Chopping Up a Watermelon at 4:00AM

"Why are you chopping up a watermelon at 4 o'clock in the morning?", my dear husband asked.  My reply, "I don't know what else to do at 4 o'clock in the morning." 

You see, sometimes in life you have to view your circumstances and take advantage of opportunities that otherwise will not come around again.  The watermelon on the counter at 4:00am was one of those "opportunities."  Carpe Diem.

Last night I fell asleep tucking Jett in. (It's about 60/40 on any given night this will happen. "Curious George and the Baseball Game" is a really relaxing book.)  I woke up around Midnight to have a brief conversation with my husband that included his intention to be ready for the day by 4:00am so that he could get to the farm to plant. This meant that I needed to get up and shower and prep for the day at 3:30am. (Why? Well that's a good question that involves a toddler who is a light sleeper, a noisy hair drier, and a fear that I'll be faced with a day of meetings and my hair sticking out in all directions, or worse, hair that's still wet.)

So, by 4:00am, I had a choice, a) go back to bed, and risk bed-head in all of its glory, or b) get up and start the day.  Obviously I went with "option b".  Now normally this would be my perfect time to do homework, but I submitted my last final for the semester on Sunday night.  The list of things I could do at this time of the morning is quite long (and apparently includes blogging) but the watermelon was there starring me in the face, as I came to the realization that now would actually be the only time I could cut up the watermelon.  What an "opportunity"...

So there I was standing in the kitchen holding a large knife, hacking up a watermelon in the wee hours of the morning. I contemplated life, Costco, and why I bought a watermelon in the first place.

I couldn't help but think back to my high school musical "Guys and Dolls", standing on stage more than a decade ago in character as Miss Sarah Brown, watching Sky Masterson sing "My Time of Day", and thinking about what a romantic concept the early hours of the morning were. 

Chopping up a watermelon at 4:00am was not exactly the picture I had envisioned...

Good morning friends!  I hope you have a wonderful day, and if you have a hankering for watermelon, I have three tupperware in my fridge ready to share.

A Chicken in Every (Crock) Pot

In 1928 the Republican Party used the quote “A Chicken in Every Pot…” in a political campaign for Herbert Hoover as president.  Wikipedia tells me that this phrase actually has its roots in seventeenth century France when Henry the IV wished his peasants prosperity.  What does this have to do with anything?  Well for one, this is a phrase my mom has said on occasion and I didn’t really know what it meant until it appeared in my economics text this semester.   Cool.   Secondly, I put a chicken in the Crockpot this morning and my house didn’t burn down, so I’m thinking that’s pretty good prosperity. 

If you have been so kind to have read this blog before, you know that I have an irrational fear of my Crockpot.  I’ve stated this in occasional conversation in the last few months and I’ve determined that this should be right up there with topics you don’t discuss in polite company like religion or politics.  I have been told that I’m crazy, and the Crockpot is the working mom’s best friend.  I think I’ve actually offended a few people as though the Crockpot is their friend. It’s all very strange.

But, today was the second time in 2013 that I used the frightful appliance, and the house is still standing.  I may be ready to conquer my other irrational fears like getting stuck in an elevator or watching a movie about crop-circles on the SciFi Network.  Or not…

I’ve been contemplating the restaurant desert that is my favorite town, and have been hungry for Indian food.  Hy-Vee Chinese buffet doesn’t count, but it's honestly the closest thing we have.   So for my Crockpot adventure I did a Google search for Tandoori Chicken in the Crockpot, where I found a blog post by author Stephanie O'Dea who used a Crockpot for like every day in a year, and I would guess her house is still standing.  I’ve never stumbled on this blog before, but I already know I like the author as she has a similar aversion to chicken guts, and lots of ideas of what to do with a Crockpot.  So about 6:25am this morning between straightening my hair and waking sweet baby, I attempted a loosely crafted version of this dish.  (There is no Jessica-edited recipe, no pictures.  I used the Rachael Ray style of measuring and stuck a lemon in where the guts used to be.  Very culinarian.) It turned out to be very tasty and my family actually ate it.  Crockpot lovers, you win this round.

In other news, I haven’t been blogging because I’ve been studying economics and Starbucks. (Literally, I have a project due on the organizational theory behind Starbucks…sadly, I haven’t been drinking enough…Starbucks.)  Technically it is “Spring Break” but as good as JCrew is for retail therapy, somehow buying a wardrobe that looked like it belonged in St. Barts, hasn’t actually not gotten me to a sunny beach.  If you’ve posted pictures of your tan and umbrella drinks on Facebook, I would normally say I’ve deleted you.  This year I’m saying, please take me with you!  Mama needs a vacation. 

Accidental Crockpot Creation

I have no idea how this happened, but I'm pretty happy it did.  If you've been following the blog for awhile you know that I'm completely afraid of my crock pot.  I don't know how to use it, the recipes that I've found are usually multi-step, include cream of something, and I'm always afraid that I'll leave for work and burn the house down. 

I was inspired by Hy-Vee's $3 dinner idea for Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein when I logged on to activate my new fuel saver card.  It was yum at first site and I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off...enter the crock pot.  I knew I had a package of frozen steaks in the freezer that desperately wanted to be eaten, so in the morning I popped them (still frozen) into the crock pot with a garlic clove, half an onion, a little olive oil and a splash of soy sauce.  I turned it on low and hoped for the best (and that our homeowner's policy was current.) 

Over my lunch hour I stopped at Hy-Vee, which is literally my place "where everyone knows your name", waved hello to all the friendly employees that I have come to love, and ran into several friends who were also grocery shopping sans kiddos.  I picked up some fabulous produce, including the organic broccoli and seasonal oranges pictured above, and only broke the rules for four cans of diced tomatoes.  My total was $68.04. 

When I came home from work about 5:30pm we still had a kitchen to speak of and the meat smelled incredible. I quickly washed and chopped up some broccoli, mushrooms, and scallions, heated a pan and coated it with olive oil. I threw in another garlic clove and sauteed the mushrooms and broccoli.  I sliced the meat and put it in nearly last since it was already cooked.  I added a little of the drippings from the crock pot to the pan for extra flavor, and squeezed half an orange for a little citrus note.  Scallions went in just before I put everything on the plate.  While all of this was going on in the pan, I quickly boiled some lo mein noodles (which believe it or not, I had in my cupboard!)

It was a truly fabulous Use-it-Up night!  I still don't totally trust my crock pot, but I might be gaining just a little more confidence in it...

What I Used-Up:
Three frozen steaks
Lo Mein Noodles
1/2 onion
1 orange
1 head of broccoli

Spring Break 2013

I figure we are about two weeks away from the 2013 barrage of friends' photos from spring break trips from Cancun to Key West.  So I'm really super excited to be the very first among you to post pictures from our thrilling spring break staycation.

This trip was a big deal for our little family as we determined that it was the very first time we all stayed away from home together for more than one night.  So as my little sister packed for her semester-long Italian adventure, her big sister's family hit the road for a thrilling weekend in Beatrice, NE. Leaving after work, we made a stop at Grandma Clara's for pizza and playtime, and then proceeded to roll into the big city around 10pm.  Way past everyone's bedtime. 

Daddy left the next morning bright and early to work cattle, leaving Jett and I to a day of exploration.  First we enjoyed the gourmet breakfast bar at the hotel, where Jett enjoyed watching the pancake machine.  We were upgraded to a room with a view.  Jett's favorite view of a Ford dealership, and just beyond the horizon we could see the shining bright green of a John Deer implement.

After taking in the view and lounging in our suite, we set out to see the sites and found a very big, very orange playground at the YMCA. 

It was a balmy 40 degrees so before long our course was changed indoors where we watched elementary basketball practice.  All that exploration made us hungry again and Jett got to have his very first McDonald's Happy Meal.  Excitement didn't quit as we got to watch a man in a red lift and bucket fix the lights on the golden arches. 

Our morning adventure left us feeling quite exhausted so back to the resort we went for a little siesta.  We woke up just in time to join our cousins at another fun park.  For a little afternoon snack, we visited Dairy Queen where it was about 105 degrees, and if you closed your eyes and used your imagination the Blizzard machine sounded just like the roar of the ocean.

Soon it was time for the main event, the St. Paul Lutheran School carnival.  There were games of all kinds from cake walk to bean-bag toss - our favorite! 

There was even a big fake cow that we got to touch. We happily waved goodbye to everyone and finished our adventure with pizza at a quasi-alfresco cafe on a beautiful deck looking out on the inside of the furniture store in the mall. 

 

I sincerely hope that I haven't made you too jealous. I wish you lots of sunshine and excitement on your own spring break trips this year!



Freezer-Friendly Mini-Meatloaves

Today I could not be more thankful that I took a little time this past weekend to make up a delicious freezer-friendly quick cooking meal.  Like most people in the U.S. I'm either fighting "the flu" or more likely a virus thing that's wiping me out, but isn't bad enough for meds.  Fun stuff. 

So when it comes to my regular thought around 4pm, of "What am I going to make for dinner?" cooking does not sound like a lot of fun.  But neither does fast food.  So it is the perfect night for the meal I'm about to share with you. 

Meatloaf balls are an idea that I stole from my Aunt Karina who served this at a Sunday lunch once.  Mini-meatloaves are perfectly portioned, cook much faster than traditional meatloaf in a loaf pan, and make ahead beautifully for the freezer.  They are also made for a Use-it-Up recipe!

Meatloaf Balls
Approximately 2 1/2 cups bread, broken up into small pieces
1/2 onion chopped
2/3 cup shredded carrots
2 eggs
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup spicy ground mustard or 1 tsp Worcesters sauce
2 lbs ground hamburger

Start by prepping all of your companion ingredients first. (This was a total revelation to me.  Prepping everything else first and putting the meat in the bowl last makes for a much easier clean-up process, and reduces the risk of accidentally touching something after you've touched the meat.)

I like to leave my ingredients fairly chunky as you will see.  Many recipes call for making breadcrumbs by putting bread in the food processor, but I like the texture and think the end result is more moist. 

 

After the bread, chopped onion and carrots goes some salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp of each), two eggs, and a generous squirt of ketchup and mustard (approximately 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/4 cup of mustard.)  I didn't have any Worcester sauce, which I like to use, but I did have spicy ground mustard which works very nicely for a bit of kick.

In a separate bowl I mixed 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/2 cup of mustard together to make a very traditional sauce for the top. 

Two pounds of ground beef go in next, and then the fun begins... Mix together all the ingredients using your hands.  I portion my balls by taking a generous fist full and packing it tightly together.  I've found that this recipe yields exactly 12 mini-meatloaves.  You can make them bigger if you prefer a little larger portion.

 



Knowing these would go into the freezer, I put mine directly on to some Glad Press-and-Seal wrap.  I covered each ball with the sauce, and put another piece of wrap over top to seal them up.  To prevent freezer burn, I put each package of six in a ziptop bag. 

When I wanted to make these for tonight's meal, I took out just the number I needed.  I put them into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, but this time would be reduced if you thawed them in the refrigerator prior. Check to make sure the meat is completely cooked before serving.  Enjoy!

What I Used-Up:
The last of a loaf of bread
2 lbs beef
1/2 onion
The last of a bag of baby carrots
2 eggs
The last of a bag of sweet potato fries

Blue Cake for Breakfast

It's been just over a week since our trip to Costco, and we've consumed or used nearly 3/4 of the 5lbs of berries I bought.  For a family of three (with one who doesn't eat any...ehem...Kevin), that's pretty remarkable!  If you've been following the blog for awhile, you know that we love smoothies around here, and at least twice a week Jett and I share a big berry/spinach smoothie.  We also love to eat berries for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between.  On Saturday morning I made one of my favorite blueberry muffin recipes which took care of nearly 1lb of blueberries.  Jett calls it his "Blue Cake."

Double Blueberry Muffins (Courtesy of Gale Gand's cookbook "Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs")

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries*
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line 12 muffin cups with liners.

Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sugar and mix. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt, and mix.

