Wordless Wednesday

Recipe Review

Getting back into the swing of things, I'm figuring out how to manage making new or more adventurous (time consuming) recipes for dinner. Lately I've been able to count on Kyle waking up around 5:00 p.m, which is usually when I start cooking dinner so I've really have to rely on prepping as much as I can earlier in the day. That way the hour goes much more smoothly and I'm still able to have dinner on the table by 6:00....for the most part, that is.

So here's what we ate last week:

I tried America's Test Kitchen recipe for Skillet Baked Ziti.

I loved this meal....it was soooo good. Probably because I put real cream in the sauce rather than substituting with half and half or something else like I normally would. I just happened to have leftover cream in the fridge from making that ice cream cake a while ago, so this was the perfect opportunity to use it up. I just wish I would have saved some of the fresh basil to garnish the top...as if it didn't look pretty enough.

Next we had Chipotle Chicken Meatballs, a recipe out of the September issue of Rachael Ray's magazine.
 

My favorite part about this meal was the cabbage slaw on the side. I thought the meatballs were a little dry. I might have overbaked them a tad, but I was just trying to get a nice golden color on them. Maybe I should just stick with ground beef meatballs, since the chicken ones always seem too dry and not as tasty.

Then in an attempt to recreate a meal I had at the hospital, I made Chinese Chicken Salad.

It has cabbage, chicken, avocado, orange slices and a topping of sliced almonds, sesame seeds, and crispy noodles. It almost hit the spot, but I wasn't too sure about the addition of orange slices, which my salad at the hospital did not have. The dressing was really good though...a mixture of rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and grapeseed oil. Yum!

For breakfast I made a batch of Apricot, White Chocolate and Walnut Scones.

Eh, these were okay, but they kind of tasted like sugar cookies to me. I much prefer a heartier bread for breakfast. Maybe I'll make another batch of bran scones or try banana bran....those sound good too.

New Furniture

A few days after coming home from the hospital we got a call from the furniture store that our order had come in and was ready for delivery. It was a nice surprise considering that when we placed the order at the end of May, we were told that it could take up to 5 months to come in since it was a special order. So waiting just 2 months didn't seem too bad at all.

The only problem is that we were unprepared (to say the least) for the delivery. We had 1 day to completely clear out Tyler's room and move his old furniture into Kyle's room. That meant taking apart his bed and converting it back into a crib, moving both dressers out after emptying them, and picking up random toys/things that were hanging out on the floor. The worst part is that Rick was on his own with moving the furniture around because I was in NO condition for heavy lifting.

We got it done though, and now we have 2 fully furnished bedrooms for the kids.

Tyler got a new sleigh style bed and a nightstand.

Along with a dresser/mirror combo.

And a desk.

In Kyle's bedroom we have Tyler's old bed converted back into a crib, a glider chair, and the dressers (or chest of drawers, whatever Rick calls it....I can't figure out the difference). And Tyler made a decoration to go above the crib, it's a sign spelling out Kyle's name. Cute!

But even though the baby's room is furnished and ready to go, we still have him sleeping with us in our bedroom. The crib seems so huge for him right now, he fits much better in the little bassinet. Soon enough it'll be time for him to move upstairs, though....maybe once he is able to sleep through the night.

The Best Choice

No it isn't the perfect picture, but believe me, it's the best one.

I know, I know... Tyler is giving his 'sly fox' smile, for some reason which I can't figure out, but at least Kyle and I look alright in this one.

It's better than this one where I'm wearing my shoulder as an earring and Kyle thinks it's time to eat.

Or this one where Kyle is done with the whole process and starting to cry. But at least Tyler and I look good....oh nope...my dress is being pulled down too much in the front. I can't win!

Birthday Goodies

Yesterday was my birthday and since Rick had to work for most of the day, I just spent a quiet day at home with the boys. Tyler wanted to make it fun though, like his birthday party was, so he made up some party games we could play and also made some grape juice popsicles.

For dinner I didn't plan anything special, we just ate what was next in line on my menu planner.

No stewed tomatoes here. I made Orange Pecan Salmon out of the latest issue of Taste of Home. In retrospect, I probably should have made a recipe that I knew we would like, rather than trying out something new, but it turned out really good, so I guess it wasn't such a bad choice after all.

And for dessert, also from Taste of Home, I made Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake.

Yum! That's all I have to say about that.

Except that it gets even better when you see it sliced. It has a strawberry layer on the bottom with a regular cheesecake layer and a strawberry swirl on top. That just goes to show Tyler that you don't need frosting or chocolate to call it a birthday cake! Mmmm, I could this all day long.

Then after Rick came home from work, it was time to open presents.

Susan sent me some gift cards in the mail to use on some new non-maternity clothes. That'll be nice...being able to shop in the regular departments again. All I have to do is wait for Tyler to start school in a few weeks, and hopefully I'll be able to head over to the mall.

From Anni I got a couple of new cookbooks. Yes! I've had these on my Amazon wish list for awhile and I can't wait to dig into them.

Rick got me this fancy new blender (that doesn't have any rubber gaskets that I might chew up while trying to make a cherry sauce like I did last week with my old blender....just saying).

Also from Anni, a super cool pizza stone. I can't even wait to try it out. Yep, we might be having pizza for dinner tonight.

Sweet Treats

With a newborn in the house, it's hard finding time to bake or even make lunch for that matter. But in the last week I've managed to find a few pockets here and there, where I've been able to sneak away to the kitchen and get some baking done.

First I made a recipe from my Gooseberry Patch Calendar for a Lemonade Ice Cream Cake.

It was my first attempt at making an ice cream cake and I thought it turned out pretty good. The filling layer is simply vanilla ice cream flavored with a bit of lemonade concentrate. I think we all agreed though that it might have been better with plain vanilla. The lemonade flavor was a little too strong for our taste.

Then I had Tyler help me make a batch of Watermelon Splashes, a recipe from a Gold Medal Flour booklet.

They came out cute, but small!

I mean tiny! They were about the size of animal crackers. If I'd known the cookies weren't going to spread in the oven, I would have shaped the dough into a fatter log to make some decent sized cookies.

Finding A Rhythm

Kyle will be two weeks old tomorrow, which I almost can't believe. And Rick will be heading back to work on Monday, so I guess I'll be flying solo pretty soon. In the meantime, I'm trying to find a rhythm....trying to find a way to take care of a newborn, while also keeping the rest of the household running smoothly.

Right now Kyle sleeps a lot, but not always the most peacefully or for that long of a stretch. It seems like Rick or I are always having to pick him up to soothe him back down, but once he's in our arms, it takes forever before we can lay him back down. And when he's awake, he has only one thing on his mind....FOOD.

During the day he naps in his cozy lamb seat.

But when he wakes up, he's not much of a happy camper.

And he really doesn't like taking baths. Have you ever seen a child turn so red?

And sprinkled somewhere between all of the sleeping and fussiness, he has moments of peace in which I could just eat him right up with a spoon. I mean, c'mon....just look at that fluffy hair.