What's for Dinner?

My sister-in-law, Heather, gave me this recipe a couple years ago and it has become one of our favorites. I think it was originally a Rachel Ray recipe but we have both made little tweaks to it. It tastes best with fresh herbs so I was excited to use our fresh basil and mint from our little herb garden in our backyard this week.

Lemon Chicken with Sweet Peas and Mint Couscous

2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock (divided)
1/2 Cup Frozen Sweet Peas
1 1/2 Cup Couscous
3-4 Tbl Olive Oil (or enough to coat bottom of pan)
1 Cup Flour
Salt & Pepper
Juice of two Lemons
1 1/2-2 lbs boneless, skinless Chicken Breast
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbl Butter
10 Basil Leaves, Chopped
10 Mint Leaves, Chopped

In a sauce pan bring 1 1/2 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add peas, couscous, and mint. Place lid on pot and let sit 5 minutes.
Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Cube chicken into 1 inch pieces and coat with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until browned and cooked through. Add remaining chicken stock to pan and gently stir to scrape browned bits from pan. Once stock is heated through add butter, lemon juice, garlic, and basil. Heat until butter is melted and thickens slightly.
Fluff couscous with a fork and serve chicken and broth over couscous.

(This can definitely be made without the mint. Most of the time I make it without.)

Nap

Sometimes naps just feel so darn good!

Spring Time Fun

Ashlyn loves her new popsicles! She asks for one every day after dinner for dessert. Aubrey had a taste of Ashlyn's popsicle a couple days ago and apparently she didn't forget how yummy they are. Ashlyn pulled her stool up next to Phillip in the living room with her popsicle and Aubrey started screaming at Ashlyn. She wanted a bite! (We're still working on manners!) Ashlyn is so sweet to share with her. One bite for you... One bite for me...

After nap time today the girls broke out their swim suits to play in backyard. (ok, so Ashlyn's didn't need breaking out since she has worn one almost every day the past two weeks) It has been so hot and humid this week and Ashlyn is dying to go swimming so I decided today would be a good day to get wet. We had a blast! Ashlyn ran and played in the sprinkler...

and Aubrey sipped on her ice water and watched her silly sister!

Ashlyn had the best time playing with her new "water gum". Bless her heart, all she knows is baby dolls and doll house's!



Poor Aubrey was not too trilled about being the "water gum" target!

Summer Treat

When you were a kid did your mom make popsicles in these?

The ever popular Tupperware popsicle molds?

Well, I've been making Ashlyn popsicles in these.

She loves them, and Aubrey has sneaked a couple licks too. I blended frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, and apple juice together. Yum! Next on the list is frozen strawberries, and Pineapple juice.

Oh, and by the way. When I Googled "Tupperware popsicle molds" to get an image for my post they called the Tupperware molds "vintage". Excuse me!! I'm having a hard enough time accepting that there are only 338 more days in my twenties without being told items from my childhood are now "vintage"!

We Love Books

I came across this video from January and just had to share it. I think it is just too precious.
(Ashlyn is saying Once Upon A Time)

8 Months

Aubrey you are 8 months old! You are starting to get quite the personality! You are also a big time momma's girl! Daddy makes fun of you and calls me your best friend. I'm OK with that.

You are turning into a busy girl! You are quite the wiggle worm and don't want to be cuddled much anymore, there is too much to do and see.


You want to be more mobile than you are. You have taken a couple face plants in an attempt to "take off". But this just puts you on your tummy which makes you furious.

It was quite the event getting your picture this month!


I think the rocking chair is off limits now! Ashlyn did enjoy playing big sister by helping keep you on the chair while I attempted to get a good picture of you! I'm sure she enjoyed it so much because she got to boss you around. I apologize in advance for her bossiness, she gets that from me, ask your Uncle Aaron.

You still love Ashlyn's attention. You two are so silly laughing and squealing together.


You started sitting up and playing in the bath tub. You have always LOVED baths but love it even more now that you and Ashlyn can play together.

You have one tooth and one more making its way up.

You love to give kisses!


You love being outside now that the weather is warm. You love to take walks in your stroller and play in the yard. You like to sit on your blanket and sneak grass into your mouth.

You still take two good naps and sleep 12 hours at night.

You love your oatmeal and baby food. Although you still shudder at carrots and can only stand a couple bites of Sweet Potatoes.

You wear size 3 diapers, a couple size 3-6 month clothes but mostly size 6-9 months.

Daddy and I are always commenting on how quickly this year is going. It has been such a fun 8 months watching you grow and change. You are so deeply loved!


This is Ashlyn after helping me take Aubrey's pictures. It must be exhausting being a big sister!


Yes, that is once again a swim suit she is wearing. No, we did not go swimming today. No, I have not made her change into normal clothes today. It saves on laundry.

What's for dinner?

Last night we had Roast Tacos for dinner. After I had Aubrey my sweet friend Jennifer brought us Roast Tacos for dinner, they were so good! She gave me the recipe and I have made them several times since. They are super easy and make a ton. The left overs freeze really well which makes me like them even more. You can serve the meat with tortillas wrapped up with cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes or over chips to make a taco salad or even over a baked potato.


Roast Tacos
1 Rump Roast (1-2lbs)
2 Cans Pinto Beans (no not drain)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Can Rotel

Combine all the ingredients in a crockpot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or 4 hours on high. Before serving use two forks to shred the beef.


There is nothing more comforting at our house than warm homemade tortillas! This recipe is from a family friend in South Texas. It's the real thing!
I used to roll out my tortillas with a rolling pin which takes for-ev-er and they were never anything close to round. Then one afternoon Phillip and I were watching TV and saw this guy making tortillas with a tortilla press. I told Phillip I HAD to have one of those. So we made a deal that he would buy me one if I made tortillas on a regular basis. And I can honestly say I have kept my end of the deal. Phillip got mine on Ebay for around $10, I think Target has them on-line also.

Tortillas
2 Cups Flour
2 t Baking Powder
3/4 t Salt
1/3 Cup Crisco
3/4 Cup HOT water

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut in Crisco. Pour in hot water and mix until well combined. (The hotter the water you can stand to mix with your hands the better) Form dough into 12 equal balls and set aside. (A little bigger than a golf ball) Roll each ball into a thin circle. Place tortilla on a hot, un-greased skillet. Flip tortilla when the bottom starts to dry and brown spots start to appear.
I use a cast iron griddle. You can also use an electric skillet with great results. You want the griddle to be on medium to medium/high heat. The tortillas need to cook quickly or they will be a bit hard.

Our weekend

We had a great weekend! Phillip went camping with his brother, brother-in-law, friend, and nephew this weekend while the girls and I hung out with my in-laws and sister-in-law. It was good for Phillip to get away and hang out with the guys. I don't think I want to know what all went on during the trip, but I think it's good for men to get away from us women and act uncivilized every once in a while.

Aubrey started to get snotty and a bit fussy the day before we left and I knew it was that second tooth that has been giving her fits. Poor girl! We got to my in-laws Thursday evening and when I put her to bed I could tell she didn't feel well. She woke up a couple hours later screaming and rubbing on her ear. Ugh another ear infection! After our rough night I called our good friend and pediatrician who called in some antibiotics for her. I am so thankful for him, he is so good to us!!

My sister-in-law, Heather, was there with her two kids. Our kids are close in age so they always have a good time playing together. We haven't decided if Aubrey and her baby boy, Joel, will be buds also or if Joel will be chasing Aubrey around with worms and bugs making her mad. I am so mad at myself for not getting a single picture of them together while we were down there!!

Friday night my in-laws kept all four kids while Heather and I went out to eat. They sent us out for a nice steak dinner on them!! We joked that they wanted to keep the kids so bad they had to pay us! Heather and I had the best time!! I wish we lived in the same town so we could hang out all the time!

Aubrey seems to be feeling better. She is still not herself yet but she isn't waking up screaming and messing with her ear. I'm hoping the rest of her teeth don't give her this much trouble. This has been a long month for all of us!

Whatever works...

Poor Aubrey did not feel well today! Last week she finally broke through one of two teeth she has been working on since the middle of April. Let me tell you, it's a sharp little guy. I'd cry and carry on too! I think she is about to break that second one through those gums of steel she has. I had so much to do today to get ready for a busy weekend. This is what I found to keep both girls content.


