Zoodles for the Birthday Win

He's 5 and so pumped about it.  And also: he's now a SWAT member compliments of Mannah.

So we've had a busy couple of weeks counting down the days until my baby turned FIVE.  What the what.  I feel like we were just at the hospital (note: we were the ONLY ONES in the delivery wing of of Mercy in Manhattan, it was amazing and quiet).  Anyhow.  Everyday we counted down the days and discuss all the things he wants (ENTITLED MUCH?) and I think we nailed it and he had a great b-day.

Batman made it all the way from Gotham.  And so did eight thousand Legos.

We had plans to test his skills at mini golf but once he lined up all his lego sets, he wanted a "stay-at-home day."  So we stayed in jammies (or SWAT costumes, as the case may be) and built Legos ALL DAY.  It was awesome.  It was like Christmas morning, except for the fact that Elliott didn't get a gift and he was a tiny tyrant off and on all day long.

Owen took this picture.  Props to Aunt Katie and Uncle Zac because this has stayed by his side for a solid 48 hours thus far.

Ok, this is probs getting boring for everyone except my Mom (love you mom!) so I'll get to the food already!

For his birthday dinner we went to Brixx which is his #1 requested restaurant because they provide pizza dough for kids to play with at the table.  Winning.  So I told him I'd cook him whatever he wanted on Monday night as his birthday dinner at home; he chose shrimp (sometimes he calls them skrimps) and spaghetti because he wanted to try throwing the noodles on the ceiling to see if they stick.  They did.  (I distinctly remember my Auntie Val letting us throw noodles on the kitchen cabinets in their first house in Lafayette.  Cool aunt move that I need to tuck away for when my little lovies come to visit.)  So I made Greek Shrimp Scampi with Zoodles!

So zoodles were a total hit and we will be incorporating them regularly.

My cousins have been raving about zoodles and sending me links to recipes that I have yet to try.  I finally busted out my Gefu spiralizer and WHAT.  AWESOME.  It was a bit of a learning curve figuring out how much pressure I needed to use (esp'lly with little hands assisting me).  But our final product was awesome - one zoodle was about two feet long!  And the boys loved eating the left over zucchini pieces!  WIN!

 I married angel hair and zoodles for the winning birthday dish.

So I took the zoodles and tossed them in the last 15 seconds of cooking the angel hair (I detest the taste of uncooked zucchini.  Can't even handle it.) and the boys totally ate it.  Next time I'll add more zucchini and way less pasta.  Sneaky!  Next up: Chicken Zoodle Pho!

Greek Style Scampi with Zoodles
Recipe adapted from a dear law school friend Samantha Everette

{Ingredients}
1 t. olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
4 (14 oz) cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (I acutally used 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes and tossed the whole thing in)
1 1/4 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (just realized I forgot this one, but we didn't notice it!)
1/4 tsp fresh ground place pepper
4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (8 oz uncooked)
2 zucchinis, spirlaized (next time I will do 3 or 4)

{Instructions}
Preheat oven to 400*.  Heat oil in large dutch oven or skillet over medium heat.  Saute garlic 30 seconds.  Add 1/4 cup parsley and tomatoes.  Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.  Add shrimp, cook 5 minutes (I didn't do 5 minutes because I was distracted by little people throwing spaghetti on the ceiling and cabinets but the shrimp turned out fine because you pop it in the oven for 10 minutes).  Pour mixture into oven-safe dish (I skipped this since a dutch oven is oven safe), sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400* for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup, parsley, lemon juice and pepper.

Cook pasta to desired doneness.  In the last 15 seconds of cooking, toss in your zoodles for a light blanch.  Drain and empty into your serving bowl.  Toss with 1 tsp of olive oil to ensure nothing sticks!

Serve shrimp mixture over noodles and enjoy!

Hoondly, noondy, froondy, umm bork bork bork! (Swedish chef, anyone, anyone?)

Bon Appetit friends!

What if?

These are my IF girls.  I love them so.  We do LIFE together.

In February 2014 I attended the IF:Gathering conference here in Cville that drastically altered the course of my life.  I'm not saying that to be dramatic, I'm just speaking truth. The basic premise: If God is real, then what?  It spurred me on to open my Etsy shop to raise money to fight against hunger (kind of perfect since: a) I'm always hungry, and b) food is my love language).  And it planted the seed for this little tribe of women.

During IF:Gathering they introduced the concept of IF:Table.  Now food.  I love it so anything referencing spending time eating with friends?  YES.  Just YES.  Shauna Niequist (also: LOVE) spearheaded this and my friends and I ended up starting an IF:Table.  The idea is that community happens around the table.  You go deep when you are sitting around the table.  I have always felt this when we have friends over - we spend most of our time languishing at the table, long after we have finished eating.  Have you read Bread & Wine? You should.  My friend Shauna (stalker much?) wrote it and it was beautiful and lovely and all the things I love about food and people.  I feel like it is our manifesto/bylaws for our little IF:Table.

This was the day Graham was supposed to arrive in my arms.  But he is instead in Jesus' arms.  My girls celebrated me and my baby with a beautiful lunch at Pippin Hill.

So we started our If:Table Spring 2014 and we meet once a month around the table and share life together.  These beautiful women have become such a huge part of my life: encouraging me, supporting me, crying with me, and praying with and for me.  I am honestly crying as I write this because I'm just so thankful and blessed by these women.  I want us all to move onto the same culdesac and live out the rest of our lives in community.

So one of our loves is moving.  I am so heart broken but I know this what her family needs and I know she didn't make this decision lightly.  I will miss her desperately but the Lord has built a friendship that will last despite the 2000 miles that separate us!  I love you Amy and here's to Fort Hood to bring us back together :)

And now for the food.  In celebration of Amy's Texas roots, to which she returns, we had a Texas inspired meal.  Alas, I don't have the recipes and or the pics of the brisket that Cari made (Pioneer Woman - it was amazing) but I do have Amy's sangria recipe and Mere's Brussels Sprout Hash.  This meal was DIVINE!  (During dinner, btw, I received a call that my dad had been rushed to the hospital with chest pains and they stopped everything and prayed over my dad.  I mean.  I honestly can't even figure out what to say here. BLESSED.)

Amy's White Sangria

{Ingredients}
750 milliliters  dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc) chilled
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2  Tbsp superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups  peach nectar (Knudsen) or passion fruit nectar, chilled
1/2 cup  brandy
1/4 cup  amaretto
16 ounces  frozen peach slices
8 ounces  frozen mango slices
8 ounces  frozen strawberries
1 1/2 cups  club soda, chilled

{Instructions}
Dissolve sugar in lemon juice, brandy, and amaretto.  Add chilled white wine, peach nectar, and frozen fruit slices.  Let sit overnight. Add club soda just before serving.

Horrible pic, but don't hold that against this dish!

Mere's Brussels Sprouts Hash with Sweet Potato and Bacon
Serves 2 - (I suspect Mere doubled if not tripled this recipe since there are 7 of us!)

{Ingredients}
4 strips of bacon cut into 1" pieces
1 small onion diced
1 small sweet potato cut into 1/2" pieces
1 clove of garlic, chopped (have you tried the frozen garlic from Trader Joe's?  It makes my cooking so much faster and my hands far less stinky!)
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs (this was served as a side dish to dinner so we omitted the eggs but I bet this would make a yummy breakfast!)
**UPDATE** Mere just informed me she adds a splash of balsamic vinegar right before serving!  I'm going to try it with the divine balsamic glaze from Trader Joe's!**

{Instructions}
1.  Cook bacon in a pan over medium heat and set aside.
2.  Add onion and sweet potato to the pan and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. (Everything cooked in bacon fat is better.)
3.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4.  Add Brussels sprouts and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Let sit until the bottoms start to caramelize, about 5 minutes.  Throw the bacon back in and season with salt and pepper to taste. **Add the balsamic vinegar at this point, should you so choose!**
5.  Create 4 small wells and in the hash and add the eggs, and cook until desired doneness.  You can also finish in the oven!

Thank you Jen, Mere, Amy, Cari, Bethanyanne and Karen for enriching my life in so many ways.  We will miss you Amy but there is always IF:Gathering Austin 2016!

The Great Tennessee Adventure

The annual Old Navy Flag t-shirt photo with my guys!

So last year we went to Tahoe for the 4th of July to be with my family, so this year we headed to Tennessee to the Stephens Family Reunion in middle Tennessee (note: not central, but middle).  As some of you probably saw, we did a few pit stops along the way at Mabry Mill (OMG death to the GPS for taking us down a road that I promise was right out of Deliverance) and the Great Smoky Mountains.  Um, Gatlinburg is spectacular and I can't wait to go back.  So super cheesy and wonderful.  I wish we had an extra night there!

Last year with all the cousins in Tahoe - they have all grown WAY TOO FAST.

So I know these don't really speak to you, but they were spectacular.  This picture was taken from our balcony in Gatlinburg.

We drove all the way to the top and made a stop to watch the clouds move in - it was GORGEOUS.

We hoped to find some bears, but sadly, all we saw was a little teeny tiny crawdad.  Honestly, I was hoping at least for a deer. But we failed in our mission.  We did a tiny hike to a water fall and let the boys climb around a bit.  And then we were off to see "Gama and Gampa" as Elliott calls them.

