What's cooking?

This is our dinner plan for the week. Eventually, I'm hoping to build these into a meal plan to post but for now, here's what's cooking for the week. Any applicable recipes are linked below.


- Baked Pesto Chicken
- Butternut squash
- Chicken piccata
- Turkey stuffed peppers

Spring has sprung!

Easter is just a week away and I cannot wait. I am not very religious which, I guess, is the whole point of Easter but let me have my moment here.

April means warmer temperatures, chirping birds and crocuses pushing through the ground. Baseball is on TV, it stays lighter longer and before you know it, it's Summer time! Here are my favorite Spring-y activities you can do as you count down to Easter.

Decorate your table with a Peeps centerpiece.


via Taste of Home.
Make Cinnabunnies for breakfast.


via Betty Crocker.
Turn yourself into the Easter bunny with a plate, paper and popsicle stick.


Create an egg shaped fruit pizza!


via Sugar Hero.
String some Easter egg garland!


via Eclectically Vintage.
Dye eggs! Love the ombre look.


via SAS Interiors.
Put together this Easter egg wreath. I am obsessed with this!


via Wine and Glue.
Bake this adorable bunny cake.


via The Cake Blog.
And last but certainly not least - make some Bunny bait! If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember that I made this for preschool!


via Around my Family Table.
I'm planning on making the Bunny cake (or something similar) for our Easter celebration. And the Easter bunny masks will be an activity we do during the week. I really REALLY want to attempt the egg wreath but we'll see. Hey….show me your Easter crafts!

Roasted Cauliflower

My kids love cauliflower but my husband…not so much. To be honest, it wasn't very high on my list of favorites either. But then I roasted it.

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into bite sized pieces
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
Pepper to taste


Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour cauliflower onto baking sheet.
Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until browned and tender, turning every 10 - 15 minutes.
One large head serves 3 - 4 people.

This is a quick and easy side dish that you can throw together. Not to mention, it's pretty healthy as well. So many people like to use it as a substitute for mashed potatoes. I've seen recipes that compare roasted cauliflower to french fries but I wouldn't go that far. ;)

For the record, my husband ate every piece I gave him…and even admitted that it was pretty good. I'd say that's a check in the win column.

Sunny Sunday

It's only 46 degrees but the sun feels so good. Hurry up, Spring. We are getting a little impatient!

Our chicks are done with their brooding and are back in the egg business. Today, we're going to pick up two more babies that we'll keep in the laundry room nursery for a few more weeks. These chicks are supposed to lay pretty blue eggs. Very Martha Stewart like!

Happy Sunday!

…..Bueller?

Where does the time go? Seriously. What the actual hell?

There have been so many times that I've logged in, started a post and then somehow got distracted to the point where almost 2 months have gone by. I have so many random pieces of paper with blog ideas, all scattered around my life. I'm sure I'd be a blogging fool if I could, you know, find those pieces of paper.

Shit goes by so quickly and I cannot believe that it is (almost) April. I am so looking forward to being outside in the backyard. To say that we have cabin fever would be putting it lightly. I am planning a raised garden this year. I just want to dig in the dirt. I also want to "live off the land" as much as we can. My father in law has a huge garden every year so if I kill all of my plants, we will just live off of his land. ;)

Anyway. Hi, guys. Nice to see ya.

I am not ready for Sochi

But more importantly, Sochi is not ready for, well…..anyone.

US warns that terrorists could try to place explosives disguised as toothpaste on Russia-bound flights. http://t.co/jJECLdvyia #Sochi2014

— ABC News (@abcnews) February 5, 2014

Mass killing of stray dogs in #Sochi ahead of #WinterOlympics happening NOW: TAKE ACTION! http://t.co/fsY5bfZcna pic.twitter.com/VbrALVpu1w

— Animals Australia (@AnimalsAus) February 5, 2014

My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous." #Sochi2014

— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014

Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz

— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014

Sochi hotel not quite finished, & has no record of my reservation. I'll go to the bar while they try to sort it. Oh. pic.twitter.com/HQjAm4UMHY

— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014

This… IS.. SOCHI… pic.twitter.com/j1OXiuaPCQ

— Wylsacom (@wylsacom) February 4, 2014

Watch your step @Sochi2014 -- I've noticed on walkway and on sidewalks that not all man holes are always covered. pic.twitter.com/a5Nv4wu5iA

— Jo-Ann Barnas (@JoAnnBarnas) February 1, 2014

The tweets are endless. [Comprehensive list here]

I go between feeling horrified and laughing hysterically. I cannot imagine sending my child to Sochi so they can compete in the games. On one hand, they've worked so incredibly hard to make it to the Olympics. On the other hand, you have to worry about Black Widows and hope your child doesn't wear red, white and blue outside of the designated areas.

Also, did you know that there is not one gay person in Sochi? And gay athletes are actually biting their tongue because they're afraid of retaliation? WHY? The Olympics provide so much publicity and money. WHY! I am not great with history but I'm pretty sure that Russia has always been at least a little…..cringe worthy? Ugh.

Look, I'm not saying that every location chosen by the IOC has to be perfect. Every venue has had their problems. I'm just thinking that maybe, they could give more consideration to the Miss Congeniality of the group.

That being said, I will definitely be tuning in to the opening ceremonies on Friday. I'm all about the iceskating!

Chewy Granola Bars

I have a control problem and I know it. I like to know what we are eating. It is exhausting to make shit like this sometimes but it is so worth it. Have you read about the current state of food lately? It's scary. We aren't 100% free range/ organic/ pure/ unprocessed but I'm trying. Baby steps!

I made this on a whim and they turned out better than I had thought. The recipe is quick and most of the ingredients are things that you might already have in the pantry.

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup crisped rice cereal
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Mini semi sweet chips

Directions
Spray an 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray. (I use coconut oil)
In a food processor, pulse the oats to break them up a little bit.
Add sugar, coconut oil and honey to a sauce pan and heat on medium heat.
Stir until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add vanilla.
In a medium bowl, mix oats and cereal.
Pour melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour oats into glass pan and press firmly. (I cover it with waxed paper before pressing)
Top with mini chips and press into the oats. Press quickly as they might melt a little due to the heat.
Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until they are set.
Cut and enjoy!

Children under 1 cannot have honey so keep that in mind when you're dishing these out. The original recipe is here .

Merry Christmas!

To you…and yours!

Amelia Rose

I have stared at this blank window for 37 minutes. I've written, erased, written, reworded, erased, written, erased. It is just so hard to transcribe my emotions.

You were due on the anniversary of my miscarriage. I was told you probably had Spina Bifida, that you'd be paralyzed and that I should prepare myself for anencephaly. We waited 23 days to see a genetic counselor. We waited 23 days for a diagnostic ultrasound. There was a mass on my placenta that we needed to hope would not become vascular and cause you to go into cardiac arrest. I spent 3 days in neuro ICU after pregnancy hormones triggered a migraine so severe that they thought I had a stroke. 3 CT scans and one MRI. Topped off with a Pitocin induction and an epidural that did not work.

All of that bad news meant nothing.

You are so smart. And seriously, so funny. You have a voice and you don't let people forget it. The three of us are wrapped around your finger and we don't even mind. We miss you when you're sleeping. You are an incredibly special little girl and you have been from the start.

Happy 1st Birthday, baby. Mama loves you.

Balsamic Chicken

This is one of my favorite recipes to make. It's quick, easy, pretty healthy and something my family asks for over and over.

Ingredients
3- 4 chicken skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in half.
1- 2 pints of cherry tomatoes.
1 small purple onion, diced.
1/2 cup fresh basil, cut into ribbons.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar + more to drizzle.
1 tbsp olive oil.
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed.
Salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the tomatoes in half, lengthwise, and toss them into a medium sized bowl.
Add diced onion, basil ribbons, crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to tomatoes and stir.
Place your chicken into a 9 x 13 glass pan and liberally salt and pepper them.
Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar onto the chicken.
Dump tomato mixture onto chicken.
Bake for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

The flavors blend so well. The tomatoes become a little sweet after they are roasted and the whole dish is just light and fresh. If I'm hungry, I serve it with Trader Joes jasmine rice. Otherwise, skip it.