Yes I let my 3 year old push her baby sister through the house in an umbrella stroller.
Yes Aubrey is "drinking" out of a plastic doll bottle.
Yes Ashlyn is wearing her swimsuit and cover up.
No we did not go swimming today.

Friends

Meet my new best friend...Ok, so we haven't known each other very long but I'm sure we will have a beautiful relationship. Ashlyn has reached the age I dreaded since she was born, the age where she doesn't take a two hour nap every day. She takes a nap about every other day but I still make her stay in her room the entire two hours. When she isn't sleepy enough to nap she listens to her music and looks at books. Often when she doesn't fall asleep she will start hollaring "Mom, can I come out now?". I love her to pieces but I don't want to hear her squeaky little voice hollaring non-stop while I am trying to enjoy my peace and quiet. This is an alarm clock for kids that can't tell time yet. You set the wake up time, her's is set for 7am, and at 7am the alarm clock glows green. So she knows she can't get up or hollar at me until it turns green. There is also a nap setting where you can set how many hours you want them to stay in their room. Phillip peeked in her room at nap time and she was laying on her bed with her chin in her hands staring at her clock waiting for it to turn green!
Thanks Beth for telling me about this little invention! ;)

I got it at walmart.com in case your wondering.

Recipe

When Ashlyn was 9 months old we discovered she had a dairy allergy (not lactose intolerant, there's a difference). This meant a huge change in the way I cooked and the snacks I prepared for her. When Ashlyn started eating more and more table foods I started to realize that so many of my recipes contained some type of dairy ingredient; cheese, sour cream, cream soups, and butter. I am very adamant about my children eating what I cook. This doesn't mean they must eat until their plate is cleared but they must try everything. I refuse to make them a separate meal of chicken nuggets and hot dogs. So in order to accomplish that task of only preparing one meal for my whole family I spent many hours hunting for new recipes. Ashlyn has since grown out of her dairy allergy and can eat all the dairy she wants without any reaction but I am still preparing my "new" recipes. Her allergy made me step back and really look at what I was putting on our table and buying at the grocery store. Do you read labels? Seriously, does high fructose corn syrup have to be in everything! In the past year I have almost completely cut out cream soups (although I do make a casserole every once in a while to satisfy those southern food cravings), cook with less cheese and sour cream and make all our baked goods from scratch (including my own Bisquick). I thought I would share with you over a period of time some of our favorite recipes.
One of my favorite places to get new recipes is Mels Kitchen Cafe. This is one that she posted recently and we have had it twice in two weeks. It is so easy to throw together before the evening gets crazy and the hungry kiddos are hanging on your legs and it tastes wonderful.

Tender Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples and Onions

4 bone-in pork loin chops (at least 1/2-inch thick)
2-3 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick
1-2 yellow onions, sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the onion slices in an even layer over the bottom of the dish. Top the onion slices with the apples. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the apples and onions. Season the pork chops generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange the pork chops in a single layer on top of the apples and onions. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for three hours. Do not open the oven and lift the foil – the pork chops, apples and onions need to be tightly covered the whole time to work their magic (and not dry out).

I served these with mashed potatoes like she suggested and thought they went very well together.

Best Buds!

Ashlyn's best friend is Makenna. Her and Makenna have had several play dates this past week and she has had the best time! They have similar personalities and play really well together. They are so cute together, they think they are much bigger than they actually are.

Friday Makenna came over to play and as soon as she got here her and Ashlyn took off to Ashlyn's room and shut the door. I stood outside the door making sure everything was alright and they were busy having a little conversation.

Ashlyn: Oh that's so cute Makenna!
Makenna: Thanks!

Typical girls! I'm sure Ashlyn was commenting on Makenna's shoes, purse, or some type of accessory.

Playing Play-doh

Giving their babies Check Ups

Making Pizza

Waiting patiently for the pizza to cook

I love to look at Ashlyn's old pictures and compare Aubrey to Ashlyn when she was that age. When I look at Aubrey everyday I see a lot of Ashlyn in her and think they look alike, until I look at Ashlyn's pictures and see how different they look.

Ashlyn, 7 Months

Aubrey, 7 Months