Jill Can Cook: Raspberry Brie Tartlets

I've been in kind of a funk lately for making food for parties. Either we're stuck bringing the salad (which is boring!) or we're begged to bring something I've already made before (which is really flattering, but also semi-boring). Either way, I haven't really made any new party food this entire holiday season. Christmas would be my last chance to make some party food before years end. And surprisingly, for people that are hitting up 3 parties on Christmas day, you'd think I'd be making food for everyone, but alas, it's just for my family. I hope they don't mind getting fat!

I've been wanting to do something with brie cheese for a while. Since last Christmas to be exact. Last year at a Christmas party, I tasted a rich and creamy brie cheese tart thing and it's been in my mind since. I've had to keep it on the back burner, but this year, I'm finally ready to break it out.

I picked out the little tartlets because I feel like my family would be more apt to eat it this way.. We'll find out...

Raspberry Brie Tarlets

Adapted from
A Sprinkle Of This And That

Ingredients:

• 2 pkgs mini phyllo shells
• 1 8oz pkg Brie cheese, cut up into small pieces
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam (seedless)
• walnut chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Place mini phyllo shells on a baking sheet. 
3. Place wedges of brie in each shell.  
4. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese starts to melt.  
5. Remove from oven and place a dollop of raspberry jam and a sprinkling of walnut chips onto each brie bite.

I picked out this recipe because it had very few steps which meant getting it put together in a jiffy. I'd already had to put together, heat up, and/or cook a few other food items for my parents party, so in order to fit another appetizer in, it would have to be extremely simple. This definitely fit the bill, except I have very few pictures of it. Lol. Oh well, can't win 'em all, right?!

Here they are.

And that's it, folks. The only picture I have. Haha Plus the lovely bonus of my new sparkly heels, purchased just for the occasion.

It really was that simple to put together. My biggest problem was cutting the rind off of the cheese. I'll have to figure out a better way to do that. So, yeah, heat up the shells, throw all the other stuff in, then stuff your face. Check, check, and check! I did get a little bit of help. My niece begged me to help so I allowed her to throw the walnut pieces on.

Me and my niece, Jazmyn, showing off our delectable dish!

Seriously, that's it for pictures. I knew I was going to blog about it. I should've done better in the "picture department," but I was too excited to get my family to eat these little yummy bites. 

They didn't get eaten as quickly or get as much praise as some of the other food that was served. I chalk that up to the fact that the people in my family aren't sweets people. Jazmyn ate 5 of them and that's why she's my favorite niece.

Since we're so low on pictures for this one, let me share a few pictures from the party itself. 

Me with the Nutcrackers that I bought at the thrift store that my dad fixed for me! Just in time for Christmas!

Quinn with what happened to be the best gift of the night. Since Christmas, my kids have fought over this thing 800 times. They both want to be little Chefs like mom and dad!

The guys in our family. My mom bought a ton of santa hats and put them to good use.

My dad and my husband, Joe. My two favorite men (except my son, who's technically just a boy).

Quinn snagged a Christmas hat and somehow turned into a Puritan. Lol

I hope all 3 of you enjoyed your holiday celebrations, regardless of what holiday you celebrate. If you've been reading my blog, you know that I live for any excuse to be with family (not just mine, but Joe's as well). And my family is not done for holiday celebrations. We'll be doing a big get together on New Years Day. I'm thinking of adding a new aspect to the blog this upcoming year, so don't forget to come back!!! 

Jill Can Cook: Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

I don't currently like mushrooms and I have no plans to start eating them. You can pretty much count on the fact that I'll never eat mushrooms. There, I said it. Now we don't have to pretend like I'm ever going to eat them. Lol

... But.. My family likes mushrooms (I must be adopted) and for this Christmas, I decided to be completely selfless and make a mushroom dish for the ones that I love.

Well, not completely selfless since I do get to blog about it. Anyway, not important. Back to the story.

I asked my siblings (3 of them.. All older. I'm the cute, little baby) if they would eat stuffed mushrooms because obviously, I wasn't going to do it. They all said yes. In fact, they were enthusiastic about it! They love mushrooms! They love me! I'm their favorite sister! I'm so selfless! They love the blog!

Well, they said yes. The rest of it might all be in my head even though it feels real!

