Got Basil? Make Pistou!

When I lived in Provence one summer, we had soupe au pistou one night for dinner.  It's a vegetable soup and you stir the pistou in before you eat.  For the longest time, I thought pistou was something super special and would be difficult to make... well, turns out it's actually super cheap and easy if you have your own basil. 

While I have no plans just yet to make soupe au pistou, I figured I had to do something with all the basil I had.  Pistou is simply pesto sans pine nuts. Which although delicious, are ridiculously expensive.  Here's the recipe I followed to make pistou.  I think I used less olive oil than they did... you can always add more in when you make something with it! Also, I froze it immediately in two 1/2 cup containers, with a piece of saran wrap smushed on top of the pistou to prevent freezer burn.  I am of the belief that if I ever get a new fridge, freezer burn will be a thing of the past.  Right?!?!

Basil from my garden! (and some from my parents!)

The other ingredients... my cheats: already minced garlic, lemon juice in a fake lemon and grated parmesan cheese

two 1/2 cup portions of pistou

Menu Plan Monday(s) late July- Early August

thanks for helping me make the pizzas!! I love you!!

What we've been eating lately:

Pizza on the grill, but using this dough. Sidenote: If you have a kitchenaid mixer, it's super easy to make dough with it.  We made our favorite pizza of goat cheese, figs & caramelized onions, along with a pizza margherita and a basic pepperoni this past time.  My parents were in town, so it was super fun to be in the kitchen with my Dad :-)

Vegetable Lasagna (lasagna noodles, followed by garlic alfredo sauce (I cheated and used one from a jar :-/ thinned with some milk), ricotta cheese mixed with spinach and parmesan, and then a mix of zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, red onion, carrots, spinach, and a layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 

Vegetable Enchiladas: I cheated again and used jarred sauce... and I used zucchini, yellow squash, black beans, corn & tomatoes as the veggies. 

Homemade Salsa (modifications: used canned diced tomatoes (canned tomatoes really do make good salsa when you are waiting for yours to ripen), added a splash of lime juice, didn't use the vinegar, didn't add cumin even though it's my favorite... just like anything else you cook, the key is to taste while you go... just use clean utensils each time/a new chip if you are making it for others!)

"Unbelievable Chicken"... let's just say there once was a time I thought I was helping out with our church's version of VBS and had Grant grill 6 chicken breasts to use for easy meals all week, only to find out it was the next week.  I'll blame it on "mom brain." Anyways, this chicken really was good... I didn't have any coarse mustard, so I just used Dijon and it was still delicious. We ate most of it plain, but I also made a few wraps for lunch.  

Calzones- again, use your stand mixer to make the dough! I used mozzarella with the ricotta instead of chedddar... but any combo of cheese would work... I like foods that involve "dipping," so this is fun with the tomato sauce on the side. I made four calzones out of this dough, and they were still pretty large, so you probably make eight or make 16 "mini" calzones.  I didn't bother to brush it with egg or olive oil and they were still great.  

Menu Plan Monday 7/9

Here's what we are eating this week, starting on Saturday, because well, we were on vacation, so my grocery store day was set by default.

Saturday: Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans (the crock pot typically gets more use in the winter around here... but with these temperatures in the 100s, it was SUPER nice to have dinner without the whole house heating up or asking my husband to grill in the extreme heat)

Sunday: leftover chicken, salad with Zesty Avocado Cilantro Buttermilk dressing (a pinterest find... healthy & delish!)

Monday: Rice & bean burritos(modified to serve 2), guacamole & chips

Tuesday: Grilled Turkey Burgers, grilled veggie kabobs (zucchini, yellow squash, onions)

Wednesday: Rosemary Rubbed Pork Chops (a favorite from last summer), Antipasto Salad

Thursday: Southwestern salads with avocado cilantro buttermilk dressing

Friday: Pizza Margherita (our basil is growing like a weed!! If only my cilantro would do the same.)

Saturday: going to a wedding!! woo hoo!! 

for more menu planning ideas go to  http://orgjunkie.com/2012/07/menu-plan-monday-july-912-giveaway.html

Menu Plan Monday (aka what we've been eating)

Well, it's safe to say it's been almost 4 months since I've written one of these posts. Perhaps there is some correlation with the fact that Kyler is also almost 4 months old...

