Slow Down, You're Moving Too Fast!

I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad. Colin is quicly approaching one of the biggest milestones in a baby's career and I'm just not sure I'm ready for this graduate level just yet. So here are the sequence of events with pictures to help guide you. Wednesday, after many trials and tribulations, Colin sits up on his own from a crawling position.
Yea, we were so proud of him. He had been trying to accomplish this trick for days so we were so pleased he was able to conquer this obstacle. Thursday we get to witness yet another one of my traits coming out in him - impatience! He proceeds on up to his knees from the sitting position. Again, we thought this was so cute and another great milestone. Then Friday, we were all sitting in the floor playing when horror of horrors, he used my hair and my shirt to stand up on his own! It was like I was having an out of body experience because I just couldn't believe my eyes. I quickly grabbed and squeezed him thinking that might keep the baby inside, thus prolonging this stage a little longer. I have since learned that nothing I do, no squeezing, no holding him down, is going to stop him from learning and growing. He has so much energy and so much drive and I have to just accept and be proud of that. My little boy is growing up! Yes, I know he's only 9 months but he's grown so much in these months.
After witnessing the great feats on Friday night, Wes and I rushed out to Babies R Us on Saturday to purchase our first baby gate, because one other little factoid about Colin, he's fearless! He tries to take nose dives off the couch, off the bed, out of our arms, and off the changing table (Wes), with no regard. This morning I went to get him out of his crib and he was up on his knees, holding on to the side rail, peering over like what's down there? I guess it's time to lower the mattress too! This is all happening too quickly! I hope you can follow the series of events in the pictures. These two are just funny to me and give you a firsthand view of how he likes to use Wes and I as an obstacle course. You probably can't tell but Colin is biting Daddy's nose in the first picture!

Mi Mexicana

Sometimes I think I must be part Mexican because I could seriously eat Mexican food every night! I know, my pasty white skin begs to differ but my stomach sure believes. I found both of these recipes on Ashlee's Cooking blog. This girl is amazing! Seriously, she picks a different country each week and researches their cuisine and then plans her menu accordingly. She clearly doesn't have a baby crawling at her feet, screaming as she tries to cook. Gone are my peaceful cooking days. So this recipe uses my favorite cooking tool, the crock pot! I liked the enchiladas but the corn side dish was my favorite. I followed her recipe pretty much as written, but I think next time I might substitute cilantro for the basil. I just don't associate basil with Mexican food as much as I do cilantro. Either way, I think it's a great accompaniment for any Mexican meal.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

1-2 chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup salsa
4 tsp. cumin
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp corriander (optional - I only had the whole seeds and I wouldn't do that again)
1 (15oz) can black beans, washed and drained
2 bell peppers (one red, one green), sliced
1 medium onion (red or white), sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups enchilada sauce
2 cups cheddar or mexican cheese
corn or flour tortillas
shredded lettuce, tomato, sour cream for toppings

Put chicken, stock, salsa and half of spices in a crock on low. Cook for 4 hours. Leave crockpot on and drain and shred chicken.

Add chicken back to crock with black beans, peppers, onions, garlic, and remaining spices. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.

Put half of the sauce on a plate. Dip the tortillas in the sauce to coat, lay in a baking dish, fill with some of the chicken filling and cheese, roll and repeat. Top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until melted and bubbly.

Top with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

**The enchilada sauce really makes the difference in this recipe. I chose to use a Frontera enchilada sauce and I thought it was too smoky. I prefer just a plain old red enchilada sauce. A lot of your flavor comes from this sauce so chose wisely!


The corn side dish is apparently Argentinian rather than Mexican. Whatever the origin, I thought it made a great side dish for this meal.

Humita en Cacerola
(Argentine Humita Casserole)

2 cups corn (or 6-8 fresh ears removed from cob)
4 T. butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 finely chopped green or red bell pepper
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped (I used Roma because it has fewer seeds)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 tsp. black pepper
8 basil leaves, chopped (or cilantro)
4 oz. Muenster Cheese (or any cheese you have on hand)
3 large eggs, beaten


1. Place corn in a blender or food processor until finely ground (I omitted this step because Wes and I like corn so I kept it whole).
2. Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring a few times until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, reduce the heat to low, cover, and continue to cook until it forms a sauce, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ground corn, cornmeal, salt, sugar, nutmeg, pepper and basil and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened enough to form a soft dough, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm (this is so that the eggs don't cook in the hot mixture). Mix in the cheese and eggs and taste for salt and sugar.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Transfer the corn mixture to a well buttered casserole and bake until lightly browned, about 45 minutes.

Desserts, round 2

This was for the other brother that likes anything cream cheese based. His one stipulation is that he prefers the creamy, less-dense variety of cheesecake. After searching the internet, I finally found this recipe for what turned out to be the BEST cheesecake I've ever made! I might even go so far as to say this is one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had, period. It was so creamy. I'm not normally a big fan of graham cracker crusts but the birthday boy requested it. I was pleasantly surprised that it actually tasted good - no more store-bought pie crusts for me, this one made a believer out of me. I couldn't leave well enough alone though, so I made a strawberry topping to go on top. Unlike the Carrot Cake, this one was super easy to make and you must try it now!

Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust, recipe follows
3 (8oz) packages of cream cheese, softened (I used 2-1/3 less fat and 1-full fat)
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar

For topping
1 (16oz) container of sour cream (I used lower fat or fat free)
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Make crumb crust as directed. Preheat oven to 350. Put a shallow dish of water on the shelf under where you're going to put the cake (this is for moisture and to help prevent cracking on the top of the cheesecake).

Beat cream cheese with mixer until fluffy and add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crumb crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch any drips) in middle of oven for 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is shaken (I found that 45 minutes was the exact amount of time - this is crucial to keeping your cheesecake creamy and not dry (overcooked)). Let stand in baking pan on a rack 5 minutes. Leave oven on.

For topping, stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Drop spoonfuls of topping around edge of cake and spread gently over center, smoothing evenly. Bake cake with topping 10 minutes. I think it's best to let it sit in the frige overnight and serve at room temperature the next day.

For strawberry topping, just cut about a pint of strawberries into bite-sized pieces, put in a small saucepan on the stove. Add 1-2 T. sugar and cook on low for 10-15 minutes, stirring ocassionaly. Spoon over each slice of cheesecake.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups coarsely ground graham crackers
5 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of springform pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes to set. Don't brown.

Desserts so nice, I'll have to post twice!

Yes, believe it or not, I have 2 coworkers with the same birthday! And, they are brothers! It's a joke in the office that their parents were only allowed to conceive 1 day a year. They are 1 year apart but couldn't be more different. One prefers anything cream cheese based and the other "has" to have carrot cake. I made the mistake of stumbling upon this carrot cake recipe for another coworker about 2-3 years ago and since then it has had a cult following in our office. I got out of making it once this year because of the whole baby, lack of time thing, but I couldn't get lucky twice. Luckily, I really enjoy the cake too so even though it takes all day, it's all worth it when you taste it. Yes, I said all day but it is SO worth it for a special occasion. And yes, we celebrated his birthday on St. Patty's Day this year, thus the shamrock on the cake!

Since I am both a baker and a connoisseur of anything sweet, I am entering this in an event called Sugar High Friday. You can go check out all the other delicious delectables!

The ONLY Carrot Cake recipe you'll ever need, seriously!!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use Canola)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
Buttermilk Glaze, recipe follows
Cream Cheese Frosting

Line 3 (9-inch) pans with wax paper (or parchment); lightly grease and flour paper. Set pans aside. Preheat oven to 350. Stir first 4 ingredients together.

Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrots and next 2 ingredients. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.


Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze over all three cakes; cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Carefully remove all three cakes from pans and remove wax/parchment paper (an extra set of hands is helpful with this step!). Cool completely on wire racks. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. You can top with extra nuts or leave well enough alone!

Buttermilk Glaze

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.


Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8oz) package reduced fat cream cheese (NOT FAT FREE), softened
1 (3oz) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. (Note: Don't add all the powdered sugar at the same time or it will fly everywhere!)

It rolled off the table and onto the floor...

...and then my poor Colin he cried some more! One sentence should sum this up - yesterday was Wes' day to stay home with Colin! Really, need I say more? Isn't there some chromosome missing from the male species? I think I found it, it's called common sense. As I have known for months now, and even you all know since I've posted about it several times, Colin is mobile - not surprising, the child is almost 9 months old. Because of this minor detail, I have not left him alone on his changing pad for several months now. I have told Wes to adhere to the same policy but apparently he didn't chose to absorb that piece of information - probably because it didn't involve any sports trivia. Note to self: when wanting Wes to pay attention, come up with some sports-related approach so that it will sink in! Back to the story. Yesterday Wes had just changed Colin's diaper on the changing pad, which sits on top of a dresser that is about 4 feet off the ground, when he decided to go into the bathroom to get his bottle. Yes, he left him unattended on top of the dresser, and yes, horror of horrors, Colin rolled off and fell to the floor!! My poor child! It's a good thing I wasn't home because I would have probably had a coronary. I would have had to make a quick decision whether or not to beat Wes over the head with the closet object I could find, or run to Colin's rescue, swoop him up, and take him to the ER. Thankfully, Wes called me after the episode so that he could reassure me that Colin was fine and was asleep. Of course my over reactive, female brain goes straight to thinking that yes he has his eyes closed, but not because he's asleep, but because he's in a coma! So Wes tells me no more leaving him on the table to run in the other room. To which I quickly reply, yes Wes, that's why I haven't done that in 3 months! You know it was fine when he was a baby and couldn't even roll over, but now that he rolls over faster than you can bend down to get a diaper, it's probably not the best idea to assume he's going to lay there perfectly still while you run to the other room. I was telling this tale to some coworkers and I said I hoped Colin learned his lesson. I stopped myself and revised my thought to, I hope Wes learned his lesson! I'm happy to report that Colin does appear to be bruise and knot-free. Wes said he let out an "uh" when he first fell and then when Wes came into the room, the startle factor set in and he began to wail. I know that boys will be boys and this won't be the first of these incidents, but I really thought they would be Colin's doings and not Daddy's!

Top o' the morning to you

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! How could I skip the day that is clearly a tribute to Colin's heritage. There is no doubt that Colin has some Irish in him from somewhere, with his red hair, fair skin, and name! Colin's middle name is Reid, did you know it means red-haired? We didn't know this when we chose the name but it's certainly fitting! So my dear Granny can't let a holiday go by without sending Colin a card. This is a picture of Colin with his card. Of course being the nerd that I am, I attempted to stage the picture with a St. Patty's hand towel. I'm learning very quickly that little boys, or maybe there's hope and it's just babies in general, don't take to being placed somewhere and forced to sit still while their picture is being taken. As you can see, Colin wanted no part of my staging; no, he wanted to take a bite out of the camera! And yes, sadly those are orange Halloween socks that he has on! My mom said Colin "picked" those because they had bright green on them.

Now, on to the food. There are several posts in one here because they are all related. The first is what I refer to as the "official" Irish meal - corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, and sauteed spinach (not so much Irish but it was green!). The second is what you do with the leftover corned beef because trust me, you will have some!

Corned Beef and Cabbage a la Crockpot

1 slab of corned beef
1 small onion, or 1/2 of a large one
handful of baby carrots
2 bay leaves
1 head of cabbage, cut into big chunks

Remove the corned beef from the package and trim all visable fat. I am a touch anal when it comes to removing fat so just remove what you are comfortable with. I also scrape all the weird red jelly stuff off the corned beef (what is that stuff anyways), even though the directions on the package say to cook all that too. Cut the onion into strips and place in the bottom of the crockpot. Add the carrots and put the slab of beef on top. Sprinkle the spice packet that was included with the corned beef on top. Add the 2 bay leaves and about 1-2 cups of water. You just want enough to cover the bottom and then about 1/2 way up the crockpot. Cover and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. When there is about 30-45 minutes left in the cooking, remove the lid and add the cut up cabbage. The cabbage will cook from the steam but it's a good idea to sorta stir it in too.
To serve, use a slotted spoon to remove some cabbage, onions, and carrots. Using the edge of the spoon, just cut off the amount of corned beef you want, leaving the remainder in tact (the meat will be so tender this will be very easy to do).
Remove the remaining corned beef, in tact, and store in the fridge for meal #2 (below).

Irish Soda Bread
This bread is tasty, but very dense. I suppose they created this bread to soak up the juices from the corned beef and cabbage.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix in the buttermilk and form a dough. Shape the dough and place it on a cookie sheet or a loaf pan (I opted for the loaf pan). Bake for 40 minutes (the top should be golden brown). Serve with butter.

Now for round 2, the leftovers! This is a great recipe to use up that leftover corned beef.

Reuben Sandwiches

Loaf of rye bread, or if you're like me, wheat bread
1-2 T. melted butter
thinly sliced corned beef, warmed
sauerkraut, wamred
sliced swiss cheese
dijon mustard (or 1000 Island dressing - Wes hates mayo so no dressing for us!)

Heat electric griddle or grill pan over medium heat. Melt butter and brush both sides of bread with butter. Grill one side of bread and flip. Add one piece of swiss cheese to one side and spread desired dressing (mustard or otherwise) on the other side. Add sliced corned beef to cheese side and warmed sauerkraut to the mustard side. Stack the two to form a sandwich and flip to heat through.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

There must be something in the water, everyone I know is either currently pregnant, recently had a baby, or is planning to be pregnant in the near future! As you know, I am no exception to the baby trend. I would venture to guess that within the last 12-18 months, I have had 15-20 friends or acquaintances that have had a baby. Add to that another half dozen that are currently pregnant! I've determined that 2007 was the year of the boy and 2008 is proving to be the year of the girl! One of these soon-to-be mom's having a little girl is Sara. This weekend I ventured up to Louisville with Colin and Daddy in tow for Sara's baby shower. Sara is due on Derby Day and looks absolutely fabulous! Of course Sara is a beautiful girl so I expected no less but she was just radiating. I can tell she is so excited, yet nervous at the same time. Sara, all I can tell you is that you'll learn as you go. No first-time mom goes into this knowing everything. You'll have many trials and tribulations but they will all be learning experiences. What goes wrong one day will be your source of laughter the next. The baby knows no different, so just take a deep breath and look at that beautiful smiling face that you created! Here are a few pictures from the shower (and fittingly it did SHOWER the whole stinkin' day!). The first two are Sara opening her gifts and the third one is me, Meg, and Amy - a.k.a The Tea Time Girls.

Crescent Chicken & Veggies

This is a great meal to serve guests because the presentation is nice and the taste is even better. It looks like you spent a lot of time, when in reality it came together quite quick and easily. I first discovered the recipe for the Crescent Chicken part of this meal on someones blog a while back. I later discovered it was a Pillsbury recipe. I love most of the Pillsbury dessert recipes and this savory dish is no exception. The nice thing about this recipe is it's flexibility. You can make any additions or substitutions that your little heart desires. The recipe I've posted below is how I adapted the original, which can be found here. The Oven Roasted Veggies are also easily adaptable. Come on, be creative, use your imagination, clean out that fridge!

Crescent Chicken

2 cups shredded chicken, from about 2 breasts
3oz cream cheese, softened
1 T. butter, softened
4-5 button mushrooms, chopped
1 T. chopped green onions
2 T. milk
salt and pepper to taste
handful of crushed Ritz crackers (or fresh bread crumbs)

1 package of refrigerated crescent rolls (yes, you can use reduced fat)
1 T. butter, melted
crushed Ritz crackers, or fresh bread crumbs

You can cook the chicken any way you'd like but I prefer for it to have a little more flavor. So I boiled the chicken with water, teriyaki sauce, basil, oregano, minced onions, and pepper. Then I drained all that off and shredded the chicken. You could even shred one of those rotisserie chickens you get in the deli (just don't tell me about it!).

