Italian Wedding Soup

Somehow so light and refreshing. I watch a ton of PBS and I saw Lidia (she has a Italian cooking show) making a variation of this recipe this weekend and I knew I had to make a giant batch. I love making soup not only because I love the flavors but it is the perfect leftover for lunches all week OR a great gift after your mom has surgery. I will say I was lucky to have most of these items in my fridge or pantry and only hard to really buy the spinach and meat. A really good soup for the spring transition we are going through it will make it in the normal soup rotation in our home.

What you need~

Soup-
16 cups of vegetable broth
8 cups of water
1.5 cups of onion (diced)
1 cup of carrots (diced)
1 cup of celery (diced)
1 cup of mushrooms (diced)
1/3 cup garlic (minced)
4 cups of spinach (chopped)
1 cup of orzo
Salt and Pepper to taste


Meatballs-
2 pounds of ground beef
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1.5 cups of bread crumbs (panko)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of parsley flakes






Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Start by sweating down your onions, garlic, celery, carrots and mushrooms for a bit of time. Once they have done this on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes add in your stock and water. Let this shimmer for at least a half hour. While that is going on mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and then roll out 1 inch balls on a greased sheet pan. I had to use two pans I had so many. Pop those in the oven for at least 30 minutes. When the soup has about 10 minutes left add the orzo and then 5 minutes left add the spinach. When the meatballs are done place 3-6 of them in a bowl and top with the soup.

Simmer and simmer.

YUM!

The perfect meatballs.

I really loved this soup and even though the meatballs are long gone at our house the rest of the veggie soup is still really good. Try it sometime.


Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Second Bathroom Renovation: Demo

Never a dull moment while working on our house. Last year we renovated our master bathroom and we figured that since we tackled that room this bathroom which is much smaller with be a cake walk (easy). This is where you can laugh with me or at me if you wish. Starting the demo yesterday we needed to remove the washer and dryer from the room to remove the trim, flooring and storage unit above them. A word to you on this make sure the off valves actually work from the washing machine. What ended up happening was water just everywhere. We were drenched, the floor, walls etc as well. It was really an experience. Lucky for us Ryan is a fast runner to turn off the main water and I just shoved the water hose part into the actual washing machine to hold some of the crazy water. After that fun Ryan took his time removing the shower, a wall and the vanity. The room feels twice the size now and I cannot wait to start putting it back together. Here are some pictures of the demo before and during.

Before. 

Before.

Before. 

Before.

Before. 

Before. (Luna creeping)

Now the demo!

POST water freak out. 

EVERYTHING is wet in this picture. 

Bye bye shower. 

So much more room.

I am rather in awe of my husbands ability to work and work and dedication to get stuff done. With my health issues with mold and dust I cannot be much help with demo so he did most of the work this weekend. What a great guy. More to come this renovation is just starting!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily 

Spicy Sausage Stir Fry

Yum! Something this rich it must be a sin it is actually healthy too. I threw this together at the suggestion of my husband Ryan. He loves sausage, pepper and onions and this was the perfect way to make that while adding some more veggies to the mix. Plus it was like crazy easy to throw together.  Who does not love an easy and tasty recipe? Well crazy people I am sure. Life has been a bit crazy trying to recover from the giant snow storm from the weekend but I feel like today we are finally finding our groove again. Although it is scary driving around with like 6 foot tall piles of snow every where. Watch out for those roadabouts folks! Anyway to the recipe!

What you need~
Half a cooked polish sausage diced into bite size pieces
Half a diced onion
About a cup of diced sweet peppers
Two small jalapenos diced and seeded
A cup of asparagus diced
A cup of mushrooms diced
2 cups of marinara or spaghetti sauce
2 cups of rice (cooked)
Salt, pepper and smoked paprika

Cook your rice and set aside. While the rice is cooking put all the veggies in a pan with a little olive oil and get them cooking down. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. This took me about 5-6 minutes. I then added my meat and the sauce. Let this cook for 5 more minutes. Serve this mix over the rice when warmed through.

