recipe of the week

I decided that I'm going to start posting a recipe of the week.  something I made that was new or extra delicious.  (ok, this post has 2 recipes, but they were both so tasty neither can be left out!)     

the setting:  chad is out of town for work this week, so last night jaimie came over and we made dinner and did DIY projects.  

the menu:  quinoa flatbread topped with hummus, shredded chicken, tomatoes & cucumbers, and feta. and asian cucumber.mango.avacago salad.  mediterranean and asian go nicely together. :)   

input on the quinoa flatbread, which was a new one - J found the recipe.  they were pretty bland if made according to the recipe, so I added some extra seasonings which helped - paprika, garlic salt, coriander.  I also didn't have rice flour to meet J's gf needs, so I used chickpea flour.  another modification was that it needed an extra 1/2 - 1 cup of water.  not sure if it was the chickpea flour that absorbed extra liquid, but it was way too thick without some extra water.  

you could also go the sweet route with the flatbreads, topping them with berry sauce, lemon juice, yogurt...  I would probably add a couple T sugar or honey, vanilla, and cinnamon to the batter if I made them sweet...

recipe for the asian cucumber salad:

3 tsp fish sauce or 2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp lime zest

2 T lime juice

1 T canola oil

2 tsp honey or a drizzle of agave nectar

1 tsp rice or cider vinegar

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

 - combine in a bowl and mix.  chop/cube the following and add to the dressing:

1 medium english cucumber

1 avacado

1 mango

1/4 cup cilantro

* sprinkle with chopped peanuts if desired - I think it adds a nice crunch and flavor contrast

what the goof's been up to...

being goofy!  and getting into lots of things!  jabbering, jabbering and being and loads of fun.  it has been so entertaining to watch beck get more of his own personality and even act like he knows when he's being cute and funny.

scattering q-tips across the floor and then putting them back in  random places was a frequent activity.  I finally decided to move the q-tips to a jar he can't reach after this incident... picking up q-tips got old very fast!

getting into the kitchen cabinets of course.  love the shirt, no pants look!

sharing cereal with cousin dela - great face beck!

helping dad put together his bike stand and being oh so silly.

chad got this flashlight for christmas and beck thinks it's quite fun, especially if the light is on.  he moves his head back and forth, either trying to figure out where the light is coming from or b/c he thinks its fun to watch the light move.

beck also thinks it's a fun game to randomly bite down on his spoon during breakfast and hold it in is mouth... camera flash + just waking up = very squinty eyes  :)

kitchen things again!  this bowl into that bowl and out again, and pushing lids around on the floor (usually accompanied by car noises) are his favorite things to do.

ahah!  found the snacks!

while cooking the other day, I looked over and beck had pulled my laptop case onto the floor, was sitting on it and making some pretty funny faces... one of those times it seemed he knew just how cute and silly he was being!

to the lemon lovers

ok, I will just put it out there.  I'm not a girl scout cookie fan.  and I have found that lots of people are.  they have a favorite kind of cookie that have loved since they were kids.  not me.  in fact, I try to avoid girl scout cookies.  one look at the ingredient label has me choosing to buy boxes to send to the troops instead of bringing them home (sorry chad :)).

however, this year something changed.  a cute little girl at church asked me if I wanted some girl scout cookies and I couldn't tell her no.  I ended up with a box of samoas for Chad and savannah smiles for me. I love lemon and they had a little 'no hydrogenated oils' label on them, making my decision quite easy.

these little cookies are bites of deliciousness.  crispy. sweet. lemony.  very tasty.  and the ingredient label isn't perfect, but it's better than most others and good enough for a once-a-year treat.
so if you're in the same boat as me and find yourself in front of a cute little girl asking if you want to buy some cookies, I recommend these.  and if the girl scouts keep this cookie around, I will likely find myself buying another box and just might become one of "those" people who has a favorite kind. :)

all things silky

Beckham has this little silky blanket he got for a baby gift that he started using at every nap/bedtime the last couple months... resulting in his love for all things silky.

whether it be my gym shorts, his puffy vest, my shirt... if it's silky he grabs it with enthusiasm, makes his "excited noise" (which I couldn't figure out how to type!), and shoves his fingers in his mouth.  no matter what time of day, he is delighted to see his blanket and loves sucking his fingers.  I've also noticed that he as started rubbing the silky part on his face at times... something he might still like to do when he's in his 20's (that one's for you dear sister Amber :))... but I'm thinking that must just be a girl thing... or an Amber thing!

ok, since I embarrassed Amber, I'll admit that when I was a baby and sucked my fingers like Beck, I rubbed slobber all over my cheek... gross!!

zonked

going to the gym and the grocery store wore this little guy out.  his hat falling over his eyes, putting him into a world of darkness, must have been what got him to sleep, because he rarely falls asleep in his car seat anymore.  he was even snoring a little.  :)

super bowl festivities

everyone knows Indy hosted the super bowl... which is now over, but it's not too late to post about it.

Indy transformed part of its downtown into a super bowl activity zone.  one thing they put up was a zip line, which I volunteered at a couple times.  to my delight, they starting letting the volunteers go down the zip line after their shift... so of course I had to go for a ride.

the zip line, in all her glory.. standing about 100 ft tall.

harnessed up and ready to climb the stairs to the top.  brittany and I work at the same place and volunteered together.  I would say we were both excited, yet a little nervous for the initial step off at the top.

the view from the top.  as you went down the zip line, the people below all cheered and some snapped pics, which added to the fun of the whole experience.

safely on the ground, looking back at the zip line tower way in the distance.

chad and I also went down town on friday night (the busiest night of all!) to go to the NFL experience and walked around the very crowded streets.  it was fun to be amid the action and see so many people fill the streets of Indy.  outside of every nice steakhouse and hotel gathered crowds of people, hoping to get a glance at someone famous.  a couple times we stopped for a minute, thinking that someone was going to step out any minute, then realizing it's not that important and kept walking.  why is it such a big deal to see a famous person?  it's kind of a funny concept to me...

inside NFL experience.  you could stand in a long line and get up close and personal with the Vince  Lombardi trophy... we decided to take it in from a distance.

monumental circle where the roman numerals stood.

the concept of all the hoopla that goes into one game is interesting to me too.  so much time and money for one sunday afternoon?  I guess the city of Indy is technically a better place to live now, due to all the super bowl projects that took place, and now many people have visited Indy who maybe never would have... but it still seems like a lot of work for one football game to be played so one team can win a trophy.  but I took part in it all and it was fun, so maybe that's the simple point of it all... it's fun and entertaining and we like to be entertained.

... but now it's back to normal life for downtown Indy, where you can park for less than $20 and the restaurants actually have reservations available...  :)

kuddos to the hubby

earlier this week found me feeling a little sick.. the achy and chills kind of sick when it hurts to move and I just wanted to be on the couch under a blanket. 

we were supposed to go on a fun date downtown monday night, but since I didn't feel great and downtown is crazy with superbowl festivities, chad came up with the great idea of cooking me dinner instead.  and not only cooking me dinner, but planning the meal and getting the groceries as well.  sounds perfect to me.

he's done this for me before and everytime he suggests it I love the idea and reminded him once again that anytime he wants to plan the meal and cook dinner, I'm all in.

so while I sat on the couch huddled under my blanket watching Miss Congeniality :), Chad made the following delicious meal for me.  it was very thoughtful and delightful to have the night off, as much as I do love being in the kitchen.

grilled portobello mushrooms stuffed with tomato.basil & fresh mozerella

lentil.noodle.veggie soup with parmesan

yum!