The Honorable Italian Sausage Soup

All right friends -

I hope you've noticed my absence, but

I do apologize for the blogging delay.

The sad news is that my camera broke.

I'm working on it, but don't have a replacement yet.

Luckily, I had a few posts up my sleeve for hard times like these.

Here's an awesome easy dinner we tried last week.

My judge gave me some Italian Sausage she mixed up

with a combination of venison and pork.

Along with the meat, I also got a soup recipe

that went over well in her house.

Who can argue with a ready-made meal plan?

 We set to work browning the sausage,

along with some garlic and onion.

Afterwards, it got dumped into the crockpot.

Then we set to chopping.

In went green and yellow peppers.

And then some diced tomatoes and broth . . .

followed by some special seasoning.

All the colors made the soup look so pretty and delicious.

I gave it a quick stir -

and then started slicing up potatoes.

They were the last ingredient added to the mix.

Then we left it to simmer for a few hours.

I love crockpot meals.

They just need a little prep time, but

always seem so easy and nutritious.

And the best part about a crockpot meal

is that when dinner time finally rolls around,

all you have to do is dish up!

Doesn't it look tasty?

Plain . . .

or with parmesan cheese on top,

It was a hit!

So thanks bosslady for the special  

pork and venison mixed Italian Sausage

and for the fabulous recipe I've dubbed -

The Honorable Italian Sausage Soup.

Green Thumb, Anyone?

I'm so glad to see the snow is mostly gone,

and soon things will be turning green again.

While I can't wait to watch things bloom outside,

I do love having living things bloom

inside during the cold, white winters.

I've never claimed to be a Green Thumb,

but growing up I got to watch my father who

most definitely has a green thumb work with

the plants inside and the gardens outside of our house.

I decided early that I love house plants

and the color they bring to any room.

While my house doesn't quite look like this -

(I'm working on it)

I do have a few plants I'm proud to be keeping alive and healthy.

Meet Spike -

He's my oldest and most beloved plant.

Adam and I picked him out for our 3rd Anniversary in 2008.

He's been our little baby until Walt arrived.

I'm heartbroken to show you that I lost one

of Spike's three stalks over the winter.

I put him in a corner of the basement when we

moved into the new house that doesn't receive much light.

I don't know what I was thinking.

I start noticing Spike wilting and kept meaning to move him,

and by the time I finally remembered to bring him upstairs,

I thought I'd lost him for sure.

Thankfully, I managed to save two of the stalks 

and now Spike is thriving in his new location by the

big living room windows upstairs.

I've got another plant on an end table in the upstairs living room.

This little gal was given to me last Mother's Day.

Our church always gives each mother a gift on

Mother's Day Sunday, so since I was 5 months pregnant,

I gratefully accepted this little geranium and set to caring for her.

Others I know received the same gift that Sunday -

and can't say their plant is still alive.

(You know who you are.)

I'm proud to say she'll soon celebrate one year with me.

I'm excited to see some pink flowers again,

though she never was much of a bloomer.

We'll see what she does this summer.

My two most recent additions sit on my

windowsill above my kitchen sink.

This little bugger has been a tough one.

Adam gave him to me last year along with a spa gift card

at a particularly stressful time during our

house construction and my pregnancy.

He's had his rough times with yellowing leaves

and white spots growing on him.

We've sprayed him with insecticide and

experimented with different amounts of light and water,

and though he's struggled -

he'll have been with us for a year this summer.

Last but not least -

is this little guy who also hangs out in the windowsill.

He's only been with me since January.

I've had this adorable pot sitting empty

and saw plants on sale at Cashwise for $3.99.

How could I not take him home with me?

Besides, these two are now best buds.

Maybe my grumpy guy on the left will shape up

and grow nice like his new friend.

How about you -
Got any houseplants?

Can't seem to keep them alive?

Don't want to fuss with them?

Let's hear from the green and

not-so-green thumbs out there.

Houseplants, yea or nay?

Cheesecake Heaven

The March edition of my yearlong Sweet Journey

required me to go out and buy a new pan.

I didn't own a springform pan,

but thanks to a quick trip to Wal-Mart, now I do!

Here is our March calendar page.

Looks like I'm making:

Heavenly Cheesecake

I gathered the ingredients together to get started.

It was my first time buying Mascarpone Cheese,

so I had to do some hunting in the grocery store.

I blended the cream cheese,

mascarpone cheese and sugar together,

before adding the eggs one at a time,

blending in between each egg.

Then I added a few more ingredients to the mix.

Next, I threw the graham cracker crust together

and baked it for 10 minutes.

After the crust cooled,

I poured the cheescake mixture on top

and placed it in the oven.

Here's how it looked about a half hour later.

The middle was still jiggly and not set,

but it was time to add a thin topping layer

and then return it to the oven for

another 10 minutes.

I had no idea there was an additional layer

added to the top of cheesecakes.

I thought that little film on top was just

created when a cheesecakes baked, but nope - 

it's a little layer of sour cream and about 3 other things.

Who would've guessed?

It was still a little jiggly when it came out,

but then it needed to chill for 8 hours

to make it set.

The instructions said to sprinkle the remaining

graham cracker crumbs on the top.

Once I busted that beautiful cheesecake out of the

springform pan, this is what it looked like.

Here is my own little slice of heaven.

I still had some fresh picked rasberries in the freezer

from last summer, so I got them out for anyone who

wanted a little topping on their piece.

With another successful trip of the Sweet Journey down,

I can't wait to see what April has in store!

Heavenly Cheesecake

For Crust:

2 1/2 c. finely ground graham crackers

10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For Filling:

20 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. mascarpone cheese at room temperature

3/4 c. sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

For Topping:

1 c. sour cream

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom and side of 9" springform pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, setting aside 1/4 c. crumb mixture for topping. Pat remaining crumb/butter mixture on bottom and slightly up the side of springform pan. Place pan on cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes, or until golden. Cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and spread gently over cheesecake, leaving a thin border around the edge. Bake for 30 minutes. Center will not be set, but will continue to set as it cools. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

For the topping stir together all ingredients and spread gently over cheesecake, leaving a thin border around the edge. Bake cheesecake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the top with reserved graham cracker crumbs, and cool the cake completely in the pan before chilling it for at least 8 hours.

TIP: To help prevent cracking, run a thin knife around the edge of the cake after final baking.

Ingredients for a Peaceful Saturday Morning

Yesterday was actually a crazy day.

Walt was wheezing like a 70 year old, 2-pack-a-day smoker,

so he had to be taken to the clinic.

Verdict:

RSV

After a busy week,

I just wanted to kick off my weekend

with a peaceful Saturday morning.

Here's how I did it.

I grabbed one cup of coffee in my favorite mug.

Enter a comfy chair,

a place to put up your feet,

 and a good book.

Don't forget a soft, warm blanket to snuggle in,

 and a pillow to lean on.

Time this out with your sick little boy's nap.

And after a nice hour of solitude,

you'll feel so happy and rejuvenated from your serene morning,

that you'll plan a big dinner and invite your parents over for

the March edition of our yearlong Sweet Journey!

Chilling with The Walt

Walter & I kicked off our shoes and lounged on the couch 

after a tough day at work and daycare.

After discussing our respective days,

we figured we better show you guys

the latest development -

Did you see it?

How about a close up -

Still nothing? Look again.

See that tiny white thing poking

through Walt's lower gum?

WALTER GOT HIS FIRST TOOTH!

It's hard to document, as it's freshly poking through

and every time I try to get in there and snap

a photo, Walter's running his tongue over it.

But we couldn't wait for better photos
to share the biggest news of the day!