menu monday

party prep + soccer + halloween costumes + work + grumpiest baby EVER = pizza, sandwiches, veggie burgers, etc. i'm looking forward to having some time to do some real cooking, hopefully there will be a better menu next week!

anyone want to bounce a baby while i sew?

halloween crafting

$2 wreath! i found this idea on pinterest. i used a wreath i already had, $1 black streamers, and a $1 crow from dollar tree. it went quickly (got it done while alice was napping) and was so easy. i think it will be nice on the door to greet our guests for the halloween party!

halloween party

i've been busy busy trying to get things in order for our halloween party that's coming up.  robyn made us some awesome, batty save the date cards, so we wanted to do a bat in the invitation as well. i did a pop-up bat with a couple other raised things.

i also used some fun halloweeny fonts on the envelopes.

i'm so looking forward to the beginning of november. partly because family is visiting and partly because that means i survived october.  with soccer, work (and lots of home and hospital visits), a party coming up, and 3 costumes i still need to make, i'm feeling stressed!! i think i'm going to have a few late nights!

menu monday

another busy week coming up with soccer games, parent meeting at school, work and trying to get halloween stuff done - i haven't started sewing costumes yet! eek!

thursday - after work, hospital visit, and grocery shopping, i didn't get home until around 9 something. i have no idea what was for dinner but i missed it.

friday - fluffy french toast and peaches. best french toast ever.

saturday - bell pepper egg in a hole w/ whole wheat english muffins. we did these as a sandwich with some salad greens.

sunday - baked chicken, shells and cheese, and roasted brussel sprouts.

monday - greek chicken pasta

tuesday - tacos

wednesday - spaghetti & salad - maybe lemon garlic spaghetti, i'm not sure. something quick though. 

butternut squash and spicy sausage soup

i've been a huge fan of this soup for years now, so it's about time i post a recipe of sorts. this soups tastes like fall. it's based on this recipe.

gather the supplies. butternut squash, chicken broth, potatoes, corn, sausage, cream, onion, olive oil, salt & pepper.

cut squash, scoop out seeds and put it in a pan w/ some water. bake it until mushy.

scoop out the goodness

chop your onion and sausage into bite-size pieces

saute them in a little bit of olive oil

toss in the corn and potatoes and cook a bit more

puree the squishy squash and the chicken broth

stir it in with your sausage/onion/potato/corn mixture. season with salt and pepper - lots of pepper. let it cook for a little bit (especially if you use fresh potatoes). i'm too impatient to let it cook very long.

 add about 1/2 c. of heavy whipping cream and enjoy!

butternut squash and spicy sausage soup

• 1 butternut squash (i've also used pumpkin)
• 1 box o' chicken broth
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 12 oz. pack of turkey sausage
• 1 onion
• 2 cans of potatoes (or fresh cubed - add some extra cooking time before adding the cream) i've also used sweet potatoes
• corn - as much as you want - i do about the same amount as the potatoes
• salt & pepper - lots of pepper
• 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

criss-cross apron tutorial

if you're like me and you dont like an apron strap tugging at your neck, this is the perfect apron! ignore the wrinkles... i had been cooking when i remembered to take a picture of the finished product.

gather your supplies - 2yds fabric for front and back. some looong fabric for the straps, or something you can piece together. extra fabric for pockets, loops, and hang tag. some cotton filler cord (i'm sure you could find something else around the house for this....). and thread.

find an apron pattern. the one on the left is this one folded up to be shorter. the one on the right is a plus size apron.

make a pocket pattern. this was 8 1/2" x 9" and the top piece was 2 5/8" x 9" cut on a fold. you could even use the baker's apron pattern and fold and sew as instructed and skip making these pockets. in which case you'll need more fabric for your apron.

you also need a strap pattern.  the straps on mine were 2 1/2" x 61 1/2"

cut all the pieces out. front and back, 2 pockets, 2 pocket tops, 4 straps, 2 - 1 1/4" x 6" for loops, 1 - 2" x 6" for hang tag.

sew pocket tops to pockets, turn edges under and iron (and pin the hell outta them so they stay), fold top down and sew onto inside of pocket.

