Family of 2

Gifts

2011-11-21T11:03:00.000-06:00

With Christmas approaching, it is once again time to think of gifts: What to give, what to request. I have a lot of different thoughts about gifts but the main point is that I'm not big on traditional gifts. I say this at the risk of sounding unappreciative of the many, many, MANY generous gifts I have received throughout my life. All I can say is that I am truly grateful for all of the clothes, housewares, sporting gear, electronics, decor, etc. that I have received from my incredible family and friends--especially during times when I was not able to purchase these things for myself. But, when it comes down to it, I can say that my favorite gifting experiences have come from homemade or particularly thoughtful gifts that never appeared on one of my many wishlists.

My sister Kelley is a very talented gifter. She has given me some very fun, thoughtful gifts:

She made me a stapler in jell-o (joke from the office) that still makes me laugh and provides a great conversation piece at work.
We share a common love for the “Hyperbole and a Half” blog and she got me a great “Responsibility Champion!” mug.
She made me an apron that says “Chef Bridget” that I use when I bake so that I don’t get flour all over my clothes!
She put together a family holiday recipe book that I still refer to when making some of the classics.

My friend Bridget gave me organic cocoa powder from our food co-op along with her family’s cookbook that some of her cousins put together.
My friends Katie, Heather, and I take each other out to eat for our birthday presents to each other and enjoy spending time and talking—just the 3 of us.
My sisters gave me a necklace with pendants to represent the two half-marathons I participated in, and the ability to add more pendants with more races.
My mom gave me an appointment for a massage.
My dad gave me an appointment for helping me with my fall planting/gardening.
My sister Laura made me two cute necklaces that I wear all the time.. I love when I get compliments on them and can tell people that my sister made them for me.
My sister Laura made our toasting glasses and wine charms for our wedding.
My sister Jackie bought and brought us our wine from Trader Joes for our wedding. Not only was it a nice gift, but one less thing to worry about—which is a GREAT gift to a bride.
My friend Kelsey gave me a cute “thank you” gift that included a $10 gift card to Dairy Queen… just in time for pumpkin pie blizzard month.
My friend Bridget endulged my pumpkin love with the most delicious pumpkin liquor drink as a hostess gift.
A coworker bought me a “good luck” gift before my marathon with a $5 gift card to our local ice cream place and a note that said “If I learned anything from the marathon, it’s that you will need to get a chocolate shake from Custard Cup when you are finished. Better make it a large—you just ran 26.2 miles!”
My husband has given me many thoughtful gifts, but some of my favorites have been the gifts of “dates” to spend the weekend in Chicago, go out for a nice meal, or go walking through park trails.

Mama's chicken salad

2011-09-18T15:18:00.000-05:00

My mom has perfected chicken salad. I've had it several times now and she's told me generally how she makes it, and I got pretty close with my last attempt. No measurements, just tasting and guessing. That's how chicken salad is supposed to be, right?

Cooked chicken (I boil chicken breast in some broth)
Mayo/plain yogurt if needed for extra moisture
Celery
Red onion
Apple
Salt/pepper

The key is grinding it up in the food processor, so that you end up with kinda a mushy chicken salad rather than a chunky one. Serve in a whole wheat pita or with some yummy fresh bread and it is even better!

Quick corn chowder

2011-09-18T15:15:00.001-05:00

Absolutely love this soup for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. I made it after my busy baby shower day for dinner, and hubby was so excited when he got home. I love when my easy go-to recipes excite him!

Works well with leftover rotisserie chicken, or with the chicken you had cooked up for chicken salad, but didn't end up using because you would have had 8 pounds of chicken salad.

Fiesta chopped salad

2011-09-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

In late summer, this is a great way to take advantage of the bountiful garden veggies! We didn't have avocado so I subbed olives, which also turned out yummy. Also threw in some corn and used fresh basil instead of parsley.

When my husband took leftovers to work, everyone was commenting on how healthy his lunch was. I love that my hubby loves good, wholesome food!

Whole wheat waffles

2011-09-18T15:03:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you have leftover whipped cream frosting and an awesome husband to spend a lazy Sunday with?

Make these!

Coupled with some sliced fresh cherries, these were absolutely delicious. Recipe made about 7 waffles though... we'll see how well the frozen ones reheat!

