Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken Orzo

Tonight was a "What do I have in the fridge??" night. I had 2 red pepper on the 'must eat today' list, an onion, 1/2 box of orzo pasta. I usually have a jar full of olive oil buried garlic cloves. So I roasted the peppers just to prolong their life and thought I'd use them later this week, but they smelled really good. I found a really simple recipe for a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Michael cooked up some chicken, the orzo, and we topped it off with the sauce. Simple, easy, delish. It easily fed 2, with some left over...all for under $5.

Rafe had a strawberry (beet) banana milkshake and is getting in the groove of smiling on cue! Skye had milk. Again.

Falafel

We have discovered a new food in the past few months. Suprisingly one that Rafe will eat on occassion, falafel. I think it is the ball shape that gets him. This one we made on the fly with a matzo falfel mix (not particularly one of our favorites, but it was in the cupboard.) I used ranch and tahini with some cumin and other seasonings to make the sauce, threw in an avocado, and saute'd up the one and only egg plant from our garden efforts. Also some feta. It was pretty tasty, and a quick meal too.

Sourdough Pancakes

Grandma Wiltbank makes amazing sourdough pancakes with fresh strawberry syrup. We tried to make our own sourdough pancakes using a sour start given to Michael by a fellow 'foodie' co-worker. We found a recipe online that would work with our quanity of start. It was pretty good, but strangely called for olive oil?? Not exactly the same flavor as Grandma W's but it worked for that morning. We made Rafe Mickey Mouse shaped hot cakes, he ate 4!

Spinach Stuffed Pork and Cake

Last night we made Spinach Stuffed Pork with blue cheese, spinach, and bacon, WOW! It turned out moist and amazing. We had it with whipped red potatoes.

I've also been making a few cakes for people lately. Rafe loves to get in on the action, constantly asking for a taste or an opportunity to lick the beaters in a sweet, "On my finger please?"

Yesterday I made a chocolate skateboard themed cake for Marvin's birthday, and a yellow gerber daisy cake for my friend Jeanna's birthday. Every cake Rafe asks if it is for his birthday...coming in December. I say no, and he say's, "Not for Rafe, I want a _____ cake." Which has a different theme each time.

Kicking off "What I had for dinner"

(Almond Danish)

So Shannon and I have decided to give our family blog a slightly different focus. We have a secret hobby of making good food (at least we think it is good). So to celebrate our successes and cry about the failures we are going to post them all here and let the world know "what we had for dinner last night". Of course our postings won't be limited to dinner, because really breakfast is just as important as dinner as far as the culinary arts are concerned. Here are some of our latest efforts. Hopefully the postings will be a little more regular due to our love of food and desire to share.

(Spiced Peach Coffee Cake)

Updates

I have had quite a few people request links to my blog lately...perhaps I ought to update my postings. What have we been up to these past few months?

1. Michael is still working on his Masters degree in Optics, hooray for statistics?
2. Rafe is running, spinning, talking, laughing and playing with his friends and cars like there is no tomorrow. He is also becoming increasingly helpful! Hooray.
3. I am 7 going on 8 months prego, the baby is due May 27th. Then we will have two kids, no school for the summer, and plenty to keep us busy.
4. Michael is also working really, really hard at BAE to get through is many projects and enjoy his 30min commute to Lexington, MA.
5. I am also plugging away at my business, trying to keep my desk and office clean, and working on some really interesting projects, shoes, and quilting.
6. I'm also cleaning like a demon...ahh nesting.

Rafe's New Room!

Rafe is now in a big boy trundle bed in his newly painted lime rickey green room. He really loves being able to get himself in and out of bed. I'm in the process of making him a quilt with all kinds of transportation on it, cars, trucks, planes, trains, surf boards, motorcycles etc. I think he'll love it. Dad also sent some great pictures he took of rusting tractors in Santa Fe, which I'm going to put on his wall.

Mom & Dad came to Boston for a few hours. Rafe had an excellent time with Mamie and Papa at the fire station. They let him climb into the truck and take all kinds of pictures.

Bloggin

So I've been blogging on other venues as of late, and after visiting the blogs of other family & friends; I realized that I've been negligent. Although I must say these other blogs are really more decorative and well designed than my own, I'm please to see so many of them are up to date with current family info! Good job! I suppose I will have to remember to update these posts as well. We have been busy... but then again who hasn't been. There are so many things to accomplish and get done, everyday & always. I've been trying hard to take a moment everyday...even if it is while I am eating my breakfast to read something enlightening. So far this has been a stack of Relief Society lessons, talks, and instructions since I've been called to be the Education Counselor in the Relief Society in our ward. Whoa, talk about a lot of work. Already (3-4 weeks later) I've learned a lot and have had some really great experiences. Michael and Rafe have been super suportive of my still busy, but in a new way, day, and time compared to Young Womens... Thanks guys.

Crazies

I don't think life gets any simpler. No matter how hard I try to simplify. I even have this word posted around my house and it constantly floats around in my head. How to make things easier, calmer, more organized with better planning. Isn't this supposed to make things more efficient and streamlined? Often I think I spend more time thinking it all through in my head than putting it all into action. So really, I am more efficient, organized and simple. My thought archives are very well put together, I'm still working on getting this to translate into real life.

Try, and try again....with a toddler... again, and again.

Let it Snow!

Yesterday we celebrated the 1year birthday of our son! He is such a little man now. He had a great time with his cake, and loves his new toys and books. He loves books.

We woke up this morning to loads of quickly falling snow! We are expected to get 3-7 inches this morning. Needless to say there won't be much going out today. Church was cancelled, and we are going to stay warm and dry indoors today. We have a turkey to cook up, Cajun style this time and a few rounds of rolls to enjoy. Along with plenty of left over chocolate cake to eat! There won't be much to complain about today, just enjoying the beauty of falling snow and listening to Christmas music.