White Chili, Kale Chips, Pan Seared Scallops, and a Three Day Weekend

On the plate:  White chili, kale chips, and pan seared scallops

Soundtrack to cook to:  Jason Mraz's We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.  It's got some delightfully catchy and easy listening music and Alexander loved listening to it.  This little guy is pretty picky when it comes to music that we play in the house.  If he doesn't like it - he DEFINITELY lets it be known that he wants another song, and he wants it yesterday.

Alexander hanging around and looking like he got
caught doing something naughty during lullaby
time at music class.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!!  This week, was a pretty good week.  We're reminded to take notice of all the ones that we love and let it be known that they are loved.  Joseph sent me 3 dozen roses (the guy is good...even after 14 Valentine's days that we've celebrated together), and Joseph got a bunch of candy, 2 cards (one from me and one from Alexander and Oscar - Alex picked out the card that had Mickey Mouse on it), and some fresh baked cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookies.  This was a really great week because I knew at the end of it, Joseph would be home for a three day weekend!  It's so nice to have Joseph home, since the past weekend he was on an overnight call and he'll have another overnight call this week as well.

Alexander playing in his tent.

Alexander playing with his trains.

Being that it was pretty cold and windy this week, I felt like making and diving into some comforting soup that was hearty and healthy.  I decided that I would make white chili.  This is a healthy version that doesn't have a ton of heavy cream or even any butter.  

Chop up 5 celery stalks (I like extra veggies in my soup) and
4 poblano peppers (make sure to take out the seeds).

Dice 1 onion and finely chop 3 cloves of garlic.  It's important
to have the vegetables be similar size to ensure equal cooking time.

I don't have any ground coriander, but I do have coriander seeds.
Thus, I used a mortar and pestle to grind 1 tsp of coriander seeds.
I had a lot of fun using the mortar and pestle - it's the little things in life, I suppose. :)

Brown 1 lb of ground turkey.  After the turkey has been browned,
add in the vegetables and seasonings.  I tend to use a little more
cumin because it's my favorite spice.  Once the vegetables have
cooked for 8-10 minutes, pour in 1 box of chicken stock and 2 cans
of cannelini beans.  Cook the soup, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
In the last 8-10 minutes of cooking, pour in the hominy.

Top each bowl with 1 tbsp of fat free Greek yogurt, and a little
(or if you're like me, a lot) of cilantro.  Mix the yogurt into the soup
to create the "white chili" effect.  It's absolutely delicious, hearty,
and you don't feel guilty going for a second bowl. :)

It's been such a blessing to be able to be home this year and spend so much time with Alexander.  I try to take pictures each day, so that I don't miss a moment.  However, this week, after I took this picture, I was astonished to see just how grown up he looks!  Even though he's my little boy, he's no longer my little peanut that curled up in a little ball and fell asleep on my chest at 3 a.m. (and I thank him all the time for finally being a better sleeper!).

Look at this big boy!!  Can you believe it??

My handsome little man, modeling his dimples for
all the world to see.  Can you tell that I'm a proud mom?? :)

Alexander and Joseph, goofing around at home.

I really enjoy cooking and try my best to make things on my own, rather than buying them pre-made.  I was going down the aisles of Whole Foods and was absolutely shocked that they were charging $7.99 for a bag of pre-made kale chips.  All I had to do was buy a 1 lb bag of already cut, triple-washed kale for $2.99 and I could make 3 HUGE batches of kale chips on my own.  Shame on you, Whole Foods, for taking advantage of people.  I cannot even begin to tell you how EASY these are to make and how delicious they are!!

Take a baking sheet and line it with foil.  Place the kale on the
foil and drizzle ~2-3 tbsp of olive oil on the leaves.  Toss the leaves
to coat them lightly, and place them in a 375 degree F oven for 12 minutes.

After 12 minutes, take the kale out, sprinkle the leaves with salt
and pepper and enjoy!  They are light, crispy, crunchy, and really
satiate that savory craving you might have.  I have already made
about 5 batches and even convinced my extremely hesitant sister
to love them as well!

Since Joseph was home, we thought we would go out to brunch at one of our favorite restaurants - Meyers and Chang.  They make delicious Asian tapas and do a fanTAStic dim sum brunch on the weekends.  We've only been to this place for dinner (and fun fact - it was the first restaurant that we ever took Alexander to - he was 2 weeks old and slept through the entire dinner) and wanted to try it out for brunch, since they have a different menu.    

Alexander, for the most part, eats everything that we eat.  We're very lucky because for the most part, he's not a picky eater.  However, sometimes, when he doesn't recognize a dish as something that he likes, he is hesitant.  The first dish that we got was this delicious eggplant dish.  He looked at it and said, "No."  Then, he asked, "Hot dog?"  Joseph and I looked at each other and said, "YES!!  It's a yummy, yummy hot dog."  Here's the result:

Daddy feeding Alexander a piece of "hot dog" (eggplant)
via chopsticks.  Alexander happily gobbled up
quite a few pieces.

This was definitely one of our favorite dishes, it
sounds so simple, but they are perfectly cooked,
juicy, and meaty.  I could eat a whole bowl of this
with some rice.  However, if you ever go to this
restaurant, you MUST MUST MUST try the
tea smoked spare ribs - they will change your life...I'm not kidding.

Playing around the house. :)

Singing (partially) the alphabet song with mommy. 

I was feeling a little lazy and threw together dinner in about 20 minutes the other night.  We went to Costco the other weekend and got the essentials, including a large container of baby bella mushrooms and fresh aparagus (one of my favorites) and some beautiful scallops.  I quickly chopped up some of the mushrooms, asparagus, and 1 onion and threw it into a pan with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  At the same time, I followed a recipe to make some pan seared scallops.  It's a fancy dish that takes very little effort and tastes delicious!

Lay out the scallops and pat them dry with a paper towel - I feel
that this was an extremely important part to ensure that the
scallops get seared properly.

I salt and pepper one side of the scallops and then lay the scallop
seasoned side down onto a very hot pan that has a little bit of olive oil in it.
Then, while the seasoned side is cooking, I quickly season the other
side with salt and pepper.
*Note:  Do NOT put too many scallops on the pan at once, otherwise,
you'll just steam the scallops and won't get the beautiful sear on each side.
I cook the scallops for about 2 minutes on each side.

Look at those beauties with a beautiful brown and crusty sear.  Mmmmm!

After you take the scallops out of the pan, add 1 pat of butter or
butter substitute and deglaze the pan with some white wine or chicken stock.
Then, take a wooden spatula (my tool of choice for cooking)
and scrape up the brown seared delicious bits from the bottom of the pan.
Let this reduce for about 2-4 minutes or to your liking.
Then drizzle the sauce over the scallops and top with parsley.

Mmmm!  This fanTAStic dish was created in about 10-12 minutes.
The scallops are perfectly cooked and are beautifully sweet and salty.

Another great week!  I got to catch up with some friends, Alexander is feeling better, and the weather is continuing to be pretty mild - my kind of winter if you ask me. :)  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork, Chocolate Pumpkin Cake, Shrimp and Veggie Pasta, and a Healthy Kid!

On the plate:  Brown sugar and balsamic glazed pork tenderloin, chocolate pumpkin cake, and shrimp and veggie pasta

Soundtrack to cook to:  '90s Mariah Carey and Old school Whitney Houston - such a tragic end.  I have fond memories of sitting on the porch in the spring, being very pregnant, and listening to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and Alexander started kicking like crazy.  The little guy loved kicking and dancing to her music...and still does! :)

FINALLY!  A healthy house!  I opened up all of the windows for a couple of days in a row to get out all that germy and gross air and bad juju in hopes to let in some clean air and positive chi.  Thankfully because of the nice recovery, we were finally able to get out and about!  (I no longer felt like Rapunzel up in her castle!!)

Alexander playing in his music class on Monday.

Alexander with one of his teachers during his P.E. class

on Wednesday.  This kid is quite coordinated!

Alexander during his "Mother Goose on the Loose" class

at the Brookline Library on Wednesday.  This kid likes to shake it!

Alexander, clowning around in his carseat.  It's so nice
to see him happy-go-lucky once again.

Cheesing for the camera. :)

*Sigh!*  It was so nice to get back to our regular schedule and to no longer be quarantined in the house.  Because he was feeling better and I was able to get a break, I got back into cooking!!  I got QUITE inspired and must have had a fire lit under me because in one day, I made three different recipes!!  The first one that I took a crack at was the brown sugar and balsamic glazed pork.  I haven't really cooked with pork that much until this year, but it's actually quite a healthy meat (if you get a lean cut) and has a nice and sweet flavor to it.  Plus, I'm also becoming quite obsessed with finding slow cooker meals.  It's very exciting to throw something together, put it in a pot, and then a few hours later, you have dinner!  Genius!  And I don't even have to babysit it!

Trim the fat off of a 3 lb piece of pork tenderloin.  Season both
sides of the pork with salt and pepper.  I took 4 cloves of garlic
and sliced them, and a large handful of fresh sage (because I really like
the flavor) and thinly sliced it as well. and put half of the garlic and sage
on each side of the pork.  Then place it in a slow cooker along with 1/2 cup of water
on LOW for 6-8 hours.
During the last hour of cooking, make the glaze mixture (comprised of
brown sugar, cornstarch, balsamic vinegar, water, and soy sauce) and
glaze the meat 2-3 times.  Serve the remaining glaze alongside the pork.

