2013 Aspirations

I am ready to close the book on 2012. It has been a heck of a year - good times with its handful of trials and tribulations. But I do not want to dwell on the past. Here are my aspirations for the future:

• Be less stressed - this is an ongoing battle for I am a worrywart at heart. It is what I do. I hope to try to make my mantra, only do what is within my own control and not worry about the things that are not. I also want to take time to do some things for me during the day - whether is it reading a book, working out for a few minutes, or another little projects I have in mind.
• Be more healthy - it is difficult to do as someone who has an aversion to fruits and vegetables. So when I make my meal plans for the upcoming weeks, I am trying to include at least some sort of bearable veggie (I've made strides with veggies...not fruits...oh well)
• Be a bit more adventurous - in life, in cooking, in general. This year is affording us the opportunity to make a new army home, travel to our new destination, and prepare more adventures in the coming years. So I want to try to be less of a stick in the mud and get out and about. I am going to start by dipping my toes in the world of Indian cuisine (yes, I will chronicle my journey here).
• Be a better me - that includes being a better mom, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, friend, etc. I realize I am somewhat antisocial and it gets compounded by our distance from home but I aspire to be a better communicator in any case.

I am pretty sure only I need to see this list but putting it out here makes me feel accountable for it.

Let's do it 2013!

 

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Seven Fishes Recap

I felt that I needed to recap how our little appetizer type Seven Fishes Feast went down on Christmas Eve.  It was definitely a lot more manageable that last year.  The amount of food was just right.

Dish 1:  Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce

Dish 2: Baked Calamari Rings (we decided to switch out the Salmon dish for the easier prepped dish)

Dish 3: Stuffed Clams

Dish 4: Mini Tuna Melts

I used some leftover water crackers, mixed tuna with mayonnaise, and topped with some Swiss cheese.  Next time, I definitely want to use some big bruschetta type rounds and then add a little bit of pepper to the tuna. It was a good first attempt.

Dish 5: Lobster Raviolis

We had 12 raviolis, leftover sauce from Sunday night, and a new can of pesto sauce.  Decided to let everyone get a taste of each.  The Pesto Sauce was definitely the winner!

Dish 6: Spicy Crab over Polenta

I deviated a little bit from the original recipe I posted. Instead of using whole chilies, I substituted some cayenne pepper - 1/4 tsp.  It cleared out your sinuses but was still good.  Next time I would go a bit lighter on the cayenne pepper.

Dish 7: Fish Tacos

Feast of the Seven Fishes

Last year on Christmas Eve, we had a knock down, drag out Feast of the Seven Fishes.  (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the meal, Wikipedia gives a quick overview of meal.)  We had our last dish at 11 pm.  Don't get me wrong, it was fabulous.  But we were totally unprepared for all the work and the energy to eat all day long.  So this year, I have gone a little away from tradition to try to serve all of our fishes in a "tapas" style - no huge servings and some untraditional recipes.  Below are the courses I have planned:


1.  Shrimp and Cocktail sauce (no more than 2 pounds of shrimp - last year we had something like 10 pounds...to much shrimp)
2.  Lobster Raviolis - a fabulous delicatessen, Dolci and Clemente's, makes Lobster Raviolis (12 in a package), and I plan on letting everyone have 2 raviolis along with either a pesto or cream sauce
3.  Stuffed Clams - okay, the local food store, Hyvee, has some great prepared stuffed clams and all we need to do is drop them in the oven for a bit.
4.  Tuna Salad/Tuna Melts - alright, here is where I went totally off the map.  Mini tuna melts are really in no way Italian at all.  But they are easy, quick to make and already bite-sized.
5.  Salmon Skewers or Lox and Bagels - I figured kid-sized portions of Salmon would make perfect appetizer sizes.  I also couldn't decided if we just wanted to start at breakfast with cured salmon, cream cheese, and bagels.  Get one fish knocked out really early.
6.  Crab Polenta - this one is a little bit more meal like, but I honestly wanted something other than crab cakes or the mess of crab legs
7.  Fish Tacos - I like making these with the added bonus that it is super fast.

What are your Christmas Eve meal plans?

Risi e Bisi

Every couple of weeks we try to have several of guys who work with my husband over for dinner (with or without girlfriends - totally up to them).  It has been interesting trying to come up with meals that are filling and hearty for an extra 4 to 8 people.  I have done sauce and bbq pulled pork.  Two days ago, I tried a totally new recipe on for size - risi e bisi - Rice and Pea Soup.  What?!?!?  You can't serve rice and peas to a bunch of guys, that is far from hearty.  Don't worry, it has ham and cheese in it as well.  Here we go:

risi e bisi

from Food & Wine's Quick From Scratch Italian

Ingredients

6 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 quarts chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of rice, preferably arborio
2 tbsp of parsley
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 cups frozen petite peas (1 10 oz package), defrosted
1 1/4 pound piece deli ham, cut into small dice
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp black pepper

Steps

1.  In a large pot, melt the butter over moderately low heat.  Add the onion, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally until the vegetable start to soften, approximately 5 minutes.
2.  Add the wine and boil until it almost evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Boil until the liquid is reduced to approximately 7 cups, about 20 minutes.
4.  Add the rice, parsley, and salt.  Cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally until the rice is just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
5.  Stir in peas, ham, Parmesan, and pepper. Set heat to low.  Serve when ham and peas become warm.

