Busy

 I'm not sure why, but I feel like things have been extra hectic around here lately.

We've been doing some more house hunting.  Which is stressful.

My 4-year-old had some kindergarten readiness testing done at preschool.  The results were less than desirable.  Which stressed me out more.  I am debating whether or not to give him "the gift of time" and wait one more year to start. 

He has also started T-Ball.  Practice is twice a week.  It's fun, cute and he seems to really enjoy it.  But taking 3 kids to the baseball field and trying to keep them all focused has proved to be a challenge in itself.

Luckily there is a park there so I can keep the two little ones entertained.  The hardest part is keeping my 1-year-old off the field.  They both want to run the bases with the big kids.

We were also dealing with another water leak.  What was supposed to be a 3 day fix, turned into almost 2 weeks. 

To my surprise, these lovely little flowers were beginning to bloom on our peach tree out back. 
I love pink.  And I love flowers. 

Even though we had such a mild Winter, I am happy to see some signs of Spring. 
Things are hectic, yes, but exciting all the same. 

Romanesco Broccoli

Our latest CSA box came with lots of yummy greens.  Swiss chard, broccoli, romaine lettuce, celery, and of course, carrots, apples and oranges.



And there was this...

This neon green, spiky, strange looking mixture of a vegetable.  At first, I thought it was just a bunch of cauliflower that was maybe picked too soon.
So I put it away in the fridge, wondering if we would actually eat it.

 After a little more research, I found out it is actually called Romanesco  Broccoli.  It comes from Italy and is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber, and carotenoids.

I have a ton of regular broccoli and plan on roasting it tonight using this recipe.
Maybe I will mix them together and give it a try.

Steak and Bok Choy Noodle bowl

Usually when we buy Bok Choy, I use it as a side dish.  I cook it up in a large pan with some garlic and olive oil and serve it with steak or fish.

I wanted to do something different this time, but I was having a hard time finding a recipe that I totally loved.

So, I just used this one from the Food Network web site, and adjusted it to my needs.

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp of ginger root (I used the kind that is already minced in a squeeze tube.  Best invention. Ever!)
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms (again, just for the ease, I used pre-cut mushrooms)
• 1 medium bok choy, rough chopped.
• Salt and pepper
• 1 quart chicken broth
• a couple of scallions, cut into small pieces.  
• Noodles ~ I chose Soba.  Really, you could use any type of long noodles.
• Steak ~  The ribeye was looking good this evening, so that's what we grilled up.  (my man isn't a huge shrimp fan, so that's why I really changed this recipe to steak)

Heat up a nice big pan and add the oil.  Toss in the garlic, red pepper, ginger,  & veggies.  Season with S&P.  Cook that together until the Bok Choy is tender.

Add the chicken broth and heat it up until it comes to a boil.  Add the noodles and cook for about 5 mins.  Add a handful of scallions and let it all simmer for another few minutes.

My husband is in charge of all things BBQ, so he put the steak on and cooked it till it was about medium.

That's it! 

Serve the sliced steak over the noodle mixture.  I also added a little sauce on my steak, but it was not even needed.  (1/3 cup of ketchup and 2 Tbs of Hoison sauce mixed together).

I felt like this was a quick, easy and delicious meal.  

My husband loved it.  

Even my 1-year old ate it up!

 

Zuppa Toscana

This is a recipe, found on Pinterest, inspired by Olive Garden. 

(you can find the original recipe here)

I had to find something super yummy to do with this huge bunch of beautiful Kale.

Have you ever had Kale before?? 
See the amazing nutritional value here
I didn't know much about it, except that it was used as a garnish in a lot of the restaurants I used to work at.

Since rain was in the forecast for the weekend, I decided soup sounded perfect.

I love that this is a one-pot meal.  Although, I didn't realize that until I had already started cooking in the wrong size pot.

Start by cooking up some Italian Sausage.  I used mild flavored and skipped the Red Pepper.  I was hoping the kids would try some and didn't want to make it too spicy.
Once the sausage is browned, put it aside and add the next 3 ingredients.

Onion, garlic and a few strips of Bacon, chopped up.

One whole white onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and about 4, okay, 6 strips of bacon.
 Let the onion soften up and the bacon get nice and crisp.

Add 10 cups of water (here's were the large pot comes into play)
and 5 cubes of chicken bouillon.

Let the water come to a boil so the cubes can dissolve.

Throw in about 3 large Russet potatoes, sliced.  Let them cook for about 30 minutes.
I also added Kale at this point, so that it would have plenty of time to soften up.

Since I had suck a large bunch, I decided to make a side of Kale Chips too.

It's a quick, easy and tasty snack.

Simply chop up a handful of leaves with the stems removed, and toss them in a bowl with a little olive oil.  Add a small amount of sea salt and bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 375°F.
My kids actually ate this.
Green, leafy vegetables.  My two-year old said it tasted like french fries.
Score one for mom.

Back to the soup...
Once the potatoes have softened up, add one cup of heavy cream and return the sausage to the pot.

Heat thoroughly and serve with some warm, crusty bread!

I have to say, this soup was SO good.  I am actually looking forward to having leftovers and I don't say that too often.

Kelly's Kitchen

So, as I posted earlier, I have been on a mission to eat better.  This means cooking a lot more and incorporating a lot more veggies into our meals. 

The husband, of course, is right on board with this.  Any time he doesn't have to cook, he is happy.  For the first few years of our relationship, he did most of the cooking (by his choice).  Now that he is becoming more and more busy with work, I have been making more and more of an effort to become a better cook.

Once again, I have Pinterest to thank.  I don't think I am quite as obsessed with this website as I was when it first came out, but I still look at it everyday. 

(sorry for the bad phone photo)

We also started getting our CSA boxes last week.  The first week had Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Bok Choy, Romaine Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Oranges and Fuji Apples.

The kids were so excited to see all of the fresh produce and I explained to them how each item grows.  Even though they didn't want to taste everything, I think its a good way to get them excited about veggies.

(another bad phone photo)

This week we have Carrots, Lettuce, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Cilantro, Kale, and more Apples and oranges.

I'll be sure to post some recipes of what I'm making, so be sure to check back soon.

Happy New Year!

 I am so looking forward to 2012.  

I never really make resolutions, but I do have a few (typical) goals in mind.  

Definitely need to start eating better.

I signed up to get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box.  

We will be getting farm fresh, organically grown produce once a week.  I plan to make our meals based around whats delivered to us each week.  I really want to get away from processed foods. 

I know we won't give it up completely (my kids love their mac n' cheese), but I hope to cook with more veggies, more often.

I need to start working out more.  

I do exercise, but I mean, I need to make more of an effort to actually work out! My body is just not the same after birthing 3 kids in such a short time.  It's not like I ever had rock-hard abs before kids and I don't feel bad about myself, but I just want to tone up a bit.  

All over.  

I want to be more creative.

Thanks to the wonders of Pinterest, I have been seeing so many wonderful  "how to"s.  Time to dust off the sewing machine (or maybe invest in a new one).

Learn more about my camera.

My 365 project has come to a close, but I still have SO much to learn about taking photos.  I need to figure out my Photoshop Elements.  So complex!  I will try to sign up for some type of online class or something.

Have more ME time. 

It's not that I don't love spending every minute, of everyday with my kids.

I do.

I just need to make more time for myself.

Since we don't have a lot of help from family, I don't get a lot of time away from my kids.

I joined a Book Club a few months back.  I can't tell you how excited I get to go to our meetings (Even if I haven't finished the book) .  It's just once a month, for 2-3 hours, but I just feel so refreshed when I get home.

I also joined a Bunco group for this upcoming year.  So excited for this one too.  

A small group of girls, once again, getting together once a month, just for a few hours.

Other interesting things that will be going on this year...

-Andy will be getting a promotion (fingers crossed) and moving up to Engineer.  

-Hopefully we will be buying a new house in the next few months.

-Owen turning 3 in March, starting preschool in the Fall.

-Connor will be turning 5, FIVE, in May, finishing preschool and starting Kindergarten in the Fall. 

-And of course, Molly will be 2 in September.  

Wow, where does the time go?

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! 

 

Salt Dough Ornaments

Once again, Pinterest has me thinking I can be all crafty.  I saw a cute photo awhile back with salt dough ornaments.  

I figured it would be easy enough to make something like this at home.

My boys love doing crafts.  Especially the little one. 

He is all about painting/coloring/decorating anything he can get his little hands on.

I found a recipe online that couldn't be easier.

1 cup of salt

2 cups of flour

1 cup of warm water

Mix until it forms a dough and then roll it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Cut out any shapes you desire.

Put them in a 200 degree oven for 4-6 hours, or until they are nice and hard.

(Then quickly take them out again when you realize you forgot to put holes in the top so you can hang them)

Once they are all cooled off, you can either paint or color them with markers.

And if for some reason, you cannot find any paint brushes, Q-Tips work just fine!  

I still plan on making one with all of our family finger prints. 

I think it will be a cute keepsake for our tree.