This Week's Goal

Just as important it is to work on and set goals for ourselves, we need to make sure our surroundings are harmonious as well. Here are some tips to de-clutter your space from paper this week. 

1.      Make sure you sign up for online bill pay and receive less paper bills.

2.      Spend 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at the end of the day to clean up your email inbox. It’s a good way to quickly get rid of the junk mail.

3.      Set up a box where you put away the snail mail. Sort the mail as soon as you get inside the door and recycle all the junk mail right away.

4.      Set up a shredding station so that you can shred important papers ongoing. If it’s put in a pile for later, the pile will grow and just clutter your desk or counter.

Close your eyes. Can you see it? Do you see the clean desk or counter in front of you? If you need a kick-start of your new organization habit, throw a party. It will force you to clean up and from there you can maintain your clean house!

Happy de-cluttering!

Key holder

We really like 2CountryChics products. This key holder would look great in our test kitchen.

 2CountryChics Shop

Rotini with Cheesy Zucchini

We thought you would like a break from barbeque food after the holiday so here is a pasta recipe from one of our upcoming menus. Enjoy!

Rotini with Cheesy Zucchini

Ingredients

•   1 tbsp olive oil
•  2 cloves garlic
• 4 ½ cups small zucchini
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2/3 cups ricotta
• 1 handful fresh basil

Directions

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water with a little salt and oil.
2. Meanwhile, chop the garlic.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and very gently fry the garlic until soft (don’t let it brown).
4. Slice the zucchini.
5. Add the zucchini and gently stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
6. Add salt and pepper and set aside. 
7. Drain the pasta and mix with the zucchini. 
8. Add the ricotta and mix.
9. Chop the basil.
10. Garnish with basil and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

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Taste of Summer Salad with Cucumber, Dill and Red Onion

Taste of Summer Salad with Cucumber, Dill and Red Onion

Easy refreshing salad to serve alongside grilled meat. Perfect mix of flavors and textures. Great salad to add to the 4^th of July barbeque!

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion or sweet onion
• 2 cucumbers
• 3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Peel and slice the onion thinly.
2. Place onion slices in a bowl and cover with ice water. Let stand about 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook until sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in olive oil. Let cool.
5. While vinegar is cooling, peel cucumbers. Split the cucumber in half lengthwise and scape out the center (the seeds) with a spoon. Slice the cucumber thinly.
6. Place cucumbers in a medium mixing bowl, add drained onions, and sweetened vinegar. Sprinkle with chopped dill, salt, and pepper. Toss to mix.
7. Cover and place in the fridge until it’s time to serve.

Enjoy!

This Week's Goal

Happy Monday! Aren’t Mondays great!? We have a full week ahead of us where anything can happen. Seven wonderful days.

I can imagine some of you are thinking – are you crazy?! Mondays suck. It’s an entire week until its Friday again. And that’s where this week’s goals come in to play. Attitude. Like Charles R. Swindoll said – “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes and futures.”  

This week, try to change your attitude and see things from a different perspective. It might change your life.

Happy attitude!

Smoked Salmon Stew

Here is a 15 minute recipe that our chef has come up with. It will put a fancy feel on your Saturday evening when served with a glass of white wine. Super easy and super fast. It's coming up in our menu soon. Happy cooking!

Smoked Salmon Stew

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 6 oz package smoked salmon
• 1 16 oz container sour cream
• 1 bunch of fresh dill
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cucumber
• Whole wheat linguine

Instructions

1. Chop the onion.
2. Heat up the oil in a pan on medium heat.
3. Fry to onion until translucent.
4. Cut up the salmon in strips.
5. Put on the pasta to cook according to the directions on the box.
6. Add the salmon to the pan with the onions. Let cook for a couple of minutes while stirring.
7. Add the sour cream, salt, pepper, dill and mix well. Let cook for an additional 10 minutes.
8. Slice the cucumber and place it on a serving plate.
9. Serve the pasta with the stew and cucumber slices.

Enjoy!

Convinced yet?

If you are not convinced yet why we need to take care of our planet maybe this will convince you. It’s a pretty good reason we think.

 Image - Bubbelsoda

Turkey Burgers with Fresh Mozzarella and Avocado

You can't go wrong with burgers on a hot summer day. Add a refreshing salad and you're golden.

Turkey Burgers with Fresh Mozzarella and Avocado

Ingredients

• 4 Turkey burgers
• 1 pkg fresh mozzarella
• 1 ripe avocado
• 4 whole wheat burger patties
• 1 pkg lettuce
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 green apple

Instructions

Salad

1. Chop the tomato into small cubes
2. Peal the apple and chop it into small pieces
3. Mix the lettuce, tomato and apple in bowl

Burgers

1. Slice the mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices.
2. Fry or grill the burger patties until fully cooked.
3. Put the mozzarella on the hamburgers and let them melt for 1 minute.
4. Slice the avocado into thin slices and put them on top of the hamburgers before you put them into the buns.
5. Serve the burgers with the salad. 

Enjoy!

This Week's Goal

This week’s goal is to listen. Often we are busy listening only so that we can come up with a response. Even in school we mostly learn how to respond and talk and not to listen. Try this week to listen in a genuinely open way. You’ll probably hear something interesting, and you will definitely make the other person feel good.

Happy listening!

Stellibell is in the newspaper this week

We are extremely proud to be featured in Nordstjernan this week– The Swedish Newspaper in America. 

Nordstjernan has been published since 1872 and contains news summaries, trends and columnists from Sweden but also covers traditions, trivia, seasonal recipes, and reports on Swedish community activities from all over the USA.

 Nordstjernan

Happy Friday!

We don't know about you but we are ready for the weekend. We had another busy week of preparing orders, planning new menus, testing new recipes, and not to forget the important voting for a new can opener. It's sometimes easy to forget to appreciate both the busy days and the weekends and to enjoy every moment.

Happy Friday!

Image - Bubblesoda

New can opener

The can opener in our office kitchen broke yesterday. The staff voted and this is what is arriving tomorrow. These are the kind of important decisions we make at our staff meetings...!

Amazon

 

Cool gift and good message

This is why we have two coffee machines in the office!

SycamoreHil by KK designs

Penne with Pesto and Peas

A perfect dish for the picnic basket or a nice dinner that gives you a break from grilling. Enjoy!

Penne with Pesto and Peas

• 7 oz penne pasta
• 3 tbsp pine kernels
• ½ salt
• 2 tbsp basil, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 cup peas

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta following the direction on the box
2. To make the pesto; grind the pine kernels and salt in a mortar. Add the basil, oil and garlic. Continue to grind until everything is mixed well. You can also use a mixer.
3. Steam the peas in a vegetable steamer or a wok for about 3-4 minutes
4. Drain the cooked pasta and place in a large, heated serving bowl. Mix in the pesto, top with the peas, and serve immediately.