Baby its cold outside

I hate the cold. I guess hate is really strong but being from the desert I do not know how to survive in the cold. The only plus is I love soup. And soup is great for the frigid blizzard weather out here in the midwest. I have made quite a few soups in my day but boy this one takes the cake. It is just pure comfort and you feel good eating it. 

Sweet Potato and Meatball soup

Makes a bunch ( me and the baby ate off it for a week and had enough to freeze)

10 oz baby spinach roughly chopped

32 oz chicken broth

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 sweet potatoes, diced and peeled

1/2 cup of mini shell noodles

1 lb ground beef

spices (oregano, parsely, garlic, onion and basil)

1 tbls oat bran

Mix your beef, spices and oat bran together and roll into small meatballs. Place in a 400 degree oven for 20 min. Next throw everything else into a big pot and bring to a boil. Add your meat balls, reduce and cover for one hour until the potatoes are nice and tender. 

Thats it. Seriously. Easy peasy and way yum. I would say it was pretty healthy too.

Baby approved :)

Lets be honest

I am a terrible blogger. I really am. I go weeks without posting. But thats not to say I dont love it because I do. I truly love the idea of having a journal of my life and the growth of my daughter documented as well as all my cooking endeavors. Im just busy. Im a mom, a student, a girlfriend and a daughter of Jesus. All of those require my time and my effort. They are rewarding in their own right but it is a day to day journey to be all those things. Lindsey is at the stage where she is incredibly mobile and such a joy to play with that I hate wasting any time I have with her. She is learning so much every day and amazes me constantly. I love her more and more every day I have with her. I made the deans list this semester. That in itself soaks up the majority of my free time. But to say I am proud of myself would be the biggest understatement of the year. I am more than proud because it has been challenging but will be incredibly worth it when I am finished. My relationship with my Creator is one that I thirst for more of. I sit down for my bible study in the morning and I take in as much as I can. I crave for more of Him and His presence in my life because since I have fully given my life to Him, words cannot express the feelings of joy and peace that surround me.

So Im not the best blogger. But that is one of my goals for the new year. To squeeze it into my hectic life and enjoy it. Because what is life if its not enjoyed? And with that I give you...

Oh Rachel Ray you are a woman after my own heart with this recipe. I kid you not if sexy were a dish this would be it. The feta and cherry tomatoes compliment each other beautifully with the combination of salty and sweet. Then you add the sweet shrimp cooked in hot chili that is balanced with velvety butter and the acid of lemon just pops at your taste buds in all the right ways. The picture does less than justice on how beautiful and satisfying this meal was. 

GARLIC CHILI SHRIMP AND GREEK SPAGHETTI

adapted from Rachel Ray

serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided

6 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped, divided

2 tablespoons chili flake, divided

1 pound jumbo sweet shrimp, deveined

Sea salt and pepper and/or Rachael’s seafood seasoning

2 pints cherry tomatoes

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped oregano or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 cup feta cheese crumbles

1 pound bowtie pasta

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

Juice of 1 lemon

Place 1/4 cup EVOO in a shallow dish with half the garlic and the chili pepper. Add the shrimp and season with seafood seasoning; add salt and pepper if not included in the blend. Marinate and chill for 1 hour.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water.

Heat a skillet with a tight-fitting lid with the remaining 1/4 cup EVOO over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and chili; stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and oregano; cover the pan and raise the heat a bit. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes burst, 10-12 minutes. Mash up the tomatoes a bit and add the feta; stir to combine and reduce the heat to low. Season with black pepper, to taste.

Cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water just before draining.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and firm and brown at the edges. Douse the pan with vermouth; add the butter and melt. Add the lemon juice and turn off the heat.

Toss the pasta with the starchy cooking water and sauce for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a platter, Top with the shrimp and the remaining sauce.

Good and good for you

I love a meal that leaves me totally satisfied without feeling like Im about to be induced into a food coma. This meal hit every delicious spot and gave me energy to go about my mommy duties. Lately I've been really careful about what I have been eating. Lindsey has been up all night and my food needs to give me energy, not drain me. I love a greasy bacon burger with the rest of America but this momma needs a little more good for you food. The squash in this dish is to die for good.

Let me introduce balsamic herb chicken and butternut squash with brown butter... You're welcome :)

Balsamic Herb Chicken

serves 2

-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

- salt and pepper

- 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

- 1/3 cup Olive oil

- 1 Tbls rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley

- 1 tsp honey

Mix the last 5 ingredients together and let chicken marinate for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 25-30 minutes until the juices run clear. This all varies depending on thickness of the chicken breast.

Butternut Squash with Brown Butter

via Martha Stewart

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 butternut squash (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon dark-brown sugar

Directions

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown. Add squash; saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, about 16 minutes.

Add chicken broth, the water, and brown sugar; cook until liquid has evaporated and squash is nicely caramelized, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Babys First Christmas

This Christmas was one filled with joy. Watching lindsey open all of her gifts was priceless! She seriously got every toy imaginable and now my living room looks like toys r us exploded...

Pretty princess after church on Christmas Eve

Im so thankful for skype. Eventhough my parents a thousands of miles away, they were able to watch baby girl open the presents they sent.

This dog takes up practically our entire living room. But princess loves it :)

We hope your Christmas was filled with joy and love and always remember the real reason for the season <3

Hope for the Hurting

Today my heart hurts. The mass shooting in Connecticut is weighing heavy on my heart. Hearing about how so many innocent lives, lives of mere babies, were taken shakes me to the core. While I was rocking my angel to bed last night, I cried. Cried for all those mommy's who are mourning the loss of their babies. Cried for the families who are now experiencing tragedy at what is supposed to be a joyful time of year. Parents who sent their children to school to not only not have them return, but to have to now buy caskets that should not be made that small. 

What happened in Connecticut is tragic. When grief like that is experienced the only thing to do is pray. Pray for those families who have lost a loved one. Pray that the Lord surrounds them with his love and brings them peace. Pray that they turn to Him as they attempt to make sense of this horrendous act. The Lord will never leave you. If we put our faith in Him, especially in the most dire of circumstances, it is possible to find peace. Peace that those babies are now in a place that does not know the pain of the world we live in. Their lives were cut short and that is nothing to take lightly. But the Lord is a merciful God who begs us to let Him heal that pain. And He will if we let Him.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" Psalm 147:3

This past week has been full of pain and heartache for my boyfriends family. His Uncle Mike had a triple bypass and two days later his Uncle Greg passed away from a heart attack. Both have families and children. I pray the Lord heals the Williams family and comforts their hearts. 

This world is a world full of sadness, pain, anger and tragedy. If we were to go day to day on our own, it would swallow us whole. But those who walk in the light will never be left to walk alone. 

"Your sun will never set again and your moon will wane no more; The Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end." Isaiah 60:20

Making Your Own Baby Food

I am very blessed to be able to stay home with Lindsey. It is something I never take for granted. Since I am home, I try and use my time wisely and really enjoy making her baby food. I take comfort in knowing exactly what she is eating. Now that she is eating more "adult" food, I would rather make it than buy it. Not to say the jars aren't healthy! They are and I still use them for travel and going out but when we are home she normally eats what I make. I also make her food just about as flavorful as ours is. I do watch the amount of heat but I know I don't like bland food so why would she? :)

Pumpkin & Carrot 
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup carrot puree (2 jars of baby food carrot)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbls vanilla yogurt

Mix it all together. When I serve it to Lindsey, I find I need to add a little water to thin it out. I keep half in the fridge and freeze the other half.

Butternut Squash Applesauce

Recipe adapted from here

3lbs gala apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 lbs butternut squash peeled, seeded and diced

1/4 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

Throw all ingredients in your slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours and low for 8. Once the ingredients are nice and soft, I used my hand mixer to puree. This also makes a large amount and I froze a good portion. 

When making veggies or fruit I just throw the amount desired in a pot of boiling water until tender and soft. Then I puree it in my baby bullet. A food processor or blender would work just as well. Add as much water that you boiled the veg/fruit in to the consistency your little one prefers. There are so many benefits to making your won baby food. It is money conscious, health conscious and you can control how much you make. I always make a large amount to cook all in one day and store in the freezer. That way I have enough to last me until the next big cooking day.

Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and apple cider glaze

Okay this is seriously the easiest, most delicious and moist cake I have made in quite sometime. The cake itself is only 2 ingredients. I was a little apprehensive as I was mixing it because it was really thick I though there was no way it would be that moist. But boy was I wrong. Give this bad boy a shot because frankly, its way to good not to.

This picture does not do justice. Blame it on the iPhone and my lack of photography skills.

Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and apple cider glaze
Makes a 9x11 pan
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tsp cinnamon

1 can cream cheese frosting

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbls apple cider ( I used apple juice)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the puree, cinnamon, and cake mix with a hand mixer until well incorporated. Spray a 9x11 pan with non stick spray and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 min until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and spread with your jar of cream cheese frosting. Mix ingredients for glaze until powdered sugar dissolves and drizzle over.