I hope this recipe comes out well. I don't even plan on tasting one bite of it. Gross. (Is it ok to blog about making food that I really don't like?! It seems weird, but at least I'm honest, right?! Hahah)

Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 24 oz white button mushrooms
• ⅓ lb hot Italian sausage, ground
• ½ yellow onion, finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• ⅓ cup dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped (or ¼ tsp dried thyme leaves)
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions 

1. Wipe off mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Twist stems of mushrooms to remove (or use a paring knife).
2. Chop mushroom stems finely and set aside.
3. Cook and crumble sausage finely. Remove to a plate to cool.
4. Reduce heat to MED-LOW and add onions and garlic to the same skillet with sausage grease. Saute for 3 minutes.
5. Pour in wine to deglaze pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape the pan to release the brown sausage bits, and allow most of the liquid to cook off.
6. Stir in chopped mushroom stems and thyme and saute for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool.
7. In a bowl, combine softened cream cheese, egg yolk, and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine well.
8. Add cooled, cooked sausage and cooled onion mixture. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so to firm up.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Using a spoon or teaspoon measuring spoon, add mixture to the top of the mushrooms, pressing slightly to fill the cavity. Add a little extra to create a mound on top of the mushroom.
11. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Broil the last minute if you want a more golden brown topping.
12. Let cool a few minutes, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, and serve.

I had planned to make this, plus several other items for my parents Christmas party. Sounds easy, right? Think again.. My parents aren't our only stop on Christmas day. We get up and leave really early in the morning and bounce from party to party, family to family, state to state. So, making several food items for my parents party, which was the last stop of the day, meant a lot of planning the night before. Luckily, I had Joe helping me out. A lot!

He got together an entire dish while I slaved over cleaning the mushrooms. I was kind of worried I'd ruin them in some way so it took me forever!

I pulled the stems out of the mushrooms. It was easy just to twist them a little.

The mushrooms in the pan.

Joe cut up the mushroom stems as well as the onions. He also put together a little pan of bacon wrapped weenies!

While Joe was playing "Sexy Sous Chef," I was cooking the sausage, which looks really gross in this pic for some reason!

There it is all cooked. Looks a lot more appetizing now. Whew!

The cut up mushrooms getting ready to get added into the pan.

The onions, mushrooms, white wine, and seasonings cooking up!

Everything into the bowl for a lot of mixing!

And then everything went into zip lock containers/covered pans and went into the fridge.

The next morning, we loaded all of our goodies into our cooler to take with us to my parents house. After opening up some presents and mingling for 30 seconds, I got my zip lock containers and pans. I stuffed the mushrooms with the mixture. I pulled my sister, Tania, away from the party in order to help me fill all those mushrooms up.

This is where I want to give out some advice: Either buy more mushrooms or cut the rest of the recipe in half because, even though we over filled the mushrooms, we still ended up with a ton of the cheese mixture left over. Seems wasteful. So keep that in mind.

Anyway, they were ready to serve!!

Joe loves it when I look like the cook of the family. It's funny because he does most of the cooking!

I was so ecstatic to hear everyone raving about the mushrooms! Not me, I didn't even so much as try the stuffing part. No effin' way!!!

There wasn't even one left over at the end of the evening. It should also be said that my mother put together a large meal earlier in the day that, unfortunately, I missed out on.  So, I'm sure most everyone's bellies were nice and full. I'm glad they made room and enjoyed the mushrooms. It puts me in the spirit to possibly make them again, using a different recipe for the stuffing, at some point. We'll see. 

Stay tuned because I made another new dish for my parents Christmas party that I hope to post soon! That dish came out sinfully delicious as well AND I actually ate that one!!

Jill (& Joe) Can Cook: Pork Chops With Cinnamon Apples & Butternut Squash

You all know how picky I am. I probably tell you about it every time I blog about food. But here I go again: I'm picky. I don't like too many cooked veggies. I love raw veggies in salads and I like potatoes, but I don't like too many options beyond that.

I worry that my pickiness will get picked up by my kids and turn them into pickier eaters than they already are. So, I've been trying to add more cooked veggies to my diet. A few months ago, I started buying/cooking/serving/eating green beans at dinner. I'm of the mindset that I don't have a taste for whatever food, so I'll have to just keep tasting it until I develop a taste for it. I don't love green beans yet, but I enjoy eating them with dinner.

