A Slice of Life – 2011

Posted on January 9, 2012 by jacqui722

How quickly this year went, sad times, happy times. I’m ready for 2012. Imagine the possibilities…anyway, here’s my small slice of life.

January

Top of the Ferris Wheel, South FL Fair

Mark snapped this picture just as we reached the top.

February

A glass of wine and an Anniversary toast to us!

We celebrated our 14th Anniversary at the Okeechobee Steak House.

March

Robert Klein performing at the Clubhouse

Broadway star Robert Klein performed at the clubhouse.  I was so excited to meet him!  One the nice perks of my job.

April

Lacey decorating Jill & Adam's Wedding Cake

In April my sister Jill and Adam took their vows in a small ceremony at our home.  They planned a big lavish Cruise Ship wedding for the following April, but for now this cozy ceremony was enough for them.

Mother's Day with my Mom at Brios's

June

Girl's Road trip

Mom, Lacey Noelle & Moi set out on a road trip up the East Coast from FL to CT.  We stopped at the Amish Country in Lancaster, PA.

July

Still on the Roadtrip, I met up with dear childhood friends I hadn't seen in 35 years!

August

Lacey turns 21

Unbelievably, my baby became an adult this year.  Shed a couple of tears over this milestone.

September

Bruce & Kim got Married

My brother finally got married!

October

Haunted Halls of Horror

Mark and I participated in the Haunted Halls of Horror to benefit Hugs Not Drugs.  I was a scary fortune teller.

November

Hogwarts and Harry Potter at Universal in Orlando

November brought a trip to Orlando and a visit to Universal.

December

Christmas Service at Christ Fellowship, view from the drummer's enclosure on stage. Candle light ceremony aglow.

A Cup of Kindness, dear. Farewell 2011

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Grateful

Posted on November 24, 2011 by jacqui722

Thanksgiving morning, everyone’s asleep and I’m alone in the kitchen, savoring the time for myself.  I open the front door for trip to the driveway to pick up the ad-laden newspaper, and the 70 degree morning greets me with the promise of a lovely day ahead.  Back in my kitchen, I put together some lemon poppy seed muffins for the family to devour for breakfast, pour myself a cup of coffee and sit down with my recipe books to find my ‘Best Candied Sweet Potato with Marshmallows” tried and true recipe I am bringing to Bruce & Kim’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Usually I host all the major family holidays, but my brother and his wife love to host Thanksgiving.  I am grateful for being able to just show up with my side dish and enjoy their hard work and the spread they have assembled.  I am looking forward to spending my time with my husband and daughter, my Mother, sister and her husband, brother and his wife and assorted nieces and nephews.  We are a nice, not too large family.  I miss my Dad at these gatherings, but I’m sure he is smiling down at our family gathering from Heaven.

I am grateful for all the love that surrounds me, having God in my life and the promise of many more family gatherings to come.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, enjoy your special day.

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Sunday Dinner – Eggplant Parm

Posted on November 21, 2011 by jacqui722

As Thanksgiving approaches, I have so much to be grateful for.  Especially my loving family.  Today I made Eggplant Parm for them, a beautiful Sunday Dinner to celebrate our life together.  There’s nothing quite like cooking for your family after church on Sunday, and there’s nothing quite like being half Italian:)

Start by making some "Sunday Gravy" or tomato sauce. Here we have canned tomatoes, garlic, onions, salt & pepper and olive oil.

Dice 2 onions, 1 good-sized shallot and about 5 cloves of garlic. Meanwhile, heat up 2 tbs of olive oil in the pan.

When the olive oil is hot, add the onions, shallots and garlic along with 2 tsp salt and hot pepper (to taste).

after about 7-10 minutes, when the onions are translucent add 3 26oz cans of diced plum tomatoes.

Let the tomatoes simmer until the tomatoes break down and the ingredients meld together, about 30 to 45 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, start to prepare the eggplant.  Take 2 medium eggplants, slice into 1/2″ rounds.  Lay them out on a baking sheet, sprinkle salt on both sides and let them sit for a good hour (while your sauce simmers).  This will draw out the bitterness and excess moisture.

