Memories and Roasted Garlic and Basil Tomato Soup

Right after moving to Nashville, my best friend's husband, Jason (yes, we both married a Jason!!) came to live with us while he was on his med-school rotation at Vandy. Emily came to visit for a few days to spend time with me, I mean, her husband too, and we got to play while our Jasons did their thing. I couldn't wait to take her to Downtown Franklin where there are the cutest restaurants and shops...so her and so me. I remember us having lunch at the Franklin Mercantile and Emily ordering their Tomato Basil Soup. The thing is, I don't do tomatoes. But I took a bite and was sold. Forever. I then took my sister back to the Franklin Mercantile just a few months later on her visit to Nashville and made her order the soup too. She was sketchy about it but then she too, was sold. I am not sure why I was such an advocate for this soup, but I brought Jason back to the restaurant and made him order the soup. And he was in love. 

Since then, Jason and I have always ordered Tomato Basil soup wherever we can. We love making it at home too but the thing is that it is loaded with cream. And as delicious as cream is, we just can't cook with it on a normal basis. But as luck would have it, we found an amazing recipe in an old Southern Living magazine that is healthy, delicious and so incredibly easy. The best part was the fresh garlic. We have always used garlic from the jar but OMG...the fresh garlic makes all the difference. How sad we have never used it before! But never going back...

Roasted Garlic and Basil Tomato Soup

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 (3oz) pkg shallots, peeled and halved

1 tablespoon EVOO

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can Italian style, stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt and pepper to taste

pinch of red pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Place garlic and shallots in an 8-inch square pan lined with aluminum foil; drizzle with oil.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, stirring twice; cool.

Process garlic, shallots, tomatoes, 3/4 cup chicken broth and next 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. 

Cook tomato mixture and remaining 3/4 cup broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in basil; serve immediately. 

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Wreath Making and Yummy Brown Sugar Spice Bread

You know those beautiful deco-mesh wreaths that everyone and their momma seem to be whipping up or paying big bucks for? They have one for every single holiday, including one for their favorite sports team. Well, I wanted one and I wanted to learn to make one of those bad boys, creating my own beautiful piece of art (hopefully) instead of someone having one make one for me. So when my dear friends, Heather and Maria teamed up to host a wreath making party right before Christmas, I was all on board. Heather and her hospitality and Maria with her craftiness made a mean team. What could be so hard?

Well, my friend, the shopping trip for the materials alone is a beast!  The choices of what you want your wreath to look like are overwhelming. I walked into Hobby Lobby with my husband and baby in tow with only 10 minutes alloted thinking I would just grab a few things. Maria was the best teacher and even sent us a checklist of things to buy. Oh sweetness....I stopped dead in my tracks in the "wreath pick" aisle. Seriously, the things that poke out of your wreath have their own aisle. I walked up and down the aisles with my eyes glazed over and kept sending Jason to push CC in the buggy and leave me alone. After consulting every stranger in a 10 foot radius and Pintrest ideas on my phone, I decided on a few (okay, may more than that) possibilities and checked out before I could change my mind.

So, of course I wanted to make something yummy to munch on while us girls created our wreath creations. Oh the laughs and possible tears of frustrations! Wreath decor was EVERYWHERE and Heather's house smelled like hot glue guns plugged into every possible outlet and my Brown Sugar Spice Loaf. As far as the wreath making process, it is tedious, fun and can possible send you straight to the looney bin. No wonder those things cost big bucks!

 But we had so much fun as we always do when the girls in our Sunday School class get together. We were pretty proud of our creations.

We helped each other out, gave our suggestions to each other and then laughed at how I by far had the largest wreath at our little class. It was huge. I started to wonder if it would even fit on my front door. I swear it didn't look that big in the store though! One thing is for sure, if you come over to my house around the holidays and I say look for the house with the GRAND wreath on the door, you will find it without a problem. 

And the Brown Sugar Spice Loaf? Easy,delicious and makes your house smell like fall. This recipe could also be poured into smaller loaf pans and given as gifts during the holidays.

Brown Sugar Spice Bread

1 softened stick butter

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoons vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

Beat together first five ingredients in a large bowl. Beat together the last ingredients in another bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, stirring well. Pour into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake at 325 for 50 minutes.

