In Case You Were Wondering...

I've been a very busy lady!  Here are some of the yummy things I"ve made lately.

Homemade honey wheat bread:

I have a newfound respect for people that make bread from scratch for a living.  Kneading for ten minutes!  For two loaves of bread!  My arms felt like jelly afterwards!  But you know what?  It's the best wheat bread I've ever had, and I think I'm going to make bread every week now.  Buff arms here I come!  (Oh wait, I carry around a 30-pound toddler...already have those...well, a little extra never hurt!)

Last Friday, my best friend Juice needed 24 creme brulees for his dance instructor's birthday party.  I topped them with homemade whipped cream and served them with a side of sugar-crusted mango tossed in lemon juice.  I forgot to get a photo of the mango salad...but here are some photos of the creme brulees:

I made some steamed sweet potato slices as a side for dinner the other night.  I melted some butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a ramekin and drizzled it over the sweet potatoes.  Yum!



Last Saturday I whipped up some killer breakfast sandwiches.  I toasted my homemade honey wheat bread and filled them with simple cheesy scrambled eggs and crispy bacon.

Lastly, here's a cake I made for my Daddy.  He's officially a pilot!

The cake was 2 layers of chocolate and one layer of vanilla, filled and iced with vanilla buttercream, and topped with my favorite candy from Canada, Coffee Crisp!

I'll be sharing more of my baking and cooking adventures next week!  Have a great weekend!!

Post Thanksgiving Food Coma

I don't know about you, but I'm still a zombie from the holiday.  Between cooking a feast (I cooked WAY too much by the way, and don't worry, I'll post pictures soon!), pigging out on the feast, boozing, hosting family, getting a Christmas tree (which somehow wound up being 12 feet high and my husband had to saw half of it off!!), decorating the tree and the house, wrapping presents, and getting Kyle's lunches ready for the week, I'm about ready to sleep for three days.  Oh wait, I can't.  I have a one year old who wants to play tag and jump in the ball pit.  Oh well.  Rest is for the lazy anyway!

The one major benefit is all the leftovers.  Laela and I ate sweet potatoes mixed with granola for breakfast.  She was saying yum yum yum the entire time!  Healthy?  Check.  Easy?  Double check.

If you made sweet potatoes for Turkey day, just sprinkle some quick oats onto your sweet potatoes, mix them in, and heat them up!  You'll have a really yummy and nutritious breakfast or snack for you and your little one!

Turkey Time is Coming!

I love Thanksgiving.  First of all, the food is always awesome (although I have to be honest, I always find myself wishing the Pilgrims and Indians had bonded over some steaks rather than turkeys), and I love having my family get together.  I'm super excited this year especially, since we're hosting Thanksgiving at our house!  Our menu consists of turkey, nicoise salad, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, green bean casserole, corn, peas, stuffing, honey glazed carrots, homemade corn bread, a hazelnut tart, and pumpkin pie.

I'm making the honey glazed carrots mainly because my Daddy doesn't like regular carrots.  He said something about liking sweet carrots, so hopefully he'll appreciate the effort!  Here is my honey glazed carrots recipe:

Ingredients:

• Salt
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Add salt to the water.  Then add the carrots and cook until tender for 5 to 6 minutes.  Drain the carrots.  Toss the carrots back into the pan.  Add the butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots (this should take about five minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley.

Just as a side note, some easy ways to prepare for Thursday is to make things a few days ahead of time.  Today I made my onion dip, my pie crusts, and I organized all of my Thanksgiving ingredients and recipes.  I'm making my desserts on Tuesday, and almost all of my sides on Wednesday. Try to keep it simple so you don't make yourself crazy, and allow yourself to enjoy the day.

Wednesday, I'll share the pudding recipe I found in my Nigella Express cookbook.  My husband's exact words after his first bite were "Oh God."  After his second bite?  "This is NOT the Jello I grew up with!"
I'm planning on making this for my chocoholic mother-in-law when she comes in from the 'Burgh on Wednesday.

One Sick Mama, and Some Easy Veggie Soup

Sorry for not posting last week. I got wailed with strep, or something like it (we're still waiting on my test results), and it pretty much put me out of commission until today, and I have to say, I'm still not feeling myself.
One of the many things that no one will tell you about being a Mom is that you really can't afford to get sick.  You might be thinking, "Well duh, you're Mom, everyone needs you."  What you don't realize until you're a Mom that you could be dying, and you'd still have to do the dishes, or clean up the overflowing diaper pail, or make sure the baby ate all her breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack.  You don't realize that no matter how fabulous your husband is, or helpful your parents are, that you are Mommy, and no matter how much codeine cough syrup the doctor may provide, you will wake up when your baby is crying at 2 AM for you.

I don't know about other Moms, but I'm a crazy person when it comes to my kid.  I nannied for 9 years.  I had my share of sleepless nights because of a kid with the flu, or a baby with croup.  I had my 4 AM morning wakeups because of a belly ache or a bad dream.  I also had my share of nights where I slept through babies crying and little ones complaining, because I knew then, as I know now, that the children will survive crying for a while until they pass out and go back to bed. 

The thing that's different about being a Mom rather than a Nanny is how difficult it is for me to give up my control and just let things be.  It's why crying it out wasn't really and option for me for a long time because it literally made me cry too.  When we finally did it, she really didn't do it for too long, and I truly believe that because I wasn't anxious over it, Laela had an easier time.

This past week was as awakening as it was challenging.  Kyle was extremely helpful with the baby.  The poor guy had to work from home all week while taking care of the baby.  I think in a way it was good because it was the first time he really got to see all that I do, and that it's not all playtime and reading books.  It wasn't easy to not be the one to snuggle the baby back to sleep, or give her the giggles, but it was really sweet to watch Laela and her Daddy bond in a new way.

The moral of the story?  Let your husband, partner, or friend help you out when you're sick.  We are Mommy, we are Superwoman, but even Superwoman needs to accept some soup and some help now and then.

Of course...I've got to end this post with my most favorite, and of course ridiculously easy vegetable soup recipe ever..

Easy Vegetable Soup
1 bag soup mix veggies
4 peeled and chopped carrots
3 large chopped potatoes
1 quart veggie or chicken stock
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I make my own, but it you want to use premade, that's ok)
1 minced clove garlic
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything in a big soup or spaghetti pot.  Bring to a boil.  Cook on medium low for 20 minutes.  Serve immediately, refrigerate for one week, or freeze for 3-6 months.  I personally don't like how the potatoes and carrots taste frozen, so when I freeze it I leave them out and add them when I defrost it.

Laela's first favorite food!

Last week was a doozy..my daughter woke up with a tooth..and then another tooth. We didn't realize that she was teething until the first one popped up. It kind of explained why her usually robust appetite had kind of waned.

Now my kiddo is back to being a hungry hungry girl, and let me tell you, when I made her some baby brown rice cereal with a teaspoon of applesauce, a half teaspoon of cinnamon, a quarter cup of mashed sweet potatoes, and a little water to make it creamier...she loved it! She got so worked up with every bite that she was reaching for the spoon for more, even when it was all gone! And trust me, I scraped that bowl clean!

The thing I love most about making mashed sweet potatoes for Laela, is that I get some! Mash some up for yourself, toss a little brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in and yum! When I'm craving something extra sweet, or am just missing my old Girlscouting days, I like to add some marshmallows and just torch them for a minute with my trusty mini torch (they come in most creme brulee kits).

I love this age. She's so curious, and everything is so new to her, that the excitement that comes with something that she's never done or had (flipping upside down, trying fish tacos off of Mommy's plate) is just priceless. There's something to be said for the fearlessness that comes with being a child- the ability to try new things without being grossed out at the prospect, or afraid because you know all of the scary possible results/consequences. Well, at least until she makes friends who will tell her things are gross, or stupid, or weird, and then she doesn't want to do it because they say it's not cool.

If you have a little one like I do, enjoy this time. Relish all those little moments that they'll never remember and you'll never forget...and don't be afraid to share your funky dish with your little one, because you never know, you might have a mini chef or foodie on your hands. : )