Week 17: Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches!

Ugh, I'm plagued by the "spring cold" today.  My throat started hurting yesterday.  By this morning, I had my usual spring sinus pressure and headache.  This evening I'm absolutely dragging.  A bad sub report from Friday, a mountain of papers to grade, crazy high school kids to babysit, I mean teach all day, and I'm counting down the minutes until I'm heading to bed.  And I'm bummed!  77 degrees tomorrow and Wednesday and I'm feeling so lousy!  We didn't even take the kids for a walk today.

It could be that we had a very busy, but fun weekend.  Or it could be one of the many germs I'm subjected to with two kids in a daycare and my job in a petri-dish known as a high school.

We'll go with the latter.

Last week was fun!  We had a Costco date after work on Thursday to pick up some new shrubs for the front porch.  Of course it decided to hail as Scott arrived with the kids.  But, a little retail therapy later and slices of pizza for dinner, we were over it.  The trickiest part was getting those shrubs in the back of my Jeep.

Friday I had a conference for work out in Waterford.  I love the opportunity to learn new things that I can take back to my classroom and, of course, the ability to get OUT of my classroom for a day.  The foreign language department gals met up for breakfast in Farmington and carpooled together.  That evening I went with my sister-in-law to the Plymouth Newcomer's Bunco night.  An evening out with some girl friends, glasses of wine, and winning some money = jackpot!  I felt so alive going out sans kids and having adult conversation!

Saturday was Sean's last gymnastics class for the season!  I think both Sean and I was overjoyed by this.  Neither one of us seemed to enjoy this class.  But, they made it fun for the kids on their last day by having an inflatable bounce castle, jumping on the trampoline, and playing in the foam blocks.  Lastly, they let the kids stand one by one on a podium and awarded them a ribbon.  It was adorable!

Lunch, a quick nap, and we loaded the car up to head out to Rochester to visit our friends!  It was such a gorgeous day.  We walked the kids to an elementary school down the road to play, came back for pizza and salad, and just caught up.  Both kids behaved and were ready for bed after a busy day.

Sunday we finally had to slow ourselves down.  The rain definitely helped with that.  We had massive amounts of laundry, a visit from Nana and Pops, home repairs, and Sean's very own car wash we made in an effort to sanitize all his Hot Wheels (thanks to Evan finding them and putting them in his mouth...Lord knows where these cars have traveled to).

Think he has enough cars?

Sunday at lunch time I was racking my brain trying to come up with something different to eat for Sean while using what little things we had left in the pantry and fridge.  The benefits of putting off grocery shopping until tonight...

And we came up with this great idea!  Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches ala Martha Stewart!  The reviews were horrible and we didn't have garlic bread, so we just made up our own, very simple version.

2 slices of bread
Butter
Slices of Mozzarella cheese
Garlic Salt
Pizza sauce or marinara sauce

Make it just like you would a grilled cheese sandwich, except sprinkle some garlic salt on the bread after you've lathered it with butter.  Slice into strips and dip in the marinara sauce!  It's delicious!  And we even got creative and added some pepperonis to the mix to!

I can't take credit for the picture.  We were too busy throwing together a quick and yummy lunch before Sean had a melt down.  The kid sure lets us know when he's ready to eat...and it's imperative it's on the table in 2.5 seconds or he'll whine, beg, and scream for "nola bars", "peanut butter crackers", or "nilla cookies". 

So, we won this battle.  And managed to find another Sean approved lunch. 

But, more importantly than that, we finished the updates to the front of the house (for now) and couldn't be happier with how they turned out!

Before on the left, after on the right:

Week 16: Restaurant Style Salsa!

Can you tell I'm getting excited for Cinco de Mayo?  Making homemade salsa has been on my "culinary bucket list" for a long time now.  So, when I saw an episode of Pioneer Woman where she made her own, I knew it was time to check that off my list.

And what better time to play around with ingredients when Cinco de Mayo is less than 2 weeks away?  Last year, we had a fiesta at our house with some good friends.  The kids played in the backyard in gorgeous weather and I put a whole spread together of my favorite homemade Mexican dishes.  This year, I'm thinking of doing the same.  Let's hope the weather is as awesome this year as it was last year!