Whole wheat zucchini bread pancakes

2011-09-18T14:59:00.000-05:00

I had a bunch of zucchini. I love this blog. So I made these.

So good. Little bit of spreadable butter and maple syrup is all you need to turn these into healthy pancakes into a special weekend treat. For the add ins, I used toasted walnuts one day and toasted pecans another day, and raisins rather than chocolate chips.

Hubby approved!

Spinach basil pesto

2011-09-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

My husband loves pesto. I bought a large jar of it from Sams Club and I couldn't believe how quickly we went through it. He put it on everything... and really, I think we only used it for pasta once.

I tried my hand at some homemade pesto, since I knew it was easy and figured it must be way cheaper than the store-bought stuff. I didn't know it was possible, but he loves this stuff even more! He has requested that it be a staple condiment in our house.

I followed this recipe, but didn't use 4 cloves of garlic--probably more like 2 large cloves. I tasted it halfway through and ended up removing the rest of the garlic because it was overpowering.

I also like the recipe-poster's suggestion for freezing. Though, I'm not sure I will ever need to.

Baby shower recipes

2011-09-18T10:44:00.000-05:00

This weekend I threw a baby shower for a good friend of mine. My husband was very patient with me all week as I was preoccupied coming up with games and running errands and looking for recipes and cleaning. He did an awesome job deep cleaning last weekend, and helped me hang some lanterns and move some furniture for the party.

The party was jungle animal themed (inspired by some cute giraffe and animal things she had on her registry). It was from 2-4, so I decided to just serve some finger foods, punch, and cupcakes. Everything was a hit!

Decor:
Baby shower animal banner I picked up at Michaels, paper lanterns left over from my sister's wedding, pink, yellow, and light green tablecloths with baby animal confetti, some little rubber squeezie animals I picked up at Walmart for $1, and a little giraffe stuffed animal that I couldn't resist. We also had some cute animal plates, bowls, and napkins.

Games:
I made up the games myself... baby shower price is right and baby shower outburst. I purchased some "baby essentials" like diapers, diaper rash creme, wipes, shampoo, Dreft, etc and made up prices for them. The mom-to-be was to say whether the actual price was higher or lower, with the help of the "crowd" of course. At the end, I gave all of those to the mom-to-be as her gift. For outburst, I just made up some categories and did some online research: 10 most popular girl names, 10 most popular boy names, popular nursery rhymes, why babies cry, most popular baby shower gifts, baby milestones, and common names for a pacifier. The games were actually pretty fun!

Food:
Crackers and cheese cut out into elephants, giraffes, and lions with some mini cookie cutters
Fruit kabobs with cherries, grapes, cantelope, and pineapple (with a little giraffe sitting in the middle of the platter)
Whole wheat pita wedges with guacomole goat cheese spread
Sparkling punch (I liked this because it wasn't as sugary as a lot of punches are... this was more tart)
Chai latte cupcakes: Betty Crocker french vanilla cake mix mixed with 3-4 tbsp of instant chai tea latte mix, and then follow recipe on box for oil, eggs, water and topped with the most delicious whipped cream frosting ever. I think this will become a staple for me... it is not as heavy as traditional cream cheese frosting, but doesn't melt/fall over like traditional whipped cream-- a win-win!

Favors:
Box of Barnams animal crackers tied with some stretchy ribbon to a small safari animal calendar and a little "thanks for coming" tag

Midwest peace

2011-08-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

My husband insists that we are never moving out of our house.

I used to have dreams of moving someplace beautiful, someplace warm, someplace that wasn't freezing cold in the winter and humid in the summer. But as we have invested more and settled into our house, I have started to let go of those dreams. Instead, I have decided to make peace with our Midwest weather.

Last winter, I invested in some nice running gear and ran outside the entire winter. Freezing temperatures, snow, ice--nothing kept me from getting out there. I started a soup club and enjoyed homemade soup every week. My weekends were relaxing as I spent entire days in my nice warm home, using the excuse that it was too cold/snowy/icy to do anything else.

Every week in spring brings excitement with my newly found passion for flowers and gardening. I love watching my plants bloom and spending hours walking through the local nurseries. This year we planted a large garden and watched it carefully as the vegetable plants began to sprout.

