Recipe # 9

I made this for our playdate a few weeks ago.  It was DELICIOUS!!

Italian Panini

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp mayonaisse

1 Tbsp basil (I used the squeeze bottle basil...LOVE it! So handy!!)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 loaf of focaccia bread
6 slices of prosciutto 
1 1/4 cups of fresh mozzarella (about 1/2 of a block) sliced
4 roma tomatoes sliced


Preheat panini maker to medium-high heat.

Mix the mayonnaise, basil, and garlic powder in small bowl.  Cut the focaccia in half (hamburger bun style so you have a large top and large bottom...if you ate enough of these paninis you would TOTALLY have a large bottom!) Spread the mayonnaise mixture on the top slice of the focaccia.  Place the tomatoes, on the bottom slice of foccacia.   Then place the prosciutto on the tomatoes. Place the cheese on the prosciutto.  Place the top slice on the cheese and gently put the sandwich on the panini maker. Be sure to have the height adjusted accordingly for this size sandwich.  I left the panini in the panini maker for about 10 minutes, but I watched it constantly.

Slice into small rectangles and enjoy!!

Shout Out SHATurday # 4

Well, it's been a pretty busy past two weeks and will continue to be with the holiday seasons and traveling.  I know it's a few days late for the Shout Out SHATurday but, you know, there was lots of shat going on so I'm excused.  (For those of you who don't know what Shat can be here is our definition: cool stuff, fun events, things that can turn your day/life around in a positive way).

This past week's Shout Out SHATurday goes out to my Director of B.S., my aunt, and one of my best friends: Diane Savoie (or as most of us call her, Di).   HEY DI!!

Di is an inspiration to all women and men.  She has definitely put up with some SHAT in her life that can truly break a woman down.  But she has embraced the SHAT.  With her positive attitude towards life and her will to live a strong, happy life she has given all of us another perspective towards our own lives. 

"F" Breast Cancer!!! (DC Breast Cancer walk)

In a few words Di is a laugher, she's a cryer, a dog lover, an artist, a breast cancer survivor, a comedian, a music trader (we like to trade music), a wine connoisseur, a gardner, a lover, she's my older sister I never had (or will have unless there's something I don't know...), she's my "idea bouncer" when I need another brain to do some storming.

Di I can't thank God and you enough for being in my life as well as all of the other lives that you have touched.  You truly are an amazing person and bring so much positivity into everyone's life you enter.

I love you! 

You are the SHAT!!

Shout Out SHATurday # 3

Although we should ALL be thankful ALL of the time because we are able to live and breathe and enjoy life, this time of year seems to be the time when MOST people are realizing how much they should be thankful for all that they have.  (I do apologize for the multiple CAPS in that one sentence...it can annoy people at times) This Shout Out SHATurday goes out to my family.  Hey Savoie Family!!!

There are many of you that I cannot be with due to distance during this Thanksgiving time and, of course, I wish I could.  I would like you all to know that I am incredibly thankful for the memories that you have embedded in my heart and soul during our Thanksgiving holidays.  We always got together to celebrate what it means to be a family and to be thankful.  There were times, like most families, that it was a very tiring day, but at the end of the day we were always thankful to be able to spend the time with our family.

(Not my family, but "Lord please keep us straight"...read on!)

Some fun memories that I have with my family during the time of Thanksgiving are:

1. Eating at the 'kid's table'...yes one kid was involved at the "kid table" because I was the only child in our family for 9 years.  It was a fun table...

2. Thanksgiving is not the most eventful of holidays with the family, especially as a child, so I did not find it as fun early in my ages.  Therefore, my fun aunts decided it would be fun to tie me to the stair well... Lord I wish I had that picture.... (age 4/5??)

3. Wishing I had more in common with my elders I moped until my aunt actually drew me a picture of Axl Rose (because I loved him as a 6 year old)

4. One too many martinis during the appetizers I realized I REALLY wanted corn muffins....my mom told me I should make them. She likes to add some sugar to her corn muffin recipe so I just had to do the same thing.  (**Remember..one too many martinis)  I put the muffins in the oven. Right before they came out of the oven I said, "Oh shoot...mom...you said sugar, right? I put a cup of salt..."  Needless to say, Nani wouldn't have any of my 'salt-licks' that Thanksgiving

5. My husband and I started dating (long-distance) dating 3 months prior to Thanksgiving. My aunt's friends (who are gay, for the record) brought these AMAZING desserts! Pepere always says his "Grace" before we eat.  At the end of his grace he says, "Lord, please keep our family straight". If we had food in our mouths, it would have been all over the table because everyone tried keeping their mouths and faces straight but COULD NOT and spit everywhere!

6. While Byron was at training in CA I travelled to MD to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  Pepere and I had the Belly-Off. 

7. The kids' first Thanksgiving was in MD. They seemed to enjoy themselves as did we!  Byron and Pepere wanted nothing to do with Apples to Apples, but guess who came back and CONQUERED?!

Audrey with Di's Turkey head

They LOVE Thanksgiving! 

Smith Island Cake??? Di says, "Yes!" Matthew says, "Totally fashionable!"

Enjoy your time with whomever you may be spending it with this Thanksgiving. Be thankful for what you have and what you don't have. 

This Shout Out SHATurday goes out to my family for instilling Thanksgiving traditions in me.  Love, family, food, wine, and memories. 

I look forward to giving our family the same traditions that you gave us and then some!  

I am thankful for you all.

Recipe # 8

This recipe did not come from just my mom and I.  It was inspired from Campbell's Cooking with Soup Recipe book.  However, like most recipes, I changed some of the recipe to my liking.

Supper a la King

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 whopping Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 package Johnsonville Italian Sweet Sausage (5 sausages), cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces

1 cup chopped bell peppers

1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables (I used the asparagus stir fry)

1 can Campbell's Cream of Celery soup

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used shredded mozzarella)

1 package biscuits (I used pillsbury flaky biscuits)

Place the garlic, olive oil, and onions in the pan and brown.  Once the onions become 'clear'ish place the sausage in the pan, cover, keep temperature at medium-high until sausage is almost cooked through.  Place peppers and vegetables in pan, cover for 4 minutes.  Follow directions on package for biscuits.  Turn heat to low-medium.  Pour soup, milk, and cheese into pan and stir occasionally so the cheese doesn't stick to the pan.  After 5 minutes on low place desired amount of biscuits (split) on plate.  Pour sausage dinner over biscuits.

Happy Life Experiences

Dancing heals stress: Completely stopping what I am doing to dance to Bruno Mars with our children

Funny-kid-parent time:After dinner while chatting with my husband our kids turned their plates over and started banging on them as if they were drums.  Instead of getting upset or teaching them that turning their plates over isn't the best decision my husband and I decided to become professional drummers and drummed on everything we could until we were out of breath.  Our kids LOVED IT!

Girls' night: Wine, apps, and Twilight Saga.  Made me feel like a gitty teenager again!

Play date: Not only did our kids get to have "kid time" the moms got to have "adult time"...there's not many times during the day that I get adult conversations and meals with adults.  Having those times helps me stay sane sometimes!  (See kids banging plates comment above - ha) 

Couples' Thanksgiving Feast: Getting together with friends to celebrate that we are thankful for our friendships with food and drinks! COME ON! Who WOULDN'T love that?!

Sporadic trip: We decided we are going to spend time in the Christmas capital of the country: Branson, MO.  I have never been and we look forward to spend some family time in a different location than usual with great friends!

Recipe # 6 & 7

This week I ended up using Campbell's "Cream of..." soups to make the majority of our dinners.

The first two recipes I got from simply calling my mom and telling her ingredients I had in our kitchen.  

Goodyear Shrimp (Totally made this name up...)

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 whopping Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 bag of large frozen shrimp (31-40) (thawed)
1 cup chopped bell peppers (I used red, orange, and yellow bell peppers because I always have them chopped and in a ziploc bag in our freezer ready to get tossed into a dinner.   I do the same with the red onion.)
2 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tsp Crushed Red Peppers
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Shrimp soup
1 bag of Uncle Ben's 90 second Garden Vegetable rice

Directions
Place the garlic, olive oil, and onions in the pan and brown.  Once the onions become 'clear'ish place the shrimp, bell peppers, and spices into the pan.  Cover, stir occasionally.  When shrimp is completely cooked pour soup into pan.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 5 minutes so ingredients can soak into soup.  Follow directions on rice bag.  Place desired amount of rice on plate and scoop shrimp dinner onto rice (unless you don't like it touching then you can have your shrimp dinner on the side of rice...whatever makes you happy).  

Suggestion: I accidentally got the shrimp with the shell still on and we didn't peel it until AFTER it was all cooked and on the plate.  If I would've remembered what I did in the past, I would've thawed the shrimp THEN peeled the shrimp, then cooked the shrimp



Recipe # 7

Homemade Mushroom Hamburger Helper

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 whopping Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 lb ground beef (Because it was a good price, I purchased 5.5 lbs of ground beef then divided it into quarters, placed the quarters in ziplocs, and froze the meat. Therefore we used about 1.375 lb ground beef)

6 large mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbsp dried tarragon

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup
3 Tbsp sour cream

2 bags Idahoan Roasted Garlic mashed potatoes

Place the garlic, olive oil, and onions in the pan and brown.  Once the onions become 'clear'ish place the ground beef in the pan, cover, and brown. When the ground beef is almost completely browned, turn heat to medium, place the sliced mushrooms and tarragon in pan and cover for about 3 minutes.  Mix the soup and sour cream in with the ingredients in the pan.  Follow directions on Idahoan mashed potato bag.  When potatoes are done place desired amount onto plate.  Place hamburger dinner over potatoes.

Homemade "Craft" # 2

Wine Cork Wreath

I was given 2 ziploc bags of wine corks a few years ago.  In my collection of wine corks I probably had about another 35-40 corks.  These corks have been sitting around the house taking up space and only some of them being used as decorations in bowls or carafes.  

One night the ladies decided to get together for dinner and wreath making and a light bulb popped up above my head and I knew EXACTLY what to do with the wine corks!! 

Placing them one by one strategically, yet randomly, throughout the front and side of the olive branch wreath I hot-glued the corks. Finally I added a bow to coordinate with the season.  So I could change the bow for each season (or whenever I wanted to) I did not glue the bow to the corks.

Unfortunately I am unable to hang this on my front door (for now..) because the storm door squishes the wreath.  I have it hanging in our "retreat" (bar/mudroom) as a decoration.

For another craft, I'm going to do the same thing when I have enough corks for a smaller olive branch wreath so I can hang it in our house.