Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Date 4: Chili Manicotti
The last couple weeks, Mike and I have kept our date nights very low key with making dinner together and watching a movie. Life has been a little crazy and trying to adjust to a few added changes in our schedule has exhausted us. I started babysitting our friends’ sweet baby girl so her mama could go back to work. Last week I literally felt like I did after my first week of student teaching. Absolutely exhausted. Having a very low key date with one of our all time favorite dishes was the perfect remedy for us to finish the week.
Mike allowed me to completely relax on the couch with a glass of wine after the kids went to bed while he made my mom’s recipe for chili manicotti. This is by far one of my favorite dishes she made for us growing up. It’s a little obscure and looking at the ingredient list you would think there’s no way this could be good, but Mike who once was the pickiest eater loves this as much as I do.
When we were dating we would often cook together and try new recipes. We love food and we used it as a way to build our relationship. Shortly after we became engaged I compiled our favorite family recipes into a book using Shutterfly. We often turn to this book when we’re really needing a little piece of home. There’s nothing better than the warm and cozy feeling of biting into a favorite dish our parents often made for us growing up.
The chili manicotti recipe was added and we often joked whether this was an Italian or Mexican dish? Then again, chili itself isn’t really Mexican, but the pickled jalapeños kind of are. Uh huh, it sounds awful, right? Whatever it is, it’s a mixed up collaboration of both and it’s stolen our hearts. The best part is it’s always better the second day.
So if you’re brave enough to try this crazy concoction I really hope you thoroughly enjoy it as much as we do and it can become one of those weird recipes that the family talks about, but never really understands.
Chili Manicotti
2 cans condensed chili beef soup (with or without beans)
1/2 cup water
12 manicotti shells
2 eggs, beaten
24 ounces cottage cheese
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 pickled jalapeno peppers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir chili soup and water together and set aside.
Cook manicotti shells according to package directions. Drain and let cool.
Combine eggs, cottage cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese and pickled jalapeño peppers. Mix well. Carefully spoon cheese mixture into cooked manicotti shells.
Place filled shells into a 9x13 baking dish. Pour chili soup mixture over the shells.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover and top with remaining cheddar cheese and serve.
When we were dating we would often cook together and try new recipes. We love food and we used it as a way to build our relationship. Shortly after we became engaged I compiled our favorite family recipes into a book using Shutterfly. We often turn to this book when we’re really needing a little piece of home. There’s nothing better than the warm and cozy feeling of biting into a favorite dish our parents often made for us growing up.
The chili manicotti recipe was added and we often joked whether this was an Italian or Mexican dish? Then again, chili itself isn’t really Mexican, but the pickled jalapeños kind of are. Uh huh, it sounds awful, right? Whatever it is, it’s a mixed up collaboration of both and it’s stolen our hearts. The best part is it’s always better the second day.
So if you’re brave enough to try this crazy concoction I really hope you thoroughly enjoy it as much as we do and it can become one of those weird recipes that the family talks about, but never really understands.
Chili Manicotti
2 cans condensed chili beef soup (with or without beans)
1/2 cup water
12 manicotti shells
2 eggs, beaten
24 ounces cottage cheese
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 pickled jalapeno peppers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir chili soup and water together and set aside.
Cook manicotti shells according to package directions. Drain and let cool.
Combine eggs, cottage cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese and pickled jalapeño peppers. Mix well. Carefully spoon cheese mixture into cooked manicotti shells.
Place filled shells into a 9x13 baking dish. Pour chili soup mixture over the shells.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover and top with remaining cheddar cheese and serve.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Three + Four Month Favorites
The last couple of months have been a little bit of a blur with all the holidays and festivities we had going on. Olivia is now five months and rolling around everywhere. She’s competing with Finn for our chunkiest baby. Her rolls are the squishiest, most adorable thing EVER and she just keeps adding to them. It actually makes me sad to think once she starts crawling her lovable baby fat is going to melt away.
Around four months, she dove into the infamous sleep regression and I’ve been trying to catch up ever since. She loves to snuggle to no end and has been trying to roll to sleep on her tummy. She absolutely hates it when I roll her onto her back and screams at the top of her lungs. She hasn’t quite figured out to turn her head when on her tummy and often puts her face straight down, which of course is never good and freaks me out....hence why she screams at me.
.
.
She’s also notorious for spitting up and exploding out of her diapers. We recently went up a size due to all of her 17 lbs of squishy chunk. I think Kensi was only around 20 lbs by the time she turned one, Livie is setting new goals. We’ve continued to use some of our favorites listed on the first and second month favorites and don’t have too many new ones to add right now, but here’s but we’re currently using and loving for our sweet baby girl.
| Sound Machine | We’ve always used a sound machine with Finn because it seemed to help him sleep better through the night. He’s had to share the last month or so because Olivia does not sleep well in silence. She’s the one baby who sleeps or will fall asleep when the vacuum is running and the kids are running around screaming. The more noise, the better she sleeps.
| Swing | We have both the MamaRoo and the Rockaroo by 4Moms. When we brought Olivia home from the hospital we immediately used the Rockaroo for the ease of moving it around. She loves this swing and often naps in it, however we can’t get her to give the same love to the MamaRoo as Finn did.