After the eggplant sits for the hour, lightly rinse under water and pat dry with a dishtowel. Return the eggplant to the sheet pan. Now it's time to do some breading.

Set up 3 bowls, the first with 1/2 cup of flour seasoned with salt & pepper, second with 4 eggs, & 3 tbs half n half, salt & pepper whisked together and the third with 2 cups of seasoned breadcrumbs.

In that order, take your tongs and dip the rounds into flour, then the egg mixture and lastly the breadcrumbs & return to the sheet pan.  Meanwhile, heat up some vegetable oil, about an inch deep.  When the oil is good and hot, fry the eggplant (about 2 minutes each side) and drain on paper towels that you have lined your sheet pans with.

Next comes the cheese- you’ll need a good chunk of mozzarella, sliced, about 8oz grated Prevalone and about 1/4 cup of Parmesan.

Grab a bunch of fresh basil.

Now it’s time to assemble your masterpiece.  Pre-heat your oven to 350, get out a lasagna pan.  We’re going to make 3 layers.  Spoon some sauce on the bottom of the pan, lay 1/3 of the fried lasagna, sprinkle some Parmesan, then the Prevalone, then lay slices of mozzarella.  Tear the basil up an scatter 1/3 over the top.  Continue twice more, ending with the mozzarella and scattered basil on top.

Here's it is, ready for the oven.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes.

YUM. Pour yourself a nice glass of red, and let your family shower you with praise. Happy Sunday!

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List for a late October Thursday

Posted on October 27, 2011 by jacqui722

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Crazy-Busy Social Director

Posted on October 26, 2011 by jacqui722

Where have I been? Well it’s the start of “season” in South Florida and that means my job takes over my life. I work for an over (active) 55 country club community and this is the time when the Snowbirds return from the North to enjoy the beautiful weather of South Florida.  So, it’s up to me to plan their social fun at the clubhouse.  Right now, I’m in the midst of a “Rocky Horror” Halloween Party where the movie will be shown, witches brew will be served and The Time Warp will be performed by our residents.  Just the start of many parties and events for the next 6 months or so.

I did have a little time to make some lovely garlic in Olive Oil, so I will share that today.

Just take a head of garlic, a dried chili pepper, salt, pepper, bay leaf and a few springs of thyme. Add 1/2 cup Olive Oil and cook over low heat until garlic is soft.

Can’t you smell the wonderful aroma?  Cooked garlic is sweet and spreadable- perfect to add to fresh bread or a baked potato…or just by itself.

That’s it for today folks…I’m off to get ready for work.

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A little Chicken Piccata

Posted on September 28, 2011 by jacqui722

Tuesday Night…tired after a long day at the clubhouse.  What’s for dinner Mom?   Tonight everyone is home for dinner so I guess I’m cooking for my family.  Chicken is a good choice for a Tuesday night, and who doesn’t love Chicken Piccata? Especially because it’s fast, easy and good.

Here we go- gather what you need- not a lot of ingredients and that’s what makes it so easy.

Boneless, skinless Free Range chicken, capers, lemon, white wine, chicken stock, chopped parsley, butter and some flour in a bowl

I like to use chicken thighs.  They have a lot more flavor and stay moist.  Of course, if you could always use chicken breasts if you are a white meat type of person, but the thighs really pack a lot more flavor and don’t dry out.

sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour

heat about 2vtbs butter and 2 tbs of olive oil in a pan over medium heat

Once the butter is melted and the oil is hot, place the chicken pieces to saute in the pan.

Saute the chicken in batches, about 3 minutes each side until golden

Saute in 2 batches adding a little more butter and Olive Oil for the second batch

add 1/2 cup of white wine (whatever you're drinking) and 1/2 cup chicken stock to deglaze the pan.

Scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom and then add the juice of one plump, juicy lemon.

dump in the capers and bring to a light boil.

Add the chicken to the sauce in the pan, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Take the chicken out and place in a serving dish. Add a little more butter to the sauce, adjust seasonings and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle some parsley on top to complete.

And there you have it…Tuesday night chicken.