Anyways, I did not plan out meals while I was on maternity leave (March and the first two weeks of April), and then I attempted the next two weeks to do so but will admit that I have some AMAZING friends who brought me meals AGAIN once I returned to work, and my husband and I decided that if I am working, we might as well take advantage of my income and get takeout at least once a week. Which was nice, but I honestly did miss cooking. There is just something satisfying about knowing what is actually in what I'm eating.  And I think in general, I eat healthier when I cook versus when I select something off of a restaurant menu.

MENU PLAN FROM MAY 2012

In May, I started menu planning again, but as I was trying to just survive the school year, I never posted about it.  I used the "Once a Month Mom" Whole Foods May 2012 menu and selected a few dishes off of it and as her recipes suggested, made a double batch.  

So in the month of May, we had these dishes twice: 

1-Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps (I actually made these again tonight with turkey instead of beef, and I cooked 1/2 cup of quinoa and added it to the mixture to stretch it a bit farther- you don't even notice it's in there- yum!... oh and I also left out the peanuts, used red pepper flakes instead of the sriracha and used many more green onions)

2- Sesame and Cilantro Vermicelli Salad (again, left out the peanuts)... and I made this again tonight as a side with the lettuce wraps

3- Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Lime Sauce

4-Summer Vegetable Chicken Enchiladas

My thoughts: I really liked having meals in the freezer while I was working... I wasn't a fan of the way the vermicelli thawed- it tasted too watery, but the rest of the stuff froze beautifully.  I don't have a need to do once-a-month cooking right now, but I'm sure I will again once school starts.  I think selecting just even 4 dishes off of a menu like the ones on that amazing blog can be a huge help! 

Other things I've been cooking: 

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins- These were Grant's birthday treat!

Virgin Mojitos- I made a mint-infused simple syrup and then added fresh lime juice, more mint leaves, sparkling water & ice... yum!

This week's Menu Plan

Mon: Pizza with Grant's parents and cousin

Tues: Spicy Turkey Lettuce Wraps (see above), Sesame & Cilantro Vermicelli Salad (see above), strawberries

Weds: Goat Cheese, Pesto & Red Pepper Pizzas with Tomato, Watermelon, Tomato & Mint Salad

Thurs: Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos (I roast onions and sweet potatoes and then half the ingredients-they sound weird but totally work- from this recipe)

Fri: leftovers

Sat: leaving for vacation!

Sun: vacation!

Have a good week!!

Lessons Learned: Random Thoughts Part 2

14 weeks into parenthood, here are some of my thoughts/questions. I don't even know who/ if anyone reads this blog anymore since I stopped writing for a few months when I returned to work, but if anyone is out there (I know you are K.L., and thank you for being my faithful audience! You too hubs!!), feel free to answer my questions! (however some are simply rhetorical...)

1- Why do they put the sayings/ prints/ etc across the front at the top of a onesie? I know that's where it belongs, but due to the bib(s!!) my little guy is always wearing, you will never know that he is "the smallest OSU fan," a "party pooper," a "Miami baby," "mommy's little tiger," etc unless I take the bib off for a picture. Perhaps they should put such sayings in a different place.

2- Why is it that whenever we are trying to rush out the door, the magical angle of the car seat makes him poop? Never seems to happen when I'm not in a rush.

3- How do you convince a baby that is super hungry or super tired that if he stops screaming he can eat or sleep?

4- I wonder if the reason so many moms "let themselves go," aka stop caring about their appearance is partially due to the reality people will only glance at you but will stare at your baby forever until you start to walk away?

5- Why doesn't every retail business have a drive thru? It would be so much easier to get errands done if I didn't have to get him out of the car. Starbucks at Morse and Hamilton, please consider this. It's pretty easy to convince me I deserve a treat these days. However... My secret wish is that I lived somewhere where I could walk everywhere... Like a small city in the south of France, perhaps?

6- How is it that we think it's so cute when babies have chunky thighs, chubby cheeks and multiple chins, yet we spend so much time and money trying to avoid these things? (I am NOT pro-obesity or anything, I just find this humorous!)

7- Why are the cup holders on my stroller so shallow? Is it a scheme to get me to buy the extra one that attaches on that I have yet to figure out how to install? If I never had to maneuver thing over any bumps perhaps that shallow one could work.

