Snow, Pumpkin Carving, "Apple Pie", and Pumpkin Seeds

On the plate:  Leftover Chinese food from the previous night...delish!  "Apple pie" and Spicy toasted pumpkin seeds

Soundtrack to cook to:  'NSync's "Bye Bye Bye" and Music Together's CD (Alexander was kind of cranky today, so I had to appease the little guy)

Snow!!  I couldn't believe it when it was falling last night and I couldn't believe we had enough to accumulate that I would actually see it in the morning.  Since the whole family was together and home this morning, I thought it would be nice to have a proper weekend breakfast.  In my family, we always do a "big breakfast" on the weekends.  I've been happy to carry on this tradition.

A big breakfast in this house usually consists of turkey bacon, eggs or pancakes, and toast or potatoes.  A perfect breakfast plate, if you ask me.  I finally discovered how to make the perfect breakfast potatoes.  I love ordering home fries from restaurants because I can never get the right crust around the potatoes.  I've tried cooking them at a high heat, but they still ended up a little greasy.  Then, one day, I was discussing this at work and a co-worker said that he par boils his potatoes.  Par boil??  Whaaaaa???  What is this method of cooking that I've never heard of??  My world was rocked.  You cut the potatoes, boil them for about 8-10 minutes, then throw them on a pan, sprinkle with olive oil, season, and finish cooking them in the oven.  PERFECT breakfast potatoes!  Thank you, Mr. Herbst, for introducing this method of cooking to me, and for solving this mystery!

3 eggs and 3 egg whites omelette with mushrooms, onions,
and feta cheese; turkey bacon, and potatoes.  Mmmmm!!!

After the delightful breakfast, we were warmed through and through and decided to go for a little family walk.  I decided to bring the camera along with me so that I could capture pictures of the first snow...I just didn't think it would be in October!  Here's how our walk went this morning:

Alexander was all bundled up in his winter
gear.  He's wearing gloves thanks to Tita Kristen
and Uncle Pete.  I went on a search the other day
for toddler gloves because Alexander hates mittens
(he doesn't know how to put his thumb in the thumb hole,
so he just gets frustrated and is quite fussy on our walks).
Needless to say, I didn't want to have all of our walks go
that way, so Kristen and Pete got him some gloves.  It
seems as if he's not really a fan of the cold weather just yet.  

Oscar in his sweater on the walk.  He doesn't
like the cold weather either....or the sweater. 

Since it was pretty cold outside, I was inspired to clean out the fireplace and start a nice fire.  It was actually our first one that we'd ever had in this house (and we've lived here for 2 1/2 years).

With a nice fire burning, Alexander and I played in the living room, Oscar moped in his sweater by the window, and Joseph went upstairs to study (he's so responsible). :)

Alexander jamming on the piano.  What can I say?  We have
a little prodigy on our hands.  Lol! 

Alexander found another use for the toy
organizer.  He's so creative. :)

Showing off his supafly Purdue warm up suit.
When we say, "Boiler up!"  He says, "Toot!  Toot!"
That's our little Boilermaker for ya. :)

I told you Oscar was moping - he doesn't like his sweater.
However, if he doesn't wear it, then he shivers.  We're just trying
to keep our babies warm.  Oscar suggests that we seek an alternative route.

Once we had lunch and a nap, we decided to carve our pumpkins that we purchased the other day.  After all, tomorrow is Halloween!  Thankfully Joseph was able to put his studying to the side in order to have some quality family fun, carving style!

Joseph and Alexander carving the little pumpkins.  Alexander
wasn't a huge fan of scooping out the pumpkin goo.  In fact, every time
he touched the goo with his hands, he shuddered!  I couldn't believe it!
He's just like his mommy - doesn't like any messes whatsoever.  He
wiped his hands off on Joseph's pants. 

Alexander found it necessary that in order to adequately carve
a pumpkin, he should put his foot in the pumpkin first.  Makes sense! :)

Alexander helping me scoop out some pumpkin goo. 

The little man gave me a little smooch!  What a sweetie!

Voila!  Our Jack-o-lanterns!

After we put Alexander down for the night, I went straight to work to make a little sweet treat and a savory one as well.  I put "apple pie" in the title in quotation marks because after making this low calorie apple pie, I decided that whomever threw this recipe together had a very loose definition of what an apple pie should be.  It was basically a crumble topping that was turned into a crust and then topped with apple slices.  Instead of lemon juice, I used meyer lemon juice, and added finely chopped rind of a clementine, and pumpkin pie spice.

Before baking...

and after baking...doesn't look much different.  It's like an
upside-down crumble.  You really need to add extra things
to the recipe to add more flavor.

After this culinary disappointment, I decided that I needed to make something to redeem myself to....myself.  Since this sweet treat didn't pan out, I thought I'd try my hand at a savory snack.  I had already cleaned the pumpkin seeds after Joseph and Alexander (mostly Joseph) had sorted out all of the seeds from the pumpkin goo.  They had already dried out, so all I needed to do was spread them out on a pan, season them, and throw them in the oven.  I saw this yummy recipe for toasted seeds on a blog that I frequent.  I was drawn to it because it included cayenne pepper...that pretty much sealed the deal for me! :)  I like my food spicy and these toasted pumpkin seeds really hit the spot!

These turned out absolutely wonderfully!  They're the perfect
salty and slightly spicy snack.  So good!!

I had finally redeemed myself and was content, sitting on the couch next to Joseph.  My salty snack satiated my munchy cravings and we snuggled up to catch up on The Walking Dead and Boardwalk Empire episodes that we had missed.  A perfect end to a perfect day!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Veggies and Lentil Soup, Apples and Pumpkins, Yay!!

On the plate:  Veggies and Lentil Soup

Soundtrack to cook to:  Michael Buble's Christmas (I know...it's way too early to be listening to Christmas music, but it snowed the other night and it made me think of Christmas.)

"Apples and pumpkins, yay!!"  That's the phrase that I kept saying to Alexander to get him excited on the way to Meadowbrook Orchards.  I called earlier in the week to see if they had "pick your own" apples and pumpkins.  However, there was a light dusting of snow the previous night.  I really should have called ahead of time, because the orchard was an hour away; however, I went ahead and drove anyways.  The drive is absolutely picturesque with gorgeous, winding, tree-lined streets and beautiful little ponds along the way.  I thought to myself, that if the orchard didn't work out, we would at least be in the same area as a corn maze that I've gone to before.

As Alexander was in the back of the car saying, "Apple...yay!" while lifting his hands, I noticed that the "pick your own" sign was taken down in front of the orchards.  *Womp!  Womp!*  Not only were they just selling pre-picked apples, but they only had about 10 pumpkins left.  Thus, I decided to drive down the road to the corn maze.

Double *WOMP WOMP!*  The corn maze was closed due to field conditions and impending snowfall the next day.  Sheesh!  Can a mother catch a break?  Alexander was beginning to get fussy (and rightly so, because I had promised him apples and pumpkins and had not produced), so I gave him his snack trap full of cheddar bunny crackers and started to head home.  I knew that on the way home, we would have to pass by Walden Pond which has a farmstand on the side of the road.

A view of the farmstand near Walden Pond.

Alexander walking around the farmstand area checking out
the "na-nas" (pumpkins).  He was very excited and kept saying, "Yay!"

Alexander checking out the little pumpkins...

...and the bigger ones.

I then picked up Alexander and took him around to the bigger pumpkins.  I wanted to get one nice, large, pumpkin.  I pointed to one pumpkin and asked, "Alexander, would you like to get this pumpkin?"  To which he replied, "No."  I then pointed to about three other pumpkins, and he vetoed all three.  I then put him down and asked him, "Well then, Alex, which pumpkin would you like?"  He enthusiastically and excitedly ran over to two little pumpkins and said, "NA NA!!"

"You want these pumpkins, Alexander?"

"Yesh"

"NA NA!!" (Pumpkins in Alexander talk)

And so it was decided.  No other pumpkins would suffice, nor would he allow me to get any other pumpkins.  I grabbed a bag of Cortland apples and paid for everything while the little guy was still in a pleasant mood.

After his nap, I was racking my brain on what to make for dinner.  We had already had chili but I was still in a soup mood because of the weather.  We had a bunch of vegetables in the fridge that needed to get used, so I decided to make lentil soup with a vegetable hodge podge (again, I basically threw in whatever was in the fridge that was about to go bad).

Start off by cooking the hard vegetables first.

Then throw everything else in the pot, including the lentils.

