It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

Saturday started out VERY early for us.  Thatbaby woke up at 3am because he was sick.  He was sick all over his crib.  Poor baby.  We got him cleaned up and back to sleep.

He seemed okay that morning and we had a lot planned for the day.  Writing it off as maybe dinner disagreeing with his stomach, we pressed on.  On our way to drop my car off for routine maintenance, Thatbaby decided to show that it was not just a dinner disagreement.  He showed it all over the back of my car.  Poor baby.  When we arrived at the mechanic, I took baby duty - changing him into clothes that weren't covered in vomit, while Thatboy attempted to clean the car and carseat. 

Our plans for the rest of the day were revamped. He fell asleep on our way home, so we decided to take a slight detour to pick out our tree.  He stayed asleep while I transferred him to the baby carrier (Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without that thing) and we weaved through a forest of evergreens until we found the one.  Thatboy paid and had them hold it for us and we all headed home.  Then Thatboy headed back out to pick it up while I bathed the baby.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out at home and doing our Christmas decorating. 

 

Our tree is officially baby-proofed.  It's anchored to the wall and the bottom branches are filled with Thatbaby-friendly ornaments.  He especially loves Thatdad's plastic-mini Disney character ornaments which he takes off and carries around.

Being home all day meant I could make a more elaborate dinner than I've been making recently.  A dinner that requires hours of cooking, not in a slow cooker.  And since Thatbaby wasn't going to be joining us in solids, I could make something suitably spicy.  I love braised meats - cooked low and slow, the tender meats fall from the bone and practically melt in your mouth. 

Chile braised short ribs   

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1.5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups beef broth

1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

juice of 1 lime

1 chipotle chile in adobo, chopped

1.  In a large ziplock bag, combine salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and coriander.
2. Add the ribs to the bag and shake to coat the ribs.  Marinate in the fridge overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 and heat oil in a large pan.  Brown the ribs on all sides and remove from plate.
4. Reduce heat and add the onions and garlic. Cover and let simmer until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add broth and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits.
6. Add tomatoes, lime juice, and chipotle chile.
7. Return the ribs to the pan, bring to a boil, then cover and transfer the pan to the oven for about 1 1/2 hours. 
8. Remove pot from oven and place stovetop over medium heat.  Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Take Good Care of My, Baaay-bee

Can I whine for a bit? All that running around the past 2 weeks has taken it's toll. Last Thursday I got hit hard with whatever it is that seems to be taking San Diego by storm. It's something upper respiratory which leaves me coughing like an emphysema patient. On Friday I knew it must be bad, because my coworkers started giving me little hints like dropping off cough drops on my desk and saying things like "Hey, I think maybe you should head home."

Saturday added insult to injury when I managed to get awful sunburn on JUST my left forearm. How does that even happen? And speaking of burns, can I tell you about yesterday, when I leaned over the angel food cake pan as I was inverting it and managed to burn the bottom of my chin on the searing hot pan.

Obviously this little bug is affecting my ability to take care of myself. Which brings me to my "habit I'd like to break," this week's topic for Eat.Live.Be.

I know, I bet you thought I forgot about Eat.Live.Be. It has been 2 weeks. Anyway, my super bad habit is not taking good care of myself when I'm not feeling well. Especially with upper respiratory stuff. I'm fairly good about drinking loads of fluids, but not so good at taking it easy. I'm trying to do better now. I've even taken off from running since Friday. Which is killing me. But I think I need the extra fifteen minutes of sleep. And maybe the added exertion isn't exactly what I need right now. And there will be plenty of time for running later, right? What I need to do though is stop piling so much on my plate right now. Not a good time for it at work, but maybe when I come home I need to put my feet up more. (Have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to Thatboy being healed?)

At least I've been working with some super easy dinners this week and last. Super easy dinners that involve picking up some pre-cooked meat from Trader Joes and using it to create meals that are ready in minutes.

Mushroom beef and peas
2 slices of bacon, cooked till crisp.
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 lb mushrooms, cut in half
1 cup cooked peas
3/4 cup cooked beef (I use the roast sirloin from Trader Joes)
1/2 cup gravy
2 Tbsp red wine
salt

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until onion is soft.
2. Add the beef, peas, gravy and wine and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Add salt to taste and sprinkle with bacon.
   

Next week's topic is how to stay healthy on a budget.

And here are a list of the other bloggers participating:

• Sarah - www.sarahscucinabella.com
• Cate - www.sweetnicks.com
  
• Maris - www.ingoodtasteblog.net
• Chris - www.melecotte.com
• Faith - www.clickblogappetit.com/
• Kristen - www.dineanddish.net
• Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/
• Jenna - http://stopdropandblog.com/
• Joanne - http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/,
• Casey - http://www.thestarnesfam.com
• Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
• Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
• Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/
• Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
• Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
• Leslie - www.thehungryhousewife.com
• Rivki - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
  
• Claudia from Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
  

BONUS!

Today was a day of bonuses...

It started with a bonus trip to the doctor! Because once in a week isn't enough for Thatboy OR I.

Then came the week I've been waiting for since the beginning of the year - Clinique Bonus Time! I ran out of my facial cleanser and have been holding off on buying my fave - the rinse off foaming cleanser until bonus time rolled around.

