Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes
Servings: 4
Time: 2 hrs
Ease of difficulty: Easy
Variations: Add some garlic and/or ham
Source: Allrecipes

• 4 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 onion, sliced into rings
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.

Dear Michaels

The layout of the cash registers has been changed at this store and no one seemed to know which way to go. You're supposed to line up at one end near the doors but people were cutting in (and therefore "butting in" ahead of other customers) at the other end. Only one cashier was open and it took her a very long time to get through the orders. She was talkative and friendly but slow. The discount display bins were also placed really close to the lineup, barely leaving enough room for the carts to get through. Children were playing with said bins, and getting in the way. If you want to browse that merchandise, you have no choice but to block other customers trying to line up and pay to leave. This line up needs to be fixed. It makes me not want to go back to Michaels after years of only positive experiences.

Pineapple Grilled Pork Chops

This one is as easy as it gets, and I always have these staples in my kitchen. It's an easy go-to meal at the last minute.

Pineapple Grilled Pork Chops
Servings: 4
Time: 15-20 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Easy peasy
Variations: Use any cut of chicken
Source: Allrecipes

• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings, juice drained and reserved
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 pork chops
• 1 pinch ground black pepper 

Mix together the drained pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic powder together in a large plastic zipper bag, and smush the bag a few times with your hands to mix the marinade and dissolve the sugar. Place the pork chops into the marinade, squeeze out any air in the bag, seal it, and refrigerate overnight. Reserve the pineapple rings. 

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate. Remove the chops from the marinade, shaking off excess, and grill until browned, the meat is no longer pink inside, and the meat shows good grill marks, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Brush several times with marinade and let the marinade cook onto the surface of the meat. Discard excess marinade.

While the meat is grilling, place 4 pineapple rings onto the grill, and allow to cook until hot and the slices show grill marks; serve the chops topped with the grilled pineapple rings.

Heat Wave

The entire province has been hit. Hard. This week has been record breaking. I just looked at the weather online (below) and as you can see, it is still 33 out there, at 5:30 pm. With 67% humidity - down from 80% earlier today - it feels like 47. 47! For my American friends, it's 91.4 and feels like 117! I know that some of you down south are used to extreme heat but this is a little much, and the humidity is unbearable.We're sitting in our 30 degree house because it's just too hot to take Addison outside today. It's not supposed to let up for a while yet either.

This is what Toronto looks like now:

We're going there this weekend. Hopefully we can find something to do to beat the heat. To anyone who's reading this, keep safe and stay cool!

Dear Selfie

Selfie moderates her comments so I'm posting mine here in case she doesn't put it up:
I understand that you still want to look good after giving birth, and that you'll do anything you can to look good during your pregnancy. However, what's more important is continuing to have confidence about your body after you give birth. There's no way of knowing how your body will react and what you will look like post-partum. Some things are out of your control. I was 107 lbs at 5'5 when I got pregnant, and I had a hard, muscular stomach that I was proud of. During pregnancy I gained 35 lbs and didn't see a single stretch mark until 41 weeks (my daughter was nine days late). She's almost nine months old now and I'm currently 93 lbs but my stomach is not anything worth bragging about. No stretch marks in sight but there is still extra, wrinkly skin, and a c-section scar below. You know how I feel about it? Awesome. Really, I do. I thought I would care about this stuff but I really don't, because I have a happy, healthy baby. I still work out and eat well. I haven't "let myself go," it's just out of my control. I'm still me, but this is my new body. This is my Mom body. I think you'll read this some time next year with a smiling baby in your lap looking up at you, and laugh at how silly this post is. There are more important things in pregnancy and child birth than stretch marks and flat stomachs.

PS: I'm still rocking all of my bikinis!

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Lemon Rosemary Chicken Bake
Servings: 4
Time: 40-50 minutes
Ease of difficulty: Easy peasy
Variations: Use any cut of chicken
Source: Sparkling Ink

• 8 chicken legs
• 1 lemon
• 1 pound (450 g) potatoes
• 10 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• fresh rosemary
• coarse salt & pepper
• glass of dry white wine

Put chicken legs into a roasting dish. Cut potatoes and lemon into wedges. Add in the wedges and peeled garlic cloves. You can half some of the largest cloves. Add in olive oil, coarsely chopped rosemary, salt and pepper and toss until all the ingredients are evenly coated. Pour in a glass of dry white wine. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 40-50 minutes until tender, fragrant and beautifully browned.

Angry face

Addison does this all the time. It's hilarious. We call it her "angry face" but really she'll break it out when she's happy, sad, mad, excited - any time, really. Some people give dirty looks. My kid goes all out.

I am slowly going crazy, 1-2-3-4...

 5-6-Switch?

Seriously. CRAZY! We haven't figured out what's been going on with Addison lately but she's been SCREEEEEEAMING for a week straight. She's pulling on her ears and screaming so hard she often forgets to breathe. It's that scary 'okay you need to make some noise now' cry. I spent Saturday and Sunday at my mom's trying to get her dress done for Ryan's upcoming wedding, and it was torture. She wanted up, but as soon as someone would lift her, she'd cry to get back down. Rinse, repeat. I was spent by the time Sunday was through, the dress was not finished, and it is only starting to get better as of today. So. Stressful. It doesn't help that she's crawling at top speed and pulling up on everything. That means you can't leave her in the room and do your own thing anymore. Someone has to be watching her every move. She wants to be in on the action and often forgets to hold on with two hands, or gets too excited, and falls down. It's not fun.

The doctor checked her out and ruled out most common infections. I'd like to blame her teeth but she wasn't like this at all with the two teeth she has now, and there are no signs of others coming in any time soon. I just don't know what's going on. Someone just make her feel better and stop crying. Please!

She woke up this morning in a considerably better mood and we decided to go for a drive. Now that swimming lessons are over (sad face), we're looking for things to do to keep her happy and occupied. Why not go to Bon Echo? We spent the day there, and it was beautiful. 30 degrees, sunny and clear. It was the perfect day for her first trip to a lake/beach. We all had fun and she slept the whole way home.

 

In the water with Daddy

 On the beach with Daddy

 Going in the water with Mommy

I can't believe Ryan's wedding is less than a month away. Unfortunately, that means Isaac goes back to work that soon too. I don't know how I'm going to do this again without him full time!

Splashing in the pool

Slowly decorating my blog

As I've said in the past, I'm pretty bad at keeping up with my blog sometimes. I get busy or just plain forget. Lately I've been learning more of the ropes of Blogger, so I'm trying to add more and more little touches. At the top of my page now is a blue bar with tabs for my goals and books I've read this year. On the top right side beneath my picture is a Pinterest button. Follow me!

More changes to come!

What else have we been up to?

That last post was getting a little long, so I thought I'd break it up into two.

Isaac's brothers are both back in Toronto. They finally got jobs (yay) and moved to the city last month.

Addison experienced her first Canada Day, though we avoided the fireworks in town. On Friday we went to Mike's for a BBQ after her nap. Meg, Brandon, Meg's parents, Ange's family, and some of Mike's friends I'd never met were all there. We played horseshoes, soccer, and baseball, and had a BBQ. It was pretty tame, and nice. We left around 9, got Addison ready for bed, and called it a night. No fireworks for us this year.

On Saturday we went to Angela's for a big baby date. She and I met in pre-natal classes and got together with some other girls from then as well. All of the babies were in good moods for the most part. It was pretty funny to see them all interact because they're doing all different things, even though everyone is pretty close in age. The babies were Kennedy (4.5m), Olivia (5.5m), Grayson (7m), Addison (8m), and Carson (9m). Kennedy's older brother Aiden (3y) came as well. We had a BBQ and played outside. I can't wait to do it again! (Unfortunately, for some reason, NO pictures were taken! All those babies, and no pictures. *sigh)

Addison started swimming lessons in town on July 4. It's adorable. There are only three in her course but I know the other two babies so it's fun. So far (all of two classes) she's really liked it. She smiles and splashes. I had tried to wear a bikini but ended up with a tankini ($10 score at Old Navy!) because she can really scratch up my chest when she wants to. I'm more comfortable with a baby in the water when I'm covered up.

Going down the ramp

All the way in

Kick, kick, kick!

Mastering the breast stroke

"Jumping" in (One boy, Dylan, learned how to jump in on his own

and decided that was all he wanted to do at each class.

