e

chicken pot pie soup

for the soup:

4 T butter

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup mushrooms, quartered

1/2 cup carrots, diced

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups baby red potatoes, quartered

1/4 cup flour

2T sherry

5 cups chicken stock

2 cups cooked shredded chicken

2 T chopped fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1. cook onion, celery, mushrooms, carrot and garlic in butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. cook 3-4 minutes, then stir in the potatoes and cook 3 more minutes. stir in the flour and cook 1-2 minutes.

2. deglaze with sherry, then stir in the stock, chicken, and seasonings (add s+p too). bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until thickened.

3. add corn, peas, parsley and season again with s+p.

puff pastry croutons:

1 sheet puff pastry

1 egg

1T water

grated parmesan

preheat oven to 450.

line a baking sheet with parchment.

roll pastry out on a floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick. beat egg with water, then brush over the dough. sprinkle dough lightly with salt and parmesan and cut into 1 inch squares. transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

sprinkle over soup and enjoy!

recipe from cuisine at home magazine

cantabrigians

well, here we are. i have to say i never thought i'd live in the state of massachusetts, but guess what? i do. we do. 2 weeks tomorrow. Lord knows i'd be lying if i said it's been an easy move, but here we are nonetheless. it's getting better each day, and i know soon it will feel normal - whatever our new "normal" is. and it will be great, because it's ours. (it is 8PM which is like 3 AM in my world and writing starts to get sappy/weird this late).

so aaaanyway, i'll try to just stick to the facts:

--we are here for kevin to get a masters at harvard.

--we live on the 3rd floor of an 1890 red brick building in harvard square. kevin walks to class and we are 5 minutes from cambridge common (a great park). it's old, charming and super cute because mom & cindy were in charge. however, no ac, washer/dryer in our apartment or elevator in our building (helloo stairs!) but i'd say we've already adjusted. we're young & agile... we'll survive!

--the weather has been amazing and we stroll to the park daily.

--we're attending a new church, i've joined the women's bible study and we've been blessed already with the sweetest ladies bringing us dinner for a few weeks. amen to that.

--parking is scary and makes me cry.

-- i found the cutest grocery store in our neighborhood and that's a big deal.

--ivy loves riding the subway and gets mad if we drive anywhere.

--we have our first visitors coming tomorrow!!! yea nana & pop!

this photo selection is random some may think.

#1 ivy sitting at our front door, waiting for the cab.

#2 this morning on our bed

#3 + 4 random apt pics.

this post probably makes no sense, but i am tired and just wanted to acknowledge on my blog that we moved, ya know - minor detail.

here's our new address:

the mcconnells

27 everett street #5

cambridge, ma 02138

goodnight everyone!

one month

photos taken 9/10/11

my dear eli,

you are my little sport.

it's been a bit crazy since you were born - moving to a new house in a new city, evacuating a hurricane and flying three times already!

what a champ.

you've been so patient and sweet with your stressed mama and i just have to say thank you. you're the best cuddler and sometimes that's just what i need :)

here's a few facts about ya so far:

--you love a good bath

--you're a serious night owl (but we're working on that!)

--you love to eat, eat, eat (like your mama)

--nursing you makes me crave honey nut cheerios, instant breakfast and anything chocolate. seriously, if you handed me a worm dipped in chocolate i'd probably eat it.

--you love the bjorn- yea!

--your sister thinks you're adorable and she is right.

--you look just like your pop!

happy first month sweet guy.

i love you always.

phone numbers

please send me yours so i have it again... any which way you please.

(on here, email or to my same phone #)

i lost my phone... what a drag.

thanks so much!

coconut cream pie

mom made a pie almost everyday during her 2-week stay at folly.

banana cream, chocolate and coconut.

they were all sooo good, but the coconut won. (of course!)

for the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup crisco

4-5 T cold water

preheat oven to 425.

in a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt, and cut the crisco in with 2 knives until it is pea sized. sprinkle the water over and mix until it comes together. form it into a ball and dump it out on a floured surface. roll it out and place in ungreased pie pan. with a fork, poke lots of holes all over the crust and bake it for 10-15 minutes. let it cool.

for the filling:

2 cups milk

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 t salt

1 t vanilla

3 egg yolks

1 cup shredded coconut

mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

in a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the milk.

heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk in a medium pot on the stove.

meanwhile, combine the yolk mixture with the dry ingredients, then add to the warm milk.

cook over medium heat and stir often until it thickens.

remove from heat, then mix in the coconut and vanilla.

pour into cooled pie shell.

serve chilled, warm or room temp with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

enjoy!