until crumbly. Add Miracle Whip, mayonnaise, honey mustard, horseradish sauce, season salt, and ground pepper. Mix until creamy. If it seems to dry add more of the condiments you like a teaspoon at a time. (If it’s too wet boil some more eggs. Ha ha ha.)

With a small spoon carefully fill the egg whites with yolk mixture, garnish with optional toppings and place on serving dish. Eggs can be refrigerated until serving (within 24 hours). They can be stored after the party for several days, but they might not look as pretty.

Other optional toppings include chives, sliced olives, pimentos and bacon bits.