pin onto front of apron and sew them down. dont sew them closed.

sew straps right sides together, trim and turn.  i like to sew the end on an angle because it makes me feel fancy.

make green beans*. these are the loops your straps will go through.

sew the hang tag.

put apron pieces right sides together

sew along the black lines leaving openings for loops, straps, hang tag, and turning.

so now you should have your apron with pockets sewn on, straps sewn and turned, two green beans* and one hang tag.

turn your apron right side out, press, pin the straps to the tops and the loops on the sides.

pin your hang tag underneath one strap.  since this apron doesnt have a closed loop for the neck, you'll want something to hang it with. (thank you for the idea, robyn!)

here is what that process looks like. start with the edges pressed under, pin your pieces in, and then top stitch around the entire apron.  make sure you reinforce the pieces by sewing over them a few times. you dont want to pull a loop off while you're tying your apron!

and then you're done. put your apron on and go cook something yummy.

*your green beans do not have to be green.

8 months

another month older already! eek! at last weigh in, alice was 14lbs 13oz and 25 inches long. it still seems awfully shrimpy to me, but the fat rolls on her legs are still reassuring. she seems healthy and usually happy.

we think she may have said her first words "bye bye" - but she only did it for one day.  she was waving at people that had left when she did it, so we're pretty sure it was the real thing.  jeremy also thinks she says "mama"  she also says dada, but we're not sure if that's just babbles or not.

she is scooting/army crawling all over the place (she followed oscar all the way into his room the other day). she gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth, but hasn't actually done any real crawling.

she got tooth number FIVE on october 9th for gramma and grandpa's anniversary. tooth number 6 will be arriving shortly - i wonder if she'll manage to save it for a special occasion or if it will break through before one comes along. oscar was just getting his first tooth at 8 months!

and now she LOVES to eat yummy foods. she has become a cheerio fiend. i was concerned that she was only going to want cheerios, but it turns out that she just likes being able to pick up things that size and eat them. we mostly skipped over the spoon-feeding. her favorites are cubes of sweet potato, carrot, apple, and avocado coated with cheerio crumbs (so they aren't too slimy to pick up). bananas and peaches were followed by an unhappy tummy, so we're going to wait and try those again later.

menu monday - on tuesday

this has not been a week of healthy eating so far.. i'm having a rough time juggling cooking with work, soccer, teething baby, costume making and party planning. i dont look for things to easier this month, so i'm going to have to figure out how to get it all done!

thursday - jeremy brought a pizza surprise home. i got home late-ish from work and grocery shopping and all alice wanted to do was nurse the rest of the night.  i think work days are a bit rough on her as well - all those people trying to get her to smile all day... (and she wont. she does NOT smile at strangers unless that are really good at peek-a-boo)

friday - corned beef and cabbage

saturday - lemon garlic spaghetti and salad

sunday - crock pot - pot roast w/ potatoes and carrots

monday - junk. i need to come up with some sort of plan for mondays. soccer games at 5:30 mean we need to be leaving home at about 10 til 5 - no time for dinner! i think i need to either pack a picnic dinner for after the game or have something ready in the crock pot. suggestions?

tuesday - meatloaf, roasted herbed potatoes and green beans

wednesday - tuna salad sandwiches and salad

Menu Monday

Alice has been super grumpy (i suspect tooth #5 will show up soon), so I'm attempting to blog from my phone/bed. Since grocery shopping will be happening Thursdays, I think menu Monday will be Thursday - Wednesday instead of Saturday - Friday.

Thursday - lemon garlic spaghetti - I think this is becoming one of my favorite quick meals!

Friday - turkey meatloaf, roasted herbed potatoes, green beans - I had my first official home visit as lactation specialist that night and was able to prep most of the food in the twenty minutes before I ran out the door. All Jeremy had to worry about were the green beans.

Saturday - bell pepper egg in a hole on mixed greens and a whole wheat English muffin - this was another yummy one I saw on shutterbean.

Sunday - quinoa and Jake crustless quiche - found on pinterest

Monday - grilled swiss and cheddar cheese sandwiches, tomato soup concoction, and kale chips

Tuesday - pizza and green beans

Wednesday - tuna sandwiches and...?