ouchy oscar

oscar coloring while waiting to go into surgery. he'd been very clingy all morning, so we were worried that he wouldn't go with the nurses without a fight, but he had a very nice nurse that made friends with him.

i guess when a mom sees her baby in pain she's likely to do all sorts of crazy things.. like letting them eat chocolate ice cream cones on the couch.

oscar seems to be a bit more smiley today.. as long as he's not moving. he still doesn't want to get moved at all because it hurts a lot but doesn't want to lay on the couch either.. aaron is helping me entertain him today.

and another recipe

here's another from the same BHG book. i wasn't as crazy about this one.. but i used tilapia instead of orange roughy. i dont know much about cooking fish, so maybe this just isnt a good recipe for tilapia... and there was way too much yogurt sauce! i served it with the fruited cottage cheese salad, which is a recipe from the same book (again). it was quick and yummy! i was thinking it would be good with some walnuts in it as well... and while we were eating it jeremy thought the same thing..

Crispy Orange Roughy with Dilled Yogurt Sauce

Here's a dynamite health-conscious alternative to traditional fried fish.

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 4 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

• 1 pound fresh or frozen orange roughy or other fish fillets, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 8-ounce carton plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/4 cup lemon fat-free yogurt
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• few dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
• lemon wedges (optional)

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Cut fish into 4 serving-size pieces. Measure the thickness of fish. Coat a shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a shallow dish combine cornmeal, thyme, and lemon-pepper seasoning. In another shallow bowl beat egg white and the water until frothy. In a third shallow bowl combine bread crumbs, wheat germ, parsley, and paprika. Dip fish pieces into cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess. Dip into egg white, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
3. Place fish pieces in prepared baking pan, tucking under any thin edges for an even thickness. Bake in a 450 degree F oven just until fish flakes easily with a fork (allow 4 to 6 minutes per 1/2 inch thickness of fish).
4. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small bowl stir together plain yogurt, lemon yogurt, dill, and hot pepper sauce.
5. To serve, spoon sauce over fish. If desired, serve with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 221 Calories, 3 g total fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 271 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 29 g protein.

Fruited Cottage Cheese Salad

Tote this apple and dried fruit salad to work for lunch. Just be sure to keep it well-chilled in a cooler.

Start to Finish: 15 minutes

Makes: 1 serving

• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 small apple, chopped
• 2 tablespoons mixed dried fruit bits or raisins
• Dash ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, or apple pie spice
• 1 lettuce leaf

1. In a small bowl stir together cottage cheese, apple, dried fruit bits or raisins, and cinnamon, nutmeg, or apple pie spice. Serve immediately. (Or cover and chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.)
2. To serve, line a plate with lettuce leaf. Spoon cottage cheese mixture onto lettuce leaf.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 163 calories, 2 g total fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 380 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 15 g protein.

it's interesting to see what oscar takes pictures of when i leave my camera within reach. this looks like jars of blueberry jam with a stack of plastic shoe boxes in the background...

still around...

i'm still around... i've been feeling very busy lately, but when i think back i can't think of anything that i've actually been doing. i had the flu, so that had me in bed for awhile. i've been trying to eat well and exercise more, so i suppose that's taking up some of my time as well. anyway.. i've got a couple recipes that i tried out pre-flu that i haven't posted yet-

this is also a recipe from the BHG easy dinners healthy recipes book. i've already made this chicken again to put on a salad - it's fantastic on a salad. it's actually on the menu for this week too! i put the orange juice concentrate into another container and scoop out the 2Tbs for the recipe and leave the rest in the freezer, so now i have it on hand and it's an easy way to make yummy chicken. the salad i did was spinach, lettuce, tangerine chunks, tomato, walnuts, homemade croutons and the pieces of glazed chicken. so good.

Molasses-Orange-Glazed Chicken

Orange juice concentrate and molasses dress up chicken with a rich golden finish and a subtle citrus flavor.

