Family Dinner Goals : This Week's Menu & Forcing Spring Bulbs Inside

Happy Monday : )  It feels like a Monday - in the best way.  It is slightly warmer than usual outside (but getting colder by the minute), grey and misting.  The warm, wet weather over the weekend made it feel like Spring should be just around the corner, but I know it isn't.  In the meantime, I am bringing some spring inside.  I finally got all of my paper whites cleaned out over the weekend - they were definitely on their last leg.  I replaced them with some spring bulbs.  I so enjoy growing something inside during the holidays months (paper whites and amaryllis), that I like to keep it going until spring.

These, on our dining table, are muscari.  On our baking counter I have a large urn planter filled with daffodils and a small terra-cotta planter with tulips.   I have a couple of more terra-cotta pots on my office bench with more tulips.

Emma and I also cleaned out my dead boxwoods in the windowboxes (DIY link) over the weekend (insert eyeroll).  I did it again.  I did not water properly through the fall and did not plant them in the ground before winter and now they are dead.  Again!  Two years in a row.  Twelve small boxwoods, gone.  Ugh!  I'm going to install a watering system to the boxes as soon as it thaws this spring.

Instead of boxwoods this year, we filled our window box planters with tulip and daffodil bulbs.  All of these bulbs, that we're forcing inside and in the windowboxes, have been chilling in our garage for the last two months.  As in, I bought them to plant in the yard this fall, never got around to it, so they've been in the garage - cold and dark.  Bulbs require 6 weeks of dark, cold space before they'll be ready to bloom.  

And on a fun note, and completely uncharacteristic of me, Emma and I picked a crazy assortment of every different type of tulip and daffodil bulbs.  So, we'll be surprised when they bloom - she's excited to see what they are!  We should have lots of different colors, shapes and varieties.   Normally, I would have picked a mass of the same, but I got a wild hair this year, I guess.   I'll transplant them into the ground after they bloom this spring, so I'm sure I'll sort them out when they go in their permanent places.

So, our family dinners will be around these bulbs for the next month or so.  I think they'll be a fun centerpiece and conversation piece each night as we watch them grow... and I think they'll be easy to keep moist, since we'll be staring at them at least once a day.  I'm going to guess that they will be watered by Emma's leftover water each night at dinner.

I like having seasonal, low-maintanance centerpieces on our dinner table.  It makes our family dinners feel like more of an occasion, without them feeling fancy or stuffy.  I love a casual, comfy table.  Here are some other easy centerpiece ideas :

Potted Herbs

Potted Violet (super low-maintanance)

Bowl of Oranges, Lemons or Cuties

Taper Candles (these are 6")

Forcing Bulbs Tips :

Chilled Bulbs : Buy chilled bulbs, or chill them yourself in a paper bag in a cold, dark spot.

Pea Gravel : I put a plastic container in the base of the pot (you want it to be able to hold water), then fill it with pea gravel.  Place the bottoms (where the roots are) of the bulbs in the gravel, then cover with moss.

Water : Add enough water to be just below the bottoms of the bulbs.  You don't want them to sit in water or they will rot.  You want to keep the water accessible for the roots to grow down and reach it.  The moist moss helps wake up the bulbs.

Sun : Place them in a sunny window and keep the water level just until the base of the bowl.  Really watering once a week or so it usually fine.

Alleluia, Mike is home all week!  For the last two months, he's been traveling a lot for work, usually 2-3 nights a week.  It feels like such a treat for him to be here for the entire week... which means I need to step up my dinner menu.  

Tonight, we're having pasta.  At least one night a week, I need a big bowl of pasta.  It is a rainy day, so today is the day.  This Penne All Vodka (plus shrimp) is a house favorite.  Lick your plate good and quick and easy.

I don't know why, but every January this comes into rotation.  It makes a ton, it reheats for easy lunches and dinners and is the perfect thing to make early in the week for busy nights.

Beef Drip Sandwiches

I can't get enough citrus lately.  I'm going to make this tomorrow during the day and have it ready to go after Emma's busy after school activities tomorrow night.  Yum, those roasted lemons....

Tessa's Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

This is one of those comforting dinners that has a lighter, more springy feel.  The rosemary broth is out of this world.   More of a Sunday night supper recipe... on our docket for the weekend.

Rosemary Braised Pork

Cooking with Emma | Lemon Thyme Chicken, Green Beans & Mashed Potatoes

Emma and I were at Williams-Sonoma a couple of weeks ago when she spotted the American Girl Cooking cookbook.  She was convinced she needed it.  It was the first week of summer, so I thought the little investment might help us fill some of the summer evening dinners with something other than burgers and caprese salads.

It probably comes to no surprise to all of you that Emma and I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen together.  She knows a lot of recipes and has her "specialties" that she's in charge of, like making marinades, dressings, chopping soft things (like mushrooms and cherry tomatoes) and of course baking.  

