halloween 2011--one to remember.

my dear eden was sick over the weekend... with RG (respiratory gunk.) we missed the much-anticipated neighborhood halloween party and had to miss her school festival celebrating "God's harvest"--but i would NOT let her miss ALL the festivities of the weekend! my heart just broke for her (even though she didn't even KNOW what she was missing!)

we did venture out to church for their "hallelujah night" monday night... i had an ulterior motive, though... our sunday school class hosted a chili cook-off!! i had my game face on!

ahem, when i say "game face" i mean that i looked like a zombie. 

e hasn't slept much since saturday. 

(i'm crying on the inside.)

any hoo! back on subject!

eden was a little unsure of ALL that was going on at church--lots of people and folks she wasn't terribly familiar with doing the "cute baby ambush"... but, she caught on pretty quick and got her 2nd wind.

she did GREAT! she played a few games and proudly flaunted her elmo basket 

(i love lee's enthusiastic hands in the side of this picture! :))

so, i know she's my kid and all... but she looked ridiculously cute. i wanted to eat her.

lee dressed up as andy dwyer from parks & rec

...if you watch the show, i think you'll agree with me...

he nailed it.

most of what he had was in his closet... but i hooked him up with a few finishing touches.

i ended up winning 3rd place of 14 or 15? chilis that entered... and the winner was a self-proclaimed cheater. so, what's that make me? 2nd! haha...i even have a trophy!

after eden's candy selections and a dose of steriods, we all had a really long night... 

poor e... 

she's feeling better, but still wanting to be held at night.

i do cherish those moments--as they are few & far between with her now, but goodness gracious...

it was sorta like the stubborn stand-off at high noon midnight...

once we determined she wasn't in pain, wasn't hungry, didn't have a dirty diaper, etc. etc. etc....

we just had to let her "cry it out"--it nearly killed me.

this lasted OVER AN HOUR.

and it only makes me feel tireder (yes, its a word--that's how tired i am.) when i find out that while i'm at work, she takes a THREE AND A HALF HOUR NAP today... 

thanks, eden. i would've loved to have taken part in the siesta. 

however, as i type this blog to you--our night tonite is ALREADY better than last night. seriously.

i'm thankful that His mercies are new every morning, and eden's mercies are new every evening.

brunswick stew

today, eden took part in a rich family tradition... she stirred her first brunswick stew!!

(you can refresh your memory here.)

i love this picture of these two!! 

and i love it when i see eden doing things that i remember doing as a child! fun stuff!

hope you guys have a happy 4th...

we don't have a whole lot planned... 

on purpose.

i went to the grocery store today with ZERO list...
...the week before vacay.

big mistake. oh well.

they had samples of boston creme pies.
...and they were on sale.
it tastes so much better when i'm on the sofa in my pj's and a cup of milk
than it did in that little plastic cup with the world tiniest spoon.

a "feel good" feast

after a fantastic grocery trip today and again picking up some "new stuff" to try... i scratched tonites plans for eggs & toast and branched out a little bit and made my first piece of FISH!

lee had hinted around that he wanted some more avocado salad for dinner--so, i mixed it up a bit and added to the recipe that i made last time ...this time i added finely grated red onion, scallions, corn, and olive oil to the already delish mixture of cilantro, black beans, tomatoes, cukes, avocados and lime juice

now... onto the fish... the highlight of my day... a new endeavor!! and it couldn't be easier!

SAVORY TILAPIA (i'm working on a better name...i dunno...chili lime tilapia?)

in a shallow dish, i combined:

1/4 cup of melted butter

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of lime juice

i also tossed in some fresh scallions and cilantro with a bit of crushed red pepper flakes and some ground ginger

lay the tilapia in the dish, then flip 'em over to coat them... let it sit for 10 minutes or so...(turn your oven on while the fish is hanging out in the sauce--put the broiler on high)

lay the fish on a roasting pan (and i piled on the cilantro and scallions--they had been coated by the butter and soy sauce, too!)... then put them in the oven for about 5-6 minutes on each side

i'm pretty sure i made this in less time than it takes to make a grilled cheese (not to mention less time than calling in chinese takeout). and for all you "dish haters", i used 1 roasting pan, 1 casserole dish and the same cutting board that i'd just used to make the avocado salad. and i got 'em all in the dishwasher (well, everything except the roasting pan) while the fish was in the oven...boom!

and i had a nice little mixed green salad with ginger dressing on the side.

my first experience with broiled fish and i can ASSURE you it won't be my last.

seriously delish. and guilt free.

you DO have the time

i'm quickly learning that in the time it takes to

a) go get something to-go and come home...

OR

b) cook something not-so-good for you...

you can make a delicious home cooked meal and have the dishes done! not to mention how much better it is for YOU...

there's a few things required to get to this point... organization and planning... which leads to a little bit of prep work.

on sundays or saturday night, i get most of my planning done. i sit down and jot out when lee's working late, what meals i'll be cooking, what groceries do i need, etc. i even found a cute dry erase board in the back-to-school clearance this past fall:

sometimes this becomes "the grocery list" and we forget the cute little days (that you can BARELY see) on the left...

anyhoo... once i get my groceries, i go ahead and clean the produce (thanks for the tip, rachael ray!)... this in itself saves lots of time!

and if i'm 1/2 way conscious when i head out the door in the morning, i'll set the non-refrigerated/frozen stuff out on the counter before i leave work! that'll shave 2 or 3 minutes of your personal record.

generally, i'm roasting or sauteeing veggies (and the occasional "boil")... so while my oven is preheating or pan is getting hot (or pot boiling), i cut up the veggies... (time saver!)

then, while they're cooking, i go ahead and do what dishes/cleaning i can do... cleaning cutting boards, knives, putting stuff back in the fridge i didn't use... you get the idea. (time saver!)

and although i don't always live by this next rule, but once dinner is on a (paper) plate, i try to do the rest of the dishes first*... and then, if you're time's running close (if it took you two hours to cook.), you can enjoy your dinner while you enjoy your nightly tv...

*if not, i can get 'em done during commercials! :) and its SOOO MUCH faster when its a "family activity" ...my kitchen sign says it best:

OH! and the wayyyy up-side? we're on the cusp of vegetable, home cooking, fresh food perfection... SUMMER!! hello, grill!! i've missed you... i hope you didn't rust when we left the cover off of you all winter.

disclaimer...

now, don't get me wrong, i love eating out (and am also learning to make better choices when doing so) and i do sometimes pick something up when lee's out of town or working late. i'm working very hard on making the eating out a treat. a reward. the dangling carrot.

and a lot of its psychological (i beat myself up over this from time to time)... if you want to make it work, you will. if not, you'll just keep doing what you've been doing.

cooking at home certainly has its own set of "ups" and "downs"...when we're extra busy at work, i can sometimes fall off the wagon... but its a learning process for all of us... i enjoy reading your tips just as much as i enjoy sharing... this whole "food challenge" thing has really spurred lots of conversation... i love it!! i'm learning so much, not only from my own reading/research, but from you and your tips and recipes... others have inspired me and i'm hoping to inspire others... VIVA LA REVOLUCION... ok, maybe not quite that extreme.

new things, new loves

well folks, we've survived our week of meat free feasts and loved every minute of it!

...lee did a little better than i did... well, no, that's not true--he gave up meat all together and i decided that if i ate any sort of "meat" it would be fish. so technically, we both stuck to what we promised... i had a piece of fish just last night and a few fish tacos from chang's on sunday... and those are the only times i went for the fish!

tonite we topped it off with two EXCELLENT new recipes. and when i say "excellent" i mean "put the ingredients on your grocery list to make them as soon as humanly possible"

first up:

black bean, avocado & cucumber salad at the recommendation of a blogger friend, brittany

in a nutshell: can of black beans, two diced avocados, one peeled & diced cucumber, two diced tomatoes, a diced red onion... add cilantro, the juice of two limes, & salt 'n pepper... the only thing i'd do differently is 1/2 the recipe--a little too much for lee and i for our side, and the avocado doesn't keep well, but its the perfect size for a cookout or a take-along dish! yum!!

this website looks like it has LOTS of great salad ideas... i've bookmarked this site and will be back soon!

and the main dish:

i used pioneer woman's recipe today as an inspiration, but needless to say couldn't find "goat cheese" or "fontina cheese" at food lion. go figure--they BARELY have hummus.

