Minted.

Some of the art I ordered from minted arrived today. I'm so excited to get these framed and up in our bedroom. If you haven't already I highly recommend checking out the site.

By shopping Minted, you support a community of thousands of artists.  Artists from all over the world enter their competitive design challenges. Every limited edition art print has been voted on by artists, designers and shoppers.

Right now they have a promotion going on; 20% off Art with promo code GIFT20 and free 2-day shipping (on order over $75) with promo code GIFTFS2

Stay tuned for these framed and hung!

Harper's 3rd Birthday

My daughter Harper turned 3 in November. 

She loves all arts and crafts so we decided to do an "Art Studio" theme. I was a little nervous that the arts and crafts wouldn't hold the attention of 30 three year olds but it ended up working out perfectly.  Everyone not only had a blast but got to take home their own painted canvas. 

I purchased individual canvas's for each kid at Michael's to decorate with washable paint, glitter pens and foam letter stickers. So the parent's wouldn't totally kill me for their kids making a mess I got each kid their own smock to wear while painting.

I wrapped a smock around each canvas and a little custom tag that read "Paint, Glitter & Stickers too, Create your own canvas to bring home with you".

In addition to the canvas painting I set up a table with play doh and play doh accessories. This happened to be a huge hit!

I also got a bunch of boxes of noodles and died them the colors of the rainbow. Each kid made a "noodle necklace" to take home with them as well.

To tie in with the "Painting" theme I hired Maria Rocco to do face painting. She did an amazing job. Each kid left looking like a princess or super hero.

 For dessert we had a paint palette birthday cake, paintbrush pretzels, mini rainbow cupcakes and paint dipped strawberries. All of them home made.

As a give out I ordered a water color paint set for each kid and wrapped it with a paint palette lollipop and custom tag that said "Thank you for making my birthday a masterpiece".

The party was a huge hit! Harper had a blast and we now have enough paint supplies to get us through a very long winter ahead!

Invitation

Swanky Press

Custom signage
Invitation Celebration

&
Larkspur Studios

Canvas's

Michael's

Smocks

amazon

Face Painting

Maria Rocco

Water color paint palette

shindigz

Rainbow Table Cloths 

shindigz

Paper goods

shindigz

All desserts were home made 

Friday I'm in Love

I'm always keeping an eye out for cute & unique clothing for Harper. I came across mamacase prints on etsy.com.
Kacie is based out of Austin, TX, where all of her items are designed and printed in her home studio.

All her materials - shirts, screens and ink are made in the USA.

It was hard choosing which Tee to order as they are all so adorable. 

Ultimately I choose the "Friday I'm in Love" tee. I mean really, does it get any cuter?

It's super soft and comfy - I will definitely be ordering more! 

I think "oh grow up" may need to be my next purchase.

Tees are $22 and onsies are $20.

Mention ShabouShari in your notes section at check out!

mamacase prints etsy shop

Easy weeknight dinner, Pasta alla Norma

Weeknight dinners are hard. With everything that needs to get done during the day sometimes making dinner is the last thing you have time for, or feel like doing. 

The below pasta dish you can whip up quickly. You probably have most of the ingredients in your cabinet already. And the eggplant is a great way to get your serving of veggies in. 

Pasta alla Norma

What you'll need:

- 2 firm eggplants, peeled and cubed

- Extra virgin olive oil as needed

- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh)

- Pinch of red pepper flakes (this is optional)

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- Handful of fresh basil, finely chopped

- (2) 14-ounce cans good quality chopped tomatoes (I like San Marzano)

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 1 pound pasta

- 6 ounces salted ricotta salata (you can substitute with feta)

Directions:

Remove skin from eggplants and cut into cubes.

In a nonstick pan heat oil. Fry the eggplant cubes in batches, adding extra oil if needed. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt & pepper and the oregano. Keep turning the eggplant cubes until browned on all sides. 

Turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic and half of the basil. Add in the pinch of red pepper flakes (if you want a little spice). Toss everything well and add the 2 cans of tomatoes. Simmer about 15-20 minutes. 

While the sauce simmers cook the pasta in salted boiling water. When it is al dente drain it, reserving about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Toss the pasta straight in pan with the sauce and add in the reserved cooking water.

Toss & cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Take off heat and add in the rest of the basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle cheese on top and serve immediately. 

Easiest Blueberry Galette

I am not usually a baker. I can easily spend hours in the kitchen whipping up a braised short rib or home made pasta but something about dessert scares me. Maybe it's all the precision and measuring that goes into. (Math is not my forte). However the below galette recipe is so simple it's basically foolproof. 

It takes all of 5 minutes to prepare, 25 minutes in the oven and guaranteed delicious. Top with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and I promise rave reviews.

If you are looking for a dessert to bring to a Memorial Day party this weekend this is sure to be a hit!

You could use a mix of blueberries and raspberries for that red, white and blue spirit.

recipe below.

What you'll need:

3 cups berries of your choice (I used a mixture of blueberries and blackberries)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for dusting crust

1 (9 inch) frozen pie dough (thawed) 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, in small cubes

1 egg, beaten

Directions

Pre heat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a bowl stir together the berries, cornstarch, lemon juice, zest and sugar. 

Unfold the pie crust on a greased baking sheet. 

Spoon the berry mixture onto the center of the dough, leaving about an inch or so at the edges. 

Fold the edges of the dough over the berry mixture, pleating the dough where necessary. You can just use your fingers to pinch together. 

Brush the pie crust with beaten the egg & sprinkle with the teaspoon of sugar. Place the cubes of butter on top of the berries. 

Bake about 25 minutes, until berries are bubbling and crust is golden. Let cool and top with vanilla ice cream. Serve warm.

Strawberry Stew

Now that we are in full Spring I have been buying a ton of fresh fruit at the market. Harper loves strawberries, blueberries, raspberries... you name it! And since she accompanies me to the store we end up with all of it in our cart. I love that she loves fruit but hate how quickly it goes bad. 

So as my Costco size bin of strawberries were starting to see their end I decided to make them into a strawberry stew. This is an old recipe my grandma always made for me growing up. It's a great way to salvage fruit about to go bad. I used strawberries but this would be delicious with any kind of berry.

How to:

Wash and put the strawberries (stem removed) in a pot with a little water (about 1/4 cup) and about 2 tablespoons sugar. 

Boil them for about 5 minutes or so, until they get soft and the water turns to a syrupy consistency.

Let them cool completely. They can keep in the fridge for about a week.

They taste amazing alone but are also great as a topping for yogurt. If your feeling really crazy make a strawberry short cake with angel food cake, the strawberry stew and some whip cream! 

Finally! Happy Spring!

One pan wonder

This one pan wonder is chicken with a deconstructed stuffing. You brown the chicken before baking it so it has a nice crust and then let it finish cooking on top of the stuffing. The chicken broth will soften some of the bread cubes but leave the pieces on the edges nice and crispy. 

The whole meal is done is less then an hour and you'll only have 3 pans to clean up afterwards. 

Sounds like a win-win to me!

What you'll need:

- 1 chicken, cut up in eighths

- 3 celery stalks, chopped

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 1 package mushrooms (I used baby bellas)

- Loaf of crusty bread, cubed (about 6 cups) 

- Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

- 2 cups chicken broth

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- Salt & pepper to taste

*You will want to use a pan that has edges so the chicken broth doesn't spill off the sides. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Dice up the onion and celery. Heat a pan over medium heat with olive oil. 

Saute celery, onion and mushrooms till soft, about 8 minutes. Make sure not to burn.

In the meantime, rinse and dry chicken. Season with salt and pepper.

In large pan (I used a dutch oven) brown each piece of chicken, about 5 minutes per side.

Take off heat and set aside.

Cube the bread in about 1-2" pieces. You should have about 6 cups. 

On a rimmed baking sheet spread out the bread cubes and celery/onion/mushroom mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes. 

After 10 minutes take out the pan, mix and pour 1 cup of broth on top.

Add the chicken on top of stuffing. Now add the second cup of chicken broth over chicken. 

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Sprinkle with parsley when chicken comes out and serve.

Green Goddess

Have you ever tried making Green Goddess dressing? If your answer is no then today is your lucky day! Green goddess is a fresh, quick and delicious dressing that can be used on salads as well as a dipping sauce for anything from fresh veggies to shrimp cocktail.

I used basil, chives and parsley but feel free to substitute in other fresh green herbs of your choice.

(You can also use low fat mayo and light sour cream to lighten this up.)

The recipe will make more then you'll need for one time use. It can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. 

recipe below.

What you'll need:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup chopped fresh scallions

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Juice of 2 lemons

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup sour cream

Lettuce of your choice (I used an iceberg wedge)

Grape Tomatoes

Pancetta (optional)

Directions:

Place all ingredients except the sour cream in a blender.

Blend until smooth. Add in the sour cream and blend again.

Finely chop and cook pancetta on stovetop until well done and crispy. Place on paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Wash lettuce and cut the iceberg into 4 wedges. Slice tomatoes and scatter on plate. Pour dressing over each wedge and scatter pancetta bits.

Enjoy!

Sweet as Sugar Cookies XO

Once again this weekend brought snow and once again we found ourselves spending another Saturday indoors. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand to make these yummy and easy sugar cookies. I had bought these adorable "XO" cookie cutters before Valentines Day and then never got the chance to use them. So I guess the snow keeping us inside kinda worked out perfectly.

cookie recipe below.

What you'll need:

-1 cup unsalted butter, softened

-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

-1 egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-1 teaspoon baking soda 

-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Once they are mixed add the egg, vanilla and baking soda. Then sift in the flour one cup at a time. Transfer the dough to a floured surface & knead the dough until it forms a solid ball.  You can add more flour if it seems too sticky.

Use a rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1/2" thickness. (If you like your cookies crispier then go with 3/8".)

Once you have cut out your cookies transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Make sure to leave about 2" between each since they will grow in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. They cook quick so keep an eye on them. If you made them thinner then 1/2" they will take less time to cook. Once the edges brown they are ready to come out. 

Let cool and frost to your delight!

XO

Short Rib Ragu over Gnocchi

If you are looking to stay in and cook something special for your Valentine tonight I have just the thing.

Braised Short Rib Ragu over fresh gnocchi.

It sounds complicated I know. Granted it does take a while to cook but it's really just prepping it and then leaving it on the oven to cook and get delicious. Not to mention make your house smell incredible!

Whether you make it for a special Valentines meal or just to warm your insides on a cold night, your company will definitely be impressed with the outcome. I can promise you that.

recipe below. 

What you'll need:

- 8 whole Beef Short Ribs

- Kosher salt & fresh pepper

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 3 carrots, diced

- 2 stalks celery, diced

- 1 shallot, diced

- 1 can tomato paste

- 2 cups red wine (I used pino noir)

- 2 cups low sodium beef broth 

- 2-3 springs fresh thyme

- Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

- Fresh gnocchi

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Salt and pepper the ribs liberally on both sides. 

Add olive oil to a large dutch oven over high heat. Add the short ribs and braise on both sides so they get a nice crust. It will take about 5 minutes per side. When they are done take them off and set aside.

Without cleaning the pan, add onions, carrots, celery and shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Pour in the red wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan that were left from the meat. Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the can of tomato paste (stirring it in), beef broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and fresh black pepper. 

Add the ribs back to the liquid. Make sure they are pretty much completely submerged. 

Add the fresh springs of thyme to the liquid.

Put the lid on tightly and place in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours decrease heat to 325 and cook an additional hour. 

The ribs should be fork-tender when they come out. Let the meat sit in the pan for about 20 minutes to rest. 

While meat is sitting bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the fresh gnocchi. Really try to get fresh gnocchi instead of the frozen package. It will make a huge difference.

The fresh gnocchi only take about 4 minutes to cook. 

Using a fork shred the meat. Place the meat back in pan. Mix in the cooked gnocchi.

Plate the short rib gnocchi and top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

Serve immediately. 

Salt and Pepper the meat liberally on both sides

Place in a dutch oven with olive oil over high heat and let them get a good crust 

Turn over after about 5 minutes and crust the other side

Add in the diced veggies and cook till softened, about 5 minutes

This is what it will look like right before going into the oven.

The ribs are submerged under the yummy red wine sauce.

Now enjoy the house smelling divine while it cooks.

See you in 3 hours!

This is what the ribs look like when they come out.

You should be able to easily pull them apart with a fork.

And Wa-lah, the finished product!

Enjoy!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!