The Final Product
This was yummy.  Considering it had just snowed the evening prior and the temps are now considerably colder than what they had been, this felt really good in your tummy.  I do have a couple notes to add.  First, I doubled this recipe when I made it - in doing so, instead of 4 tbsp of parsley, I added another 2 tbsp of Italian herb mix, I just like the herb mix.  I also only used about 2 pounds of diced ham cubes instead of 2.5.  I did use all 4 quarts of chicken broth and 1 full cup of white wine.  There is only one thing I would make a severe adjustment on - salt.  I don't think it needs close to that much salt.  Actually, I would cut it out all together and let people add to their bowl as they see fit.  But I guess it wasn't too much, considering our guests got multiple servings of it.  Definitely a keeper and good for these cold weather months.

Slow Cooker Mac 'n Corn

A lot of times, I focus on the preparation of the main dish of the meal.  To be honest, I have a hard time coming up with side dishes.  Usually my sides turn out to be starches, mostly because I have a thing about vegetables.  A think I am trying to get over, slowly but surely.  But I wanted something different, so I decided to try this yummy little side dish.

Mac 'n Corn

from the Crockin' Girls Slow Cookin' Companion

Ingredients

1 can creamed corn
1 can regular corn, undrained
1 cup macaroni, uncooked
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 stick butter

Steps

1.  Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker
2.  Cook on LOW for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

The Final Product
Again, I forgot to take a picture.  But this was a yummy side dish.  JT gobbled it up.  I never would have thought corn and macaroni and cheese.  They go very well together.  Note, instead of one cup of macaroni, I had approximately a half box of mini bow-tie pasta.  Through it all in.  There seemed to be more than enough liquid from the regular corn to handle the extra macaroni.  Two, you really do need to stop and stir the mixture at least once an hour.  So, make this recipe when you have a lot of "at home projects" and take a quick break to stir your side dish before dinner.

Waiting For Daddy

Every afternoon we now have a new ritual - the "Daddy opened the garage door, so now I need to scream and bang on the door until he comes in" ritual.  Evidence below:

Slow Cooker Cheddar Vegetable Sausage Casserole

I got around to trying another crock pot meal on Monday.  I pulled this one from the Crockin' Girls Crockin' Cookbook.  This turned out really yummy and I have never really tried putting sausage in the slow cooker.  The casserole is a bit tangier than some of the other dishes I have made because it utilizes Cream of Celery soup.  I am not a huge fan of the taste but my husband really liked it.  I thought the potatoes and sausage were really delicious.  Anyway, here is the recipe:

Cheddar Vegetable Sausage Casserole

from the Crockin' Girls

Ingredients

1 (10 oz) Package frozen mixed vegetables
3 large potatoes diced
2 Packages sausage, browned and sliced into pieces
1 (10 oz) Can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10 oz) Can cream of celery soup
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Steps

1.  Mix all ingredients together and place in the slow cooker.
2.  Cook on LOW for 6 hours.

Note - I did not have 3 large potatoes.  I did have about 7 small to medium sized potatoes.  I threw them all in.  The mixture was still creamy and absorbed all the liquid well.

Slow Cooker Turkey Tetrazzini

I had a couple of slow cooker planned recipes in my meal plan this week.  One old recipe - BBQ pulled pork - and two new ones - a main meal and a side dish.  On Monday, I tried out the main meal - Turkey Tetrazzini.  I liked it because it was not a chicken dish. Chicken in the crock pot gets over done a bit in recipes.  So this was a nice change of pace.

Turkey Tetrazzini

from the Crockin' Girls

Ingredients

4 Cups shredded, cooked turkey
1 Small sweet onion, chopped
1 Package fresh sliced mushrooms
1 Cup frozen peas
2 1/2 Cups chicken broth, fat free less sodium
1 Can cream of mushroom soup, fat free
1 Cup dry white wine
1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (16-ounce) Package whole wheat thin spaghetti

Steps

1.  In a 6- quart slow cooker, combine turkey, onion, mushrooms, peas, broth, soup, wine, and mozzarella cheese.
2.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
3.  Once cook time is complete, add cooked and drained spaghetti.
4.  Top with cheddar cheese. Cover with lid for about 30 minutes to an hour for cheese to melt. Serve and top with additional cheese if desired.

Sorry for the lack of picture.  Long Mondays produce very hungry people.  It was very tasty and cheesy.  I did do a little modification because I didn't have cooked turkey (this would be great post Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner).  I just sliced up some turkey cutlets and browned them in my insert prior to combining everything together.  I think it allowed some of the turkey juices to shine a bit more.  At step 3 you might be come worried when you lift the lid (I sure did), there is a lot of liquid in there.  But just trust in the recipe gods.  The cooked through spaghetti will in fact absorb a lot of the liquid.  For step 4, I left my slow cooker on warm for approximately 30 minutes.  It was enough to get the cheddar cheese all melty and yummy.  Enjoy!

Sausage Balls

Part of my volunteer work involves attending a monthly board meeting.  Each month we rotate who brings scrumptious breakfast item to eat.  Well, I got November and I decided to make something I had always wanted to try:  Sausage Balls.  They are super easy and quite yummy - a great morning tailgate type food.

Sausage Balls

from The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose baking mix, i.e. Bisquick
1 lb hot ground pork sausage
1 10z block sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Steps

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, pressing mixture together with hands.  Shape into 3/4-inch balls, and place on lightly greased baking sheets.
2.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sorry for the lack of pictures.  But I will mentioned that I decided to use mild pork sausage.  While it was tasty, next time I will definitely use hot sausage for the full flavor.  Also, I think I only ended up using about 2 1/2 cups of Bisquick.  Though the meat is juicy there didn't seem to be enough moisture in the meat to soak up all 3 cups.  Use your judgement as you add the Bisquick.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cake

I decided I would make a cake for Andy's birthday at the beginning of November.  I didn't want to just make him a plain old cake and then play with my fondant skills so I looked for something new.  I found this in Paula Deen's Holiday Baking 2012 magazine. I thought it was fantastic and not super difficult to make.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cake

from Paula Deen's Holiday Baking 2012

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
10 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs separated

Steps

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with nonstick cook spray.  Line the pan with parchment paper, letting the edges of parchment hang over the side of the pan.
2.  In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, chocolate, and peanut butter over medium low heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat.
3.  Whisk sugar into butter mixture for 2 minutes.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
4.  In a medium bowl, beat egg white at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.
5.  Bake for 1 hour.  Let cool for 1 hour.  Cover and chill for 4 hours.  Serve with Peanut Butter Sauce.

Peanut Butter Sauce

(I have not actually made this yet)

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Steps

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine cream, brown sugar, and egg yolks.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened.
2.  Add peanut butter, whisking until smooth.  Serve sauce warm.

Jam Session

A little taste of who is sure to be an elite drummer someday :

Falling Off The Horse

Wowie, did I fall of the horse!  And bad too.  The month of November goes down in the record books as nonexistent.

I have been super busy.  I did manage to squeeze in a couple of new recipes.  I plan to at least try to get them laid out here in the next couple of days.

Somethings that happened in November, well I am not at liberty to discuss until a later date.  But that is totally cool.  Other things, well, the hubby and I received some big awards from his branch in the army.  He received a St. Barbara's award and I received a Molly Pitcher Award.  I am very proud of him for his achievement.  Added bonus, we got to go out for the evening and I wore a pretty dress.  :o)

I know we have moved into December and I am thankful that the hubby helped me greatly with the Christmas decorations.  I was so overwhelmed in November I feel like I had no energy to do anything.  But we have decorations - indoor and out - up, presents purchased (still need to wrap), and cards ready to go out into the mail.  I know in just a few short days I will get to relax and do what I like best - make yummy dinners and desserts and enjoy the holidays.

I'll be coming back in force - at least I hope so!

Pumpkins

So besides all of the candy, which I usually buy and proceed to eat myself, the one thing I really enjoy about Halloween is pumpkins.  And no, not in the I gotta have Pumpkin Spice Lattes or Coffee sort of way.  I like the carving the pumpkins.  I am not exceptionally good at it.  Although, every year I think I do a better job then the year before.  I like searching for a pattern, tracing it out, and pretty much forcing the pumpkin  to it's cut up demise.

This year I decided to go for a more simple pattern but one that I find inherently funny.

Can you tell which one is mine?  I somewhat force my husband to play along and carve a pumpkin as well.  But I usually pick out his design as well.  Since you can't see the actual pumpkin when it is totally dark, here they are with a little light.

Carving isn't the only thing I like about pumpkins.  You are probably thinking - bring on the pumpkin pi (haha, pie) recipe already!  Nope, I am not a big fan of pie.  I really like going through the innards and collecting all of the seeds.  Then I like to toast them.  So here is the recipe...

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

Pumpkin Seeds
Water
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Steps

1.  Dump seeds into pot and cover with salted water.  Bring to a boil.  Once it has begun boiling, set heat to simmer and cook for 2 hours.
2.  Strain water and pat seeds dry with paper towels.
3.  Heat oven to 250 degrees.
4.  Spread seeds over a baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over seeds then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Use your hands to make sure it is all evenly mixed.  Re-spread out seeds on sheet.
5.  Bake in 250 degree oven for 1 hour.
6.  Let cool and Enjoy!

Sadly, this year my two awesome pumpkins did not yield a lot of seeds.  I am very disappointed.  I might just go out and buy some more...maybe carve them but definitely steal their yummy seeds and toast them.

Backyard

JT has been an out and about sort of baby.  We have never really taken him outside to just play - until yesterday.  It was really beautiful out.  So, we let the dogs out to run around the backyard, took JT and his tractor out, and even brought a couple of burgers and hot dogs out to grill us some dinner.

JT learned really quickly that putting his hand down on the grass is not quite the same as carpet.  This realization caused several moments of intense screaming.  I guess he takes after mom - I am not a super outdoorsy person.  I like a nicely manicured lawn but that is about as far as my love of the outdoors goes.

After overcoming this small "grass isn't carpet" inconvenience, JT did have loads of fun running around in a much more wide open space.

Crock Pot Corn Chowder

So, I signed up for the Crockin' Girls weekly e-newsletter.  It was alright but about two weeks ago - I think they made a great change.  Instead of just one video instruction recipe, they are now sending out a weekly meal plan for your crock pot.  So if I am not crazy about the recipe they are highlighting, I have 4 more recipes to choose from.  The pizza recipe came from that weekly meal plan and so does this corn chowder.

Corn Chowder

from the Crockin' Girls

Ingredients:

4 potatoes (peeled and diced)
1 Can of cream corn
1 Can of whole kernel corn
2 Cups of chicken broth
8 Ounces of diced ham
1 Cups of diced onions
1/4 Cups of butter
2 Cups of half and half

Steps:

1.  Place potatoes, both cans of corn, chicken broth, ham, and onions into the slow cooker.  Remember to strain the water/juice from the whole kernel corn before placing in slowcooker.
2.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
3.  Mash the mixture to your desired consistency and then add the butter and half and half.
4.  Cook for an additional 30 minutes on high, and you are set!

The Final Product:

For some reason, I don't think I can take a great picture of food while it is in my crockpot.  Looks aren't everything.  This was really good - unfortunately, I forgot to strain the water from the whole kernel corn.  BUT, I did throw in an extra potato so it wasn't soo watery.  I do have a couple of notes of improvement for next time I make it because lets be honest this is going to be a great cold weather meal.
First, brown the diced ham in the insert on the stove.  This will let out the saltiness of the ham and keep the ham pieces crunchy.
Second, I would probably use a total of 6 medium potatoes.  So when it comes to the mashing step, the soup will definitely be nice and thick.
Third, during step 3 I would consider adding some cheddar cheese and pepper.  I feel like the soup needed a little kick.
All in all, this is a keeper recipe.  I even planned ahead and chopped my potatoes and onion (I purchased the ham already diced) the night before.  It made the dump ingredients in the cooker really quick the following morning.  I guess all that really matters is that JT gobbled this soup up.  His approval is all I really need.

Walking

For the past week or so, JT has been taking steps.  Yes, steps.  Little steps that almost constituted walking.  Everything he has done this he has made sure that I am either a. not paying attention or b. unable to capture the momentous occasion on video.  Well, tonight, I managed to catch the steps.  You will have to wait until about the 40 second mark for the awesomeness to occur.

CrockPot Pizza

Whoa, whoa, whoa.  CrockPot Pizza.  Yeah, I know.  I did not exactly have a lot of confidence in the whole pizza in a slowcooker idea.  Yet, I could not resist the novelty of the idea.  So being a little lazy, I decided what the heck, let's do this thing!

CrockPot Pizza

from Crockin' Girls

Ingredients

1 Can of refrigerated pizza dough
1-2 Cups of pizza sauce
1-2 Cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Your favorite toppings

Steps:

1.  Spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray.  Don't skimp out on the spray, you want that pizza to slide out at the end of the cooking process.
2.  Unroll the pizza dough and spread along the bottom of the cooker.  Let edges come up 1 inch on the sides.
3.  Spread pizza sauce, cover with cheese, and top with your favorite toppings.
4.  Cover slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 and a half hours.  Uncover and let cool for 20 -30 minutes.  Carefully remove from slow cooker and enjoy!

Finished Product:
When I first lifted the top of the slowcooker, this was the site I saw:

Call me surprised.  I didn't think it would be so...normal looking when it was done.  After carefully extracting the pizza, I got a better look at it:

All in all, it was quite tasty.  Too bad I couldn't eat all of it.  So go ahead and make your pizza in your CrockPot, you won't be disappointed!

Clever Little Boy

No, I do not mean it to brag.  Sometimes I just find that my son does things that I don't expect him to be doing.  Case in point:

Not screaming his head off because his Taggies are out of his reach:

Mimicking story time before bed:

Root Beer Float Cookies

Recently, my mom was out to visit.  She sent me the link to this intriguing cookie recipe.  We gathered up all the necessary ingredients while she was here.  Unfortunately, her trip ended too soon and we did not have enough time to test out these cookies.  I finally had some time today to get down and dirty with...

Root Beer Float Cookies

from Six Sisters' Stuff

Root Beer Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Cookie Steps:

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.
2.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in buttermilk and root beer extract.
3.  Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture.
4.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Root Beer Frosting Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate

Frosting Steps:

1.  In a mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat until smooth.
2.  Frost cooled cookies.

First, I managed to get about 58 cookies.  Based of the original link, I guess I didn't make my cookies to big.  I thought they were pretty substantial when I dropped the dough.
Second, the cookies remind me a lot of the consistency of my favorite Aunt Dora's Love Knot cookies.  They don't sink like chocolate chip cookies.  The cookies sans frosting have a wonderful hint of root beer.  Not at all over powering - which is what I was expecting.
Third, the frosting makes the experience.  The sugar creates that bubbly explosion just like the carbonation of a root beer float.
Just so delicious!  The only downside, JT does not eat cookies, which leaves me with waaaay to many cookies to eat.

Slacker

Ah yes.  The slacker bug has hit again.  Well, not that I have been slacking off, I have been plenty busy.  I have just been too busy to sit down and write.  It has been almost two whole weeks since I last wrote.  Yikes!

It has been a bit quiet on the foodie front.  My hubby has been away on business and I just can not bring myself to make huge awesome meals for one person.  Now, JT is starting to eat regular meals, if the I can make things small enough.  But let's be honest, sometimes it is just easier to pop the microwave meals in and not think.  I do have a bunch of recipes lined up to try with a heavy emphasis on crockpot meals.  Why?  Besides the fact that it will be ready whenever the hubby gets home, the meats become tender enough that JT can just gum at it.  Well, doesn't he have teeth?  He does - at least 6, we are cutting a few more as I type.  But he still has not quite gotten the concept of chewing or in his case mashing the food up with his gums.

I have also been kept busy with Army life in general and volunteer work.  It is rewarding but sometimes I would like to put it on hold so that I can do all the little activities and hobbies that relax me.

Oh, I did manage to find my little flip video hd recorder.  Now that JT is moving so much, it seems like a godsend.  So here are a couple of clips from the past two weeks:

Sharing

I had to share this little story.

This evening JT was enjoying dinner.  Actually, a big step too.  He had some normal...adult food.  I wimped out and made a Barilla Skillet Meal for two.  He almost ate an entire adult portion.  But that is not what I want to share.

Once JT finished his meal, I gave a him a few cookies.  This evening JT decided he would demonstrate that he knows about sharing.  He leaned over the side of his booster chair and outstretched his cookie filled hand to Silvio.  I was so proud of him.  Unfortunately, Silvio does not understand about sharing.  I would almost say he has the doggy version of kleptomania.  Silvio jumped up, took the entire cookie and ran off to eat his prize.  JT just sat there, hunched over the side of the chair, staring at the spot that Silvio occupied.

