Insta-Friday

Baby's first Olympics

Best. Toast. Ever. 
{Used full recipe, cooked in 2 loaf pans instead of rounding}

So perfect. I can barely handle it.

She's at it again. Blendtec carrots for the little monster.

Filling and sealing potstickers

Kisses, anyone?

Target Love.

Wednesday's dinner. Sriracha love.

5 months old and first passport. I didn't have one until I was 24. He'll have at least two stamps by October.

As if Target needed any more of my business. And now they go selling Greek Yogurt with perfectly shaved pieces of CHOCOLATE? Good Gracious.

Cactus fruit to start off the morning. Consensus? Return to your regularly scheduled breakfast. 

Pinterest. It's What's For Dinner #2

I've made a few new recipes recently, inspired by Pinterest. All of my local friends automatically ask if I got the idea from Pinterest and the answer is almost always, yes. I'm a visual person, whatcanIsay?

Mexican Stuffed Shells
So unconventional and so easy. You really don't even need a recipe. Pull together your favorite Mexican food ingredients (chicken, ground beef, corn, peppers, salsas, sauces, cheeses.......), cook pasta, mix ingredients, stuff, top with sauce & cheese and bake. Done. One box will make dinner for four with maybe a salad on the side for added veggies. I made dinner for two and have half a box of shells to use again soon.

Closeup of the goodness. Veggie version: black beans, olives, green peppers, corn, cheese, sauce, shells & guac to top

Both versions here. This is how I cook most of the time. One veggie-friendly, one carni-friendly. Usually = lunch for tomorrow already done!

Potstickers

I didn't find these on Pinterest, but found the idea somewhere else. Then I went and searched for the recipe on Pinterest by using the search bar on the top. I found a recipe that fit my standards/ingredient interests, and dinner was served. Not quickly, however. Note to all those interested: these take forever. Don't attempt with a 5-month old standing by or a husband who works late. But otherwise, they're pretty easy to make and so yummy. Again with the shells above, these can hold anything you want.

I bought a bag of undressed coleslaw at the store (already shredded carrots/cabbage!) for cheap and repurposed two chicken breasts my husband had left over from dinner out at an Italian restaurant the night before with friends (Yes, J&K, the Chicken Vesuvio!). It was Italian seasoned, but after marinating in rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and scallions and dicing into tiny pieces, it was now Asian! I took the coleslaw mix and sauteed in a pan with some sesame oil and garlic until translucent. The chicken was already cooked but diced really small. Found store-bought won ton noodles in the produce section of my grocery store, wetted a frame around each wonton and got stuffing and pinching and boiling and pan frying. Phew. Like I said... not for the lazy or for people with stuff going on. Read: all of us. I made it anyway and it was tasty. We just dipped them in Lawry's Sesame Ginger Asian marinade (those are great dipping sauces that don't need to be used as marinades!) and some Sriracha (always find excuses to use that yummy sauce) and eat!

Picture of the wrap stage to come on Insta-Friday. :)

After forming and sealing shut, boil in bouillon water or stock (I use a veggie bouillon) for a few minutes until floating

Transfer right into a heated saute pan and pan fry with a smidge of oil (if you want. and I want.) Then eat. Immediately. Because yum.

Realize you have approximately 672 extra and put on a cookie sheet to freeze and keep to boil/saute for another meal.

Pesto Pasta with Spinach, Sundried Tomatoes, and Rosemary Foccaccia

In my attempt to use a big, ridiculous box of Bisquick I bought to make some terrible 7-Up biscuits, I am trying to find recipes. That's where the foccaccia comes in. Nothing special. Just some random Bisquick recipe with added garlic, onion and fresh rosemary (I bought an organic plant of it and promptly killed it within a week) and a pesto pasta I make all the time. It's my go-to for a fun and fancy meal. Pretend it's awesome and fancy and super unique if I ever make it for any of you for dinner, mmmkay? Great.

pre-bake

post-bake

My pesto pasta is usually made with some fun pasta shape, jarred pesto, Trader Joe's sundried tomatoes, lemon juice (use a lot so you can keep it moist and add less oil/pesto making it lower in fat), garlic, and this time, spinach. I never add spinach but have been buying large quantities because it's healthy and easy to prepare and I happened to have a lot that needed to be consumed that night and forced it into the meal. Have I ever mentioned that produce is the number one way I plan what we'll be having for dinner? I hate letting fresh produce go to waste that I will literally plan our entire dinner around green beans. Not too hard to imagine, though, considering I am vegetarian.

A few more things I've made recently that I didn't take photos of myself:

Source: marthastewart.com via Brandy on Pinterest

Crunchy oven fries. The trick is to soak them in water to release some of the starch and when they cook, they are crispy and not soggy. Worked well... will try again!

Source: bricelife-gabrielle.blogspot.com via Brandy on Pinterest

I had leftover spring roll wrappers in the freezer and thought I'd make these taco cupcakes. Again with the ingredients on hand... no recipe really required. Put egg roll wrapper on the bottom to use as a shell, fill with favorite Mexican ingredients, top with cheese, and bake until brown! Will make these again!

Source: twopeasandtheirpod.com via Brandy on Pinterest

I posted this in Insta-Friday a couple weeks ago and it's so good I'm posting again! Avocado & Greek Yogurt Dip. So healthy and so delicious. It also packs lots of protein, is a crowd pleaser, and has tons of flavor. Best dippers I think are tortilla chips and raw veggies. We had leftovers so I used it just as I would guacamole for the next few days!

Poconos & Long Island

We set off on yet another adventure at the end of July. And brace yourselves for quite the fall because we'll be jet-setting once again with the little babe in tow. It will include international travel and definitely some posts about air travel with a baby, because holy mackerel is that a totally different ballgame than our previous, never-check-a-bag-no-matter-what lives.

We headed East to introduce B to his great grandparents and great grandma. Believe it or not, B has six living grandmas and three living grandpas. B has a great-great grandmother in California he's never met who is 97, a great grandmother in California who is in her 70's, a grandmother (my mom) in California who would kill me if I mentioned her age, a great grandmother in Maryland who is 90, a great grandmother in Long Island who is 86, and a grandmother (Ray's mom) in Maryland who is young like my mom. And for the grandpas: a great grandpa in Maryland who is 90, a grandpa in California (my dad), and a grandpa in Maryland who turned 60 during our visit! That was also one of the reasons we went. How's that for an introduction!

The week was relaxing and consisted of lots of pool trips, mini golf, a hike, lots of desserts, and some mini road trips in between it all. We flew into Newark plenty of hours late with minimal communication from the airline (insert frustration as we planned to travel during naptime) and then a road trip to the Poconos.

No photos please, mamarazzi. At Chicago-Midway airport.

20 seconds long, but pretty funny. Turn the volume up for this one. Such a boy.

Peaches with Gramie & Great Gramie

Cleaning up with Gramie

Hanging with Great Papa

First indoor pool experience + float

Grandpa, B, Dad, Gramie, Great Gramie, Great Papa

On a hike

Gramie, Dad, B

Mom, Dad, B

Hiking with Grandpa

Playing with Gramie... fun photo sequence

Four Generations of men ages 0, 30, 60, 90

Celebrating Grandpa's 60th with cake!

Mesmerizing apparently.

Second time swinging... with Gramie this time! Put him right to sleep.

More pool time! 

Mini golf. That's what we call it in the west. Put-put for you East coasters. :)

We left the Poconos for a visit with B's great grandma in Long Island. These last few photos are from the last day of our adventures.

B with his Grandpa in Grandpa's childhood home.

Great Grandma holding her only living Great Grandchild.

The cuteness.

As you can tell, I took so. many. photos. on this trip. It's important for us that the time he spends with family be well documented, as we don't live close to any family. It was a wonderful trip. B's 7th and 8th airplane rides will be international next month! We're anxiously awaiting his passport in the mail and will be jet-setting to Germany. Ray may or may not have plans to feed him some German sausage while there. Cannot wait to introduce B to our German friends and load up on some of our favorite German candy bars and teas and whatever else baby I can't find in the States but love.

