The List, Part 37

Sorry that all of my posts lately are random thought dumps, but...here we go again.

So in love with this house posted on Young House Love today.  Also, my mom and I get to meet John and Sherry (of YHL) on Saturday at a book signing - so excited!

I really want to make this skillet lasagna I saw on Annie's Eats.

I want to make this table. I want someone to make me this table.

Is Jessica Simpson really pregnant again?

I often eat lean cuisines for lunch (or dinner...).  This is my most favorite frozen meal - ever!  It's so good.

 

The Monday List

• If you have a kid (or several kids, actually) to buy a small Christmas gift for, may I suggest this Mr. Men and Little Miss Christmas set?  You get 5 cute books (I haven't read them yet, but I think all of the Mr. Men/Little Miss books have a pretty good message), a holiday card, some cute cardboard ornaments, and some stickers in an awesome little box.  Right now it's about $9!  (It was actually only $7 when I got it last week, they must've realized what a treat this was):

To buy on Amazon

• I strained a muscle in my neck last Thursday night, to the point where I couldn't turn it to the left all weekend.  This injury occurred during an agressive game of peekaboo.
• It was 70 degrees here in DC yesterday, but last week it was pretty chilly, which resulted in this:

Hat from Boden.

• It's been exactly one year today since we found out we were having a baby...what a crazy year it's been!  I feel like a very lucky duck.
• I'm pretty excited to start listening to Christmas music in a week and a half!
• We had some friends over for dinner Saturday night and I made this awesome pear crisp from the Pioneer Woman.  I made it in four individual little dishes (so I baked them a little less than the recipe calls for) and with no pecans.  They were DELICIOUS and made a nice fall dessert:

• Do you watch Top Chef?  Henry and I love to watch it, and Top Chef Seattle started last week (one of my favorite cities!).  I didn't like the format of the first episode to decide who will be in the competition, but I guess it usually takes me a few episodes to be invested and care about the contestants.
• And last, but not least, Nora and her gang:

All of her friends are Jellycat animals - we love them!

Have a fun week!

Celebratreats

You would never guess that I made that up, right?  WELL, I DID.

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CELEBRATREATS

So, you know about Pinterest, right?  If you don't, more power to ya, but I sure do love it.  The main problem with Pinterest is that it can make you feel bad about yourself and your skills.  Any kind of skills.  Stuff on Pinterest is AMAZING.

Source

Well, this is where Celebratreats come in...to make you feel good about yourself!  Everyone can make these, in about 5 minutes.  That's not much of a commitment.  Creating these Celebratreats is about the maximum amount of time/energy/etc. I am willing to spend right now to make something fun/cool/special/pinteresting.  I made these to take to some friends who just had a baby (Henry made them super-delicious enchiladas, I will share that recipe soon).  So the next time you feel like getting crafty or doing something nice for someone but lack true motivation, hop on the Celebratreats train.

I just sprinkled a boatload of sprinkles into the treat mix after the rice krispies.  Magic.

The Great White Chili/Soup and Someone's Birthday...

Klanci (my sister-in-law) made this chili/soup for us last year while we were in Tulsa (maybe for Thanksgiving?). I say chili/soup because I'm not quite sure which category it falls into and keep forgetting to ask her. Ever since it has been a go-to fall/winter meal for Dac and I (that and my mom's beef stew which I will share at some point). It's easy and delicious and one of those feel-good foods. We made it last night for Monday night football, and it hit the spot once again.

It tastes very tortilla soup-y, but more hearty. Would be great with tortilla strips in it, but we did corn bread which I can't ever pass up with any kind of chili-related food.

White Bean Chicken Chili/Soup:
2 lbs. chicken breast - cooked and diced (or shredded)
2 cans white great northern beans
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 med. onions
2 cloves minced garlic
4 4-oz. cans mild green chiles (we just use 2 since I'm a wimp, pretty spicy otherwise)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1.5 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayene pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups chicken broth
3 cups monterey jack cheese
Salsa and sour cream (to serve with it)

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium pot.
Cook onion for 15 minutes
Add garlic, chiles, spices and cook for 2 minutes
Add beans and chicken broth. Cook to boil.
Add cooked chicken and simmer for 1 hour.
Add cheese just before done simmering to melt in.
Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

Also, I have to mention one very special birthday today - Bobby D/Diamond Bob/Dorkell Dickman - our dad! It's finally his turn to be double nickels! Hope your day is great Dad, and can't wait to celebrate with you in a few weeks! Love you!

Then (when Katie and I were little):

Now (proud Grandbob):

IHWSH - Fall Treats

Hooray for Fall!  We're excited for the cooler temperatures and all the apple-pumpkin-spiced treats we can find.  Below you'll find some things we're thinking about making over the next couple of months - those scarecrow treats need to happen soon.  Our mom loves to put salted peanuts and candy corn in a dish together - pretty sure she "invented" this combo (it tastes like an extra delicious "Payday" candy bar).  Now it looks like someone's created a zert out of her tasty combo!  

Jayne's Picks:

1. Pumpkin Poppers
2. Acorn Donut Holes
3. Scarecrow Treats

Katie's Picks:

1. Pumpkin Pie Bites
2. Caramel Apple Martini
3. Apple-Cranberry Pocket Pies

Enjoy!

Cheap Date

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My idea of a good time.

Use whatever ratio you prefer (I'm about 1:1 usually) and I like plenty of ice.  Any red wine will do, really - it's refreshing and delicious and cheap.  In fact, I'll Take Two.

Where did the Zucchini Go to Have a Few Drinks?

THE SALAD BAR!

Last week I had a craving for zucchini bread.  I've never made it before and wanted to find the perfect recipe.  Not sure I found the PERFECT one, but this version turned out pretty great!  I used one less teaspoon of cinnamon and chose not to add any "optional" items like nuts or chocolate chips, but otherwise followed the recipe.  I found it on Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food/baking blogs.  (She has the #1 ultimate recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake too, if that's your thing...I won a bake-off using that recipe!)

Delicious!  I ended up with some flour chunks throughout - didn't affect the taste, but looked a little strange.  Anyone know how to remedy that?  Did I just not mix enough?

Zucchini Bread from Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from several sources

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Anyone else doing any baking these days?

Nora approves!

Caprese Crazy

I have a new favorite salad that's fresh as can be. Dac had this craving for a Caprese salad (he admits that's weird), so we went to the Farmer's Market to pick up the super simple ingredients. It's just the perfect summer afternoon treat.

We just bought a few beautiful heirloom tomatoes, some basil, a ball of fresh mozarella from the Italian deli in the market, and some balsamic vinegar. The prep couldn't be easier - easier than the normal salad, really. Just cut nice thick slices of the tomato, followed by nice thick slices of mozarella.

Then sprinkle some basil and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top! We also put some sea salt, and Dac added olive oil to his. We chopped up our basil because big pieces are too powerful to me. I don't even know if this is all the right stuff for an actual Caprese salad, but I don't even want to look it up because this was so delicious!

So that's all it takes for some crazy Caprese. Something I will be making a whole lot more of this summer. Still want to try these guys for a party:

via

Later,

Breakfast Dessert: The New Way to Lose Weight

A while ago, I posted my obsession with this Kate Spade bag:

Sold out in stores, but you can find it on ebay.

And I am happy to report that I received the bag as a birthday present in March!  It has been fun to carry, I get lots of comments from strangers.  My favorite was an elderly gentleman who said "Gosh, I haven't had cake for breakfast in years - I think I need to do something about that!"  At one of my (many, many) trips to the doctor, the doc saw the bag and said "You know, the problem with cake is that it has no nutritional value..." It took me a minute to convince him that I was not eating cake for breakfast (at least not on a regular basis.)  While I will occasionally enjoy leftover cake for breakfast, I really think the phrase is more a state of mind - every day is a celebration!

But perhaps I should make it a regular thing?  Henry sent me this article last Friday: "Dessert at Breakfast May Help You Lose Weight."  Ha!  The study found that a group of dieters who let themselves indulge in a little "breakfast dessert" didn't feel deprived throughout the day and ended up losing more weight in the end than the group who did not get dessert with breakfast.  I like the concept, not sure how easy it would be to put the fork down at the right time.  What do y'all think?

I think you shouldn't feel bad about that red, white, and blue cupcake you had for breakfast this morning - it's good for you! :)

IHWSH - Summer Eats on a Stick

With (seriously) rising temperatures, we're not eating a lot of soup these days.  Instead, we want to enjoy these refreshing treats on a stick for this week's "I'll Have What She's Having":

Katie's Stick Picks:

Frozen Grape Kabobs

Root Beer Float Pops

S'mores on a Stick

Jayne's Stick Picks:

Burger Spears

Italian Lollipops

Watermelon Pops

Be cool.