In a shallow bowl, mash 3/4 cup blueberries with the back of a fork. Add to the batter and mix. With the mixer at low speed, add half of the flour and milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Fold in the whole blueberries by hand until well mixed.  In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon.

Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups three quarters full.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the muffins and bake until golden brown and risen, 25-30 minutes.  Let cool, and enjoy!

*I love that there are more blueberries than flour in this recipe! I have also substituted raspberries for blueberries, and it turns out wonderfully.

A Tale of Two Grocery Trips

We begin this story on a sunny Sunday afternoon, as we hopefully piled into the car after lunch to make our way to Costco and begin our experience as "members".  We made a couple of stops on the way while Jett slept in the car.  Then we pulled into the lot, and as if by fate scored a spot right by the door. 

The plethora of food and other stuff was overwhelming, but we were up to the challenge.  With Kevin pushing the cart and Jett on my hip, we picked out flats of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. At my sister's suggestion, we purchased some artisan lettuce to split with her, and Jett would not let me leave the produce cooler without a mammoth bag of mini peppers (the kid is CRAZY about them!)

On to paper goods next, we were out of everything and before long our cart was nearly full.  It seemed that at every end cap we just missed the samples by a matter of seconds, probably a sign to me to stick to the Use-it-Up challenge.  I faltered in the cereal aisle buying two jumbo boxes of Ancient Grains granola.  And because of this I feel as though I should admit how addicted I am to this cereal.  If it was the end of the world and I could only save three material goods I would take a flashlight (for practical purposes), my wedding ring, and Ancient Grains granola.  This may have been the logic that did in the Mayans...

Jett got suckered in to buying squeeze packs of applesauce in bulk.  I tried to stop him, but he couldn't resist how much cheaper these were at Costco than Walmart or Trader Joes.  Kevin bee-lined for Nabisco snack packs and graham crackers, and I caved.

We finished the adventure with a trip to the concession counter for the world's largest yogurt parfait and called the $90.14 spent on groceries a success. 

Our next tale began just hours ago, as a happy kid and I piled into the car on a foggy dreary morning to run some errands on my day off.  He was good as gold at the dry-cleaners and sweet as can be at the recycling, but Hy-Vee was a whole other story. 

We pulled in and he immediately remembered the car shaped carts that weigh 500 pounds and hold half the groceries of a normal cart.  They are my favorite too.  He shouted "blue, blue, blue one" all the way to the door.  As we entered, on a whim his choice turned to the orange car that was parked near the front and after a thorough clean up with Clorox Wipes, we hit the road.  He drove happily through nearly half of the produce department until he remembered that he actually wanted the blue one. 

My delightful child had a terrible two sized meltdown while I received parenting advice from 100 much older, wiser patrons who thought blocking the aisle while telling me how to handle my yelling child would be a good idea.  (It may have been just two, but that was enough for me.)

We made it out of Hy-Vee in record time with a $22.89 bill for milk,  eggs, bananas, and orange juice.

May all your grocery trips be as eventful.

Over the weekend I'll be posting some freezer friendly ideas, and tell you what I do with a flat of blueberries.

A Weekend Filled with Use-it-Up Success!

Good morning world, it's Monday!

In this household that means a very tired mommy and daddy, because little dude did not sleep well.  On the bright side, it's a new week, the house is fairly clean, our fridge is stocked with great food for the week, and there is caffeine brewing in the Keurig. 

On Saturday I went a little crazy with the Use-it-Up theme.  To start off, I absolutely had to use-up six bananas that had gone black.  My kiddo likes his bananas (and hence the name of the blog) so each week I always buy a few.  On one particular trip, the grocery store got smart and placed a banana stand in the middle of the aisle where he could reach them at his height. He proceeded to grab a big bunch and accidentally dropped them on the floor.  I didn't think it would be right to put them back, so into the cart and that's where we got our extra bunch of bananas. 

One of the classic things to do with aging bananas is to make banana bread.  Of all the recipes I have made, this is an area where I feel the most fearless.  I love to try a new recipe, and if it doesn't quite turn out, I don't feel bad because it was practically free.  On Saturday I set Jett to the banana mashing, which was a whole lot of fun! 

He did a great job, and I picked out two new "low-fat" banana bread recipes.  Low-fat because I was out of butter but did have oil and applesauce.  One did not turn out great, and had a strange consistency, even after I tried to save it with Nutella.  The other was great and will be one I go to again and again.  I really enjoyed Joy the Baker's Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread.  I did not have old fashioned rolled oats, but the quick oats I had seemed to work just fine.  The bread had a great nearly oatmeal cookie consistency, but with a light delicious fruity flavor.

After the bread was out of the oven, I took a tip from the Queen of Quick Cooking - Rachael Ray, and made a five-minute soup.  I had all that great leftover chicken from the first day of Use-it-Up, which made for great fajitas one night, but I still had some left. 

The steps to five-minute soup are simple.
Chop some carrots and celery, or whatever vegetables you need to eat up. Next, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in your soup pot.  Throw in garlic, chopped onion, thyme, rosemary or whatever flavorings you like and stir. (I didn't measure, but just put in a modest amount that looked good.) Toss in your veggies, turn down heat slightly and allow to cook until softened.  (At this point I also went to my freezer and grabbed a bag of half-eaten asparagus stir fry mix and threw that in too.)  Pour in a can or about 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, and simmer.  While the veggies are cooking, do a quick rough chop on your chicken leftovers, and into the pot they go.  At this point you can allow to simmer until the chicken is warmed up, or for a bit longer to allow the flavors to develop.  Jett and I had a beautiful, veggie packed soup for our lunch that was prepped in 5 minutes and ready in 30 minutes.

For dinner I went one more step toward Use-it-Up obsessed and mixed up some bread dough in my bread machine, and used up leftover spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and cheese to make a quick homemade pizza.  Jett yelled "Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!" when I took it out of the oven, so I think that was a hit too!

I hope this post gave you some ideas for how to Use-it-Up this week.  On the next post I will share how my first Costco shopping trip went.

The BIG Overstuffed Kitchen Reveal

"The most expensive food in your kitchen is the food you are throwing away." - Melissa D'Arabian

That is exactly what Use-it-Up is really all about.  We are so fortunate to live in a country of abundance, of overabundance at times, and as such it becomes too easy to throw food out without really thinking about its value.  Not just its cost (which is important) but also on a slightly deeper level its value, what did it take to get those eggs from the chicken to your refrigerator.  How about that avocado that's traveled pretty far to get to the Midwest in the middle of winter.  Not to get too heavy here, but that kind of thinking starts to reshape how we think about the food we buy and the opportunity to use it, not loose it. 

I stole an idea straight from the binding of Kathleen Flinn's "Kitchen Counter Cooking School" (which I'll tell you more about another day...I know, the suspense!)  Kathleen did a personal exercise where she went through the contents of her refrigerator and stuck a post-it note on every perishable item with an estimated price.  If she threw the item out without using it, she stuck the note to the inside of her cabinet as a physical reminder of the cost.  I did this last night and have already racked up $2.25 that in hind site, I really wish would be going to a Starbucks latte and not into the trash.  In just about 10 minutes, this little exercise totally helped me rethink what I was going to serve last night and for the rest of the week. 

You might have noticed that in the last post, the "What I Used-Up" listing included a bag of pre-packaged Caesar salad.  I rarely buy this, but it was on sale 2/$4 and I thought it was a good deal, which it is unless you toss it without eating it.  Truthfully I had no plans to eat it until I had to put that $2 sticky note on it. 

Now, off my soap box (or more appropriately - cereal box) and on to the BIG REVEAL.  I think it might be worse than last year.

Cupboard

Round-a-bout

Refrigerator

Ugly Unorganized Freezer

And last but not least, the Spill-Over

What To Do With a Trunk Full of Chickens

How many chickens fit in the trunk of a Ford Pinto?

As my witty sister would ask; what is the volume of a chicken?  For this I do not have the answer, but I don't suggest Googling it either.  This is not a question I would typically ask myself on a Saturday morning, but a couple of months ago I pondered it as I met the "Chicken Man."

My Grandma and Grandpa have a neighbor who raises chickens on his farm, and for the past few years Grandma has negotiated a great price for farm fresh chickens.  One morning she called to ask if I would be home on Saturday morning at 10:30am because the Chicken Man would be stopping by with a dozen for me and my mom. 

I waited and waited, and around 11:05am a beat up Ford Pinto parked across the street from our house, and out slowly climbed a rugged countryman and his trusty hound dog.  Now you need to understand that this rugged countryman was not like the Pioneer Woman's husband Marlboro Man, no definitely not. He was like one of the characters on Duck Dynasty.  As he looked around wondering if this was the place, I immediately recognized him, this was Chicken Man.

Chicken Man greeted me with a kind smile and walked to the back of his car and popped open a truck full of chilly, very freshly processed chickens.  I wish I could have taken a picture, as the sight of several dozen individually bagged bright pink, headless, featherless, farm fresh chickens in the back of a broken down sedan is something that really should be seen.  The good thing is that I'm fairly certain all of our nosey neighbors did.  He proceeded to tell me to go ahead and pick out the ones I wanted.  A chef's dream, not particularly mine.  I tried to quickly conjure up my limited knowledge of poultry selection from watching Top Chef and The Food Network, and carried chickens two at a time into our house as my husband burst out in laughter.

I carefully placed 11 chickens in the freezer and left one out to cook for dinner.  What I soon realized is that farm fresh chickens still come with all the innards, which my Grandma had kindly spared me of dealing with in past years by removing them from my batch.  Instantly I was brought back to the sink of my childhood home, sometime in my pre-teens, when my mom made me remove the innards and prepare the chicken for supper.  I specifically remember being incredibly grossed-out while listening to her tell me that I would have to know how to do this some day.  With this memory front of mind, and channeling my best Julia Child, I stood at my own kitchen sink, reached in and grabbed whatever was in there, all while doing my best Julia Child impersonation, much to my husband's chagrin.  "You must not be afraid of the chicken!  After all the creature is already dead!" 

So tonight in honor of my experience with a trunk full of chickens, and the first "Use-it-Up" recipe of 2013, we are having a an Asian inspired marinated roast chicken on carrots and sweet potatoes. 

First, to recap what Use-it-Up is all about.
Basics: Use-it-Up is super simple, I will dramatically cut back on my grocery buying habits and only purchase perishables like produce, eggs, meat, and dairy from the grocery store, while trying to "use-up" the other staples and odd-ball food lurking in my overstuffed cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer. 

Benefits: Savings on the grocery budget, thoughtful home cooked meals, less waste, and cupboards ready for another Trader Joe's splurge in a few short months.

Full Disclosure: I will post our grocery spending over the next two months, and promise to let you know when I cheat on the rules.

2013 Inspiration: Kathleen Flinn's "Kitchen Counter Cooking School", two fabulous Christmas gifts: a membership to Top Chef University online cooking school, and a Costco membership. 

Now on to dinner.  Left over from a New Year's Eve veggie and fruit tray I had carrots and orange slices.  This and a lonely sweet potato and a quarter of an onion became the base for which my bird got to sit. 

The marinade included the following:
2 Tab vegetable oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1Tab rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic

The ginger and garlic were from a jar, but I'm trying to use them up and buy fresh in the future.

I stuffed the ugly bird with the other quarter of an onion and orange slices.  The next part is where my Julia Child impressions come in handy.

I slowly poured the marinade over the fowl and rubbed it under the skin for flavor.  "You must give the bird a good rub down to make sure all the flavor gets in it, otherwise you might as well just order out!"  (In my best high pitched, slightly drunken Julia voice.)

Into a hot 425 degree oven it went for 80 minutes, until the breast meat reached 180 degrees.

Delicious!

 

What I Used-Up:

Left over baby carrots
One lonely sweet potato
Half of an onion
Defrosted farm fresh chicken
Yukon Gold Potatoes for mashed potato side
Pre-packaged Caesar salad mix

In the next post you will get to experience the big cupboard, refrigerator and freezer reveal.  Stay tuned!

Wrap-It-Up!

Each year on the 23^rd, my sister and I go crazy and wrap gifts.  We’re not sure why it’s the 23^rd exactly, but for as long as we can remember we’ve wrapped gifts on that date.  We pull out the wrapping, the ribbon, and the creativity. 

While watching Elf and sipping hot cocoa, here is the before.

 

Gifts to my husband are always a strange size, bulky, huge, or just plain awkward. Notice the gigantic floor jack in the middle of the photo.  How does one actually wrap something like that?  Lillie had the challenge of wrapping him some equally awkward dust masks this year.  It only took about 5 seconds of rolling on the floor laughter to find a way to display this gift.

I hope your Christmas was full of favorite traditions, lots of love, and the blessing of time with family. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Coming up, stay tuned as I kick off the new year with the 2013 Use-It-Up challenge.

The Heart of Giving

A couple of weeks ago I got to experience bell ringing for the Salvation Army for the first time.  It was so much fun to see people make a point to stop and put a little something in.  Most of them did it with joy,   but one guy did not.  He reached into his wallet, folded up a couple of bills and put them in the bucket.  I wished him a Merry Christmas, and he looked me in the eyes and glared.  I happened to be standing next to the store manager at the time, and I turned to him and laughed.  He said, “That is the grumpiest man I have ever met.  He comes into the store twice a week, I swear, just to yell at a checker in the aisle.  I can’t believe he just put money in!”  We laughed and commented on the Christmas spirit getting the best of everyone. 

It got me thinking, why would the most grumpy man IN THE WORLD make it a point to stop, reach in his wallet, and put money into the Salvation Army bucket?  I’ve witnessed a lot of giving over the years and charitable deductions, fiscal cliff, armagedon, guilt, whatever…people give because they want to give, because they have compassion or feel inspired, and most importantly they want someone to experience a gesture of love from their hearts. (Even if they glare while doing it.)  This experience got me thinking about when giving from the heart started for me.

Each week on Wednesday morning, the teacher would collect our chapel offerings for the week.   A quarter, a couple of dimes, maybe a dollar or two for something really special.  We were being taught to give, taught the concept of tithing, and taught to do so from the heart by connecting our donations to giving that really meant something to us as kids. When I think back to all the weeks from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, two special campaigns come to mind, Heifer International and Secret Angel Tree.  As a kid, both seemed like the coolest opportunities ever to get to be a part of.  Give money and get to pick out an animal from a catalog to give to a family in a country super far away to either raise or eat. Wow, now that’s fun stuff! I can still see the chalk board with tallies under goat, flock of chickens, rabbits, and sheep for the class to vote on our animal of choice. 

The teacher told us why Secret Angel Tree was important, because not all children in our community would get presents on Christmas morning.  Some people didn’t have basic things like warm winter clothes, good food to eat, or even a home to go to.  As a kid, it was unimaginable and pretty darn sad to think that someone like you might wake up on Christmas morning and not have a present to open, and so around this time of the year it’s fair to say that our chapel offerings increased.  Extra presents to give to the angel tree families poured in, and if you were a REALLY lucky kid (who happened to be the kid of a teacher) you might actually get to go to Wal-Mart and help pick out the gifts.  My mom always let my sister and I pick a couple of additional angels off the tree in the fellowship hall from our family too.  We always had a great time on this shopping trip, thinking about what was on the family’s list to Santa, thinking about what we had circled in the toy catalog that they might like too, thinking about the color of stocking cap that might make a little girl proud to wear.  I imagined the joy I experienced on Christmas morning and wanted to give that to a kid like me. 

Later when I was fortunate enough to marry a teacher, this tradition continued with my husband now charged with shopping for the Secret Angel family, and getting to tag along and help pick out gifts.  As a couple we picked out a family to buy for personally too.  Over the last couple of years, our giving has changed a little bit, but the idea behind the Secret Angel Tree has continued, with a special gift given through Care Corps, Salvation Army, or Toys for Tots.  Even though he’s too little to understand now, I hope that in a few short years, Jett will also learn about the joys of giving from the heart, and how special the matchbox cars or pillow pet may be to someone just like him on Christmas morning.

Let your LIGHT so SHINE!

After a long, frankly pretty stressful couple of days, all I wanted to do was go home, put on pajamas, cuddle with my kiddo, and eat the leftover birthday cake hidden in the back of the freezer.  So I sent my mom a text message that said, “What r ur thoughts on church?” Hoping she’d say, “up to u” or “Jett is a little cranky.”  Instead the message said, “Meet you there at 4:30.” 

And praise God it did.  I didn’t need the pajamas or the cake (although I ate it later anyways.)  I needed to hear and see the joy of the season.  I needed to experience His light, through His children.  And boy does light radiate out of kindergartners, first and second-graders.  Loud, proud, joyful praise in song and message about letting the Light of Christ shine in the darkness.  Letting the world know who the Light is.  It was a beautiful first advent service of the season and I am so thankful that I went. 

As I sat with my baby on my lap, I couldn’t help but think that he’s not too many years away from standing on those risers, and yet how strange it is to remember so vividly what it felt like to be up there.  The new black tights, the stiff shiny shoes, the beautiful (but itchy) Christmas dress.  Excitement and a little nervousness, but pure joy at the chance to get to sing praises and celebrate the birth of the Savior. 

I’ve thought a lot this season about traditions.  I’ve wrestled with the Elf on a Shelf (not literally, I think that’d be against the main point of the book, not to mention strange) and all the new cool Pinterest-y stuff.  What are the traditions we want to start in our house?  What are the traditions that we’ve always had in my family?  What traditions did Kevin have in his?  What are the things I love to do year after year, but never realized that they were actually traditions. 

We’ve decorated the tree for the first time since Jett was born, and put out the nativity early this year.  I have a new wreath on the front door, and I’ve been listening to Christmas music since Thanksgiving.  I ordered Christmas cards on time and the first batch were sent this morning.  I feel very joyful about the season, and I'm incredibly excited to share the meaning and the traditions with my little guy.

