On re-discovering hobbies.

Sneak peak of tomorrow's recipe at Kickin It in the Kitch

Since I'm a stay-at-home mom for the moment, my life basically revolves around my baby. However, I know how important it is to have hobbies outside of your children. Cooking has always been a hobby of mine, and I think that my skills in the kitchen have improved immensely from almost 5 years ago when I got married. Let's just say that we relied on bagged chicken tenders and fries way too often. I obviously also love blogging and had a food blog for awhile, but stopped because I hated my photography. However, I have decided to start food blogging again because it helps keep me creative, both in the kitchen and in setting up shots. Now, I will be the first to admit that I do not have great photography skills and only use a point-and-shoot camera...but, it's something that I am working on. And even if my photos still suck, then at least I will have fun doing it and will be able to have all of my recipes in one place! So, if you love to cook, then feel free to peruse my food blog. I just started it again and like I said, my meals have improved too so give it some time. :)

What are your hobbies?

Getting back into the kitchen.

I made this caprese lasagna with spicy turkey sausage last night. Recipe here.

I started cooking again before Eli was even a week old. My generous brother-in-law and sister-in-law brought food to us for the first few days, but I knew that we couldn't have food brought to us or order out forever so I had to get back into the kitchen. I did stick to fairly easy meals for awhile though. I have started to make more "elaborate" meals again and realized that I really miss cooking. It can definitely be relaxing to me (unless something isn't going my way!). However, it can be difficult to entertain a 3 month old while in the kitchen, but I either put him in one of my wraps or set him up in his bouncy seat so he can watch me. Lately he's been really good at just hanging out in his seat, which makes it so much easier for me! I have tons of recipes bookmarked to cook and bake so I'm excited to try them out. You can look at my For the Love of Cooking and Sweet Treats boards to find inspiration of your own. I then move recipes over to my Tried it, liked it board if they are keepers!

What new recipes have you made lately?

I heart Saturdays.

Source - King Arthur Flour via Pinterest

 I woke up extra early today and got my cleaning finished so I could spend the rest of the day doing the things that I really like to do. So far my Saturday has consisted of:

• A quick run to Target to pick up a few essentials, plus a new microwavable mug for my lunch soup
• Loading up the crock pot with ingredients for chicken tortilla soup - dinner - check!
• Whipping up an apple pie that is now baking away in the oven - I use Crisco's crust.
• Cheering on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish - please win this week!

I also plan to:

• Bake some easy cheesy beer bread to go with the soup - it's safe for pregnancy :)
• Watch Ohio State take on Miami - Go Bucks!
• Catch up on some magazine reading

What are you doing this lovely Saturday?

Let's talk soup.

I think this buffalo chicken soup looks delicious - from BHG via Pinterest

 I'm pretty sure I could eat soup every single day and never get tired of it. I've already made creamy potato soup, creamy chicken and wild rice soup and a few random canned soups for quick dinners (minestrone & tomato) this year. And it's only September 16th. I have many more soup making months ahead of me! I have chicken tortilla soup lined up for the weekend, but I'm always looking for new recipes! I do have a few saved on Pinterest, but I would like to know what your favorite soup, stew or chili recipe is or a soup that you are planning to make sometime this year.

So link up your recipes! :)

Leftover pasta?

 

I made way too much pasta for dinner the other night, but didn't have any sauce left for it. So, I got creative. I heated the pasta up, mixed it with a little butter, then added one wedge of melted laughing cow cheese and a sprinkle of lemon/pepper seasoning. It definitely hit the spot! Next time I will probably add some vegetables to at least make it a little healthy.

What's a quick meal you have made up on the spot in a fit of hunger?

Dinner last night.

Picture from myrecipes.com

I made these chicken sandwiches for dinner last night and they were excellent. The mayonnaise really kicked it up a notch. I served them with oven fries and side salads.

Currently...

Eating...

Strawberry scones made from this recipe. It's a great lazy Sunday breakfast.

Reading...

Source

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a fascinating read. It's about a woman that had her cells taken from her by doctors without her permission. They became the first "immortal" cells grown in culture and are still alive today and have been used to help in many medical breakthroughs. The book is about Henrietta's life and about how her cells have helped science.

Watching...

Source

Now, don't laugh. I typically don't watch shows like this, but since it has to do with gymnastics I thought I would check it out since it's on streaming Netflix. I watched the first episode yesterday and even though it was a little cheesy, I will probably continue to watch a few more episodes to really make a decision on it. I just can't help but find gymnastics shows interesting!

Random.

Here's just a few things I've been doing lately...

Drinking...

Yes, I know it's not fall, but it feels like fall here in Ohio this morning so I decided to break out my pumpkin spice coffee. Unfortunately, it's running low so I will definitely need to buy more before the actual fall season gets here. This is a local company that I found at our farmers' market last year!

Eating...

Now that I am home during the afternoons (before hopefully finding a summer job!), I can experiment with new lunches. This is a baked tortilla with tomato sauce, spices, spinach, red peppers and feta cheese. It tasted like a very thin crust pizza...so good!

Reading...

I just started this book so I really haven't made an opinion on it yet, but it sounds pretty interesting. It's about a woman who sees a "Have You Seen This Child?" flyer and the boy looks identical to her adopted son. She then investigates herself to find out the answers.

What are some random things you are up today?

One of my favorite snacks/breakfasts.

