Spring has finally Sprung!

I think I speak for everyone here in Indiana when I say that I have been dying for some warm weather.  Finally this past weekend we got some wonderful temperatures in the 80's!  I took advantage of the weather by going for a few long runs and taking Remington on long walks (the vet tells us he needs to lose a few pounds).  I was tempted to start working on my flower beds that I would like to create, but decided against it since I thought it would be better to tackling that project on a weekend that Dan was working and I was in need of something to do.

Below are some pics that are a sure sign that Spring has finally sprung!

My two favorite boys on an evening walk...

All the lovely flowering tress around the neighborhood...

Remington taking in all the sights and sounds of Spring time!

And me carrying Remington's "presents" that he leaves during his walks... why do I always get stuck with this job?  Sigh...

HAPPY SPRING TIME EVERYONE! 

Week #3 of Kendra's Cooking Challenge : Cilantro Lime Shrimp, White Rice, Maple-Glazed Carrots, and Lemon Cake Cookies

This week I went for the whole meal... I felt pretty daring... are you ready for this???  I decided on shrimp for this this week.  I do eat shrimp every now and again, especially when I'm craving some kind of meat.  This is mostly a win win for Dan and I! 

Cilantro Lime Shrimp (www.skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 lbs shrimp, shelled and deviened
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, when hot add shrimp.

Season with salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. Saute' another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook.

Remove from heat. Squeeze lime all over shrimp and toss with cilantro. Serve hot.

Maple-Glazed Carrots (www.myrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 pounds carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper

In a large skillet, combine the carrots, syrup, butter, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Cook the carrots.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring once, until carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced to a glaze, 12 to 15 minutes. (If carrots are tender before the liquid has thickened, uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until liquid forms a glaze.)

Lemon Cake Mix Cookies (random internet site)

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 8 oz container Cool Whip (yum)

Mix all ingredients together!

Roll off a spoon into powdered sugar which makes a ball.

Place on a greased and floured cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.



So what was the rating for this meal you ask... Dan rated the total meal a 6!  BLAH!  But he rated my cookies a 10!  My conclusion is that he just doesn't enjoy healthy cooking.  It is also hard to try to cook meals suited for me and him both.  He of course would love a nice steak... I on the other hand am pushing it to eat shrimp. O'well... I'm not giving up!

Baby Andrew is growing up!

My best friend Kristin and her husband Duane just had Andrew's 6 month pictures taken not too long ago.  I can't believe how much that little boy is growing up!  I just had to share some of these adorable pictures... I guess he wasn't in a very good mood for his photo shoot, but I don't really think you can tell :)

Quite the handsome little fellow isn't he :)

Such a wonderful family!  I love them :)

Remington's Adjustment

So, about a month ago I was complaining about how awful Remington's adjustment period had been going since Dan switched to 2nd shift instead of 3rd shift.  He was throwing up a lot (almost every day) and challenging me on about every little thing I would ask him to do.  If I said STAY he would run around the house like a manic... if I said DOWN he would walk all around me daring me to correct him... if I said COME it meant play time.  In my opinion, I feel like we have a pretty well trained dog who listens and respects us most of the time, so to see him not doing as asked I knew something was up.

Well after about a month of this new schedule, things have finally started to settle down. Most of the time Remington knows that Mom is the boss when she is home by herself and Dad is the boss otherwise.  I luckily am no longer am having to deal with his extreme behavior, which I'm thankful for because I was getting lots of bruises from him mouthing my arms and hands when he didn't want to listen.  Right now I have my baby back and I'm loving it!  I don't know what I would do without his company!

Remington staring adoringly into my eyes :)

Nice and sprawled out on the bed with his favorite toys all around him!

Enjoying his time on the couch (that he isn't allowed on) with his Mom!

Shhhh... don't tell Dad!

