Emily - 2 Months

Emily Grace, you are 2 months old now!  Wow!  You are really changing so much lately.

This month you:

Went to Daddy's basketball games
Visited at Mommy's work
Had your first Thanksgiving
Loved sleeping in your swing...and nowhere else
Saw your first Christmas lights and loved staring at them
Liked hearing us sing "Jingle Bells" and the love song from the movie "Tangled"
Smiled at us every time you woke up from a nap
Started drooling
Hung out with Mommy at the gym while she worked out
Smiled at Grandma on Skype
Caused Mommy and Daddy to leave a restaurant before we even ate our meal
FINALLY started sleeping in your crib!

Sometimes a feeling still comes over me of "Wow, I'm a mom..." when I look at you.  You are such a blessing to us and you are a beautiful, precious baby girl. 

The next month will bring even more changes and good times, I'm sure!  Can't wait!

Love,
Mommy

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

I knew long before I ever had children that when I did, I would choose to breastfeed them.  Now that I am a mom, I am even more aware of how beneficial it is.  When Emily starts crying for milk, I don't have to wait for a bottle to be prepared and heated up; I just pick her up and feed her.  And, of course the biggest reason I chose to breastfeed is for the nutritional value.  I have a friend who is in nursing school, and she was shown microscopic views of breast milk and formula.  She told me that under the scope, there is a HUGE difference between the two, with breast milk looking rich with nutrients, and formula looking similar to plain water in comparison. 
Fortunately, Emily does well with breastfeeding.  She has known "what to do" since the first time we tried 1 hour after she was born.  She is gaining weight and getting longer each time we go to the doctor.  There is only 1 major downfall though - I have to still watch what I eat.  When I was pregnant, my doctor told me several things I had to stay away from: sushi, shellfish, caffeine, certain cheeses, cold lunch meat, and of course alcohol.  I had hoped that these rules would be over after my baby was born.  No such luck, unless you want a screaming baby.  Not only was I told (by a different doctor) to continue to stay away from the foods listed above, but to also refrain from eating things that would make Emily gassy, like spicy foods, broccoli, etc.  I have learned from personal experience that she doesn't feel well after I eat a significant amount of chocolate, either.  Dang it!!!  I haven't had 2 of my loves, crab legs and feta cheese, since I got pregnant, and now my beloved chocolate is a problem???!  Give a girl a break!
With that being said, I made this jambalaya "non-spicy", so that I could still eat it without Emily getting a tummy ache.  Jordan said he still loved it, even without the spice.  But if you try it you could certainly make it spicy!  I have directions for that under the recipe.     



Slow Cooker Jambalaya
Source: Adapted from Plain Chicken

1 package skinless, boneless chicken thighs- cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
white rice or instant rice (I used 2 packs of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Roasted Chicken flavor)

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, garlic, and broth. Season with oregano and parsley.

Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Mix in cooked rice cook for about 15 minutes to warm through.

*If you prefer spicy jambalaya, add 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper to taste.

Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

It was a "love at first sight" moment when I saw these cookies.  I mean, look at them.  Gooey caramel coming out of the middle?  Yes please.  Not to mention the fact that I love caramel apples (nowadays, they are usually sold covered in all sorts of other goodies too!). 

I have been wanting to try this recipe for a long time now, and Thanksgiving seemed like the perfect opportunity.  They ended up being a hit with our friends!  They are best when the caramel is warm/gooey, so try to eat them when they have slightly cooled but are still warm from the oven.  Otherwise, you can reheat the cookies for about 10 seconds in the microwave to get that texture back.


Caramel Apple Cider Cookies
Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 oz) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix (10 packets – found next to hot chocolate mix)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (14 ounce) bag of Kraft chewy caramels

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (you need this so that the caramel doesn’t stick to the bottom of your cookie sheet).
In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
With an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Add vanilla and mix well.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
Scoop out a cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut (about 2 tablespoons).
Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel (I flattened the caramels slightly so they melt evenly in the cookie) into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely.
Shape the dough into a ball, and place on parchment covered cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.
Bake 11-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. They may not look quite done in the center but that is OK.
Once the cookies are done, carefully slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter.
Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down on the parchment or on a cookie rack. If they are not upside down while they cool they may drizzle caramel out the bottom.

Makes around 2-3 dozen cookies. Best when eaten warm from the oven or warmed in the microwave.

Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Pizza

I loooove pizza.  It is by far one of my favorite foods.  I wish it wasn't so fattening (especially because I like extra cheese!) so I could eat it all the time.  I came across this recipe and decided that it would be awesome with a little tweaking.  And it really was delicious!  It's like eating pizza covered with the hot spinach dip appetizer that restaurants serve.  I chose to not add artichoke pieces like the original recipe stated, because I don't like eating chunks of artichoke.  If you do like them, you could certainly add those too!  Another change I made to the original recipe was adding chicken pieces.  This was mostly because I felt we needed some kind of protein on top. 

