Beautiful foods to try

Macaroni Soup- A Comfort Food Recipe

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Good Morning Everyone,

Goodness, these Fridays sure do come pretty fast. January is almost over and I keep looking at my closet thinking, “okay I have to do a cleanout soon”. There are a few items that I need to put on my Poshmark closet account and I few items that I need to donate to the women’s shelter. Speaking of women’s shelters I have not been able to volunteer at Dress for Success for almost two years now and it has made me so sad. The pandemic has really ruined a lot of things but we will continue to pray and move forward. 

I did want to share that my macaroni soup came out so good! I was so happy with the results and had to share it will you guys!

 

 

It was so simple to make. I followed the instructions. I browned the meat with olive oil and chopped up my veggies. 

 

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

One thing that I did differently and that was cook my pasta separately. The instructions do call for you to cook your pasta with the meat and veggies but I didn’t want that. I cooked it separately and then added all of the veggies, seasonings, and broth together. 

 

 

I love seeing all of the colors and textures. It was so good! I did add some beef bouillon and they gave it a little more flavor. It was so warm and tasty. 

 

 

I did bake some french bread and we had this with it as well. It was so good. I had it for lunch twice this week. The recipe was so simple, the ingredients so affordable and the soup was so filling. The link to the recipe is here if you wish to try it and I hope you do. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for reading!

 

Just a reminder the Lillian Vine Dress is only $20 this weekend. It’s a great transitional dress! 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel Cake ~ New Recipe

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Good Morning and Happy New Year!

We have nothing planned this evening. Just a quiet dinner at home, my cheeseboard, some wine, and maybe a movie. I am putting up my Christmas decor today, washing bed linens, and vacuuming my entire home. I am also burning my fresh cut roses candle from Yankee Candle. It is one of my favorite scents. I want to wish you all a Happy New Year filled with peace, health and of course elegance! 

Now I want to share my glorious semi-homemade caramel cake recipe!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Okay, so this is a semi-homemade recipe. The cake part is actually a basic yellow cake. I used the Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake mix and it turned out so wonderful. It was so moist and delicious! I also decided to use a bundt cake style pan and I loved the way it turned out. 

Now the caramel icing is homemade and I decided to give this recipe a go and it worked out beautifully! It only required 4 ingredients and a lot of stirring but it was so worth it and my entire family loved my cake! Now the recipe did not call for pecans but I just kept looking at it and my husband asked me if I was okay with how it looked and I said, “you know I do want to add some crushed pecans”! He said go for it and I did. It added the perfect amount of crunch and salt to my sweet caramel cake! I could not be happier!

 

 

This was my table setting this year. I wanted something with blue in it. Last year and the years past I always had red and this year I wanted something different. I do love the way it turned out!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I can’t believe how fast this year flew by. I hope 2022 is a year of peace for everyone. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Rotisserie Style Chicken ~ New Recipe

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Good Friday Morning! 

I’ve got a busy weekend plan. Tomorrow I have to visit the BMV (sighing) to transfer my plates over to my new vehicle. I hate going there but it is what it is. While I am there I will have Lauren take the learner’s test again to see if she can pass it this time. Things have changed so much since I was a teen trying to get a license. The current learner’s test has about 50 questions! I remember our test only having 20! Seems like a lot to me but the kids today have more things that I can distract them from the road. 

In other news, my new plus-size dress will be arriving today! I am always excited about new arrivals but also fearful. You never know how things will look in person versus online. I always pray that my items are beautiful and are of good quality. Fingers crossed! 

Have any of you watched Jennifer’s latest video called Elegant Holiday Dinners?

 

 

Well, I did and wanted to try her slow cooker rotisserie-style chicken recipe! And I must say it was a crowd pleaser!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The prep work was pretty easy. So I gathered all of the ingredients for the rub to put on the chicken. I also did place the aluminum foil ring under the chicken that Jennifer suggested. 

 

 

This is what my chicken looked like after I rubbed the seasoning mixture on it. 

