Happy Halloween!!

Here's hoping you have a safe and fun Halloween!!

Guacamole

Our dear friends Marshall and Jesse made this guacamole one day and we fell in love. They so kindly gave us the recipe so we could make it ourselves!! If you like lime and cilantro, you'll love this recipe...



Ingredients

3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma tomatoes diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor or serve immediately.

Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 13-ounce can tomatillos, rinsed and drained
• 3 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Directions

1. In a resealable plastic bag combine cornmeal, flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add chicken pieces, a few at a time. Seal bag; shake to coat.

2. In a large skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F), turning once.

3. Meanwhile, for salsa, coarsely chop tomatillos (you should have about 1 cup). In a small bowl stir together tomatillos, cilantro, onion, lime juice, and jalapeno pepper. Serve salsa over chicken. Makes 4 servings

The Weekend in Photos

Unfortunately this weekend I didn't take any photos. Which is quite unlike me. But, we didn't have to much going on. We needed to get some stuff done around the house and I needed to work on Cohen's costume, which I'm still working on today.

But Saturday we did go celebrate a friends birthday with a small BBQ. And then later that evening we went to see Cats with my parents.

Jason grew up going to musicals. He lived on Long Island for about 7 years until his family moved to Florida. But, they went back every year to see friends and family. One of the musicals that Jason's families loved was Cats. They all have seen it at least twice and Jason was even in a small scene for school one year. So, it was really neat to experience something that was a special part of him and his family. And we all did enjoy seeing it as well. It was a lovely evening and I'm so glad we got to do it with my Parents as well!

(this is Jay...hopefully I'm not embarrassing him)

Ladies Night

Last Night was Ladies Night. We went to the Willow Tree Cafe, which is a German Restaurant, where we enjoyed the Chicken Dance, Live Music, Good Beer, and great fellowship.

Thrifty Habitat

Today I found a new thrift store. Actually, I found out about it a while ago, but for some strange reason I didn't think it was open to the public. I have no idea why I thought that. But, Habitat for Humanity has their own Thrift store. As I was walking to the front door I wasn't sure what I would find inside.

They have aisles filled with almost anything you may need to help fix something in your house.


There is a wall full of doors.


You can find appliances, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, tile.


There is furniture and home accessories as well. I found this dresser that I think I would like to put in our front foyer/living room.


It was a bit more than what I was thinking of paying, but I may go back and see if they can cut me a deal.

Going Green

Jason and I have recently started composting. It first started as us just burying our food waste into the ground just to help with our lack of nutrient rich soil and to keep waste out of our trash and eventually the landfills. Our soil is very sandy; it may just be a Florida thing or just our backyard thing. I need to do some research.

But, as of recently we have bumped up our composting. Thanks to Young House Love, we have made our own composter. I've been researching buying one, but they have been more than I am willing to spend, so once we saw the tutorial on how to build our own composter, I thought I can do this!! And I especially like the price of $7.

Young house love explains the how to order really well, so you can check out the directions here.

My mother-in-law also recently gave me my own in house food waste bin. It's made of porcelain and has a lovely filter in the top so that it doesn't stink up your home. Just remember to empty it into your compost bin, otherwise it gets pretty nasty inside.


So, for now this will be our compost bin.


Until I can find some old pallets and make one of these.

Fresh Vegetable Risotto and Pepper-Lime Chicken

Fresh Vegetable Risotto

Start to Finish: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil
• 1 cup Arborio or long grain rice
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 3/4 cup bite-size asparagus or broccoli pieces
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced (3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup shredded fontina or Muenster cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or parsley
• Tomato slices (optional)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan cook the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in hot oil until onion is tender but not brown. Stir in the rice. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in another saucepan bring the vegetable or chicken broth to a boil; reduce heat and simmer. Slowly add 1 cup of the broth to the rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until liquid is absorbed.

3. Add 1/2 cup broth and the asparagus or broccoli to rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add 1 cup more of broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the broth has been absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes. Stir in tomato, carrot, and the remaining 1/2 cup broth. Cook and stir until rice is slightly creamy and just tender. Stir in fontina or Muenster cheese, Parmesan cheese, and basil or parsley. If desired, garnish with some tomato slices. Serve immediately. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Pepper-Lime Chicken

Prep: 10 minutes
Marinate: 30 minutes
Broil: 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Bottled salsa (optional)
• Lime wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Place chicken breast halves in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, stir together lime peel, lime juice, oil, thyme, pepper, salt, and garlic. Pour over chicken; seal bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Place chicken on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat about 6 minutes or until light brown.

