Peanut Blossom

5 Ways to Kickstart the Disney Magic

I am so excited to share with you that we are taking the girls on our very first trip to Disney World next week. Handyman Tim has been working an insane schedule that has been hard on every last member of the family. We've all had to sacrifice precious time together and it has definitely taken it's toll. I decided that we all needed a little Family Togetherness Bootcamp type experience and where else is a better spot to do that than Disney??

Tim has never experienced the Disney Parks before. He has no idea what he's in for. The Peanut knows we are going but can't even imagine what she is about to see. Little Pea is just happy to be along for the ride. I'm the only one who knows and appreciates what this trip will be like so I've been doing my best to get everyone excited for this big unknown. 

For the last two months, I've been looking for ways to give the girls little teaser items to be used on our trip. So today I'd like to share:

5 Ways to Kickstart the Disney Magic Before Vacation!

1. Matching outfits from Etsy: According to friends who have visited the parks far more recently than I have, it is a pretty big deal to let your little princess dress up to play the part at the parks. Neither of my girls are overly into the Princesses, we don't own any of the costumes already. I couldn't imagine spending the money on expensive costumes just to dress them up in hot and scratchy tulle and satin for an amusement park visit.

Luckily for me, both girls LOVE Minnie and Mickey Mouse. I was able to find these adorable halter tops and ruffled shorts outfits on Etsy.  They are all cotton and much more comfy and breathable than any costume would have been. I love the cheerful polka dots! I know my girls will love wearing them this summer even after our trips. Money much better spent!

2. Disney Pin Trading Lanyards: This is another new-to-me item that didn't exist during my last visit to the parks ages ago. Disney has been offering these adorable metal pins for trading since 1999-ish. The kids (or parents too) can trade pins with anyone else they find willing at the parks. There are castmembers that walk around wearing lanyards of Official Castmember pins that are looking to trade with guests. This sounded like something the Peanut would love to experience but starter sets of 4 pins and a lanyard ran about $30. That seemed super high to me and the sets came with such cute pins that I knew the Peanut wouldn't want to trade! Kind of missing the point, right?

I took to Ebay and was happy to discover several sellers offering huge lots of pins for a fraction of the price. We acquired a random assortment of 25 pins for about $15. I didn't care if they were cute or not because they are meant to be traded away. To make it more fun for the girls, we put a single pin inside of each plastic Easter egg along with a few coins for our Disney Jar. They hunted for their pins on Easter morning and it was a huge hit.

The day before Easter, I realized they still didn't have anything to pin the pins on since I hadn't purchased lanyards. In a fit of inspiration, I decided to sew my own. I used this tutorial from Simply Cotton here and followed it almost exactly. The only difference was that I cut my fabric 3 inches wide and instead of folding each side in half way, I only folded them in 1/4 way so that the final width of the strap was a full inch. It's the perfect size. I cut them to be about 24 inches long so they are just right for my girls' necks.

3. Birthday Pins from the Disney Store: The Peanut's birthday was on March 28. Little Pea's will be just a few days after our trip on May 6. When a sales clerk heard I was there shopping for supplies to announce the trip to the Peanut on her birthday, she told me about their special birthday pins. If you're going to be celebrating that occassion on your vacation, you can pick these up for your child. Write their name on the space and have them wear them to the park. I'm told they'll receive special Birthday Girl treatment. I'll have to report back as to just what that might mean!

4. Disney Gift Cards for Special Occassions: The Peanut just lost her very first tooth last week. The Tooth Fairy in her infinite wisdom decided to bring a gift card from the Disney Store in just the right amount for the Peanut to pick out the stuffed animal she's had her heart set on ever since she heard of the trip. (It was her first tooth afterall. I'm sure the Fairy won't be this generous next time.) The gift cards can be set for any amount and can be used at any Disney Store on or off the parks. I've even heard they can be used for snacks and beverages and anything sold at the parks so it would be a great stocking stuffer, birthday treat, Valentine gift, Easter basket filler, etc. etc.

5. The Birnbaum Disney World Guide for Kids: My neighbor just recently told me about these adorable guidebooks made specifically FOR kids. They release a new one every year and her daughter has one for each of the years their family made the trek. It is part guide, part activity book, part scrapbook. The Peanut was thrilled to receive her very own copy since Mommy has had a mile-high stack of guides sitting on the living room table for weeks. At age 5, I feel she is just a smidge too young to get the most out of the book, but I don't regret the purchase at all. Ages 7+ might enjoy it far more. 

