{ Matilda's Summer Garden Party }

This past weekend was my daughter, Matilda Jane's 1st Birthday Party.  The party was inspired by the fabric I made her birthday outfit from - Heather Bailey's "Nicey Jane". We decided to do an intimate party and had 20 of our closest family and friends over to the Cottage Garden to celebrate.

Miss Matilda had a great time at her party and thoroughly enjoyed her cake.  It was her 1st time to have something that delicious so she was in baby heaven!

I used the same fabrics that I designed Matilda's birthday dress in and made a pennant banner.  I didn't have a pattern for this, I just sewed two rectangles of fabric (right sides together), turned them right-side out, pressed them and stitched them to coordinating bias tape.  I think these will also be great for Easter decorations in the future.

The flowers were cut from our own garden.  We have several large hydrangea bushes that are in full bloom right now.  So the morning of the party, I went out and cut a big bouquet of flowers.  I placed the flowers in a silver, tall galvanized bucket to match some of the other decorations for the party.  I love being able to use the nature around us - and what's even better, is the flowers were absolutely free!

I made large, over-sized paper pinwheels from several shades of blue and green.  I spray painted wooden dowel rods green, cut square pieces of scrapbook paper into pinwheel shapes and hammered them into the rods with basic tacks.  I placed these into the same tall, galvanized metal buckets as the flowers.  I placed fiberfill inside the buckets to hold them in place, but florist foam would work even better.

I wrapped each set of silverware in coordinating yellow napkins and tied them with a blue satin ribbon.

I made large paper balls using this great tutorial from Martha Stewart.  These were VERY easy to make (they took like five minutes each) and only cost me $1.00 since I bought the tissue paper from our local dollar store.

 

Here is little Matilda's birthday hat.  I simply covered a cardboard birthday hat with coordinating fabric, added a ruffle and some rick-rack to match her dress.

As I have mentioned before, my husband is an award-winning home-brewer.  He makes a beer (for the adults, of course) for each of the girls birthday parties.  Here is Matilda's 1st birthday beer.  Brett made this sign to put on the keg at the party.  He served four different beers on tap, but "Tilda's Sweet Cheeks Wheat" was the main attraction.

For the party favors, I gave out summer beach bags.  I took a store-bought tote bag and appliqued each family's last initial onto the bag in fabric from Matilda's birthday dress. 

I have so much fun menu planning!  It takes me some time to figure out what I want to serve, but since we did a smaller party this time, I was able to focus more on the food.

I wanted to make something festive to drink, so I pureed a 1/4 of a watermelon, added 1/2 cup sugar and mixed it with some ginger ale.  This made, what I like to call, Watermelon Fizz.

I made a large anti-pasta platter as an appetizer for our guests.  I used red-leaf lettuce as the base for my platter.  I marinated some fresh mozzarella, lightly roasted some tomatoes, and got some other store-bought ingredients to complete the tray.  I served crostini and bread-sticks on the side.

Loaded Potato Salad

Pecan Coleslaw

Zucchini with Red Onion and Feta

Grilled Corn Salad with Roasted Peppers

Fruit Kabobs

Fresh Watermelon

These are the birthday cupcakes on the tiered trays that I made last week (remember this post?).  These are store-bought cupcakes - have I mentioned before that I DO NOT bake?  I simply added large, clear sugar to the top of these little cakes.  

I don't care for baking and I don't think I'm very good at it - too much precise measuring and science for me.  I much prefer the creativity of cooking.  Anyway, I made these "1" cupcake toppers using my Cricut Expression machine and glued them to lollipop sticks. 

Big sister Savannah had a great time at the party and was a really big helper.  She thoroughly enjoyed the juicy watermelon.

We truly lucked out with fabulous weather the day of the party - low 80's, no humidity.  It could not have been more perfect!

It's very hard for me to believe that my little sweet pea will be one on Thursday.  Matilda Jane has brought so much joy to our lives and as I write this post, I just want to give that little munchkin a squeeze.  

We Love You, Matilda!

Homemade Cranberry Granola

I'm a huge fan of granola or anything with oats for that matter, especially oatmeal cookies!!  This afternoon I decided to try my hand at making my own homemade granola from scratch.  I just put the ingredients together that I enjoy and luckily it turned out (you never know when you are making up your own recipe)!

So if you have an extra minutes one of these days, whip up a big batch of this yummy granola for you and your family.  First of all this recipe will make your house smell A-mazing! It's also great for breakfast, served with milk or over yogurt, makes a healthy crunchy snaking food, and would be "oh so good" on top of some vanilla ice cream!