3. Turn chicken and brush lightly with reserved marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Broil for 6 to 8 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F). If desired, serve with salsa and lime wedges. Makes 6 servings.

Max's Wild Things

Since Cohen is going as Max from Where the Wild Things Are, we thought it would be fitting if we went as his Wild Things.

Jason will be Carol (Moishe)


and I will be KW (TZippy).

We don't really have enough moolah to make anything special, so to keep it simple, I'm just going to download a picture of the Wild Things and iron them onto a t-shirt. I think it'll be better in the long run. Because the Friday Night before actual Halloween, our church is putting on a Fall Festival. That is where we will be taking Cohen. And since we will be helping out there as well, it'll be more comfortable. Plus, we will be dressing up Saturday Night for our friend's Costume Party.

The Weekend in Photos

Pumpkin Picking

Game Night

Art Show

First off, I finally got batteries for my camera!!! Well, my old camera. My dad currently has the camera that we actually use. Now I can get back to my photo of the day!!

Okay, back on track...


Last night, J and I took Cohen and my mom and met up with my dad at an Art Show. It was actually a fundraiser to help raise money for different charities in the USA and Uganda. Twelve artists joined together and painted for a week straight on a particular theme, which was Endurance. Then last night they had to have all the paintings done for the showing and Silent Auction. They do this all over the world and every year there is a different theme. We thought it was pretty neat. Plus, the fact that we went out on a week night was amazing! Ever since having Cohen, I don't think we've gone out on a weeknight. It made me feel young again! Haha. Just kidding. I still feel young.

So, here are some pictures of artwork that stood out to us.


Oh, and their was live music both inside and outside which really helped with the ambiance.

Where the Wild Things Are

For Halloween this year I wanted to do something fun and a little different for Cohen's costume. I was browsing the blogosphere one day when I came across this cute little homemade costume...



Max from Where the Wild Things Are!! I instantly fell in LOVE with it! I browsed the internet and found there are no Max costumes available. Then I asked one of my friends who is an amazing Seamstress how much it would cost me to have her make it. And once i realized it would be around $50 - $75, I thought that this may never happen, because we clearly don't have that kind of money for a one time affair.

So, I've been scouring the internet trying to find gray pajamas that I could configure into a Max Costume. And today I came across this from Old Navy...



and it's perfect! It has the footies, mittens, and hood already! I just have to get some extra fabric to make the correct ears and add some claws. then find some fur from a thrift store and gold fabric and we're set!! Hopefully the Old Navy's near me have the one-piece I need!! I'm so excited!

Hugs and Kisses

As I was getting Cohen out of his crib this afternoon when he woke from his nap, he gave me a big hug, then looked at me and gave me a kiss, and then another big hug.

He just melts my heart.

Happy Mad Hatter Day!

Today is Mad Hatter's Day!!
Never heard of it? Me neither, until today. It's a fairly new holiday, just 23 years in the making. One day someone decided to come up with the holiday, a day to act silly, a day exactly 6 months after April Fool's Day. The date 10/6 was chosen from the piece of paper in the Mad Hatter's Hat in the Movie Alice in Wonderland.

Now, people all over are dawning their favorite hats and throwing tea parties.
I'm up for any excuse to throw a party.

It also reminds be of the new Alice in Wonderland movie coming out with Johnny Depp!!
I can't wait!

Going Green

This ain't your mama's cloth diaper....

We've been using cloth diapers since Cohen was 2 months old. What first made our decision to use cloth was our concern for the environment. Then we realized the savings we would have monthly; it saves us around $70 a month.

The cloth diapers they make now-a-days are AMAZING!!! When my mom used cloth diapers, they were a piece of cloth, two pins, and a plastic cover. Those diapers are still available today, but now you have more options. There are the velcro ones we got from, BumGenius, snap ones from, Fuzzi Buns, and many many more.

You can still get a laundry service if you want, but we just wash them at home. We use the amazing BumGenius Sprayer for #2 and just store them in a closed bucket till it's time for washing.

So, don't diss cloth diapering until you try it!!!

October is here!

Yesterday, I finally brought out my Fall decorations. And just in time for October!

Actually, I just put up the wreath that goes on the front door. I want to change up the interior decorations of the home for fall. Either I get bored easily with how I decorate for the holidays or I just haven't found what I really like. I think I will go with the latter of the two.

In the meantime I will be looking for inexpensive decorations.

Happy October!!!