When It's Your Own

The adventures of a new mom and (not so) newlywed

[whenitsyourown-blog]

What is that? Milking?

We are about to hit the 7 month mark since the arrival of E and we are still breastfeeding.  I’ll be honest when I say that I didn’t think I’d make it this far.  However, things took off when we first started and have been going strong since then so I’ve just stuck with it. 

At the beginning of this week I started a new job and I no longer have an office.  I’ve now been introduced into the “cube” world.  I still have an office (of sorts) but it doesn’t have a door or a ceiling so I can no longer just “shut my door and take care of business.”  This means that pumping has become an Olympic sport, of sorts.  I now have to walk around the office, with my pumping supplies and laptop in hand, looking for a conference room that is open. 

I’ve found that it best to start my search for an open room a few minutes past the hour or half hour as chances are if there if a meeting scheduled it will have already started thus reducing the probability that I will be walked in on.  Once I find a room, I’ve got about 20 minutes to pump as people usually show up to a conference room about 5 minutes before the meeting starts to get set up.  This means I’ve got no time to fool around.  In addition to my time constraint, my privacy is also not that secure in that most of the conferences rooms do not have locks or signage that can be used to indicate that the room is in use.  So I’ve got to set myself up in a strategic fashion so that I can not only still work but also ensure that I don’t shock and appall anyone with my full frontal pumping shot in the event someone walks in while I am mid-pump.  (Believe me, if you haven’t seen someone pumping before it can be quite a lot to take in, especially at work.)

Until this morning, I hadn’t run into any issues with anyone walking in on me.  Thankfully when it happened today, I had already put the girls away and was just getting everything prepped for the next pumping session when there was a knock on the door and it opened.  A man (someone in the office I hadn’t met yet) asked if the room was available and I said “Yes, I am just wrapping up.”  He comes in and proceeds to get himself set up for his conference call but also takes a look at me then looks down at my supplies and says, “What is that? Milking?”  I was a tad flabbergasted by his wording and simply responded, “Yes.”  But then proceeded to repeat “milking” in my head as I found that to be a quite hilarious (although not inaccurate) way to describe what I had just been doing.  Yes sir, I was “milking” myself! 

Every day with a “milking” mom can be a bit different when trying to pump at work but it’s definitely doable and once you’ve figured out your system, you can definitely make it work.  If you need any advice on how I’ve managed to make it work, please feel free to reach out to me!

Happy “Milking” Everyone!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

What are you thankful for?

At the start of this year, my husband and I were thinking about resolutions that we'd like to have and he came up with a brilliant idea that we'd like to call, "Thankography."  Every day, for the next year, we are going to post a picture of something that we are thankful for.  With the hustle and bustle of our every day life we often times forget to take a moment and remember the things we have that we are thankful for.  This little project forces encourages us to do just that.  You may have seen this done before and that's because, we aren't the first people to come up with this wonderful idea...but who cares.

If you've got a moment, stop by Thankography...we're here all year!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

It's Been Far Too Long

I haven't written a post in quite a while and as much as I'd like to use the holidays as an excuse, they are now long gone... Therefore, I can only blame my silence on laziness and exhaustion.  (And although I'd love to blame all of my exhaustion on E, I am pretty sure most of it can be blamed on said laziness. #iamlame)    

I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays...we certainly did!  We celebrated E's first Christmas, not once, not twice but THREE times...E is one lucky little girl...that's for sure! Here is a shot of us on "Christma" Day.  (The outfit my mother-in-law got E for her first Christmas was missing the "S" on "Christmas".  I, of course, spent the entire day wishing everyone a "Merry Christma!")

After Christmas, New Years came and went in a rather uneventful manner...we decided to just take it easy this year and my wonderful husband made me a feast for for a queen.  It took us back to our honeymoon in Spain...we (over) indulged on paella, patatas bravas, and lobster tails...I am drooling just thinking about it (#fatkidproblems).  So delicious!  And we watched the ball drop in our dreams (hello 2014!) as we were passed out by 10PM (#wearegettingold).