 

It is really so yummy and made plenty for the two of us to eat off of. You could really add or omit different veggies as needed.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

French Toast

Crisp and delicious this recipe is heavenly. I made this Saturday morning in the middle of blizzard Evelyn for some friends that were staying at my place for a girls weekend. Just because we were snowed in does not mean we did not eat well.  I cannot believe I have not made french toast in ages nor did I remember decent recipe so I made up my own recipe. Turned out super good and I could eat this again and again.

What you need~
8 pieces of bread (we used a local cinnamon sugar swirl bread)
8 eggs
1 cup of milk
pumpkin pie spice (a dash)
Cinnamon sugar (a dash)
Butter

Whisk the eggs, milk and spices together until well mixed in a shallow dish.  Take your bread and lay in the mixture for at least 30 seconds on each side.  On your skillet or pan put some butter on there before placing your bread on the pan. I let this cook for at least 5 minutes on each side or so to try to really cook that egg and crisp up the bread. If you do not cook long enough the bread will be soggy and not crisp. Top with some maple syrup and eat up!

A good picture of the shallow dish and the eggs.

All mixed. 

Soaking up all that goodness.

Hello!

This was really tasty and I recommend you make it as a special treat on a weekend or heck on any weekday meal! 

Take your time they really need the time to get crispy.

Until next time~

XoXo Emily 

Shorter Hair

This is a true story. I felt real cool starting with that statement. I feel like in my life I need to constantly work on change management. In simple terms I need to embrace change and not drag my feet kicking and screaming. I have known for a while that I needed to at least term my over grown mop of hair but the idea of change froze me in my tracks. Why is that it is so silly? I think that we all hate the idea of failure and that idea often holds us back from true greatness. I mostly want to talk about this because now that it is done and I of course love my shorter hair I think to myself.... Why did I not do this sooner? I also think a lot of my issues stem from all the bad information on the internet that tells me that if I have thin hair I should do this or not that and such. It is exhausting reading these articles. I am so happy I found Heather (Shout out to an awesome hair stylist!) through a friend and she has the same hair type as me. I feel so educated about my hair and now I know what I need to do to protect it. Because right now it is damaged. I need to use mousse and I need to protect it when I use heat on it. All things I did not know about.

In closing here are some NEW hair pictures. Please do not be afraid of change let's all try harder to embrace it!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Glazed Carrots

Nothing says spring more than carrots right? I mean at least I always think of them this time of year. Which makes me wonder why I do not make them more. This recipe is easy and actually most likely easier than any other side dish you can make for a holiday like Easter. I loved it and the leftovers were really good in a salad I had made. Here it is in all it's glory.

What you need~
2 pounds of carrots (peeled and diced)
8 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by melting the butter and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Put the carrots in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours after pouring the butter/sugar mixture on top. I did high and started them at 8am we ate around 2ish and they were perfect.

I sadly do not have a done picture we tucked into them and ate them way to fast but trust me and just make this yummy side dish.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Roasted Root Vegetables

Just a giant yum here. I know you are all used to potatoes they are a root and most people eat them on the regular. Lately I have been looking at more less common options that have good health benefits. Saturday I made the following three: Parsnips, Celery Root and Rutabaga. I know they look a little scary and dirty at first glance but peeling and dicing makes them easy to roast. Toss in some olive oil and bake for 45 minutes on a sheet pan at 350 degrees F. Make sure that their is space between the veggies to let them roast well and not steam. Also make sure to move the veggies around a bit with a spoon every 15 minutes or so.

Here are some pictures of the process.

Parships look much like a carrot. Peel and dice. 

Rutabaga peel it and dice. 

This is the celery root. I loved it because the root is celery that I can use in soups and salads. 

Ready for dice! 

Ready to be seasoned and thrown in the oven.

So tasty. I love how some of them are sweet (rutabaga). 

Serve it with a stuffed turkey breast.

Being creative or trying new things does not have to be difficult. If you see something you think you are interested in just go for it. I think this will become part of our normal meal rotation . Get out there and try something new!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily