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. ;-)

Veggie Quinoa

Happy Tuesday!

It was a super busy day!  Complete with dog walks and TJ Maxx outings.  That's my kind of busy day.

Have you heard of quinoa?  It is said KEEN-wah. It's been pretty trendy for a little while now.  It's supposed to be good for you and packed with protein (which is good for a veggie-booty like me...I am always trying to take in as much protein as I can.  This protein usually comes from peanut butter in my case).  Anyway, this stuff has always been intriguing to me.  Whether I hear about it on some trashy E! channel show or read about it on Pinterest (hello?  Tiffany Beveridge?  Have you SEEN her "My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter" board?  I am seriously considering naming my daughter Chevron...)  Tonight I gave it a try.

I walked into this one TOTALLY blind.  I had no idea what kind of flavor this stuff was going to give me. I read a recipe in a recent Rachael Ray mag that gave me some guidance and this is what I came up with:

Preparing the Quinoa:
1 cup quinoa
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup water

First, put the quinoa in a dry fry pan.  Toast it up the way you would pine nuts, just warming them through.  I have read that this is a crucial step in making the stuff taste any good at all.

Once it is toasted, put it in a stock pot with the water and stock and get it boiling, stirring occasionally.  When it hits the boiling point, reduce it to a simmer and cover...letting the lid just a bit ajar to let some steam out.  Leave it alone for about 15 minutes and then uncover.  It does what couscous does and fluffs up nicely with a fork.

At this point the stuff was pretty plain Jane.  The broth did allow it to have some flavor...nutty-esque and wheaty.  The texture is fabulous.  Here's what was happening meanwhile:

Veggies:

1/2 zucchini
1/2 yellow summer squash
2 cups arugula
1 glove garlic, minced
1 T oregano
1 tomato
salt & pepper to season
EVOO

Chop up the zucchini and squash into bite-sized pieces.  They'll go in to a fry pan that has about 1 tablespoon EVOO nice n' hot.  Sprinkle some salt (I used about 1/2 teaspoon) and pepper (same as the salt) over the veggies. 
Next add in the arugula.  I put in about a half cup at a time.  This stuff wilts beautifully and quickly.  I could have even added more than the 2 cups I used. 
I kept this on a medium/high heat for about 15 minutes.  The leaves had wilted and the vegetables were softened.  That's when I added the garlic and oregano--let that go for another 5-10 minutes.

I chopped up a big tomato and put it in my serving dish, then added the cooked quinoa, and lastly the veggies.

I quickly whipped up a vinaigrette that could not be any easier:  4 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons of EVOO and drizzled it over the dish.

Here's what turned out:

Dan took a look. I took a look.  He asked why we were having rabbit food for dinner.  I have to admit, I was nervous. I had NO CLUE how this was all going to fit together...

It..was..AWESOME!  We both loved it!  It was so flavorful with the apple cider vinaigrette and the crazy different textures of the quinoa versus the vegetables.

So. All in all, quinoa is delish.  I think this recipe could be swapped around a kajillion different ways.  It was $4.99 for a box and I only used about 1/2 box. Can't wait to try it out a different way!

Stay tuned :-)
~abra