Special Delivery: Beefy Enchiladas

In my group of friends, we like to have baby-buddies.  I say that tongue-in-cheek, because it's never planned, but as a happy coincidence there are usually two of us pregnant at the same time.  When I was pregnant, my baby-buddy was M, who was due a week after me, but had her daughter 5 days before Thatbaby was born (because everyone has their babies before me).  

More recently Horsewhisperer and Jurisslave were baby-buddies.  Both due in March.  But, in an uncanny coincidence, both gave birth in February.  I joked that their boys just couldn't wait to meet each other.  

Which means earlier this month I was running around, visiting babies and bringing food to my friends. 

Like orange cinnamon muffins, for quick one-handed breakfasts.

I love chicken, and it easily serves a grip of people, so I always like to bring a chicken dish to homes with a new baby.  Like this Cuban chicken.

Or this rosemary chicken.

With this warmer weather we've been having, a chilled soup makes a nice, easy lunch.  I thought the avocado soup would work well with the Cuban chicken.  And the strawberry soup is popular enough in my house that I wanted to share it with my friends.

One other trick I found when bringing over meals is to bring a special treat for the new big sibling.  Like chocolate chunk cookies.

Or cream puffs.

Or a berry-filled steamed pudding.

I love feeling helpful and bringing food to my friends.  It wasn't so long ago I was trying to balance adjusting to a new family member.  And although it was easier the second time around, it's always nice to feel taken care of.  When I make food, I will sometimes make a meal specifically for my friends, like the chicken dishes.  Other times, I take a meal we're eating for dinner at our house and double it.  Like the strawberry soup, or these enchiladas.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to make a ton of enchiladas?  It's a great thing to serve to a crowd, which means it's easy to make enough to feed 2 families.   They also freeze fantastically.  I made a set of these enchiladas for us, and a set for Jurisslave and her family.   You'll notice these are "undressed" which I prefer if you're going to freeze them.  Add the sauce right before reheating in the oven.

Beefy Enchiladas (From Guilt Free Weeknight Favorites)

 1 cup chunky picante sauce, divided

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 lb extra lean ground beef

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

5 corn tortillas

2 Tbsp chipped cilantro

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Spread 1/4 cup picante sauce in a 9-inch square baking dish, set aside.
2.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute bell peppers, onion, and ground beef until peppers are soft and beef is browned.  Drain excess liquid.
3. Stir in 1/2 cup picate sauce, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat; stir in half the cheese.
5. Stack the tortillas and wrap in wax paper.  Heat in microwave on HIGH 10 seconds, or until warmed.
6. Spoon 1/2 cup meat mixture down center of each tortilla. 
7. Top evenly with remaining picante sauce, remaining cheese, and the cilantro.  Roll up and serve.

New Year, New Friends:

We started the first weekend of the month by visiting with old friends.  Last weekend we spent with some new ones.

First up was a visit to the Ks.  There's a brand new Baby K and I couldn't wait to get to meet her!  Of course, I can never go to visit a family with a new baby empty handed:

 

Is anyone else just going nuts for fruit lately or is it just me?  I packed her a big bag with some winter staples - citrus, pears, and apples.   Along with some individual shepherd's pies.  Perfect for a quick reheat for dinner or lunch.  I did both the classic lamb,

 

As well as a turkey version (with redskin mashed potatoes).

And for some easy lunches, a loaf of bread and some chicken salad.

Chicken Salad

1 chicken breast, diced
1 quarter red onion, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Dash of hot sauce 

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

But we couldn't stay and visit too long, because we had important places to me.  Thatkid had a birthday party to get to!  Thrown by one of his new besties at his new school, Kragle.

And this party also marked an important first for Thatkid.  His first time at Chuck E. Cheese.

He loved riding the rides and playing games with his friends

 

And I found out that Kragle and Thatkid would be Vegas's dream come true as I watched them slide token after token into a machine.