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End of Summer (start of diet) Veggie Soup

Posted on September 25, 2011 by jacqui722

This is a nice soup, the one I always make when I’m ready to start Weight Watchers. It’s amazingly versatile, usually based on whatever leftover veggies I have in my fridge to use up on a Saturday before I visit the farmer’s market and buy fresh.  If you follow Weight Watchers, a nice big bowl of this soup is only about 2 points.  Today I have some zucchini, some cabbage, mushrooms, turnips and a couple of carrots to use up.

Let’s start with some olive oil, twice around the pot with some red pepper

Heat the oil & red pepper in a pot over medium heat.

Slice leaks and give them a bath in water to release their dirt.

First in the pot: chopped turnips, celery, carrots and leeks. Wait on the garlic.

saute gently in the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.

Round up the next set of ingredients

Chicken Broth, fire roasted tomatoes, white beans and mini pasta- all ready to be added

Add chicken broth to the softened veggie mixture first.

Next up, fire roasted tomatoes. These have garlic in them as well. You can use any canned or chopped fresh tomatoes. Be sure to include the juice.

Next up, veggies ready for the pot.

chopped cabbage, mushrooms and zucchini- into the pot

Add the beans & pasta

Bring to boil, simmer for about an hour.  Add a bit of grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

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Saturday List

Posted on September 24, 2011 by jacqui722

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List

Posted on September 21, 2011 by jacqui722

Grilled tilapia on a hard roll with Guacamole, tomatoes & red peppers. Side of grilled cabbage with butter, salt & pepper.

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My Mama’s Makin’ Chili

Posted on September 18, 2011 by jacqui722

Laying on the examining table of my breast surgeon’s office. a suggestion was made to me to finally “fix things up”. I’m a 4 year breast cancer survivor, and after my initial 2 surgeries, I decided to wait to do any kind of reconstruction, until I knew I wouldn’t have to go under the knife again if my cancer came back.  So when the suggestion from Dr. Kleban came following my latest “clear” mammogram, it threw me off completely.  In that split second I found myself thinking about the possibility of this actually happening and I murmured “that would be great” almost under my breath, looking up at her.  The next thing I knew, I had a consult appointment in hand for Reconstruction…for the end of the week…and outta nowhere I was going to actually get this done.  Fast forward to 2 weeks later, and the reconstruction is done.  I’m recovering right now…VERY painful, but I’m glad I did it.

Mom came over today along with my sister, Jill and Brother-in-Law, Adam, and Mom decided to make a nice pot of chili so I wouldn’t have to do any cooking while I’m healing.  Here’s the wonderful recipe.

This is a delicious and easy recipe that always gets raves. Mom starts by opening cans of Kidney beans and tomato sauce.

She chops up a red onion

Then, in a large frying pan, olive oil is heating and ready.

the onions are added to the pan

The onions are sauteed in the olive oil until soft

Chop meat is added to the onions

Mom breaks up the chop meat to let it brown

Time for a little wine break 🙂

Jill is relaxing...awaiting the mouth-watering chili Mom is producing

OK, time to spice things up

More spice

Mom adds the tomato sauce...

and the kidney beans...

mix everything together, taste and adjust spices, then let it simmer for 30 minutes on the stove while everythings melds together...

"Happy Family" Don't worry, we saved some for Mark who was working late

A delicious bowl of chili...not too greasy, full of flavor and really easy to make...served with a dollop of sour cream, tortilla chips and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

Once, when I lived in CT, I had a cast party following a show I was in.  Mom was visiting from Florida, and she made a huge pot of this chili for my theatre friends.  After rave reviews and an empty chili pot, she gave out the recipe to the many who asked for it.  Here’s the recipe, complete, below.  I felt much better after eating it:)  Enjoy!

Connie’s Chili Con Carne

1 tbs Olive Oil

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 8oz can of your favorite tomato sauce

2 tablespoons of chili (more or less depending on your taste)

1 can of red kidney beans, with liquid

1 tsp garlic (more if you like garlic)

salt & Pepper to taste

1 package chili Mix

In a large frying pan, saute onions in olive oil until soft.  Add ground beef and brown.  Stir in chili mix, chili powder and pepper.  Add tomato sauce and kidney beans, including the liquid from the beans.  Stir well.  Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve in bowls, with grated cheddar cheese, tortilla chips and a nice dollop of sour cream.

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