so, instead we had portobello mushroom slices tossed in a buttery pan... added a little stock... then pulled 'em out, added a little more butter & stock and tossed in 1/2 bag of baby spinach (i wish i'd tossed in the ENTIRE bag)... stirred them around until they were wilted

...and this is where i ran out of butter. so, i improvised--which can only result in two things--epic failure or unbelievable success. well, today, i got lucky. i sprayed a cookie sheet with pam and laid the tortillas on there, put a little cheese on there (i used italian 6 cheese blend--mozz., parmesan, and i forgot the other 4 cheeses), added the mushrooms & spinach then added just a little more cheese on top... popped 'em in the oven (set the broiler on high)... once the cheese melted, i topped them with the 2nd tortilla...

y'all... they were sooooo good... i didn't know wilted fresh baby spinach could be THAT delicious. i could've just eaten a bowl of that!!

this has been a GREAT WEEK!! i'm planning to keep on going... i've enjoyed trying new things and cutting out some not-so-good-for-you foods... its amazing how much better i've felt after my meals... i've not felt "dragged down" or sleepy after anything i've eaten this week! and i've been so much more confident letting eden try what we're eating (since i knew it would be good for her anyway!). there were days where i didn't drink as much water as i'd liked to, but i tried not to beat myself up over it... but hey, i ONLY drank water!! (with the occasional exception of juice at breakfast) and i'm still working on incorporating more exercise, but gosh, i can't do but so much "new stuff" at one time... baby steps... baby steps.

i think what i've learned the most this week is just simply making better decisions... it really is just. that. simple... sour cream or guacamole? guacamole. potato chips or pita chips? pita chips... every thing i chose to eat, i tried to make the BEST choice.

i've particularly loved cooking breakfast at home this week... lee's even gotten in on the action! he's done a great job fixing scrambled eggs & making his lunch! and he's been really good about re-trying veggies that he wasn't crazy about in the past--mainly peppers and onions.

i never did a "starting weight" or anything like that--its not really the reason i did this whole thing, but i certainly feel better!

and yes, i'm still planning on trying lots of new things... and giving SHORT GRAIN brown rice a try (right, grace?)... long grain basmati rice didn't win my heart, but i'll keep trying. quinoa was a definite winner! i'm going to be trying whole wheat tortillas next time we make quesadillas and perhaps some new kinds of squash along the way... and whatever else i come across in the grocery store :)

and my favorite part of the whole week? hearing feedback from all of YOU! i loved sharing your recipes, hearing how you're incorporating more meatless meals with your families, listening to your suggestions about which kind of rice/grain/sweetners/yogurts/milk/etc and what you order in various restaurants... i promise that i'll keep sharing as long as you keep sharing! together, we can make a difference in our families!!

a classic

the cooking bug has bitten again and i've been really wanting to put my finger on the perfect vegetable soup recipe. i've made a batch or two recently, and they were good...as in "edible", but not "knock your socks off" good.

friday i had a friend of mine's homemade veggie soup and i was SO. GOOD. i don't know what she put in it... but i had to at least TRY to replicate it.

i didn't make it EXACTLY like she did, but its pretty close. and its really good.

who really has a recipe for veggie soup anyway?

its a "use whatever you have in the pantry" sort of soup...

and i used my new stock pot from william-sonoma (thanks, dad!)...

filled it up and have got some in the freezer for us

after i filled up the containers (and ate dinner),

i still had about 1/3 of the pot left

i started by boiling some cabbage and onions...

i added:

black eyed peas

lima beans

corn

okra

green beans

carrots

potatoes

diced tomatoes

browned ground beef

a little ketchup

sugar

salt & pepper

crock pot creation

yall know how partial i am to my crock pot...

and our relationship has gotten even stronger

since eden joined our family....

at a cookout this summer,

a bunch of girls were talking about easy dinners

and i overheard someone talking about hamburger steak...

i quickly tuned in to eavesdrop,

because i've never been able to find

a good (as in tasty AND EASY)

hamburger steak recipe...

and its one* of my favorite things to eat!

