Weekly Yumminess.

According the calendar, Autumn doesn't officially start until September 21st (or is it the 22nd?).  In my book, it doesn't start until the temperatures begin to turn cool (under 60 degrees) and the leaves begin to turn color.  Sometimes that can take a while here in KC. Judging by my own standards, fall began last week. 

That means sweet potatoes, squash, and crock-pots, my friends. It means breaking out the cinnamon and Baileys Irish Cream. And chicken broth! Chicken broth equals comfort food for me (it is in four meals below). And of course, it's the kick-off to Charlie Brown season! 

(I'm a sucker for Charlie Brown movies. Mostly it's the music. Vince Guaraldi's tracks are so joyful and yet so peaceful at the same time. James and I always argue what we listen to first while setting up the Christmas tree- Vince or Mannheim.)

I'm really excited to kick off the fall season with some great new recipes and some old favorites.I am particularly excited about tomorrow's recipe...

Wednesday: Sweet Potato Bisque

I am subbing in a touch of cinnamon and curry powder for the ginger. Not much of a ginger fan. Also will sub whole milk for the half-and-half. I always have that on hand with a one-year-old in the house.
Thursday: Whole-Wheat Crust Pizza /w Ham, Gorgonzola & Fresh Spinach

Using only the crust recipe from the link- and subbing white whole wheat. This pizza is truly, ridiculously good if you are a salt freak and enjoy gorgonzola cheese. We have leftover gorgonzola to use up, so we are borrowing this pizza creation idea from Cupini's, a little Italian cafe we love to go to on weekends.  I believe they actually use prosciutto, but we just cannot justify paying the cost of prosciutto very often.

Friday: Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

I trust this chick's taste. And I love quinoa. And broccoli? Couldn't hurt to add another boost of nutrition. That stuff's a power food.

Saturday: Out and about

Sunday: Crock-Pot Tomato-Parmesan-Basil Soup

Monday: Risotto

This is the best version of risotto I've found online. It is from epicurious.com. Planning on adding a bit of Italian sausage and  fresh peas (well, they'll taste fresh after I defrost them).

Tuesday: James' Chili

Hubby has a few awesome secrets up his sleeve in this chili recipe. Normally, we try to wait for Halloween, but forget it. We actually turned on the heat last night- it's go-time!

I hope your fall is off to a great start! Happy cooking!

Chuggin' Right Along

 Baby girl is 16 months old today.

I know, I know...not exactly a landmark birthday. But my mind is blown when I think about how fast time has flown. Just in the past four months, it seems everything in Felicia's life has changed dramatically. 

She has gone from barely crawling to cruising the furniture...

  from eating simple finger foods and purees to eating family meals and using spoons...

 

  from stationary play in the yard to wrestling with Mom and conquering the land of bugs and leaves.

 

 

 It's almost sad to think about how fast life is moving right now. And what do I do when I'm feeling sad? 

Yep, I choose new meals to cook and include a comfort food or two. 

 9/26: Salmon w/Lemon-Dill Yogurt Sauce

We used plain Greek yogurt in this recipe. Delicious!

9/27: Avocado Egg Salad

Just mix up 4 hard-boiled eggs, 1 avocado, 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt, and a pinch of curry powder, sea salt, and pepper. Need the perfect timing and tips for a non-smelly, perfectly hard-boiled eggs? This is it. Right there. Click it. Trust me. Enough two-word sentences now.

9/28: Steak w/Gorgonzola Cheese & Roasted Mushroom & Carrot Salad

9/29: Going out for my birthday! Even though it's really Sunday.

9/30: Homemade Whole-Wheat Margherita Pizza

10/1: Roast Beef Sandwiches w/Apple-Horseradish Sauce

Use up third steak for these sandwiches. Really looking forward to putting this on a yummy ciabatta roll.

10/2: Hand-breaded Crispy Fish Sticks w/Cucumber-Dill Sauce

Love anything I can put panko on! And this is a great food blog. This blogger is she of the Southwest Chopped Salad. Yes, the one I can't shut up about. Move on.

Happy cooking!

Weekly Yumminess

Whoever came up with Pinterest is a genius. 

• One website to help you find some of the most-hailed recipes on the Internet? 

•  One website to lead you to some the most inventive and creative teachers in the blogosphere?

• One website to lead you to recipes on how to make your own glitter and fingerpaint?

Genius.

Yep, it's a Pinterest kind of week, people. Dig in.

Wednesday: Cajun Chicken Pasta

Thursday: Caribbean Salmon Jerk Bowl

I plan on using some quinoa I have on hand instead of brown rice.

Friday: Football Weekend

Saturday: Football Weekend

Sunday: Couscous w/Spinach & Goat Cheese

I like to by the couscous that comes with pre-packed spices. One of my lazy moments, I suppose. I like Marrakesh brand from Tarjay.

Monday: Southwest Chicken Chop Salad

Dare me not to make it again. See what happens.

Tuesday: Mediterranean-Style Tuna Sandwiches

Toddler Bites

 We do a lot of eating in this house.

 A lot.

And it gets messy, my friends. Very. Messy.

 

I have learned to accept it.  A smear of peanut butter in the nostril. Roasted Plum-Applesauce crusted in the hair. (Everything crusted in the hair, really.) Crumbs down the back of her diaper. I really should start dressing her more when she eats. But don't worry, Auntie Erica, we still are encouraging use of a spoon, so table manner education is not going by the wayside. This gets better and better each week. We now use our spoon about 50% of the time. Maybe more when Mommy is looking. Less, a lot less, when Mommy is not. 

That all being said, I'm a big fan of finger foods for snacks and to accompany meals.  While I'm all for the occasional cookie or Ritz cracker (both which Feesh successfully vocalizes now- 'cracker' never sounded so cute), but I also appreciate when finger foods have some good nutritional value. The recipes I have linked you to below are some great snacks to share with your toddler- yes, with. I thoroughly enjoyed eating each of these, especially the Sweet Potato Biscuits, Quinoa Bites, and Zucchini Tots. Some of these recipes do ask for un-whole-grain flour, but sometimes that is just okay to splurge on. Of course, you can always swap in your favorite whole-grain flour! I swapped out on the batter for the Apple-Pancake Rings for King Arthur's Whole-Grain Buttermilk Pancake recipe, but left the biscuits and yogurt bread as is.  

Zucchini Tots

 Looking for a way to use of the end of the zucchini? This is a great way to do it! Very light and fluffy snack. The recipe asks for breadcrumbs- I would definitely use panko!

Quinoa Bites

To quote the Beatles... "Love, love, love........"

These are easily customizable! You can get creative with the add-ins. And again, panko breadcrumbs work well here.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I. Heart. Martha. These don't keep too well, so eat up within three days or so.

Apple Slices w/Pancake Batter

Tyler Florence's Sweet Potato Pancakes w/Blueberries

This guy put out a fantastic cookbook called Start Fresh.  A wonderful girlfriend told me about it, so I checked it out from the library and am HOOKED! A favorite recipe from that book is the Roasted Plum Applesauce. A bit of pure maple syrup adds the perfect touch of sweetness. We'll eat it as a snack or as a mix-in for Feesh's morning oatmeal.

Blueberry-Lemon Yogurt Bread

Finger foods aside, we will continue our journey to utensil mastery. 

However, the baby-meets-first-Drumstick-moment was not a time for such utensils. 

Enjoy!

 

Weekly Yumminess.

 You paid *what* for that brisket???

In our house, our goal is to go meatless at least three to four times a week.  We choose this route for several reasons:

• First and foremost, for our family's health.  We recognize how doing this can help us get more fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains & dairy into our bodies.
• We realize that going meatless several times a week can make a positive impact on our carbon footprint.
• And lastly (not most importantly, but still)...most meat prices are upsurd. Yes, I said "upsurd." In meaning that prices for meat have skyrocketed absurdly upward, at least since I started buying my on food and cooking real meals.

 For those of you who read my entry that mentioned the cookbook Parents Need to Eat Too, I've been jumping back into cooking from it lately since our busy schedules have turned beyond hectic.  The brisket sounded too easy and too good to be true (made in a slow-cooker- woo!), so I planned two meals around it this week. 

Then...I got to the grocery store.  And two meals turned into three. If I was going to pay that price (sale price, even) I was going to make that brisket into the Energizer bunny. As in, keep going....

...and there went my three-to-four meatless meals a week. Destroying my grocery budget meant destroying my meal goals. I'll be back with a vengeance next week, yo. 

Oh, and also with a 'toddler bites' post in a few days for those of you moving beyond the baby puree stage!

8/8: Barbecued Beef Brisket (Slow-Cooker)

Will keep you posted on this investment in my next Weekly Yumminess post. If you're interested in the recipe beforehand, shoot me a comment.

8/9: Southwest Chicken Chop Salad

We were supposed to make this last week and never got around it, despite the previous rave. This is so delicious. It makes four servings or so, but James and I ate. the. whole. thing.

8/10: Brisket Tacos w/Crunchy Broccoli Slaw

 This is such a simple and tasty slaw to eat as a sandwich complement or even just on its own.  I use the recipe from Rachael Ray, who puts it on a fish sandwich.  I use broccoli slaw in place of what RR calls for.

8/11: Quinoa & Avocado Salad

Because avocado makes me happy. Like, really happy.

8/12: Out to eat

8/13: Whole-Wheat Margherita Pizzas

(I really just use this recipe for the crust. I make tomato sauce with canned tomatoes and spices.  Make it a thin crust- whole wheat is dense-needs to be spread thin.  Using white whole-wheat makes it a tad lighter, too.  Yum! I also use fresh mozzarella and throw on a ton of sauteed mushrooms with parsley at the end.)

8/14: Brisket Nachos 

Yep, brisket makes its third and (better be) last appearance this week.

8/15: Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

Omitting the meat (pepperoni) from this recipe. Not sure I can do the avocado justice judging from the photos.

Happy cooking! And hopefully, happy shopping!

Cowgirl Up?

Once upon a time, Waylon Jennings crooned to the mamas out there, begging them not to let their babies grow up to be cowboys.  I always thought, hey, what about the chicas? Doesn't every girl have the desire to man the reigns, to kick up dust, to wear cowboy boots for other reasons than the desire to be on-trend? 

Nope. Well, at least not in this house.

  I have a whole photo shoot's worth of evidence to the contrary. You see, Felicia's lovely cousin Maggie picked out a special little cowgirl hat for Feesh.  It. Is. Adorable. (Or if I want to be on trend, I'd say it is adorbs. Don't think I want to go that far yet.) Anyway, Mags requested pictures of Feesh wearing said lovely hat.   

(The non-Smartphone you see was meant to be a distraction, as Feesh struggles with the concept that hats go on heads.)

No, Mom!

Take a hike, Mom.  I'm busy trying to agree to the terms of your mobile application usage agreement.

Stop holding my hands- I want this thing off!!

 She indulges me for about two more photos while I hold her hands away from her head.

 

Shoot 'em up, Tex. I have to say, she if she had a holster, that phone may very well have ended up in it.

Then...it's the look. I think that one will be seared into my brain forever. Yikes. If it was any other baby? Nightmares. Yep. *Night.*Mares.*

And at last, she remembers she is mobile and rides off into the sunset away from the preying coyote that is her mother. I get one more strike in. Victory.

Sorry, Gretchen Wilson. Don't let the fact that she trolls around in the house only in a diaper fool you. You're going to have to find some other "high-class broad" to do your bidding and hang out with you on your four-wheeler while your porch alights in the background with the July sunset and the Christmas lights you refuse to take down.

She's more of a Stones kinda gal, anyway.

Summer Yummy Time.

You know your life revolves around food when the highlight of your week (which at any given week includes traveling, playdates, and moms' nights out, and trips Petco to look at birds and mice) is shopping for groceries. Don't even get me started when it's Farmers Market season.  

And now that I'm enjoying a good bottle of wine more often these days, it makes planning for and cooking meals that much more enjoyable. 

I have been experimenting with kale these days, and this pesto was so much fun to create with it. Olive oil, parmesan...what's not to love? Oh, the kale. If you don't like it. Yeah, it's an acquired taste- but if you like kale, you'll adore this pesto.  And a white wine goes so well with it. Especially a chardonnay that escapes the usual discrimination- too oaky, dry, whatever- it's great!

(Ignore the naughty name if you must, but try the wine.)

We tossed some whole-wheat spaghetti (Target has a great store brand, just FYI) with the pesto and sauteed up some fresh, chopped tomatoes and mushrooms for a side. The white stuff in there is goat cheese. Give it a shot- goat cheese can be a great complement to vegetables!

I really don't know what I'll do when tomato season and Farmers Market season is over. 

Really, it's worse than the post-college-football-season slump I get into. I like the Chiefs and all, but NFL post-season just doesn't compare to college football game days. (Okay, unless said NFL post-season game day involves beer, my giant and soft Chiefs blanket, and James at the grill. And possibly a babysitter.)

But that's a lot of 'unlesses.'

"Whassup with that, Moms? I dig football, too!"

Sorry, Feesh.

Anyway, to cheer myself up from that gloomy thinking, please allow me to share with you some ridiculously good recipes. I planned a menu full of my favorites this week, (some from my 'tested' board on Pinterest) seeing as we will be hitting a travel deluge once we hit August and on through October and well-planned cooking may fall by the wayside a bit.

Do yourself a favor- don't ignore the salad. I repeat, do not ignore the salad.  

 It's just too good to pass up. It is the most tasty recipe I've followed in a very long time.

 7/25: Buffalo Chicken Tacos

 7/26: Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas

 7/27: Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

7/28: Couscous w/Kale & Goat Cheese

I am actually using quinoa because I have it on hand already.

 7/29:Basil-Parmesan Risotto

7/30: Mama's Night Out

7/31: Southwest Chicken Chop Salad

Summer Livin

Summertime and the livin' is easy...

if you're a wee toddler, that is.

It has been a super busy summer for the family/extended family, and fall looks to be just as, if not more, hectic.  (Includes Feesh's first three plane trips- yikes!)

Even though we've been very busy, we've had tons of fun with our wonderful friends and families. 

June: After celebrating Feesh's first birthday, we enjoyed Father's Day...

                                                 

and stroller-ed our way around St. Louis with two babies.  We trained it the whole way, Amtrak-ing it from KC to St. Louis and ditching the car seats for light rail while visiting.  Feesh especially enjoyed the girl talk on the train. I think she and Lucy will make for good buddies!

Traveling with babies requires much planning and packing.  I think both families handled the responsibility well.

The next few shots are of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (located in the Central West End area, which is where we spent a lot of our time). I highly recommend visiting this beyond-beautiful space, even if you are not Catholic. Any person of faith and spirituality would relish in the holiness and beauty of this campus. Seriously- even the babies had their reverent moments!

 

 St. Louis has an amazing zoo! And it's FREE! And it has PENGUINS!
James and Feesh were in absolute heaven. I'm pretty sure Lucy enjoyed herself, too!

 

 

The trip sure tuckered out the family. Smoosh.

Let's just not even discuss the train ride back.

We'll be back to share our favorite photos from July with the Bruck, Ahrens, and Klemz families next. But for now, I have to go...

there is a not-so-reverent moment occuring in Feesh's crib.


 

The Case of the Missing Cupcake Affection

Feesh got to celebrate her first birthday in style. She enjoyed two birthday parties- one in Iowa with family (thanks for hosting, Grandma and Grandpa!), and one in Kansas with our "extended family," as we like to call them.  Thanks again to everyone who helped us celebrate this special occasion. We are incredibly grateful and so blessed.

(Sorry to disappoint, but Feesh didn't provide the crowds with much messy cupcake affection, so these are relatively "clean" photos!)

Iowa Party

 

 

Kansas Party