{free printable} Compassionate Dinner Note Cards

We all have friends who occasionally fall ill or have a baby.  I, personally, was grateful for the compassionate dinners I received after I gave birth to both of my boys.  It was such a relief to know that for a few days following our return from the hospital that I didn't have to focus on anything, but my family.  So with that said, these compassionate dinner cards are meant to help out with that task.

What's included in this printable set:

• "Made with love by: dinner card w/ baking time/temperature instructions (for those who handmade dinner, but it still needs cooking)
• "Made with love by" dinner card w/ out baking instructions (for those who handmade the dinner, but no baking is needed)
• "Provided with love by" dinner card w/ baking time/temperature instructions (for those who bought a dinner that still needs baking.  ie-- Costco lasagna)
• "Provided with love by" dinner card w/out baking instructions (for those buying take-out such as pizza or chinese for your friends)
• Contact Calling Card
• Allergies Checklist Card
• 6 different printable circles with generic sayings: "get well soon", "congrats", "thinking of you", "we love you", "baby girl", and "baby boy"

All of the cards have space in the lower-left hand corner to attach the circular message that best suits your friend's situation.

Other tips to make things easier on your friends on the receiving end of your service:

• If you've promised dinner, be prompt and reliable.  If I know one thing it's that nursing moms can eat often and are always looking forward to their next meal! :)
• Call ahead to make sure no major allergies are in the family.
• Deliver your dinner in disposable tin pans so your friends don't have to worry about return/washing your dishes.
• If you're sick make arrangements to have someone else cook dinner that night.  No need spreading your cold around to an already sick friend or newborn babies.
• Lastly, don't forget to include cooking instructions with your dinner so they cook it correctly. 

{food share} Flower Bundt Cinnamon Rolls

I can't take credit for this fun food presentation idea-- it was solely MY HUSBAND'S idea!  Believe it or not, my husband LOVES to help me come up with fun and unique ways to serve food.  It was sweet, really.  He came to me after I had made the cinnamon roll dough and with excitement in his voice he exclaimed, "you should let some cinnamon rolls rise in the mini-bundt pan and then when they cook they'll take on the flower shape.  It'll be soooo cute!"

Such a cute idea-- thanks honey!  The only thing I dislike about this is that the frosting covers it all up!
Looking for a delicious cinnamon roll recipe to go along with this?  Take a look at this recipe from one of my previous posts HERE.

{recipe} Creamy Pesto Pasta w/ Toasted Breadcrumbs

There are a few things we miss about Utah since moving to New Mexico.  One of those things is the Corner Bakery and their creamy pesto cavatappi dish.  Every time we return to Utah we make multiple trips to get our fix, but this recipe suffices our cravings while we're away and it's super quick to make.  Every so often I'll serve this dish with parmesan crusted chicken or a crusty piece of bread to soak up the delicious sauce, but without all of that, when we're in a hurry, this dish comes together in 10 minutes.

Of course you could make your own pesto and alfredo sauce, which I've done, but what makes this dish speedy are the pre-made store bought sauces.  And, I feel the flavor is just as good.

 The toasted breadcrumbs make the dish, in my opinion.  I love the mixed texture of the creamy sauce and crunchy crumbs.  Hope you enjoy my take on the Corner Bakery dish-- we sure do.

Creamy Pesto Sauce Directions (serves 4-6): While the noodles are boiling, place one container of Buitoni alfredo sauce with 4-5 tablespoons of pesto in a sauce pan over low to medium heat, stir often to make sure it doesn't scorch on the bottom.  After the noodles are cooked and drained add the sauce and mix until pasta is evenly coated.  Next, top with toasted breadcrumbs and serve immediately.  Oh and don't forget to salt to taste.  Every pesto sauce has a different level of sodium so I usually wait until the end to salt.