*one of MANY.

then when i heard it was a crock pot recipe,

i was ALLLL EARS.

we're having it for dinner tonite,

but the buzzer just went off

and i went in the kitchen to sneak a peek bite...

and WOW. a keeper for sure!

so, without further adooooo...

frozen hamburger patties

(use however many your crock pot will hold

or however many you plan on preparing for...

and add a few extras for leftovers!)

...sidenote--i had some really good quality angus

burgers from costco i was lookin' to use

a yellow onion (optional...)

2-3 cans of one of the following soups:

-beef broth

-french onion

-beefy mushroom (brothy-this one was a new find for me at the grocery store)

-(you get the idea... the brothy beefy type of soup!)

1 can of water

1 package of onion soup mixture

combine in crockpot.

low for 5-6 hours...

TA-DA!!!

we're having it with white rice or twice baked potatoes tonite...

i haven't decided which yet.

in the kitchen

now that my dishwasher is fixed,

(cue hallelujah chorus)

i'm trying a new veggie tonite that i've been scared of for many years...

cauliflower!

it seems everywhere i turn these days everyone is just raving over cauliflower...

using it as a substitute for mashed potatoes...

mixing it in with broccoli...

roasting it...

one particular recipe stood out to me from food network... with the crazy blonde haired lady (the lady isn't crazy...well, maybe she is... but the crazy i was referring to was her hair...)

[sigh]...anyway!

this recipe seemed to be saying

"try me, hannah! if you don't like the cauliflower,

just pick out the brussel sprouts* & eat those!"

*yeah, i know dad... i love them now.

surprisingly good!!

i think i'll try some other recipes and stick my neck out a little bit :)

i did modify it just a bit to bring in some other elements of roasted cauliflower recipes...

i added a good bit of shredded parmesan cheese!

and after coming to grips that i really didn't like cauliflower raw,

i figured i'd give cooked cauliflower a try...

...after all, its not a fruit--so, cooking it is ok :)

and as any good chef does, i had my assistant handy!!

this is her new favorite seat...

she's happy to be in the kitchen with mama!!

even though she still loves her bouncy seat,

it reclines a bit too far back to be able to "see" a whole lot of anything!

i was able to fix tonite's dinner (and the cauliflower)

and even fix a few other veggies for tomorrow nite's dinner

and get the dishes in the dishwasher

and wash bottle stuff

and get her bath stuff ready

...i could go on,

yeah, she sat up there a WHIIIIIILE! :-D

which was FANTASTIC!

i've been trying different ways for a while to figure out how

to keep her entertained while still fixing dinner, etc....

i think we're headed in the right direction!

grilling addiction...

hi, my name is hannah. i'm addicted to grilling. [class responds: "hi, hannah"]

hah! so, this week mom came over to keep eden so lee could take me on a cheap date out for mexican... and i got FAJITAS!! and man, they were superb. but, you already know my feelings on a good piece of grilled chicken with some grilled veggies...

then i went to pf changs last night with dad, rebekah, and emily... we were celebrating rebekah's homecoming from lebanon on a 6 week mission trip AND her 21st birthday (that occurred while she was in lebanon)... and i got some of that delicious, addicting hot sauce (yeah, the hot sauce i "didn't" eat in this post) in a soup bowl to-go... its becoming a kitchen essential... like having milk in the fridge... or ketchup. its just always gotta be in there. i've been trying to be a little more conscious* of what i'm eating and its the perfect accessory to a good ole grilled piece of chicken... or just about anything!

*i've started buying larger packs of chicken and grilling it alllllllll at the same time and using it "leftover" in stuff... pasta, on top of my salad, just eating it plain (dipping it in something, etc)... it makes for a SUPER easy supper... just fix a side dish or two to go along with it. i'm all for not heating up the house/kitchen this time of year! :)

and i started thinking about those delicious bell peppers and onions in my fajitas... and how nice a grilled piece of chicken sounded... and we just got those yummy tortillas... and i could top it off with that hot sauce instead of salsa.

wah-lah! asian fajitas!!

man. oh. man... way more delicious than something unhealthy. and the best part? lee doesn't particularly care for bell peppers, so i guess i don't have to share :)

...i'm starting to wonder about these peppers/hot sauce thing again... because the LAST time i started craving stuff like that i was pregnant... and didn't know it yet. AHHHHHH! not this time!