Greens beans are now crossed off my list of foods to hate and has made it's way over to foods I will eat. Good job, Jill! So, I've got to try to add something else to the mix. This week I chose butternut squash.

I've never tried it before. I don't think my mom ever made it while I was growing up. And if she did, I never had so much as a baby bite of it. Joe has eaten it for dinner here and there, but it was the frozen variety. So, I have no idea how it's supposed to taste or how it's supposed to be cooked or anything. I employed Joe to help me make this dinner because he's eaten it and kind of knows how to make it. He was glad to help, especially because I was willing to try something new.. Here we go!!

Pork Chops With Cinnamon Apples & Butternut Squash

Adapted from: 

I Heart Eating

Ingredients:

Sorry for the poor quality. 

• 2 T. butter

• 1 medium butternut squash

• 2 medium baking apples (Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Braeburn, and Gala are all good choices)

• 1-2 T. brown sugar, depending on desired sweetness

• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

• Pinch or two of salt

• 4 bone-in pork loin chops

• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium-low heat.
2. Meanwhile, peel butternut squash and apples.
3. Cut squash and apples into 1/2-inch cubes.
4. Place in pan, and stir to coat with butter.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
6. Turn heat to medium.
7. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
8. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring regularly, until vegetables are tender.
9. Remove to plate.
10. Add pork chops, and season with rosemary, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
11. Cook about 10 minutes on each side, or until a thermometer reads 145 F.
12. Return apples and squash to pan and toss to warm.

Joe was in heaven. There we were, cooking together. And not the normal cooking together we normally do. Ya know, he goes and grills something on the deck and I stir the macaroni and cheese. This time we were working on the same thing at the same time. Even though I was relegated to sous chef while Joe was head chef.

Anyway, I peeled and cut the butternut squash and apples:

I never did this before. I think I did a pretty decent job.

The pieces are roughly the same size, too! I've got knife skills, baby!

I may have cut the apple pieces too small. Maybe my knife skills are lacking, Yo!

While I was chopping or whatever it's called, Joe was dealing with the pork chops:

We didn't have any rosemary like the recipe called for, so Joe put on some additional seasoning. It worked just as well.

Then our jobs combined:

The apples, butternut squash, and all the seasonings it needed.

Finishing the pork chops in the pan.

This recipe called for a lot of putting food in the pan and taking food out of the pan and putting food aside and putting food back in the pan. I think it might've been easier to just cook both components at the same time but in separate pans and then just serve together. It would really streamline the process.

And our finished dinner:

It sure does look appealing!

Our dinner was not only fun to make, but it came out tasting a lot better than I thought. I mean, I didn't have high hopes that I'd love the butternut squash the first time I ate it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I do, in fact, love it!

This is not the best angle of it, but it still looks like yummy food!

I could really kick myself for not trying this sooner! Why, oh why, did I deny myself all these years!?

Joe was ecstatic! Now we can add butternut squash to our dinner options, and not just the frozen variety! 

The kids were not as enthusiastic about the squash, but(I already told you about my mindset) we'll just keep trying until they develop a taste for it. 

So, I'll probably try to make it a couple of more times in the next two weeks to really drive home that I like it and to give the kids more chances to try it. And then what?! Maybe I'll try spaghetti squash. Fingers crossed that that dinner goes as swimmingly as this one!

Finished Project: A Really Quick Transformation! Times 5!!!

I hate starting new crafts and hobbies because it seems so daunting, especially when you have to acquire stuff for it. When I started this blog, I was going to the store every week to pick up the things I'd need to finish tasks. I'd need paint, or elastic banding, or buttons, etc. I never started a project and already had everything in my possession. 

That's probably my main reason for the fact that most of my refashions or transformations are so plain. I don't always feel like heading to the store!

Take this blog post for example...

I found this candle sconce thing at the thrift store a couple weeks ago:

Pretty boring, right?!

Two years ago, I probably would've just walked right past this. What was I going to do with it? I didn't have any craft stuff at my house and I wasn't going to go out and buy a ton of stuff just to remake a boring sconce.

But.. Now I have a plethora of hardly used spray paints in my basement. Now when I see something that just needs a coat of paint, I don't have to go out of my way. I love it!

This is going to be so awesome AND quick!

After one coat, I was done. That's it, folks! And there's enough spray paint leftover to do more projects.

I don't know how, but it seems like the paint really modernizes this!

