They Brought Dinner {Chicken Marsala}

Once upon a time there was a young couple living in New York City.  They had just welcomed a spirited baby boy into their lives and they were overwhelmed, tired, excited, and hungry.  A coworker of the husband, and his wife, provided a welcomed treat by bringing dinner to this famished couple.  This meal included salad, bread, Chicken Marsala, and decadent maple blondies.

I -  I mean - the new mom, didn't even know that she liked mushrooms until she devoured this fabulous meal.  When the young couple could function coherently the new mom learned the recipe came from Emeril Lagasse and she got cooking.

Now we all now everything is better with pork.  A little addition of pancetta and we have a dish worthy to share.

Chicken Marsala

1/2 Cup Flour
2 Tbsp. Emeril's Essence
2 (6 to 8-ounce) Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Tbsp. Butter
4 Oz. Pancetta, diced
3 Cups Sliced Mushrooms (I used Baby Bella, White Button, and Cremini)
3/4 Cup Marsala
1 Tbsp. Chicken Stock
1 Tsp. Corn Starch (if desired)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and seasoning and stire to combine.  Quicky dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking to remove any extra.

Heat the oil in a large skillet (I use a dutch oven) over medium-high heat until very hot.  Add 1 tablesppon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer to a place and set aside.  Add 1 tablesppon of teh remaining butter and add the pancetta.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until frangrant and a little crisp.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid.  Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping and brown goodness from the bottom.  When the liquid has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly.*  Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken to the pan.  Continue to cook until sauce has thickened and chicken has been cooked through.  About 5 to 6 minutes.  Swirl in remaining butter, add salt and pepper, and serve with prepared pasta or rice.


*  I often make a slurry out of the chicken stock and corn starch.  Just mix in the corn starch into the stock before pouring it into the dish.  This will give you more of a gravy type sauce for your meal.

I'm Ready. Bring it on!

Have you ever gone outside and realized that it no longer smells like fall, but there, in the crisp air, is the aroma of winter?

This week has started bringing frosty mornings that don't thaw before the sun sets and the smell of wood fires burning throughout the neighborhood.  We are actively losing about five minutes of sunlight a day.  It is still quite dark at 8:30 in the morning and the sun is setting earlier each night.

With the approaching winter comes the need to prepare the yard, the house, and the cars.  Since our van has front wheel drive we opted to get studded tires over snow tires.

  

Our girl has had quite a few exciting months, and she needed some TLC.  New brakes, new shoes, and fresh oil; she is ready for whatever Mother Nature has to dish out.

Now to get that emergency back pack stuffed and ready - just in case.

Bake, Rattle, and ROLL {Pumpkin Roll}

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin.  It is everywhere.  Your lattes, your M&Ms, your muffins, and your wax melt warmers.  My husband doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, but he has no control when there is a pumpkin roll in the house.  So of course, I indulge him (for his sake only).

I have only been making this for a couple of years, but I think the recipe is pretty much perfect.  Not nearly as intimidating as I thought to make and so worth the effort.  It is a show stopper, folks.

Pumpkin Roll

3 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp. Cinnamon

2/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree

3/4 Cup Flour

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

Filling

2 Tbsp. Butter, Softened

8 Oz. Cream Cheese, Softened

1 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Tsp. Vanilla
2 or more Cups Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.  I also line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, to help with no stick removal.

In a mixing bowl, blend together the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Add the flour and baking soda and blend until smooth.  Evenly spread the mixture in the prepared jelly roll pan.  It'll be thin, don't panic.

Bake for 18 minutes in a preheated oven.  Remove from the oven and let it cool enough to handle.

Place a cotton tea towel (not terry) on the counter and flip the pan over onto the towel, peel the parchment off and roll the cake and the towel up and place seam side down on the counter to cool completely.

In the meantime mix together your filling.  Add the butter and cream cheese to the mixer and mix until creamy and light yellow in color (three to four minutes) scrapping sides of the bowl often.  Add the pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and one cup of the sugar.  Mix well.  Contine adding sugar until it is at your desired consistency.  I will let it mix on medium for a good five minutes or more.  The flufflier, the better.  I typically use three (or four) cups of sugar per batch.  As a reference, if I double the recipe I use an entire bag of sugar.

When the cake is cool, unwrap from the towel.  It may feel slightly sticky, that's okay.  Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and roll up again without the towel.  I then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until I'm ready to serve it, or my husband finds it.

For a lovely presentation, trim the ends, place seam side down on a platter, and sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar.

These freeze very well.  Just wrap the plastic wrapped roll in foil before freezing.  I am pretty sure we enjoyed a forgotten half of pumpkin roll around Easter and it was marvelous!

So Fresh and So Clean {Homemade Laundry Detergent}

Homemade laundry soaps have been all the rage on Pinterest and Facebook pages, lately.  I know people that have been making their own soap for years.  In fact, when I visited my little sister (who is an awesome new mom by the way) she even had her own stash of homemade soap.  So I thought I would jump on the bandwagon too.

This recipe is a combination of different recipes I have seen online.  I decided to add OxiClean to mine because I have... ummm, boys and they stink, let's face it.

So here's what I used.

1 box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 box of Borax

1 box of Baking Soda (the super big one found in baking aisle)

1 box of OxiClean, 3 lbs

2 Bars of Homemade Soap from Natural History Bees

First, with my cheese grater I shred each bar of soap onto a plate.  Then into my decorative glass jar I dumped half of each box of powder and the shreds of one bar of soap.  I put the lid on and I shook that thing silly.  I then added the rest of the powders and the remaining soap and shook it again. 

To Wash:  I store the scoop that came with the OxiClean in the container and use that as my measurement for extra large loads.  The smaller the load, the less detergent.

I have been using the detergent for about a month now.  I feel that it washes just as good as commercially sold laundry soap.  I love that I get to customize the scent based on my favorite brand of soap.  Seriously, check out Natural History Bees, if you haven't yet, she makes AH-mazing things.

Now, who is going to come fold all of my clean laundry?