Menu Monday

We had lots of yumminess to nosh on last week.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Beef and Pepperoncini Sandwiches {A Year of Slow Cooking}

OM NOM NOM. Drop what you are doing and make these now.  I had bookmarked this recipe from Rachel's blog ages ago and just got around to making these.  WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?!? They are so easy and SO good.  I served them with our favorite frozen sweet potato fries.

Vietnamese Shrimp and Quinoa Salad {Serious Eats}

I followed the advice of several commenters and added chopped peanuts, chopped basil, and chopped mint.  I also used a full pound of shrimp and doubled the amount of dressing.  Very delicious, but would be much better suited to a summer dinner.  The leftovers were excellent.

Kale, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

A loose interpretation of these quesadillas, which I've made many times.  M wasn't feeling too hot this particular evening, so I took advantage of it and made something with goat cheese for myself since he won't touch it.  This would be good for a quick lunch too.

Breakfast for dinner!

Friday night was breakfast for dinner.  M made Ina's Maple-Roasted Bacon {a brunch staple in our house} and we tried this recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes with our Kodiak Cakes mix.  Next time we'll just stick with the instructions on the side of the box!  These were super dense {needed a LOT more liquid} and too heavily spiced.

 Pasta alla Vodka {The Pioneer Woman}

Saturday night felt like a decadent night, so I made The Pioneer Woman's Pasta alla Vodka.  Although my love for Ree had faded substantially over the past year, my love for this recipe is undying.  But since she gives Paula Deen a run for her artery-clogging money, I make the following adjustments: I only use one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil for sautéing.  I use half-and-half instead of heavy cream.  I don't add an extra tablespoon of butter at the end of the sauce cooking time.  I might use a cup of Parmesan, I might use less.  I just eyeball it until the consistency is right.  Usually it's less.

Bon appétit!

Friday Favorites

this photo of nancy reagan and mr. t always gives me the giggles.  

federal glitz.

a christmas cocktail, courtesy of neiman marcus.

it's that time of year!

photo

this weekend i'm attempting to make homemade marshmallows, something i've always wanted to do.  i'll be using smitten kitchen's recipe and floating them in a steaming mug of my favorite homemade hot cocoa.  we stole this recipe from a family friend and it's been a christmas staple in our house for years:

Instant Cocoa with Marshmallows & Chocolate Chips

7 cups instant nonfat dry milk powder

 1 lb. Confectioners’ sugar

 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

 2 cups powdered nondairy creamer

 2 cups mini marshmallows

 1 cup mini chocolate chips

 Stir together.  For each serving:  1/3 c. mix & ¾ c. boiling water.  Stir until chocolate chips begin to melt.  Yields 14 cups mix or 42 servings.  Makes a fabulous gift!

Your LL Bean Boyfriend

Best. Tumblr. Ever. 

“It’s getting to be that time of year,” Walter said, “Let me pull around the pickup truck and we’ll go find the perfect Christmas tree.”

via

Tartan Round-Up

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11

I think it's safe to say I have a problem.

A Different Kind of Gift Guide

If you're anything like me, you're a smidge Gift Guide-ed out.  A thought occurred to me the other day that if, as bloggers, we devoted a fraction of the space to encouraging readers to make charitable gifts this time of year {and throughout the rest of the year} that we devote to encouraging readers to buying things for themselves, we could do a lot of good.

While we already financially support our alma maters, this year we've donated items to two local charities as well.  The first is our local food bank and the second is our local animal shelter.  I'm a firm believer in supporting local charities.  The impact is greater when it's close to home, and for me anyways, it's much more meaningful.  If time, space, and money allowed, I would rescue every animal that needs a home.  Since that's not an option, we do what we can to help the sweet animals in our community who aren't as fortunate as our boys.

So pick what's important to you.  Give them a call and find out what they need.  Our animal shelter maintains a website that lists what their current needs are.  We took peanut butter, paper towels, and dog and cat treats.  As we move into the colder weather, blankets are desperately needed so that the animals aren't sleeping on cold concrete.  Our food bank also maintains a website of needs.  One thing I learned this year is that donations of personal care toiletries are EXTREMELY important, since those items aren't covered by food stamps.  There are always coupons available and sales going on for toiletries, so stock up the next time you're grocery shopping. It will be greatly appreciated.

Please know that this post isn't about tooting my own horn to show y'all how generous we are.  Quite the contrary.  I just felt like sharing what I think is an important and often overlooked part of the holiday season.

How do you give back?  I'm always interested to hear about ways people contribute their time, talent, and treasures!

Friday Favorites...on Monday

So this was supposed to go up on Friday, but I ended up on my sickbed all weekend because my cough turned into bronchitis. Woot.

From here on out, you can bet that Friday Favorites will be all things Christmas!! What I'm loving this week...

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THESE NAPKIN RINGS?!?! They look like Kate Spade and are darling, but they're actually from Tar-jay and are only $7.99 for a set of 4. Whaaaaa?!?!  OK so I saw these in person at Target yesterday and ick.  Not cute in person.  Also, I was majorly unimpressed with the Neiman Marcus collection.  Love the Tracy Reese top, but I am not paying $80 for something that is clearly still Target quality.  I did, however, spot these darling peplum tops.

I have been eyeing these beautiful placemats from Williams-Sonoma for quite some time, but just couldn't pull the trigger.  Good thing, because I popped into T.J. Maxx on my lunch break yesterday and found these look-a-likes for $9.99!

Continuing my tartan obsession is this tree skirt from The Land of Nod.  We already have a tree skirt {albeit not as wonderful as this one}, so I'm going to try and hold off on purchasing until after Christmas, hoping it will be on sale.  Operative word is 'try'.

I'm such a lemming.  I caved and bought the NEST Pumpkin Chai candle earlier this fall because everyone else {read: lots of bloggers} was doing it.  So naturally I had to buy the NEST Holiday candle.  An addict is born.  It really is as lovely as everyone says.

Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies. Yes, please.

The Dude Gift Guide: Christmas

I have no plans to bore you with yet another gift guide for the women in your lives, but true to form, almost all of the Christmas gift guides for men I've seen this year are not for any of the men I know.  That's not to say those gift guides are bad; it's just that I don't find them particularly useful.  Since the last two Dude Guides I've done have been quite popular, I thought I'd take a swing at a Christmas edition.  Let me know if you end up using any of these ideas!

1. I could talk about stocking stuffers for days. Stockings are my favorite part of picking out Christmas gifts. So much potential! M is a condiment fanatic.  Aren't most guys? Add a bottle of his favorite hot sauce or one he's never tried before.

2.  One of my besties is a firm believer that every gift-giving occasion is a chance to, ahem, improve a man's wardrobe.  With that in mind, how's about a lovely cotton-cashmere sweater and dapper button-up?

3. Or a field coat that looks oh-so rugged and sexy?

4. Are there men out there who DON'T like Under Armour?  I've never met any.  The ColdGear compression leggings are great for the runner in your life.

5.  Going off of my friend's theory, I'm a firm believer that Christmas is a time to purchase little luxuries for people that they would never purchase for themselves.  Case in point: this lovely T. Anthony leather business card holder. Very bespoke and a fabulous stocking stuffer.

6.  The cold-weather version of his favorite boat shoes.

7.  Bacon Salt. Is any description necessary?

8.  Another one of those little luxuries: a leather Dopp kit. {True story: M puts his travel toiletries into sandwich baggies.  Eesh.}

9.  For the golfer in your life {doesn't everyone have one?}: Graphic Image's Memorable Golf Rounds book. A scrapbook for those who don't scrapbook.

10., 11., 12. M is REALLY into making breakfast. It's his favorite meal, and truth be told, he's a lot better at making it than I am. If you know anyone who fits that bill, what about a breakfast kit? A quart of theeee best maple syrup, a pound of theee best bacon, and a top-of-the-line waffle maker.

13. Classic suede chukka boots.  They'll never go out of style and they're built to last.  Plus they do a nice job of dressing up any outfit without looking too formal.

14.  Flannel PJ pants.  If you take nothing else away from this list, this is the gift to buy.  My mom got M a pair of these for Christmas last year and, well, he's kind of obsessed.  It is extremely important that you purchase these WITH pockets.

15.  SmartWool socks.  Perhaps a little boring, but everyone loves them and they're always a favorite. And bulky enough to take up some serious space in the stocking!