Purples

 I love these purple mommy/daughter pictures:

Meeting Tennessee

Noelle met Tennessee for the first time at the beginning of this month.  It was so heavenly that we ended up staying an extra week.  The only thing missing was Paul.

Go Giants!

Baby Swap!!  With Danielle and Everli

Rockin' uncle 

Hand made doll by Valeri.  Beautiful!

Grandpa with the babies

Human/Dog Interaction

Hat shopping

Perfect Picture.

You Should Make This Today.

This is Paul and I's favorite winter dish.  It's our comfort food.  We make it all winter long.  I got it off my favorite food blog that Diane introduced me to: Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  Yummers.  It's the perfect recipe- but I add carrots.

Chicken Tomato Curry

2 pounds chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 1/2 t. paprika
1 1/2 T. oil
3 medium red potatoes, chunked
4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. curry powder
3 T. sugar
1/2 onion, sliced or diced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, Italian style
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

Season the chicken with the salt and pepper.  Heat the oil, curry, and paprika in wok or saucepan for 2 minutes; don't burn.  Turn up the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots, and garlic.  Cook for about ten minutes.  Add the chicken and cook another ten minutes.  Add potatoes, coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are done.  Season to taste.  Serve with rice.

Additional notes:

* This is really good frozen and reheated.  Sometimes I will double it just to freeze a bunch.
* Brown rice is my favorite with this, but Jasmine is good too.
* I use McCormick's red curry powder that you can buy anywhere, and I haven't dared try a different one!  I just bought a giant supply off Amazon to cut costs:)

Enjoy!

First Snow

It's been snowing for a few days, and since we missed the first snowstorm here, this was Noelle's first experience with the white stuff.  I took her outside to see it:

The snowflakes were melting on her chubby little cheeks.  Oh, I am the luckiest.  

She woke up this morning with a stuffy nose and cough:(  We are just focusing on staying warm today!

Guess it's officially Wintertime with a baby!  

You Should Make This Today.

Another one of my mom's recipes that I'm making for book club tonight...  Mmmmmmmm...


White Bean Dip

3 cloves garlic
3 cans (15 oz/can) white beans, drained
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. olive oil
2 1/4 t. ground cumin
1 1/2 t. chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste.


Throw it all in a food processor and process until smooth:)

Serve with pita chips and veggies.  Carrot sticks and bell peppers are my favorites.

*Additional note #1: Garnish with cilantro if you want.
*Additional note #2: You can use any white beans.  I use Great Northern usually but sometimes some Garbanzo.

5 Months Old

We celebrated Noelle's 5 month birthday this past weekend.  She is adorable and I feel like she is HUGE all of a sudden.  And she is made of 100 percent milk.  Weird.  

She is rolling around, laughing, doing high pitched screams, trying to grab anything in front of her, sleeping pretty well (some glitches due to trying to wean from the swaddle), and, after working very hard on their relationship, loving her daddy.  

We celebrated her birthday by going to baby hour at the library.  It was baby signs day, and while Noelle did not actually do any sign language, she couldn't stop smiling the whole time, and she was in some sort of I-just-spent-half-an-hour-with-twelve-other-babies-and-there-were-amazing-toys-and-so-much-to-look-at-induced high.  I took these pics right after and she was so exhausted but so happy lol:  

I don't know who's more excited for Baby Hour at the library next week- me or her.  Probably me:)  

Anyway, here are some exciting pics from her fifth month of life.  She sure is a cutie.  Pause button, anyone?

You Should Make This Today.

So, the kitchen is my favorite room in the home.  I could cook, bake, and eat all day long.  I love food.  So maybe every once in a while, I'll put my favorite recipes on here.  They will probably usually often be dessert.  :)

I made this yesterday in celebration of finding a 2 quart dish that I forgot I owned. It's kind of like finding that random 5 dollar bill in your pocket.

You really should make this today:

Baked Chocolate Pudding

8 ounces chocolate chips
2 c. cream
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
4 eggs
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325.  Get out your blender and put the chocolate chips in.  Via microwave or stovetop (I prefer microwave), scald the cream.  Pour the scalded cream over the chocolate chips.  Blend.  Add the sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time while the blender is whirling.  Add the salt and vanilla and whirl until smooth and shiny (just for a minute).  Pour into a 2 quart or larger baking dish.  Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick comes out pudding-y instead of liquid-y.  :)

This recipe reminds me SOOO much of my momma. 

It makes about 6 servings.  It's VERY rich and just a few spoonfuls a person in a small ramekin would be enough.  If you want to make it pretty- it's yummy with a dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry or raspberry.  I always eat it warm, but it's just as good room temperature or cold.