On Your Way to Ten, but Here's Nine (Months!)

Dear Sheriff,
I wish that I had thought of this, say, nine months ago,but here we are. Your birthday was technically days ago, but don't worry, I made sure to have ice cream to celebrate on the correct day.
 I might go back and complete the first eight months of your life because I have everything documented in your baby book. We'll see what the time brings right? So take good naps in the next few days!

We'll have the nitty gritty (and by that I mean your height/weight, etc.) already documented, so I wanted to share some of the tiny moments with you that we will remember forever.

If I had to guess... you'll be an ENT doc. You love noses!

Your happiest when... chasing balls around on the tile AND playing on the garage sale gem--Your very own "Baby Grand!"

You taught me... that sometimes I'm most loving in the middle of the night. (Thanks double ear infections)

Your belly loves... PUFFS (but what kid doesn't?), but otherwise, you seem to really enjoy foods in the orange family (and by orange I mean color not citrus), except peaches and carrots do not please your palate.

You're still working on... realizing that once you have pulled up on something, it's not a free for all. Boink!

The photo that represents you... This will be the hardest to choose each month, but I"ll try. Your Daddy gets some great shots on the iphone, but this is what I've got. You LOVE swinging and our trips to the park and are such a happy boy!

One of your feats... You are the most supportive friend at your Little Gym class. You clap for everyone. I love that about you, sweet boy.

What I want you to know... You have blessed your parents beyond appreciation with your great sleeping habits.


If all else fails... Shake your rattle! or go outside and play.

New to you... clapping on demand and "Patty cake" clapping. Daddy also taught you this cool trick where he turns his head to the side and so do you. You two crack me up!


A favorite day... Driving down TO Louisiana. You were quite the road trip buddy and so well behaved. You even kept me patient when those teenagers just HAD to park right now to us while I was trying to give you a bottle with the door open.

Your jams are... "Day-O" and "Say hey" (still) and you are also liking that old classic "Itsy Bitsy Spider."


My heart melted when... laid your sweet head down on Daddy's shoulder while you were listening to some music before bed.

Meat Pies and Polenta Fries

It's Butler vs. UConn tonight, and honestly, I don't really care who wins. To pick a side, I'm choosing Butler since it will make the My Life in the Men's Room gang's day/week/maybe year.  So, let's go boys.

In other news though, I took an oldie but goodie from my mom's kitchen and combined it with a new take on a side item, and it turns out--another culinary win!

Meat Pies (adapted from Julie's Kitchen!)
Ingredients
1 lb ground meat
1 pack crescent rolls
1 packet onion soup mix
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Water


Brown ground meat (drain most of fat) and stir in 1/4 - 1/2 cup water and onion soup mix. Simmer until liquid dissolved.

Open cheese. You would think this would not need to be a step. Turns out "improved" package still needs improving. (Preheat oven at this point to 375 or whatever your crescent rolls tell you to do.)

 It also turns out that they must not make crescent rolls like they used to. Mom's instructions were to break apart the triangles and stretch the dough out evenly. Stretching with my hands = dough breaking. So I used a roller. That sort of worked, but I was too hesitant to break more dough or flatten it so much that it stuck to the board. So I just made do

Assemble pies. Mom said to put some meat in the center with cheese and pull the sides up. Here's what I managed while The Sheriff sat for a few in the jumper.

Some of them worked well and came out like this:

Others weren't so lucky

Bake according to crescent roll directions. 

Polenta Fries (courtesy of One Hungry Mama) 

*I've been dying to try these, and they were worth it. But, add plenty salt!)

Ingredients:
Ground polenta
Salt
Yum-Yums --grated cheese perhaps
EVOO

Cook ground polenta according to package.

 Spread out on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for about an hour. I have it divided because right side was plain (to let The Sheriff taste) and the left had grated cheese and black pepper.

And here the pictures end. Well at least the step-by-step. After refrigerating, use a plastic knife and cut into fries. Coat all sides of each fry and place on a lightly greased pan. Cook in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes. I love a crispy texture but I think I will have to make them a bit softer for Sheriff next time. He tried them but the crispy outside made me nervous as it didn't dissolve well in his mouth. I might not even coat his with EVOO next time.

One more pic! Sorry it's not food porn quality. Time crunch people!

 Enjoy! (and don't forget the ketchup!)

Since rookie moms Got Me Started

Here we go. I'm taking their 52 week challenge. If there are some activities that I don't like or we can't really do, I will just skip and find another since there are so many fun things to do. I'll try to blog the experience in between trying to fit in food posts and other whatnots.

This week we will take on #340 instead of the first one in the 52 week challenge. We're beyond that now (quite advanced I know!). So I'll either get some plastic Easter eggs and we'll practice walking (I know--walking!) outside and putting things in a bag/basket. Although, Cowboy did just fertilize; maybe we'll use the neighbors yard!

If that fails I will resort to #271. The kid does love to shake!

What are your plans this week?

When We Couldn't Go Outside, The Sheriff Pitched A ...

TENT! (Warning: lots of pics follow)

Ok, I did. But it was a dang good tent; Cowboy gave his approval, and that's saying quite a bit. He's "the engineer, bro."

Anyway, I saw the idea over on rookie moms and loved it. We did this all the time as kids, and well, you just can't start too early. 

I had a blast putting it together when The Sheriff napped. To be honest, he didn't even realize what was going on. He didn't want to crawl under the flap or grab the top. I think if I keep doing this, he'll catch on; he's a bright one.  Here he is on the outskirts.

So we did what we always do:

Look cute

Eat afternoon puffs

Pull up on toys

Smile for the camera

And look cute!

Clap (a lot!)

And play with balls

And look cute some more. Gosh I can just eat him up!

And I Do!

This was by far one of my favorite memories with my baby, so grab your bedsheets, binder clips, chairs, bed, couch, table, whatever, and get to pitchin'!

Saturday Morning Scene - "Breakfast With Baby!"

Homemade breakfast tacos, "clean up, clean up, because you are a mess!" with Momma, and swinging with Daddy!

Lenten Menu -- Seafood Enchiladas

I believe that after his first bite Cowboy said something like, "These are legit. I mean, these are better than some restaurant enchiladas I've had."

Winner Winner, Seafood Dinner!

Ok, that was cheesy, and so were the enchiladas!

Thank you, thank you. I'll be back again tomorrow.

I promise to stop. For real. Just promise you'll make these.


Shrimp Enchiladas (adapted from Happiness Is...)
Ingredients
--1 small chopped white onion

--1 package cream cheese (I actually used the Weight Watchers package because I had a coupon. He never knew!)

--1 1/2 pound shrimp

--shredded cheddar cheese

--flour tortillas (the recipe called for corn, but HEB has fantastic fresh flour torts which proved worth it.)

--enchilada sauce (2-3 cans)

--olive oil

--chili powder, garlic powder, cumin

To make the magic happen

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Have a glass baking dish ready. Spread one can/jar of enchilada sauce over bottom of baking dish.

2. Peel shrimp, season with chili powder and cumin (about a teaspoon of each) and grill (about five minutes) in a hot pan with EVOO. Remove from heat and transfer to a cutting board to chop into small pieces.

3. In a large saucepan, cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Stir in chili powder, garlic powder and cumin (about a teaspoon of each). Add cream cheese and cook over low heat until cheese is melted. Add cooked shrimp  and stir for just a few minutes. (I forgot to put in the cream cheese and added it after I put the shrimp back in. It melted just fine and was totally worth it.)

4. Heat  tortillas in microwave until warm and pliable if needed.

5. Fill each tortilla with shrimp mixture and roll up with filling inside. Place seam down into the baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 20-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Forgot to take pictures earlier so take a look at these gems getting saucy in the oven.

 I didn't take any great food porn shots. It somehow slipped my mind as I worked on getting Sheriff to eat his green beans and turkey. But these are our leftovers (with the pineapple I'll snack on all weekend and of course The Sheriff's PUFFS waiting patiently for a demanding baby).

You could serve with a side of cilantro rice, but we went with HEB's guac and chips and salsa. Cowboy's words when I asked what he thought about the guacamole: horrible. He's spoiled by my version, and I think I am too.

What Rhymes with Winning? This Chicken!

Sorry about the Charlie Sheen reference if it offends you.  His stupidity and arrogance entertain me. 

Anyway, for those of you interested in making dinner with minimum prep and maximum flavor (how about that for a cheesy advertisement!), this chicken dish from What's For Dinner is for you. Pair it with sides of steamed broccoli and couscous, and you're set. 




Cowboy walked in, and I bet he thought we were having Chinese take-out from the sweet, tangy flavors floating in the air. Nope, it was this healthy trip to Flavor Town instead. Sorry for the photo quality. These days it's make and eat dinner fast enough to keep The Sheriff happy. 

Add extra sauce from the chicken to your couscous, and it would even be worth it to stir fry the broccoli with extra sauce as well. Enjoy!

 
Teriyaki-Cranberry Chicken from Debbie Nydegger

4-6 chicken breasts (or 6-8 chicken thighs)
1 (16oz) can cranberry sauce
1 C. teriyaki sauce

Place chicken in lightly greased 9x13inch pan.  Mix cranberry sauce and teriyaki sauce together and pour over chicken.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour.  (I actually had thin chicken breast, and it only took about 40 minutes.) Serve with rice.