Last week Sean and I decided to go to Village Dairy Isle to have “flavor of week, ” this week’s flavor – STRAWBERRY!  It was particularly warm this week so ice cream was just the right treat to have.  We took Laney with us, ordered our ice cream and sat her up on the center of the picnic table.  As soon as she saw my pretty twist of pink ice cream she lunged for it.  So, I decided that I needed to share my yummy treat.  She LOVED it!  Mommy and Daddy both LOVE ice cream so I had no doubt that she would be an ice cream lover to.

As soon as it hit her mouth the mmmmmm noises began, she would smack her lips and look all around making sure everyone at the ice cream stand knew how much she was enjoying this tasty treat!

I had to hurry and eat as much as I possibly could, because she is still little and hasn’t had much dairy so I didn’t want her to eat too much and get sick – not to mention, she didn’t hardly eat any of her dinner on this particular night.

While we were leaving she waved good bye to everyone as we walked to the car.  It was as if she was saying, “Good-bye all, my ice cream eating is now complete, thank you all for allowing me to entertain you.”  TOO FUNNY!

Compliments of Real Simple magazine

Ok, so I decided to try this because I just recently watch Julie and Julia and was inspired.  I should’ve remembered that Sean and I really don’t care for foods like this.  However, I will say, if you like dishes like this it was SO EASY to make and the flavor was wonderful!

total time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch pieces

kosher salt and pepper

1 10-ounce package sliced mushrooms (i used baby portabella)

1 16-ounce package frozen pearl onions (I only used a 1/2 bag and it was still a lot of onions)

2 cups red wine (we used a dry red we bought from Trader Joes)

1 10.75 ounce can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup (a must for this dish, make sure your local grocer carries it first)

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat.  Season the stead with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cooked until browned, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the steak to a bowl and set aside.

ADD the mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook until the liquid (from the steak) has evaporated.  Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, 5 to 6 minutes.

STIR IN the soup and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil.  Add the steak and juices from the bowl and simmer, 2 minutes.

DIVIDE into individual bowls and sprinkle with the parsley.

I cooked up some really wide amish noodles and we served this dish over them, I recommend using the noodles and serving with fresh bread so you can soak up the yummy sauce when you’re done.

From my Pillsbury cookbook

This soup is sort of expensive to make but it was SO WORTH IT!  Absolutely yummy and perfect for a cold week of winter!  Very easy to make too!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Start to Finish: 35 minutes

5 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbl olive or vegetable oil

1/3 cup chopped green onions, include the white parts (about 5 medium)

1/3 cup julienne carrots

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

6 cups chicken broth (about 2 cartons)

2 cups shredded deli rotisserie chicken

1 cup frozen small cheese-filled tortellini

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, if desired

3 cups chopped fresh baby spinach

1.  In a dutch oven (large stock pot) heat oil over medium-high heat.  Cook onions, carrots and garlic in oil for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are softened.

2. Stir in broth and chicken. Heat to boiling.  Stir in tortellini, reduce heat to medium.  Cover, cook 3 to 5 minutes or until tortellini are tender.

3. Stir in nutmeg, pepper and spinach.  Cover, cook 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach is hot.

MMMMMMMM…….I REALLY LOVED this one and will definitely make it again, was great the rest of the week for lunches too!

Compliments of my Pillsbury cookbook

this soup is SUPER yummy, however I had NO idea how to prepare a butternut squash so I watched a how to video on You Tube – very helpful.  But, I suggest you have a very good, sharp knife – they are SO hard to cut and if you have a pair of gloves I would recommend using them.  The butternut squash sucked all the moisture out of my skin for like two days…it was gross but the soup was worth it!

Sean thought it was yummy, I thought it was missing something but couldn’t put my finger on it.

Prep time: 25 minute

Start to finish: 8 hours, 25 minutes

8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 3 lb)

2 large apples, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth (4 cups)

1 cup apple juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Spray 4-5 qt. slow cooker with cooking spray.  In cooker, mix all ingredients except whipping cream and parsley.

2. Cover, cook on low heat setting 8 – 10 hours (or as soon as the squash is tender and mushy)

3. Blend soup in cooker with immersion blender*, or blend soup in batches in blender container on low speed and return to cooker.  Stir in whipping cream.  Sprinkle each serving with parsley.

* Immersion blenders are AMAZING, I got a cuisinart one for Christmas and just used it for the first time today and LOVE it.  When I made this soup, I didn’t have an immersion blender and didn’t want to transfer the soup to a blender so I just used my hand mixer and it worked out just fine.  I also used a crock pot bag so it was an easy clean-up!

So, here we are, onto round #3 of finding good reliable childcare providers for Laney.  We have had consistent back-up help, which has been SUCH a blessing.  But, finding the permanent childcare providers has been the challenge.  They either have worked out or the added drive time for me or pick-up/drop-off process has been too much to handle.  So, since October we are now onto round #3 of searching.

I understand that I am shooting for the stars when it comes to help.  I want someone to come to the house on Tue, Wed and Thur from 8-5.  They have to give the best of care and oh yea, we don’t have a lot of money to work with so they need to accept minimal pay…I think this is the root of our problem, but there isn’t much else we can do right now.  : 0 (  It is SO difficult!  Just when you think everything is working out fine then, boom!  Something happens and everything begins to fall through.

For a working mommy, who doesn’t get to see her daughter that much during the week, the inconsistency of week to week for my daughter is aggravating and adds just another layer of stress that I’m having a hard time dealing with.

Sean and I are both at our wits end and are just not sure where to go next?  Dear Lord, please bring us some relief!

On a happy note – Laney is 6 months old now, her 6 month birthday was yesterday!  She is getting SO big!  She said mama this morning, although I know that she had no idea what she said because I flipped out and she just stared at me like I was crazy…hahaha!  She is sitting up all by herself now too!  Pictures to come, I’m hoping to download her 6 month shots that I took of her yesterday later today.