Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween!

10/24/12

10/24/12

A few weeks ago

Tuesday Tastes: Baked Potato and Salad

Sometimes after a weekend of eating food like this...

Breakfast at Tupelo Honey 

Wedding Food: Fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and bacon; S'mores cupcakes

...you're still full on Monday night and just want something like this:

Baked Potato How-to:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Separate two oven racks in thirds.  Line the bottom rack with aluminum foil or a baking sheet to catch drippings.  

Scrub potatoes.  Poke holes all over with a fork.  In a bowl, cover potatoes with EVOO and salt.  Place on center of top rack and bake for about an hour and 10 minutes.  

Top with whatever you like. Eat the peeling for better nutritious value!  

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tastes: Pesto Shrimp Pasta

This meal cooks quickly and is very easy to prep!  My sister found it here and passed it on to me.  Ray loved it (except for the tomatoes...he's weird about textures), but it wasn't my favorite.  Next time, I would use bigger shrimp and less pesto.

Pesto Shrimp Pasta

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp*
1 pint cherry tomatoes
12 oz pasta (I used angel hair)
1 8-oz jar pesto
1/4 bunch fresh parsley**
salt and pepper

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta (3/4 of 16 oz box)
• While the water is coming to a boil, heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat.  While the pan is heating, mince the garlic and then add to the pan.  Cook the garlic just until softened and fragrant (1-2 minutes).  
• Turn the heat on the skillet up to medium high and add the shrimp (thawed, drained).  Saute the shrimp and garlic until the shrimp are fully cooked (about 5 minutes).  They will be pink and not transparent when fully cooked.  
• While the shrimp are cooking, rinse and slice the tomatoes in half.  Once the shrimp is cooked, add the tomatoes.  Season the pan with salt and pepper and continue to cook until the tomatoes start to break down just slightly (about 5 minutes).  
• Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet along with the jar of pesto.  Stir until everything is evenly coated with pesto.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

*I bought frozen, cooked shrimp, because I didn't want to have to take the tails off;  but, it would probably be better to use medium or large shrimp.  You can use cooked or uncooked.

**I bought this, but didn't end up using it. 

One thing I do wish I had done was prep everything beforehand (cutting the tomatoes, mincing the garlic, thawing the shrimp, etc.).  I felt like I was making the biggest mess and rushing to do everything!  

Throw some bread in the oven and save a little pesto and olive oil to mix together for dipping.  This was my favorite part of the meal, along with my glass of cabernet sauvignon! 

Wordless Wednesday

Got milk?

This counts for tummy time, right?

She loves learning about animals on the farm...

Maybe she'll be a cowgirl!

Jumparoo we bought from a neighbor

Our gangsta boo! ;) 

Tuesday Tastes: Papa John's Deal

This isn't a recipe, sorry!  But, it's a tasty deal.  Anytime NC STATE wins a football game on Saturday, you can make an online order from Papa John's and get 50% off on Sunday.  Promo code: Wolfpack.  Ray and I did this when we beat Florida State last Saturday!!

We got it in the last few seconds!! 

Monday Must-Haves: Boon Grass Drying Rack

I love my Boon Grass countertop drying rack.  It's cute and extremely practical.  The bottles we use have several different parts, so after I wash and rinse them, I leave them apart and stick them in the grass.  Nothing ever falls onto the counter or floor.  It's so easy to clean, too.  The bottom part comes off and I just rinse and dry from time to time.  Definitely a must-have!!

I registered for it at Target

Fun Friday

Last night we went to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at the Orange Peel here in Asheville.  It's a great venue and we loved seeing her there! It was our first night out on the town post-baby.  My friend, Jordan, babysat for us and she did a great job! Raleigh went to sleep at 7:15 and slept through the night.

We went to Barley's to grab a bite to eat before the concert.  We'd only been to Barley's for drinks, but after the pizza we ate last night, we will definitely go more often for the food!  I got the Catawba Valley Farmer Ted's Farmhouse Cream Ale to drink. SO good!

Rayland Baxter opened for GPN. He was pretty good! Ray described him as a country Jack Johnson.

Here are a couple clips of GPN that I captured, but you must get some of her music! She's amazing!

We definitely felt like parents while we were out.  At dinner we kept talking about Raleigh.  While we were at the concert, I kept texting Jordan to see if RK was still sleeping.  It was a very successful night out, though - we had a blast!! 

Tonight, it's game time...

We will be watching it on TV, but if they win tonight we will be headed to Atlanta for Monday's playoff game!! 

Thursday Thoughts

Why I Stopped Encouraging Students to Become Teachers

I wanted to write a more thoughtful post on this article, but baby girl hasn't slept a wink today!  I'm just going to leave it at this...

I hate to say that I agree with what this guy has to say.  It's pretty disheartening.  However, I will continue to teach--or at least work in a school--to nurture children and be a part of that safe and secure environment so many kids don't have at home.  I love trying to make school a place where kids enjoy going every day. I love forming relationships where the kids have someone in whom they can trust and on whom they can depend.

Wordless Wednesday

My sister, Anna, and her two little ones (+ one on the way!) visited for a little while last Saturday.    

Raleigh & W

Sweet E!

Anna and Raleigh

W did such a great job with Raleigh!

Kisses

Monday Must-Haves

When we first brought Raleigh home, she was supposed to sleep in the bassinet of her Pack & Play.  That was the plan.  Reality: She wouldn't sleep more than an hour at a time in it, so she mostly slept on my chest in bed.  I wasn't getting much sleep, but it was easy to BF that way.  Bring in the Aden & Anais swaddle and the Rock 'n Play.

At first, she didn't like to be swaddled at all.  She would fight her way out of it every time.  But, whenever I used the Aden & Anais swaddle blanket that my sister gave us (Raleigh's first gift!), she wouldn't get out of it and she even liked it.  These blankets are large, breathable, and have a lot of give.  I also learned how to swaddle the right way: left arm, LEGS, right arm.  Before, I would do the arms and then twist and tuck the bottom part behind her.  Wow.  A good swaddle works wonders, especially for my active baby! You can find Aden & Anais blankets in packs of four at Target, but they aren't the best quality.  I have found that Raleigh prefers the one that my sister bought me (from a boutique in Charlotte) and the ones she just recently loaned me (also bought separately).  I'm guessing that the company makes them two different ways or something, so that they can have two different price points.  One more thing to add, I use two blankets for Raleigh!  The second blanket doesn't have to be an A&A one for her to sleep well, but it just ensures that she won't break out of the swaddle.

The Rock 'N Play is perfect.  It's almost bed level, so I just put it beside the bed; when she woke up, I didn't even have to get out of bed to pick her up to feed her.  Now that she is sleeping through the night, we usually let her fall asleep with us while we watch TV in the living room.  Then, Ray will carry her (still in the RNP) upstairs to her nursery.  She loves it!  It's very portable.  You don't have to take anything apart as it just folds up.  That way, when we go places, she's still sleeping in the same thing she has at home.  I know soon I will have to start putting her in the crib, so I hope that transition goes okay!

Raleigh Kate sleeping in her Rock 'n Play, swaddled in her Aden & Anais blanket.
My nephew giving her a kiss!