Kale Chips

Yesterday, I was excited to walk in the house to find that my mom had made kale chips.  I've seen them on cooking shows and they always look like such a perfect, healthy snack.

After my first bite, I wasn't sure how I felt about the taste.  Crunchy, salty, airy with a hint of kale...so I had to go back for another bite, then another and before I knew it, I had a huge handful.  I guess I liked the flavor after all!  I later found out that Rory, who is quite picky when it comes to strange food, actually nibbled on some and suggested adding garlic next time.

They are super easy to make!  You just need to wash the kale and dry it with a salad spinner and then dab with a paper towel.  Cut off the entire stem.  Toss with olive oil and bake on parchment paper at 325 for 10-20 minutes.  You take them out of the oven when the entire leaf is crispy.  Then you can season it with salt or anything else you may want (garlic, old bay, parmesan cheese, etc.)

Enjoy!

Glow worm no more

So a few weeks ago, Rory and I were able to drive down to Northern VA to spend time with his family.  The visit and trip went really well which was great because it made me realize that visiting friends and family in that area won't be such a pain! While at dinner, Deaglan became fond of his Uncle Ryan and chatted up a storm to him.  He does the same thing to my brother, so I am convinced that he just likes the deep voices of males.  On the way home from our trip, I kept thinking back to when Ryan (who by the way, is an avid reader of the blog) visited us at the hospital and how much Deaglan has grown and changed since then.  Our little glow worm is now becoming more and more human!

Update on our little man:  Over the past few weeks, he has been rolling all around his crib and he still does not like rolling from his stomach to his back.  He loves grabbing things to chew on since he is constantly teething.  He has had a few days of fussy, painful teething....ugh!  He loves making sounds with his mouth and has the cutest laugh when you make a sound he likes.  He has been balding like an old man and his face is becoming rounder (aka getting a cute double chin).  He still has my nose but at times his eyes and profile reminds me of a Brannan.  I do think he is going to be a perfect combination of both of us!

Christmas & New Years

Happy 2013!

As always, Christmas and New Years flew by!  I sometimes wish there were two weeks in between the two holidays to just extend the merriness a little more.  Our days were filled with plenty of food, drinks, and relaxing.  We spent New Years Eve making pizza and playing phase 10 with my parents and my aunt and uncle.  It was nice to have a quiet evening (I guess I am getting old!).  I have the best and easiest pizza dough recipe; the dough doesn't have to rise, so it is quick and works well every time.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/

On New Years Day, I baked homemade biscuits and piled on some leftover fried chicken that Rory couldn't resist getting at Royal Farms a few days before.  It sure did beat Chik-fil-A's chicken biscuit!  My dad and Rory spent the rest of the day cooking Rory's classic pork shoulder recipe.  We love buying pork shoulder because it is cheap and you can make it stretch for a few meals!  Left overs are great in tacos, soup, sandwiches, etc.  I think it was the first time I have had pork, collard greens and black eyed peas on New Years Day.  Hopefully, that means we will have a year of happiness, fortune, and luck!

Yes, that is my husband gnawing on a bone....

Gingerbread...finally!

For the past five years or so, I have wanted to make gingerbread; house, men, women, any kind! But December always comes and goes so quickly and I never have the time to bake it.  My mother-in-law even suggested baking it in the summer when I had time and then defrosting it before Christmas.  Awesome idea, yet I never manage to do it.  Since I have some extra helping hands this year, I made it a point to make some.  It took me over a week to completely finish the cookies but I did it and to my surprise, they actually turned out! I had the tiniest bit of tough left over, so I smashed it with a snowflake press and it turned out to be my favorite cookie. Icing on the other hand was impossible to make for some reason.  After three attempts of making icing with egg white and confectioners sugar, I finally just mixed confectioners sugar with a little bit of water to create a paste. The piping bags kept breaking but with a lot of patience all of my gingerbread were given eyes, a mouth, buttons and if they were lucky, clothes.

The dough must be chilled for at least three hours and up to two days.  When the dough is rolled thin, it will bake crisp and almost cracker-like. Yet, when rolled thick, the cookies turn out plump.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses

• 1 large egg

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Directions

Preheat to 350 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses and egg. Using a wooden spoon, gradually mix in the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. 

Bake, switching the positions of the cookies from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cake racks to cool completely. 

It Begins...

For about five months now, I have been saying that I wanted to start a blog.  I knew I needed to get it started before Deaglan was born because I figured I'd never get it started after he was born.  Well, here I am finally three months after he arrived to attempt my first post!  I have to thank my brother, Tom, for designing my title graphic.  After he created this for me, I knew I was one step closer to getting this thing started.

It's my hope that I can fill family and friends in on Deaglan (without being too annoying), new recipes, my attempts at DIY projects, or any other simple thing going on in our lives.  Although I am a teacher, my grammar may not always be the best, so please don't judge!  As for my pictures, I am trying to get better with photography but I really just don't have the eye to take really neat photos.  But, practice makes perfect, right?

Here is my quick five month summary:

I wanted to make a collage of baby bump pictures to share with everyone.  I laughed when I searched my pictures because I hardly had any bump photos.  My bump didn't start to show until around 24 weeks or so and even then I felt so tiny up until the day he was born.  I think you get so used to having a stomach that you don't realize when it grows.  Next baby, I will be sure to take pictures week by week so it's more fun to look back on!  Everything with labor and delivery was wonderful.  Luckily, he was a good sleeper when he came home for the first six weeks or so, which gave me time to pack our house.  Yes, that's right.  The day Deaglan was born (he came a week early), we put our house on the market.  We were so glad it sold very quickly because Rory was commuting most days to Baltimore for his new job (which he loves :-) ).  We said goodbye to Northern Virginia and are now living with my parents in Baltimore until we find a house of our own.  At first, the thought of being 26, with a newborn, living at my parents didn't sound ideal.  However, it has been nice to have the extra helping hands around the house and I am not lonely during the day.  It is great that Deaglan can interact with other people than just me!

Right before Thanksgiving, Deaglan started cooing and talking a lot.  Then, the best day, was when I changed his diaper and afterwards he gave me a huge smile!  I knew he wasn't gassy since he just had quite the explosion.  After that, he started smiling more and more and now it just melts my heart to see him laugh and enjoy his surroundings.  He is now 13 weeks old and I can't believe it.  Last week he started teething.  Not fun! Even though it is cute to watch him grab anything he can and put it in his mouth. On a fun note though, the other day he rolled over from his back to his stomach for the first time.  He has only done it twice but nonetheless it is still exciting.  He is also finally enjoying tummy time more and more.  So for now, our day is filled with looking at his stuffed animal bugs, talking, spitting up, smiling, pooping, spitting up, pooping, sleeping, talking, smiling, pooping, did I mention pooping?  I keep waiting for him to start rolling over more but I guess I will still try to enjoy this calm, stationary baby while I can.