Friday, August 19, 2011

Dinner ideas...


Hi all! I'd like to ask my blog readers (because I have sooo many of them lol) to tell me their favorite recipes. I want to change up my dinner menu and I figured the best way to get tasty dinner ideas was to ask for your favorites. You can leave more than one if you would like, and feel free to include desserts as well. I'm on a diet so if any of you have some good low calorie recipes please leave them too. As a thank you I will leave you with a couple of my favorite recipes. Hope you are all having a fantastic day. Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 pound beef sirloin strips
Salt and Pepper
6 Tbs unsalted butter
12 oz sliced buttoned mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion, chopped or sliced
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs flour
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp lemon Juice
1 Tbs chopped Parsley (or you can use dried)
For noodles:
salt and pepper
One 12oz package wide egg noodle
2 Tbs unsalted butter
Directions
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Raise the heat to high and heat 1 tablespoon oil (I just use cooking spray to make it "healthier"). Season half the beef with salt and pepper, add to the skillet, arranging it in a single layer, and saute, without stirring, until well-browned and still pinkish inside, about 1 to 2 minutes. (it will finish cooking in the sauce) Transfer to a large plate and set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Discard any excess oil.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and, when the foaming begins to subside, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the plate with the beef.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter and, just as the foaming begins to subside, add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and, whisking constantly, bring to a full boil. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sour cream, mustard, and lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Set the sauce aside covered.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and cook the noodles until tender but not mushy. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the butter and season with pepper to taste.

Add the beef and any juices, mushrooms, and parsley to the sauce and reheat over medium heat until just hot.

STUFF YOUR FACE! :)



Brown Sugar Oat Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another small bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. (They taste great with honey butter)


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Back in Business!!!



Well, we finally made it Nebraska and are settling in quite nicely. I am excited to get back to blogging regularly and keeping you all up to date on our many adventures. We had a very long and exciting road trip (it took us three days!) from Mississippi to Nebraska, but we made it to our new home and have finally have our stuff unpacked and organized. Here are just a few pictures from out road trip to the Midwest:








We were able to move in to our house about two days after getting to Offutt AFB, which I'm told is very lucky. The bad part about it all was that the moving company wasn't going to get our stuff to us until a little over three weeks later. Not fun! Everyone here was so kind and lent us some dishes, towels, and other basic necessities so we could survive until the moving truck came.

Soon after moving in we spent the 4th of July with our good friends Brad and Erica (they live only two hours away!) and had fun just relaxing and grilling some delicious food. The next weekend I was able to take Zoey and go to Wisconsin to visit my parents, and as an added bonus I was able to see my cousin Brooke's family AND my best friend Gina.

About a week later mom and I drove back to Omaha and she helped me get the house unpacked and decorated...thanks mom! It was really fun having her here to help out with Zoey and all of the moving in chores that I absolutely hate. Because she is so amazing, we were able to get everything unpacked in 3 days! Crazy right?!

Before mom left I had the chance to audition for the show Children of Eden at the local theatre and I was fortunate enough to be cast. We have been rehearsing for a few weeks now and it has been a blast. We open on Sept. 16th and run for three weekends so if you are in the area you should come. I have been cast as part of the Snake, a storyteller, and Yonah. I can't tell you how much a have missed being on stage. I am so happy to be doing what I love and meeting wonderful new people. Billy has stepped in as super dad and watches Zoey while I am at rehearsal. Those two really have become the best of friends.

Coco has also had some fun here in Omaha. She has a little girls who comes by to walk her and play with her. That coupled with the trips to the dog park and the bunnies in the back yard makes for a very happy dog.

On a completely different note...I've lost about 20 lbs since my last post! I have been working really hard at keeping up with my diet and exercise regimen and I am seeing results. I still have a little ways to go until I hit my ultimate goal, but it is so fun to slowly watch the numbers on the scale go down and down. I am starting to be too skinny for my skinny jeans. Woot!

Well, Zoey is up from her nap so I should probably wrap it up. I'll post pictures of the house and the area as soon as I am feeling better (Zoey and I got sick). Until next time...





Monday, June 20, 2011

So much to do, so little time...



Well it is finally here! We are starting our road trip to Omaha in 2 1/2 days. I can't believe the time has finally come for us to "settle" somewhere. I mean I know you don't really ever get too settled anywhere being in the military, but you know what I'm trying to say. I am very excited to get to know our new home and FINALLY have all of our stuff with us. My biggest fear is that we'll get there and Billy will be deployed as soon as we get unpacked. I know it's not very likely, but it is always in the back of my mind.