8- Why don't adults smell as good after a shower as babies do after a bath? Is it the products or do babies just smell better?

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the cute pics of my little man... One with a bib, one without;)

Three months!!

The little babe is not so little anymore. Weighing in at 12 lbs, 13 oz (as of last Weds, so it's probably more now), he is nearing the end of his time in 0-3 month clothing and size 1 diapers.

The past two months have been CRAZY trying to balance working full-time and still loving on him as much as possible. His daycare providers love him but it still breaks my heart that he is there for 9-10 hours a day. Can I say we were thriving as a family these past few months? No, but we love being parents, and we have been surviving. Looking back, if I had a choice, I would have taken a bit more time off of work.

One of my love languages is quality time, so naturally when I'm with Ky I want to be 100% engaged, not multitasking. As soon as we walk in the house we have mama and Ky time, where I put him on my lap facing me with his back resting against my legs. Until it is time to feed him, we talk and sing... Ok, I sing, and we both talk, gazing into each other's eyes. It is one of the highlights of my day. He loves songs with motions, like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," (which we sing in English and French) and "If you're Happy and You Know It." He smiles all the time and every now and then he will giggle and it is just so sweet.

We still have him sleeping in our room, which was part of the survival plan until summer break... But tomorrow is the last day of school so we may be transitioning him fully to his crib. He had been napping in it on the weekends. Speaking of sleeping, he now will lay his head on your shoulder. Melts.my.heart. I had the privilege of nannying for my nephew five years ago over the summer, and I still remember how sweet he was when he would do that when he was tired... It's even better when it is your own kid. Love my cuddly boy.

He rolls onto his left side all the time, grabs onto toys and loves to suck and chew on his hands... I just can't wait to watch him grow and develop this summer!

Lessons Learned: random thoughts part 1

Disclaimer: I downloaded the blogger app... So I'm typing this on my phone. I don't have time to sit at the computer now that I'm back at work so unless I stop giving assignments that need graded, this blog will only get updated if I can multitask and blog while feeding Ky.


In the 65 days Ky has been in our lives, I have learned a lot:

The Emotional:
1- I never knew it was possible to love someone this much. I love my husband so much it's ridiculous but this love is different.
2- having a child makes it easier for me to understand how much God loves me, which is also ridiculous.
3-a lot of people told me I wouldn't work as hard at work and I'd be running out the door to get him as soon as the bell rang. While I did that on day 1, I've been working 6:45-4:20, picking him up, coming home and feeding him and then working again for an hour or an hour and a half at night. I have the desire not to work as hard but I can't bring myself to do so (and I'm not sure I even know how). So for as long as I'm teaching, I'll be giving it my 100%.
4-picking him up from day care is worse than dropping him off. It's then that I realize I am paying someone to watch him while I watch other people's kids. (ok, I am teaching them French, not babysitting, but when you teach classes with large amounts of freshmen boys you spend a good portion of the period on classroom management.)

The practical/not as serious:
1- I want to hold him all.the.time. This means I quickly learned the value of wearing your baby (currently using and love the Moby Wrap), having a device that has Internet access that I can easily access (I think I've used our real computer like 3 times since he was born)
2- taking a meal to a new mom is one of the best things you can do. I have been taking new moms meals for the past four years but never realized how much of a blessing doing so is. I am so thankful to all of you who bought us gift cards to restaurants or made something. And a huge thank you to those of you who brought me a second meal to help me survive being back at work.
3- I was right when I suspected that if I wasn't a napper before having a baby, I wouldn't become one after having one. Sleep when the baby sleeps... Ha. Props to those of you that are good at napping. I am an accidental, not an intentional napper. Put me in a car or in front of the tv and I might just fall asleep. When Ky does sleep, I do things I can't do while holding him. Makes sense to me :)
4- The iPhone is the greatest invention ever for a mom.I feel like it is my own little robot. From this device I can: call, text, take great pics and videos and easily share them, play my family and friends in scrabble and draw something, listen to my music, read my daily devotional, check and answer my work emails, surf the web, create Facebook albums, update this blog, renew the library books I don't have time to read, google whatever is freaking me out about Ky to find out if it's normal... And the list goes on. Let me just say that when you spend 1.5-3.5 hours of your day feeding your kid, it is awesome to be able to accomplish a few things. When I'm not using it, I am praying. Another good (actually a better) use of feeding time.