The Cottage Mama's Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups traditional oats

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1/4 cup walnut pieces

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup honey (I used really good local honey)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon (I love cinnamon, so if you don't, you may want to use less)

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the following; oats, coconut, pecan pieces, walnut pieces, honey, and vegetable oil.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

Once combined, spread mixture out onto a large baking sheet.  Place baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Oat mixture is ready to come out of the oven once it has reached a nice, toasted golden color.

Immediately after you remove the oat mixture from the oven add the brown sugar and stir to combine.  This will allow the sugar to melt into the granola.

After the granola has cooled add your dried cranberries.  Store granola in an air-tight container and enjoy!!

Cottage Mama's Note:  You can change up the ingredients easily with this recipe.  Add any type of dried fruit you like (i.e. raisins, apricots, apples, cherries) and feel free to change up the type of nuts you use as well.

Easy Dinner Idea: Chili Cheese Baked Potatoes

We used to eat a lot of baked potatoes growing up.  My Mom would "doll" them up with all sorts of toppings and we would make an entire meal out of them.  So, a few weeks ago I was trying to come up with something yummy for dinner and remembered how much I loved my Mom's "Chili Cheese Baked Potatoes" and realized I hadn't made those in years.

I don't know if I would call this a recipe (all you are really doing is assembling), but this is a very satisfying and inexpensive meal that is sure to please all of your family members.  So here you go...........

Chili Cheese Baked Potatoes

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

4 Large Baking Potatoes

1 Can Chili (whatever kind you like) - if you have super-hungry adults use 2 cans chili

Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend

Sour Cream (Regular or Light)

Sliced Green Onions

Seasoned Salt, to taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook your potatoes.  If you are in a hurry, use your microwave.  If you have plenty of time, cook them in your oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour (or until they are pierced easily with a knife).

I LOVE this chili (I buy it at Costco in a 6-pack)

Meanwhile, heat your chili up on the stove.  While the chili is heating, slice your green onions.  Use all of the parts of the green onion - it all has great flavor.

Once the potatoes are ready, place them in a bowl and cut them down the center.  Scoop some chili on top, then shredded cheese, followed by sour cream, and then green onions.  Sprinkle a little seasoned salt (I like Lawry's) and ground black pepper on top.

Serve and Enjoy!!

Cottage Mama's Note:  I used red potatoes when I made this recently and they were very good.  Just use whatever type of potato you have on hand.  You could also make this entirely vegetarian by using veggie chili!  This is also a great way to use up leftover chili!

Easy Asian Stir-Fry

Sometimes I get the biggest cravings for Chinese food - I just love it!  Tonight I had to have some Chinese so I decided to whip up an easy stir-fry that would be ready for my husband and I when he got home from work. 

Maybe you get those Chinese food cravings too, so I thought I would share my super easy stir-fry recipe with you so that you can create your own chinese take-out at home.

Easy Asian Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

2-3 Chicken breasts, thawed and sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1 yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 carrot, cut lengthwise and then sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

When you begin slicing all of your ingredients, turn your saute pan on to low-heat to start to warm it up.  Slice all ingredients (as directed above).  To make sauce, mix the following together in a bowl; chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, hot red pepper flakes, and sugar.  Pour a small amount over the sliced chicken and allow to sit for a few minutes.  In a seperate bowl, mix together 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, set aside.

Before you begin cooking, turn your pan up to high-heat.  Add 1 tablespoon oil.  Add chicken to skillet and saute until cooked - should get a nice color on the chicken.  Once cooked, remove from pan.  Add another tablespoon oil.  Add all vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes until they start to become tender.  Add garlic, saute 1 minute.  Add chicken back to skillet.  Pour sauce over veggies and chicken.  Saute 1-2 minutes and then add cornstarch mixture.  The cornstarch will bring the sauce together and thicken it slightly.

Serve stir-fry over jasmine rice (or white rice). Garnish with fresh cilantro and crushed cashews or peanuts (if you have them on-hand).

Cottage Mama's Note:  You can substitute any meat or veggies in this stir-fry dish.  The key is to keep your pan VERY hot.  I did not do a tutorial for this recipe due to the fact that stir-fry cooks very quickly and there would be no time for me to take any pictures.  Some other stir-fry ingredients I enjoy are shrimp, broccoli, snow peas, snap peas, baby corn, water chestnuts, thinly sliced cabbage, sliced onions, and ginger.  I typically stir-fry whatever I happen to have on-hand and most of the ingredients for the sauce are ones I believe should be staples in every well-stocked pantry.

The Well-Stocked Pantry

I absolutely love pantry cooking!  Whenever I am forced to head to my pantry and figure out what to make for dinner with just the ingredients I have on-hand (no planning) is when the real creative magic happens in The Cottage Kitchen. 