Without further ado...

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• 1/4 cup Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• 1/2 whole Lime Juice

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

I was amazed at how easy this recipe was.  It took less than 10 minutes and it made a huge batch!  For me personally, I'm going to add more salt and sugar.  Also, I'm not a huge cilantro fan.  A little bit of it goes a long way for me, so I'd probably cut down on the cilantro.  But, overall, I was impressed!  Scott loved the tiny bit of "zing" it had since it has chopped up Jalapenos and surprisingly  it wasn't too "zingy" for me since I hate all things spicy.

We had nachos with leftover taco meat on Sunday afternoon for a late lunch and plan to have some chicken tacos tomorrow night with the rest of the salsa.  I think this would make a cool gift too.  A bag of fancy tortilla chips, homemade salsa in a canning jar, margarita salt, and margarita mix.  Maybe I'm just a huge fan of all things Mexican...

Anyway, we had a fun week with family and a low key weekend.  We celebrated Nana's birthday on Wednesday at our house with a carry-out from Plaka Mediterranean Grill in downtown Plymouth.  We had so much delicious food I had to have an employee help carry out the boxes of food to the car in the pouring rain!  Hope Nana enjoyed her special day!

Friday, we had a pizza play date after work down the street at my sister-in-law's house.  Not to jinx Sean, but we've survived two play dates in the last week with his cousins and 2 solid weeks at daycare without any biting incidents.  On a roll?  I hope so.

We had a lazy weekend home.  Saturday, we had gymnastics, a trip to the library, a plethora of laundry, and of course tons of playing with the boys.

Evan has figured out how to pick on his older brother...

And Sean has found a way to retaliate...

Sunday, we had someone come give us an estimate on a brick paver patio for the backyard.  Right now, there's no patio or deck at all.  How boring is that?  So, we're researching our options.  Brick pavers or composite wood deck?  Decisions, decisions.

I decided to pack up the boys and head over to my parents' house for an afternoon of playing and dinner.  While on 275, my tire pressure light came on.  Within a few minutes I started to hear a weird noise.  Like when your backseat window is down and you hear that vibrating sound that's annoying?  Except there were no windows down.  So, I made a quick judgment call to pull off to the side of the road.  On a 4 lane highway.  With 2 kids in the car.

Yup, I was in full-blown panic mode.

I waited for a break in traffic in the right lane so I could get out and assess the situation.  I kept the door propped open because my second biggest fear, aside from having to pull over on the freeway, is to have the car lock me out with my kids inside.

Sure enough, my back passenger tire was shredded.  Luckily, I caught it in time to where I didn't bend the rim or cause me to drive on metal.  But, you could smell the rubber burning.  

Thank God for my loving husband.  He hopped in his car, came and rescued us, let us take his car to my parents', and then waited for the tow truck from AAA.  

I think the hardest part was figuring out how to merge back onto the freeway with oncoming traffic driving 80mph.  Good thing Scott has a Dodge Charger with a hemi.  No problema!

And on that note, we ended the weekend with a fun day at Grandma and Grandpa's house and a yummy dinner that included G.G.'s infamous german noodles.  2 sleepy boys in bed, lunches packed, bottles made for daycare, clothes laid out, and I caught up on Glee on my DVR.  I love that show.

April showers...

bring opportunities for Sean to get all decked out in his rain gear!!  He is seriously loving these thunderstorms.  And I have to admit that I've also been enjoying them.  Warmer weather, going to bed early, falling asleep to the sound of rain and thunder....

Ahhhh!! Welcome spring!

Week 15: Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes!

Epic.  The word I'm going to use to describe these pancakes I made this past weekend.  So epic that I'm going to write about them before I do my weekly recap.

Whole wheat brown sugar banana bread pancakes.