Spring has sprung

Don't mess with a pregnant lady. While I was not so patiently waiting for my Peanut, I told anyone who'd listen she was going to be a SPRING baby. Her due date was March 30 and I was praying she'd be just a teeny bit late so she could be an April baby. Just because that sounds more "officially spring" to me.

My girl had other plans though. We'll be celebrating her 5th birthday on the 28th this month. Spring arrives on the 20th. In the end, I was right all along. She is my spring baby. But just to supress the doubters, my pregnant self took a picture of the crocus blooming on the side of our house. If they're up, it has to be spring right?

My girl came running into the house this past weekend calling out about the pretty purple flowers she found outside. Handyman Tim remembered just what they mean to me and sent her to find me. I couldn't resist capturing them for my sweet birthday girl.

600 and counting

See those three noggins we're staring at the backs of? Those three mean everything in the world to me. Unfortunately, I don't see them all in the same frame nearly often enough. 

Without indulging in too much whining, 2012 has been one of the more challenging times to plod through for us. In the last couple weeks I've started to be more aware that our time is fleeting with the girls at this size. I feel the need to refocus more closely on my family probably in part because right now the girls have one parent present and one parent working desperately hard from a distance. The girls need me more than normal and naptimes are {SOB} disappearing. With them goes my free time and energy for writing. 

The irony? I have so so much I want to be sharing with you. 

So, I'm not disappearing, I'm just slowing down. I need to not feel guilty about this space being quiet for a few days or more at a time. It's just one pressure too many during a time when I'm being pulled in too many directions. 

The second dose of irony? This is my 60oth post. I can't help but laugh out loud as I type that. I didn't think I'd ever make it this far and then at some point I didn't think I'd ever give up. Now I'm just simply realizing I need to slow down in order to do this blog justice. 

At least for a while, I'm going to shoot for sharing one great post with you a week. I hope you'll forgive me if I can't keep up with even that.

I'll still be keeping up with my photo projects over on Develop and I have some more food photography stuff brewing on the side that I'll be excited to announce when the time comes. I've got plans for a couple books that I'm dead serious about writing and even have outlines for. What I don't have is the time in the day to do any of this justice!  I'm hoping that by scaling back a bit, I'll be able to actually accomplish more while keeping my girls as the first priority. 

Life should get easier again in another month or two. Maybe my little self-imposed slowdown won't even last that long. But rest assured I'll be stockpiling great ideas for sharing in the interim! 

Thanks for being such awesome readers. I hope you'll stick around!

Carrying on for my cuties

We're still here, believe it or not. How has it been 2+ weeks with no word from me? Oh my, I've really been going through a blogger's indentity crisis since January. Handyman Tim's project continue to drag on and I find all my energy being sapped as I take care of the two peanuts. I do miss regularly posting here though and I'm really hoping to remedy the situation.

February has been oddly really rough. We are missing Tim most thoroughly because his birthday falls on the 9th and then Valentine's so shortly after. Sadly, we could not be together for either holiday this year. It really took a lot of my normal "oomph" out of these fun mid-winter festivities. We came "this" close to not celebrating Valentine's at all if I'm truly honest.

But look at those sweet faces? While my big manly valentine may have been out of town, I obviously have two other sweethearts to celebrate for and with. So, in a final burst of inspiration I pulled it together and we had a very sweet little evening party.

I got the table set and ready to go during nap/quiet time:

Dinner was kept super simple: noodles with tomato sauce. And <gasp> they weren't even heart shaped! My ladies didn't mind though.

Their gift bags were filled with new matching dresses (possibly for Easter) and coordinating pink canvas shoes and some sweet Valentine books. True to nature, the Peanut was most intrigued by a new coloring book. In stark contrast Little Pea INSISTED on putting on her new dress OVER her Valentine's outfit! Along with the new shoes. She cried and cried when I had to take the dress off before tomato sauce dinner threatened some splatters.

I'm so glad I didn't let this little holiday pass us by this year. It would have been such an easy thing to do and I would have really regretted it.

How did your Valentine's Day go? Do you make a show of things or am I the only nutty one who carries on with our without the husband home?

Hidden veggie tomato sauce

My roasted tomato sauce has been one of my favorite freezer staples ever since I discovered it. In the last 2 years I think I have purchased "maybe" 3 jars total of spaghetti sauce. I much prefer to make my own with big batches of tomatoes from Costco and whatever combination of onions and peppers maybe be laying around in my fridge. 

After two years of making this sauce, you'd think it would have occurred to me earlier what a great opportunity it would be to hide a few more veggies in while I did the roasting. I can be pretty slow sometimes. I happened to have an abundance of zucchini and carrots from my recent soup making ventures and decided to toss a few in at the last minute before roasting. 

I added 4 chopped carrots and a single thickly sliced zucchini to the mix. I didn't want the zucchini to turn the sauce too green so I left it at that. My favorite part of the roasted tomato sauce is how sweet everything tastes from the high heat of the oven. I love roasted carrots and just felt they'd be right at home in there. 

I'm thrilled with how this combination turned out. The resulting sauce is very thick, sweet, and flavorful. My girls (and Handyman Tim himeslf) will absolutely never guess the extra veggies I've hidden inside. Since Little Pea has turned into quite the picky eater, I'm grateful for a recipe like this to sneak a little extra nutrition into her! 

Tuscan Chicken Soup

During a recent trip to visit family in the Twin Cities area, we stopped in at a cafe called D'Amico & Sons for a quick lunch. Too much heavy food and greasy fast food on our trip had left me with an upset stomach so all I wanted was a light and veggie-laden soup. When the server brought my bowl, I immediately knew I had picked a winner.

This soup is a tomato-based broth with just a hint of creaminess without being a full-fledged cream soup. It is thick with veggies and teeny tiny pasta but still brothy enough to be a soup and not a stew. It might possibly be the most perfect vegetable soup I have ever had. The little bits of chicken give it that nice savory taste but it is truly the carrots and zucchini that are the heroes of this dish. 

I could NOT stop thinking about this soup for days. I'm not exactly a soup fantatic but it hit the spot and kept me wanting more even after I returned home. In total desperation, I hunted the internet for a similar recipe. I found nothing that came close until I finally decided to just search for the restaurant's name and the name of the soup. Sure enough, an employee who's grandmother's recipe is used for the basis of the soup posted it on their blog last year! Score! I literally yelped with excitement.

My version of the soup was not a dead-on match but it is my own fault. Next time I'll take the time to dice my veggies smaller. I may consider adding more tomato and more broth (or less pasta). I added too much pasta in my original attempt and it soaked up too much of the broth. (The recipe below is adjusted with that in mind, no worries!)

Serve this with some fresh warm bread and butter and it is total cold winter day heaven. Even the Peanut gave it two thumbs up. She practically licked her bowl clean and I couldn't feel better about the ingredients in it. 

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Tuscan Chicken Soup

adapted from "Grandma Mary's Soup" a.k.a. the Tuscan Chicken Soup from D'Amico & Sons

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 medium yellow onion (medium dice)
4  carrots (peeled, washed, and medium dice)
4 stalks celery (washed and medium diced)
2 zucchini (washed and medium diced)
3 cloves fresh garlic (chopped finely)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil 
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
28 0z can crushed tomatoes 
6 cups chicken stock
Kosher salt-to taste
Fresh ground black pepper -to taste
1/2 cup Acini de pepe pasta 

Method:

In a large pot add 2 tbsp olive oil and saute onions, celery, and carrots over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes.  Add zucchini and garlic.  Saute until tender about 4-6 minutes.

Add chicken stock, tomatoes, basil, oregano, chicken. Simmer soup for 20 minutes, vegetables should be tender. Add the pasta and cook right in the soup for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Add heavy cream if using and allow to simmer for 6-8 minutes.

Top with grated parmiggiano reggiano or pecorino romano cheese and serve!

NOTE: I let my soup set in the fridge overnight and the pasta absorbed far too much of the liquid. I just added a few more cups of chicken stock when I reheated it to make it more brothy and soup-like.

So you got an iPad for Christmas, Now What?!

  

Let's get one thing very straight: You are never too old for toys.

When my mom and dad would confer over what to get my sister and I every year for Christmas, my dad would always stop to ask, "But what toy will we be giving them?" That question is posed each and every year and has instilled my love of all manner of gadgets and techno gizmos. I still love to find clothing, perfume, kitchen items under our Christmas tree, but Handyman Tim knows the fastest way to my  heart is to give me a toy.

It was with great glee that I accepted an iPad a few weeks ago. Tim had been the owner of it for over a year but just didn't enjoy using it. Often it sat quietly in his hotel room untouched. He finally decided to put it in more eager hands. While I stared in disbelief as he passed it over, he said, "I thought it would be a great replacement for my laptop and I just haven't enjoyed using it like I thought I would." 

And then the angels wept.

I hope Handyman Tim never reads this post. He may regret handing me this awesome toy. But for your sake, I knew I had to share this. Did you get an iPad for Christmas? It seems most ladies in my Facebook feed seem to have unwrapped one of their very own in the last few weeks. Some were greeted with glee like me, but I did see a few, "What do I do with this thing now?!" exclamations. 

I'll be sharing different iPad tips over the coming weeks but today I wanted to start you off with the number one thing you absolutely need to put on your iPad right this very second:

Stop what you're doing and download Flipboard to your iPad right now. They have a version for iPhone too but the display size of the iPad is what makes this truly magnificent.

If you're an avid blog reader like I am, you're probably used to the list-style display of most feed readers. Hook up your Google Reader account to Flipboard and it turns your blog reader into a print-style magazine:

You can display your blogs by folder, by feed, or all of them mixed together:

My blog feed is extremely photo based. I buy my cookbooks based on the photography included, I make my decisions on what to cook based on the photo. Why wouldn't I want to see my blog feeds by photo?! I LOVE this easily scannable format. You swipe the screen and it turns like pages of a magazine. 

No internet browser works this way. This kind of interaction with your blog feed can only  happen in a unique app such as Flipboard. Why would you want to go to the Safari browser window to read via a traditional web site when you can have them fed to you in this gorgeous display?? 

And Flipboard doesn't just hook up with Google Reader. I set my account to grab my Facebook, Twitter feed, LinkedIn account, Instagram feed and Flickr photostream. Instead of seeing all the text based links and hashtag mess of a normal Twitter feed, look at how it pulls the images right out of the links themselves:

When I discovered how much more fun it was to read my social media outlets via Flipboard, I sat quietly squealing in our living room. Handyman Tim noticed and just shook his head and groaned. 

Stay tuned for more iPad tips and suggestions in the weeks to come. For now, Flipboard should keep you plenty busy. But are you interested in having that super cute Valentine's wallpaper for your very own iPad or iPhone? Check out Zina's post over at Let's Lasso the Moon and download yours there!

H * E * L * P!

It sure has been quiet around here lately, hasn't it? I'm so sorry, I promise it has been very unintentional. Handyman Tim is knee deep in an awful project that is keeping him away from home for 4 months. He left at the beginning of December and other than a short break at Christmas, he's been busy working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week out of town with no end in sight until sometime in March at the earliest.

I'm no stranger to being home alone with the kids but this is something completely different than even I am used to. The girls and I have buckled down into hardcore survival mode which basically means: No fancy meals or baking, very few crafting opportunities, and an all around lack of things to write about like I normally share here! Not to mention how crazy things got over on Develop with the start of our 2012 photography projects.

I'm happy to let you know though, I have a series of posts I'm busy trying to pull together for you. I was finally inspired over the weekend. I want to get things rolling more predictably around here. Thank you for being patient with me as I sort out life in general.

That being said, I am definitely looking for some guest writers who would like to contribute some tried and true recipes. I will make and photograph your dish, you simply need to share a short intro and the recipe. Bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome! If you were in my shoes and feeding two small children, what would be on your menu? I'd love to share your ideas!

If you're interested, just send me a message at: peanutblossomcreations (AT) gmail (DOT) com and we'll chat! 

Stock Your Stash: What to get your traveling man

 

Today is week 3 in the Stock Your Stash series and we're focusing on that special man in your life. If you'd like to get caught up on previous weeks, you can check them out here and here.

My contribution for this topic is as close to a post written by Handyman Tim as y'all are probably ever going to see here on the blog.

I really struggle every year to come up with ideas for my guy so it came as no surprise  to me when this was a difficult subject to write about. In a bolt of inspiration, I decided to just ask Tim to give me his approved list of items. As he started rattling off ideas, our theme became very clear. 

Behold!

The 100% Handyman Tim Approved Gift Guide for the Travelling Man:

1. iPhone/iPad: This is really two separate objects, but Tim insists these are essential items for any husband/dad on the road. The iPhone has become a crucial lifeline for Tim and our girls when he has to be out of town. We video chat with him every night and he can help virtually tuck the girls in at night and blow them kisses face-to-face. No, it's not nearly as good as the real deal but I've seen it send the Peanut to sleep with a smile on her face enough times to agree with him about it's "essential" categorization. 