 

Relaxing on the noodle and playing with a ball

My brother came over unannounced for a nice little visit lastnight. It was great to see the girls. I can't believe how big Hannah is getting! 14 lbs to be exact! Morgan's walking all over the place now. It's great

Hannah

Morgan

Addison and Morgan

Morgan and Addison

Addison just got up from her nap. Time to go!

Here we go!

I admit it. I'm a terrible blogger. If I had to come up with an excuse as to why I'm too busy and forgetful, it would be my darling daughter. Addison is off to the races.

On June 17 her first tooth finally popped through. I say "finally" because the doctor had been so sure she was teething a while back. Her gums got red and hard (and clearly bothersome) but nothing popped through until now. She had been extra fussy and getting over a cold (related?) and then bam! Isaac noticed a sharp little triangle of white sticking out of her gums one afternoon. Unfortunately that very night she took a big tumble as she scooted around and hit her face hard enough for her mouth to bleed. I called the doctor and kept an eye on it, and all is well now.

We had a yard sale the next day with the neighbours. Addison got to hang out with the 2 1/2 year old girl next door, Arianna, so that was fun. We got rid of some stuff and gave the rest to Value Village last week. It's nice to clean house!

That Monday (June 20), she officially started crawling. It's the funniest thing you'll ever see, but it's 100% crawling. She knows what she's doing but sometimes she'll lift a limb off the ground for no reason and hop along. She likes getting up on her toes, in a plank position, as well. When she gets too excited she'll stop or fall over. It didn't take her long to learn that she could do this and now she doesn't really stop. We're hard-pressed to get her to sit down these days. She wants to be on all fours, and just go, go, go! The words most often heard around here these days are "No, that's Daddy's Xbox." It's her favourite! We need to baby-proof ASAP, which will include finding a new home for the Xbox, games, and movies. They're not contained enough for her right now. It's a challenge, that's for sure.

Continuing the milestone week, she started babbling "mamamamama" and clapping within days later. It's SO cute! On June 29, on the way to Ottawa with Grandma and Grandpa G, I noticed her second tooth popping through. It's been a busy time for this little girl!

Addison and I had a successful trip to Ottawa with Isaac's parents to see his cousin Cherise. We just hung out at her place for a bit, had lunch, went to my old work to see some old co-workers, and then headed home. She was pretty good for most of the trip. Got a little fussy near the end but we stopped for dinner and she was good to go again. She sleeps so easily in the car, which is great.

I think that covers the big stuff she's been up to lately. She started pulling up on everything last week, so she's definitely keeping us busy. I'll try and write more soon, but I need to head to bed. Tomorrow is her first swimming lesson! I swear I'll get caught up here one of these days!

Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas

My favourite vegetarian meal

Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas
Servings: 4
Time: 45 min - 1 hr
Ease of difficulty: Easy, but time consuming
Variations: I grated up the last carrot I had in the fridge and mixed it in with the zucchini. I did not use cilantro or chilis in adobo sauce. I replaced kosher salt with table salt, and Sargento cheese with cheddar or marble cheese (whatever I had in the fridge)
Source: Skinnytaste

• cooking spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 medium scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 medium zucchinis, grated
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated reduced fat mexican blend cheese (Sargento)
• 4 Large La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortillas
• chopped scallions (optional)
• chopped cilantro (optional)

Enchilada sauce:

• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (optional for more heat)
• 1 cups tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup fat free vegetable broth
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the enchilada sauce: in a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chile, chili powder, cumin, broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium nonstick skillet, sauté garlic and scallions in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup cheese; mix well. Divide zucchini between in each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce (you might not use all) and remaining cheese and bake until hot and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

Serve with chopped cilantro, scallions, and reduced fat sour cream if you wish. Enjoy!!

Blog Challenge: Day 25

Your favourite day: Taking Addison home

Obviously her birth was amazing, but it was also long and scary. I had a Foley, and was scheduled for an induction at 41 weeks and 2 days. My water finally broke on its own but 13 hours later I ended up with a c-section. It was not the birth I had anticipated, and I was in a great deal of pain for quite some time. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to take her home, after a five day hospital stay. No more nurses poking and prodding. No more doctors asking 1000 questions. No more crappy hospital bed/pillow/blankets. No more hospital food. My favourite day was when I could relax in the comfort of my own home with my boyfriend and newborn daughter.