I was sold on banana bread.  I may be the weirdest person alive.  I like banana bread, but nothing else made with bananas or even bananas by themselves.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla extract to it. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add in milk and vanilla, stirring to combine. The mixture will still be dry. Add in mashed bananas and mix. Add in melted butter and stir until batter is somewhat smooth.

Heat a skillet or grilled on medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measure, spoon batter into rounds and cook until bubbles form on top – about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for a minute or two more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot with butter and syrup.

Note: if you don’t have/can’t find whole wheat pastry flour, use 1 cup of regular whole wheat and 1 cup of all purpose. Or 2 cups of all purpose.

There was the option to use a vanilla maple glaze over the top of the pancakes, but I'm a syrup person myself.  Maple syrup and cinnamon butter were good for me.  

Everyone enjoyed these.  The batter made us exactly 8 pancakes, even though it called for 12.  It was a perfect amount for my husband, myself, and Sean.  A few strips of bacon and we were happier than pigs in mud.  Okay...horrible analogy considering I also used the word bacon in the same sentence.

So, now that you're all drooling, I'll bore you with the weekly recap.

We had a pretty uneventful week.  Scott had parent-teacher conferences, I had a curriculum planning day with my foreign language department colleagues, our washing machine was repaired while still under warranty, and the rain + Bailey going in and out put a damper on my freshly cleaned house that our cleaning lady did wonders on this week.

Saturday, we started our day off with those amazing pancakes.  Sean had gymnastics that Scott took him to.  I took Evan to Troy to meet up with a good friend and her daughter, Brielle at Somerset for some shopping and lunch.  You can't go wrong with a dreary day, a trip to the mall where I finally treated myself to some new clothes, and a burger and fries from J. Alexander's.  To top that off, I went to a Gender Reveal Party for one of my oldest childhood friends who was in town.  It was like a trip down memory lane showing up to her mom and step-dad's house.

I hadn't seen her in years, so it was great to re-connect and share in her special day.  She put the

whole thing together and it was beautiful!  

I came home and spent the last hour or so together with my family before it was time to put the boys to bed.

Sunday, we had a rough morning with Evan.  Despite him sleeping in until 8am, he was mega cranky until he had his first morning nap.  Which, ended up taking a dosage of baby Tylenol to get him to calm down enough to take that nap.  I honestly thought we'd end up in urgent care assuming his ear infection still hadn't cleared up, but after his nap he was in a dandy mood.  So, Scott and I stuck to our plans of meeting up with our good friends Kristen and Jeff at Lucky Strike in Novi to celebrate Kristen's birthday.

Let me just say...going out in the afternoon and having some beers and chicken nachos AND playing arcade games was like heaven on earth.  Seriously.  I felt so young again!

We came back home to my dad playing with the boys while my mom put together an amazing dinner.  Steaks, red skin potatoes, broccoli casserole....yum!  It was a nice evening with my parents!

On to another week....man how time flies!

Spring Break Accomplishments

Remember this post?  My overly ambitious to-do list for Spring Break?  Ahhh, yes.  It's amazing what two people can accomplish in 10 days.

1.  Detroit Zoo trip!    
We went on Good Friday with my best friend and her daughter, Reese.  It was a chilly start, but ended up being a beautiful day!  Sean's favorite animal this trip was the giraffes.\

2.  Northville's Tiny Town Lounge

I met another good friend and her son, Jack for a play date on Wednesday of Spring Break.  We were some of the first people there when we arrived at 9:30am, but man, it got crowded.  A lot like Detroit Kid City, but different things to do including a ball pit that I couldn't get Sean out of.

3.  Sean's first dentist trip.
He was a natural!  He even got his teeth cleaned with the polish.  I have to say, considering he's been known to bite for the past year or so, I was shocked to see him do so well with people having their hands in his mouth.

4.  Baby food for Evan.
This was a huge undertaking and something I worked on ALL break.  I made a grand total of 7 different recipes of food resulting in enough baby food to last him until I'm done with school the middle of June.  I made anything from fruit blends to beef stew with carrots and potatoes.  He'll be eating real good and I'll be saving a ton of money, considering one pouch of organic food averages $1.29.


5.  Getting Evan to sleep through the night.
I'm leaving this one unchecked since it didn't really get accomplished over Spring Break.  Not for lack of trying though.  We decided to do crying it out.  The first night I caved after 30 minutes, the second night after one hour.  And then...miraculously, the next night, Tuesday night, he didn't wake up at all.   And last night, he didn't wake up either.  So, I'm leaving it unchecked so that we don't jinx the wonderful thing we've had going for 2 days.  Come on...let this be a permanent thing.

6.  Frankenmuth Zehnder's Splash Village!!!
This was the highlight of our break, for sure!  What a great weekend spent with family.  I can't wait to do something like that again.

7.  Getting our summer membership to the Livonia Rec Center.
 This is another one I'm leaving unchecked.  I didn't actually go and get it yet, but in my defense it doesn't start until May 15th.  So, we have time.  And, I called and got the inside scoop on the indoor pools, outdoor pools, etc.  We decided it didn't make sense to sign the boys up for swim classes when we can just take them whenever we want/they want to go.  Scott's a physical education teacher and I've swam my whole life, so I think we've got this covered.

8.  Join Weight Watchers.
Sigh....another one unchecked.  It's still on my to-do list...

9.  Re-doing the boys' bathroom.
Scott worked his butt off last Thursday while the kids were Nana's house prepping the walls, painting, hanging up hardware and photos.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  Considering we didn't do anything to the floor, tub, tiles, or sink/cabinet, I think it made a huge change from what it was to what it is now for the boys.

Shower curtain was from amazon.  It's the Kasatex Bambini Race Track shower curtain.

The baskets were $14 each from Hobby Lobby.  They aren't wicker, like they look.  They actually feel more like plastic so they are a bit more sturdy.  We zip-tied them to the towel rack from an idea I saw on Pinterest.  In one of the baskets I have the boys washcloths for baths and in the other I have bubble baths, bath salts, and bath accessories.

My favorite piece!  It was from Hobby Lobby for $8 and it's supposed to be a pencil/pen holder for your desk.  But, I thought it would be cool as a toothbrush holder.

Another idea from Pinterest.  I printed 2 5x7 mounted photo prints from Meijer on their HP printers.  Then, I bought some 3M brushed nickel hooks for their towels.

I love this waste basket!  It has a fabric liner, which could be an issue, but we'll see.  It was $14 from HomeGoods.  That store is addicting...

The neat looking bath rug was $11 from HomeGoods as well.  I've used this as a photography prop/background too.  So, it's had multiple purposes so far.

Other wall art from Etsy.  I can't remember the sellers name because we had this wall art from when we first moved in and did a black, white, and gray bathroom theme.

And there you have it!  A cheap, quick fix to the bathroom for the boys.  Down the road when they're older, we'll probably re-do the jacuzzi tub and the sink/cabinet.  But, no need to spend the cash on it now when they're little.

10.  Update the front porch!
Scott was able to prime and paint the front door on the SAME day he did the boys' bathroom.  Man, he has some talents.  Good thing it was a gorgeous day outside so that he could take the door off and paint it on the front lawn.  I really think that between the storm door and the paint color, it's already made a different to the look of the front of the house.

After:

Next up - shutters in Midnight Blue from Home Depot for the front of the house and possibly the left side.  And new pots for the steps!  Here's some of my ideas for some pots from Pinterest:

Or....

Thoughts? 

Week 14: Strawberry Yogurt Cake!

Okay, so I cheated last week.  I made this cake the Saturday night before Easter.  So, technically, this wasn't made during the past "week", but ehhh I was on Spring Break.  I deserve a break, right?

We'll get to the cake later.

Let me tell you about my amazing past week spent with my family.

Monday, we went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum with my sister-in-law and her kids since she's home every Monday.  It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be for Spring Break.  And now that Evan can sit up, it was definitely fun for both kids.  Evan got to spend some time in the "baby section" of the preschool room and of course, Sean was obsessed with the ambulance on the first floor.

Tuesday, we took a family trip to...brace yourself...Meijer, Home Depot, and Costco.  All in a 3 hour span.  Both kids shockingly behaved until they had to wait in the car while I ran in and got my mounted photo from Meijer.  Sorry Scott...

We picked out paint for the kids bathroom, stocked up on meat for the freezer, and got some free prints at Meijer.  I'd say it was a successful trip, including lunch at Costco.  Yum!

Wednesday, I met my friend Marla at Tiny Town in Northville (technically Plymouth) for a play date with the older boys, Jack and Sean.  I had never been to this place, but it was very similar to Detroit Kid City.  I loved it and so did Sean!  What's even better is that it's about 5 minutes from my house.  You can't beat that.

Wednesday night my mother-in-law took both boys to spend the night at her house to give us a break.  Scott and I tried out Jay's Stuffed Burgers in Plymouth that we'd been eyeing for a while.  Delicious milkshakes, homemade steak fries, and stuffed burgers.  Ummm my mouth is watering thinking about how scrumptious it all was.  I went shopping at HomeGoods and Buy Buy Baby after dinner while Scott watched some baseball.  Great night!

Thursday, we set to work on all the home repairs and projects we wanted to accomplish while Nana had the boys all day.  Scott painted the kids bathroom, the front door, and put everything back together.  I slaved over baby food, breakfast sandwiches for the freezer, and various odds and ends around the house.  It was a very productive day...pics to follow in another post!

Friday, we played at home in the morning and hit the road to Troy in the afternoon after Sean's nap.  We went out to The Alibi for dinner in Troy with my parents and spent the night at their house since we were heading to Frankenmuth in the morning.  Scott met up with a friend for some beers and I went to LaVida Massage to work out some knots in my left shoulder.  Thanks to the infant car seat...

And finally, Saturday morning, the much anticipated day of Spring Break, we headed to Frankenmuth to meet up with Scott's family for a weekend at Zehnder's Splash Village.  We got our wrist-bands to swim at noon on Saturday, skipped Sean's nap (dangerous...), and spent the rest of the day swimming, snacking, and hanging out with family.

Sean had the time of his life.  Seriously.  The kid did not stop the whole day.  You could tell he was exhausted and hungry, but he kept wanting to go down the huge water slides, the lazy river, and even the water tower.

We went to our room to get ready for a chicken dinner at Zehnder's.  All the kids stayed behind with Nana and Jackie.  The meat eaters were ready for the best. meal. ever.

After dinner, we took the shuttle back to the hotel, put the kids to bed, and crashed.  We knew we had a rough night ahead of us sleeping in a hotel full of rowdy kids and slamming doors.  Plus, Evan wakes up multiple times a night.  And we were right.  It was definitely an eventful night and morning since Evan graced us with a 5:30am wake up call.  We packed up the room, went to the breakfast buffet, and got ready for another morning/afternoon of swimming.  We checked out at 11am, but stayed until 12:15pm to swim.  It was a great weekend!

Sadly, our break ended after that.  We drove home with two sleeping kids, unpacked the car, started a mountain of laundry, and tried to get all the work-week essentials ready.  I have to say...this break was so much fun, that going back to work today seemed more difficult than usual.  I can't wait for summer vacation if spring break is any indication on how much fun it will be.

Anyway, on to the cake. So, I saw this recipe on Pinterest for a Strawberry Yogurt Cake and knew that it would be perfect for Easter morning brunch at our house.  It really wasn't much work to put together and I finally got to use my Bundt pan for the first time since I got it as a wedding registry gift.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt (I put just a tad less since I was worried about the consistency of the batter)
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

I ended up making this Saturday night at 8:30pm after a full day of Easter activities with my side of the family.  So, I didn't capture amazing shots with my camera, but was lucky enough to get this shot with my phone.  This is before I took it out of the pan and before it was glazed, but dang...this was soooo good!

We had some left over, so I plopped this in a freezer container to have another morning.  I will definitely be making this in the summer again when the berries are even tastier.  I imagine you could use this with mixed berries too, but I liked the strawberries and hint of lemon taste.  Yum!