Friday, February 19, 2010

Copycat

Addison was digging around in her kitchen tonight and coming into the living room with her special sandwich concoctions made with her plastic bread. Ainsley had been watching her and following her, and the next thing we saw was Ainsley crawling in with two plastic breads stuck together. She pulled up to the couch and handed it to me with a big smile and some baby gibberish. I mean, c'mon. Is that cute or what? She was trying to be like her big sis! Totally made my day, and made up for the fact that she was playing in the toilet (which Addison had forgotten to flush...beautiful) while I was trying to shower earlier that afternoon. And a resounding "ewwww" was heard across the country....

Anyway I have some pics from her bday to post. You'll just have to stay tuned!

Monday, February 15, 2010

artichokey goodness

I asked my mom what I should make for dinner with chicken and she gave me some new recipes she wrote down awhile back. One of them was for Chicken and Artichoke Quesadillas. I'm not going to lie: they sounded completely disgusting. Mozzarella cheese? On a tortilla? Blagh! As I was writing the recipe down, though, it started to sound alright. Whatever. It's good to branch out, right?

THEY WERE SO GOOD! SOOOO GOOD! Even Devin, who is normally very apathetic about what he is eating, said "Hey, this is good!" That translates into "this is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my life!! I can hardly stand it!!" in case you were wondering.

Try some.
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 can artichokes (14 oz), drained and chopped. I chopped them up pretty small. I don't like big chunks of artichoke on anything.
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated. (or my friend: the green can)
1 clove garlic, minced
tortillas (I used the whole wheat kind, and I think it must have canceled out the fat in the cheese and mayo. I'm sure it did.)
mozzarella cheese

Mix the chicken, artichokes, mayo, parmesan and garlic together. Spray some pam in a skillet, throw a tortilla in there and let it warm up a bit, flip it and let it get warmed up on that side. Spread the mixture on the tortilla, add some mozzarella cheese and cover with another tortilla. Cook for about two minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted.

I burned the first two and yelled for Devin to come make them because he is the quesadilla master in this family. His were perfect. It made about 4 fajita size quesadillas for us.

The recipe says to serve them with salsa, but we didn't really need anything extra.

DON'T READ THIS NEXT PART AUNT SHEL! I'M WARNING YOU!
I've been buying bone in split chicken breasts when they go on sale. I buy about 4 or 5 pounds and throw them in the slow cooker for about 3 hours on high. After they're cooked I shred up the chicken and measure about 3 cups into ziplock freezer bags and throw them in the freezer for whenever I need shredded chicken. I have loved doing this because the meat ends up tasting like rotisserie chicken meat like you get at the store, much more flavorful than boiled chicken. Split breasts go on sale for really cheap too.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

My catch

I banked out in the husband department. He puts up with a lot:

open cabinets and drawers (all the time)
clothes that are laundered, but sit in the laundry basket for a whole week
clothes that are unlaundered and sprawled all over the floor
"Devin I don't have a plan for dinner. How about I go to the store. You should get a snack cause it's going to be awhile."
a messy house because I would rather be with friends and family than clean
"What is Addison wearing? That shirt doesn't go with those pants!"
"No I don't know where the receipt is. "
crumbs after I make a sandwich
half-filled coffee cups lying around the living room with coffee that I forgot to drink (the Marie trademark).
"Can we go out to eat?"
"You're working this weekend again?!"

And he's still in love with me....
I'm a lucky girl!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Deep thoughts this Valentine's Day

This lingerie that I was given before I got married 7 years ago just ain't right anymore. It accentuates the...unpositive. I feel like you should get another lingerie shower after you have kids and stuff is kinda droopy, maybe a little flabby, and perhaps a bit...marked. Then you'd receive stuff you might actually feel up to wearing without having to spend any money!

Then again, what would you give someone who just had a baby (and can you really say just when your kid is turning 1 on Monday? Let's go with yes!)? "Here's a fleece, zip up nightgown with Winnie the Pooh! It's guaranteed to keep you baby free for at least another two years!" or "Here, have a mu-mu!"

:::sigh::::

Sorry you had to read this post Dad. And Grandma.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Child locks are useless if they're broken

::::sigh:::::

















::::sigh:::: (again)

















:::and notice the one dangling from her mouth and crack up laughing and grab the camera....hee hee hee!:::


















Later on I was making stuffed peppers and gave Addison the job of pulling the seeds and "white stuff" out of the peppers. Look at how cute she is with that towel draped over her shoulder (just like mom and dad)!


















































Later on Devin and I stared at each other in shock and amazement as we watched our ultimate picky eater gobble down piece after piece of red pepper. They were some darn good stuffed peppers. I'm grateful to my Grandma Barb (deceased ten years) for the recipe.

A1 Stuffed Peppers
1/2 lb to 1 lb. ground beef or you could use lentils or quinoa if you feel adventurous and earthy.
1/4 cup chopped onion
garlic (optional)
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can corn
1/4 cup A1 sauce
1 cup cooked brown rice (you could use white if you don't feel like being healthy)
4-6 green or red peppers.

Preheat oven to 350

Brown beef and saute onion. Add everything else and let simmer for a few minutes. Stuff mixture in side peppers. I usually only use about 1/2 lb ground beef to make 4 good size peppers (with plenty of "filling" left over). Bake at 350 for about 35 or so minutes until the peppers are soft.

Here are a few more pics to make up for my blogging leave of absence: