Wine Cubes

No, I'm not talking about cheap wine that comes in a box. Take your leftover wine and pour into ice cube trays (you can find them at the dollar store) and freeze. They are great when you want to cook with wine, but don't need/want to open a new botte. Now I know many of you - especially those who knew me BK (before kids) are thinking Leftover wine? What? Well, we traded in lots of wine for lots of whine around here recently, and too much wine with dinner does not help one to pop out of bed at 6:30 am rounding up sippy cups, brushing teeth, and changing diapers! The frozen cubes are a great addition to flavor stews, sauces, gravy, or soup. And since you should never cook with a wine that you would not drink, (the flavor concentrates) it's a great way to save on adding some wonderful flavors to your favorite dishes. Ok, before you think I am a total June Clever here, its also a great way to add ice to your favorite mixed drinks without fear of watering down your booze! Pop them in Sangria, wine coolers, summer wine, tinto verano, martinis, you get the idea.

The concept also works well for marinara cubes, chicken stock or broth, etc.... Just make sure to label your storage containers, as chicken stock flavored Sangria will not go down well at your next cocktail party. Enjoy!

Smoky Sweet

We had a few friends over for dinner last night and I made these chicken soft tacos I saw on the Rachel Ray show. I tivo'd this show because Salma Hayek was on and I think she's an amazing person. I like Rachel, but only in small doses, so I definitely don't watch her show everyday, but I must admit that when I do watch it, I usually find something I like.

I found that ancho chiles were hard to find, so I used chipotle peppers instead. The tacos were a huge hit with family and friends, so I'm making them my favorite thing for today.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/ancho-chicken-soft-tacos/

Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics

So I was half way watching food network yesterday, and half way napping. I would have given into the nap fully if it were not for the fear that one of my children would wake up too quickly and I would be sound asleep. That has happened only a few times, and its not good. I don't do cat naps, I do bear naps. I sleep like a brick during the day... I don't know why. I wake up easily at night.. maybe because I rarely take naps? Well I fluttered my eyes open and Cayden was standing at the foot of the couch. "I want to watch cooking with you, Mommy." So, I pulled him onto the couch with me and we watched a new episode of Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten.) Okay, who knew she had a new cookbook out and didn't tell me? You are rotten! If anyone had shared this information with me, I would have surely cooked something for you already. Anyway, her new cookbook is Back to Basics. It looks dandy. I read cookbooks like novels, by the way. I committed the Brownie Pudding recipe to memory and made it last night for Matt as a Valentine surprise. Thanks Ina, quite good timing! Here's the recipe:

4 extra large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup of "good cocoa" powder
1/2 cup of flour (plus extra for buttering the dish)
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
2 sticks of unsalted butter (melted)
1/2 tablespoon of framboise (Ina's key to "unlocking" the flavor) I used chambord.

Blend eggs and sugar in your mixer (using paddle attachment if you're fancy and have one - I don't.) Mix until thick, smooth, and light yellow - about 5 to 10 minutes.
Sift the cocoa and flour together - or let your 3 year old do it, this is great fun for a toddler... little messy, but who cares, right?
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean by slitting the bean from stem to stern with a good kitchen knife, and then scraping out the inside.
Add the flour mix and bean scraping to the mixer, and mix just until blended.
Finally, pour in the melted butter and framboise, mix just until blended.
Butter your baking dish and pour the entire mixture into the dish.
Bake at 325 for one hour. Baking in a water bath keeps it evenly done.
Check with a toothpick. Sides should come out clean, middle should be wet... and chocolate, moltenly delicous. Try it out, hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Serve with vanilla icecream. As Dolly Parton would say, "you need something to cut the sweet!"

Christy Needs

This is new to me, so I am going to share it, but it's been traveling around blogs and facebook for a bit. Google "your name needs" and see the first ten results that come up. It's easy, and good for a quick chucke. You may find some that apply, and some that you don't want to admit apply! When I google "Christy Needs" these are the results:

1. Christy needs to blog
2. Christy needs help
3. Christy needs a sheltie to boss the deerhounds around
4. Christy needs her own tv series
5. Christy needs to take her opinions elsewhere
6. Christy needs more pop video on AOL
7. Christy needs an intervention
8. Christy needs rainbow chills ????
9. Christy needs a new computer
10. Christy needs pleasing

I do like to blog, and I often do need help - of all kinds... I think my deerhounds will be okay without a sheltie for a while???? I am thinking #10 was a link to a bit of a naughty website, so we'll hold off on that for now. Smile! If anyone knows what rainbow chills are please let me know. Is it anything like a frosty penguin? (circa Ally McBeal days.)

Well enjoy your list. You never know what you may need!

Ricotta Cheese Pancakes

Did I mention that I take weekends off? (Well not usually Mondays and Tuesdays too) but it's been a crazy week. Anyway, as you may have seen on my other blog www.motherload-christy.com, I have fallen in love with Ricotta Cheese. I'd never been a fan in the past, but I love it now. Someone told me once that your taste buds change every seven years (Ann, was that you?) I am going to make these pancakes for dinner. We had them over the weekend and they were fabulous. http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,175,130182-245196,00.html This recipe uses bisquick, so it is super easy - however there are several totally from scratch recipes involving egg separation and flour sifting on cooks.com for you "Marthas" and non-toddler having people of the world. Peace, Love and Cheese!

Christy

Warm from the Inside Out

I do like cold weather, but I like mine with precip - ice, snow, I'm not picky. I like to hear about everyone running to the stores for bread and milk. I like the idea of being holed up inside for a day or two, and just enjoying some old movies - okay - so it would have to be Disney movies now, but that's okay too. I like to say inside and bake bread and make soup, and store up fat for the winter... oh wait, mission accomplished. What I don't like is being cold in the house! Heat Pumps and weather as cold as we've had for the last several days do not mix! I also don't like wind that rattles the house, never mind my bones. Karen (Channel 2) says we're finally on the warm up, and she usually nails it, so that's good; however, I started my warm up yesterday with White Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Schnapps. Yum, Yum! It definitely warms you from the inside out, with the added bonus of slight appetite suppression, breathing easier through a stuffy nose, and it dulls the pain of listening to the Handy Manny toy tool truck repeating the same message 2,000 times. Below is Sandra Lee's recipe, or you can purchase the K-cups if you have a Keurig and then just add the schnapps... WARNING - this makes it dangerously speedy to concoct. Now, go warm up your bones, I am.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/white-hot-chocolate-recipe/index.html

Pom Poms - not the cheering kind!

Drum roll, please. Today's favorite is great, inexpensive, and easy-to-make. (I promise.) I recently discovered these great decorations at a shower given for Jessie and her new baby Logan. (Gosh, Logan, I can't seem to blog without mentioning your sweet little baby self.) I immediatley inquired about the joyful bursts of color hanging over the punch bowl and gift table. Lesley Graham (a party hostess with the mostest) told me to check out Martha Stewart for the tips on how to make these lovely and colorful balls. I did follow Martha's advice, and for once - it was easy and simple. Not that I don't enjoy most of Martha's creations, but they are rarely ever simple, or inexpensive for that matter - so way to go Martha! Love it, thank you for making something that your average person can muster the attention span to complete.

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/pom-poms-and-luminarias

I also discovered that the pom poms are easily made out of left over party napkins. Cayden (my 3 year old) helped me make these for his birthday. The blue polka dot one and the red and white with snowflakes are made out of small cocktail napkins. They are easier for children to work with because it does take some patience to open up the tissue paper without tearing the paper. The same method has been used for making tissue paper roses for HS floats for years, so you see some of Martha's ideas are recycled as well. (Shout out to Ann for that tip!) Hope you enjoy these. We certainly have.

Pea Cup

Yes, pea cup, not pee cup, is my favorite thing of the day! It's a clever way to organize your writing pens, keep them from inking up the bottom of a favorite cup or jar, and is aesthetically pleasing. I must give credit for today's tip to Lime Tree - a boutique store in the fab new outdoor mall, Ashley Park, in Newnan. I first saw this neat idea when shopping for a gift for baby Logan's welcome home party! Look at that Logan, you're just over a month old, and already being blogged about! Find a sweet little potting cup, small glass vase, or any type of storage container you like. Add peas, and arrange your writing pens and pencils, and place a few little writing pads nearby for added function. I used a large amber colored glass candle holder from IKEA, and black beans. They used split peas at Lime Tree in a large clear apothecary jar. It looked great as well. Coffee beans can also be used, and then your pen display does double duty to frangance your kitchen or office with the smell of fresh brewed coffee.

Ground Hog Day

Today being Ground Hog Day, I thought of Bill Murray and what it would be like to keep living the same day over and over again, thereby leading me to the thought that today would be a great day to start this new blog. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while to share my favorite new ideas, not always my own original ideas, but something new I've come across that I think other cool moms would like. Oops, did I just refer to myself as a cool mom, well something my grandmother always said was "you might as well think highly of yourself, or no one else will." Fresh Picked will be a new idea every day, a recipe, a design idea, a new spin on something old. Since these ideas will not always be mine, I will give credit where credit is due. Basically, I'll be scouring magazines, home improvement shows, other blogs, and the internet to bring you hip new ideas you can use or lose. If you like an idea, or take it to the next level, be sure to comment. Not all of the daily pickings will be geared toward kids, so that all readers can pick something to love.

PS - I do realize that yesterday was Ground Hogs day... I just didn't get to wrap up this post until now.