Archives for February 2014

C’s picks

February 16, 2014 / By Courtney / 5 Comments

It’s funny the curve ball life can throw at you when you least expect it, right? Saturday’s plan after L’s b-ball practice was to pick up some Bull Dogs for lunch, L was off to a play with Grammie, and B would blissfully nap while I got to spend some good time in my kitchen working on chili.

Nope.

Instead B decided to run full speed towards a glass door, trip, and fall into it head first. I was no more than 3 feet away from him. I heard the impact and thought, oh man, we either are going to be incredibly lucky or this is going to be reeeeeeally bad. One look at B confirmed it was definitely the latter.

It’s funny what happens when your baby gets hurt, right? You almost freeze. Luckily a friend (who happens to have 3 boys, I know!) had the brains to get a first aid kit, get some gauze out, and suggest we head to the ER. Duh.

So off we went! 2 hours and 7 stitches later were home. I got a long cuddle time in with my exhausted toddler which I would not have traded for the world, let alone to make chili. Once he was up we confirmed basic things (B, please wave – B can you give high five – B say ‘mama’ – B do you want a cookie?). All was good so we headed out for a Red Mango treat. Next up will be convincing M that B needs a chocolate lab, to be named Stitch.

Alright our line up for the week! It’s got a rather ‘around the world’ feel – not sure why, just sort of worked out that way.

Sunday night will be Julie’s white chicken chili since we didn’t get to it Saturday. We dined on Noodles chicken noodle soup instead.

Super comfort food (lightened up!) sounds great for a Monday night. Chicken & dumplings fits the bill. Can’t wait to try this one out! Thanks, Biz.

I have a confession to make. I am 100% addicted to Heinen’s garlicky grilled shrimp. My dear friend calls them ‘death row’ shrimp (i.e. they would be one of your last meals) and she could not be more accurate. My new fav recipe is to roast up cherry tomatoes drizzled with evoo in the oven (425 degrees for 10-15 minutes) and toss them together with the shrimp and some angel hair pasta. HEAVENLY.

Wednesday will be chickety china some chinese chicken. Do you remember that song? Anyone…..?

Tostadas sounds great for Thursday night – ole!

Friday night I’m outta here for a girls night, and L is in the city with Aunt Becky & Uncle Tyler! M and B? You’re on your own.

That’s our meal plan for this week – what are you cooking? I’d love to hear!
C

Fly out of the kitchen cookies.

February 13, 2014 / By Courtney / 4 Comments

I’ll just get right to it. After only being home from Miami for three days I had already baked two batches of these Gaia cookies from Shauna Niequist’s book, Bread & Wine. Yep. I have no shame – they are that amazing.

To be fair, cookies fly out of the kitchen around here. I might have one (or two) while they are sitting on the worn and warm trays, still setting. Then there’s the contractor who claims that he wants a whole batch to himself. Huh, he’s gotten comfortable. He’s good for about 8 in two days. Then B wakes up from his nap and sees them sitting there, makes his ‘cookie face’, and immediately plops down on the hardwood floor waiting to be fed – chocolate melting down his chubby cheeks and hands.

A little time goes by and then the school busses start zipping through the neighborhood. The kids are home. L grabs one (or two), munching away while reading his homework. B is crying at the base of the bar stool because he wants another one, of course. A little more time goes by and the neighborhood kids start whizzing through the house and depending on the time, I sneak them one or send them home with a baggie for after dinner.

And then there’s always a plate or two that go out – my parents, just down the road, are an easy delivery and at times my mom or dad will fly in for a pick up. We had two dear neighbors help us with shoveling and bus pick ups while we were out of town, so some went out to them. Suddenly there was nothing left of my new favorite cookie recipe other than the crumbs at the bottom of the tupperware bin. It was clear as day that one of my Monday tasks would be whipping up another batch. Luckily, B couldn’t agree more and was very helpful. And by helpful I mean spilling the entire canister of flour – oh well!

I don’t think anything beats my life changing chocolate chip cookies, but these are definitely competition. Your life will definitely be affected. Mine has, for sure.

Gaia Cookies

2014-02-12 11:18:44

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Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 cups oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded coconut (toasted)
1 cup walnuts chopped (toasted)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped dates, raisins, cranberries, or dried cherries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add in the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and mix well.
Toast the coconut and walnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes or so. Add them to the mix along with the chocolate chips, dates, and raisins. Mix until combined.
Drop by large tablespoons on a cookie sheet. You can refrigerate the cookies for a few minutes to prevent them from spreading out too much when they bake. (I definitely did this!) Bake for 12ish minutes (keep an eye on them).

Notes

*note, definitely take the time to toast the coconut & nuts, makes a huge difference. Just put them on your cookie tray in the preheating oven for 5-10 min.
*you can get creative with the combos, I went heavy on the milk chocolate chips and light on the dried cherries. Perfection!

Adapted from Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist

A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Eat up,

wwww.

February 12, 2014 / By Courtney / 9 Comments

Another What We Wore Wednesday – yippee! I’m hoping this is the last one involving construction pics (and sub zero temps), but who knows! I’ve never missed dustless warm air so badly.

Here is what we wore on a Tuesday of school, Target, and bumming around the home. (i.e. it’s too cold to do anything else).

On L: This pic was – ‘quick! I need a shot of your outfit before school because it’s already Tuesday!’ He’s in Crewcut cords and jean button down, courtesy of his two rockstar Aunts, Carolyn and Molly. Snow boots. Sigh.

On B: Too lazy for jeans this week! I’m loving the pale blue color and pop of orange on this cozy sweatsuit. Courtesy of the Gap, from his grandma Mimi.

On C: I literally changed out of yoga pants and a hoodie solely to grab this shot. See? wwww works. AG jeans on the bottom and ASOS skater dress on top. Love how versatile it is. I have it in three colors!

That’s my crew this week – let’s see yours!
C

P.S. Don’t forget you can share your WWWW or WIWW post over on our Pinterest pin board!

C’s picks.

February 9, 2014 / By Courtney / 5 Comments

We had a crazy exciting weekend of getting back from Miami and seeing the boys and dinner with my sister, Allie, and parents. Allie came armed with Sprinkles cupcakes and Valentines for the boys (swoon!), and of course the boys animal cousin, Hugo. He could not have wanted B’s cookie more and I’m pretty sure is still scarred from the vacuum races around the circle with the boys. My mom brought a killer salad and my dad? 100% ready to play b-ball with B. We dined on braised chicken & mushrooms with crusty baguettes and plenty of butter. Perfect for a winter night in.

Alright – let’s get to our kitchen lineup for the week:

On my time away I read a book – I know! It was super exciting! I fell in love with Shauna Niequist’s recipes and can’t wait to cook my way through them. Starting off this week on a healthy food with her magical white bean soup. Depending on how brave I feel, I might attempt her homemade bread to dunk into it. I purchased the yeast…

On Monday I’ll be busy playing catch up with laundry and errands and cleaning, so let’s go with busy chicken. A carb, a veggie, and protein in one dish. Bam. Dinner is done.

Another night of the white bean soup sounds lovely for Tuesday night.

For Wednesday, I’ve been dreaming about garlicky shrimp ever since I bought some from Heinens last week. So good. I’m going to roast mine up with a bunch of lemon and herbs and maybe cherry tomatoes? I love how they get all blistery in the oven. Let’s toss it all over angel hair pasta. Oh yeah.

Thursday, let’s go with Mexican. Shauna says these Enchiladas Verdes with Chicken are the best, so I’m banking that’s the case. Will keep you posted.

We will end with our pizza, for sure.

That’s our menu plan for the week – what’s cooking in your kitchen?
C

It’s the thought that counts.

February 7, 2014 / By Courtney / 9 Comments

As you may have figured out by now, we have left our boys at home from time to time for a few days away. We do this to reset, recharge, and come home as better parents and spouses to each other. It’s something that’s incredibly important to us and a nice change of pace to not begin a conversation with ‘ok so B’s rash is about 73% cleared up but you still need to use a wet paper towel – NO wipes – and BOTH creams….’

And that’s where Mary Beth comes in. We have had the privilege of having her grow with our family. She started off when L was just 3 years old – teetering on that line between toddler and preschooler. We, and L, feel in love hard and we haven’t really been able to let her go since.

We both grew our families since meeting each other. I’ll never forget the day she called to tell me they were adopting Hannah. In 3 weeks. I cried tears of joy, and shared my news of being pregnant with B, and both our hearts swelled. Hannah joined MB in caring for L and he has had the gift of watching her grow from newborn, to baby, to an extra chatty toddler.

B joined us a bit later to bring the crew’s tally up to 3. MB has the art of juggling them perfectly and seems to meet each ones needs before they are even needed. Answering the questions before they are asked. A true gift. As one of L’s dear friends, Olivia, stated to a stranger at the park (love that girl) ‘ that’s my Mary Beth.’ As if she were a universal figure. Like, grandma or best friend. She’s on the right track though – everyone should have one.

When you find your Mary Beth make sure to treat her well. A good place to start is leaving some tasty food around the home. I always try to have a soup or chili on hand, if possible. The other day I had texted her I was making a homemade and healthy(!!!) cheesy chicken pot pie. She wouldn’t need to worry about dinner for herself or her husband (who often stops by) as we’d have plenty of leftovers.

Whoops.

As you can see from the text, and pic, that didn’t exactly happen. M and I pretty much consumed that entire casserole dish. Hey, it’s a true testament to how amazing this recipe is.

Mary Beth? I owe you one!

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

2014-02-07 08:55:55

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Ingredients

Filling
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (or turkey, or ham)
2 cups leftover, fresh or frozen vegetables
Cheese Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese
Biscuit Topping
1 cup biscuit mix
½ cup grated cheese
⅓ cup milk

Instructions

Place meat and vegetables in a 9 inch round or 8×8 square baking dish.
Make the sauce: Melt butter over medium heat, add flour and cook 1 minute.
Slowly add chicken broth, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally.
Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in cheese until melted.
Pour over meat and vegetables. Mix well.

Biscuit topping

Stir together all ingredients with a fork until even moistened. Spread thinly over mixture in casserole dish. (Don’t worry if there are gaps, it does not need to be perfectly covered and it will fill out more as it bakes.)
Bake at 400ºF for 25 minutes or until topping is golden and filling is bubbly.

Adapted from Kitchen Simplicity

A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/