The point to this blog post is not what I did to the sconce; it's that crafting begets more crafting and more crafting. Also, even though it may seem like too much work to get into certain crafts, it can be worth it because it can allow for more crafting.

I'm not so easily turned off of items that need painting. I'm not so easily turned off of items that need tailoring. It allows me to have more fun with my crafting and I want all of you to have more fun, too!

And now I have this awesome, one-of-a-kind piece in my house.

I keep forgetting to buy  candle to put in it!

This was so easy that I went out and bought some more stuff to paint:

Boring brownish candlestick...

Not anymore! One coat of silver spray paint and it looks so fancy!

A brown lamp that just blends in to the background...

Background blandness no longer.

Especially with a funky lamp shade! 

Cheap looking wire reindeer Christmas decorations...

Not the greatest picture, but they look like they cost a fortune now!

The great thing about spray paint is that it only costs a couple of bucks, but it can transform your old, boring, bland, out of style, or cheap looking stuff into new treasures. And it takes absolutely no creativity! Hahah

I Had A Bit Of A Makeover.. With Wigs!!

Here's a little insight into my life that probably none of you knows, except my mom, maybe (Hey mom! Glad you are reading this!! Hope you're not embarrassed!).

I like to "play dress up." I don't do cosplay, role playing, war reenactments, etc.. I don't pretend I'm a princess or a super hero. Although, I would totally be your friend if you did! I mean it more like, I like to play around with my look. I get pretty bored of doing the same thing constantly.

If you've known me long enough, you know that I'm constantly cutting and dyeing my hair. If you see me in person enough, you'd know that sometimes I dress preppy while other times I dress kind of funky. I just like to change it up. It doesn't mean I don't love myself. It doesn't mean that I'm looking for attention. It doesn't mean I have something to prove.

I've been this way for as long as I can remember. I remember asking my parents for clip in hair extensions when I was 11/12 yrs old. They were like $50. I didn't think my mom would buy them for me, but she did. And, man, did I use those to death. I loved coming home from school and using them to create bangs, short hair, long hair, braids, etc. I loved changing my hair and figuring out an outfit that accentuated it.

I should add: I'm old. Extensions and fake hair weren't much of a thing back then (over 20 yrs ago!! Yikes I guess I am pretty old!), or at least they weren't in my area of the universe. I didn't wear them out in public. I just used them at home.

I've grown more confident as I've gotten older. I've been able to afford my ever changing look. I've been around people who've inspired me and found places like Pinterest and Instagram that have given me ideas. I am having loads of fun.

As you all know, I look like this right now:

The blue color doesn't photograph well unfortunately.

I just love my blue hair. But I also love being a brunette and a blonde and a redhead! I want to do it all! But my hair became so damaged last year after I tried to be blonde for a while. I don't want to constantly test it's limits. I also don't want to constantly spend tons of money at the hair dressers.

So what's the next best thing?? WIGS!!!

I bought a wig for Halloween. I was Little Red Riding Hood and I wanted to look the part:

Joe was The Big Bad Wolf. We looked super cute, if I do say so myself!

It was cheap. Like $13. It was comfortable. I wore the wig for like 12 hours.

Me with my mom, who was also wearing a wig. We're all into wigs, it seems. Lol

I also got lots of compliments on it. It didn't look super fake. It gave me an idea. Maybe I could get away with wearing it in public. So, I bought another wig. A blonde one this time for about the same price.

My phone sometimes takes terrible quality pics. Boo hoo.

I am so in love with it. I've never had hair this long or hair this blonde. I feel like Jessica Simpson in it (minus the huge teeth and boobs).

Playing around with the YouCam Makeup app.

I love that I can be a sassy redhead one day, a blonde super model the next, and a funky blue haired babe the day after! I can be whatever I want, and I don't have to kill my hair in the process.

A little sneak preview of my master bedroom makeover. This picture is a two-fer.

I also got a short haired blonde wig. I'm obsessed now.

It's fun to play with different looks. It's also pretty awesome when I don't feel like doing anything with my real hair and  can just throw a wig on. It saves tons of time!!

So, get out there, do your thing, and don't worry what anyone else thinks. You're worth it and you are fabulous!!

Bonus Post: Christmas Trees & Lights!

