Archives for December 2014

2014 in review.

December 31, 2014 / By Courtney / 1 Comment

I have to say that my absolute favorite thing about this blog is the ability to document our lives – from major things to little things. Not every aspect of course, but there are so many times I will look back through old posts and think, ‘wow – if I hadn’t written that out I would never have remembered it.’ It’s our story and it’s permanent.

Yet before we look forward, helloooo 2015 (!!!), I want to take a brief moment to pause and reflect on 2014. Our favorite recipes, moments, tips, stories. I’ve gone through the very first post of 2014 to the very last and recapped the good stuff. What did I come up with? Only the best for you. Let’s begin.

To start 2014, I came up with your go-to quick cooking meals for the year. Did you make any?

Somehow, someway we made it through the polar vortex, although I’m still insisting I need therapy over it all. This recipe was at the top of the list to help us power through.

We took a few quick jaunts to Florida to help shake the bone chilling cold. Appreciated and loved every single moment there.

Mike and I had a grown up trip to Miami and I fell in love with this book.

Cheesy chicken pot pie entered our life and nothing has been the same since.

I think I aged a good 10 years the day B got stitches.

Entertaining this winter? Read this post.

We remodeled. A lot. And we came up with some tips.

M decided he couldn’t live without this product, and we’ve been buying it in bulk ever since.

We chatted it up with Food Network star, Amy Thielen. So cool.

The roasted potato, perfected.

Baseball took over April – July and this recipe went along perfectly.

Once the warmer temps hit this chicken was on our grill practically weekly.

We had giveaways from J Crew, Minted, Zagat, and Reclaimed. See, it’s good to follow along, right?

The one platter dinner concept was introduced for easy breezy spring and summer entertaining. It’s a great motto to live by.

Life changing. That’s all I’m going to say about that one.

Summer hit!!! And my boys were messy, dusty, and popsicle obsessed.

Favorite trip of the year, hands down.

B turned 2, and his party was one of my favorite nights of the year. I don’t think he – or I – stopped smiling the entire night.

Totally fell in love with this summer recipe that can work year round.

And just like that, football began and we were eating deep bowls of this.

I turned 33 and ALFS got a major makeover. I’m still so happy with it, and I hope you are too!

Bus stop cookies entered and rocked our world.

A new motherhood series began on the blog and this was my first post. We also talked about adoption, surrogacy, and patience. Beautiful all around.

I launched my Dinner: Impossible series, and ALFS subscribers received free downloadable grocery shopping lists and meal planners. Print them out today!

L turned eight years old and his big gift was this. Gray hair inducing, for sure.

Print this one out – 10 easy things to do with a rotisserie chicken.

I started to put together different looks for different occasions which was so fun for me. I live in item #8 in this post.

The three minute dinner happened, which I think was kind of a big deal. I mean, it’s three minutes.

And we closed with a fun & festive December round up.

What’s to come? Well, a new motherhood post, a killer (and easy!) French cassoulet recipe, and another giveaway from Reclaimed! And that’s just in the next week or so. Whew.

Thank you for your support in 2014. I look forward to continuing to build this blog and hopefully my following in 2015!

xoxo,
C

Christmas Eve.

December 21, 2014 / By Courtney / 5 Comments

Christmas Eve. One of the best nights of the year, right?

Growing up, when my grandparents still lived in Park Ridge, we would travel about 45 minutes down Rand Road in the blue minivan for the festivities. This included a large amount of heavy appetizers and a traditional German dinner consisting of ribbon sandwiches which have layers of olive salad, egg salad, and tuna salad. A rhubarb jello mold, a relish tray, and unsalted plain potato chips would round out the meal. As a kid I didn’t like one aspect of dinner aside from the potato chips, of course, but it didn’t bother me one bit. It was Christmas Eve and this is what we ate.

In between apps and dinner we would be opening the gifts in the dark wood paneled basement that was lit up oh so brightly by the mixed colored lights on their perfect (fake) tree. I mean, this is the plastic on couches generation – no way was that tree real. My Papa would always be cracking jokes – often teasing my nana and mom in the process, even though she would give him the best gift there was every year: a hand made authentic German nutcracker. I remember how excited my mom would be to pick it out each year from the Christmas store in Long Grove, agonizing over the Uncle Sam style vs the Irishman when in reality it didn’t matter at all. Papa loved it so much simply because it was a gift from her.

On our way back home late at night, half sleepy half totally buzzing from excitement, I swear I would see Santa’s sleigh across the sky. I always kept this to myself though. It felt more real that way.

Once home we quickly ran upstairs for our sister sleepover, which equaled very little sleep and more guessing what Santa would be bringing us. I think we were on the wooden stairs by 5AM the next morning. Gosh, now that I’m a parent I realize how painfully early that is. I apologize.

Since the years have passed, the locations and people have shifted, as often happens, but the traditions have remained. It’s funny how things 30+ years later can feel the same even in a different home, adding in a husband, kids, etc. The night feels just as familiar as a long time ago and that credit goes to none other than my mom. It’s a cherished role to keep traditions consistent and one that she has always excelled at.

So, fast forward to 2014. What has changed? Well, very little. To start, we hit up the 4PM service at my parents church. Do you remember how difficult that was to do as a child? I honestly thought I was going to burst out of my skin from the combo of Christmas excitement + being forced to quietly sit still. We break out this sketch, made by my sister Allie, every year for a good laugh. That would be her and I goofing off while our parents give us ‘the look.’

After church, we dash home to immediately preheat the oven. Christmas punch gets going while my mom works on this list: (please note the ‘are menu’. Love.)

