a weekend in the kitchen.

 

there's nothing like a quiet february weekend to be in the kitchen making some serious comfort food. it began saturday morning with cinnamon rolls (from the can, don't judge, they're awesome). then we moved onto from scratch red velvet cupcakes (husband's request) and our first attempt at bolognese. both recipes from barefoot contessa's amazing new cookbook (we've also tried the lemon chicken & tuna sandwiches, which are awesome). we shared these with dear friends on a candle/mason jar lit saturday night. it was wonderful. p.s. i love our bulletin board in the kitchen, so i thought i'd share!

two other weekend highlights: 1. sushi & this movie with ryan on friday night (more on the movie in the next post!) 2. going to old navy on sunday afternoon, inspired by this friend who i called last weekend while she happened to be "at gap getting new knits/basics." i'm listening to her thinking, "yeah. i'm always looking for that basic to go under a sweater/cardigan and i never think to do anything about it." so, old navy had some awesome deals (got two shirts for $8!) and they were oh so soft. plus, i feel prepared for the end of winter/spring. i love friends who inspire you to do things that make your life easier/better.

early morning date in boise.

 

 

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chewy gingersnaps.

so, i mentioned these cookies in this post, but really, they more than deserve their own post. if this pumpkin bread is my favorite fall recipe ever, then this totally takes the cake for my favorite winter recipe. these two recipes also coincidentally won over ryan's heart, so they're huge in our marriage. i've already made a couple of batches of these already & have a feeling there will be more before spring rolls in. plus, this weekend reminded me how relaxing baking can be if i just make the space in my life for it. so, what are you waiting on?!

ingredients:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup softened unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp+ cinnamon
• 1 tsp+ ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda

directions: 

1. cream butter + sugar. add molasses + egg
2. stir in rest of ingredients
3. cover and refrigerate one hour or longer
4. preheat oven to 375
5. shape rounded spoonfulls into balls, roll in granulated sugar (be sure to get plenty!)
6. put inch or so apart on greased baking sheet
7. bake 8-10 minutes 
8. try to keep them away from your husband for at least five minutes

 p.s. recipe from dear family friend

xox

his & hers.

alli has a cute little series going with "his & hers" and asked bloggers to share their version. well, on thanksgiving, there's a big his & hers cranberry divide in our house. ryan absolutely loves canned cranberry. i can't get enough of the real berries. so, we have both! which do you love?

thanksgiving.

 

hosting our first thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful. it was sort of like having my training wheels on (which was awesome) because my parents were here & super helpful. my dad made his famous stuffing and my mom washed dishes and answered my every question like you wouldn't believe.

it was mostly wonderful because we were all together (& i got to sit in between my two favorite boys -- my husband & bro -- that's what happens when you're the place card fairy!) plus, how great is the macy's parade?!

here are some details:

i made the place cards out of paint samples. turns out there are lots of perfect colors -- pumpkin, haystack, firewood, & autumn roast to name a few. they're free. i taped them back to back and used my favorite tool -- a thin black sharpie -- to write the names.

centerpieces were super simple: some pears in a vase, some locally grown pumpkins and a gorgeous white platter we got as a wedding present.

extra fun table b/c ryan's best friend, henk, also stationed here, joined us. the more the merrier! and, he brought an extra pumpkin pie & wine -- such a gentleman.

the menu:

• locally raised turkey (quote of the day, very early in the morning, as we were getting tom the turkey ready for the oven was ryan "yep, this is definitely locally grown and not butterball -- don't worry i'll get the last few feathers") we stuffed it with lemons, apples, bay leaves, onions & sprinkled it with salt and pepper.
• this sweet potato dish (so good, i think it was the two sticks of butter)
• dad's famous stuffing (the recipe has about 100 ingredients, i'll put you in touch with my dad if you'd like it :)
• mashed potatoes from this cookbook
• rolls from a local bakery
• greens
• fresh cranberries (mary) and canned (ryan)
• pumpkin pie also from this cookbook
• & this wine

how was your thanksgiving? favorite recipes? don't forget our thanksgiving eve here!

thanksgiving eve.

 

 

i love when all joyous things are extended, so i'm totally doing a post on thanksgiving eve. and it really felt that way -- we were getting ready for the big day and enjoying showing my parents our new digs.

we went and got the last few ingredients (our local co-op meant almost everything we ate was grown withing 40 miles of our house -- i love that!) our fridge was stuffed! the funnies part of that was i didn't quite understand the quantity of greens i ordered. let's just say, we had plenty. because it was thanksgiving eve, we made a big pot of chili, some pumpkin cornbread muffins (we added the leftover pumpkin pie filling to a traditional cornbread recipe!), and these incredible kale crisps. for dessert, i couldn't resist these pumpkin & cream cheese sandwiches.

it was the perfect meal to fuel us for a long night of cooking to get ready for the big meal on thanksgiving. the most fun part was getting our new dining room ready. literally that day (cutting it close!) we had my parent's anniversary/birthday/christmas present to us installed: this chandelier. which i am: in. love. with. along with our emersonmade linens, my grandmother's silver and our simple white pottery barn dishes, it just felt like a table fit for such a meal.

next up, the big day!

roasted vegetables.

our winter go to dinner is roasted vegetables. pick out some veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, brussell sprouts, carrots and asparagus are all favorites around our house) toss them with a little olive oil and montreal steak seasoning. stick them in the oven at 425 for 20-30 minutes depending on quantity and crispiness factor. the only caveat is we hold onto the asparagus and only stick it in for the last 10 minutes. we love pairing it with some sourdough bread. check out some of our other favorite dinners here and here. xo

pumpkin cupcakes.

 

last night, we took dinner to some dear friends who just moved here from cali with the navy and are expecting a baby really soon! i was famous, our entire move, for going "i CANNOT imagine doing this pregnant" (because that happens all the time in the military, and those women are my heroes).

we took them this chili (love, love), some cornbread, and these amazing pumpkin cupcakes. it was my first time making them (a piece of candy corn on top would have made them even cuter!) and honestly, they're rivaling my pumpkin bread, which is a big deal. and while we cooked, we shared a glass of cupcake wine (coincidence, i promise).

plus, these cupcakes look pretty cute on my fav table runner and our mantle (couldn't resist giving you a little sneak peek of our house -- more soon!) xo

meal planning?

so, maybe i'm the last one on the planet, but i really think ryan & i need to start meal planning. way too many times we've been ready to cook and not had any idea what to make OR we bought things at the grocery only to let them go to waste. i loovvee cooking, but with our schedules, i can't go to the grocery every other day.

yesterday, i went through some cookbooks and planned out this week (phew), but i'm wondering if it'd be easier to do a whole month in one swoop and then have ingredient lists by week? (then repeat that month every month and hope no one minds having the same thing the third tuesday every month! :) i know y'all have some great advice out there, help! we're also joining this local co-op that looks a-mazing!

p.s. love how simple this image is (& we just decided to paint a tiny wall in our kitchen in chalkboard paint!)

burgers, hummus, & couscous (oh my!)

it's been too long since i've posted a tried and true recipe. the other night, ryan & i gave each other that panicked, "what's for dinner?!" look and then i remembered i'd gotten some buffalo meat, knew we had some couscous somewhere and as luck would have it, was craving cherry tomatoes and hummus the last time i was at the grocery ... wowser, first time in my life, i have all the ingredients for a great, easy, go to meal for us. it will be another decade before this happens again, so we celebrated with some blue moon. (here's another go to meal around our house)

this recipe is so easy, so good for you, and when i handed my husband his plate, he so genuinely said, "i loovvee this meal" & there are few things that make me happier than when he says that. inspired by this real simple recipe, here's what you need:

• 1 lb. ground meat (i love buffalo meat for this, but any you have will do!)
• oregano, cumin and montreal steak seasoning*
• box of couscous (i love this!)
• cherry tomatoes
• greens
• hummus
• olive oil

cook couscous according to directions. make the meat into small patties (a little smaller than your palm) with a mixture of the organo, cumin and montreal seasoning, along with a drop of olive oil. heat a little oil in a pan and cook the patties about 4 minutes per side. serve with all the other goodness (it's best when it all runs into each other!)

*the secret to our entire cooking strategy is this seasoning. we literally put it on almost everything. it is especially amazing on roasted veggies! if you don't have any on hand, just use salt & pepper.