I just had to laugh...and share it with you all.

My Little Cowboy

Yesterday, JT went in for his one year well baby shots.  It was a rough morning but JT took it very well.  I was probably more of a wreck than he was.  He is 19 lbs and 9.6 oz and just about 30 inches long.  He has almost doubled his birth length and he is 4.5 times bigger than his birth weight.  It amazes me how far he has come.

I was racking my brain for some small present or game for us to play when we got home from the doctor but luckily I was saved.  One of JT's birthday presents arrived.  Grandma and Grandpa S gave JT his very own rocking horse.  Unfortunately, it did not quite fit in the car on the way home.  Fortunately, it showed up in the mail this afternoon.

Cruising!

JT is almost walking or as his doctor said - he is "Cruising!"  To help him on his way to walking, I ordered him a John Deere tractor.  It showed up a few days ago.  Here is JT's reaction:

A One Year Old

Yep, JT is now one year old. My blogging silence was due to our taking a huge birthday road trip. JT got a chance to meet a whole slew of people. I got a surprise birthday cake. We saw Alexander Hamilton's house, the National Aquarium, and the Yuengling brewery. I got a Yuengling cookbook, which I can't wait to try out.

JT has grown quite a bit. He finally is holding things - fruit pouches, bottles, sippy cups. We have moved over to whole milk (hurray no more formula!). He has 5 teeth. He is starting to eat like a big boy.

JT is almost to walking. And this video shows that the John Deere Push and Scoot Tractor I ordered recently can't come fast enough...

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Putengeschnetzeltes

During a road trip, I stopped to see my friend Suzy in Pittsburgh.  While there, we had dinner at the famed Hofbrauhaus.  I could not walk out of there without taking home a copy of the cookbook.  This week has been interesting - feel good food, chinese food, and I thought what the heck, lets add some German food to the mix.  Without further ado,

Putengeschnetzeltes

Turkey Ragout with Mushrooms

from The Hofbrauhaus Cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/4 lb turkey meat
1 1/4 lb white mushrooms
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream

Steps

1.  Wash the turkey meat and dab dry.  Cut into bite-size strips.
2.  Rub the mushrooms clean and cut into thin slices.
3.  Heat oil in a pan and meat until golden brown.  Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Add mushrooms and fry briefly.
4.  Pour over the white wine and reduce by half.
5.  Add the cream, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil once.
6. Place the ragout on warm plates and serve with boiled rice or spaetzle.

Finished Product:

This was really quite yummy and very simple.  Definitely plan on making it again.  Maybe next time I will be adventurous and make spaetzle!

Beef and Mushroom Stir Fry

A while back, my hubby purchased me a wok.  I do not use hardly as frequently as I should.  Probably because using a wok requires really good timing.  I don't usually cook quickly.  Five minutes to done kinda scares me.  But we have a hard time getting good chinese food around here.  So, I tried my hand this week at a basic stir-fry.

Beef and Mushroom Stir Fry

adapted from The Everything Chinese Cookbook

Ingredients

1/2 pound stir-fry beef
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp oil for stir-frying
1 clove garlic, smashed
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1/2 tsp sugar

Steps:

1.  Add soy sauce , cornstarch, and baking soda to the meat in that order.  Use your hands to mix in the cornstarch and baking soda.  Marinate for 30 minutes.
2.  Add vegetable oil, and marinate for another 30 minutes.
3.  Add oil to a preheated wok.  When oil is hot, add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic.
4.  Add the beef, laying it flat.  Let it cook for a minute, turn over and brown on the other side.  Begin stir-frying.
5.  Before meat it nearly cooked, remove from wok to a paper towel lined plate.  Add mushrooms to wok and stir-fry.
6.  When mushrooms begin to brown, return meat to wok.  Add rice wine and sugar.  Stir-fry until meat is fully cooked.

Finished Product:

For all of my fears of quick cooking, it turned out really well.  Plus, I managed to make fried rice at the same time.  They nearly finished cooking simultaneously.  I was really proud of myself.  Lesson learned, don't be scared of the wok!

Chicken Pot Pie

So, I really like the Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie.  But sometimes, you just want to make it from scratch.  Luckily, Cooking for Two 2012 had a recipe for it.  Score!  It didn't seem to bad, even if you discount the laundry list of ingredients.  But to my surprise is was a bit labor intensive.  Don't let that discourage you because it really did taste fantastic....my favorite part was the crumbly bits on top.  Sadly, we dug in way to quickly for me to get a picture of it.  :(

Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping

from Cooking for Two 2012, America's Test Kitchen

Crumble Topping

2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plu 1 tbsp heavy cream

Steps:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Combine flour, baking powder, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, and cayenne in bowl.
3.  Sprinkle butter pieces over tope of flour mixture.  Using fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it resembles a coarse cornmeal.
4.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.  Stir in cream until just combines.
5.  Crumble dough onto prepared pan into irregular shaped pieces.  Bake until fragrant and starting to brown around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes; set aside.

