Working My Way Through Pinterest

If you don't know, Pinterest is the best website out there. Endless pictures of inspiration for decorating, cooking, crafting, cleaning, organizing, etc. It really is addicting. After many "pins" I decided that I actually should start making things rather than just saying that I wanted to make them. So in the last week, I tackled a couple of my pins and wanted to share which ones I tried and what I liked/didn't like about them.

1. Chicken Broccoli Supreme: I searched for a chicken and broccoli casserole so I could freeze half of it for when the baby came. This was really good. I used a little more chicken then what the recipe called for but figured we wouldn't mind the extra protein. At first I was going to serve it with rice, but my husband hates rice so I went with the next recipe.

2. Hasselback Potatoes: I kept seeing these on Pinterest and just had to try them. They didn't come out as crispy as I was hoping. Maybe I was just too impatient to wait for them to cook all the way I don't know. The bottoms were nice and crispy but the rest of the potato was just normal.

3. Snickers Salad: Just 3 ingredients. Snickers bars (frozen), cool whip, and granny smith apples. It did taste good but it can't figure out the right ratios for everything. First I thought I had too much Cool Whip and by the time I got to the end of the dessert I had too much Snickers. I think next time I might add some caramel syrup to it to get more of the caramel apple feel.

4. Mummy Dogs: I just made these yesterday for a Kids Halloween party. Super easy and cute. I used turkey dogs to make them a little bit healthier, but what's one mummy dog gonna hurt.


Once we get a more steady income, I decided to set aside one day a week for Pinterest projects. This way I can hold myself accountable to actually making something rather than mindlessly pinning pictures. It will be fun to finally start checking things off my list.

Feeding a Picky Toddler

Liam wasn't always a picky eater but the last 7 months have been pretty tough to get him to eat good things. What used to be one of his favorite food, Mac and Cheese, he will not even touch now. No pasta or rice. He doesn't even like milk. If he had his way, he would be eating fruit and carbs for every meal. So it's been a challenge to get him to eat protein, veggies, and dairy. In the last couple of days he has started to eat cheese again. He will try orange veggies, but green veggies, no way. And as far as meat goes, it just depends on what kind of mood he's in.

I kind of have been driving myself crazy trying to get him to eat a balanced diet. The main thing that was working was making him a smoothie in the morning. I would put milk, yogurt, frozen fruit, and spinach in it. That way I knew he got some calcium, protein, and veggies right from the start. Unfortunately Liam broke our blender last week, so there have been no smoothies. For other meals, it's like I have to trick him to get him to eat. Most of the time it just leaves me feeling defeated and him in tears. Searching for any kind of help online, I found an article from Dr. Sears website titled 17 Tips For Pleasing the Picky Eater . This has changed my whole approach. I can honestly say that I haven't been stressed out about it. He has been eating more real food and less snacks or organic baby food pouches. I made this card of some of the tips that I want to put into effect and have placed it on my refrigerator as a reminder.


I just need to relax and trust that he will let us know if he's hungry and as long as we commit to only offering foods that our good for him, he will be alright.


Now, we need to tackle the whole "discipline" thing.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

In my attempt to save a little money this fall, I made my own pumpkin spice syrup. It's really easy and makes your house smell yummy in the process. Every fall I make one great purchase and that is Williams-Sonoma Mulling Spices. I've used it for apple cider, for spiced tea, and for pumpkin spice syrup. Here we go...

Ingredients:

1 part water/ 1 part sugar
4 tablespoons of Mulling Spices (from Williams and Sonoma)
4 tablespoons of Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin Pie Spice
*cheese cloths or tea infuser if you have one

Since I didn't have a cheese cloth to put the spices in, I used a big tea infuser ball that I had. In order to keep it from getting sticky from the sugar, I put some extra water in the pot and let the spices sit in it for a while on medium heat. After about 15 minutes, I took the tea ball out and added the sugar and pumpkin puree, whisking until it dissolved. That simmered on low for about 10 minutes or until it was a little syrupy (sp?).

I got this bottle and funnel from the Container Store (my fav!) for under $4. It was the perfect bottle for this syrup.

The finished product. I actually made more than what this bottle could hold and had to dump some out. I think it yielded about 1 cup or more. I don't really know how long this should last, maybe 2-4 weeks in the fridge. We'll see if it lasts that long.

Here is my attempt at a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It was pretty weak because I had to use decaf espresso (boo). I'll try again with a half-caf. For the latte, I poured the syrup into the milk before I steamed it so that it could heat up with the milk. I added a couple of dashes of pumpkin pie spice to kick it up a notch. I think it could still use more of the pumpkin puree but it still tastes yummy.

Balsamic Skirt Steak

Last night I tried a new Martha Stewart recipe. Overall it was a hit but we were hungry like an hour after we ate. Maybe it needed some bread with it or something.

Everyday Food, March 2008

• Prep Time 35 minutes
• Total Time 35 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 6 scallions, white and green parts separated and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak (cut into 2 or more pieces, if necessary, to fit in skillet)
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, set 4 cups water to boil. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss tomatoes with scallion whites and 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes are tender and some skins have split, 12 to 15 minutes; toss with scallion greens.
2. Meanwhile, add 1 teaspoon salt to boiling water; gradually whisk in cornmeal. Simmer very gently over low heat, whisking occasionally, until polenta is thickened and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Whisk in butter and Parmesan, and keep warm over very low heat (whisk in some water just before serving if polenta becomes too thick).
3. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high. Season steak with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook, turning once, 6 to 8 minutes total for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest, 5 to 10 minutes (reserve skillet).
4. Add vinegar to skillet, and boil over high until reduced to 1/2 cup, 5 to 7 minutes; stir in any juices from resting steak. Slice steak, and serve with vinegar sauce, polenta, and tomatoes.

Back in Miami

Since I last blogged we have moved back to Miami. To make a long story short, we moved back for a couple of reasons. 1. To have a baby in a familiar place 2. To be close to my parents 3. For Dylan to get some mentoring. If you don't know, we are planning on moving to Italy in March to help plant a church. For us, this seemed like the best move for us to help prepare our family. We have been here for a week already and still have some work to do to get fully settled. Did I mention that I am due to have a baby in four weeks. FOUR WEEKS!!! Now that the move is over I actually can spend some brain power thinking about this baby. I've been moved around so much that I don't really feel prepared. Thank goodness I just had a baby and everything is still fresh.

I'm happy we are here, but that just means that things are about to get crazy real quick.