Fun Fact of the Day: Which side is my gas tank on?

Please excuse my ignorance if this is common knowledge to everyone but Michael and me, but a few years ago my sister, Emily, taught me a neat trick for finding which side of the car the gas tank is on (handy for those days when you pull up to the gas station and suddenly blank on which side you need to go to).  Apparently almost all cars these days have a handly little arrow next to the gas gauge symbol that indicates which side of the car you will find the gas cap.  So in this case, mine is on the driver's side.  Nifty, right?!  Hopefully I taught you a fun little trick, or at least gave you a reason to laugh at my ability to be easily impressed. :)

Happy Hump Day!

Love,

Mama

Beef & Mushroom Stew

Hello, cold winter night!  I've been waiting for you with this beef stew recipe.  Based on a WW recipe, this stew is both hearty and healthy.  Don't like mushrooms?  Try tossing in some sliced potatoes or sweet potatoes instead!  It makes 6 servings at about 8 pts each.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Beef & Mushroom Stew



Ingredients:
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 lbs. stew beef, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 T. minced garlic
- 1 c. red table wine
- 1 T. Worcestershire sauce (not pictured, late addition)
- 1 (12 oz) can tomato paste
- 2 c. water
- 1 beef bouillon cube, crumbled
- 1 lb. button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small can chopped green chilies
- 1 t. fennel seeds
- 1 t. rosemary
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1/2 t. dill weed

Peanut Post: Annalyn Up Close & Personal



 

A couple mornings ago, I snapped a few pictures of my little Peanut on my iPhone. The lighting was soft and pretty and she was so sweet and happy. Getting her to stay in one place long enough to take these kind of close-up pictures is pretty rare these days, so I'm always amazed when I do.

 

My sweet baby is growing up so fast all of a sudden. She's constantly talking her in silly little baby language including lots of dadada, bababa, googoo, spit bubbles, etc., but also occasionally some "words" like baby, cu-kee (cookie), and pupupup (puppy). Although she can, she rarely says mama. *sigh* Yet she will tell you what a monkey says when asked... "ooo, aaahh, aahh, aahh."

 



After 10.5 months, she's finally cutting her second tooth (2 more than Daddy had at her age, 8 less than Mama had!).  She loves to eat, everything.  We are constantly amazed at how open she is to new foods.  This week alone she's had taco meat with onion and green peppers, beef stew with mushrooms (believe it or not, ok for babies 8-10 mos and older as long as they're cooked), olives (green, black, and kalamata), and pickle.  Grandma Cindy even bent her "rules" and let Annalyn have her first cheeseburger (she originally said she had to have 4 teeth, but we got impatient).

 

Our little lady is just so full of love and laughter.  When we take her out, she waits for people to make eye contact, then wrinkles her nose and flashes that beautiful smile.  She truly lights up any room that she's in.  This baby girl is the apple of her Mama's eye, and I'm pretty sure she knows it!



 

 



 

My First Recipe of the New Year: Parmesan & Sundried Tomato Pull-Apart Bread

Here's the first delicious recipe cooked in Mama's kitchen, about an hour or two after we welcomed 2013.  After reading Shawna's post about her family's coffee cake, I had two thoughts....

1.  How have I not tried this?

2.  I bet we could make a savory version with Italian spices and parmesan cheese!

With the help of my BFF, we concocted this wonderful creation for lunch on New Year's Day.  We used the method behind her coffee cake, but with butter, cheese, sundried tomatoes, and spices.  The result was trial and error, but without the error (aka AWESOME!).  Like the original recipe, we decided the best way to eat it would be to cut it into as many pieces as there are people eating it. 

(A quick but necessary disclaimer:  this is not a healthy, low-fat recipe.  This recipe contains butter... and cheese... and bread... aka all things delicious and made for moderation.  And for goodness sake, do not type this into Weight Watchers to see how many points/calories/etc. are in this beautiful creation... I don't want to know! )

That being said, here's how Mama and her BFF make it:

Parmesan & Sundried Tomato Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:

- 18-20 frozen rolls (my bundt pan is slightly smaller than Shawna's so we used less than the 24 her original recipe calls for)
- 3/4 stick of butter, melted
- 3/4 c. parmesan cheese
- 3 T. Italian spice mix
- 1/4 c. sundried tomatoes, chopped

Making Mama Moment: From Meltdown to Minivan



This week I feel like I skipped ahead about 3 years.  As I've probably mentioned before, I've been excited to be 30 for a long time.  Coincidentally, my CX-9 would have been paid off the same month as my 30th birthday, so I told Michael I wanted him to "surprise" me with a Chrysler Town & Country minivan pretty much exactly like this one:
 

 

Well, as of Thursday, that dream is officially obselete.  Last weekend on our little trip we noticed a funny sound coming from my car, especially when turning.  Luckily, we made it back safely from Cincinnati, but my first day off after New Year's Michael got up early to take it in to be checked out.  Sadly,  ole Sherminator (yes, I named my car after the goofy guy that sold it to me), died about a block from the dealership.  Michael was able to restart it and get it (barely!) the rest of the way.  Long story short, it would cost thousands to fix and even then, there was no guarantee that the transmission wouldn't go out a month later.  Insert major monkey wrench in our plans!

