Happy St. Patrick's Day! ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

It's Friday night as I write this.  We just finished dinner and I wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy Friday!  This has been the longest week for me.  I've had the worst time adjusting to daylight savings. It usually doesn't bother me but for some reason (probably my age : ) it's taken its toll.  I even overslept on Wednesday and made John late for school!!!  This has NEVER happened.  He missed math class and was quite happy about it I might add! 

Well, I finally made through and I'm very much looking to the weekend and staring fresh on Monday. 

Because I was so out of sorts this week I had nothing planned for tonight.  We usually make a corned beef and cabbage dinner but I wasn't feeling it this year.  I saw on my friend BJ's blog this morning that she was making Irish Stew.  I thought that sounded delicious and even better - she was making it in my favorite kitchen appliance....a crock pot!  You know, the thing that does all the work for you!  I texted her and within minutes I had the recipe. (I love my friends!!)

Off  I went to the store to grab some stew meat and beef broth.  I had everything else!  

I decided to stop and get a shamrock shake on the way!  

A St. Patrick's Day tradition : ) 

I came home, seared the meat, chopped some veggies, and into the pot it all went.  

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5 hours later here we are.  So yummy!!!!! 

I had already made Irish bread earlier in the week.  There was just enough left for the three of us tonight to round out the meal.  

The most delicious St. Patrick's Day meal! And nice way to end the week.  

Not bad for a last minute decision! ♥

I hear the sun is coming out this weekend and spring is on it's way! Oh and in case you are wondering about that BIG snowstorm I mentioned on Monday.  We got nothing. Just rain.  

 I hope you are all having a happy St. Patrick's day however you are celebrating tonight!  

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll meet you back here on Monday! 

Cheers! xoxo 

(now I'm off to bed to get my hour of sleep back : ) 

♥

Monday chit-chat...♥ (with that strawberry salad dressing I promised you!)

Hello Friends! ♥

Another Monday is here and it's the start of a new week.  How was your weekend? Mine went by so fast!  Yesterday is literally a blur to me, but that could be because I'm still sleepy due to the time change.  It's a bear, isn't it?  And not just that, for some reason I thought it was good idea to stay up until midnight and watch the Oscars last night!  For that, I have no regrets. Well, nothing a little caffeine can't fix! : )  Although I wish Austin Butler won for Elvis, I enjoyed the show very much! 

♥

Hot coffee and Irish bread is what's for breakfast today.  I make my friend Eileen's recipe every year.  I'm telling you, it's the best.  You must try it! It's the sour cream that makes it so good! 

IRISH BREAD 

1 cup raisins

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

  

  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Grease a 10 inch round baking pan. 

 

Soak raisins in a small bowl of boiled water and put aside for about 5 minutes.  Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Mix in the caraway seeds.  Drain raisins and add to the flour mixture. 

  

In a separate bowl mix the melted butter, sugar, sour cream, and eggs.  Blend alternately with flour mixture until everything is combined into a smooth, creamy batter. 

  

Pour batter into pan and sprinkle the top generously with sugar.

 

Bake for one hour.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn onto rack to cool.

 Enjoy! 

I made this one on Saturday and it's just about gone! : ) 

♥

It's gotten cold here again and we are expecting snow tomorrow. They are predicting up to 6 inches in my area.  I'm not mad at that because we've had hardly any this winter.  This could be the grand finale of winter, as it's supposed to be 50 degrees on Friday!  Nothing makes sense anymore..

It's no wonder I need coffee all the time! LOL 

♥

Oh! Remember last week I mentioned making a strawberry salad dressing with these yummy strawberries? 

Well, I did it.  And it was good!! 

Could this give me the incentive to eat more salads?

 

Definitely! : ) 

It was sweet and fresh and I'm sure I'll be making it again this spring and summer.  It was delicious! 

I wish I had had some oranges or avocados to add to this salad. I think it would have made it even better. 

Here's the recipe if you are interested:

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup red onion

1 1/12 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (*I left these out because I didn't have any:) 

Blend all ingredients in the blender until smooth.  Stir in poppy seeds at the end, if you are using them! 

♥

Well, that's all the chit-chat I have today.  I must get back to work.  It's almost time to pick John up at school and before I know it, it will be dinner time.  I have some meat thawing for a beef stir fry that I'll serve with rolls and the rest of the strawberry salad.  My plan for this evening is curling up with my book and waiting for the snow.   

Have a great day everyone! 

 Stay cozy! xoxoxo

Ordinary Friday ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! ♥

The week has gotten away from me and now here we are.  I was just sitting in my cozy spot here trying to get motivated to start the day.  It's super bright today which is nice because the sun is shining in through the windows and is lifting my mood - as if I needed help on a FRIDAY! 