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My Turn for a Birthday and Honeybun Cake

We just love teacher birthdays around Kindergarten. It gives us a reason to order in lunch and celebrate with sweets. I am not sure why it is, but teachers get so stinking tickled over the smallest things. Maybe it is because we teach kids and are around innocence all day. Maybe it is because we like a break in the routine.  Maybe it is all of the above. But we do! Like "jeans day"? OMG...Christmas come early! A hot chocolate bar in the teachers lounge? PARTY! So a birthday with food ordered in and a dessert? CELEBRATION! Some not in this profession may think we are silly to get so excited over these things but you know what? It is a blessing to be thankful and excited over such small things. At least I think so in this culture of "big and grand".

So on our Kindergarten team, we choose names at the beginning of the year and we are responsible for taking charge of the celebration for whomever is our birthday buddy. I chose our sweet Kirsten who is new to our team this year. This girl is beautiful, inside and out. And I get to teach next door to her. Her sweet heart, smile and realness are a blessing to my life. And she always cares and has concern for everyone. We are so lucky to have her and I love that I got to head up her celebration!

Bless her little heart...she wore a birthday crown just to make me happy.

We changed up her birthday lunch and I treated her to a birthday dinner when our team went out after Open House. Get us teachers together outside of school to share stories over drinks and food is a GOOD TIME. Seriously, the laughs over our stories are too much. We are "that" "hen party" of women cackling at a restaurant totally oblivious to everyone else. Some of us have even been known to "drop it like its hot" right there at the dinner table. I am not naming any names. 

My Wonderful Team

 And while I was treating Kirsten to a birthday dinner, my wonderful husband was baking this cake. Yes, he is that good to me. And he did have the cutest little helper. 

The following day, we celebrated with Honeybun Cake. And it was delicious. Just like a honeybun. OMG...delicious. We had quite a lot of cake left over after we got our 6 little pieces so we left it in the lounge. And by the end of the day? It was all gone. Teachers just love a little pick "me up sweet".

Honeybun Cake

 Cake

1 (2 layer) yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

2/3 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 cup paced brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Combine the cake mix, sour cream, oil and eggs in a mixing bowl and beat until blended. Spread one-half of the batter in a 9x13inch cake pan. Sprinkle with a mixture o the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread with the remaining batter. Swirl with a knife and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Icing

3 cups powered sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl until the desired consistency. Spread the icing over the top of the cake. Let stand until set.
*Adapted from a favorite cookbook, Mardi Gras to Mistletoe*

*Momou, I am always cooking in honor of you!

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Best Friends, A New Baby and Artichoke Turkey Bugers

Collins and I took our first girls trip this past weekend to Lafayette to see a dear, best friend, Jessica. We had one mission and one mission only on this trip: Operation Baby Nursery! We sat on the floor of the nursery Saturday morning trying to find a "vision" for the nursery and then off to shopping we went. Collins was such a little shopping trooper and we were successful! By the time we said our goodbyes, we had a game plan for a beautiful nursery for a special baby boy and a couple of hundred dollars spent:)

Jess and I have been best friends since we met at Northwestern quite a few years ago. We stood by each other in the dating saga with our high school loves and we both ended up marrying those loves. We stood in each other's weddings and by each others during quite a few moves across the country. And now we have each other for this new season of being moms. Jess was in the waiting room when Collins was born and I plan to be there waiting too when Baby Pitcher arrives in April. I can't wait and it is such a blessing to walk this road together.

Jess and Blaine came to visit this past September for Labor Day. See, nothing was very fishy with this because the "Fab 4" has spent many of Jessica's birthdays together. But there was a tiny feeling that I had in my heart wondering," Hmm... I wonder if they are going to tell us that Jess is pregnant?". Well, I didn't have to wait for the answer long. Just moments after they arrived, Jessica asked if have ever read the new book that she was reading. The title? What to Expect When You're Expecting. Well, at that point there were tears, hugs and laughs all around. And we talked about nothing but babies that weekend. 

THE FAB FOUR!!!

And we cooked too, of course:) Artichoke Turkey Burgers and they were delicious! They freeze perfectly so make half and freeze half.

Artichoke Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey

2/3 cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1 large egg

2 tablespoons butter, softened

5 ciabatta buns

1 (14oz) can quartered artichoke heart, drained and chopped

1 cup light Alfredo sauce

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

seasoning to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, mushrooms, seasoning and egg. For mixture into 4 hamburger patties, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

2 Preheat grill to medium high heat. Grill burgers, covered with grill lid, for 5 minutes per side, or until done to desired taste.

