Sunday Confessional

This week, I forgot to defrost the chicken ahead of time.

I know. Someone needs to take away my Girl Scout badges.

Sometime around 4PM on Tuesday I realized that the whole chicken I was going to roast for dinner was, unfortunately, still in the freezer.

So I called my mom (because that is generally my answer for everything, call mom - she always knows what to do). She had no words of wisdom, but as we were chatting she told me about a vegetarian tamale pie she had made the week before. And as she is talking, I am digging through the kitchen cupboards.

Wouldn't you know I had all the ingredients?

pantry cooking. yes please.

And it was really good, and really easy. And the 2 year old ate it. I know.

So make some Tamale Pie!


Tamale Pie

1 cup instant polenta
1 can of beans (I used red kidney, black beans or pintos would also be great)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup jarred salsa ( fresh would make a soupy mess)
seasoning (I used an ancient pack of taco seasoning - next time I'll use cumin, oregano, cilantro, chipotle and some salt)
1 cup cheese (I had Italian blend - I would have preferred cheddar)

preheat oven to 350

1. Prepare your polenta and spread into a buttered casserole (bonus points if it has a lid!).
2. Dump beans with liquid (bean juice?) into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Mix in 1 cup of salsa and seasonings.
3. Spread bean mixture over polenta. Top with frozen corn and sprinkle with cheese. I sprinkled the cheese with chipotle and cilantro just to give it some color.

polenta and beans. noms.

4. Bake covered for 15 min, uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

*I really think this would freeze well.

I Lied

Yesterday I said I had no real resolutions.

I lied.

Based purely on the amount of chocolate I consumed today, it is safe to say that my resolution for 2011 is:

To make sure that every single Christmas treat is eaten by Jan. 5th.

That is all.

Yada Yada Yada

Happy New Year!

It's been so long since I've blogged that I feel like I've forgotten how to type - let's all say a collective prayer of thanksgiving for the all-important spell-check.

Done? Super.

I'm not making any real resolutions this year, I'm just planning on continuing to nurture my family, take care of my home (as time allows) and volunteer until I can't breathe (seriously, I need to start sitting on my hands so I stop signing up for everything!).

That's it. I'm not even going to strive to write here X times per week, because that's just not how my life is going. Except I am super excited for the second season of Worst Cooks in America to start tonight. I loved it last season, so I'm going to do some recapping here, I'm hoping a few other fans will chime in? It'll be much more fun that way.

I'll be back tomorrow - or the next day...

Busy Bees

We have been swamped the last two weeks!

September brought a new Service League year, and has been consuming a large amount of my free time; the rest of my time is consumed by these two little monkeys.

Peanut and Bun
Hiking Monkeys!

Last week Hubs was out of town. And this week Bun has been a sick little baby :(

In fact, Wednesday night (midnight-ish) I came this close to taking him to the ER. He was crying so hard that I had no idea what else to do. Then, just as I was changing out of my pj's he calmed down and went to sleep (Hubs was holding him and patting his little back). A few of my friends suggested Gripe Water, and we have used it a few times in the past two days and it has been amazing!

We have our happy little baby back!!

Anyway, we have a busy weekend ahead:
* 5K in the morning - the one I mentioned here
* Wrap up the Service League Garage Sale Fundraiser - I cleaned most of the closets and moved a bunch of stuff out of the house!
* Put out the fall decor
* Tidy up the master bedroom - it *might* look like a tornado went through *maybe*

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?

PS - Welcome to my new followers!

A Bright Baby Shower

A bit ago I mentioned a baby shower I was throwing. The baby arrived last week (my incredibly-adorable-first-ever-nephew!) so I figured I should probably get to recapping the party. As luck would have it, The CSI Project is having a Party Ideas Challenge this week. So I'm linking up!

When I think of my SIL I think of bright colors; I decided that would be my "theme" for the shower.

Not exactly a theme, but it worked for decorating. Since this shower was thrown eight weeks after my son arrived, I purchased almost everything months in advance and planned to add either bright pink or turquoise accents (depending on baby's gender). This worked out great!

For invitations I simply purchased note cards, ran them through my printer and added "It's a Boy!" tags to personalize them.

so simple!

Inside:

Blankets and Booties, Diapers and Pins,
This is where the love begins!
Onesies and Bibs, Toys and More,
This is what baby showers are for!

Please Join us for a Baby Shower Honoring
Super Sister-in-Law

The tables were set with white table cloths, a runner made of turquoise tulle, a centerpiece, and small gift bags with turquoise tissue paper.

bright centerpieces on an overcast day

The guests filled their gift bags with candy from a small candy buffet to take home as a favor.

I think Buddy the Elf would approve

I kept the menu simple, my philosophy with parties is not to overwhelm people with choices. Instead I like to offer a well-planned meal that most people will enjoy. I got lots of compliments!

Michigan Salad
Assorted Mini Quiches (I totally cheated and bought these at Sam's)
Fruit Salad
Rolls and Butter
Punch
Cake

nom nom nom

my MIL turned a watermelon into a bowl shaped like a baby seal :)

I have played enough shower games and won enough bath sets/picture frames/stationary to stock a Hallmark store. I am OVER shower games.

Instead, I purchased an 8 x 8 scrapbook and everyone made a page. This was a great activity, and I hope that my SIL will enjoy filling the pages with pictures of her new little guy :)

Unmade

It was a hectic week.

So hectic, I didn't make the bed yesterday.

chaos

I love making the bed because I love getting into a made bed each night. It feels more comfortable and relaxing than climbing into a mess of blankets and trying to make them right (which never works).

I like to keep our bedding simple; fitted and flat sheet, duvet with cover, two pillows each and a throw pillow to finish. Much more feels like overkill.

And, seriously? Stacking up loads of decorative pillows takes time, and they collect dust and feel so very... 90's in aesthetic. At least to me.

I prefer my streamlined bed :)

How many pillows are on your bed?

Energized!

On Sunday we came back from a week at the lake.

I am refreshed and energized!

drool factory

I read an awesome book while on vacation, Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison. It was wonderful. It's not a book about God, it's a book about slowing the pace of life down and letting your children soak up childhood, being happy with what you have, and appreciating all of the little things that make life so amazing.

I was thinking it would be really fun to do a read-along here on the blog. If you are interested let me know.

More later :)