 

 

 

 

I let my chicken cook on high from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm in the slow-cooker! I probably should not have done that but I didn’t see the harm in letting it cook that long. I then took it out of the crockpot and placed it on a tray and put it in the oven for another hour. It came out crispy, juicy, and perfect!

 

 

I roasted some potatoes and broccoli and we had the most delicious family dinner! I was so pleased with this new recipe. I will definitely be making it again. Let me know in the comments section below if you have ever placed a whole chicken in the slow cooker. I want to know how it turned out. Have a great weekend!

Also please don’t forget about my free gift with purchase. If you purchase the Stella Bow Satchel you will receive the Rose Shell Purse Scarf/Scrunchie for free! 

 

 

A Quiet Thanksgiving…

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Good Friday Morning!

No Black Friday shopping for me! I plan on NOT leaving my house today. We had a pretty good Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. It was just me, my husband, and the kids. We sat, ate, and talked. It was really nice! I cooked the family favorites and we were finished eating before 5 which was great! I was done cleaning the kitchen by 7 and was in my nightgown by 9 and in my bed! I just sat in the bed and relaxed the whole time. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This was my table setting for this year. I normally use my Christmas plates but I wanted something different this year. I used my china that I found on Facebook Marketplace and I loved the way it looked! I did find a set here and here on eBay. 

 

 

Most of my china is second hand and I love that! All of the pieces were purchased from an antique store, eBay or Facebook. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

My reindeer are from Target and are sold out but I did find these. I also found my casserole dish on eBay if anyone is interested. 

 

 

I used my creamer as a small vase for the table and it turned out so well! I love the light pink roses with the babys breath. 

 

 

 

I also used my beautiful Wedgewood wine glasses. Oh my goodness I love these so much! They are so high-quality. I am so glad that I purchased them. I did find some similar on eBay here and here. The wine that we drank was Oliver’s Lemon Moscato.  It is so good and light. It’s low-calorie and low alcohol. 

 

 

 

I made my cornbread dressing. I just use Jiffy and I add raisins, cranberries, pecans, walnuts, and all of my seasonings. It is so good. Martha’s dried-fruit and nut cornbread dressing inspired me to do this years ago. It is always a big hit!

 

 

My herb-roasted turkey was outstanding if I do say so myself. I put parsley flakes, minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and sage in a bowl and stir. After I butter the turkey, I rub this mixture all over my turkey. It is so good!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I also made the normal sides, homemade mashed potatoes, baked beans, green beans, and I made my cinnamon apple tea cake. There are tons of recipes for this online. My recipe is from 2014 and I have no idea where I got it from. I also made a banana pudding. The kids love that! Overall Thanksgiving was a success and we really enjoyed ourselves. I think for Christmas I may try a caramel cake recipe. We will see. 

 

I wanted everyone to know that the boutique’s Black Friday sale is still going on. Use code blackfriday21 for 20% off of your entire order and that does include new arrivals! Thank you to the lovely Rosenda for wearing the blue swiss dot dress in her latest video! I only have a few left and it is only $20. Use the code and it is only $16 plus shipping! It’s a great gift as well!

 

To watch Rosenda’s video click here. 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Please note: some links are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission for referring you to the product. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to make a purchase through my link.

 

 

 

A Birthday Treat~ Ginger Jar Cookies

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Good Morning,

My birthday was yesterday. I still can’t believe that I am 39. Wow…. 40 next year. I am actually looking forward to turning 40. I don’t know why but I am. My birthday was actually very nice. I had lunch with some of my co-workers, my husband sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses, and order these gorgeous earrings for me. I can’t wait until they arrive!

I did want to share these gorgeous grandmilliennial inspired cookies that my husband ordered for me from Geneva Baking Company. I saw her ginger jar cookies on Instagram and had to order some!

 

 

I was so excited when the box arrived earlier this week! I loved the blue ribbons. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Aren’t they gorgeous? I shrieked like a little kid when I opened the box. They are huge cookies I will tell you that! But they are so gorgeous! I wanted a bit of every design.

 

 

I got pink and white and blue and white. I also wanted the toile, floral and leaf design. The owner sent me many emails just to make sure that my order was exactly what I wanted. She was so kind and sent me an extra cookie as a gift!

 

 

The cookies did not disappoint. I took some to the office to share with a few people and everyone loved them! Everyone kept saying how beautiful they were and they truly are! I hope to get some ordered next year. I would really love some Chanel-inspired cookies but we will see. 

 

 

 

The ingredients were very simple. No surprises, just unbleached flour, butter, eggs, baking powder, salt, almond, and vanilla extract. I love the taste of the almond extract. That was my favorite. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I appreciate all of your support through the years. Enjoy your Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

Chic Snacking

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Good Morning,

It’s Friday and I am so ready to sleep in on Saturday. For me sleeping in is sleeping until 9 a.m. That is the longest I can stay in bed. I am an early riser so staying in bed past 10 a.m. is hard for me. This weekend I have to take some shoes in for repair, I need to pay a visit to Costco and I need my car washed. I really would like to visit the antique store so we will see if I can fit that in.

Well on to today’s post. I am still reading through Fiona’s book Thirty Chic Days and at lunch this week I read a section about snacking. Now I have really slowed down my snacking the last 2 years but there are some days out of the month where I need something to satiate my hunger. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

These are my favorite items to snack on. I love blueberries, my Oui yogurt, and almonds. Now the almonds have been a recent purchase. I was inspired by Dominque’s video to get these almonds for my office drawer and I must say that they are so good and I am enjoying them! 

Other snacking items are fresh fruit and I love peanut butter and bananas. I will take a banana, slice it up, and spread peanut butter over each slice. It is like heaven to me. 

There was one section in this chapter that caught my eye and it was called, “Give up kid food”. Fiona said, “We are adults, so there is no reason to eat children’s treat food. I’ve told myself it’s time to grow up. Since it is only my husband and I, there is no need to have any juvenile food in the house at all. By the same token, you do not want to eat at fast food places painted bright colors- you will not find it to be a chic dining experience.” 

I repeat this to my husband all the time. He still eats like a 12-year-old but then I realized that was him. I don’t have to eat this way and so I don’t. I enjoy my “rabbit food” as he would call it. But it fills me up and it tastes wonderful. 

What are your favorite “chic snacks”? I would love to know what healthy snacks you all love. Please share in the comments section below. Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

Please note: some links are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission for referring you to the product. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to make a purchase through my link.

 

Friday Night Salmon

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Oh, it has been a long week! We had three golf matches this week and it was so hot. The golf match at the Brickyard was very nice. The scenery was beautiful and the other teams were pleasant. Today I will be leaving the office early to take care of a few things and start my weekend early. I do have some news. I am working on getting international shipping added to the boutique this weekend and I wanted everyone to know that my new arrival is available for purchase. Fingers crossed that I can get this accomplished! I have had a lot of interest in international shipping so we will see….

Now on to today’s post…

You guys know that on Fridays or one day a week I have my weekly salmon meal. I thought I would share it today with you all. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

So I start off by spraying down my pan with this Simple Truth Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray. I love this spray! It keeps everything from sticking and gives my meals a nice flavor to them. 

 

 

Next I pull out my salmon and it already has this dill butter on it as well as the herbs. I get my salmon from Costco. They have the best salmon if you ask me. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

I do add a little more seasoning to it. I add this zesty lemon pepper seasoning salt, regular salt, and McCormick’s Organic dill weed. This combination is so yummy! I then place it in the oven for about 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Once the salmon gets close to being done, I then sauteed my spinach in the pan. 

 

 

I add a little extra virgin olive oil and a little bit of salt and then I cook my spinach until it wilts down a bit.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

After a few minutes of cooking my spinach, I check my rice steamer to make sure that my rice is finished. Once done I plated my wonderful food and enjoy it! It really does not take me long to prepare this meal and it’s one of my favorites. I love this dish and look forward to it every week. 

What’s one of your favorite dishes? What do you look forward to making and eating every week? Please share in the comment section below. We would all love to know. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!