Yummy!

Sunday was one of those days where nothing "special" happened, but where the day just seemed like a huge success.  It was a relaxing day, and actually pretty productive.

We made it to church on Sunday morning, FINALLY.  I'm ashamed to admit how long it's been since we've made it.  I can make excuses, and granted, most of them would revolve around Jacob's nap and eating schedule, but still, they are excuses.  The 9 am service is what works best for us on Sunday's.  The 11 cuts way too much into rearranging Jacob's schedule, and on Saturday's there are no services during summer at the WOodbury campus.  You would think that with the campus being in Wdbry, and not driving 30 minutes to White Bear that it would be easier.  But that's not always the case. 

We need to make this a priority, not a secondary thing.  One of my friends is a pastor with EBC, and we got to see her up on stage Sunday morning leading announcements as our regular campus pastor was speaking that weekend.  I can't think of a better person to be in a leader position at EBC.  Kar has motivated and inspired me to be a better Christian and really look at my life and choices.  She is dedicated and passionate about her beliefs, and you can see love when you are with her. 

I also ran into another bible study girl who is getting married in August and joined us for the service.  Her and her fiance were being baptized together yesterday afternoon in honor of their faith, and wanted to be baptized together before their wedding.

It was so great to be back at EBC.  The music, the sermon, the sense of something greater and the feeling of community and love.  Besides, we also get a free hour break of Jacob.... :)  He must have had fun also, little guy was SNOOZING when we picked him up, and was out for the car ride, and still sleeping after I moved him out of the car seat. 

I planted some flowers I had bought while Mike & Jacob mowed lawn.  In between, I had made 2 new fantastic recipes,

DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES


AND

BASIL LIME CHICKEN



I honestly don't know which I enjoyed more!!  Both are a bit more time consuming than what i have attempted lately, but well worth it!!

Cookies:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided (I used 2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. 

Add lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.

 

Chicken:

Ingredients

• 3 Limes (juice and zest) Divided
• 3 T Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 T Dijon Mustard
• 3 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 T Soy Sauce
• 6 Green Onions Chopped Divided
• 4 Cloves Garlic Minced Divided
• 2 T Chopped Basil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 lbs Chicken Breasts

Instructions

1. Combine the zest and juice of 2 limes, Olive Oil, Mustard, Worcestershire, Soy, 3 onions, 2 garlic cloves salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Cut chicken into even cutlets and place in a gallon sized baggie.
3. Pour marinade over the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat grill.
5. Place chicken on grill and grill for 7 minutes.
6. Then flip and cook until internal temp reaches 170.
7. Remove from grill and let meat rest.
8. Meanwhile combine juice and zest of one lime with extra virgin olive oil, 3 chopped onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, basil.
9. Add sauce over top.

It was perfect for the hot summer day!!

Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

These are best right out of the oven!! Just ooey gooey-ness!!

Pinterest Posts

I've started to realize, or at least acknowledge, that Pinterest has just become a (somewhat) more organized version of my cookbook cupboard.  When I open the cupboard that has my cookbooks in it, I always have a hand half way up to catch whatever is falling out. Stuff frequently falls out.   When i have finished demolishing finding what I want (or likely what I have available to cook with) I just shove it back up there.  It's a mess.  Of epic proportions.  My version of knowing what recipes i want to make or have made and liked, is just a sticky tag.  No rhyme or reason, just tagged... 

My Pinterest board is becoming similar.  The only difference is that nothing falls on me and there are pretty pictures to look at.  Goal:  start tagging stuff better.  Instead of just having a "Yum" board, I plan to break it out into categories, ie dessert, crockpot, freezer meals, etc.  Which seems immensely easier than tackling the cupboard.  Which makes me cringe almost as bad as thinking of the junk drawer. 

So, I did some more Pinterest Projects this week, which were all fairly successful!!

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

This is one I plan on making again this week, if temps stay low enough to handle having the oven run. I baked it up one afternoon, and had breakfast for the next few days, which was great.  More of a thicker texture than regular oatmeal, which I liked.  I opted out of the bananas (big surprise) and also didn't have nuts on hand, so no nuts either.

Project 1:  Blueberry Baked Oatmeal 

adapted from here

Ingredients:
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided 
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1 cup blueberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen, divided

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.
3. Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.
4. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Project 2 :  Cherry Lambic Sorbet
This was not originally a Pinterest idea, but I pinned to my page for any of you following on pinterest.  Jen came over on the 4th, and brought homemade Cherry Lambic Sorbet. 
OH. MY. WORD.

I felt like i was eating a bowl full of frozen cherry heaven (turns out i was).  Mike also surprisingly liked he (getting him to eat fruit could be an Olympic event...).  The boys were willing to try it once they found out there was beer in it. Come on, who wouldn't try a frozen beer dessert??


                          

You can buy your own ice cream maker on clearance right now at Target for $15, well worth it!  Or you can invite me over for dinner, and I will bring this!

Cherry Lambic Sorbet

1. 3 cups pitted sour cherries (18 ounces)
2. 3/4 cup Sugar Syrup (this is also where i got the recipe)
3. 1 cup cherry lambic beer (I used peach lambic, liquor store was out of cherry, worked well)

1. In a blender, puree the cherries until smooth. Stir in the Sugar Syrup and the cherry lambic beer. Pour the sorbet base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
2. Pack the sour-cherry lambic sorbet into a plastic container. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sorbet and close the container with an airtight lid. Freeze until firm, 4 hours.

Project 3:  Jacob's new toy bin

I am a fan of rotating toys out for Jacob's bin.  It means less mess downstairs, new toys in rotation, and when an item comes back, he's excited to see it again (or will be once he remembers a toy).  Or if he needs a change of scenery, we can go up to his room and there are "new" toys up there for him to be occupied with.  I had just a small box downstairs, but it was a wee bit too small. 

Another connundrum at our house is we suddenly have a lot of extra empty boxes.  From toys, packages, and mainly, diaper cases.  Which surprisingly is about the size I wanted.  Jacob "helped" me make this, as you can see.  He really enjoyed playing with the contact paper and climbing in the box.



Jacob being Mommy's Little Helper




Not as cute, without a baby in it, but shows you more of the picture!

 This super easy and cheap project took me all of about 15 minutes (that is not including the baby helper time, that would make time closer to an hour...) and $4.97 for the roll of contact paper, and I figure the diaper box is a sunk cost.  But, you could do with any extra boxes you have around the house!

Nutella White Chip Cookies

Thanks to a friend for posting on FB how Nutella is her new go to comfort food, I immediately started craving it.  Forget putting it on toast, eating it by the spoonful is just so much better!  So, while Jacob and I were out and about for the afternoon, I swung into the little grocer/deli shop in town and picked up some Nutella.

After eating some from the spoon, I wanted to bake something with Nutella in it.  I haven't baked in forever, and luckily I had the neighbor girl over entertaining Jacob, which gave me time to experiment with out someone trying to pull himself up on my pant legs.   By the way, best $8 I have ever spent for 2 hours of time!!

First, I went to Pinterest, knowing I had pinned some Nutella recipes for that day I would bake again.  And I didnt find quite what I was looking for.  I had brownies and mug cake, but I wanted cookies.  So then I tried the internet, and I could find cookies, but a lot had the description of "crunchy" in their info.  I don't like crunchy cookies, I love soft, chewy cookies.  Finally, I found a recipe that sounded chewy, but still wasn't quite what I had in mind. 

So, I took part of that recipe, and modified it to fit what I wanted.

OMG, these cookies are decadently rich!!  And sinfully good.  They are amazing.   I even took a fancy picture like the other food bloggers do.  see....

Anyways, here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!  (adapted from here)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Nutella
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. In a bowl, cream the butter, the sugar and the brown sugar. Add the eggs and the vanilla until combined.
3. Gradually add the flour, salt, soda, and cocoa until the mixture is combined.
4. Mix in the nutella until it is combined with the dough.  Then add in the chocolate chips.
5. Make small balls, and flatten slightly on the pan.  (I made mine too big, these cookies are rich and small are the way to go!)

Bake for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.

8 month Update

I can't believe how big Jacob has gotten in the past 8 monts.  Started at 7'6, and now we are at 20'2...

Here are 8 facts about the past month:

1.He crawls and is getting pretty quick at it.  Favorite things to crawl after include our legs, Selby, Little Bit, and the green frog ball.  He "looks" for us if one of us leaves the room.  He gets rocking back and forth (which he does before he crawls), launches himself into the crawling position, and heads out to find us will complaining and whining. 

2.  He has a tooth!! still not quite able to get a pic of it, since it/s just tiny and on the top

3.  Meal time may now beat bath time for fav time of day.  He also "rocks" in the highchair, and loves to eat.  THe best part is when he gets puffs.  We have to only do one at a time, otherwise he grabs as many as possible to shove in his mouth.  He also launches out of chair when you unbuckle him, so you have to be ready for him. 

4.  He's also had watermelon chunks.  I LOVED watermelon when i was preggers with him, so that's really no surprise

5.  New faces.  He scrunches up his face, mainly nose and eyes and GRINS just huge.  He loves to make this face, and i laugh every time.


6.  We have battled MANY illnesses this past month.  Hand foot mouth, two ear infections, and a double ear infection.  He had the case of HFM where he had blisters in the mouth.  It was 3 days of pure hell...

7.  Must have toys:  the fisher price rings that stack on the cone, nesting cups, the ride on dune buggy (a xmas present from Uncle DJ and Bailey), and the activity table given from Colby.  Frog ball.

8.  Has gone camping twice now.  It was much easier over Memorial wkend when he wasn't crawling than it was this past wkend in Two Harbors. 

Slow Cooker Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

As a working girl who's been picking up more hours, I have realized a few things:

1. I may love my crockpot more than I like some people
2. If I dont have a freezer meal or crockpot meal, dinner will not be done until Jacob is in bed
3. Even though something smells REALLY good, doesn't mean it will taste that way (some of the previous freezer meals where a little lacking in seasoning)
4. Jacob gets his crabbiness if he is not fed NOW when he wants to be, from me.  If i'm hungry, and there is a wait or delay, watch out.  My baby takes after me on that one...

Happy fed baby!

Also, i can't get cooking done with Jacob up.  He "helps" by sitting under foot, yelling at me, and grabbing me as I walk by.  Or crawling to me and demanding attention.

Yep, he's cute, but no help at dinner

This morning I threw another new recipe into the crockpot, slow cooker philly sandwiches.  I'm so excited to try them when I get home.  Jacob is home playing with Gramma Posey while i get some work done, and she said the house is smelling good, so hopefully it's a success tonight!

• 1 1/2 lbs beef round steak
• 1 green pepper, sliced thin
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 1 (14 oz) can beef broth
• 1 envelope Italian dressing mix
• 1 large loaf French bread, siced into sandwich lengths (or 4-6 hoagie buns)
• Provolone cheese slices

Directions:

• Cut meat into strips, place in slow cooker.  (I did not do this, figured the meat will fall apart anyways, why add more work than needed?)
• Add green pepper, onion, broth, and dressing mix.
• Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or high 3-4 hours.
• Spoon meat mixture onto bread, top with a slice(s) of cheese.
• Another option is to toast bread in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, add meat, cover with cheese, then bake an additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Figure with some fresh veggies and chips, you can't go wrong on a hot day!  And gives me more playtime wiht my baby!

Another Ear Infection

Well, it's official, Jacob has ANOTHER ear infection.  It makes me want to scream.  Loudly.  And kick my feet and fling my arms, and throw myself on the floor all at once.  Basically, I want to give a 2 year old a run for their money in a tantrum throwing contest. 

I've averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep on a GOOD night since Memorial wkend.  When we got back from camping, he had a double ear infection, that was diagnosed on Tuesday.  On Wednesday he was exposed to Hand Foot Mouth, had HFM on Saturday.  I brought him in the beginning of June to make sure the ear infection had cleared, and it had.  Then I realized (or actually was told by daycare) that he had cut a tooth.

First TOOTH!!  His upper left front one.  Yep, my boy doesnt cut teeth in the normal rotation (which would be bottom first).  So it was an unholy trifecta of horribleness for poor Jacob's little head that week.  All that cleared up, and still his sleep has been bad.  Then last week, it got even worse.  He's up about every 60-90 minutes ALL NIGHT, sometimes fully awake, sitting up, sometimes sleep crawling, and others just crying in his sleep (which is heart wrenching).

I can see the other top tooth, so figured it was teething.  He attacks cold teethers with a fieceness that is hilarious.  We did orajel, ibruprofen and tylenol. Nothing made a difference.  He still cried in his sleep.  I brought him in this morning and yep, imagine that another ear infection. 

At least I know the cause, but that doesn't make me less tired or crabby.  I still want to throw a tantrum of epic proportions. 

Camping, Swimming, Crawling, and Illness

It's been a very busy past few weeks, with many firsts, some of which had me pulling my hair out

FIRST:
CAMPING TRIP....Success


Saturday afternoon

 I was surprised at how well it went.  Granted, we weren't dealing with a baby on the move, but packing was an issue.  i felt like i packed half of his wardrobe since one day was in the 60's and the other was supposed to be 90.  Plus, if you factor in poopsplosions, drool, dirt, and acts of God, that's a lot of clothes. 



Showing off my cool glasses and dinosaur hat

 AT THE RIVER to "swim"..... Fail



Lots of tears and frantically turning into dad to pick him back up!

I don't know if it was the cold water or the sand on the feet, but Jacob was NOT a fan of the river.  We filled up the kiddie pool, and he loved that, so it's not water in general.  Will have to work on this one...

HAND FOOT MOUTH disease with a double ear infection....Shoot me now, that was pure you-know-what, and for half the week Mike was gone in Kansas City for work. Single parents, you are AMAZING!  Between no sleep and a screaming baby, I wanted to run away, fast, and find a quiet dark room and hide.  Poor baby had blisters and ulcers in his mouth, so it hurt to eat or drink.  He would slap his pudgy lil hand at us when we came at him.  You would have thought we were torturing someone when we gave him medicine.  B/w giving him pain meds every 6 hours and amox twice a day, it was traumatic for all of us involved.  Sleep was a nightmare. 

Do you know how hard it is to shove medicine down the throat of a baby??  He would clench his jaw shut and whip his head back and forth.  Plus his hands and feet are just shoving and kicking.  It's a good form of torture for parents.  You already feel horrible that they are miserable, and now you are just pissing them off even more and fighting them to try and make them feel better.  It was a week i never want to repeat.

CRAWLING....SCARY!!!
He's mobile.  When he wants to be.  As in every time we try to get him to crawl to us, he sits there. and if he starts to crawl and I try to tape him, he instantly stops.  But he tries like mad to pull himself up and climb on everything in sight.  I went around plugging all outlets last night, now we need to invest in some baby gates.

Needless to say, not a lot of cooking was done in the past week, so used some of the freezer meals and otherwise ate junk.... real healthy...