Soundtrack to cook to: Wayne Potash's Don't Forget the Donut (He's Alex and William's music teacher at school.) Every time William hears the song "Clap your hands," he starts tapping his toes and clapping his hands.
Hello there! I know...I know...it's been a while since we've chatted. Apologies all around. My phone maxed out on memory usage so I couldn't take anymore pictures or videos. Then my laptop maxed out on memory and I had problems using an external hard drive to save things. Long story...long...I've been away for a while. I figured that I would squeeze in one more post before the new year.
The hubby was so thoughtful and got me a new laptop so that I could continue blogging and sharing our family's adventures and yummy recipes with y'all.
Here's some highlights from where I left off back in September:
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| Alexander found a slug on one of our last summer walks. Each morning, during the spring and summer, we would always look for snail or slug tracks together. :-) |
A while back (around October), my friend Erin recommended that I try out this skinny butternut squash gratin recipe. I heard butternut squash (I LOOOOVE butternut squash) and gratin (umm...hello?! anything with cheese in it...YES PLEASE!) and immediately got straight to work.
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In a medium sauce pan, combine the following:
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| Layer a single layer of squash slices into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the layer of squash with some mozzarella cheese. |
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| Using a mesh strainer, strain and separate the liquid from the seasoning into a separate bowl. |
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| Pour 1/2 of the liquid mixture onto the squash layer. Top the liquid and squash layer with an additional amount of mozzarella cheese. Add the additional squash slices on top of cheese to form second layer. Top with mozzarella cheese and pour remaining sauce over squash. Allow ingredients to settle for 3-4 minutes. Then, place squash in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees F. |
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| Ooooh YUM! The result was a deliciously cheesy (but slightly watery) butternut squash side dish. It was terrific, but fair warning, it makes a LOT! We had this as a side dish for two meals. Then, I worked my magic and combined this dish with 3 1/2 cups of chicken stock and a dash of nutmeg. I then used an immersion blender and made a delectable butternut squash soup the next evening. |
Of course, one cannot simply dine on butternut squash. No, no, no...the butternut squash gratin is a delicious side dish. I served it alongside some deliciously rich and buttery (without adding any butter) lamb loin chops.
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| Take some lamb loin chops (I figure 2 per person), pat them dry, and season them with Montreal steak seasoning and rosemary. Sear both sides of the lamb loin chops in a cooking pan. Then, place the lamb loin chops on a broiling pan and place them under the broiler on high for 15 minutes. Flip the chops and cook for another 12 minutes on low. |
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| Ta-daaaaa!!!! Aren't they beautiful?? These are crowd pleasers and show stoppers. If you want to impress someone and don't have very much time to cook in the kitchen, then serve these babies tonight for dinner!! I guarantee that there won't be any leftover for the next day. |
Play date time!! Our darling friends, the Hearnes, stopped by for a play date and ran amok. :-)
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| Little James (8 months old) and William (11 months old), crawling around in the kitchen. |
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| Sanders, Alex, and Lucy, curled up on the couch enjoying some "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." |
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| Look at 'em go! As you can see, William enjoyed a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. |
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| You'll never find this crew so subdued... |
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| Oh my goodness...aren't they darling?? |
Fine wine, great food, and wonderful conversation...doesn't that sound like a great evening?? (At least it does now that I'm in my 30s...when I was in my 20s, it was a completely different story!) My dear friend Stephanie retired a year ago and got a beautiful bottle of wine from the staff as a present. She swore that she would save it so that she could enjoy it with me and our co-worker Vena (whom we taught with together as a 4th grade team).
We got together for Stephanie's birthday and cooked for Stephanie that evening.
We got together for Stephanie's birthday and cooked for Stephanie that evening.
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| Vena, pouring the decanted wine into glasses for us to enjoy. |
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| Stephanie and Vena, getting ready to dig into some lamb loin chops, crispy smashed potatoes, and delicious garlic roasted asparagus. It was such a great evening that I didn't even get home until 2 a.m.!! All we did was talk and catch up...no crazy stuff, I promise. I swear that talking and catching up with good friends is serious food for the soul.
Love you ladies!
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During the fall, there was an autumn festival at a local organic farm. My sister, her fiance Pete, and the boys went and enjoyed some music, decorating a pumpkin with organic matter, and some yummy grilled corn.
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| Alex's pumpkin decorated with organic matter. Ok...to be quite honest, I thought this was a little too "crunchy" for my liking. However, Alex's pumpkin turned out "spooky" in its own right. LOL! |
On October 11, 2013, I turned....older...and celebrated my birthday. :-)
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| A yummy cake that my sister and Pete got for me. Thanks guys! |
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| Blowing out the candles...another year older. Although I'm not sure I'm any wiser. |
We have a 7 1/2 year old dachshund named Oscar. When I found these booties for William, I just couldn't resist!
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| So stinking adorable!! |
On October 8, 2013, I took the boys to the Topsfield Fair to check out the animal fairgrounds, rides, crafts, and food. The boys and I had a blast!
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| Alex, checking out the train set. |
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| He enjoyed pushing the buttons and making the figures move. |
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| Time to ride an elephant!! Crazy, huh? Alex was super excited to take a ride on the elephant. |
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| Alex, riding an elephant at the fair. He had a blast! |
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| Alex loved looking at all of the animals at the fair. Here he is checking out some chickens. |
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| Alex, looking at the ducks. |
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| Piggies!!! |
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| Snack break! We loooooove soft serve. |
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| Our two happy boys at the fair. |
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| Love these beautiful boys. :-) |
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| Alex loved the sheep and saying, "Hello!" to every animal he saw that day. |
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| Alex, checking out an awesome sand sculpture of the Topsfield fair. |
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| Alex, of course, loved riding the rides the most. |
2nd birthday celebration for me. Joseph got me a red velvet whoopie pies!! I loooooove red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. It's one of my favorite indulgences.
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| Alex, serenading me and getting ready to help me blow out the candle. |
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| It's official! I'm an old(er) lady! |
On October 5, 2013, William turned 11 months old! He no longer sits still for pictures and is always on the go.
so I unfortunately lost that info for this month.
William was about 23 lbs at the time and his abilities
were that he could wave, "Hi," and, "good bye."
He was still using the walls, chairs, and tables to
help him cruise along, but still not taking full steps
to walk yet.
It's been yet another amazing year! A year full of lots of love, laughter, and unfortunately loss as well (I'll always love you, Gramps...I think about you every day). C'est la vie though, right? I look forward to what 2014 has to offer. Another year full of development, challenges, and promise. Until next time...
Love and kisses and a happy new year!
Nikki
Yum, butternut squash! I'm definitely trying out this recipe! Have you ever had butternut squash lasagna? It uses the squash as the noodles and a white sauce instead of red. So good!
ReplyDeleteYay!! I hope you enjoy it! But beware...it was a little on the watery side. The flavors were still delicious though.
DeleteButternut squash lasagna??!! That sounds absolutely delicious!! Recipe please, and thank you! :)