Now January is more than halfway over and we are now approaching E's six-month birthday (say what?!).  I can't believe how time has flown!  We are starting to introduce solid foods (not a great success but sweet potatoes show some promise), she is starting to sit up on her own and is definitely becoming more interactive.  It has been really amazing watching her grow.  Here is a shot of her the day we came home from the hospital and another photo from her five-month photo shoot the other week. 

It's incredible to think that six months ago she was still inside my belly and I was grumbling about how she better come on time!  Recently, we've been chatting about the kind of person we think she will be when she gets older.  We really have no idea but I hope she has her mom's sass but her dad's sensitivity...and that she does what makes her happy.  We are really looking forward to watching her grow.

We are also approaching the beginning of tax season (boo hiss!) which means my husband will be MIA for the next few months.  E and I are going to have a lot of alone time so we are going to try to hammer out our sleeping issues (I am absolutely jealous of all parents who have their children sleeping through the night) and get ourselves on a better schedule (this may be why my kid refuses to sleep through the night).  And lucky for all of you guys (or not!), a better schedule will most likely mean more consistent posting!

[thankography-blog]

Day 8 - January 8, 2014

  Bath time is quite simply one of our favorite parts of the day…

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Check out "thankography"....a little something my husband and I are doing in 2014. Thankography.tumblr.com

[thankography-blog]

Day 1 - January 1, 2014

Our daughter. She is 5 months old now. Time flies. Despite the long nights and exhausting days, she is one of the best things that has ever happened to us. 

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Moms Who Like Coffee

In total, I joined three mom groups (Silver Spring Moms, Moms of Silver Spring and Mocha Moms) and they have been extremely helpful!  The moms in the area are really active so the daily digest emails are always packed with useful information.  People are constantly asking for recommendations for doctors, handymen, etc., selling items they no longer need, letting people know about events going on in the area, and/or just simply asking for advice on a certain topic.  We actually found our daughter's daycare through one of the groups and recently sold a few household items that we no longer needed.

I also found a group called Fit4Mom - they have two programs, Plum Moms and Stroller Strides, running in my county.  The latter I am familiar with because one of my best gal pals ran their own SS program in their town - I've heard nothing but great things.  I haven't had a chance to attend any of their events yet but hope to do so soon!

Without the mom groups, my inbox would be less full but I wouldn't have such a great resource at the tip of my fingers.  If you haven't already, do some surfing on the web for local groups in your area.  Chances are you have similar resources in your area that you should definitely take advantage of!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Thanksgiving

Last week we celebrated E’s first Thanksgiving.

This year was a tad different than previous years because it’s been a while since a baby has been invited to the festivities AND my sister is playing with sharks over in South Africa so she wasn’t with us. Some of my relatives had not met E yet so we played a great game of “pass the baby.” For new (and not so new) parents, this is an awesome game to play since it gives someone else the opportunity to hold their baby! (Not that I don’t love holding E, but sometimes I’d like to hold onto something different, like a glass of wine or my sanity.) I’d recommend playing this game with anyone you can! And we were able to Skype with my sister so the whole family got to say hello and she got to catch us up on the fantastic things that she is doing!

Despite my aunt and I being told our silver drying skills “suck” by my other aunt, we had a great time! My grandmother prepared an awesome meal, the aunts brought their usual dishes (deviled eggs and 7 layer salad, yum!) and we, thankfully, did not forget the pumpkin roll.  And we all got to catch up with how things are going in each other's lives.  Needless to say, my husband, E and I went home fat, happy and tired.

I hope that you all had a nice Thanksgiving with your family and friends!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Bitybean Love

This morning the Brod-man, E and I set out on a walk while the hubs was getting his pump on at the gym and hitting up the market for this week's food supply.  I opted to use our Bitybean baby carrier as opposed to the stroller mainly because its just easier to walk to dog with it (he tugs like a ferocious beast and is mildly terrified of the stroller).

Anywho...enough with the excuses.

I came across the Bitybean in a parenting magazine that I was flipping through at one of our prenatal appointments.  I made a note to myself to check it out for our Baby List registry and ultimately decided I would register for one of them in addition to the Ergo Baby carrier that everyone raves about.  We ended up getting both carriers which gave us the opportunity to try them both out.  The Bitybean ultimately won our hearts and we returned the Ergo carrier.  (This is not to say that the Ergo isn't a great carrier...many of our friends have it and LOVE it...it just wasn't for us.)

Here is why we love our Bitybean:

- I was able to put E into it without any additional inserts shortly after she was born.  It has a 8 lb. weight requirement...she was about that weight when she joined the world.  (The Ergo requires an additional baby insert that I frankly did not feel like spending the money on - the carrier is already over $100!)

- The Bitybean is roughly half the price of the other carriers out there, including the Ergo.  Its $59 price tag makes it rather affordable!

- It is made out of super thin and light (yet very durable) fabric.  This means I am not carrying an extra 5 lbs of carrier in addition to the 12 lb baby I am currently working with.

- It comes in 4 fantastically vibrant colors - we opted for the lime green.

- It has a handy pouch in the front of the carrier where I can put the house keys, dog treats, an extra pacifier or any other smallish item that I may need to easily grab while I am out and about.

- It can be used for children up to 40 lbs and can also be used as a back carrier once they reach 15 lbs and can sit up on their own.  This means we will be getting a lot of use out of it!  (Definitely making it worth the money!)

- It folds up into a little package that is roughly the size of a Jimmy Dean ground sausage roll.  This obviously makes it VERY easy to travel with.  They do claim it is small enough to stick in your pocket, which may be true for men, but the pockets of my pants are a tad too small so it doesn't fit comfortably.  However, it does fit into my purse and/or diaper bag easily and does not require additional elbow grease to make it fit.

- It is easy to put on AND adjust by yourself.  The Ergo was easy enough to get on by myself but I had a rather difficult time adjusting it so it would fit well once it was on (specifically, at the waist).  Right now, my husband and I share the carrier so I need to be able to adjust the size easily and without going into a fit of frustrated rage.  I can get the Bitybean on and adjusted to fit appropriately in a matter of seconds so it fits the bill.

We love our Bitybean so much that I have placed an order for a second one through Bitybean's KickStarter project fund.  They have under 20 days to get the project funded so they can move into full production...we are really hoping they get enough backers to continue making this fantastic carrier!!  

So if you're in the market for a baby carrier and want one that is easy to put on and adjust and doesn't require its own separate diaper bag in order to transport it around...check out the Bitybean baby carrier!

Note: This is an unsponsored endorsement of the Bitybean carrier...I just love it that much and want to spread the word!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

For most of us, Fridays are the best because it means the work week is over and we have two whole days to relax, see friends and family and do anything other than work.

Now that I am back at work Fridays are even more exciting because not only do I not have to work but it also means that I have two WHOLE days with E!

This weekend is going to be quite busy for E and I - J is studying for the CPA (he takes a section on Monday) so E and I are going to remove ourselves from the house so that he can study in peace and quite.  My desire to involve him in everything is usually quite lovely but while he is studying, its just annoying.

On Saturday, E and I will be traveling to Pennsylvania to visit her new best friend, A, and A's fabulous parents.  A was born a week after E and neither of them know yet that they are going to be best friends 4eva!  I haven't met A yet so I am really excited to see her!

On Sunday, we will be traveling down to Annapolis to see my best guy friend from high school, his lady friend and family.  We have been invited to join them for their annual Thanksgiving celebration.  (Guess who is bringing a pumpkin roll?)

Have a great weekend everyone!  Stay warm!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Pumpkin Rolls

Of all the holidays to choose from, I would, without a doubt, choose Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday.  Every year since I've been on this earth (or for at least as long as I can remember) I've always had Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house.  While my grandmother would prefer to not cook, she always pulls together a fantastic and delicious meal for us all to enjoy (except the year of the smoked turkey...that's not something we talk about).  My aunts always contribute something delicious  so after graduating college I decided I wanted to start contributing something as well to this fabulous feast!  

My family was absolutely thrilled when I showed up with the pumpkin roll and (kindly) demanded that I bring it again the following year.  And every year since that first year I've made the one for my family's Thanksgiving dinner, as well as a few others to share with others.  

Last year I committed a serious pumpkin roll faux pas.  In addition to the pumpkin roll, my grandmother also requested that I bring a green bean casserole (yum!) and a green salad (come again?).  Why she requested a green salad I have no idea since we have never had one before and Thanksgiving doesn't really feel like a salad kind of holiday especially since I have a father who takes the time to pick carrots and peas out of fried rice (#seriousveggiehater).  But hey, grandma asked for a green salad so she was going to get one.  When it was time to leave the house on Thanksgiving, I went through my mental check list of everything we needed to bring (which included the pumpkin roll) and made sure that my husband grabbed the green salad.  It wasn't until we pulled into my grandmother's driveway that I realized we had forgotten the pumpkin roll (eek!).  We went inside and I broke the news to the family...while they were disappointed, they didn't make us drive back home to get it and let us stay for dinner (this is not an over-exaggeration...my family is (lovingly) ruthless).  After dinner, one of my aunts had failed to receive the devastating news from earlier regarding the pumpkin roll and yelled from the kitchen, "Where is the pumpkin roll?"  Thankfully, I had already been given the opportunity to eat dinner so there wasn't much that could be threatened at that point.  One thing is for sure, I will not forget the pumpkin roll this year!  

(Note: No one ate the green salad.)

So this past weekend I got to work on this year's pumpkin roll inventory.  Making so many of these things is already a challenge, add a baby to the mix and it's damn near impossible to get them all made in one day.  I did manage to get three made so at least Thanksgiving is covered but I will need to have another baking day to get the rest of them made.

Unfortunately, I forgot to snap some photos of the process but I did snag a shot of the finished product.  I've also included the recipe for my pumpkin roll below for you all to enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Pumpkin Roll

Roll:

3 eggs

1-cup sugar

2/3 cup solid packed pumpkin puree

1 tsp. lemon juice

¾ cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. salt

Confectioners sugar for dusting 

Beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes.  Gradually beat in one cup of sugar.  Stir in the pumpkin and lemon juice.  Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.  Pour batter into a greased and floured 15 x 10 x ½ inch baking pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and loosen sides with a spatula or knife and turn out on a kitchen towel with confectioners sugar on it.  Gently roll the cake and towel together, jelly-roll style, and allow to cool.  Recommend cooling roll overnight.

Filling:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 (3 oz.) packages cream cheese

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter

½ tsp. vanilla

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Allow all ingredients for the filling to come to room temperature.  Prepare the filling by beating all the ingredients together until smooth.  Carefully unroll the cooled cake and spread the filling on the top.  Carefully roll the cake up again.  Wrap in plastic or aluminum foil and keep chilled.  This can be made the night before when the cakes are made, just remember to bring to room temperature before trying to spread on the cake.

This cake can be frozen.

[whenitsyourown-blog]

We Won, Revisited.

Remember that CSA share that we won the other week from Chicano Sol!? Well I promised that I share how we put that basket to use and I think I came up with some pretty tasty things (although I think my husband would disagree...he prefers my less adventurous meals).

With the butternut and jester squash I made a butternut/jester squash soup.  I also served this with a tomato and onion salad.  Here's the recipe:

2 tbs unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion

1-2 teaspoons marjoram

1 bay leaf

3-4 cups of squash (in this case, butternut and jester)

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

coarse salt

In a large dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter of medium high heat and add the onion and marjoram; cook until the onion is softened.  Add the squash, cayenne, broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, approximately 20 minutes.  Season with salt.  Puree the entire mixture until smooth.

While I made this soup for us to eat by the bowl, I ended up using it with our seared scallops dinner (fancy!).  We served the seared scallops on top of a butternut squash soup "smear" - it was delicious!  Along side the scallops, I cooked up the mustard greens.

With the turnips, I made a turnip and potato soup.  I've never cooked with turnips before and I had absolutely no idea how to cook with them.  The soup recipe turned out rather well.  I topped it with a little cheese and bacon so it was a bit reminiscent of a baked potato soup which made my husband happier.  I threw together a small salad to go with the soup that included the yellow pepper and arugula as well.

The final meal I put together using the CSA share contents was a sausage and kale alfredo pasta.  We used one of Michael Symon's 5 in 5 recipes as inspiration.  This was what I'd like to call a "throw together" recipe...we took our recipe inspiration, took a look at what we had in the house and what we were in the mood for and came up with something we really enjoyed.  Here's the recipe:

1 lb chicken sausage, sliced (we used a chicken and apple sausage that was already cooked through)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 medium onion (we used a sweet onion)

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

3-4 cups kale, cleaned and de-stemmed

1/2 jar alfredo sauce

1/2 cup white wine

Pasta of choice, we used rigatoni

Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat and add garlic, onion and sun dried tomatoes.  Sauté until onion is translucent; don't burn the garlic!  Add the chicken sausage and sauté for a couple minutes until warmed through.  Add the alfredo sauce and white wine, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, cook pasta per the instructions.  Once the pasta is done, toss the pasta in the sauce and enjoy!  (If we had parmesan cheese I would have grated a bit on top.)

(Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this one!)

All in all I was pretty pleased with what I made with the contents of the CSA share.  I am hoping that I can convince my husband that investing in a share is a good idea!  If you have any questions about the recipes above, please do not hesitate to ask!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Week of Crazy.

Daycare started (which is still going well),  E brought home her first cold (the joys of daycare life) and now the entire house is infected with something funky.  

I also started back to work which, honestly, has been just lovely.  But it is very tough getting used to the commute again (I hate driving.) and being away from my baby!  But once I am there, it is wonderful knowing that I have 8 hours to get things done.

We had our monthly visit from the cleaning ladies Saturday morning (yay!) and now three days later it looks like we could use another visit thanks to my yearly pumpkin roll baking marathon (future post, stay tuned) and the house being a construction zone (see below).

Our contractor/neighbor was doing some work on our house this weekend so the place looks/feels like a construction site.  But we do have a fabulous new front door!

The tires on my car have been giving me a fit so we had to take my car to the tire place (Radial Tire in Silver Spring) for new tires.  Thankfully I didn't need new tires, I just had a leak, and now everything is right as rain!

The aforementioned tire problem made us find our way to downtown Silver Spring for some coffee and a little farmers' market perusing which sounds like fun until....you realize your husband planned only to pick you up from the tire place so you didn't have the stroller to push the baby around in and you didn't have the diaper bag.  This was a disaster waiting to happen (I think I need to revisit my lessons learned post) so we cut that trip really short.

We had an impromptu card night and doggie play date with a couple of friends...this was a great way to unwind after the day's earlier events.

We woke up on Sunday morning to a fridge that had been inadvertently left open all night so all of our food was luke warm (yum!).  Handling this required a serious cup of coffee and I contemplated holding on to the half and half (what could a couple tablespoons of warm cream do to me?) but after consulting with my husband I decided it wasn't in my best interest and I was coffee-less.  After discarding the entire contents of the fridge and putting together a massive grocery list we headed off to the grocery store...one of our favorite places!  (seriously.)    

Oh I forgot to mention, my husband is currently studying for the CPA, he is taking a section on Monday...he was supposed to study during all of this nonsense. (yea right.)

I think the highlight of our weekend was when one of Joey's friends from home came into town from Atlanta.  We hadn't seen her for a few months (I was still pregnant) and it was just great to see her.  She even brought us homemade banana bread!

Needless to say we passed out!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Cold Weather

With the weather getting colder over the past few weeks I was really excited to bust out one of the cutest gifts I think we have received for E.  Our dear friend Tiffany (my husband's best friend's wife,  E's godmother AND fellow blogger) crocheted her this adorable owl hat!  

(Unfortunately, E's head grew a bit so it doesn't fit her well!  But it doesn't look so bad on Brody!)

We also received this lovely blanket as a shower gift - it is so cozy and perfect for tummy time!  Tiffany is so incredibly talented and we are lucky that we get to reap the benefits of those talents!  

She recently opened her own Etsy and Zibbet shops where she sells both the owl hat and granny square blanket along with other great items.  Check her out!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Isn't For You.

This week on facebook the blog post by Seth Adam Smith, "Marriage Isn't for You," went viral.  With a title that gives the reader the impression it is about something else I was pleasantly surprised and after reading it, I couldn't agree more with everything that he said, especially after having my daughter.

The advice that Smith's dad gave him is dead-on and I can relate to the selfishness that Smith describes.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in the everyday things, take your frustrations out on your partner and more importantly, forget to show them the love that they deserve.  Smith's post is a great reminder to me that my marriage isn't about me, it's about my husband and, now, my daughter.

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Daycare Revisited

Last week I had written that I was very distraught about the whole idea of taking E to daycare but our first couple of days have gone just fine!  My husband and I have decided that I will work earlier hours which means he will drop E off and he will work later hours so I would pick E up.  This way E will only be at daycare for about 8 hours or less.  This also means we will have less together time each day but we should still be able to manage having breakfast and dinner together, even if they are quicker or at different times than we are used to which is wonderful!

One of the major reasons why I think things are going so well is because I am not the one dropping her off.  This is not to say that my husband isn't  affected by leaving her in the care of someone else...it just affects him differently.  (He did call me after dropping her off to say that everything went well and that it was a bit tougher than he had expected...poor husband!)  In addition, on Sunday night, I got the sweetest message from S, the daycare lady.  She just wanted to tell me not to worry, that they would take great care of E (i.e. hold her, rock her, sing to her) and would send us pictures updates throughout the day.  I really appreciated the call and I am hoping that this extra personal attention is a perk of choosing an in-home daycare rather than an indication that I should seek out help for my (potentially) unstable mental state.

(This is one of the photos we got...E catching some ZZZZZZs.)

E is still too young to understand what is going on and she calms down rather easily as long as someone is giving her some love.  Me, on the other hand, feel as though a little piece of me is missing when I am not with her.  I surely would be a teary, snotty, blubbering mess in the middle of the daycare entry way if I was dropping her off every day.  And, quite frankly, no one needs that nonsense.  I haven't had any mental breakdowns at work.  Everyone keeps asking me how I am doing while recounting their memories of going through the exact same situation.  This makes the probability of bawling my eyes out dramatically reduce as I don't have much alone time to even think about crying.  Plus, I would feel a bit awkward recounting the details of my latest crying fit to my coworkers.  But it is nice to be reminded that I am not the only one who has gone through this change and I am thankful for the support that I've received so far.

So all in all, we've been very lucky to have a smooth transition into daycare life...having a plan, working as a team and having a support system has helped us tremendously.  Here's to hoping the rest of the week goes well!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

Preventing Hangry, Volume 1

In our house, food is very important.  I get very hangry if I don't eat every 2 hours or so; trust me, it is not pretty.  As a result, one of my weekly tasks is to put together a grocery list and meal plan for the upcoming week to ensure that no one falls victim to one of my hangry episodes.

Monday: Shrimp Rolls with Red Potato Fries

I have to thank Martha for this fabulous recipe; I stumbled upon it by way of her delightful "Food" magazine that I used to subscribe to monthly.  It is so incredibly easy and delicious.

Note: Don't try to sub the mayo with Greek yogurt. I tried it because we don't keep mayo in the house and it came out disgusting (thank you neighbors for letting us borrow your mayo).  

  Red Potato Fries

  Red Potatoes

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

Cooking Spray

  Cut up the potatoes in whatever shape you prefer (we enjoy wedges or french fry cut).  Arrange on a pre-sprayed cookie sheet so they don't touch (trust me, they will cook better this way). Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder; drizzle a little bit of olive oil on them.  Cook at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes until crispy and brown.  We use the broiler for the last few minutes to give them a nice brown color.

Tuesday: Chicken with Broccoli

If you love chinese food, but hate how much it can cost, then this is the recipe for you!  Another easy recipe and it tastes better than all of the take out orders we've tried.  Many thanks to Rainy Day Gal for posting this fabulous recipe.

This recipe is for beef and broccoli but this week we did it with chicken.  I've also done it with shrimp.  We don't make any changes to the recipe other than adding some red pepper flakes to give it a little heat; we like it spicy!

Wednesday: Sloppy Mikes with Red Potato Fries

Since I've been home on maternity leave I have had the opportunity to watch some daytime television.  The Chew happens to be rather entertaining and it's where I found about this lovely recipe.  One of the hosts, Michael Symon, recently published a cookbook called "5 in 5."  I was intrigued and ordered a copy for myself - this cookbook is definitely worth the buy!  This recipe is his take on sloppy joe's (which neither my husband or I really like).  Rather than using ground beef, the recipe calls for spicy italian sausage (yum!).  It was very good and incredibly simple to make.

(I also came across this recipe which is another of Michael's sloppy joe interpretations but not what we made.)

Thursday: Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Concoction with Hamburger Bun Garlic Bread

Something got messed up with our schedule this week and I failed to have a recipe on deck for Thursday night.  My husband came to rescue and threw together a shrimp alfredo pasta concoction.  I am not entirely sure of the measurements but below is what he included.

Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Concoction

Pasta (use whatever shape you'd like)

Alfredo sauce (1/2 jar)

White wine (1/2 cup or so)

Sun dried tomatoes

Frozen peas

Shrimp, de-shelled, de-veined

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Garlic cloves

Olive oil

I am not entirely sure his process for getting it altogether but I am sure it went something like this: Cook the pasta.  Saute all other ingredients in a skillet. Add alfredo sauce and wine (just enough to make the alfredo sauce inoffensively thick).  Simmer for a bit.  Enjoy!

Hamburger Bun Garlic Bread

My husband put these together one night when we didn't have a loaf of french bread in the house...it turned out surprisingly good.

Split the hamburger buns, melt two tablespoons of butter and add either freshly chopped garlic or garlic power and oregano, then spread onto the buns.  Put into the broiler for a few minutes, until golden brown.

Friday: Dinner with Friends

On Friday night, we were invited to dinner at a friend's house so we were off the hook!  

If you have any questions about the recipes I've posted, don't hesitate to ask.  I've also posted these recipes to my Pinterest board.

Join me in fighting hanger....happy cooking and eating!

[whenitsyourown-blog]

We won!

On Friday, I received a Facebook message from my friend, Boukje, over at Farm Socially (you can also check them out on Pinterest and follow them on Twitter), I had won a CSA share box from Chicano Sol (they are also on Pinterest) and that I could pick it up at the Silver Spring Farmers' Market on Saturday morning!  I've been looking into getting a regular CSA membership so I was tickled pink to find out that we had won.  I had reached out to Boukje for recommendations on local CSAs to check out and she also mentioned that Chicano Sol was giving away a CSA share box to people who liked their Facebook page.  I obviously took care of liking it right away and I am so glad I did!

So this morning I went over to the Silver Spring Farmer's Market (you can follow them on Twitter) to pick it up and I was pleasantly surprised at what the box contained and how much was included in it!  (Score!)  Of course, this now makes me want to get a CSA share even more.

Anyways...back to this fabulous box!  Inside it we had: Butternut Squash, Jester Squash, Onions, Yellow Pepper, Baby Kale, Baby Arugula, Baby Mustard Greens, Cilantro, Turnips and Garlic.  We also picked up some great looking tomatoes and a head of broccoli.   Boordy Vineyards was also there so I obviously picked up a bottle of their delicious Boordy Blush; everything tastes better with a bit (or a lot) of wine.

One of the main reasons I am so excited about this box is that I haven't cooked with most of these ingredients despite the fact that I cook dinner every night.  I guess I play it a bit safe and never really stray away from my romaine lettuce and green zucchini (lame!).  So I am looking forward to getting this week's menu together that will put all these great ingredients to use!  I definitely see a butternut and jester squash soup in our future! 

After having written this post I realize that it reminded me a bit of my friend Carly's blog, Carly in the Kitchen.  She regularly posts about her farmers' market finds and the delicious things she does with them.  So if you like food, check it out!

Now I am off to find different recipes for this week's meals.  I'll post what we ended up making next week.

Happy Saturday everyone!