A couple of weeks ago God laid on my heart to sing in church during the Christmas season.  It’s been since before Jett was born that I’ve sang beyond just the pew (while searching for binky and scooping Cheerios off the floor.)  It’s time to restart one of my most cherished Christmas traditions, singing in church.  It’s time to be like those little children and let my light shine so that others can see and know the Good News!

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some more of my favorite traditions!

Black Friday Guilt-less

A writing from Black Friday 2011, just so that we ALL remember what happened last year...

Recovering from any holiday weekend, it’s easy to have a little extra guilt on Monday over too much turkey, stuffing, rolls, and pie.  Even running the Turkey Trot this year at the YMCA didn’t save me from that regret.  However, I got lucky and have no guilt from a Black Friday shopping spree.

This year my sister and I lost our minds and decided to try Black Friday shopping.  While the media had pumped up this 2011 event as one of the biggest with retail stores opening on Thanksgiving Day, and people all over the world condemning American commerce, Lillie and I got the itch.  I think it was the thrill of the idea of being in the mall in the middle of the night that got to us.  So at 7 p.m. after learning of a super great, can’t miss deal on car seats at Toys R Us, we devised what I thought was a brilliant plan.  Pick Lillie up at 8:15, Toys R Us by 9:00, in and out by 9:30 with the car seat, The Muppet Movie at 9:45, back to Younkers by Midnight.  Brilliant!  Ha!

We arrived to Toys R Us to find crazy women who had been lined up since 5pm, and a growing queue of additional crazies lining up past the entrance of Khols.  We stood in line patiently for about five minutes, before my shopping ADD kicked into full swing and I started devising a plan to cut, line jump, and/or bulldoze my way to the front.  (I didn’t want to miss the singing puppets after all, as we had pre-purchased to avoid lines.)  Well that was another stupid idea, as crazy, deal-driven shoppers know their surroundings like gazelle at the watering hole. So, we abandoned ship and went to the Muppets. 

There is something wrong with a country whose people are lined up for hours to save 20% off and stand in line for another hour checking out, but where the Muppets is empty for the late show.  It was a terrific movie that I could see again and again.  I’m glad we didn’t miss it.  We did however miss the car seat deal.  We tried Younkers and the mall, but the mystique couldn’t beat the wall to wall people carrying as many pillows as they could hold.  We left with $8 earrings and an oath to shop online next year. 

So today, I may have stuffing guilt and a little pie guilt, but I have no Black Friday guilt.  So I tried to cut…some crazy woman pepper sprayed the people behind her at a Wal-Mart.  I probably would have been the victim if we hadn’t had the sense to go see the Muppets.

Hi, my name is Jessica, and I am not a perfect mom.

Hi, my name is Jessica, and I am not a perfect mom.  Whew.  Well now, that feels much better.

Sometimes in our household we have chocolate chips in our pancakes. For breakfast. With syrup on the side.

I've been known to buy diapers and other baby supplies at the drugstore or grocery store, without a coupon, and without price checking, because I'm tired and I don't have time.

I don't buy organic everything.

We co-slept with our son for way too many months. and there are still more than just a few days where I not only cuddle my baby to sleep, but fall asleep next to him because I'm exhausted.

I don't know how many fruits or veggies my kiddo has eaten today.

I don't know what my kiddo has eaten today.

Some nights he asks for milk before bed, and I give it to him.

My son knows what the five second rule is.

I didn't breastfeed very long. 

He still has a pacifier, and I have no idea how to help him break the habit.

After a rare, but occasional 14 hour day, I might eat buggles and a cupcake for supper, in front of my child.

He gets juice.

He has tried pop.

He knows what a Snickers bar is.

One day I bribed him with a spoonful of pudding to eat his green beans.  I'm sorry, but it worked.

He knows that Arby's equals french fries...and a shake.

Sometimes I forget to count every object we see.

We use disposable diapers.  I have no guilt about that landfill.

He won't know a foreign language before preschool.  After four years in high school and one semester in college, I only speak Spanglish related to food items.

We watch TV.  He's seen every episode of Doc McStuffins 100 times.

Sometimes when we watch Doc McStuffins, I read Vogue.

We do not use the correct words for private body parts. 

At Wal-Mart, I let him play with the toys in the toy aisle. 

We dress for swimming at home, not at the YMCA...against their policies.

My husband and I have argued in front of our child.

We don't always pick up all our toys.  No one in this house does.

He will be two and doesn't have a sibling.  I'm sure he's already "spoiled" according to some. 

I hate the word "spoiled."

He wears shoes at the playground...WAIT! That's a good one.

Not only will he get to choose a piece of candy to eat on Halloween, I actually bribed him with M&Ms to try on his costume.  He wouldn't take them.  He hates his costume.

He knows Grandma Judy brings cake. 

One of his first words was cake.

I'm not perfect, and I don't pretend to be.  But what I do is the most important thing.  I love my child unconditionally, forever, and always.  I try my best, and my best means sometimes he sees me, his mama, in a very real light.

I pray, I teach, I praise, I build confidence, I hope, I love.

I dropped off the face of the planet. But I'm back with a list of "Stuff I Love."

It's hard to believe that October is nearly over.  It's been a great month filled with celebrations, stomach flu, and the best of graduate school. 

So, to commemorate the end of my favorite month, I'm sharing a "Stuff I Love" edition of the blog. 

1. Who doesn't love Trader Joes?  And if you don't, I'm not sure we can be friends.  Kidding...but not really.  Specifically, I love Trader Joes soup in a box.  Healthful, delicious and not too crazy on the calorie side of things. I love every flavor!  I give this little box of soup credit for my super-duper work in grad school, because without it I'm not sure I could study over my noon-hour almost every day.

2. If I was a song writer, I think the first song I'd write would be about my new Keurig (sorry Kevin and Jett, you get the next songs,) but I love it that much! My grandma surprised me on my birthday with a darling bright red ingenious coffee maker, and it's been love since first sip.  I've found myself wanting one for the office building, and one for my personal office, and one for the car...

3. Why do I love this fabulous brewer so much?  Because I very recently learned how to replicate the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks... This bright blogger A Farm Girl Dabbles has a fabulous recipe that makes enough pumpkin stuff to last for latte drinking all week.  Add this perfect pumpkin goop to a cup of strong Keurig coffee, and you'll be happily buzzing for far less than $5/cup.

4. And what would be a great cup of coffee without something to put it in? I won't give away my secret as to how or where I got this... only this hint: in order to be bestowed the honor of a microwave safe, dishwasher safe, awesomely branded mug with a silicone top, you must impart "knowledge" upon a group of sleepy college freshman.  Well worth the feat! 

5. If you haven't caught on yet, I was obviously cold in October, because the first things I love all have to do with warming up.  Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I love, love, love it when the days are chilly and gray.  In my mind, that means it's fleece wearing season, and this year for my b-day my wonderful husband surprised me with an update on an old favorite, a new North Face Denali coat.  I bought my first one back when I was walking backwards giving tours to hopeful incoming freshman a the U. 

6. The title of this blog is, Bananas On My Skirt for a reason.  Today, as I pulled into the parking lot before a big meeting, I happened to look down at the lapel of my suit jacket (which I never wear) and notice something dried and peanut buttery.  I'd like to tell you that it was from that morning, but I highly doubt it because I had granola...eww!  So, in a panic I reached into my purse to pull out a recent impulse buy from the laundry aisle, a Tide To Go Stain Eraser.  This product is sold in packs of about a million...or 24, and if I have your name for Christmas, this is going in your stocking.  Saved. The. Day.  I smooshed that stain right out, blasted hot air from the heat vent on it to only one round of Gangnam Style and I was good to go!

7. After a long day of stain fighting and coffee making, it's good to know that there really is a Helpful Smile in Every Aisle at my local Hy-Vee store.  I can't express how much I love this store, and it's a good thing because I'm there at least three times a week.  So much so that it's my place where "everybody knows your name."

8. I have been so blessed to get to re-know someone fabulous from way, way back when.  Becky Novacek is the mom of one of my grade school classmates, and way back in fourth grade she was the mom everybody wanted to sit by when she came to visit at lunch.  I remember thinking she had great hair and was really cool.  I still think she has great hair and is really cool, but now I also think she's a fabulous photographer. This past month she took pictures of Jett, who will be two next week. You can see some peeks on Becky's blog. She has taken pics of our family since J was 10 days old.  Literally if I could order a 8x10 of every single shot I would. Forget "only child syndrome" the only thing holding me back is the wall space!

9. We all had the flu.  And by all, I mean ALL. I'm still not entirely convinced that we didn't pass the flu via text message to a friend who's daughter puked while I was telling her about our week.  Clorox Wipes to the rescue!

10. "The Doc is in and she'll fix you up, if you're a toy, then you're in luck! It's okay, don't be afraid, the Doc really knows her stuff! Doo, doo, doo..." This song runs through my head at all hours of the day, and boy am I thankful!  Doc McStuffins is a delightful little girl who has captured the heart and imagination of my little boy.  She's smart, witty, and fixes broken toys.  The storyline is interesting enough, thank goodness, that the whole family doesn't mind watching it...a hundred times a day. 

11.  And finally...what would be a "Things I love" list without Banana Republic or JCrew.  I hesitated, I waited, I pondered, I read reviews, and finally when BR ran their latest 40% off one item Wednesday promotion I went for it...the Gemma Wrap Dress.  It is fabulous, fits great, and goes with everything. 

I hope you get as much enjoyment out of some of this stuff I love as I do!

The Elephant is Sorry. The First of Many Stories

We were so blessed to get to go to the zoo again today!  For those of you who have been following the blog, you might be thinking, wow-these people go to the zoo a lot!  But we're fortunate that this year has been unusual, and that we've gotten to enjoy the beautiful zoo more than normal...maybe this is our new normal, I could live with that. :)

It's great because every time we visit Jett warms up a little more.  The zoo can be an overwhelming place for a little guy, with lots of people, new noises, and let's face it, it's really, really big!  So the first couple of times, while he's been very observant and seemed to enjoy it, he's been pretty clingy.  He was at first today too, and then he started to warm up.  First after the Butterfly Pavilion, and then after our very first carousel ride.  One of my favorite moments of the day, possibly the week, and even the month was what followed after.  He was walking down the hill with my dad to "go see the elephants" and all of a sudden we start hearing quite the story.

"He says that the elephant bites, but he's sorry," said my dad.  What?  Jett, does the elephant bite?

"Elephant BITES.  He's sorry!"

Jett, where did the elephant bite? (Points to his hand.)

"HURTS!  He's sorry!  Elephant bites."

"It's okay Jett, the elephant doesn't have any teeth," said Grandma Holly.

"He DOES! It's okay, he's sorry.  Elephant bites.  He's sorry!"
(Nice try Grandma, but we know about elephants.)

Jett, where is the elephant? (Points over Grandma's shoulder up the hill.)

"He BITES. It's okay, he's sorry!"

Should we go see the Elephant and tell him bye, bye?

"Yeah"

(To Mr. Zookeeper wannabee with the broom.) Where are the elephants?

"We don't have elephants any more.  The rhinoceros are where they were," said Mr. Zookeeper.

"Elephant BITES!  Bye, bye elephant!"

Well I guess the elephants got what they deserved, even if they were sorry...

The first of many stories to come...I can't wait!

*You've just received the abbreviated version. The real thing was repeated over and over again, and lasted a good 40 minutes.

Not so secret subliminal message, "Football hurts!"

Since before he was born Jett was talked to, prayed for, and read to.  Immediately he was cared for, loved, read to more, talked to more, and sung to in Spanish (even if it was just food related words I could remember from high school.)  I've tried to provide him good nutrition (aside from the Handy Snack incident), his grandma practices good manners with him, we count constantly, talk about colors, letters, and describe nearly every experience possible. 

Along with all of these positive lessons and messages, I've also said something else over and over.  No, he will not play football.  I was reminded of this again last night as I ran past the junior (very junior) football kids practicing in full pads.  Nope, not my baby.