Look at that beauty!

Fantastic dish!!  The pork just falls apart and the sauce is a deliciously
sweet, sour, and tangy concoction that pairs beautifully with the
earthiness of the sage.  It was a huge hit at the Franses household!
(Personally, I think I like this pork dish even more than the apple cider
pork tenderloin - the sauce in this dish really makes it spectacular.)

Here's a fun video of Alexander playing "nicely" with Oscar.

Here's another one of him just being plain ol' silly.

Now onto my next dish - Chocolate pumpkin bundt cake.  We finally finished our last chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and this family needed something sweet at the end of our meal.  I absolutely love pumpkin flavored anything and was so excited to find a recipe with chocolate AND pumpkin combined!  Here's how it played out:

Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Using an electric mixer, mix together 1 can of pumpkin puree,
buttermilk, and brown sugar.  After they are combined, beat in eggs -
one by one.  Then reduce the speed and mix in the oil, vanilla, and
honey.  Once combined, mix in the dry ingredients.  Then place the
batter into a greased bundt pan and cook in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

The beautiful, chocolatey, glistening batter.

Isn't it beautiful??  The result was a very interesting take on a
chocolate cake.  As you take each bite, you're definitely reminded
that there is pumpkin in it - as there is a bit of a pumpkin after taste.
Thus, don't be surprised when you bite into it and don't taste an
overwhelming flavor of chocolate (I was at first, and that's why I
decided to include this disclaimer).  I enjoyed this cake with a nice
cup of coffee for breakfast each morning - what a great way to
start the day, huh?  

Alexander playing around the house.

Alexander walking around and modeling his awesome

new light up shoes.

Alexander coloring in a very silly way.

Since the weather wasn't too cold outside, I decided to take Alexander to the nearby playground to run off some of this steam.  Here's a few pics of Alexander playing around:

Alexander, kicking up dust, and literally running to the playground! 

Alexander holding his stick (at all times when we take walks now)
and not wanting to make eye contact with the camera.  He's wise to me now.

"Hooray playground!!"  

"Hi mommy!!"  YES!  I finally got him to look and smile at the camera!

I decided to include this picture anyways, because it makes me
so happy to see him so happy.

Alexander modeling his new shoes.

Having a "swinging" good time! 

It's so uplifting to see him get so much joy out of such a simple
thing as a swing.  Definitely brings you back down to earth.

Now that this little guy has so much energy - I'm barely keeping up with him and he's got me completely pooped out by the end of the day.  Thus, I am definitely not above using a prepared marinara sauce and making it a spaghetti night.  Therefore, I looked in the fridge, grabbed some vegetables that seemed to make sense in a pasta dish, and noticed that we had a bunch of frozen shrimp that needed to be eaten as well.  Creation - shrimp and vegetable pasta!  Ta-da!  A semi-homemade meal with plenty leftover for the next dinner - now that's my kind of cooking!

Baby bella mushrooms, 1 red pepper, and 1 zucchini - sure, why not? 

~1 lb of frozen shrimp with their tails on.  I throw the shrimp in some
warm water to partially defrost them, so that I can easily remove the tails.

The secret to this dish's success - a REALLY good jar of REALLY
good marinara sauce.  Although this marinara sauce is a little  on
the expensive side, it's definitely worth it, as it makes your dish
taste like you got it at a really great restaurant.  Plus, a can of
artichoke hearts - I cut each heart in half, but you could also cut
them into fourths.

After the vegetables have cooked down (~8-10 minutes), put in
the shrimp and cook them for about 8 minutes or until the shrimp
are almost fully cooked.

After the shrimp has cooked, put in 1 lb of cooked pasta (I chose
whole wheat penne), the artichoke hearts, and the marinara sauce.
Stir the pasta around for a few minutes, until everything is coated
in the sauce.  The result is absolutely fantastic!
I was immediately whisked away to Little Italy in Boston's North End
with each delectable bite.  So.freaking.good.

Alexander absolutely LOVED this dish and even
said, "Hooray shrimp!!"  He ate 10 pieces of shrimp
AND a whole kid bowl of pasta and vegetables as well.
That's when you know that your dish is a hit. :)

Alexander making a funky face while eating his snack.

Since this weekend was pretty chilly outside, and Joseph had an overnight call at the hospital, I decided to take Alexander to Watertown's "Inside Playground."  Which is just exactly what it sounds like - an indoor playground.  Alexander seemed to enjoy himself, but I think I'll go back there when he's a little bit older and can enjoy the bigger things to play with like the indoor inflatable jumper and playground equipment.

It was such a great week and was SO nice to finally get out of the house.  Here's hoping that we can remain healthy for the rest of this season!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki