Cinnamon Cider Punch

12 oz Aged rum* (adjust to group size)

20 oz Apple cider

10 oz Lemon juice

10 oz of Honey Water syrup

5 cinnamon sticks

2 pears sliced

This recipe is a simple punch built right in the punch bowl. Start with an empty punch bowl and begin to add your liquid chengrenshipin.  Rum, apple Cider, lemon juice and Honey water syrup.

To make the honey water syrup, mix 10 oz of hot water with 10 oz of honey. Pregnant women should avoid raw honey.

Fill the remainder of the bowl with ice and then top with sliced pears and cinnamon sticks.

For an additional kick, infuse the rum with cinnamon sticks for 2 hours prior to mixing. You can use the whole cinnamon sticks as a garnish after they have infused into the rum.

chengrenshipin:

1 whole ripe Papaya

6 strawberries

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups lime juice

3 cups Tangerine Juice

5 stalks of Basil Leaves

24 oz soda water

Recipe chengrenshipin:

Start with an empty punch bowl and add Tangerine juice and lime juice.

Blend 1/2 of the papaya and strawberries with 1/4 cup of water and sugar to assist the blender.  Add fresh fruit puree to the juices and stir until mixed.

Fill bowl with ice and continue to add ice each time you refresh the juices.

Add soda water on top occasionally to refresh bubbles. Top with diced Papaya, strawberries, tangerine and lime slices and basil leaves.

 (photo courtesy of Cappello’s FB page)

Specifically, Capello’s Lasagna Sheets have contributed in a big way to this Autumn Lasagna Pie.  They’re slightly salty and just the right texture.  This pie is a perfect meal for Fall or an unexpected dish for chengrenshipin potlucks. It feeds large groups and falls into that comfort food category, which I always crave this time of year.  Serve it as a one-dish meal or pair it with a simple salad and crusty garlic bread.

There’s an obvious autumnal feel in the layers of veggies and herbed goat cheese, yet the recipe preserves the simplicity of a traditional lasagna with a marinara variation and ricotta blend.

I cooked and served this meal for our dear friends at our mountain house in Winter Park, CO on a chilly night.  And since it’s not the healthiest of meals to begin with, why not serve it with fudgy flourless brownies!  This recipe is one of my favs from Oh She Glows.  The pups didn’t mind the vanilla ice cream either ;-).

Because I rarely cook or clean without listening to some tunes, my playlist for this meal prep included anything by Tom Petty.  When I first experimented with this recipe it was the weekend of what would have been his 67th birthday.  It was the perfect backdrop to a yummy meal with even better company.

Swaps and Subs: It’s just as yummy with the sausage removed if you’re vegetarian or prepping a “meatless Monday” dinner like we tend to do in our household.  Although, I’d recommend adding a sweet potato to the veggie roast for a heartier taste.  Top with parsley if you’re feeling fancy.

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Autumn Lasagna Pie

• Servings: 4-6
• Print

chengrenshipin

• 8 Tbs olive oil
• Salt + Pepper to taste
• Half bundle of asparagus (chopped bitesize)
• 1 leek (usable parts)
• 8 oz baby portabella mushrooms (one small container)
• 11 oz package butternut squash (pre-cleaned/peeled/cut)
• 2 large parsnips (peeled and chopped bitesize)
• Fresh rosemary, fresh sage, fresh tarragon (minced)
• 1 package of ground Italian sausage (my go-to: Boulder Sausage brand or Canino’s)
• 1 small 最刺激黄a大片免费观看下载 plain goat cheese
• 4 oz ricotta cheese
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese (1 bag)
• 1 jar marinara sauce (I used Mezzetta’s Truffle, Porcini, and Cream

chengrenshipin

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree
2. Heat 2 Tbs of olive oil in large saucepan.  Add chopped asparagus, leeks, and mushrooms and season with s+p.  Sautee on low for 15 minutes.
3. In second saucepan, brown sausage until fully cooked through.
4. Toss squash and parsnips with 2 Tbs olive oil and 2 Tbs (total) of equal parts fresh rosemary, sage, and tarragon.  Roast in oven, 350 degrees, for 12 minutes.  Toss and roast an additional 10-12 minutes until squash begins to caramelize or brown.  Combine with asparagus mixture and set aside.
5. Prepare herbed goat cheese.  Using handheld or stand-up counter mixer, combine goat cheese, ricotta, 2 Tbs olive oil, and 1 Tbs equal parts rosemary, sage, and tarragon.
6. In 9 inch round pan, layer chengrenshipin in the following order: Sauce, lasagna sheets, herbed goat cheese, veggie-load, sausage, mozzarella cheese.  Complete for additional 1-2 layers.
7. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 20 minutes, then cover for remaining 10-13 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before cutting.  Serves six comfortably or four with leftovers.

I had been hesitant during the Baby Shower prep. Our close friends had taken on the job of setting up the shower for us. Noelle wanted us to include and invite both female and male friends. I did not know that men went to baby showers, and as I thought about the process it allowed me another opportunity to be involved in a time that the father is usually just along for the ride.

Our friends Tracy and Liz asked me for a list of family and friends who, I would like to invite and I began to wonder, “Who would like to come to a baby shower?”  Most of my guy friends would not be into missing a Sunday afternoon during football season and others just would not want to attend anyway. So, I gave my list of email addresses and just assumed that I would be mostly consumed by the feminine energy the day of.

The day finally arrived and my mom flew in to attend. She came with me early in the day to help Liz, Tracy, Agnes and Israel set up the party. I prepared a non-alcoholic punch along with a rum punch and other spirited and N/A beverages.

As I had throughout the first 5 months of pregnancy, I focused the zero ABV punch on Noelle’s pregnancy cravings and dietary essentials. Papaya, tangerine, strawberry, lime, and basil had become one of the winning combinations to help with morning sickness early on and I had made many combinations of this list.

We had gotten a tip about ripe Papaya being helpful with morning sickness. It seemed to work. As I began to explore, however, I saw that green papaya is actually not good got pregnancy. It was becoming clear to me that there were many things that were suggested that women do not eat or drink during pregnancy. In a normal “Mocktails” book I do not think they account for pregnancy, just no alcohol.  Even when we would go to restaurants, I would see amazing bartenders not want to or just not know how to mix a mocktail. I wanted to test myself and so I started making recipes, I came up with 40, one for each week of pregnancy.

As the day went on and friends and family began to arrive, I felt overjoyed and overwhelmed. Noelle and I began to feel all of the love that was pouring over us. People do love supporting those that they love and I had never realized just how powerful that could be for someone or a couple in need of a little help.

We played creative games, had a diaper raffle and enjoyed amazing food and drinks. In a funny turn of events, we had frozen tiny plastic babies into ice cubes and when guest got a drink they put one of those cubes in their glass. When the baby had melted out of the cube the winner was to shout, “My water broke.” Well it just happened that our friend Amber, who was 8.5 month pregnant was the first to melt and someone yelled, “Amber’s water broke!”  He face immediately turned bright red.

I refilled both punches multiple times and it was a relief to hear friends who were pregnant or just didn’t want to drink say that the N/A punch actually made it feel like they could still enjoy the party and not have to just drink soda water.

After opening a load of presents, Noelle and I were officially overwhelmed with the love we had received! It took me several days to comprehend that the village we had feared that we did not have around, had shown up when we just needed to feel the love.