9 Months!

Ok, so this is actually only a couple of days after E turned nine months, instead of a month and a couple of days!  E is nine months old now, she has had quite a busy month!  We went to my parent's house for Thanksgiving, a 12 hour drive.  We split it up into 2 six hour drives two days in a row, but still, it was a lot for a little baby!  She did awesome though, she's such a trooper.  She now says Mama, Dada, itty (kitty) and hi.  Sometimes I can even get her to wave when she says hi, it's so cute!  Here are some pictures of us on our adventures this last month!

E got her first tree!

She learned how to drive!

E is a cheerleader now for the packers, sorry Bills!

Our first snow!

9 Months old today, not that she'll let you see the sign.

8 Months!

Somehow I completely forgot about my 8 month post for E, so here it is to be shortly followed by the 9 month post!

E turned 8 months old!  During that time she went on her first mini-vacation to St. Joseph.  The end of October and it was 70 degrees in Michigan!

E touching sand for the first time ever!

She also had her first Halloween.  Since she doesn't eat candy yet we just went to our neighbors houses offering them candy and showing off our adorable baby in her adorable costume.

What?  A giraffe eating a giraffe!?

E also said her first word, Mama!  Unfortunately, she only likes to say it when she is crying and mad.  Here are some pics taken right on 8 months. At least I remembered to do that part!

Christmas Time!

I love Christmas.  I'm sure everyone does, but this year it is especially exciting for me, since it is E's first Christmas.  One of my favorite things to do is to decorate the house.  I don't have a ton of decorations, but we always get a tree and we always hang up the Christmas cards we get from other people.  I really enjoy those cards, especially the ones with our friends kids on them, it's crazy how quickly they grow!

This tree is mainly decorated with the ornaments that P got growing up, one for every Christmas from birth until now.  His latest one we got together, it says new home 2011.  How sweet is that?  The Christmas tree skirt I made myself.  I think next year I'm going to get more lights for the tree, but other than that, it's perfect.

Here is E hanging out at the tree!

This is just a ribbon with a D hook attached to one end.  I have one on either side of the doorway and they are already both full!  I'll have to start another one, maybe on the kitchen cupboards.

Tag Blankets Revisited!

Last month, I mentioned that my mother-in-law and I had made a tag blanket for E with a kit from Mill House Quilts.  We had so much fun, and it was so easy.  I thought it would be nice to get some friends together and try to make our own! 

I had a lot of fabric, but everyone brought some ribbon to contribute to make a lot of variation.  Here are some of the finished projects!

Homemade Applesauce

I love the fall.  It is my favorite season and a large part of that is how much I enjoy Fall foods.  Anything with apple, pumpkin, or squash is just dandy for me.  This year, it was extra special since it was my first fall being a mom.  

Unfortunately, the apple harvest wasn't quite up to the challenge.  We didn't get to pick our own apples this year, but we did manage to go the orchard twice to buy apples.  Both times I brought them home and made applesauce for E.  This is by far the best applesauce I've ever had.  The original recipe can be found here, but all I did was take 5 lbs apples, 1 cup applesauce, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves and simmer until my apples were complete mush.  Then I ran them through the food mill to get rid of all of the extra skin since I was making it for E.  

I managed to forget to take a picture of my applesauce, so you will just have to imagine how delicious it looked as well as tasted.

Bench Seat

Yesterday I started with these ingredients:

2" thick foam, three separate pieces all glued together and then wrapped in a layer of vinyl

A large bench seat, 72"x31" from putting two Ikea Expedit shelves together with some sturdy hardware.

Then add a surprise fabric, zipper, time, one broken machine needle and you get:

Finished Bench Seat Cover!

This is just one small step in our family room makeover, but I really love how it turned out.  Next we need to get the futon out of there, add some book shelves, and get some art onto the walls!

First Word!

E said her first word last night.  To my great joy and delight, it was "Mama".  Before you go thinking that I imagined it, let me just tell you what happened.

The Notredame game ended up going into overtime and E had gone down for a nap in the third quarter.  When the game was over she was still sleeping, but we had friends over and we had all planned to go out to dinner with E after the game.  I figured she'd want to have dinner before going to bed for the night anyway so we woke her up and all went to dinner.  Well, trying to wait to feed her until we got to the restaurant was apparently not the right idea.  She was screaming in the car, and we were all listening to her cry.  Then, in one of her cries she very distinctly said "Mama."  I was driving and she couldn't see me so she was probably wondering where I was and why I wasn't feeding her.  Everyone just kind of looked at each other and decided that yes, that had actually just happened.  

