Merry With Children: January 2008

What's Cooking Wednesday - Pasta with Herbed Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes

>> Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Pasta with Herbed Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes

• 12 ozs uncooked pasta (we prefer spaghetti or bow tie pasta)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp minced garlic
• 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 4 ozs garlic-and-herb-flavored goat cheese, cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp. salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt and fat.

While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook 2 minutes more, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth and cook 1 minute.

Drain the pasta well and place in a large serving bowl. Add the goat cheese, basil, salt and pepper to the pasta; stir until well-blended.

Add the tomato mixture to the pasta mixture; toss gently to combine and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe Notes: I don't even measure for this recipe anymore. It's pretty forgiving if you have a little more or a little less of something. I have also added chicken and/or mushrooms to this on occasion. I also often use leftovers as a side dish for dinner the next night. It is quite yummy!

Don't forget to go see Shan and see what else is cooking this Wednesday!

Meet Moscar 2

>> Tuesday, January 29, 2008

When Dewey was a little boy, he had a sock monkey named Oscar. When he would talk about it he would say "My Oscar" so fast that it eventually became Moscar. I decided that Evan needed a Moscar so I made him one. This is my first sock monky project. It was easier than I thought it would be. I used the tutorial found here. Moscar 2 isn't perfect...his eyes are too far apart & his smile is crooked but I think he's pretty cool all the same. Hopefully Evan will like him.

In case you didn't know....Evan turned 7 months old yesterday. He is getting to be such a big boy. Plus the time before I go back to work is getting shorter and shorter. We are desperately trying to figure out what to do about childcare for him but we are still at a bit of a loss. Hopefully we'll figure it out soon. Here's a pic of my little "big boy" wearing an adorable hat given to us by our friends Pat & Jill.

Evan Cuteness (with some Nicole cuteness thrown in)

>> Sunday, January 27, 2008

Okay, so I'm not feeling the blog-love tonight so here are some pictures to tide you over. The first two are of Evan trying to figure out how to sit up. It helps when I leave him alone. When I say "Evan look at Mommy" so that I can take a picture, he topples over (as can be seen in pic 2).

Sewing Project of the Day - Wallet with Snap

>> Monday, January 21, 2008

So I FINALLY went to the fabric store yesterday (and today) so I have a new sewing project to share. It's my first one so it's a bit wonky. I tried to add my first snap ever & I didn't get it in the middle. I also placed the bottom part of the snap a little off kilter so it looks wonky. Oh well, still pretty good for my first try I think. Not sure what I'm going to do with all my "first try, slightly wonky" things. If you get anonymous things in your mail that look slightly wonky....it could be from me. :)

Okay, so I should have gone to bed after I finished the wallet above, but Nooooooo. Here's the next one I did. This one even has a zipper. Yeesh. It's about half the size of the other one.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Mini Meatloaves

>> Wednesday, January 16, 2008

I am not a huge fan of meatloaf but Dewey likes it. When this recipe appeared in my inbox care of Allrecipes & it had been rated 5 out of 5 by 513 people, I knew I had to try it. Both Dewey and I LOVED this recipe. It is extra good when served with mashed potatoes.

Mini Meatloaves from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup ketchup
1/4 packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

I added: 1 carrot shredded, 4 fresh mushrooms diced & 1/4 of a medium onion diced.

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats & salt. Add the ground beef (and carrot, onion and mushroom), mixing well. Form this mixture into eight miniature meatloaves. Place these in a lightly greased 9X13 baking dish.

In a seperate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf.

Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes.

This recipe gets 5/5 for both Dewey and I. I recommend making the mini meatloaves because it allows a higher sauce to meatloaf ratio which is key. :)

Excuse the hideous picture. I promise this meal tasted way better than it looks.

For More "What's Cooking Wednesday" fun, go to where it all started & visit Shan, our very own Fairy Blogmother.

Evan's First Haircut

>> Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I know, I know, his hair was cute just the way it was BUT it was getting a bit ridiculous. His hair in the front hung in his eyes and he would get pretty annoyed with it. Also, I was a little tired of hearing "What a cute little GIRL!!!". Yep, my cute little girl dressed all in blue. Yep. So today we headed down to a hair salon geared to kids called Beaners. They were super nice and we were in and out in no time. They even saved some of his hair for me in an envelope and we will get a certificate to commemorate his first haircut next time we visit (they were out today). Evan was mostly good during the haircut though he was tired of it before she was done. All in all, I think it is very cute though he doesn't look like my little baby anymore. Every time I get a bit misty thinking about it, Dewey reminds me that Evan will be my little baby forever....no matter how long or short his hair is.

Swimming

>> Sunday, January 13, 2008

Today we went to the VRRI in Calgary to go swimming. It was Evan's first time in a swimming pool. Winter swimming was definitely something new for me when I moved to Calgary. In Alabama (at least where I lived), the swimming pools were all outdoors and were only open in the summer. Here in Calgary you are actually MORE likely to go swimming in the winter as most of the pools are indoor and heated. The VRRI is widely known in the kids under 2 set as the warmest pool in Calgary. Perfect for Evan (and for me b/c I am a big fat weenie about being cold). We also had Will and Nicole for the weekend so we packed up our swim stuff and headed over there. Other than being really, really crowded it was great. We stayed for about an hour and 15 minutes. Evan didn't get chilled (and neither did I). He LOVED it. We will definitely be going back.

Today's Sewing Project

>> Thursday, January 10, 2008

Tonight Dewey went out to dinner with work friends so I decided to try my hand at a new sewing project. It kind of blew my plan of going to bed at 9:30 but oh well. This is an apron made from a vintage (read old) pillowcase that I got from Value Village for $.99. You can't really see it very well, but there are two pockets with flaps. I will probably add snaps or buttons to the pockets but that will be for another day. It's kinda fun, kinda funky, kinda loud but I like it. I guess it doesn't really matter that I don't use aprons. That's beside the point really. Anyway, just thought I would share. I used the tutorial here to make this.

Look What I Made!

>> Saturday, January 05, 2008

So I finally made it to the store to get supplies so I could sew something on my new sewing machine I got for my birthday. I found a tutorial on how to sew a purse from a placemat on craftster and here's how it turned out. I think it's kinda cute. What do you think? (This is the part where you COMMMENT on my blog....ya know...so I know you care)

Can You Believe It????

Evan was 6 months old on December 28th!!!!!! That's right 6 months, half a year....I just can't believe it! In just 6 short months he has wrapped me around his little finger and made me forget what life was like before he arrived.

Evan, Mommy loves you so much!!!!!

Christmas Pictures

Here's some pictures that we took over the holidays.....enjoy! For a little background, Will and Nicole came to visit the weekend before Christmas and stayed Friday night & Saturday. Nana and Papa Don were here for Saturday and then they came back on Christmas Eve. They stayed with us until Boxing Day. We picked up the kids on the Friday after Christmas and headed out to the farm. We didn't come back to Calgary until January 2nd. These pics are mostly in chronological order. Roll over the pictures to see descriptions.