This summer I embraced the heat and humidity by spending time at my parents' lake. I have never been a big swimmer, but this year I decided it was time to start. Swimming provides an excellent impact-free cardio workout, which is exactly what my little runner body needs. And the warmer it got, the better the water felt. I also taught myself to get up early to bike and run to avoid the heat. There is a peacefulness that comes with morning exercise, and I'm glad I've been able to enjoy it again.

Fall isn't something I need to work at loving. The trees are beautiful, the air is crisp, and the temperatures are perfect for running and spending time outside.

So maybe we will stay here forever. I'm at peace with the idea.

A cook-less week

2011-08-31T20:28:00.000-05:00

I didn't cook at all last week--extremely rare in this house. But I can't say I missed it.

Wednesday we had way too many leftovers and we needed to eat them. Thursday I went to my parents' house and ate dinner there, and my husband ate some free food he had snagged at work. Friday I went to happy hour and had wine and shared a snack of pita chips and hummus. Then I came home and ate half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'm pretty sure my husband ate more leftovers.

Saturday morning I went out of town for the weekend, and didn't come home until late Sunday evening. My husband must have been creative, because I'm pretty sure we had no food. I think he had pasta. And maybe some bagels.

On Monday my husband grilled some pork spare ribs that he had purchased by accident (thinking they were pork chops), sliced potatoes, and cucumbers. Yes, you can grill cucumbers. This time he sliced them long and thin, brushed them with oil, and put them directly on the grates. This method made them taste similar to zucchini. Last time he grilled cucumbers he put them in foil packets with an ice cube and steamed them. Both ways were delicious.

Tuesday my husband grilled some brat sausages that I had picked up at Trader Joes--tasty! He also grilled broccoli from our garden using this recipe as a guide. It turned out fantastic! A little salty; but overall great flavor.

Finally, today, I broke my non-cooking streak. What did I decide to make?

More cabbage of course! This time, it was a shrimp and cabbage stir fry seasoned with fresh cilantro and soy sauce. I'm not going to share the recipe because I don't plan to make it again. In fact, I don't think I'll be eating any more cabbage for at least another year. Fortunately, my husband is the most non-picky eater I've ever met and enjoyed the dish. Don't worry--I packed up the leftovers for him to eat tomorrow while I swim.

Parenting perspectives as I sit back and watch

2011-08-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

As a parent, I don't want to:

Treat my child like he/she is the center of the universe
Make my child the center of my universe
Talk obsessively about the normal things my child does as though they are special
Believe my child is special or gifted or unusually talented simply because he/she is my child
Pack my child's schedule so full of activities that we never have time to spend relaxing, or going on vacation, or just being a family
Be so rigid about my kid's schedule that he/she doesn't know how to cope when the schedule can't be kept
Stop committing to social engagements because they always take a back seat to what my child wants/needs that day (see #1 and 2)
Keep my friendships--single, married, with kids/without kids
Remember that the family starts and ends with a marriage. If the marriage is neglected, the whole family suffers
Constantly be stressed
Take out stress on my husband
Obsess about being a perfect parent, and compare myself to other parents
Be my child's best friend and cry when I think they don't need me
Stop going out because it is "just too much hassle" with a child
Constantly worry

As a parent, I do want to:

Raise a healthy, active child
Teach my child strong morals and values
Play with my child
Along with my husband, be my child's primary caregiver
Laugh a lot
Teach my child how to handle his/her own problems
Accept that my child will be good at some things, not very good at others, and likely overall be pretty average
Expect my child to help with household chores and take responsibility
Cook with my child
Show my child that he/she is loved and an important part of our family

Summer hubby meals

2011-08-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

My husband cooks two meals per week on his own. During the winter his meals often consist of roasts or other crockpot meals. In the summer, a typical meal consists of grilled meat, steamed or grilled vegetable, and some sort of potato/bread/starch (some favorites are grilled potatoes, grilled whole wheat pitas and hummus, and corn on the cob).

Seems a little boring, but these are always some of our favorite meals. He is a master of seasoning and cooks just perfectly on the charcoal grill. He often manages to add some sort of little twist to make a meal different or better than the last time he cooked something similar. I've never seen a home cook who can make something as simple as chicken breasts or pork chops taste as delicious as he does.

Tonight's dinner: Grilled pork chops, Corn on the cob, and garden green beans.

Livin' on the edge.

Cabbage meals

2011-08-21T19:24:00.001-05:00

Our CSA seemed to do very well with cabbage this year. Nearly ever week we have had some sort of cabbage--red cabbage, napa cabbage, green cabbage, or your choice of one of the three. It's no surprise we ended up with a bit of a cabbage abundance--right around the time when I decided I was really tired of slaw. So I started looking for some more non-traditional ways of fixing cabbage. A couple were flops, but below are three successes, as well as an older cabbage recipe that we both enjoy:

Mexican Cabbage: A quick, easy meal that tastes a lot like taco salad. Top it with some crushed Doritos and maybe a little cheese, and it's even better. I liked this one a lot because it included ingredients we almost always have on hand.

Bacon, Cabbage, and Gruyere Pizza: Or Reuben Pizza. This was lacking a sauce, but I think serving it with thousand island was just what it needed. I found the Gruyere cheese to be unnecessarily expensive for this particular recipe--I don't think flavor would have been lost using some shredded swiss, or just using all mozzarella.

Cajun Cabbage with Rice: Another easy one with pantry ingredients. I found some similar recipes that used condensed tomato soup, so this one seemed a bit healthier and more flavorful. It definitely had a nice kick to it, and the cheese on top of the cabbage was a welcome addition.

Smoked sausage with cabbage, sweet potatoes, and apples: This won't knock your socks off or look very pretty, but it's a tasty and easy weeknight meal. I use smoked turkey or chicken sausage.

Teriyaki chicken skewers

2011-08-20T21:03:00.000-05:00

I didn't use an exact recipe, but these turned out so well that I had to post. I have listed the ingredients from greatest quantity to least--exact measurements will depend on how much chicken you are cooking. Easy enough for a weekday meal, tasty enough for entertaining!

Marinade:
Pineapple juice/crushed pineapple
Soy sauce
Brown sugar
Franks sweet chili sauce
Minced garlic

Combine in saucepan and simmer but do not boil. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into cubes, place in bowl, and cover with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1-24 hours.

Thread on skewers with fresh pineapple chunks and grill over medium heat.

Garden cucumber pickles

2011-08-20T20:04:00.000-05:00

Our cucumber plant exploded this year. With our backlog of cucumbers, I gave my husband the job of making them into pickles during one of his days off.

He watched a video he found online and adjusted it according to what we had in terms of containers and size of cucumbers (ours are regular cucumbers, but they used pickling cucumbers). We don't jar/can (I'm more of a freezer, myself), so he used a large round tupperware container that I typically reserve for large batches of soup and fruit salad.

About 4-5 medium/large cucumbers or 10-12 pickling cucumbers
2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
4 dill sprigs
2 cloves garlic
1 large or 2 small onions, chopped or sliced
2 tbsp salt
Handful of mustard seeds
Handful of peppercorns

Slice cucumbers into chips or spears, set aside. Combine water and vinegar in saucepan on stove over high heat. Fill container(s) with remaining ingredients.

Pack cucumbers as tightly as possible into container(s). Once water and vinegar mixture comes to a boil, pour it over cucumbers and fill container to the brim. The cucumbers should not be floating in the mixture--they should fit very tightly. Put on lid and leave on counter for 24 hours. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to sit for 10 days before eating. These should last for a month or two in the fridge--the same as an opened jar of pickles.

Mini burgers, sweet potato fries, and roasted root veggies

2011-08-20T19:41:00.002-05:00

The mini burger idea was inspired by the 12 pack of dinner rolls my husband had picked up the previous evening to have with steak. I kept the burgers simple--2 oz patties seasoned with chopped onion, minced garlic, worcestershire, salt/pepper--and let the toppings shine: Homemade dill pickles, tomatoes from our garden, red onion from our CSA, and a thick slice of cheddar cheese. Perfectly cooked over med-high heat on the grill.

I had been wanting to try my hand at a batch of sweet potato fries again ever since I found this crispy {baked} sweet potato fries recipe from Caroline at Chocolate & Carrots. I was conservative on the corn starch to make sure I didn't overdo it, but I think I could use a bit more next time to make them just a little crispier... overall, major success though. Especially dipped in spicy ketchup (Simply Heinz ketchup mixed with Cholula hot sauce).

The roasted root veggies were an experiment to use the daikon radish, beets, and onions I had received in the CSA. I simply sliced up the veggies, placed on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with course salt, pepper, and dried thyme. They turned out ok--I think I would really enjoy having beets more, but the daikon radish wasn't my favorite.