Winter Warmers

The winter time makes me want to stay inside in warm pajamas and also eat (the staying inside part = not so good for getting to the gym). It's no wonder I was craving some classic winter time foods so I decided to do some cooking last Sunday and make two recipes that have served each of our Mothers quite well over the years.

First Up - Chicken Noodle Soup - From the Kitchen of Mom V
Who doesn't like some chicken noodle soup on a cold winter day? I attempted this simple recipe of my Mother-in-Laws for the second time. The first time I def did not have a pot that was big enough to put the chicken and the broth, this time that dilemma was solved since I have my huge pasta pot. Having a pot that was large enough made this process so much easier, the hardest part was straining the chicken out of the huge pot. When it was done it got Mike's seal of approval!

Next Up - Chili - From the Kitchen of my Mom
Granted I haven't explored too many different chili variations, why fix it if it ain't broken, this chili has always been delicious when my mom has made it. It's a pretty simple recipe put out by Bush's themselves so you can't go wrong with that. The most time consuming part is cutting up the vegetables for it that cook in with the chop meat. I always let it simmer for longer too! This one also seemed to go over well with Mike, he particularly enjoyed dipping tostito chips in the chili (until there were no more in the house). Since I haven't shared the recipe for my Mom's chili before, here it is:

Bush's All-American Chili 

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans BUSH'S® BEST Chili Beans
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
Shredded Cheddar cheese

In large pan, cook beef, onion and green pepper until meat is browned. Drain excess grease. Stir in remaining ingredients, except cheese. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with Cheddar cheese.

Wedding Slideshow Video

*All Photographs by John Arcara Photography*

And we were blogged about on John's Blog - Check it Out Here

I Love Coconut

I love almond joy bars, mounds bars, there is only one type of donut I can never pass up, toasted coconut, I think you get the picture, I love anything with coconut. On our honeymoon there was coconut butter for the waffles, and even coconut pancakes! I was in heaven. After seeing a picture of what looked to be delicious macaroons in a magazine recently I was inspired to make this delicious treat for our little holiday gathering at the house tonight, and if no one else has the same love and affection for coconut that I do I'm sure I will have no problem eating the whole tray myself. I looked at a couple of recipes and ending up trying Ina Garten's version, everything she always makes seems to come out great. Here is her recipe.

Update: These cookies are super easy to make and taste delicious! They came out perfectly. Two things to note though, one is that they got stuck to my wax paper after they cooled off, so I'll be eating macaroons and wax paper, and two this was probably a bad idea to make these since I am likely to eat the entire batch. They've only been out of the oven for a little over an hour now and I've already eaten three, each time I walk in the kitchen I grab another one....


Coconut Macaroons
Ingredients
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Holiday Entertaining

I love entertaining, aside from the obvious fact that it's great together with friends and family and often ones you haven't seen in a while, I love the idea of entertaining cleaning up the house and making lots of food for the occasion. Maybe it was a result of growing up my Mom always loved to have all her friends over and would put out a great spread, and I know Mike grew up in the same fashion. So tonight we are having our neighbors over for drinks and appetizers. Here's what I have planned for the menu, let's see how it actually turns out:

• Holiday Baked Brie en Croute 
• Spinach Cheese Swirls
• Spinach Pie (from Costco) 
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Possibly my sweet and sour meatballs
• I might put our pigs in a blanket I make myself with crescent rolls  
• And I think I am going to attempt macaroons, I absolutely love coconut
• And a veggie plate with dip

Christmas' in NY's Past

There is one time of year that Mike looks forward to going into the city, which is kind of ironic since it is so crowded, jam packed with people (which Mike doesn't usually do well with). But every year Mike looks forward to our annual trip to the city to do  all things "Christmasy."We start the day out at Macy's in Herald Square where we wait in line to take our picture with Santa and make our Christmas wishes. After Santa we head further uptown to see the magnificent tree, taking pictures here is my favorite, I think Mike prefers to take pictures with the big guy. Sometimes we'll throw in some other NY attractions like the Empire State Building (if its not too cold) and take a walk by Radio City and the giant Christmas Balls across the street before we catch a bite to eat with our friends. It's become an annual tradition for us and one we look forward to every year that I'm sure we'll be continuing for years to come. Here's a glimpse back at our Christmas' past in most recent order (2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005)

A New Picture!

I was very excited when I randomly saw that our photographer posted one new picture of us from our wedding on his website. Here's one more teaser....

Post Wedding Chop

 Not the best picture in the world but you get the idea (Mike wouldn't cooperate to take a picture for me, he was playing his video games so I took it myself on my phone).  I cut off several inches of my hair earlier today for my post wedding chop hair cut. I had been growing my hair long for over two years now without cutting any significant length off of it. I'd been growing it from before I was even engaged since I knew one day I would want my hair long for my wedding.

I got a cute little bob hair cut right above my shoulders. It's a big change from how my hair had been, it's nice to have a change. When I got home Mike def noticed my haircut this time, his initial reaction was a big wow, he couldn't believe it but he told me he really loved it, there were a few wow's and it took him a few minutes to get used to it. I think its cute, nice to have some length gone so it's more manageable. So this is the new married Rachel hairstyle.

Rainy Wednesdays

I was born on a rainy Wednesday so it was fitting that it was raining again on a Wednesday for my birthday. Had to believe another year has come and  gone so quickly. I can remember 2 years ago for my birthday Mike and I weren't even engaged yet and now here we are married already. My first birthday as married woman. It's funny my Father-in-Law and I share the same birthday, funny how it worked out that way, I was the only December baby in my family, my entire immediate family all have July birthdays and now I have a birthday twin, only he's got quite a few years on me as he celebrated the big 6-0 this year. (Above is a picture of me from my first christmas, not quite my first day old but close enough)

Tis the Season

I was inspired by watching the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center on tv that afterwards I went downstairs and decorated our Christmas tree. I love listening to christmas songs on a cold evening with the fireplace going while I decorate our tree. I can't wait for our new stockings to come in the mail, I got monogrammed christmas stockings on sale from Pottery Barn for Mike and I, can't wait to put them up on the mantle. Next year maybe I'll get to get one for our puppy we'll have by then!