So, I have three witnesses besides myself and I have to say, I'm a very proud "Mama."  Too bad she had to get that worked up in order to have us hear it!  I can't wait to see what her next word will be, maybe "Dada?"

Here she is in the restaurant right after saying her first word!

Another Blog!

As many of you may already know, I have another blog that I share with my art night friends, art night posse.  You would think since I rarely post there and I rarely post here that those would be enough for me, but apparently not.  

Art night posse is for all of us, and mainly for crafts we make at art night.  And this blog is for anything and everything, so I wanted to make a blog just for my sewing/quilting.  That blog, The Quilted Lane, only has two posts so far, but that's only because all of the things I'm working on right now are gifts and I can't show anyone yet!  

I hope to be posting more on all of my blogs soon as I've finished my Christmas gifts for the most part so nap times can have more blog posting!

_______________________________________________

Now to share someone else's amazing craftiness.  My mother-in-law made this quilt for E and we just got it in the mail today, what a great surprise!  

7 Months!

A little late, but better late than never!  E is 7 months old now, and it has been a busy fall!  She is so independent.  She is sitting up all by herself and eating cheerios now.  She doesn't crawl yet, but she pivots and rolls until she gets what she wants.  We've done so many great fall things this year, pumpkin patch, making applesauce, trips to the zoo, and lots of football games!

Birthday Cheesecake

P's birthday was last week and I wanted to make him something special.  I made him a decadent chocolate cheesecake, and he loved it!  He ranked it number two in desserts that I have made him, pretty high praise.  I got the recipe from pinterest, of course.  And, for once, I remembered to take pictures of the dessert!

Chocolate Lovers Cheesecake
Original recipe found here

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1½ cups finely ground chocolate cookie crumbs
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
½ cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp. salt
1¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature

For the glaze:
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:
To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper.  In a medium bowl combine the cookie crumbs, and melted butter.  Stir with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened.  Add the crumb mixture to the springform pan and gently press about 1 inch up the sides of the pan.  Press the rest of the crumbs into an even layer over the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Reduce the oven temperature to 300˚ F.

To make the filling, combine the sour cream, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Whisk to blend and set aside.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (in short intervals, stirring frequently) until completely smooth.  Set aside and let cool slightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, cocoa powder, and salt.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the sugar and continue mixing about 2-3 minutes more, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Add the cooled chocolate to the bowl and mix on medium-low speed.  Beat in the sour cream mixture just until evenly blended.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing each just until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust.  Bake until the center jiggles very slightly when nudged, about 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 1-2 hours.  Then cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight.

To make the glaze, place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan or in the microwave.  Pour over the chocolate and let stand briefly, 1-2 minutes.  Whisk just until a smooth ganache has formed.  Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated.  Pour the glaze in an even layer over the chilled cheesecake.  Chill thoroughly.

Soup's On!

I love the fall.  It is the perfect excuse to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking.  In the last couple of weeks, I've made two soups that I was sure P wouldn't like, but after I pureed them, he really enjoyed them.  I couldn't be happier with this outcome since they were both very healthy and super tasty!

Curried Lentil Soup
Original recipe found here

Ingredients:

4 center-cut bacon slices  (I forgot the bacon when we had leftovers later in the week, still good but the bacon was a nice touch)
1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion (1 onion)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup dried lentils
2 chopped carrots
2 chopped celery stalks
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained  (I used frozen dices from my garden last year, they were great!)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 3 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a slow cooker. Stir in broth and everything else. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Original recipe found here

Ingredients:
2 Tb Butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, sliced
3.5 C chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 C milk
3/4 tp salt
1/2 tp pepper
1/8 tp nutmeg

Directions:
In large pot, melt butter.  Cook onion and garlic about five minutes, until onion is translucent. Then add potatoes and carrots, cook five more minutes.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add cauliflower and reduce heat.  Simmer for 20 minutes.
Blend all ingredients together in batches in the blender, or with an immersion blender.  Add milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  

Cream of Cauliflower soup, with smokehouse black pepper, so good!

Easter Cheoreg

Back in high-school, a friend of mine's family made this recipe every year around Easter.  It is a delicious bread, and I enjoy making it to this day.  However, it makes a lot of bread, so I end up freezing it.  Next time I make it I will take pictures, it's so pretty!

