March 14th, 2010

This picture makes me very happy.  I love everything about gardening, even the bugs bites and the disappointment because it means it’s summer and I’m outside playing in the dirt.  Our backyard is full shade, which means I have a VEEERY dinky little herb garden in a little corner that has a bit of afternoon sun.  However things are in motion…..

Meet our side yard that has full sun.  This is the preliminary plans for a fenced vegetable garden!  I can’t even think about it because I’ll get too excited too early.  We still have to present our plans to our subdivision trustees (whom we don’t remotely know) since our plans are a big no no according to our subdivision rules circa de 1968.  So I’ll keep you posted and will be so excited to show you pictures like this

and say “I grew that in our own yard!”

Oh, and for dinner we had Grandpa Coco and my parents over for Sunday night dinner and I made Rachel Ray's Caponata Pasta with Ricotta.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to make it with eggplants from the garden.  Holy Moly do I like the sound of that!

March 13th, 2010

What in the world is Ben doing?  Any guesses?  Big pot of corned beef and cabbage?  Doing laundry?  Disinfecting?  New technique for cooking a turkey?  No…. here’s a hint:

Ben and Pat spent Saturday afternoon/evening making beer, so Trent and I took Sydney over to see what it was all about and have dinner.  Wow, did they make beer, I had no idea how beer got into a bottle as beer, but now I have some idea.  I learned stuff!  We ordered Pho Grand, which was yummy stuff.  The kids played and took a bath together. 

There is just something about kids playing in the bath that makes me grab my camera every time.  Hopefully I’ll stop doing that when it becomes questionable.

March 12th, 2010

Kirk, Sally, & Elizabeth are coming into town from KC for the night to take Lauren to the Ozarks for a long weekend the next morning.  Elizabeth’s favorite meal is burritos.  Lauren’s favorite meal is tacos.  It was a no brainer, we had taco and burrito night!

And there were Krispy Kremes for dessert…

Happy faces and bellies!

Oh, and during the day there was Disney on Ice…

So happy eyes too!

Such a fun day, such a fun night spent with cousins! 

March 11, 2010

The weather was FANTASTIC today.  Really, I’m talking short sleeves OUTSIDE, it felt so daring!  I took the girls to our local playground after lunch and it felt great to play in the sun.  It also got me in the mood for something springy for dinner. 

I made Cooking Light’s Jerk Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw.  But I substituted tilapia.

 

This is Cooking Light’s picture.

This is mine.  I like their picture way better since I covered the whole piece of fish up with the slaw (but really, it was that good).  I always think white plates make any food look better, but our white plates are huge squares and I like the optical illusion of more food on a smaller plate to trick me into eating less.  This really rarely works, it’s a lot like setting your clock 5 minutes fast, you know the clock is wrong and always mentally adjust and are 5 minutes behind anyway…at least I am, I love a good rationalization.

For a side dish I made brown rice with a lime cilantro pesto mixed in.  Definitely springy and definitely happy warm weather is becoming a possibility!

March 8th, 2010

Jackpot!  It is the perfect weather for grilling!  I was so excited I prepped everything for dinner in the afternoon so the girls could play outside after Sydney’s nap while I cooked dinner…and mosquitoes aren’t out yet, so no bug spray.  I’m happy happy!

 

Honey mustard chicken, asparagus, and cocktail rye toasts for the grill and a spinach salad with lemon vinaigrette ready to assemble with the grilled asparagus.

One of my go to sauces is equal parts mayo, Dijon, and horseradish.  I use it for fish, chicken, a dip for sweet potato fries, Panini's, etc.  I had some in the frig, so I put it on the cocktail bread with some shredded cheddar.  I never tried this before, but it turned out great.

Kids happily playing….me just happy.

I always make extra on the grill for another dinner and/or lunches. 

And there it is, the first dinner of 2010 with my trusty grill.

March 7th, 2010

We just got back from a weekend trip to KC to celebrate Elizabeth’s 9th birthday AND it’s the Oscars, one of my favorite nights!  It’s always nice to get into the kitchen after a couple days off.  I decided to make an Asian salad with pork tenderloin. 

I marinated the pork in hoisen and soy sauce with grated ginger, then cut it and sautéed it on the stove.

I made a salad with red cabbage, bean sprouts, lettuce, and carrots.  For the dressing I mixed garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, tamari (aged soy), crushed red pepper, honey, and some sesame oil. 

Once Lauren saw what I was making, she kindly asked for

eggs with cheese for dinner “with no pepper mom, I don’t like pepper in my eggs".”  It was the Oscars, so I obliged.

March 3rd, 2010

Zip Code buddy errand night!  I wanted to bring Stef and Tim dinner (and, most importantly, meet baby Ella!), stop by and wish Futhey a happy birthday, water Grandpa Coco’s plants (he’s visiting Maryann with Cathy), and drop off Markham’s coat she left in the hotel room last weekend (that sounds random, but just trust me, the story is legit).  All of these stops were in our zip code (hence zip code buddy night).  For Stef and Tim I made balsamic and garlic roasted chicken, baked mac and cheese, salad, and cookies. 

• Disclaimer:  The pictures are of everything raw, I don’t recommend eating chicken sushi….or unbaked macaroni and cheese, but more importantly, no chicken sushi.

Mac and Cheese with herb breadcrumbs      Garlic, herb, and Balsamic Chicken

Salad with pine nuts, gorgonzola, & Salami              Cookies (break & bake) and Candy!

The girls had a blast going door to door and seeing everyone and Baby Ella is even cuter than her pictures!  Oh, and did I mention all the stops were in our zip code?  Well, they were!

March 2nd, 2010

I’m not feeling so hot and it’s Lauren’s swim lesson night.  I wanted to make something ahead of time that can be reheated at 8 pm when we get home.  I had tons of random veggies in the frig…

So I made a pureed soup with broccoli, carrots, onions, garlic, and cauliflower.  I simmered the veggies in 3 cups of chicken stock and a liberal amount of salt and pepper.  Then when the veggies are soft, I puree them with my immersion blender to make soup.  You can top the soup with croutons, sour cream, cheese, chives, bacon bits, toasted nuts, whatever sounds good or you have in the house.  So glad I did this in the afternoon because when we got home, I didn’t even feel like taking an after picture….the couch and TV just looked so inviting.

March 1st, 2010

Baking is not my strong suit, so when I find an easy recipe that turns out good, it’s a keeper.  Last night I made Irish Brown Soda Bread from the March 2010 Cooking Light.  It was easy, healthy, and delicious….oh, and you only have to dirty ONE bowl when making it, it’s basically just a dump and bake bread recipe, no kneading or rising either.

As the main dish I made yet another recipe from the March 2010 Cooking Light (I must have been hungry reading this magazine, I cut out quite a bit of recipes…), Beans with Broccoli and Bacon.

Only, I substituted roasted broccolini for Broccoli Rabe, cannellini beans for Chickpeas, fresh sage for the dried oregano, and then added half a bag of fresh baby spinach, chopped parsley, and 3 diced carrots.  I know, I know, I’m surprised I survived  school with my blatant disregard for directions.  But I’m keeping this recipe too because I love anything with a little bit of bacon….exact ingredients or not.

 

February 28th, 2010

Sunday night and the last day of February (YAY!).  I decided to do a quick risotto and thought this recipe from the March issue of Cooking Light looked good.

Mushroom and Pea Risotto

I used portabella mushrooms instead of shitake and added baby spinach.  Oh, and my wonderful sous chef named Trent made a salad.

Bye Bye February!