A Garden Full of Peppers

Can we talk about Pinterest for a minute? I swear, it is simultaneously the greatest, and the worst, social media invention ever created. On one hand, the website gives me tons and tons of ideas for recipes, crafts, fashion, etc.  On the other hand, the website gives me tons and tons of ideas for recipes, crafts, fashion, etc.

Seriously, I have pinned so many things at this point, that I can't even find half of the stuff I need when I actually do want to use it. 

A few months after joining Pinterest, in an effort to be more organized, I realized that perhaps the solution to my problem was more boards with more specific names. I was hopeful that this approach would help me locate my pins a little easier, but in reality, I'm not so sure that worked out as planned, considering I'm still in the process of revamping... All while still pinning several (hundred) new pins a day!

Anyhow, Pinterest has become my go-to place when I am looking for a new recipe to try with ingredients I already have on hand. This past week, my husband and I noticed we now have an over abundance of jalapeños in our garden. We're not upset about it... We love jalapeños, but the overgrowth left us grasping for new and fresh ways to use them.

Thank you Pinterest for leading me to this delicious recipe for jalapeño pesto!!! We've already used this pesto twice this week, once on pasta with grilled chicken, and again on burgers with avocado... It is soooooo good!

The health-nut side of me also decided to try this recipe for Paleo pumpkin muffins this week. They were also really tasty and easy to make. It should be noted that I added a cup of Enjoy Life gluten free chocolate chips to my muffins... I know, slightly less healthy with that addition, but they sure were good!

Chicken White Cheddar and Apple Slaw Sandwiches

A little more than 3 years ago, my husband and I decided we would honeymoon in the Hamptons. We were married in Maine, had always wanted to go there, and decided it was just too convenient on the drive back to Pennsylvania to pass up.

If you've never been to Eastern Long Island, I can tell you from experience (we've been twice now), that it is amazing. Think beaches, farm stands, wineries, hydrangeas everywhere, and the cutest little shops. It is so relaxing and low key there, not to mention, absolutely beautiful, that it has become one of our favorite destinations.

While we were our honeymoon, we decided to spend one of the days exploring the island by car, to scope out the amazing homes (mansions), and see what the area had to offer. We made a stop at a random restaurant along the water for lunch... I don't even remember the name of the restaurant, what I do remember though is that I had the most incredible sandwich. It was grilled chicken topped with a melted Vermont white cheddar, and a tangy apple slaw, tucked into a perfectly toasted brioche roll.

I knew as soon as we returned home that I had to try to recreate it.  Now, it could never be exactly the same...Something about enjoying that sandwich on a deck in the Hamptons, with the perfect ocean breeze, just after being married, made that sandwich extra special... But this recipe is a close second.

The combination of sharp cheddar cheese and cool crisp apple slaw is perfection, and over the last couple of years, I have found that they pair really well atop a turkey or chicken burger as well. I hope you enjoy this sandwich as much as I do.

Tangy Apple Slaw

Ingredients:

1/2 head of green cabbage

1 large Granny Smith apple

2 Tbs cider vinegar

1 Tbs vegetable or canola oil

1 Tbs honey

Salt and pepper to taste

You'll want to slice the cabbage really thin, like angel hair (if you don't feel up to this, I have also used the bagged angel hair cabbage from the grocery store). Peel and julienne the apple. Combine the cabbage and apple in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, mix them together, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To assemble the sandwich, slice a brioche roll in half, top the bottom half of the roll with chicken. Slice white cheddar and place on top of chicken. Put the whole sandwich under the broiler for just a moment. Keep an eye on it, you just want the bun lightly toasted and the cheese to melt. Remove from oven, top with apple slaw and devour! Easy and delicious.

Projects, projects, projects...

I don't know if it is the unusually cool August temperatures, or what, but lately I've really been feeling like fall is right around the corner. Trust me, I am not trying to wish summer away...by any means, but fall is the favorite season in this house.

I adore the crisp air, the cozy sweaters, the beautiful leaves, and pumpkin EVERYTHING!

Last fall, Max was so little (sigh), that it was pretty tough to do many of the fall activities that I normally enjoy, so this year, I decided to be a little proactive, and create a fall bucket list...you know, to ensure that Max will love the season just as much as his Dad and I do.

