What We Ate - Aug 23

What We Ate

In addition to eating loads of BBQ, mac and cheese, coleslaw, and watermelon at Mom and Dad's, we did squeeze in a few meals (and desserts!) that are listed below.

Recipe 1: Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispy Treats  I loved Rachael Ray's version.  The ingredient list is simple and the outcome is delicious.  I may not be able to make them for awhile because we could not stop eating them!

Recipe 2: Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Soup I made this for dinner one night, but then decided to go out with friends instead.  I kept the soup and added rice to it instead of the dumplings when we ate it the following night.  It was okay this way, but I think the original recipe would be better.  I'll have to try it again later.

Recipe 3: Sausage Kale Cassoulet The flavors are hearty but the kale was a bit tough.  We enjoyed this the first night but were not huge fans of the leftovers.

What We Ate - Aug 7

What We Ate

My goal this school year is to make at least 3 meals a week.  This leaves us with a left-over meal and an easy meal (ex. sandwiches, pizza etc).  I ranked the meals starting with my favorite.

Meal 1: Spicy Cashew Stir Fry with Thai cucumber salad

The stir fry was my favorite meal of the week.  It was a great way to eat a lot of veggies and the sauce was delicious.  I didn't think it needed meat, but that could be easily added.  You can control the level of spice by changing the amount of chili-garlic sauce.  I did a tablespoon and a half.  It was a little spicy, but Eli still ate it.  I served it over rice.

I could take or leave the Thai cucumber salad.  We had cucumbers in our CSA that I wanted to use. It was good but not life-changing.

Meal 2: Tuscan White Bean Pasta with Garlic Bread

The pasta was good, but next time I think I will add a little red pepper.  Garlic bread is always a win.

Meal 3: Slow Cooker Chicken Ropa Vieja with chips and salsa

The chicken wasn't as a flavorful as I had hoped.  I think I would add more spice next time (hmmm I'm seeing a theme).

GMO OMG

We watched this documentary last night.  Makes me want to renew our CSA subscription and shop at the farmers market more.  Highly Recommend.

Eli's Favorite Things: 9 Months

Elijah's Favorite Book:

Ever since he became interested in books he has enjoyed this one.  The bright colors and the rhyming patterns seem to intrigue him.  Recently he has become much more coordinate with his little hands. The finger holes make it easy for him to manipulate the pages, making Hoot his favorite book... at least for now.

My Favorite Book to Read to Him:

This wonderful book was sent from the Shelby County Books from Birth program.  It is a precious story that celebrates adoption.  Elijah usually plays with other books while I read it, but I can't resist the heart-warming plot.

Eli's Favorite Song:

Have you heard the new Hillsong release? You can listen to Touch the Sky here. It has become a part of our morning routine and we both love it. (Thanks Erin for the suggestion!)


Eli's Favorite Entertainment: 

Two months ago Eli was terrified of the swings, but now he is a huge fan. We tried them out on Mother's Day and that smile was constantly on his sweet face.    

My Favorite Find:

This past month we have had many late nights of breathing issues and teething.  Thankfully there is a Fresh Market within walking distance of my job.  They sell coffee for a buck. Perfect Price + Delicious Flavor + Caffeine = Favorite Find.

Mister & Pete

We just watched "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete" on Netflix. I highly recommend it.

Keeping Track of Current Events

I'm not sure if I told you this, but I stopped watching the Today Show.  It was just taking up way to much of my time and I was not working efficiently enough.

But then I felt like I had no idea what was happening in the world.

I found a website that I love.  It's a fast way to check the news and it has links to longer news stories if I have the time/interest to learn more.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/

Then go to the "cheat sheet"

A Beautiful Letter

This letter is simply beautiful.  A must read.


http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/pastor-saeeds-letter-to-his-daughter-rebekka/