What´s for dinner?

Postat den 10 december, 2013 av tinajo

This is such an easy meal to make, yet yummy and perfect when the winds are icy outside.

Tortellini gratin, 4 servings (easy)

* Set the oven at 225°C/ 437 ºF

* Boil about 300 gr Tortellini – but do not let them get totally done. Pour out the water when there´s one or two minutes left.

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* Chop about 65 gr Baby spinach and blend it with the Tortellini. Pour it all in an oven proof pan.

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* Slice half a red onion thinly

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* Fry about 300 gr bacon and set aside

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* Mix 2.5 dl cream, 2 dl milk, 1 dl water and a vegetable buljon cube. Whip down 1 tablespoon Maizena corn starch (or similar) and let boil lightly for 3 minutes while stirring. Add pepper after taste, with bacon in the recipe, salt is hardly needed.

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* Add the onion slices and 1 dl grated cheese (I used Mozarella) to the sauce and stir. Pour the sauce over the Tortellini. Place the bacon on top.

* Let cook in the middle of the over for 10 minutes – and dinner is ready!

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A tomato salad is good with this – tell me what you think if you try!

I hope you´ll have a great day, tonight we´re going to see oldest rascal and classmates doing their Lucia performance. Lucia is usually celebrated the 13th, but since that is on a Friday I guess the teachers felt today was better. Will be nice I´m sure!

Take care!

Publicerat i food and drink, What´s for dinner? | 5 kommentarer

The weekend

Postat den 9 december, 2013 av tinajo

I´ve decided to move my What´s for dinner? to Tuesdays so I hope that´s OK with you. I realized that I want to tell you about my weekend on Mondays, which I´m about to do just now:

So the weekend.

How nice and productive it has been!

The snow kept falling so the rascals have made the best of it with both friends and Elsa. It´s a true pleasure seeing them play in snow instead of dirty gravel so I hope it doesn´t melt too soon.

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We had dinner Saturday with friends you´ve seen before:

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Hubby made really superb Meatballs Provençal that seemed to be enjoyed by everyone – and I got pretty winter flowers:

131209_2Besides this, we´ve finished our Christmas shopping. YES – we´re totally done, weeks before the big day! Considering how I hate to be late with things like that, I can´t even describe how relaxed I´m feeling now. No stress, no anxiety!

Something that is stressing me out a bit though is how lazy I´ve been lately when it comes to exercising.

The bloody darkness people – it´s getting to me!

It´s amazingly hard to get going with exercise when it´s dark when I leave my home and equally dark when I return home after work. I seriously hate it, but I know that I should force myself to action. Therefore, I´ve been out power walking this morning at 5.00 AM – and even though I felt grumpy during every minute, I must say it felt great afterwards.

So cross your fingers that I´ll find the energy to repeat that many mornings from now on, I think it will be good for me in the long run.

Oh well, now I´ll drag this old body to work – 10 days of work left until my holiday break!

Publicerat i dog, rascals, What´s for dinner?, winter | 13 kommentarer

Snow!

Postat den 6 december, 2013 av tinajo

Yesterday evening I was out and about with two of my co-workers, but even though it was cold there was no trace of snow. This morning though, I woke up to this:

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 Well hello winter – now I remember your (only) perk!

I hope you´ll have a great weekend, we´re having friends over for dinner tomorrow and Sunday we´ll go shopping for the last Christmas gifts. Besides that, I really think I´ll just take it as easy as possible – I´m quite tired right now and even fell asleep 10 PM yesterday which is extremely early for me.

I´ll try visit you during the weekend as well to see what you´re up to – so take care until then!

Publicerat i winter | 7 kommentarer

A great man has passed on

Postat den 6 december, 2013 av tinajo

I remember that when I was a young girl - pretty ignorant as most young people are – there was one politician that actually managed to do an impact on me. I was amazed by his life story and even more amazed that he seemed so at peace with it, no matter what he had endured for so many years.

Rest in peace Mr Mandela – you´re leaving a great legacy behind and will be remembered.

nelson-mandela

(photo borrowed online)

Publicerat i thoughts, Uncategorized | 3 kommentarer

Well…

Postat den 4 december, 2013 av tinajo

… not complaining right now; candles, full stomach, cozy blanket, my Advent star in the window…

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Things could definately be worse – and there´s nothing I love more than cold winter nights when I don´t have to be outside. The only hard decision I have to make right now is if I should bother getting up to get a piece of freshly baked sponge cake.

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It´s a yes, whaddya know! Sometimes I really don´t surprise myself.

Little by Little
Publicerat i home, me, winter | 21 kommentarer

Our neighbourhood

Postat den 4 december, 2013 av tinajo

Don´t think I´ve ever showed you my neighbourhood? Well, here is is:

kvarter

It´s all condominium houses in different sizes and we bought ours (not in picture) 2005, when our youngest son was just a couple of months old.

