Mr. Prof designer home

Yep, all is well here at the Martinsen’s after having the family all yesterday afternoon/evening – pooped but doing good.

Everyone came between 1 – 1:30 ready to PARTY! And that we did. 
Snacks and drinks while chatting about the kids Christmas gifts they got and ‘GOT’ they did!!!! 
For what was going to be a simple Christmas it sure didn’t sound like it from their descriptions…and then the goodies from us – well we thought we kept it pretty ‘simple’ this year as well but when they started opening things, it told another story.

You know…it’s funny when the grandchildren are living at home they take many, many things for granted – well Jesse got his own apt. last month and wanted some things for his place so (among other things) we bought him a Grill/Griddle plus some ‘nice’ spatulas/turners/pizza cutter/knives – one’s that will last.
Well he oohhed and aahhed over these things like it was gold.  He said he had some of the cheaper ones and they were horrible…

And Alex…she looooves grandpa’s Onion Dip and requests it whenever they come over – he uses a food chopper to get the onions chopped real fine so he bought her one for Christmas so when she moves into her apt. she can make her very own dip.
 

Aidan kept us giggling with each gift he opened…and so did one of the grown-ups.
We drew names this year and Two of them got some pretty good stuff.
Heather received a bottle of Jack Daniels (it was on her list!) and the look on her face and Emily’s cracked us all up.

And Doug got a couple bottles too…Aidan was crazy all day and constantly wanted to slide backwards down the Two steps – he did this off and on for most of the day for some reason.

Doug’s sister always gives each of the kids ornaments each year (until they reach age 16)
We took the picture so we can send it to her.

Dinner turned out wonderful…I was a bit scared to do all those crushed peppercorns on the Tenderloin but I must say it made it so delicious.
Out of the 7 lbs of Tenderloin there is probably less than 3/4 lb left.

Darren and Brett forever try something silly in a picture and today was no different – we can always count on those two for some laughs throughout the day…

Our family…
 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and will continue to have a wonderful New Year.

Karen
 

It's hard for me to believe that this is already my third month participating in the Secret Recipe Club. Time sure does fly when you're busy.

This month I was given Enriching Your Kid, a blog written by a Clinical Psychologist turned homemaker after having kids. She says her goal is to prepare food that is nourishing as well as enticing for kids. She actually had my blog for the first month of the SRC and made my corn fritters.

A lot of the recipes on her blog are for Indian food, which I love but rarely make at home. I wanted to find something that didn't require specialty ingredients since we are on a budget, so I finally settled on Cheesy Spinach Farfalle, which is right up my family's alley.


I made a few modifications but overall kept the recipe the same. I subbed a can of diced tomatoes for fresh tomato because tomatoes aren't in season (plus I hate loose tomato skin on cooked tomatoes). Since she didn't specify a type of grated cheese I thought mozzarella would be nice. I also upped the amount of pasta to a full pound since this needed to feed us for dinner, lunches and a little leftover for Baby Girl and also upped the spinach, garlic and cheese. I only had one small onion but I found a leek in the fridge that needed to be used, so I combined the two. I also added in white wine for some extra flavor since I thought pasta water alone wouldn't be enough to make a flavorful sauce. To thicken the sauce I opted for cornstarch mixed with cold water, which resulted in a silky-smooth sauce without worrying about lumps.

Make sure to taste as you go and add salt and pepper as needed. I absolutely loved this, but then again I pretty much love any pasta dish with tomatoes and spinach. It's an easy meal to put together on a weeknight, which is another plus in my book, along with being vegetarian and healthy. Score!

Cheesy Spinach Farfalle
Modified from Enriching Your Kid

1 lb farfalle
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup white wine
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook the farfalle according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan. Add the onions and minced garlic, cooking until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the wine and allow to reduce slightly. Add the tomatoes with the juice and the chopped spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste and the Italian seasoning. Allow the spinach to wilt.

Combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Slowly add to the pan, stirring to combine. Add the reserved pasta water. Sprinkle in grated cheese and allow to melt into the sauce. Add the pasta, mix well and season with salt and pepper. Top with more shredded cheese if you like and serve hot.

Here I thought my last post was a few days ago…guess I just proved that I really am a chatty One…

MORE PARTIES
As if our family party a week ago today wasn’t enough work on this ole body not feeling up to par, my husband came home on Thursday from his morning coffee with ‘the guys’ and announced that they were all coming over around 4ish for drinks and appetizers…YIKES…did I fly. I was going to the store anyway that morningfor my own groceries but it turned out to be a big shopping trip. More appetizer fixins and drink fixins. Home I came, whipped up 6 different treats, set things in order and thought WHEW…I can retreat to the bedroom to read when they all get here…NOPE…three of them brought their wives so I was caught! lol  But it was a good time all in all. 
I actually got to sit and enjoy the brief time they were there – they came at 4 and were all gone by 6:30.  But he deserved the party – he’s been such a huge help this past year, bless his heart – he’s done things he never did before and learned a lot.

NEIGHBORS
We have a family across the street from us that have lived there since they got married (his parents lived there prior).  So we have known this family for 32 years now.

Well they have 5 daughters...youngest one just graduated from high school so now they have 4 in college and one living and working in Washington DC.
Every Christmas they are all home and they bake Christmas cookies with their dad. Mom cleans up - she doesn't really care for baking all that much – but she does love to cook,  but it's a father/daughter thing they have done since they were little.

And every Christmas Eve afternoon they bring over a huge tray of their delicious delights along with a cute little letter pertaining to whatever has gone on in their lives or whatever.  This year it was not much luck with baking!

Hope you can read the letter...it's cute
 

SHOPPING
Besides finishing up the stocking stuffer search today, we went looking for something to use for place setting names.
Normally I make them but I just ran out of steam this year.
We found these at Kohl's - and we had a 30% coupon as well, I printed out names on the computer and walla...name card holders.  They’re funny little dudes – they look like Cup Cakes…and as things go they didn’t have enough of the dudes so we got the 2 package ones for Doug and myself - we needed 13 holders and that was ALL they had.

close-ups

CHRISTMAS DINNER
Yesterday we picked up our 7 lb Tenderloin for Christmas dinner – goodness that’s a huge hunk of meat…let’s just hope I don’t ruin it.
 
Our dinner menu:
*Tenderloin
*Twice Baked Potatoes
*Steamed Green Beans and Asparagus
*Waldorf Salad (something I grew up with for Christmas dinner)
*Mandarin Orange Jello (especially for the little ones)
*French Bread
*Homemade Lemon Meringe Pie
*Chocolate Cake w/Cream Cheese frosting
*French Silk pie

GOOD FOR LAUGHS
And if you want a good laugh then watch this little JibJab card I made for our family….but for some reason the mouth thingy stayed black and I’m not sure why…but look anyway…I’m sure it will give you a giggle too.  Gotta turn your sound on though.
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/0Yr09uSRYUS4dBDL
 
THANKS SO MUCH
Thank you all my blog friends who sent me Christmas cards this year…how very special you made me feel. Gosh I wish we ALL could meet someday, somewhere as a whole group. Now wouldn’t that be fun????

Merry Christmas everyone.

Karen

In one of the "what's for dinner?" posts on Facebook recently my friend Carrie said she was making this White Cheddar Chicken Pasta. The name alone sold me but then I looked at the ingredients and knew I had to make it ASAP.


After Carrie made the recipe she recommended cooking the onions before making the sauce, so I took her advice. I also ended up adding some chicken broth because my sauce was too thick.

We both loved this meal. The sauce is wonderfully flavorful with the sharp cheddar and the spices. I left out the red pepper flakes in the original recipe because spicy food and I don't get along well anymore. The spices on the chicken were perfect and I bet this would be even better with grilled chicken. I can't wait to try that once the weather warms up. Or if I ever get a grill pan.

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta
Modified from Homemade by Holman

1 pound chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound rotini or other short cut pasta
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken stock
8 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Parmesan cheese to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix together mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and sprinkle over chicken pieces. When pan is hot, add chicken and brown about 3 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter and oil in the now-empty skillet you used to cook the chicken. Add garlic and onions and cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Add wine and Dijon mustard. Cook about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and slowly add milk and chicken stock, stirring to combine. Cook about 5-7 minutes more until mixture begins to thicken. Add cheese, thyme and oregano and stir to melt cheese. Add chicken and pasta and toss to incorporate sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

I hope you have a wonderful, toasty, Christmas!

Picture: Via Castles, Crowns and Cottages

As the weather gets colder I am all about comfort food meals. I also love an excuse to make mashed potatoes. They're one of my favorite things and Baby Girl is taking after me in that regard. She will happily eat a big bowl full of them whenever I make them. When Melissa posted this recipe for Smothered Pork Medallions what drew me in was a new way to use pork and a sauce that included buttermilk, which I bought for Buttermilk Mac and Cheese and still had in my fridge waiting to be used up.


When shopping this week I realized I've never purchased pork tenderloin. How is that possible? Thankfully my supermarket had it on sale so it wasn't too expensive, but imagine my surprise when I discovered that what I thought was two tenderloins turned out to be four (the club pack came with two packages of pork, but each package contained two tenderloins). That's four meals for about $10. Awesome.

I was hesitant to use the full 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper to season the flour and I think that was a mistake. The dish was a little too sweet, probably from the onions. The extra cayenne would have helped mitigate that. Even so, this was delicious and we both cleaned our plates. You know SP is a sucker for anything with mushrooms in it. And it couldn't have been easier, which was nice for the Sunday when we decorated our Christmas tree.

Smothered Pork Medallions
Slightly Modified from I Was Born to Cook

3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pork tenderloin, thinly sliced into medallions
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 package (10 ounces) mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup buttermilk
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Put the flour in a gallon food storage bag. Add garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the medallions and shake to coat.

Heat oil in a large skillet and add pork in an even layer. Fry pork on each side until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add a little more oil to the pan, then add the mushrooms and onions. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated and the onions are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add about 1 tablespoon of the seasoned flour to pan drippings. Mix together, then add chicken broth. Once liquid is reduced and slightly thickened, add buttermilk and stir.

Return pork to pan and cover in sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley to serve.