Sledding, Play Dates-A-Plenty, Pineapple Zucchini Muffies, Banana bread baked oatmeal, and Veggie Noodle Bean Soup

On the plate:  Pineapple zucchini muffies, Banana bread baked oatmeal, and Veggie noodle bean soup

Soundtrack to cook to:  Okay...okay...yes, I am back to my 80's Megamix...sorry family.  Let's weather through this delightful storm together. :)

Hoooo-weee!  We've had quite the week!  Unfortunately, last weekend, our family had a little bit of a stomach bug and was in desperate need of some bland, but nutritious comfort food.  However, we also got quite a bit of snow (as seen on the previous post), so here are a few posts of family pictures sledding, and then onto the food.

Joseph and Alexander getting ready to sled!

The men in action!

Mommy and Alexander getting ready to sled -
who actually had more fun? :)

WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Soup's on!  Since the men in this family didn't feel so great, I thought that I'd whip up a a pot of some yummy vegetable soup with noodles and cannelini beans (gotta get some good protein and carbs into these poor guys!).

I cut up an onion as well, but didn't get it caught on camera.
You can incorporate any vegetables that you'd like, as long as
they don't have super strong flavors...just something that's easy
on a sensitive stomach.

1 onion, 2-3 carrots, 6 stalks of celery, 1 lb potatoes, 1 head of broccoli,
1/2 lb of whole wheat elbow macaroni, 1 can of cannelini beans,
and 1 box of chicken stock.  Let all of the kids cook in the pot for 30-40 minutes.

I chose not to add any seasonings to this soup, because the men of the house had sensitive stomachs.  However, you could also add 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary and thyme as well.  We like to top each bowl with a little bit of parmesan cheese.  It was a delicious bowl of yummy comfort food that was easy on the men's tummies.

Since everyone started feeling better by Sunday, I decided that I'd make a hearty and decadent (but not sinful and rich by any means) breakfast.  I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for baked oatmeal, and when the title had "banana bread" in it - I was sold!  I absolutely LOVE banana bread, and I find that a big bowl of oatmeal on a cold winter day always brings me back to my childhood.  

Mash up 3-4 bananas and mix with other ingredients.

Whisk in milk and oats into the previous mixture and then
stir in some walnuts.  Normally I don't like nuts in my banana bread,
but I thought they would add a nice flavor to the oatmeal and
some added protein as well.  Cover it with foil and throw it
into a 350 F oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil and allow it to cook for another 15 minutes.

The end result is a fantastic and hearty bowl of banana nut yumminess.  The oatmeal really tastes like banana bread and as a head's up, a little goes a long way.  You will most definitely have leftovers for the following day...and these leftovers are even better the next day when you heat it up with a little bit of milk mixed in.  Mmmmm....I'm kind of wanting to make this again....just talking about it is making me hungry for it.

Throughout the rest of the week, we followed our normal schedule of going to music class, P.E. class, and Mother Goose on the Loose at the Library.  However, now we also have a standing weekly playdate with two of our neighbors each Wednesday!  Alexander gets along brilliantly with the kids and I love hanging out and chit-chatting with the mothers.

Alexander hanging out at My Gym.

Alexander on a see-saw with the twins on one of his

playdates this week.

Alexander having a lunch of blueberries and chicken
nuggets on his second playdate.  We've been so lucky
to have so many friends to play with!

Alexander kicking his legs and munching on
some crackers at Costco - this family LOVES Costco!

Alexander didn't want to get out of his crib one
afternoon and insisted on playing in the crib.

I was growing tired of having peanut butter on toast for breakfast, and decided to make some pineapple zucchini muffies.  The recipe sounded like it would be tasty, and I couldn't resist squeezing some fruit and vegetables into the muffies as well.  Tasty and nutritious?  Don't mind if I do! :)

I chose to substitute grated carrots instead of coconut because
Joseph doesn't like coconut.  Mix the dry ingredients and the
carrots together.  Set them aside.

Grate 2 zucchinis and squeeze the excess water out of them.
I put the zucchini in a double layer of paper towel and squeeze
them over the sink.  Mix the two bowls together along with
2 eggs, canola oil and vanilla extract.  The recipe says that it makes
18 muffins, but I just made 12 big muffies.  

Portion the mixture into greased pans and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

The end product!  A deliciously sweet and spicy muffie that is
perfectly moist and goes great with a good cup of coffee for breakfast.
These muffies were so moist, that I just put them in an open
container and covered them with a dish towel.  They remained
moist and delicious for five days.

