Labor Day

It is always a treat to get to spend an extra day with Marc. :) We decided to make the most of the holiday and take the kids out for a picnic and explore some more of the many hiking trails we have within a few minutes of our house. Peoria really is quite beautiful. We were yearning so much for green landscape when we left Africa and Peoria has not disappointed us. I think there are around eight nature preserves just in the Peoria area.

We decided to try a new area out today called Robinson Park Nature Preserve. We really didn't even make a dent in the hiking trail, but Eli and Hailey had so much fun. They love seeing all the different plants, picking up sticks, and listening to the birds. They seem to be nature lovers as much as we are. Today, I had Eli searching the path for a snake skin. We talked all about snakes and how they shed their skin every few months. We didn't find one but he sure had fun looking!

Hailey was convinced before we left the house she was ready to wear her big girl undies for a full morning out. I kept trying to put her pull-up on her and she would shake her head at me and say, "No pull-wup mommy. Panties!" She did great and was even willing to take a potty break in the great outdoors. :)

We took a picnic lunch (that Marc volunteered to pack all by himself) and enjoyed some PB&J (except I am the only one who likes the "J" part), chips, apples, and grapes after our little hike. I could tell Marc packed the lunch when he threw a bag of Dora fruit snacks at me and said, "I packed us some, too." Ha!

We headed for home after lunch to put the kids down for their nap. I started working on some dinner while Marc went and visited with some family for a little bit. I made Swiss steak and mashed potatoes tonight. Not really a Labor Day meal, but it still tasted good. This was one of my favorite meals growing up. I never actually watched my mom make it, but I have followed the recipe she gave me fairly closely and I think it tastes similar. I started doubling the recipe in the past year because, well, our family just keeps growing in size and appetite. :) This makes enough for us to eat for two nights. I am a big fan of meals that make enough for leftovers the next night or that make enough for me to cook for our family and another family at the same time.

Swiss Steak
Serves 8
2 1/2 lbs. eye of round steaks (1/2" thick cut), trimmed and cut into small pieces
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cans of tomatoes
1 small can of tomato sauce
pepper, salt, and garlic powder
flour
oil

Sprinkle the meat pieces with seasonings and coat with flour. Cook meat in large skillet in hot oil until brown on both sides. Remove meat and drain on paper towels. Return meat to skillet. Add in green pepper, onion, tomatoes, and sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 3 hrs. or until meat falls apart with fork (can also be cooked in the crock pot all day on low). We like this with mashed potatoes but you could also serve it over rice.

Happy Labor Day!

Something Smells Yummy

When I saw that a cold front was coming through this week I knew it was time to cook a big ol' pot of soup (even though it is only dropping to the seventies). :) I have no idea why we associate certain foods with certain seasons, but soup is definitely a fall and winter meal in our house. I am starting to explore some Africa friendly recipes as we get closer and closer to our upcoming trip. I borrowed a cook book from the fellowship director's wife recently that she cooked out of when they lived in Rwanda and Kenya. There was a recipe for a Minestrone soup that she marked as a family favorite so I combined it with a recipe that I found on allrecipes. com and it came together quite well. There are lots of ingredients in this soup, but it is really easy to put together. The recipe tells you to cook it on the stove, but I sauteed the garlic, onion, and carrots for a bit and then through it all in a crock pot and cooked it for 6 hours. The carrots still had a little crunch so it probably would have been better closer to 8 hrs. You can adjust the veggies to your liking or what you have available (hence the reason this should be Africa friendly). I also completely forgot to add the pasta to it (which made it far less Italian) but it still tasted great.

Minestrone Soup
3 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 carrots, sliced
6 cups of low sodium chicken broth
2 cups of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of red wine (optional)
1 can of green beans, drained
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 can of cannellini beans, drained
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of ditalini pasta or seashell pasta
Parmesan cheese, grated on top

(I confess that I omitted the celery because I just don't like it but feel free to throw some back in!)

In a large sauce pan, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute the garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add carrots and saute for another 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth, water, and tomato sauce and bring to a boil stirring frequently. Add the red wine at this point if you want. Reduce heat to low and add cans of beans, tomatoes, zucchini, oregano, basil, and salt and pepper. Simmer for an hour.

Boil the pasta, drain, and set aside. Place a few Tbs. of pasta into each serving bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Grate fresh Parmesan cheese on the top and serve with some warm crusty bread.

So... not to overload you on a REALLY long recipe post but here's another one. As I was cutting carrots yesterday I thought back to my last carrot adventure a few weeks ago (we usually just eat baby carrots so peeling and slicing carrots is a rare occasion for me!). How yummy does this look???

Dean planned a fun dinner/get-together for Dianna's 30th birthday a few weeks ago, and I volunteered to make a cake. He requested a carrot or spice cake for her which I had never made (even though it is Marc's favorite cake, too) However, thanks to my trusty favorite recipe site, I think I pulled it off. Marc couldn't believe that I had never made a cake like that for him in all of his birthdays we have celebrated together. So, this is also probably something I will be making again from scratch in Africa for Marc's birthday in February. :)

Carrot Cake

2 cups white sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce (the original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of oil which seemed like a lot, so this is a substitution for the 1/2 cup I omitted)
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans.

Combine the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, soda, oil. With an electric mixer beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the carrots and the walnuts. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool. Place your first cake on your serving dish and frost the top of it evenly. Sprinkle walnuts on top and then add your second layer. Frost the rest of the cake all over and then add the remaining walnuts on the top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package cream cheese, softened (use the real stuff, the low fat stuff is too runny)
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Mix in the vanilla. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Store in the refrigerator. I think this is half the original recipe but worked well for my cake.

*The one tip I have is for preparing your carrots. I tried three different ways to grate them because I wasn't sure how small the pieces needed to be to cook well but still show up in the slices when cut. My favorite shred was with using a hand grater (not the micrograte kind) on the small grating side, but it was taking forever. Then, I pulled out my food processor. It grated them pretty small but was SO much easier and certainly the way I will do it next time. Also, a whole bag of carrots was pretty close to 3 cups.

Well, I at least feel caught up on a recipe post. Blogging has become more difficult since I have been back at work over the past six weeks, and if I have to chose to do a post about the kids or share some new recipes, the kids usually win out! :) I have some video of Hailey WALKING that I hope to get posted some time this week. She is 11 months old today!

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

Since I have been sick this week I wanted to do something easy for dinner last night that wasn't take-out (since we ordered out pizza the night before). We received a gift card at Christmas to a meat and seafood store from one of the local doctors. Last year we used our gift card to get a box of steaks for free but this year we paid $10 more and got a box of 18 tilapia fillets! I had no idea the box would come with that many so I decided I was going to have to start trying out some new tilapia recipes. I usually use this recipe when I make tilapia but last night I tried a new recipe and it was oh so good. I think Marc and I both liked it better. I have a few more recipes to try in the coming months that I am excited about. I found the recipes on allrecipes.com. I did make a few changes to this one and have included those in the recipe below.

(photo from allrecipes.com)

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons of Italian parsley, finely chopped
seasoned salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place fillets in baking dish (my fillets were still a little frozen so I left them in the fridge in the baking dish after they were rinsed and seasoned to finish thawing for a few hours. I have heard rinsing and salting them ahead of time helps take out the "fishy" taste as well).
4. Saute chopped garlic and parsley in butter and olive oil.
5. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter/EVOO mixture on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.

We ate ours with some green beans and baked sweet potatoes loaded with all the good stuff. :) Yummy!

Whatcha got cookin?

What do think of when you think of comfort food? If you looked it up in the dictionary, you would probably find a picture of a Paula Dean meatloaf (right next to the picture of my Memaw's chicken and dumplings!). I love meatloaf and used to feel bad about saying that in public because meatloaf just has a bad reputation.  Or it could just be that meatloaf had a bad reputation in my house growing up. Apparently it was one of the few things my mom knew how to make when she first married my dad and I guess made it a little too often. So, I don't remember eating meatloaf much as a kid because it had already been banned at that point. :) It really is so filling though and well, just comfortable. I love this recipe from Paula Dean. We ate this for dinner last night and it was delicious with some twice baked potatoes. Be careful to not pack down your meatloaf in the pan too much or it will end up really dense. Here you go! Happy dishes ya'll. :)

Paula Dean's Basic Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes (without juice)
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix all meat loaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf. Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.