Ingredients:
10 eggs
2 c sugar
2 c milk
2 c butter
15 c flour
1 tp baking powder
2 tp ground mahleb
4.5 tp dry yeast
1 Tb salt

Directions:
Sift flour and put in a large bowl.  Make a hole in the center.  Dissolve yeast, melt the butter, beat the eggs, and pour all of this into the hole in the flour.  Blend flour with liquid gradually, first with spoon and then with your hands.  Knead the dough for about 1/2 hour or until your hands stay free of dough.  Cover the dough well and let stand 4-5 hours to rise.  Shape dough into braids.  Let the braids stand for awhile on a greased baking sheet.  Then brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven, until golden brown.

Barley Vegetable soup

My mother-in-law visited last week while my husband was out of town, so we got to eat whatever we wanted.  I made this soup, since there is no way that P would eat it, too many vegetables he doesn't like.  We ate it for four days and I wish I had more, I could eat it every day.

Ingredients:

1C chopped onion (1 large)
1/2C bias-sliced carrot (1 medium)
1/2C sliced celery (1 stalk)
2C sliced fresh mushrooms
1 15 oz can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 10 oz package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2C regular barley
2tp dried Italian seasoning
1/4tp ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
5cups vegetable or chicken broth

Directions:
Put everything together in the crock pot and cook 8-10 hours on low, then enjoy!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

My husband loved this dish so much, I couldn't believe it.  He's sitting next to me right now and when he saw this one was getting added to the blog, he got really excited.  I will have to make it again soon!

Original Recipe found here

Ingredients:
2 C dried elbow macaroni
2 Tb butter
2 Tb flour
1/2 tp salt
1/2 tp pepper
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
4 oz shredded Fontina
2 cups cooked pumpkin (I used cooked pumpkin, but you could use store bought  canned)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta in a large pot following package directions. Drain cooked pasta, then return to pot.
 2. For cheese sauce, in a dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add whipping cream and milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in cheese, pumpkin, and sage until cheese is melted. Add Pasta to dutch oven.
3. In a small bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle over pasta. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until bubbly and top is golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tag blanket

I'm sure it is obvious that I love my daughter, based on the quantity of posts that are about her, but believe it or not, I've not made a quilt for her yet.  My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law both quilt, and they have made two quilts already for her.  I haven't needed to make anything for her yet.  

I am now working on an activity quilt for her, but I'm not ready to show that yet.  As a teaser, I will show you the little blanket that my mother-in-law and I made for her this past week.  We were at Mill House Quilts, looking for kids fabric, when we saw these kits for tag blankets.  The kit says it's a Luvi blanket, and that is well suited, because Evelyn loves it!  We gave it to her and within minutes it was soaked. It's only 12 inches square, but it's the perfect size for her.  

6 Months!

Six months have gone by already!  Last year at this time, we were just telling people we were going to have a baby.  It was so exciting to share the news.  Now, one year later, we have a happy, healthy lovely little girl.  Our lives have changes so much since then, all for the better.

The best part of the last month was that E got to meet her Grandpa for the first time!

Polite Politics

An open letter:

Those who know me well know that I'm one of the least confrontational people in the world. If a waiter gets my order wrong, I'm the type of person who will eat whatever is served and still leave a generous tip. That being said, if I get pushed hard enough, I will speak out.

Facebook is a great service. I love being able to keep in touch with friends and family who are living far away from us. It's great to see how they are doing and share in their lives. However, you are allowed to post pretty much anything you want on there, and it shows up on other people's news feeds. The freedom of speech that we are allowed in this country is a great benefit, but we end up hearing everyone's opinion. This includes a lot of hateful speech. My pastor's wife growing up used to say, “garbage in, garbage out.” She wouldn't watch certain movies or TV shows because once seen or heard, those ideas can affect your behavior and thoughts.

With this election season, the political banter that has been showing up on my news feed has really started to affect me. I can drown out the cruel things that are said in the media, but when it is repeated by my own loved ones, it sticks in my brain. Whether people are pro-Obama or -Romney, their emotional comments about the opponent are often full of bile. People stating that if you are voting for the Republican candidate, you can defriend them. Calling the President of the United States “Obummer”. Where has the mutual respect gone? Since when is it appropriate to put down anyone who thinks differently? I am more than happy to discuss facts, political ideas, or challenges facing this country, but not in a disrespectful manner. There is no reason to belittle another person for their beliefs.

Will the world end if your candidate loses? Probably not. There are many safeguards in place to ensure that no one person can control the direction of this country. No matter who wins we won't end up in a state where only the wealthy elite have rights or where people are fornicating in the streets.