While I would never want to force her to love my passions, she seems to be interested in making and doing as much as I am.  It is our goal for her to be capable of helping herself and others, and these kitchen skills will go along way for her.  I think parents can get caught up in making sure their kids are very competent at many different swimming strokes, soccer skills, ballet positions and gymnastic tricks, but forget about life skills like being capable of making their own breakfast, lunch, or bed!  Sorry, off my soapbox.  I'll continue : )

She had her heart set on making the Rosemary Roast Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans.

Like her mother, she does not like to follow a recipe to a "T."  She decided to omit the grain mustard from the chicken and almonds from the green beans.

We also changed it from Lemon Rosemary Chicken to Lemon Thyme Chicken when we discovered our rosemary had been uprooted and shriveled up.

A little lesson in being resourceful instead of running (back) to the store : )  Thyme it is.

I try to let her do as mush as possible all by herself.  Here she is using the tongs to squeeze the juice out of a lemon.  A little thing she learned on YouTube, she told me.  (insert eye roll emoji)

We used frozen green beans that were already blanched and just needed sautéing in butter and tossed with balsamic.  Pretty good, actually!

I find that if I put the heat on very low in the middle burner, it is far enough away so she can't hurt herself, but she can still reach it.  I cut and boiled the potatoes (on the back burner), but everything else was up to her -

Including setting the table, which is something she is always in charge of.

 Very proud!

My Roasted Lemon & Thyme Chicken (recipe here)

Mashed Potatoes!

A black and white close-up so time can stand still, just for a moment.

Family Dinners at Our House | Steaks with Easy Red Wine Sauce + This Week's Menu

Family Dinner At Our House


I will not pretend that this is the scene every single night at our house... but we try for at least a couple nights a week.  These photos were from last night's Sunday dinner table.  It is always easier to pull off a nice Sunday dinner than during the week, right?  At first glance, this setup may seem fancy for a family dinner, but all of these elements are really common.  I know that some are thinking, why all the trouble?  And the truth is that it isn't really much trouble at all, really very little effort or expense involved, though the impact is big.

I feel so strongly that sitting down at a table that is set, brings a sense of purpose to a typical family dinner.  It brings us all together for a moment of grace and it says no matter what your day was like, I want to sit, share and talk with you.

A lot of time when we sit down at this table it doesn't have flowers and the candles aren't lit, and it feels completely different.   So, at least 3 times a week, I am going to make it my goal to actually light the candles : )  It feels somewhat related to "stopping to smell the roses."  It is there for the taking, you just have to stop and actually make the effort.  I mean, what does it take 4 seconds to light candles?

And like most families, we have our fair share of casual dinners at the island, too, don't worry.  Though, if you've never thought about the difference between sitting at the counter versus sitting at a table, the difference is this : conversation.  When you are sitting and not facing each other, conversation is hard.  Eye contact is even harder.  I imagine as kids get older and they have more independence, eye contact with parents while talking about their day can be so revealing.  It is always my goal to make our dinner table a safe zone, a comfortable place that is a place that everyone wants to be and feels loved and cared for.

I mentioned that the setting was not much effort.  I always try to create a "maintenance free" table setting once a week - this is a perfect example.  The flowers are dried hydrangea from our yard that have turned the prettiest shade of green (that actually seem a little more vibrant in the photos than in real life).  They don't have any water and would look just like this if I left them there all year long.  Though dry, they still bring life and some seasonal color to the table.  Other "maintenance free" tables we like are a bowl of apples or gourds (fall!), or potted herbs.

Anytime you add taper candles to a dinner table...and actually light them ; ) you add instant atmosphere.  These are 12" Privot Berry Blue tapers that go great with the green flowers (blue + green is my current favorite combo, as you all know).   The candles come in an 18" too for an even bigger effect.  Super elegant.  The "copper" salt and peppers were a steal from Target.  Be fore warned, they are plastic with a copper coating... something I didn't realize (but should have since they were $18).  Love the warmth that they bring to the table, though.

Emma always helps with setting the table.  This time, she made place cards for each of us, while I took care of the rest of the setting.  When she sets the entire table there is a lot of mix-matching linens and flatware, which is just fine by me.   I'll be sure to share one of those tables someday, too.

As you can see, above, she drew a pumpkin and maple leaf for me... she knows how much I'm itching for fall!

Mike got a "branch" : )

The place cards were her idea.  Sometimes she makes placemats from printer paper or tries her hand at interesting napkin folds.  I just like that she's enthusiastic to help and looks forward to making it special.  Hoping I pass on this love for making family dinners special to her.  At least I'll know that whatever life circumstance she finds herself in, she'll be able to create a special dinner for her family.  What is it they say about teaching a man to fish?  So many parables in this post... ; )

A cherry leaf and cherries for her.  After the fact, she also decided they could be headphones, which she thought was better.

Dinner was seared steaks with a very simple Red Wine Sauce.  I'll share the recipe for the wine sauce later today.   It is all of 3-4 ingredients and transforms dinner.  In fact, this entire dinner looks impressive but it is the easiest dinner to make.  Besides putting the baked potatoes in the oven 1 1/2 before, the rest of the dinner took about 20 minutes of hands-on time.

I'd like to pretend that this was Mike's giant loaded plate, but we all know that he doesn't like mushrooms...  busted : )

Table Setting Resources :

Block Print Napkins, 4 for $32

Privot Berry Blue Taper Candles, $10.50

Brown & White Ceramic Container (available in Squares or Round), $12.00-28.50

Heathered Indigo Throw (over back of chair), $80

Dusty Green Block Print Pillow, 20" Square, $32

See the rest of the Blue & Green Classic Home Collection, here >

This Week's Menu :

Seared Steaks with Easy Red Wine Sauce  (recipe coming later today)

Baked Potatoes

Sautéed Mushrooms

Sliced Tomatoes

Chicken & Vegetable Corn Chowder 


This is a great dinner to make in advance.  I'll put individual servings in the freezer for Emma and I to reheat for lunches, too.

Beef Stroganoff

This photo and recipe link are of this "fancy" version of Beef Stroganoff.  Our favorite weeknight version is made with ground beef and egg noodles.  I'll share this version very soon - an almost weekly staple around here.































Panko Salmon

So much flavor in this Barefoot Contessa recipe.  That Nine Color Salad is still one of my favorites.

I'll share the Easy Red Wine Sauce recipe later today.  I'm off to pick up Emma from preschool... oh boy do these mornings go by quickly.

Our Thanksgiving in Pictures

Holiday weekends are a whirlwind.  This Thanksgiving was no exception - it was the first big holiday we hosted in our home and was a 3 day extravaganza of family fun.  It started with a girls movie day seeing The Peanuts Movie (so good!) and a guys golf day on Wednesday, Thanksgiving on Thursday, an early birthday celebration/Christmas activities on Friday for Emma + cousins, and ended with a festive "kids" night out (as in, the kids that are now parents) while my parents watched the girls.  Just coming up with the schedule of events, making the reservations and preparing for all of the down moments in between took most of my brain power for the last couple of weeks.

All of the planning was so helpful to create an easy going week with lots of sweet memories in between.  Here are a couple of my favorites :

Emma and I set the table together on Tuesday night before our company arrived on Wednesday morning.  The girls were obsessed with the party poppers... found at Williams-Sonoma the day before at 50% off, who could pass up?

The table is semi-ready.  I had the girls make tiny rose and bay leaf arrangements in my tumblers on Thanksgiving morning to put on the table, as well.

It was inspired by Tessa's table last year.

We brined the Turkey - a first and very yummy.  I used a mixture of water, apple cider, brown sugar, sea salt, garlic, rosemary and bay leaves.

I should've found a brining bag, but I used a couple of giant ziplocks. It worked ok, but the turkey kept poking holes...

Aunt Jenny in charge (while Jill and Kevin met KC friends for drinks) means hot chocolate before bed ; )

Snugglers watching their Elf on the Shelf show... again, a special treat only Aunt Jenny will allow.  On a similar note, Emma has started calling me Aunt Jenny when her cousins are in town.  She thinks its hilarious.

Kate getting her very own bed to watch Frozen.

On Thanksgiving morning I snuck downstairs before anyone else to get things ready - and to have a moment to myself : )

Parade Breakfast preparations.

One by one, they came downstairs to join me.  Emma is mixing up some Pumpkin Pecan Bread.

Sam and Kate both got a little gift - Child's Baking Set with Apron and Tiny Tools.  They will be restocked in the store tomorrow morning along with a couple of other new things and gift ideas!

Two bakers.

Getting everything ready for stuffing the turkey.

Now all three!

They got a big kick out of stuffing the turkey.  Each had a lemon wedge, onion wedge, bunch of parsley and thyme to put in.

Scary me, but sweet moment worth remembering.  Jill took this photo and said, are you sure you want me to?

Turns out I don't have a turkey baster, so I had to ladle on the butter and wine mixture.

Fast forward a couple of hours and the turkey is done and the family is feasting.

The boys loved having Mike's new room to retreat to after dinner.

Mr. enjoying the warm fire after too many table scraps : )

The holiday is over and just before I took everything down to begin decorating for Christmas, I took a moment to capture some of my favorite things.

Homemade Turkeys

Placecards decorated by the girls.

Their little rose arrangements that went down the table.

The freezing rain that accompanied us all weekend.

The last of the pumpkins being devoured by the squirrels.

After such a packed weekend, the perfect gift came yesterday with a text photo from Jill :
Me, Sam and Emma.  Goal achieved : )

....

I hope you all had a wonderful and bountiful Thanksgiving with your families!  I'm a bit sad for the weekend we'd been planning for so long to be over, but looking forward to Christmas makes it a bit easier.  Now, Emma and I have a giant bowl of popcorn and cranberries to string...

See you tomorrow at 8am (Est) for some restocked items and new gifts in the store!