We had such a wonderful time playing with new friends outside of our normal meeting places.  It's not easy branching out and making new "mommy friends," but I will say, I am enjoying it thoroughly....probably just as much as Alexander is enjoying it. :)  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Lighter Lemon Bars, Middle Eastern Salad, and Sledding

On the plate:  Lighter lemon bars and Middle Eastern salad

Soundtrack to cook to:  Carole King's Her Greatest Hits (Songs of Long Ago).  I'm finally off of my 80's kick...and I'm sure everyone is much happier in this house. :)

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" I exclaimed into the wintry morning...yes, I said I exclaimed it...because I did.  Wow!  Now I know why people have children...it's so that you can have an excuse to enjoy all of your childhood pleasures all over again and have it not be inappropriate.  We woke up to a light and steady snowfall this morning and the weather was perfect for sledding - not too hot and not too cold.
In preparation for this weekend and the impending snow, I took Alexander on an excursion to get snow pants and a sled.  I held off on buying snow pants for Alexander because we hadn't gotten snow yet, and I wasn't sure how much use he would get out of them.  MISTAKE!  Do you know how difficult it is to find snow pants in mid-January in New England?  Nearly impossible!  I went to five different stores to find either snow pants or a snow suit!  I finally stopped by Old Navy and they had 1 pair left in a size 18-24 months...I said, "I'll take them!!"  I couldn't believe it.  I'll definitely remember this for next year.
After breakfast, Joseph went upstairs to study for his upcoming surgery exam, and I went downstairs and got Alexander bundled up to go sledding.

Alexander saying, "SMI!" (his version of smile)
and modeling his new snow pants and Purdue hat.

All bundled up and ready to go!!

Our cute little monkey all bundled up and ready
 to go sledding.  I pulled him in the sled all the way
to the park - this sledding adventure was quite a good
workout for me! 

Alexander walking around in the snow.

Alexander sledding for the first time!!  I almost had one 

of those "America's Funniest Home Videos" moments where

I was filming Alexander and he almost ran me over 

with the sled.  LOL!

Alexander had fun sledding - and so did I!  Alexander actually preferred it when I got in the sled with him, which I definitely wasn't too bummed about.  HA!  I was reminded of how much fun sledding actually is and can't wait to take the little guy out again after his nap this afternoon!

Since I made a big pot of vegetable soup at the beginning of the week, I really haven't had to cook all that much for dinner.  Thus, I've been on a quest to expand my repertoire of cooking sweet things.  The difficulty is trying to find "healthy" recipes that still taste good.  I finally found one and decided to try it out.  I absolutely LOVE lemon bars.  I was talking to Joseph and my father this week and told them both that if I ever went to a bake sale, the first thing that I would go for is a good lemon bar.  I don't know why I love lemon bars so much, but I do.  I found this really easy recipe that yields 16 bars that are about 120 calories per serving - which really isn't too bad for a dessert.  It tastes just as good as the original recipe and is the perfect combination of tart and sweet.

Press the crust ingredients into a foiled and greased pan and
bake it at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.  While the crust is baking,
you should prepare your lemon mixture. 

I use whole wheat flour, which is why the lemon mixture isn't
as pretty and yellow as it should be, but trust me, it tastes
just the same.

After the crust has baked, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F
and pour the lemon mixture over the crust and bake for 25 minutes.

The finished product!  The only hard thing about this is that
you are supposed to let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or
overnight.  It took all of me not to dig into the entire tray as soon
as it got out.  Thankfully I made these at night, and just had
a bar in the morning with a cup of coffee.  They are absolutely
delicious and you really don't miss the original recipe that has
extra sugar and butter.

I was tired of sandwiches for lunch, so I found an awesome and easy recipe for a yummy looking Middle Eastern salad.  It's very easy to prepare because all that you do is chop everything up and throw them into a bowl; however, a warning is that it does take a long time to cut everything up.  It took me about 30 minutes from start to finish to prepare this recipe, but it is well worth the time and effort.  Plus, I made a few additions and exclusions to the recipe based on my taste and what I had in the refrigerator.  I didn't take a step by step picture, but I can tell you what I included in the salad:

Instead of mint and basil, I put cilantro (because I LOVE cilantro),
and instead of lemon juice, I used lime juice.  Other than that
I added 1 avocado and 2 raw golden beets.  The beets added a really
nice and sweet crunch to the whole salad.  Other than that, I followed
the recipe and it made enough for some delicious leftovers the next day.
Plus, the extra bonus is that the next day it tasted even better because
it marinated longer.  So crunchy and tasty!

I love snowy weekend days like these.  It really reminds me of my childhood, of waking up and getting bundled up so that we could play out in the snow all day.  I can't wait to take Alexander out again, and then after being in the snow, maybe we'll have a nice cup of hot chocolate when we get back home.  Mmmmm, sounds good!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Playing, New England Aquarium, and Turkey and Mushroom Goulash with Gnocchi

On the plate:  Turkey and mushroom goulash with gnocchi

Soundtrack to cook to:  Hopelessly stuck on my 80's Megamix...it's hard to break myself of this habit.