Christmas is, by far, my favorite holiday! I don't necessarily love the snow, but on that first day of snowfall (as long as I'm not driving anywhere), when everything is covered in blankets of magical white snow, that's the moment I like snow. I also love knowing that I'll see my family and friends more during the holiday season, with a couple get togethers designated for Christmas. People are more kind, caring, thoughtful, selfless, joyful, thankful. Then of course, there are Christmas movies, music, traditions, etc.,  that remind me of Christmases past. 

And the one thing that really gets the ol' holiday juices flowing, for me, is putting up my Christmas trees. I just can't get into that holly, jolly Christmas mindset until my house is transformed into a winter wonderland.

These are my trees:

The 4ft tree

This little tree is in the dining room. I love this tree because I can display themes that I wouldn't be able to display on a larger tree because I just don't have enough ornaments to do so. Last year, I started collecting tons of silver ornaments. I'm thinking it'll take me another 2-3 after Christmas sales to get enough silver ornaments (that are not JUST balls!!) before I can decorate a tree entirely in silver, but maybe next year I'll do one of the bigger trees in silver and gold, or silver and red.

The 7.5ft tree

Pictures don't do this tree justice! It looks SOOO beautiful in the house, but it looks so boring in this photo. I have this bejeweled garland that when the little lights hit it, it goes into sparkle overdrive. I pretty much only go in this room to fold laundry, which I absolutely HATE doing, but I am starting to look forward to my most hated task just so I can be near the tree.

Anyway, this is the tree I always decorate with family ornaments. You know, the ones that Joe's stepmom, Karen, gets us every Christmas that commemorate what we're up to: our first Christmas, our first engaged Christmas, our first married Christmas, our first pregnant Christmas, our first Christmas with our kid, and so on and so forth. I look forward to them every single year and they always get prime real estate on the tree. I also have ornaments from when Joe and I were kids (the ones our parents were able to part with). And I have a couple my own kids made. 

As much as I love the beauty of the themed trees, I love the memories of the ornaments on this one. It is always my favorite, even though it's pretty much the same every year. And the best part: I had the kids help put ornaments on.

The 9ft tree. I put up two pictures because I couldn't decide which one I liked better.

This is the prelit tree that we have in our great room. Last year, I really wanted to put it in the front living room, but was too lazy to move the furniture. This year, I was not so lazy! It looks so great in the front window, as opposed to the side window. And I can ogle it all day from my vantage point on the couch. 

This tree is decorated in gold, burgundy, and brown ornaments. It's a theme I've used in the past, on the smaller tree in this room. But I don't mind re-doing old themes, especially this one since the color scheme in this room is brown and burgundy.

The 1.5t tree

At some point, I'll figure out a good way to get this little guy lit.. 

The tree, I mean.,. 

with Christmas lights... 

Anyway, I've been feeling quite sick this past week. I had a fever and a headache. My throat was sore. There was a dry spot in the back of it that no amount of coughing would fix.  And then the inevitable happened: I lost my voice! As I'm writing this post, it's been 4 days since I have been barely able to talk. I haven't been able to sing with my kids, or read them books, or have conversations with them during play time. I've had to change how it is I interact with the kids. I've tried to make whispering seem like fun. I've tried to make guessing my hand gestures a game. And when Quinn was on the brink of boredom (since Mitch is a little easier to entertain at 2 and 1/2 yrs old), I gave Quinn this little tree and those ornaments and let her take an entire afternoon decorating it.

Thank you, tree, for allowing me to keep some sanity this week!

We've also been having some mild weather for this time of year. Many years by this point we've been buried deep in snow. But this year, we've had days that don't even require heavy jackets. I definitely took advantage of the nice weather and had Joe throw some lights on some of our shrubbery outside:

Boring, but it's a good starting off point.

The lights are always the toughest Christmas decoration to get at the after Christmas sales. By the time I get out there, the only lights that are usually left are the ones that are still grossly expensive, even on sale. But I've been stocking up when I can. 

I also bought a Christmas light timer thingy, so I don't even have to remember to plug them in or turn them on or off. It's like magic and I love it! I'm hoping that we'll have more fabulous displays as time goes on, but I'm not disappointed at this very bland set up. It's better than what we had last year, which was just a couple strands of lights around the railings on the stairs.

I hope everyone has a glorious holiday season! Snuggle up with loved ones, sing like you know all the words, and don't worry about the calories!! Love to all!!