#4 - Blueberry Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Weekend Pancake Breakfasts have become a thing in our house hold ever since Don got a new Griddle for Christmas last year.  And this particular variety has become a staple in our house.  First Don fries up and crumbles the bacon bits.  We use Snoqualmie Falls Pancake Mix from Fred Meyers because it is delicious and you only have to add water.  Pour the mix on the griddle and sprinkle quickly with desired fillings.  Caitlyn still just get's blueberries in hers.  Some day she will discover the awesome that is Don's creativity - Blueberry, Bacon, Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

#3 - Braised Cabbage

Don worked a marathon 12 hour day today so the little girl and I got to have an evening by ourselves.  It feels pretty good that I managed to pick her up from daycare, make a home cooked meal, get all the chores done, get her down by myself, and even have quality play time together.  I still remember a time not so long ago when I was terrified for Don to leave the house and have to handle this parenting thing all on my own for a bit.  My how we have progressed.

For dinner tonight, I made delicious braised cabbage served with Apple Chardonney Chicken Sausages from Trader Joes.  I let Caitlyn "stir" the pot while it cooked.  (She really sucks at this by the way but she loved it!)  While we waited for it to braise, we played a bit with the toys.  I showed her an old train set that Grandma and Grandpa Messler brought up with them when they visited in July.  It has a string so that you can drag it along the floor behind you and listen to the wheels click and clack.  Well she thought that was just great!  So we walked around the room with her holding my hand in one and the train string in the other.  The train flopped around behind her like a fish out of water of course.  Then she decided it would be easier to hold the string in one hand and the train in the other rather than dragging it so she carried it around the room walking on her own.  I just love how she has determined that you are supposed to walk around with the train and totally lost the dragging it by the string part.  It was so cute!  

Here is the recipe for the Braised Cabbage.  The beer I used this time was Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale and it really hit the spot.  Talk about comfort food!  Caitlyn even ate some but she had more fun playing with it and smearing it around her high chair than eating it.  She did really love the chicken sausages though.  Guess we'll be stalking up on those.

#2 Grilled Romano Beans

Tonight's tasty side was Romano Beans simply seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper, tossed and grilled in a basket on the gas grill.  I wish these beans were in season longer as they really are tasty.  We served these with Trader Joes Chipotle Barbecue Marinated Chuck steaks which were quite pleasing in and of themselves.  Simple and delicious.  It tasted even better because we ate it outdoors.

#1 - Baked Caramelized Onion & Red Russian Kale Frittata with Repurposed Crispy Potatoes

On the heals of my previous post, here marks my very first meal in progression toward my goal of 100 home cooked meals inspired by my Dandelion Organic CSA Deliveries.  Frittatas are one of my favorite ways to use up veggies and particularly Kale which seems to never be in short supply when you are a CSA recipient.  I suspect you will see a lot of frittata recipes over the coming months.  I also plan to get really good at making different varieties of hash browns too.

I have determined that Red Russian Kale is definitely my most favorite variety of the hearty greens (at least for cooking, maybe not for raw salads.)  It is so flavorful and the stalks in particular have almost a sweet quality to them when sauteed in a little bit of olive oil. Caramelized onion make a great base of flavor also to build on.  I'm particularly proud of using up the leftover crispy red potatoes that Don had grilled with our steaks the other night.  I feel like I should get bonus points for that. The grape tomatoes add a pop of color and texture to round out the dish.  Caitlyn absolutely loves these little tomatoes but they're still a little too tough for her to eat raw so any chance I get to cook them and soften them up is a win in our house.  

Baked Caramelized Onion & Red Russian Kale Frittata with Repurposed Crispy Potatoes

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Yellow or Sweet onion, sliced into rings

1 Bunch Red Russian Kale, stems separated and chopped, leaves separated and chopped

1/2 cup cooked red potatoes, thinly sliced

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

8 eggs

2 Tablespoons Whole Milk

1 Teaspoon Bottled Minced Garlic

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese Blend

Preheat Oven to 350.

Coat a 8 inch round baking dish with cooking spray. 

Heat 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil over Medium High Heat in a cast iron skillet.

Saute Onion Rings and Kale Stems about 5 minutes until softened.

Add Kale Leaves in batches.  Cooking down until the leaves soften and glisten with moisture but are not soggy.

Pour Kale Mixture into baking dish.  Arrange potatoes and tomatoes over kale mixture.

In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, milk, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper.  Pour over Kale Mixture.  Top with cheese.

Bake in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until eggs have set.

Look at me. I'm setting a goal!

The Goal

Prepare delicious, healthy, nutritionally dense meals for my family and have fun doing it.

The Plan

1.  Review published list of upcoming CSA delivery.
2.  Do a google search of recipes for each item focusing on google images for inspiration.
3.  Create a meal plan for the coming week.
4.  Prepare grocery list.
5.  Go grocery shopping.
6.  Do not show the list to Don.  Each night will be a surprise.
7.  Prepare and photograph meal.
8.  Eat Dinner as a family.
9.  Post blog about our meal.

Evaluation

Indications of success include using up all food in organic deliveries before they go bad.

Reward

I will treat myself to a new piece of quality cookware for every 100 blog posts of homemade meals.

Winter Sport

Don, Caitlyn, and I all had our first experience snowshoeing this weekend.  It was a fun trip up to the mountain.  Since we don't ski, this is something we've been wanting to try as a way to go play in the snow now and again.  Luckily, we have great friends who were able to lend us all the gear we needed (Thanks Katie, Zach, Chris & Jessica!).  And of course we wouldn't think of leaving Caitlyn at home.

