Haney 365 :: January 1-7, 2013

Menu Monday on Tuesday

If you've spent any time reading my blog, it won't surprise you to know that I love to cook and eat. Cooking for my family and friends is definitely one of my hobbies. 

I thought about starting a recipe journal for 2013 to record what meals we eat, where I found them, and whether we liked the meal or not. Then I remembered I had a blog and that this might be a better place to record those things. I'm going to try to stay somewhat current on my Menu Mondays, but I will be late more often than not. I'm starting out the year on a good foot, considering it's already TUESDAY, but whatever! Here's what we ate this week.

December 31, 2011 :: New Year's Eve

We stayed home, made a nice meal, watched a movie, and went to bed early! See also: we are old. Ha! We started with bacon wrapped water chestnuts as an appetizer and then enjoyed one of our favorite salads: romaine, orange pepper, hard boiled egg, and blue cheese with Garlic Expressions vinaigrette. We rounded out the evening with grilled steaks, Molly's Twice Baked Potatoes, and grilled onions. For dessert, we each had a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich from Trader Joe's. This was a great meal, but how could it have been bad? We went to bed fat and happy!

January 1

I was feeling pretty sick on New Year's Day, so I had a bowl of noodles with butter and garlic salt for dinner. It's one of my favorite easy meals! Tyler ate the leftovers from New Year's Eve.

January 2

Skinnytaste's Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage, and Spinach

The only thing I did differently was that I sliced Trader Joe's Spicy Italian chicken sausage into links and browned it in olive oil (instead of crumbling it). This wasn't our favorite because it didn't have a ton of flavor. However, I attribute it to the fact that I used peeled and chopped frozen squash from Trader Joe's instead of fresh. We definitely want to give this another chance when squash season rolls around. I served it with roasted brussel sprouts and Sister Schubert's mini baguettes. Griffin loved it, especially the sausage!

January 3

Trader Joe's Spinach and Kale Bites with Tomato Basil Marinara and whole wheat thin spaghetti

About a month ago, the sample lady at TJ's was putting out these spinach and kale bites in their tomato basil marinara sauce. Griffin and I both loved them, so I picked them up and served them over thin spaghetti. I baked them in the oven according to package directions, then kept them warm in the sauce while I cooked the pasta. We had this with garlic toast and we loved it! It was a great, low calorie meal that was packed with flavor. If you have a local TJ's, you can find these bites in the freezer section! 

January 4

Ina's Winter Minestrone with Garlic Bruschetta

We always have a pot of soup on Friday nights. I left out the celery because I absolutely hate celery. It was a flavorful, easy soup that we really enjoyed! I halved the recipe and we had plenty to eat plus leftovers. I made the garlic bruschetta and it was the perfect accompaniment to the soup. This was a definite winner!

January 5

Erin's Bow Tie Fiesta

I have seen so many people rave about how good this is and I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to make it! I sent Erin a text asking her a question about making it ahead of time, and when I told her I'd never made it before, she told me she was ashamed of me-- haha! And RIGHTFULLY SO! I am so sad it's taken me a sweet forever to make this because it is SO DANG GOOD. I'm not even going to tell you how much of the pan we ate. The only thing I left out was the jalapenos. We ate it with homemade guacamole and chips. No, the chips were not homemade. Ain't nobody got time for that. (I love Sweet Brown; go look her up on YouTube if you don't know who she is!) This would be the perfect meal to take a new momma.

What about you? Any great meals you've enjoyed lately?

Unafraid

Well, here it is. My first blog post of the new year. No pressure or anything, right? We had a really nice Christmas. We spent it in Michigan with my family and did a lot of eating, sleeping, relaxing, shopping, and more eating. We've spent much of the last week catching up on things here, putting up Christmas, and just getting back into the swing of things. 

I usually love the start of a new year. I always make some resolutions and usually don't keep any of them. There's just something about a fresh start!  But this year is different. December was not the easiest month for me. We had several unexpected things come into our path and I'm going to say it here-- I did not do well with them. Not at all. I spent a lot of the month in a pit of despair and self pity and it was ugly, ugly, ugly. Thankfully, I have family and friends in my life who were sympathetic and understanding when they needed to be and then told me to put my big girl pants on and move forward.

Even though I've climbed out of that awful pit with God's grace and mercy, I still have the tendency to fall right back in. One of these things that came into my path is something that will be carried into the new year. (I'm truly not trying to be vague; I'm just not ready to blog about this. Maybe someday.) If I let myself dwell on it or think about it for any length of time, I find myself becoming extremely fearful. And really, not just a little fearful-- I am absolutely paralyzed by fear. It's fear of the unknown and of what might come to pass, not even necessarily what will come to pass. Even though I'm out of that horrible pit, if I'm being honest, I'm hovering right on the edge of it and I have these waves of fear pass over me throughout the day. 

I've started to notice something. It's not that I have an isolated fear of this particular situation. It's that I'm basically living in fear. I am always thinking the worst, assuming the worst, expecting the worst. I'm terrified of things that could possibly happen someday. I got myself worked up into a tizzy on Christmas Eve because I was convinced Griffin had MRSA. He had eczema. ECZEMA, not a flesh eating bacteria. I was ready to take him to the emergency room because of a stinking rash. I seriously need to get a grip. 

I've been reading blog posts this week about picking a word to characterize 2013 and I started thinking about a word that I'd like to make my "word of the year", if you will. I really wasn't sure what my word would be and really if I even wanted to commit to a word. Again, in years past, I would be all over that, but this year has just felt different because of how scared I am of what's to come. 

Then on Friday, while Griffin and I were on our way to the grocery store, a song I've never heard before came on the radio. I knew immediately that it was Chris Tomlin and as I listened to the words, I started to cry. I pulled into Kroger and just wept as I listened. It was his new song, "Whom Shall I Fear" and as the name suggests, it's about trusting God in the midst of fear and uncertainty. As I was listening, it hit me-- my word for the year. I knew what it needed to be. Not what I wanted it to be, mind you, but what it needed to be. 

My word is unafraid. Yes, I had to Google it to make sure it's a real word and Google said it was. 

I knew it as I listened to the song. The chorus of the song says the following:

I know Who goes before me,

I know Who stands behind,

The God of angel armies is always by my side.

The one who reigns forever,

He is a friend of mine,

The God of angel armies is always by my side.

I have to go into this year unafraid. As a child of God, I have the confidence to know that my Heavenly Father goes before me and stands behind me. Nothing will touch me that hasn't been sifted through His hands. Nothing will touch my family that hasn't been sifted through His hands. Everything in my life has been allowed and ordained for my good and His glory. I have to rest and trust in that. That is my prayer for 2013, that no matter what else comes my way, that I would be unafraid and trust in the Lord. It will take work and I truly do think that it will be a daily (sometimes momentary) battle for me, but I am thankful because I can do ALL things through Christ and that includes putting all my fears at the foot of the cross. God has blessed me with so much, including my two guys below, and I know He is good. I pray that you too know the goodness and grace that is offered in Jesus! 

If you have a word for 2013, I would love to hear it! Happy New Year! 

Treat

Last week, we got a new front door. It was an exciting day because we've really needed a new front door for a long time. Our house is over 100 years old and sometimes it felt like our door was as old as the house. It really is a neat door, but it let in a lot of air and the insulation was horrible. We've already felt a huge difference in how warm our house is so hooray for that! 

One of the best parts of our old door was that we had a mail slot. Griffin loved poking his hand through it and watching things happen outside. It also was a race to the slot everyday when we would hear our mail carrier drop the mail through. Griffin liked to go and pick up the mail and I liked to see what was waiting for me. Nine out of ten times, it's always boring stuff like bills or advertisements. It was so much worse during political season-- for months, we would get anywhere from 8-12 mailers PER DAY. It seemed like such a waste of paper to me, but I called them Griffin's mail and he would play with them. Free toys, thank you very much.

