I've wondered how much longer it takes those big time food bloggers to prepare a meal when they are taking pictures of every single possible step of the process. I was going to try and do that for fun, but after a few photos I gave up. They must have a 3rd hand to take photos and cook? Or an assistant? Or lots of fancy equipment? All of the above? 

Anyways, here's the recipe and RJ and I loved it! The kids? Well, they ate it...eventually.

I got this package of grain-y goodness from Target the other day. It was about $6, I think, but will probably last a good 4-5 meals so not too shabby.

Saute an onion (sliced or diced) in some olive oil until nice and soft.

Add a cup of grain-y goodness (the recipe called for plain quinoa, which would also be delicious!) and toast it in the pan for about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups of chicken broth (I was out so just used water) and 1/8 tsp of black pepper and red pepper flakes. (is anyone that exact when it comes to their seasonings? I'm not.) 

Cover and let simmer for about 15-20 or until all liquid is absorbed and grains are cooked.

Then add 4 cups of roughly chopped, fresh spinach. Cover again until spinach is wilted. Add a touch of salt of pepper if needed and enjoy!

I also did a side of sauteed carrots because I'm obsessed with carrots lately. Roasted or sauteed...I love 'em.

Serve up on a fancy, shmancy paper plate and eat away!

This was so yummy! I can't wait to make it again. The recipe is from here.

We haven't been eating healthy at all the last couple of months with traveling and holiday parties, so it felt good to finally give the fam something healthy. And tonight? We're having pepperoni pizza. I made the dough from scratch...that makes it healthy, right?!

Have a great weekend!!

DIY Plate Stand

I saw this on Pinterest a while ago and have had it in my mind to do it with some of the many dishes I had collected for the plate collage I wanted to do yet changed my mind.

So I took these 3 goodies...aren't they beautiful plates?!

The best place to get plates is either at garage sale (can't wait for spring!) or a nicer thrift store. The top two I got in the basement of "Found Things" in the East Village and pretty sure they were $2 and $3 dollars. The bottom one I got at a garage sale. I've looked at Goodwill and as much as I love that place, they very very rarely have cool plates. They mostly have plates with little teddy bears and ducks and hearts.

Then you can either use little candle stick holders like this one up front (I got that one at Hobby Lobby for $2.99) and the other 3 things I already had at home. This is the part of the project that Goodwill would be perfect for but I just couldn't find any when I went. I'm sure there will be lots of little goodies like these at garage sales too!

I asked a gal at Hobby Lobby what type of glue to use and she suggested this. The overall piece seems pretty sturdy but I'm still very careful with it.

I tested it out with the little white vases first and I loved it, but it made it too tall.

But this combo I absolutely looooved:

The trickiest part is getting everything centered, otherwise it is super easy and super smelly. Once you have it glued get it out in your garage or porch...my super sensitive nose was going crazy.

This is one I made for sister-in-law for Christmas and I added a little drawer pull on the top which added a touch of funk to it and you can usually find them on sale at Hobby Lobby at some time during the month.

So there's a little DIY for your Thursday! Now go through your cupboards and pull out some pretty plates and get busy!


Linking up to Kammy's Korner Trash 2 Treasures Tuesday's!!!

Henry got to invite a few friends over for a little party for his birthday. I wasn't ready for a school-friends party yet...having a boy who has a birthday in the winter = indoor party with lots of boys = that's just not gonna work out quite yet. So I convinced him that it would be much more fun to just invite a few friends over instead and he was super excited.   I made little canvases for our guests (you can buy a 10-pack of 8x10 canves at Michael's for $20 and I used a 50% off coupon. It's a cheap way to have lots of fun!)

Millie and Ruby were the 2 girls he chose to invite. He wants to marry both of them and I'm hopeful that he actually will get to marry either one of them.

But of course the painting only took about 15 minutes and I didn't have much else planned, but found a Bingo game I had bought at Target a long time ago and the kids loved it. It was so adorable how quietly they sat  and played.

Of course he got lots of fun presents too. He's got toys to keep him entertained for a long time and got a ton of crafts projects to keep us busy for a long time too!

Life feels back to normal now except for the fact that I have a 5 YEAR old. I can not believe he is already 5! His personality stretches us...in good and bad ways....but I love that about him. When I see how particular he is about the rules and how particular he is about everything and how intense he is and how loving he is and how sensitive he is and how absolutely crazy he is, I know it's the kind of traits that will make him into a fantastic young man. I pray that he will be a great leader someday.  I pray that he will also learn to relax a bit and not sweat the small stuff so much. :) He certainly did not get any "laid back"ness from his dad and I. 

Henry Dean, I love you so much! You are simply my favorite little man of all time.

I am so thankful that God created you so uniquely and surprised us so much with your personality. Now promise me your days of being a major momma's boy are not even close to being over. Promise you will want me to cuddle with you at bedtime and and be over the moon excited every single time you see me. Okay? Okay.

 Christmas 2011 was great.

We did a few crafts:

Opened a few presents:

I even got some super fun gifts...all from the East Village.

RJ is goooood.

I especially love this Des Moines print!!!

I got RJ a donut maker so we put it to work right away.

For our family Christmas meal I made homemade baguettes. They need some more practice, but were pretty yummy!

And a roast with olives and tomatoes:

Aaannnnd mashed potaters and roasted carrots:

It was a delightful weekend just the 4 of us! We saw RJ's family the weekend before and then my family for New Year's. I didn't really take any pictures, but did get this super sweet one of my nephew David. Isn't he squeezable?!

Now we're getting-ready-for-a-birthday mode. (I can't believe he is going to be FIVE)

Have a great week!

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to *instagram* I may never use my regular camera again. 

Or write a real-deal blog post again. 

It's just too easy! 

Happy December, everyone!

Decemeber via pictures

Thanksgiving 2011 was a lot of fun and full of family. My side of the family was at our house for Thanksgiving meal. My brother and his family stayed at Embassy Suites so the kids got to go swimming while my mom and I worked on the meal. I've hosted Thanksgiving 3 times since we've been in this house and I absolutely love doing it. 

Having the island was incredibly handy. All the big kids sat there for the meal:

And the little girls sat at a little table. I don't think the little girls ate anything, but they were sure having fun together.

I did a horrible job of taking photos, but it was just really, really fun. My family left on Friday and then on Saturday and Sunday we spent time with RJ's side. More cousin time, bowling, eating out, and having fun. 

I had won a $25 gift card to spend for Small Business Saturday so we went down to the East Village. It was hard to decide, but I spent my money at Domestica on 2 uber funky oven mits (mine were getting so old) and a little card to frame and put above our coffee station in the kitchen:

How fun, eh? 

One of these years I'm going to give a very good try to buy only local. I already blew it this year since our presents for the kids are all bought and are from the big chains. It's so hard to resist Target! And the mall! And the sales! And the mall!!! But let's face it, they don't even hold a candle to the uniqueness and one-of-a-kind-ness you can find at a locally owned store.

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and enjoy the anticipation of Christmas this week!