We arrived at the mountain and got all tucked in our gear.  Into the ergo she went and as soon as she started moving she fell right asleep in her own little toasty winter wonderland.  The lunch break was interesting trying to nurse in the snowy weather underneath all those layers but Caitlyn loved that too.  We did end up cutting our intended path a little short due to weather and some gear issues but we learned a lot.  The way back down the mountain she cried and was mostly soothed by singing this Little Light of Mine which we got stuck in everyone's head.  I think she got a little cold and was done with being stuffed in a sack.  But it was all worth it when we got back down to the ski lodge and got to watch all the people shuffling around in the big echoey building.  I'm proud of my little girl and proud of us as parents for getting out and adventuring!

Check it Off

This morning I instituted a project I've been working on for a couple of weeks:  The Daily Task Checklist.  I am completely geeking out over it.  Theoretically, if Don and I can follow this simple checklist on the daily basis we will be able to stay on top of the chores and errands, accomplish all our basic daily needs, and have plenty of time leftover to live life to the fullest! The first morning went well and I am looking forward to seeing the results of the whole first week.  It is the simplest of things, but I can't tell you how much more gratifying it is to be able to check a task off a list then it is to just accomplish the task in and of itself. 

In other news, Caitlyn is starting to pull herself up on things.  She can't get to a full standing yet but she sure is into practicing this new skill.  I can only imagine that is not far behind.

The Latest Happenings

I'm throwing down a new goal for myself to put out two new blog posts a week even if they are only a short paragraph.  Already six months have flown by and I wish I had captured more of life with a growing infant.  I'm also a little discontent with Facebook which has been the much quicker easier way to do short updates and keep up with friends and family across the globe.  But there is so many junk posts to weed through to find the information I really care about that makes it less and less gratifying and more of a time suck.

Caitlyn is ON THE GO.  She has graduated from military crawl to full on hands and knees and yesterday started to attempt pulling herself up on things.  She can't get to a full stand yet but she sure is trying.  In fact, she is so much on the go that she is a little behind sitting up unassisted because, well, that's boring!

In matters of speech she has picked up two new consonants which she strings together - Mah Mah Mum Mah Mummmmm and Bah Bah Buh Buh.  Every once in a while she also gives us a clear Mmbop.  The Mama just melts me even though we don't think she has tied the actual meaning to the sound yet.  But it still is the most beautiful sound I've heard.  She also loves to blow air through her lips like she's playing the trumpet.  Bphhhhhhhh!

Last weekend we bought her an exersaucer.  We took her down to the consignment store and tried out all there different models.  She liked the cheapest one.  Good Girl!  She loved it instantly and bounces like a pogo stick in it with the hugest grin on her face.  That is the one word besides milk that I know she recognizes for sure now.  Anytime I look at her and say "Bounce" she starts bouncing whether she is in her exersaucer, on my lap, or crawling around on the floor.

She is still a night owl and thinks that when she goes to bed at 7:00 and wakes up an hour later that this was a nap and it's time to get up and play again.  She nurses a lot at night too and it gets to be a bit much sometimes in the moment but the next day once I'm up and about I am glad for the time and closeness with her at night and get the sense that we're doing the right thing for our family.   Every once in a while I have a low energy day where I definitely need some catch up sleep, but on a daily basis I do not feel like I'm operating on a huge deficite. I just think of it as my nightly oxytocin recharge.

Routines

Caitlyn is 5 months old tomorrow!  They say this is the time where she really starts responding to routines.  What a coincidence, so does her Mommy who will be 35 years old on Wednesday.  :)  Of course we haven't had time to plan one out yet.  So here is a stab at our late morning sleeper who likes to try to stau up until 10:00 p.m. every night.

6:30 A.M.  Mommy get up, shower, breakfast.
Put Away Dishes and Laundry

8:00 A.M.  Mommy go to work

9:30 A.M. Wake up with Daddy
Diaper Change
Get Dressed
Take Vitamin D
BrushTeeth
Nurse

10:00 A.M.  Playtime with Daddy

12:00 P.M.  Lunchtime with Mommy
Walk if weather is nice
Or Face to Face Play
Nurse to Nap

1:00 P.M.  Playtime with Nanny

3:30 P.M.  Wear baby down for nap

5:00 P.M.  Playtime with Mommy

5:30 P.M.  Make & Eat Dinenr

6:30 P.M.  Pajamas, Turn Lights Down, Brush Teeth, Brush Hair
Story Time
Nurse to Sleep

7:00 P.M.  Evening Chores

8:00 P.M.  Mommy and Daddy Time

Meal Planning

Meal planning is definitely harder with a kid.  Not only is there less time to plan and prepare, but the grocery shopping trip every single weekend is a dreadful imposition on precious family time.  I'm trying to create a swift and simple routine.  Less variety.  More convenience.  And really, really, need to get costs down.

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal
Cereal
Eggs, Bacon, Toast
Yogurt & Granola

LUNCH
Sandwiches
Leftovers

SNACKS
Cliff Bars
Apples & Peanut Butter
Pears and Cheese
Chocolate and Almonds

QUICK DINNERS
Tacos
Spaghetti
TJ's Salmon Burgers
TJ's Chow Mein
TJ's Eggplant Parmesan
TJ's Enchiladas
TJ's Marinated Meats

BEVERAGES
Coffee
Milk
Tea

This will be the recurring list of staple items to have on hand.  The once a month we will also do a big freezer meal cookoff with the Zenovichs to have a variety of nutritious convenience meals on hand.  We also have the produce deliveries coming every other week for a constant stream of side dishes.