1.31.2013

What I'm Loving

I need help.
I have a problem.
It's called shopping.
If it's new I must buy it.
If I see it on a blog I must have it.
If all the cool kids are doing it then I must do it too.
Here are the latest products I just couldn't live without.
Cookie Butter?
What is the heck is cookie butter you ask?  
It's delicious that's what it is.
I described it as Christmas is a jar.
Promise me you will go to Trader Joes and buy some.
If you don't have a Trader Joes I will personally ship it to you.
Seriously its that good.
During my daily browsing session on Etsy I can across these adorable organic baby rattle/teether at Smiling Tree Toys
They have so many cute designs and you can customize them as well.
What baby wouldn't love this? Or pregnant mom...hello baby shower gift! 
I was extremely picky when it came to purchasing a case for my phone.
It had to be pretty to look at AND do its job.
And by job I mean protect my phone because I drop it all the time!
So after searching high and low and bugging my husband for his opinion I finally found the one at Cuptakes.
Isn't it beeaauuutiiifull?
Yes, it may be a little expensive but for something that I carry around 24/7 I'd say it is well worth it.
I've had it for about 4 months now and dropped it a good 10...okay 20 times now and its still perfect.
 
Okay last but not least...my new bkr water bottle.
Its glass with a silicone sleeve!
I've convinced myself I have or will have cancer from using plastic water bottles.
Plus they get gross after awhile and if you use anything but water in them the flavor is stuck forever. Am I right people. So who is with me? Get yourself one immediately.

MVP Chili

As I mentioned in my Super Bowl Recipe Round-Up post, I am making chili on Sunday.
We are no stranger to chili in this house. Its one of my husbands favorite things to cook. He never uses a recipe yet it always turns out delish. What can I say, the man is talented. Anyways, I am doing the cooking on Sunday and unlike the husband I will be using a recipe.
Its called MVP chili.
Very fitting.
Ingredients:
- 1 package Italian Turkey Sausage (remove the casing)
- 1 large onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1 bottle dark beer (12 oz) or you can use chicken stock
- 1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can (15.5oz) black beans, drained
- 1 can (15.5oz) red kidney beans, drained
- 1 cup corn
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. De-case sausage and saute in a large pot over medium-high heat.
    Use spoon to crumble sausage as it cooks.
2. Once sausage is browned stir in onion, garlic, chili powder, and cumin.
    Continue cooking for 5 minutes on medium heat.
3. Add beer and allow the mixture to simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low.
5. Stir in beans and corn and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I like to serve mine with jalapeno corn muffins, some shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.

*Oh and I added a new little gadget on the page. It links you to my Etsy account and you can see all the pretty things I've been looking at/debating to purchase.

1.30.2013

January According To Instagram

I've become obsessed with Instagram lately. Just ask the hubby. He is over it. I may be a little late on the Instagram train but that's okay because I was busy making a human last year. Come join me @leanneinwonderland1.
 
Cocktail hour at our house.
We seem to have many more of these since having a baby.
Its helping keep us sane.
The hubby turned 29!
He wasn't too excited.
Notice the box of pampers in the background.
This little guy just keeps getting cuter and cuter!
I put up another box of baby clothes that no longer fit.
Tears.
I'm eating this on the reg.
 I can't get enough.
This and coffee make getting up at 6:00 slightly easier.

1.28.2013

Super Bowl Recipe Round-Up

Do you know what your eating during the Super Bowl?
If not, I'm here to help you free of charge.
I dug up some past recipes that are perfect for the big game.
 
Of course there will be plenty of chips and I have two awesome recipes to dip those chips in. My friend Caroline shared her Black Bean and Corn Dip a few years back. It is easy and something a little different from the usual suspect of salsa. Since I know you've all been making avocado toast lately I'm sure you have extra avocados laying around to make my Guacamole. I'm thinking of making this dip on Sunday. I will let you know how it turns out.
 
Okay, moving on to bigger and better things. I will be making MVP chili (recipe soon) and serving Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins on the side. My mouth is watering already! If you want something lighter, White Bean Chicken Chili is a good option.

And last but not least...DESSERT! Hopefully you saw my recent post of Peanut Butter Football Cookies. Another tasty treat from the past are my Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes.
 
Well that should just about cover all the bases errr...field I mean.
 
The bambino will be eating his hand so that's one less mouth I have to feed.

1.25.2013

Super Bowl Peanut Butter Cookies

Its almost that time of year again...Super Bowl Sunday! I love this day for many reasons; football, commercials, and food (in reverse order). I feel like this is a day when you can gorge on fried, greasy, cheesy, artery clogging food and its okay. No one is going to judge you. Last year I made these super easy but very cute if I don't say so myself Peanut Butter Cookies. Brace yourself for the recipe. Its very very complicated.
 
Ingredients:
1. One package Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix (prepared as directed)
2. Hershey bar
 
Directions:
Prepare cookie dough as directed on package. Shape cookie dough into a oval shape with the ends slightly pinched. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Let cool. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave (checking often and stir so it doesn't burn). Spoon melted chocolate into a plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner with scissors. You don't want the hole to be very big, just enough to pipe a thin line of chocolate through. Pipe chocolate on cookies as shown in the picture above.
 
Wow was that hard or what?
Make these for a Super Bowl party and people will be really impressed. 

1.23.2013

Roasted Veggies

The hubby and I have been trying to plan a weekly menu in hopes of eating a little more healthy, saving money, and avoiding the annoying "what do you want for dinner" conversations. Some weeks it works and other weeks not so much. This week we got off a day or two...pizza sounded much better than baked fish. Anyways, Sunday night dinner turned into a "we better eat it before it goes bad" kinda meal. I had some potatoes, green beans, and onions just begging to be eaten so I threw them into a baking sheet and voila!
 
 
Ingredients:
- 8-10 red skinned new potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
- fresh green beans, cut in half (I used a bag of haricot verts)
- 1 onion, chopped (I used red but others would be just fine)
- salt and pepper
- garlic powder
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
 
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400.
2. Throw your potatoes, green beans, and onion into a large mixing bowl.
3. Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic (sorry folks, I don't measure).
4. Drizzle with olive oil and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
5. Toss veggies so they are coated with the seasoning and pour onto a baking sheet.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes tossing occasionally. 


 
Great side dish for our parmesan crusted chicken!

1.18.2013

Turkey Meatloaf

I've always been a big fan of meatloaf (thanks to my momma) and I hate that it gets such a bad rap. I came across this turkey meatloaf recipe in our newspaper last year. Its been a huge hit with my hubby and friends. I think the addition of zucchini makes it so moist and the balsamic adds a nice tangy sweetness.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 small zucchini, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 cup panko
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup ketchup
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, bell peppers, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are soft (about 6-8 minutes). Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine egg, turkey, panko, cheese, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons balsamic, and cooled vegetables.
3. Gently press mixture into a 9x5 loaf pan. Whisk remaining ketchup and balsamic together and brush over the top of the meatloaf.
4. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 25 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes before slicing. 
P.S. Meatloaf is not that photogenic...or maybe I'm not that great of a photographer. Either way it tastes much better than these pictures look.

Brothers

If your wondering how Marley is handling the new baby just take a look below.
The day we brought Atlas home was kinda hairy. I was positive Marley was going to claw him to death. Not in a mean way but more of a what the heck is this thing kinda way. He was very curious and confused. Marley eventually settled down only to start vomiting two days later. I was sure he had eaten something he wasn't suppose to. Who knows what he could have gotten into. No one was paying any attention to him. He could have eaten the entire house and I wouldn't have know because I was so sleep deprived and stressed from having a 4 day old baby at home. So off to the vet Marley and I go and he immediately starting acting just fine. The vet didn't see anything wrong. and gave him some meds to calm the stomach and sent us on our way. I will never know what exactly was wrong but I would bet you $1000 that it was Marley's way of  getting attention. Once he got in the car with just me he was okay. He just needed some mommy and me time I guess.
This is Marley taking a nap in his brothers Nap Nanny (all you moms or soon to be moms google it, buy it and thank me later)
Its been a pretty easy transition for the most part. We make sure to give Marley attention and one on one time though. He will in some ways always be our first born and I'm sure he and Atlas will quickly become best of buds.

1.16.2013

Avocado Toast?

Okay, let me be honest here. During my daily rounds of checking out my favorite food blogs and looking at photos on instagram I kept seeing pictures and recipes for avocado toast. In my head I'm thinking, "Really? Mushed up avocado on toast?" I mean I love me some guacamole but mushed up avocado on toast just isn't going to do it for me. I figured it was one of those new trends like quinoa and people are just being brainwashed into thinking it taste good (just being honest here folks). Well...curiosity got the best of me and I gave it a whirl this morning. I drank to Kool-Aid. I'm hooked now. It was so simple yet so good.
 
All you need is some good bread, a nice ripe avocado, salt, pepper, and some lime or lemon juice. Toast up some bread, spoon out the avocado into a bowl, add a little salt and pepper and a squirt or two of lime or lemon juice, mush it all up with a fork and spread on the toast. Its seriously that easy.

1.15.2013

Chicken, Mushrooms, and White Wine

Since I am trying to loose the baby weight and some, I have been hooked on the website Skinny Taste . Have you heard of it?? If not, you should check it out. I have made numerous recipes and all have turned out great. They are tasty, easy to make, and easy on the thighs. The other night I made chicken and mushrooms in a garlic white wine sauce (I made a few slight variations to suit my taste). Yum!
 
 
Ingredients:
- 8 chicken tenderloins
- 2 teaspoons of butter
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic
- 12 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper
 
Directions:
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and lightly coat in flour.
2. Heat a large skillet on medium heat then add 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
3. Add additional butter and oil to skillet. Then add the garlic and let that cook for a minute before adding the mushrooms. Cook mushrooms for 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add white wine and chicken broth. Stirring mixture occasionally until it thickens slightly. Return the chicken to the skillet and let simmer for 1-2 minutes in the sauce.

The chicken was moist and the sauce had a great flavor.
Enjoy!

1.14.2013

Oh Etsy...

Is there a support group for people addicted to Etsy? If so, sign me up ASAP before I spend every last dime I have. I made the wonderful mistake of downloading the Etsy app on my phone. Its very entertaining while feeding the baby, rocking the baby, laying in bed, waiting in Traffic, etc... Before I realize it I have 100 things in my cart and I'm suddenly needing things I didn't realize I needed.
 
These neat state prints are my most recent purchase from TwoDovesPrintery  and for $7 how could I possibly say no (framing not included). They are printed on a piece of dictionary paper and can be personalized. Great gift too.
If you know me, you know I love everything paper. Cards, notebooks, sticky notes, planners, calendars. Its another obsession ranking up there with Etsy. I searched for days for my new desk calendar and I had 5 different ones in my cart before I finally choose one from Poofy Prints. I think I made the right choice because I love it! The cards are different for each month and fit great in a frame on my desk!
 
Do you guys have any favorite shops that I could add to my addiction?

1.11.2013

Pork Chops With Mustard Gravy

While visiting the husbands parents over the holidays, I found myself drooling over a Taste of the South magazine, cast-iron issue. Luckily it appeared in my suitcase and made its way back to Nashville with me ;).  I have many recipes marked to try but decided to start with this pork chop dish. I'm trying to expand our weekly dinners and get out of the chicken or pasta rut that we often find ourselves in. This dish turned out great, was easy to prepare, and inexpensive. Winner winner pork chop dinner!
 
Ingredients:
- 8 boneless pork loin chops (thinly sliced)
- garlic salt
- black pepper
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt
 
Directions:
1. Sprinkle pork chops on both sides wit garlic salt and black pepper. Then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of flour.
2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot then add oil. Add pork chops in two batches. Cook for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pork to a plate and keep warm.
3. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of flour to skillet and whisk until browned. Whisk in chicken broth and cook until the flour and broth mixture starts to thicken. Reduce heat to low and add heavy cream, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Return pork chops to pan and simmer until heated through (about 2 more minutes on each side.)
 


1.09.2013

1,2,3...

Three months! James Atlas has been here for 3 months! Most days I think where has the time gone and other days I think geez grow up already. Just kidding...or am I? I've learned a lot in three months. Too many things to list but a few that stick out are:
1. The world doesn't revolve around me. It revolves around this little guy and if you question that for one minute he will quickly put you in your place.
2. Baby poo is so weird. Its gone from black, yellow, army green, and every shade in between.
3. Love at first sight.
Cant wait to see what the next three months will bring.