Sweet memories.

The houses were painted in ugly, weird pink – also called apricot (hah!) – until last summer and I have to admit that it bothered me big time. However, the inside of our house was great so we didn´t hesitate to buy it back when, and now it all look pretty stylish in grey.

As some of you might remember, we pondered about building a new house instead since we would like a little more space. We have since decided not to, even though more space always is welcome it is highly expensive to build and we prefer to put that money into travelling and other fun family activities instead. Also; we´ll be able to pay it off quite soon which would not be the case if we borrowed millions of swedish crowns for a new one.

So we´re making the best of it with renovations and such, and I´m happy to say that I really love our home. It´s getting better and better!

Have a fantastic Wednesday sweeties!

Publicerat i home | 23 kommentarer

Serving sick food

Postat den 3 december, 2013 av tinajo

My oldest rascal has been sick for a couple of days. It´s not that I in any way enjoy when my kids are sick, but I do enjoy spoiling them when they are.

Like with sick food.

Sick food in this house is supposed to be greasy, over the top and most likely including eggs. So for two days now, I´ve made him an omelet with parma ham (yum), cherry tomatoes and a ton of mozzarella cheese for lunch – with some avocado on the side.

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And my rascal reward me by saying:

Mom, shouldn´t you enter Masterchef, you would really fit in

and it´s so obvious that my omelet with tons of cheese wouldn´t fit in at all, but just him saying so with a smile makes me wanna make him omelets for a week and hand feed him with it.

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Children are the best in boosting your confidence, don´t you think? I´m grateful for those two rascals of mine, yes I am.

Elsa on the other hand never seem to understand why I don´t hand feed her – she lies at my feet next to the stove and stare without blinking once until she realizes that this lunch wasn´t for her.

She´s patient, I have to give her that.

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Take care sweeties, I´ll have to find my riding clothes for tonight, have no clue where I´ve scattered them..!

Publicerat i dog, food and drink, rascals | 11 kommentarer

What´s for dinner?

Postat den 2 december, 2013 av tinajo

This is a recipe I got from a a company (Linas matkasse) that delivers recipes and ingredients home to you. We tried it for the first time the other day and I found it quite good.

Fried cod with spinach-and garlic sauce, 4 servings (medium difficulty)

* Start boiling potatoes, as many as you think you´ll need for the company

* Grate 1 yellow onion and fry it with 2 pressed garlic cloves in some oil. Add 250 g frozen spinach and let it all fry together for a couple of minutes.

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* Spice it with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper after taste. Set aside for a while.

* Cut 600 gr cod filet in big pieces, add salt and pepper.

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*  Turn the fish around in flour

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* Fry the fish 2-3 minutes/side in butter in a pan

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* Now blend the spinach mix with 3 dl greek yougurt and 1,5 teaspoon runny honey. Add salt and pepper after taste

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Now you have this lovely sauce:

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* Serve everything with some carrots or other veggies you like:

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A nice little treat if you like fish!

I wish you the best of Mondays, do take care!

Publicerat i food and drink, What´s for dinner? | 12 kommentarer

And the night is cold and crisp…

Postat den 30 november, 2013 av tinajo

My last post of November –  tomorrow the Christmas month is beginning and I´ll have countdown to my 17 days off work!

I´ve had just a marvelous Saturday. It began with horseback riding early in the morning, and when I came home – a bit freezing and red nosed – I had me some lunch and took a nap.

A nap I tell ya!

I´m pretty sure I was even drooling in my sleep but my men are too polite to tell me. It was the nicest, most relaxing nap I´ve had in months – made me at least one year younger.

And since that I´ve only lit candles, listened to my rascals playing around the house, watched some TV and had a delicious dinner that I didn´t cook. I was outside with Elsa as well and inhaled some cold, crisp air.

Winter truly is in the air.

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(click on pic to see the details)

December will be a good month so I´m definately ready to say goodbye to November (which is kind of boring in my opinion).

I wish you a great December first tomorrow and a great Thanksgiving weekend- take care!

Publicerat i winter | 8 kommentarer

Burning candles

Postat den 27 november, 2013 av tinajo

I´m burning so many candles it´s insane – lighting a bunch up is actually the first thing I do when I enter my home after work.

ljus

I don´t know how smart it is though, since I´m already very tired thanks to the darkness when I leave and return to home. Candles makes me wanna sleep, it´s just something about that dancing flame. An open fire (which I wish I had) has the same effect on me; heavy eyelids and a slow brain.

Well.

There´s definately worse problems – and sleep is a good thing.

This week has been passing so very fast, can´t believe it´s Thursday already tomorrow! I´m longing a bit for the weekend, but we´ll go to a Scout thing with the rascals tomorrow so that´s nice. The weekend will be here soon enough, don´t you think?

Do take care!

Publicerat i this and that | 11 kommentarer