We've been doing a lot of playing around the house in the afternoons, since Alexander has been taking pretty decent naps.  Thus, there hasn't been a lot of time to go somewhere and do something before it's time to prepare dinner.  So here's a few pictures of Alexander playing around:

He's so GQ, isn't he?  I can't believe how grown up
he is already.

Alexander jumping around in his P.E. class.

To break up the monotony of going from museum to museum, I thought I'd make a little detour and take Alexander to the New England Aquarium in Boston.  We hadn't been there since the summer and he's actually been really immersed in a documentary of the journey of a loggerhead turtle.  (He's been watching that this week while I've been making dinner rather than Thomas the Tank Engine...thank GOODNESS!)  I welcomed the change and he loves animals.

Alexander LOVED looking at the seals swimming around.

Noisy little penguins!

Alexander checking out the dolphin statue. 

 SEALS!

 Alexander loving the seals and excitedly pointing at them.

Alexander looking on and wondering what's next. 

"Titi!!"  Alexander has two penguin stuffed
animals that he sleeps with each night.  He
was very excited to see the penguins in the entrance.

Alexander petting the baby penguin.
As we walked towards the entrance, he said,
"Bye bye Titi!"  He's too cute!

The aquarium has a shark and stingray touch tank.  I took Alexander
to see if he wanted to touch them, but he said, "NO!" empathically.
Instead, he settled for looking and pointing at them.

 

This is Alexander's "thinking" look. :)

Alexander checking out a turtle.

Alexander loved looking at the penguins as they were
walking around and swimming in the water.

Alexander observing one of the many tanks of fish.

Whoa!  That's a big one!

"SHAH!!"  Alexander loves sharks.

The loggerhead turtle!  Just like the one in the documentary!
It was only after the fact that the turtle passed that Alexander
finally said, "Turtle!"

These penguins make me think of the movie Happy Feet.

I find fish to be very beautiful, but I do NOT like swimming in the
ocean with them....it totally freaks me out.

Alexander looking at the seals in another exhibit.

It was absolutely refreshing and breath taking to finally see
a blue sky!  Ever since we got back from our holiday visit, the
clouds have been gray and it's been very depressing to walk around
outside.  It was the perfect day with the perfect weather and a gorgeous
blue sky.  I just had to take a picture!

You never realize how big of a deal a blue sky is until you
no longer have it.  It's such an uplifting sight.

After our visit to the aquarium, Alexander and I had lunch at Legal Seafood's - a fantastic seafood restaurant.  I absolutely LOVE their tuna burger and I ordered Alexander some fish sticks...much better than the hot dog that I ordered him last time.  He's pretty good (for the most part) about trying new foods and giving new things a chance.

My lunch date with Alexander.  We go to lunch

after the aquarium at Legal Seafood's - our little tradition.

Here's a couple of random pictures of Alexander playing in the living room - yet again.  We've been having impromptu dance parties in the afternoons during his snack time.

Dancing in the living room while having a snack.

I love his dimples! :)  He seems to smile with his
entire face.  I love it!

And now for dinner!  This dish is one of my "go to" dishes that I've been making for a few years now.  The ingredients are very simple and it follows my love of "chop and drop" recipes where you chop up the ingredients and drop them in the pot that you're cooking.  It's as simple as that and it has a nice comfort food feel to it.  The recipe calls for ground chicken, but I'm a huge fan of ground turkey, so I use ground turkey.

1 red pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, and 1 package of mushrooms.
I chop these up while the ground turkey is browning so that by
the time the ground turkey is browned, you're done chopping the
veggies and are ready to throw them in the pot.

While the veggies are cooking, it's time to
take a break and play with Alexander!  He
was showing off his Henry train and his cute
smile!  His 4 canines have all completely
broken through his gums and are starting to show.

Smiley guy

After the veggies have cooked for about 8-10 minutes, add in 1
can of tomato sauce, chicken stock, salt and pepper, and paprika.
Let it simmmmah

After I throw in the veggies and wait for them to cook, I have a
pot of frozen gnocchi in boiling water simultaneously.  After
the little gnocchis have floated to the top of the water for a little
bit, they're done and ready to be drained.

After the chicken stock has reduced, throw in the gnocchi and
take the pan off the burner.  Incorporate the sour cream (I know it
sounds weird but it's soooooo good) and top the dish with some parsley.
It tastes like a slow cooked meal that is cooked and ready to serve
in 30-40 minutes.  It's the perfect meal for a cold autumn or winter day.

It's been a great week, other than feeling a little under the weather myself, at least everyone else in the house has remained healthy.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki