**All pictures were taken with my iPhone
This past Friday, Joel hit the big 3-0. We celebrated by grilling some steaks, sipping wine, and watching The Avengers; a perfect, peaceful evening. Little did he know, the next day he’d be having a big surprise party with all our friends and family!
Cassidy and I got up bright and early ready to work! There was lots to do, so thankfully my mom and dad were there to help! But as you can see, Cassidy was the biggest help of all. 😉
We had a big burrito bar (Freebirds style) with shredded chicken, pulled pork, homemade salsa, guacamole, and all the toppings. It was a huge hit!
Our friend Alyshia made these Oreo cupcakes. They were sooooo good!
Mommy and baby are matchy-matchy and ready to party!
SURPRIIIIIISE!!!
He totally didn’t see it coming! 🙂
*Family portrait!* We had such a great time with our friends and family, and Joel was very pleasantly surprised- needless to say, I think the birthday boy had a pretty sweet birthday!
Jessica and I have been friends for over 4 years now. We met on a cooking discussion forum, quickly discovered we had lots in common, then soon discovered we were both North Texas girls! That’s how we went from internet blogging friends to real-life friends. I’ve met her family; she’s met mine. We’ve gone blackberry picking together, she came to see me in one of my operas, I’ve eaten at her family’s favorite place to get fried fish in her hometown, we made macarons together:
…we’ve seen John Mayer together, we’ve visited each others’ houses, we got stood up at a food bloggers’ dinner (man, that one was embarrassing, huh?), we met DORIE FREAKING GREENSPAN together:
…and so many more memories. Too many to list. When I first met Jess, she seemed to be looking for something she hadn’t quite found yet. Fast forward 4 1/2 years later and she’s met the man of her dreams, running stinkin’ half marathons (go girl!), and GETTING MARRIED in less than a month! She’s found everything she was missing in Chris and now they’re going to start a new life together. Wow. I am SO happy for these two I can’t even tell you! And seriously, have you SEEN her engagement photos? Amazing.
Anyway, on to the food! I’m participating in a virtual shower thrown by my good friend Nikki of Pennies on a Platter. A bunch of us got together to throw a special wedding shower celebrating the beautiful bride! I decided to make Cinnamon-Sugar Crescents because a.) I think they’d be great shower food, and b.) I know Jessica loves cinnamon. She’s always baking up yummy treats with those delicious looking cinnamon chips, and of course I’ve always been jealous because I can never find them at my grocery stores! Ugh! Don’t forget to check out Nikki and Jessica’s awesome blogs to see the full list of goodies we all made to honor the beautiful bride! And Jessica, congratulations, dear friend. I love you and I’m so amazingly happy for you.
These couldn’t be simpler; store-bought crescent roll dough, butter, cinnamon, and sugar. But ohhhh boy are they good! Soft, flaky, cinnamon-y goodness.
Cinnamon-Sugar Crescents
1 can store-bought crescent roll dough, such as Pillsbury
2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you like lots)
2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine cinnamon and sugar. Roll out the crescent dough and brush the melted butter over each triangle. Sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll each triangle into a crescent shape, then brush the tops with the remainder of the melted butter. Sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 8 crescents.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Hi…
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Ok, raise of hands: who, out of all of you out there, actually cares about the goings on of my life?? Maybe 3 total?? ….oh well. It’s you 3 that give me motivation to keep blogging. Most people just look at the pictures, search for recipes, and leave the occasional comment (one of the most recent ones being: “will this still taste good if I stick it up my a**?”. Interesting….and the answer is most definitely yes, anonymous commenter….yes, it will.) 😉 And that’s perfectly wonderful. I LOVE having people who love food reading my blog. Love it! I know for most of you, this is just a food blog, period. But for those 3 of you who actually like my non-food posts, thanks a million. Really.
Things are zipping right along for us- most of our boxes are unpacked, I’m getting things hung up on the walls (blank walls are so sad…), and the faux fireplace my dad, Grandaddy, and father-in-law have been building is almost finished (it’s going to look amazing!). We’ve actually met a bunch of our neighbors, too! Izzy enjoys socializing with her fur-neighbors behind us (two Westies and a Schnauzer- so cute!) and she’s settled right in. She absolutely loves her new backyard; there’s plenty of room to run, lots of sunshine, and dogs on every side of the fence! It’s so nice having a sense of “community” again (something we definitely did NOT have in our old town) and we’re loving being back home. I love my new kitchen and have finally been able to cook a few meals and have family over. I can’t wait to give you a tour of our house! 🙂
Our 6 year anniversary was this past Sunday and we celebrated by buying each other iPhone 5s, going to our favorite restaurant Saturday night, then taking it easy all day Sunday. Wow, 6 years of marriage (love you, sweetie!)!
Cassidy is 8 months old and more beautiful and funny than ever. She amazes me every day and I feel like the luckiest mommy in the world! She’s been working hard on learning to walk- she’s taken a few steps and I think we’re getting pretty close! She also waved “bye-bye” twice today, which, obviously makes her the smartest, brightest baby in the world. Of course. I’ve been working really hard (and long) on a post all about homemade baby food- breaking it down into easy to follow steps, tips, and recipes. I seriously can’t wait to share it with you!
I’ve got some good stuff coming up on the blog- a wedding shower post for a dear friend, homemade baby food, and some fun Halloween treats! Stay tuned!
HI! I’m back! Whew, that was a long hiatus, huh? It was well worth it, though- we have almost the entire house painted (including all the kitchen cabinets), a few pictures on the walls, cable and internet set up, all the dishes are put away, and Cassidy’s room is all set up. Things are getting there. Now all I have to do is get my fall decorations out and I’m all set! 🙂
Anyway, with all this moving madness going on, there’s simply no time to cook. That’s why the crockpot is my dear, dear friend. Throw some chicken and seasonings in, let it do its thing, and you’ve got a home-cooked dinner. Which is good, because if I have to eat out one more time I think I’ll lose my mind! This is one of our favorite easy weeknight meals; every time I make it, Joel raves about it. I like to serve it along with some green beans and roasted potatoes, but it goes great with any side dish!
Crockpot Italian Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/3 cup bottled Italian salad dressing (I like Newman’s Own Oil & Vinegar or House Italian)
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
Place all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4-6 hours), until chicken is tender and moist.
Remove chicken from crockpot and set aside. Pour all the cooking juices in a pan and cook over low heat. In a small bowl, mix the 1 tablespoon flour with 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water. Whisk together with a fork until a smooth paste is made. Whisk the paste into the cooking juices to thicken. Whisk until bubbling and slightly thickened. Taste for seasoning.
Shred the chicken and spoon the sauce over the top. Serves 4.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Bye-bye, old house! We’re movin’ on! In fact, we moved Tuesday! 🙂 Yep, all the drama is over and done, the old house is sold, and we’ve moved into our new house! Now, let the painting, cleaning, unpacking, and decorating begin!
Starting with this monstrosity….
See that? That’s our stuff. It’s a long story, but the short version is, pretty much everything we own is in this one room. Thanks, movers.
So anyway, now you know I’m not purposefully ignoring my blog, but have an honest-to-goodness reason! I’ll be back soon…REALLY soon! Just give me a little bit, and the yummies will continue! 🙂
Packing sucks. I think pretty much every person in the entire worlds knows this. For me, it’s not so much putting my things in boxes, but having a mess everywhere I turn and not being able to easily walk through my own house without tripping over a giant box. That’s the part I hate. Izzy hates it all. She hates us moving, she hates the packing, the boxes everywhere, and the general stress that goes along with moving. Poor doggie. I keep telling her she’s getting a huuuuge backyard upgrade, but I don’t think she cares at the moment.
Cassidy, on the other hand, is still happy as a clam. She doesn’t care that we have a ga-jillion more boxes to pack…when it’s playtime, it’s PLAYTIME, people! Hmm, maybe that’s why I don’t seem to have gotten anything done…. 😉
That’s where these simple pizzas come in. There is ZERO time for cooking when there are boxes to be packed. I just don’t have time to spare in the kitchen. Not to mention, all my pots and pans are packed. I used whole wheat bagel thins for these and they were really good- I like the bread-to-topping ratio. I can see a lot of these in our future once we move. There’s nothing easier, and they’re pretty darn tasty too!