summer treats

i tried a most delicious recipe that i found in my latest issue of kraft food & family...

and supppoooossively they don't drip & make a mess!!

all you need is a

few cut up strawberries

a pack of strawberry jello*

and a pack of strawberry koolaid*

...and whatever you'll use for your popsicle cups & sticks

(i had some cups left over from the shower... and you'll see what i had to use for the "sticks" ha!)

boil 2 cups of water (a few minutes in the microwave)

while your water is boiling, pour the koolaid mixture in the strawberries & mash 'em up

pour in the boiling water to the jello powder and stir until dissolved...

then mix in your strawberries!

scoop in the mixture in to your cups

cover them with foil so your "stick" will stand up...

yeah, so i probably wouldn't use these for sticks if i were making them for kiddos! haha... but i had to be resourceful!!

(this picture is a perfect depiction of what we do when we're waiting for lee to get home...nershi waits by the door as i stay busy doing some sort of project if i'm not plum exhausted!)

pop 'em in the freezer & enjoy the next day!!

*you can use any sort of "red" jello or "red" koolaid

(cherry, tropical punch, whatever you have on hand!)

YUM!!

and the little bits of strawberries are a little surprise!!

...perfect for a day like today when its been wayyyy toooo hot!

red-letter day in the kitchen

well, sometimes i come home and i don't even feel like warming up leftovers...

sorta like today... this heat zaps my energy and any desire to do anything or even be nice to anyone. ugh.

but, after i got home today i got a bit of a 2nd wind and realized i had the ingredients to try some things i'd been wanting to try...

so, we had homemade hamburgers on the grill (we've tried them once before--massive failure)... pasta salad i made yesterday... and i tried a grilled onion!!

sounds gross, huh?

but, you take an onion

chop the ugly ends off of it

peel the outer layer

set it on a large piece of aluminum foil

begin to cut it in 1/4's

(as in, don't cut all the way through the onion)

stick little pats of butter in each of the cracks

(yeah, the ones you just made by cutting it almost in fourths)

and drizzle a bit of soy sauce (or worcestershire sauce...whatever you've got)

bring the sides of the foil up and close it off

...that's it!

it was the first thing i put on the grill and the last thing i took off!

YUM!!

my non-onion lovin' husband nearly at the whole thing...

yeah, a whole onion! hahah

what did you say?

oh, what was for dessert?!

smores...

...on the grill!!

yes!! heavenly!!

augusta's cornbread...

i planted a seed yesterday... when i mentioned augusta's pimiento cheese had a cornbread recipe...

wouldn't you know i had all the ingredients in my pantry/fridge... so i gave it a whirl...

1 container of augusta's jalepeno pimiento cheese

1 package of jiffy cornbread mix

1 can of corn

2 whisked eggs

...i added a few extras

a tbsp of sugar

a few dashes of texas pete

the rest of a block of cheddar cheese (it was about a palm-full...i just wanted to use up what little i had left... not enough for anything else.)

combine ingredients, spray pan (i like to make mine in muffin trays) with your favorite cooking spray, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

makes 12 muffins... hmm, lemme get my calculator... [tap tap tap tap tap tap] TWO servings :)

the cooking bug has bitten, i tell ya!

sometimes i surprise myself.

i have had the craving for a good greek salad the last few days... minus the olives. bleck.

so, i decided to make my own... with no recipe... with ingredients that i had (minus the feta cheese! but i had a quick trip to the grocery store planned anyway)

cherry/grape tomatoes (whichever is smaller...i forget!)

cucumber

diced red onion

greek rub seasoning from pampered chef

tuscan house italian dressing from kraft

feta cheese

BOOM!
heaven.

oh yeah, and i LITERALLY made this in 4 minutes. 4 minutes.

i will be living off of this dish this summer. i've convinced lee that he wouldn't like this... so i won't have to share :)

each summer i try to find a new COLD recipe that i can tag along with grilled dinners... cookouts... take along to parties...

you know, like a pasta salad or something... it usually lasts a good bit in the fridge, too!

so, i had several recipes that i was going to be "auditioning"... and this one's a real winner!!

i'm still going to try the others... i'll get back to you. :)

did that just happen!?

sorry... no baby pictures in this post...

sooo... 99% of you have probably stopped reading at this point. oh well.

night before last (tuesday night), eden went to sleep around 10 (good, but i wish that i was sleepy then...)

...i was wired... i couldn't get to sleep until 12...

then someone woke up at 2... then at 3:30... then at 5...

by 5am, i. was. done. i gave big daddy lee the ole nudge-a-roo...

he was up to bat.

he so fantastically let me sleep until 8:30 or so... but i was still pretty out of it...

BUT! when i woke up wednesday morning, i was determined to get ALLLL OF my errands done.

work. costco. grocery store. putting up all the stuff i got from costco* & grocery store. prepare some meals in advance.

the only thing i needed at costco? formula... they didn't have it. ugh.

...and nice long power-walk with shellie!! in my new kicks from my baby daddy...

i've reserved these shoes juuust for walking. good motivation for me. because i like wearing them... so, if i wanna wear 'em... i gotta walk!

welp, i did it all... with eden! she cat-napped here and there, but never really took the kind of nap that makes her mama proud.

after dinner & my walk, i had to drop something off at granny's... did that, came home gave squirt a bath and her bedtime bottle...

bedtime, right?

WRONG.

the child stayed up until 11:45...

i. was. done. no sleep the night before, no nap, and baby wouldn't go to bed... i was getting frustrated (...and i'm pretty sure the baby picked up on that, and wasn't cooperating)

no amount of rocking, feeding, cuddling, swaddling, etc... would soothe her to sleep...

lee had the magic touch... he sent me to bed (i was asleep before i laid down, i think), rocked eden to sleep, then came to bed himself...

45 minutes later, miss priss was up from her "nap"...UUUUUUUUGH.

i calmed her down, and just laid her in the crib... she wasn't asleep...

but whaddya knowwwwwwwww, she slept and woke up around 6am!

...and my amazing husband let me sleep another couple of hours. [sigh] he is worth his weight in gold... or platinum... whichever is more.

bottom line? i overdid it yesterday... and i'm pretty sure eden was TOO TIRED when it was bedtime last night. i know i was.

but on a better note: i am feeling re-inspired on the cooking thing (again.)...

lots of good stuff i got from the grocery store and costco... new recipes i want to try

AND... i just got my first kraft food & family magazine (well, my first on since it requires a subscription)

...thanks mom!! i had forgotten how much i love this magazine!! and the best part? the recipes are full of kraft products... which are always easy to find at the grocery store!

wow. what a crazy couple of days.

i'm cooking dinner tonite for girls night... its the grey's finale!! woo hoo!!

lee is working late...aaaaagain.

i'm trying not to overdo it today... hmph.

too busy to blog

life is great. we seem to be getting in a bit of a routine... even though eden is still eating like she's got a hollow leg... we are staying busy busy and enjoying it! i'm beginning to cook more (and not just crock-pot stuff!)

so, as a result, i've not blogged the last couple of days... its just been too pretty outside to be sitting at the computer! oh yeah, and my camera batteries are dead (and i've not recharged them), and i know that y'all don't read the blog for nothin'--you want PICTURES!

so here's a few pictures i've taken over the last few days (with my phone) and i'll fill you in on what we've been up to lately!

last night i made an amazing dinner... it wasn't all that complicated, but i'd been craving a pizza hut supreme pizza... buuuut i didn't wanna go get it and they don't deliver here. then i realized that i have all the ingredients to make our own...

it was AMAZING. really... homemade pizza is so much better than pizza hut, dominoes, or any of those guys... seems like when i get those i say "man, i wish it had a few more mushrooms and less onion"... or something like that... but you get to make it exactly how you want it when YOU MAKE IT!

any hoo... we ate the ENTIRE thing... and poor nershi who usually gets pizza crust when we have pizza didn't get a thing...

...well other than a few pepperonis--before they hit the pizza....

oh, and yesterday i eden voted... it was a fairly non-eventful primary... us house seats, senate, and some judges...
we've been spending lots of quality time together... nershi has a very discreet way of letting you know when he's ready to play and you're not giving him enough attention at the moment...
..yeah, he jumps up behind you and kisses you--just. like. a. kid. man, i love that dog.

and after he grabs lee's attention, lee usually agrees to take him for a run...

wow... you gotta check out lee's outfit here... this is really not that unusual for him... but every now and then it does strike me as a little odd.
the headband, the "youth sized" shirt... the black socks with the running shoes... oh yes, and the increasingly lush beard.

i'm looking forward to my first mother's day... we're having baby dedication at church--don't worry--i'll be sure to have my camera charged up for that!

so! there you have it! we're here and we're doing great! not a whole lot of baby updates... she doesn't go back to the doctor until sometime in july. but--she IS sleeping six and a half hour stretches CONSISTENTLY at night... in other words, she's only waking up once! yahoo!

kryptonite

i'm generally not afraid to try most anything new in the kitchen.. but i've NEVER been able to make really good, fudgy BROWNIES!

out of the box? no... scratch? no... no way, no how... they're always undercookedbaked or burnt. and oh-so-disappointing... because let's be honest, i'm a cookie girl--and cookies only take about 15 minutes or so... while some brownie recipes are 35-40 mins... i'm usually salivating staring into the oven with the ovenlight on after 15 minutes*

*you would think with this technique they'd be pretty difficult to burn, i know.

back on point here... i've NEVER been able to produce good brownies...

until now... with a little LOT of help of course :)

yep, dumb ole me just has to get 'em outta the package & put them in the oven! and boy are they GOOOOOOOD! :)

ya know, its nice to feel so "accomplished" :-D

new years goal update...

welp, we've made it to february... and lee and i are really excited about staying on track with our goals for the year!

i could NOT be prouder of him for taking his lunch EVERYDAY to work this month... sometimes this includes breakfast and/or dinner, too!! he figured it up a few days ago, its saved us at least a couple hundred dollars (at least!) THIS MONTH ALONE! way to go, honey!!

as for me, cooking at home has been a challenge. i won't say i haven't "cheated" a time or two, but i will say when we did eat out or i picked something up for us, i was much more conscious of what we were spending... and we've definitely enjoyed it more... its more of a "treat" now than the norm...the way i think it should be :)

and "pleasantly surprised" would be an understatement as to how little our grocery bill has been... i'm spending about the same thing, on average, each week... but tossing away WAYYYY less!!

the dishes could have become a problem--they usually are the root of my disgust for cooking (...what little disgust that i do have for cooking--i enjoy it, really.)... somehow, i've managed to stay on top of it--putting up clean ones, re-loading the dishwasher while stuff is on the stove/in the oven/in the microwave...so i'm busy "multitasking" instead of babysitting what's on the stove... and i've had some help, too!! lee seems to know when i'm at the end of my rope or have had an EXTRA long day--he's been a great help in putting away clean dishes and loading up the dishwasher for round two 53729... :) and lemme just tell you guys, he's gotten really good at loading that thing to. the. BRIM!! way to go, lee--someone's taught you well... ha!

i've tried some new recipes... some came out GREAT, some were pantry concotions, some we now enjoy on a weekly basis... and some, well, they'll remain unmentioned--because they went nearly un-eaten :) ...i'll post later on some of the better ones we've tried

...i've also enjoyed the planning aspect of it, too (well, duh!)... i've been able to make recipes and do "recipe remakes" on night #2--which cuts the "work load" in half... because i've always heard if you're gonna get in the kitchen, make it worth your time!

not to mention, nershi's gotten a few perks out of the deal too... he's the official "plate-licker" of our house... and based on his performance, he'll hold this office for an extended term.

here's a few pictures from our dinner last night--crock pot barbeque chicken & macaroni and cheese...

check out his form! using his sweet little paw to keep the plate from sliding all over the place!
..oh, good one, nersh! ...move it over a little bit for a plate tilt!
he likes momma's cookin' too!

lee's got some overnight trips coming up, so i'm hoping to stock up the freezer with some goodies for us to enjoy whenever our little squirt decides she's ready to meet us...

overall, i'm really excited about how our challenge has...umm... CHALLENGED us and rewarded us SO QUICKLY! and in case you already forgot, i'm also VERY proud of lee--and how committed he is and what an encouragement he's been to me when i felt like cheating!

christmas baking

one of my FAVORITE things... EVER... (not just at the holidays) is a batch of homemade cookies with a big glass of MILK!

so, it should be no surprise that i LOVE baking at christmas time! :) what better way to keep the house nice and cozy* aaaaannnd smellin' goooood than to bake cookies!

