Chicken, Sausage, and Peppers

I mentioned that Jeff cooked for me over the weekend, which was kind of a big deal.  He cooks sometimes, but usually it's something really simple or something on the grill.  So when he said he wanted to cook for me, I was pretty excited.  Plus, you know, he picked a recipe that called for wine, which gives a great excuse to drink some "chef juice" ;)

Chicken, Sausage, and Peppers (adapted from Food Network)

2 TB butter
3/4 lb spicy italian sausage, cut into chunks
3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
salt and pepper
1 TB flour
1 small onion, chopped
2 green bell peppers, cut into chunks
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 jarred pickled cherry peppers, chopped, plus 2 TB liquid from the jar

Heat half of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and brown.  Toss the chicken with the flour and salt and pepper and add to the pan, cooking until the chicken starts to brown but is not cooked through.

Add the onions, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and cook for three minutes.  Add the wine, bring it to a boil and cook until slightly reduced, about one minute.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook until the chicken and sausage are cooked through, about five minutes.

Remove the chicken, sausage, and vegetables from the pan using a slotted spoon.  Turn the heat up to high and add the parsley, cherry peppers, and cherry pepper liquid.  Boil until reduced by one third, about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the butter.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and sausage mixture.

You could eat this alone, but we chose to serve it over pasta with some parmesan cheese, because why not!





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Win Big this NYE with Hpnotiq’s SparkleLouder Contest

This post is sponsored by Hpnotiq, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you started thinking about your NYE look yet?  I love New Year's because it gives me the chance to wear my fanciest dresses and accessories.  Chicagoans tend not to dress up that much for a regular night out, but for NYE everyone steps it up.

I saw this super cute LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's dress last month and decided it was worth breaking my shopping ban for - when you find a dress that works, you have to snap it up! Last year I wore a ton of sparkle (ahem, as shown by my blog header) but this New Year's Eve I plan on sparkling with my accessories, like a sparkly belt and jewelry.  

This year you can sparkle too with Hpnotiq's SparkleLouder contest.  Hpnotiq is challenging you to upload a pic to show how you plan to Sparkle Louder this New Year's Eve, whether it's a glam outfit, you and your girlfriends, or a selfie.  Then you can use Hpnotiq's "SparkleLouder" app to make your photo shine, like mine above.  I just uploaded my pic to the Hpnotiq SparkleLouder site, then used the easy tools to add some sparkle.

Each sparkly photo entry gives you more weekly chances to win one of 20 EFFY Diamond & Blue Topaz Rings Sweepstakes Prizes (four each week).  Not only can you win an EFFY ring, but the entry that Sparkles the Loudest will win the Grand Prize: A New Year’ s Eve trip for you and three girlfriends to New York City for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the ball drop in Times Square!  Wouldn't NYE in NYC be so fun?  To enter or for more details, visit http://www.hpnotiq.com/SparkleLouderContest. Hpnotiq’s SparkleLouder contest runs from November 4 - December 8, 2013. When you share your SparkleLouder photos on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #SparkleLouder.

Dress - LC Lauren Conrad (another cute option from LC) / Belt - unknown (similar) / Bracelet - BaubleBar / Heels - Shoe Mint 

If you want to Sparkle Louder this NYE, you can add a little sparkle with accessories like I did, with some fancy sparkly makeup, or with some fun sparkling Hpnotic cocktails!

Right now I can still manage a dress without tights, but considering Chicago's weather, I'm thinking I'll probably have to wear tights and some cute booties instead.  If I won a trip to NYC for NYE though, I'd probably break out the sequined dress from last year.  I mean, hello, I would have to!  Have you decided what you're wearing for NYE?  How do you plan to sparkle this New Year's Eve?



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This weekend...

This weekend I...

... Became a mommy!! Of three tiny aquatic frogs.  They're super adorable.  So far, we have named all of them "Teej".
... Went to IKEA for the first time.  I know, right.  What have I been doing my whole life?
... Had a delicious homecooked meal made by my almost husband, complete with my first Christmas beer of the season.
... Took the boy on a trip to the outlet mall, "for him to buy clothes."
... Had to hide in our bathroom from the tornados. Luckily I brought my computer with.  Also, more luckily, a tornado did not go through Chicago.
... Attempted to go on a JCrew Factory binge, but sadly was not successful.  Or maybe not sadly.
... Tried making mashed cauliflower for the first time.  Aaaaaaand successfully tricked people into thinking it was potatoes!
... Made it up to Milwaukee to visit some of my friends.  There has certainly been a lot of Wisconsin in our lives recently.
... Had a yummy breakfast with my parents.
... Got a new iPhone 5!  It's my new baby.  Well, after the frog babies.
... Went to a Friendsgiving party, hello Thanksgiving number one of four!

I hope you had a good one!




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DIY Tinsel Ornaments

I had a couple of holiday DIY projects I wanted to finish this year.  Since it usually gets crazier as the holidays get closer, I decided to start early this year.  Last winter at work, we made holiday ornaments (because sometimes we have craft time at work, you don't?) using clear bulbs.  I filled mine with tinsel and really liked the way it turned out.  So, using extreme foresight, when my mom took us to Target not once but two times the day after Christmas, I bought a couple packages of clear glass ornaments on clearance.  I added in some tinsel from Michael's and was good to go.

This was surprisingly time consuming to do, but all I did was take the tops off of the ornaments, stuff some tinsel inside, and put the tops back on.  

I really like the way the ornaments turned out, but I'm not sure about their current placement - right now they're in some gold wire bowls on top of our media center, but they're kind of hard to see - I took the above photo holding my camera over my head.  Plus it's bothering me a little that the two golds don't match.  I'm thinking that once we get our tree (we're cutting down our own this year!) I can put the ornaments on it, and fill the bowls with something a little more colorful.

I hope you have a great weekend!!  I have another really busy weekend coming up, but I'm hoping to squeeze in another project at some point.  Do you have any holiday DIYs planned?



P.S. I'm being featured on Simple Easy Style today, ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out!

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Pink and Gray

I've been super into fall colors lately, but last week I decided I needed a little pink back in my life.

Shirt - Old Navy (old) / Sweater - Gap (similar) / Leggings and Necklace - JCrew Factory / Boots - Bandolino / Bag - Pour La Victoire (old) / Bracelet and Watch - Michael Kors

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Friendsgiving

This Sunday I'm heading to our annual Friendsgiving party.  I'm weirdly not into Thanksgiving food (I really only like the turkey, potatoes, and gravy) so I have a hard time deciding what to bring every year.  Sometimes I on purpose bring weirdly untraditional things, but this year I'm thinking I'll try baking some rolls or biscuits from scratch.  Here are a couple of the recipes I'm considering:

Crescent Rolls

Gruyere Popovers

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Do you celebrate Friendsgiving?  What's your go-to dish?




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Jeans and a Tee

Every season I seem to find a new favorite tee shirt.  Over the summer it was short sleeved and gray, now it's long sleeved and striped.  This tee is the first thing I pull out every time I do laundry, I just can't resist it.  Sadly, in a few months I'll probably have forgotten about it.  It will sit in my closet, wondering what it did wrong.  I'll have to tell it, "It's not you, it's me."  Such is the turning of the seasons.

Tee - JCrew Factory / Jacket - F21 (similar) / Jeans - Gap / Necklace - Loft (old, similar) / Bag - Michael Kors / Booties - Steve Madden (old, similar here)

Are you getting sick of this jacket yet?  Oh, that's too bad, because I plan on wearing it at least eighteen (hundred) more times.

Have a happy Tuesday!



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