Happy Birthday, Lainey!

On June 7, 2013, our first baby was born...but I didn't meet her until a few weeks later.

Our chocolate lab, Lainey, is turning 1 on Saturday! 

Here she is at 3 weeks, with her sister, Nestle.  We can't say for sure, but the fact that the one on the right is trying to escape and blurred...we guess that one is Lainey.

 

The hubs and I are huge dog lovers.  He has grown up with labs and I am the type to cry at the ASPCA commercials.  Once our relationship got serious, many moons ago, we knew Lainey would be a part of our future.

 

So, last summer, after getting settled in our first home...Dan and I, along with Dan's sister and her family, decided we were going to adopt sister labs.  We were thrilled when they were born.  We picked them up from a farm 7 weeks later and "oooh'd" and "ahh'd" the whole way home.  She was so small and sweet and sleepy.

 

 

 

Not. For. Long. 

 

Lainey gives Marley (yes, that Marley) a run for his money.  She started out with chronic bladder infections, which in turn, will cost us quite a bit more to get her spayed.  Then it was puppy city.  She has chewed up countless area rugs, scratched repeatedly at our (no longer) new couches and furniture, knocked over and broke plenty a' vases, and more.

Once we covered our pool last fall, she didn't get the memo.  She gave us heart attack upon heart attack when she would continuously leap over the many barricades we would create and run around on the pool cover. Thank goodness we caught her in time before she disappeared into one of the (many) holes she put in that thing.

Eventually, she found her voice... and hasn't been able to keep quiet since.  Waking me up at 5:30 on the dot every Saturday and Sunday.  Barking at every leaf or bird that flutters by our window.  She prefers toilet water over any other

I have threatened to take her "back to the farm" a thousand and one times.  She is the definition of a terror.  But yet, here I am feeling sentimental about her upcoming birthday. Sigh.

 

 

Despite her craziness, irrational behavior and sometimes downright stubbornness...we still love her. She really has come a long way and is finally starting to be a loving dog.  We knew going in...labs are tough.  They're puppies way longer than other breeds and they tend to be three times as mischievous.

 

Lainey, we are loving watching you grow and learn.  Even though sometimes it might not seem like it, we love you and you will always be our first baby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And now, for a pasta salad recipe.

I made this for my mother-in-law's birthday party this past weekend and it was delish!  I love pasta salads because they are so versatile.  You can use whatever you have on hand.  Also, they have a tendency to get even better the longer they sit.  Here's this one:

 

 

1 pound tortellini (I try to always use fresh!)

cherry tomatoes

1 can black olives

1 wedge of Romano cheese

1 cup ricotta

2 T basil

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

extra virgin olive oil*

balsamic vinegar*

salt and pepper to taste

 

In a large pot of salted boiling water, add the tortellini.  Like I said, I always use fresh. It REALLY makes a difference!  Buitoni is a common and easy to find brand.  Since it's fresh, it only takes a few minutes to cook.

 

Chop up cherry tomatoes, black olives, and Romano cheese into similarly, bite sized pieces.  The amount of each really depends on what you like (see? versatility!)  Chop up basil and add.  Add ricotta.  In a small, dry pan toast pine nuts.  Add to salad when cooled.  Add salt and pepper to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons of each).  Give it a big mix.

 

The consistency at this point is pretty dry.  Now you will need to add your EVOO. I didn't measure, but I probably wound up using almost a half cup.  As for the balsamic, I didn't measure that either...but I would say I used several tablespoons (that is vague, I know...but I basically sprinkled it around the bowl 3 times.  Again, big mix.

 

Next, let it sit in the fridge and let those flavors mix for at least an hour.  Taste it then and you can make the decision of what it might need.  I tend to like things salty..so I added more balsamic.  But you may find you want to add more ricotta to mellow the flavors.  It's important to let it sit for a bit just to really bring out it's true flavor.

 

Happy Cookout Season! 



Nursery!

Happy (almost) Friday!

Our nursery is almost complete, so I wanted to share.  You can see my inspiration here.
I am a huge Hello Kitty fan and I think everyone I have ever met in my life was sure, upon hearing the words, "It's a Girl!" that our nursery was 100% going to be Hello Kitty themed.
But it's not! I decided to go for a shabby chic look.  Of course, it is highlighted in Hello Kitty stuff...but I figure we have plenty of time for that. :-)

Here are some pictures...

I made this mobile.  I'm not super happy with it...but it's still a work in progress.

Rug and crib from Target//changing table from Babies R Us//all baskets from Home Goods

Baby Girl has been spoiled rotten with several beautiful handmade blankets!

This dresser was my hubby's.  It was dark brown with old fashioned fixtures. I used Zinsser Cover Stain Primer to prime (it smelled horrific and probably was a preggo no-no)

 

I'm still stuck on what is going on the walls and what kind of drapery to go with.  I figure that when I see the wall piece I am looking for, I will know!

To be continued!

My Chalkboard Pictures!

I'm a bloggin' machine today.

Each week, I check Pinterest for some inspiration for my chalkboards.  I try to come up with something a little bit original to my pregnancy when I can.

I just updated my PhotoBucket album...so please use it for YOUR inspiration, too :-)

Here's my link.  It's also listed in my other sites in the right hand column.

Planting and Pancakes

Finally a beautiful Sunday in Northwest Indiana!
We celebrated by visiting local farmer's markets and working in our yard.

I LOVE shopping local..and while it's still too early around here for any good veggies, I still had a few good finds.
I guess first and foremost I should mention that as of last week, this is what I am lookin' like these days:

Getting pretty close to being ready to pop with our baby girl! My due date is June 23 so I am currently and obsessively on the hunt for all things newborn.  Bringing me to my first finds of the year:

I bought these two adorable headbands and our town's plant sale on Saturday.  They're by a girl called Carley Jae and she had the most adorable headbands for babies and grown ups...along with lots of other little things (coffee sleeves, onesies, etc.)  Click this link to check out her etsy shop!
I also found some yummy (apparently) and all natural doggie treats for our fur baby and a few herbs to get my herb garden started (they weren't looking too perky yet...so I'm gonna hold off for awhile). Can't wait for more markets to start opening and the goods to get better!!

On the menu today I made some banana walnut buttermilk pancakes.  I have to tell you, being that I am 35 weeks pregnant, I am not one for counting calories and I AM big into giving in to cravings. 
Here's my recipe

3 c. all purpose flour
3 T white sugar
3 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
pinch of salt
3 cups of buttermilk
3 eggs
1/3 c melted butter
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine dry ingredients, then add the wet.  Next, I mashed the bananas with a fork.  The ones I used were SUPER ripe, which I think is the best to use.  Quite spotty on the skin but soft on the inside. Next, I tossed in the walnuts and mixed.

This made 14 massive and fluffy pancakes.

 

 

These are perfect for freezing and reheating, too. I let them cool and put them in a big freezer bag.  I separate them with a small piece of parchment paper, just to make it super easy to pull out a serving size when I need to.

To reheat, I just microwave for a minute or two and add (the craving that caused these pancakes in the first place) maple syrup.

 

 

And that's that!

In other news, I have been beginning to obsess over what I need in my hospital bag.  In the next entry, I am going to include that and the results of my current dilemma: what outfit to bring baby home in.

 



When All Else Fails...Add Sprinkles.

This week has been rough stuff. There has been so much going on, I feel like I can barely keep up!!

These Rice Krispie rolls, however, are not rough stuff.   I made them for a baby shower for a girl that I work with and, while they turned out looking NOTHING like Pinterest promised, they still tasted super yummy.

I followed the directions for regular old Rice Krispie treats.  Next, I put the mixture on a big cookie sheet and rolled it out thin (about a half inch).  I spread Nutella on half and vanilla frosting on the other half.  Then just roll and slice! 

Now, the Pinterest one had a perfect spiral of Nutella inside. Mine, as you can see, lacked any patience whatsoever.  The Rice Krispie treats were still warm when I began to roll, which is where I think my problem was. I was nervous they would get too stiff and not roll at all! Learning experience.

Both types were delish.  The hubby liked the frosting one, whereas I loved the Nutella.  The ladies at work seemed to enjoy them as well!

In other news, I am REALLY trying to work on updating more often.  I have been getting very in to reading other blogs and it's something I really enjoy. So check back often. I plan on putting up different crafty things as well as sharing some products that I love.

OMG Chicken Salad

Today is my LAST day of summer break!  Can't even believe it.  It was an AWESOME summer break...but all good things must end. I suppose. Back to school tomorrow...

I made chicken salad today.  I really like taking delicious lunches to school.  I look forward to it in the morning and feel satisfied in the afternoon.  It's a more lovely break to the day.

Now, I've made chicken salad about a million times. I've ordered it from about a million restaurants. I consider myself something of a chicken salad connoisseur (kidding).  The batches I have made have always been pretty "eh"--nothing to write home about.  Today, however, was different.

After all of those attempts I finally got a GREAT mix of flavor! It was SO easy and didn't even take too many wild ingredients (my problem, at times, is OVER flavoring stuff).  Here we go:

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
2 T salt
1 T pepper (I used lemon pepper from the fabulous Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 mayo
1/4 cup dill
1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup grapes
1/2 cup almonds

First, I poached the chicken in the water/chicken broth mixture.  Poaching the chicken in broth, opposed to just water, really enhances the flavor. The chicken comes out SO juicy.  I also added one T salt to that pot.

After the chicken is cooked through, I cut it into small bite sized pieces and dumped it into a big bowl for mixing.

Next, I added the sour cream, mayo (I used low fat for each...feel free to use full flavor!), dill, juice from half of a lemon, grapes (cut lengthwise...about the same size as the chicken pieces), remaining salt and pepper.
I roasted the almonds in a dry pan for a few minutes just to get the full effect of their flavor and mix it in with the salad.

That's it.  Sometimes, it's better to keep it simple!! I let the salad sit in the fridge for at least an hour before nomin' it.

TRY THIS! It is SO good and so fresh.  Can't wait to take it as my first back to school lunch!

MammaMia! Meatless Meatballs!

I am posting this from my current food coma:

This one is NOT for the faint of heart!! My Chicken Meatball sandwich was absolutely to die for!

As I have mentioned, I don't eat red meat, pork, seafood, etc.  Something I will bend for, however, is chicken.  Recently, I tried Trader Joe's chicken meatballs (located in their frozen section).  I had NEVER had a meatball of any kind in my life and holy cow. SO GOOD!  The first time, I just threw them in spaghetti. I am 25% Italian and never had spaghetti and meatballs.  I felt it had to be done.  I fell in love and bought them again upon my very next trip to TJ's.

The hub requested meatball sam's so here's what went down...

Ingredients:
2 T butter
2 T EVOO
10 Chicken Meatballs (here I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 clove garlic
1 medium sized yellow onion
5 big button mushrooms
1 cup jarred marinara
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t salt & pepper

For the rest of the sam you'll need
fresh mozzarella
any type of focaccia (I got a mild giardiniera focaccia)

In a medium skillet, melt 2 T of butter with 2 T of EVOO.  Add in one thinly sliced (NOT diced or minced!) onion.  Let it cook down while you slice up your mushrooms and mince your garlic.
After about 5 minutes of letting the onion cook, add in your mushrooms and garlic. Your kitchen smells amazing by now.

Next, add in your cup of marinara (I used Mushroom by Barilla) and drop in your meatballs.  Turn the heat down to medium/low and just let it do it's thing.  I let the sauce go for 15-20 minutes until it was really thick and cooked down.

I split open my focaccia and layered the fresh mozz on one side and all the meat balls on the other side.  Then, I stuck it under the broiler for a couplea minutes until the cheese was ooey/gooey.

Like I said, come hungry to this one!  So good I could almost become a meat-eater....almost. ;-)