And we're back...

Hello Crushers!
Sorry for the nearly three months (tomorrow!) of silence. I've been a little busy with a brand new person taking up most of time and attention. Wait I take that back. I'm not sorry. I'm LOVING my daughter, and don't mind her taking up my time. She's pretty amazing.

Hi, I'm Ellie. Nice to meet you.

She has captivated our hearts and minds since the day we met her. And she took her sweet time getting here, too! Must take after her mother...

In addition to all things baby, Steve and I have been balancing a lot more of the cooking. He's a pretty awesome cook. And I've been learning how to eat all sorts of things one handed!

Last night we made patty melts on the grill. YUM! We used the recipe for Wildtree's Best Burgers, grilled them, and then toasted buttered bread on the grill and added some delicious, melty cheddar. I should have taken a picture, but with a baby in one arm and a sandwich in the other, I did not have the ability to take a picture!

More amazing food has happened like fried chicken, skillet lasagna, potato soups and lots of garden veggies! I'll try and post more often now, but we'll see. I may be dropping down to a part time worker, but that doesn't mean I won't be a busy Mama! Start a neighborhood association? Travel up north and camping? Re-do my syllabi for this coming year? Get back into running? Continue with Friday devotions? And be the best mama I can be? Challenge accepted!

Faith-filled Friday: Patience and grilling

Hello Crushers!

Yes, I'm still here. The baby has not decided to pick her birthday yet, so we have reached full term at 40 weeks!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23

We are very fortunate that our baby has made it to full term and we "shouldn't expect" any major developmental problems that preemie babies would have. Other than the gestational diabetes, I have been very blessed to have a relatively uneventful pregnancy. We've been so, so blessed!

Last night, Steve caught me talking to her. I was doing nursery rhymes to see how many I remember. I started joking that I hope she gets Steve's memory for songs and his singing voice. But I hope she gets my skin, arms, hair and ability to remember names. And our love of food and cooking and nature. And Steve's ears. And my grandpa's memory for places. And Steve's grandma's craftiness. And our moms' patience. And so many qualities that I don't even know if you can pass on to another person! 

While we wait for her arrival, Steve is planning on grilling out tonight thanks to the beautiful weather we're having! It's in the 60's today! We can sit out on our back patio and grill up some pork chops, asparagus and maybe even try some hassleback potatoes on the grill. I'll let you know how they turn out!

If you don't hear from me for a little while, it'll be because Baby Girl has finally decided to show up. Otherwise, I'll work on that patience part and catch you on Monday for a Virtual Running Date! Have a great weekend everyone!

Virtual Running Date No. 48: Still here, and Spring made an appearance too!

Good morning, Crushers!

If this were a virtual running date, er walking for me, I would tell you, "Yes, I'm still here. Yes, I'm still pregnant. Yes, we feel as ready as possible. No, I'm not sleeping for more than a few hours at a time. Yes, we're excited." I think that covers most of the questions... Oh! "How am I feeling? Round. I'm feeling round."

Just in case you ever need to know what NOT to say to a pregnant person, here is a fairly comprehensive list.

Anyway, I'm happy to say that although the baby has not arrived yet, spring has started to show itself. We had a gorgeous weekend filled with family time. Here is a photo recap of the weekend:

The Wisconsin Badgers have made it to the Final Four!
Here's a picture of the bump in team colors. Future fan!

All of the snow is finally gone from our backyard!
There is a bit yet on the north side of the house, but that's OK.

I found these two awesomely ridiculous ceramic snails with pots on their heads
hidden among the brush. Steve raked the whole yard!

We tried out our Ergo Baby Carrier with our nephew Dylan.

 

He fell asleep in two minutes in the carrier. Look at that little nose!

On Sunday night Steve grilled outside in shorts and a t-shirt.
The first burgers of spring taste so good!

 I hope spring is springing around you, and that you're able to enjoy some nice weather. We are predicted to have a "wintry mix" later this week, but I'm pretending that it's not going to happen. Let's hope the weather stays nice for everyone!

Faith-filled Fridays: Answers and grilled fruit

Good morning, Crushers!

I love to know how things work. If I don't know, I will look it up. I could spend hours on the Internet researching how things work or what to do if they don't. I think that's one of the reasons I like to cook so much. I want the answers on how to make tasty food. How did they do that? I need answers! Especially about grilling fruit. Mine always falls apart. I digress...

I do not have all the answers. No one does, and that's OK. However, there are times where you have to be able to provide an answer. "No" or silence are acceptable answers in some cases. I remember some college classmate of mine who posed the question, "What about when God doesn't answer your prayers?" The professor answered, "It's not that He doesn't answer you, it's just that 'no' or 'wait' is an answer." Light bulb moment!

I recently had a few people tell me about how they had gotten into discussions about their faith, whether they wanted to or not. I think a lot of times people do not want to have to defend themselves and would prefer not to answer by changing the subject or avoiding the topic. But those moments do pop up. In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter is writing about suffering for doing good and talking about what happens when you are confronted by people who are mean and who want you to squirm. He says: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect".

It's hard. It really is. Often times the people that confront you are not prepared to listen because they think that they already have the answers or are ready with their next statement. Some times they do it to make fun of you. Those are the worst because that no matter what you say, it won't help. 

Paul took time in his letter to the Colossian people in chapter 4 verses 2-6 saying "2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

Maybe add that to your prayers? Pray that when the occasion rises, you can meet it with the right words. I know that I'm focusing on "the attack", but there are going to be times when you can also show your faith and love to people who are struggling or grieving. They may look to you for why you aren't afraid or aren't despairing. You have faith and hope in Jesus!

Let's all pray that we can be more like Peter in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked him "Who do you say I am?" Let us all be able to answer clearly, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Have a great weekend everyone! And seriously, if you have good tips on grilling fruit, let me know in the comments!

Virtual Running Date No. 11: In the great Northwoods

Hello Crushers!

If we were on a running date, I would tell you how I was fortunate enough to spend Memorial Day weekend up north at my family's cabin in the great Northwoods of Wisconsin. We have a cabin on a small lake, but that just makes for an extra peaceful weekend (except when we were sawing down dead trees so they wouldn't fall on anyone/thing or yelling, "I caught one!").

My favorite place!

Not only were we celebrating a day that honors all of the men and women who serve and protect our country, but we also got to celebrate my grandpa's 97th birthday and my parents 34th wedding anniversary while we were there. So much delicious food and fun. And a few tears when we watched the Memorial Day special on TV (I love Gary Sinise!). It's an annual tradition, and I somehow always forget to have tissues!

If we were on a running date, here are a few things that we would probably see as we ran along the main road (HWY 51 and then the lake road to access the boat landing: deer, deer prints, more deer, birds of all sizes, deer, some footprints that I hope didn't belong to a bear, and probably more deer prints. We had beautiful weather so our runs had perfect temperatures for a 3-miler. Hear that? We only ran 3 miles! Ha!

If we were on a running date, I would tell you how I was kind of ashamed that the hills were killing me. I ran 13 miles the weekend before. Why was a 3-miler feeling like a 7-miler?! Probably because all of the fun celebratory food that we ate... Oy.

If we were running up north together, I would tell you about some of my favorite kitchen stores in town (Minocqua, WI). First is Anne Marie's store that is filled with gorgeous china from all over the world, serving wear, accessories and the best smelling coffee in the northwoods. How cute are these? And these? And these?! Second, is The 13th Colony, which I must admit that I know the owner's daughter, that has the prettiest tables I've ever wanted to set a Thanksgiving dinner on. Then there's the Ages Past Antique Mall which has gorgeous serving bowls from who knows when! Then, just because I like to stare at the gorgeous clothes and pretend I can afford the purses, I visit J. Christy's. So cute!

If we were running up north, I would tell you how my family devoured a pan of the lemon bars I made. I would also tell you how we had jambalaya (my quick version, not mom's from-scratch version not linked), and grilled burgers and brats. So good!

And because this is a food blog, I would love to tell you about these grill recipes that I want to try this summer after we finished running (yes, they're all from www.skinnytaste.com):

1. Grilled Pineapple
2. Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw
3. Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise

I love grilling season!

How about you? What would we talk about? Do you have your own up north? What summer foods are you looking forward to?

And so it begins... Grilling Season!

Good morning crushers!

What a crazy week, huh? Things are really gearing up at work for our big conference in Australia. I can't believe that in about a month, we'll be heading down under for work. Steve is able to fly out and meet me for some fun vacation time. In addition to training for the half marathon, I want to stay fit so that I can be my best self in Australia for work and play. You need to be prepared for anything when you sign up for activities in Sydney (walking tours and other adventures), the Great Barrier Reef and Cairns, the rainforest, etc. I'm So. Incredibly. Excited!!! It's a trip of a lifetime!

Besides prepping for this big trip, we are still trying to sell our house. We had an open house last weekend, and bummer time, we only got to show off our house to one person. And it wasn't even during the open house!

Steve and I are big fans of cooking on the grill. There are so many foods and techniques that you can use. While we had fired up the grill (and we have differing opinions on how to stack the coals), we were preparing for two types of grilling: direct contact and aluminum foil packets.

Grilling can be done over coals, an open fire or on a gas grill surface. I'm sure there are more, but these are the types that I'm most familiar with. There's tons of fun gear too (I've got my eye on this baby), but really, all you need is a long-handled flipper and tongs. You should probably have some sort of wire bristle brush for cleaning the grate too.

While we had the food on the grill, I had started to make chocolate chip cookies following the recipe that I used here, but this time I added two teaspoons of cocoa powder since I didn't have quite the amount needed of chocolate chips. So tasty... Then all of a sudden, Steve goes, "Hey honey, do you mind if someone sees our house?" At this point I have a stain on my shirt, a cold beverage in my hand and I haven't cleaned up the cooking/grilling mess I had made. "Sure," I replied, "As long as he doesn't mind that we're making dinner!"

We show a very nice man our house (he was checking out properties for his daughter), all while trying to remember to flip the pork chops and check the veggie packets. One of the pork chops got a little "crispy".

Here is what we made:

Grilled Rosemary and Lemon Pork Chops
Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops
1 Tbsp Lemon Rosemary Blend from Wildtree
1 Tbsp Natural Grapeseed Oil from Wildtree

Veggie packets:
3 large baking potatoes, diced into 1" pieces
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 lb of brussel sprouts, washed and trimmed
1-2 Tbsp butter per pack (3-6 total) OR 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped parsley, or to taste
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper

Gear you need: 1 big zipper plastic bag or other large container, 2-3 sheets of aluminum foil (about the size of a baking sheet), knife for dicing, peeler for peeling carrots, large bowl, clean dish/tray for the finished food.

Directions:
The night before, or at least an hour before you start the grill, put the thawed pork chops in a big plastic zipper bag or other sealed container with the oil and seasoning. Feel free to add a little pepper or real lemon juice. Seal the container or bag and shake it up! Make sure that everything is coated and then set aside in the fridge.

Get the grill going. If you don't know how, I'll explain this in another post. You may have different ways of doing this, but I do it how my dad taught me. If you don't want to know how to do this, invite someone who does over for dinner! Just kidding...

While you are waiting for the coals to get all ashy and white/gray, it's time to make the veggie packs. Since I needed the last of our butter to make the cookies, I used olive oil instead. In a large bowl, mix the oil, parsley, dill, salt and pepper so it looks like salad dressing. Chop up all of your veggies, except the brussel sprouts. Those you just want to trip and leave looking like the mini cabbages they mimic. Toss everything together so it's well-coated. Divide the veggies among the foil by placing two-three large spoonfuls of the veggies in the center of a sheet of foil.


Steps for folding these packets:

1. Pour filling/veggies in the middle of the packet
2. Grab the ends of the foil (the long way) and bring them together so it looks like a little foil tent.
3. Fold them over and over until you reach the veggies.
4. Take the short sides and fold them up over the edges so you don't see any of the veggies. 
5. Poke a few small holes in the top to let the steam out.

By now, the coals should be ready. Using the long handled tongs or the back of the flipper, spread the coals out so you have a nice large cooking surface. Put the top grate back on the grill and place the packets of veggies (steam holes side up) in the center of the grill where it's the hottest. When you've got those on for about 10 minutes, Take the pork chops out of the marinade and put them on the grill on the outer edges so they get more of the radiant heat. You only want to have to turn the meat once, so grill for about 8-10 minutes on each side. You may want to move the veggie packs away from the center if they are getting black on the bottom. You don't want to grill through the aluminum foil (although I've never actually seen this happen).

We were chatting with the prospective home buyer while all this was going on, so unfortunately some of the pork chops got a little burned as I said before. What are you going to do?

How about you? What do you love to grill?

Meatless Monday options

Good morning, Crushers!

I know that today is Friday, but a friend and I were talking about "Meatless Mondays" as a way to try more veggie-ful and (usually) less expensive meal options. We are very cost-conscious about our grocery bill, but we don't want to sacrifice trying new foods and flavors either. And, obviously, I love to cook, so we don't buy too many pre-packaged meals. At times, eating whole foods can get a little expensive. Not to say I don't love tossing a bag of french fries in the oven or enjoying a frozen pizza now and then!

Anyway, Erie (the aforementioned friend) and I decided to brainstorm some meatless options. Here they are in no particular order:

• Bean and Rice burrito
• Bean and Veggie tacos
• Huevos Rancheros (egg dish)
• Breakfast for dinner: eggs, omelets, quiche, frittata, pancakes, biscuits and gravy (with beans instead of sausage)
  
• Stir fry/fried rice with egg and/or beans
• Vegetarian Lasagna
• Bean Soup
• Meatless Chili
• Loaded Baked Potatoes (use some of that chili!)
• Grilled veggie sandwiches
• Grilled mushrooms burgers
• Black bean burgers
• Homemade pizza with veggies

What do you think? What am I missing? What should we try first?

I got a wok for my birthday, so I'm thinking stir fry, but breakfast for dinner is calling my name!