Toasted Breadcrumbs Directions: Melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a small saute' pan.  Add 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasonings.  Stir to incorporate and continue stirring until the crumbs brown up.  Once they brown, take them off the heat and serve on top of the pasta immediately.  mmmm... delish!

{recipe & craft} Rice Crispy Shamrock Treats

Hope you haven't put away your Valentines heart cookie cutters yet!  These shamrock Rice Krispie treats were a hit at our household and my little ones enjoyed eating all the many scrap leftovers.  Rice Krispie treats are some of the easiest things to make, so I feel a little silly posting this, but what the heck. It was a fun make and hopefully you'll find it fun as well.

 Needed:  Rice Krispies Cereal, Butter, Mini Marshmallows, Green Gel Paste Coloring, Heart Cookie Cutter,  Wooden Skewers, and Plastic Wrap.  Oh, and don't forget some cut green ribbon too!

 Once the marshmallows have melted add a few drops of the green gel paste and stir until you get the coloring you desire.  Then add the cereal and stir stir stir like a crazy woman.  Then quickly transfer it to a greased pan before it cools (which happens quickly).

Next, spray your cutter with non-stick spray and start cutting your hearts.  I used three hearts per shamrock, smooshed them together and shoved a skewer in the center to hold them all together. Then, let them cool completely before wrapping.

Such a sweet edible bouquet of Krispie treats.

Rice Krispie Treat Recipe

{recipe adapted from Kellogs at ricekrispie.com}

          3 Tablespoons Butter

          1 Package Mini-Marshmallows (10oz)

          6 Cups Rice Krispie Cereal

          Green Food Coloring

Directions:  In a fairly large heavy bottom sauce pan melt the butter and marshmallows.  Once completely melted add the food coloring until you've receive the coloring you desire.  Next, add the Rice Krispie cereal and stir vigorously.  Immediately transfer over to a greased pan and cut out shapes before it completely cools.  Now, enjoy!  My little monsters sure did.

{recipe & free printable} Canning Homemade Salsa & Free Printable

We had a bushel of fresh tomatoes sitting on our counter for a few days and I needed to use them QUICK!  So... I decided to make and can some fresh salsa.  I did some research online and canning acidic items can be tricky.  From what I've read you really need to make sure you add enough lemon/lime juice or vinegar to counteract the tomatoes acidity and prevent it from harboring botulism. So... here we go...

Items needed (for 1 batch):  I made roughly 7 batches and it yielded in 5 jars for canning, plus a little bowl full for immediate consumption.

3 Fresh/Ripe Tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 White Onion, roughly chopped

1/2 Bunch of Cilantro

3 Chili Peppers (I prefer to use jarred peppers, because then I can use roughly 1 teaspoon of juice from the jar)

1 1/2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

Garlic Salt (to taste--but I typically use 1/2 Tablespoon)

*This salsa is a bit spicy so if you have a milder taste omit one of the chili peppers and cut down the amount of chili pepper juice you use from the jar.

To make pico de gallo I would just cut all of the ingredients into like sized bite pieces and mix together, but to make the salsa below I put everything into my food processor and pureed it until smooth.  I wasn't sure it was going to turn out, but low and behold it tasted great!

 Now onto the canning part...because the recipe is raw you will need to process it in the water bath longer than if you had cooked the salsa over the stove top first.  Ladle the salsa into the sterilized jars leaving some space on the top.  Cover with your lids and place your jars into the water.  Make sure there is roughly 1-2 inches of water covering the top of the jars once the basket is submerged.

 Next, taking into consideration where you live and how high of an altitude you reside in will determine how long you process your jars in boiling water.  We live in zone 2 according to the lid of the canner so once the red needle reached the green area on zone 2 I began my timer for processing.  I processed this salsa for 75 minutes because the ingredients were raw going into the jars.

 Once processed, take them out and let them cool before attaching any labels.  Check the lids for air tightness.  Push the middle of the lid and if it pops back they haven't processed long enough. Make sure you store in a neutral environment-- not too cold, not too hot, not too sunny...etc.  I put my jars in the pantry.

 Yum!  It was pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Next time we'll heat the salsa up in the microwave, add some grated cheddar cheese and eat it with chips.  Enjoy, we sure did!
Oh and of course you need a printable label to go along with your jars of salsa.

Download FREE Printable HERE

{recipe} Homemade Arrabbiata Marinara Sauce

Have you ever tasted Pasta Arrabbiata from Cheesecake Factory?  If not, you need to!  However, with this marinara recipe you don't even need to go to the restaurant to enjoy it.  "Arrabbiata" means "angry" in Italian and with the help of crushed red pepper flakes this pasta sauce can be as angry/spicy as your heart desires.  I typically make large batches of this recipe and keep them frozen in my garage freezer.  We use this sauce with multiple dishes:  basic pasta with marinara, lasagna, manicotti, chicken parmesan...etc.  It's very versatile and always good to have on hand.

{I multiplied the recipe 4 times to get the amount of sauce above}

So let's get to it!  Below are the ingredients needed for a single batch of this sauce.  Needed:  olive oil, tomato sauce, Italian flavored stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, Lawry's garlic salt, crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, sugar, bay leaves, spaghetti packet, fresh basil, fresh oregano

{not pictured above, but definitely needed-- 1 more can of tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes, sugar, bay leaves, spaghetti seasoning packet, fresh basil & kosher salt}

First cut up your aromatics.  Cut the onion and bell pepper into one inch pieces and mince an entire bulb of garlic.  Mince a tablespoon of each basil and oregano and set aside.  Heat up the olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic with a healthy pinch of kosher salt and pepper until translucent.

 Once the peppers and onions have cooked down add an entire small can of tomato paste and stir around to incorporate.  Add two cans of stewed tomatoes and two cans of tomato sauce with two cans of water and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Now, lets add our seasonings!  This is where your judgement comes in.  I like my pasta with a hint of heat so I add one teaspoon of crushed red peppers, but you can omit it all together if you have a picky eater on your hands.  Add 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt, tablespoon of fresh basil & a tablespoon of fresh oregano, 1 spaghetti seasoning packet and salt and pepper to taste.

{McCormicks spaghetti seasoning packet is my all time fave, but if you have your own fave go with that}

After your pot of marinara sauce has simmered for  yet another 15-20 minutes, add 3-4 tablespoons of sugar to your mixture.  This cuts through the acidity of your tomatoes and gives the sauce a nice rounded flavor.  Believe me... you'll want to add the sugar!  I forgot to add it once and it changed the flavor entirely.

After the sauce is done simmering, let it cool down and ladle into air-tight freezer containers.  Make sure when filling your containers to NOT fill all the way to the top.  You must leave 3/4 inch to allow the pasta sauce to expand when it freezes.  I've ruined many containers because I've forgotten this step.

Our favorite way to eat this marinara sauce is with rigatoni and cooked/slice Colosimo's Hot Italian sausages.  If you haven't tried Colosimo's sausage, you're missing out.  Since we've moved to NM we haven't been able to find this sausage here.  We've had to either order them online and pay a fortune to have them shipped or stock up while we're back in Utah-- it's that good!  Alright, happy marinara sauce making!

{recipe & free printable} Blueberry Blackberry Lime Jam

WOW! I'm not usually a lover of jam, but this jam gave me jelly legs!

Blueberry Blackberry Lime Jam

Yields: about 6 half-pints

• 3 Cups blueberries
• 1.5 Cups blackberries
• 1 Tablespoon grated lime peel
• 1/3 Cup lime juice
• 5 Cups sugar
• 1 package powdered pectin

Crush the blueberries and blackberries one layer at a time. Combine crushed berries and powdered pectin in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime peel and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Here's the gist of canning--

Of course I can't leave you without a FREE PRINTABLE.  If you plan on making this jam you may download specific jam labels HERE.  Or you can download generic jam labels HERE.

{tutorial} Upside-Down Hanging Tomato Plant

Have you seen these? They're ingenious!

I love the idea of an upside down hanging plant. I've been wanting to do this for awhile and bought the plants to do so about a week ago and then FORGOT completely about them and they died. So... while my mother-in-law was in town I decided to use her gardening expertise and hunker down and get 'er done!

Needed:

• Hanging basket and mossy-like insert
• Perlite
• Potting soil
• Plant food
• Tomato plant yielding medium sized fruit
• 2 Basil plants (or any other herb you desire)
• Shovel, hose, bucket, scissors or a knife & gloves
• sunlight, water, love, patience, perseverance...yada yada yada

Okay, so first you'll need to take your handy scissors, knife or sharp edged shovel and make a slit in the bottom of the mossy-like insert.

Next, ever so kindly shove your tomato plant through the slit, plant-head first.

Now, I'm NOT and let me emphasize NOT like three more times...NOT NOT NOT an expert in gardening and have always killed my plants. Keep the kids alive first, then the dogs and if the plants are lucky they get fed. So I had to do some research online before I dove into this endeavor and I read that one would need to use Perlite. Perlite is a product that helps the plant retain moisture, which is needed in hanging plants with their roots being more exposed.

I (I should say "we", because my talented mother-in-law was there to hold my hand the entire way) mixed 3 parts potting soil to 1 part Perlite in a bucket before pouring it into the hanging basket.

Doesn't that plant look lonely and bare on top? I think so too! So onto the basil.

I dug out two holes and inserted the basil plants. I was a little worried that the two differing plants would compete for nutrients, but I read online that some plants actually do better together. However, because tomato plants soak up a lot of nutrients from the soil a good plant food is required in order for both to thrive.

All done! Now feed your plants. That's really a reminder to myself. My plant food requires that you mix 1 tablespoon of plant food to 1 gallon water, but make sure you read the directions on any plant food you buy. Oh and also make sure your plant receives approximately 6 hours of sunlight/day.

Ohhh I can't wait for these tomatoes to grow. I wish I could snap my fingers and they'd appear.

Also planted were rosemary, a chili pepper plant...

...more basil, cilantro and oregano!

Pico de gallo and pesto here we come! (I hope)

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{Recipe} Italian Beef Dip

I am a lover of Au Jus sandwiches, but this one takes it to the next level. My girlfriend had us over for dinner and made us these sandwiches. We literally dreamt about them for weeks until I asked her for the recipe. The Italian seasonings and pepperoncinis give it just a kick of spice. My stomach is growling as I type this. Trust me-- it is that good.

The Cast of Characters

Pepperoncinis (with the juice), Italian Seasoning, Beef Consomme, Salt, Beef Broth, and a Chuck Roast. Other items needed are deli rolls and provolone cheese (but the cheese is optional).

So Easy. You just add all of the ingredients into the pot like so...

...first the beef consomme...

...next the pepperoncinis and juice...

...then the Italian seasoning...

side note: I love the taste of Italian seasonings so I put heaping amounts in it, but if you're not too sure just stick to the measuring spoon amount. I could have a love affair with it so I do heaps.

...salt...

...and lastly, the chuck roast. Put into the oven and bake at 275 degrees for 4.5-5 hours until fork tender. After it's done, you remove and shred the meat, strain the juices and place the meat back into the strained juices. Serve the shredded meat on top of the buttered, toasted bread. At this point you could add the cheese and return it to the broiler to melt, but we don't do the cheese in our house. I don't think it needs it. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE cheese around these parts, but in this recipe I just love the meat flavor so much I don't want anything interrupting it.

As much as I love the taste of this beef dip sandwich, the thing I love most is that is takes all of 5 minutes to prepare and it gives me more time to spend with these two rugrats.

My mouth is watering... good thing I have left overs.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!