Friday Favorites December 8, 2012

TGIF! Look where “Peanut” was this morning…sitting on top of our Advent Calendar! Keenan was very happy that she was not playing with his toys and back by the couch!

Enjoying the view from the Advent Calendar!

Anyhow, I’m glad it is Friday, but anxious about tomorrow: my first real CrossFit competition! I didn’t sleep well last night in anticipation for it and I know tonight isn’t going to be any different. I am going to go there tomorrow and do my best, give it 100% and have fun (at least try to!) At the end of the day, I know I will be glad that I competed, but I will also be VERY relieved! My husband and I are planning a special “at home date night” tomorrow night with a truffle brie cheese that we picked up at Costco, as a little reward for competing; I can’t wait!

On Sunday, I’m looking forward to a nice relaxing family day of finishing up our homemade Christmas gifts, baking and looking at Christmas lights in the Fab 40’s neighborhood of Sacramento (such a great place to look at lights!). I can’t wait to see Keenan’s reaction to all of the lights!

Since it is Friday, it is time for “Friday Favorites!” I love Fridays, because it is nice to look back on the week and think about all of the great things that happened and great things we ate! Don’t get me wrong, I love that Fridays also equal the end of a long week and the start of the weekend, too!

Favorite Moments:

• Singing with Keenan in the car to the song, “Someone I Used to Know” at the top of our lungs! He loves that song so much that we have to play it at least twice when we are driving (if he had his way all the time, we would ONLY listen to that song!).

• Baking Paleo Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies with Keenan. As I was adding the chocolate chips, he was taking them out and shoveling them into his mouth!
  

  My little “Baking Assistant!”

• Watching Keenan find “Peanut” every morning and trying not to laugh when he gets so irritated that she is playing with his toys.

• Playing with the box of baby wipes!
  

  Having fun with his empty box of wipes!

• Dancing with my husband and Keenan to Christmas songs and playing “Ring Around the Roses!”

Favorite Eats:

• No Oat Oatmeal with spinach and topped with Coconut Whipped Cream
  
  

  So good!

Serious about his No Oat Oats and Coconut Whipped Cream!

• Paleo Pancakes topped with Coconut Whipped Cream
  

  Such a yummy breakfast!

• Cauliflower Rice (Mediterranean Style)
  

  Such a hearty one-pot meal!

• Turkey Wraps
  

  Still one of my favorite things to have for lunch!

• Slow-Cooker Eggplant Caponata with Chicken
  

  Delicious one-pot meal!

Keenan is waking up, so it is time to head outside for a walk while Keenan rides his trike and then some piano time playing Christmas songs! Have a great evening and weekend!

Questions: What were your favorite moments and/or eats from this week? Do you ever get so nervous for an event/race that you wonder why you signed up in the first place? How do you calm your nervous energy and tell yourself you will be fine prior to an event and/or race? I am a competitive person and have always loved competition, but every time before an event, I get SO nervous! Even though I know things will be okay in the end, I can’t stop feeling anxious.

REMINDER: There is still time to win a box of the BEST popcorn EVER!! Angie’s Popcorn giveaway ends next Tuesday, December 11th at 8 p.m. PST!! Click here to enter!

Cauliflower Rice and a typical Wednesday August 22, 2012

As promised, here is the recipe for the Cauliflower Rice that I made for dinner last night. It was good, though a little on the mushy side, since I accidentally pulsed the cauliflower a too long in the food processor. Also, I don’t know what it is, but during and after eating Cauliflower Rice, my husband and I always feel really warm and start to sweat. I don’t add any hot chili peppers or many spices, so I’m not sure what causes it…weird! If you make this recipe, let me know if you experience the same thing! Since I add meat to this dish, it is a perfect one-pot meal!

The line-up that went into the Cauliflower Rice.

Cauliflower Rice (Mediterranean Style): (serves 4)

– 2 heads cauliflower

– 1 red onion (diced)

– 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts (chopped)

– 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (chopped)

– 1/2 cup kalamata olives (sliced in half)

– 4 Italian sausages (diced) or 12 oz. of chicken (chopped)

– 2 cloves of garlic (minced)

– 1/4 cup feta cheese

-2 Tbsp olive oil

– 1 tsp Italian seasoning

– pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Wash and chop cauliflower. Place in a large microwaveable dish and microwave on high for 7-10 minutes (until steamed).

2. Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil and garlic. Next, add chicken or sausages and cook until browned (a few minutes).

3. Add onion and cook until softened.

4. Once cauliflower is steamed, place into a food processor and pulse, until it is the consistency of rice (you may need to do this in two batches). *Make sure not to “over pulse” it, or the cauliflower will become mushy when cooked.

5. Add cauliflower, sun dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes. Cook until cauliflower becomes browned.

6. Divide rice amongst four plates and sprinkle feta cheese on top. Enjoy!

Cooking it all together.

The finished product!

On to today: Happy Hump Day! This week seems to be flying by, which is leaving me with not enough time to get everything done for Keenan’s birthday party on Saturday, EEK! I still haven’t decided on what kind of cake I’m making. Since Keenan’s party is all about his “favorites,” I thought I would make a peanut butter chocolate pie or cake, but now, I’m not sure. He loves ice cream so much (especially ice cream cones), so now, I am thinking about doing a peanut butter ice cream cake. I’ve been looking at different recipes, but I haven’t found anything that I really like. Also, I need to make something that I can frost with whipped cream or cream cheese, since I’m decorating the top of the cake/pie as Elmo’s face (using red and orange m&ms). I’m getting a little stressed since I only have a couple of days (my husband thinks I’m crazy, since it’s only Keenan’s 2nd birthday, but I just want things to be nice and delicious, too!). If you have any suggestions and/or recipe ideas, please let me know!

This morning, Keenan woke-up at 8:00 a.m., whoohoo!! It was SO nice to sleep-in, but we had swim class, so we had a very rushed breakfast (and no coffee for me!) to get out the door on time. Keenan was all about being a “Firefighter” this morning, so it was like pulling teeth to get him dressed and ready to go. But, we made it (though, we were a little late, as usual).

Our little Firefighter!

After class, we ran some errands at Target and Michaels for Keenan’s birthday, which took FOREVER! Why is it that when you are in a hurry, the sales associates move SO slowly when you are just trying to check-out and go? It was like everyone who worked at Target and Michaels today was in slow motion!

Anyhow, once we got back to the home front, I made Keenan a turkey and cheese sandwich on a sandwich thin with a piece of torta and some nectarine. He was so hungry that he inhaled everything in less than 10 minutes! I think swimming took it out of him! After he finished, I gave him a little piece of my mom’s banana bars that she gave us on Monday. These bars are like heaven…moist, dense and delicious (with a cream cheese frosting)! For my lunch, I had my “typical,”  a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mustard on a sandwich thin with baby carrots and a nectarine. After re-evaluating my eating habits last week (after we got back from Alaska), I’m trying to pay extra attention to my portions and protein amounts, since I put on a few pounds. I’m hoping these few pounds will come off sooner, rather than later!

After lunch (and after I put Keenan down for his nap), I made myself an iced coffee, since I didn’t have a chance to make my latte this morning. It was SOOOO needed! Well, we are off to CrossFit this afternoon. Yesterday’s WOD was short, sweet and brutal: 100 double unders (which I’m still trying to master after several months of doing CF), 50 air squats and then max ring pushups in 6 minutes. I’m curious about today, since it is “gymnastics day,” my favorite!

For dinner, we are having country style (boneless) pork ribs (most likely grilled) and grilled eggplant with a balsamic vinaigrette. Have a great rest of your day!

Organizing your life August 21, 2012

Have you ever been on an organizing or cleaning kick where you don’t feel your life is settled until you re-organize/purge things in your house? For some reason, I have been on an organizing streak lately, specifically to make room for Keenan’s new things, i.e. his IKEA table and free up additional space in our house. I don’t feel I can function at my best, until I get everything organized (I know my husband would roll his eyes, but it’s true!). As Keenan is getting older, it seems we have less “liveable” space, so I want to make use of the room we have, without it feeling cluttered. We have lived in our house for almost 5 years and some of our closets haven’t been touched since the day we moved in, so they are definitely due for some re-organization!

This morning, after breakfast (having our “usual”, of course), Keenan and I played with Play Doh at his new table and then we headed upstairs to organize. I sorted through all of his toys and put the ones he doesn’t play with anymore in a box to store in his closet. It was funny, as soon as I was putting the toys away, he immediately “needed” to play with them (even his old teething toys from when he was a baby)! He was such a goofball today; he wanted to “hangout” in his crib with several of his books, toys and critters, while I was sorting/organizing his things (I wish I had a picture of it all)!

Making ice cream cones!

Anyhow, I’m relieved, because my mission for today was accomplished. I finished organizing his room by lunch time and now, I only have our guest room closet to do! I feel somewhat better now that Keenan’s room is complete. Now, we just have to convince my husband’s parents to store the rocking chair and lamp (what we used when Keenan was a baby) in their storage container, until we need it again when we have a second child! I wish we had the extra space to store everything, but it is amazing how much stuff you to start accumulate when you have kids! For those of you who are parents, how do you manage to store everything (especially if you plan to have multiple children) and/or keep things organized?

“Hiding” in his old toy box, before folding it and putting it away!

For lunch, Keenan requested his favorite (once again), a peanut butter and honey sandwich, but this time, I made it with my mom’s leftover (from yesterday’s picnic) beer bread and blueberry honey from my mother-in-law. He enjoyed his sandwich so much that it was everywhere! I had a piece of leftover fried chicken (I figure my last piece of fried goodness for a LONG time!), a small piece of torta and carrots. It hit the spot! There is something really satisfying about eating a drumstick.

Making a peanut butter mess (even in his hair)!

My lunch, YUM!

After Keenan’s nap, we head to CrossFit ( I wonder what today’s WOD includes) and then home for dinner to make Cauliflower Rice, such a good dish! I am making it Mediterranean style with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts and an onion with feta cheese. Look for the recipe tomorrow! Have a great afternoon!