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A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Spring break dreaming… for moms.

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spring break dreaming for momAaaaaaaand it’s March. And that means one thing: Spring Break! Let’s get the heck out of here, shall we? Or at least day dream about it. Here’s what is going in my suitcase this time around.

1. My favorite nail polish color ever. Bonus that it gets even better with a tan.

2. I own two of these dresses and every single time I put one on, I am pretty much guaranteed a compliment from M. They fit like a glove and are super comfortable – perfect for day to day wear.

3. My go-to sunscreen. I can smell it now…

4. Trip after trip to the beach with crazy hair suggests it’s time to keep it all under wraps. I’m hoping this will help.

5. I love the chic feel of this suit. I’m normally a two piece girl due to my abnormally long torso, but I managed to squeeze it all into this one. Excited about being able to wrestle B in the pool worry free.

6. These earrings are just screaming for a crisp white dress and gold flats.

7. Ah Birkenstocks. Love the updated metallic versions, love the throw back to growing up.

8. I’m a total snob about my shampoo. This goes with me wherever I go.

9. I can’t wait to dive into Shauna’s new devotional book. Like I might start before I take off.

10. I don’t think a trip to Florida – or anywhere – would be complete without classic Ray Bans. I live in these. 

What’s going into your Spring break trip suitcase this year? Let’s chat about it in comments below!

*The fine print: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you use these links to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Of course, you are not obligated to use these links to make your purchase but please know that when you do, it supports my blog and for that I thank you.

C’s picks – week of March 1.

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Weekly Menu Plan week of 3-1

And just like that, it’s March. Anyone else ready for 50 degrees? Heck, I’ll even take 30. Although historically around here, March isn’t all that grand so let’s still keep things warm and comforting in the kitchen. It takes just 20 minutes to put together your weekly menu plan,  Let’s do this.

A one skillet shrimp & sausage dish sounds lovely for a Sunday evening. Bonus that it follows the Paleo diet, if you’re into that type of thing.

On Monday during nap, I will be whipping up a comforting ribollita soup, which is basically a tuscan vegetable soup made with day old bread. In other words, comfort in a bowl. Parmesan on top. Amen. 

This short cut chicken vesuvio is an oldie but goodie in our home. Gosh, that photo doesn’t do it justice. It is so good and you get your protein, starch, and veggie all in one dish! Score.

That brings us to Wednesday. Let’s get a crock pot recipe going – this chicken teriyaki looks divine. Served over brown rice with some sugar snap peas, well, you’ve got yourself a meal. 

I’m thinking my easy enchiladas sound just about right for Thursday night. I’m quite certain if I let myself, I could eat the whole tray.

And then it’s Friday. I’m hoping for a date night out (hint hint M) – or at least a family date night! 

What’s on your menu plan for this coming week? Share some ideas in a comment below!

Happy weekend – February is OVER!

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Untitled

Agree or disagree, my friends? I could not agree more. I’ve found I make the best and deepest connections with people around the kitchen table. It’s how I roll. 

Let’s see, what else on this chilly Friday. Well, like a crazy person I’ve been spraying this hand sanitizer all over hands, carts, airplanes, etc. lately. Love it.

These Happy Socks arrived this past week and true to their name, made me oh so happy.

Our wood floors are officially ordered and being produced for our renovation! Eek. Sorry little trees, but I promise to love you forever. 

Trying out some new essential oils lately and the smells are divine. Will keep you posted on the results. Love that they offer one to help ease growing pains, which both my boys suffer from. Hey, it hurts to be off the charts tall!

I’ve loved having a pot of this French Lentil soup in the fridge all week. The taste is reason alone to make it but hey, did you know this? Although lentils include all these beneficial nutrients like fiber, protein, minerals and vitamins, they are still low in calories and contain virtually no fat. One cup of cooked lentils only contains about 230 calories, but still leaves you feeling full and satisfied. Score.

Beginning to daydream about spring break…

9 truths that moms of ‘boys only’ need to know. Loved, loved, loved this. 

Oh my goodness how divine and over the top does this recipe look? I know. 

ALFS was featured over at the DIY Dreamer this week – thank you so much, Christine!

Over winter? Yea, me too. Any time I kind of want to cry about it, I just watch this video for a chuckle. It’s just.so. true. Chicagoans, it’s a must see!

And lastly, the best part about this weekend? February is OVER! 

The fine print: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you use these links to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Of course, you are not obligated to use these links to make your purchase but please know that when you do, it supports my blog and for that I thank you.

The best of both worlds.

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French lentil chicken soup

I just about died of happiness when I was browsing the Kitchn and came upon a recipe that combined my two favorite go-to soup recipes: chicken soup and lentil soup. That, my friends, is what we call the best of both worlds. 

I knew this one would be a winner even before I began to chop away at the minimal but impactful ingredients. How could it not? The earthiness of the oh so healthy lentils balances out the smoky flavor from the bacon fat and the richness of the dark thighs. A sprinkle of parmesan to round it all out while dunking a warm hunk of this homemade bread?

It just doesn’t get any better.

French Lentil Chicken Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 4 tablespoons bacon fat or butter or evoo or combo (I used 2 TBS evoo and a slice of bacon which I then removed)
  2. 1 large onion, diced
  3. 2 stalks celery, diced
  4. 2 carrots, diced
  5. 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  6. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  7. 12 cups chicken stock or water
  8. 2 cups French lentils
  9. 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  10. Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, for serving
Instructions
  1. Melt the bacon fat or butter in the bottom of a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Season the vegetables well with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables for about 2 more minutes.
  2. Add the chicken stock and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer and add the chicken thighs. Cover and continue cooking for 1 hour, checking periodically to make sure the soup isn’t bubbling too much. Remove the chicken thighs and put them on a plate to cool.
  3. Working in batches, blend about half of the lentil soup until it’s thick and creamy. (You can blend all of it if you like a creamy lentil soup, or none of it if you want it completely brothy. I blended about half.) Stir the pureed soup back into the pot. Using two forks, shred the chicken and return it to the pot. Taste and correct the seasoning.
  4. Serve with cheese sprinkled over the top of the bowl.
Adapted from the Kitchn
Adapted from the Kitchn
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Heaven.

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classic homemade bread

I’m convinced if you’re going to call yourself a good cook, there are things you should just know how to do. Baking the best chocolate chip cookies in the world is a great start. If you can do that, you’re on the right track. Then there’s a homemade chicken noodle soup, that’s important too. A killer marinara never hurts, and you’ll be everyone’s favorite person in the world if you can assemble a dish like these Grilled Caprese Baguettes in the summer (Pause to day dream with me, for just a moment). 

Yet there was that fickle thing tormenting me in the back of my mind. I’d hear about others doing it; I’d seen it on other blogs. The crusty warm golden perfection that is homemade bread. What was I so afraid of?

This was ridiculous. I can bake. So after a little prompting from my mom, I unearthed a recipe that yields a perfect round warmth of goodness from my very own red dutch oven. As if I needed another reason to madly love that thing more. Now it’s giving me and the boys homemade bread? Swoon.

Is it scary? No. Hard? No, not at all. In fact it was painfully easy. So easy I have a feeling this will be in our weekly repertoire. It’s the perfect thing to make when the temps outside make you want to cry. Slowly rip off a large heavenly chunk, dunk it in a soup, and winter just got a tad bit more tolerable. Oh, and hey – YOU just made homemade bread.

You so rock.

Classic Homemade Bread
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Ingredients
  1. 3 Cups bread Flour
  2. 1 tsp active dry yeast
  3. 1 tsp salt
  4. 1 1/2 Cup warm water (between 105 and 110 degrees)
Instructions
  1. Whisk flour and salt together in a 3-4 quart bowl with a tight lid. Pour dry yeast in the warm water and let it sit for 5 min.
  2. Next, pour water/yeast into flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is mixed well. The dough will be quite sticky and shaggy looking, but that's ok. Cover the bowl and set aside for 12 - 18 hours (up to 24).
  3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a cast iron dutch oven with the lid into the oven while preheating and heat the pot/lid for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, scrape the risen dough from the bowl onto a heavily floured surface. Dough will be sticky.
  4. With floured hands, gently shape dough into a round loaf making sure there is enough flour on the surface so dough doesn't stick. Let the dough just sit there until your pot is preheated.
  5. Take the hot pot from the oven and gently place dough into pot. Cover with the lid and return to the oven and bake for 30 min. Remove the lid at that time and return the pot to the oven for another 10 - 15 min. Gently shake the loaf onto a cooling rack and enjoy.
  6. You made homemade bread!
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/
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