Weekend Fun

It has been a busy couple of weekends for our little family, two weekends ago Ryan had to work at a banquet on Saturday night so Naomi and I packed our over night bags and went to visit Marsha and Kris and their family in Fall Creek.  Their boys, Reese and Sam are going to be 3 in April and are the sweetest little boys ever.  Sam can speak better than some 5 year olds and Reese is the sweetest most considerate little boy ever.  I feel so lucky that they are my nephews and that Marsha's boys and my little girl get to grow up together.  We spent much of the weekend playing outside sledding, Marsha and Kris have a beautiful yard with lots of sloping hills and a river running through the back so there are plenty of places to go out an play.  It was fun but exhausting!  I'm not sure who needed more rest - the kids or the moms!

Last week I got to watch my sister Karrie's little peanut Carter for one morning, it was Grandma Day for our family so Naomi still went to Grandma's so I had that sweet little baby boy all to myself all morning.  I forgot how sweet it is to feed a little baby a bottle and then just watch them drift off to sleep.  Aahhh...:)  Plus - they tend to nap a lot so you can get a ton more stuff done than when you have a rambunctious toddler running around tearing the house apart!  It was great to get the chance to just snuggle up and spend some quality time with this little sweetie!

This past weekend was the annual Destination Medford Women's weekend.  If you haven't participated in this weekend you definitely should - it is an awesome way to enjoy our little hometown.  Friday night started with the Taste of Medford at the Veranda, local restaurants come and set up and have tasty little samples for all to enjoy and you receive your tote bag of goodies from the local businesses including snacks, pens, the specialized wine glass for that year and a lot of other trinkets that I am missing - oh yeah - coupons too to a bunch of local businesses for the weekend.  I invited my good friend Amanda to join me for the weekend and we had a blast, Friday after the Taste of Medford we went to the Broadway theater (which has improved greatly under new ownership) and saw This Means War with Reese Witherspoon - it was a cute chick flick that was a great start to the women's weekend.

Saturday morning started with delicious coffee and scones at Uncommon Ground followed by a yoga class at Mind, Body and Spirit Yoga Studio - Pam is amazing, she is so calming and such a great teacher.  I wish that I could record her voice and just press play whenever I got stressed out!  I then got to go to my first class of the day - learning to crochet...I tried knitting a few years ago and failed miserably...the crocheting started out a little rough but I can do a little washcloth which I've been told is the same pattern as what you would do for a scarf and my dear friend Alice has offered assistance with any questions.

The afternoon session was Beauty Counter Intelligence from the wonderful ladies at Eartha Naturals - oh my word, I had no idea how many synthetic and harmful chemicals were in my everyday products.  It didn't necessarily make me run home and throw everything away but it will certainly make me a more mindful consumer.

The final event of my weekend was the wine and art tour - there are a bunch of local businesses that feature local artists and different wines and you go from place to place.  We tried so many delicious wines that night, thankfully they give you a cheat sheet so you can jot down what you like or don't like.  There were also some fantastic deals going on at the participating businesses too so that was fun to support our local small businesses.  Whew.  It was exhausting...there is a brunch on the Sunday morning but I have yet to make it to it, Saturday is just so jam packed with fun I am normally exhausted by the time Sunday rolls around.  Luckily for me, Naomi was also needing a nap so we got some great snuggle time in together!

I haven't been very diligent about posting the new recipes of the week these past few weeks...I am setting a goal to do better next week, we have a lot going on this week and weekend so I am giving myself a little time to get back in the groove of recipes.  So, off to another great week of family adventures for this little family!

Worst Best Idea and Exciting Mail!

So, the flu continued in our house this week taking down the man of the house for 2 days...one of which was Valentine's Day...thankfully a Valentine Elf (thank you to my mother in law Barb!) assisted Ryan in procuring a bouquet of flowers for his sweetheart...he also made a couple of handmade cards for his two sweeties (Nay and I).  Sweet :)  I found a super cute Valentine's Day outfit for Naomi a few months back, I tried to get her to smile for the camera, which she would...while she was looking down. 

Or to say cheese...again, while looking down.  But I did get to snap a couple of cute pics whether she was looking or not!

In celebration of the flu virus LEAVING our house I made a recipe from what I remember from my days cooking in a restaurant in high school.  It's a fun way to jazz up chicken for a something a little more special dinner and is super easy and pretty quick actually:

Chicken Breasts with Sauteed Veggies, Bacon and Cheese
(with a title like THAT how could it possibly go wrong?!)

3 medium chicken breasts (adjust to the size/appetites of your family)
1 onion sliced
10 baby bella mushrooms sliced
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 red pepper cut into strips
2 T Evoo
3 strips of bacon
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Place your chicken breasts on a broiler pan and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, broil on low for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat the Evoo in a medium saute pan and add onions, garlic, mushrooms and red pepper, saute over medium heat.    

After 10 minutes, turn the chicken breasts over and add the 3 slices of bacon to the broiler pan.  Continue to cook under a low broiler heat for about 10 minutes, checking and flipping the bacon so it doesn't burn. 

Once the chicken breasts are cooked through place the chicken on a place, place the veggie saute over the top and sprinkle with cheese.  The heat of the chicken and veggies should melt the cheese but if not put under the broiler (only with an oven proof plate!) for a minute and melt the cheese.

Bon Apetite!

Best worst idea ever...I have a very, very soft spot for Nutella...I think it is one of the yummiest richest, best foods on the planet.  This morning while getting ready for work I was thinking about Nutella, which sadly happens more than I care to admit, and I thought...hmmm...I have a tube of crescent rolls in the fridge...maybe I could make an attempt at a very classed down chocolate croissant.  So, I rolled out the crescent roll dough, I left the little triangles intact, and then added 1 tbsp of nutella in the center and put another crescent triangle over the top and crimped the edges with a fork and baked at 350 for 12 minutes and Voila!

A very cheap imitation of a chocolate croissant that was warm and chocolaty and not a bad way to shake up a mid-week breakfast.  Nay and I had one with some fresh fruit.  In total one little nutella crescent was around 300 calories so pretty comparable to a doughnut, definitely not your everyday breakfast but it was yummy!

My last blurb is going to be about Birchbox...I first "heard" of this from a blog that I follow called the Small Things Blog - if you haven't checked it out - you should - I think the blogger has great style and some really fun ideas!  Anyway, Birchbox is a monthly subscription that you receive a box of goodies once a month with samples of high end beauty products...this month I received an exfoliating powder, eye liner, a sample of a tinted moisturizer, a blemish serum, supersmile mouth rinse and a free coupon for 6 downloads for and indie rock band.  I love trying new products and how fun that you get an opportunity to try before you buy!  I did have to wait on the waiting list for about a month before I got in to be added but I am really looking forward to whats to come! 

Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Dora'd OUT

We had an evil flu bug hit our house last week, it started on Grandma day (Naomi spends each Thursday with her grandma).   Half an hour into her nap she gets sick all over the pack and play so Grandma cleans her up and puts her back down.  An hour and a half later she hears Naomi crying, goes in and checks on her and she loses it again...this cycle repeats twice for the poor little peanut on Thursday evening and night...Friday I stayed home with her and we watched Dora, and we watched Dora, and we watched Dora, and we watched Dora. 

I am Dora'd out but Naomi could seriously watch Dora ALL day every day.  Yikes.  By Saturday she was feeling better so we went out and about to do our grocery shopping but we made one extra stop... 

Earlier in the week while I was walking down Mainstreet (which, if you haven't done so lately - I highly encourage it - there are a lot of little treasure stores on our Mainstreet that you miss out on during your normal weekly excursions) I saw a Dora house and figurines at a consignment shop so we stopped in and I asked about it.  Just our luck - it was still there and for sale! As soon as Naomi saw it she went bananas - she literally just stood by it and kept chanting Dora, Dora, Dora...

I tried to get her to come with me to look at something else for a few minutes but no way was she moving, she wanted to stay with that Dora house.  It was a great find and makes me itch for garage sale season!  Naomi spent a lot of time playing with her new Dora house and Daddy got in on the action and was a good sport and played the role of Swiper the Fox.
                                           



Saturday night was my new recipe of the week night.  I searched through 4 or 5 of my cooking magazines and couldn't find something that I wanted to make so I took inspiration from one magazine and put my own spin on it.  I am getting bored with having potatoes as a side dish so often so I thought I would try a bean recipe.

Naomi loves to help out in the kitchen, she likes to use the salad spinner and pulls her little chair right up next to me to work in the kitchen :)

                                                                

Cannellini and Basil


3 strips bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
2 T Evoo
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add bacon, onion and minced garlic.  Cook and occasionally stir until the onions are slightly browned.  Add cannellini beans, basil and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, continue to simmer over medium-high heat until the liquid is moderately absorbed.  Add remaining broth in 1/2 cup increments and simmer until absorbed.  In total the beans will be simmering for about a half hour.

We had our beans as a side dish with broiled lamb steak and mixed greens salad.

I think this recipe would pair well with chicken or pork as well.  It could really be changed up pending on what herb you put with it too.  I think some rosemary would have been a nice addition if you were making chicken too.





New, New, New, New. Whew!

Change.  Some find it hard, some find it invigorating, I think I am somewhere in the middle.  It has been a week of new things.  New job, new haircut for Naomi, new toys and a new recipe...

First things first - the new job is going well, it's humbling to come into a situation not knowing a single thing...such as the difference between a bolt action and a single shot rifle - not that I actually know the difference yet but I know they exist!  I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to take on a new challenge am enjoying the perks (new start time - 9:00 AM...still not entirely sure what to do with that whole extra free hour but I am sure I will figure it out soon!) of the new job and am truly look forward to what each new day brings.

New haircut for Nay, so her hair has been a snarly mess every morning for the past few months. 

I honestly don't know what the girl is doing in her sleep but it was getting out of hand.  Every morning while I tried to brush the tangles out she would cry and tell me ouch...

So I took her for her 2nd professional haircut and they cut it to the length of her shortest layer - it was about 4 inches! 
She looks so much more grown up now!  It's funny how little changes make such a big impact on kids.


New TOYS!!!  So...my wonderful niece Brooke gave Naomi a giant tote of Barbies to play with when she was "old enough"...and I deemed this past weekend as "old enough". 

Ryan was gone ice fishing with the boys and Nay and I had already been through her toy bins like 5 times this past weekend so I brought out the tote-o-Barbies (and Kens as it turns out).  There were literally like 20+ Barbies in there!  I felt like it was a parade of Barbies!  The clothes and shoes - which I later had to put away because Naomi wanted to chew on the shoes...weird...but I digress. 

I spent the better part of an hour brushing out a number of Barbie doll's snarly hair, Naomi was happy to brush the hair out for awhile but then found a bunch of Barbie's babies and our little girl is obsessed with everything baby lately so she played with them. 

Mommy  We both had a lot of fun playing with the dolls and it brought back so many memories from when I was little - CC wanting to chew on everything sparked this specific memory

...my sister Karrie was sweet and would play Barbies with me even though it was probably pretty lame for her it was fun for me and very kind of her to humor me.  Right around the time my Barbie mania hit its high point (around age 4 or 5) we got a new puppy, Rusty.  Rusty evidently had a taste for Barbie toes because he chewed ALL of my Barbies feet OFF!  Being the resourceful kiddos we were, Karrie and I said that Barbie lost her feet because of contracting Malaria...hence Malaria Barbie was born.  Not that people's feet fall off as a side effect of Malaria but it was the first exotic sounding illness that came to our brains...and not that Malaria is exotic...insert whatever politically correct disclaimer I should have here.  Either way, it was very funny to have that story come to mind and I can't wait Naomi and I can't wait to play Barbies again soon!

New recipe - Tammie and her girls came over on Sunday to hang out and have lunch together and I made Chicken Lasagna - it was oohey gooey goodness!  I also made a double batch and put away two 9x9 pans in the freezer for a lazy week night supper.  Here is the recipe:

Chicken Lasagna
4 medium sized cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz shredded Parmesan cheese
8 oz sour cream
2 c shredded cheese (whatever you like, I used cheddar and mozzarella)
Lasagna noodles
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c diced onion
2 T olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent. 

Cook noodles as directed on package.

Blend soups, Parmesan cheese, sour cream and onion/garlic saute in a large bowl.  Stir in diced chicken. 

To Assemble:
Spread 1/4 of the chicken mixture over the bottom of a 9x13 pan, alternating layers of chicken, cheese and noodles ending with a cheese layer on top.

Cover and refrigerate for at least a half hour before baking then bake at 350 for 1 hour.  I baked it for 45 minutes covered and the last 15 uncovered. 

Also, I made this a day ahead and it was great to be able to just throw it in the oven and forget about it.

Spaetzel, Pizza and Buttercream Frosting

It has been a very busy couple of days.  Tuesday was my last day at Mid-Wisconsin, after almost 10 years with the company, I am taking a new direction and working for Ryan's family's business at the Gun Store.  It's an exciting new direction for our little family and I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity. 

SO.  I have not tried a new recipe yet this week nor have I made any sewing projects but I am going to post on the delicious food we had over the weekend. 

An early start to the weekend was my first Spaetzel making lesson with Ryan's Grandma Ertl.  Spaetzel is a little dumpling that you boil and can serve just boiled or reheated by frying in butter.  Yep.  Frying in butter.  Y.U.M. 

Ryan's family is filled with wonderful cooks and his grandmother is no exception.  For Spaetzel, the recipe is a very simple dumpling recipe, the key here is the tool more so than the recipe.  The spaetzel maker reminds me of a flat grater with a box that you put your dumpling batter in and drop little dumplings into boiling water.

It seems to me that its not so much the flavor of the spaetzel but that it's a blank canvas for flavors.  Grandma made finely sliced pork loin combined with a creamy tomato sauce to go with it. 

The beautiful plates were Grandma's mother's plates, she told us that her mother saved $2 a week for a year to be able to purchase these place settings.  They truly are beautiful...and it scared the bejezus out of me to have Naomi using one at dinner but thankfully she didn't break anything!

With our left overs I made a chicken based dish that I just threw in some mushrooms and onions with it.  All in all, spaetzel is very versatile, would be great in soups and Naomi LOVED it.  I didn't take a true blue before picture of the meal at Grandmas frankly because I was too excited to eat it and forgot to take the picture!

Friday night was wine, pizza and a movie at Justin and Amber's.  They make their own wine which is awesome and Justin is the maestro of homemade pizza. 

Justin rolling the dough...

Amber cutting into the 1st type of pizza, tomato and spinach with a white sauce. 

It was awesome!

I forgot a bib for Naomi and their apartment is SUPER hot so Naomi got to eat dinner in her diaper :)  ha ha!

The last culinary adventure of the weekend was on Sunday, I am going to test run a few different types of cake and frosting combos before Naomi's birthday in March so this weekend was Funfetti (yes from a BOX) and a homemade butter cream frosting recipe that I got from the The Small Things Blog:

Homemade Buttercream Frosting

1/2 C butter, softened

1/4 C Crisco

1/8 tsp salt

2 C powdered sugar (keep it out, you'll need more)

1 tsp vanilla

approx 2 tbsp milk

1. Cream butter and Crisco until well blended.

2. Add salt, mix well.

3. Gradually add powdered sugar. Add milk to thin out/fluff up the frosting. Begin with 1 tbsp..add more if necessary. Add extra powdered sugar (approx.  6 tbsp) if you like it sweeter. 

4. Add vanilla and beat until light, smooth and creamy.

I couldn't get Ryan to leave the kitchen while I was making the frosting so I think it's a safe bet to say he liked it!  And Naomi ate all of the frosting off of her cupcake but not the actual cup cake...sneaky girl!

I am not 100% sure this is the winning combination but it's a good start...according to Naomi at least :)