  Can you believe this weekend is daylight savings?  We'll lose an hour of sleep (after a few days of adjusting:) but it will be worth it. 

 I can feel the shift coming. Can you? 

 

I gave myself a refill (with whip cream - a TGIF treat : )   

Today is an ordinary Friday.  

My favorite kind ♥

I'm waiting for this Christmas cactus to bloom.  I have no idea when : ) 

New candle for Spring I picked up yesterday. 

 I love lemons! ♥

A puzzle I've been wanting to do since Christmas.  Soon! I just have to figure out a spot to do it in because I'm sure it will take more than one sitting! LOL 

Ready for St. Patrick's day! 

One week from today! 

My kitchen is small but I try to make it as cozy as possible

♥

I'm going to make a strawberry salad dressing out of these.  I'll let you know how it turns out! 

It sure does! : ) 

This little plant stand was once a CD tower.  Remember those???  

Seeing all the green is so pleasing.  I like it better than CD's.  

My ordinary Friday will consist of working, more coffee consumption, a breakfast dinner (don't knock it till you try it : ) and a family movie night.  John's pick! He's trying to see all the best picture nominees before the Oscars on Sunday.  I think he only has 3 left! 

I would like to make an Irish bread today as well, so we can snack on it this weekend! 

♥

Thanks for popping by and visiting me on an ordinary Friday.  

Have a wonderful and cozy weekend! ♥

xoxo

Good Monday Morning! ♥

Hello Friends! Look what I saw this morning....

Spring! ♥

I'm fighting all my urges to go backwards in time and I'm embracing the beauty of the season upon us.  Trees are budding and I'm seeing green sprouts shooting up everywhere. It's lovely!  However I must say that it makes me happy that so many of you feel the same way as I do.  We want Christmas when it's not Christmas and we wish for Fall days in the the middle of winter.  We are a mixed up bunch, but at least we are in it together! LOL 

I've always felt March as a bear of a month.  Endlessly long and cold.  Sometimes snowy. And then one day, suddenly...it's sunny, birds are chirping, buds are budding, and it's springtime.  It's like Mother Nature flips a switch! When you think about it, I guess March is a bit magical, isn't it.  As I get older, I'm learning to love it.  

I like thinking about tulips and pretty flowers everywhere.  I like the idea of longer days and rays of daylight shining through the windows at dinnertime.  We've been in darkness for so long.  I have a list of things I'm exciting about this Spring, recipes I want to try, day trips and roads trips that we'll take, and of course Easter. Who doesn't love Cadbury chocolate eggs? 

I guess Spring isn't so bad after all. 

 

The most important thing on my Spring list (and first thing!) was John's Confirmation, which he made Friday night.  I can't think of anything better in our lives to start this season and get us all in a happy mood and fill our hearts with gratitude.  He chose the name St. Francis and his sponcor was Rob's brother, Dan. It was a beautiful ceremony! 

Friends since kindergarten.  These are his people : ) 

After church we had a lovely dinner with family at one of John's favorite restaurants.  I had a delicious baked haddock dinner!   I am happy John had such a good night.  He's been preparing for this for a long time.  I'm proud of him ♥

The rest of the weekend was filled with R&R! I did get a long overdue haircut on Saturday, but otherwise spent the majority of the weekend in sweats, puttering around the house, drinking coffee, and recharging my batteries (so to speak!).  

And now on to a new week!  I am making chicken soup and salads for dinner tonight (yup, still soup season...let's be real, it never ends!).  How about you? 

Have a wonderful day my friends!  Happy new week and happy March.  

Let's do this! 🍀

xoxoxo

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread ♥

 Here's a fun fact about me.  I like to listen to Christmas music when it's not Christmas.  Now before you jump through the screen at me (I can feel your eyes rolling...:) hear me out.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the hectic times of the holidays I forget to stop and enjoy the things I love.  I love Christmas music and sometimes, just randomly when the mood strikes, I put it on.  This happened in the car yesterday and it was a lovely experience. 

 ♥

I have a weird relationship with seasons.  I always want the one that I'm not in.  As much as I'm looking forward to Springtime, Easter, and all things blooming....lately I've been missing Fall (well, except yesterday for 20 minutes when I was in Christmas mode!).  I saw a plaid shirt at Kohls over the weekend and was instantly taken to a cool, crisp, fall day.  That's all it takes sometimes. Are you still with me? I mean, who doesn't love a fall day?  My grocery store doesn't even carry pumpkin spice creamer until September!  Outrageous. 

♥

Anyway, I was in a Fall mood this weekend.  I remembered a recipe I had earmarked in my Joanna Gains Magnolia Table (volume2) cookbook for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread.  This was just the recipe to curb my Fall craving!  

Always on hand! ♥

The recipe is meant for a loaf pan, but I baked it as a bundt cake and it came out perfectly. 

YUM! ♥

Take me to OCTOBER right now please! ♥

Ok, I know it doesn't work that way, but a girl can dream, can't she?! 

Here's the recipe in case you are missing the fall like me or just want a delicious pumpkin bread to have with tea or coffee (or all of the above : ) 

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE BREAD

It comes from this book that I gifted myself for Christmas two years ago. I've loved every recipe I've made so far! 

 

So now that I've got that out of my system, it's back to reality!  Happy March my dear friends!  I'm going to keep my chin up and embrace Spring! It's coming in all it's beautiful glory.  

I will learn to love the current season as it's happening....or do my best to at least try : ) 

♥

Have a great day everyone.  And as always, stay cozy!! Xx 

Roasted Cauliflower Soup ♥

 Hello Lovely Friends! ♥

Well, I finally got around to putting away my Valentine's Day decorations this weekend.  It always makes me a little sad because I love them so much and they are only on display for a short period of time. Pink hearts and vintage Valentines are nostalgic to me because they remind me of my childhood.  That's what makes them special I guess : ) 

 But we press on!  It's almost March, and SPRING and St. Patrick's day are coming.  It's funny how every month, every season, every holiday has a feel.  You know what I mean. You can feel them coming just by looking around and smelling the smells.  Right now it's all about new beginnings, all things green, fresh, and pretty. 

(well, inside anyway....outside it's gray and slushy, but I'm ignoring that...lol)

Here's a peek at my little plant corner in the kitchen.  An ongoing work in progress. 

It's the brightest spot I have and I think my plants like it here ♥

So with Spring coming I've been trying to incorporate more veggies into my diet lately (gotta balance the nachos and brownies...#truth).  Anyway, I'm also on a mission to try NEW veggies and try recipes that incorporate ones that I don't usually make.  The produce department is chock FULL of beautiful healthy fruits and veggies that I totally ignore on my way to the bakery department.  What am I missing here?! 

This cauliflower looked interesting to me (and it was on sale!).  I've really only eaten cauliflower on a veggie platter drenched in ranch dip! Yes it's delicious that way, but I wanted to try something else.  I remembered a recipe I pinned for roasted cauliflower soup and since it's still soup season....

Let's try it! ♥

First we cut and wash it.  Then toss in olive oil and a little salt.  

Now roast! ♥

The result are these crispy salty nuggets that are so yummy I thought about stopping right here and just eating the cauliflower like this. 

(even John snagged a few from the table as he passed through the kitchen : ) 

 

Next I sautéed some onion and garlic in olive oil.  

Then added vegetable broth and the cauliflower.  Let all that simmer for a bit..... 

Now it's looking like soup! 

This is where the magic happens ♥

Add everything to blender.  I added a little butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a dash of nutmeg! 

(Just like the makeup influencers on TikTok say "blend, blend, blend!")

It turned out so creamy and delicious!!!!  I was truly amazed because I added NO cream or milk!  It's just the natural smoothness of the blended cauliflower that thickened the soup.  The flavor was....hmmm...I'm kissing the tips of my fingers and throwing them in the air....can you picture that? That's how it was.  Really! 

Here is a link to the recipe I used (here).  

My only complaint is that it only made about four bowls.  I think next time I will roast 2 cauliflowers and double the recipe.  I will definitely be making this soup again.  We all loved it!  

Could cauliflower now be one of my top favorite vegetables? 

Maybe! ♥

I hope you enjoy this recipe and thanks for stopping by today.  I'm off to get yet another cup of coffee, put my earbuds in, and get some work done for the day.  I just heard John has a two hour delay for school today because of snow.  He'll be disappointed they didn't cancel the whole day! Wish me luck as I'm off to deliver this news! Haha! 

Stay cozy everyone! Byeeee! xoxoxoxo 

Friday Funnies! ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! ♥

The end of another week already.  Its not even 8:30 am here and I'm on my second cup of coffee.  I have fish thawing in the fridge for dinner and a load of laundry in the wash.  So far a good start.  I'll probably crash by lunch time! LOL

We have nothing on the agenda this weekend and I couldn't be happier! My favorite weekends are the ones where we have absolutely nothing to do and no where to be.  We may take advantage of a gift certificate we got for Christmas and go out to lunch tomorrow.  We'll see if we feel motivated to do that or if staying in our sweats on the couch is more appealing.  Stay tuned : ) 

Here are some Friday funnies to make you smile today.

Some (actually ALL) are so relatable! ♥

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I hope you all have a happy Friday and a cozy weekend!  I'll be around to visit your blogs soon!  See you back here on Monday.  I'm trying a new soup recipe today and if it's good (fingers crossed) I'll share the recipe.  Soup season is not over! ♥

Byeeee! xooxox