Pot Roast

Pot roast is one of the first and easiest meals I learned to cook. I have yet to find a good recipe for the seasoning, so I'm still using McCormick. (If you have one, LET ME KNOW!!). So here's the directions on how to make an awesome meal in a just a few, short, steps. 

Ingredients: 

{one 2 - 3 pound roast}

{Salt and Pepper}

{McCormick seasoning or your own recipe}

{a small bag of baby carrots}

{1 LARGE onion}

{a few handfuls of red potatoes}

{a cup of water}

Start by turning your crock-pot on low. Place your roast in the pot and rub with seasoning, pouring 1 cup of water over meat gradually. Once seasoning is all rubbed in, place a lid on the crock-pot. Peel your onion and cut into fourths, set aside. Wash you carrots, set aside. Wash your potatoes, then cut into fourths. Add onion, carrots and potatoes. Salt and pepper. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Adding water as needed. Server with warm dinner rolls and honey butter. 

Blueberry & spinach french toast sandwich

Yep, that's right blueberry and spinach.. =) Connor loves this and has no idea it has spinach in it because you can't even taste it. I can even trick my husband with this one.

Ingredients:  Makes one sandwich

• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs milk
• 1 ounce (or 1/8 cup) of blueberry spinach puree**
• 1 large Tbs cream cheese
• 2 pieces of bread
• 1 tsp of butter, margarine, or cooking spray

In a bowl beat together egg and milk. Set aside.  Get another bowl and mix together the cream cheese and puree. Spoon the blueberry, spinach and cream cheese mixture on a slice of bread. Put the other piece onto and dip the entire sandwich into the egg mixture, coating all sides. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook sandwich for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Serve with powder sugar, syrup, honey, or whatever you like. ENJOY!
** If you don’t have puree on hand, add 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries and a handful of fresh baby spinach into a food processor or blender. Pulse for 1 minute or until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Use in place of puree. 

Smashed cheddar new potatoes

These are the latest hit in our household. They're so simple and go great with everything!

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes (washed and quartered) 
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

(I always add a little salt and pepper and let each family member season to their taste!)


Place potatoes in medium sauce pan and cover with water. (I always salt my water) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain. Place potatoes in a medium bowl, add milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Mash to desired consistency.  This recipe is great for babies and toddlers because you can always mashed their potatoes until smooth, or slightly chunky.


ENJOY!!

Pork Tenderloin studded with Rosemary and Garlic

I'll admit, before last night I'd never actually seasoned my own tenderloin. I've always just bought pre-seasoned ones. However I decided to try something new, and it turned out amazing! I was in a hurry last night, and didn't have time to take photo's, but trust me, it's good!

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary ( I would recommend using ground rosemary, as I could not chop mine small enough)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 pork tenderloin (about a pound)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Combine rosemary and garlic in small bowl. Make several 1/2 deep slits into pork. Place about half of the rosemary mixture into slits. Rub pork with the the rest of the mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Coat baking pan with your favorite olive oil. Place pork on baking pan.
Bake at 475 degrees for about 45 minutes.

I would recommend serving this with smashed cheddar new potatoes.

Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli

I know, I know. I've been slacking recently in the blog world. And it only gets worse to, as I didn't have time to take many pictures.. =/ However I do have a few amazing recipes for you. =) I recently discovered this cute little shop right down the road, they serve the best fresh local seafood in Charleston! This inspired me to make a new seafood dish. This roasted shrimp and broccoli recipe has the perfect amount of spiciness and lemon to make your mouth water.

Ingredients: 

• 2 pounds broccoli (cut into bite size florets)
• 1/4 cup of your favorite olive oil (I used a spicy roasted garlic for a bit more bite!)
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 1 pound medium shrimp (Shelled and deveined)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
• Lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, the coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the chili powder. In another bowl, combine shrimp and 2 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 

Spread the broccoli on a baking sheet (single layer). Bake for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp to the baking sheet and toss with the broccoli. Bake 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and toss together. Place in oven for another 5 minutes, or until the broccoli are golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges!

Pumpkin Dip!

                                                             FALL IS HERE!!

Finally fall has arrived. =) I'm so excited!! Fall is my favorite season. Halloween, Thanksgiving, pumpkin patches, baking cookies, it's the best of times. I just finished my decorating here at home. Well I say "finished" let's be honest I'm sure I'll add a ton before Christmas is here. LOL One of the best parts of fall, besides salted caramel latte's at Starbucks, is fall recipes. I love baking gingerbread men and having spiced cider. So I figured I share my favorite play-date snack for fall. 

Pumpkin Dip

3/4 cup (6 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

apple slices

Place the first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup and cinnamon, and beat until smooth. Cover dip and chill 30 minutes. Serve with apples.

Serves 12...or a lot of toddlers.. =)

Play-dating..

I always imagined when Connor was old enough to have play-dates that I'd have best friends who's kids were the same age as him. They'd come over and play gracefully on the floor while us moms chatted it up over coffee and muffins, and then reality hit me....HARD! For starters none of my friend's children are Connors age, most are younger, or much much older. So as I ventured into the mommy/kid play-date world, I knew no one. I was so excited when Connor and I got invited to our first play-date. Then that excitement slowly turned to anxiety. Should I buy a new outfit? Will he hit another child? Will he share? Will we be invited back, or exiled from the world I was so desperate to fit into forever!? After I got married I thought the dating game was over, boy was I wrong. Oddly enough trying to find play-dates feels like dating. Showing up to a strangers house....making small conversation, wondering the whole time what they're thinking, and praying Connor doesn't hit someone. So I have a few tips and guidelines on play-date etiquette for all you new mommy daters. =)

1.  The most important rule of all...RELAX! Take a few deep breaths and have fun, I promise you won't be "kicked out" of the mommy clubs.

2. Dress appropriately. My first play-date I bought a new outfit, my jeans we so tight I could barley sit on the floor. And trust me, you WILL be sitting/rolling/playing on the floor. =)

3. Don't feel bad if your child throws a fit. Every kid does it. Just relax and disciple them just like you would at home. We use time-out and it's the most effective when I'm in public, because Connor most defiantly does not wanna sit in timeout while the other kids play.

4. Don't depend on a schedule. As a mom I learned all to quickly that nothing goes as planned, or on time. If you're planning a play-date, make the time frame pretty big. Kids throw fits, spill things, need snacks...let's just say they're time consuming. So chances are people won't be there right when you want them to.

5. Bring snacks. I always bring some kind of snack to a play-date. You never know if the host was planning on supplying snacks or not and it's not good to show up with a hungry kid. Typically I try to bring healthy snacks, grapes, oatmeal cookies, apple wedges..but a little sugar isn't the worst thing in the world.

6. Last but not least. Don't forget to have fun!! This is a PLAY-date after all.

Hope this helps.. =)