two down..

Another hat finished!
I always like knitting fun little hats for the seasons/holidays.  Last year for halloween/fall i made pumpkin hats for the boys.. this year they are going to be rockin' candy corns :)
I finished up Nolan's tonight and it turned out super cute.

Looks like i finished it just in time for him to use on his camping trip with dada tonight in the sunroom :) 

not so wordless wednesday.

 It really looks like I'm a total slacker.. but really on top of not feeling the greatest.. it has just been a crazy week.
So instead of a wordless wednesday... Here's a nice long post with lots of pics :)

Over the weekend I took the boys to a little fall festival/farmers market in georgetown.  Nothing huge but definitely a nice little adventure for a lazy sunday afternoon.  Both boys enjoyed it and Nolan absolutely LOVED his first face painting experience.  He was very patient and still while the little pumpkin was being painted on his face.  Then had the BIGGEST smile when we was allowed to look in the mirror.  SO cute!   The whole way home i caught him trying to catch a peek in the rear view mirror of his little pumpkin and getting the biggest smile on his face...and of course that put an even bigger smile on my face.  Love him :)

On monday I set myself a goal that wanted to have a new hat finished by the weekend..I finished the hat yesterday and set a new goal to have two more finished by Sunday.  The rainy, pj days at home helped me reach my goal a little faster.. but the cranky, cabin fever-suffering brothers were not so helpful.. but hey, i still got it done.
Here's my upside-down daisy hat:

I love the way it turned out.  I have been dieing to make this hat since i found the pattern in Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats book.  Now that i will be attending a few showers for friends expecting sweet little girls.. it gave me an excuse to make one!

Some yummy food was also made this week...
I had some pears that i need to do something with so yesterday I made a pear loaf in my trusty bread machine.

This turned out to be a great sweet bread.  The taste almost reminded me of a mild pineapple flavor.  It was enjoyed by both boys toasted along side their scrambled eggs this morning :)
Another awesome creation from the bread machine was our dinner last night.  Chicken sausage, spinach and ricotta calzones. These were pretty amazing!

This picture really just does not do them justice.  They were REALLY good.  I made the dough in my bread machine... a slightly altered version of the pizza dough recipe and then made a filling of garlic, onions, chicken sausage, spinach, and ricotta with a little bit of provolone and freshly grated parm thrown into the mix.  These will definitely be added to the recipe circulation.  I kind of just threw these together but next time I will measure everything out so I can share the exact recipe.... considering 4 pretty big calzones were gobbled up in a matter of minutes.. i think they were a hit!

by popular demand...

here is the recipe for wordless wednesday's cinnamon raisin swirl bread :)

Another recipe found in my Better Home and Gardens Biggest Book of Bread Machine Recipes cookbook.

For a 2 lb-
1 cup milk
2 egg
1/4 cup butter, cut up
4 cups bread flour
1/34 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (i skipped this ingredient so that Liam could enjoy it too)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, softened
- the recipe does not call for it but I added in raisins with the first 7 ingredients so that they were mixed into the dough.

- add the first 7 ingredients to the machine according to the manufacturer's directions.  Select dough cycle.  When cycle is complete, remove dough. Punch down. Cover and let rest for 10 min.
Meanwhile for filling, in a small bowl stir together the walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
Grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans; set aside.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14x9 inch rectangle.  Spread with half the softened margarine and sprinkle with half the filling.  Starting from both short sides, roll up each side into a spiral toward the center.  Place, rolled side up, in the prepared loaf pan.  Repeat steps to make second loaf.  Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until nearly double.
Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. If necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes to prevent over browning.  Remove from pan; cool on wire rack. 

SOOO yummy!!  What is better than homemade bread?!  We like to eat or slices toasted with a little butter :)

P.S.- if you haven't noticed yet... I am not one of those people who received a bread machine as a random wedding present and let it collect dust in the closet.  I actually rescued mine from collecting dust in someone else's closet :).  I LOVE my bread machine and use it at least once a week.  It makes creating the yummiest things.. so easy!  If you don't have one.. I'm telling you.. get one!  Its a great investment!

welcome fall.

Yesterday the boys and I celebrated the first official day of autumn with sushi, pumpkins and pesto.
I made the boys a fun little "sushi" lunch.  I found the idea in one of those big BJ's flyers that are sent out every season.  This one was back to school... so it had different lunch ideas..i cut a couple out that were cute and added them to my recipe box so I would remember to try them out.  I think the "sushi" was a hit.. considering Nolan scarfed most of his down before I had the chance to turn around and ask him if he liked it.

Mine was not quite as pretty as the picture... and I also think a set of chopsticks would have totally added to it(note to self- pick up a couple pair of extra chopsticks next time I go out for sushi). The recipe called for pumpernickel bread which gave it great coloring in the pic... i used whole wheat... but all you do is make a "sushi" roll with the bread, turkey, avocado and cream cheese.  Just a little something different to make a fun lunch.

After lunch, I told Nolan that if he took a good nap, he could wake up and paint his little pumpkin he got at the grocery store on Monday.  As soon as he woke up he ran down the stairs yelling "took a good rest mom..ready to paint".  This was our first painting experience.. but it actually went really well and he was really good and careful with everything.  His pumpkin is definitely a work of art!

                                      

For dinner, I made one of my favorite vegetarian meals.  Pea & Pesto Pasta. 

                                     

Such an easy dinner.  Just make up the pesto, cook pasta adding frozen peas in with the boiling pasta for the last few minutes, draining then mixing it all together.  Top with fresh grated parm.... yummmm!! So good!!

I love this pesto recipe and almost always use it.  I cant remember where I originally found it.. but I have changed a few things so I guess I can call it my own :)

Add the following ingredients to food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach

3/4 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts ( i usually add these in after i scoop out a little for Liam)

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic ( you can always add more or less.. i usually like around 3)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

finally some crafts..

A few months ago I came up with the brilliant idea that I am going to make as many Christmas presents as possible this year.  I had a great crafty start... but I have definitely been slacking over the past few weeks... I really need to get back on the ball.. because we all know.. "it will be here before we know it". Of course I can't post many pics on here because I like surprises (when I can actually keep them)... but I do have a few projects I made and decided against. 
At first I was planning on making a few people a set of knitted dish clothes.. along with some baked goods.  After making a few dish clothes I came across a pattern for something completely different that I love..  and now I am going to attempt that instead.
So here are a couple of my little knitted dish clothes.. I think they turned out pretty cute...I may still use them as a little gift for someone.. we'll see!

wordless wednesday. (Homemade cinnamon raisin swirl bread)

mmmm......

hot dog soup

Another reason I love fall so much is because I get to start making fall food...most of it which makes the house smell amazing as it bakes.  I just love that.
This recipe may not make the house smell amazing but is in another awesome fall food category.. soup!
 Simple Minestrone (or hot dog soup..as i told Nolan it was called), i found in my Taste of Home Cookbook.  http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Simple-Minestrone 
It caught my eye because it has lots of veggies, of course, but also because it has turkey kielbasa in it.  The hubs loves kielbasa.. so I thought it would be a good, different soup to try.  I did change a few things...In my book it was listed as a meal for two.. so i pretty much doubled( or around there) all the ingredients.  I used one whole can of diced tomatoes instead of  measuring out two cups.  I added probably a little more than double of the veggies it called for.. because you can never go wrong with more veggies.  I used turkey bacon instead of regular and I also used whole wheat fusili pasta instead of macaroni. O yea! I also used light red kidney beans instead of the pinto because I didn't have time to cook the dried pinto beans I had.



With a few homemade crescent rolls on the side.  It was really tasty hit with everyone :)  Definitely a meal we will have again throughout the colder seasons.

Pizza. Pizza.

Wednesday night I made pizza for dinner.  Pizza is probably one of my favorite things to make... maybe because its one of my favorite things to eat.. but also because there are so many different ways you can make it.  I have made it so many times..trying different dough and sauce recipes and then few months ago I made a combination that we really liked so I stuck with it.  I'm sure I'll start experimenting with it again in the future but for now I'm happy with this recipe.
For the dough.. I use this recipe in my bread machine that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens "Biggest Book of Bread Machine Recipes".
for the 1 1/2 lb dough- which I get two good size pizzas from-
1 cup water
4 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- add all ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions and select dough cycle.  When cycle is complete, remove dough.  Punch down.  Cover and let rest for 10 min.


For thin-crust pizzas-
-Grease two 11 or 12 inch pizza pans or large baking sheets, sprinkle with yellow cornmeal, set aside.  Divide the dough in half.  On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 12 to 13 inch circle.  Transfer to the prepared pans building up edges to make crust. prick crust with fork.. do not let rise.  Bake in a 425 oven for 10- 12 minutes or until light brown.  Add desired toppings.  Bake for 10 - 15 minutes more until edges of crust are golden brown and toppings are bubbly. 


For think-crust pizzas-
-Follow the same directions except cover and let the dough rise on the pan for about 30- 45 minutes or until nearly doubled.  Bake in 375 oven for 20- 25 min until light brown.  Add toppings.  Bake 10 - 15 min more until edges are golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

I have tried so many different homemade sauces and although they were all pretty good .. I never found one I loved.  One day, when in a rush, I decided to just use Natures promise Organic traditional pasta sauce.  Yummm.. this worked pretty good.. so that's what I have been using since then.

