Halloween Wreath 2013

How did I not have a Halloween wreath?  Maybe I do and my pregnancy brain has made me forget about it, but I decided to make one today anyways.  All part of nesting, right?  I didn't exactly feel like buying anything for my wreath so I had to come up with something I could make from the stuff I already had- I do have a whole closet of crafting goodies.  

First I wrapped my wreath in orange, black, and lavender yarn.  I liked the lavender to lighten it up a little.

I was going to make one that looked like it had a witch crash into it so I started to make a tutu, but it didnt look right so I made a tutu spider web....

And added a spider, and tada!

Finished it in about 30 minutes including figuring out what in the world I was doing :)  My neighbors are already putting out decorations so I left it on the door.  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Katie's New Balance Beam

We clearly don't have enough to do around our house so today we decided to make Katie a balance beam to practice on between gymnastics visits.  She was practicing on the cover for our mini blinds or the cement wall outside our house- both weren't the best options.  Now she has a little beam for our family room. 

Dan nailed some 2 by 4s together

Stapling the pleather suede to the new beam

Trying it out.

Katie's doing tricks

She can stand on one foot

She did an amazing somersault on the beam and stayed on and can hop across the beam.  So much fun.

Pregnancy Freezer Meal- Chicken Pot Pie

I think I am actually getting into this whole making two meals and freezing one of them thing.  Tonight's Chicken Pot Pie was easy and so good.  Katie and Dan helped a lot so we got two pies whipped out super speedy.

Katie helped me peel the potatoes and carrots

Then she decided she was pooped and needed a snack. This is why my house is never clean and there are random pieces of bread everywhere!

Making the inside

yum.  note to self.  If you plan to actually serve this dish, you should wait until it cools so it holds its form better

Ingredients (Makes 2 pies- one to eat and one to freeze)

• 2 cups diced peeled potatoes

• 1-3/4 cups sliced carrots

• 1 cup butter, cubed

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1-3/4 teaspoons salt

• 3/4 teaspoon pepper

• 3 cups chicken broth

• 1-1/2 cups milk

• 4 cups cubed cooked chicken

• 1 cup frozen peas

• 1 cup frozen corn

  2 packages (14.1 ounces each) refrigerated pie pastry

• Directions Preheat oven to 425°. Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, covered, 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender; drain. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in flour and seasonings until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken, peas, corn and potato mixture; remove from heat. Unroll a pastry sheet into each of two 9-in. pie plates; trim even with rims. Add chicken mixture. Unroll remaining pastry; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in tops. Bake 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Yield: 2 potpies (8 servings each). Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked pies. To use, remove from freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Preheat oven to 425°. Place pies on baking sheets; cover edges loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°.

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Last night's dinner was this braided spaghetti bread :)  I'm not sure this was any easier then just making spaghetti and french bread seperatly and took longer, but Katie got a kick out of the bread, and when it is dinner time, sometimes pleasing a 2 year old is worth a little extra effort.  Plus it looked impressive if you were having kiddos over for company at dinnertime. 

What you need:

- Spaghetti (we used less than half a pack)
- Spaghetti Sauce (by all means, make your own if you want- at 8 1/2 months pregnant, Preggo is good enough for me)
- Italian Sausage or whatever meat you like
- Refrigerated bread dough- we used 2 Pillsbury french brad loaves.  (again you could make this)
- Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan 
- Egg
- Garlic Salt
- Olives, Mushrooms, Peppers (all optional)

What to do:

Cook spaghetti, add cooked sausage, sauce and any other things you like in your spaghetti.  Roll out the dough.  Plop spaghetti on top. Put chunks of mozzarella on top. Cut slits in your dough and braid them together.  It doesn't have to look perfect.  Brush some egg on top and sprinkle on some garlic salt and Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (or what your bread dough calls for)

Adding some extra cheese

Ready to braid the dough

Katie loved helping with this meal

Then brushing the egg on top

being silly while it bakes

looks good enough to eat.

 
 

Pregnancy Freezer Meal- Easy Lasagna

Part of our preparation for Levi's arrival is to make and freeze as many meals as we can so we have something delicious to eat even when we are pooped!  Tonight we made a super easy lasagna recipe and ate one for dinner and froze one.  This is so much better than the artificial junk you buy in the freezer section and one of the easiest lasagnas that I have made.

What you need (double if you want a freezer one too)

• Nonstick cooking spray for the grater
• 12 ounces mozzarella cheese, in 1 or 2 chunks
• 26 ounces store-bought marinara sauce
• 1 pound no-boil or fresh lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 a pound to a pound of Jimmy Dean sausage roll.  We used one pound for two, but you could easily use more for a bolder taste

 What to do:

•   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook your sausage and lasagna noodles if you cant find the no-boil ones.
• Spray the large-holed side of the grater with nonstick cooking spray (this step makes semisoft cheeses easier to grate). Grate the mozzarella.
• In an  8 1/2 by 11 inch baking pan, spread a layer of marinara sauce. Cover with lasagna noodles, followed by layers of the ricotta, grated mozzarella, sausage and more sauce. Keep layering to fill the pan, ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with marinara sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.
• Bake for 35 minutes, or according to the lasagna box directions. Let cool for 10 minutes, then serve hot.  (NOTE: If you are going to freeze it, cover it with wax paper and two layers of tin foil instead of cooking it.  Make sure to label it and put the directions for cooking.  Defrost over night and cook as above or until bubbly)

49er Fudge (peanut butter white chocolate)

Made some yummy fudge for the 49er game last night against the Seahawks- at least we had something yummy to eat while we lost.

Ingredients

For the Fudge:
• 3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cup white chocolate morsels
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 7oz jar marshmallow cream
 
For the Drizzle:
• 1/2 cup peanut butter morsels, melted

Instructions

1. Line a 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or foil. Set aside. This makes very thick fudge.
2. In a large saucepan, heat granulated sugar, butter, salt and heavy cream until combined. Bring to a ROLLING boil and stir continuously for 4 minutes (set your timer)!
3. Remove from heat. Quickly whisk in white chocolate, marshmallow and peanut butter (I usually put these ingredients in my kitchen aid and whisk them for about 1-2 minutes). Pour fudge into prepared pan and refrigerate for 3 hours, until hardened.
4. Remove from pan, remove lining. Cut into bite sized pieces. Drizzle with melted peanut butter, melted chocolate or both! Allow to set, about 20 minutes. ENJOY.

Pumpkin Muffins

Dan and Katie planted pumpkin seeds in the backyard earlier this year and we got our first pumpkin last week.  We were going to save it for Halloween.  To get ready for the baby shower I put it on top of the TV and accidentally cooked it a little so we decided we had to use it ASAP.  We baked it in the over for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees with dinner one night and tried to figure out what to do with it after that.  While they were out playing I decided to whip up some pumpkin-apple muffins- oh so good.  I love everything pumpkin for Fall.  We even managed to freeze 6 of them for when Levi comes.

The Recipe:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 ½ cups sugar  
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Several sprinkles all spice
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups fresh baked pumpkin (I guess you could use canned stuff too)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 sweet apple finely chopped and peeled

 

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Fold in apples.  (I put the eggs in last so I can taste the mix and make sure I like the spices before baking).  Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.