Loving Fall

Today is very much a Fall day around here. It is cool and cloudy and makes me only think about staying inside warm and cozy with a good cup of cider. Mmmm. People have been so kind to bring us meals over the past several weeks but they are starting to slow down. So, this morning I ran to the store to get the ingredients for one of Marc's favorites, turkey chili. When I was about to start cooking around lunch Marc called and said we had a meal coming for dinner. So, I am GLADLY staying out of the kitchen for another night and will put the chili off until next week. But, I thought I would go ahead and share this recipe with you in case you are feeling in a Fall mood and decide to try a new chili recipe. This recipe is SO easy you can do it all in less than 30 minutes.

Santa Fe Skillet Chili
1 lb. 93% lean ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic (or two cloves)
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1 can chili beans in spicy sauce, undrained (I use mild sauce and it is plenty potent still for me)
1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) of chopped green chilies, undrained

Spray large deep skillet with cooking spray. Cook turkey, onion, and garlic over medium high heat, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle chili powder, cumin, and red pepper evenly over turkey mixture. Cook and stir for 3 minutes or until turkey is cooked and no longer pink. Stir in beans with sauce, tomatoes with juice, and chilies with liquid. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

I put our stewed tomatoes in the food processor first to chop them up a bit but some people like them chunky. I serve this with cornbread and it is a great dish!

Hailey is 4 weeks old today. The month has gone by so quickly and she is changing each and every week. Just this past week she started smiling at me. I love it and have pulled out the baby talk in full force to squeeze every smile I can out of her. Ha! She is starting to get newborn acne and losing her hair just like Eli did. Eli had the WORST case of newborn acne ever. Seriously, he could have had his picture in a dermatology textbook. Hailey's isn't as bad yet and it certainly doesn't bother her a bit. She is sleeping so well at night. She is feeding usually between 9 and 10 and then doesn't wake me up again until about 3am. I would love to know how much she weighs right now but our doctor said she didn't need to see us back until 2 months since she was doing so well at 2 weeks so we will have to wait another month to see. I played dress up today with my doll...

 

 Poor girl was not a fan of this headband and bow so I swapped it out and she was much happier.

Eli is still a great big brother. We went to a friend's house last weekend for a get together and took Hailey and Eli with us. They have a little girl, Emma, who is almost two and is the cutest thing ever. She has blond curly hair that is to die for! At one point, Emma was peeking in the car seat at Hailey and Eli came running from across the room and pushed her back, stretched his arms out across the car seat, and told her "No!" He is very protective of Hailey which is sweet. She is kind of like his favorite toy right now and he is not too inclined to share her with other kids. Ha! I think they are going to be so close and good playmates when they get a little bigger. Fun times are ahead. :)

Baby Countdown and Taco Soup

This has been a great week and I really feel like Fall is here. There is something refreshing about experiencing all of the seasons. I know some people miss out on this where they live but I truly love it. It always makes me reflect on God our Creator and for the seasons of life he walks through with me. The cooler air and changing leaves just seem to whisper that change is upon us. A new baby is coming to us very soon... next week as a matter of fact. I can't wait to meet and hold her. My eyes well up with tears when I think about it! I love being a mom and am SO thankful that God has given me another special life to look after.

I had my last OB appointment this morning and everything looks great (except that she is still the wrong way). I am going into the hospital next Thursday for a version/induction or c-section unless she decides to turn on her own before then. I will be 38.5 weeks at that point. Dr. H wants to attempt the version before I would go into labor which was at 39 weeks with Eli. So, October 14th will be the day! They will be doing a test on the amniotic fluid the day before in the doctor's office to make sure her lungs have reached full maturity and then we will be all set to go.

It has been funny sharing this part of my pregnancy with my patients over the past few weeks. I see a little two year old girl for her well child check-ups whose mom recently told me she had been breech until 39 weeks. Then, she decided to turn on her own the day before her mom was going to have a version done. I saw a 60 year old woman yesterday who told me about two of her babies that were breech that she delivered naturally. That is not usually the way they do it anymore, but I enjoyed listening to her tell me all about her experiences. Overall, my patients all think Hailey is going to turn... but that she is going to be ornery when she comes out. :) Ha! We will find that one out soon enough.

I have been whittling away on my "to do" list for a few weeks now and it is mostly done. We have had a difficult time getting our baby furniture here on time (we procrastinated a little this time around ordering it and then it was running 2 weeks late!) but it is finally getting to the store today and I am going to get her bedding put on and all her clothes put away when it gets delivered today or tomorrow. Then, after a little last minute cleaning, I will feel mostly ready. Next week, I don't plan on cooking at all because I don't want to mess up a clean kitchen. :) I am making our last meal tomorrow night and then putting the apron away at least for a little while. I did manage to get a meal together for some friends earlier this week who just had a baby. I wanted to do something easy so I made the perfect Fall meal... soup! Here is the recipe for one of Marc's all-time favorite soups. We eat it with crushed tortilla chips and cheese on top. Yummy!

Taco Soup (this recipe came from my mom's principal in their school cookbook)

1 lb. ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning (mild or regular, your preference)
1 package of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix
1 can of mild Rotel
1 can of green chilies
1 can of whole kernel corn + 2 cans of water
2 cans of pinto beans
1 can of Del Monte Mexican tomatoes (I can't ever seem to find these so I use Mexican stewed tomatoes and chop them a little in the food processor before adding them into the pot)

Brown beef, drain, and add taco seasoning. Mix all other ingredients into a large pot without draining any of the cans. Add in beef and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serves 6-8.

I plan on putting a post up next week of Hailey's room so stay tuned! I did have to share this picture with you of shirts I got for Eli and Hailey for when she arrives next week. Aren't these so precious!!! I just LOVE them. I found them on Etsy through a seller called Zoey's Attic. She has some other cute designs that you should check out if you are looking for big brother/sister and little brother/sister shirts.

Have a great weekend!

Sweet Treat

Today was my MA's (medical assistant) birthday at work so I wanted to make something sweet for her birthday. I decided on a recipe I got from Pampered Chef a few years ago: Tuxedo Brownie Cups. They are really good and look even prettier on a plate. Everyone loved them!

First, make a basic brownie mix according to the directions for cake-like brownies.

Then, after you take them out of the oven you punch in the centers with a small tart shaper. If any of you have ever done any pampered chef you know that all their recipes call for multiple objects that can be purchased through them. It is a great business strategy! I am sure you can work your way around most of it but I do happen to have their tart shaper and it works perfect on these. :)

While those are cooling, I slice the strawberries. Here is another tool they have... the egg slicer.

After that I mix together the filling and pipe it into the center of the brownies once they are cool. I garnish with one slice of strawberries and drizzle a little chocolate. Aren't they pretty! These would be great for a wedding or baby shower.

Tuxedo Brownie Cups

1 box brownie mix (plus ingredients to make "cake-like" brownies)

2 squares (1 oz. each) of white baking chocolate

2 Tbs. milk

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup cool whip

1 pint of strawberries sliced vertically (can use egg slicer)

melted semi-sweet baking chocolate

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease mini-muffin pan with cooking spray with flour. Prepare brownie mix according to directions for cake-like brownies. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake for 14 min. or until edges are set. Do not over bake. Remove pan to cooling rack. Immediately press in center of brownies with mini tart shaper. Cool in pan for 15 min. Loosen edges and gently remove. Cool completely Repeat with remaining batter.

Microwave white chocolate and milk in dish for 1 min. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. In mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Gradually mix in white chocolate until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Fill topping in icing/decorator bag. Pipe mixture into cooled brownie cups. Arrange a strawberry slice on top of each brownie. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

These are the flowers I put together last night for her birthday. I spent $16 buying the individual groups of flowers at our local grocery and then put them all together in a bouquet with a vase I already had. I thought they turned out really pretty. Who knows, maybe I will open up a bakery and flower shop some day. :)

I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday. This week is flying by! My mom and sister are coming this weekend to help me get the nursery more together. I was hoping our furniture would be here by now but it is supposed to leave the factory on Thursday and arrive sometime early next week. I am anxious to finally see her room come together and to get all her clothes organized and put away in her dresser. :) With less than a month to go we are getting so close!

