Cajun Chicken Alfredo

I found this recipe on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try it! As it turns out, it's amazingly delicious. All five of my kids had second helpings. I tweaked it a bit (I can't resist tweaking recipes!) and the finished product was so, so yummy! We'll definitely be making this one again!

What You Need:

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

3 Tbls Cajun Seasoning

2 Tbls Butter

2 Tbls Olive Oil

1/4 cup chicken broth

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb grape tomatoes, halved

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese (use the real stuff, not the powdered!)

1 tsp kosher salt

Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

A dash of nutmeg

2 Tbls chopped parsley

1lb Fettuccine

What to Do:

Cook noodles according to package directions. Try to time it so the pasta will be done when the sauce is or after the sauce is done. Noodles should NEVER wait for sauce. Sauce can always wait for noodles. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub the Cajun seasoning all over the chicken breasts. Pretend you're giving it a massage. Heat the oil and 1 Tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet on med-high heat.

Brown the chicken on each side for 3 min. You want a really good sear. Then pop those suckers into a baking pan and into the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking them.

Add the chicken broth to the hot skillet and use it deglaze the pan. Get all those yummy, crusty bits up then you can throw in the garlic and the tomatoes. Let them cook for a couple minutes until the tomatoes start to cook down a little bit and the garlic gets tender. 

Add your cream, the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook while stirring for several minutes until the cream thickens up.

At this point remove it from the heat and stir in your cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted and delicious.

Cut your now cooked chicken breasts into strips of chickeny goodness and throw them into the skillet along with your fettuccine noodles.

Toss, toss, toss! Cover your noodles and chicken in the thick creamy, cheesy sauce. Top with a dash of nutmeg and the chopped parsley and eat it quick before anyone else can grab it!

Perfect to serve with a salad (I like the spicy blend I get at the farmer's market from a local farm) and some crusty bread! Be prepared to gain weight because you'll want to it ALL!

Books

This is why I refuse to buy a kindle. I adore books. The feel of the pages, the weight of the book, the soul that resides within the paper and ink, the knowledge that others have read it before me and will read it after me and that we each leave a piece of ourselves inside and take something with us. Books are about history and being connected and passion and knowledge. You simply cannot get that from a machine.

Grandma's Spanish Rice

When I think comfort food, I think back to my childhood and the homey meals my mom made us growing up. One of my favorites was Spanish Rice. The recipe came from my grandmother and has been handed down three generations now. My children enjoy it just as much as I did and my mother before me.

It's a simple recipe but one bite and I find myself a little girl again, sitting at the table in our kitchen, my mom at the stove in her old, brown apron, my sister sitting next me kicking her legs that were too short to reach the floor and I feel safe, happy. Hopefully, one day, my children will make this for their children and they will have the same experience.

That's what this cooking family recipes with my littles is all about really: making memories. I know some of my best memories are cooking with my mom and eating together in the cozy little kitchen with our little family. Our world wasn't a perfect one. We struggled with money, our dad was gone and our mom worked every second of every day just to keep our family going. But those moments gathered around the table together, enjoying a meal that she had prepared with her hands, they were perfect moments. A family meal will do that.

In this day and age of multiple sports teams and boy scouts and busy schedules, it's easy to get caught up in what has to be done and forget to just sit down and be with the ones you love. No matter what your family looks like, take some time to sit with them, share a meal and make a memory. You can even make my Grandma's Spanish Rice if you'd like.

Grandma's Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

1/4 cup veg. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2lb ground beef

1 cup rice

16oz tomato sauce

1 3/4 cup hot water

1 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

Mix the first five ingredients together in a large skillet and cook until meat is browned. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25min or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.

Happiness

I ran across this image on Pinterest and I had to share it here. This has been one of my favorite quotes for a long time. We often get caught up in the business of life (I know I do) and we forget that there is nothing more important than happiness. The laughter of a child, the gentle curve of a rose's petals, a striking sunrise, that perfect cup of coffee first thing in the morning...

Don't look at all you have to accomplish today. Don't focus on making it through the day. Stop and notice the millions of tiny things throughout the day that bring you joy. Don't pass them by today. Those beautiful little things... They're the whole point.

Candle Sleeves

I've been as busy as an elf this week with orders from my Etsy shop so today I took some time to work on some crafting for myself. I bought these pillar candles at Michael's for $3.99 each and they smell like cookies. Yum!

I had wanted to make some pretty candle sleeves with the scrap fabric I seem to have collected. Seriously, sometimes I think my crafting supplies are taking over the whole house but the fabric is especially bad because I DON'T SEW. Not at all. I have a sewing machine that hates me with almost as much passion as I hate it. Even knowing this about myself, I still can't resist buying pretty fabrics. They are a weakness. So here was a fun, no-sew project that I could throw some of my lovely fabrics into.

Each candle is wrapped with at least two fabrics that are frayed on the edges to give them some rustic charm. Then I added ribbons, vintage buttons, vintage lace trim, fabric and paper flowers and just decorated them to my heart's content. Each one is headed to a special home come Christmas.

When I open a second Etsy store for home decor in the new year, you can expect to see some of these for sell in there too. They are too fun and too cute to pass up!

My Vintage Christmas Memories

Some of my favorite ornaments on our Christmas tree are the vintage ones. I have collected them through the years, some from family, some from thrift stores and when I see them sparkling in the tiny white lights, their stories fill my mind and my heart.

The ornaments that mean the most to me are the beautiful frosted glass ornaments that came from my grandmother. She passed away nine years ago but her spirit lingers each Christmas as I hang the delicate figurines on me tree. An angel, a harp, a trumpet, each one is carefully placed in front of a light so it will glow. It may sound silly or cheesy but it reminds me of her spirit shining through to say hello.

Vintage bulbs in beautiful colors with sparkling lines of glitter often catch my eye in thrift stores. These two bulbs were found that way. They each came in sets with other beautiful, glittering treasures but they are the ones that have survived our many moves and storage. I find myself wondering who owned them before me. How many children have they seen run to the tree on Christmas morning, eager to see what Santa has left them? How many children have they watched grow up? Decades they have spent, trapped in the dark for eleven months and then for one shining moment, they are allowed to sparkle in the light and share the beauty they were made to display.

There is history in these vintage ornaments. There are traditions ingrained into their fragile bodies. They remind me that each Christmas brings with it another year of life gone. Another year closer to the day my children are grown and gone. Another year to fill our hearts and souls with memories. These ornaments remind me that time marches on, that no matter how good or how bad, the year will pass and a new one will begin and most of all, these ornaments remind me that what I have right now, this very moment is precious beyond measure and I will never get it back.

Freshly Picked

Is there anything better than strawberries picked fresh from the garden? Today the sun is out and I ventured into our little strawberry patch to pick those plump, sweet berries. I was not disappointed.

Once rinsed, carefully settled into a bowl and placed on the table, I had to fend off little fingers to get a couple photos of our harvest. I snapped a few quick shots and then they could be contained no longer. Tiny hands grasped big berries and red juice ran down chubby little chins. Smiles all around.

There is something simple and sweet about eating fruit and veggies fresh from your own ground or eggs fresh from the coop. I hope I am passing that joy onto my children. I hope that in our culture of fast food and instant gratification that they are learning the beautiful pace of patience, of caring for, harvesting and truly enjoying you food. It is in this simple and slow joy that we figure out to enjoy life.