3. Spread split buns with butter evenly on both sides. Grill buns, butter side down for 2 minutes. 

4. In a medium bowl, combine artichokes and Alfredo sauce.

5. Place turkey burgers on buns and top with Alfredo mixture and basil. 

Adapted from a Sandra Lee recipe. 

And always cooking with love in honor of Momou!

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Sunshine Meeting and a Hollywood Christmas

One night in November...yes, still only in November on these posts of mine, I had my dear Sunshine girls over for dinner and spirits so we could start making plans for our upcoming staff Christmas luncheon.

We LOVE any reason to be together...aren't my sunshine girls beautiful?!?!?

We had to talk theme, caterers and many other details. All very serious and we had to do it in proper form with food and drinks.  Since this is our first year on Sunshine, we have never been planned for this event, let alone such a big one. But now that I write this post almost two months after the fact, I can happily say that our Christmas Luncheon seemed to be a fun time and merry success!

We had a fun theme of "Hollywood Christmas" and each grade team decorated their table in the theme of their favorite Christmas movie. It was amazing! We have so many creative teachers that these tables were DECKED OUT. We had teams in costumes,a table serving hot cocoa (Polar Express) and so much more! So many movies were represented and not ONE repeated! Each person voted on their favorite table and Charlie Brown Christmas (represented by our awesome support staff) won! We played Christmas movie trivia and "Name That Line" with quotes from various Christmas movies and we had so many laughs. I was so impressed and our staff made it so easy for this special event to be a success. Here is my Kindergarten team dressed for our table decorated like the movie, "Elf".

So my Sunshine girls and I really take it serious when we plan. And of course it was a time for me to break out new recipes. My sweet sunshine girls always let me play hostess so I can get Collins in bed and then I cook for them. I made a dish that rocked my world. Barbecue Chicken Potpie. It was amazing! Wait until you find out the secret ingredient;))) To accompany this, I made a salad. We finished off our meal with Pumpkin Spiced Gingersnap Truffles. Oh sweet Maria. It was all delicious and so good. And any time with these precious friends calls for a celebration. Here we are being silly for school pictures. When you husband is the photographer, you get to pull a few stunts like this:) Or rather he pulled a few stunts on our gorgeous pictures.

 I just love our above "prom picture" pose:)

If only Lauren will give the rest of us some of her height! Darn her and her tallness!

 Barbecued Chicken Potpie

1 Tablespoon butter

1 bag seasoning blend (about 1/2 cup of bell peppers, onions and celery each)

1 can green chilies

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

4 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 (14oz) can chicken broth

1 (12oz) bottle chili sauce

3 Tablespoons brown sugar 

1 oz. chocolate, grated!!!

1 can refrigerator cornbread twists

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the seasoning blend, garlic and green chilies. Saute for 5 minutes and stir in the cumin. Cook for 2 minutes and stir in the vinegar, stirring. Add the chicken, broth, chili sauce, brown sugar and chocolate and mix well.

Cook for 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon the chicken mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Separate the corn bread twists and arrange lattice fashion over the top of the prepared layer. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minute. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. 

Adapted from a favorite cookbook of mine, Mardi Gras to Mistletoe

Pumpkin Spiced Gingersnap Truffles

1 1/4 cups semisweet  chocolate pieces

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup chopped gingersnaps (about 10 cookies)

Roll in:

1/3 cup finely crushed gingersnaps (about 7 cookies) 

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In medium bowl, combine chocolate pieces, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla

Place cream in a saucepan and bring just to boiling. Pour cream over chocolate mixture. Let stand 5 minutes Whisk until smooth. Stir in chopped gingersnaps. Cover refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until firm enough but soft enough to form into balls.

Place crushed gingersnaps and/or cocoa powder in small bowls. Using a small spoon, scoop 1 tablespoon portions of truffle mixture and shape into balls. Roll in crushed gingersnaps or cocoa powder to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store, covered, in refrigerator, up to 3 days. 

Take from a Better Home and Gardens Magazine many moons ago. No name listed to thank for this deliciousness:(

Momou, always thinking of you...the lovely hostess and cook:)

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