CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE...THE CRANBERRY EDITION

It's that time of year again! Christmas is here...and it's got me craving cranberries. So, I'll be making some cranberry sauce. Also, Ruby wants to help me decorate the table.

We love cranberries....dried, in baked goods, cranberry juice. However, the girls were eager to try them fresh and we're not impressed. But they look really pretty.

FOOD & FRIENDS

Thinking of one of my friends today as I made a quinoa salad dish for lunch from last nights leftovers. Just throwing in a little of this and that (whatever I have on hand). This was a good one so I'll share the recipe.

Quinoa Salad

- cooked (leftover) quinoa (already seasoned from the night before with salt, pepper, and garlic)
- drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (to taste)
- chopped pecans (a handful or so)
- gold raisins (about a handful)
- a small bunch of chopped kale
- a bit of chopped apple ( I prefer pink lady...something tart and sweet)

*and I bet this would be even better with crumbled goat's cheese (but I didn't have any).

So we put on our aprons (as we do sometimes when we make food...just for fun). I wore one of my mom's old ones that has been passed down. And there you have it! This could be made in a variety of ways. I've had it with sliced red onions, other types of nuts, cherry tomatoes. And since the quinoa was leftovers I actually liked that it tasted a bit chilled.

PRE-DINNER SNACK

Sometimes we just need a pre-dinner snack to keep the peace while mommy makes dinner.

GREEN DATE

Sometimes we have juice dates. I'm so thankful for Brandon and how he will now have a green drink without cringing. We have definitely changed since we were first married (going on 12 years!).

MINI CHERRY PIES

Having guests over gives more reason to bake. I had some leftover pie crust in our freezer from weeks before and some dark cherries so I decided to make these mini cherry pies. They were the perfect size for an after dinner dessert.

STERLING TURNS 9!

So, this was a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to posting the June birthdays. Sterling's was the last one.

This year Sterling requested a tea party for her birthday. She also had a few other specific requests. She wanted a new dress for the tea party (which has been sort of tradition to find or make them a new dress for their birthday), a skate board, a walk man to listen to music, and a chocolate cake with vanilla coconut icing (I think that was from all those Master Chef shows we watched). And the cake turned out pretty great.

And don't let the fancy tea party fool you. She still has a silly side. Here she is with a mouth full of tea as I asked to take her picture. 

The girls got to make some beaded jewelry and flower necklaces to take home. 

Dolls were invited to the tea party as well.

I can hardly believe we have a nine year old. Her last year in the single digits. It really does go by pretty fast. We are so in love with this girl. She is the perfect balance of girly, pretty, sporty, glitter, adventure, talent, and fun! Happiest 9th year Sterling Eden Walden!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

My birthday was about a week ago, and because of all the birthdays and other life happenings like people coming into town to visit, etc, I'm just now getting around to documenting it. 

This year I requested a donut (and a vintage dress) for my birthday. We get kind of "caked out" since there are 3 birthdays back to back, well at least I do. And so, because of my request, my husband so kindly gifted me a whole entire box of donuts! Luckily I had people to share them with. 

This year's birthday was pretty sweet. And I was completely spoiled by all the gifts that were lavished...the donuts, and the dresses (with an "es" because just like the donuts, Brandon did not just buy me one dress). I think he was trying to make me feel spoiled this year. Mission accomplished!

Here's to another year! I'm a very blessed lady for so many reasons way beyond my birthday gifts. 

BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOTTA BAKE

When I need to clear my head I like to make things. Sometimes it's baking. Even though there is still the normal stuff going on...kids playing, sometimes crying, whatever is happening...I just have those days where I have the need to make something. To break away from the norm, even for an hour or two. It's good for my heart. It's good for my soul. I should probably do it more often, but some is better than none. Usually my kids want to join or hang out to see what I'm doing, which is fine by me.  It's just good for me to turn my focus on something else for a bit. It's like it recharges my brain and then I can step back into the other stuff again. And everybody loves the end result when it's baking because we all get to eat it up!
This was my Saturday because I just needed to step away for a minute and regain some focus and peace. It's zucchini bread, which I usually make into a loaf but decided to make it round this time just to do it different. My mom used to make cornbread round like this a lot and it sort reminded me of that. The girls (minus one little that was sick) all "oh"ed and "ah"ed over it when it was done. They get so excited about food and baking. It's really pretty funny. I'm so glad they are pretty into the stuff that I make.

