Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

I think I’ve found yet another site for the most delicious recipes ever! I’ve already tried two of them so far and both have been fantastic! Like restaurant quality fantastic. Like holy hat, I could eat the whole dish before the husband gets home and he would never know I cooked anything. “Sorry, honey, I ran out of time to cook. Frozen pizza ok??” Ha. He’s no dummy. He would definitely call my bluff.

If you are looking for a great and relatively easy dinner to make tonight or this weekend, go check out Julia’s Album. I promise you will find a dish that you LOVE! And make sure to tell her I sent you by 🙂

Last night I made Chicken Mozzarella Pasta w Sun Dried Tomatoes and truth be told…there isn’t any left. Seriously. No joke. And it was only my husband and I who ate it. It was THAT good.

In all of my 20+ years of cooking, I have never sautéed my chicken in the oil from the sun dried tomatoes. I almost skipped that step and used regular olive oil. I am so thankful I didn’t!! It made a huge difference in taste and adding a little paprika gave the chicken a beautiful color. Of course, I had to take a picture of the chicken because it just looked so pretty!!

I love how Julia’s Album incorporates a variety of flavors all in one dish. The mix of fresh basil with sun dried tomatoes and melted mozzarella is mouth watering delish. My favorite part was sprinkling red pepper flakes on top to give the dish a nice kick!

Another step that I was tempted to skip was reserving 1/2-1 cup of the pasta water. Once again, I’m thankful that I didn’t. The cheese sauce definitely gets very thick and you do need to add the water to make it a creamier, thinner sauce so it can cover all the pasta. And who doesn’t like extra sauce for dippin’?!

Happy cooking!

Katie xoxo

P.S. Check out your local Fresh Market for a great deal on chicken breasts. I promise you won’t be sorry! On Tuesdays, it’s $2.99/lb. Great savings and great tasting chicken!

Lasagna Soup? What?!

A few weeks ago, my sister told me that she made Lasagna Soup. I was like, lasagna soup?? What?!? How in the world can lasagna be made into soup?! She went on and on about how much the WHOLE family loved it…even the kids. Well, once she said the kids loved it I knew I had to give it a try.

Skinnytaste‘s recipes are absolutely, without a doubt, DELICIOUS! So much so, that I even bought her cookbook last year! I should have bought some kind of protector for it to keep it clean from all my cooking though…

I’m not usually looking to reduce calories so I always find myself making the dishes “un-skinny”. With this one, I used regular sausage and most definitely added more cheese.

The girls didn’t try it because I ended up feeding them before it was done. I had a MNO to go to and I wasn’t feeling up to having them try something new. That takes a whole lot of energy…and time. Both of which I was lacking that night.

Next time, I will have them help me prepare and eat this meal. I just know they will LOVE breaking the lasagna noodles as much as I did. It was a great stress reliever!

Happy Cooking!!

Katie 🙂

The “Perfect” Cake

Before motherhood, I was a perfectionist and I had that quality perfected. Now that I’m four and a half years into this motherhood gig, I’ve finally determined it’s not worth all the time, effort, stress and craziness that it brings along.

I’m embarrassed to say that this lightbulb just went off this weekend. I mean really went off. I’ve heard it pretty much all my life but it wasn’t until I took my daughters baptism cake out of the refrigerator that it hit me. Actually, it hit the cake. The top shelf of the fridge hit it…when I pulled it out for the party. Eesh! The old me would have been devastated!! But in all sincerity, it really didn’t phase me. That’s when I realized I’ve changed. Maybe I’m so delirious from the lack of sleep these days or maybe I’m finally coming to terms with motherhood and all its twists and turns. Either way, it’s all good…I created happy memories for my girls that day. And in case they happen to forget, I took LOTS of pictures to show them later.

I’m in the process of storing all of my recipes at Plan To Eat so that I can efficiently meal plan for the entire family (blog post coming soon!). So here’s the link for the buttercream icing:

http://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/3238551

Your Charmed Wedding made Elizabeth’s gorgeous headband for me. Head on over to Etsy and check out this wonderful shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/YourCharmedWedding

PS…I’m new to all this “linking” of websites so if for some reason it’s not working, just let me know.

Beautiful the mess I am.

Love & Prayers,

Katie

Ten Year Two Step

On the few occasions that I am alone in the car, the first thing I do is eject the kiddie music and pop in some DMB. My all time favorite cd is Crash. I could seriously listen to that all day long! With the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving fast approaching, I’m reminded of something that I am thankful for. I am thankful for Betty the hygienist.

Ten years ago, a fellow dental hygienist, Betty, set me up on a blind date with one of her patients. His name was Jon and he was a flosser. True story. Dental hygienists just cannot date people who don’t floss so that was an important AND impressive quality. I reluctantly agreed to let her. Betty is of my mother’s age and she was always so motherly towards me. This happened right after all those hurricanes (Charley, Frances, Ivan & Jeanne) hit us. Betty always made sure I had plenty of food, water and a place to stay. So when she demanded, I mean suggested that I call him (yes, she made me call him because she wouldn’t give my number out), I did exactly as I was told.

Thank God I got his voicemail. Seriously.

We ended up meeting for dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. After four hours of delicious food, great wine and mind-blowing, heart-pounding, butterflies-in-my-stomach conversation, I knew I had to see this man again. On my way home, I called my sister and my BFF and told them both that this was the man I was to marry. Creepy, I know but so very true. I felt it in my soul and I saw it in his eyes.

Two Step by Dave Matthews Band always reminds me of that evening, not because it was playing that night but because it says what my heart was feeling that night and every night there after. I love you Jon Henry. Happy ten years!

Two Step by Dave Matthews Band

“Hey my love you came to me like wine

comes to this mouth

grown tired of water all the time

you quench my heart and love,

you quench my mind

Celebrate we will

because life is short but

sweet for certain

we’re climbing two by two

to be sure

these days continue”

(image found on pinterest…http://www.pinterest.com/pin/519532506985695228/)

Overnight Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal by Circle B Kitchen

http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com/food-and-recipes/2013/10/18/overnight-apple-cinnamon-oatmeal.html

As promised, here’s a pic and the link to the Overnight Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal. It was absolutely delicious!! I may or may not have had a few bowls this morning. My oldest described it in one word- “Delicious mom!” Alright, that was two words. And my 2yr old made a squinty face and said, “yucky”. She didn’t even try it! She woke up cranky (2yr molars AND her canines are coming in) so I rejected her opinion. I know she will love it. The kid eats everything!

I ended up doubling the recipe so I have plenty of leftovers for a few days. I’m curious to see how it will reheat in the morning though. I may add a little milk (and maybe even some honey) to it and heat it on the stove. I promise to let you know how it goes.

Let me know if you like them or if you have any tips to share! I would love to read them.

Love & Prayers,

Katie

Got What I Asked For

I’ve been complaining about my lack of sleep lately. More specifically, my lack of uninterrupted sleep. Well ask and ye shall receive, right?

The girls were in bed by 7 and I’m pretty sure I was asleep by 7:20. Next thing I know it’s 11:30, the tv is blaring and the hubby is snoring. In those four hours I slept like a ROCK! I’m not exactly sure how a rock would sleep but I didn’t move or hear a thing. I woke up feeling so refreshed and full of energy.

Not the best feeling at 11:30pm especially when the littles are super early risers. But hey, I’m not complaining about that tonight!

Instead, I took this opportunity to try a new recipe – Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oats. I’ve never made them but have always wanted to. I’ll post the link (and of course a pic) tomorrow and let you know how they were. Fingers crossed the girls and the hubby love them!

Beautiful the mess I am.
Love & Prayers,
Katie

The Last Time

I read an article a while ago, (when I only had one child and really didn’t have a clue) and it stated something about…cherish every moment with your children because you won’t be aware of the last time you rock them to sleep, swaddle them in a baby blanket, or feed them their last bottle. It just happens. I never gave much thought to that because I was sure I would remember everything. Ha! 4 years and 3 kids later, I’m remembering that article and feeling a bit sad.

I took the girls to the pumpkin patch to meet a friend. My husband was able to sneak away from the office to meet us too. Yippee!!! The girls were beyond ecstatic! My girlfriend immediately said, Let me take a family pic for you! I jumped at the chance, handed the baby to the hubby, whipped off my Ergo and sat on the bale of hay. He had the two younger ones on his lap and I asked the oldest to sit on my lap. She said no. She wanted to sit on the hay like a big girl. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, (chaos always surrounds 5 children, ages 4-4months) but as I look back at all the photos from today, I noticed my lap was empty. Its never empty. I, for the life of me, cannot remember the last time she sat on my lap. I know she gives out hugs sparingly and doesn’t always want to hold my hand but when was the last time she sat on my lap?

For today, I promise not to ask my babies to give me space. For today, I will embrace their hugs and kisses and messy hands. For today, I will love them with everything I’ve got and hold them close.