So, I've started to send my own not so secret subliminal message whenever we see a football game on TV or kids in the field.  "Ooh, OUCH!  Football HURTS!" This summer when we saw the cross country teams running, I'd say, "Oh, look at all those fast kids.  Jett, you will be fast like that and run someday."  Now that boys tennis has begun, we purposefully take a different route to the park on Saturday mornings in hopes that we'll see all the "cool, smart boys" playing tennis at the courts.  I've even started planting these seeds with my husband, trying to convince him that cross country or tennis would be much better fall sport choices in preparation for basketball season.

 

So, this weekend when you are watching the local high school teams or cheering on the Huskers, please say a prayer for me, because I'm sure I've committed a cardinal Cornhusker sin, and another prayer for my baby, because I know it's going to take a decade of prayers and divine intervention for my little quarterback to actually believe that "Football HURTS!"

A Fire Alarm, Sticky Floor, Pinterest Kind of Night

"The most expensive ingredient in your house is the one you are throwing away." - Melissa d'Arabian

Pinterest is for those random few minutes in between, and last week I had more of those than usual.  I went a little crazy, pinning everything in sight. It can be a little more than just a little addicting you know.  I took advantage of the in between time and pinned several new recipes that I actually wanted to try.  A different approach than pinning recipes that just look good.

Today with a full week ahead of us I thought it would be a good time to try out a new crock pot recipe, and boy was it a good one.  For those of you who have been following along since Use-it-Up February, this recipe is the perfect solution for using up some odd-ball ingredients. 

This is my version of Spicy Crockpot Chicken.
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salsa - whatever amount you have available, up to about a jar
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 mini bell peppers or one big bell pepper roughly chopped
1/2 cup water

This is the perfect recipe for me because there is no way to mess it up.  I always have half eaten containers of salsa in my fridge and this is a great way to use-it-up.  Put the chicken in the crock pot and the other ingredients right over top in the order listed.  Set crock pot for 6 hours on high.  Shred chicken about 30 minutes before serving and let it soak in all the juices.  Serve on multi grain tortillas.

(On a side note, if you haven't tried Mission's new artisan brand, you are missing out.  I love the flax and blue corn.)

Inspired by the success of the chicken, I decided to try another pinned recipe that "looked good," roasted chick peas.  They were as bad as they sound and for some reason the fire alarm thought I had started the house on fire.  I didn't notice any smoke, but that's what you get for putting in new batteries and roasting tiny beans in the oven on high heat.

After all of that, I was craving something sweet and thought it would be fun to make vanilla shakes.  Sure, that sounds like a nice idea, except that I "forgot" that my blender doesn't work.  Just because you haven't used your blender since 2008 doesn't mean it's still not working...maybe if you just gave it another try.  It's only ice cream and milk, how bad could it go? 

Darn subconscious.  If a blender is broken in 2008 and no one fixes it, it still will not work.  It made an awful sound, sputtered and splurted, and I ended up mushing together something that resembled a shake with my spoon.  Somewhere between waving a dish towel around the hallway and talking myself into the blender situation, I momentarily lost my mind and handed the baby a cup full of shake and a spoon.  He's pretty good at both, but the consistency was really bad.  Pretty soon the shake was all over his face, hands, arm and legs.  And all over the floor.  Kevin laughed at me and suggested that maybe making a shake wasn't such a good idea.

Having it all doesn't mean having it all together.  If the rest of the week goes this well, I think we'll be doing pretty good! :)

Greek Parties, All Nighters, and Co-Ed Roommates

Reflecting on my undergraduate experience, I feel as though I didn't fully take advantage of being a college student.  I never attended a greek party, had very few all nighters, and lived roommate free the last two years.  But that all changes on Monday. 

I plan to start my graduate program off right with lots of greek (yogurt) parties with Jett, frequent all nighters (he still wakes up at 1:30 a.m., so I might as well too), and this time around I get to be one of those slightly edgy, modern students who have co-ed roommates, not just one but two!

Friday morning I reported to orientation for graduate school.  In true University System fashion, I was greeted on campus by a full 25 minute tour of parking lots on "official move-in day."  Successfully finding one near the building I checked my email from the program coordinator no less than four times to make sure that she had verified that no parking passes were needed.  (A veteran around University parking, and a holder of let's just say more than one parking ticket in my day, I was a little sceptic that it could be that easy.)

Walking on to campus the sounds of the drum line and cool fresh morning air made me feel just a little nostalgic for my previous beginning days at UNL.  Entering into the bookstore I felt old, like super old, like almost 30 old.  They were out of all used copies of my texts and one of my research methods books was not in stock yet, so my first round of bills (not counting the one I purchased from Amazon) totalled $121.96.  I had forgotten about that fun part of the collegiate experience.

The orientation was beyond interesting, as we learned about the prestige of the program (top rated program in the University System and top 10 MPA program in the country), and met the other fascinating students in the online program, hailing across the U.S. from Alaska to South Carolina. 

The department chair and our professors gave a brief presentation about the course work and emphasized and re-emphasized how difficult the program would be.  Fortunately I know and really like one of the professors having worked with her on a project for the Foundation.  The other professor, well, he teaches research methods and statistics and obviously loves his line of work, which already makes us incompatible.  Picture your stereotypical professor and then subtract 15 years, then add a deep love of statistics and a slightly devious will to be the hardest professor in the program.  As we walked through the lunch line as a group (signal flashbacks from Red Letter Days) I commented to him that I thought his class looked interesting.  He gave a half smile and said, "Well, I guess that's one way to put it."  He then proceeded to ask me where I was from and why I was in the online program if I was just from Fremont.  I shared that I worked full time, had a toddler and a very busy husband, and that the online program provided the flexibility I needed.  Not kidding you, he looked at me, rolled his eyes and said, "Uh huh, I guess we'll see..."

Bring it on, Mr. Statistics.  Bring it on. 

(Just for spite this morning I listened to his introductory notes while cleaning the kitchen and doing free weights.  I'm confident he wouldn't have approved.)

Here we go again...my roommate is already up and partying this morning.