*i do not use the oven to heat my home...haha... i just like the cozy feeling you get on a COLD night as you're hanging out in the kitchen near the oven... yeah, its the same "yucky" feeling you get doing the saaaaaaaaame thing in the summer!

i've made about 10 batches of cookies so far this year... i love baking them, i love sharing them, and duh!! i love EATING THEM! haha...

this year i've made a few variations of peanut butter cookies and a few variations of oatmeal cookies...

peanut butter white chocolate

peanut butter chocolate chip

peanut butter with reese's pieces

oatmeal chocolate chip

oatmeal craisin* pecan

oatmeal craisin

and each of these variations i've made a couple of batches of each... after all, if you're gonna get in the kitchen, make it worth your time! its just as easy to double the recipe!

*LOVE these things... cranberry raisins... good thing, because i can't stand RAISINS... can-i-get-an-AMEN! :)

tonite, i've whipped up a few more batches of peanut butter cookies and will finish up this year's baking with a few good batches of plain ole chocolate chip! yum!! (my "i don't eat sweets" husband usually gets a few of these!)

its so nice to bake your own cookies because you can put in things that you like to eat... and leave out the ones you don't! ...ah-hem... no raisins here! and i'll admit, i've made some batches (not this year...yet) of chocolate chip cookies with out the chocolate chips! ....would that be a BROWN sugar cookie? any who...

its fun to experiment with different tastes and ingredients... for example, my peanut butter white chocolate cookies was a total last minute decision... i had made my first batch of peanut butter cookies the other night and just as i was about to scoop them onto the cookie sheet, i thought "mmm... i bet a few of these would be good in there!" and wah lah! ....i was right! and these were a HIT! i took them to work (along with some of the others i'd made) and they gobbled 'em right up! ...i'd originally bought the white choc. chips to do a batch of white choc. chip cookies... annnnd maybe a batch with the white & the milk choc. chips... but, i'm not sure there's going to be any left to use them for those cookies...

brace yourself!

so today, i had what i'm calling a "seasonal pregnancy craving"... EGG NOG! thank goodness i didn't crave this during the summer or something! :)

but, i've never been a HUGE fan... but the thought occurred to me to make MILKSHAKES with it... instead of just drinking it straight up...

so, all afternoon i thought about my breyer's extra creamy vanilla bean ice cream... with EXTRA bean specs (yes, it says so on the box!)... but instead of using milk, i'll use egg nog (well, with a little bit of milk...)

i made one for lee, too... because i wasn't planning on sharing :) you know, since i'm already sharing with eden, too!!

and i must say... its f.a.n.t.a.s.t.i.c.... give it a try...even if you don't like egg nog!

warning: if you do try them... you'll need to brace yourself before you take the first sip... your knees will buckle.

a love-hate relationship

i can honestly say, this is the FIRST time since becoming pregnant that i've felt like cooking ANYTHING... and y'all know me... i DO enjoy cooking... with the occasional night out... but geez, i was getting tired of eating out... really.

its been a challenge to go to the grocery store... let alone COOK anything... the heightened sense of smell during pregnancy has affected me differently than i ever expected... the grocery store is sensory OVERLOAD to say the least... and at home, cooking--i've had an issue with the smell of the raw ingredients mixed while getting to the finished product in the kitchen... (like an odd smell-flashback...i dunno how to explain it)

with that being said, i went to the grocery store today after church with the intention of getting groceries to cook and eat at home every night this week... easy to cook, minimal prep work...

tacos, roasted chicken, pork tenderloin, and a pampered chef pasta dish

we'll see...

i did buy a few frozen pizzas just in case... so i could still "not eat out" but didn't have to cook either... is that cheating?

i did make a pot of spaghetti (with cheese bread!) for lunch and am hoping to fix dinner, too (both of the aforementioned meals good leftover, too!)

and i'm making my sweet husband a cake! woo hoo! (ok, its for me too!) his favorite... yellow cake with chocolate icing... but shhhh... don't tell him! its a surprise when he gets home from work today :)