First Time in Aggieland

On Friday night, Josh, Ben and I went out to eat. I had a great dish with blue corn tortillas, cheese and chicken. Ben had sweet potatoes… EVERYWHERE! Josh and I agreed we need to try different restaurants occasionally, but probably not on Friday nights due to Ben’s routine. Luckily we got out early enough that night that there was no issue.

We went to College Station this weekend to watch Ben’s Uncle Thomas’ final review. It was the first time Ben went to College Station.

First we ate dinner with his Uncle Alex, who had just graduated and gotten accepted into grad school! [His Uncle Aaron also just graduated!]

We then hung out with Aunt Bethany!

Finally Ben got to see his Uncle Thomas at Final Review. They had not seen each other since Christmas!

Mother’s Day Weekend

We had lunch with Ben’s Great Oma Karin and my family the weekend of Mother’s Day. As usual, Ben was quite the adorable character.

Ben continues to aspire to be a drummer – he’s always playing with boxes!

Back at home, Ben played with Curious George!

Ben is now an omnivore – one that eats second stage foods!

Our roomba [named Rosie] arrived and Sadie is a little confused…

Perry sometimes also guards Ben.

For Mother’s Day, we ate at Potbelly and then had a nice dinner I made at home. The best gift I could get I already have – Benjamin!

7 Months!

Benjamin continues to develop, and is trying new foods all the time!

He now sits in the high chair when we eat out, and I bring his food so he can eat with us. Of course, Ben prefers to grab at anything within his reach!

We went to San Antonio a few weekends ago. Ben turned 7 months old! You can definitely see more of his personality every day.

Ben even grabs for the camera!

When Oma Glenda put Ben in the pool for the first time, Sadie was there as guard dog!

It took a while for Ben to get used to the water, but he ended up having lots of fun!

Ben now loves cookbooks and paper. He can’t get enough paper to crinkle [very carefully supervised of course]!

Bouchons au Thon

This week I made the recipe for bouchons au thon from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life.

It called for pantry staples so it was easy to put together – almost like crab cakes but with tuna.

I liked it but Josh wasn’t crazy about it… one of those recipes for when we don’t want to go out but don’t have much to choose from at home.

Pasta with Tomatoes, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, Arugula, Spinach and Yellow Bell Pepper

I made another recipe from At Home with Magnolia, but used whole wheat pasta. It called for many vegetables [I used tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, yellow bell peppers, arugula and spinach] and a Romano / Mascarpone cream sauce (minimal amount).

I am definitely making this again, and again.

Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Ganache

I made Coconut Macaroons from A Homemade Life last weekend.

Josh was hooked instantly.

I’ll be making them again tonight – but without the heavy chocolate. We’ll see how it goes.

Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Josh has gone to the grocery store multiple times with a shopping list for me. More than once, I’ve put broccoli rabe on it. It’s never been available at the stores around here. Luckily we found it somewhere else last weekend.

I made pasta with turkey sausage [sweet Italian] and broccoli rabe, based off of a recipe from At Home with Magnolia.

I can only hope broccoli rabe becomes available here, but until then, having this dish occasionally will have to do.

Chicken Pizza at Home

Josh and I often order this Chicken Rustica pizza from one of the places nearby. At $20, it’s less than economical and I was convinced I could make something for less.

Chicken Pizza at Home

Cornmeal

• Thin Crust Pillsbury Pizza Crust
• Salt
• Pepper
• Italian Seasoning
• Minced Garlic
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Unsalted butter (2 Tablespoons, melted)
• Feta Cheese
• Fresh Mozzarella, sliced thinly
• 1/2 of rotisserie chicken, sliced
• Spinach / Arugula blend
• Roma tomatoes (2), sliced thinly

1. Pre-heat the oven per instructions on the pizza crust package.
2. Coat both sides of the pizza crust with cornmeal, salt and pepper.
3. Mix spices, red pepper and garlic with the butter and spread on the pizza.
4. Cover the crust with chicken, feta, spinach, arugula and tomatoes.
5. Then cover the topping with a very thin layer of mozzarella.
6. Bake according to package instructions.

Mustard Chicken with Arugula and Croutons

One night I made a rotisserie chicken recipe with mustard, arugula and homemade garlic croutons. It was alright, but would have been better if it were chicken pieces instead of shredded chicken. The recipe was from Rocco Gets Real, and it was one of a few I’m wanting to try.

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

Over Easter weekend, I read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. The book was a fantastic read – the worst part about it was that I finished it too quickly! The first recipe out of it that I made was Banana Bread with Crystallized Ginger.

Josh didn’t love it but I had a more enthusiastic response at work. Next time I’ll try it with miniature chocolate chips. I did like the mild spiciness that the crystallized ginger added.