I’m around…but I’m nesting! Here’s a little snippet from the bebe room. This goes over his crib 😉
Contemplating all the meals I should make ahead & freeze. Got any ideas?
i’m still here!
the “reveal”
For all of you that know me…it’s obvious why I wouldn’t like this kitchen right? I am a high contrast- B&W with bold colors type of person. I am not a warm tone….autumn colored person. I consider a panda my “power” animal for obvious reasons- because not only are they cute, but they go with EVERYTHING!
(excuse the mess above…hubby took the picture…right before he took off all the cabinets….he doesn’t have an eye for these things)
and now we have the AFTER!!!!!!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(cute plate purchased over at www.frecklewonder.com–thanks jenny!)
Please believe me when I say that I am an aficionado when it comes to Oatmeal Raisin cookies!!!! I LOVE them!!! They are simply my all-time favorite #1 cookie. I would take one over ANY cookie…ANY day…Well…maybe if you put a huge chewy ginger molasses cookie in my face I might be tempted…
I was flipping through this month’s issue of EVERYDAY FOOD. They have a lot of the side dishes that I marked to try. Not a lot of the main dishes tempted me cuz we don’t eat pork chops in my household. Never have…Never will. The last page was OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES. HOLY SCHNITZEL. They were calling my name! I looked through the recipe and saw that I had EVERYTHING I needed to make them with. How awesome is that? Don’t you love it when that happens?
So below you will find the recipe. It’s really simple & classic. I am amazed that there wasn’t a whole stick of butter because they taste SOOO buttery. YUM. I confess that I prolly ate about 10 of them. What can I say? My baby likes them too. He gets that from his momma. I hope you try these because I know they will be a hit for you! Next time I might add some nuts to see how it goes.
Happy cookie making!
xoxoxo
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Recipe- from EVERYDAY FOOD
-1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
-1/2 cup all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt (i actually made it 1 whole teaspoon because I love sweet/salty cookies)
-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
-1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl whisk together oats, flour, raisins, baking soda and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixers, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until combined. Gradually add oat mixture; beat just until combined.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown but still soft. (12-16 minutes) Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet; transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe makes about 24.
Indian Carrot Salad
Loved this one! So crispy, smokey and refreshing!
Peeling the Carrots:
Dressing Assembly:
Up close & personal with the dressing:
Last night’s dinner!
Serving it up!
My plate:
Indian Carrot Salad
-1lb. carrots peeled (use multi-colored for extra prettiness)
-1 teaspoon cumin seeds
-3 shallots or 1 small red onion, peeled (I used a red onion)
-1 lemon, zested and juiced
-1 heaped teaspoon freshly grated ginger
-Extra-virgin olive oil
-A small bunch fresh cilantro, leaves picked
-A small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
-salt & pepper to taste
1. Heat a small frying pan over a moderate heat and toast the cumin seeds for 30 seconds – they will start to smell nutty and gorgeous. You’re not trying to cook the seeds here, you’re just waking their flavors up a bit. Put them into a pestle and mortar and grind them up.
2. Slice your peeled shallots or onion wafer thin. As with all salads that contain onion, you don’t want to be coming across great big chunks! If you don’t feel confident about your knife skills, use the coarse side of a box grater instead. This will almost mush your onions to a puree, but at least you won’t come across any big bits.
3. To make your dressing, put the lemon zest and juice into a bowl and add the shallots or onion, grated ginger, ground cumin and a pinch of salt. Whisk everything together with about 5 tablespoons of extra- virgin olive oil. Pour the dressing over the carrots, add the cilantro and mint leaves, and mix it all together using your fingers. It’s important that you have a little taste to check whether the dressing needs more lemon juice, oil or seasoning.
***Yesterday morning I woke up super early and was watching Jamie Oliver’s cooking show–Jamie At Home– on the Food Network. While drinking my coffee and eating my yogurt I got a hankering to make this for dinner for Monday night. After my doctors appointment, I rushed to the store and bought all the ingredients I needed.
It wasn’t until I went to brown the ground lamb that I realized it was GROUND BEEF. Apparently my pregnant brain mistook the work LEAN for LAMB. This is something I realized 30 minutes before we were sitting down to eat. I rushed out to the store (two stores actually) and there was no ground lamb to be found. I improvised and used lamb blades (i think it said blades- don’t count on my memory these days!) and grilled them up and squeezed lemon on top. They were OK- I will definitely set out to find ground lamb to RE-DO the recipe.
I really loved the Indian carrot salad! It’s nice and crisp. Refreshing and light! The perfect amount of bite & spice. It went really well with garlic naan and a splash of cumin yogurt. I will definitely make it again.***
Frozen Raspberry-Lime Yogurt Pops
Frozen Raspberry-Lime Pops!
-16 ounces low-fat or nonfat vanilla yogurt, preferably Greek yogurt
-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-8 ounces fresh or thawed frozen raspberries
-1 heaping tablespoon honey
-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1. In a blender or food processor, puree the yogurt with 1 tablespoon of the lime juice & honey until smooth.
2. Now add the raspberries with the remaining lime juice and sugar-whir up until blended. (you might want to add more sugar if needed)
3. Stir mixture and fill your pops! Put in the freezer to set for at least 4 hours.
4. To unmold the pop: Run warm water over the bottom three-quarters of the mold. Let it stand for 10 seconds, then gently pull out the pop.
***The perfect balance of tart & sweet. It was nice to know that what I was eating wasn’t filled with crap & yucky preservatives. Extremely refreshing and satisfying! Something to make over and over again!***
more soon!
helllllllllo!
it’s been a hectic few weeks…which explains the absence of posting here.
I was graced with the presence of my BFF for my co-ed baby shower this weekend. It was awesome! Soo much fun! Soo many cute things! Soo tiring! Soo many people that I didn’t even take pictures! Ack!
Now, Momma is running on empty and the little boy in her tum could be doing downward facing dog in her womb right now! Yikes!
Thank you for visiting, woot! I love you!
I leave you with the promise of more soon. This week is full of baby appts/classes & baby shower to attend….and a birthday for yours truly early next week!
I am soooooo aching to get in the kitchen right now and cook something up!
Oh yeah…I have to show you some of my kitchen too!
here’s a sneak peek:
I suppose this is what baby brain is all about!
***NOTE TO SELF***
Tracy—-Try to take things slower, and relax. Enjoy the simple things in life- like this wonderful scene outside your window the other morning. That was cool wasn’t it??? It made waking up super early because of back pain SOOO worth it.