BIRTHDAY LEFTOVERS

Leftover birthday cake for breakfast?! Sure, why not. I made carrot cake cupcakes for Brandon's birthday (per his request), and since we ended up staying home that day ...that means lots of cupcakes for us to eat. These are a somewhat healthy version of carrot cake. Lots of carrots...no refined sugars. It's actually just sweetened with applesauce and maple syrup. The cream cheese frosting however, is just a standard (Martha Stewart recipe) frosting. So I went light on the top with that. These are good though. The girls liked them, even without the frosting!

BREAKFAST

Sometimes I like to make our food a little fancy.

TRADITION

So, for Easter we didn't do things exactly the same as always. We like to make it to church but that didn't happen. We did give the girls a few special things in their easter bag (notebooks, stickers, coloring stuff), but it wasn't in the morning. It ended up being in the afternoon. We did do a very small egg hunt in the front yard, but that ended up being later in the day too. Sometimes having a bigger family just means we have to be more and more flexible. It's just the way it goes. I didn't even get a family photo of us (which I usually like to do), but that was ok. We were just all a little more tired this weekend, and 2 little ones were dealing with a cold. Despite that, we did manage to make homemade cinnamon rolls (which has become an Easter tradition I hope to keep...for as long as everyone still wants to eat them). This year the bigger two wanted to help. I think tradition (whatever it may be) is fun and kids really get excited when they know it's a once a year thing. My mom used to make a special bread for Easter and we had special treats for Christmas that we made every year. This is our own tradition that I have just started doing for our family and having them join me makes my heart smile. Passing something on to your kids is a wonderful thing. I feel like the quality time spent in the process is perhaps even the bigger thing being passed on.

These are a somewhat healthy version of cinnamon rolls. They weren't the "prettiest" we have ever seen but they gobbled theirs up.

And this is what it looks like in our house the next morning when we are heating up the leftover homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Everyone wants to see when they are ready!

DISH

I am often trying to think of ways to recreate things we like to eat out, and make them our own at home. We pretty much all like to eat Mexican in our house. Today I was thinking about a tostada and decided to recreate my own from what we had on hand. So this was a tortilla with refried beans put in the oven until hot, then I topped it with the things we like...avcado, romaine, tomatoes, olives, yogurt, hot sauce (for me), and a squeeze of lime. I enjoyed it. I know it is definitely not authentic Mexican by any means, but this was a lighter healthier version and it satisfied. 

SWEET AND SAVORY

Sometimes I crave something different than the same old breakfast. This morning it was sweet and savory...grilled cheese with sliced apples and drizzled honey. So good!

Good Morning

Good Morning. Breakfast doesn't always require a plate. This morning I wanted something different to eat. So, I fed the girls something quick (because they did not want to wait), and then I decided to make a pear and blackberry tart. Nothing fancy...no drizzled glaze or sauce. Just pastry dough, the fruit, dabs of butter, and sprinkled cinnamon and coconut sugar. It was exactly what I wanted. Yum!

Snowflakes

Holidays are for baking cookies!

Pancakes

Sometimes late breakfast is the best kind of breakfast.

Comfort Food

Sometimes I crave comfort food. I don't always give in to my cravings, but sometimes I try to recreate my craving in a healthy way. Today I was really wanting a nice grilled cheese. So, I added arugula, sliced tomato, and grilled onions. This grilled cheese was most gratifying. And I feel like it was a little more balanced with some veggies thrown in. Happy friday.

Happy Saturday

The things we do for love! The girls request animals for their pancakes from time to time. So happy for Saturdays and pancakes.

Brunch

Because sometimes you've just gotta eat last, even if it is way past breakfast.

dinner

Turkey chili white white beans! This was exactly what I wanted. Yum!