| Como Tomo Bottle | Kensi loves helping me with Olivia. She’s always one to grab the diapers and wipes when needed and is never far from Olivia. One of her favorite things to do for Olivia is feeding her a bottle. Kensi often asks me if I would like to pump milk for her baby sissy so she can feed her. We’ve tried different bottles with each of our kids, but our favorite right now is the Como Tomo.
| BabyGanics Lotion | Livie has very dry skin and several little eczema patches on her legs. arms and will even get them on the sides of her face. We use Babyganics Lotion to help hydrate her sensitive skin and does the trick every time. I even use it on my dry spots and it’s been a dream! Buh-bye dry skin!
| Apple Music | We joined Apple music a few months ago and it has literally been a lifesaver during nap time. I love downloading the lullabies, especially this one. Its my favorite and totally beats listening to an instrumental rendition of twinkle little star on repeat.
I can hardly believe we’ll soon be embarking on all things food related to this little chunk, I can only imagine how many more rolls she’ll acquire in the next couple months...hopefully a lot!
| Apple Music | We joined Apple music a few months ago and it has literally been a lifesaver during nap time. I love downloading the lullabies, especially this one. Its my favorite and totally beats listening to an instrumental rendition of twinkle little star on repeat.
I can hardly believe we’ll soon be embarking on all things food related to this little chunk, I can only imagine how many more rolls she’ll acquire in the next couple months...hopefully a lot!
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Date 3: Movie + Pizza
I’ve been a little MIA this past week. It’s been so busy over here with the kids, Mike and I and the everyday chaos. Funny little side note to start today’s post, when I was sharing with my parents about our resolution to date each week they thought it would be hilarious if we did a post simply saying our date was cancelled due to not getting along and fighting. Of course not marriage drowning fighting, just annoyed enough to not have a date that week. I thought it would be funny too, until it kinda happened.
Last week I planned to have us make fried rice and watch a movie on the couch, just something simple and cozy to do. I was just not in a good mood on Friday and everything was irritating me. Poor Mike got the brunt of my sass and attitude and pushed me too far with our workout that day. I was exhausted, I didn’t want to do it and I found what he meant to be encouraging flat out nagging and I checked myself out of the entire evening. I wasn’t in the mood to cook dinner with him or even watch a movie. He tried being sweet and made the meal, and even asked me to pick the movie. When I failed to choose one he started one of my all time favorites and I chose to be a brat. I went to bed. I don’t know why I allow myself to have moments like that, as if it’s going to really stick it to him for making me mad. He really didn’t do anything wrong. It was all me. I chose to let tone and words offend me. Worse than that I allowed it to completely ruin our night and I felt awful. Pure regret. I missed out on a date with my husband for stupid reasons.
The thing with blogging about such things and sharing life with our friends and family is that it’s important to be real and genuine. Our life is not always a bunch of highlights you see on my Facebook or Instagram posts. We are a real couple who love each other, annoy each other and sometimes fight. We’re here raising this little family of ours on our own without family around to help us. It can be stressful. It can be hard, really hard. There are days I’m drowning in laundry, dishes and glitter. There are days I do not want to get out of bed. There are days I’m so sad and I’m homesick. There are days I cry because I miss my friends and family so much it hurts. There are days I long for the opportunity to be able to go grab lunch with my mom, sister or best girlfriend. There are days where I dread Mike going to work because I so badly want to have more adult interaction other than talking to the barista in the Starbucks drive thru. But there are also days of pure joy. Days where I get to experience new adventures with the kids. Days we stay in our pajamas and play for hours and hours. Days that are far too short and I don’t want them to end. We have all these days just like everyone else. Our life and our marriage are so far from perfect, but I really believe the difference for us is constantly praying and looking for the good, the beauty and the joy. Mike and I know we couldn’t do our journey...our marriage....our life without God. There’s just no way.
I am one very blessed woman to have a very loving husband who forgives me when I’m being a brat and sees past my flaws. We decided to make up our date Saturday night and together made homemade pizza and snuggled in for another favorite movie; Definitely, Maybe. I’ll plan another date to share our fried rice recipe because it’s the bomb and you will definitely want to try it out.
Lately, I’ve been all about hamburger pizza and adding as many veggies as I can fit, along with our favorite pizza seasoning we found at an Amish market outside of Annapolis, Maryland. We enjoy using naan bread for individual pizzas or we’ll use my sister Trish's favorite go-to recipe for dough using a food processor. It’s so simple and makes pizza night easy every week.
Pizza, a movie and bottle of wine was definitely a good way to make up for my bratty attitude and enjoy a date with the hubster.
xo
Simple Pizza Dough
2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon Sugar
1-1/4 cups Warm Water (105-115F)
3-1/3 cup Flour
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
3 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In a 2-cup liquid measure, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Insert dough blade in food processor work bowl and add flour, salt and olive oil.
