My aunt and uncle came to stay the night with us. They are moving out of their house of 37 years and relocating to Southern California! We are so excited to be closer to them. In this week's video, come along with me as I get the guest bedroom ready for them. You'll also get an updated guest bedroom tour. Although we haven't bought anything new, we've changed it all around. I like this arrangement the best.



I hope you will enjoy this week's video. The music in the video is Summer Waltz. Copyright free music from Epidemic Sounds.

News
The Madame Chic Collection makes the perfect gift! Order yours in time for the holidays from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Comments of the Week
TheThe Wool Fairy writes:

I do agree, females are much easier to buy for than males! I have two boys (ages 10 and 11) and here's a good book suggestion for boys on the subject of etiquette. My 11 year old son actually read and enjoyed this book, which speaks volumes: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know by John Bridges. He told me he found the handshake chapter and how to accept a compliment most helpful (; It's modern and "readable" for a young boy in the pre-teen/teen years. I love the Madame Chic series and was looking for something similar to pass along to my sons. Maybe someday as your little guy grows up you will come up with a Mr. Chic series for young boys..hint. hint. Happy Holidays Jennifer and thanks for another year of providing your readers with inspiration.

Thank you, Wool Fairy, for your reading recommendation. I would love to write an etiquette book for the young Monsieur Chics of the world one day :)

Rain writes:

I never considered scheduling "the little things" that make the season special, into the calendar. Great ideas!

Hi Rain, I love scheduling the little things! It's freeing up my schedule even more this year and I've even had time to play the piano and read my Victoria and English Home magazines. Both of those activities are rare these days for me!.

Question of the Week
On YouTube, Dianne writes:
I love all these suggestions. I am constantly stumped by my men gifts. What to buy adult men that they really will like. Any ideas?

Hi Dianne, My father had his 70th birthday last week and we got him a digital photo frame. He absolutely loves it! I would have added it in my gift guide but the timing was off. I think it makes a great gift for a man. With the Nixplay app, family and friends can easily send pictures that instantly upload to the frame. Very cool!

This week I would love to know... are you having guests stay with you over the holidays? What do you like to do to get their room ready? Let me know and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!

If you have a question to submit, I might answer it in a question of the week, or I might include it in an upcoming Q&A video.


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FTC: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Links may be affiliates.

You know my motto: being chic is being prepared.

Today I'm sharing another freezer cooking session with you. Why do I like freezer cooking? (It doesn't exactly sound like the chicest of activities!) I like to schedule an entire afternoon to cook delicious homemade meals for the freezer, because they always come in handy. You never know when you will have unexpected company, or when you will be too tired to cook, but still in need of providing a healthful dinner for your family.

In today's video, I take 5 lbs of chicken breast, and with it, make 3 chicken pot pies, 2 chicken enchilada casseroles and one chicken crockpot chili.

I hope you'll check out this week's video. I go really fast in the video, so I have listed the recipes for you down below. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

Before I share the recipes with you, here is my secret for perfect shredded chicken. Take your chicken breast (in the video, I'm using 5 lbs, but you can use any amount) and place it in a crock pot (I use the All-Clad Slow Cooker) with enough broth to cover the meat. Do this at night before you go to bed. Set it on low for 8 hours (when it finishes cooking, the crock pot will just keep it warm for you). When you wake up in the morning and are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the broth, and place it in your KitchenAid mixer with a little bit of the broth. Mix the chicken with the paddle attachment, until it is shredded. So easy!

A photo posted by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Aug 19, 2016 at 12:38pm PDT

Now, that I've prepared my 5 lbs of shredded chicken, I'm going to use all of it in the following recipes:

Chicken Pot Pie
(makes 3)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth (you can use the broth from the slow cooker)
2 cups low fat milk
6 cups of veggies (I use steamed carrots, celery, cooked potato and frozen sweet corn, but use any combination you like)
4 cups shredded chicken
6 pie crusts (I use pre-packaged)


Melt one stick of butter in a large pot and add the chopped onion. Stir until the onion is soft. Add the flour, and cook until the white powderiness (is that a word?) is no longer visible. Now add 2 cups of chicken broth (from the slow cooker) and 2 cups of low fat milk. Stir until creamy, about 5 minutes.

Now add your vegetables to the creamed bechamel. I used a combination of chopped carrot, chopped celery, boiled and chopped potato and frozen sweet corn. Before placing the vegetables in the sauce, I lightly steamed the carrot and celery and boiled the chopped potato for about 7 minutes. I added the frozen sweet corn as is. You want to cook your vegetables slightly, but not too much, so they aren't mushy. (You could probably get away with not steaming the carrot and celery at all, but because I have small children, I wanted the carrot to be soft.)

You could add any combination of vegetables you like. If you are really short on time, you could just add 6 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. I have done that in the past, and it turned out great!

Now, add 4 cups of shredded chicken (add more if you like a meatier pot pie). Add salt and pepper.

Distribute the filling into three pie tins lined with a bottom crust. Place the top crust on, trim the edges with a knife, and seal with a fork around the perimeter of the crust. Cut some slits into the top to vent, and you are done!

To prepare the pies for the freezer, cover them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. If you use plastic wrap, don't forget that it's there. Be sure to remove it before popping it into the oven!

To cook a pie, thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, bake the pie at 350°F for one hour. Leave a layer of foil on the pie for the first 30 minutes so the crust doesn't burn.

To bake the pie from frozen, bake at 350°F for 1 1/2 hours. All ovens are different, so you will need to check the pie and add time as needed.

You may brush an egg white or some melted butter on top of the crust to make it golden brown.

This chicken pot pie is so delicious! Served with a salad, it makes a hearty meal.



Chicken Enchilada Casserole
(makes 2)

1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
6 cups shredded chicken
2 28 oz cans of green enchilada sauce
6 cups of chopped greens (spinach, kale or swiss chard)
corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican or cheddar)

Heat some oil in a large pot and cook the chopped onion, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 6 cups of shredded chicken and stir to incorporate. Add 2 28oz cans of green enchilada sauce. Stir. Add 6 cups of chopped greens (I use spinach, kale and swiss chard in this video). Cook over medium heat until the greens have cooked down. Now assemble the casseroles. Start with a layer of the chicken mixture as a base, then add a layer of corn tortillas. Add a layer of the chicken mixture and then sprinkle the cheese on top of that. Repeat until you reach the top of the casserole, sprinkling cheese on top.

To prepare for the freezer, wrap the baking dish with aluminum foil. I use aluminum foil disposable baking pans.

To cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cook in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour.

To cook from frozen, cook in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 1/2 hours, making sure to check that the casserole is cooked through before serving.

This is delicious served with salsa and sour cream. Garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped green onion.


Chicken Crock Pot Chili

3 to 4 cups shredded chicken
2 15oz cans tomato sauce
1 large chopped onion
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 15oz can white cannelini beans
1 15oz can red kidney beans
2 to 3 cups chopped greens (spinach or kale)

Place all ingredients in a Ziploc freezer bag. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Place in the slow cooker in the morning. Cook on low 8 hours, or high 4 hours. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and chopped green onion.



News
Used York City cites inspiration from Lessons from Madame Chic in her post on NYC Fall Wardrobe Staples.

Book News

At Home With Madame Chic and Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic are now available in Taiwanese from Cube Press and Citic Publishing, Ltd. Look at these beautiful covers!

A photo posted by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Oct 7, 2016 at 2:00pm PDT

A photo posted by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Oct 7, 2016 at 2:03pm PDT

Comments of the Week
Of the Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, Suze writes:

Thank you for the recipe. It turned out great and my 4 year old loved it so much that I sent a bit in thermos for lunch today!

Hi Suze, wonderful news that your child loved the soup! As parents, the relief we feel when our children actually like a vegetable dish is satisfying, isn't it?

I hope you enjoyed this week's video, and feel inspired to spend an afternoon making freezer meals for your family. It's a lot of work, but it pays off in the end.

I'll see you on Wednesday and Friday again this week for more recipe videos. It's a week of cooking on The Daily Connoisseur. See you then!



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FTC: This is not a sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

We come to the last video of the week. I hope you enjoyed the tidy home theme on The Daily Connoisseur. I sure did have fun sharing the videos with you! We recently rearranged the furniture in our guest bedroom. This week's video is a quick tour of the room and how I got it ready for my cousin's stay. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel at www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur


Comments of the Week
Polly writes:

You gave great advice on the exhaustion! Cutting way back on activities and expectations, getting tiny little rests (I would rest on the sofa while my children played around me--10-20 minutes of that gave me enough of a second wind for the rest of the day), going to bed *early* (when my daughter was a baby I went to bed at 8pm every night, because she was such a fitful sleeper! and I got up at 8 am when my 3 year old woke up), and thinking through the planning of essentials such as meals and laundry really go a long way. The season doesn't last forever, but it feels endless when you're sleep-deprived!

Choosing a tiny, kind thing to do for yourself each day is also helpful, in my experience. A hot bath, some time to sit and knit, fresh air, 20 minutes to read a book, sketching or writing for a few moments...these were all small refreshers that I took when my children were very tiny. Just a few minutes of some small investment in your own creativity or peace of mind makes you feel so much more human and energetic.

And it does get so much easier! You just cannot do it all when you have young children...and that's okay. Choose the best and the rest will fall into place!

Hi Polly, you give wonderful advice. I agree that investing some time in yourself each day is essential to recharge your battery. Thanks for the great comment!

TheLatonya999 writes on the Quick Morning Makeup Routine video:

Believe it or not, I am 44 years old and you just taught me how to apply makeup. Most videos of this type are just far too complicated and I don't have the attention span nor the time to apply make up in such a complicated fashion. Thank you so much!

Hi Latonya999, I love this! Sometimes you just need to see someone else's routine to get inspired to do your own.

Thank you for joining me this week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! See you next time.

Jennifer x



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I am on a strict deadline for my book three edits right now so this blog post will be much shorter than usual. Even though I have a heavy work load I didn't want to leave you without a video. So this week I am sharing some of the great comments of the past two weeks along with some of my own stories (like my very traumatizing experience as a first time dinner party hostess!). Check out the video above for that and much more, including my writing routine, a very inspiring observation about dressing well in Uganda and the excitement and nervousness that comes from changing the way you dress. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

News

Thank you to all of the Japanese viewers who tuned into The Most Useful School in the World last weekend on Nippon Television. I had such a great time shooting the show!

Here is my interview (in Japanese) with Asahi Shimbun Online.

Thank you, Pink Julep, for your great review of At Home With Madame Chic.

Madame Chic Inspiring Thought
Just like our friend in rural Australia, let's feel both the excitement and nervousness that comes from making positive changes in our lives. No matter what small change you make, it can feel daunting! Take comfort in knowing that you have a community of fellow connoisseurs going through the same thing and cheering you on.


Stay tuned for a very exciting announcement later this week!

Until next time...


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One of the habits that made a big impression on me in Paris was how both Madame Chic and Madame Bohemienne loved to entertain guests. They had dinner parties at least once a week. The style of their parties varied- Madame Chic held more formal affairs and Madame Bohemienne's were more casual and spontaneous, but what they held in common were how welcome you felt as a guest. They never apologized for the state of their dress or their home or their cooking. You were always offered a refreshment, or aperitif, immediately upon arrival and were generally made to feel very comfortable. I believe it is because they had people over so often and so regularly that being a hostess was just like second nature for them.

Most people have a story, whether good or bad, about a time they were a guest in someone's home. When we have guests over we want them to feel welcome right away. This week's video shares my basic guidelines for receiving guests properly.

1. Get accustomed to using your best- If you use your best on a daily basis, it won't feel awkward to do so when company comes over.

2. Shed your insecurities and don't apologize- While it's important to get your home ready for guests, don't obsess about the details. Let their knock on the door be a signal for you to drop any insecurities that you may have about the state of your home or whether or not they will like your cooking. Don't apologize for yourself, your skills or your home. Your guests are most likely just happy to have been invited over!

3. Designate a space for their belongings- Let your guests know where they can place their handbag, coat and umbrella, or place their belongings there for them.

4. Always offer a drink to your guests upon their arrival- It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of seeing your friends, but don't forget to offer them something to drink when they arrive. They might be really thirsty or would really appreciate a strong cup of coffee.

5. Provide food if your guests are visiting during a mealtime- If you are inviting people over during a mealtime (noon or 7pm, for example) you must provide them with a meal.

Check out this week's video for a more comprehensive discussion on the subject. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel (and subscribe!) www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur


News
At Home With Madame Chic is going into its second printing with Simon & Schuster! Thank you readers for embracing this book on how we can live better at home.

Pink Julep is bringing At Home With Madame Chic along with her on a journey.

I will appear on Nippon Television's The Most Useful School in the World, Saturday, May 23rd at 7pm in Japan.

Madame Chic Inspiring Thought
Make connecting with people face to face (rather than screen to screen) a priority again. Invite a neighbor or one of your friends over for a cup of tea this week.

Comment of the Week
Madame Chic reader, Shannon, has tried the ten-item wardrobe and says:

Now in the morning when I slide open the closet door there is a sense of giddiness and excitement instead of dread or stress. What favorite outfit should I wear today? It doesn’t bother me to don the same dress twice or on one occasion three times a week because I love it so much. I have also built up my accessories to the point where I can easily change the look of dress with a belt, scarf or cardigan and it feels new. I’ve narrowed down my colors so that most things coordinate. Thanks again for the inspiration. It’s been a great life change!

Shannon, I am so happy you are reaping the benefits of the ten-item wardrobe. I hope it continues to positively influence your everyday life going forward!


Before we go, I would just like to say Happy Mother's Day to all of the Daily Connoisseur moms out there. I am so fortunate to have such a lovely mother who raised me well. All mothers deserve the highest accolades and respect for doing the best and the hardest job on earth. I hope you had a great weekend.

This week I would love to hear about your stories as a hostess or a guest. Do you have any horror stories to share? Any wonderful experiences that left an impression on you? Let us know in the comments and you could be picked as the comment of the week!


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