What are some activities that you and your family enjoy in the fall?

On top of the many ideas for fall activities I have swimming around in my head, I've also been working on a number of craft projects and items for my Etsy shop

I sort of have a crafter's ADD problem... You know, I start one project, and before it's completed, I'm already on to the next one.  I really need to work on this. Anyhow, I hope to have a bunch of new items listed soon (some are already).

In the meantime, here are some of the things I have been working on/completed, in the very little spare time Max is allowing me these days!

Happy Friday!

Stuffed Banana Peppers

One of the things I love the most about having our own garden, is having fresh ingredients right at my finger tips. We love growing a variety of different peppers, and then using them in as many different ways as possible. We stuff them, we top burgers with them, we grill them, we make them into pepper jelly, etc.

My favorite, easy, go-to recipe is stuffed banana peppers. They can be served as an appetizer or when plated with salad and bread, they make a fabulous meal.

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Ingredients:

8-10 banana peppers (depending on size)

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I usually use turkey sausage)

2 eggs

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 TBS Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops off of peppers, then cut them in half length wise. Remove seeds and ribs.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, eggs, breadcrumbs,  garlic, Italian seasoning, and half of the Parmesan cheese.

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of dish with half of the marinara sauce.

Fill a large Ziplock bag with sausage mixture, and cut the tip off of the corner of the bag, to use like a piping bag.

Pipe sausage mixture into each pepper. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover dish with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is slightly golden brown.

Happy Breastfeeding Awareness Month

When I first decided to begin this blog, I knew I wanted to use it as a platform... A journal of sorts, to post about things that I was feeling at the moment. For the most part, I use it to post recipes and craft ideas, but from time to time, I feel the need to blog about something personal. I do this mostly for my own benefit. For starters, I feel that it is a good form of therapy to write about things, but I also intend on using this blog as way to reflect back on what was going on in our family at any given time.

Being that it is National Breastfeeding Awareness month, I felt that it was a very appropriate time to blog about a very relevant event for my family and I right now. 

This past week marks the end of mine and Max's 13 month breastfeeding journey (so I like to call it). I have a lot of mixed feelings about this, and am hopeful that writing about it will help me deal with these feelings.

I knew before I was even pregnant that I wanted to breastfeed my future child. I'm not really sure why exactly. Sure, there are millions of women out there who decide to do it for a multitude of reasons, but I can't name one specific thing that drove me to make this decision.  Of course, we all know of the health benefits, as well as the mother-baby bond it forms, but I must tell you, I in no-way feel that mothers who nurse their babies rather than use formula to feed them are in any way superior. I am just not one of those people who feels the need to push my opinions on what is best, when it comes to parenting, on other people. Being a mother is hard enough, we're all doing all that we can to provide the best possible lives for our little ones... So who am I to tell someone how they should or should not feed their children?

The sad truth is, that I know a lot of mothers who have set out wanting to breastfeed, but have run into problems along the way, and had no choice but to go the formula route. Some women I know chose from the very beginning not to breastfeed, and that's just fine too.

Which brings me to mine and Max's little nursing journey. Though I was extremely fortunate to never have to experience any of the problems that many of my breastfeeding peers had to go through, I certainly ran into some problems of my own. Max never had a problem with latching on, I never dealt with supply issues. I was blessed enough to be a stay-at-home mom, so I never had to worry about pumping while at work... Our "issues" were on the other end of the spectrum.

For the last 13 months, my son NEVER took a bottle. I can't tell you how many people said to me, "when he's hungry enough, he'll drink from a bottle!" It simply wasn't true. See, my sweet little Max has inherited both mine and his father's stubborn streak, and I'll be darned, our child could not be broken. 

We bought every type of bottle on the market. We tried having other people give him the bottle. We tried sugar water. We tried apple juice. I tried leaving the house. We tried holding out on feedings.  No matter what, every time we tried to give him a bottle, it was batted away and refused.

For the last 13 months, for lack of a better term, I have been a slave to my son... But the truth is, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Sure, it's been tough, never being able to leave my son for more than a few hours. Of course, there were moments, while at public events,  that I stared in awe of mothers who could just whip out a bottle and feed their babies right then and there, rather than have to find a quiet private corner to hide in or break out the dreaded nursing cover. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to the fact that there were times that I really wanted enjoy that extra glass of wine, but didn't because I knew it was selfish when I had a baby to nurse.