It's pretty fun to make your own pizza at home, because you get to control the toppings.  You can put on just the right amount of sauce you like, the right amount of cheese (lots), and the perfect toppings.  Try this one out for a taste of something different and delicious!

Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Pizza
Source: Adapted from The Two Bite Club

½ pint (1 cup) heavy cream
½ cup butter
2 tbsp cream cheese
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 oz of fresh spinach, roughly chopped (I used chopped frozen-I thawed it first-and it was fine)
1 tube/recipe of your favorite pizza crust
Bite-sized pieces of cooked chicken

Preheat the oven according to the cooking instructions on the label of your pizza dough.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the cream, butter, and cream cheese until fully melted.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Continue to cook and stir for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place spinach in a saute pan with a tablespoon of water over medium high heat and saute until wilted.
I thawed a container of frozen chopped spinach in the microwave, then followed the next steps: 
Once spinach is fully wilted, place it onto a clean kitchen towel and wring out all of the liquid by twisting the towel into a ball with the spinach inside. Once you've squeezed out all of the liquid, add it to the sauce.
Spread the sauce over the pizza crust. You might have some left over for dipping depending on how saucy you like your pizza.
Place chicken pieces over sauce then top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes or until you start to see the cheese browning. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing.

Sausage and Bean Soup with Pasta

This is the soup I mentioned wanting to make in this post.  It was very good, and perfect to make nowadays, since it has been very cold and windy outside.  It's also pretty healthy!  Sorry I'm making this such a short blog...my mind is totally distracted by the fact that I want to get the Christmas decorations out...and possibly go buy some new ones.  :)

Sausage and Bean Soup with Pasta
Source: Slightly adapted from The Italian Dish

1 15-ounce can of white beans, drained
1 pound ground sausage- turkey or pork (I used turkey sausage)
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 medium carrot, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
6 to 8 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 cup ditalini pasta, or any small pasta
grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

In a large pot, brown the sausage. Remove from pot. If there is a lot of fat left in the pot, pour this out but do not wipe out pot. Add onion, carrot and olive oil and saute for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add garlic and saute about a minute more. Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken broth, Italian seasoning, some salt and pepper, the drained beans and the sausage and cover the pot. Cook for an hour over low heat, at a gentle simmer.  Add the pasta and cook, uncovered, until the pasta is tender. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick for your liking, you can add more chicken broth.
Serve with grated cheese on top.

Sweet Potato Souffle

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Ours was very nice - we shared a Thanksgiving meal with our "military family" aka our neighbors.  :)  We had great fellowship, great food, and we played a game that is now one of my favorites- Apples to Apples.  It was so much fun to play with a crowd, and it kept us laughing, that's for sure!

This sweet potato souffle is a recipe that my Mema passed to my Mom and me.  We have it on Thanksgiving every year, and even though I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes, my hubby loves them, so I knew I should make them this year for him and our other friends to enjoy.  I wish I could scrape the topping onto my plate and enjoy that!  ;)

(I know you can only see the topping of this dish in the picture above.  This was something I was bringing to someone else's home, so I couldn't really scoop some out to take a picture of, lol.  I trust you all know what mashed sweet potatoes look like; just imagine some underneath that topping.)

Here are some pics of our little sweetie on her first Thanksgiving:

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all together and put in a 2 quart casserole dish.

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together and spoon on top of potato mixture.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Gingerbread Popcorn

I love specialty popcorn.  Remember when I made this one?  mmmm

I also love movie theater popcorn, even though it makes regular popcorn that you pop at home taste inferior.  However, I have learned that if you take a few ingredients and spruce up your "at home" popcorn, it really makes a difference.  Plus, there are an infinite number of delicious possibilities!

Since fall is upon us and I wanted to bring a special popcorn to my friends on our girl's Bunco night, I decided on this flavor.  I love anything 'gingerbread' so I knew it would be yummy!  This would also make a great snack to set out for your family while you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner because it won't fill them up.


Gingerbread Popcorn
Source: Tasty Kitchen
12 cups popped Popcorn (I used Tender White)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ginger
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
¼ teaspoons Cloves
½ cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
1 cup Light Brown Sugar, Lightly Packed
2 Tablespoons Molasses
1 Tablespoon Water
1 pinch Salt
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract


Put the popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.   
Sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl and set aside.
Cook the butter, sugar, molasses, water, and salt in a medium-sized, thick-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until the temperature reaches 305ºF (hard crack stage), stirring occasionally. Then remove from heat. Carefully stir in the vanilla and baking soda/spice mix and then pour it over the popcorn/nut mixture.
Use 2 heat-safe rubber spatulas to toss the popcorn around to distribute the toffee throughout. Spread out the popcorn onto wax paper. Let it cool and then break it apart. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.