Best. Summer. Dinner. Ever.

Every once in awhile, nirvana is achieved.  Tonight was that moment.  It may not have been a flashy meal, but it was awesome, if I do say so myself.  Per our weekly menu, we had burgers, zucchini patties (not to be confused with Sponge Bob's crabby patties), sweet corn and salad.  In Food Network fashion, let me describe it to you.  (FYI: thinking about describing it has me actually salivating...weird.)

The Burgers: Hold your laughter -  I actually learned how to grill this summer. We also found that BJ's sells organic hamburgers so we buy in bulk and we make sure that not a single bite goes wasted since, while cheaper than the grocery store, they still cost us a bundle.  I was pretty proud of myself for grilling these and Muggle especially liked them, as evidenced by the fact that she stole and ate half of Will's burger while he was stunned and then screaming.

The Salad: Caesar Salad with organic greens from our CSA and my new obsession, Marie's Caesar Dressing (found in the refrigerated case):

Light dressing, it is not, but it is worth every.last.calorie.  It is delicious and tastes like restaurant dressing.  I justify it by saying that it encourages me to eat greens.  This is the "Nutella" argument. Have you seen those commercials?  The ones where the mom tries to get other moms to buy Nutella by saying that she puts it on all sorts of healthy things, like whole grain bread.  As if bathing fruit and bread in chocolate hazelnut spread is healthy!  It's a running joke in our house, as in:

Me: Will won't eat his broccoli.
Steve (in commercial voice): I love Nutella! I put it on all sorts of healthy things, like broccoli.
Me: Mmmm...Nutella.

But I digress.  I am consuming a jar of Marie's Caesar dressing a week, and I'm happier for it.

The Sweet Corn: Last year we only got corn from our CSA for one week and it was THE BEST corn I've ever had.  We got three ears this week and I am praying to God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, that we get more next week.  It is so sweet and delicious that it doesn't need anything on it and it's perfect. 

Finally, the Zucchini Patties: Here's the recipe. I made one critical substitution.  Steve went to the farm to pick up our goods, he came home with this eyesore squash:

Doesn't it look like a Nickelodeon slime/frisbee hybrid?  Steve "claims" that he made it last summer and it was awesome.  I asked what variety it was and he told me: summer squash.  Ha!  But I was stuck with it. In the end, it tasted just like zucchini.  We probably got duped and ended up with a deformed zucchini that they sold to us as some sort of a "gourmet" or "heirloom" variety and we fell for it.  I've been meaning to make the zucchini patties for a week or so, and I'm sorry I waited because they were awesome! The moral of this story is: you can use any summer squash.

I followed the recipe exactly (minus the tiny squash issue), and when I make them again, I will probably saute the onion in a little butter just to sweeten it a little since butter is delicious I have a raw onion diversion.  In all honestly, I think I love these because they taste like the zucchini blossoms that my Nonna makes.  I haven't a clue what is in hers, but these were a pretty good substitution.  I served them with warmed marinara on top, but they would have been fine alone.  Also, they would be a fabulous appetizer if you made them in miniature size.

Dinner was pure summer and was even puntuated by an early evening thunderstorm just as we sat down to eat.  Best of all, it was healthy so I'm not going to feel one ounce of guilt over eating my other obsession, Halo Farm Coffee Heath Bar ice cream, while watching Real Housewives of NYC tonight. 

Tomorrow night: Chicken Fajitas!

Adios!

The Planet Zucchini

First of all, let me explain the title - anyone who has children knows that on Sesame Street whenever there is a skit about space, there is always a character from the planet Zucchini.  For whatever reason, (ok I'm a loser), I think this is hilarious.  Will actually thinks that Zucchini is a real planet, and I don't correct him!

This week is all about zucchini & squash. We also have to eat our CSA take: 4 heads of lettuce, one head of broccoli, 3 ears of sweet corn, 1 zucchini, 1 weird squash (that's the technical term) that Steve took without asking me - don't get me started, 2 quarts of string beans (I'll probably freeze them for winter) and one bunch basil.

Here's our meal plan for the week:
Tonight (Tuesday): Couscous Casserole - more about that later
Wednesday: Couscous Casserole Leftovers
Thursday: Burgers with Zucchini Patties and Sweet Corn
Friday: Chicken Fajitas
Saturday: My sister's Bachelorette Party!  Sayonara Zucchini!  Hell-o Continental Midtown!
Sunday: Grilled Pizzas with Peppers, Onions & Broccoli
Monday: More Leftovers :(

We are also having salad every night with dinner and later this week I'm going to make pesto with the basil.

As for tonight, I made a Couscous Casserole, a recipe my friend M gave me.  Seriously, it was SO good!  Steve had thirds, Will exclaimed "Mmmm!" when he tried it! Here's the recipe with my changes:

Couscous Casserole

Adapted from Parents Magazine

• 2 T. Olive Oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. garlic
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large zucchini, cut into thin slices
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 4 cups pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup couscous - this is the one thing I totally changed from the recipe. I think this is far too little. I used one box of Near East Whole Wheat couscous. It was about 1 1/3 cups dried couscous.
• salt and pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the zucchini and put it on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.  Bake for 8 minutes or so, then take them out & set aside. Set oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions and garlic in 2 T. olive oil. After about five minutes, add the meat and stir; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, then set aside.

4. Heat the stock and the pasta sauce over medium heat. Bring to a gentle bubble, then add couscous. Stir well, cover, turn off heat; let sit 10 minutes.

5. Spoon a layer of couscous into bottom a 1.5-2 quart casserole dish. Top couscous with a layer of zucchini, then with a layer of meat. Repeat until you have used up all ingredients, ending with a top layer of couscous. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

6. Cook for 25 minutes or until heated through.

The best part of the recipe is that you can basically throw whatever vegetables you have in the house in it and it would taste great.  I think the one change that I might make would be to use Israeli couscous since it would add some more texture.  I served it with homemade focaccia (Pillsbury pizza crust brushed with olive oil and garlic, salt, pepper and italian seasoning then baked according to package directions) and of course, salad.

We all enjoyed and since Will has speech on Tuesdays, I am now on the hunt for casseroles that I can make ahead and Steve can throw in the oven.  This is going in the rotation- thanks M! So far, it has been a successful trip to the planet Zucchini!

Tomorrow since we aren't having a new recipe, I have LOTS of topics to blog about including (but not limited to): the lunatics on Extreme Couponers, The Bachelorette, and my borderline obsession with the last Harry Potter movie. See you then!

Polka Dot Party Time!

All this pressure for a first birthday party!  First of all, there are no good themes for girl first birthdays.  You don't want to use up any character themes that you will inevitably have to do later (um...princesses, anyone!) but then if you move off the beaten birthday party path, you have to be uber-creative, which I am not.  Originally, I was going to do butterflies for Emma's first birthday, but after hitting decorations roadblock after decorations roadblock, I decided to go a little more general, and we gave her a pink & green "preppy" party with polka dots & plaid.  I'm really proud of how it came out, especially since I am the world's least creative and crafty person ever.

Here's a couple picks of how it came out:

The buffet setup:

The centerpieces - made of tin buckets from Target and daisy placemats from Homegoods:

As a supplement to her daisy cake, we had delicious Sugar & Sunshine cupcakes!

Finally the brownie tray with the daisy decorations that I made. I am only showing this as a warning to others who may try to use Wilton Sugar Sheets to decorate.  DON'T!!!  They were a total pain in the butt, and they looked a little too much like paper.  I think people were afraid to eat them because of it.

The polka dot balloons that started the whole idea:

Even Emma had a great time, she enjoyed her cake, but in true Emma fashion, she wasn't really into eating herself, but she was all about having my grandmother feed her bits of cake like she was a baby bird or something:

She did still enjoy her cake:

Above all, I think everyone had a great time, especially the other kids who bounced themselves into exhaustion (Thanks to B who let us borrow her bouncy house - you rule!)

In other news, this week's CSA take away: 4 heads of lettuce, 4 zucchinis, 3 cucumbers, a bunch of beets (I don't know how many because I didn't look since I think a. they are gross, and b. they stain so I refuse to make them), 1 bunch of broccoli and 2 quarts of string beans.  I'm bringing all of it up to the Poconos for our 4th of July weekend that I am lovingly naming "Operation Ruffage."  I'm also bringing up a couple of recipes including this one for zucchini patties and this one for zucchini bread.  I won't have internet access while I'm up there (is there a blogger app?  If so, fill a lady in!) so I'll see you next week!

Happy 4th of July!

Oh, Hello Summer...

Sorry I haven't been around!  It was the last month of school which is basically just pure insanity, and at the same time I've been helping to plan for different events for the 2 weddings that I'm in this summer/fall (Congrats K & S!  We can't wait!). 

The big event is coming up today because it's Emma's 1st Birthday Party!  I can't believe she's one!

This was her the day she was born:

And one from her first birthday:

Isn't it funny how she looks so different and yet exactly the same?  I went back and forth on her first birthday theme: butterflies?  Strawberry Shortcake?  I'll post pictures of the final theme tomorrow, but here's a little hint:

I will also be back blogging about our food trials and tribulations.  I can't wait to try all the recipes that people have given me! Now, in addition to limiting what we buy at the store, I'm trying to use up all the local, organic produce we have been getting from our summer CSA, Honey Brook Organic Farm.  for example, last week we took in: one head of cabbage, 4 heads of lettuce, 2 zucchinis, 1 head of arugula, 2 quarts of string beans, and 2 cucumbers.  Part of the blog will be seeing what I can do with these ingredients and the other part how I store up everything for winter. Since we threw out WAY too much last year, our goal for this year is to use or freeze everything so that we have it for later.  So far, I have 2 gallons (not that's not a typo) of strawberries and 1 quart of string beans in my basement freezer.  If you gave me a recipe, I'm on it!  I just have to wait until the ingredients become seasonal.

Not to be forgotten, Will has officially entered his terrible twos (how fun for us!) We moved him into a big bed, which had the unfortunate result of a 5:30am wakeup time.  Now we have trained him to stay in bed and yell, "Mom!  I'm up!"  Much to our dismay, this wakeup call comes at 6am.  Ugh.  Here's my current favorite Will picture. He was up at the lake playing golf with my dad:

Judging from his expression, I'm pretty sure he just bogeyed that hole. 

See you later!

Playing Catch Up

So I'm desperately trying to play blog catchup.  In the interest of time, here's the quick and dirty version of some of the recipes I've been making.

Sweet & Sour Chicken:Eh, just alright.  Pretty good, I guess.  Definitely healthier than real sweet and sour chicken, but obviously not as delicious and fried.  Steve liked it, but I have a weird hangup with citrus and chicken, as in, I don't like it.  So I had issues with all the pineapple. Will picked out the pineapple and left everything else.  As of right now, I'm still being owned by homemade Chinese food.

Baked Ravioli: Pretty good, although in reality, it really was just ravioli with homemade sauce baked in a casserole dish with cheese melted on top.  Tasted good, but revolutionary cuisine, it was not.  Still, on Tuesday afternoons Will has speech therapy so I have to plan for either a quick dinner or something made ahead of time that Steve can throw in the oven.  For the latter, it worked.  Would I make it again?  The jury is still out, but mostly just because it's not like it takes a Culinary Instiute degree to figure out how to make ravioli.

Fusilli with Spinach & Asiago Cheese: This one is delicious!  Try it.  Try it now.  The recipe is delicious as is, but I usually beef up the amount of spinach and tomatoes, because I figure more veggies can't hurt. I usually do 10oz. of spinach (one small container of organic baby spinach) and 1 whole pint of grape tomatoes, halved. It's a great Meatless Monday recipe, but also wonderful with shrimp scampi on top.

Other than that, we're doing a ton of grilling since the weather is finally nice!  Is there a summer meal better than hot dogs?  No way!

Steve and Will have been keeping busy fixing up the yard for Emma's first birthday party which is coming up in about a month (Happy 11 month birthday, Emma!).  Here's the evidence that Will has been helping with the weed whacking:

This weekend we're headed up to the Poconos - hopefully to relax, recharge, and most importantly, outlet shop, before heading home for the craziness of the last 3 weeks of the school year. 

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!

Too Little Time!

Sorry I haven't been around more - there is just too much to do in each day and not enough time.  Of course, I could blog after the kids go to bed, but it really interferes with my 9pm bedtime.  Last night we tried to watch The King's Speech, which I have been wanting to see for ages.  Steve really enjoyed it.  I fell asleep at approximately 8:40pm.  If the first 20 minutes of the movie is any indication, I may have actually liked it!

We've also been busy with the prep for my sister's wedding this August. Last Sunday I took the kids to her bridal shower where I indulged in brunch for the second week in a row (Is there a meal that is better than brunch?  Eggs, Pancakes AND Crab Cakes = Nirvana) and she took home lots of great loot from her VERY generous friends.  We managed to get a couple of cute pictures like this one of me and the bride to be:

And this one of my mom & Emma:

On the food front, we are plugging along with our experiment.  We basically are out of everything, so our grocery bills have been a bit higher, but we are still trying to use what we have before buying more stuff, and we're also eagerly awaiting the start of our organic farm share.  This time 2 weeks from now I will be complaining about sweating my butt off as a pseudo migrant worker in the pick your own strawberry fields. 

I am going to try to post more recipes, and as we've gone further into this journey, many people have given me recipes that I am eager to try so I'm going to try to get them in!  Here's the meal plan for this week:

Sunday: Sweet & Sour Chicken - a new Rachael Ray recipe.  I will not be defeated by homemade Chinese Food!

Monday: Toasted Ravioli

Tuesday: Will has speech therapy now on Tuesday afternoons, so we have to plan super-simple dinners or we'll be eating at 8pm.  Not a good situation when my bedtime is at 9pm. We're either having burgers or hot dogs with grilled asparagus and potato chips.  A perfect summer meal!

Wednesday: Gorditas!  Yes, homemade Taco Bell. Don't judge.

Thursday: The opposite meat from Tuesday. So...if hot dogs on Tuesday, burgers on Thursday. Or vice-versa.  Probably with salad and mac & cheese.

Friday after work we're going to trek up to the Poconos for the weekend.  Steve and I actually look forward to the Friday night trips because we get the chance to stop at McDonald's with no guilt.  So the tentative Friday night menu will include: sweet & sour sauce (with a generous sprinkling of chicken nuggets), fries, and Steve's obligatory gallon of vanilla milkshake.

Enjoy the week & I will try not to drop off the face of the planet (unless the world ends, which it very well may)!

Reflection

For most people, December is the usual time for yearly reflection.  As teachers, Steve and I often have to remind ourselves that the "year" doesn't actually begin in September and end in June.  As such, we tend to reflect on our yearly progress right around May, when the wrap up for the current school year begins and/or we're so burnt out that we have dreams of summer and a new school year.  In the spirit of the "pantry raid" project, it seems like this is a good time to reflect on what (if anything!) we've accomplished:

Here's the data: Since 2/28, I have been grocery shopping 13 times.  I have spent a grand total of $969.19.  This averages out to $74.55 a week.  Not bad!  I have nothing to compare this to since we weren't really tracking our grocery spending before, and I guess I could figure it out, but I don't feel like it.

Both Steve and I have lost about 5 pounds each.  I attiribute this to the following: 1) the stomach flu.   We only had it once, but it nearly killed me.  But: I didn't gain any of the weight I lost back!  2) One of the reasons I think our grocery bill hasn't necessarily gone down THAT much is because we are buying more expensive foods.  Before we were eating a fair amount of processed foods and we've cut almost all of that out in favor of mostly organic, whole foods.  I clip coupons and the only problem with whole foods is that there really aren't coupons out there for broccoli or bananas.  All the coupons are for processed crap that we don't eat and as a result even though we're buying less, we're spending just about the same.  Before you think I'm being all judgy about the food, we still do buy some processed foods, just way less than before.  We LOVE: Wise potato chips, Jiffy corn bread, brownie mix, and I truly believe that a life without Kraft macaroni and cheese is not a life to be lived.  But we've cut way back, and I think our waistlines have benefited. 

If anyone is interested in reading how we did it, I would highly recommend picking up a copy of Michael Pollen's Food Rules. It's just that: simple food "rules" to live by, and it has nothing to do with losing weight or dieting.  It really is about living healthier and being aware of where your food comes from.  It's very balanced, non judgmental, non-crunchy granola. It's everything that I am with the exception of the balanced and judgmental part. Oh, and it's only about a hundred pages.

So there's my kinda crappy reflection.  The good thing that came out of this project was that we're eating healthier, being more aware of what we purchase and how much we might be wasting, and I think that we're going to try to keep up with it.  We have about 3 weeks or so until our farm share starts and then I'll transition the blog to how the hell we're going to keep up with that.  12 quarts of strawberries this week, anyone?

Here's the meal plan for this week:
Sunday: Happy Mother's Day!!! I'm not cooking a thing :)
Monday: Eggplant Stacks with Pasta (attempting - pathetically - to bring back Meatless Monday!)
Tuesday: Chicken Nuggets with Peas (pathetic, I know, but we had it all in the house)
Wednesday: Fusilli with Spinach & Asiago Cheese
Thursday: Tacos.  The real kind with the crunchy shells and the ground beef. Steve's request. 
Friday: Who knows?

In the spirit of Mother's Day (and what do mothers do better than brag about their kids!?!), here are my favorite two pictures of my little cherubs.  Here's me and Emma:

And here's one of Will getting ready to hit the links:

There were obviously some outfit "readjustments" that were made without my approval :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Thai it, You'll Like It!

Tonight's dinner: Thai Lettuce Cups.  In a word: a-maz-ing!  These are totally going into the regular rotation.  Personally, I think they rivaled the PF Chang's lettuce wraps, and that's a high bar that's been set.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (that's right, just two - this is a great meal for stretching your dollars!), cut into VERY thin strips
• salt
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper cut into VERY thin strips
• 1/4 cup sweet thai chili sauce (in the asian foods aisle)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 head iceburg lettuce, cut into quarters and leaves separated
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (I left this out because we didn't have any in the house and it was awesome anyway - I don't even think I would add them next time)

Here's what you do:
Season the chicken with salt.  In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil.  Add the chicken and cook until 1/2 done. Then, add the pepper and season it with salt.  Continue cooking, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain about 1/2 the liquid that will accumulate in the pan.  Put the pan back on medium heat and stir in the honey and the chili sauce and cook until slightly reduced. Add the lime juice and the basil and stir just to combine.