The one new friend Thatkid was not a fan of was the mouse himself.  He became hysterical at the mere sight of Mr. Cheese, breaking down into tears and trying to throw himself from his chair during the birthday show.  He even bypassed pizza and cake in an effort to stay away from Chuck.  He still talks about the fact that he did not like "the real Chuck E. Cheese guy."

Baby Visit!

It's time to promote Jurisbaby to Juristoddler, because there's a new Jurisbaby on the scene!  A couple of weeks ago, the Juris family welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world.  And I know she's beautiful, because I got to see her on Sunday. 

As far as babies go, her entry into the world was much less traumatic than her older brother, and so far she's proving to be an easier infant.  Juristoddler is growing into his role as older brother as best as one can expect of a 2 year old.  Which is to say, there are still tantrums and hysterics, but they tend to occur during periods where any 2 year old would likely behave in the same manner.

Mr. Jurisslave went back to work on Monday, so I dropped off some food with them during my visit so no one would have to worry about dinners this week.

Black Bean Chili

 

Italian Beef

 

Chicken Stirfry

 As we were about to leave to see Jurisfamily, Thatbaby pointed to a tray of hermits we had made the day before and asked if we could bring "tookies to Jurisbaby."  So at the last moment, I filled a container with these molasses, raisin, and nut cookies.

Shower the People You Love with Love

We headed out of town this weekend for a very very important reason.  K1's baby shower!!!! When we met with them to tell them about my pregnancy last year the Ks confided that they had just started trying for a baby themselves.  After months with no success, the Ks planned an anniversary trip to Spain.  "You know what this means, don't you?"  I told them.  "Now that you've planned this trip, you're going to end up pregnant."  I love being right.

The Ks are expecting their little boy at the end of  April, so we all gathered this weekend to shower this beautiful mother-to-be with love and presents!

K1 is another one of those gorgeous pregnant women.  I mean, look at this picture.  With the present on her lap you can't even tell she's pregnant.  Which shows all her pregnancy weight is in her chest and stomach - the best places for pregnancy weight to be!

And in just a few short months, Thatbaby will have a new friend to play with!  We just can't wait.  I know they're probably equally as anxious although K1 thinks they're not ready.   I assured her that in just a couple more weeks she'll be more than ready to have that baby on the outside!

Sunday we spent the day catching up with friends and family.  I met up with a mutual friend who couldn't make it to the shower and filled her in on all that she'd missed.  Good thing I took a lot of pictures!  And then it was lunch with Thatbrother and UDubb.  All that running around town meant we got in a little later Sunday night than we were anticipating, but that's okay because I had dinner preparations all ready to go.

I love meal planning because when we get home late I can easily throw it together.  This was a weekend meal, but Sunday nights never feel like a weekend when you're trying to get ready for the upcoming week.  It comes together really quickly when you have cooked chicken all ready to go.

 Chicken Marsala Casserole

3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup hot milk

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of parsley
1/4 cup Marsala wine
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs

1. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan.  Slowly stir in the flour and heat until a paste forms.  Slowly stir in the hot milk.  Continue to stir and cook until bubbling.  Cook 2-3 minutes more.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350.  Heat olive oil and remaining butter in a new saucepan.  Add the mushrooms, onion, thyme, and parsley.   Cook until the onions are translucent.
3. Stir in the Marsala and remove from heat. 
4. Add the sauce from the first pan,  2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, and the chicken. Pour all of this into a casserole dish.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs over the mixture. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Bringing Up Baby

I'll readily admit it - "I don't know nothin' bout birthin' babies, Miss Scarlett." I also don't know nothin' bout babies in general. I have held a total of 2 babies in my entire lifetime. (And that includes my niece and nephew - who I have never held) Most of the time Thatboy has swooped in and held whatever infant we're with. He loves holding babies and he doesn't always trust me to hold them anyway.

I babysat when I was younger, but not infants. I'm a hit with toddlers and "kids" but babies are a whole different ball game. So the past month-ish Thatboy and I have been taking as many classes as we can to learn to everything about babies.

