May 2013

This is one of my favorite sights. 

The boys love it when Matt reads to them and Matt loves to read.

It's a win win!

Baby Girl at 25 weeks...

When it rains for a week straight...

We eventually go for an umbrella adventure.

J loves to take pictures now...

G really enjoyed helping me make a big batch of burritos for the freezer.

It's extra cute when he just wears undies.

We got 35 burritos out of our cooking extravaganza!

J and his lounging.

Both of these pictures were in the same afternoon...

We love goggles.

My favorite silly face.

He has eyebrow skills.

His eyes...

They own me.

 We enjoyed a morning of strawberry picking!

G was so proud of his lego McDonalds. So awesome!

He is obviously very familiar with the drive through. 

He gives me away...

Have some jam!

Remember the blackberries? My mom has all of the canning equipment and I love to cook with her in her kitchen. So we went over for the day.

We had big plans for those berries.

We started off with some good ol' blackberry jam.

Then we added some peaches. It was a good decision.

We had plenty of cute little distractions. Hi Thomson!

I left with 15 jars of this delicious jam.

It was so good. I couldn't take my mind off the jam for the rest of the week.

So we went back to make some more.

Peach Raspberry. And then Peach Raspberry with a little Blueberry. Yum and yum.

Then we had an idea...

The Strawberry Peach was the clear winner of the day. Seriously awesome combination.

So.... with the additional 24 jars...

I HAVE SO MUCH JAM.

No one be surprised if you get some Jam for your next gift. Feel free to put in your requests.

Oh, and the general recipe is as follows:

- 6ish cups of chopped fruit (go crazy with the combination)

- Apx. 1 teaspoon of butter or margarine (to help cut down or eliminate the foam at the end)

- One box plus a little more from a second box of the low or no sugar Pectin

- Bring to rolling boil and then add 4 cups of sugar

- Bring that to full boil and boil for one minute

- Immediately transfer into warmed jars and process (look up canning for more on processing)

Enjoy!

Stain Fighting Team

I saw this on a friend's blog not long ago.

We have some seriously stained clothes in our house, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

It's awesome! My friend claims that it's been incredibly gentle on her little one's clothes and their sensitive skin. She throws a little scoop into every load during those months where the outdoor stains are more frequent. So far I'm loving the back up.

For those interested - it's one part of each all mixed together.

Go team!

The healthy popsicle

I only feel a little bad about how healthy this popsicle is. And about how deprived he is going to feel later in life when he sees these pictures. But hey, once he starts eating vegetables, then I'll quit finding ways to sneak them into things he will eat. Until then....expect the unexpected.

I know, he looks like he hated it. He finished every last drop that wasn't smeared all over him.

We call these lovely things banana-strawberry-vanilla yogurt-frozen spinach popsicles.

You know you want one.

When Mexican meets Italian

I'm talking about food here...

I tried a new recipe tonight and it did not disappoint.

Meet the Taco Pizza.

Seriously awesome.

Here is the recipe:

- 1 Pizza crust (I love the Whole Foods pizza dough...can't beat $2.50 for the taste)

- apx. 1/2 cup Tomatillo Salsa plus more for serving. Matt picked up the Salsa Verde in a jar and it was perfect.

- Mozzarella cheese - apx. 1 cup...not too much

- 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

- 1 cup corn, drained

- cooked chicken breast (shredded) to sprinkle

- cherry or grape tomatoes halved

- apx. 1/4 cup chopped red onion

- apx. 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

- mixed taco cheese (the white and yellow kind) to sprinkle on top

How to:

Preheat oven to 425 and pre-bake the pizza dough for about 10-12 minutes (I hate hate hate a soggy home made pizza!) Spread salsa over crust (this is the sauce of the pizza) and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese. Top with beans, corn, halved tomatoes, onion, chicken (recipe only called for beans, corn and chicken...the tomatoes and onion were my idea...so go crazy, add whatever.) Top with remaining taco cheese. Bake until crust is crispy, cheese is melted...about another 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro before serving.

I mean....it's awesome. Hope y'all enjoy!

Chocolate Cake

Thanks to SB and this post, I made this cake. She wasn't lying. And neither was the back of the Hershey's box of cocoa. I'm in love with this cake. It speaks to me if I go anywhere near the kitchen. I'm not pregnant or anything...

canned

Inspired by the peach jam, my mom and I decided to tackle salsa this week.

We loove some cilantro.

I tried some today...yum!

I'd share the recipe but my mom and I definitely doctored up the one we started with, so who really knows what the final recipe looked like.

makes me feel domestic

My mom and I made some peach jam this past Monday.  We started with fresh and healthy....then added twice as much sugar and the end result is pure delishousness....

Peach Jam:

One package of pectin in a big pot

Add 4 cups of chopped fresh (and peeled) peaches and simmer until reaches a rolling boil.

Stir in 7 cups of sugar.  That's right, 7 cups.  Also, I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon in one of the batches just for fun...

Continue to boil until reaches a heavy boil.  Boil heavily for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and scrape the foam from the top for 5 minutes.  Just discard the foam.

Scoop into warm jars leaving 1/4 inch at top (fill jars with warm water while the peach mixture is boiling).

Clean rim of the jar and add lid and band.

Put closed jars into boiling water for 10 minutes to seal.  Remove from heat and let cool for 24 hours.

I think we ended up with about 20 jars.  So if you're sweet to me....

Yum.  You'll find me with one of these babies and a loaf of bread.

Where was Graham during this whole event?  Napping for most of it....but then he woke up and wanted to participate.

He's pretty much always adorable.  In my opinion anyway...

chocolate chip banana bread = my life

This recipe is the best one I've tried...and I've tried a.l.o.t.  It's very easy for this beloved bread to go wrong.  Doughy middle is usually the main problem.  I mean, I love some good batter, but the doughy middle of a loaf of bread is sort of gross.

Anyway, I digress...I borrow this recipe from one of my old college room mates and make it at least once a week.

Hope y'all enjoy this as much as we do!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread:

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

Blend.

Add 3 bananas, either over ripe or frozen then thawed

Blend.

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Blend.

Then stir in by hand either 1 cup mini chocolate chips or 1 cup pecans....or both.  Go crazy.

Bake on 350 until firm and dark brown.  It's usually 1 hour for one loaf or when I make my 2 it only takes about 45 mins.

Just wait long enough to not get burned by removing the bread from the pans and enjoy!

a twist on french toast

I recently discovered this recipe and can't stop making it.  It is super easy and oh so tasty on a Saturday morning...or any morning in our house (yet another reason why Matt working from home rocks!)

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

1 loaf French baguette (or any loaf like that) cut into 1 inch slices.

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (don't thaw.)  I think I use more b/c I like even distribution.

1/4 cup butter (I use a little more)

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I use a little more b/c it tastes better)

Powdered sugar

How to:

Arrange bread in a single layer in a greased 9x13 baking dish.

In large bowl beat: eggs, milk, 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Pour mixture evenly over the slices of bread - turn if necessary to coat evenly.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 375 and melt the 1/4ish cup of butter and brown sugar on the stove.

Sprinkle the fresh or frozen blueberries over the slices of bread.

Once the butter and brown sugar mixture is bubbling, drizzle over the bread and blueberries.

Bake for 25-30 mins.

Sprinkle powdered sugar just before serving.

I mean...oh.my.gosh.  It's fantastic.  The recipe definitely looks like it's more work than it actually is.  Hope you enjoy!