We have a really cute new mailbox to go along with our door, but I've already been missing that telltale clank of the slot that alerted me that our mail was being delivered each day (even though it scared the heck out of me most days and usually made me think someone was breaking into our house). Checking the mail always is like looking for a little surprise. The art of sending mail isn't as common as it once was, but I love getting a little happy in the mail whether it's a note, thank you card, catalog, or letter. 

Treat is Shutterfly's new greeting card brand that makes it easy for people to create and send unique greeting cards. Who wouldn't love getting a beautiful card in the mail for any occasion? Treat cards are perfect for holidays, birthdays, congrats, thank yous and every occasion in between. It's so easy to make your own card for someone you love!

Today and tomorrow (November 19 and 20), you can create and send a Treat greeting card for free! Whether it's a thank you note for Thanksgiving or sharing holiday cheer with a "just because" card, Treat will let you create a one-of-a-kind card.

After you make your card, just enter the code TREATBLOGR to get it for free. I'm excited to send my card! Who knows, it could be coming to your mailbox soon! 

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! 

Although I was compensated for this post, the opinions are 100% my own. 

It all started with a tube of toothpaste

Before I was a mom, even before I got pregnant, I had an exhaustive list of things that I said I would never, ever do as a mother. I should share that list sometime just so we can all have a good laugh. One of those things was that I would NEVER give my baby the POISON that was formula. That's supposed to be sarcastic, if you can't tell. We all know how that turned out.

What I'm saying is that I was a self-righteous fool and I've learned to never say never. God will usually snap those opportunities up and use them to humble me something fierce. And those humbling seasons, although helpful and refining, aren't the most fun.

In case you're wondering, what I'm about to share with you is not one of those humbling seasons, but rather a humbling moment. I am going to stop rambling and get to the point.

Before I was pregnant, during my pregnancy, and even after Griffin was born, I was adamant that I would never allow him to wear any clothing with characters. I'm talking Winnie the Pooh, Disney animals, Mickey, etc. I don't know why I got this in my head, but I did and I was sticking to my guns, dang it. It was a pride issue. I have lots of those, apparently.

One day, the time came for me to buy Griffin a toothbrush and toothpaste. I bought the baby kind at Target that came with a tiny toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste that had Elmo on the front. It sits in a little basket on Griffin's dresser.

Shortly after buying the teeth accessories, Griffin decided that he hated having his diaper changed. In order to avoid having a WWE sized wrestling match during every change, I would ask him, "Do you want to hold Elmo?" which was my peace offering of his toothbrush and toothpaste. It always pacified him long enough to do a quick change that didn't end with me sweating like a man.

One day, he randomly started crying for EMMO, EMMO. It took me awhile to realize that he was crying for the furry red monster on his toothpaste. It took me awhile to figure it out because he had never seen anything with Elmo on TV. I wish my child was crying because he wanted his teeth to be clean all the time, but he was just crying for Elmo, not his actual toothpaste. I could've had a future dentist on my hands!

Toothpaste Elmo became an obsession. He wanted his toothpaste (and toothbrush) ALL THE TIME. We would be in stores and he would find every tiny thing with Elmo on it and cry for it until I let him hold it. Once, he carried a box of frozen waffles with Elmo's picture on it around Kroger because he would scream when I took it away. That box of waffles came home with us.

I stuck to my guns and although he still loved Elmo, I wouldn't buy him any clothes with Elmo. Then one day, I pulled down some hand-me-downs from a friend's little boy. Lo and behold, there was a pair of Elmo pajamas in the bin. I showed them to G and he actually squealed. He hugged and kissed them-- jammies! It was so sweet.

Then I realized something. I was letting my pride get in the way of something that brought my child joy. It wasn't something that would hurt him or affect him negatively. He loves Elmo and Elmo is a pretty sweet little monster. I felt pretty ashamed when I realized what I'd been doing. I washed those jammies and he wore them that night. When we put the shirt on him, his face just lit up and he rubbed his belly saying, "Emmo! Emmo!"