With machine running on dough speed, pour liquid (yeast + sugar mixture) through feed tube as fast as flour will absorb it. Process until dough cleans sides of work bowl and forms a ball. Then process for 30 seconds to knead dough. Dough may be slightly sticky. Coat dough evenly with a drizzle of olive oil; transfer to a glass or metal bowl and let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes. While dough is rising, prepare pizza toppings and preheat oven to 475 F.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll dough into desired crust sizes.
We usually split dough in half and make two medium to large pizzas. Left over dough can be stored in a plastic zip bag in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Pre-bake dough before adding toppings for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top dough with sauce, toppings and cheese. Return pizza to the oven and bake 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Date 2: Rach’s Star
Hi! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Mike and
I am Rachael's husband. As you probably know, Rach and I had a resolution to
date each other more in this new year. Well, I got to plan date number two and
Rach agreed to let me guest write the blog post for this date. Please be kind
as this is the first time I have ever attempted to write something like this. I
am far more comfortable with technical writing based on the nature of my job.
If you recall our first date (here), Rach introduced some of our
history into the mix to both make it fun and reminiscent of our early years
together. When I started to think about planning my first date of 2017, I
figured I better follow suit and bring some history into the mix. I did just
that in a fun way and realized for some reason we had not done this “thing”
ever before now (Keep reading…it will all make sense later).
To start off this story I must explain the history part that
is both sweet, in a young love kind of way, corny, and a little sad (the sad
part is a funny story that I discovered while planning this date…keep
reading!). When Rach and I were dating back in high school, which seems so long
ago now, I decided to "name a star" in her honor. It was a sweet,
cute, and lovely jester at the time and was part of a bigger love we both
shared for laying around at night in the summer to star gaze. So as any young
man would do, I found a website online that allowed me to pay a price for a
package that would "name a star" in her honor. I aptly named it
"Rachael's Star" (I know…very original).
With all of that in mind, let’s move onto the actual night
of the date. I decided to take Rach out to dinner at one of our all-time
favorite local restaurants for some tacos, fish tacos to be exact. We both had
been having mad cravings for some really good tacos, so I tried my best to
fulfill that desire. The place was Las Olas, and if you are ever visiting
Wilmington, it is a must try. At dinner I gave Rach our traveling journal to
read my entry. The other thing to know about me is that I love riddles and more
than that, I love giving Rach riddles to solve that provide clues for whatever
we might be doing. She read my entry and the riddle, took a few minutes and
solved it on the spot. She was surprised
how quickly she solved it, but she aced it.
The riddle is below.
At night they come out without being
fetched
and by day they are lost without being stolen.
and by day they are lost without being stolen.
What are they?
Side story from after dinner that made Rach and I laugh to
the point of crying. While sitting in the car about ready to leave, I noticed a
guy sitting at the outdoor table at the Dunkin’ Donuts next door talking on the
phone. Seems innocent at this point, but then I noticed and immediately pointed
out to Rach that he was picking, or itching depending on how you see it, his
belly button constantly. He literally
did not let up for a solid five minutes and we sat there and laughed. Keep in mind that we were not laughing at
him, but it was constant, very awkward, and hard to watch. Laughing was the side
effect of all those feelings.
Once we got over the hysteria of the moment, I started into
the surprise, star gazing on the beach and attempting to find “Rachael’s Star.”
This may sound crazy and it actually is crazy, but we had never attempted to
actually look for her star until now. I drove us down to Wrightsville Beach and
parked at a local restaurant with direct beach access. We strolled to the dark beach and took in the
beautiful moon, crystal clear sky, and the soothing sound of waves crashing. We
took in the star gazing for a while, failed to take a decent shot of the moon
shining over the water, and then I pulled out my phone…I know it sounds bad,
but I had my reason.
At this point you may be wondering how I planned to locate a random star in the sky, let alone see it without a telescope, but that is where my phone comes into play. Our technology today is amazing, and I found out through some internet searching that a certain star app can help you see all the stars in the sky via augmented reality, and provide the coordinates for wherever you point the phone. This combination allowed me to locate Rach’s star with a little effort. Unfortunately, her star was below the horizon so we could not see it in the sky, plus we would need a telescope to pinpoint the actual star because it is so faint in the sky. I was able to show here the general point where the star was located and she was very excited.
At this point I went on to tell her the story (sad story referenced
above) of my work to find the paperwork on the star, researching on the
internet on an easy way to locate the star, and a way to be able to gaze upon
it in the night sky. This research lead me to a massive discovery of fraud and
deceit. As I started looking for the website of the place that allowed me to
name a star, I found my way into various forums that had discussions on the
merit of these websites. What I discovered is that there is only one
international body that officially names stars and you are not allowed to buy naming
rights, just so you know. All the other websites that sell you on the ability
to name are star are just a gimmick. The specific site I used is no longer around
and actually shows the website is for sale.
If you read over the certificate they sent you would guess
that these records would be kept for all eternity, but what that really meant
was as long as the company is still in operation.
Rach and I both had a laugh about the legitimacy of her star
in the sky, but in the end, we both agreed she still had a star up there in the
sky that was named in her honor…we have the coordinates!
This was one of the best dates we have had in a while and I
look forward to the many more dates we have ahead of ourselves this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