Just Like Daddy

Eli LOVES his daddy. I think because Marc periodically disappears for 24 hour call or weekend moonlighting shifts that Eli really notices when he is not around. Sometimes he asks for him and then starts crying when I tell him he is at work. It is so sad, however, it does make their reunions that much sweeter to watch! This Saturday Marc had to go in early to do pediatric rounds so he wasn't home when Eli woke up. Eli and I waited for him at the window (once Marc called and told me he was coming around the corner!) and Eli was so thrilled to have him back in sight. When Marc decided to go cut grass shortly after he got home Eli couldn't stand it. He had only seen him for 15 minutes and he was already gone again. So, I took him outside to play while Marc mowed. Eli loves doing everything that Marc does so he started up his play lawnmower and took off to help his daddy out.

After Eli's nap on Saturday we took him to the zoo. Zoo membership is great because you can go at any point even if it just for a few hours and not feel like you are wasting an admission fee. We mostly just hung out by the petting zoo. The sheep last time we went were "baa"ing like crazy and Eli has been making the same noise when he sees sheep in his animal books ever since. It is hilarious because he sounds just like they did that day. He was really excited to get to feed them again.

Since we had eaten out on Friday night with some friends we decided to eat in on Saturday after we got home from the zoo. I made my version of rice and beans (it is a recipe I learned from my nutrition teacher in college). This meal is by far the easiest thing I make and it is one of Marc's top three favorite things to eat. Eli thought it was too spicy. He wanted to eat the sausage so bad but would cry every time after he put a piece in. So, this probably isn't too kid friendly but here it is.

Rice and Beans

1 can of Bush's black beans (store brand just doesn't work as well, I have tried)

1 can of mild Rotel

Johnsonville New Orleans Spicy Andouille sausage (comes in a package of 6 but only heat as many as you need)

1 cup of rice

Jiffy corn bread mix and ingredients

Heat your black beans and Rotel together in a saucepan. Cook your rice according to directions. Make your cornbread however you like (I usually make muffins). Heat the sausage in a skillet in a shallow amount of water for 10-15 min. When your rice is cooked, spoon over some of the bean mixture and then add in some cut up sausage (usually 1 per person). Mix it together and then enjoy with some buttered cornbread. Easy and good!

Crunchy Pecan Chicken

I LOVE my Jackson, MS Junior League "Come on In" cookbook that I bought during college. I have made many recipes from it and have never been disappointed. I pulled it out this week for one of my favorite chicken recipes. The very first time I made this chicken I made it with the skin on as the recipe suggested, but I realized I prefer my chicken without the skin so that is how I make it now. :)

Crunchy Pecan Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts (skin on or off, your choice)

1 cup buttermilk biscuit mix (I use the Bisquick brand and like it better than the generic)

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. Creole seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup of butter, melted

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In another bowl pour your buttermilk. Dip each chicken breast in the buttermilk and then in the dry mixture to coat. Place in a greased baking dish. Cover chicken with melted butter and bake at 350 degrees for an hour.

I tried out a new mashed potato recipe to go with the chicken. Well, I actually combined two recipes but they were delicious tators! The sour cream and chicken broth made these SO creamy! We loved them and I will definitely make them again.

Red Garlic Mashed Potatoes

8 medium red potatoes, quartered with skin on

4-5 cloves of garlic, whole

4 Tbs. butter

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (I grated mine fresh because I had a block in the fridge)

1/4 cup of chicken broth

In a large pot boil the potatoes and garlic for 20 min. or until tender. Drain potatoes and garlic then return to pot. Add in the butter first so it will melt and then follow with remaining ingredients. Mix everything together with an electric mixer.

I topped off the meal with some fresh steamed broccoli and dinner rolls with honey butter. Is your tummy growling yet??? Hope you enjoy. :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a great weekend. It always seems to go by really fast but we had a lot of fun. Friday night we went and took a meal to some friends who recently had a baby, and we stayed and enjoyed the meal with them. We took Eli's pack n play and tried to keep him contained in that while we ate! It was quite entertaining. We really enjoyed the fellowship even if we did spend much of the evening chasing down our one year old. :) I made eggplant parmesan with basic marinara sauce and stuffed zucchini that I found on this blog. I adjusted the first two recipes slightly based on the reviews I read like I usually do but I made the zucchini as is. I thought everything was a winner and will definitely make them again sometime.

