9 Months!!

Tyler is now 9 months old! He is sitting up really well and starting to try to get up on his knees. Not rocking on the knees or crawling yet! He has 2 teeth and is trying to cut more right now. His gums are really hurting him. He still loves to eat and is eating more finger foods. He likes yogurt, cheerios, puffs, bread and even tried little bites of chicken nugget today. He is finally sleeping through the night again. His neurology appointment at CCH went well. He is developing as he should and there are no concerns at this point with his port wine affecting his brain! We go back to the neurologist in 6 months for another check. He is one happy, sweet boy!

Ginger Veggie Stir Fry

I made sweet and sour chicken, rice and this veggie stir fry for dinner on Saturday. We really enjoyed the flavor of the veggies! I didn't use the veggies it called for but instead used sugar snap peas, red pepper, green onions, and water chestnuts. Also I didn't have fresh ginger on hand so I probably used 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder instead. This is a keeper!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This pie was delicious! My homeroom mom at school made a homemade fresh strawberry pie for the 2nd grade team the last week of school. It was heavenly. We all enjoyed it at lunch one day. I asked her for the recipe and then tried it out myself. Gayla said mine was just as good as my homeroom mom's! I was thinking her crust was better but I'll go with Gayla's opinion! I took Gayla a piece of pie to her pool when the boys and I went swimming there. It was great to see you Gayla! I miss my teammates! Speaking of teammates, Abby was married a little over a week ago!! Can't wait to see her after her honeymoon and first few weeks of married life! She was a beautiful bride and was soo happy!

Jenn, Abby, Gayla, Me

Okay, here's the recipe!

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces

ice water

Preheat oven to 425 if pre-baking the pie shell. Stir together flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter. Squeeze between your fingers, until the mixture is in crumbs. Add 2 Tbl of ice water and quickly mix in, pouring off excess water. Turn out on heavily flour wax paper. Sprinkle with flour, flipping and mashing ball flat. Place another shee of wax paper on top and roll out. Check frequently to keep paper from sticking, adding more flour if needed. Roll to proper size, flip onto plate, and crimp edges. If pre-baking the pie shell prick the bottom with a fork. Bake for 5 minutes then turn down oven to 350 and bake for another 5 minutes. Check for brownness, leave in longer if you want it browner.

Filling:

1 quart starwberries (washed and hulled)

1 cup sugar

3 T cornstarch

3/4 cup watter

Reserve 1/4 of strawberries for glaze. Place remaining hulled berries into the piecrust and gently press into the crust, without breakeing the crust. Crush reserved berries in a saucepan and stir in sugar. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Whisk cornstarch and water and add to saucepan. Cook approx 5 minutes, until it thickens, stirring constantly. Pour over berries and refrigerate overnight. Top with whipped cream.

Whipped Cream:

Beat on high 3/4 cup heavy whipping and 2 T sugar.

3 Cheese Calzones

These are great for dinner and the boys love them! They even have fresh spinach inside. Don't tell!

3 Cheese Calzones
1 can refrigerated pizza dough
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed and roughly chopped (or just buy a bag!)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 pound thinly sliced salami
2 T olive oil
jarred marinara sauce, warmed

Heat oven to 400. Divide dough into 4 equal portions and roll out into 8 inch rounds. In a large bowl combine the 3 cheeses, spinach, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Layer the salami on one side of each round of dough and top with cheese mixture. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Brush the tops of the calzones with oil. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and back until golden, 12-15 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

The second time we made this we used 2 cans of pizza dough, and broke each into 3 equal pieces to get 6 calzones. I also used bagged fresh spinach to save time.

Delicious Pasta Salad

I'm trying to get caught up on blogging, can you tell?! This is a great recipe for pasta salad. It is delicious! I made it last night and we really enjoyed it.

Pasta Salad
1 box bowtie pasta, cooked al dente
1 pkg/jar of sundried tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
4-8 garlic cloves, minced ( I used 4 since they were pretty big ones)
1 cup chopped fresh basil
2 T. chopped fresh mint
1 t. salt
1 t. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (recipe calls for 3/4 tsp)
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (I used about 1/4 cup but recipe calls for 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 pkg pine nuts, toasted



Mix all ingredients except pine nuts and add to cooked pasta. Just before serving add in pine nuts so they aren't soggy. When I made this I used 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (original recipe calls for 3/4 tsp.) and it had a bite. It would be delicious with grilled chicken breasts to make it a full meal. Could also add black olives!
I really need to make myself take pictures of the recipes I post.

Laundry Room/Bathroom Remodel

Above: Where the tub goes. Below: toilet/sink

When we moved into our house the downstairs bathroom had been changed from a 1/2 bath with washer/dryer to a full bath. The washer and dryer had been moved to the garage. We knew there were some problems because the dryer had no where to vent and the toilet downstairs overflowed. Also when I washed the dishes in the kitchen it smelled bad in the bathroom downstairs. Andy knew there was going to be a lot of plumbing problems. We decided we wanted to move the washer/dryer back into the house and fix the bathroom so it can be used. Andy is going to wall off a section of the garage with drywall to make a small laundry room downstairs. The pic below shows the part of the garage that used to have a workbench. Now it will have a wall to make the laundry room. The next picture shows where Andy will cut out a door to the laundry room.

Here is the tub in the garage for the time being. Anyone need a shower?

Poor Lottie

Yesterday Lottie went back to the vet to follow-up on the last appointment. She got her teeth cleaned and thankfully none of them were rotted so no teeth pulling! They did have a lot of tartar on them and 1 is slightly loose. She had her tumor removed from her eyelid which was really rough on her. She has stiches and is having to wear a cone so she doesn't bother the stiches. It's pitiful! She is on pain medicine, eye drops, ear drops, and another pill. Poor thing! In the picture her right eye is the one that had surgery. It's shaved a little around the top and kind of droopy. When she walks around the house it is pitiful, she runs into everything with her cone. She is breaking my heart. But I know that this will help her eye to not be so irritated. Dr. D checked her leg while she was under anesthesia and she does seem to still have a slight tear in her ACL. Good to know that we're in the same place as last year, doesn't seem to have gotten any worse. She's resting on one of Tyler's blankets right now!