Cold Comfort

When the day outside all day looked like this...

And the temperature never got higher than this....

I decided we were having this for dinner!

 

And what is this... this is bacon, cheesy potato soup! It was the most simple new recipe I found and with using reduced fat or fate free dairy it's not too bad for you! There are 4 ingredients: 1can cream of potato soup, 3 cups of milk, shredded cheddar cheese, and frozen country hash brown potatoes.

You throw them all in a sauce pan bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for 10 minutes. I added salt and pepper, garlic salt, chives, and onion flakes for flavor. I garnished with a little more cheese and bacon. It was amazing and warmed our house up on a cold, cold Colorado day.

 It was such a hit... this is my husband at the end of our meal.

I'm thinking about renaming it Midwest Man Chowder because any meat and potatoes man will be happy.

Weather forecasters are predicting a high of 4 degrees tomorrow and lows overnight tonight in the negatives with a wind chill of -20. I'm happy to be home, warm, and cuddled up with a cute baby, and wonderful hubby (even if he licks the bowl.)

And because the weather is going to continue to chill our bones this week, I'm making Chicken Tortilla soup tomorrow night and Ranch Mac and Cheese Wednesday hoping that they will warm us like the Midwest Man Chowder did :-)

I hope that you are enjoying warmer weather than we are and if not, stay warm, cozy and comfy! These are the nights I wish we had fireplace!

My Favorite Moment of the Day

When I get Connor up in the morning, in the last week he's started to react when we lean over the crib to get him up. It's my favorite moment of the day. Because for about 30 seconds the world stops and nothing else matters but the smile the comes across his face.

Here, see what I mean...

And I needed that moment today when Connor decided last night that midnight to 3am was going to be playtime rather than sleeping time. Now, I know that we are very, very luck parents because he sleeps through the night and has for a while now. He gets up to eat once around 4am and other than that just sleeps. So I had to remember last night at 2:30am when I was ready to give up that this is a once in a while thing.

But here's the other thing that came to my mind last night as we were watching the food network late night, I'm not working. And what is this going to be like when I'm back working 40 hours a week, taking classes, and trying to take care of myself and Joe. Needless to say it feels like a steep incline of a learning curve right now.

But I'm also reminded today on Connor's 3 month birthday that 3 months ago when he came the learning curve was just as steep and somehow we've figured that all out. He's gone from a baby to a little boy.

First Days

3 months

So here's to discovering the world of being a working mom and appreciating the amazing moments I get to have with my husband and our son.

P.S. If there are any working moms out there with tips and tricks I'm all ears :-)

Breakfast for Dinner

We had breakfast for dinner last night.

Something about having different foods at the wrong meal just made the world right. In learning more about cooking,  find breakfast the easiest to make for me. My first love is baking, but with breakfast foods you can just get so creative and that makes it my second favorite thing to make. Luckily Joe loves breakfast so it's a match made in heaven.

Breakfast started with Sweet Sausages by Paula Dean. Now let me just warn you, nothing, and I mean nothing, by Paula Dean is good for you. It is good for your soul and tastes amazing! I am a huge fan of bacon and syrup so how could it be wrong to have sausages and syrup!


I also made breakfast potatoes. Nothing fancy but I have to say that I am getting really good at cooking with oil. There were no baking instructions on the bag of potatoes so needless to say, a pan, oil, and a little frying and we breakfast potatoes.

Now, I have to have a sidebar, because I cannot think about breakfast potatoes without a mention and shout out to Paxton's Potatoes at The Village Deli in Bloomington, Indiana. They were picked as the best food in Indiana by the food network and not many who have had them will argue. In short they are potato cubes that should just be called cut up french fries, with sausage gravy smothered over the top with melted cheddar cheese. Sounds simple, and it is, but it is the best thing I have ever had for breakfast.

Ok, back to our dinner. I finished up with eggs in toast. I saw somewhere someone cut out a circle in a piece of bread and crack an egg inside of it to make eggs over easy. I believe a more common name is called eggs in a nest. Joe's mom used to make something called eggs on toast so in that same nature, I am naming this eggs in toast :-)

Happily this was a fun and different thing to have for dinner and in the nature of this blog, trying new things, and discovering something good, breakfast for dinner is something I encourage you all to try just to shake things up and do something different!

Mmmmmm.... Coffee.

I have a love/hate relationship with coffee. I love drinking it but my stomach hates it.

Just Cannot Wait!

 So here's the deal... about 5 years ago my new years resolution was to give up coffee. I lived in a residence hall with a Starbuck on my meal plan. Needless to say it was bad news for me, my meal plan, and my stomach. So I decided it would be better to not drink coffee anymore. And I was successful.... until I started working for SDSU and most meetings were conducted at Starbucks.

So again, a few years later I decided that it was time to give it up again. And it worked, I found tea! If you have never been to Teavana, you have to try it. I recommend the combination or Mate Vana and Roobios Chai. It's a tea for coffee lovers :-) And until Connor came it worked. I just absolutely loved having something hot and creamy to drink on cold, cold, Denver mornings.

Well then pregnancy came- no tea, no coffee, little to no caffeine. And then Connor was born and my sleep life changed and now its almost a must to function during the day to have coffee.

When Connor and I get up in the morning, he plays for about 30 minutes, just enough time for me to heat water, brew coffee, add my creamer and splenda, and sip! I wait with anticipation and when Connor fusess instead of playing, we make coffee together.

I know that I should not love coffee this much or look forward to it with as much anticipation as I do each morning. But especially on those cold, cold morning, I just sigh with content when that creamy, hot, yummy, nutty drink hits my lips :-)

Pioneer Woman's French Breakfast Puff Recipe

 And to go with that coffee, Cinnamon Sugar Muffins. I love making cupcakes probably more than anything else and thanks to the Pioneer Woman's cookbook I have now become friends with the cupcakes cousin, the muffin!

These "muffins" taste like cinnamon sugar donuts and probably should not be a breakfast food but the sweet goodness was too much to refuse. And with my yummy coffee lets just say that my morning breakfast was sooooo worth it.

I have vowed that I need to make these again but make them for somebody other than Joe and I because it took all my will power to send them with Joe to work the next day for his office to enjoy.

So here is to my cup of coffee each morning and the wonderfulness that comes from being able to just sit back and enjoy.

It Looks Just Like the Picture!

Ok, I did it! I tried a new recipe that seems a little challenging both in cooking and presentation. 

Come to find out it was a success!

 

So here it is... I made cheese and quinoa stuffed peppers. Something that neither Joe and I had ever tried. I learned Saturday night that I wasn't even pronouncing quinoa correctly. I kept saying q-no-a when it's pronouced keen-wa. Needless to say when I started cooking I wondered if my result would be correct as well.

 

And here is my version! It looks just like the picture. I was pretty proud of myself before even tasting it. Proud that it came out looking as it should and proud that we were trying something new. I made chicken just in case the stuffed pepper turned out crappy so we would have something to eat.

So the real food critic in our house is Joe... wait, I digress, he's not critical- he's a meat and potatoes mid-west man who can eat the same things over and over again. I'm not kidding he has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch and has been eating cereal for breakfast everyday since before high school.  And I asked him to try this...

I am happy to report that he not only tried it.... he ate it! I asked him to be honest with me about the food and he said "If I didn't like it I wouldn't eat it." I would say that I can safely give my cooking one point!

Here's on to the next new recipe for us and here's one more for discovering and trying something new :-)

Dove... the way to my heart.

This was my message the other day! It's like Dove read my blog!

 My favorite chocolates are Dove Chocolates. It was suggested to me that while trying to loose this baby weight to allow myself to have 2 small pieces of chocolate and to savor the moment. So I decided that I would not only savor my sweet tooth but also soothe my soul with the little messages from Dove.

So far the little chocolates are fulfilling my sweet tooth and making my soul happy.

What does it say about us that the little things, like a Dove chocolate message, makes us smile? I know that I am not the only one that loves to pick up these little candies and peel back the foil to reveal a sweet message. Sounds a lot like a fortune cookie too. For me, it can just bring a little hope and encouragement in a day.

And right now I need a little encouragement. I only have three weeks left at home with the little man. That may sound like a lot of time but I know it is going to fly by. And last night as I went to change his diaper it hit me and I burst into tears and exclaimed to Joe "I don't want to leave him" :-( 

Bundled up to go out in the cold!

I knew this day would come. We have found a wonderful daycare and I'm ready to be back doing work. But I wish that I could pack him up everyday and take him with me. It's sad to think that someone else will get his smiles, tears, and moments more than I will. He'll be at daycare almost 12 hours a day between commuting time and work time. I told a friend who had her son 3 weeks before Connor that it is a time to be kind to yourself because it is a transition. I think I need to take my own advice.

People asks who is looks like... his Dad (except my nose)!

So here's to savoring three more weeks of spending time with my little man all day and savoring my moments of encouragement whether they come from Dove or otherwise.

Sweet Potatoes and Rosemary

So in the last few days, I've tried some new cooking things. I'm learning that the art of cooking is not that hard but the art of adding flavor is! I'm such a newbie when it comes to seasonings, herbs, etc. When I was at Barnes and Noble the other day another customer was shopping for a book called the Flavor Bible. It was not available in the store and if that is truly the name of the cookbook, I will be adding it to my collection quickly!

So I tried sweet potatoes and rosemary this week for dinner. I have to say that it is my new favorite flavor combination! It's sweet and a little nutty :-) And there's more...

Excitingly, it was suggested to me that I change to whole wheat grains for bread, pasta, etc. And then I found a recipe that used whole wheat waffles rather than regular. I was curious so I put up some at the store and sure enough they are delicious! More whole wheat for me! Next on to whole wheat tortillas...

Whole Wheat Waffles with Syrup, Bananas, & sprinkle with Cinnamon Sugar!

Here's to trying more seasonings and whole wheat this week! Quinoa is on deck....

Starting...

So after reading a few other friends blogs I've decided to give this whole thing a try. Knowing me, this is either going to turn into another creative outlet or my interest will fade over time. Either way, I'm trying to still to this overwhelming theme for 2011 in my life. I feel like 2011 is going to be a year of trying new things, discovering new abilities and talents, and renewing my own spirit.

Our Little Man!

So the reason for this year of new is our little man, Connor. Only here for 11 weeks and already filling our lives with smiles, laughs, talks, and fun. So 2011 is going to be a year of new because for the first time I will be living life as a mom and balancing all the other roles in my life. Having Connor has forced me to relearn so many things already- things I've been doing for years! Who ever knew that having a baby would make you relearn how to do makeup, cook dinner, and drive a car!

I've also vowed that 2011 would be the year of creativity starting with cooking. I LOVE to bake and I think that I'm pretty good at it. But cooking and I have always been in a basics relationship and it's getting pretty boring. So figurative and literally I'm trying to spice and season up our food life. The Food Network and I have become friends and I'm starting to learn more about process of cooking and the relationship with flavor that so many wonderful cooks and chefs have. I doubt that I will be hired as a executive chef by the end of 2011 but I hope that we will have added some great new dishes, meals and flavors to our food lives. I've already tried http://www.foodnetwork.com/cooking-for-real/bistro-night-in/index.html and am happy to say that the results were a hit!

So there you go, 2011, a year to try, discover and renew. Who knows what is waiting....