Throwing in a dessert

I have pinned multiple dessert recipes but I just don't make tons of desserts.  Not because we don't like to eat them but I guess because I buy desserts for lunches, etc. and I don't want lots of extras around the house.  The next recipe looked too good not to try and it was definitely too good not to share!

Cake Batter Blondies
Emma helped me make these last Sunday.  Her favorite part was putting the food coloring into the icing and making it change colors.  She thought it was the greatest thing!  Everything about the recipe was wonderful-from the icing to the white chocolate in the blondies-everything was awesome!

On that same Sunday I decided to make Cheesy Chicken Lasagna.

I was happy this was a fairly easy lasagna recipe.  I don't make traditional lasagna so I was a little apprehensive about trying this one but I sure happy that I tried it.  Bradley gave it two thumbs up and it is happy to put it on the menu any night.  In fact, this looks so great coming out of the oven I think it could be served for a nice meal.  Another good idea for this one would be taking to a friend or neighbor.  I cut the recipe in half because there was only two of us eating but it was oh so good!

Some Kid Stuff

Has anyone seen that trick on pinterest where you wash your berries in 1 part white vinegar and 10 parts water before putting them away and it will help keep them fresh?   I was questioning if this would work or not but since I went to Costco and bought blueberries and strawberries for my berry eating of a machine Anna Claire, I thought I would try it.  Pretty much every berry is super expensive right now and I hate getting through half a container and having to throw away the rest.  I thought I would try this little pinterest trick and see if it worked.
So the verdict is that it is true...washing the berries in the vinegar/water mixture before putting them away worked wonders.  I still have a large ziploc of strawberries in my fridge from about a week ago and they still look great!  Now, I could be the last person on the planet that knew about this little trick but I am sure happy I tried it out.
My second kid trick this week.  Yogurt drops...

AC is loving yogurt right now.  However, she doesn't always finish the large containers.  The small baby containers leave her wanting more.  She loved those freeze dried yogurt drops so when I saw the above on pinterest I thought she would probably enjoy.  I don't go to all of the trouble to put my yogurt in a bag and piping it out.  I just spoon some leftover yogurt out on a foil lined cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer.  The drops come off the foil super easy and then there is no mess on my cookie sheet.  I certainly don't want to go about causing myself more dishes to wash!  You have to keep the drops in the freezer after removing them but they are a great addition to a meal or for a quick snack!  If you are looking for a replacement to those Gerber yogurt snacks this is not really the thing because you can't really throw these in your diaper bag for a snack later but they will definitely do as a healthy at home snack!

A Hit and Re-route

Time to talk some recipes...
The hit...Baked Potato Soup

I made this during the day on Saturday, had some with my dinner and took some to my mom.  After I did that there was plenty to bag up and freeze.  I froze three large ziploc bags (two of which I will give away) and two small ziploc bags.  Bradley is not a huge soup fan so I don't think I can convince him to eat this meal all the time which is the reason I put some in small bags so I could use for individual servings.  Recipe...great!  Easy to make...check!  I don't have an immersion blender so I used my regular blender and it was just as easy.  I will admit that I used three blocks of cream cheese instead of two, but who is going to argue about extra creamy!  I would highly recommend this recipe.  If you don't want lots of leftovers, I suggest cutting recipe in half or be prepared to freeze or take a meal to a friend.

Ok, now for the re-route.  I didn't want to call this one a miss because I will make it again but I think I will use it for something other than what is called for on pinterest.
Cilantro Lime Dressing

I tried this on a salad this weekend and it was good.  I probably should have made it a little thinner (more olive oil) but the taste was right so I stopped adding.  Like I said, it was good, but I have another go to salad dressings that I love more.  This had very few ingredients and I love that it contained lots of cilantro, which is one of my favorite herbs.  I plan on trying this as a chicken marinade this week and I think it will serve it well.

Up on the Rooftop

The weather has been nice lately...too nice for March but we will take it!  Seriously, this time last year I had a 1 month old and it was snowing.  Last weekend we got Emma's bounce house out and had some fun.  AC has never gotten to play in the house and I thought she would really like it.  She did have a good time.  

 I hate to say that unless I can find the patches for the bouncy, it might be the last time AC gets to play in that one!  I mentioned it was a beautiful day outside but there was also some pretty gusty winds.  As soon as everyone bailed out of the jumpy a strong gust of wind came and picked the bouncy up and put it on our roof.  To say Emma was alarmed that her jumpy was on top of our house would be an understatement!  Bradley got it down but now the jumpy needs some patches.

Lately

So I am so behind on my blogging that I don't even know where to start.  I think on Friday I got to post that short post about pictures from last weekend but after I posted my Friday just got crazy!  It was already crazy considering I was home with Anna Claire since she had a fever the day before.  Let me just say that trying to work from home and chasing around a toddler is near impossible.  I got some stuff done but that was while she took a nap.  My dad had a short stay in the hospital this weekend and I had a crazy week at work.
I have done some pinterest cooking these past couple of weeks, most of which are keeper recipes so I definitely want to share them.  I have two new recipes on the menu for this week and I made something tonight that was new and is a keeper!  I don't know about y'all but I am one of those people that plans my menu out for the whole week and I try to only go to the grocery once a week.  I love to cook but pretty much hate the grocery and I really don't like going with the kids.  Both, yes even the one that can't talk, seem to want everything they see at the grocery.
My husband is asleep in the other room with basketball on in the background.  I like to think he is resting up so he can get up with the kids in the morning when wake up time comes an hour too early!  That might be wishful thinking.  I love some March Madness but there has been a lot of basketball on this weekend!  Our home team won and will be going to the tourney.  My college team lost and will probably not be going.

Look what we got to enjoy for dinner tonight!  Yep, it is that time of year.  Now I will be the first to admit that no one can cook crawfish as good as you can get them in South Louisiana but these were pretty good.  There is a guy in Collierville that comes up every weekend with crawfish and sells them cooked or uncooked on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  They had some great spice to them!  I told Bradley I could eat them every weekend!

And just because some people come to look at these silly girls above...I found these pictures on my cell phone.  That is a donut that Emma is holding in the above picture.  Mimi, if Emma is ever staying with you and she wants a donut-go to the place behind Chick Fil A.  They put Disney Princesses' on their pink donuts!

Picture Day

Last weekend we met Ragan to get Anna Claire's 1 year pictures taken.  After taking my photography class I am really enjoying playing with my camera.  We got there a little early and I was able to play around before the Ragan started shooting.  They are works in progress but I am so happy I took that class!

Days to Remember

These are the days I don't want to forget.  We didn't do anything extra special today.  We went to school, we went to work, we came home and had a pretty laid back Friday night.  But we had fun on that laid back Friday night.  Anna Claire went to bed early-she is getting a new tooth and is kinda grumpy!  Bradley went to pick up pizza and while he was gone me and Emma played hide and seek and chase.  She could wear me out in 5 minutes flat but it is so fun playing with her I just keep coming back for more.  We probably ran around the living room 100 times but I just kept coming back for more and she just kept laughing!

I love the picture below.  It may not be the best picture in the world but you can see how much fun she is having and it is written all over her face.  This was the moment she realized I was not lost while playing hide and seek.  

You may not be able to tell from the picture but here we were playing hide and seek and Emma's spot of choice was under the glass end table.  I have to admit it wasn't hard to find her-that also could have been because of the laughing-she is a pretty bad at hiding in that game.