You can lay them out on a platter, but we did ours kind of like tacos - with the lettuce "cups" on one platter and the chicken on another and we just assembled them at the table. Here's the final product:

I served ours with chicken dumplings on the side, and everything was gobbled up.  We learned that Will likes dumplings with gyoza sauce (he ate 3!).  We also learned that he can't be trusted with communal dip.  We're pretty sure that he triple dipped those dumplings. Listen, I'll take my gyoza sauce with Will's saliva in it if it means that he actually eats dinner, which he did.

While I was at the doctor's office over spring break I stole a bunch of recipes out of an issue of Food Network magazine. I can feel your judgment, but in my defense, I was waiting over 20 minutes past my appointment time and I would assert that I am OWED those recipes. This was one of them and I'm going to try another later this week for Buffalo Chicken Strips. 

One last thing: I just have to share that I stuck my head into Will's room this afternoon and witnessed the cutest moment between him and Emma.  With all the toys in the house, the two of them decided to play in the laundry basket. 

If this is all it takes to make them happy, next Christmas: Tide and dryer sheets! :)

See you soon!

It's Steve's Birthday! BAM!

This week was three things:
1) Spring Break: eat too much, drink too much, sleep too much.  We did next to nothing, but we got a chance to relax and recharge and it was perfect!

2) It was Steve's 32nd Birthday! He decided he wanted to have a couple people over for dinner and that he wanted vodka rigatoni for dinner which was odd since Steve really doesn't like pasta, but whatever.  Well, one day before his birthday, I realized that I don't have the pot and pan capacity to cook pasta as a main course for 12 people.  So...I changed the menu. It was still something special that I don't make often, but WAY more friendly for a party of 12.  I made Emeril's Jambalaya.  My dad gave me the recipe, and everyone I have ever made this for LOVES it (even my friend R who was worried about the spiciness and thought she was going to have to eat the Trader Joe's mac & cheese I made for the kids liked it.  If she didn't, she's a good liar, which is also possible). It's quite possibly the best recipe for a large group.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped peppers
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne (you can back this off a little if you don't want it spicy)
• 1 pound andouille or chorizo, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cups rice
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (optional)

You also need 1 REALLY big pot with a lid - that's right folks, you only need one pot and a cutting board. Ingenious! Another BAM for Emeril!

Here's what you do - it really couldn't be much easier:
1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions, bell peppers, 2 teaspoons of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the cayenne. Stirring often, brown the vegetables for about 20 minutes, or until they are caramelized and dark brown in color.  Scrape the bottom and the sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles.
2. Add the sausage and cook, stirring often for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot again.
3. Season the chicken with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne.  Add the chicken and the bay leaves to the pot.  Brown the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot one last time.
4. Add the rice and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat it evenly.  Add the water, stir to combine and cover.  Cook over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, without stirring or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.  Note: if you are adding the shrimp, season them with salt and pepper and put them in the pot when the rice has about 5 minutes to go.  Stir them in, then cover the pot again, and in 5 minutes they will be cooked perfectly. 
5. When the rice is cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the green onions and serve. BAM!

It's also great as leftovers and this one recipe serves 10 to 12 people, so you'll definitely have some.  Our friend C asked that I take Steve's "month" picture, so here you go: Happy 32nd (384 months) Birthday!

After dinner we had ice cream cake (Steve's favorite!) and drinks. Ok, I had one drink and Steve had many drinks.  All in all, it was a successful low-key birthday!

3) This spring break we wanted to take at least one day and do something as a family. Since we were totally lazy, we didn't get our act together until this morning when we decided to go to the Adventure Aquarium.  For anyone with toddlers, this place is perfect!  It's a very manageable size and they have lots of interactive stuff.  We had to drag Will away from the touch tank after 20 minutes of mauling a starfish:

The shark exhibit is a really cool walk through 360 tube thing (although it looks eerily like the one in Jaws 3 or 4 - I think, the one with the waterpark/aquarium).  We could have stayed there for hours - even the sharks were happy that we came to hang out. This guy was above our heads the whole time!

Will loved seeing the fish, especially Nemo (every orange fish was Nemo) and we got to see the penguins who were so stinking cute I could have taken one home with me. This one came swam right up to Will (I think his name was Penny - shout out to Nonna!).

We did the whole museum in about 3 hours, then got a Philly pretzel in the aquarium parking lot (don't judge) and hit the road.  A great morning and a great (almost) end to spring break!

See you after Easter!

Our Orange Dinner

No, I did not plan to have an all-orange meal.  But...it turned out that way.

So for dinner tonight we had one of our favorites, chipotle cheddar jack burgers with baked sweet potatoes and cantaloupe.  I didn't mean for it to be all orange, but seeing as that's Will's favorite color, it worked out well for all involved.

The burgers are one of our all time favorites. Here's what you need: 1 pound of ground beef (we use 90% lean, but you can use whatever), cheddar jack cheese slices, 1-2 chipotle in adobo peppers (the same kind you use for the tortilla soup I posted earlier.  Just put them in an airtight container and throw them in the fridge. They'll keep forever), 4 whole wheat rolls and barbecue sauce.

All you do is chop up the chipotles, mix them into the ground beef, season with salt and pepper and form into 4 patties.  Our grill is acting weird and some parts of our food were coming out extra well-done while other parts were raw.  No matter how you like your meat, it isn't a good situation, so I did ours on our indoor grill pan, but you can grill them outside too.  When they are done, serve them on the rolls with BBQ sauce on top.  They are SO good.  Smoky and spicy and the BBQ sauce adds just a little sweetness.  We rarely have regular burgers anymore because these are so delish!
I also tried a new recipe for baked sweet potatoes with cinnamon sugar.  Steve seriously LOVED his and ate every.last.bite.  All you do is mix 3 Tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon together in a small bowl.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  With a fork, poke holes into 3-4 sweet potatoes.  Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 45-75 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.  Cut the potatoes open and on each potato add 1 Tbsp. butter and sprinke with cinnamon sugar (you'll have some leftover).  Since Will decided not to try his, I gave Emma his portion and she gobbled it up!

After dinner Steve suggested we go out to DQ for dessert, which I was all about.  We had a nice family evening, and Will was super excited for ice cream and he even got rainbow frinkles (no, that's not a typo) for Zia Kristen.  Here's the evidence:

 Emma even had a good time, especially considering she's too little to eat ice cream.  She sat on Steve's lap chewing on a spoon, happy as could be:

We're gearing up for Steve's 32nd birthday on Wednesday!  Happy Birthday to my Old Man Hubby!  I wanted to order Chickie's & Pete's, but it's his birthday so I :guess: he gets to choose what he wants to eat and he's requesting that I cook so I will try to post the menu tomorrow.  Steve's favorite color is blue, but I can guarantee that unlike our orange dinner, blue will not be the food theme on Wednesday!

In other news, we are gearing up to potty train Will. We probably won't really start until the summer, but we're trying to set the stage now so he's ready when we kick it into high gear.  I like to call it Potty Training Preseason.  I think we'll probably handle it the way that we've handled most of our parenting issues - acknowledge that we don't know what we're doing, ask the doctor, find the book that most people use with any sort of success and do that.  We are rookies, but we recognize that fact and we follow directions well, so as long as the doctor gives us a plan, we can execute it.  I'm really not all that stressed about it.  Maybe it's just the optimism that comes with ignorance. I am, however, looking for potty training book suggestions, so if you have one that worked for you let me know!

Chesterfield's Most Wanted

When I went to Disney this past March I was warned not to come home with any tchotchkes.  I didn't buy any Mickey ears or t-shirts that say "Leave me Alone, I'm Grumpy" (get it? Like Snow White?!?) on them.  Instead, I ended up coming home with 2 items: 1) a mug for Steve that made me laugh out loud.  It's of Tinkerbell and I think it's really just supposed to be funny because she didn't get enough sleep and needs coffee, but with my sick sense of humor all I could think was that Tinkerbell looked like she was right out of the trailer park.  Here's a picture:

I knew Steve would also appreciate the joke, so I bought it.  He did.  We're probably the only 2 people in the world who think it's hilarious that Tinkerbell looks like she's straight out of a doublewide in Neverland Park Adjacent, but that's why we're made for each other.

The second item was a cookbook: Chef Mickey.  It's full of recipes for all the great foods in the parks: the Sticky Toffee Pudding from the Rose & the Crown at the British Pavilion in Epcot, the Cheddar Cheese soup from Le Cellier in Canada, you get the point. So tonight I decided to make the Ohana Coriander Chicken Wings from the Polynesian Resort.

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients for the Wings:

• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. paprika
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. EACH: black pepper, turmeric, ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 pounds chicken wings

Ingredients for the Wing Sauce:

• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup honey
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch.

Here's what you do for the wings.
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Combine all chicken wing ingredients except chicken in a large glass bowl.  Add chicken and toss to coat.
3. Spread the seasoned wings on the baking sheet and roast until browned, about 35 minutes.
4. To serve, toss with wing sauce.

While the wings are baking, make the sauce. It couldn't be easier - combine all the wing sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces to a syrup, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and keep warm. Then toss the sauce and the wings together, and you're done!

I didn't take a picture, because, let's face it, chicken wings don't look pretty, but they were pretty tasty. I don't know if I would make the wing sauce again, it was a little salty for me, but the wings themselves were seasoned perfectly, and I definitely would use the spice rub again for when we BBQ chicken in the summer.  All in all, a success (especially after my sesame noodle fiasco!)!

Just because I think it's really funny, this weekend we were at a party for my grandmother's 80th birthday and my police officer cousin Dan let Will walk around with his handcuffs.  We managed to snap a picture:

I full on intend on using this to torture him someday.  I just love the look on his face - like it's his mugshot after being caught on a toddler no-nap bender of too much milk and finger painting. Priceless! Bad boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do...
Later!

Eeeewwww!

Anyone that knows me knows that I have been concerned about Will's speech.  He doesn't have a ton of words and he has some issues with articulation, but tonight, I learned that he has a new word!  The word: Ewwwwww!  How do I know this, you ask?  I know, because just after he put a big bite of his dinner in his mouth, he made a face like I was forcing him to eat a sweat sock, and then he spit it all out, and yelled, "Ewwwwwww!"  If I thougtht that dinner was great, I would have been insulted, but to be honest, he hit the nail right on the head. 

In case you want to torture your family, here's the recipe I made tonight: Sesame Shrimp and Noodles. I was so excited about this all week, and I encountered the following culinary roadblocks:
1) The recipe only serves one.  Who the heck makes a recipe that serves 1 person?!?  Even single people eat leftovers, or like to entertain!  Because of this, I had to multiply the recipe by 8 since I had a pound of pasta.  Ridiculous!
2) Since I multiplied by 8, I had to use a 1/2 cup of soy sauce, and a 1/2 cup of toasted sesame oil.  Both are seriously strong!  I used low sodium soy and it was still really salty.
3) Here was the final product:

Doesn't it kind of look like worms?  Now, I forgot to buy scallions, so there should have been some green on the plate, but even with it, it just doesn't look appetizing at all!
4) Since we are eating organic-ish, I've been buying the foods on the "Dirty Dozen" in their organic varieties. Steve supports me in this, so long as everything gets eaten, which it typically does. Take a look at those yellow peppers. They cost $6.99/pound! I died a small death when we threw out all the leftovers.

The unfortunate result of this culinary misadventure: Steve (aka. the trash compactor) was so hungry that he declared that it wasn't "that bad" (not every wife gets showered with these kinds of compliments!  Thanks honey!), and he ate 2 servings.  After his declaration, Will wouldn't get near his plate and ended up having a dinner of a banana and half a kiwi fruit (Mother of the Year!).  I fed Emma instead of eating the worm noodles and just finished my real dinner, a bowl of Cookie Crisp.  The real winner tonight was Emma who got to have freeze dried yogurt bits and pea puree. Who'd have thunk it?

I'm just so disappointed since the recipe looked good and I had such high hopes.  On the menu this week: spicy stromboli, chipotle and cheddar burgers, and Disney World Ohana chicken wings. I guess there's nowhere else to go but up this week!

I'm Back!

It feels like it's been forever since I last posted!  We have had so much going on & then we had computer issues, but I'm back up and running!  First, Steve asked that I update the blog with this picture of our refrigerator:

We found humor in the fact that we are almost officially completely out of food, and yet there is no space in our fridge because we are hoarding beer.  Actually, I am not hoarding beer, Steve is.  I benefit from it though, so I guess that makes me an enabler.  Anyways, we had friends over last Friday night and Steve told everyone to bring beer and the result was that we had pizza and LOTS of Pabst Blue Ribbon. We got a pretty good chuckle from the look of our fridge.  Between this, the condiments and the Lean Pockets, our fridge looks like it belongs to a 19 year old frat boy.

