Happy Mothers Day to me!

Quite an unexpected and nice Mother's Day surprise, don't you think?

Posted by fruitychick at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Mr. Fruitychick is off in Seattle on business so I'm on day 2 (of 4) of "quality time" with the Munch. Shes generally a good baby but when we are alone, it's very hard to get things done around here and we quickly devolve into messiness.

There are, however, some things that can't be put off. Like potty breaks for me. Usually I just set her up with a toy and duck into the bathroom for a minute but she inevitably finds somethng to get into.

Like Cheezits.

sigh...its like she has some kind of radar that pulls her towards stuff she isnt supposed to get into. While I was cleaning up the jar of squash she pulled down onto the floor during lunch, the gravitational pull of the dog food overwhelmed her and she made a beeline right for the dish to partake in a few chunks. I dont get what about puppy chow looks so wonderfully tasty compared to the things I give her but she sees something irresistable in it.

Shes also spending a large part of her day topless these days since she makes such a mess eating now. Shes trying to learn how to feed herself with the spoon. I'd love to tell you what a genius my baby is but, in all honesty, she really stinks at the whole spoon thing. I know things will improve but, for now, she eats topless since skin is much easier to clean than t-shirts.

I have gotten very little knitting done lately though I did start a little project. Its far too hilarious to show you half completed, so I'll post a picture of the FO as soon as its done! (Probably tomorrow)

Posted by fruitychick at 06:36 PM | Permalink

I admit, the Backyardigans are cute. Heck, I even occassionally find myself humming the catchy little showtunes. However, the 576th time through each episode it gets a little old; last night the music from Cops and Robots was the theme music to my dreams.

The problem is that backyardigans episodes are like lays potato chips. Munch can't have just one. Shes fine if she doesnt see it but once you play one episode you must continue to play them until (a) a meal or (b) going out of the house. Needless to say, there are many many snacks and trips to the store around here.

We are starting to feel a little more settled here in Plano. We chose to do a short term lease in an apartment before buying a house here for a variety of reasons and, despite the tiny apartment kitchen, I've actually managed to turn out a couple of tasty meals over the last few days. The other night we had Chicken Breasts stuffed with Hatch Chiles and Pepper Jack Cheese.

My own recipe inspired by the intoxicating smelling fresh roasted chiles available at our local Whole Foods:

Hatch Stuffed Chicken

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Large Roasted Hatch Chiles (see note at bottom)
4 oz Pepper Jack Cheese, cut into small cubes (¼ inch)

1.Preheat oven to 350.
2.Butterfly the chicken breasts. Pound out flat with a meat pounder.
3.Remove the seeds and stem from the Hatch Chiles and place one on each of the flattened chicken breasts. Place 1 oz of cheese on the chiles and fold the breasts in half, enclosing the pepper and cheese. Place in a baking dish and salt and pepper the chicken.
4.Bake for 40 minutes or until juices run clear or a meat thermometer reads 165.

notes:
1.Hatch Chiles are available here in Texas in August and September. If hatch chiles aren't available to you, try using another large mild pepper like a banana pepper.
2.My local market roasts hatch chiles daily. If your local market doesnt, you can easily roast chiles on your grill or a gas burner. Roast up a batch and place them in a small container covered with oil. They'll keep up to a week and are great additions to sandwiches.

I also made Roasted Vegetable Gratin, a recipe inspired by one in Cooking Light (June). I made some additions and changes:

It was incredibly tasty and couldnt be easier to make:

Roasted Vegetable Gratin

Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1 red bell pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 large yellow onion
1 medium red onion
1 large tblsp fresh thyme

1 tblsp paprika
2 tblsp olive oil
½ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese (grated)

1.Preheat oven to 400.
2.Chop all the vegetables into ¼ inch slices. Combine in a bowl with the olive oil and paprika. Salt and Pepper well.
3.Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Set aside
4.Spread into a large sheet pan as close to a single layer as possible.
5.Roast for 45 minutes, stirring often.
6.Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are toasted.

Mr. Fruitychick took the leftovers to work and reported them equally tasty the next day. This recipe is a total keeper.

Photos taken by my snazzy new Palm Treo 750. I'm still learning the art of the mobile photo so these are less than fantastic. Did you know you can send photos from your phone directly to flickr? Probably. I am so behind the curve on this stuff...this is my first camera phone.

I also updated a few things in the sidebar--my 52 pair plunge total for one. I finished the flourescent socks for Elizabeth (I have a photo somewhere in my email...), the no bake cookie socks and the georgetown socks. Our stuff is split between the apartment and storage right now and I think my socks are, sadly, in the storage category. I'm nearly done on another pair:

Monkey Socks
STR Fire on the Mountain (lightweight? I dont remember)

I bet I'll be done with these in the next few days. They are a quick knit and I'm trying (hard) to be a monogomous knitter so I can start getting a few more things done. I'm predicting I'll fail and cast on for something new but I'm trying, people.

Posted by fruitychick at 10:09 AM | Permalink