Week #2 of Kendra's Cook Challenge : Baked Bananas

Okay, since the first week of April was rather short (two whole days) it may seem like I've done a lot of cooking since I'm already posting the second cooking post, but I had to get on track with the month.  I woke up on Sunday morning in the mood to cook so I figured I had better take advantage of the situation before it past.

Baked Bananas (www.skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients

• ripe bananas
• honey
• cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel and cut bananas in half.  Arrange bananas in an oven safe dish.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and honey.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes depending on how soft you want them.  

The recipe said to put these over oatmeal, but Dan suggested we put them on some chocolate chip waffles we had! 

 Dan rated this breakfast a 7 as well...

Week #1 of Kendra's Cooking Challenge : Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers and Lemon Dream Fruit Salad

After looking at about a million recipes I came across a few that I thought were easy enough to begin my challenge with.  I didn't want to start out too difficult and then become discouraged and quit.  I have never had stuff peppers before, so I actually didn't know what people usually serve with them.  I went to Google for the answer and many people commented that a good fruit salad is often the way to go.  I thought it was a little bit of an odd combination, but didn't have any better ideas so went with it.

Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers (www.skinnytaste.com)


Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 red bell peper, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley (or cilantro)
• 5 bell peppers (red or green)
• 14 oz shredded chicken
• Cumin
• Salt
• 15.5 oz can white beans
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

In a medium pan, heat oil on medium heat.  Add chopped onions, garlic, parsley, and red peppers. Saute until soft, about a minute.

Add chicken and season with cumin and salt... for our family I just kept one side of the pan with stuff that included the chicken and the other side without. That way Dan could have his meat and I could have just  have my vegetarian option.  It ended up being a pain as the recipe progressed.

Add beans and 1 to 1-1/2 cups of water and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, until it thickens and the liquid reduces.  Adjust spices to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut peppers in half removing seeds and stem. Place peppers in an oven-proof dish.  Fill each pepper with 1/3 cup of chicken and bean mixture. Pour about 1/3 cup water on the bottom of dish.

Cover tight with foil. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil, top with cheese and bake uncovered another 5 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Lemon Dream Fruit Salad (www.bettycrocker.com)


Ingredients

• 11 oz can Mandarin Oranges (drained)
• 8 oz can pineapple chunks (drained)
• 2 babanas, halved lenthwise, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup halved marashino cherries (drained)
• 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait Thick & Creamy Lemon Supreme Yogurt

Pour all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.  Refridgerate until ready to serve!

On a scale from 1 to 10.  10 being the all time best meal I have ever fixed Dan... Dan rated this a 7.  I don't think that's too bad, do you?

Kendra's Cooking Challenge!

This is probably no surprise to most of you reading this, but I HATE to cook.  All the cooking in our household is done by Dan.  Thank goodness he likes to do it or we would probably be living off of cereal and rice/noodle packets.  There is no doubt how blessed I am to have a husband who does this for me on a daily basis!  However, since Dan has started working 2nd shift it is become painfully obviously just how awful of a cook I am and how little I even know about this past time.  I am now doing what Dan has prevented for so long... I'm living off of cereal and rice/noodle packets!!!  Sad I know and probably not the healthiest either!  This has got me to thinking...

I really need to learn how to cook and cook well!  I mean one day we will have kiddos and I want to be able to make nice meals for them as well as my husband.  I think it is time I finally learn.  I have tried in the past, but Dan was also home when I did and of course helped me out with a lot of things.  This time when I do it... HE WON'T BE HOME!  This is scary for me, but absolutely necessary because I will actually have to do things on my own and I won't have Dan there to catch all the mistakes I make!  EKKK!

So I have decided that at the beginning of April through the end of August (summer months when my work schedule isn't so crazy) that I will be participating in "Kendra's Cooking Challenge"  During this challenge I will attempt to cook one thing per week.  This could be anything from a whole meal, to dessert, or even a breakfast.  Anything is up for grabs!  There will be 22 weeks in this challenge, which will mean 22 things I will "try" to cook!  It should be very interesting to see the outcome :)

It could be a disaster....