The iPad has been a portable movie theater, library, laptop, photo album, and gaming center that keeps him entertained and relatively happy when sitting in a lonely hotel room or on a plane. Pricey though it may be, it has been worth every penny to provide a bit of comfort to a man who has to spend so much time away from home. 

2. Subscription to Audible.com: Tim is an avid reader, of the audio version variety. Whether he is on the road or even at home traveling to the local office, he spends a long time in his car commuting. He has managed to read 200+ books in the last 4 years all thanks to Audible. While his headphone habit may occassionally drive me crazy, I can't argue that it has been a great source of pleasure for him and I love being married to someone who is so well read.  

3. Bose noise cancelling headphones: This is something Tim has been begging for for years. Sadly, he still does not own them. He insists these would be heaven sent on more than one flight he's had to endure. If you can find it in your budget, I'm sure your travelling man would adore these.

4. Swiss Army Backpack: Forget the rolling luggage or briefcases, Tim swears by a laptop backpack. It was a running joke in our family that every year another bag would be on his wish list. He's tried out more than his fair share of them. The backpack takes the cake. It's easy to carry, easy to get through security, easy to store above or below the seat on a plane, and easy to tote when rushing to miss a close connection. 

5. Cordless Drill, 18volt preferibly Dewalt: And what would a gift list be from a handyman without a tool?? When I asked him, "Why a drill?" He responded: "Why Not?" Well ok then. Of course he had to clarify: "Not just "a" drill, but a cordless 18 volt Dewalt." He sounded a little like the kid from A Christmas Story asking for his Red Ryder BB Gun if you know what I mean. I guess this item speaks for itself. Apparently.

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None of these feel "just right"? As always, you can check out more ideas from my partners in crime:

Zina at Let's Lasso the Moon

Carrie from Diet & Ridicule

Colleen from Flee Fly Flown

Tuesday Tunes: A love note for Handyman Tim

Often I see letters and love notes from bloggers to their children in honor of birthdays and milestones but I honestly can't recall the last time I saw one for a husband. Does anyone do that? They should. So I'm taking my own advice today.

Life has been throwing Handyman Tim and me some curveballs lately. Stress can bring out the worst in people or it can show their strength. Such is the case with my handyman. I couldn't ask for a stronger or more supportive husband than the one I'm lucky enough to be hitched to. We may not alway agree but at the end of the debate, he always chooses me over the argument at hand. For that I am truly grateful. 

What better way to show my appreciation than to share a public playlist with you. This is me standing on my mountaintop with my megaphone. Handyman Tim Rocks and I'm so glad he's mine. These songs make my heart happy and make me think of him. 

I'd love if you would leave a comment on this blog post with a little shout out to Tim. He's been too busy to follow my blog closely lately. I'd love to have a long list of comments so that when I send him this link in a couple days I can embarrass the heck out of make him feel greatly appreciated. Let's hear it for a handy husband!

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Tuesday Tunes: Muppets Mania

It has been a long time since my last Tuesday Tunes share. I felt it had run it's course for a while there but was newly inspired over the weekend. Our family loves to have living room dance parties. Handyman Tim is our own personal DJ and can get the Peanut dancing up a storm in no time. 

We've been talking to her for a while now about how we'll be going to see the new Muppets movie when it comes to the theater this Thanksgiving. I adored the Muppets when I was younger and still do. They bring back wonderful memories for me. So it isn't terribly surprising that I'd be suckered in to most of the movie tie-in things that are starting to pop up all over. 

For once, though, I'm ahead of the curve. I've been the proud owner of this Muppet cd since the Peanut was just itty bitty. It's been a while since we've played it but when the movie came up in conversation on Saturday afternoon, we had a very impromptu dance party set to such classics as "Bein' Green", "Mahna Mahna", and one of my favorites: "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear."

The Peanut is smitten to say the least. But the cutest thing ever was watching Little Pea melt into Daddy's shoulder while swaying to "Rainbow Connection." Even at her tiny size, she is a total music lover and bopped her little noggin to the beat of each song. 

Do you plan to see the new Muppets movie? Which song was your favorite back in the day?

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

A month of learning: the results!

Where have I been these last 4 weeks?! With my nose glued to the back of my camera!