Saturday, after Marc was done rounding, we played in the baby pool with Eli for a long time. Marc rigged up a tent over the pool with a sheet so we were able to enjoy the shade (since I filled the pool up with water in the middle of the yard where there is no shade!). Eli loved it. Then, we grilled out some hot dogs and ate on the deck just a cool breeze started coming in. It was so relaxing and fun.

Sunday, after church, we went to the mall to pick up a few things for Marc for our upcoming trip. Marc is hard to get to go shopping. He really has to be in the right mood or you just have to tell him that he is going without giving him an option. Yesterday was the latter. :) Marc still hadn't used some of his Christmas gift cards from this past Christmas AND THE YEAR BEFORE. (sorry Noreen!) I was really beginning to worry that these things might have an expiration date on them so I told him he had to go buy some clothes. Well, he made away with several shirts, a pair of shorts, and a pair of pants that all looked so nice. He was able to get quite a lot because of all the great summer sales. I think he was happy in the end that I made him go. :)

Last night, we had our last small group for the year. We have been reading through J. I. Packer's "Knowing God" and enjoying some great fellowship in the process. This is our second small group to be in with our church and we find it a great way to connect a little deeper with people beyond just the church service. We had a cook-out along with some water activities for the kids.

Eli couldn't quite figure out how to handle this big water gun.

Eli enjoyed watching the big boys slip and slide.

How precious are these curls and blue eyes???

Sunday is also my grocery shopping day. I think I am on my third week with the Grocery Game. Each week is getting a little easier and becoming a little more successful. Marc says this thing is right up my alley because it really requires a Type A personality to get the job done. :) He was skeptical at first, but after seeing my savings last week he actually offered to help clip some coupons yesterday. Ha! So, I think I had about a 40% savings at the grocery store this week. I have heard you can get 60-70% savings once you have been doing it for a while so I still have my game face on. :) I had to take a picture of my first FREE items. Yes, I didn't pay a penny for this toothpaste or toothbrush. Doesn't that just feel wrong and wonderful all at the same time??? I have passed up some other free things in the past few weeks that we didn't have need for (ie. cat food) but I may just try to get all the free things I can and do something great with them at the end of the year for someone else. So I have started a FREE bag and these are my first two items. :)

So, if you are curious and not familiar with this game, here is how the free items worked this week. These items are both normally around $2 each. Dillons had them on sale today for $1 each (10 for $10 and I just bought one) and I had a manufacturer coupon for both of them for $0.75 which Dillons matches up to $1.00. So there you have it! FREE. Kinda fun, right? Well, if I haven't convinced you yet then just keep following along because I plan to update as we go. :) Have a great Monday!

Finger Lickin' Good

So, BEFORE I decided to start saving on groceries I splurged a few weeks ago and bought some yummy beef brisket (that was not on sale!). :) Marc loves juicy and flavorful meat dishes so I couldn't resist trying THIS recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I thoroughly read the reviews on their site and adjust the recipes accordingly. Here are the changes I made: I didn't trim the brisket because the layer of fat adds flavor when cooking. You can remove it fairly easily off the top after cooking. Just make sure you cook it with the fat side up! I put the rub on ours the night before and put it back in the fridge in a Ziploc bag to marinate some. I didn't use the celery seed because I didn't have any and don't really like the taste. I cooked ours in the slow cooker for 7 hrs. on low. In the end it turned out delicious! Marc could hardly get the words out as he was savoring each bite. :) This brisket would be great with THESE baked beans that I made for Eli's birthday party/cook-out (I used 1 cup of sugar instead of 2 and they were plenty sweet for my liking). Some grilled corn on the cob would top this meal off! I have been trying several new recipes lately that have all been good so I will share more in the coming weeks.

Quick and Easy Dinner

So, I didn't have any plans for dinner last night and certainly didn't have many groceries at home in the fridge so I went to some quick recipes for our dinner. We don't eat a lot of fish but it is something I always think of when I want to get dinner on the table fast because it cooks so quickly. So here was the menu for dinner:

Baked Fish in Browned Butter

Twice Baked Potatoes

Grilled Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

So, to give you a realistic idea of how easy this is to get together, I left work at 4:40 pm, drove a 20 minute commute, went and bought groceries, and still had dinner on the table ready to go by 6:15 pm. Marc picked up Eli yesterday from daycare so I could get the groceries and then fed him dinner while I cooked.

We always use Tilapia for our fish filets but you can use any light tasting fish you like. Fish is always best when bought the day you want to use it and coloring is really important. If the fish has a slight yellow tint and the back/spine area looks brown then it is old. You want pink fish with a dark red spine for good taste!

Alright, here are the recipes. I do half most of these recipes including the vinaigrette when making for just the two of us. I bought 3 filets this time to let Eli try some fish and he ate it pretty well. :)

Baked Fish in Browned Butter

Ingredients

2 pounds of fish filet

seasoned salt

1/2 cup butter (the generic brands seem to smoke and pop more when in the oven in my experience)

fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs. white wine

paprika

parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Brown butter in baking dish. This takes about 5 minutes. Do not burn, but let it get dark brown. Watch butter carefully and shake dish as needed when browning. Cut fish filets in serving pieces and season with salt on both sides. Place filets in browned butter and bake 10-15 min. depending on the thickness of the filets. Then, turn fish with spatula and baste with butter. Sprinkle fish with white wine, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and paprika. Return to oven for another 5 min. until done. Fish is done when it flakes apart.

(Because this bakes at such a high temp, the oven sometimes smokes and may set off your smoke alarm just to warn you. :))

Twice Baked Potatoes 

Ingredients

4 baking potatoes

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbs. butter

1 cup sour cream

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Baked potatoes in microwave or oven until soft. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out most of the potato. Mix potato with remaining ingredients in a bowl with a mixer. Return potatoes to skin shells and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sprinkle extra cheese on top in last 5 minutes.

Grilled Asparagus

Dijon vinaigrette

3/4 cup olive oil

6 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Thoroughly blend all ingredients.

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh asparagus with ends trimmed
1/2 cup Dijon vinaigrette

Preheat grill. Arrange asparagus in a grill basket with tips toward the outer edge of the basket. Asparagus layer can be doubled if necessary. Brush asparagus with vinaigrette. Grill, 3 minutes, turn, and re-baste.  Cook 3 more minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender being careful not to burn. Serve hot, at room temp, or chilled.

And this is the end result. Delicious!!!

Hopefully, you feel inspired to cook even when you feel like you don't have any time!

Wednesday Dinner

I haven't put up any recipes lately so I decided to share what we had tonight for dinner! I sometimes find myself rotating through the same recipes so I hope to try some new ones in the next few months to add to the list, and I will be sure to share the good ones. :) I really, really, really love cooking and had HUGE expectations during my maternity leave with Eli of cooking a fancy meal every day and making some fresh baked goodies on the side. Ha! I learned very quickly that newborn babies do not allow for mommies to spend hours in the kitchen which is the reason people bring you food and your mother comes to stay with you to cook. Boy, was I ever thankful for those meals! I have had to adjust things a little since having Eli to get homemade meals on the table before 8 o'clock! Here is a complete meal that I can put together in 45 min-1 hr. as long as I boil and chop the chicken the night before (I try to do some "night before" prep with most of our meals. I find it a lot easier to get dinner on the table by 6:30 that way!)

Chicken Croissants (or chicken puffs, chicken crescent puffs or whatever else you have seen these called)
4 cups chopped chicken (I use my food processor for smaller pieces)
8 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. milk
2 Tbs. choppped green onions
2 cans crescent roll dough

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk

(I usually half this recipe since it makes 8 and this time I used the onion and chive flavored cream cheese and left out the green onions and it turned out great as well)

Mix all ingredients together in a skillet until warm. Separate the dough into squares (2 triangles) and put several tablespoons of the mixutre into the center of each. Bring the corners to the middle and seal the seams. Bake at 350 for 25 min. or until golden brown. Heat soup and milk and drizzle over the top of each chicken pastry before serving.

Dill Carrots
1 bag of fresh baby carrots
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. chopped dill weed

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 30 min. or until tender.

Cashew Green Beans
1 lb. bag of frozen whole green beans
1/2 cup of salted cashews chopped
3 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. honey

Cook the beans according to the package (I always try to slightly undercook these and then run them under cool water to stop the cooking process to keep them from getting mushy. You can warm them back up in the skillet before serving) Brown the cashews in butter and then add the honey in at the end. Mix together and pour over the beans.