Yes, she makes 10 appetizers. For 7(ish) people. And 12 sets of cookies.

After we are completely stuffed, we grab refills of our Christmas punch and head into the oh so perfectly set up living room (pictured above). A mountain of gifts are exchanged and toys are instantly opened. There is a lot of smiling, a lot of playing, a lot of generosity, a lot of new christmas pj’s, and a lot of wrapping paper which my dad always seems to be a pro at cleaning up at top speed.

Even though we are all still quite full, up next is Christmas Eve dinner. And it’s the exact same dinner my Nana made. Things are tweaked a bit (pb&j ribbon sandwiches have since joined the routine for the kids/my sister Talia) but the original recipes are all still there. Just as it should be.

After that, my crew heads down the road (roughly 2 minutes) to our home, gets tucked in with new jammies to blissfully dream of sugar plums while M and I enjoy a glass of red on the couch with White Christmas. And you know what? In that few minutes it takes to get home, I still look up to the dark night sky. He’s so there, right?

And with that, I’m signing off. It’s been a wonderful year on A Life From Scratch. I love this blog so much – for the connections I have made and for the memories I can look back on. Thank you for being a part of it and for your support. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I will see you next year!

Christmas salad.

December 19, 2014 / By Courtney / 8 Comments

Alright, so far so good for our line up for Christmas Eve Eve. We’ve got the roast beast, the mushrooms, the festive tomatoes… and now, how about a salad?

To be honest, I’ve always resorted to the simple yet oh so wonderful bagged Trader Joe’s spinach salad. I mean, it doesn’t get easier and it’s really good.

This year though, as soon as my neighbor and fellow food blogger, Tina, posted this salad on her site I fell in love. I mean, look at it. So pretty – right?

We tested it out with friends the other night. I brought over 8 servings for 4 people and there was not one morsel left. Score. Bonus that it has some serious health kick to it but doesn’t taste bitter, at all.

I plan on making the dressing, shredding up the kale and brussels sprouts, and toasting the almonds all in advance. Come Christmas Eve Eve night, all I’ll have to do is toss together with the beautiful pomegranate seeds and parmesan.

I’m telling you, festive defined on a plate.

Christmas Salad

2014-12-18 11:24:13

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Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
2 large bunches of Tuscan kale (about 1 1/2 pounds total), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced
12 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely shredded with a knife
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped (I used slivered with skins on)
1 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese
Pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded Brussels sprouts in a large bowl.
Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon oil from cup into a small skillet; heat oil over medium-high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel–lined plate. Sprinkle almonds lightly with salt.
Slowly whisk remaining olive oil in cup into lemon-juice mixture. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Add dressing and cheese to kale mixture; toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds and pomegranates.

Notes

DO AHEAD: Dressing, kale mixture, and toasted almonds can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover dressing and kale mixture separately and chill. Cover almonds and let stand at room temperature.

Adapted from Shredded Sprout

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

Christmas tomatoes.

December 17, 2014 / By Courtney / 8 Comments

Alright, let’s review here. We’ve got our perfect roast beast all set with these dreamy mushrooms along the side. Now we need an oh so festive dish to brighten up our plate.

Enter these Christmas tomatoes. Hello red + green. It just doesn’t get more classic than this.

These come together so quickly and so beautifully right before your meal. Have a helper fill the ice in the glasses, another light the candles on the table, all while you’re sautéing away by the stove for all of 10 minutes max. Hint: to make things even easier, chop up your garlic and herbs ahead of time. Less mess and it saves you time; just dump the baggie into the olive oil.

Give the whole pan an ever so dramatic confident shake once in awhile and pat yourself on the back. You’ve totally got this entertaining gig under control.

Christmas Tomatoes

2014-12-16 14:29:16

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Ingredients

3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 pints cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan large enough to hold all the tomatoes in one layer. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to loose their firm round shape.
Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped basil and parsley and serve hot or at room temperature.

Adapted from Ina Garten

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

Christmas Crack.

December 15, 2014 / By Courtney / 9 Comments

I mean, there just isn’t any other way to name this. Saltine toffee may sound a bit more appropriate, but Christmas crack does have a nice ring to it, don’t you agree?

I brought a large platter of cookies to our annual cousin’s party last year and I’m not going to name names or anything (ahem, David) but the roughly 6 piece portion of this toffee that was tucked neatly on the platter was pretty much consumed in 10 seconds flat. Note to self – bring a whole sheet next year.

And that’s exactly what I plan on doing.

I would actually recommend you make two batches because one just won’t cut it. The sheet pictured is already taunting me from my screened in porch where it is cooling away in the winter wind. And I swear I saw two squirrels formulating a break in.

Hey, I don’t blame them.

Christmas Crack

2014-12-14 22:39:59

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Ingredients

40-60 (approximately) saltine crackers
1/2 cup Salted Butter (1 stick)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce bag good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup salted nuts, roughly chopped (I used walnuts)
Other sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Arrange saltines in a single layer in a rimmed baking sheet so that the pan is completely covered with a solid layer of crackers. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar and vanilla. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and allow to boil for 1 to 2 minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the crackers in an even layer.
Use an offset spatula or knife to spread the mixture all over the crackers. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top, then return the pan to the oven for 1 minute. Remove the pan and gently spread the softened chocolate in a thin layer all over the crackers. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the nuts and/or sprinkles all over the top.
Place the pan in the refrigerator to set the chocolate. When totally cool, break into large pieces.

Adapted from My mom & Pioneer Woman

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