I love summer berries. I like the combo of vanilla (or Greek) yogurt, berries and granola. Today I just crushed up a Nature Valley granola bar, but I do love to make my own too.

What's your favorite way to use summer berries?

I love 3 day weekends.

Usually when I wake up on Sunday I get really sad because it's my last day of freedom before I have to go back to work. Today I woke up and had that feeling for about 2 seconds, then realized that I actually don't have to work tomorrow and can enjoy today without that dreaded "the weekend is almost over" feeling. 

I made an easy and quick dinner last night that I thought I would share. I usually have a meal plan for each week and know exactly what I'm going to make each night. However, I didn't get around to that this week and just picked up random items at the store in hopes of creating meals with them. This is what I created last night:

Sorry for the yellow-ness of the picture. It was dark when I took this!

Chicken, Red Pepper, and Corn Quesadillas

Ingredients:

No real measurements - I just threw it together

Chicken, trimmed and cubed

Half a red pepper, diced

Corn (mine was frozen from last summer)

Taco seasoning (I used homemade - I would say about 2 tsp.)

Shredded Mexican cheese

Whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

Saute chicken and red peppers in olive oil over medium high heat until chicken is no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and stir to coat. Add corn and cook to heat through. Scoop mixture onto half of a tortilla, add cheese, then fold over. Put on George Foreman to heat through and get those nice grill marks. :) 

Notes: You can also do this in a pan, but I like to use my George Foreman for quesadillas and paninis - basically anything that needs pressed together. I also make half quesadillas instead of using 2 whole tortillas to make one because it fits on my George Foreman that way.

I served these with salads and nonfat refried beans.

Enjoy!

How was your Saturday? Did you cook anything or go out to eat?

Ridding my body of carb and sugar overload

At some point during the holidays my body starts craving fruits and vegetables (thank God for large bags of clementines!). Therefore, I picked up a couple new cookbooks with a Barnes & Noble gift card I got for Christmas. They are Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast and Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. I got them for 2 reasons: 1) They were buy one get one 50% off and 2) I flipped through them and the recipes looked healthy, fast and flavorful. Plus I am always looking to try new foods! Here's my menu for the week based on the Fresh Flavor Fast cookbook. I like that one because it divides the recipes into seasons so you can get ideas for how to incorporate the season's freshest produce into your meals.

Sunday: Cod with fennel and potatoes & a mixed green salad (arugula, frisee, radicchio) with citrus dressing

Monday: Chicken with prosciutto and sage & a fennel, orange and parsley salad

Tuesday: Lentil soup & green salad with lemon parmesan vinaigrette

Wednesday: Potato and onion frittata & leftover salad ingredients

Thursday: Roast beef with shallots and roasted potatoes & lemon-thyme green beans

Friday: Leftovers or out

Saturday: Baked ravioli & broccoli with orange sauce

New Year's Eve Prep

Last year Jon and I lived in a different apartment with a much larger living room. However, we still wanted to have people over to celebrate New Year's Eve with us so we opted to have a more low-key get-together this year. We will provide drinks, appetizers (some friends are bringing some too) and a dessert spread. We will also have various games available to keep us all entertained before we turn on the TV to figure out what the heck Dick Clark is saying.

The Menu

Drinks

Assorted beers

Various mixed drinks or some type of punch

Champagne (of course!)

Appetizers

Buffalo chicken dip with crackers & tortilla chips
Mini pulled pork sandwiches

Teriyaki meatballs (friend bringing)
Sour cream dip with vegetables & pretzels

Desserts

Peppermint brownies
Candied cranberry orange custard trifle OR black forest mousse dessert

An as of now unplanned holiday dinner party.

Cooking Light's December issue featured a caroling dinner party. I don't think I would like to participate in the caroling portion of this idea, but the menu they provided for the dinner portion sounds wonderful. I would really love to have a few friends over sometime this month to relax and enjoy the holiday season. Now, I just have to figure out the specifics. I also think it would be a nice winter party if it doesn't happen during the holiday season since things tend to get pretty busy. I tried searching for the menu on the Cooking Light website, but can't find it so I will just post it here:

Chili-spiced almonds
Warm caramelized onion dip
Frisee salad with maple-bacon vinaigrette
Belgian beef and beer stew
Herbed asiago rolls
Chocolate hazelnut meringues
Brown sugar cheesecake with cranberry compote
Applejack-spiked hot cider
Vanilla-almond steamer

Herbs & Cheesecake

In spite of not really following or looking at my list, I have accomplished some of the things on it within the past few months.

I baked a brownie mosaic cheesecake (highly, highly recommended!) & plan to bake more cheesecakes soon. I am thinking some type of fruit-related cheesecake for the upcoming summer months will do the trick.


I also planted some herbs last weekend. I am really hoping that they sprout...because I've never had a really great green thumb. I labeled them, but one seemed to blow away the minute I set them outside. I planted cilantro (guacamole & homemade salsa!), basil (pesto!), parsley, and oregano. It's been 6 days since they've been planted and nothing has sprouted yet - the package says something should come up within 7-14 days, so we'll see. I wanted to get cute little pots, but these were cheap so I went with the traditional clay pots instead.

Number 85

I made some homemade fudge for the Christmas season this year and it is some of the best fudge I have ever tasted! I will definitely make it again and will also branch out and try different flavors.