About 10 minutes before you serve, throw in some pasta.
Then top it with parmesan cheese and serve!

This was just what the doctor ordered (and Joseph appreciated it as well...ha ha ha).  It was the perfect way to end such a cold day.  As an added plus, Alexander loved the pasta in the soup, so I gave him almost all of the pasta in my bowl.  Success!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Mom's Chili and My Gym

On the plate:  Mom's Chicago style chili....whoa there!  There's no way I'm sharing that recipe.  That's a family secret...annnd it's the best chili I've ever had in my life.  Sorry, but you'll just have to come and visit in order to have some of this deliciousness.

Soundtrack to cook to:  Michael Jackson's Number Ones


Rain + dark clouds + cold weather= Perfect chili weather!  The perfect solution to a cold and rainy autumn day is a nice, hot bowl of spicy, delicious chili, and not just any chili - my mom's chili.  It's a Chicago-style chili that is so thick that if you put your spoon in it, it'll stick straight up.  I choose to add double the veggies than the recipe calls (because I like my veggies).  It's delightfully smoky and wonderful and reminds me of my childhood.  Take a look at this beauty:

Top this with some grated cheese to get a nice gooey and cheesy
bite.  Mmmm...so good!

Alexander even liked the chili!!  I was so surprised because it's pretty spicy.  That's my kid for ya! :)

It hasn't been a very eventful day, since the weather's kept us indoors, but we did have a fun little outing.  We went to Alexander's My Gym where they had Halloween themed activities.  Alexander personally loves climbing the structures and going down the slides.  Here's the little guy in action:

This tuckered the little guy out.  It's great for him to get some physical activity and be able to socialize with a bunch of other kids.  He seems to enjoy it a lot.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki

Cracking Up and Pumpkin Muffies

On the plate:  Low calorie pumpkin muffies


Soundtrack to cook to:  Number 1's Diana Ross and the Supremes


Laundry day and taking care of business, that's what today's been all about.  Since I've been busy folding laundry, I took a note from Joseph's "killing time with Alexander" book and played some youtube videos of dachshunds playing for Alex to watch.  This is the result of that time:

A woman once said, "His laughter is like sunshine!"  I snickered at the comment at first, but then reflected and thought...yeah!  It really is like sunshine!  You just can't help but smile on the outside and the inside when you hear it. :)

After all of that, Alexander took a nice nap (and so did I).  Once he woke up, I thought it would be nice to go and play at the local park.  

After a perfect fall day, I thought I'd make a little treat with pumpkin in it.  I loooooove pumpkin!  Pumpkin scented candles, pumpkin flavored treats, and even pumpkin ale (delish!!), especially during the fall.  I googled a low calorie pumpkin bread recipe and made pumpkin muffies.

Report:  They turned out great!  I don't like baked goods that are too sweet.  There's just a small amount of chocolate chips in the recipe that give the muffies the right amount of sweetness with a lovely, spicy, pumpkin background.  If you don't put the chocolate chips in, the muffies will be bland.

Autumn is my favorite season.  I love the crisp air, the smell of fires burning, and the vibrant color of the leaves in the trees.  I know I've said it before, but New England is so beautiful in the fall.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Bistro Night and Big Boy

On the plate:  Tomato soup leftovers and steak sandwiches

Soundtrack to cook to:  The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night

Bistro night!!  It's a little something that I made up for the fact that it's leftovers with a little fancy sandwich thrown in.  I typically do this when I have a leftover soup from the previous day that isn't hearty like a stew and needs a little something extra to fill our tummies.

For the sandwich, I took a steak, drizzled it with truffle oil (be very wary, a little goes a LONG way), and sprinkled Montreal Steak Seasoning on both sides.  I swear, you could put that seasoning on an old shoe and it would be delicious.  I threw the steak under the broiler and began scouring the fridge to see what vegetables were about to go (that's usually how I cook an impromptu meal if I haven't been inspired by a recipe, or haven't had the time to plan ahead).  I grabbed some red pepper, enoki mushrooms, and onions and sautéed them.  Earlier in the day, I went to Whole Foods and grabbed some low calorie swiss cheese, alfalfa sprouts, and kalamata olive and caramelized onion bread.  With all of these ingredients, I concocted this delicious layered sandwich:

Mmmmm!  Look at all of those layers of deliciousness with
little tomatoes as a nice little side snack.

As Alexander was playing around, I took a picture of him.  As I looked at it, it made me realize how much of a big boy he is now.  I couldn't believe it.  My little munchkin is growing up so fast...they're really not kidding when they say that childhood sure goes by fast.  Look at this big boy!!

Awww mom!  Are you taking a picture of me again?? 

Ok, I'll smile properly.  Cheeeeeese!! 

Ok, put the camera down and let's play!

*Sigh*  Thank goodness I have this year to be with him and catch every moment.  It still seems like he was a little peanut just the other day...

Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Homecoming, Tomato Soup, and Using a Fork

On the plate:  Grilled cheese sandwiches and roasted tomato soup courtesy of Smitten Kitchen:  (I chose to make the healthier version and chose not to put the broiled cheddar top...although it sounded delish!)

Soundtrack to cook to:  ELO's Greatest Hits (thanks to hearing it at Erin and Ryan's wedding...it was stuck in my head)

Home sweet home!  After having a great visit with the family and celebrating the union of two fantastic souls, it was time to come home.  Alexander was jet-lagging pretty badly and actually slept in until 9 a.m. (which was LOVELY because we had taken a red-eye home and I was exhausted as well).  As much as it was nice to be home, it was kind of a bummer, weather wise, to come home to.  We had just left sunny Las Vegas with 90 degree F weather, to come home to dreary, rainy, and 60 degree F weather in Boston.  Needless to say, I was feeling like creating some comfort food for dinner.  This was a super simple and super delicious soup that is definitely family cook book worthy.

Sprinkle the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and
pepper.  Roast it for ~1 hour with garlic,
throw it in a pot with chicken stock and spices...DELISH!!

Mmmm...a fresh bowl of tomato soup with a gooey grilled
cheese sandwich.  My idea of comfort food. :)

Since soup isn't really a toddler friendly food, and Alexander isn't really a huge fan of sandwiches, Alexander had some turkey meatballs and peppers for dinners.  This kid LOVES his veggies!  Joseph and I find it funny that we have to say, "Alexander, eat two bites of pizza and THEN you can have your green beans."  This kid is a hoot.

Just recently, we've been trying to have Alexander use utensils so that he can get away from just eating with his hands.  The spoon has proved to be QUITE difficult, and Alexander gets pretty frustrated with us when we try to help him.  Thus, we thought we'd try to introduce the fork, and here's how it panned out:

With continued practice, I'm sure he'll get the hang of it.  We're all so proud of him!  

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Vegas Baby!! Part 4 - Springs Preserve

On our last day in Las Vegas, mom, Kristen, Alexander, and I went to Springs Preserve.  It's a lovely place to visit that highlights the desert landscape, animals, and history of Las Vegas.  The park was preserved absolutely beautifully, had some fun animals for us to visit, and had an AWESOME park for Alexander to play.

Springs Preserve main entrance - as you can tell, they're ready
for Halloween.

Mom, Alexander, and Kristen at Springs Preserve

Alexander pointing at the "na na" (water)

Mom, Alexander, and Kristen looking pretty

Alexander feeling the difference between
a dark-skinned lizard and a light-skinned one.
He said, "Hot!"

Alexander riding a "buhhh!" (bunny)

Alexander pointing out a lizard.

Alexander checking out a turtle, and the turtle is checking
out Alexander.

Alexander LOVED the misting machine
that Kristen kept pushing the button for
the mist to come out.

Mom, Kristen, and Alexander walking towards the playground.
Kristen was mocking Alexander, because whenever he's excited,
he starts to run and lifts only one hand up in the air.  It's pretty funny.

Alexander found a train at the playground -
and of course he gravitated towards the wheel.

Kristen decided to scale this very large butterfly
(it was about 20 ft. up in the air) and posed as such,
while shouting, "Falcorrrr!"

Since Kristen climbed something, I decided to climb
the elephant bone structure.

Alexander wanted to climb the elephant bone
structure as well.  Mama Becs helped him up.

I helped him the rest of the way.  He climbed it pretty effortlessly.

Me and Alexander

Oooh!  Look at the "birrrrr" (bird).

It was a perfect day to visit the preserve.  It wasn't crowded and Alexander had the playground pretty much to himself.  We can't wait to go back in December and see what the preserve looks like all lit up.  Until next time...


Love and kisses,
Nikki