I Lost My Cell Phone

I lost my cell phone.

Well, actually, I've tracked it down now. It's about an hour and fifteen minutes away from me in West Hartford.

*Sigh.*

I was in West Hartford at 3 p.m. on Sunday. I just noticed it was gone.

This fact shocked the woman who answered my cell when I called it. "What did you do without your phone for a day and a half???"

(Played with my kids, shopped with my hubby, prayed, cooked, baked, talked to my mom on the- gasp- land line...)

It appalled my neighbor, "What if something had HAPPENED at school and they had tried to reach you???"

(I imagine they would have called that antiquated land line, but- not surprisingly- they didn't need to reach me. Ninety-nine percent of days, they do not.)

I really didn't miss it. Fact is, I don't text, I don't tweet from my phone, I don't take pictures on it, and, well, it's just not that important to me...

And you know what?

While I have no idea how- or when- I'm going to get my phone back...

I feel pretty good about the fact that it's not bothering me all that much.

Homemade Baguettes in 10 Steps

In France, they serve up the most delicious crusty bread pretty much everyday. They call it the baguette. You can buy it at the boulangerie. There are bakeries here in the States that make reasonable facsimiles too. But, oh, nothing beats a fresh baguette, warm from the oven...

My dear friend Jessica makes a fantastic baguette at home. At least, it looks fantastic. I've yet to make it out to visit her in California, but, oh, when I do, I can just imagine the things we'll cook up. I digress. Her baguette looks wonderful, but uses a special pan. Despite how much I cook, I am so simple and basic when it comes to my kitchen gear... no full-size crock pot, no bread machine, no pastry bags, no fancy graters or slicers (I use a simple plane grater)- you get my drift.

I wondered... would I have to invest in a special pan to make a decent baguette? Turns out... nope. While I have no doubt the "correct" pan probably yields great results, I think mine turned out acceptable too! Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I made this with all white because that is how I remember it... I imagine you could play around with mixing in wheat flour if you'd like.)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. Pour 1 cup very warm (not hot) water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle sugar and yeast over the surface. Let sit until it gets foamy.
2. Add flour and salt and mix until dough forms into a ball- it will be a little sticky, but it shouldn't fall apart in a gooey mess on your hands. (I do this step in my Kitchen-Aid mixer, but I'm sure you could add and knead the flour in by hand too.)
3. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk- mine only took about 30 minutes.
4. Punch down dough.
5. On a floured surface, roll dough into a 16x12" rectangle. Let sit for a moment, then cut in half to form two 8x12" rectangles.
6. Starting at the 12" side, roll each rectangle tightly. Then, roll gently with hands to create tapered ends. Place both loaves on large, greased cookie sheet.
7. Make deep, diagonal slashes across the surface of each loaf- about 2" apart.
8. Cover and let rise about 45 minutes in a warm place. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Mix egg yolk and tablespoon of water together. Brush this mixture over the tops of loaves.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy a little taste of France... bon appetit!

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Top Ten {Tuesday}

Menu Plan: 12/12- The Calm After the Storm

Whew! What a WEEK! My mother-in-law came to visit and it had been so long- too long- since we'd seen each other... almost a year and a half. It was great to catch up and even more fun to see her with the kids. Our 18-month old was only two weeks when we moved from Indiana and she hadn't seen her since. Those are some big changes! Needless to say, my priority last week wasn't really staying caught up on my site, so I do apologize for the lack of new material around here. But, moving on...

Sunday:

B-Cereal, Applesauce, Milk

L-Migas, Clementines

D-(we'll grab something quick on our way home from a concert- we're taking the kids to see Steve Songs)

Monday:

B-Honey Raisin Oatmeal, Milk

L-P,B,&J, Apples w/ Cinnamon, Milk

D-Hot & Sour Peanut Noodles w/ Chinese Veggies

Tuesday:

B-Jelly Toast, Yogurt, Juice
L-Peanut Noodles, Applesauce, Milk

D-Chicken Marsala over Linguine

Wednesday:

B-Egg Burrito, Juice

L-Hot Dog, Toast, Fruit, & Water

D-Cheeseburgers, Oven Fries, Corn

Thursday:

B-Cereal, Oranges, Milk

L-Potato Wedges w/ Cheese, Juice

D-Ham, Egg, & Cheese in a Nest

Friday:

B-Smoothies, Toast

L-Cheesy Beans & Rice, Milk

D-Salsa, Cheddar, & Chicken Pizza

Saturday:

B-Scrambled Eggs w/ Cheese, Cinnamon/Sugar Toast

L-Turkey Soup, Grilled Cheese, Fruit (that soup is already made and in my freezer... what a yummy, easy lunch for a cold winter afternoon!)

D-Spaghetti, Broccoli

I'm excited about the week! My husband thinks my peanut noodles are the bomb... they rank almost up there with my seafood crepes, in his opinion, so he'll be happy. (He like those crepes so much, he put them on his Christmas list.) Chicken Marsala is one of my all-time faves, so that's good too.

We have a calmer week going on and that, during this busy season, is a real blessing!

What's your favorite thing you're serving up this week?

This post is linked to Menu Plan Menu.

Main Dishes and Sides and Being Behind!

I am so behind this week!

My mother-in-law is in visiting from Indiana and it had been almost eighteen months since my kids and I had seen her... too long! We've been having a delightful time catching up and- trust me- my ever-running and -climbing G. has changed quite a bit since when Grandma saw her last... she was only two weeks old then!

Anyway, the Bloggy Progressive Dinner carries on, with or without me. Today, Jeff at Food + Heat is serving up some brussels sprouts that look fantastic... be sure to go check them out! Looking through my own archives, I realized that I don't seem to share side dish recipes. And, thinking about it, I realized that that may be because most of my sides are pretty boring. But it made me think I'd better get a few of my better ones on here in the future! But, for now, go check out Jeff's place and see what yummy things others are cooking up.

