Happy Halloween.

She likes to say "Arrrrr I a pirate" and "I'm a princess" while running in circles.  The perfect costume was obvious...a princess pirate!

This was her first time trick-or-treating.  We went to a handful of neighborhood houses and she insisted on carrying "my candy" the entire time.  Her "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" usually took place at the end of driveways.

On the way home she said "Is that my house?  No, that's a tree".  And then we went home and let her hand out candy.



AHOY!

Just Pictures.

Baked Spaghetti.

I liked it.  I know that doesn't sound very enthusiastic and/or convincing...  But really, it was good. Here's what I learned:

1. Season it up!  It needs it.
2. Makes a ton.
3. If you like olives they would be a yummy addition.
4. Leftovers were great!
5. Half went in the freezer. Guinea pigs are eating it this weekend.  Hope it froze well!

Recipe can be found here:  Baked Spaghetti

Baby Shower Favors.

It was operation baby shower.  After searching for favor ideas I put a few together and came up with this:

• Used popcorn favor bags from Michaels.
• Filled the bottom half with crinkle paper.
• Added chocolates, a mini bag of microwave popcorn, and a cookie pop (dipped Oreo made by my mom).
• For the tags I created a template in PowerPoint, printed them on card stock, and circled punched them out.  Then I took my handy hot glue gun and attached them to lollipop sticks.  Finished it off with a bow around the top of the stick.

Come Watch Me.

Penelope's new favorite phrase is "come watch me".  This usually means take me outside now or I will cry.  One of my friends is an amazing photographer and helped me edit the first two pictures.  After that I gave it a try and did the rest!

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

I found this recipe for crispy chicken and pasta on Pinterest (yes, Pinterest again).  I decided to make the crispy chicken portion of it.  Here's what I learned:

1. This is so delicious and pretty simple!
2. I added seasonings (Italian and garlic powder) to the flour mixture.  I recommend doing this.
3. Instead of making the sauce in the recipe I used a jar of Classico's Roasted Poblano Alfredo Sauce and it was good!
4. Served it over pasta of course.
5. Plenty of flexibility to add in whatever suits your tastes.

 Recipe can be found here:  Crispy Chicken

Blue Ribbon Chili.

I thought anything with "blue ribbon" in the title has got to be worth a try.  Here's what I learned:

1. I used Pace medium picante for a little kick.
2. After cooking the beef I put all ingredients into the slow cooker and let it go all day on low.
3. Served it with sour cream and shredded cheese.
4. Makes a ton!  We filled the freezer with leftovers.
5. Overall, pretty good chili and very easy to make!

Recipe can be found here:  Blue Ribbon Chili

Pumpkins and Apple Trees.

We have this tree in our front yard with little red berries.  Penelope calls it the apple tree.  She loves to pull them off and bring them to me...or smash them between her fingers.  We are working on not eating them.

  

 We went to the local market to pick out a few fall decorations.  Penelope was very excited to see all of the pumpkins!  She ran around yelling "more pumpkins!!"  And then we went home to play outside and put it all together.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas.

This is another Pinterest find.  The family loved it!  Penelope kept saying "mmmmm" as she ate.  Here's what I learned:

1. Make sure to season up your chicken.  The recipe calls for no seasoning whatsoever.  I used chipotle pepper powder, cumin, garlic salt, and a dash of paprika.
2. Next time I may try shredding the chicken or use rotisserie.
3. The filling was enough for 6 tortillas.
4. I folded them like burritos to keep everything inside during the baking process.
5. I put out guacamole, salsa, and black olives for toppings.  Served them with multigrain tortilla chips and black beans.

Recipe can be found here:  Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Mozzarella Sticks.

I heart Pinterest.  And that is where I discovered this recipe for homemade mozzarella sticks.  Here's what I learned:

1. Make sure to follow the directions for the double layer of breading.
2. Next time I will attempt to brush some of the excess breading away.  Once they freeze all of the weird hangers on freeze too and you end up with some pretty crazy looking mozzarella sticks.
3. Didn't care for the buttermilk dipping sauce.  Marinara and ranch are perfect.
4. We ended up freezing a good amount.  I will report back on the results of freezing/thawing/baking/eating.

 

Recipe can be found here:  Mozzarella Sticks

Honey Nut Chicken Sticks.

We love this recipe for homemade chicken fingers.  It's simple to put together and bakes in 15 short minutes!  Here's what I learned:

1. I make a half recipe and it is plenty for the three of us.
2. I use Honey Bunches of Oats or a generic version of it.
3. It really only takes 15 minutes to cook through.  They come out perfectly moist!
4. Serve with your favorite honey mustard, ranch and/or BBQ sauce.
5. I have also used them to make yummy grilled chicken tender and cheese sandwiches.

  Recipe can be found here:  Honey Nut Chicken Sticks

Conversations with my Daughter.

It's fun being able to communicate with her.  To understand our conversation from earlier today you'll need to know she calls birthdays "happy days".  It went something like this:

Penny:   Happy Day mama!
Me:       Who's happy day is it?
Penny:   Rectangle!
Me:       It's rectangles happy day?
Penny:   That's right.
Penny:  {proceeds to sing "Happy Day Rectangle you..."}

And so we celebrated rectangle's happy day.