Filling

8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tbsp oil
4 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
1 small onion, minced
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup frozen baby peas

Steps:

1.  Bring chicken and broth to simmer in medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer chicken to medium bowl and shred chicken with 2 forks into bite size pieces.  Reserve one cup of broth.
2.  Heat oil in the now-empty saucepan.  Add mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery, 1/4 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Cover and cook, until mushrooms have released their juices, about 5 minutes.
3.  Uncover and stir in soy sauce and tomato paste.  Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are well-browned (5 to 7 minutes).  Transfer veggies to bowl with chicken.
4. Melt butter in the empty saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds.  Slowly whisk in reserved broth and milk.  Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened.
5.  Off heat, stir in lemon juice, parsley, chicken mixture and peas.
6.  Pour chicken mixture into an oiled baking dish. Scatter crumble topping evenly over filling.  Bake pot pie until filling is bubbling and topping is well browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

Crispy Pan Fried Pork Chops

A lot of the meals I make are usually family friendly, as in, I could feed a small army with them.  We are always stuck with leftovers.  While leftovers are great, it is nice every now and again to make a meal that is a good portion size.  So, I picked up Cooking for Two 2012 by America's Test Kitchen.  I stumbled upon a fried pork chop recipe and I was intrigued.  Normally, my frying technique is egg bath (sometimes I add some tabasco sauce for a little heat) and then dredge in breadcrumbs.  This one introduced me to the use of buttermilk.  It definitely produces a different sort of crunch.  I think this one is going to go into regular rotation.

Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops

adapted from Cooking for Two 2012 by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup of panko
Salt and pepper
4 (3- to 4-ounce)boneless pork chops, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, trimmed
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Steps

1.  Place 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a shallow dish.  In a second shallow dish whisk buttermilk, mustard, and garlic together until combined.
2.  Combine 1/4 cup of cornstarch, panko, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until well mixed.  Transfer mixture to third shallow dish.
3.  Dredge pork chop in cornstarch and shake off excess.  Coat in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip off.  Then dredge in panko mixture and gently pat off excess.
4.  Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Carefully place chops in skillet and cook until golden brown and crisp on first side, 2 to 5 minutes.  Flip chops and cook until second side is golden brown and pork registers 145 degrees.
5.  Transfer chops to paper towel-lined plate and let drain for 30 seconds on each side. 

Sorry, I don't have any pictures.  We just sat down and gobbled it all up.  The 1/3 cup of vegetable oil wasn't enough for frying and I had to add some extra.  Other than that, we heartily enjoyed this.

Shepard's Pie

The hubby has been out "in the field" as they say for the past week.  So my push to try new recipes really was not high.  But he was home over the weekend, so I though we should try something new.  I tried my hand at something I have always thought about attempting but always thought it was too difficult - Shepard's Pie.  This comes from a cookbook that has recipes compiled from the employees at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.  A lot of the recipes seem really tempting to make but this one really caught my eye.  So here it goes:

Shepard's Pie

from Colleen Hudak

via A Dash of TLC: Recipes from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Ingredients:

1 - 2 lbs ground beef
Prepared mashed potatoes (flavored with garlic, butter, and cream)
1 large onion, minced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup mushrooms sliced
1 cup red wine
1 - 2 cups beef broth
Parsley and thyme
Salt and pepper
Dash of flour

Steps:

1.  Brown the ground beef in a saute pan.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2.  Brown the onion in the pan drippings.
3.  Add the carrots and mushrooms.  Saute for a few minutes.
4.  Return meat to the pan.  Add the wine and beef broth and simmer for 20 minutes.
5.  Add seasonings to taste and flour to thicken, if needed.
6.  Spray a large casserole dish with Pam and place mixture in the dish.
7.  Cover with spoonfuls of mashed potatoes.
8.  Top with minced scallions and shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven until top is nicely browned.

The Finished Product:

This turned out really well. I used one pound of ground sirloin, used about 6 russet potatoes to make my usual mashed potatoes, one small onion, threw in an entire 8 oz package of sliced mushrooms (i diced these up a little bit more so that the sizes where relatively the same), and 2 cups of beef broth. I had to make a slurry of about 2 tbsp of flour and left over beef broth to add to the meat mixture in step 5.  This made enough to fill my casserole dish and then two little ramekins.  I would guess that I could have probably filled about 8 of these ramekins if I went the individual route.  Our only little complaint is that it could have used a little bit more of a kick.  I purposely went light on the spices just to see how it would turn out.  It had a very beefy, earthy taste - but not overwhelming.

Next time, because yes there will be a next time, I would do 1 cup of beef broth.  I would add a package of frozen peas at step 3.  Then besides the thyme and parsley, I would add a bit of Worcestershire sauce (start at a tsp and work up) and possibly a sprinkle of paprika.  I also forgot to add salt and pepper - so definitely a must next time around.  You definitely need to try this one!

Race Day!

First, I want to thank all of the people who gave me loads of motivation over the past two and half months.  Without all you fabulous people, this little experiment would have failed about a week in.

We started our morning bright and early, 5:30 am, and got JT an early breakfast.  Thank goodness.  I don't think we could have dealt with trying to feed him at the site.  We got out to parking area and waited for a bus.  We managed to catch the second to last bus and thankfully, the race starters gave us about 10 minutes once we hopped off the bus to get our bearings.  Having the gun go off right after stepping off a bus would have not be good. 

This was probably the best morning to run in recent days at 7:45 am.  There was cloud cover and a nice breeze.  It was not super humid but it was starting to get a bit warm.  But after the past month of 100+ degree heat this morning felt fantastic!

I still can not believe we managed to do it.  We ran from the Tallgrass Brewery to Manhattan Running Company.

We pretty much ran across the entirety of Manhattan.  The start was nutty with nearly 400 people participating.  I had hoped that we got to the back of the pack because I didn't want the stroller to get stuck in the bottleneck start.  I managed to navigate it fairly well but the pace was way to fast - 9:05 for the first mile!  I don't think I have ever run that fast with the stroller ever.  So as you can imagine, the remainder of the miles the pace went up substantially.  If I had not of gotten sucked in, I think I could have managed to keep a steady pace and probably finished a minute or so faster.  I felt like a high school runner again getting pulled with the tide.  The first 4 miles seemed to pretty easy - all under 10 minute pace.  But holy moly, mile 5!  We hit K-State campus and the hills were on.  Thank goodness the hubby took over pushing during the hills.  I probably would have spent 15 minutes walking up all of them while navigating the stroller.  Then mile 6 was a breeze going downhill to the finish.  We pushed to the end.  My last look at the big clock was 1:00:20.   I am so proud of finishing it.  Even prouder that JT was happy as a clam while we were running.

Thanks to all of the Manhattan Running Co volunteers out with water  and stopping traffic as well as the Riley Co Police.  Big props to Tallgrass from the cold refreshing brews at the end of the race and to AJ's Pizzeria from the yummy slices of pizza.  Also, a big thank you to the ladies at Hands in Service Massage who gave a very stinky me a wonderful 5 minute shoulder/back massage.  My shoulders haven't felt this good in ages. I might just have to visit them once a month for a full hour massage.

Now I guess it is back to the usual grind, but I think I might look around for another race to run in a few months.  Maybe without the stroller?

Wow...

It is already August!  What happened to the time?  I feel like I got really busy all of a sudden.  But that is okay.  I think I am due for a John post.  Recently, we have noticed an uptick of his wanting to hold his bottle or the sippy cup...and actually try to drink from it.  I have been wanting this to happen for months!  But I guess all in due time.  I was lucky enough to capture it on video the first time he did it.

He still has not quite managed to hold and tip the bottle to actually drink from it.  Maybe soon.  I can only hope because that would make feeding time soooo much easier.

JT is also getting really adept a getting to the standing position and now has no problem moving, okay I'll call it walking, between two objects while he uses his hands to steady himself.  Sorry, no video on that front.  But here is my little prisoner, behind the bars that guard the stairs.

Less than a Week to go..

That is right only a few more days to go before the big race!  I am almost giddy about it. I have been working my butt off for the past two and half months to get to this point.  Normally I do not share about the locations of my runs.  But today, I just feel like sharing.  We got up early - yes, all of us - hubby included.  Some of us were not happy about that but that is okay.  Once we got out and it was still somewhat cool we were happy.

We ran 3 miles out and then 3 miles back along Manhattan's Linear Trail.  I turned on the gps running app on my phone so that we could get a good idea of how far along we were and where our turn around point would be.   I like the app cause it made this cute little map of our run:

Now, I know 3 miles is quite a distance but I have been used to running loops for the past couple of months.  The out and back was a great change of pace.  I can't believe how many sights of Manhattan we past.  I wish I pulled out the phone to take some of pictures on the trail but I knew if I did I probably would stop and walk the rest of the way.

We also got to practice passing off the stroller.  I pushed through miles 1, 3, and 5.  The hubby did the even miles.  It was a relief to get my shoulders time to relax through the run.  With the exception of mile 5 (I had a side stitch), all of the miles were under ten minutes.  We wrapped up the entire six miles in 58:30 minutes.  So happy about it!

The linear trail is pretty flat so the test will come at the race when we have to deal with some hills.  With the race starting at 7:30 and then a kiddie fun run at 9 am, I am pretty confident we can finish the race before the fun run even gets started.  Then I look forward to a nice cool beer and pizza.  It's called Brew 2 Shoe for a reason!

Pork in White Wine and Olive Sauce

Since I have been little, I have never really liked pork.  But lately, I have slowly started to add it into our usual meal time routine and it is growing on me.  Last night, I made this fabulously quick pork meal that I am pretty sure is going to make it's way into heavy rotation.  The recipe serves 1, I just doubled it to work for hubby and I.  This one comes from the Steaks, Chops, Roasts, & Ribs cookbook.

Pork in White Wine and Olive Sauce

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 boneless pork steak
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp dry white wine
4 tbsp water
6 black olives

Steps

1.  Sprinkle oil over the pork steak.  Rub in the herbs and salt and pepper to season.
2.  Heat a nonstick skillet and brown the pork quickly over high heat, turning once.
3.  Pour in the lemon juice, wine, and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
4.  Add the olives to the skillet and continue cooking for 5 minutes more to heat through.
5.  Serve with rice or fresh pasta.

Final Product

Oh yummy.  And throughout the entire meal, that is all I said.  I'd stop mid conversation and say ooo, this is really good.  Just a few notes, I used 2 thick bone-in pork chops.  I had no issues with cook time.  They were really juicy and delicious.  Our pasta was about a 1/3 to 1/2 a box of gemellis, we had them leftover from another recipe.  They captured the wine sauce really nicely.  The wine and olive sauce really tasty, my only suggestion is to have some bread around to sop up the drippings.  While the sauce thickened a bit in step three, there was still quite a bit.  The doubled amount for the sauce ended up being - 1/2 wine, 1/2 water, 4 tsp lemon juice.  Oh and in case you were wondering about the wine, Little Penguin Chardonnay, which we then finished off with our meal.  Definitely, definitely making this one again!

No!

The past two evenings have brought on a bit of a surprise.  With JT standing, we notice that he likes to go to our coffee table or ottoman.  Once he has pulled himself up, he reaches for whatever happens to be laying on it, grabs it, and throws it on the floor.

Two nights ago, this happened.  The hubby turned to John and said "NO!"  It stopped John in mid grab and you can tell he was thinking about what to do.  He grabs again and is met with another "NO!".  At this point he stops, does the typical baby suck in of air, and gives out a wail!  Lets go of the ottoman, lands on his behind, continues to wail and flail his arms because he isn't getting what he wants.

Yesterday afternoon, a similar situation except this time with the coffee table.  I told him, "NO, do not pull the magazines off the table".  He pulls his hand back and starts wailing.

We are proud of ourselves that John is beginning to understand the meaning of words, although I wish it was something other than "no".  We do think the tantrums are a little are funny to watch.  I wish I had a video of it.

Herb Chicken

Lately, I have been really good at making dinner for most of the evenings of the week.  Unfortunately, meal time has been pushed back to a really late hour due to hubby's work.    I have been finding it harder and harder to have the energy to test out new recipes or even make old recipes when I would rather fall face first into my dinner plate.  Then I remembered...ah, slow cooker!  Make in the morning or early afternoon...then it is ready whenever hubby comes home.  Why didn't I think of that sooner?!?!  This one comes from the Beer Cookbook.

Herb Chicken

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
6 cloves of garlic
12 oz of beer (I used Shiner Blonde)

Steps

1.  Salt and pepper the chicken breasts.
2.  Saute chicken in a frying pan until it begins to brown.
3.  Place chicken in slow cooker.
4.  Mix rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic, and beer.
5.  Pour mixture over chicken.  Cover and Cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Final Product:

As you can see, I served this chicken over some long and wild rice.  It was surprisingly light and refreshing.  The chicken was not overly "beer-ey".  I think choosing the Blonde rather than a stout made a huge difference.  Unfortunately, a bottle of beer creates a lot of leftover juices.  I did not want to leave it there but I had nothing to sop it up with.  Next time I make it, I would consider possibly adding 1/2 - 1 full cup of rice or possibly orzo pasta in to suck up some of the juices.  I think then the rice would fully complement the chicken.

Persian Lamb Chops with Tabbouleh

So a long time back, I received two cookbooks - Cookshelf Barbecue and Steaks, Chops, Roasts, and Ribs.  The Cookshelf Barbecue has had some excellent recipes considering it is one of the smallest  (5 x 4 inches) cookbooks I own.  So we decided to check out it's partner in crime this evening.

Persian Lamb Chops

Ingredients

2 tbsp. mint, fresh chopped
1 cup yogurt, plain
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp. pepper
6 lamb chops
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Steps

1. For the marinade, combine the mint, yogurt, garlic, and pepper.
2. Put the chops into a non-porous dish and rub all over with the lemon juice. Pour the marinade over the chops. Cover and marinate for 2 - 3 hours.
3. Cook the lamb over medium hot coals for 15 minutes, turning once. Serve with Tabbouleh.

It's accompanying side was 

Tabbouleh

Ingredients

9 oz. couscous
2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
½ onion, chopped finely
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp. coriander
2 tbsp. mint, fresh, chopped

Steps

1. Bring water to a boil. Add the couscous and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Fluff couscous. Toss in oil and lemon juice.
3. Add the onion, tomato and herbs.
4. Season and set aside.

The Final Product:

First, during my grocery shopping for the week, I did not come across lamb chops.  But I did see some nice veal chops.  So what you see in the picture is veal.  The yogurt and mint gave it a light fresh taste.  As you may also see, there are no tomatoes in my tabbouleh.  I just don't like fresh tomatoes.  So, I took a little liberty and replaced it with some mushrooms.  I sauteed the mushrooms in a little olive oil and minced onion prior to adding it to the couscous.   I have to say - I really like the taste of coriander.  It is a new spice to my collection.  All of the recipes I have made thus far with it have been quite tasty.  I think it might become a permanent fixture in the spice rack.

A Boy and His...Flipflop?

The majority of children get attached to a cute stuffed animal or a blanket. It makes everyone go aww, what a cutie pie dragging around their (insert favorite toy). John is not in the majority. Without fail, every morning after breakfast he reaches for his favorite item. My right Flipflop. Yep, just my right Flipflop. On occasion he will go for the left one but there must be something about the right one.

He then spends the better part of the morning carrying or dragging it with him from area to area of the house. Check it out:

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Upper Mileage Limit

This morning JT and I set out to practice the mileage that we need to complete for the upcoming road race. It was warm and starting to get really muggy. We completed the 6 miles in just over an hour. I am really proud of that accomplishment considering the stroller weighs 25 pounds and JT is probably near or over 20 pounds as well.

But I realize that 6 miles is about all I can take as far as mileage goes. While I was able to keep a pretty decent 10 - 10:30 minute pace, my knee was really being pushed to the edge. I was somewhat hoping that maybe I could keep up my training and one day go for a half marathon. Given today's stress, not sure I want to push much past 6 miles, especially with a stroller. Maybe if I ran without a stroller it might be possible. I spend a lot of time focusing on controlling the stroller. I should be focusing on my foot strikes to keep my hip and knee aligned.

The rest of my runs should be short this week. Just under 3 weeks to go.

 

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My Own Little Person

Can you guess who this is about?

Well, I finally think we have a little person on our hands.  JT is not just a baby who eats, sleeps, cries, and ahem, does his business.  I feel like we hit a point where those neurons in his big bulbous head are firing on all cylinders now.  He chooses where he wants to go, what he likes to play with, laughs at the dogs (they are funny looking beings), stands up when he wants, and cries when he is angry or you do not do what he wants.

I definitely like this JT better than baby JT.  Granted, the screaming and what I think are tantrums have amplified to a new decibel level.  I love watching this little guy working things out.  Here are some recent videos of what I get to deal with: no they aren't screaming videos.