When in Doubt, Yep, We are Adding More Salt

 Not a cooking post this time, my friends, but we are added some spice to our social lives at the end of this week for some full life flavor.

Friday night the Nowaks of Nowak Love Shack came over for dinner. Our friends from Chenoland were supposed to meet us as well, but after some unfortunate car troubles couldn't make it. I made Barefoot Contessa's super easy Shrimp Scampi and Linguine. It's such a light, refreshing summer pasta, and after playing with baby, we ate it all up! Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures, and Wyatt was a bit fussy, so they will have to come back. We are counting on Josh to hold Wyatt next time while we eat anyway. :)

Saturday brought Wyatt's first trip to Lowe's and a side excursion to the Texans gear aisles of Academy. We finally got our patio done (clap it up for the up and coming outside time!), and the old furniture we had just wouldn't do. I bought it for Jacob when he was in his first apartment here and I would come visit from school. Yes, old!
So we hit Lowes to find out that we can save 25% on what we like if we wait until this Thursday for Labor Day Sales. Saving money? Check. Now let's just hope they still have the set we want. What, you want a blog post with pics when we get it all together? Ok.

Baby needed Texans gear, Daddy needed Texans gear, and of course, Momma jumped on the wagon. Wyatt bought Daddy's birthday present, a fine looking Texans hat, and Jacob and I both scored sweet tees. I'm sure there will be a future "game day" blog post where we'll sport them. (Ouch, I just promised two posts. Let's hope I remember what these are in the near future.)

After some icees (no, the craving did not go away when the pregnancy did) and rest, Uncle Randy and Aunt Kim brought dinner over.  It was so nice to chill out and visit with some of our favorite Sugar Land peeps, and Wyatt finally got to meet Uncle Randy who gave the approval of "a fine looking young man." Kim's pasta dish was almost the star of the show. Wyatt beat it out by a tiny margin.
With the Texans kicking the Cowboys' tails, we ended the night with full bellies, happy hearts, and a restored hope in the Texans defense.

Wyatt decided that he was not going to sleep through Sunday mass at 9:00, but thankfully did not fuss really once C. Cowboy was up standing with him. What a good baby. We have to practice. Baptism coming next week! Post to follow. (Note to self: you've promised three posts now.) The Knights of Columbus were selling whole chickens and sausage links after mass, so hey, there's lunch. Yum.

Our friends Bibbin and Jason came over with their two cuties to meet the little guy Sunday afternoon AND brought dinner! Again, yum! So now we have leftovers from Kim's meal and another new addition for our meal plan this week. Guess who loves icees, reading, has two thumbs, and will not be cooking this week? This girl.

NFL starts next week, friends, and the Sunday Best fantasy league is gearing up again. Sunday night was draft night, and we've got several new girls playing this year. I look forward to challenging Suzanne's reign as champ and playing against the new recruits who will hopefully remember to update rosters each week--that means you Wallace! :)

For luck, I went ahead and rocked my new Texans hat for the occasion.

A new pre-draft ritual

 I scored the 10th pick (out of ten). This is horrible in my opinion. Others like it because you get two picks back to back, but yea, so does the first pick and she pics first. Uh--frustrating!

All of my go-to people were picked up before my pick, even the ones that probably were a little off the radar.  Too many people doing their research, OR having hubbies help! :) I can't be a hypocrite; mine did a bit too, especially once I had such a late pick.

So Who's Who on Wyatt's Boys this year?

I did score Matt Schaub so will have a hometown fav to cheer for. Unfortunately the pick right before mine kept taking my next pick including Arien Foster who I wanted badly. Other highlights include Dez Bryant who will hopefully shine even though he's a Cowboy and the Saints defense. My mother-in-law would be proud for picking them! I did have to nurse Wyatt by the time that it was draft a kicker pick, but C. Cowboy came through and picked up my favorite--- Josh Scobee from L-O-U I-S-I A-N-A TECH! Scooooooobeeeeeeeee.

We'll see how the season goes.  I might even attempt some trades this year.

I caught up with the team manager, but he wasn't in the mood for questions.

Look Mom--I Made Quin-oa

So I've had my eye on these little grains for a while now, mostly because the name simply intrigues me.  Pronunciation is (k-n, knwä), and before I knew this (courtesy of Stephen Hebert, my teaching neighbor and apparent twin last year), I pronounced the word as it appeared. Quin-oa. Seems logical right? 

This week I decided to try it out, and after browsing through the recipes I've got bookmarked, chose Guilty Kitchen's Quick Quinoa Salad. 
In case you haven't seen the adorable pics of my 8-month-old, taking food porn becomes a bit more difficult, especially food porn of the process. For this recipe I actually cooked the quinoa and chopped the vegetables the night before while C. Cowboy put Wyatt to bed and then combined them the next evening for our meal. We took newborn pictures with Wyatt that afternoon IN A POWER OUTAGE! Hello lanterns and window light (although the storm made that difficult.) Turns out that this power outage lasted at least a couple of hours, so I was thankful to have this mostly put together.  Check out the recipe link above and my low lighting food porn below. I enjoyed it greatly, and Cowboy's opinion, "This isn't so bad for a couscous-type dish." With its flavors, it was a bit of a healthy Mexican hat dance in your mouth. Be sure to add enough SALT!

MMM with feta, cilantro, tomatoes, cumin, onions, and SALT for flava!

No Time for a Blog Post Today--Pics of Kiddo to Sustain You ;)

The ultimate dude sleep at Grandpa's

Giggling with Momma

Not sure about this monkey

Oh hi

Studly little man

Mommy and Daddy Gems

It's been 2 months since our Wyatt has come into our lives. I NEED to do a "this is what you do" post for the kiddo, but first I will suggest these Must Haves for New Moms:


1. First get yourself a yoga/exercise ball from your local Target, Walmart, Academy, whatever! Apparently you can bounce on these to help the baby drop before delivery. (Wyatt wasn't going anywhere!) However, more importantly, sometimes NOTHING soothes baby better than bouncing up and down on this guy. The kiddo loves it, and I've heard the same from many other mommies. It's supposedly a lifesaver for colicky babies.

2. While at Walmart (because that's the place I've seen it sold in stores) pick up Jewel's Lullaby CD. There is something about her voice that seems so soothing to babies (and mommies alike!). It's sweet, calming, and she takes on a few classics as well as includes some of her originals. Combine this CD with your bath time and bedtime routine and you're golden!

3. After listening to such a beautiful sound, there is no better way to put your little one to bed than with the sweet sound of your own voice reading a book. We were given this book as a shower gift (a family tradition from my step-mom Pam) and it is the most wonderful way to remind yourself and baby at the end of the day how precious his/her little life is. You will cry the first time you read it if you wait until after baby is born.

3. If your baby needs some extra comfort and you don't want to leave your hands on him/her all night (yes, tempting, but you need sleep) try the Zaky.  Wyatt doesn't necessarily like it on top of him as he's always been strong enough to kick it off, but he does cuddle with it and it can be used to prop a pacifier in the baby's mouth for a nap if needed. Just keep an eye on him.

4. Babies get upset tummies, and it breaks your heart. My doctor suggested Gripe Water, and some days it has been our saving grace. Wyatt seems to love the taste (especially of the one below) and it brings him comfort and rest (which means you get rest!)

5. Babies poop! A LOT! To keep that sweet bottom nice and soft my doctor suggested baby vaseline on a daily basis. You can use regular, but this smells so sweet. Then use your diaper rash cream for when a rash might flare up.

6. Finally, get yourself a Boppy, not for breastfeeding but baby sitting. It makes a comfy recliner and helps with picture taking as well.

What parental gems do you know of?

Holy Quacamole! I've been in the Kitchen

There is still time, albeit precious little when you have a new little one, to exercise your culinary muscles on kitchen adventures. I've got recipe after recipe bookmarked on my computer, and slowly but surely and finding ways to try some of them. My Google Reader is packed with food blog, a couple of my favorites being Ezra Pound Cake (who wouldn't love that literary twist!), Bakerella (hello cake balls), smitten kitchen, and Culinary in the Country. Also check out Tales from Chenoland. She's got some tasty treats there too! Let's take a peek:

First up is this wedge from Ezra Pound Cake's "Mad Men" Menu.  We watched a few episodes of Mad Men, and I wish we kept up with it. Perhaps we'll get the seasons on DVD and do it that way. Regardless, who doesn't like a wedge--it's a chunk of blue cheese, creamy dressing, crunchy, bacony heaven! This recipe was pretty tasty. It called for blue cheese dressing and if you notice in the food porn, there are no blue cheese crumbles. I had to sub shredded cheddar which did not have the same effect. The ones I had in the icebox were too old, but the dressing made up for it a bit. Making this again (and of course not too often. Come on, bacon, iceberg lettuce that has no nutritional value, and creamy dressing? Not a staple on this girl's diet.), I would be sure to have the blue cheese crumbles and perhaps try a ranch dressing or some kind of creamy vinaigrette.

Cheddar on a wedge? Crazy talk

This next recipe is one I love. I'm not sure how C. Cowboy feels about it. The first time he ate it, knowing it was ground turkey and not ground beef, he commented, "Wow. That's much better than I expected." The second time I made it, the comment went, "How many more nights are we eating these leftovers?" (It had only between one night of eating and one of leftovers.) I told him that to which he replied, "It just seems like we've been eating it forever." Point taken. Will wait a while before making this healthy treat again.

The Skinny Chef's Spinach-Stuffed Meatloaf was my first one I ever tried. My mom makes a mean one, but honestly, meatloaf scares me a bit. This one had some of my favs (say hello spinach, cheese, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce, as well as a healthy twist) so I wanted to give it a go.

Meet your Cast of Characters

Serves 8, Prep Time 20 minutes, Cook Time @45-50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

 2 cups packed baby spinach leaves

1 pound ground turkey

1 cup oats (not quick cooking)

2 egg whites

1/8 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup non-fat milk

1/4 cup minced parsley

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella

2 tablespoons ketchup or barbecue sauce 

DIRECTIONS (from site)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Heat a large, dry skillet over high heat. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach wilts. Set aside. Place oats into large bowl, along with eggs, milk and soy sauce. Stir well to coat and soak about 10 minutes. Add ground turkey, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and paprika. Mix well.

Your oatmeal concoction

Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray and smooth half the meat mixture into the pan. Top with spinach. Sprinkle over cheese, then press the remaining meat over top and cover with ketchup or barbecue sauce. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the meatloaf is no longer pink in the center, test by inserting a knife. Rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

This is why it scares me--looks nasty!

Place a cooking sheet under to catch any overflow

Finished Product Food Porn

While it may look a bit greasy, that's just the tiny bit of cheese used. But as C. Cowboy notes, the cheese is "schmelty" and delicious!

And this next one is all mine. I love all things avocado, and here's my homemade guac. Simple ingredients, extra SALT, and a whole lotta yummy:

1/4 (ish) chopped Red onion

Roma tomato

2 Avocados

Juice of 1 lime (In Mexico they'd tell you to use lemon)

More SALT than you think necessary

Delicious!

Try serving with Tostitos Multigrain chips. A "healthy" snack and what I like best about them is their full-fledged SALTY flavor!