I usually don't add meat to either pizza, since I try to do a few vegetarian meals a week. This is an easy one to use where no one really misses the meat.

I always use a combination of provolone, mozzarella and Parmesan and then whatever other toppings I have on hand or whatever were in the mood for.

This pizza I made a veggie pizza.  I topped it with Sliced zucchini, bell peppers, and onions.. I also added spinach on one side for the kiddos (to sneak in some extra vitamins).



This pizza I made like a margherita-style pizza.  I simmer olive oil in a sauce pan with fresh basil, dried oregano and minced fresh garlic.  Then I spread the seasoned olive oil on the pizza in place on the sauce, sprinkle on the cheese and top with sliced tomatoes, diced scallions and fresh basil leaves.

Both are SOOO good. Sometimes we like these even better than take-out pizza which is great because they are organic, less- greasy and such much better for the kids growing tummies!!

wordless wednesday.

an apple a day..

One more great healthy recipe for the day.  I found this recipe on the back of activity sheets that they had in the lobby of the grocery store one day.  I'm always looking for healthy snacks for the boys (and me too of course!) using fruits and veggies. These are super easy and really yummy too.  I made it while Nolan was napping.. he usually wakes up wanting a "snacky".  This will be an easy treat to just pull out of the fridge.  I'm sure hes going to love it!
 Apple Snack Bags
2 cups apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sweetened, dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
-preheat oven to 250
spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray. slice apples into a shallow, flat cooking pan.  Sprinkle cinnamon. Toss. Transfer coated apples to the greased cookie sheet and spread into a single layer.  Place in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and cool.  Combine cooked apples with cranberries and almonds.  Place equal amounts in four ziplock bags or containers and refrigerate.

groceries & goodies

Yesterday was my meal planning/grocery shopping day.  I try to sit down every week and plan out dinners for that week.  I write them down on a dry/erase board that we have on the fridge then I add whatever ingredients we don't already have to the grocery list which i usually already have started.. also hanging on the fridge.  Doing things this way every week makes it SOO much easier.  You never have those nagging days where your thinking.." ughhh.. what am i going to make for dinner..".  You already have the list right in front of you and you can choose whatever meal sounds best for that night.  It also helps with the grocery bill...you stick to exactly what you need without throwing all those costly extras into your cart.  Having a grocery list constantly going also helps keep it at one grocery trip a week.. most of the time i never forget anything because whenever i realize we are going to need something i add it to that list.  This eliminates those extras random trips where you always go in buying more than you planned.

I love grocery shopping.. i know.. strange..but i do! Probably just because I love food in general so much.

Every once in a while I have exciting trips where I find organics that I have not seen before.  This week I found a few! Popcorn, american cheese and pumpkin!!  Not the healthiest trio.. but also not that worst.  Nolan LOVES popcorn.. and as a treat every once in a while we let him stay up a little later than usual to have a "popcorn & movie night".  So when searching down the popcorn isle this week .. I was pleasantly surprised to find Natures Promise organic popcorn!  The american cheese is the processed single wrapped cheese.  We are usually a deli-cheese family but when we became an organic family, american cheese was one of our favs that we had to give up because we could never find it organic.  So..for the past 7 months we have been provolone and swiss family... not that those cheeses aren't equally if not more tasty but they just don't do justice to a grilled cheese sandwich quite like american cheese does!  The pumpkin was an awesome find.. especially with autumn just around the corner!! Soo excited to get baking with that.

So.. really I couldn't wait to start baking with the pumpkin.  This morning I made the MOST delicious pumpkin muffins.  I used this recipe that I found on allrecipes and just made a few tweaks. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addictive-Pumpkin-Muffins/Detail.aspx

I cut the entire recipe in half.  I really didn't want 36 muffins although now I'm thinking i could have just froze 1/2 of them.  I also cute the sugar down to a 1 1/4 cups.. and may try only 1 cup next time. I used half regular all purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat to make them a little more nutritious.  Also to make everyone happy and to try out different ones.. I made 5 different assortments.  Plain pumpkin, cranberry pumpkin, raisin pumpkin, walnut pumpkin and cranberry walnut pumpkin.  They are all amazing.. but the cranberry walnut is definitely my favorite!!

The best part.. almost all of the ingredients.. thanks to my lil can of organic pumpkin ..can be organic!!



i scream. you scream.