I believe that people are better than they sometimes act on Facebook. People are complicated, wonderful creatures. I am not about to end a relationship because someone disagrees with me on abortion or gay rights. However, I refuse to sit idly by and say it is ok to be disrespectful of other people. I will therefore be unsubscribing from posts of those people on my news feed who are saying cruel things about others in their posts. This is the type of garbage that I will no longer allow into my life, as I don't want it to come back out in my interactions with my family and friends.

Swiss Bircher-Meusli

In high-school, one of my best friends had some great family food traditions.  Many of those recipes are ones that I continue to make today.  I usually make this one at least once every summer.

Ingredients:
6 apples, something tart like granny smith
4-6 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
splash of orange juice
fresh fruit in season (berries, grapes, peaches)
bananas

Directions:
Shred the apples and mix them with citrus fruit.
Mix in sweetened condensed milk and oatmeal.
Add in chopped fresh fruit, but don't add the bananas until ready to serve.

Rich Autumn Pork Stew with Beer

Original recipe from Epicurious.  My friend Sam told me to make this for my husband, and I was very skeptical, since he doesn't like stews.  I wouldn't say he loves this one, but he does find it edible.  I personally think it's delicious!

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless pork, cubed
salt & pepper
6 Tb olive oil
2 med onions, diced
4 med carrots, diced
2 med apples, cubed
1 bay leaf
1 cup tomatoes, diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 bottle, 12 oz, beer
2 Tb brown sugar
cooked buttered egg noodles

Directions:
Season pork with salt and pepper, brown in 4 Tb olive oil
On low heat cook onions, carrots and apples with 2 b olive oil about 10 minutes adding the garlic in the last 2 minutes.  Add in remaining ingredients except egg noodles, add pork back to pot.  Simmer for 1.5 hours, serve over egg noodles.

Makeover Cheddar Biscuits

I've never actually had the cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster.  However, I'm told they are delicious and addictive.  This version is healthier, from my healthy cooking magazine, but very tasty!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tp baking powder
1/4 tp salt
1/2 tp garlic powder, divided
1/4 tp baking soda
4 Tb cold butter, divided
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, 1/4 tp garlic powder and baking soda.  Cut in 3 Tb butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; add cheese.  Stir in buttermilk until just moistened.
Drop by two tablespoonfuls 2 in apart onto baking sheets covered in parchment paper.  Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Melt remaining butter; stir in garlic powder.  Brush over biscuits.  serve warm.

Chili Pork Tenderloin

I made this a couple of weeks ago.  I liked it so much that I'm planning to make it again when my parents come to visit this weekend.  Original recipe from healthy cooking.

Ingredients:
1 Tb lime juice
t tp chili powder
1 tp soy sauce
1/2 tp sugar
1/2 tp salt
1/4 tp pepper
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 Tb olive oil

Directions:
Mix first 6 ingredients into a rub.  Rub over pork tenderloin.  In large ovenproof skillet, brown pork in oil.  Then bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer reads 145.  Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Useful tips to myself

Lately, I can't seem to remember the most basic of cooking skills.  In the last month, I've looked up how to hard boil eggs three times, since each time I go to do it, I've forgotten.  So, here is my list of things I never remember how to do, any suggestions of things to add?

Corn on the Cob
Leave the husk on, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  place corn in husk in oven for 30 minutes.

Hard Boiled Eggs
Put eggs in a single layer of pan and cover with cold water until water is 1-2 inches above eggs.  Add some salt and bring to a rolling boil.  Turn off heat and cover, let sit for 12 minutes.  Rinse eggs in cold water and then refrigerate until needed.

Brown Rice
1 cup rice to 2 1/2 cups water.  add rice, olive oil, salt and water to pan.  bring to a boil.  reduce heat and simmer, covered 40-50 minutes.

Quinoa
The ratio is normally 1:2 and you rinse the quinoa first.  However, I have recently found a website devoted to quinoa and she has a different suggestion  I tried that today, and it was the best quinoa I've ever had.

Buttermilk
I never have buttermilk on hand, but you can make your own.  Put one Tb white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup, then fill up the rest of the way up to one cup line with milk.  Let stand five minutes.

Beef and Broccoli (asparagus) stir-fry

Well, P hates broccoli so when I made this for him I substituted asparagus.  When he was out of town and his mom was here, we made it with the broccoli, delicious!  This was originally from my healthy cooking magazine, but as always I've slightly tweaked it to work for us.

