A Hearty Soup for Winter Dinners

This post has been sitting in pictures, just waiting for me to narrate. Thanks to a friend, I was reminded today that I should share this meal idea online. We had this meal a couple of months ago, but it's definitely a repeat performance waiting to happen!

While soup is enjoyed in our household year-round, winter seems to be the best time to create a hearty recipe that warms you on the inside. This creation can probably be called Soupy Meaty Hearty Goodness, or just Meatball Lentil Soup...

     

We'll start with the ground beef from our fabulous meat CSA. I seasoned it with paprika, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Next, I added one egg and a couple of tablespoons of panko (bread crumbs). I had a dutch oven heating up on medium high heat while I formed the meatballs. 

The meatballs went into a drizzle of olive oil to brown on all sides. 

Yes, you have to actually turn them after they've browned!

While the meatballs brown, you can start chopping the vegetables. I chopped half of a large white onion that I already had, a couple of green tomatoes (I honestly don't remember why we had green tomatoes during this time, but they were good!), a large tomato from the grocery store that didn't taste like much anyway, and some kale.

After the meatballs have browned on all sides, remove the meatballs and set them aside nearby. Add a little bit of oil to the pot if you need to (I usually do because the CSA meat is so lean) and throw in the onions. Get them sweating in the pot, then add liquid in order to deglaze the pot. I used water, the last bit of a vegetable juice that I had, and a cup or so of beef stock. I also added a smidge of tomato paste that I keep in the refrigerator (it's in a tube so I can squeeze some in and put it away).

After adding the liquid, bring it to a low boil, then add your lentils to simmer for about 20-25 minutes. The total simmer time is usually around 30 minutes, but you'll want to add your tomatoes and kale for the last 5-10, depending on how tender you want them.

I served up the soup with some pita wedges and garlic hummus. A nice local syrah came with our dinner guests and made a great pairing. Thanks to my sister and her Mike! 

This meal was so hearty, so rich in flavor and substance that I would suggest making it for your family. Tweak the ingredients and simmer in whatever liquid suits you, but you can't go wrong with meatballs, lentils, a sturdy green and a tomato base.

Favorite Beanie for My Celebrity Family

One of my favorite things about Fall and Winter is when I cozy up with some yarn and needles. Of course, there are a million things I'd love to make. I have entire books filled with things I had planned on making for relatives, friends, or my own children... However, I usually only get to make a handful of things per season.

The celebrity beanie formerly known as Mine.

CC's late Christmas gift

This year, I made this beanie twice (pattern taken from the book seen below). Why this one? Well, because I think it's more fun to knit a pattern that changes every row, uses a cable needle, seems complicated, but ends up being a feasible feat. I thought I would finally make something for myself, but I ended up giving it to my little girl because it didn't "slouch" on me. So if I can offer any advice about knitting, it would be to listen to that voice in your head that says, "check your gauge." If you knit, you know what I mean.

With the next one that is intended for my niece, my tension was really tight after switching to the larger sized needles (after you do the ribbing you switch up 2 sizes). It still turned out pretty clean and nice looking, but she'll have to do a bit of stretching and wearing to break it in. I'll probably suggest that she wash it and smash it up a bit to make it softer. The good thing is, her mama is a crochet master and yarn expert these days!

Last Christmas, Angela (the aforementioned mama) gave me a great little pattern book. I've used this book so much I would recommend it to anyone that loves to knit. You can nudge the patterns enough to size them for someone, or simply use the right yarn and follow the directions (that's a new concept for me) for a great result.

The first time I made the cable knit hat was with a smooth chunky blend and larger needles. Katie IS a celebrity, as far as I'm concerned. She makes that hat looook mahhhvalous.

Holiday Buhh-fay

Or, as I like to call it, our new fence. Let me splain...

Several months ago, our buddy came over to help my husband measure the yard in order to calculate supplies and labor for a new fence. We had put aside some cash for the fence, and were really excited to have it done. Well, after considering the cost of everything, plus the rental of the jackhammer and labor for all of the bedrock we're sitting on... the boys asked me if I'd like a new cabinet in the kitchen.

Of course! I'd been wanting that for-eh-verrr. So, we began the kitchen DIY. Note the large, empty wall in our kitchen. Made no sense to us when we moved in, especially since there was just a small corner for counter space. This wall could definitely use a cabinet.

So, the guys installed 3 sections of unfinished cabinetry from our local home improvement store. Beau moved the outlet to be level with the light switch since the cabinet would otherwise cover it. Handy!

These cabinets pretty much match what came with the house, so we can make it look like it was built-in from the beginning. Actually, I mean to say we'll eventually paint all of the other cabinets to match the new ones. All we had to do to begin the process was prime, paint, install the top, then put pulls on. Really, it should only take a couple of weekends.

After a few weeks had passed, you'll note that we began to use the drawers from the top. They're pretty handy that way. I also hung some old paintings to cover the screws that were already in the wall from our vintage window pane that used to occupy the space.

What pretty much began as a two week project turned into several months. We had to begin with some primer so we used the least offensive, fume-wise. My smart husband put some wood planks across the top so that we could dry the doors, indoors.

Even though it was tough to keep the kids out of the kitchen, it was fun having them help me brush the dust off after sanding. They will be great helpers someday.

Slowly, but surely, we got to sanding, painting, and more sanding. Then more painting. After some concentrated effort and a chair barricade to keep out the little ones, we managed to get it to the next stage.

Yes, that is my colander sitting on top of the paint can. We were working in stages, people.

The bamboo chop block came as an 8-foot piece from Southeastern Salvage. They cut off the two extra feet and made me a nice cutting board, complete with a routed canal. That piece is still waiting to be sanded, but it's there! After installing the now 6-foot bamboo chop block top, the guys very carefully measured, pre-drilled and screwed in the pulls that I found at Target. They had a nice price for a simple brushed nickel pull.

And.... Voilà! Kitchen buffet. It sure came in handy during this holiday/birthday season since we've had two parties, and one more to go. I really LOVE my new fence. Many thanks to Beau West Home Improvement, my husband, and yes, myself.

Maybe if I can remember, I'll get a nice complete picture of it in use. Right now, it's in use, but you don't want to see all of the junk it's been collecting over Christmas!

Yarn Craft: Napkin Rings

My 4-year-old has been asking to make napkin rings for weeks. She saw a craft video on Sprout's web site and has been determined to make the Wrapping Paper Napkin Rings ever since. I kept pushing the project with each holiday that was approaching, and finally landed on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Yarned Napkin Rings

Yesterday seemed like a good day to get crafty, so we started out with the instructions from Sprout. After my daughter counted the expected number of people at our Thanksgiving dinner, I marked up divisions on a paper towel tube that we had saved. Using her "kid scissors," she then cut the tube into 9 rings.

Next, we took out our Christmas wrapping paper (not very Thanksgiving-ish, but I humored the child) and cut 1" strips. Lucky for nerdy-me, there are nice little squares on the back of the wrapping paper to give us 1-inch guides. However, even that didn't help with the results. After wrapping a few rings in the paper, Mommy made an executive decision to switch gears.

"Let's wrap the cardboard in yarn!"

yarn vs. wrapping paper

I mean, take a look at the sample photo. Doesn't the yarn totally beat the paper? Puh-leeeez. The paper just didn't have the same...je ne sais quoi! Am I right, ladies and gentlemen?

Here's the new DIY, folks.

• Tip: if you don't have a paper towel (or toilet paper) roll handy, cut strips from a cardboard food box (cereal, granola bars, etc). Staple the ends together to form a ring of similar diameter to the towel roll. 
• Find some yarn that has a nice color for your holiday of choice. We chose this great chunky burned orange for Thanksgiving. 

• Pull the yarn through repeatedly to wrap one ring (without any glue, but maybe some tape to reduce frustration).
• Unwrap it and remove the tape. Use that yarn as a guide to cut similar lengths for the remaining number of rings.

• Using a hot glue gun, or good craft glue, attach one end of the yarn to the inside of a ring and let the kids help you wrap the rest of the ring. (You could probably use a mini staple to attach the end, as long as you conceal it). 

this is my 1-year-old "helping" the 4-year-old

• When you get to where you started, glue the yarn inside the ring and snip off any extra yarn. If you're using a glue gun, you can try "ironing" down the end of the yarn inside the ring with the hot metal tip. This will keep it from fraying as well as hold it in place. 
• Holiday Napkin Rings in an hour!