Holiday Prep : Pantry Organization

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but our house is small. In all honesty, too small for two adults, four kids, and two daschunds. And to be really honest, probably way  too small for entertaining or hosting large groups for the holidays. Which is why I love hosting parties during the summer and early fall, because we have a large yard, and can have our party outdoors. However, our tiny house has never stopped me from gathering our family and friends in our home for Thanksgiving dinner, or any other holiday party. Somehow, we always make it work, and our philosophy is, the more the merrier. I love to entertain, and will hopefully one day, have a larger home to do so. Until then, I do what I can to make it work, and that starts with organization. Organization is key, especially in a small space. We don't have a formal dining area, our dining area is in our kitchen, and we have a galley style kitchen (not ideal for entertaining). What does work for me in the house is our pantry. The pantry was my Valentine's Day gift two years ago, who needs diamonds when you can have a beautiful, functional, walk-in pantry. It was once our laundry room, and I always knew it could serve a much better purpose. It works especially well because it is connected to our kitchen. I had a pretty pantry before I had a pretty kitchen. It more than makes up for the lack of space in our kitchen/dining area. So last weekend,  I deep cleaned and reorganized to get ready for the upcoming holiday season.
 The cart holding my mixer was in our kitchen, but I knew we needed the extra space, so I moved it into the pantry. I love it in there because I keep it plugged in, and it's  ready to use when needed. All of my entertaining essentials are stored in there, everything from platters, trays, and cake stands, to linens and wine. All of my baking essentials are also stored here. I display all of my baking products, spices, and dried foods in matching glass jars. Not only does it look better, but it also allows me to see when I am running low on an ingredient. Baskets are my friend, I use baskets for everything. In our pantry, baskets hold things like pans, cookie cutters, oils, and onions. It doesn't have to be expensive to be organized. We use hooks to hang cloth grocery bags and aprons. I'm only five feet tall so the stool at the end of the pantry is a must. I believe things should be both pretty and practical. If you don't have a walk in pantry, utilize the space you do have. Use a cabinet, drawer, or even a closet. Below are a few of my  tips to keep your sanity and household organized for the upcoming holiday season.

Deep clean your pantry. Throw away any expired ingredients, and make note of what you need. Wipe down all jars, containers, and appliances.

Group similar items together. I store my baking ingredients on one shelf, and pasta and rice together on another. I have an entire shelf of only spices.

Label your jars. You may know what everything in your pantry is, but someone else may not. I learned this lesson the hard way. Also, you may forget what something is, and let me just say, Cayenne Pepper and Paprika look a lot alike, especially when you are in a hurry.

A well stocked pantry. A stocked pantry is key to making your life easier, especially during the holidays.

Pomegranate Raspberry Sparkler

Weather permitting, we are hosting my dad's 65th birthday party at our house tomorrow evening. I have been trying to come up with an idea for a festive cocktail to serve at the party. I wanted something fun, simple, and perfect for a holiday party. I think I came up with just that! One of the best things about this drink is it can be made into a kid friendly version. This way the kids feel like they are getting the same "fancy" drink as the adults. I absolutely love the color of this cocktail, perfect to serve at a Christmas party. Enjoy!

Pomegranate Raspberry Sparkler

1/4 cup chilled Prosecco ( You can substitute Ginger- Ale for the kid friendly version)
1/4 cup chilled Pomegranate Juice ( I use Pom Wonderful)
2 small scoops of Raspberry Sorbet ( I used a 2 inch cookie scoop)
Fresh Pomegranate Seeds for garnish

In a chilled champagne or wine glass add in the two small scoops of sorbet, the pour in the Prosecco, then the pomegranate juice. Garnish with the fresh pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

Fall Entertaining - Thanksgiving

Fall is here and the holidays are right around the corner. Can you believe we are only a few days shy of October 1st? I cannot believe how quickly this year is going by. October is always extremely busy for us because we have three children with October birthdays. Then of course there is halloween, and we have hosted a halloween party every year since we moved into our house in 2007.

The holidays will be here before we know it, so I have been thinking about Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday. Somehow when the times comes, all of the food gets lined up along the kitchen counter and our guests grab a plate and serve themselves. Not this year. This year I want the tables to be decorated, and I would like to have place settings with name cards. I dont know if my family would go for it, but I think it would make it more inviting and special. Rustic elegance is going to be the theme. I found some great photos of table settings and entertaining ideas on Pinterest. Pumpkins and candles would make lovely  decorations for a Thanksgiving table. My house is not large, so I will have to be very creative with my space. I have a table made of an old schoolhouse door that I plan to use as the food table. It definitely has a rustic feel. This will be the best Thanksgiving yet. Do you have a favorite holiday/time of year? Please share.

Patriotic Panna Cotta

Happy 4th of July everyone! I have always wanted to make panna cotta, and so, I did. This italian dessert is perfect for a hot summer day, I added some festive touches for the 4th with the strawberries and blueberries.  
I adapted my recipe from Ina Garten's Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries. Panna cotta  is very creamy , yet light and refreshing. It is also very versatile.

Patriotic Panna Cotta
adapted from Ina Garten's Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries

• 1/2 packet (1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 pints (4 cups) sliced fresh strawberries
• 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on 1 1/2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the cream, the yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds. Heat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream and the 1/3 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Off the heat, add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve. Pour the hot cream-gelatin mixture into the cold cream-yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Pour into 4 (6 to 8-ounce) ramekins and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar , 1 tablespoon sugar, and pepper 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Set aside at room temperature.

To serve, run a small knife around each dessert in the ramkein and dip the bottom of each ramekinquickly in a bowl of hot tap water. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and sprinkle with the balsamic strawberries and blueberries. Enjoy.

Easter Preparation

Today we prepared for our Easter celebration at my uncle's house tomorrow. We colored Easter eggs, and Hope colored herself. The entire right side of her face was blue at one point. I thought she had turned into a smurf. I spent 6 hours in the kitchen today, baking one thing after the other. I even managed to make dinner in the middle of all the baking. The house is clean once again, and the kids are sleeping peacefully in their beds. I hope everyone has a blessed Easter holiday.

Blake. He isn't a fan of picture taking, but I managed to snap a  quick shot of him. 

Kaile always has a smile on her face.

Kristin showing me what she thinks of the camera today.

Hard at working coloring the eggs

Eggs of all colors

Hope Elizabeth being silly.

Easter Egg Hunt On the Farm

First of all, I would like to say happy birthday to my beautiful baby girl Hope, who turned 8 today. Second, Kristin and Kaile had their Easter egg hunt for school this morning, it was on a farm. It was rather chilly, but oh so much fun. Here are a few pictures I took. 

My Kaile. Isn't she cute? I love her so very much.

My Kristin, my youngest. She is my mini me, brown eyes and all.  I learn something new everyday by watching her. I love her.

Here we have the Bowle's Farm mascot. Isn't he adorable? He has the most important job on the farm.

I almost walked right past this pig. I know what you are thinking, how could I miss an enormous pig? He would just lay on the ground and eat and grunt. Which is exactly what pigs do.

Here is one of the deer on Bowle's Farm. He reminded me of Spring.

 

These goats were so friendly, they tried to eat my jacket a few times. They  also  had just had  their horns removed.