It's so easy. Make it!

DIY Christmas gift: Eggnog!

If I'm being honest, the main reason I decided to try my hand at eggnog was our abundance of eggs. When I say abundance, what I really mean is that they are coming out of my ass. Our chickens deserve some kind of an award.

I love eggnog but I can only tolerate 3 sips of the stuff you buy from the store. This version? I cannot stop. The flavor is great without being too sweet. The consistency is perfect, as well. PLUS! It's super easy.

Ingredients
2 cups of milk (I use whole)
1 cup of heavy cream
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp of sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp of nutmeg
3+ oz of whiskey (I use Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey)

Directions
- In a stand mixer, beat the yolks and 1/3 cup of sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the yolks have lightened in color.
- Meanwhile, combine the milk, cream and nutmeg in a sauce pan, over medium to high heat. Stirring occasionally, heat this mixture until it almost boils.
- Remove from the heat and gradually temper the yolks and sugar with the cream mixture.
- Put the whole bowl into the refrigerator to cool.
- Whip the egg whites and the tbsp of sugar in the mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Whisk the chilled mix into the egg whites.
- Add whiskey and stir.
- Pour into mason jars and share or pour into a glass and ENJOY!

I have a batch in the refrigerator, ready to go to a few guys that work with my husband. Next batch will go with us to a friend's Christmas party. No gifts, just food and booze. This eggnog with be the perfect addition. Original recipe from Alton Brown.

Salut!

Santa Spy Cam

Last year, it was Reindeer Cam. We still use the Reindeer app but this year, it's all about Santa Spy Cam.

I found it after my son insisted that our Elf of the Shelf was not real. He was not real because no one ever saw him move.

Excuse me? You're 3 and a half.

Anyway, my husband and I "set up the phone" to "spy on the elf while we were sleeping" and this is what we saw!



FREAKING AWESOME.

That's our hallway. The app lets you add an elf (or two) into real scenes from your house or wherever you need to add a little magic. My skeptical son is now psyched about Shelfie again. Whew. I asked him if he thinks Santa is real and he said yes. Which is good, because I told him that the presents stop when you stop believing in Santa!

The app is free and there are a couple of free elves. Others will cost you but are totally worth the price!


Merry Christmas!! This is not an ad!

Holiday Gift Guide: Wine Lover's Edition

It seems as if everyone has a gift guide for Christmas and I did not want to be left out. I don't know a lot about wine other than that I enjoy drinking it. The holidays can be a stressful time of year so I'm hoping that this helps. Here are my top picks for the oenophile in your life.

The Ultimate Wine Bottle Glass - $14
Hysterical. I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was a joke. Well, my friends, it is a reality. It's inexpensive enough to buy as a gag gift. Perfect for the woman who limits herself to one glass of wine a night. Who cares if that one glass is 750 ml?

Vino2Go Wine Tumbler- $16
A wine sippy cup! My life is complete now that I have one of these. Perfect for Merlot Moms that would love to sip their wine at the soccer game. If drinking during school functions is not your thing, this is a great cup to take camping. No spills! No bugs! BPA free!

The Corkcicle - $22
I bought this for a friend of mine a couple of years ago and she loves it. She uses it when she's enjoying her wine on the front porch with her best friend. It keeps your wine perfectly chilled. Personally, I would use it while I stumble around the backyard during the summer. Prevents spills when drinking from the bottle!

Wine Barrel Cork Cage - $24
This cork cage is a great way to keep track of your accomplishments while providing cute decor for the kitchen or dining room. I enjoy pinning cork crafts on Pinterest and this cork cage gets me one step closer to actually doing those projects. Bonus? Have friends and family add their corks so no one can comment on how many wine bottles you go through.

Wine Cork Coaster Kit - $20
Speaking of cork crafts! I was given a cork trivet kit and I enjoyed making it! This is great for the creative and crafty wino friend. You could even open the box, complete the coasters with all of your corks and wrap them up like that. No one would ever know that you bought a kit!

GoVino Wine Glass - $13
This glass is for the environmental enthusiast! It's flexible, shatterproof and most importantly, recyclable. These are unbreakable! I've put my glass down on an invisible table way too many times. This gift would eliminate the shards of glass that you miss while cleaning up the mess! They are great for parties, camping, the pool, the tub, Thursday night, whenever!

The Wine Rack - $30
Last but certainly not least, the WINE RACK! Drink your wine where you want, whenever you want to! The bra holds 25 ounces of liquid. When you're empty, avoid the awkward boob size questions by blowing some air into it. This is the perfect gift for the concert go-er or the woman who truly hates her job.

And there you have it. I hope you were able to cross at least one person off your gift list. Cheers!

Panty Liners to the Rescue

Oh, yes I did.

I'm pretty sure that I did not make this up. For the life of me, I cannot remember where I saw it but IT WORKS.

I am always so self conscious about pit stains. It goes back to high school when I raised my hand in class and the girl next to me, who was kind- of a friend, told me to keep my arms down because I had awful pit stains. She wasn't mean and didn't make fun of me to my face but I was mortified. The shirt I wore today was silk and my office is always stuffy. Just thinking about the pit stains had me sweating before I even got dressed.


I grabbed two of my U by Kotex thin liners and stuck them to the armpits of my shirt. It looked so ridiculous and funny and naturally, I tweeted about it. Some people laughed, some asked "WTF?" and others were intrigued.

I checked my shirt all day long.
No stains and they stayed where I had put them. I was impressed. I will definitely do this again. Who knew panty liners could be so useful?

Beauty is Pain

We all know that. A few years ago, I was Gwen Stefani blonde. I processed my hair, by myself with a $10 box of bleach. Oh, my gosh. The color was so wonderful, despite the 3rd degree burns and the subsequent clumps of hair falling out.

Anyway.

Our newspaper has a section on its website called “Seen”. A photographer goes out to local events, takes pictures of participants and posts them for everyone to see. It’s a great distraction from work, really. Who knew there were so many philanthropists and socialites in the area? I have noticed one thing that bothers the shit out of me though.

These fancy women always take their shoes off. Um, ew.

I get it y’all. I GET IT. I, too, have worn uncomfortable but fabulous shoes. I remember when I was in college and I wore 4 inch heels with my Halloween costume. I walked home one whole mile, on a drunk holiday, in a college town, through eggs/vomit/other questionable fluids……BAREFOOT. My feet hurt so bad and the booze was not helping at all. But I was 20 years old and unrefined!

I feel your pain, ladies. However, you are the Fancy Pants of the area. You donate money to charities. You Golf clap while perched next to your affluent husband. You shake hands, you kiss babies. Why the hell would you take your shoes off in a public place? Did you know that you can get Athlete's Foot from your own bath tub? Imagine all of the shit crawling around on the linoleum floor of a museum? Yikes.

Get yourself a pair of Spare Soles and call it a day. Seriously, they fit right into your glittery clutch. They also prevent you from catching a virus that has yet to be named or worse- being photographed in public without your shoes on.

Gross.

Sunday Social

So I came across this on Ashley's site and thought it was a great way to get me into the habit of blogging more. And, it's not another recipe/ picture of food. It's the Sunday Social. JOIN IN, RIGHT MEOW.





1. What were you like in middle school and high school? Tall and awkward. Seriously. I've been 5' 9" since sixth grade. My arms and legs are really long. Do you know what it's like to have your "boyfriend" stand 3 stairs up just so he could kiss you on the lips without having to ask you to bend down? Yeah.

2. What were your favorite pastimes? I played a lot of soccer and did a lot of skiing. I worked, too. I was a good teenager for the most part.

3. What songs were you obsessed with? Anything that was awful and on the radio. The same is true for my music taste today.

4. What fashion statement do you look back on and cringe? I chopped off all of my hair in 9th grade. Like, pixie cut. It was cute and it was different but that's something you do when you're older and you have boobs; not during the time in your life that you could be mistaken for a boy. (They accidentally listed my name as Eric in the year book that year! Sad face)

5. Who was your celeb crush? All of them? I specifically recall loving Carson Daly when he was relevant and hosting TRL. Way before his manorexia.

6. What was your favorite movie? It always has and always will be, The Wizard of Oz.


Ch ch ch check it out over at Ashley Lately.

My pumpkins with pumpkins!

Ahhhhh, October. The month that clogs your social media feeds with pictures of kids and pumpkins. Well, I'm not about to stop that shit. Here are a couple snaps of my babes. Seriously, its so hard to get two kids to sit, smile and look at you, all at the same time! Props to you photographers that make it look like cake.

My babies are the absolute best. Love.

Our Tour de Donuts has just begun. We try to visit as many orchards/patches as we can and then try to decide who has the best apple cider donuts. This weekend's farm was pretty good but one of the orchards closest to us has the best. I'm putting on my Winter weight, one dozen at a time.

What's Cooking this Week

I'm way ahead of myself somehow and already have this week's meals planned. Usually I'm wandering around Trader Joes, eyes wide, trying to quickly come up with dinner for the next few nights. Typically, I end up with half the ingredients for 6 different meals. Not this week, my friends. Half a pot of coffee in the morning is great motivation!


My husband is home ALL TODAY AND ALL TONIGHT. We're taking the kids to play in the pumpkins and stuffing them full of cider donuts. Hopefully I remember to take a couple pictures. Enjoy the weekend!


Perfect Pot Roast - The Pioneer Woman. I've given up the packet of chemicals pot roast. :O

Greek Turkey Meatballs - Skinny Taste. Never Made these before!

Chicken and Broccoli - A Teaspoon of Happiness. A staple in our family.

Hearty Meatball Stew - Giada and The Food Network. Love anything from Giada.

Baked Pasta with Sausage & Spinach - Skinny Taste. Another one of our favorites.

Fooseball Food: Ham and Cheese Sliders

Well these little sammies could be made for any occasion, really. They were a big hit at my daughter's Christening. But, it's football time and the internet tells me that people like to eat while they watch football. This recipe is all over Pinterest so I'm sure you've seen it before. IT'S DANG GOOD, Y'ALL.

They're perfect for feeding a crowd because you make 12 at once and they can be done ahead of time. The original recipe is posted on the Kings Hawaiian website. My version is listed below!

Ingredients
1 pkg Kings Hawaiian Sweet rolls
1 lb shaved ham
1/2 lb sliced cheese (I use fontina)
1 small onion, minced
1 stick of butter
1.5 Tbsp dijon mustard
1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Poppy seeds to garnish

Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a pan and add the onions.
- Stir until onions become translucent.
- Add mustard, worcestershire sauce and stir. Remove from heat.
- Cut the sweet rolls in half, but keep the layers intact.
- Place the bottom layer in a 9 x 13 pan.
- Add the butter mixture to the bottom half of the rolls, about a teaspoon on each roll.
- Add a layer of ham and then a layer of cheese.
- Place top half of the rolls onto the sandwiches.
- Brush the tops of the rolls with the butter mixture. Ensure that some of the onions make it up there.
- Sprinkle the rolls with poppy seeds.
- Bake the sandwiches for approx 15 minutes so the cheese is melted and the rolls are brown.
- Eat, drink and repeat.

I've been known to make these for lunch on the weekend. We seriously eat all twelve them.

I'm a little (a lot) OCD so I actually break all of the rolls apart and fold the ham and cheese so that they fit nicely on each sandwich. Yikes, I know. But listen, happy wife, happy life right? Riiiiight.

Make these for your fooseball get together this weekend or for whatever else you've got going on. Hope you love them!!

Cross it Off the List!

One of my goals for 2013 was to run a 5K. And I finally accomplished that, yesterday!

I don't have a lot of time to myself so I run when I can and workout when I feel like it. Last year, when I was the size of a house, I promised myself that I would run one. I figured September was a realistic timeline after having a baby in December! I ran with two friends and we did it in about 30 mins. There were 1,000+ other people in our wave so we kind of ran...at a walking pace. But we did it! And it was so much fun.

Pre run selfie.

Um, I can't remember what we were sad about. Lol.

After. YAY!

We're doing it again next year, for sure!