Random story about baby crap since my last post was all about that: While living in Germany, we were driving through France and searched everywhere for the Sophie Giraffe chew toy. I wasn't pregnant but would be pregnant with Andrew just weeks later and knew I'd need to have that toy for my baby based on our European experiences. It's super trendy in the States now, but it's been popular in France for decades. We searched and searched the stores and found only very large versions and huge sets that I didn't want. And it was the Euro and the exchange rate was terrible at the time. We came back to the States, sans Sophie, and ended up buying one and receiving one as a gift. It was fun reading all the comments about baby crap, including Sophie, from all of you. So glad I'm not the only crazy mind-boggled about this stuff!

And finally. Today is the twenty-first 5th of the month. Andrew has been gone that long. There were plenty of tears and intimate moments, even at nearly two years and with B present, among family during our trip and on our fourth wedding anniversary. My husband gifted me with earrings for our anniversary. They're square-shaped: each side represents a year of marriage and the inner part of the squares have four woven pieces. Each woven piece to resemble the four of us as a family, Andrew included always. Tears. So many tears. I'm wearing them today. Life's just never going to be quite right. We love you, sweet Andrew. So, so much.

Perplexing Mom Questions

How does one sterilize Sophie the Giraffe? 
Seriously. I've boiled it to sterilize and now it has water stuck on the inside and won't squeak. Then I read you aren't supposed to boil but wash with "mild soap and water" instead? Goodness.

Why are child toys sold in parent-proof packaging?
I spent a solid 5 minutes nearly cutting my fingers off trying to get a Baby Einstein toy out of its packaging tonight (a gift. Thanks Amy!). Cool toy, impossible packaging!

Why are crib slats the most perfect spot to wedge chunky baby legs?
At least once a day we're practically chiseling our little chunk's legs out of the wood slats. I won't subscribe to the breathable crib bumper as I don't want another thing to buy that he doesn't really need.

Why are some baby clothes white? 
It's almost inevitable that the kiddo will mess it up and therefore have me scrubbing in the utility sink during naptime. I swear I'll never buy another white outfit again. What was I thinking?

Why do disposable diapers have the most ridiculous characters printed on them?
I much prefer the plain Seventh Generation diapers I was using when B was a wee newborn. Too bad they didn't work as well as we hoped. And then there's the huge price difference that I didn't love. But at least they didn't have a large purple monkey on the front.

Why are carseat covers so difficult to pull off?
B has made quite the mess a number of times and it required the entire removal of the carseat cover. It takes at least two college degrees to figure out how to get that thing back on. Now I place a Carter's brand Keep Me Dry pad right where his bum goes in the carseat. It's saved us a number of times.

Why are any child straps (carseat, highchair, bouncer) white? 
I can't even begin to mention how many times I've scrubbed those things.

Notice how many of my questions are centered around cleaning. Have any perplexing questions of your own? I can't be alone on this! 

Insta-Friday East Coast Edition

Ahhhhhvocado. 

Gift from Ray's Aunt Helen and Aunt Ceil. Beautiful.

Natural baby enema. You're welcome for sharing.

My husband rocked this. Not only did he win his dollar back, but he came up $.25. Baller.

Gramie, Grandpa the Sea Monster, and B-Monster

Chubbs

Screaming in the car on the way to the hotel, check. Giggling and staring out the window at the Manhattan skyline immediately upon entering 8th floor hotel room, check. Perfect little baby all through the night, check. Good to know the kid has expensive taste. Might I add the first time he slept 6 hours+ was in a Hilton in Savannah at 6 weeks old? Yeah. Seems to be a trend.

 

 p.s. Ad will be running for a month here at the top of posts. Some good recipes, actually! Just so you know! If it's about cooking or relates to what I love, I don't mind sporting it. :)