3 Bean Escarole Soup with Garlic Oil & Homemade Croutons

Growing up my mom would make what my grandfather & father would call ’scroll & beans. For those not familiar with this language ‘scarole means escarole. If you’ve never had escarole I encourage you to try. It’s actually a lettuce but it tastes really good, almost sweet, when it’s cooked. I’ve always had it in chicken broth with canellini beans, grated cheese & crusty bread so when I found this recipe I channeled my youth & conjured up my take on this classic (to me) combination. I used three different kinds of beans because I didn’t have three cans of cannellini beans, so if you want to stick to one kind - go for it! You can skip the croutons & extra cheese if you like - but why would you want to do that? This is a quick & satisfying dinner especially while this weather continues to flirt with spring (it was 37 degrees yesterday & I think that’s pretty close to spring - today not so much.)

PS: For those observing Lent this will be a great meatless dish for your Friday dinner. Enjoy!

PPS: if you're gluten-free - skip my beloved croutons!

Spicy Beef & Acorn Squash Winter Stew

I’m not a huget meat eater but I’ll have the occasional burger or meatball if the mood strikes me. If you’ve been following my blog (thank you!) you’ll probably notice that most of the recipes involve veggies, chicken & fish with very little meat in between. Which means that that’s what my husband eats too. Last night I opted to throw Chris a bone & make a beef stew. Given his positive reaction I may have to make this & meat more often.

Roasted Fennel, Mushrooms & Leeks with Grits

I really try my best to not repeat things for dinner. Granted sometimes, most times, I do. But let’s be honest that wouldn’t make for a very interesting blog so I mixed things up with some grits, mainly because I didn’t have the quick cooking polenta that this recipe called for so I combined it with the grits recipe that I made this summer. I think it turned out pretty tasty.

I thought the roasted fennel would be the star of this dish - don’t get me wrong I loved it - but what really did it for me were the roasted mushrooms. Y U M. They seemed to get a deeper flavor by roasting them in the oven than what I get when I make them on the stove top, which only means one thing - we’ll be eating a lot more roasted mushrooms in our house. Plus, you can really just love ’em & leave ’em in the oven while you do other stuff - & that is one thing I can get used to.

Happy Friday! Have the best weekend :)

2 Ingredient Drinking Chocolate

I had a sweet tooth craving the other night so I attempted my own version of drinking chocolate. It hit the spot for sure. The best part is that I only used two ingredients & it only took about 10 minutes to make this insanely decadent treat that’s great on super chilly nights. Give it a try & you’ll think twice about cracking open the powder packets again.

If you're looking for a chocolate-free way to warm up try this hot cardamom milk, it's awesome!

Happy Friday! I hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

Warm Winter Outfit

boots: Lucky Brand, shorts: Zara; sweater: Romeo & Juliet; HOH necklace: Gauge NYC; tights: Cynthia Rowley

Clearly I believe these boots go with everything since I wear them daily (like here & here).  Just like I believe that that shorts with sheer tights (& strategically placed equestrian panels) go with days above 40 degrees in January.  I also can't not wear this necklace from my sis even if it means piling it on with layers of other chains.

What do you find yourself wearing everyday? Is it boots like mine or a fave sweater? Necklace? What?