How good does this look??? I love how it looks plated with all the colors. :)

And while we are on the subject of food, here is some video of Eli enjoying his spaghetti dinner last week.

Spaghetti Dinner from Stephanie Carrigan on Vimeo.

Snow Days and Blueberry Waffles

Growing up in Arkansas we would see snow a few times a winter and it nearly always meant a day out of school. With few salt trucks and plows we would simply have to wait until the snow melted before returning back to school. So the weatherman was a very important person to me as a school aged girl. When he would predict 3-4 inches of snow I would cling to those words and go to bed dreaming of a snow. It was always VERY disappointing to wake up the next morning and see only a dusting on the ground and have to get ready for school. So, all that to say I never get too excited about weather predictions any more. I suppose I had too many let downs in my early years. :) Well, I guess the weatherman got this one right...



The winds around here blow the snow a lot causing it to drift and make it hard to tell the exact amount of snowfall. I think our yard has around 3-4 inches and some parts of our city have 5 inches according to the news. We may get another inch or so as the day goes on. The sad part about all this is that my family had planned to come and visit this weekend. Arkansas and Oklahoma had some freezing rain and sleet before the snow started fallling making the roads even more difficult for travel. I had to break the news to Eli this morning that his grandparents, aunt, and uncle-to-be would not be coming to visit (and therefore not bringing the rest of his Christmas presents that we couldn't fit in our car last time). This was his reaction...


Just kidding mom and dad, it was just time for his morning nap. :) We are going to miss you guys though! Stay warm!


So in anticipation of the snow, last night I had Marc drop me off at Target after dinner to get a few things. My experiences with snow growing up were being trapped inside for days and you only left your house if you HAD to. Marc's experiences with snow in Illinois were that life goes on as usual and when you need milk or eggs from the store you just drive out to get them. I don't think they really "stock up" in Illinois for a few inches of snow. :) As I was shopping in Target the panic quickly set in and all the "what ifs" starting running through my head and my small list became a 30 minute shopping trip. When I finally got back out to the car I asked Marc if he thought we should get any bottled water (in case we lost our water supply of course!). His look clearly gave me the answer so we headed for home. :)

When I was at Target I ran across Smucker's blueberry syrup (yummy!) and decided that this morning I would make some blueberry waffles. I got this recipe from my roommate Rebecca in college and have enjoyed making it ever since.

Blueberry Waffles1 cup Bisquick
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Mix all these ingredients together. Spray your waffle maker with non-stick spray and then pour it in. We have a 4 square Belgian waffle maker and this makes 4 waffles for us. I don't like maple syrup so I always use Smucker's blueberry syrup but you can use whatever you like! Enjoy!

Baby It's Cold Outside

It has been SO very cold here this past week. Any temperature less than 20 degrees is almost unbearable to me. So, you can imagine when my car temperature gage is reading in single digits that it has been miserably cold. I have not ventured out the house at all in the past 36 hours. I ordered pizza last night since Marc was on call. It was a perfect idea and I enjoyed it very much! Spring can't come too soon for me, and hopefully this cold front is on its way out and warmer days are ahead!

I am trying to get caught up on a few things today since we had a very busy week. We hosted a couple from North Carolina this week who are both medical students and looking at our residency program for next year, and they were lots of fun. Then, we had some friends over on Thursday night for the college football championship game. Roll tide!!! I made some hummus again and am still working on perfecting this recipe. It is certainly a good base recipe to start with so I will include it at the end of this post. So, today is going to involve some cleaning, laundry, and getting a haircut later this afternoon. I am the worst about getting my haircut. It is always one of the last things on my priority list so it is always a treat when I finally go. I usually have them cut it shorter so I can wait another 3 months before going to get it cut again. Ha!

Eli has starting cruising around the couch this week which is so fun to watch. I really think in the next month he is going to be walking.





Hummus Dip (Martha Stewart)
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves roughly chopped
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of nutmeg
5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. tahini (sesame-seed paste) this is on the international aisle at our grocery
3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 tsp. coarse kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and add 1 Tbs. of water. Pulse until smooth and creamy adding more water if needed. Store in a airtight container for up to 5 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature with your favorite crackers, pita chips, or vegetables. Makes 1 3/4 cups.