Freshening up the dining room

I've officially lived in my house for longer than I've ever lived in a house before. Like, EVER! Not just my adult life, but my entire life. I blame this fact on my itch for change. My husband disagrees. He says I just have a quarterly itch to do "something." He even suggests that in the winter, I get stir-crazy and the projects increase in frequency (*blushes* He might be right).

Whatever the reason, I've been feeling the itch - more of an ache! - to change my kitchen up a bit. Now, one might think this is an occasional process, but lets be honest, we've been in this house for 9 years and this paint job represents the 5th color in the kitchen. Judge if you must. Paint is cheep :)

After: New Greige paint on wall,
fresh paint on shelf and frames,
and a few new accessories.

Before: Paint color = Cookie Crumb 

After finishing up the paint, I decided a few new accessories were also in order. The blue rooster was a gag gift given to my hubby for Christmas, but I love it! And what do you do when you need a little piece of art work... you make it, of course. :) 

Step 1: I started with a few ceder fence slats.
I antiqued them and applied a touch of stain. 

Step 2: Designing the pattern.
I drew it first on a giant piece of paper then transferred it onto the wood. 

 Using a simple acrylic paint, I did a soft coat so the wood grain would show through. 

Recipe: Minestrone

Okay, so we might have a proclivity at our house towards sweets and baked goods, but we also love good stuff... healthy stuff, too! Sometimes I hear mom's say they can't get their kids to eat veggies. Or, that it's too hard to cook healthy. Well, I'm here to tell you, it doesn't have to be impossible. Not only will my kids eat this, they LOVE IT, and, it's easy enough, they can make it themselves! 

MINESTRONE - 
*Sugar free   *Vegetarian

(This makes enough to feed our family of 6 twice. We eat half, then freeze the other half for a healthy, quick meal later.) 

Ingredients -  
3 Tbs olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup cut green beans (I use a can or frozen)
1/4 cup minced celery
4 tea minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans kidney beans, drained
2 cans great northern beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrots, julienned or chopped
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 tea dried oregeno
1 1/2 tea salt
1/2 tea ground black pepper
1/2 tea dried basil
1/4 tea dried thyme
4 cups hot water
4 cups fresh Baby Spinich
1/2 cup small pasta shells



Step One:
Put oil and onion in bottom of large soup pot. Cook until onions are clear.

Step Two:
Add vegetables, beans, broth, water, and spices. Boil for 15 minutes.

Step Three: 
Add fresh spinach and dry pasta shells. Boil over med-high heat for 20 min. Serve warm.


NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  MINESTRONE
Number of servings = 12 (about 1 1/2 cups each)
Calories per serving = 160
Carbs = 31
Fat = 1
Protein = 8 

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  TOMATO SOUP
Number of servings = 8
Calories per serving = 19
Carbs = 4
Fat = 0
Protein = 1