We started with Infant and Child CPR - which really is a good idea for anyone who is around kids. I haven't been certified since my babysitting days and it sure has changed!

Next came a 2 day birth prep class. Which was good for those of us who know nothing bout birthing babies. And those of us who wanted to see where it all takes place. We certainly appreciated the hospital tour which gave me a much better idea of what's going to happen.

Last week was breastfeeding, which felt like a ton of information in a very short amount of time. But alleviated a bit of fear and gave us some good resources.

This week was our last class - baby care basics.

A lot of my friends with kids rave about "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and apparently our hospital agrees since we got to watch excerpts of it in class - learning the 5 S's (swaddle, side, shush, swing, suck). Since we don't have a baby at home, we've been practicing with Thatdog. Who LOVES being swaddles, shushed, and swung. Guess he is our baby after all.

The classes were worthwhile, but time consuming. These were not the "date nights" I was referring to earlier. And it's nice to be done with them and have our evenings back. Because frankly rushing home from work, grabbing some fast food on the way over, sitting through class and getting home just in time to climb into bed is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

It also means I'm not getting nearly as much food in the freezer as I was hoping to do. I made up for it tonight! Since I didn't have to work late I could actually get some stuff done! Chicken tenders, lemon cake, and corn fritters all got made and frozen. Chicken pot pies in muffin tins are cooling on the counter. The muffin tins are perfect for freezer meals because you pop out what you need and defrost. But if you're looking for a homey, comfort meal for dinner, you don't need to worry about making individual portions - just go ahead, grab your pie plate, and load up.

Chicken Pot Pie
6 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
12 small cooked white onions
3/4 cup cooked peas
1 pie crust, unbaked

1. Preheat oven to 425. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour for 2 minutes until it's a thick paste.
   
2. Slowly pour in the broth, cream, salt and pepper, stirring as you add them in. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring till thick and smooth.
3. Put the chicken in a pie plate and cover with the sauce.
   
4. Stir in the onions and peas.
5. Put the pie crust over the top of the chicken and veggies and crimp the edges.
6. Cut vents in the top of the crust and bake for 30 minutes.
   

It's the Wood One

This weekend Thatboy and I celebrated our Fifth Anniversary.

Kinda. We had so many plans for this weekend that our anniversary was put on the back burner a bit. The fifth anniversary is the "Wooden Anniversary" perhaps to commemorate how solid you are if you've made it this far? We exchanged gifts the night before our anniversary so I wouldn't have to drag the GIGANTIC humidor up to Thatmom's for Thatboy to open on the actual day of. (See, cause a humidor is made of wood, so it fits. And Thatboy certainly loves his cigars). The day of our actual anniversary was filled with another big celebration in our lives - my shower.

Food, family, friends, I couldn't ask for anything more. And the guest of honor, who still has a little over a month to arrive, was properly celebrated. We have spent the past few days unpacking the boxes in the nursery so that there would be room for all the wonderful and generous presents.

Of course this means the boxes in the rest of the place have gone a little neglected, but that's what this weekend is for! Especially since many of those boxes contain books (an OBSCENE amount of books) so they'll be easier to unpack once we pick up a couple bookshelves this weekend.

In a couple of weeks, Thatboy and I will properly celebrate our anniversary, our last trip just the two of us! We're looking forward to beautiful scenery, delicious food, and some quality relaxation time. But until then, I leave you with a fabulous meal you can serve on a special occasion - coq au vin. Coq au Vin is one of those meals I am totally spoiled by. I first had it in Paris years and years and years ago. It is the quintessential French dish after all. And it quickly became my staple for French restaurants on this side of the pond (that's a British phrase isn't it?). And then I started making it at home. And I realized how easy it was and how much better it was. And now I can never order it out. So now it's your turn to make it. A direct translation is "Chicken in Wine." What's not to like?

