Friday, December 13, 2013

Christmas with the Brown's

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas with Jon's side of the family since we will be in Florida for Christmas day. We had a great time laughing together, eating yummy food and our now annual boys vs girls gingerbread house decorating competition! I love that Josh is old enough to enjoy toys and lights and even though I know he won't remember his first Christmas I sure will! Here's a few pictures from our time together.

Yummy Cobb salad for lunch!

Chattin it up with Uncle Tay

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The original Brown family of 5

My cute little Elf!
So handsome!

Something was more interesting than my camera

Cousins!

I love Josh's tongue!

Opening his gift from Pop Pop and Gigi

Playing with Winnie and the magical Zebra

Cutie girl!

Mini Moo opening her gifts

We made the parent's work for their gift this year!

Box inside a box inside a box...etc


What could it be?

Finally nearing the end!

Trying to figure it out

The kids are sending them on a romantic weekend getaway!

Jon loves his moo

Love him!


This girl is the best!

All set up for the gingerbread competition!


The guys (plus Garrett)
The girls
Before the madness began!
The finished products!






They could be neighbors!

Josh isn't sure what to think about this Christmas stuff

Merry Christmas! 


We're off to Florida this afternoon and are praying that Josh sleeps through the drive! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and happy and safe New Year!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Potatoes with Sausage and Arugula Sauce

I love watching cooking shows (when I can!) and this recipe looked so good I had to try it for myself. It turned out pretty well and the husband liked it! The original recipe said to serve the sauce over baked potatoes, but we both thought it would be better over pasta so I'll try that next time.


What you need

- 4 baking potatoes, cooked
- 1/2 lb sweet or spicy turkey sausage with casings removed (I chose spicy)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jar tomato sauce (whatever kind you like)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3 C baby arugula (or spinach)
- 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste






Directions

- Scrub, prick and cook the potatoes at 400 degrees for one hour

- Halfway through the potatoes cooking time, start on the sauce

- Heat up some oil in a large skillet or dutch oven

- Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions begin to sweat



- Add the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks


- When the sausage has cooked completely, add the tomato sauce and stir well


- Add in the arugula and cook until it wilts down. I know 3 cups seems like a lot but it does shrink considerably as it cooks





- Once the arugula has wilted, add in the cream cheese and stir



- When the cream cheese has completed melted, add in the grated parmesan




- Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary

- Serve on top of your baked potatoes and enjoy!


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

4 months old and Happy Thanksgiving!

Life is SO busy! On top of the holiday season beginning, still settling in to our new home and life in Charlotte, family dinners, Christmas shopping AND keeping our now 4 month old baby boy happy (and alive) I have to admit that blogging is not usually the first thing I think of doing when I have spare time.

Spare time? What's that like?

In the midst of all the business though I am grateful for quiet moments. Sometimes they come during the day when Josh naps. Sometimes in the middle of the night when I wake up to check on my sleeping boy. And sometimes when the husband releases me for a grocery trip by myself (oh that is SO wonderful!) I am grateful for these moments to pause and reflect on the faithfulness of God. He is SO good and we are blessed beyond measure.

This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving and Jon's birthday with the Brown's, visited with family from out of town and Josh turned 4 (!) months old! The older he gets the more nostalgic I become that he's not my little 7 lb peanut anymore. But we are having SO much fun with him! This age of exploring, mimicking, smiling, talking, giggling is the best!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Brown's!
So excited! Gobble till you Wobble!

Our happy little man!

Josh and cousin Winnie

Typical...

Winnie LOVES her Joshie :)

Gobble butts!
Love him!
Give thanks
Wubba loves his Aunt Mini Moo!

And his Gigi!

Happy Birthday Jon!

A visit with the Cardell/Harper's!

Scrunchy nose smile
Wee!

Holding that head up high!

4 Months old!

Hands in the mouth ALL.THE.TIME.

Our big boy!

Here's a short little video of Josh talking to me the other day. I love how vocal he is getting!



Coming up this week we celebrate Christmas with the Brown's and then we are on our way to Orlando for a few weeks for Christmas with my family. I can't WAIT!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Bananas Foster Pancakes

One of my favorite things to do on Saturdays is make breakfast with and for my husband. These days, he spends time with Josh on Saturday morning and I get busy in the kitchen cooking up something more special than just the usual cereal and pop tarts. This past weekend we had bananas and pancake mix on hand so I decided to be creative and "dress up" our pancakes a bit. They turned out super yummy and SO easy!

What you need (serves 2)

- 2 bananas, sliced diagonally
- 2 T butter
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more!)
- GF pancakes


Directions

- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat 

- Add sliced bananas and brown sugar


- Cook until golden and syrupy (about 5 minutes) stirring well


- Add the cinnamon and stir.

- Turn off the heat and spoon over the top of your pancakes


- We added a bit more syrup to ours (splurge!) but powdered sugar would be delicious also!


A fast and easy breakfast that looks difficult and gourmet...sign me up!!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Cheesy Broccoli Orzo

I made this the other night as our side dish for dinner and boy was it delicious! It was so easy and the husband gobbled it up and declared it something he wanted again. Well ok then!

I had never had orzo before but I saw a GF version at WalMart and figured it was worth a shot! It looks exactly like rice in shape and size but it's actually a pasta!

*If you can't find GF orzo you could substitute your favorite rice, and just cook the rice and broccoli separately, and add on some cooking time for the rice.*

 The orzo cooks super quick and this dish took 10 minutes start to finish and I only used 1 pot. I mean does it get any better than that? Here's how to make it!


What you need (from Iowagirleats.com)

- 1 C GF orzo
- 1.5 C broccoli florets (I actually bought "cut broccoli" by accident but it was good too)
- 1/4 C shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 T shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 T butter
- 1/4-1/2 C milk









Directions

- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 3 minutes.

- Add broccoli and cook for 3 more minutes or until orzo is tender



- Drain well and return to pot, but off the heat

- Add the cheese, butter and 1/4 C of milk. Stir well and add more milk if you need to



- Season with salt and pepper to taste (I always use seasoned salt and only needed about 1/4 tsp)

- I served ours with some simple baked chicken and it was a quick and easy under 30 minute weeknight meal!