Quick, Easy and Ahhh-Mazing Stovetop Potpourri for Fall

So it's not quite fall yet...but 'round these parts eager beavers always start sipping the PSLs from Starbucks, putting pumpkins and scarecrows out on their front porches and posting happy fall weather thoughts on Facebook right around the first of September. 

Here in Central Florida the weather is still hot and humid like a sauna and without fail every summer by late August we're all so fed up with it, we start eagerly anticipating the morning when we leave our house and are met with a cooler temperature and a breeze. That morning actually happened last week, as the hubs and I left at 7:15am to bring our offspring to school and we were met with a beautiful temperature of 64!!! It was like all of us here in the middle of this hot state sighed a collective breath of relief together. I counted 13 statuses about it, many of them (raises hand) including home screen snapshots of the temperature for emphasis. It was like a choir singing "HALLELUJAH!" in unison. 

So even though we all know there will still be plenty of hot and humid days ahead of us before our state fully gives up its firm grip on summer and allows the cooler temperatures of fall to take over, we love to get ahead of ourselves and break out the autumn everything. 

So in honor of that beautiful morning last week and the promise of more to come, I gleefully started my favorite stovetop potpourri this morning and it's happily simmering away on my stove right now. And it smells AMAZING! Give it a try--super duper easy stuff here and much better than all the chemicals you'll find in most of the plug-in type things.

Stovetop Autumn Potpourri

Skins of 2 apples

4 cinnamon sticks (you can substitute 2 teaspoons of ground if you don't have the sticks)

2-3 whole cloves (1/8 teaspoon ground)

2-3 drops vanilla

Water

Directions:

Fill a small saucepan with water--about 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and add in the apple skins, cinnamon sticks, cloves and vanilla. Boil for 1-2 minutes, then lower the temperature and simmer all day long, adding water as needed. 

**[Disclaimer: Do not leave unattended or allow to boil dry!]**

I let mine go all day long. I turn the heat completely off if I need to leave my house for school pick-ups or grocery store runs or what have you, but if I'm home this baby is happily simmering away. You can cover the pot and store on the countertop overnight or put it in the fridge, either way works. I usually get 2-3 days of use out of the same potpourri before I toss it and start fresh. Now go forth and make your houses smell delectable! :) 

A Summer Morning...

Summertime is my favorite time of the year because a) it means I get to have my babies all home with me all the time and b) we are very strict about keeping our summers no-schedule and no-routine (with the exception of church and of course the hubs still works). On the days my hubs is off we like to make breakfast at least once during the week. Our family meals together are my favorite. The six of us around a dining table means there's always lots of laughter, jokes, movie quotes, sarcasm and of course, eating! :)

This photo pretty much says it all. (As always, click to enlarge)

And here's a snapshot of the kitchen from my desk; I've changed a few minor things since the last time I shared a photo. I'm always moving things around and changing my mind, so this won't be the last time something changes. I added a little "coffee station" and moved the mixer over to the corner. It looks much better and now with the K-cup drawer beside the Keurig instead of under it, the Keurig can be scooted all the way against the wall and still have room under the cabinets to open up all the way to place a K-cup inside. 

I'm excited to share more recipes with you guys soon. Now that we aren't go-go-go (repeat times infinity) like we are during the school year, I'll actually have time to blog! (gasp!)

Have a great day!

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Did you know that Olive Garden shares recipes on their website? I didn't either! You should check it out, I bet they have your favorite on there. Up until a few months ago I thought their alfredo sauce recipe was a well-hidden secret…then I stumbled across the Recipes tab and saw that they have several, if not all of their recipes listed on their website. Who knew?! I'm sure they remove one step or ingredient to keep their secrets well, secret, but still how cool is that? I've never heard of a big, famous chain restaurant like that actually SHARING their recipes with the public. Usually its all hush-hush. I don't know why this isn't big news, broadcasted and exclaimed about in every corner of the media. So here's my slightly tweaked version of Olive Garden's alfredo.

Makes 4 Servings

3 cups half and half

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Romano cheese combo

6 egg yolks

1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (to start, you may need more to taste)

Directions: 

Place egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl and beat slightly. Heat half and half in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until it starts to simmer. Keeping the pan on the burner, turn the heat off and slowly mix in the grated cheese until melted. Remove from heat. Slowly ladle a small amount of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Keep adding ladles of cream to the yolks until they're a light yellow and successfully tempered. Stir the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan and return the pan to the burner, turning the heat on medium-low. Stir continually until it reaches a simmer. Take off the heat and stir in seasonings, tasting and adding more as desired. Serve over warm pasta with additional cheese if you like.

So you'll notice in my photos that of course that is not fettuccine. Sadly, I was out of fettuccine and didn't realize it so we suffered through using angel hair instead. ;) Today was Early Release day (as is every Friday) for my kiddos so this made a delicious lunch for them to devour along with a little garlic bread. I'm positive my 4-year-old is going through another growth spurt because he kept asking for more, more, more, until finally on his fourth little bowl I had to tell him that was enough. Silly boy, he is just growing like crazy. Makes me sad. One thing you'll notice about this recipe is that it doesn't use heavy whipping cream, butter or garlic. I know, isn't it madness?! I couldn't believe it. That's why I added some garlic powder to it. I also used half and half rather than milk and cream…since, you know, that's what half and half is…half milk…half cream… Anyway, next time I make alfredo, I'm for sure going to tweak this recipe even further because I feel like it's just sacrilege to NOT have butter or real garlic in alfredo sauce. I mean, come on, garlic and butter are to alfredo sauce what tomatoes are to spaghetti sauce, ya feel me? It's like having the yin without the yang. Or like NYC without the Statue of Liberty. It's just not done. And I can't believe OG has gotten away with it for so long. I am going to choose to believe that that's the "secret" ingredient that they left out of the recipe on their webpage. And with that, I'll be able to sleep tonight. Have a great weekend, folks! :)

Mom's Chocolate Frosting

Sometimes you just have to make your mom's chocolate frosting.

 And today, well, today was one of those times. Let me give you a breakdown of the things that happened this morning--all before 7am, I might add. 

• We discovered that a Sam's Club sized bottle of corn oil had somehow cracked during the night and leaked all over our pantry/laundry room floor. 

• Then, we discovered that we had somehow forgotten to start the dryer last night, which had our son's school uniforms in it, still wet, of course. 

• Then, the hubs discovered that one of our Golden Retrievers, Chewy, had somehow, without us even being aware it was happening, gotten diarrhea while in his crate. (I know, totally NOT what you want to read about when looking at a recipe…I'm really sorry.)

• Upon making that discovery, my hubs also noticed that somehow our other Golden Retriever, Sadie, had opened up her crate and escaped and had been roaming freely all night long and during that bout of freedom decided to leave a big pile of poop in the corner. 

• Then, upon entering our master bathroom to get dressed for the day, I encountered the fact that my 4-year-old son had decided to pee all over the seat, toilet bowl and floor…guess he forgot to aim…

You know the type: "THAT" kind of a morning! And all of this happened before we were even fully awake, i.e., before we'd even had a single drop of coffee in our systems. Needless to say, it was a super fun morning. :-) Somehow, we still made it out the door and miraculously got the kids to school on time. After that, I sort of expected one of "those" kind of days to continue, but after it all shook down this morning, we both took the time to really pray about it and ask God what He wanted us to do with our day…what we needed to take from this and how to go about making sure all the annoying things that happened didn't lead us to having poor attitudes all day long…and thankfully, we were both able to continue the day with the right perspective and attitudes and we were still able to have a good day in spite of the way it began.

But, since we did go through so much this morning, I felt we really deserved an awesome dessert tonight. So I made a yellow box cake mix and the most wonderful thing in the world to put on top of that is only my mom's delicious, incredible, rich, chocolate frosting. Oh man...

Frosts 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup cocoa
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon instant coffee
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Beat butter until creamy. Slowly mix in cocoa, stirring until well combined. Alternately add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, stirring well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Stir in the instant coffee until mixed in evenly. Frost cooled cupcakes or cake.

The instant coffee is truly the "secret" ingredient that MAKES this frosting. Of course, I am a huge coffee fanatic, so I like to err on the side of more is best if you know what I mean. So if you're not a big fan of coffee, just start with a single teaspoon or so and taste and add more if you want. The coffee really sets off the chocolate flavor and makes it so much richer and chocolatier…in my humble opinion, this frosting just isn't the same without it. But to each his/her own! :) I also like to use half dark cocoa and half regular cocoa because I love dark chocolate, but it's good either way. This is the frosting that I grew up on, the one my five siblings and I would fight over who got to lick the beater, the one we requested on our birthday cakes, the one I still love to sneak a spoonful of right after its all mixed up. Mmmm. It truly is the best!!

Chicken Parmesan--It's Easy, I Promise!

Today was early release day at my kiddos' school and it was absolutely pouring all afternoon. I had picked up Subway for lunch since our microwave (yeah, the one we just got last year…) is still at the repairman's shop being tested for why it mysteriously stops heating every once in awhile. It's been three days so far without it, with no end in sight. This is a big deal: no reheating leftovers, no heating up butter or sauce, no popping popcorn, no boiling water or ANYTHING. Aahh!!

 So since it was still pouring outside, my girls and I decided to have a chick flick marathon after lunch while the boys had Minecraft video marathons on the iPad. We girls watched Julie & Julia first, followed by The Help and finally 27 Dresses. After watching Julie & Julia or The Help, I am always, always, always in the mood to cook. And I'm always craving fried chicken and sweet tea--go figure. So tonight I decided to come close to fried chicken and make Chicken Parmesan for dinner. (I know, not really that close…) But I gotta tell ya, this is a SUPER easy meal and it's relatively quick as well. Don't be afraid! You can do this! Promise.

Makes 6 Servings

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup spaghetti sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a skillet. In one bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper until frothy. In another bowl, whisk together parmesan and bread crumbs. Dip raw chicken first in egg, then bread crumbs and place gently in the hot oil. Cook about 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on both sides--turning gently with metal tongs. (I did three breasts at once, but whatever fits in your skillet without being squished is what you should go with.) Remove to a cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven, top each breast with 2 tablespoons of sauce and 1-2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella. Return to oven for another 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted but not browned. Serve with additional parmesan over spaghetti, if desired. 

You can flatten your chicken breasts out in between sheets of plastic wrap with a meat mallet if they're too thick or if you prefer them that way. I don't really mind them being a little on the thick side, so I almost always skip this step. Getting all of this together took me less than 45 minutes. I love to cook, but I don't consider myself an expert or a gourmet cook by any means. My husband is usually the one to take care of frying. But this is SO simple, even I can do it. And if I can do it, anyone can! I promise, if you've never made Chicken Parm, you've gotta try it. You'll never spend $13-$15 on it in an Italian restaurant again! Have an awesome weekend, peeps!

What's For Dinner? (An oldie and a new one: Easy Skillet Cornbread)

Tonight my house smells incredible and my stomach is growling in great anticipation of my husband's arrival home from work so we can devour the dish that's been cooking for a few hours in the crockpot and the cornbread that's baking as I type. Here's the original post about these incredible Calico Beans.

And my instagram of it just now in the crockpot, happily bubbling away.

Okay, so I'll share with you my secret for quick and easy skillet cornbread when it's already 6:39pm on a school night and your husband is scheduled to get off of work within the next hour and you've realized you are out of cornmeal and didn't realize it until you've already got the oven preheated and calico beans in the crockpot and now it's really necessary to get some cornbread ready to go alongside the beans or else life just won't make any sense anymore and you just can't let that happen so you turn to the trusty mix that grandma used to use and you sigh in relief.  It fills in the gaps, you see. In the bowl, in the stomach, in the menu…it's necessary. 

Being the good little Southerner that I am, I always keep some of this on hand:

It keeps for 6-12 months on the pantry shelf and it's delicious and easy so on nights like these I don't have to panic. And look how beautiful the result is! Mmmm…

Quick & Easy Skillet Cornbread

Makes 6-8 Servings

2 8.5oz boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix together cornbread mix, milk and eggs. Place butter in a 12" cast iron skillet and put in preheated oven for about 3-4 minutes until butter is melted and hot. Scrape batter into cast iron skillet, listening for that telltale sizzle that means life is about to be good. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Cut into pieces and serve.

Not really a true "recipe" considering it's on the back of the box (for muffins anyway), but hey, it's what works for me on nights like these so maybe it can help one of you too. :) Now, if only my hubs would get home so we can EAT! Have a great night,

Snapshots from around my home...

I love peeking into other people's houses. I am addicted to HGTV and DIY network and of course Pinterest and blog land. So I thought others may like to see a few peeks into the place I (and my hubs and our four kids and many pets) call home. I'll try to do more posts like this with snapshots of things, rooms, decor, etc., around the house. But for today, this President's Day, as we take a day of laziness--doesn't everyone need one from time to time?--I listen to my hubs and kids playing video games, I sit in my PJs still at 1:00 in the afternoon, and I take a few little shots around my house, including some adorable ones of my family eating brunch earlier, but since my teen and tween daughters begged me not to post those, I won't. :) 


This is what I see when I'm blogging. :) A super cute mug from my mom that I used to put a splash of color in…yeah, fake flowers. I accidentally kill real ones every time. Oops.

The view into our dining room from the kitchen. The light at this time of day is so bright coming in from the windows--I love it!

Our brick fireplace that is waiting to be whitewashed and the mantel will be stained a deeper color. Also I need to frame out the discarded bathroom mirror that is now finding a new home on the mantel.

My gallery wall. This thing is forever changing and I love it. It's probably my most favorite thing in the house. Those shelves are Ribba picture ledges from Ikea.

The view into the kitchen from my desk. It's so bright and cheerful! And all the pops of my beloved teal make me smile. (Keepin' it real--fingerprints on the fridge, yup!)

View into the living room from the gallery wall. My husband says this photo makes the couch look maroon. -__- It's brown. Again, the light coming in from the windows is super intense this time of the day. I LOVE it, but it does make it difficult to capture good photos of everything else. The pillows have already been squished by my kiddos and there's a cat toy and a video game cord all making appearances in the photo, but I don't care because this is my real life! :) 

Hope you enjoyed the little peeks into my home. I hope you have a great day! :)