5 Things I've Learned Recently

1. If you're going to go through all the work of a spring-cleaning type cleaning spree one day on the spur of the moment (washing walls, scrubbing appliances, washing windows, etc., etc., until every inch of the house is clean as a whistle), it turns out you really won't be all that floored when you see the after product if your home isn't a pit to begin with. Our house is pretty clean, but I still thought after scrubbing every surface of the kitchen for three hours, I would be able to walk out, walk back in, and I would gasp in amazement. Not so. Also, not fair. 

2. Josephine might be a real, live dinosaur.

3. TICKS ARE OFFICIALLY THE WORST LIVING THING EVER. I've felt rage at other living things in the past, but ticks? If I could wipe every single one off the planet today, I would do it. If I had a hate scale from one to ten, my hatred of spiders is a 2, mosquitoes 4, and ticks 10,000. On a scale of 1 to 10. 

4. Genevieve has a passion for accessories. A deep, abiding love.

5. Maybe I don't actually want Genevieve to learn how to talk. The girls discovered that screeching is fun and all, but if you screech at the same time, at the same pitch, and then slowly increase the volume higher and higher and higher until you've reached a dual-screech that could shatter glass, well, that's WAY more fun. My hearing has already been compromised, and we have a lot of years left to go. Heaven help us all.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Jeremy won't be getting home until after the girls' bedtime for the next two nights, and when that happens, I am always sure to phone in dinner (sandwiches and raw veggies! leftovers! snack tray! whatever takes five minutes or less!). I decided to be extra fun and make dinosaur macaroni and cheese from a box for lunch, and I was planning to have leftovers for dinner. I failed to check what leftovers I have. I have ... homemade macaroni and cheese. Lazy FAIL.

Speaking of the macaroni and cheese from a box, Josephine and Genevieve are different in OH SO MANY ways, but one that is very interesting to me is their eating habits. I made a box of macaroni and cheese for lunch and added broccoli, tomatoes, and diced grilled chicken. Josephine ate every bite with gusto. Genevieve painstakingly picked out the macaroni and cheese and left everything else in the bowl, then asked for more. At this point, the only vegetable she will eat (sometimes) is bell pepper, and you might as well forget about meat. She doesn't even like strawberries! Who doesn't like strawberries? It's gotten to the point where I'll sometimes sigh to myself at bedtime and think, well, she had pickles today, so ... that counts as a vegetable, right? 

This has been a funny little nature vs. nurture moment, because from the beginning, I fed Genevieve the way I did Josephine, and they get the exact same meals (especially now that G can have dairy). I offer a variety of healthy foods with enthusiasm, Jeremy and I let her see us enjoying healthy foods, and I don't use foods as punishments or rewards. Josephine will eat anything you put in front of her and then thank you for making it for her, and Genevieve will give you a withering look, throw it to the ground, and beg for ketchup. 

This is Genevieve shaking her head "no" and saying "BLECH!" at the same time. Charming.

Nature - 1, Nurture - 0. 

Don't worry, I give her vitamins, and she makes up for being picky by being really really cute. Fellow parents of picky eaters, I send you a fistbump of solidarity.

Inconvenient Truths

Genevieve is going through something (developmental milestone?) that is causing her to wake up at least once a night again. I am also back to my normal insomnia problems, and on the best of nights, I fall asleep around 12-1 AM. Genevieve wakes up EXACTLY when I finally close my eyes. EVERY NIGHT.

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Some days I spend a bit of time on my couch -- reading stories, snuggling with the girls, taking five minutes at nap time to put my feet up before I get stuff done. Other days, I spend five minutes or less on that couch, and the rest of the time I am running around like a mad woman. BUT, no matter what, WITHOUT FAIL, I am sitting on the couch when our mail carrier walks in front of our huge picture window. In his mind, I live on that couch. I want to change his opinion of me, but I am unwilling to spend an entire day on my feet just so he can't catch me sitting down.

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We have dedicated an entire shelf in one of our kitchen cabinets to broken items that need to be super-glued back together. AN ENTIRE SHELF in a kitchen that is seriously lacking in cupboard space. Something else broke? Put it in the super glue cupboard. That's a problem for Future Veronica.

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Jeremy shoveled a path through the five feet of snow (that stayed in our yard from November until THREE DAYS AGO) from our back door to the girls' playhouse. Cleo thought that was the best place to do her business (even though Jeremy shoveled an area for her, too). Not only do we now have a path of dead yellow grass leading to the playhouse, but Cleo also settled on dropping her deuces right in front of the girls' playhouse door. Now that the snow is gone, she thinks that's her official pooping spot, so it looks like I will have to remember to take a bag with me every time we go outside, or I will be cleaning a lot of little girl shoes this spring and summer. YUCK. 

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Josie has a musical instrument hidden in her room. It's hard to describe. It sounds like a harmonica mixed with an accordion (I KNOW). Anyway, this instrument is hidden in her room somewhere, and when she is supposed to be taking a nap, she takes it out and plays it just loudly enough for me to hear and get all mad (WHAT IF SHE WAKES UP THE BABY?!?!). I choose to ignore it, because if I go in there to tell her to be quiet, it gets her more determined to stay up and skip her nap, but if I ignore her noise, she eventually gets bored and falls asleep. Dang if I forget about that instrument every day once nap time is over and forget to take it out of her room. I only remember when she's playing it again the next day.

Like a Rockstar (in Sweatpants)

I was already doing pretty well today -- the usual tidying, laundry, getting hours in on my part-time job, procuring and serving roughly six meals before 12:30 PM (don't even get me started -- they literally NEVER stop eating), and general mothering, but for some reason I walked into the kitchen and thought You know, I should finally put away all the pump, bottle, and puree supplies since Genevieve hasn't used any of them in months ... and if I do that, I can move my coffee and tea supplies to the cupboard above the coffeemaker! Oh happy day! And I'll have a HUGE cupboard to fill and can shift and organize everything and have happier cupboards! HUZZAH!

Two hours later I had cleaned SEVEN of my biggest problem cupboards. Completely revolutionized my freaking kitchen. I even had room for this:

Sure, it might look like a total waste of space to some of you, but my biggest problem in my kitchen are those damn measuring cups. My (genius) mother taught me to have multiple sets so you don't have to stop and wash in the middle of a frenzied cooking or baking session, and I always seem to need at least half of them at the same time, but I never had a PLACE for them. They were always falling out of cupboards or jamming drawers so I couldn't pull them open. NO MORE. I have a feeling I'll be pulling that door open often today so I can smile at it.

On top of that, I also tried on a shirt that hasn't fit in YEARS, and ... drumroll ... it fits! This is a pre-weight-gain-BEFORE-Josephine shirt! 

Granted, I'm wearing it with my comfy "house pants" that have little holes and a few bleach splashes here and there (but are the best pants on the planet), but I'm wearing a shirt I only fit into before I gained weight from the sadness of trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant the first time. What's better than huzzah? HOT DAMN.

That's when I said it to myself: I feel like a rockstar ... and it immediately hit me. ...huh. A rockstar who isn't wearing pants that are suitable for the outside world, whose hair is a wreck, and who wants nothing more than a nap. I feel like a rockstar because I have a cupboard dedicated to measuring cups. MEASURING CUPS.

Times have changed. Times. Have. Changed.

Magical Meatloaf

Before we get to the magical recipe of goodness, two things:


1) NO, Jeremy did not bring me food from the event. He said it was "all packed up" by the time he got a break from swiping credit cards for the silent auction. Likely story. BUT, he DID see inside a local celebrity's wallet and saw he has a Kroger Plus card, so ... now we know he shops at Kroger instead of Meijer. Good to know. Good to know. (Jess and Loe'l -- if either of you are reading this, it was J. C. from the news ... if you can crack that code, you still love him as much as you used to).


2) I HAD to update the 2011 Holiday Giving Guide, Vol. II (for the Wee Ones). There were some things I forgot and I decided to add a few things we already got for Josephine, so if you are still shopping for little ones, check it out. I also added a few previously unpublished Josie pics, so ... yeah.


And now ... a meatloaf I liked!!! GASP! I have NEVER been a fan of meatloaf and seriously thought it was just ketchup mashed onto meat and baked until dry. However, I know Jeremy loves it, and he is nice enough to never request things I don't like or never make, but I came across a new healthier recipe (spoiler alert: there is neither beef nor ketchup in this recipe!) and decided to give it a whirl.


I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. I thought there was a chance I would like it okay, but I did not plan on loving it. This will definitely be a recipe I make often.

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf 

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 20-ounce package of ground turkey
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion
I large clove garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 additional teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon water


Directions:


1. Bring quinoa and water to boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed (about 15 minutes).


A note on quinoa (pronounced keen-WAH ... I'm fairly certain) -- if you haven't used it before, do not fear the quinoa! It is a super grain and can stand alone as a protein and has all kinds of other magical healthy things, but does NOT taste like butt like some other healthy things. I found mine in with the rice/barley/cous cous. (It is also wheat and gluten free, FYI)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 


3.  Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook until softened and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook another minute (being careful not to burn); remove both from heat and set aside to cool.


Another side note regarding one of my favorite new "tricks": If you have a recipe that calls for only using part of on a onion, chop up the whole onion, use as much as you need to, then put the remainder in a ziploc baggy and toss in the freezer. Pull out next time you need diced onion and toss in your recipe. Super-convenient for all those recipes I make that start with ground turkey, onion, and garlic. I have no idea why I never thought of this before. I would always leave part of the onion unchopped in the fridge, promising to use it the next day ... then I would find it a week later and have to throw it away. Wasteful!

4.  Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Mixture should be very moist.

Gross, I know. I dislike meat, and dislike raw meat even more. If you remember the deep level of my hatred, you will realize just how much I love that husband of mine. I would include Josephine in that, but if she ever isn't into dinner, there are always vegetables and rice and cottage cheese ready for her. This raw meat adventure was just for Jeremy.

5. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet.

I went for a circle because I figured it would have some sort of magical advantage over a loaf. Do whatever you want.

6.  In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water. The directions say to rub this "paste" over the top of the meatloaf. I made this TWICE, and both times it was the same consistency as water, so I just dumped it on. It worked just fine that way, too.

7.  Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until no longer pink. Internal temperature should read at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Then you have ...

Yes, my slices are pretty small, but they were DEE-lish. It was pretty strange that Jeremy, who likes regular meatloaf, loved this as much as I, who HATES regular meatloaf. Strange but awesome.

If you try it and make the loaf taller, let me know if the meat comes out moist or dry. Perhaps I will experiment with size. Also, maybe the next loaf will be in the shape of a heart. ROMANCE. RAW MEAT ROMANCE. 

Lasagna Soup & Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

You might have noticed that Making an Effort Monday has not been the most regular thing lately. I either had nothing to say or too much to say, and it started driving me a little crazy. It began as a way to motivate me to try new recipes, make more projects, and organize my house, and it did that, so it served its purpose, and that's great, but I am over it for now. It might pop back up in the future if I need a fire under my butt, but I am on a g-d ROLL over here, and I am just going to post about food or crafts whenever I please. Maybe on a Monday, maybe on a Thursday; hell, maybe even on a SATURDAY. 

Also, ALSO (stay with me; there's a lot of changes to get used to, I know, I know, but I'm confident you can handle it), I added a lovely little tabby up at the top, right next to the tab with my crafty time excitement (Did you even know that was there? Now you do.).

It is chock full of RECIPES. Yum. So if you're ever thinking to yourself, what was the recipe for the macaroni and cheese with bacon in it? You can click the tab and be like, Oh yeah, Cheesy Bacon Mac! (Jeremy re-named it). Then you click on the picture that looks like this:

And BOOM, you are at the page with the recipe. Magical.

So, to keep this thing moving in a food-oriented direction (possibly one of my favorite directions ever), I have a new recipe for you. Paula Deen called it "Tastes Like Lasagna Soup." I think that's a mouthful, and I made some changes (I know, I know ... sacrilege ... some changes were on purpose, but some were just due to missing ingredients, so don't freak out, OKAY?), so I call it ...

(much more creative, no?)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 large yellow onion (or 1/2 regular yellow onion), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 Tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
42 ounces of chicken broth (or close -- less wouldn't be a huge deal, and more wouldn't be that horrible either. Paula called for 32 ounces, but I had a 42 ounce can, so that's how that happened)
2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (oregano and rosemary blend is awesome; normal is fine; petite is fine -- however you are feeling about the tomatoes is FINE)
15 ounces (-ish) of marinara sauce 
1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil, oregano, cilantro, and parsley (or 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broken lasagna noodles
5 ounces of grated Parmesan cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine ground turkey, onion, and garlic with a splash of olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat until turkey is brown and crumbles easily and onions are transparent (or close). Drain if necessary (it wasn't for me, but it depends on how lean your meat is).

2.  Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, cilantro, parsley and salt. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

3.  Add noodles, and simmer until the noodles are tender. I always buy whatever "Plus" pasta is on sale. I am a HUGE fan of Barilla Plus with the whole grains and omega-3 and all that awesomeness. This time I got Ronzoni Healthy Harvest, which is whole grain and lots of fiber. The point of all that was actually just to say that it took me a lot longer to cook those noodles than it does "regular" noodles, so the cook time will vary based on what type of noodle you prefer.

4. Final, CRUCIAL step: stir in all that Parmesan cheese. I know this seems like a lot of cheese, and, I mean, it IS a lot of cheese, but it MAKES the soup. I promise.

5.  Top with Mozzarella and serve (or, if you are trying to impress someone, toss them in the oven on broil for a few minutes).

Yum, yum, and YUM.

Here is what Jeremy thought:

Please don't send me e-mails about the wall color. Even if you own a paint company and want to send me free samples. We RENT. Sorry. I hate it, too.

And here is what Josephine thought:

Paula thought it should be served with a garlic crostini (a tiny piece of french bread with garlic smeared on it and fried in a pan). I didn't have french bread and was afraid the soup might not be filling enough for Jeremy (I was wrong), so I made my super-easy/can't-miss GARLIC CHEDDAR BISCUITS OF AWESOMENESS. 

I found a recipe for similar biscuits on the side of the Bisquick box and adjusted them to my taste. The recipe on the box is good, too, but I like mine. ;)

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
A little less than 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
(For this batch, since I was going for an Italian mood, I tossed in a dash of basil and oregano. Totally optional.)
butter or margarine

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine all ingredients except margarine in bowl. Mix until dough forms.

2. Make 9-12 balls of dough and place them evenly on an ungreased pan (somehow I ALWAYS make 11, but you might like them bigger or smaller. It matters not.)

3. Smear a tiny bit of butter on the top of each biscuit. I use a lot of butter in this recipe, but I DO NOT CARE, because it's not even butter. I guess you might not even be able to classify it as margarine? We use Promise light because it is the only "butter-flavored spread" our store carries that does not contain partially hydrogenated oils. Dr. Oz would be so proud.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes (I do exactly 8). Smear a little more butter on top of each one (See, this is why I don't use real butter.), and serve hot. Yummers.

Another night, another stomach full to bursting. :)

Design on a Dime!

Remember how Josephine thought our blue and brown bedding was lacking a certain amount of hot pink? I was hopeful that I would be able to get the nail polish out of the fabric, because after googling "how to get nail polish out of fabric" and reading article after enthusiastic article about how "simple!" it was, I followed their directions, and, like one author chirped, "The stain is completely gone!"

We don't have the scratch to immediately replace our king-size bedding with something worth buying (if I buy new bedding, it better make me swoon, not just be an ugly placeholder), and seriously, these days it's not like we will EVER have extra money sitting around that we don't have anything to do with. I just cannot see myself saying, "Wow! We have like hundreds of dollars and NOTHING to spend it on! Our savings is full, all of our Christmas presents have been purchased, Josephine has TOO MANY clothes/shoes/cloth diapers/books/toys, everything in our house is in working order, there is no room for more groceries in our house, I am sick to death of buying myself pretty things, the car is in tip-top shape, and I own every piece of fabric in the world! What do we do with this money?!?!" If you have this problem, just shut up now and never speak to me again.

Also, it might take me a while to settle on new bedding once I am actually willing to pay for it, so I need a solution. You know those bedrooms you see with stuff all over the beds?

Adorbs, right? (If you actually think this is cute, you might want to skip the rest of this post.)

Well, I thought to myself, we have stuff all OVER this house we can use to decorate the bed!

THEME 1: Zen!

THEME 2: Nautical!

THEME 3: We read to our child!

THEME 4: Sports!

THEME 5: What's for dinner?!

I'd love to hear your vote for favorite, although I am rather partial to one (hint: it involves potatoes).

Also, on a serious note, I think I am looking for something in this vein:

via Pinterest

It doesn't have to look exactly like this, but these curtains certainly do make me swoon. If you have suggestions, PLEASE DO leave them! I will love you forever if you do!

Smooches, 

The Martha Stewart of Lansing

source