A Farmer and Ballerina

Happy late Halloween!

I'm not the biggest Halloween fan. I guess I'm not really a costume fan. I'm definitely not a fan of being scared. I get scared watching Desperate Housewives because of a murder recently committed on the show.

Anyways, I'm glad it's over.

However, I did run into a cute farmer and ballerina last night.

When we got home from a little Halloween party, we turned off all the lights and got in bed by 8. I don't even like giving candy to trick-or-treaters. You can judge me if you want, but I really don't care.

And tonight, because I don't have to hide from trick-or-treaters, I'm cooking with butternut squash for the first time. I'm making this dish out of last month's REAL SIMPLE. It is tortellini with butternut squash, mushrooms, and fontina.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Now it's November. So you don't think I'm a snob about all holidays, Thanksgiving is one of my favorites, and I embrace turkey and dressing with open arms and an empty stomach.

TGIF

HAPPY FRIDAY!

May your weekend be as fun as a baby in an exersaucer!

My First Apple Pie and a Cockatiel

Nick does not enjoy sweets. He doesn't even like chocolate. In spite of this flaw, I still love him. He sometimes enjoys strawberry cake or strawberry ice cream. The only other dessert he likes is apple pie.

I like to make desserts,especially chocolate ones. And I'll admit that I can eat a whole pan of dessert all by myself.

Anyways, during all my dessert making, Nick asked me several times to make an apple pie. I avoided it for a while because I thought it would be difficult. However, I found a Paula Deen recipe that was easy and delicious.

For recipe click HERE. I did not make my own crust. I bought a frozen packet of 2 crust.

I used four Golden Delicious apples, but three would have been enough. I peeled them with a vegetable peeler and sliced the apple around the core. Then I tried to slice the apple into even pieces.

Next, I poured the lemon juice over the apples and added the apple sauce. Then I combined the apples with the flour and sugar mixture. (click on link above to get exact measurements)
While chopping and mixing apples, I pre-baked one crust for about 8 minutes. Just follow the directions on crust packaging.
I piled the apple mixture in the crust. Like I already said, I used four apples and the pie was overflowing, but it all worked out in the end. Don't forget to dot with butter. I forgot and had to do it after the lattice was on the pie.
This pie called for a lattice top. Since Paula made her dough, she had plenty left over to create the lattice. To make my lattice, I let the other pie crust thaw. Then I cut it into strips.
It wasn't perfect. But it looked fine once cooked, and it tasted great!
Follow directions for crunch topping and sprinkle on top of pie.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 45 minutes. I put mine on a baking sheet because I knew there would be any overflow of goodness.
Let sit for about 15 minutes, if you can stand it, before cutting.
After I made it, I was worried Nick wouldn't even eat any. But don't worry, this pie was gone within 48 hours of taking it out of the oven. And no, I did not eat it all this time.

Now on to my cockatiel.

I've mentioned Millie's mohawk, but she has also been referred to as looking like a cockatiel. I think Captain Steve was the first one to mention this. Well this morning, I got some good shots of the cockatiel in bed with me this morning.
And no, I did not style this. It is her natural bed-hair.
What animal does your child look like?

Happy 1st Anniversary of My 25th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to myself!

Because it's my birthday, I made these.inspiration from pintrest

Click here for ingredients and instructions.

I made these before and did not really like them. I think I over cooked them, and they were dried out.

So this time I added in an extra layer of Nutella.

Scoop a little dough into the cupcake papers. I like to use this melon baller. I use it more for baking than for melons. Then I put a few table spoons of Nutella into a zip-lock bag and cut off the corner of the bag.
This made it easier to get the sticky stuff onto the cupcakes.
Cover it with more batter.
Then added more Nutella. I swirled the Nutella with a bamboo skewer. Don't swirl too much or it will become more like a Nutella clump on top of the cupcake. Bake for 20 minutes. Do not over bake. When edges start turning brown take them out.
They were much tastier this time around. And because it is my birthday, I had one at the start of my lunch.

Today, my sweet husband got me these beautiful flowers.
And because I've been complaining about clothes not fitting post-pregnancy, he also gave me this perfect gift. And this precious has been good all day until I took her to the doctor for her 4 month appointment. She is one healthy child (thank God) weighing in at 15 pounds. She got really upset after those 3 shots in her thighs. But she has now been asleep for almost 2 hours. This must be her gift to me.

And just because it's my birthday, I went to SONIC on the way home from the pediatrician's office. I know you're jealous.
My birthday has been great so far! Thanks for all the calls, text, facebook posts, and gifts!
I hope you have a good birthday, whenever it is.
A SONIC drink and sleeping baby always makes it better.

Mondays and Soup

Happy Monday! I enjoy Monday mornings. It means getting back to routine. Back to regularly scheduled TV, dishes, and laundry. Mondays are a day to recover from a busy weekend.

This busy weekend started with Millie's first trip to Auburn.

We tailgated and got home in time to watch the game on TV.
We enjoyed the victory along with a bowl of Mexican soup. Mexican soup is not to be confused with taco soup. They are two different soups.
For the first time I cooked with frozen veggies. This saved time, effort, and dishes. I love using fresh ingredients, but it can be trouble sometimes (especially when a lot of chopping is involved).
Recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup click HERE. You don't have to cook chicken breast to get shredded chicken. I used some strips that were in my freezer. Cook with what you've got!
I also like this recipe because it uses tortilla strips to thicken the soup. Once it's cooked, they look like noodles.
I topped my soup with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips. I think some fresh jalapeno would be good too.

This weekend I also added a little color to one white wall in Millie's room.

white wall
white picture frames

white bed

All the white has been bothering me for a while.

So I painted the frames pink.
It brightens up the wall a little bit.And just because it's Monday, and I think she's precious, here are some photos of Millie. Hope you have a good Monday, even if you're not a Monday type of person!