Isaac makes guacamole!

Our family has been enjoying lots of fresh guacamole this summer. I think this is mainly because I've been craving it and I've been making lots of it. It's not really Steven's favorite thing, but he eats little bits at a time. Isaac likes to dip chips into it. And Elise loves for us to spoon feed it to her. I just like mine straight-up out of the bowl.

I hadn't bought any avocados last week at the grocery store, but surprisingly three of them came in our bi-weekly organic produce box. Organic avocados?! I was excited beyond belief. So Monday morning during Elise's nap, I told Isaac we were going to make fresh guacamole and that he was going to be able to help Mommy (which he always asks to do, by the way.) He pushed his chair up to the counter, and we got started. I cut the avocados and put the flesh into a bowl, gave Isaac a fork, and told him to mash them. And mash he did. He was such a good little masher. He started saying, "I making maca-rolli". I said, "Isaac, it's pronounced guac-a-mole-ee." He then said, "mack-a-mole-ee". Close enough. And way too cute. Then I peeled the garlic and placed it in the garlic press. Isaac has helped me press garlic before, so he knew what to do. He made his best "grrrrrr" sound and pressed that garlic out (with a tiny bit of help from me.) Then he mashed some more. I cut a lime in half, handed it to Isaac, and he squeezed the lime. Again, making the "grrrrrrr" sound and then saying, "I seeze da lime." During this whole process, he'd been asking if he could add salt, and I kept telling him "not yet, but we will soon!" Well, after the garlic and the lime, it was time for the salt, so I let Isaac give a few good shakes. We stirred it up and then tasted it. Ahhhh. Yum. Perfection, if I do say so myself. Isaac tasted it and completely agreed. He had several bites before we put it up to save for lunchtime.

At lunchtime, I started eating it with baked tortilla chips, but then suddenly it just felt wrong to eat it with something processed like chips. So I cut up some of our organic carrots (that we'd also received in our produce box last week), called them "carrot fries", and we used them to scoop up our fresh guac. Elise, of course, just ate hers off my spoon.


I think we'll make "mack-a-mole-ee" again very soon!

What a delicious little adventure.

Last night's dinner...

Baked chicken with fresh veggies from our garden (squash, our first zucchini, and tomatoes). On the side, we had fettucine alfredo from Trader Joes. All I did with my chicken was to fill my baking pan with about a quarter inch of olive oil, add a little garlic salt, place the chicken in this mixture and add the cut up veggies. I baked it for 20 minutes at 350 degrees (covered) and then for another half hour at 425 degrees (uncovered). It was a hit! My guys loved it, and I thought it was pretty yummy myself. :)

Homemade chicken gravy - a first for me!

Yesterday, Steven was off work for Good Friday, so I decided to cook a hot breakfast for us. I tried making biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were canned (Grands by Pillsbury) but the gravy was from scratch! I'd never made chicken gravy before, but I decided to try the recipe here. (My grandparents make the absolute best chicken gravy, but since this was a spur of the moment decision, I didn't have time to get their recipe. Granny and Pawpaw, you bet I'll be trying your recipe out soon!)

I did tweak the recipe a little - I didn't have chicken stock, so I made some with water and Penzy's chicken soup base. Also, I didn't add any of the poultry seasoning that the recipe calls for because I didn't have it... :) I did add some canned white meat chicken and black pepper, though. It turned out great! It was a hit with Steven and Isaac, so that made my day!

Here's a couple pictures of the gravy and biscuits:




Yummy!

Feeling good enough to bake! YAY!

For the first time in about two months, I baked homemade bread!!! This week I baked our usual whole wheat yeast bread for sandwiches, etc. and I also tried a new recipe for a quick banana oat bread. It was a hit! Isaac loves it and I feel great about giving it to him for a snack or as part of his breakfast. Here's the recipe I used.

Like I've mentioned in my pregnancy posts, I haven't felt up to making dinner (or any meal, for that matter) for the past 6-7 weeks. I am almost 13 weeks along now, though, and am feeling SO much better in regards to the nausea, aversions, and exhaustion. I am praying that the worst is behind me!!! I plan to try and enjoy every moment of my second trimester!

Thank you Lord for my renewed energy and ability to spend time in the kitchen again! :)

Here's to cooking and baking for my family again!!!

I love my crock pot!

One of my favorite ways to cook dinner is by using my crock pot. I can cook healthy, homemade food without standing over the stove for half an hour. As you know from my post about preparing dry good mixes, I'm all about convenient ways to have healthy, natural food for my family. On days when I use my crock pot, I usually prepare the meal in the morning or around lunch time, and then I can forget about it for the rest of the day!

Today, I am making chicken and noodles in the crock pot.



My recipe is this:

Place in crock pot:
1-2 carrots, chopped
1-2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cups chicken broth (I make my own whenever I buy a rotisserie chicken, and I freeze it in 3 cup servings)
2-3 teaspoons chicken bullion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (I use chicken breasts; you can put them in whole or chopped)
1 cup bowtie noodles

Cook on low 6-8 hours OR cook on high 4 hours. This is one of those recipes that I have experimented with over time, so that's why the measurements aren't exact. Some days I feel like putting a little more of one ingredient or a little less of another... It usually always turns out great!

I can't wait to have this yummy meal on what is supposed to be a very cold night!

Lord, this weekend would be a perfect time for a snowfall! ;)

Dinner last night...

Since I didn't have any lettuce to accompany the delicious little tomatoes we've grown, I tried to think of something yummy that I could do with them for dinner last night. I diced those babies right up, added some spices, olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, and, voila! I had bruschetta, made from scratch! Since we didn't have any French or Italian bread for it (I know, I'm going shopping today...we're out of milk, too.), I added it to our spaghetti sauce for what turned out to be a very delicious dish! The picture above is actually proof of my handiwork!

My next domestic attempt is making my cousin's zucchini muffins. My dad gave me a huge zucchini that he grew, so I'll be chopping it up later today for these sweet little treats. Yum!

Any other ideas for what I can make with my little tomatoes? They are all the baby kind that are great for salads, but they're too small for tomato sandwiches. I've got a ton of these, so please let me know if you have any dishes or recipe recommendations!