Noah's Four-Month Check-Up

I took Noah for his four-month check-up today. I know that I said in his two-month check-up post that that was our last visit to their pediatrician here in Georgia, but it turns out I was wrong. I haven't found a doctor for the boys yet in Tennessee. After weeks of trying to procure their medical records from their doctor's office here, including numerous calls to the medical records staff and clinic manager, I was finally told that their charts couldn't be found anywhere. They had simply vanished into thin air. Sigh. Supposedly the records had been copied too and they were also nowhere to be found. Really? Just my luck. Poor Noah has zero records aside from the shot records from his two-month appointment, as they are kept electronically. Finally during my last phone call a few weeks ago, the manager apologized profusely and offered no-charge appointments for both boys before we moved. So, I decided to take her up on it, seeing as how I hadn't found another doctor yet and Noah would soon be needing his four-month immunizations! She also promised no waiting once we arrived, a definite plus at that office! As promised, when we arrived today and I asked for her, she came out shortly and escorted us to the back. Whew. I had to fill out the usual first-appointment info sheets again, but no biggie. Ethan stayed entertained by catching up with the Angry Birds. Yay for iPads!! We made it into the room in a fairly timely manner and the doctor was right in. Woo hoo!

Noah was checked out first and we got his current stats. Since last month he gained just 14 oz (surprising given his current round the clock eating habits), to weigh in at 15 lbs, 8 oz, which is in the 50th-75th percentile. He grew almost 2 inches to measure up at 25.75 inches (75th-90th percentile) and his head is now 43.5 cm (75th-90th percentile). No big surprise there! He had to get two immunization shots today and another oral one. Poor guy. Fortunately, he was a champ and after just a few seconds of crying he was all better again. Lots of hugs and kisses from Mommy always help! :)

Ethan also did well with his check-up. At almost 2-3/4 years old, he is still weighing in at 30 pounds and measuring up at xx inches (Oops! I'll have to fill that in later when I get copies of their records!). The doctor decided to do some blood work on him to make sure everything looked good. Thankfully, they did this with just a finger prick instead of actually drawing it from his vein like the hospital did back in the spring. That was a disaster and something that did not need to be repeated. He also needed his flu shot. That was not pleasant for him and he is still saying he has a boo-boo on his leg. :( Poor "big boy". Apparently all of that tired him out because he came home and took a 3+ hour nap! Wow! I even managed to accomplish some sweeping while he was sleeping without waking him. Score!

Below is a pic of Noah at four months, wearing the 12-month onesie. I love that adorable little face and those chunky little thighs! ;) Sadly, however, Noah has regressed the last month with his sleep schedule. That seems to be the trend with the second child. :( While he still sleeps around 12 hours total at night, he has been waking up every 2 to 3 hours again, like he did when he was a newborn. Occasionally he gives me a 4 to 5 hour stretch (normally the first stretch of the night), but it is rare. He is still taking short (~30 min) morning and evening naps along with a longer (1-3 hrs) afternoon nap. It is wonderful when I can time up both of their naps and get at least an hour of time to get stuff done during the day! That has been essential with Josh gone during the week, leaving me to tend to the boys by myself 24/7. I love them, but I do need a bit of a break! I find it challenging being a SAHM to two little ones who aren't in school yet, aren't involved in any activities outside of the house, and having our families so far away. We do have occasional playdates, but even that has become very hard with a tiny one again. Hopefully we will make some friends when we move to Tennessee!

Noah has really been enjoying the time he spends in his jumperoo. See the video I posted on FB. Those little legs don't quit! At this rate, I swear the boy will be walking before his big brother did, at the early age of 9 months. I think it has something to do with the fact that he adores his big brother and can't wait to really play with him! It is rare that he takes his eyes off of Ethan during the day when we are all playing together. Ethan has been a really fantastic helper and has done great at trying to "play cars" with him when he isn't being a booger and trying to drag him across the room. Oops!

Here is a pic of Ethan at 4 months with Noah's pic. :) I can still see the family resemblance, but there are obvious differences too. Noah has a much fuller/rounder face and is obviously still chunkier than his big brother was at that age, as he should be at a whole pound heavier and almost an inch shorter! haha!

What I discovered on our recent trip to Ohio, while I was looking at a photobook of pics from when my sister's son, Jacob, was a baby, was how much Noah resembled his cousin! Take a look. Definitely safe to say those are both "Frank" babies!! Wow!

This next month should bring some interesting changes, as we are hoping to be reunited with Josh in Tennessee soon! We are still on the hunt for a house there, but we are realizing that we may have to go ahead and rent an apartment while we continue our search, or find a piece of land and build a home. Life would be so much easier if we weren't so darn picky! ;) Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure...all of us will be happy to be together again, no matter where it may be!!

Chicken Tikka Masala

I love Indian food. I know, that is a very surprising fact given the picky eating habits I possessed when I was younger. However, Indian food was one of the many cuisines Josh turned me on to while I was in college. Shh, don't tell him because he is always taking credit for the newfound variety to my diet. ;) Anyways...chicken tikka masala quickly emerged as my favorite dish at one of the local restaurants in Cincy - Ambar India. If you live near Cincy, you must go there and get some of the best food in the city! Josh and I like our Indian food pretty spicy. Traditionally at Indian restaurants, you order the spice level you want for your dish on a scale of 1 to 5 or 6. I normally order a "3" or "4", and Josh gets anywhere from a "4" to "6", depending on how much he wants to sweat. ;) One time we made the mistake of opting for the lunch buffet instead of ordering our meals. Never again. The food they prepare for the buffets is made to appeal to the masses and is at about a "1" on the spice scale. Definitely not enough spice for us.

A few weeks ago a friend posted a recipe for chicken tikka masala to be prepared in the slow cooker. I couldn't wait to try it out because 1) I haven't had the dish in ages and 2) I love meals that I can just throw in the crockpot! Sadly, LaGrange is not exactly a hot spot for Indian food. There are NO Indian restaurants anywhere near us. :( Such a travesty, isn't it? We were definitely spoiled in Cincy living just minutes away from Ambar India. In Kentucky there was a really good Indian restaurant just down the street from where I worked at UK. I definitely took advantage of that one, especially during the last 5 months we were there, as I craved Indian food more than anything else during my pregnancy with Ethan. After moving south we were left with no options to satisfy those cravings. :'(

So, this past weekend I decided to give the recipe a try. I was going to have it ready on Friday when Josh arrived home from his 5+ hour trip from Tennessee, but unfortunately, though it is a crockpot recipe, it does require a bit more prep work than I was able to accomplish with a needy 4-month-old in the middle of the day. :( So, with Josh home all day Saturday, I had time to get it assembled to enjoy that evening.

The recipe can be found at Meal Planning 101's blog. Here it is, in full, if you don't feel like visiting their blog...

Chicken Tikka
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cumin
1/4 to 1 tsp cayenne (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
6 to 8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone-in)

Stir all of the ingredients, except chicken, into the bottom of a large plastic container. Add the chicken and coat the chicken completely with the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour, or overnight.

Masala
1 can 28 oz diced tomatoes
1 can 5.5 oz tomato paste
2 inches fresh ginger, grated (store your ginger in the freezer and it will be super easy to grate)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 Tbsp tikka paste (could use mild curry paste instead, but then also add about a Tbsp of lemon juice)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried coriander

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt
1 cup cream
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Turn your oven on to broil. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack over top. Take the chicken out of the marinade and place on the baking rack. Place under the broiler about 6-10 inches from the heating element and broil on each side about 10 minutes. You don't have to worry about cooking the meat all the way through, you are just looking for a nice browned color. As you can see, I didn't have a rack, so I placed it right on the baking sheet.

While the chicken is broiling, in a pan over medium high heat, add about a tsp or two of oil. I used olive oil. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes to soften. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few more minutes until the mixture is nice and fragrant. Place the mixture into your crockpot. To that, add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garam masala, tikka paste, cumin, chili powder and coriander. Stir together. When the chicken is done broiling, add them straight to the slow cooker and stir into the masala. Slow cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Before serving, stir in 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala and salt if it needs it (it needs it!!). Then stir in the cream and fresh cilantro. Serve a chicken thigh and lots of sauce over basmati rice or Yellow Basmati Rice: 2 cups basmati, 4 cups water, salt, and 1/2 Tbsp of turmeric. Stir together and prepare as you normally would. When the rice is done, stir in 1/2 cup frozen peas.

More notes: I used greek yogurt. Not sure if this affected the flavor or not. For the cayenne pepper, I used 1/2 tsp as I didn't want it to be too spicy in the hopes that Ethan would eat it. I was short on time, so I marinated the chicken for just an hour. Fortunately, I already had almost all of the spices in my cabinet because I have a delicious chicken curry dish I make and I also love using the Indian spices on roasted chickpeas. :) I did need to get the tikka paste. Unfortunately, I couldn't find tikka paste at my local Publix, so I settled instead for red curry paste. I also passed on the cilantro as I didn't think it was really needed. Still short on time, I cooked the meal on high for just 4 hours. At the end, I used regular whipping cream, not knowing for sure what to use since the recipe didn't specify. I served the dish over plain kasmati rice with plain naan (Ethan's favorite!) on the side.

Now for the bad news. We weren't super excited about this dish. :( As I said before, we like our Indian food spicy and this just didn't hit the mark. It was definitely more along the lines of a "1" on the spice scale, which was great for Ethan. He ate a whole plate of it! I don't know if using the full amount of cayenne pepper would have remedied this problem or not. We felt the dish was too chunky from the tomatoes (even though I bought the petite diced ones), and at the same time, the sauce was not thick or creamy enough either. Perhaps a heavier cream would have helped this? Maybe using a tikka paste versus a curry paste would have made a difference too? If I was to make the dish again (not sure if I will yet), I think I would opt for boneless chicken breast. The thighs may have given more flavor, but I definitely got a few bites of cartilage (not as easy to spot as the bones), and it wasn't pleasant. Overall, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the dish was bad. It just wasn't the chicken tikka masala I know and love and was craving when I decided to try the recipe. I may give it a try again and alter some ingredients to see if I can recreate the dish that I want.

As I noted in the previous paragraph, I was excited to see Ethan eat a good portion! For a little guy who normally prefers hot dogs and mac 'n cheese, he sometimes surprises us with what he will eat. :)

Fall Fun!

Last year we went to our first pumpkin patch, at Uncle Bob's in Newnan, GA. Ethan was 19 months old and it sounded like a fun thing to do with a toddler. Josh and I had never gone to a pumpkin patch just the two of us because I guess those are the sorts of things you do once you have children. :) We had a good time...you can read about it by clicking here.

This year, we decided to try another local patch. Uncle Bob's was fun, but I found another that sounded like fun too, so we gave it a shot. This one was called Jack-O-Lantern Lane in Lafayette, AL. We loaded up the kids and made the 45-minute trek to the farm in the middle of nowhere. Deciding that a stroller would probably be difficult, I strapped little Noah to my chest in the Baby Bjorn, and Josh wrangled the other crazy little man for our adventure. We bought tickets that allowed us to ride the wagon out to the patch and pick a pumpkin while we were there. Awesome! At Uncle Bob's you had to pay admission and pay extra for pumpkins, so it got a little pricey. This was a much more affordable option. The only downside to the day was that it was in the 80-degree temperature range, which was a bit warm for pumpkin hunting, but we survived. :)

We started by checking out the animals they had available for petting. Poor Ethan was frightened by the horse's neighing. I guess I have to admit that that guy was so loud that even startled me! ;) haha!

Ethan was very happy to move on to the bunnies!

I think Noah liked them too. :)

After spending lots of time with the bunnies, we made our way over to another area. Ethan had lots of fun grinding corn all by himself! We even watched them make cornmeal from it too. I guess I should have bought some since he had a part in making it. Oops. :/

After finishing with the corn, we went to pick our pumpkins. They had two big fields for us to wander through, searching for the perfect round pumpkins. After quite the hunt we made it out with three nice ones. Ethan even picked one out all by himself! :)

We rode the wagon back to the parking area, tired from a few hours in the hot sun. Poor Noah didn't look very comfortable, but took a great nap! haha

While he slept, the rest of us enjoyed the most delicious vanilla homemade ice cream I have had in a very long time. It was the perfect creamy texture and was just the refreshing snack we needed on that toasty day!

I can't believe how big my "big boy" is getting!! :'(

Time together as a family is limited right now mostly to the weekends with Josh in Tennessee working during the week and the rest of us at the house in Georgia. So, it was a great day spent all together at the pumpkin patch. :)

Noah is Three Months Old!

Where does the time go? It's hard to believe that Noah turned three months old last week. It seriously feels like we were just bringing him home from the hospital not that long ago! He is such a big boy already too!! Our little "fathead" (as we affectionately refer to him based on his big head and overall chub, hehe) gained 1 pound, 6 ounces to weigh in this month at a whopping 14 pounds, 10 ounces (75th to 90th percentile). He grew just half an inch to measure up at 24 inches (50th percentile) as well. I haven't measured his head yet, but I am guessing it is on the higher end of the norm. ;) What can I say, he has inherited the Frank head for sure! I guess that is fitting to take after his namesake, Grandpa John Frank. :) He is definitely our chubby little guy because he is in the 75th to 90th percentile for height-to-weight ratio as well. Ethan was always super tall and skinny and under the 10th percentile for that category, but Noah's thigh rolls confirm that he is packing on more pounds than his big brother did. ;) I love it!  Here is a pic of our little cutie at 3 months old, wearing the 12-month onesie.

And here is a pic of Ethan at 3 months with Noah's pic. I still can't get over how similar they look! Poor Noah appears to be even more bald, which I didn't think was possible. I guess that is another trait inherited from his momma! What little hair he does have is a very nice shade of strawberry blond. His eyes are still very blue and I'm thinking they may actually stay that color. We will see though. It took Ethan's at least 9 months before they started turning brown.

Noah is gaining more personality every day. He loves smiling and laughing at us and has discovered his hands and apparently, how tasty they are! He is sleeping fairly well at night. He sleeps for around 12 hours, but it varies on how many times he wakes up during that period. He has gone 9 hours straight, but not very many times yet. He usually gives me about a 6 hour stretch, then smaller, 2 to 4 hour stretches. He normally takes a pretty decent afternoon nap. I try to time it up with Ethan's naps as often as possible which usually allows me at least an hour or two of peace. Ahhh. He still takes a short morning and evening nap too at this point. He continues to nurse every 2 to 3 hours during the day. You can't get those cute rolls without eating that much! ;) Fortunately he is quick and efficient and only needs 10 minutes to eat! I definitely think he will be ready to start cereal next month. He has already started eyeing our dinner plates and his neck/head control is great. He loves sitting in the bumbo and looking around at everything. He seems to find his big brother to be quite fascinating and loves "playing" cars with him already! :) He has been rolling from his tummy to his back since he was born, but just recently rolled from his back to his stomach for the first time. Unfortunately, we all missed it. :( I had laid him down on his back while I went into the kitchen to get something for Ethan and when I came back around the corner, there he was on his belly!! Silly boy! We're still waiting for him to do that one again. The boy also loves to be naked. He squeals with delight every time it's time to change him! haha. Fortunately for us, he is a good traveler, which has been nice with all of the trips we have been making lately. Hopefully we will soon find a place in Tennessee and we can settle in to a good routine.

Here is an adorable video of Noah's newfound laughter. :)

One more pic of our adorable guys. Ethan (or "Big Boy" as he refers to himself 24/7) has been such a great helper with Noah (which has even included him recently trying to "feed" him with his boobies - too funny!) As I was taking these pics, he was tickling Noah to get him to smile. :) I love these guys!!!

We're Moving!

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to blog, so I am going to take advantage of the fact that both boys are napping at the same time today (woo hoo!) to catch up a bit since I scrubbed the house clean last night after they went to sleep! :)

In case you haven't seen any of my recent FB status updates...we're moving! And that is the reason I have been a bit busy lately. Searching for houses is hard work! So we made it almost three years in this house. It was the same for our Kentucky house - just a few months shy of it. I think it will be much harder to make the move this time though (not just logistically, based on the two extra little people we have now, but sentimentally as well). We love our gorgeous house, the wonderful neighbors and friends we have made here and the beautiful Georgia weather (most of the time)! ;) This is the only house the boys have known. It's kind of crazy to think that I was still pregnant with Ethan when we first moved in. So much has happened and changed since then!! Just this year we had finally painted most of the rooms, did a complete remodel of our yard and built an outdoor building. The house/yard is looking fantastic! Go figure.

Aside from the house, we now have a 2.5 year-old toddler and a 2-month-old infant to keep us busy. They are the reason for our move. We decided that having Josh take a job with a better work-life balance was what we needed now that our family continues to grow. Josh genuinely liked his job and co-workers at Kia and really enjoyed what he did there, but the 65-70 hr weeks were starting to be too much and were not allowing him much time to spend with his family.

He wasn't really looking seriously for a new job, but when he was contacted by a recruiter (while we were still in the hospital, the day after Noah was born) about his new position, he was open to interviewing with them. After a couple of phone interviews, they invited him up for a day-long interview in August. We all made the trip north to Kingsport, TN, where we met both sets of grandparents, eager to see the grandkids. We looked around at the housing in the area, enjoyed a delicious dinner with one of the guys Josh is working for, and Josh completed his interview. It was an interesting weekend in the hotel room with a 4-week-old eating round the clock and a 2-year-old who has always had his own super quiet room (and hadn't slept away from home in 8 months). When he woke up with Josh on that Monday morning around 5:45, I caved and let him crash in bed with me. At that point, sleep was necessary, no matter where it occurred! All went well and Josh apparently made a good impression as he was offered the position a couple weeks later. After much consideration, we decided the offer was too good to pass up. The promise of a great salary, possibility of awesome bonuses and raises, incredible work hours (four 9's and one 4), and a relocation package out of this world was enough to convince us that is was time to move on. His new position at Eastman Chemical will be a research and development position, working with the raw materials that go into paints, so it will be a move out of the automotive industry. A bit intimidating to leave something that you are so familiar with, but exciting nonetheless.

Josh started his new job on October 3rd. So far, so good. He thinks that it will be a good position once he gets all settled in. He has been doing a lot of orientation/training stuff for now. It is definitely a different experience for him working with a bunch of PhD guys and having his own huge office (complete with nameplate on the door)! ;) So far they have been very accommodating with his schedule, which allows him to come back to Georgia every weekend.

We all went up the last week of September to hunt for houses. Grandma Frank came along to help watch Ethan and Daisy at the hotel so that Josh and I could search a little easier. Thanks Mom!! We went out with a realtor all four days we were there and saw at least 53 houses. Ugh. It was a bit disappointing to discover that to get a house and land comparable to what we have here in Georgia we would have to pay almost double for it. Sigh. We're still searching for the perfect house/lot, but have a few on our short list of houses to look at again. We are considering building again if our search doesn't turn up something perfect soon. Maybe we are too picky? Just seems silly to pay an insane amount of money for a house that still needs thousands and thousands of dollars of work yet too! :( Hopefully our perfect home will turn up on the market soon!

We have had two showings now on our house here in Georgia. One of those was this morning, so I have yet to hear how it went. We were told the other showing (last week) went great and that the couple wanted to make an offer, but then they had a death in the family and we haven't heard anything from them since then. Hopefully we will hear something soon so that we can get this house sold! It will be a bittersweet moment for sure, but at this point we are ready to be reunited again in Tennessee. The boys and Daisy and I are staying here at the house in GA while Josh is living in an apartment in Tennessee. We felt it would be easier for me to take care of them here with all of their stuff vs. cramming all of us into a 2 bdrm apartment. This is my first week alone with them and so far we are surviving. We'll see how long that lasts! ;)

Well, I think that pretty much sums up what we have been up to lately. Hopefully I will soon be writing to say we have completed the move!

Noah's Two-Month Check-Up

I took Noah for his two-month check-up this afternoon, a week after he hit the two-month mark. This was our last visit to this office before our move next month. It figures that just as we found a great new pediatrician in town, it would be time to move again! After a 2+ hour visit though today, I am hoping we find an office with shorter wait times in Tennessee!!


Again, his doctor thought he was doing great. Since his last check at one month, he gained 2 lbs, 11 oz, to weigh in at an impressive 13 lbs, 4 oz, which is in the 75th-90th percentile. He measured up at 23.5 inches (75th percentile) and his head is now 40.5 cm (75th percentile). Today he had to get his first round of shots. Poor guy. He actually did really well with them though. He cried for just a minute, then was content in my arms. By the time we made it out the door and to the van he was all smiles again! Sadly though, he seemed to be affected tonight. He lost his appetite and was running a low-grade fever. I am hoping he is feeling better in the morning.

Below is a pic of Noah at two months, wearing a 12-month onesie. It's amazing how much they change in the first first few months! He is starting to smile and coo much more now, which makes it so much fun interacting with him. He is also a great sleeper like his big brother. He sleeps all night for 12+ hours, waking just a couple times to eat normally. Just this week he has given me two 8-hour stretches though (his previous record was just under 6 hrs)! :) Now I just need to make myself go to bed earlier... ;) Noah has been a bit more high-maintenance than his big brother though. If he is awake, he wants to be held. I do get brief breaks from the vibrating bouncer that he enjoys, but most of the day you'll find me holding him while trying to read/play with Ethan with my free hand!

Just for fun, I decided to compare Ethan and Noah's pics to see how the two differ. Surprisingly, they actually look much more similar than I thought! I guess there is no denying they are brothers! They were similar in size as well. Ethan at 12 lbs, 11 oz and 22 inches to Noah's 13 lbs, 4 oz and 23.5 inches.

Red, Red Wine...

...you make me feel so fine! ;) I like wine. I love sangria. I am a big fan of the red sangrias at Carrabba's and Olive Garden. I love the pairing of fresh fruit with a nice full-bodied red wine. So when I saw a recipe for a sangria on 'Ten Dollar Dinners' I had to try it. I have loved all of Melissa D'Arabian's recipes that I have tried so far, so I was hoping this one would not disappoint me either. The recipe was actually for a non-alcoholic sangria, but since I'm not pregnant anymore and the tiny man gives me 4 to 5 hour stretches of sleep at night, I decided a little wine wouldn't hurt. ;)

I started the sangria (click here for the full recipe) early in the day by getting all the fruit and juice prepared so that all of the flavors could meld together.  Below is a pic of all of the ingredients I used.

I peeled, cored and thinly sliced an apple. I used a Golden Delicious because that is what I had in the fridge.

Then I juiced one lemon and poured this over the apple slices. Next I peeled a tangelo (I used this instead of an orange because I love their flavor) and added these slices to the mix. Then I juiced an additional tangelo and added that in too. After that it was time to add the fruit juice concentrate. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of cranberry-grape juice frozen concentrate, but I couldn't find this at the store, so I used 1/2 cup of grape juice frozen concentrate and 1/2 cup of raspberry-pomegranate frozen concentrate. The last thing to add at this point was a dash of ground cinnamon. Once I mixed everything up in the pitcher, I put it in the fridge to chill all day.

Later in the day I added in the wine that I wanted to use. I chose a cabernet sauvignon (instead of a white wine like the recipe calls for) because I thought it would balance the sweetness of all the fruit and juice and I prefer a red sangria to a white one. I added in 1 1/2 cups of this and allowed it to continue to sit in the fridge. Once I was ready to serve it, I added in 1 1/2 cups of seltzer water and mixed everything together well. A few ice cubes in the glasses and it was ready to go!

I must say that it was one of the best sangrias I have had and at a price tag much nicer than you will find at any restaurant too! :) This will definitely be one I make again. Let me know if you try it and any variations you use!!

Some Like it Hot!

Hot, hot, hot!! That is how I would describe the poblano pesto that I made for dinner tonight. After watching an episode of 'Ten Dollar Dinners' this weekend with another one of my favorite Food Network Stars, Melissa D'Arabian, I decided to give the meal a try. On the menu: sliced sirloin steak topped with the poblano pesto and a sweet potato-beet hash on the side.

I started with the sweet potato-beet hash (click here for the full recipe) by peeling and dicing the veggies (I had 3 small ones of each). I coated them in some olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I roasted them for 40 minutes (they took longer, I think, because they were diced a bit bigger than they should have been) in a 400-degree oven.

While the veggies were roasting, I fried up 5 slices of bacon (cut into 1-inch pieces) in a skillet (instead of the one slice the recipe calls for), then diced up a small onion and continued cooking everything until it was browned.

After the veggies were done, I tossed them into the pan with the bacon and onion and mixed it all up to coat everything. Unfortunately, as I was working on another part of the meal, the onions and bacon browned a bit more than they should have, but fortunately they were still salvageable. The hash was really good. What isn't good with bacon and onions?? I have never had beets and I didn't anticipate that I would like them, but roasted, they were actually pretty good. Not as good as the sweet potatoes, but not bad. :) They made for a pretty dish, but when I make this again, I may leave the beets out.

For the poblano pesto (click here for the full recipe), Josh charred the poblanos (I used 3 small ones) on the grill until blackened on all sides. Once they were done, I placed them in a bowl and covered it to allow them to steam, as instructed. Once they had set for about 5 minutes, I peeled off the blackened parts, removed the seeds and core, and chopped them roughly. Unfortunately, these particular poblanos were pretty hot ones because my poor fingers are still burning from touching them!! :( I put the poblanos in my food processor and added in the other ingredients: 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped roughly), 2 cloves garlic (chopped coarsely), 1 tsp chili powder (I used this instead of the 1 Tbsp the recipe called for after reading the reviews), 1/2 cup olive oil (I prefer olive oil to the vegetable oil the recipe called for), and a dash of salt.

I blended it all together and the finished product was INCREDIBLE! It definitely had a kick to it and I am glad I opted for just 1 tsp of the chili powder. It was so good that Josh and I have already been brainstorming other items we could top with it! :)

As I was finishing up the pesto, Josh grilled the sirloin steaks to perfection. After letting them rest for 5 minutes, he sliced them up and then we topped the slices with the pesto and enjoyed our dinner! Stay tuned, I am hoping to try out her other recipe from that episode for a fruity sangria tomorrow night! ;)

A Good German Meal

One of my favorite shows to watch in the summer is The Next Food Network Star. This year, Jeff Mauro, self-proclaimed 'Sandwich King,' was crowned the winner. He was fun to watch on the show so I decided to start DVRing his show, Sandwich King, on Sunday mornings. On one of his recent shows, he cooked up a tasty looking German meal. With our German roots and Josh's love of German food, I decided to give it a go this week. The menu included schnitzel biscuits topped with braised cabbage and raspberry mayo with warm potato salad on the side. While Ethan looks eager to eat in this picture, he sadly wouldn't try any of it. :(

For the schnitzel (see full recipe here), I bought a pound of regular pork chops (didn't figure I needed an entire pork loin for our small family), soaked them in the brining liquid (3 Tbsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar and 6 cups water), then cut each one in half and pounded them to the desired thickness. I followed the rest of the directions, dipping them in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs. I let them fry for 3 minutes on each side in a little bit of vegetable oil. They browned a bit more than I would have preferred, but they worked.

I cheated with the buttermilk biscuits. I bought a package from Publix because 1) I love their baked goods and 2) I knew it would save me quite a bit of time. Even with Josh off work this week, I have limited time between feedings of Noah in which to accomplish things, so I try to keep dinnertime as quick and simple as I can so I can eat in peace. :)

The raspberry mayo was easy and a great addition. I used Miracle Whip (about 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup), raspberry preserves (probably 2 Tbsp instead of 1 Tbsp), 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 tsp lemon zest. Looking at the recipe now, I realize I forgot to add 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper. It was good without it though - and I am not a fan of mayo! :)

The braised cabbage was to be added to the sandwich and served on the side as well. I bought a head of red cabbage and sliced it thinly. I melted the 2 Tbsp butter and added in the 1 tsp caraway seeds. Next, I added the cabbage to the butter and cooked until wilted (5 min) as instructed. The next step was to add 3/4 cup apple cider and 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and let it simmer for 15 minutes until soft and supple. I didn't have any cider, so I used apple juice instead. Not sure how this affected the flavor, but Josh wasn't super excited about how the cabbage tasted, so it's probably not something I would make again. I tried one tiny bite and just like any other cabbage I have ever tried, I didn't like it, so I passed on adding it to my sandwich.

The last element was the warm potato salad (see full recipe here). I used about a pound of red potatoes (instead of 2 lbs), scrubbed and quartered. I let these simmer for 15 minutes until tender. While those were cooking, I fried up 8 ounces of thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch strips. Once it was done, I sauteed the onion (1 small yellow onion, diced) in the bacon fat, until golden. Then I added in the 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/3 cup of the cooking water (from the potatoes). I let all this simmer until it thickened slightly (about 10 minutes). After that, I added in the 1 Tbsp of whole grain German mustard, some salt and pepper. I tossed all of that with the potatoes and bacon and it was ready. I left out the 1-1/2 Tbsp of fresh tarragon, because he described it as tasting like black licorice, which I am not a fan of at all. The potato salad was a hit and definitely something I would make again, even if not with this meal.

Here is a pic of the completed plate...

And a close-up of the tasty sandwich...

I loved the combination of the soft biscuit, crunchy schnitzel and creamy mayo. Delicious! If you like German food, you should definitely try these recipes. Let me know what you think. :) Even with the two of us eating, there were enough leftovers for two days for both of us! Definitely a meal I would consider making for company.

Welcome, Noah!

We finally got around to having newborn/family pictures made when Noah was five weeks old. I found a great photographer, Amy, of Dewdrops by Amy, in Auburn, and we got some great shots. Fortunately Amy was patient with us, as Noah did not want to go to sleep for his pics! I guess it's like when the day comes to go to the doctor, you finally feel better. Well, Noah normally loved to sleep all day, but not this day! :( As you can see though, once we finally got him to sleep, we were able to take some great pictures. Here are a few more of my favorites from the day...

Sweet baby Noah is getting big so quickly!!