Newness
9:52 AM Posted In baking , cooking , Duncan , organization Edit This 0 Comments »
This week has been full of new experiences, new organizational-ness, and new recipes, so I thought I'd share.
Eric came home a little early on Friday afternoon to enjoy the weather, and to replace the spark plugs in his car. Duncan and I plopped ourselves down on the grass to watch and play. Duncan did not move for about 20 minutes - I don't think he understood the grass. He got over this quickly, though, and by the end of the afternoon, he was crawling all over our porch, the mulch beds, and the front yard.
On Friday night, we ventured out to Lowe's and purchased some things for the house (thanks GE!). First, one of these, which was desperately needed as we've been keeping our trashcan in the front hall out of Duncan's reach. Eric also worked on a "test-frosting" of one of our cabinet doors from Ikea:
First is the set of hooks on the back of our basement door; second is our hall closet - the shoes were previously all on the floor, and the top shelf was a giant pile of scares, gloves, and hats. Now there are two nice fabric bins that hide all of that. Third is a Closetmaid drawer that I found, and it hides all of our cords/headphones, etc. We'll probably end up putting a childproof hook on it, but Duncan has yet to find it! I'm sure it's only a matter of time. The only other thing I bought was two canvas totes for under our bedside tables - we're forever just leaving pajama pants, slippers, and other articles of clothing just lying by our bed. Now we have someplace to put them! Yay for organization!
Last night for dinner, I made No-cream Pasta Primavera, and it was delicious! I didn't have all the ingredients, but for me, a dish like this is kind of hard to mess up. I'm still on a cooking and baking high ... here are some of my favorite recipes right now:
Sweet Potato Bread - I use half brown sugar and half white sugar; 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice instead of the separate nutmeg and cinnamon; applesauce instead of the oil. Also, to cook the sweet potato, I microwave it with the skin on for about 6 minutes (make sure to poke holes in it), then cut in slices, peel, and mash into a 1 cup measuring cup. Works pretty well!
Simple Whole Wheat Bread - I've been making this instead of buying sandwich bread. This recipe makes 3 loaves, so I freeze 2 of them. I use all whole wheat flour, and I also add vital wheat gluten and some wheat germ.
Granola - this is my new favorite "comfort food," and it's so easy to make. I haven't added any of the nuts, but I do add sunflower seeds and wheat germ. I also just add raisins as the dried fruit.
Miracle Lasagna - So, so, so easy, and just as tasty as those recipes that take several hours! I haven't made any changes, but the last time I made it I mixed in chopped spinach with the ricotta. Duncan loves it!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Can you believe next Thursday is April 1st?!
Eric came home a little early on Friday afternoon to enjoy the weather, and to replace the spark plugs in his car. Duncan and I plopped ourselves down on the grass to watch and play. Duncan did not move for about 20 minutes - I don't think he understood the grass. He got over this quickly, though, and by the end of the afternoon, he was crawling all over our porch, the mulch beds, and the front yard.
On Saturday, we went to Target and to lunch at QDoba (where else?), and on Sunday, we visited with the grandparents. Good times were had by all.
On Monday, I visited the Dollar Tree and found some much-needed items; I spent $14.94. I was pretty excited about this! After that, I stopped at Garden Gate Fruit Market (they make gift baskets, too), which is located at the corner of Breckenridge Lane and Bardstown Road. It is perhaps my new favorite place to shop. It's all produce, local products, and garden stuff, and is exactly the type of place I have been looking for since hopping aboard the organic and fresh food train (was that corny? I couldn't help it) - I love Whole Foods, but I can get nearly everything I need from Garden Gate, and it is not nearly as expensive! In fact, a lot of the produce was even cheaper than Kroger! So, Monday was a great day. For dinner that night, we grilled out of the first time this year: honey mustard grilled chicken and grilled vegetables.
Yesterday, I went on a cleaning and organizing rampage. I spent a little too much at Target, but by the end of the day, I felt so much better about our home because things that never before had a place ... well, they have a place:
Last night for dinner, I made No-cream Pasta Primavera, and it was delicious! I didn't have all the ingredients, but for me, a dish like this is kind of hard to mess up. I'm still on a cooking and baking high ... here are some of my favorite recipes right now:
Sweet Potato Bread - I use half brown sugar and half white sugar; 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice instead of the separate nutmeg and cinnamon; applesauce instead of the oil. Also, to cook the sweet potato, I microwave it with the skin on for about 6 minutes (make sure to poke holes in it), then cut in slices, peel, and mash into a 1 cup measuring cup. Works pretty well!
Simple Whole Wheat Bread - I've been making this instead of buying sandwich bread. This recipe makes 3 loaves, so I freeze 2 of them. I use all whole wheat flour, and I also add vital wheat gluten and some wheat germ.
Granola - this is my new favorite "comfort food," and it's so easy to make. I haven't added any of the nuts, but I do add sunflower seeds and wheat germ. I also just add raisins as the dried fruit.
Miracle Lasagna - So, so, so easy, and just as tasty as those recipes that take several hours! I haven't made any changes, but the last time I made it I mixed in chopped spinach with the ricotta. Duncan loves it!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Can you believe next Thursday is April 1st?!
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