A Place Where You Should Go...in Naples, FL

The second-to-last night of our two week vacation with family down in Naples, FL, Scott and I visited a magical little restaurant called Baleen's, in the La Playa Hotel.  We didn't feel up to ponying up for dinner, so our plan was to just have drinks and dessert and watch the sunset.

It was breathtakingly gorgeous and these sad little pictures I snapped with my phone don't near do it justice.
Every night when the sun goes down, they ring the big brass bell up on the porch and everyone claps.  The waiters light torches and heat lamps that lurk everywhere and the firepit is going to keep you cozy by the ocean, the sound of the waves in your ears.  
It was so fun to bury our toes in the sand, watch the sun slip into the Gulf and sip on pomegranate martinis as we fought over the last bite of homemade bananas foster ice cream over a moist dark chocolate cake, sitting on a bed of caramelized bananas, "Monkey in the Middle."  Scott had the White Chocolate Key Lime Tart, but I like mine better.  Good thing for him.

I highly recommend seeking out this spot if you're in the area, but prepare yourself for mediocre service if you sit in the bar section, as we did.  With only one waitress working the entire area it took an hour and half for us to order and receive one round of drinks and dessert. Worth it though...the drinks ended up being free.  Whoo hooo!

The perfect end to a wonderful vacation.

More Pictures from Morro Bay, CA

Incredible homemade ice cream at Hoppe's, a gem of a restaurant right on the ocean in Cayucos, CA.  Amy, Garett her husband and I had a wonderful meal my last day there.  What fun memories!  
The hot and sour soup Garett made on Valentine's day, I can still taste the ginger in that...awesome.
Amy on a walk down Morro Bay Beach.
Lunch at Rosie's, with sea lions swimming in the water down at our feet.  Great fish tacos and ohmygosh garlic fries.  Ohhhh.  Amy, Garett, their adorable son Wyatt (who is Sam's pen-pal, he just doesn't know it yet) and her dad, John.
Elephant seals sunning themselves, mating, and generally being huge and (the males at least) gross along Highway 1.
Morro Bay Rock.  Nothing like it.
Chefs in the kitchen on Valentine's Day.  Thanks again sweet friends!

Gale Gand's Cocoa Krispy Treats...for Mary

This was a dessert I made probably five times in two months over the Christmas season last year.  Super easy, better for you then regular Rice Krispy Treats (protein from peanut butter, ahem.) and just plain delicious.

Gale Gand's Chocolate Krispies (From her Chocolate and Vanilla Cookbook)

4 cups cocoa krispies

1/2 cup light Karo corn syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

4 oz. chocolate chips, melted (optional if you're lazy like me)

Boil the sugar and syrup together until sugar is melted completely.  Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter.  Add cocoa krispies and combine well.  Press into a greased 9x13 pan and drizzle the melted chocolate over top.  

Unfortunately, they don't freeze well, that's about the only bummer.

Trip to Central Coast, California

These pictures are LONG overdue, I had a dream trip back in February to see my precious friend Amy out in San Luis Obispo.  Our first night we stayed at this brilliant little place with Yurts, called Treebones.  Check it out, great concept and super affordable for that part of the country.

Cozy little bedroom with a sink and an electric heater.  Now that's what I call camping!

I was obsessed with the fact that succulents grow in the wild out there...who knew those tiny plants at Trader Joe's in the pots had flowers!

A New Talent

Sam learned this new trick while we were down in Florida, more to come.

"Whatcha doing, Sam?"

I was busy preparing for a small dinner we were having last night when I heard a funny noise coming from the dining room.  

What a funny little fellow.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Scott's Favorite)

I've been staring at the four brown bananas on my counter for the last couple of days, not having enough energy to do anything productive with them until today.  This recipe, based off Kathleen Tate's, is fabulous.  Moist, dense and tasty, you've got to use Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate chips to get the full effect.  A four star recipe in our house, they freeze beautifully and you can heat them up in the oven for a few minutes to fool your friends into thinking they're freshly baked.  No one will be the wiser.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. table salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tps. vanilla

2 large eggs

1 & 1/2 cups smashed bananas (about 4 medium, you can squish them up right inside the peel and then squeeze them out into the mixing bowl...no need to dirty another dish!)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 & 1/2 cups Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

About 2 TB. raw sugar for topping the muffins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare about 18 muffin cups, or use the fun medium sized white baking cups from Schweppe's, you don't even need a muffin pan then.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Cream the butter and sugars in a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and eggs and mix well.  Squeeze in the bananas and mix in the sour cream.  Fold in the flour mixture, then the chocolate chips.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups.  Sprinkle them with raw sugar if desired, it gives them a little crunch on top which can be nice.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sam eats ice cream and misses his Great Grandparents

Sam enjoys ice cream like his mother does, all over his face.  We miss you Great Grandma and Grandpa!

Awesome, Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Run, don't walk, to your kitchen and throw together these enchiladas.  I am still thinking about them days later and am thankful I doubled it to freeze for a friend's baby meal.  Truly a great recipe, based off of the Cook's Illustrated recipe.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Prep time: 15 min

Total time: One hour

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco and used it)

4 cups shredded four mexican cheese blend

2 & 1/2 cups easy enchilada sauce

2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chiles, drained

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, more to taste

salt and pepper to taste

juice from two limes

12 (6 inch) soft corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Make enchilada sauce:

1 medium onion, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

3 TB. chili powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. cumin

1/4 cup sugar, more to taste if desired

16 oz. tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

juice from one or two limes

pepper, to taste

Heat some olive oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering, saute onion and salt until softened, about 5 min.  Stir in spices, garlic and sugar.  Cook about 15 seconds, add tomato sauce, water and lime juice.  Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 min.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine shredded chicken, 2 & 1/2 cups of cheese, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, the chiles and the cilantro in a medium bowl.  Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

Stack tortillas and wrap in a wet paper towel.  Microwave for 60 seconds, it makes it easier to fold them without flaking.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with Pam.  Place 1/3 cup of chicken mix into each tortilla and roll tightly, place seam side down into pan.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Lightly spray enchiladas with Pam.  Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce over top and then sprinkle remaining cheese over top.  (You can freeze it at this point.)  Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, 20-25 minutes.  

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes until cheese melts.  Serve with sour cream, lettuce, remaining sauce and lime wedges.  Serves 4-6 people and freezes well.

Happy Friday!

It has been a long, cold week filled with rivers of running snot, high fevers, crabbiness and never-ending days...I'm glad to see the end of this one.  February is just around the corner too, and you know what that means, March is on the way too.

Houston, we have a problem

Well, it looks like the hoarding gene I received from my grandfather has carried on down through another generation.  Sam's ball obsession has spiraled out of control.  In this video taken right before Christmas, he assembled almost every ball he had into one pile, then proceeded to move that pile all over the house. 

I was mystified and amused at my offspring, what a funny little guy.

Sam's First Present Christmas Morning

I'm posting this for Kath & Co. who gave Sam another of his favorite gifts this year...his first set of blocks.  They are already much beloved and I can hear his shrieks of frustration from all over the house as his creations topple down accidentally.  

It picks up around the 34 second mark when he begins drooling in excitement and then eventually turns to me and says "WOOOOW!!!!"

Christmas Eve's Dessert

I have to tell you about this trifle.  It was to die for and the only thing bad about it was the fact that it didn't keep for more then one day.  My little helper and I made this mind blowingly good chocolate pudding (seriously, just LOOK at those pictures on her blog), homemade whipped vanilla cream and Kathleen Tate's devils food chocolate cake.  

Sam didn't enjoy it at all.  Really.

Favorite Things About 2009

• Yoga on Saturday mornings at 8 am
• Having the house look clean after all the decorations are down (notice I said "look," not be)
• A fresh start to the year, and a new job for Scott (yea!) 
• Florida in 52 days
• Sam's attention span being almost 2 minutes now instead of 17 seconds
• Starting to swim again
• A new food budget for the year!
• Weekly coffee dates at Starbucks with Scott and Sam
• Baby swapping with a friend so we each get one day a week to do whatever we want
  
• A second car.  I will never take it for granted again.

That's about it, my heart is light as we begin this new year with hope and perseverance and faith that God is leading us somewhere after two months of waiting.  

Best. Present. Ever.

Sam received one gift this year from my parents, grandparents and his aunt and uncle, and oh what a gift it is.  He took a four hour nap on Saturday after burning off all his toddler energy in this....who wants to come over for a playdate!  Bring your People Magazines and I'll make lowfat egg nog lattes for us all.

Christmas Fun

I cannot believe it's been a month since I posted last, we've had so much going on I'm overwhelmed at trying to catch up on everything.  Here's a dubious Sam on Santa's lap at the Bank on the 20th.  He wasn't sure of what to ask for...or whether he should trust the hairy fellow.

And exploring the giant "balls" on the tree at the lighting in Glen Ellyn.  He was in heaven.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We hope you are all well and are staying warm.

Happy 16th Birthday Soph!

I've been meaning to post these forever, but am only now getting around to it.  As if you need to look at food after the past two days...

My favorite dessert in the world, mk's "Cake and Shake."  Three tiny layers (literally, it's about four bites) of moist rich chocolate cake sandwiched between three different types of chocolate frosting.  Served with a mini vanilla malt on the side.

This was called "Banana" and was a delicious bread pudding with homemade ice cream.  Good, but not as good as mine.  :)  
Happy Birthday dearie, hope you had as much fun as I did on our city day!

"Turkehhh"

Not the most appetizing thing to stare at while eating breakfast, but he did ok.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Trying to Cook on Thanksgiving Eve

Why, oh why did Sam decide to drop his morning nap today?  I was attempting to start making this, along with a traditional sour cream cranberry coffee cake that my mom always makes (we cut it in half and share it with a neighbor) and apple sage stuffing.  And the gravy.  And a pecan pie.

My 18 month old sous chef didn't quite understand what his role was supposed to be in the process.  
I am anxiously awaiting Scott's return here within the hour and fully intend on taking a long hot shower during Sam's afternoon nap to recover.  Then I may escape to sit in Starbucks for an hour or two and make Scott vacuum downstairs.  
Hope your Thanksgiving is warm and full of family and good food!  Ours will be!

A Little After-Dinner Dancing...

Just what the doctor ordered during this stressful time.  :)