I finally finished up my Natural Light 101 workshop through ClickinMoms and I'm so sad that it is over. The CM workshops are really an incredible experience, I highly recommend them. So to catch you up on my absence, I wanted to share the results of this class. Be forewarned, this is very photo heavy!

Quick note before we begin. These shots are not SOOC (straight out of camera), but they are also not heavily processed. I adjusted white balance, slightly nudged exposure, and might have added a smidge of vibrancy to some of them. Those small changes do make a big difference but I haven't done anything wild and crazy. The backgrounds and lighting are all very very real.

Week 1, we worked on natural light indoors. I'll spare you these shots since you see indoor work from me all the time!

Week 2, we finally headed outside and worked on open shade:

Week 3, backlighting, was the one I was most excited about. I love love love those hazy sunset type photos I see in portrait photographer's albums. Words can't even begin to describe how I would fail time and again trying to capture that effect. I can only imagine what passersby thought when they heard me squealing when I saw these on the back of my camera:

But perhaps the most challenging part of that week was finding a spot to do indoor backlighting with window light. I love this photo and it will truly be a classic in our family:

We finished Week 4 with silhouettes which are not really my thing. We had horrible weather that week and because of the timing of sunset, it was super challenging to do with the nap schedules/dinner time. I almost didn't even do my homework that week but Handyman Tim pushed me to at least give it a try. I'm so glad he did:

I loved taking this workshop during the fall with all the gorgeous colors but the hardest part is going to be waiting till next spring to get outside and really play. I'm so excited to take the family out on photo adventures now that I know how to use the light properly. Yippee for natural backdrops and scenery! And double yippee for having photos that are so much better than my "before" shots! 

How I torture my family: Philly steak pizza

Oh what a gorgeous failure this pizza dinner was. Steak, cheese, pizza crust, HOW can my family not just devour it?! I'll tell you: because I put red peppers and onions on the top. For shame! Not just one, but all three of the members of my family acted as though I was torturing them slowly by enforcing they eat this homemade pizza. 

I found a recipe for steak and onion pizza in the November issue of Everyday Food and I had to try it. For some reason I thought I could get away with it because it was pizza. Pizza is almost it's own food group in this household. So I thawed my homemade crust from the freezer, grilled up the flank steak, chopped and sauteed the veggies, and proceeded to sit in abject horror as Little Pea threw the food to the floor, the Peanut burst into tears, and Handyman Tim not so discreetly used his fork to pick every single piece of produce off the top of his serving. 

But from the ashes of this disaster rose one of the most delicious day-after lunches I've made in a long long time. Is anyone else out there as addicted to the naan bread packs from Costco as we are?? I took the leftover beef and cheese and made personal sized "pizza" the next afternoon. The significantly softer bread crust paired with just the steak and cheese passed the taste test for both girls. (Tim was out of town but I'm certain he would have loved it and it will be appearing again someday soon.)

The beauty of this treatment is that I slathered my portion with double helpings of peppers and onions. I swear it tasted JUST like a Philly steak sandwich in openface pizza form. Even I can admit that the naan crust was significantly tastier than the homemade pizza crust. So much so, that I might forgo the effort of making pizza crust for a while. It misses the "crunch" but is far less doughy than my pizza crusts have been lately. 

So if this is how they reacted to peppers and onions, what do you think they'd do with a spinnoccoli? Hmmm...

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Philly steak pizzas
adapted from Everyday Food 

Ingredients

1 flank steak (mine weighed 1 pound)
2 red bell peppers, sliced thin
1 red onion, sliced thin
olive oil
Monteray Jack Cheese, shredded
olive oil, salt and pepper
Naan bread (an Indian flatbread. I find it at Super Target in the bakery section and in large packages at Costco by the packaged breads) 
Fresh parsley, chopped 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a large saute pan to medium high heat. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Saute the steak for 6-8 minutes until medium rare. Remove to a plate and tent with tin foil for 10 minutes.

Add another teaspoon or two of olive oil to the pan. Saute the veggies until softened with browned charred bits. Remove from heat and set aside. Slice the steak against the grain as thinly as you can. 

Place the naan breads on a large cookie sheet. Brush with a scant bit of olive oil. Top with steak slices, veggies, and the shredded cheese. (Or, leave all veggies off if your family is like mine.) Heat in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Sprinkle with fresh parsley (or not) and serve.

Super secret recipe: Chocolate peanut butter chip cookies

I have a secret recipe I've been keeping from you. I've made these cookies more than any other treat in my repertoire. Of all the baked goods I make, this is the only one where I have the recipe nearly memorized. So why haven't I shared it before now? Because of the photo! 

Handyman Tim's all time favorite cookie that I make is a chocolate peanut butter chip cookie from Barefoot Contessa. Chip not chunk. I've made that mistake a few times, it's so counterintuitive for me. Just seems like he'd prefer the chunks, but I digress. These cookies are dark as night. They look like tiny black discs when they come out of the oven. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a chocolate crispy cookie look appetizing?? 

I did show you a pile of ingredients once. But what's a recipe post without a picture of the final product?? Especially when it comes to baked goods. When I decided I needed to add chocolate to my food portfolio, I couldn't believe I didn't immediately think of this recipe. Thanks to those of you who gave me suggestions over on Facebook for other treats, you can bet they'll be appearing over time here as well. But since Tim was headed home after a week away for work, this was the obvious choice.

These cookies have been a standard "mommy meal" dessert staple for me as well. I've had recipients tell me they are the best cookies they've ever had. They freeze awesomely (which is why I like to give them.) It's easy to package them up and enjoy them slowly over time. Tim eats them straight from the freezer, they are excellent cold.

At Christmas time, I swap the pb chips for chopped Andes Candies. They end up being flatter and chewier but are perfect for that time of year. I've always meant to try chopped Heath Bar candies. Someone will have to try it and let me know how it goes.

This is definitely a dry-ish, crispy cookie. I'm a huge fan of softer and chewier but for some reason it really works in this recipe. Goes great with a tall glass of milk for sure! Just be absolutely sure to set your oven time for 15 minutes exactly and take them out! They really do look underdone and raw but will firm up fast on the baking sheet. 

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Handyman Tim's Favorite Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter CHIP cookies
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Makes 36-40 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 extra large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds peanut butter chips (I just use 2 bags of chips/chopped candies)

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chips.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Can be stored in the freezer if you have any leftovers. 

Battle of the grilled sandwiches

It's a cold blustery day, what do you serve for lunch? 

Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. It's almost a given around here on the weekends. Handyman Tim has been known to request this for dinner. I'd say it is in his Top 3 Favorite Foods Ever list.

While I do love a good ol' american cheese & butter grilled sandwich with plain ol' Campbell's tomato soup, I'm always eyeing up the more "grown up" grilled sandwich varieties I see around the internets. Whenever I even dare to suggest that maybe we could simply add ham or change up the variety of cheese, I get shot down with evil glares by all the members of the family.

When I saw the recipe for grilled ham, pear, and arugula sandwiches in Everyday Food, there was no turning back. Evil glares be damned, I was going to try this sandwich:   

Let me repeat the flavors going on in there: ham, pear, arugula, havarti cheese, dijon mustard, pepper, and olive oil in place of the butter for grilling. I stepped it up a notch by using dill bread and caraway seed havarti. Ooooooooh. Myyyyyyy. Gosh. I honestly needed a moment of silence while I ate the first batch. I say first batch because I enjoyed it so much, I made it three days in a row--until I ran out of pears. 

This, my friends, is autumn on a bun. Handyman Tim and both girls absolutely refused to even try a bite. Fine. More for me. The sweet pears balance out the savory ham, zippy mustard, and creamy cheese. The arugula cuts it all from being too sweet. The dill in the bread and the caraway seeds in the cheese gave it just that boost of flavor that put the whole darn thing over the top. 

And the best part of all? I can make just one for me and make the plain ol' boring variety for the rest of the family all at the same time on my griddle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Little Pea might be my adventurous food spirit. If I keep eating strange sandwiches, I'm hoping maybe she'll join me one of these days. 

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Grilled ham, pear, and arugula sandwiches
adapted from Everyday Food magazine

Ingredients:

- Crusty bread (I used a country dill bread I found at a local market. I've seen recipes online for making your own but can't recommend one yet.)
- Thinly sliced deli ham
- Ripe but firm pear
- Havarti cheese (I used caraway seed specifically, but plain would be yummy too.)
- Arugula
- Dijon mustard
- Cracked pepper
- Olive oil 

Method:

Spread a scant amount of mustard on one slice of bread. Top with sliced havarti, then ham, the cracked pepper, pears, and arugula. Add the second piece of bread to make a sandwich. Brush outside of sandwich with olive oil and grill it in a saute pan or on a griddle until bread is toasty golden brown.