Bagel Pizzas
2 whole wheat bagel thins (or regular bagels, if you prefer)
marinara sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 a green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
black olives
thinly sliced button mushrooms
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay the bagel halves in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
Spread bagel thins with marinara and top with the vegetables, salt and pepper, then the cheese, using as much of each ingredient as you like. Place back in the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serves 2.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
I have to admit, it’s been over six months since giving birth to Cassidy and I’m still having trouble losing the last bit of weight. We’ve been watching our portions and trying (TRY-ing) to cut back on sweets. However, for me, this proves veeeerrrry difficult…I can’t be expected to quit cold turkey! That’s why recipes like this make me happy- I still get my sweet fix, but I don’t have to feel so guilty afterwards!
This one couldn’t be easier- a box of angel food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple. I loooove angel food cake, and the addition of pineapple makes it even yummier! Just bake it up in little cupcake liners and you have the perfect portion sizes! (of course, then, you’ll have to practice a little self control and not eat 12…..). 😉
Pineapple Angel Cakes
1 box angel food cake mix
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the pineapple into the cake mix and pour into cupcake pans lined with cupcake liners (you’ll have enough batter to fill around 24 cups).*
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Cool before serving. Serves 24.
*You can also bake in a 9×13 pan or a tube pan.
Recipe source: adapted from allrecipes.com
Our anniversary (6 years, to be exact!) is coming up in the next month and we’ll be spending it in our new house! HOW exciting is that?! This will be a pretty big one- new town, new house, new baby- new life! We really prefer staying in on most special occasions- a nice, quiet evening at home, cooking together, sipping wine…it’s much better than going out to a loud, busy restaurant! Since we’ll have so much to celebrate, I think the entree of choice should be something extra special. Something like these pan-seared filets! YUM! They couldn’t be easier and they take less than 30 minutes to prepare! The end result is a tender, juicy steak with incredible flavor. A perfect meal for a perfect night at home (we may just send our little munchkin over to Pops and Mini’s house for the evening…)! 😉
Pan-Seared Filets with Mushrooms and Blue Cheese
2 8-ounce filets (this works great with ribeye too!)
vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
olive oil
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
splash red wine
crumbled blue cheese (as much or as little as you’d like)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, 5 to 7 minutes.
Brush the steaks with the vegetable oil on each side and season with salt and pepper.
When the skillet is ready, add the steaks and sear on both sides for about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
Top each steak with a tablespoon of butter and place the skillet in the oven. Cook the steaks until cooked to desired doneness (about 10 minutes for medium and 15-20 minutes for well-done).
Remove the steaks to a platter, cover with foil, and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes, while you cook the mushrooms.
To cook the mushrooms, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Add mushrooms, worcestershire sauce, wine, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Top the cooked steaks with the sautéed mushrooms and a few crumbles of blue cheese. Serves 2.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Chocolate + oatmeal + almonds = one yuuuuummy breakfast!
When you have a teething 6 month old with a fiery red-headed temper, you’re going to need a hearty breakfast to keep you going throughout the day. Let me rephrase that- a QUICK hearty breakfast. So lately, I’ve been microwaving up some quick-cooking steel cut oats and stirring in a few chocolate chips and sliced almonds. Fast, yummy, and filling!
Chocolate Almond Oatmeal
1/4 cup quick cooking steel cut oats*
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
dash salt
handful semi sweet chocolate chips
handful slivered almonds
milk, for stirring in at the end, if desired
Combine the oats, water, and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 4 minutes. Let sit for another 2 minutes or so. Stir in the sugar, chocolate chips, almonds, and milk. Serves 1.
*Feel free to use plain old quick cooking oats, if you can’t find steel cut.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
After months of keeping everything spotless, having showings on a moment’s notice, and all the other stresses of having your house on the market, it looks like we’ve finally sold our house. We’ll be moving at the end of the month and couldn’t be happier! I can barely sleep at night because I’m so busy decorating the new house in my head. We’ll be all moved in and settled just in time for fall- yay! I can’t wait to bake up lots of pumpkiny treats in my new kitchen!
Our sweet little ray of sunshine, miss Cassidy Grace is 6 MONTHS old! How did this happen?!
She’s crawling, eating solids like a champ (I’ll be posting a whole series on homemade baby food very soon!), sleeping 12 hours every night and keeping us on our toes constantly! 🙂
Here are just a few shots I took recently for her 6 month pictures:
I can’t even put into words how much we adore this little girl. She brings us so much joy on a daily basis and we are IN LOVE!
With everything that’s going on, things may be a little bit slow around here for the next couple of weeks, so stay with me! I promise things will get back to normal soon! Love you all!