Since then, we've added some more Elmo things to our collection of toys. We've rented some Elmo DVD's from the library and they've given this momma a few minutes of peace. I've gotten over my Elmo road block for the most part. He outgrew the jammies a few weeks ago, but we've been able to get by with our books and toothpaste since then.

That is, until yesterday. We were at the store and he started yelling for EMMO, EMMO. I saw what he was looking at and I couldn't resist...

Never say never, my friends. Unless it comes to Sponge Bob. Then I can actually say never. I despise that disrespectful little sponge.

And yes... that is the toothpaste and toothbrush that started it all. God bless dental hygiene and Elmo.

 

The Proof is in the Pin

One of my favorite friends, Sarah, has been hosting a blog linkup called "The Proof is in the Pin". Basically, it's a way to be accountable for trying your pins! This is something I really need. I love me some Pinterest and always have every intention of doing my pins, but life gets in the way. I have three pins today that I completed and SURPRISE OF ALL SUPRISES, they are food pins. Try to pick your jaw up off the floor.

Pin #1-- Feta Dip

image via

This dip is insanely good. It couldn't be easier to throw together before a party and it's always a crowd pleaser. I made it several times last winter for different parties, but forgot about it until a few days ago. We were visiting my family this weekend, and I made it for a football gathering on Saturday night and a mini-Thanksgiving meal on Sunday night. It was a huge hit both nights! I think we're going to grill some Greek marinated chicken breasts and serve this on top of them for supper soon-- kind of a Greek bruschetta chicken. The only thing I do differently is I don't crumble the entire block of feta into the dip-- only about 3/4 of the block. Yum!

Pin #2-- Buffalo Chicken Meatball Sandwiches

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These sandwiches are from my very favorite food blog. I really like Crist and Tina as people and dang, can they cook and bake. When I'm meal planning, I usually check their blog archives first. This recipe was no exception. These meatballs are easy and perfect! I used mild buffalo sauce and left the sauce out of the meatball mixture so Griffin could have some before I tossed them in the hot sauce. He liked them a lot! We ate them on a bake yourself Kroger multigrain baguette (per Tina's instructions) and we couldn't get enough of them. I usually hate leftovers, but I devoured these the next day. Make the blue cheese dressing yourself-- it's easy and delicious. I served these with sweet potato fries. Well done, ladies!

Pin #3-- Oven Baked Hardboiled Eggs

image via

I make these exactly how she suggests and I don't think I'll ever boil eggs on my stove again (unless I'm in a pinch). Sure, baking them takes a little longer, but I've found it's much more foolproof. I've never had an egg crack in my oven and I do this a lot. Watch, I'll have one break today. We really love hardboiled eggs here as snacks, in egg salad, on our green salads, etc., so this is an easy way to have a bunch on hand at once! Eggs are a great source of protein and I usually will eat one in some form before I go exercise!

Thanks for the fun linkup, Sarah! Happy Tuesday, friends!

 

Veteran's Day

It's no surprise to anyone that we just finished an election where emotions ran high. I watched social media over the last few months and was both encouraged and astonished to see both facts and rumors swirl as people defended their candidate. It was disheartening to see people lose friendships over their political differences. It was a highly charged time in our country.

I, for one, am glad that it's over. Even though there are still plenty of angry people, I think there are a lot of proud people, too. I'm one of them, even though the candidate I prefer didn't win. I'm proud to live in a country where we can vote on a President every four years. I'm especially proud to live in a country where men and women have fought to defend my freedom over hundreds of years. Two of my best friends have had loved ones serve overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I was able to see firsthand some of the sacrifices these brave men and women make for our country.

Tomorrow, Sunday, November 11, is Veteran's Day. Shutterfly is running a great campaign on Facebook to send a card to the troops to thank them. When you click here, you can choose from one of four great cards to send to one of our soldiers. It literally took me two minutes and I'm thankful I could do something small and simple to thank one of them.

If you can, take a few minutes today to say thank you. I promise that it will be worth your time! If you have a family member in the service, please know how grateful my family is to your soldier and your family. We do not take them or their great service for granted!


**Although Shutterfly did compensate me for this post, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.