 

Well, we had a decision to make, and considering we both needed a working car by Monday, we had just a few days to make it.  The thought of giving up my CX-9 was really hard to me.  It was the first car I bought myself, not too long after graduating pharmacy school.  It was that one luxury car I would have in the next few decades of my life.  To me, it was perfect and I loved driving it.  But I also didn't want to put a lot of money into a car that would still possibly be unreliable.  Insert meltdown here.  To give us another option, the dealership figured up what the car would be worth as a trade-in, and after learning that it would be enough to cover our remaining car loan, we started thinking about looking into a new one and essentially starting over with car payments. *sigh*

 

just before driving my CX-9 off the lot

October 2010

 

Since we hoped to buy a minivan in a couple years anyway, we decided that we might as well look into them now.  As if it were planned, there was a beautiful red 2012 T&C just waiting for us to test drive at the dealer's southside location.  Honestly, it was exactly what we imagined buying... in a few years.  We just kept looking at each other saying, "are we really going to buy a minivan today?"  While I fully embrace the idea of toting around a few kids in a minivan years from now, I'm still getting used to the idea of owning one now.  Yesterday we took it on our date to the movies and then to Broad Ripple just to prove how big of goobers we are.  It's just another of those transitions in life where you can't imagine how your old and new lifestyles will fit together, yet somehow they just do.   It wasn't at all the plan we had in mind, but this was a major making Mama moment! 

 

wow, this is the car I'm getting in to after work?!

 

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

In honor of Annalyn's favorite Indian take-out dish, here's an excellent slow cooker version of chicken tikka masala.  This creamy tomato-based sauce is flavorful and full of warm, earthy spices, but not hot spicy.  We served it over brown rice, but it could definitely stand alone.  (Without rice, it's about 8 WW points per 1 cup serving.)

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala



Ingredients:

- 2 lbs. uncooked boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1 large (or 2 small) onions, chopped
- 1-2 T. minced garlic
- 1 T. brown sugar
- 1 T. fresh ginger, minced or grated
- 1 T. kosher salt
- 2 to 3 T. garam masala (this is actually a spice blend, but I couldn't find it at my grocery.  When I looked it up, I learned that it's an Indian spice blend and the ingredients vary based on the region, etc.  I looked at a few recipes, as apparently it's best when used whole spices that are roasted, etc., but it was 10pm and I had to work the next day, so this* is the one I decided on...)
- 3/4 c. non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

*Easy Garam Masala: (makes about 1/4 c.)
- 1 T. cumin
- 1 T. cardamom
- 1 1/2 t. ground pepper
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. cloves
- 1/2 t. nutmeg



Directions:  Mix spices with mortar and pestal or

shake ingredients in a baggie until mixed.

Homemade Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats



After traveling for the holidays, your pooch is probably really glad to have you home and back into your normal routine.  I know this mama's furr-kids were.  Remind your furry pals how much you love 'em with these yummy homemade dog treats!  Feeling extra ambitious?  Roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to make fun shaped treats.

Homemade Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats



Ingredients:
- 1 banana, peeled and mashed
- 1 c. whole wheat flour (your pup have a gluten allergy?  substitute oat flour)
- 2/3 c. rolled oats
- 1/4 c. dried parsley (acts as a breath freshner)
- 1/4 c. peanut butter
- 1 egg, beaten



Peanut Post: Annalyn Makes a New Friend

This past weekend we were in Ohio for a cousin's wedding. Thanks to our friend, Andrew, who watched our dogs, we got to stay overnight Friday and Saturday.  Our first night at the hotel, Annalyn was excited to meet this "new friend" in the mirror.

Mama, did you know this room comes with a baby, too?!

 

a little heart to heart...

 

she totally gets me... crazy, right?!

 

a goodnight kiss :)

I love that baby, too, Peanut

Happy New Year!!! Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Verde

Here's the problem:  Working New Year's Eve 8 am - 6 pm... Annual BFF New Year's Eve celebration starting as soon as I can get home... Super anxious to see my 3 favorite Nieder-Meyers and don't want to spend all evening in the kitchen.  We have babies to dress up, pictures to take, and toasts to make!

the girls in their party dresses



The solution?:  This recipe was born!  An easy slow cooker chicken that combines some of our favorite flavors with the ease of a slow cooker.  I envision six hungry friends gathered around a table, passing taco toppings, champagne punch (for 4 of us), milk (for the 2 newest members), and good cheer. 

Gosh, all this problem solving makes a girl hungry!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Verde

Ingredients:

- 3 lbs. bonless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 jar salsa verde
- 1 c. chicken stock
- 1 medium poblano pepper, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1.5 - 2 T. taco seasoning (recipe below!)*
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro



taco seasoning:
- 2 T. chili powder
- 1 T. cumin
- 1 t. garlic powder
- 1 t. onion powder
- 1 t. paprika
- 1 t. black pepper
- 1 t. salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 t. cayenne pepper (again, adjust to taste/tolerance)
- 1/2 t. oregano
- 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes



Spinach Potato Soup with Tomato & Basil

As long as we have soup ingredients, I say let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!



Here's a warm delicious soup inspired by our recent snow day.  Using leftovers and items from my pantry, I came up with this creamy nutritious soup recipe.  We ate it alone for a light lunch, but it would also go great with grilled cheese sandwiches.  Once again, it turned out to be a great dish to share with Peanut - after eating some of her own lunch, we gave her some soup to try and she ended up eating a whole little bowl full of it!

Spinach Potato Soup with Tomato & Basil

Ingredients:

- 2 T. olive oil

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 c. leftover garlic mashed potatoes

- 1 carton chicken stock (4 cups)

- 3 c. packed baby spinach (I only had about 1.5 - 2 c., but I think it could use more)

- 2 T. basil (paste, dried, or fresh)

- 1 t. Italian spice mix

- 1 t. salt

- 1/2 t. black pepper

- 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes

- 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese