spring nail polish.

Favorite Friday.

Fridays will now be "favorite friday"; where I will list personal (for me, not the kid or the house or the cats or mike's, ME) favorites.

So...
Today is my new favorite nail polish color. Blue-Away Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.

Such a wonderful bright springy blue.

idea for post from Cup of Jo. 

stuffed chicken.

Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Stuffed Chicken.

Ingredients:

1. 4 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves

2. 1 tsp italian seasoning

3. 2 tbsp parmesan cheese

4. 4 tbsp tomato & basil feta cheese

5. sweet roasted red peppers

6. 1/4 cup fresh chives

7. sea salt and pepper

8. 2 tbsp olive oil

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine parmesean cheese, italian seasoning and chives. Sprinkle over chicken breasts.

Fresh chives from the garden.

3. At one end of breast add a few strips of roasted red pepper. Top with 1 tbsp feta cheese.

4. Roll each breast starting with the red pepper side. Hold in place with a toothpick.

5. Season with sea salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake 20 min. Then broil on high 5 min.

My Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Corn on the Cob.

Potatoes:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel and quarter desired amount of potato (I used 3 medium russet potatoes, which is good to know later for the other additives).  Boil about 10-15 mins. (depends on amount of potato)

2. Mash them. Add 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 cup warm milk, 2 tbsp butter, and sea salt and pepper (based on 3 medium russets).

Corn:
1. Fill your pot with water.
2. Add 1/4 cup of sugar. Drop in your corn (already shucked and cleaned).
3. Bring everything to a boil, making sure the sugar is dissolved in the water.
4. Boil for no longer than 8 minutes. Remove from the water and let it cool enough for handling and eating.

little boy's sanctuary: sneak peek.

A Chalkboard Wall!

when life gives you rotten bananas...

Make Banana Bread!
ok not rotten but you know what I mean.

Banana Chai Bread

Ingredients:

1. 1 3/4 cup flour

2. 1 tbsp baking powder

3. 1 tsp sea salt

4. 3/4 cup white sugar

5. 3 oz cream cheese

6. 2 eggs

7. 3 large over ripe bananas (mashed)

8. 1/4 cup brewed chai tea

Recipe:

1. First off I took 1/2 cup water and 2 vanilla chai tea bags and microwaved it for a minute. Ten let stand while I made the rest. (turns into about 1/4 cup; squeeze tea bags for extra liquid.)

2. In one bowl combine flour, baking soda, and sea salt.

3. In another bowl combine sugar, cream cheese and eggs until light and fluffy.  Mix bananas and chai into sugar mixture.

4. Then slowly add the flour mixture while stirring. Combine until smooth.

5. Pour mixture into a gresed 9x5 loaf pan.

6. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes. Let cool for ten minutes then remove from pan.

applesauce.

"LIFESAVER TUESDAY"

This stuff is a LIFE SAVER.

Dantae loves it. Its awesome for in the car and for eating by himself.  Go-go squeez. 1 pouch = 1 serving of fruit.   All natural, no sugar added. And with 5 different flavors he never gets bored. 

(appleapple, applebanana, applecinnamon, applepeach, and applestrawberry)

http://www.materne.us/product/

Starting a new thing, Lifesaver Tuesday.

Some things I find to "save my life" sometimes.

an avocado a day...

Does anyone love avocado as much as I do?

probably not.

If you do then you'll probably love this recipe.  Easy. Looks wonderful. Delicious.  

Crab and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

2 (6oz) cans of lump crab meat

1/4 cup light mayo

1/8 cup chopped red onion

1 tsp diced jalapeños

1/2 tbsp cilantro

juice from half a lime

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 avocados (cut in half, pit removed, and diced; save half shells)

dash seasoned salt

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into the 4 avocado halves.

Now off to use my sewing machine for the first time. Wish me luck.

Couldn't resist a couple pictures of baby kitty, Sherlock.

shepherd's pie.

Ingredients:
1. 3 large russet potatoes 
2. 1 yellow onion (chopped)
3. 1 lb. ground beef
4. can of mixed veggies
5. 8 tbsp butter
6. 1/2 cup beef broth
7. 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8. salt, pepper, other seasonings
9. shredded cheddar cheese


Recipe:


1. Peel and quarter potatoes. Boil in salty water until tender.
2. Meanwhile over med high heat in a skillet add 4 tbsp butter. Brown onion. Then brown ground beef.

3. Add can of veggies, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.  Add Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Mash potatoes with remaining butter.
5. Layer beef mixture then mashed potatoes. Top with cheese.
6. Bake at 400 for about 20 mins. Until browned.

they think I'm mexican.

Its quesadilla night at my house, with homemade guacamole and lime/cilantro sour cream. Yum!

First of the Guacamole.

Ingredients:

1. 4 ripe avocados (diced)

2. 1/4 yellow onion (chopped)

3. 6-10 grape tomatoes (cut into fourths)

4. 1/2 tbsp cilantro

5. 1/2 clove garlic (chopped)

6. 1 jalapeño (diced)

7. sea salt (to taste)

8. juice of 1/2 a lime

Recipe:

Mix all ingredients. Do lime juice last, helps with he browning of the avocado.

Now for some yummy sour cream to go with it.

Lime and Cilantro Sour Cream.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup of sour cream

2. 1/2 tbsp of cilantro

3. juice from half a lime

4. 1 tbsp yellow onion

5. sea salt (to taste)

Recipe:

Combine.

Healthy Chicken Quesadilla.

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 lbs. stir fry chicken (cook and shredded; seasoned with cayenne pepper and cilantro)

2. 1 red bell pepper (diced)

3. 1/2 yellow onion (diced)

4. 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

5. 2 tbsp low sodium chicken broth

5. 2 roma tomatoes (diced)

6. flour tortillas

7. shredded cheddar cheese

Recipe:

1. In a skillet over medium high heat saute the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in the chicken broth; til softened.

2. When broth has evaporated, add tomatoes and chicken. Mix well.

3. In a cool skillet add flour tortilla. Top with desired cheese and chicken mixture. Cook on both sides about 2 mins each; til golden brown.

Chicken Mixture.

"a cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes."

I love my cats, almost as much as D. I don't understand why someone would own a pet without feeling like they are a part of the family.  All the cats (which is only 3) I've owned I got when they were 7-9 weeks old. Just babies.

This is Maddox. 

He was born christmas time 2008.

I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. (sadly I lost all kitten pictures of him) 

This was taken when he was 6 months old. 

He loves sleeping in strange places.

And snuggling with me. 

This is Sherlock.

We got him right after my birthday and he was 7 weeks old.

(so he's just about  11-12 weeks now)

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it.

Within the last few weeks I've really started to realize I don't have a baby boy anymore... he's turned into an actual kid. Its crazy. How is my little boy growing up so fast?

Best Friends.

Relaxing in mommy and daddy's bed.

We'll never forget the day you were born.

The same day our lives changed forever.

Love you Dantae!

american chop suey.

Last night I made this simple quick american chop suey. Found it browsing through cdkitchen.


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion -- finely chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper -- cored, seeded, and chopped
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
28 ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and black pepper
1 pound macaroni, ziti, or penne
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Recipe:
1. In a skillet heat the oil. When it is hot, cook the onion and yellow pepper over medium heat, stirring often until the vegetables soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for half a minute. 
2. Add the ground beef and cook over medium-high heat until the meat loses its pink color. Drain the fat.
3. Add the tomatoes and their liquid to the meat mixture. Stir in the tomato paste, water, oregano, red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as stated on the box. Drain the pasta and stir it into the meat sauce. Serve in bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan, and serve at once.

So simple. Yet delicious.

 Was a hit with mini-mike too.

“a mother's heart is always with her children.”

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day.

I wanted to be able to post this yesterday, you know on time for mother's day; but I was to busy making the rest of my mother's day craft/gifts. Between the two cats, the (almost) two year old, and my procrastination it becomes difficult to finish anything. But here it is only a day late.

Here's my little helper.

"Say Cheese."

The red/pink one was the first I made.

(Bad blogger, didn't really plan out the pictures.)

The second one was blue/purple.

(couldn't resist a sherlock cameo.)

 The third another blue/purple combination.

I got this idea from Danielle at D & G Stories. She has tons of cute ideas, check her out!

She used the same tutorial for the felt rosettes but I figure I should post that too. Check that out at Mrs. Priss.

We delivered them all yesterday. (my mom, mike's mom and mike's step-mom.)

Hope they loved them.

oh, its another rainy day.

Its been a dreary day week, so in order to cheer myself up I figured why not buy something I've wanted for a long time; (retail therapy is always what I need.) a sewing machine.

Straight stitch, zig zag stitch, and a button hole attachment. And I'm sure more, but I'm new at all this. (which is why I bought the one my mom told me to buy.)

Plus it comes with 3 decorative skins... my favorite being zebra print.

I also thought these would help brighten the day. (taken a couple days ago when it was sunny.)

I just love fresh flowers.

Now off to finish my mother's day craft/gifts. Pictures to follow.

a sneak peak.

After making four "save the date" cards trying to find the right design, style; the fifth one was the winner. I want it to be a surprise for everyone receiving one but I couldn't help putting up a little teaser.

About 49 more to go.