Coq Au Vin
6 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup pancetta
10 small white onions
2 cloves of garlic, crushed with the back of a spoon
1 sprig of thyme, crumbled
3 sprigs of parsley
2 bay leaves
10 crimini mushrooms
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp brandy
1 cup red wine

1. Preheat oven to 275. Melt the butter and oil in large ovensafe pot. Brown the chicken.
2. Add the pancetta, onions, garlic, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, mushrooms, salt, and pepper.
3. This is the most funnest part. Have your spotter ready with the fire extinguisher just in case. Pour the brandy into a small saucepan and heat slightly. Now - LIGHT IT ON FIRE! (I use one of those long handled lighters for jobs like this.) Once that thing is flaming, pour it (still burning) over the chicken.
   
4. Pour the red wine over all , cover, and bake 2 hours.
   

Baby, Baby, Baby

Last year was a little slow on the baby front. I mean sure, I had a couple here and there, but spread through the year - not like in years past. 2008, 2009, there were babies babies everywhere. It seemed like every time I turned around, another friend was pregnant. But in 2010, it seems like most people took a break from making dem babes.

It looks like 2011 we're up and breeding again! I don't want to give out too much information, because after all, it's not my news to share, but starting in July I'm going to be inundated with wiggly little fingers and toes. And (I'm not fabulous at pregnancy math) but I think the year is not over yet! Some of my friends are expecting their first, some their second, and some have come a really long road to get to where they are. I'm so happy for all my expectant mamas!!!!!!

Now I know Thatmom is getting sick of shrimp recipes, so I promise something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT tomorrow night. But tonight? Well, my friend Branny was asking about sunchokes the other day. I LOVE sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) and was surprised that a lot of people had never had them anymore. And if you haven't gotten it by now, I love artichokes and shrimp together. So think of this as a sunchoke/Jerusalem artichoke recipe with a side of shrimp.

If you love artichoke hearts, than there is just no reason why you shouldn't like sunchokes. They're called Jerusalem artichokes for a reason people! It's because they taste just like artichoke hearts! But without the extra work or time. Think of them as "baby chokes" (see how I tied in my baby theme there? I'm just such a genius.)

Jerusalem Artichokes
1 lb Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
3 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

1. Wash and peel the chokes. Drop them in cold water with just a squeeze of lemon juice. Boil about 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, drain (like pasta). Slice in half and toss with parsley and butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Sauteed Shrimp (For that leftover parsley)
1 lb shrimp
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp parsley, minced

1. Shell shrimp, leaving tail on. Melt the butter in a skillet and add the shrimp.
2. Cook over high heat, turning shrimp until they turn pink (about 5 minutes)
3. Remove from heat and sprinkle with parsley.

Babes of Summer

As usual, my summer was just brimming with babies. But I'm not going to complain, because these were some VERY special babies.

First came a baby that wasn't so much new, but he was certainly new to me! As you may remember, the last time I saw Faye she was living in Italy and expecting a little bambino. And for the past year, I've watched Bambino grow more and more gorgeous (I know, he's a boy, but he is a GORGEOUS boy) through pictures. And when Faye and family moved from Italy to a whole 'nother continent, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I'd probably never meet Bambino till he was old enough to drive.

And then came one of the bestest emails ever. Faye was coming to San Diego for a WHOLE MONTH! The month of her birthday AND Bambino's birthday. I was going to get to meet Bambino!

And meet him I did. I was lucky enough to get several visits with both Faye and Bambino, including a lunch date with one of my other favorite mommies - L&J.

L&J brought her gorgeous baby boy also. (Seriously, these are some of the cutest babies ever.) And I was completely outnumbered. But in a good way. We went out for cupcakes after our lunch date which inspired L&J and I to get together to make cupcakes to celebrate Faye's birthday. (L&J introduced me to the best cupcakes in the world. Technically it's not her recipe, but they will ALWAYS be L&J's strawberry cupcakes to me)

But all good things must come to an end, and eventually Faye and Bambino headed back to their new home. Which brought us to another summer baby!

When we visited last Christmas, Thatboy's BFF Magski she let us in on a little secret - they were expecting! And her due date was the week of our anniversary! So we decided to plan our anniversary trip around the arrival of her first child. Which is one of the other reasons we chose Mendocino as our destination, because Magski lives in Northern California. Of course this meant we waited for the last minute to book everything because we weren't sure if we were going to be seeing her before or after our anniversary.

Little Ace didn't want to wait until our anniversary, he decided to show up on Magski's anniversary instead! When we got the text in the middle of the night that she was in labor, I turned to Thatboy and said "Umm - tell her congratulations and happy anniversary!" Once we knew Ace had arrived safely, we booked our trip so that we could visit Ace on his 2 week birthday - giving Magski and her husband time to settle in to a routine.

I seriously LOVE visiting new moms. LOVE. They have such a sense a zen. Magski seemed so happy and balanced - although a little stir crazy, it's hard to adjust to being in the house all day when you're as active as she is. She confided in me that she usually skips naps, because her only time to get out of the house for a walk is while Ace sleeps in his stroller.

Since we were coming from Mendocino we couldn't load Magski up with our usual assortment of new mom meals. Instead, we bought cookies! Because no one likes a woman who loses ALL of her baby weight within two weeks of having the baby.....(*cough*Magski*cough*)

Because not everyone likes chocolate, I brought these coconut sandwich cookies. These are good. REALLY good. Good enough where Thatboy thought maybe we should keep them all for ourselves.

And because other people DO like chocolate, these Reeses Brownie Bites. I've had these before made with peanut butter cookies, but they're extra rich when the reeses is in a brownie! Magski called her husband in from another room once she took a bite of these. I'd be surprised if they lasted through the night.


After our visit with Magski, we headed back towards home. As far as I know, Ace was our last new baby of the year, but you never know what 2011 will hold!

The last baby of 2009

On Friday, December 4, we welcomed Trois into the world. Trois is the third (and last) child of my friend Myrtle. Myrtle claims that Trois was the easiest of her three deliveries, by now she's a pro at this thing. I was thrilled that Trois arrived so early in December because it meant Thatboy and I could meet before our holiday travels.

I'd love to say Trois was delighted to meet us, but she seemed a little underwhelmed by the whole situation. Mostly she did a lot of sleeping. And cuddling with Thatboy. But who can blame her - wouldn't you like to cuddle with Thatboy?

Myrtle on the other hand was wide awake, and looking unbelievably gorgeous. She's been doing a lot of resting though and has some help from the family in dealing with her other two children, both of whom are in love with their new baby sister.

We brought over some food to help the family along, including some groceries Myrtle was running low on. Who would have thought someone could be so grateful for blueberries! And of course we had to bring presents for Un and Deux! (And maybe some alcoholic enjoyment for Myrtle and her husband)

Poppyseed Chicken (renamed "Un's Chicken with Ants"
...because there's nothing 5 year old boys like better than bugs. Except pirates of course)

Lentil Soup (or "Deux's Melted Crayon Soup")



Italian Wedding Soup (or Trois's Baby Meatball Soup)


Roast Chicken with aspargus and roasted potatoes (or Myrtle's Wee-licious Roasted Chicken)


Corn Bread (or Wonderland Bread)



Mr. Myrtle's Baby-Q Pulled Pork

And of course, Friday marked the first night of Channukah.

We spent the first night with Thatmom, Thatbrother, and UDubb sharing a dinner and exchanging gifts. It turned into the Thatgirl show since everyone wanted to shower me with gifts. YAY me!

We spent the second night with Thatmom, seeing a movie and having a dinner out.



Tonight we were back home in Thathouse, sharing gifts and eating latkes. We're just sooo predictable this time of year.

And our finished Christmas tree - presents and all:



Happy Channukah to all those who celebrate!