As for me, I'm showing up late to the party on main dishes. Amy served up a delicious twist on French Toast yesterday. Mmmm mmmm! Here are a few things I like to serve a crowd for a festive meal:

Orrechiette With Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Arugula, and Brie

Shrimp Rotini

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Scarpariello (my recipe that apparently went viral in Sweden one time and had over 20,000 hits in one day... NO idea how that happened! ;))

If you're very short on time, but want a recipe to impress, here are two super simple go-to's:

Garlicky Clams Linguine

Noodles With Marsala Cream Sauce

My Dad's Rockstar French Onion Soup

The Third Annual Bloggy Progressive Dinner continues today and I invite you to join me right here for our second course- Soup and Salad.

I absolutely love French Onion Soup. One of my favorite meals to order when we make a (rare) restaurant visit is a small, medium-rare steak (ideally with blue cheese) and a cup of French Onion Soup. Mmmm. I think that melty, cheesy goodness on the top really seals the deal for me!

Lots of restaurants have good French Onion Soups but, if you ask me, my dad's is even better. After I bragged it up in my menu plan a few weeks back, he kindly offered to share the recipe with me. Hooray! And, really, how lucky are you all to be my friends and be privy to this great soup recipe too?

Ready? Well, let's go then!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 - 3/4 lb. onions, thinly sliced (2 large yellow onions did it for me)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar (I wouldn't have guessed this one!)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 4 cups beef stock or broth (I used purchased broth because I'm not handy at making my own beef stock.)
• heavy cream (Oh yeah, baby. This is what is going to truly elevate this from that watery canned stuff you can buy.)
• salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• 3-4 pieces crusty bread, toasted (I made my own. You do NOT have to. I'm just over-ambitious like that sometimes. Or, um, too lazy to go to the store to buy a loaf...)
• Swiss cheese

Now here's what to do:

Brown the onions slowly in the butter. Give 'em time. Keep it on low. Patience is a virtue. All that good stuff. You want them wonderfully brown and sweet, but not burned.

I gave it at least a half hour. But, really, you don't have to babysit them. Just give 'em a stir every now and again. Now add the sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Add the flour and cook for one minute, then add the stock (broth) and bring to a boil, stirring.

Simmer 20 minutes, then add cream to desired consistency. (I used 1/2 cup.) At this point, if you like a thick, rich soup, you can add a little flour/water paste or a bit of corn starch mixed in water. I added 1 teaspoon of corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water to mine.

Cut toasted bread into 1" squares and place in the bottom of separate oven-proof ramekins or bowls. Pour soup into ramekins and top with Swiss cheese.

Bake at 350 until soup bubbles and cheese is melted. Serve up that hot, bubbly goodness! (Use care if serving this around small children- or accident-prone people- those ramekins are HOT.)

(According to Dad, this soup can be frozen in ramekins. Place on baking sheet and bake at 300 straight from the freezer. I wouldn't know anything about this since the idea of not EATING IT ALL never even occurred to me.)

What, you're not a soup person?

Get thee away from me right now!

I kid.

Here are my two favorite salads to enjoy with a holiday meal:

Winter Fruit Salad

Baby Greens, Pear, Blue Cheese, and Candied Pecan Salad

Please link up YOUR favorite soup and salad recipes... I'd love to check them out! And join Amy tomorrow as she serves up the main course.

Cheers! It's Time For Drinks And Apps!

Today kicks off the 3rd Annual Bloggy Progressive Dinner.

Kate's serving up our very first course of drinks and appetizers over at Cooking During Stolen Moments. Head over there and check it out... she always has something delicious up her sleeve.

What kinds of things do we enjoy around the Parenting Miracles household? Hmmm... well let's look back, shall we?

For festive drinks this time of year, we're enjoying:

Hot Cocoa for the Littles

Pumpkin Pie Smoothies

Cranberry Sparklers

And for appetizers? I like things simple. And, invariably, involving cheese and carbs. (Mmm...):

Lasagna Roll-Ups

10 Kinds Of Cheese Bread

Mini Pigs in Blankets

How about you? Be sure to stop by and link up your favorite drink and appetizer recipes over at Kate's. And come back tomorrow! I'll be serving up the Soup and Salad course.

Making Room For a Little One

It was Christmas Eve, 2005. It was evening and a heavy wet snow was falling.

In the wee hours of that morning, I had given birth to our second child. A girl. One pound, five ounces. Less than a foot long. Against all odds, she lived...

In my own hospital room, recovering from a massive, messy, emergency c-section, I sat with my husband, opening Christmas gifts that had been mailed to us from my out-of-town family.

Maternity jeans.

A cute velour maternity top from Old Navy.

I should have had four more months of pregnancy ahead of me...

I cried. A lot.

And then, I unwrapped a gift for my not-yet-eleven-month old son. A book.

I turned the pages and gazed upon the most beautiful illustrations I had ever seen. So soft. Soft lovely. It was like they were illuminated from within.

I read the words...

There's always room for a little one.

I sobbed.

And as I reached the last page, I choked out the words,

"That cold winter's night, beneath the star's light, a little one came for the world."

To this day, Room for a Little One is my very favorite story to read at Christmastime. It is simple. It is beautiful. It gets right to the core of it without overwhelming tender young hearts and minds. And it is true...

There's always room for a little one.

Linked to TILT

*If you purchase this book through the link above, I will be happy because the book is so very special. But I will receive nothing. Why? Because I am hopeless at figuring out affiliate links. :) But I'm okay with that.