Go to Dish for New Moms & Friends

So one of my friends just had a baby and I am taking her dinner tomorrow night. I always refer back to the best cookbook ever, The Magnolia Cookbook. It is from the sweetest family, the Davidsons, in the world that I used to work for when I went to school at FSU. A go to I always make is chicken lasagna. The reason I make it is because its's easy to make, it freezes well, and its absolutely delicious. The recipe is below....enjoy :)

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey guys! So while sis was sleeping, me and E made chocolate chip cookies for a friend of mine who just had the sweetest baby girl (obviously we will keep some because this family loves cookies lol). E loves to help and it's much easier when Caroline is asleep.

I have been making chocolate chip cookies for years. Most turn out flat or crunchy. The ones that turned out the best were the ones I put oats in, but I was still in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I am a stalker of Pinterest and stumbled upon an AMAZING "Best soft chocolate chip cookies" recipe. The main difference that I noticed was that she melted the butter and added it when it wasn't hot. The other difference was the amount of flour-she adds some and then adds more if needed. The dough needs to be right between wet and dry. The dough shouldn't stick to your hands. And bam--perfect, chewy cookies!

Bring Maple Street Here

Whenever I travel back to Jacksonville, I have to go to certain food restaurants-Zoe's Kitchen, Metro Diner, and the best Maple Street Biscuit Company.

Zoe's has the best chicken salad around and I think their other food is delicious as well but I haven't had anything else. So side Greek with a scoop of chicken salad is my go to at Zoe's. And rumor has it-we are getting one in Bradenton (or at least that is what the manager at the one in Jax told me).

Metro Diner has the BEST pancakes ever. I'm sure there are more places with better pancakes, but I haven't had it. Short stack is where its's at.

And last, Maple Street Biscuit is the best biscuit place ever. From their hand made biscuits to their Maple Tap coffee, everything is delicious. I like to get a chicken biscuit with gravy on the side (have to get gravy-no one counts calories here) and a side of grits. My husband gets the chicken biscuit with a fried egg, bacon, cheese, and gravy. AMAZING. Can't wait to my next visit.

I linked all the place to the websites. Check out their menus. If you are near one, go to it. It won't disappoint.

Chores-when do we start?

I always had chores when I was younger-clean dishes, make bed, etc. E has been doing small chores for awhile now. He will help unload the dishwasher by sorting the silverware. He puts his clothes away after they are folded (saves me from extra work) and cleans up his room. He also will help clean sometimes. I believe kiddos need to help around the house and believe they need to start as soon as they can comprehend.

C has started small chores-putting toys away and attempts to help with laundry. She likes the Swifter so I decided to add a Swifter sweeper thing on and let her help clean. She did okay until she started to hit the blinds and the counter. I decided she had helped enough...lol. Baby steps :)

Activities with E and C

E is back in school, so in the mornings it's me and sis. We go to the gym, for walks, or just play in thehouse. This morning we painted. She loves it. Starts out nice and clean, but towards the end there's obviously paint everywhere :) 

I also created for her a color matching wheel. We are going to focus on colors and sorting. I used a plate because I can't draw a good circle to save my life. I divided it into fifths and picked 5 colors. I used the 5 colors I picked to paint clothespins. My hope is for her to sort the clothespins onto the correct piece of the color wheel. Will help with color identification, sorting, and fine motor skills. Will post final pics of it and C doing it.

More Creative Dinners

So I don't know about you, but our dinners get pretty routine around here. Steak with green beans, spaghetti and meatballs, grilled chicken and veggies, taco night, and so on. I am back to no dairy (went dairy crazy over the holidays) so our dinners our changing. And for those of you wondering-my kiddos drink milk, eat yogurt, and cheese. Anyways, this past Saturday night I made Sweet and Sour Chicken with fried rice and cauliflower rice for me. I combined 2 recipes from Pinterest and came up with my own for the rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1 lb, chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup of pineapple cut into chunks
1 cup peppers, cut into chunks (I used orange)
1/4 cup of corn starch
1/2 cup of sugar
4 tbs. ketchup
2 tbs. low sodium soy sauce
2 tbs, coconut oil

Combine cider, sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce-set aside. Heat skillet to medium heat. Put chicken cubes into gallon bag and add corn starch, shake around until covered. Add beaten egg, shake more. Add 1 tbs. of oil to skillet-cook chicken in batches (did 2 batches total). I cooked long enough for the sides to brown-wasn't cooked all the way through. Once cooked, I placed onto a foil lined pan. Once all cooked, add pineapple and peppers to pan. Pour sauce over chicken, pineapple, and peppers. Stir to make sure all is covered. Cook in a preheated 375 oven. I did it for about 45 minutes, stirring halfway through.

For the rice, super easy! Just cooked brown rice, I added sauteed onions, peas, carrots, half of a cooked scrambled egg, and soy sauce. For the cauliflower rice (Walmart sells cauliflower rice-jackpot)--did the same thing, but cooked the cauliflower rice and then added the sauteed onions, peas, carrots, and rest of the egg. Threw in some soy sauce at the end! So good. My 4.5 year old son has 2 servings! This will be a dish we continue to cook.

New Year, Same Plan

Happy New Year! So me and my husband were discussing resolutions before the New Year. You know lose weight, new diet,  less technology, blah blah blah. I decided not to make any this year. The diet I have been on (just counting calories, no dairy-except coffee in the am) has been working for me. I mean my diet stopped once the buckeyes and Heath bar rolled in, but I continued to work out the entire time so I maintained weight. We decided to keep doing what we are doing, just better. Lol. I know it sounds dumb, but it works for us ❤ Happy New Year!