On the food front, here's the meal plan for the week:
Monday: We had Rainbow Shrimp Pasta (I'll share the recipe in just a second).  We've basically abandoned meatless Monday, but it's mostly just because I have the meat in the house and I think buying meat alternatives kind defeats the point of this experiment.
Tonight: We had chicken fajita quesadillas
Tomorrow: Homemade Pizza with Peppers and Onions
Thursday: I think I'll finally make the sloppy joes that I've been blogging about for the last 2 weeks
Friday: TBD

As for last night, I hit a new low. I turned to a real "Real Housewife" for dinner. I found this recipe for Rainbow Shrimp Pasta on Bethenny Frankel's website (LOVE me some Bethenny Ever After!). Here's what the final product looked like:

It was SO delicious!  I made a couple changes: I didn't have white wine so I left it out & I substituted a quarter cup of olive oil (I know, healthy, right?!?).  So I used a quarter cup regular olive oil plus 2 Tbsp. of the sundried tomato oil.  I added a ton more garlic so it was more like a shrimp scampi (think 4-5 cloves for the whole recipe).  I also omitted the red pepper flake because I didn't want it to be too spicy for Will, but I'm sure the recipe would have been even better with it.  I also used red pepper instead of yellow because that's just what I had in the fridge and I didn't have any fresh herbs (see below) so I left those out too.  All in all...awesome! Will even gobbled it up.  He still won't touch shrimp, which makes him a freak, but he's young and doesn't know any better.  I'll let it slide for now.

Tonight I made chicken fajita quesadillas using fried peppers & onions (we'll use the extra tomorrow night for the pizza topping), whole wheat tortillas, taco cheese, and fajita chicken.  I also happened to have cilantro since I attempted to buy fresh parsley for the pasta above, but I bought cilantro by accident.  Luckily, Steve and I love cilantro and it provided just enough brightness to the dinner.  Plus it makes the food look so pretty!  Here's how they came out:

I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture, but Steve actually started eating his before I could take the picture so I had to kind of cover up his bite marks with salsa in order to take a picture where the quesadilla didn't look like it had been mauled by a bear! I figure it's a compliment that he couldn't wait to dig in!

Tonight we are having a history geek evening watching Ken Burns' "Civil War" documentary on PBS.  It's on because it is the sesqicentennial anniversary of Fort Sumter (that's the first battle for those who don't know).  We chose to watch the episode "A Long Bloody Affair" about Shiloh and Antietam last night instead of watching the national championship game.  No, that's not a typo, that's a normal weeknight night for us.  Heck, that's a normal Saturday night for us.

Tomorrow I'll have new recipes and Civil War fun facts to share (I KNOW you are hanging on your seats!). 

Why-the-Chicken-Crossed-the-Road Santa Fe-Tastic Tortilla Soup

Yes, that is the actual name of the dinner that I made tonight. Isn't it awful?!?  I can't believe that someone in development at Food Network didn't sit down with Rachael Ray and tell her that the name is ridiculous, but I guess sometimes these things get though.  Maybe the recipe development guy was on vacation that week. You just have to forgive the name and try not to judge.

I, for one, have been excited about dinner tonight since I woke up this morning.  I recognize that this makes me a serious loser, but I'm ok with it.  The backstory on dinner tonight is that after Steve and I emerged from the darkest depths of the stomach flu, we both really wanted tortilla soup. Weird, right? Except for the cheese and tortilla chips, I had just about nothing for this recipe in the house, but Steve gave me permission (I let him think this) to depart from the pantry raid for a brief moment to savor the deliciousness that is tortilla soup. It is worth every.last.cent.

Here's the recipe.  You can read the recipe if you want, but I'm going to give you my changes. What you may lose in flavor is made up in convenience. I am far too busy to be roasting red peppers and scraping corn off the cob, so I changed some stuff.  You'll thank me.

Here's my version:

Ingredients: (Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients, it is SO WORTH IT!)

Olive oil

1 can of corn

2 red bell peppers, diced

1.5 pounds chicken breast tenders

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full

1 teaspoon cumin, 1/3 palm full

Salt and pepper

2 small to medium zucchinis diced

1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 to 2 chipotle in adobo peppers (medium to hot heat level), chopped -- available in small cans in Mexican and Spanish food section of market - I usually add 2 but we like it spicy. It's your call.

1 can stewed tomatoes, 28 ounces (I usually have to buy 2 smaller cans, but it's the same difference), chopped

1 can tomato sauce, 8 ounces

1 box (4 cups) chicken stock, available in re-sealable paper containers on soup aisle

tortilla chips

taco or cheddar cheese

Here's what you do:

Dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken on each side. Add red peppers, zucchini, onions and garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 7 to 10 minutes to soften. Add chopped stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Add the canned corn. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low. The longer the soup simmers, the better it will be, but you can eat it right away. I usually let it cook for 10-15 minutes.Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with crushed tortilla chips and some taco cheese.  Enjoy! 

This is what it looks like, but this is Rachael Ray's picture and not mine, and we don't usually put the sour cream and avocado on the soup, but you'll get the idea:

We seriously crave this meal and eat it once every 2 weeks or so.  Plus, since it's really just a kicked up chicken vegetable soup, it's really healthy, especially if you omit the toppings like the cheese and sour cream.  If I remember correctly, it's 5 or 6 points on Weight Watchers and that's if you include the chips & cheese.  It's like 3 points without that stuff.  I know this because I ate it all the time when I was losing the baby weight from both kids. 

So there you go.  I am a loser and get excited about soup.  But you will too once you try it!

"Moe" Money, "Mo" Problems

While we are officially over the stomach flu, I have been totally slacking when it comes to cooking this week.  I'm just not hungry, and seeing as I spent all last weekend barfing (sorry to be so descriptive), I decided not to push it.  For the last couple days we ate leftovers, and then today I just had a 100% crap-tastic day.  I'm trying really hard not to make this blog a forum for complaining, so I'll just say that it was super frustrating, and then after work I had a meeting until 4:30, and I wasn't going to be home until 5 which means that we wouldn't eat until 6ish, and that's too late when your toddler and infant go to bed at 7pm at the latest.  I also woke up STARVING and I ate voraciously all day, so tonight was really a perfect storm.
We cheated.  So sue me.  On the way home from work I guilted Steve into letting me pick up takeout, and while I love Chick-fil-a more than I love life itself (mmm...Southwest Chargrilled Salad), I decided to stop at Moe's, which to be honest is like Chipotle, but not as good.  Still, since the nearest Chipotle is over 30 minutes away, Moe's does the job in a pinch.  Will had a chicken taco (which he actually consumed - shocker!), Steve and I had a burrito, we all had way too many chips and salsa, and I let out all my complaints and Steve listened and offered suggestions.  It was actually a really nice dinner.  Not so much the genetically modified, antibiotic injected chicken burrito, but more the conversation.

The "Mo" part of this post comes from the fact that finally, after 27 months of life, Will has learned to say the word "no."  Only it comes out as "mo." For the first week, his use of the word "no" was really cute.  Not so much anymore, but he also learned the word "gross" which I find pretty funny, so they balance themselves out.

On the Emma front, she recently celebrated her 9 month birthday:

I took pictures of Will on his monthly "birthday" for the first year, and then we bought a 12 opening frame and put them all in, in order. I would encourage every new mom to do this.  It is so neat to look at their whole year in a glance, especially because when you're "in" the first year, you're so tired and overwhelmed alot of the time you forget to reflect. I also think its cool to see how when they are a year old, they still kind of look like they did when they were a newborn. Will's is hanging in the playroom and we already bought the same frame for Emma and we'll put hers up around her first birthday.

I promise I'll be back cooking tomorrow. I'm making one of our favorites, tortilla soup, and I promise to share the recipe!

A Plague on Your House!

First of all, let me start by acknowledging that I know that I have misquoted Shakespeare in the title of this post.  But "A plague on both your houses!" doesn't make sense because, in this case, it was only our house that had the plague.  So there.  Color me Mercutio.

Second, let me explain.  This weekend we were forced to depart from the pantry raid.  It was not by choice, but by germs, when at 4am on Saturday morning I was hit by a Mack truck called the stomach flu.  I sucked it up until about 10AM when I called no joy, and prayed to the porcelain god for forgiveness from all my food related sins.  As I was "in prayer" Steve also came down with the virus.  Off the kids went to their grandparents' houses, and Steve and I wallowed in self pity for the rest of the night.  We woke up the next morning feeling weak, but much better.  Our stomachs, while having forgiven us, will never, it seems, forget.

The next night we were starving, and for whatever reason I was craving meatloaf, so I turned to my dad's recipe, which is the best ever!  Here's the recipe:

My Dad's Meatloaf:
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs ground beef
1 beaten egg
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 onion chopped
3 tbsp. vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. mustard
2 tbsp. worcheshire sauce
1/2 cup water.

Mix the ground beef, the egg, the breadcrumbs, the onion and half the tomato sauce together.  Add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper.  In a small bowl, wisk together the rest of the tomato sauce, the vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, worcheshire sauce and water. Knead half the tomato sauce-vinegar mixture into the meatloaf.  Put meat mixture in a loaf pan, cover with remaining sauce mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours.

It is to die for!  This is no dry meatloaf! It's tangy, ketchupy, sweet, vinegary deliciousness!  I don't even really like meatloaf, and I love this version.  I served it with sauteed asparagus, and this recipe for Paula Deen's garlic mashed potatoes. Believe it or not, we actually had everything for the dinner in the house, so it cost us nothing! 

Over the course of our stomach plague, I lost 4 pounds from "praying."  Typically this is what happens when you don't eat anything but a string cheese and half a Gatorade for 2 days, but I'm sure that our Sunday dinner put back on a little weight, but it was well worth it!

Tomorrow I'll post the meal plans for the week (it's starting to get ugly when all that's in your pantry is a can of mexicorn, some ramen, tomato soup and Enfamil).  In the meantime, we'll be praying (to Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Mother Earth, Shiva, Tom Cruise & the Scientologists) that the kids stay healthy this week!

See you tomorrow!

Mother of the Year!

In the last 2+ years, I have had a number of what Steve and I call "Mother of the Year!" moments.  For example, when I dropped Emma on her head at the pediatricians office (don't go calling DYFS, it was only like 6 inches off the ground), or anytime Will acts like a lunatic in Target and I buy him off with goldfish crackers.  A "Mother of the Year" moment basically rewards parental behavior that you know isn't good, but you do it anyway. Luckily, ours have been relatively few and far between.  Well, just when I had forgotten about those moments, today we had another one, and it was, of course, food related.

One of my least proud parental moments involves Dunkin Donuts.  We have one in our ShopRite and Will always goes grocery shopping with me on Sunday mornings, and in order to get through the trip, I buy him a donut.  This became a whole thing when I realized that every time Will saw a Dunkin Donuts store, coffee cup, bag, etc. etc. he would point at it and shout "that! That! THAAAT!" at the top of his lungs, letting everyone in a 10 mile radius know that he knew the Dunkin logo.  I've never been prouder of myself as a parent (can you read the sarcasm?!?).  Well, I've actually been proud of the fact that he knew DD and not McDonald's, but it seems that time has come to an end.

Today after work I had meetings for prom locations with my class council and then on the way home I stopped for McDonalds.  Steve and Will were eating lasagna I made while I was home today (our babysitter was sick - feel better Joni!) for dinner, so I knew they were taken care of.  Well, I got home and Will pointed right at the McDonald's bag and said "I want THAT." How he knows that McDonald's is delicious, I do not know. He's had it maybe twice in his entire life and both times he rejected it (an obvious rookie mistake good decision).  Well, I guess he learned somehow because according to Steve 20 minutes previously he declined the lasagna (by "declined" I mean refused to eat even a single bite), and when I got home he proceeded to eat half an order of fries and 2 chicken selects. It was like we had been starving him for the past 2 years.  He couldn't stuff the food in fast enough. Here's the evidence:

Dipping the chicken in sweet & sour sauce (clearly the best nugget dip)

Shoveling the food in:

Not my proudest moment.  So, just when you think you're feeding your family as many fresh, organic, whole grain, whole foods, McDonald's jumps up and steals your thunder. Sigh. Tomorrow he's going to eat a vegetable if it kills me, and that vegetable will NOT be genetically modified potatoes.  Mother of the Year!

