Archives for January 2014

Guest Post – A’s Vintage Kitchen

January 23, 2014 / By Courtney / 5 Comments

Hello ALFS readers!

I’m Allie, and I’m so happy to be back sharing with you all, and thrilled that I could help out my big sis while she takes what could possibly be the most well-deserved vacation in history.

This post is brought to you by Hugo and I from our new digs – we moved a couple months ago to the historic Gold Coast neighborhood and couldn’t be happier. While the sleek, modern, loft-type apartments popping up all over other Chicago areas are nice, I’ve always felt vintage is much more my style. That’s what I focused on during my search for a new place, and vintage is certainly what I got! We moved into an old converted hotel right on the Lakeshore, and its charms and quirks made me fall in love instantly. There is a phone booth in the lobby, the elevators are gated, and check out the adorable spice cabinet in my kitchen! Very Betty Draper. 🙂

So in drawing inspiration from my surroundings, vintage charm is what it’s all about today on ALFS. In terms of food, it doesn’t get more vintage than Chicken A La King – chicken and veggies in a creamy gravy ladled over rice or biscuits. This recipe is from my mom’s Betty Crocker cookbook that she received as a wedding present. It was published in 1969 (which, lets face it, is probably the last time my apartment was updated), and it holds every classic dish you could possibly think of.

Chicken A La King was a staple in the homes of American families throughout the 20th century, and I promise if you try this, it will become a staple in yours too!

Chicken A La King

2014-01-22 16:09:59

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Ingredients

1 can (6 oz) sliced mushrooms (drained, 1/4 cup of liquid reserved
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 stick butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups half & half
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 jar (4 oz) pimiento chopped

Instructions

In a large skillet, cook and stir mushrooms and bell pepper in the butter 5 minutes.
Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly.
Remove from heat. Stir in cream, broth, and reserved mushroom liquid.
Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Stir in chicken and pimiento; heat through.
Ladle over starch of your choice - rice, noodles, biscuits, toast, etc.

By Betty Crocker

A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

And ps: after eating a big plate full of this comforting goodness, this will be the expression on your face:

wwww.

January 22, 2014 / By Courtney / 8 Comments

Hi from sunny FL! Although depending on when you are reading this, we may already be in the air – destination, tundra. I was toying with staying a few extra days with the boys but temps were shifting to cooler in FL as well, so I figured I should just put on my big girl pants and go home. L was not OK with this plan and said ‘I do not want to go back to death – I choose life.’ I hear you loud and clear, buddy.

Our trip could be described perfectly as short but sweet. I literally savored every. single. moment. and can’t wait to get back down here. Here’s hoping for another mini trip in February – hint hint, M.

Alright, to the clothes! Here is what we wore out to our fav dinner spot, Manatee Island. M starts it off with a bam and orders a mojito, I always must order the mahi mahi tacos, L always starts off with a kiddie cocktail, and B started a new tradition for us of never actually sitting in the high chair, so there were a lot of walks. M captured this shot during one of those walks and I could not love it more. It may top last year’s….? M, perhaps you’re in the wrong career.

On L: Crewcut plaid shirt, Old Navy Shorts, Rainbow sandals.

On B: Crocs, Old Navy shorts, Gap shirt.

On C: Etcetera top (I’m so in love with this piece), Old Navy shorts, Rainbow flip flops. The bag? Well it’s Stella & Dot’s getaway bag. It’s massive, which you need for traveling with a toddler and when you arrive you can slim it down to a more appropriate daily use size. The pattern just screams vacay to me.

That’s a wrap. Back to the leggings and sweaters for next week’s What We Wore Wednesday. Sigh.
C

Guest Post – Chicken Tikka Masala

January 20, 2014 / By Courtney / 9 Comments

Hello ALFS readers. Thanks for stopping by while C, M, L and B enjoy the 75 degree Florida sunshine. Given the bitter cold and flu-stricken start they’ve had to 2014, they certainly deserve it!

I’m Becky, C’s sister-in-law, and I am so excited that she asked me to guest post while she’s away. I love ALFS and read it daily, and my husband Tyler (or better known in our family as L’s best buddy) and I enjoy cooking and get most of our recipes from ALFS, so I felt rather accomplished when I found a recipe that C just had to try. We got this recipe from Tyler’s co-worker who is quite a talented cook and has her own blog, which you can find at My Bizzy Kitchen.

We had been on an Indian food kick, so when we found this chicken tikka masala recipe, we made it immediately. It came together easily and quickly, and we knew it was a success when all we could talk about the first time eating it was how good it was and how we were so surprised that we were capable of making something with such wonderful, unique flavors. The first time we made this was on a Friday, which began our monthly tradition of CTM Fridays. Think of this recipe as our version of M and C’s wingless buffalo chicken pizza.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with chicken tikka masala, it’s chicken in a spicy tomato cream sauce. Please try it, even if you generally don’t gravitate towards Indian cuisine. The sauce is so tasty and wonderful to eat with naan (Indian flat bread), which you can find in the bakery section of the grocery store. Brown rice and steamed broccoli are also wonderful CTM accompaniments. We like to double the sauce recipe and add peas to it because a little more green never hurts anyone. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do…any day of the week!

Chicken Tikka Masala

2014-01-19 20:37:53

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Ingredients

2 pounds chicken breast (cut into cubes)

Marinade for Chicken

16 oz. container of plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons of salt

Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (remove the membrane)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce
6 dried chilies (we use arbol chilies)
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Cut the chicken up into 1 inch cubes. Mix the marinade together and let the chicken sit for an hour (you can also marinate the chicken the night before).
Heat grill pan or skillet and grill chicken until 3/4 done (a few minutes on each side). In the meantime, in a separate skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter and sauté garlic and jalapeno until soft.
Add seasonings and stir for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add in tomato sauce and heavy cream. Add dried chilies and chicken into sauce and cook an additional 10 minutes.
Before serving, stir in frozen peas and heat through (optional step). Serve over rice with plenty of naan.

Adapted from My Bizzy Kitchen

A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Out of here.

January 17, 2014 / By Courtney / 4 Comments

So long my friends! After the deep freeze and endless rounds of germs, dust, and bad news, we decided there was no other choice but to book tickets to Florida and get out. of. here. I hope we all come back healthy, relaxed, and ready to give 2014 a chance.

Some fun things will be going on around here while I’m gone. My sister in law, Becky, will be guest writing for me as well as my sister, Allie! I can’t wait to see what they cook up in their darling kitchens.

We’ll also check in with a Florida styled what we wore Wednesday. Here’s hoping for good temps and lots of beach time!

Stay healthy,
C

wwww.

January 15, 2014 / By Courtney / 4 Comments

We are back in the What We Wore Wednesday game this week – after basically 5 days of straight pajamas it felt so good to get back into our wwww groove of looking somewhat acceptable. Although B still isn’t wearing pants in this photo, oh well!

Here is what we wore on a random Monday of school and errands.

B: He is for sure showcasing the most important piece ever in wwww. Little Liam is a boy exactly his age who was born with a brain tumor. You can find out more here, and if you want to rock a Team Liam shirt yourself money goes towards helping his family pay for the unknown journey ahead. Liam has thousands of cheerleaders across the country routing for him and his family. They are in our thoughts daily and we hope and pray that this precious boy can be healed.

It doesn’t seem right to continue on with what L & I are wearing, but the (dusty! sorry about the construction!) photos prove we got out of the pj’s.

Huge massive hugs from my crew to Liam!
C