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the softened cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of the butter until smooth. Add in the chicken, mushrooms, green onions, milk, Ritz crackers (or bread crumbs), salt, and pepper. This is where you can go wild; you can add chopped peppers, carrots, corn, peas, whatever you can think of.

Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles. Press to seal the diagonal perforations. Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into the center of each rectangle. Bring 4 corners up to the middle, trying to seal the edges as you go. Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter on the top of each of the 4 bundles. Sprinkle remaining Ritz crackers/bread crumbs on top. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Oven Roasted Veggies

1 bell pepper, color of your choosing
1 large portabello mushroom, or any variety will do
1 leek, white and light green part only
1 sweet potato, peeled
1 or 2 red potatoes
1/2 head of cauliflower
handful of baby carrots
extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
1-2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 whole head of garlic

Remove a few of the paper layers from the garlic, but not enough that you expose the cloves. Cut off the very tip of the garlic so that you can barely see the tops of the cloves. Put the head in the middle of a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Bring the sides up like you're making a package. Put the whole thing in the oven for 30-45 minutes. You can cook this while you are cooking the veggies.

Preheat oven to 425. Chop all the veggies into bite-size pieces (about 1 inch). Throw in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. Spread all the veggies on a single layer on a cookie sheet (I line it with parchment paper for easy removal and clean up). Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, stirring about halfway through, or until desired doneness.

Remove veggies and garlic. Let the garlic cool and put the veggies in a bowl. Once the garlic is cooled, squeeze the garlic on top of the veggies. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar or dressing on the veggies and toss to coat. You can serve these either hot or cold.

Don't let the long description discourage you. I try to be very thorough with my narratives so it sounds a lot longer or more difficult than it really is. All in all, this probably takes about 20 minutes of prep time and then the 30 minutes of cooking. It packs a lot of veggies so give it a try! Enjoy.

Look out Alex Rodriguez!

A-Rod, you're not the only one with beautiful blue eyes! This post is twofold; one because I realized I hadn't posted very many, if any, pictures of Wes (he'll hate me for the one I chose), and two, it's in memory of the soon to be destroyed Yankee Stadium. I'm happy to say that Wes and I were able to see the stadium in all it's glory before being torn down. Nevermind the fact that Colin has no idea who the Yankees are or even what baseball is, he sure looks cute in Daddy's hat! I'm sure he and Daddy will enjoy many an afternoon watching and/or playing baseball. Farewell Yankee Stadium!

The Heartbreak Kid

It's happened, Colin has officially given me my first heartbreak. I knew it would happen but I wasn't expecting it so soon. Yesterday morning I was getting ready to leave for work but had a few extra minutes. Colin and Wes were in the floor playing and I went in to join them. Colin sees me and starts his pursuit towards me like he's in military combat. As Wes says, it's both funny and sad to watch him in action - it's like he wants to get to his destination so bad and he tries so hard, but it takes him so long and so much effort to get there. Once he gets to me he puts his hands up on my legs as if to say, I've made it now reward me and pick me up. Being the wet noodle that I am, I oblige him. I squeeze and kiss on him for a few minutes and then it's time for me to go. So I scoot him back over to Wes. Colin promptly turns around like, hey where do you think you're going. I stand up and as soon as I put my shoes on, the tears start flowing. My heart just sank. This was the first indication he's ever given that he actually understood that I was about to leave. So Wes stands up with him and they walk over to me. I proceed on downstairs and I hear Wes say, "Ok, we'll go downstairs and see Mommy". As I walked out the door, he just stared at me with this look like, please don't go! It was terrible! I can't take those sad, puppy dog eyes every morning. I'll be a mess before I even get to work.

I'm happy to report that this morning went much better. No tears, no sad faces, just smiles and playfulness. Hopefully that was a one-time occurance. Ok, ok, just humor me and let me believe it for a minute!

Here's a picture that has nothing to do with this story, I just wanted the opportunity to post yet another picture of Colin. This was his first real snow. He could have cared less but Grams saw the need to document it.

Cheese!

As promised, here are the Valentine's pictures that my Mom took. I love the pictures because they are of Colin, but I hate that he looks so old in them! He seriously looks like a toddler.