Jumbalaya

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 package smoked chicken sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 (16 ounce) can crushed Italian tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/4 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Directions
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the with Cajun seasoning. Saute sausage until browned. Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside.

2. In the same pot, melt butter and add flour to make a rue (this is your thickening agent). Sauté onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes and season with red pepper, black pepper, salt, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in sausage. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Ella Grace: 17 Months

My big girl! This spunky little thing is such a bright spot in our lives. She is incredibley loving and thoughtful. Jack is her favorite person these days. She hugs him every morning when she first sees him. He's patiently teaching her to play cars, transformers and light sabers. He doesn't even mind when she brings Minnie or Dolly to the party. Ella broke the 20 lb mark this month and now weighs 21.2lbs! She loves anything with cheese- a girl after my own heart. 

More Compassion, Less Judgement

Being judgmental can drain us. Having compassion and empathy restores and increases our energy and our sense of well-being. It helps us want to move toward others and allows others to move toward us. During this holiday season, when we are surrounded by family and friends, we should all try to be more tolerant and empathic to our differences and check some of our judgments both of others and of ourselves at the door. Be mindful of the tendency to be judgmental and find humor and acceptance the kaleidoscope of human foibles that make up our world.

Flashback Friday: 1982

In the spirit of prepping our Christmas cards, I thought this would be appropriate. My sister Amy is about to turn 2, I am almost 4 and our cousin David is 6 months old. My grandmother purchased our matching outfits and had photo Christmas cards been sent in 1982, I'm pretty sure my parents would have sent this one. 

Thankful

Thanksgiving....a time to reflect on the wonderful things in my life. I am so very thankful for my husband, children, family, friends, health and job. I have everything I need in life and more.

This year we are headed to the fire station to visit the hubby while he works and I am prepping some of the food for our Thanksgiving celebration on Friday. It will be small this year, just the fireman, the kiddos and Papa Joe. Jack and I made some cut-out cookies in the shapes of pumpkins and turkeys. I also made a pumpkin pie. I love cooking so tomorrow I will be in heaven.

The Muppets

Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozi Bear, Animal and the whole gang are coming back to make a new generation of children laugh this Thanksgiving! I can't wait to take Jack to see the new movie! I love that in Jim Henson's world a little green frog can love a big beautiful pig!

The Muppets helped host SNL last weekend. Here's a few clips to bring a smile to your face.

Baylor Proud

It was simply amazing! Baylor has played OU 20 times and 20 times we've lost....clearly we have a different team this year! RG3 helped the Bears pull off one of their biggest wins in school history. The win bumped us up to #18 in the BCS Standings- it's a nice change of pace for our football team. To celebrate I made some green and gold cupcakes! I have to give a shout out to my boss- an OU alumni and avid Sooner fan- she overcame her disappointment to enjoy a cupcake! 

Flashback Friday: 1997

Look at those two kids! Barely two years into our love affair. At 18 and 21 we had all our hopes and dreams ahead of us.

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients

Meatballs:
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
¼ pound Jimmy Dean sausage (or favorite ground sausage)
1 egg
¼ cup ketchup
2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper

Sauce:
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
3 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
1 cup milk
¼ cup of heavy cream
1 tsp pepper
¼ tsp of garlic powder
½ tbsp fresh Italian parsley to garnish

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together for the meat mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX! Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 45 minutes or until browned. In a medium bowl mix sauce ingredients together. Place meatballs in a skillet or crock pot. Simmer for 45 minutes. Serve noodles or as an appetizer with toothpicks.

Rigatoni di Gregorio

Rigatoni di Gregorio (yields 4 servings) Ingredients: 8 oz. rigatoni 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided 1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ½ cup chopped yellow onion 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp. dry white wine ¼ cup Marsala wine 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half) 2 tsp. minced fresh basil 2 tsp. minced fresh parsley 1 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp. butter Directions: Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Once boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain well. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.  If necessary, turn down the heat to medium-low so the outside doesn’t brown too quickly.  Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.  When cool enough to handle, cut into bite-size pieces. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the heat on medium-high.  Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook until most of the liquid has been released and the onions are softened, about 5 minutes more.  Mix in the garlic and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the wines, scraping with a spoon to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Whisk in the chicken broth.  Return Bring to a simmer, lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.  Stir in the cream and cook until heated through.  Add in the herbs, Parmesan and butter; mix until well blended and the butter is completely melted. Add the cooked rigatoni to the pan and toss with the sauce.  Serve immediately with additional grated Parmesan as desired. Source: adapted from Pennies on a Platter, originally from RecipeLink

Loving this right now

Just a few things I am loving in the world wide blogosphere:

• Annie's amazing food blog. I've tried a several of her recipes and have more in my "to try" folder. She's a doctor by day and cook/baker by night.
• Coco's design ideas. She's fresh and loves the minimalist approach to decorating. Plus I heart her nickname (my parents call me "Coco"). Did I mention Katy Perry loves her too!
• From food to fashion to sounding off on everything uniquely 80s and female I check out Hello Giggles (co founded by one of my fans- Zooey Deschanel)
• I aspire to dress this way!
• The hilarity that is Blair. She's painfully honest, a postpartum survivor and a girl I'd love to be friends with in real life.

Big Brother, Little Sister

I know I'm biased, but they really are the most beautiful children. They love each other so much.