Today I have been busy doing my least favorite moving activity...packing. I know only have a few suitcases and some baby toys, but it is still a huge pain. I better do a good job packing this time because it may not get unpacked for a couple of weeks (we don't have a place to live yet so we will be staying at the AFB hotel). It'll be exciting living in a hotel room with no separate rooms for an undetermined period of time with and infant. We will get super good at tip toeing around!

I'm crazy excited because I am going to see my parents in the next couple of weeks. They live only about 8 hours away from Omaha so my mom (and maybe my dad) is going to come out and help me unpack and take care of Zoey. Also, I get to see my best friend Gina when I drive back to Wisconsin so I am just looking forward to a lot in the next month. BTW, if anyone is in the Omaha or Milwaukee area give me ring and we'll hang out!


The bruise pretty much went away and this is all that was left after I iced it. (not a great pic of Zoey)

What else? Hmmmm. Zoey feel and bashed her forehead on the coffee table today and now she has a bruise above her left eye. Poor little girl! She cried for a good half hour until she finally fell asleep in my arms. It looks like I can't even turn my head for a second or she is going to hurt herself bad.


One of Zoey's favorite activities

In other news, I have started a diet and exercise program and I am working really hard to lose the last few pounds of baby chub and then some. The goal is to be back to my high school weight. I have already started feeling better and I am slowly but surely noticing the changes. By the end of the year I am going to be one hot momma. I just want to feel confident, healthy, and beautiful again so I am taking charge. It helps to write about it in our blog so that I am motivated to stick with it.

That's all for now. See ya!


Sunday, June 19, 2011

For the Dads...


Do you see how red her knees are? She crawls everywhere!

I just wanted to write a very brief post expressing my love for all of the wonderful fathers in my life. I especially want to let my husband know that he is a great father and I couldn't have asked for a more amazing man to be a father to my child. I see the love he has for Zoey and she for him and it makes my heart melt. I love you sweetheart!

What a cutie! She looks a little funny without her bow on...

That's all for now, but I will write more about our upcoming Nebraska adventure soon.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

7 months old



Out little Zoey is now 7 months old and I thought I'd write a entry dedicated to this sweet little girl.

Lots has happened to Zoey since she turned 7 months. First, she is now not only able to crawl, but climb. She climbs up me, the couch, the coffee table...you name it, she climbs it! If she keeps this up she'll be walking before we know it.

The other big thing that has happened since turning 7 months is that she has gotten her first tooth. It is the bottom front tooth and it is CUTE! I would post a picture of it, but she won't let me near her mouth.

Since she has turned 7 months she has also gotten more adventurous in the pool. She kicks, tries to put her face in, and splashes like a maniac!

The last big thing she can do like a champ now is hold her own bottle. She actually prefers to hold it and roll around on the ground while she eats. What a crazy kid.

I bet you didn't know so much could happen in just four days. Well...it can! Now you know a little more about my 7 month old sweetheart Zoey Jane.





Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Just another day at the beach...



It's been rainy and hot here the past few days so we thought we'd take advantage of the nice weather and take a trip to the beach. As you can see, mommy is a little more excited than Zoey at this point.

Then she started to get a little more excited about the trip and made funny faces with me.

Since it was over 90 degrees outside we only stayed at the beach long enough to take a few pictures, walk along the ocean, and put our toes in the water. Based on Zoey's reaction I think we will be making a few more trips to the beach before we move to Nebraska. Next time I think we'll bring Coco along so that she can play too!









And just for fun, here is a video of Zoey talking. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

T-minus 16 days and counting!



We are about two and a half weeks away from moving to Omaha and I couldn't be more excited. First of all, I will be VERY happy to stop living out of a suitcase (which I've been doing for six months now) and start feeling settled again. Secondly, I can't wait to start getting nursery furniture and finally giving Zoey a room of her own. I love the kid, but I am sick of sharing a room with her! Most importantly, I am ecstatic that Billy and I will get to live under the same roof after spending the last 6 months in two separate households. I am ready to get our lives back to "normal" and start exploring our new home. I am looking forward to making friends, going to church together, and just having a chance to be a family.

On a completely different subject I finally have some new pictures to post. People have also been asking me to put up a video of Zoey crawling so that will be inclu
ded in this entry as well.

"Hi mommy! Do you like what I've done with the place?"
Zoey decided that she was going to open the door to the entertainment center and pull out all of the DVDs. Coco watched from the couch looking very concerned.

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for...ZOEY CRAWLING!!!! **Crowd Cheering** Enjoy the video and I guess I'm out for now.