Jamestown, Tennessee is seriously in the middle of nowhere.  And I stake that claim on the fact that I had ZERO cellular service the entire time we were there - including in town.  Now this was actually really great.  I think I need to take more cell breaks - leaving my phone behind was really freeing!

Coplen cousins (and Joel)!

We spent much needed outside time with cousins: lighting off fireworks, catching fireflies and frogs, roasting marsh mellows, playing in the jacuzzi, and just having fun outside!

Owen and Elliott were lucky to spend time with Aunt Katie and Uncle Zac along with G&G - spoiled much?

The cabins we stayed in were right by several horse farms.  The boys were so excited to feed them!

Okay, this post is really just for my mom so she can see what we were up to - sorry for the picture overload.  We ended our Tennessee adventure with a kid-free trip to Nashvegas!  We stayed at the Omni - the rooftop pool was totally worth it.  And ate on Broadway at Merchants.  YUM to all of it.  Except fried green tomatoes.  I just can't get behind them.

The tater tots were fried in duck fat.  I'm sorry but they really blew the Trader Joe tots out of the water.

Anyfood, this wasn't really a culinary adventure in Tennessee - we were feeding our souls full of family and our hearts are overflowing.

I can't even tell you how full my heart is.  These guys.  FULL.

Chock-it Dump Truck Cake

For Owen's 2nd Birthday all he wanted was a "Chock-it Dump Truck Cake."  I kid you not.  We started talking about his birthday about a week before and he totally remembered the Wilton Dump Truck pan we bought at Hobby Lobby before we moved to Virginia.

 

So the day before his little birthday party, we made a cake together :)  He insisted on wearing an apron because Mommy was wearing one. I found the manliest one in my arsenal - and of course he needed the "Merry Christmas" chef hat! 

 

And what cake-making experience is complete without licking the mixer paddle?

 

And the rubber spatula??

 

Tada!  Chock-it Dump Truck Cake complete with cream cheese frosting and M-Ms (as Owen calls them).  I generally don't like chocolate cake - but both of my boys do.  I used an old standby recipe that my mom makes for my family when chocolate cake is requested - she doesn't like chocolate cake either :)  I don't know what it is, but I just don't like chocolate cake...or chocolate ice cream.  Anyfood, this recipe I actually like because it is nice and moist and has chocolate chips in it!

Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients

1 package Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix (I use Duncan Hines)

1 (4 oz) package Instant Chocolate Pudding

1 small package semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 2 cups)

4 eggs

1/2 cup veggie oil

1 (8 oz) carton of sour cream

3/4 cup water

Instructions:

Blend together all ingredients except chocolate chips with a mixer.  Blend for 1 minute on low then 4 minutes on medium.  Add chocolate chips.  Pour into a well greased 12 cup Bundt Pan (or a well greased Dump Truck Cake pan)*.

Bake at 325* for 1 hour.  Dust with powdered sugar or cream cheese frosting.  (But really, why would you bother with powdered sugar when you can use cream cheese frosting?)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 box powdered sugar (3 and 3/4 cup - and as a side note, I used the Target brand of powdered sugar and it ended up v. v. granulated and not appetizing in my opinion...)
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese - softened
1/2 to 1 stick of butter (I use the whole thing - and make sure it is salted butter)
1 tablespoon vanilla

Blend together in the mixer and enjoy!  I freeze my extra and enjoy it on graham crackers when no one is looking!

* Some chocolate chips will sink to the bottom of the pan during cooking.  When you invert the pan and attempt to remove the cake, it may give some resistance as the chocolate chips like to stick to the pan!

Owen enjoying a tire of the dump truck cake while I breath through some contractions/the baby actually flipping around so that he or she is now head down - that was not a fun experience!

Mother's Day Feast!

Best Mother's Day gift EVER: Owen spontaneously saying at the breakfast table "Happy Mother's Day!"  NOT KIDDING.  Apparently Jeremy had been working on Owen saying it all morning (beginning at 5:45 AM, neat!) and the fact that he remembered and said it to me meant the world to me!!  He said it to his grammies as well :)  This little mister is the best! 

For breakfast, J made me cinnamon chip pancakes, bacon and fruit salad - perfect!  After church and a nap, we headed to Tuttle Creek State Park for a little hike and some outside time!  Little Man was so stoked for a new park!  We finally convinced him to leave the park in favor for a hike and he ran for about 15 minutes down the trail.  At first I was wondering if he was going to run for the entire 2 miles.  Silly me, not-yet-two-year-olds do eventually tucker out!  He finally asked to go "up" and he enjoyed the hike from on high!

For Mother's Day dinner I first requested a feast a la my friend Brandy's blog One is Hungry.  Although we had to make it a bit Owen friendly by adding a dip he would eat, and eliminating cheeses he would ask for, we would deny him, he'd throw a tantrum, then we'd give it to him, and then he'd spit it out and it would be wasted.  Maybe we have an adult-only cheese feast next weekend! 

Please note the beautiful roses Jeremy and Owen got me for Mother's Day!  They are so pretty and make our kitchen smell wonderful!

We thought it would be fun to have a picnic on our hike, but it didn't really work out.  So we thought we'd eat in our backyard.  And then I started to get bug bites, so we moved the picnic inside...that, and our neighbors were outside shouting at each other and the whole no-privacy fence thing kind of ruins a nice dinner outside.  So my wonderful husband put together this lovely feast at our kitchen table :)  We had rotisserie chicken, arugula, tomatoes and cucumbers on a baguette; Sun Dried Tomato Dip with cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers and pita chips; and some red grapes (my continual craving.)  Everything was FABULOUS!!  The sun-dried tomato dip was served recently at a JAG event and I'm addicted!!  You must try it!

Sun-dried Tomato Dip

~The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook~

Ingredients

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (8 tomatoes)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream  (J used Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
10 dashes, hot red pepper sauce (J used tobasco, but maybe next time we try Sriracha)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

Instructions

Puree the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, red pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and pulse twice. Serve at room temperature.

Happy Mother's Day!

1 Year Later

Last year, over this very weekend, we took Owen on his first road trip!  Owen was so little.  He slept most of the day, made sweet sounds, didn't destroy my house every waking minute, didn't throw food, didn't freak out if I wouldn't let him run around in a crowd of hundreds...Ah, those were the days!  Look how peacefully he slept in the Moby! 

We visited some friends we knew in DC, who also had the fortune of moving to Kansas as well!  We made our way down to the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City - what a great street fair!  Alas, we were not in the market for art, just the delish food (and margaritas!).  We miss you Matt and Katie!!

Towards the end of the day, it started to rain.  Can you see Owen's little outline under my coat?  Maybe I should see if he still fits under there?

Fast forward one year: look at that mischievous little monster!  He was plotting his escape.  Right after this photo was taken, the little monkey put on quite the show because he wanted to investigate.  Alas, we won.  But did we really??  He cried and was a bear for the next hour and a half.  BUT, he got to try his first Burnt Ends from Jack Stack and the ham out of some Bleu Balls!

 

Blue Balls are these tasty little fried treats - the "donut hole" version of Chicken Cordon Bleu.  I DO NOT LIKE HAM, Sam I AM, but these were delish!  What is not to like: fried goodness, ooey gooey swiss cheese, and some little hunks of meat.  Needless to say, Owen enjoyed this detour from his normal fair of steamed veggies, grilled chicken, and quinoa :)

This year we met up with some friends from the other Washington!  Unfortunately the inebriated fool we asked to take the picture missed the kids in the strollers...So excited the McKees are in town!  Amy and I used to play on a soccer team at Fort Lewis - Will and Andy were our biggest fans!   Welcome to Kansas!

Take a Hike

So around Labor Day the weather FINALLY broke and we definitely have been taking advantage of it!  We took Happy (isn't he so cute smiling up there with daddy??) for a hike on the Konza Prairie, just outside of town.  He LOVED it up there!  He spent most of the time kicking his little legs. And at one point he had a few rocks he was carrying with him in the pack - he is all about objects that fit perfectly in his little paws.

The trail is only about 2.7 miles and wanders through the Flint Hills - it was beautiful!  We saw a herd (is that what you call a bunch of deer?) galloping through the meadow below.  And some wild turkeys gobbling up on the hills.  Can't wait for Thanksgiving!

 There was a huge meadow of sunflowers!  They were beautiful!  The Wild Native Sunflower is the state flower of Kansas - instead of the more well-know sunflower with one giant head at the top of the stalk, this particular sunflower has TONS of flowers per stalk.  Absolutely beautiful!

When I finally gave the little man a lift, he spent some quality time playing with my hair.  It was kind of cute.  I know we have some sass and tantrums in the future, but at this phase it is so hard to see him as only ever being super adorable!

About half way through we took a water break.  Happy was all about daddy's water bottle - didn't drink a drop out of is own.  What is it with kiddos and drinking out of a cup that will drench them?

The surrounding farm land is quite beautiful - and it demonstrates how absolutely different our lives are here in Manhattan compared to Arlington!

Manhappening in the distance - it was quite a beautiful hike.  Can't wait to share it with our visitors!  And yes, people actually come to visit us in Kansas :)