Nicole Kidman's Pasta

Tonight was crazy! I had to pick up the kids after school, then make dinner, eat, clean up, then bring Will with me to run a couple errands in Hopewell before coming back, helping with baths, reading books finally throwing both children into their cribs.  I'm totally pooped!

Anyone with kids knows that it is a logistical nightmare to feed and bathe two of them, especially on a weeknight when you have to run errands.  The only way to make tonight work was for us to eat dinner at 4:30pm.  That's right, our house might as well have been the Sizzler early-bird special. 

On the menu: Nicole Kidman's Crispy Orecchette with Broccoli.  As I mentioned before, I got this out of People magazine and it has now become one of our favorite meals. It's so good, that it's in the every other week rotation. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• One pound of pasta (I used rotini, but you can use whatever you have)
• 2 heads organic broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• olive oil, salt & pepper

First, toast the pine nuts in a small pan (you can totally skip this step if you want).  Then, cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. While it's cooking, heat the olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) in a large skillet, then add the garlic.  When the garlic is fragrant, add the broccoli and season with salt & pepper.  Saute the broccoli until it's cooked to however you like it - I prefer it a little undercooked, so it's still got some crunch, but it's up to you.  When the pasta is done, drain it & put it back in the pot.  Add the following to the pasta, mixing after each: the butter, the broccoli, the balsamic vinegar, the pine nuts, and the parmesan cheese. You're done! 

In Nicole's version she has us adding white wine and lemon juice, toasting the pasta in the skillet after it's cooked, blah, blah, blah.  I've found you don't need to do that.  It does taste a little better, but it's not worth more dirty dishes and added time.  It's lost on the palate of a 2 year old.

Enjoy! Tomorrow night is sloppy joes! I'm already dreading the clean up.  Is it inhumane to just hose Will off after dinner?  Darn 40 degree evenings...

Fish isn't Meat, right?

So today was supposed to be Meatless Monday, but that was a no go.  I defrosted chicken this past weekend to make Bisquick Sesame Chicken Strips, which I had planned on making on Saturday.  But I felt like crap all day and Steve ended up going out for a man date with my Dad, so it didn't get cooked.  Then in a coup that was staged at Jo-Jo's during sed man date, Steve and my Dad conspired to make corned beef and cabbage dinner plans at my parents' house for Sunday night.  Bottom line: the chicken had to get cooked today.

The problems were: a) Chicken isn't vegetarian, and b) when I smelled the chicken it just wasn't right and I wasn't about to chance an entire family with food poisoning so I just axed the entire dinner.  Instead we had battered fish filets and potatoes o'brien.  Actually, we only had enough potatoes for one person, so I made Steve eat the leftover fried rice from last week.  So I guess it wasn't technically "Meatless Monday," but it wasn't exactly "Meat-ful Monday" either.

Here's the menu for this week:
Monday: Rancid chicken. Battered Fish Filets & O'Brien Potatoes.

Tuesday: I have the stuff to make both sloppy joes and this awesome pasta with pine nuts, broccoli, butter and balsamic vinegar. It is randomly from People magazines "Cooking with the Stars" column, and Nicole Kidman is credited with making it.  I'm reasonably sure that her chef probably makes it and not her, but it's delicious anyhow. I'll try to remember to post the recipe because it is that good.

Wednesday: Either the pasta or the sloppy joes- whichever I don't make on Tuesday.

Thursday: We'll probably have leftovers. I have appointments after school for prom locations and I won't be home until at least 5:30 and you know Steve isn't cooking.

Friday: Who knows? It's Lent so either Fish & Chips or Pizza.  Boo for no burgers and beer on Friday nights, but if that's what it takes to go to heaven, then I'm in.

Here's a cabinet update- here is how our pantry looked before Week 1:

Here it is now:

Here's the freezer before Week 1:

Here it is now:

Yes, that's vodka.

I'm not showing you the fridge because it's packed with stuff but that's because almost everything we've bought in the last three weeks is perishable and goes in there.

Also, in the last three weeks we've spent a total of about $160 on groceries(!) and almost all of it was either fresh produce or stuff for the kids like milk and yogurt.  Here's to saving money!

Because there is popular demand for more Emma, here she is wearing Will's beads.

See you tomorrow!

The Food Standoff Ends!

As many of you know, we have been in a food standoff with our 2 year old.  We continue to make the same meals that we always have, and he continues to refuse eating them.  It doesn't really bother us too much, because we know that we can't back down on this or he'll be one of those kids that eats nothing but hot dogs and chicken fingers.  We've been waiting for the meal that he'll actually eat.  Tonight, we found it:

We had french toast with bacon and sliced strawberries.  Not the healthiest meal, but it totally hit the spot, and Will shoveled in the food.  Like any good Bruschi/Jablonski, he went for the bacon first (that's my boy!). Then he ate 2 big slices of french toast and he even stole my strawberries.  SUCCESS!  He even licked his fingers:

The best part was, I only had to buy the strawberries for $2.99 and the texas toast for $1.49.  So for about $4.50 we will have at least 2 breakfasts (or dinners in this case) for our entire family.

In other news: I ordered the cutest Easter baskets for the kids from Pottery Barn Kids.  I've wanted to order them every year since I was pregnant with Will and every year I think "I'll wait and get them on sale after Easter." But Pottery Barn never has any left.  So this year, when I saw the Peter Rabbit liners I knew I had to buck up and buy them at full price.  Here they are:

Aren't they so stinking cute?!? I can't wait to fill them up for Easter!

Finally, I've heard from several people that Emma isn't featured enough in the blog.  Let me be clear: She is not the forgotten child. She can be so giggly and smiley, but she can also be a pill - hmm...I wonder where she got that from?!? It's just that this is a food blog, and she eats baby food, Mum-Mums and yogurt melts.  It's really not exciting reading.  But if ye shall ask, ye shall recieve...the update on Emma is that she starting pulling all the way up to standing last week and now she's working on cruising and letting go while standing up.  Some evidence:

My prediction is that she will be walking in a month - she's our wild child!  She's also cutting her first tooth and like her mamma, she doesn't mess around with telling us & showing us how she feels about it.  We are awaiting a corporate sponsorship from Baby Motrin.

I'll be back tomorrow with this weeks pantry raid menus!  Emma says "Bye!"