Bartlett & Craft

If you are like my family during coronavirus, you are feeling a little antsy and have a lot of pent up energy that isn't being expended in its usual ways.  We find our morning routines slowed way down, less rush, we often don't get out of our pajamas until 10 am (on particularly slow days we don't even change out of them). On bad weather days, after we have exhausted all the fun indoor activities, I find my kids pretty willing to do chores around the house as long as they are presented as a 'fun activity' and not a chore (I get it, I was young once too). So I thought I'd use the same logic to trick myself into a 'chore' by trying to organize my kitchen cupboards and make it into a sorting game.  That might not sound like a ton of fun, but if you are a visual person like me, the visual calm you get from opening a well organized cupboard is so pleasing. It's the little things, haha. A good place to start with organizing is to just take ev...

This is taken from www.365daysofcrockpot.com . I was looking for a delicious soup recipe after sampling a flight of soups at Soup Spoon Cafe in downtown Lansing for Valentine's day.  It was so yummy, and exactly what I needed for these cold winter days.  And on top of that, it is a crockpot recipe, so a lot of the work can be done ahead of time. picture taken from 365 Days of Slow Cooking blog  but I plan on taking my own picture as soon as I can Ingredients: 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice ~1 cup finely diced celery ~1 cup finely diced carrots ~1 cup finely diced onions 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano (have some extra in case you want to add more seasoning later) 1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil (have some extra in case you want to add more seasoning later) 4 cups chicken broth ½ bay leaf (dried or fresh) ½ cup flour 1 cup Parmesan cheese ½ cup butter 2 cups half and half, warmed 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp black pepp...

Vegetarian Chili Servings: 4 Ingredients: 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine ( about 1 cup) 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 1/4 cups) 8 medium cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon plain ground cumin (or cumin whole seed) 3 tablespoons chili powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon brown sugar ~ 2-3 12 oz cans of  beans, drained and rinsed  1 cup frozen (or canned) corn kernels, thawed 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (optional) 1 tablespoon lime juice Cheese, optional Sour cream, optional Instructions: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until about shimmering. Add the onion and cook until translucent and slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook until it and the onion are soft and slightly browned around the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook unt...

Bartlett Pear by Becky Bartlett available on Etsy ! A recipe I found through tastespotting.com that was in a different language and used litres (not liters, or cups for that matter!).  I decided to convert measurements and also make some changes.  Here is the result! Ingredients: 2-3 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch cubes (roughly) 1 large onion (sliced coarse) 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, ginger, all spice, cinnamon, and turmeric 20 dried apricots 3 ripe pears (peeled and wedged...you may want to take the seeds out, unless they don't bother you) 1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken stock 2 Tbsp honey 2 Tbsp butter 3 Tbsp olive oil (separated) Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Stir together all spices, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well. Heat 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil in base of skillet, uncovered, over moderate heat until hot, place the chicken pieces and fry until they turn golden brown. Transfer the chicken to...

A recipe I found and modified a bit from Real Simple magazine. 2 sweet potatoes (yams) garlic cloves (2) parmesan bacon chives Saute peeled and diced sweet potatoes in olive oil with smashed garlic cloves until tender.  Toss with cooked pasta, grated Parmesan, crumbled bacon, and chopped fresh chives.  Real. Simple.

Ingredients: 4 Tablespoons (Tbs) flour 4 Tbs butter 2  cups milk 1.5 lbs sharp cheddar cheese (divide equally into two parts, slice into ~.5 inch square sticks) 4 cups macaroni noodles 1 chopped onion salt and pepper to taste Directions: Boil macaroni according to box instructions. Meanwhile melt butter in a large oven-safe pot.  Add flour and mix in.  Then add milk and stir around until it starts thickening.  Once the sauce is thickened add 1 block of cheese a few strips at a time until fully melted. Once macaroni is boiled and sauce is melted add macaroni to sauce and stir in completely.  Add the chopped onion and stir in.  Put rest of cheese strips in the noodles, distributing them around the macaroni. Bake the macaroni for 1 hour at 350 degrees. I sprinkled Panko bread crumbs on top with 30 minutes left in the bake time to add a little more crunch.