Ingredients:
2 tp cornstarch
1/2 cup beef broth
4 tp soy sauce
1/2 tp ginger powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 lb beef sirloin steak, thinly sliced
2 tp sesame seeds
2 tp olive oil, divided
2 cups broccoli florets (or any other vegetable)
1 small yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup hot cooked brown rice

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients.
In a large pan, stir-fry beef and sesame seeds in olive oil until no longer pink; set aside.
Stir-fry broccoli in remaining oil for 3-4 minutes.  Add pepper; cook 4-6 minutes longer.
Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Add beef; heat through.  Serve with rice.

5 months!

E is five months old already!  I say that every month, but it's true every month, it is just going so quickly.  This month was huge for her, a ton of new things.  

First, she started solid foods.  She's tried pears, peas, sweet potatoes and applesauce so far.  I think her favorite is peas but it's hard to tell since most of it ends up on her face.

 She also started rolling over!  She can get from her back to her stomach, but hasn't mastered the reverse.  Unfortunately this means a lot of crying and frustration at the moment, but I'm hoping that she'll be able to return to her back any day now.

 Here she is on 5 months exactly, we had a great photo shoot but by the second half she was eating the paper.

 We tried the baby swing for the first time.  She didn't smile or cry, she just kind of chilled out.

 E found her feet!  She quickly went from touching her feet to eating them, they are currently her favorite toy!

I've had a couple of people say that this is where babies really start to get fun.  Since I'm already having a blast, I can't wait to see what else is in store!

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

P doesn't eat a lot of fish, but I made this for him and he liked it.  I served it with couscous and salad.


Ingredients:


6 tilapia fillets (6 oz each)
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c mayonaise
2 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb butter, softened
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tp minced fresh basil or 1/4 tp dried basil
1/2 tp seafood seasoning


Directions:


1. Place fillets on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.  In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; spread over fillets.
2. Broil 3-4 in from the heat for 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Barley Beef Skillet

I made this when my friend was in town, it served three and we still had leftovers for lunch the next day.  Delicious!


Ingredients:


1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 small carrots, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup medium pearl barley
2 tp Italian seasoning
1/4 tp salt
1/8 tp pepper


Directions:


1. In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce and water; bring to a boil.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients; cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until barley is tender.

Dakota Smashed Pea & Barley Soup

I went to California Pizza Kitchen and had this soup.  It was so good, I tried to recreate it myself.  Here is the original recipe that I found online.


Ingredients:


2 c split peas
6 c water
4 c chicken broth
1/3 c onion (minced)
2 tp lemon juice
1 tp salt
1 tp sugar
1/4 tp parsley
1/4 tp white pepper
1/8 tp thyme
1/2 c barley
6 c water
2 med carrots (diced)
1/2 c celery


Directions:
1. Rinse and sort the split peas
2. Add them do a large pot with 6 c water, chicken broth, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, sugar, parsley, pepper, thyme, and celery.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours
4. Bring barley and 6 cups water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
5. Blend in food processor the pea mixture in batches.
6. Drain any extra liquid from the barley and add the barley to the pea soup.
7. Add carrots and simmer 15-20 minutes
8. Turn off heat, cover soup and let sit 10-15 minutes before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

I found this recipe on pinterest.  I tried it for P a couple of months ago and I've made it 3 times since then, he loves it!


Original recipe found here


Ingredients:


3 lbs frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle Franks Buffalo sauce
1 packet ranch dip mix
1 can black beans
2 c frozen corn
tortillas
shredded cheddar


Directions:


1.slow cook chicken, sauce and dip mix 6-7 hours.  shred chicken and cook one hour more.  Add in corn and black beans
2.Serve with tortillas and shredded cheddar
3.Freeze extras in 2 cups freezer bags for future use

Sausage Pasta with Vegetables

I love this recipe.  It's easy to make and P likes it so much, he requested it specifically.


Ingredients:


1 lb chicken sausage
2 c whole wheat pasta (uncooked)
veggies of your choice (I usually do green beans)
1 clove minced garlic
olive oil
1/4 c mozzarella
Parmesan cheese

Directions:


1. Cook pasta separately.
2. Cook sausage and garlic in olive oil.  Add in veggies.  Mix with cooked pasta and top with cheese.

4 months!

Wow, E is already four months old.  Yesterday P took off of work for a wedding, and I had a great time getting her dressed up for the big event.  The four month pictures are therefore half in her pajamas and half in her fancy outfit.

She is doing so much already, rolling from side to side, laughing out loud, and putting anything she can into her mouth.  Her favorite is grabbing daddy's finger and pulling it into her mouth, he calls it her special handshake.  Here are some pics of his beautiful princess.

See Mom?  I'll put anything in my mouth.

I'm bored already.

And now I will flash you.