"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."
~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'
I am so excited to to revive a feature of my blog called Fridays, Feasting with Friends. This is where each Friday I will feature a different friend, family member, and other foodies, chat with them a bit in a little interview and then share one of their favorite recipes. This was easily my favorite day of the week here in My Retro Kitchen and I am thrilled to get this going again.
Today's guest is my very talented friend Kelly Morse. I first met Kelly when Aaron, my youngest, was a newborn. I was looking to have booties made to match one of my beloved woven wraps and admired those belonging to a mutual friend on Instagram. She told me that Sew Crunchy was the absolute BEST and pointed me her way.
teeny tiny Aaron in his perfect little shoes
Not only is Sew Crunchy amazing but Kelly is probably one of the sweetest ladies I have had the pleasure getting to know! I often find myself grateful for social media. It has repeatedly offered me so many ways to connect with people from all over that I may not have met otherwise. The internet is such an incredible place! And now without further ado, I bring you Kelly Morse.
Kelly Morse
What do you do for a living?
I am officially a stay at home mom. But I also own my own business, Sew Crunchy, where I make soft sole kids shoes and a few other things. I've recently also became a consultant for Perfectly Posh, a naturally based pampering company. So between my kids and two home businesses, I'm very busy!
-->What is your favorite thing to cook?Anything my kids will eat without a fuss :P But truthfully I don't love to cook. I might like the end result, but the planning and clean up is what kills my cooking mojo. I usually cook things that my husband likes, (he works so hard at his job so a good meal is what I like for him to come home to) so I usually do more comfort foods, creamy soups, breads and casseroles.
-->How about your least favorite thing to cook?
-->Anything involving RAW chicken. Ick. I'm usually picky and buy boneless skinless chicken breasts or cutlets, so the touching is minimal.
What is your favorite local restaurant and what is one you are dying to try out?
We live in a small town in northwest Indiana. My favorite local restaurant is called Mi Ranchito. It is a family owned Mexican restaurant that has the best chips and salsa plus margaritas of course! We have an upscale restaurant called McVey's that I'd love to try and have a date night with my husband there sometime.
Music and food go together so beautifully. You are hosting a dinner party, what would be on your playlist?
Themed music. A lot of my events focus around holidays or birthdays. So Christmas events will have Christmas music, and so on. If it's just me cooking, I'll have praise music on.
What would you choose to be your last meal on earth?
Everything on the menu at any mexican restaurant, a pizza buffet, baklava, a dessert table, donuts, iced coffee, bread and butter, spinach and artichoke dip, buffalo chicken dip.
What are you currently reading?
I don't read :P It's true. Between three kids, two businesses, and a very active gym life, I hardly have time to sit down. If there's ever quiet time, I'm usually found browsing Pinterest.
What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget?
My favorite kitchen item is my kitchenaid mixer. I love to bake desserts and am recently starting to make bread so when I bought it a few years ago, my cooking life was forever changed.
Do you have a signature go-to dish?
Tacos, haha. It sounds super basic but I usually have all the items I need to make it between my pantry and fridge. Just brown up some ground turkey, start some black beans, cut up the toppings and it can be done in half an hour.
What is your favorite thing about your hometown?
I live in Lowell, Indiana. What I love most is the small town feel. We don't have any huge chain stores, so it's not at all congested and I love that.
Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you cook it today?
My mom was a very good cook and involved me and my sister in the kitchen a lot. She never used recipes, just sort of always winged it. The meals I make now that reminds me of my mom is lasagna and meatloaf. She always could throw those meals together pretty quickly and on a budget, so I love to cook both for my family.
Top 3 Movies of all time?
Matilda, Bring it on and Enough.
What was your happiest moment in life?
The birth of each of my three children. All I ever wanted to be was a mom, so it's such a great pleasure to have my babies and to be able to stay home and raise them.
Where do you do your grocery shopping?
I do all of my shopping at Aldi and Costco. Aldi is mostly for weekly items, dairy, produce, fruit. Costco is about once every 3-4 weeks and we stock up on dry goods and meat.
What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
I love dips! Spinach artichoke, cheese dip, spinach dip, all of them! I can't hardly control myself at holiday parties with all the yummy appetizers.
Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year?
I definitely need to add a few different meals into our rotation. Sometimes I get in a cooking rut and just rotate the same few meals. My family doesn't complain, but I know they'd like some different things.
One word that best describes you is: BIG!
And now for your favorite recipe:
My favorite recipe is a copycat of an Olive Garden soup. I also like to sub cheese tortellini for the gnocchi.
Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocci Soup
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
coarse salt and fresh black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 + 1/2 cups half & half
2 cups cooked white meat chicken, shredded or cut into small bites
1 pound potato gnocchi
3 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
fresh grated Parmesan and/or Romano, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven heat the butter and oil together over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until tender over medium-low heat about 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir into the vegetables, cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, followed by the half & half.
- Add the cooked chicken. Bring up to a simmer and maintain for 20 minutes stirring often. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the gnocchi separately according to package directions. Add them to the soup along with the spinach. Simmer until spinach is wilted. Stir in basil. Serve with grated cheese.
Notes: recipe Copyright ©2013 Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice by Reeni Pisano All Rights Reserved
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