I love how gentle this stuff is on my face. I love how foamy it gets, because we all know that foam = it's working. And I love how it doesn't smell. I just want something clean, not floral, not fruity. Not on my face.

And of course I had to pick up some moisturizer while I was there.....

Cause if it ain't broke..... This isn't my winter moisturizer, it's too light. But I got it anyway in the hopes the weather will warm up a bit and I won't need to coat my face in a thick protective layer of lotion.

And the bonus is totally amazing. I have to say, in general, I like the bonuses because they give me loads of travel goodies, which is good since I do tend to travel a lot, even if it's just up and down to Thatmom's house and back. The cosmetics bags they come in, however, usually go right under the bathroom sink because they're kinda tacky. Not this one! It's so cute!!!!!


And I'm equally as jazzed about the contents - there's a redness reducing mineral powder I'm just dying to try, and the mascara that makes Thatboy say "Woah...are you wearing mascara?" and an oversize tub of some new skin refining moisturizer with SPF 20.

Because I "preordered" my bonus items, I even got a bonus bonus! It's another cosmetics bag that's not nearly as cute (going right under the sink) a mini-mini bag which will just hold some powder, lip gloss, and mascara and fit in just about any of my purses, and two samples of their Fresh Bloom Allover Colour in Almond Blossom.

How flipping gorgeous is this powder? I am SUCH a sucker for embossed/designed powders. There's something so retro and elegant about them. And the almond blossom color is a gorgeous tawny bronze. I always forget to use bronzer, but my friend Teseract considers it the quintessential makeup item.


And of course a peek at what Thatboy and I are getting for dinner....mmmmmmm...



Except, without the yummy sandwich....and not THIS baked potato. Because THIS baked potato is coated in butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Our baked potato doesn't get any of the good stuff, just a little butter so we don't choke on it on its way down.


But, because I love y'all so much - here's another bonus. This one's for you! Another great Valentine's Day recipe. Well, another great anytime recipe that can be used for Valentine's Day. I'm not sure why, but I love the idea of steak for romantic dinners. There's a reason carnal derives from the Latin word for "meat" or "flesh."

Italian Crusted Roast Beef
1/2 Tbsp seasoned salt
1/2 Tbsp basil
1/2 Tbsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground pepper
3 Tbsp pinenuts, chopped
2 Tbsp parmesean cheese, grated
1 tenderloin roast (1-2 lbs)

1. Preheat oven to 425. Combine seasoned salt, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, pepper, pinenuts, and cheese in a small bowl.
2. Rub the pinenut mixture over the roast, and place roast in roasting pan. Roast 40 minutes, or until meat almost (but not quite) reaches your desired level of doneness. Pull it out when it looks just a little too pink for you.
3. Transfer roast to your cutting board and tent with aluminum foil. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Sharing is Caring

So "stay in bed Sunday" may not have been the best idea. Remember how I mentioned Thatboy wasn't feeling so hot? Well he went to see the doctor on Monday, and on the way I sent him a little love message:

TG: So, I'm thinking you may have been right about this being a virus. And I'm thinking you may have passed it along.

About an hour later, I got a reply.

TB: The doctor thinks its bacterial. He gave me an antibiotic and told me I'm contagious, so to be sure to wash my hands.
TG: Hey contagious - did you tell him you've already passed it along to your wife?
TB: Sorry, didn't get your text in time.

On the plus side, he did bring me home flowers......

So now we're both fighting some intestinal distress. My doc wasn't as quick to throw antibiotics at me, so after some testing, we should have a pretty good idea of what ails us. Until then we have a very exciting meal plan made of bananas for breakfast, rice and applesauce for lunch, and eggs and toast for dinner. Not terribly blogworthy. And our non-eating activities aren't exceptionally blogworthy either, so I'll head back to the archives for a treat, just in time for Valentine's Day.

I'm a huge fan of red velvet cupcakes year round, but they're especially fantastic for Valentine's Day, because they're...well, red! Thatboy shares my love, so you'll have noticed in any cupcake post, you'll usually spot a red velvet as one of our selections. We know where all the best are in San Diego, although we don't agree on a favorite. I prefer the oversized, perfectly coiffed cupcakes from Daily Scoop. Thatboy likes the super sweet minis from Elizabethan Desserts.

Because we love red velvet cupcakes so much, I thought it would be an important recipe to have in my arsenal. I mean, I've done the Sprinkles mix route, but I'm one of those snobs who thinks everything is better when it's not from a box. Or a tube. Bridget has done a fantastic job of comparing several red velvet cupcake recipes, this uses some of her notes on the different recipes to create what should be the world's best red velvet cupcake. Well, it may not be the best, but in my humble opinion it's pretty damn good. So share it with someone you love.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2.5 sticks butter, softened

1 cup + 2 Tbsp sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 bottle red food coloring

4 tsps vanilla

8 oz cream cheese

16 oz confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat 2 sticks of butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Add eggs to butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, beating well between additions.

4. Mix in 1 cup sour cream, milk, food coloring and 2 tsps vanilla.

5. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into cupcan pan, filling each cup 2/3 full - I use my 1/4 cup measuring cup for this.

6. Bake 20 minutes or until done. Cool completely before frosting.

7. While cupcakes are cooling, beat cream cheese, remaining butter, sour cream and vanilla until light and fluffy. Slowly add in confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. When cupcakes are cool frost!