My Jedi Master :)

The obligatory "after" picture

After the ordeal with our deck falling down, the association finally agreed to cover the cost and hired some builders to make a new one. It's all a HUGE blessing in disguise, and as of about 3:00 this afternoon, we have a brand new, beautiful deck! I'm a little bummed that it's still the middle of winter and we can't actually enjoy it right away, but I can't WAIT to spend some time on it this summer!

Meet Jack.

Jack had a friend over today and at one point, Jack came upstairs for something. I was pretty sure it was to use the bathroom, but I wasn't really paying attention until he was headed back downstairs. I stopped him and said, "Hey, what were you doing up here?" (mostly making sure he flushed and washed his hands if he was, indeed, using the bathroom).
"Oh, I was just looking for something."
"What were you looking for?"
"Oh, I don't remember."
"Jack, did you go potty?"
"No."
"What were you doing up here, then?"
"Well.....I just came up here to give you a really big hug!"
I lost it at that point, and he thought it was really funny and said, "Just kidding!"
Finally, I told him that if I went in the bathroom and saw pee in the toilet, he was going to be in big trouble.
"Okay, I'll go flush and wash my hands."
Stinker!
Then he got a time-out for lying. Even though he mostly cracked me up.

eighteen months

Dear Leah,

It has been one and a half years since you have graced our family with your fabulous presence. Sometimes I can't believe it's been that long! It feels like yesterday I was looking at your hours-old face and feeling so blessed. But other days I can't begin to imagine what our family was like without you and it feels like you've been here forever. :) I read your birth story last night, which was magical and surreal and made me remember what a miracle new life is!

Physically, you have grown from a 9-pound 13-ounce teeny tiny baby into a 27-pound toddler! You are very tall (surprise, surprise) and are running around everywhere. You have the most incredible personality and know just how to make us laugh. Sometimes you know exactly how to make me pull all my hair out, too. But that just come with the toddler territory!

Your favorite thing in the WORLD right now is reading books. If I sit down for more than a minute, you run and grab a book and bring it back for me to read. You seem to prefer books with real animals and people in them. I think it's helping you learn some new words (because, let's face it, your big brother does all the talking and there hasn't been a reason to start before now). You love to point out animals in books and make their corresponding sounds. I have to say, when you hear an actual sheep for the first time, you're going to wonder why it's not "baa"ing more quickly.

You are full of kisses. For me, Jack, Daddy, Lucy (aka the most tolerant cat in the world), and all of the puppies and kitties in your books. They started as lovely, open-mouth smooches, but now they're so sweet! Your little pursed lips are just to die for. As are your warm, rosy cheeks when you wake up from a nap. Those are something I can't stop kissing!

I'd rather not be around the day something happens to one or both of your blankets. Because at this point, I'm not sure you could survive without them. It's pretty adorable how you ask for your "deedee" and walk around with it and suck on the corners, but you are HOOKED on this thing! It's actually quite nice that you have a "lovey." Your silly brother had nothing. No blanket, no pacifier, no animal. He didn't know what he was missing. :)

It's hard to believe, in the middle of this freezing cold winter, that we'll be celebrating your SECOND birthday in six short months when it's nice and warm. You have been an immense blessing to our family in these eighteen months. It's very exciting to think about the future of our family of four. Thank you for your sweet spirit and incredible heart! You make me so happy that I'm a mom.

Love you to pieces,
Mama

Timber

On Tuesday, we decided to make a trek to Ikea to buy some new dining room chairs. On our way down our street, we noticed that there was a team of people getting ready to shovel the snow off of all of our roofs. Yay! What a smart thing for them to do (since they spent all summer a couple years ago putting new roofs on every home).

So we conquered Ikea, stopped for some lunch, and headed home to find that they were almost done with the snow removal. As we went on with our afternoon, they re-plowed our driveway and re-shoveled our steps. One area they LEFT, however, was our deck. It was PILED with snow that had been shoveled from the roof. I had noticed some decks as we drove down our street and into our driveway and thought, "Wow, that's a lot of snow for a deck to hold!" Of course, since they had re-plowed and re-shoveled, we assumed they would be back as some point to clear off the deck. Well, they didn't come back on Tuesday. They didn't come back on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night around midnight, Dan was downstairs and heard a huge crash. He looked out the window and, sure enough, our deck had finally fallen from the weight of the snow. Since there wasn't much he could do at that time of night, we called our association contact the next day. The guy came out about an hour later to check everything out, and by that night a team of people had gotten our grill, table, and chairs safely off the deck and into our yard.

The next day (Friday), the owner of the company that had done the roof shoveling came by to look at the deck. He was kind of a bully and said that the deck was in terrible shape anyway, etc. True (the deck is as old as the house--1979), but beside the point. The deck has held a normal amount of snow just fine for six winters and our grill, deck furniture, and all of US for six summers. He left kind of crabby and said he'd be back on Monday. So we'll see what tomorrow brings. But based on people we have talked to, it seems like a no-brainer. This is clearly his fault and we *should* get a new deck out of it. (Which is actually really exciting!)

Here are some pictures of the fallen deck. They'll hopefully come knock it the rest of the way down and haul it all away soon. :)

(Oh, and the same day the owner came to talk to us, his team was back--clearing off every last deck in our development!)

Looking straight out our deck door:

The other side, toward our front yard:

We thought of removing the railings and sledding down. ;)

Merry Christmas :)

Just a few shots of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities.

The Butterfly Circus

I have to share the most amazing short film with you. Dan went to a discipleship training school in Kansas City with its writer/director, Joshua Weigel. This movie has already won the Clint Eastwood Filmmaker Award (among other 2010 film fest awards), and it is becoming a feature film. I'm sure it will be up for the Academy Award for best short film. It's really incredible! You can learn more about it at www.butterflycircus.com.

Thank you, anonymous commenter, for the link to the official video on vimeo!

The Butterfly Circus - HD from The Butterfly Circus on Vimeo.

Santa, Baby

We visited the best Santa in the world on Saturday. (Mother Earth Gardens in South Minneapolis--take note for next year!) Jack was enthralled. Leah, not so much. Really quite beside herself, actually. But it made for some cute pictures!

And it snowed....

Here in Minnesota, we've just survived what has been beautifully referred to as a "snownami." By the time it stopped last night, the Twin Cities had between 10 and 17 inches of snow. Pretty crazy. It even cause the roof of the Metrodome to collapse!

As it came down yesterday, I watched the depth on our deck continue to increase and got a great idea for a picture. It was literally as deep as Leah is tall, so I wanted to bundle her all up and plop her down in the snow. Unfortunately (well, for me anyway), she didn't sink down more than a couple of inches. So my awesome picture idea was out the window (since I didn't think she'd appreciate being pushed down forcefully), but we set her on top of the snow and still got a few cute pictures. :)

This is amazing

Seriously amazing. A friend on Facebook shared a link to this video. Please watch it and enjoy. :)



After watching it, I noticed another video on the right called "The Making of....." and I had to watch it. Well, it turns out there were four parts of "The Making of...." but it just made the original video that much more amazing! So please, sit back and enjoy. If for nothing else than to enjoy David Crowder's hair. Honestly. Love.

WFD 11/21/10

Okay, this is actually going to be for dinner tomorrow night, but I'm excited about it. :) I made this like three years ago when I first found the recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine. It was good, so I don't know why I haven't made it since then. Enjoy! (I personally add a little more bacon and cheese than it calls for--it's a little less "cooking light," but tastes great). :)

Cheddar Chicken Chowder
2 bacon slices
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4½ cups chicken broth
1¾ cups diced, peeled red potatoes
2¼ cups frozen whole-kernel corn
½ cup flour
2 cups 2% milk
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Cook bacon in a dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove and crumble; set aside. Add the chicken, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to drippings. Saute 5 minutes. Add broth and potato and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add corn; stir well.

View full recipe

Whisk flour and milk until blended. Add to soup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in the cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Top with crumbled bacon.

WFD 10/12/10

Sorry, I've been quite absent. :)

Stir Fry

Stir Fry:
chicken
peppers
mushrooms
broccoli
water chestnuts
pea pods

Marinade:
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil

View full recipe

Mix marinade ingredients and add chicken.

Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil in a large pan and saute chicken until cooked through. Remove chicken and saute vegetables until cooked. Add chicken and sauce mixture to vegetables. Cook until sauce thickens.

Pumpkin cookies

I got this recipe from my friend Amy and made them last night. They are delicious! They are also egg- and dairy-free, so they're great for people with those particular food allergies. :)

Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine all ingredients and drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Cool slightly before moving to cooling rack.
I frosted some with cream cheese frosting, which was really tasty. :)

WFD 9/24

Here you go, Lisa. ;)

Chicken Pot Pie! Easiest CPP recipe ever. Okay, it's the ONLY CPP I've ever made, but it IS really easy. And it's also not mine. It's from my friend Crissy. Thank you, Crissy. :) My favorite thing about this is that it's a classic one-dish meal. No need for any other side dish--everything is in there!

Chicken Pot Pie
1/3 cup melted butter
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Blend above ingredients in a saucepan and start cooking over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, add:
1 1/2 cups water mixed with 2 t chicken boullion
2/3 cup milk
Bring to a boil and add:
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 bag mixed veggies

Roll out one refrigerated pie crust in pie pan. Add mixture and roll another pie crust on top. Crimp edges and make a few cuts in the top. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

WFD 9/16

Well, I broke out my crock pot for the first time this season! I love using my crock pot--it's so easy to throw stuff into it in the morning, and I get to smell it all day long. :)

Tonight I made this beef stroganoff recipe. Really delicious! And oh, so easy.

Crock pot beef stroganoff
1-2 pounds beef stew meat
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (this might seem like a lot when you throw it all in, but they cook down quite a bit--and they're just delicious)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10.75oz) can cream of mushroom soup (the 98% fat free works great)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1-2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream

Place everything except for sour cream into your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir in the sour cream and cook on high for another 15-30 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

WFD 9/3

Yesterday was a freezing cold "summer" day, so I made soup. I bought a butternut squash at the farmers market last week, hoping there would be a nice blustery day to use it for soup, and I lucked out! So, here is the recipe for the first soup:

Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque
3 tablespoons butter
5 cups seeded, peeled, cubed butternut squash
1¼ cups chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped celery
1 small granny smith apple, cored, peeled, and chopped
½ teaspoon ground allspice
3½ cups (or more) vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup apple cider
1 cup whipping creamView full recipe

Melt butter in a large pot. Add squash, onion, carrot, and celery. Saute for about 10 minutes. Mix in apple and allspice. Add broth and cider and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer about 30 minutes. Puree in batches and return to pot. Add more broth if too thick. Add ½ cup cream and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Ladel, drizzle with cream, and sprinkle with parsley.

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't share my love of butternut squash, so I made him chicken noodle soup. It's a Tyler Florence recipe that I found a few years ago, and it's really good. And it's not especially time consuming, particularly if you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken!

Chicken Noodle Soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

WFD 8/22 and 8/23

At a friend's request, I am posting last night's dinner (even though it was pretty basic and didn't require actual recipes--I think he just wants to make it on my blog. Here you go, Matt!) and tonight's dinner.

Last night, we brought dinner to the Glatzels' new home in Edina. They just moved back from Milwaukee, and we're THRILLED to have them closer again. We brought barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and watermelon. Kind of a quintessential summer meal (especially since the corn and watermelon were from the farmers market!).

The chicken was just the Gold 'n' Plump "best of fryer" (which I always thought was just a whole chicken cut into pieces, so I bought two packs; each pack, among the other chicken parts, had three breasts. Poor chickens...). I baked the chicken at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Then I slathered it with barbecue sauce and Dan grilled it over pretty low heat (otherwise the barbecue sauce burns and you have very black, crispy chicken) for about 20 minutes.

Tonight's dinner is penne a la vodka. Which reminds me, I need to buy some vodka. :)

1 pound penne
6 ounces prosciutto, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can whole tomatoes (drain and reserve juice), chopped
1 cup half and half
½ cup vodka
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dry)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup parmesan cheese

Cook pasta.
In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, saute prosciutto and garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, ½ cup (or more) reserved juice, half and half, vodka, parsley, basil, and salt. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the parmesan.
Drain pasta and toss with sauce.

WFD 8/17

Spicy Cajun Shrimp! This is one of Dan's favorite meals (and I really love it too), but I hardly ever make it! And of course, every time I do, I think, "Gosh, I should make this more often!" It's not difficult at all. It's just a matter of having all the right stuff around. :) I'm including a really easy recipe for a green bean side dish. It's just what we always have with this meal!

Spicy Cajun Shrimp
3 pounds shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon dry thyme
½ teaspoon dry basil
½ teaspoon dry oregano
⅓ cup butter
1½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce¼ cup beer, room temperature
1 cup tomatoes, dicedView full recipe

Combine seasonings in small bowl. Combine butter, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings in large skillet over high heat. When butter is melted, add tomatoes, then shrimp. Cook 2 minutes, stirring evenly. Add beer and cover; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.

Serve with saffron rice.

Green Beans and Pine Nuts
2 quarts green beans
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup pine nuts, chopped

Boil beans in salted water for about 7 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain. Mix with olive oil and pine nuts. Serve luke warm.

View full recipe

WFD 8/10

Last night was family dinner night, and we gathered here for pizza on the grill. It actually ended up being a disaster. But I want to try it again sometime. So I really have no great pointers when it comes to the grill, but here are some other tidbits:

• You must buy your pizza dough at Trader Joe's. It is $.99 for a ball of dough. You can't beat that! They have white and wheat, and I know in the past they've also had an herb dough. The only problem is that the directions say to bake the crust/pizza at 350 degrees, and that was not NEARLY hot enough. Crank it to 400. Also, bake the crust for 5-7 minutes before adding toppings. Then continue baking to finish the crust and melt the cheese.
  
• Our favorite combination was pesto instead of sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. (Mom also added eggplant, mushrooms, and caramelized onions to her end).
• My personal favorite was (and always is, really) sausage, green peppers, and mushrooms. Mmmm.

We'll try this again someday! I think we learned a lot. :)

p.s. Leah is 13 months old today. But just like I did with Jack, I'm taking a break until 18 months. Then I'll probably write a letter every year. It did feel funny to write 8/11 today. I said, "Leah, you're 13 months today!" and Jack said, "Holy cow!" 13 months must sound really old. :)

WFD 8/3

WFD=What's For Dinner ;)

Last night was National Night Out. Since my neighborhood doesn't do anything, and Dan is out of town for work, and my parents' neighborhood DOES do something, we headed over there for the festivities. To contribute to the potluck table, I brought one of my favorite things to make in the summer. It's a pasta salad with pesto, and it's the besto. (Hahaha).

This is the perfect time of year to make lots of pesto and throw it in your freezer because basil is SO STINKIN' CHEAP at the farmers market! A couple of weeks ago, I got three HUGE bunches (they pretty much filled a plastic Target bag) for $3.

So, here's a simple recipe for pesto:
1 garlic clove
1/4 toasted pine nuts (I've also used walnuts)
3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Roughly chop garlic and add to food processor, along with pine nuts, basil, and about 1 T olive oil. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped. With machine running, add remaining oil in a slow, steady stream. Add parmesan and pulse to combine. Season with salt and pepper. This makes about 1 1/2 cups of pesto.

Now, on to the rest of the salad:
1 lb bowtie pasta (Barilla is the only brand that I've found that sells bowtie pasta in a 1-pound box. Other brands sell 12 oz).
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup pesto
Cook pasta. Drain and run under cold water. Combine pasta and pesto and stir until pasta is well-coated. Add feta and tomatoes and mix. Enjoy!