Prep: 5 minutes
Broil: 12 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

• 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound total) or 8 small skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• salt
• ground black pepper
• hot cooked spinach fettuccine or plain fettuccine (optional)
• orange peel strips* (optional)

1. For glaze, in a small bowl stir together orange juice concentrate, molasses, and onion powder.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 6 minutes. Brush with some of the glaze. Turn chicken; brush with remaining glaze. Broil for 6 to 9 minutes more or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. If desired, serve with fettuccine and garnish with orange peel strips.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 160 calories, 3 g total fat, 59 mg cholesterol, 56 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 22 g protein.

*Note: For orange peel strips, use a vegetable peeler to cut thin strips of peel from the surface of an orange. Make sure to remove only the orange part of the peel.

sleeping oscar

black bean goodness

recipe #3 which i tried out last night is definitely my favorite so far. i was sad when our walmart stopped selling these spicy black bean burgers, so when i saw this recipe i knew i had to try it out.


they were yummy yummy. i think next time i make them i'll add an extra clove of garlic, another chipotle pepper and another tsp. of adobo sauce for more of a flavor explosion. next time i'll either use less lime in the guac or just use slices of avocado instead. i was so worried they would fall apart while cooking, but didn't have any problems with them! i browned them in a skillet instead of grilling. we ate them on whole wheat buns with a spinach salad.

southwestern black bean cakes with guacamole

sizzling right from the grill, these tex-mex vegetarian burgers are delicious simply topped with guacamole and tomato or tucked into a kaiser roll or hamburger bun.

prep: 20 minutes
grill: 8 minutes
makes: 4 servings

• 1/2 of a medium avocado, seeded and peeled (we used a whole avocado)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• salt
• ground black pepper
• 2 slices whole wheat bread, torn
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 1 to 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 egg
• 1 small plum tomato, chopped

1. for guacamole, in a small bowl mash avocado. stir in lime juice; season to taste with salt and black pepper. cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. place torn bread in a food processor bowl or blender container. cover and process or blend until bread resembles coarse crumbs. transfer bread crumbs to a large bowl; set aside.
3. place cilantro and garlic in the food processor bowl or blender container. cover and process or blend until finely chopped. add the beans, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and cumin. cover and process or blend using on/off pulses until beans are coarsely chopped and mixture begins to pull away from the side of the bowl or container. add bean mixture to bread crumbs. add egg; mix well. shape into for 1/2 inch patties.
4. lightly grease the rack of an uncovered grill. place patties on rack. grill directly over medium coals for 8 to 10 minutes or until patties are heated through, turning once halfway though grilling. (they did fine in a skillet, but i'm wondering how well they'll hold up on a grill...)
5. to serve, top the patties with guacamole and tomato.

nutrition facts per serving: 178 calories, 7 g total fat, 53 mg cholesterol, 487 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 11 g protein.

oscar keeps asking to have his picture taken...

hello 2010.

7:51 pm

the men hang out after filling up on party food.

7:55 pm

christmas presents!

8:05 pm

cleanup crew.

8:08 pm

testing out new toys.

8:48 pm

the boys get to work.

8:49 pm

so that we can get to work.

10:35 pm
rock'em sock'em robot tournament

tough competition

2:03 am

oscar is pooped and nana got a little nap while rocking him to sleep. back to work on that puzzle!

danielle and boys left at some point around 3 or 4, but i was too tired and focused on the puzzle for pictures.

4:51 am
amazed we finished the puzzle in one night!

a 1000 piece new years miracle

careful, nana. dont fall over!

happy new year everyone.

next recipe!

this is also from the better homes and gardens easy dinners healthy recipes book.

the next recipe i tried out (the very next night) was the salmon with fresh pineapple salsa. i thought i should make use of the pineapple that santa brought oscar. i had a hard time enjoying this recipe because i overdid it munching on the fresh pineapple. my mouth felt like i had been sucking on razor blades! it was pretty good and jeremy was looking for things to put the salsa on after the fish was gone.. he ended up just eating the salsa by itself.

salmon with fresh pineapple salsa

serve this tropical salmon with a tossed spinach salad dressed with light italian salad dressing.

prep: 20 minutes (they must chop faster than i do.....)
grill: 8 minutes (i baked it)
makes: 4 servings

• 1 1-pound fresh or frozen skinless salmon fillet, about 1 inch thick.
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 small fresh jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro or fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• fresh pineapple wedges (optional)

1. thaw fish, if frozen. rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. for salsa, in a medium bowl combine the chopped pineapple, sweet pepper, red onion, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, the jalapeno pepper, cilantro or chives, and honey. set aside. brush both sides of fish with the remaining lime juice; sprinkle with cumin.
2. generously grease a wire grill basket. place fish in grill basket, tucking under any thin edges for an even thickness. place grill basket on the rack of an uncovered grill. grill fish directly over medium coals for 8 to 12 minutes or just until fish flakes easily with a fork, carefully turning once halfway through grilling.
3. to serve, cut fish into 4 serving-size pieces. if desired, serve fish pieces on pineapple wedges. spoon salsa over fish.

nutrition facts per serving: 170 calories, 4 g total fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 17 g protein.

oscar was cooking something too..

enjoying presents - and chicken.

since i got some great cooking supplies and cookbooks for christmas i started cooking as soon as i got home. well, not really... first i took down the poor dead christmas tree. i've tried acouple recipes out of the book from robyn, mike and sammy. it's a better homes and gardens book.. easy dinners healthy recipes. i looked for it on amazon and b&n, but no luck. it's a really good one though.. now i'm tempted to try to find this one: easy dinners vegetarian

the first recipe i tried was one that angie and i oooed and ahhed over on christmas. honey-ginger-crusted chicken. it was a pretty tastey dinner and i might try it again. i think next time i'll add more ginger - i love ginger. and maybe orange juice concentrate like they use in a recipe i'll be trying this week.. here is the recipe:

honey-ginger-crusted chicken

this oven-fried chicken is crisp and flavorful like skillet-fired, but with fewer calories and less fat.

prep: 10 minutes
bake: 18 minutes
makes: 4 servings

• nonstick cooking spray
• 4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 12 ounces total)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• dash ground red pepper (optional)
• 3/4 cup cornflakes, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1. coat a shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. place chicken breasts in baking pan. in a small bowl combine honey, orange juice, ginger, black pepper, and if desired, red pepper. brush honey mixture over chicken. combine cornflakes and parsley flakes. sprinkle cornflake mixture over chicken.
2. bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

nutrition facts per serving: 127 calories, 3 g total fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 94 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 17 g protein.

oscar has also been enjoying christmas presents. bubble making tub frog = coolest bath toy ever.

christmas vacation

a quick post about our fabulous christmas in ohio:

oscar loving the snow, even when he fell in face first; riding the train at the mall after informing santa that he would like a stick, a pine cone, and a vacuum cleaner; oscar and jeremy hanging with the dinos at the natural history museum.

oscar, sammy and robyn working in gramma's cookie factory.

going to see the christmas lights at nela park. the pie plate christmas trees were everyones favorite.

christmas eve service at church. gramma in her awesome handmade shawl and oscar; robyn in her awesome ruffly red jacket and cutest sammy ever; story time with grandpa: the night before christmas, how the grinch stole christmas, and this is the stable.

christmas day fun. abby, sammy and angie; chris, pete and mike; a special picture for aunt robyn of oscar's happy hair; abby squishing the squishy ball - eek! those dimples are to die for!

best christmas ever!

another thanksgiving tree

last year danielle seemed a bit sad that she didn't get in on the thanksgiving tree action, so i finally got around to making her one. hopefully at some point i'll make one for me too! i liked this tree better.. maybe i'll be really good at tree making by the time i make my own...

awesome aprons for amazing angie and adorable abby

i've got so much catching up to do! here are the aprons i made for angie and abby

i was really happy with the end result. i liked the little bit of gathering i did on the pockets and the ties for the neck and waist. neither of which you can see in the picture.

wrapped them up pretty with some wooden spoons and extra ribbon

abby pretending to taste test

mother-daughter aprons! yay!