I think a well-stocked pantry is essential for every home.  Have you ever gone to the grocery store with a list for 3-4 dinners you want to cook for the week?  You've got all the ingredients written down and you go to purchase your groceries for the week and BAM!!  You realize that you could have eaten at a five-star restaurant for several meals for the price you just paid for all the ingredients you needed for the week.  Well, I think knowing how to pantry cook and improvise is key to budgeting when it comes to cooking.

I thought I would share with you what I keep on-hand in my home that makes it possible for me to whip together a meal on a moments notice.

The Cottage Home 

Well-Stocked Pantry

Canned Tomatoes - Whole & Crushed

Sun-dried Tomatoes

Pasta - all shapes

Couscous

Rice - Basmati, Jasmine, Arborio, Instant Brown

Dijon Mustard

Canned Beans - Cannellini, Black, Pinto, Chickpeas, Red Kidney

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olives - Green & Black

Green Chilis - diced

Lentils

Enchilada Sauce - Red & Green

Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Cream-based Condensed Soup - Cream of Chicken & Cream of Mushroom

Canned Hominy

Tomato Paste

Tortilla Chips

Vinegars - Balsamic, White Balsamic, Cider, Rice Wine, Red Wine

Sugars - Light & Dark Brown, Granulated, Confectioner's

Chocolate Chips

Baking Soda

Baking Powder

All-Purpose Flour

Nuts - Pine Nuts, Walnuts, Almonds (sliced), Pecans

Chicken Stock

Tea - variety of flavors

Coffee

So there you have it - a glimpse into The Cottage Mama's pantry.  I find by having these ingredients on hand at all times, I have no problem coming up with a delicious meal for my family.  I typically have some type of frozen meat/seafood on hand as well as all types of frozen veggies - mix it up with my pantry ingredients and spices and I can create a meal fit for a king! 

If you have been struggling with coming up with meals for your family, I suggest you look at your pantry first and make sure you are fully stocked and ready to go!  Happy cooking!

Cottage Mama's Note:  If you need any help coming up with creative recipes that include pantry staples, please leave me a comment and I would be happy to post some of my basic pantry recipes for you!

Crock Pot Recipe: Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops

Yesterday afternoon I was digging through my freezer and pantry trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  My family is trying to be very budget conscious lately so I have been trying to make the most out of whatever ingredients we have on-hand rather than making another trip to the grocery store.

So, this is what I came up with - Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops.  The Cottage Mama's Mama had made a version of this for me when she was here after I had my second daughter, Matilda.  She always makes the most delicious food when she stays here after I have a baby - reason enough to have another one (just kidding)!  Her recipe was done on the stove-top and used some pineapple, so her jerk pork chops were my inspiration for this recipe.

Crock Pot:  Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops

Ingredients:

5 pork loin chops (frozen or fresh..doesn't matter)

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup tri-colored bell pepper strips (I used frozen, but fresh would work well too).

1/2 onion, sliced

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

Directions:

It doesn't get much easier than this - add all ingredients to your crock-pot, sprinkle liberally with Jamaican Jerk seasoning and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Enjoy!

Cottage Mama's Note:  I served this with Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Wholegrain Vegetable Medley (only takes 90 seconds to cook!) or it would be great with regular brown rice.  I buy tri-colored bell pepper strips in the frozen foods section of Trader Joe's - I always have one or two bags on-hand.

Pantry Cooking: Asian Peanut Noodles

I'm a huge fan of pantry cooking.  I keep many things in my cabinets that can be used with or without fresh ingredients.  I think having a well-stocked pantry is essential for any home.  If you happen to have a night where you haven't really thought about dinner or it's the end of the week and you've run out of fresh ingredients, you can head to your pantry and get creative if you have the right things on hand.


One of my favorite pantry dishes is Asian Peanut Noodles.  This dish is created from ingredients you would normally have on hand and can be "dolled-up" if you happen to have some additional fresh ingredients.  This is one of my favorite dishes to make when my husband is at his brew club meetings and it's just me alone with my huge bowl of peanut noodles - SO good!!

Asian Peanut Noodles

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 glove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon asian chili sauce (more or less depending on how spicy you like things)

Pasta cooking water

Ingredients

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a mixing bowl add all of the rest of the ingredients.

As you pasta begins to boil, spoon in some of the pasta cooking water into the bowl with all of your other ingredients.  You will probably use about 1/2 cup total, but keep adding the water until you reach your desired consistency (see picture above).

 Asian Peanut Noodles

Drain pasta, mix with sauce and enjoy!!

Cottage Mama's Note: If I were really going to plan on making this dish (rather than just throwing it together last minute), I would make sure to add two green onions (sliced), 1 carrot (grated), 1 cup snap peas, a handful of cilantro (chopped), and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.