Project 52, Week 13

Countdown to Colorado

In six short days I will be relaxing......visiting the my lovely in-laws in Colorado. Can you tell I am excited? Truth be told, its time for a break. It's time to get away and chill. Once of the best things about my husband's family is that they are really laid back. We never try to cram in as much as possible into our short visits with each other. They are "go with the flow" people and I love it- I need it. My life is scheduled to the minute most days and to escape for a few days is going to be great. Other than a trip to the zoo and Easter - we have no formal plans. J and E are so excited to see Grammie, Poppy and Uncle Josh. Every morning J counts down the number of "sleeps" we have until we get on a plane and fly west.

Ella Grace, 21 months

21 months....in three short months I am going to have a 2 year old! Yikes! Well we have hit the "terrible twos" with Ella. For those of you without kids, the terrible twos aren't really just for two year-olds. Ella learned the word "No" this month and is saying it regularly. She usually follows it up with a laugh- I think she likes tormenting me. She is full of sass- Queen of it actually. Anytime we tell her not to do something she looks at us and does it anyway.

With all that sass, comes some sweetness too. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She also loves to play with my hair. She and Jon have become quite the pair. He is just so completely in love with her and she is awe struck by him. Jack is an amazing big brother. She pushes his little buttons- he typically remains calms and tries his best to correct her. I think she takes this as him being bossy and usually runs away from him.

Papa Joe

I finally got some updated pics of my dad, or Papa Joe, as he is known these days with the kiddos. I just love them! It is so much fun to see my dad being a grandpa. He's laughs and plays rough with Jack and is gentle and sweet with Ella. He also works to help guide them. When they act out, he talks to them in the same voice I heard through my youth. One that was stern enough to know he was serious and trying to teach me to be better, yet soft enough to know he was only saying things out of love. Everytime they see Papa Joe, J and E scream with excitement and run to him. He gives the best "bear" hugs. I love the the way our relationship has changed over time. It's great to have him interact with the kids and great to have him for advice when I am ready to pull my hair out. It's funny because my dad's a pretty big guy and for one reason or another comes across very intimidating to some people...deep down inside he's a teddy bear- but then again, he has a soft spot for me. 

Project 52, Week 12

Bubble Bath Cuties

Chicken Sausage with Lemon Herb Orzo

Ingredients
2 cups orzo pasta
1 cup frozen peas
2 large lemons, juiced and zested
3 tbsps Kerrygold Irish Butter
1 package Hillshire Chicken Hardwood Smoked Sausage, sliced
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tbsps olive oil
2 tbps white wine
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsps grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking add olive oil, shallots, garlic, red pepper and chicken sausage to pan and sauté. Once chicken is sauté, remove from heat and add white wine to deglaze the pan. Return to heat to cook off the wine. Zest one lemon and set aside. Drain cooked orzo, return to pan to heat and melt Irish butter. Add pasta back to pan with frozen peas and the juice from two lemons.stirring frequently. Add sausage, garlic and onion mix to pasta and toss. Top with grated parmesan and serve. 

Project 52, Week 11

Linguine in Tomato Vodka Sauce

Ingredients

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 TBSP Butter

1 Medium Yellow Onion, finely diced

5 Cloves of Garlic, minced

2 Cans of Tomato Sauce (15 oz each)

1 Cup of Heavy Cream

1/4 Cup Vodka

1 1/2 TSP Sugar

Fresh Basil

1/4 Cup Italian Blend Cheese (Parmesan, Asiago and Romano)

1 lb Linguine

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve one cup of pasta water to think the tomato sauce later. Melt butter and heat olive oil in pan. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until onions barely start to turn translucent. Add salt and pepper. Add vodka and cook for 5 minutes, reducing alcohol. Add tomato sauce and sugar. Cook sauce for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add cream and cheeses. Stir in pasta and use reserved water to thin sauce if necessary. Garnish with fresh basil and shredded cheese. This recipe was adopted from The Pioneer Woman. 

Big Girl!

Look who's rockin' a ponytail like a big girl! E doesn't tolerate much when it comes to me fussing with her hair, but she loves to have her hair in a ponytail like mama's and now it's long enough!

Project 52, Week 10

Brisket Tacos

This brisket recipe is from Jon's mom, Sue, and every time we make it we get RAVE reviews. 

Brisket

1 1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tsp Pepper

2 TBSP Chili Powder

1 tsp Crushed Bay Leaves

2 TBSP Liquid Smoke (original or mesquite)

4 lbs. Beef Brisket

For the Tacos

Flour Tortillas

1-2 Ripe Avocados, diced

1 Small White Onion, finely chopped

1 Bundle of Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped

Shredded Mexican Cheese

Combine salt, pepper, chili powder, an bay leaves in small bowl. Rub the liquid smoke on both sides of the brisket and place in a large roasting pan, fat side up. Sprinkle the dry season mixture on top. Cover tightly and bake for 4 hours at 325 degrees. 

Shred the cooked beef and place on tortillas. Assemble tacos to taste. 

Chicken Pasta with Basil Pesto Cream Sauce

Ingredients
1 lb bow tie pasta, cooked al dente
1 lb chicken breast
6-7 cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
3-4 green onions, sliced thin
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the Pesto
3/4 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup additional parmesan
salt and peper to taste

Instructions
Dice chicken into bite size pieces, salt and pepper and sauté in oil oil.When chicken is 50% cooked, add mushrooms and the white part of the green onions and cook until most of the moisture from the mushrooms is gone and the chicken is fully cooked. Add red pepper and turn the hit down low. To prepare the Pesto- add basil leaves, 1/2 cup of parmesean cheese, pine nuts, salt and paper to food processor and stream in olive oil. Heat cream and butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add pesto and stir. Toss in pasta and chicken- garnish with shave parmesan and green part of green onions.  

Daddy

Happy Birthday Babe!

Happy Birthday Jonathan! A wonderful husband, fantastic father and beautiful soul. He is simply the BEST. This is the 16th birthday I've celebrated with Jon and each one just gets better. We had a wonderful family day even though Jack was a little jealous it wasn't his birthday! The kids made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, we had Central Market for lunch and sent Daddy for a massage. The kids and I picked up his cake and made tacos for dinner. It was just perfect. Here's to many more wonderful birthdays!

Project 52, Week 9