We all scream for ice cream!! At least I did yesterday....
My friends at our little football gathering must have thought i had absolutely lost it as i plowed them down running out the door as Aaron told me he saw the ice cream man drive past..but i WAS going to catch him this time!
Nolan and I had been trying to catch that ice cream man since we heard the little songs playing as he passed our street the first time at the beginning of summer and were always unsuccessful.  He either would come at the weirdest times when the boys were napping or we could just not get ourselves out the door fast enough to catch him but yesterday we finally did!!  I really think that i was more excited than any of the kids! I grew up in a town where we always had an ice cream man and all that kind of stuff.. but here in good old slower lower.. everyone is so spread out.. that you really don't get to experience those kinds of things.  I wanted Nolan to get to that ice cream truck just once!

Nolan picked spongebob and dora for his little brother. I don't think they were really that tasty considering neither of the boys ate more than 3 or 4 bites but running to get your ice cream is the best part not actually eating it.. right?!

finds, friends, football and food

Pretty eventful weekend...
Saturday, I explored the wonderful world of yard sales.  My mom goes rummaging through yard sales alot and always finds great stuff.  I, on the other hand, have had no interest in the whole idea....until Saturday.  I heard about a yard sale going on in downtown Milton.  I love walking through little towns and plus they have an AMAZING park there.  So I decided why not.. it could be a great morning.. walk through the town..check out a few yard sales.. and let the boys run around the park for a while.
What a good idea it was.. I found the first "new" (actually really old) piece to officially kick off the re-decorating Aaron and I have been talking about for the past few months.  Actually, we never officially finished decorating our house.. we were always just too busy so now I am dieing to really get it done.

I'm in love with this little red table that I found and the little $2 antique washboard wasn't too bad of a find either! Now, with just a few other finishing touches.. I think we may have one little wall done! May, not sound like much but I can say that wall has made me extremely happy every time Ive walked past it..and now I feel like we are finally accomplishing something with the house!

Sunday, was a day of watching football with our friends and pigging out on food.  Is it bad that when I think of football I immediately think of food? I love football food! but... I really do just love all food in general! On the football side I'm glad to see both my teams won yesterday! Skins, steelers.. wahoo!!

Obviously, Dada won with the jerseys this weekend.  But, I still think they are pretty cute... even if they are wearing the wrong color :)

Farewell sweet summer..

I can not believe it's September already! This summer flew by way too fast.  As much as I love the fall time.. I am not quite ready to say goodbye to summer.  Hopefully I'll get in a few more beach days which i think shouldn't be a problem if the weather we've had over the last week sticks around for a while!
But with living in a beach/touristy town comes alot of things that are closing their doors for the season.  Last night we had our last hurrah at Funland for the year.
Both of the boys LOVED the rides this summer... and I was excited that Nolan had his little brother as his passenger this year... instead of random kids. Sadly they didn't to have as much fun as usual.. they were both pretty tired but I would still say it was a success and a great night out with great friends!

see ya next year Funland!!

winner. winner. chicken dinner

So.. as most of our friends/family know...  the hubs and I made huge change in our lives back in February- we totally gave up fast food and soda.  We also began eating organic. 
I never thought we could give up fast food or soda.  I was a complete cherry coke feen. We also ate fast food alot and we loved it... who doesn't... its just so easy.
We had tried eating organically before.. but never stuck to it.
After watching the documentary "Food Inc." we decided we really needed to make a change especially for Nolan and Liam.  So we said a final farewell to Micky d's and coke and now, 7 months later, we are almost completely organic, have not had one soda or drivethru meal and feel pretty great.( GOOO US!!)
I am really proud of us.. it was not easy but also was not as hard as I thought it would be...I wish i could convince everyone to make the change! It's crazy what a difference it made in the way I feel everyday.
Butttt....Ill leave all the organic talk for another day..... since I started this post with intentions of sharing a recipe I tried tonight and kind of went off on a rant...
Since we started eating organic we eat alot of vegetarian meals.. but still eat meat a few nights a week.  I am always looking for marinade recipes because they don't really make organic marinades (at least not that I have seen) and when we do eat meat I like to make it healthy.. not mixed or slathered with a bunch of junk.  I like marinades made with simple stuff. 
I tried this new marinade tonight and I was a fan! Easy and pretty tasty.
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves crushed

I cut the recipe in half for 3 chicken breast and only let them marinade for a few hours.. I think they definitely could have soaked just a little longer but they were still yummy! With a little broccoli and a baked potato.. it ended up being a great meal :)

Here we go.....

Heres my attempt at a first post and entrance into the world of blogging. 

I've been talking about starting a blog for a while now..so I decided I needed to just do it! Here goes...!

Still trying to figure it all out... It will get better... Promise :)