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.

Third Annual Bloggy Progressive Dinner is Coming!

It's that time of year again!

Amy, Kate, Toni, Jen, Jeff, and I are busy planning for the delicious Bloggy Progressive Dinner we'll be serving up from December 6-11, 2010.

Do you remember how it works? Each day, one of us will host that day's course (appetizers/drinks, soups/salads, main course, bread, side dishes/veggies, dessert) and YOU, my friends, will stop by and link up your best recipe for that particular course. The host of each day will have a linky up so we can all share our best recipes during this fun, festive time of year!

Are you ready? Excited? Yay!

Need a little inspiration? Check out some posts from the Bloggy Progressive Dinners we've held in years past:

• Bloggy Progressive Dinner 2008 (Those of you who "knew me then" may recall that I was pregnant with G at this time and got horribly sick during this week... so sick I was hospitalized. Blessedly, my wonderful progressive dinner teammates helped keep things rolling!)
• Bloggy Progressive Dinner 2009 (Healthy and full participant- lots more posts from me to peruse in this one!)