All of that aside though, over the course of the last 13 months, I have formed a bond with my son,
that I will never forget. For 365 plus days, I rocked my precious boy to sleep every night while
nursing him in my arms. I watched as he twirled his own hair so relaxed and comforted by what I was providing him with. Something so simple and natural, but yet so special. In the mornings, I got to bring him into our bed, to snuggle, while he nursed himself back to sleep. I have loved every single sweet second of being a breastfeeding mama.

So, why you ask, did I decide to wean my son? I just felt it was time.  When I first made the decision to breastfeed, I set the goal of doing it for a year. After Max's first birthday, I began to realize that getting him to take a sippy cup or a bottle was becoming more and more of a challenge. I felt that I had made a goal, and that I had reached and surpassed it, and the time just felt right.

It was sad to accept, and still is, but I still stand by my decision and can honestly can say I feel good about it. With a lot of help from my husband, the weaning process went surprisingly better than I thought. I truly believe that Max was ready too though, because in the last couple of weeks, he has come to love his sippy cup, and even finds joy in trying to feed me and my husband with it.

I think the journey is different for all of us. Whether you bottle-feed, or choose to nurse your child well into the toddler years. We all have to do what is right for us as parents, regardless of the pressure and opinions we get from others. Ultimately, I think we all just want to do what best for our children. We are all different, and this is just what was best for ME and MY child. Thank you for letting me share about my experiences.

Happy Breastfeeding Awareness Month!

BLT Spaghetti Squash

If you have never tried spaghetti squash, I highly suggest you do. The stuff is amazing! It's super easy to cook, is extremely healthy, and can be prepared in about a million different ways! That being said, the following recipe would work equally as well with regular old pasta if your not into that whole spaghetti squash thing. Serve this up with a salad and some fresh bread and I promise you'll love it!

BLT Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 3-4 pound spaghetti squash

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes

2 cups baby spinach

5 slices of bacon

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

1 TBS olive oil

Parmesan or Romano cheese to grate on top

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1.  First I start by cooking the spaghetti squash... You can do this a number of ways; bake it, microwave it, boil it. For the sake of saving time, I microwaved mine. I cut it in half, lengthwise, then scooped out all of the seeds. After that was done, I placed both halves, open side down, in a glass 9x13 baking dish. Then I added about a half inch of water to the pan, covered it with Saran Wrap, and microwaved it for 15 minutes.

2.  While the squash is cooking, you will want to fry your bacon in a large skillet. When the bacon is done, remove it from the pan, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. To the bacon fat, add the TBS olive oil, add the cherry tomatoes, and reduce the heat to low/medium. Cover. Stir occasionally. After a few minutes, the tomatoes will start to burst. When this happens, very carefully (they splatter and it's hot!), mash them with a potato masher.

3.  Add red pepper flakes, garlic, and red onion, as well as S&P, to taste. Let cook, covered, until onions start to become translucent. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

4.  Using 2 forks, scrape spaghetti squash into a large bowl.

5.  Crumble bacon and chop basil.

6.  On top of spaghetti squash in bowl, add the tomato mixture.

7.  Top with bacon, basil, and grated cheese.

8.  Enjoy!

Happy Weekend to All!

I really cannot believe it is already August!!! Seriously, where did July go? To kick off the first weekend of the month, I thought I'd share the recipe for a very summery adult beverage my husband and I tested out!

Strawberry Basil Mojito

1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced in half, reserve a few for garnish
Bunch of Basil
1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Lemon-lime seltzer water
White rum

To make strawberry syrup:
Add strawberries, the juice of 1 lemon, the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and mash with a potato masher. Allow to simmer until liquid reduces and a syrup begins to form.
*** if you do not want seeds, you can pour syrup through a mesh strainer
To make the Mojito:
Place some chopped basil in the bottom of a glass. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to muddle the basil. Fill glass with ice.  Add 1.5-2 ounces of rum, 2 ounces of strawberry syrup, then top with seltzer water. Garnish with strawberry, sip, and enjoy!