Escape Artist

Madeline climbed out of her crib for the first time today.

I feel like we may have begun a new phase of life, and I'm not sure we're ready for it.

Mini Reunion

Madeline and Hunter at Sam's. Madeline is actually IN the cart. The FRONT of the cart. I wanted to bring Hunter home with us for that reason alone because he's the only one that can keep her in the cart.

We had a mini family reunion in Cleveland last weekend. My sister, Shelley, moved to Ohio at the end of the summer so her husband could attend podiatry school. My mom came up with the great idea for her and Madeline and I to meet in Cleveland to see my sister's new place. It was so nice to get away from our normal routine for a few days. I loved the extra help with Madeline, and she apparently misses it with how she's been acting since we've been home.

I hadn't seen her little guy, Hunter, since he was a newborn, so it was fun getting to know him. He is such a calm, happy baby. Madeline wanted to be just like him - to the point where she was crawling around on the floor and sucking on a binkie (my next child WILL take a binkie). Cleveland is really beautiful in the fall. The whole city was shrouded in orange and red.

We spent a good part of our trip shopping, including my mom's necessary daily trips to Walmart. We grew up running constant errands with my mom, so I guess that's one of the ways we bond. Shelley was graciously given a sewing machine on Friday, so we thought it might be fun to try it out with a small sewing project. We decided to make crayon holders, but grossly underestimated the time it would take. We spent the whole afternoon into the evening on Saturday making them. My mom sewed quite a bit when we were younger, but Shelley and I are pretty inept at it. They turned out really cute in the end, though.

It was wonderful to see some of my family after so long. I'm all hyped up for our Christmas vacation now.

Madeline and Hunter at the Cleveland Zoo. The monkeys were the favorite animal at this zoo. Madeline yelled "MONK, MONK, MONK" for about 15 minutes.

We went out to dinner on Monday night, which was pretty crazy with these two kids. Madeline's favorite part of the meal was the ranch dressing. Who needs carrots when you have fingers?

Chili Challenge Week 4

I'm pretty sure my pictures make the food look less appitizing than it actually is. Maybe I should start garnishing the bowl, or just stop taking pictures of it!

This week we tried a new recipe from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book. It was smokey, chunky, and really delicious. Definately a keeper. I'll probably even make it again, something that doesn't happen too often at our house. Most of the time I forget about the recipes we liked and just make something new - except for bean burritos and spaghetti which we have every week.

I made a few substitutions to the recipe for various reasons, and I'll include the changes I made.

Grilled Vegetable Chili

2 zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper, halved and seeded

1 yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded

2 large portabella mushrooms (I used 8 oz. of baby bella)

1 red onion, peeled and sliced 3/4 inch thick (I used yellow, because I forgot to buy the red)

1/2 cup EVOO

salt and pepper

2 to 3 garlic cloves, grated or chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I used 1 chipotle packed in adobo because that's what I already had and I like the smokiness, but just 1 packed a good punch and I even seeded it)

1 15 oz can black beans

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (I used regular)

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 cup beer (I used chicken stock)

2 cups vegetable stock (I used chicken stock - I keep a never ending supply of it!)

Juice of 1 lime

A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I overlooked this when shopping, and was sad about it)

Heat a grill to medium high heat (I used the broiler with the rack 4-6 inches from the top. Someday we'll actually be able to use our grill, when it's not against fire code). Lightly brush all the vegetables with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Cook 4 minutes on each side, or until marked and tender, with the lid down; remove to platter.

Heat the remaining EVOO, a couple of tablespoons, in a medium pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, add the beans to heat through, and begin chopping the grilled vegetables with the chili powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the beer (stock) and reduce heat for 30 seconds, then stir in the rest of the stock and simmer the chili for a few minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

Chili Challenge Week 3

For this week's chili challenge, I wanted to make a simple, classic chili. There are some who would argue that "classic" chili doesn't have any beans in it, so I guess this is MY idea of a classic chili. I pulled this recipe from my trusty Betty Crocker's Cookbook - Bridal Edition, from which I started to learn how to cook (and burned many things along the way). It's nice and tomatoey. The only thing I didn't like is that it didn't make enough for leftovers, and we like leftovers for lunch. Maybe we just eat a lot, but I'm going to make a double batch next time.

Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp chili powder

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1. Cook beef, onion, and garlic in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown, drain.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients, except beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes, sirring occasionally, until desired thickness.

New Look

I've really not liked how this blog looked for quite some time, actually ever since I started it. I just wasn't computer-savvy enough to know how to do anything about it. Thank goodness for computer tutorials! I thought of the idea for this header as I was laying in bed last night trying not to think. I'm pretty proud of myself for stepping one toe into the world of photo editing. I'm sure I'll eventually want to change it again, but for now I'm happy with how this looks.

Better than "ah, ah, ah, ah....."

Madeline started stringing three words together yesterday.

"Help me, please"

What a beautiful sound.

Chili Challenge Week 2

I got the recipe for this week's chili from one of the best cooks I know - my mother-in-law, Karen Serr. Her food is absolutely wonderful, and we look forward to it every time we visit. It's down home country cookin' at it's best. She made this chili for us last winter. It's thick, chunky, rich, and creamy. It's not for the calorie conscious, but everything in moderation, right?

White Chili

3 boneless chicken breasts (I actually used thighs) cooked and shredded or chopped

28 oz. chicken stock

4 cans white beans (I cooked up my own great northern beans ahead of time - cheaper)

1 pint whipping cream (half and half is ok, too)

12 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 can green chiles

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cloves, crushed

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In medium pan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add garlic, chiles, cayenne, oregano, cloves, and cumin. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add onion mixture, chicken, cheese, and remaining ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or low for longer.

Try it!

Fun at the Fair

We made it to the State Fair of Texas this year. Scott and I went two years ago when I was pregnant with Madeline as volunteers at the petting zoo, but we skipped it last year. The state fair is a pretty big deal here, and runs for about a month every fall.

I seriously can NOT get this child to look at the camera!!!

Parker College has a booth at the fair every year to recruit patients, and Scott was able to work at it last Friday. Madeline and I decided to meet him at the end of his shift. For some reason, it's always kind of a mess driving down there. I got the directions off of their website (1st mistake), and now I'm pretty sure we used the same directions two years ago because I remember them being wrong. Downtown Dallas is not exactly a place you want to get turned around in. The driving, parking, walking thing was pretty much a hastle, but once we actually found Scott we ended up having a great time.

We took Madeline to the Children's Barnyard Petting Zoo that is sponsored each year by the hospital I work for. She LOVED it. When we first walked in, she kept saying "COW, COW, COW!!!", like she couldn't believe there were actually real cows there. She got to pet the cutest little baby goat, although I never could get a decent picture of it.

She wanted to feed the animals, but once they got their mouths close to the shovel, she would drop it. By the end she was starting to get the hang of it.

One of the main reasons people go to the state fair is for the food. Fried food. Each year there are two main food awards given out. This year the best taste award went to fried peaches and cream. The most interesting food award went to fried butter. Yes, fried butter. I guess they were butter balls with the option of different flavors that were battered and fried. That I didn't try, but I was really exited for the peaches and cream. After consulting our map and walking around for quite some time, the peaches and cream were nowhere to be found. So, I settled on a previous year's best taste winner, fried cookie dough. It was as good and rich as it sounds. Scott, being the health guru that he is of course chose the corn-on-the-cob. It wasn't exactly health food, though, with the butter literally dripping off of it.

We dropped a lot of money in a pretty short period of time, but seeing as this just may be our last State Fair of Texas, it was worth it!

Chili Challenge

One of the things I love most about the fall is the change in what I cook. I love that I can use the oven again without making our apartment miserably hot, and I love to eat all of the hearty, delicious comfort food of the season. I think that the food that defines our family's fall eating habits is CHILI. There's not much in this world more satisfying than a big steaming bowl of chili and a cornbread muffin. Every year I search for more chili recipes in hopes of finding the best. I've got quite a stash, so I've decided to make it once a week this fall and share the recipes on my blog.

Here's my first recipe of the season. I made pinto bean chili with corn and winter squash on Friday. It was really easy and used my prefered method of cooking chili - the crock pot. It was a hit with Scott. Madeline tried a couple spoonfuls of the leftovers for lunch today. She thought it was more fun to smear it on the table than eat much of it. I enjoyed it - I thought the squash gave it a really interesting autumnal flavor. Also, I used black beans instead of pinto. Why? Because I had a pound of cooked black beans sitting in the fridge needing to be eaten.

Pinto Bean Chili with Corn and Winter Squash

2 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 16oz. cans pinto beans, drained

1 16oz. package frozen corn

1 15oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 4.5oz. can chopped green chilis

1 1/2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours. Or, if you start it too late like I did, cook on high for 2 hours, then on low for 6. Serve with lime wedges.

I'm always looking for more chili recipes, so if you have a good one feel free to email me and I'll try it one of these weeks.