Monthly Archives: September 2009

Sep 20

Kleenexes, Coughs, and Snuggly Blankets

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For two weekends in a row, our little Kindergartner has come home on Friday feeling not so great… Last Friday he ran a low grade fever, and was in bed sleeping by 7:00 p.m., this weekend another fever, no appetite,  and a pretty big cough too. I really thought it was Fall allergies, but the fever proved me wrong. I think Thade slept through most of the day yesterday, and was ready to go back to bed at 7:00 p.m. The fever finally broke, but the cough is still with him. I’m just waiting to see if the little one gets the evil cold too…

Sep 19

Giving Up and Giving In

I’m putting in a request for an early Christmas/birthday/Valentine’s/any other holiday for a year or so present… a dishwasher. I’m hitting new levels of lazy, and cooking more than ever, and my hubby has wanted me to get one for quite awhile, so I think I’m giving in. I’m looking for some suggestions of brands that work well, but also don’t cost an arm and a leg. Time to do some comparison shopping, and rip out a cabinet too.

Sep 17

Rice is Mighty Nice

Rice is a mainstay in my pantry. I love to stock up on a 3 lb bag of rice whenever I make an Aldi run, and serve it several ways with dinner or lunch. I thought I would share a few of my favorite ways to serve this staple, and maybe you might share a few recipes too.

  • Rice and Lentils. Delicious on their own, and delicious made into cakes as well. I like to add salt, pepper, garlic salt, and soy sauce to my rice and lentils, and eat it with Tortilla Chips, so tasty.
  • Salsa Rice. I add 1/2 cup of Salsa, and a few packets of whatever drive-thru taco sauce I have on hand to cooked rice. This is tasty on its own, but delicious in burritos, and quesadillas too.
  • Lemon-Lime Rice. Add the juice of 1/4 lemon, 1/4 lime, and a little salt and pepper to cooked rice, and you’ve got a delicious dish to serve along with steamed fish and veggies.
  • Chili Rice. Sounds weird, but trust me it is really good, and super versatile too. You know when you have that itty bit of Chili left in the crock pot, and you don’t know what to do with it, add it to cooked rice, and it is delicious and hearty.  You can also layer it with cheese, and serve it with Fritos or Tortilla Chips for a delicious dip. Try this one in a burrito too, o.k. now I’m super hungry.
  • Sweet Rice. Warm cooked rice in the microwave, add in a little sugar, and your favorite flavoring (I like vanilla and almond), and pour a little milk or half&half over top, and it makes a sweet treat or even dessert. I eat this one late at night, when I am starving…
  • and you can never go wrong with Sweet & Sour Sauce over rice, Cashew Sauce over rice, and Soy Sauce over rice too. Those are three of my very favorites. The only way I can get Dylan to eat rice, is to add soy sauce to it… he takes after his mommy!

Now it is your turn, share a recipe or two with me, and it just might become a family favorite of ours too.

Sep 16

What’s Going On at Nicostuff

Wow, the next few months are going to be busy… Last night we went to the MOPS kick-off Ice Cream social, and this Friday is our first meeting. I’m really excited for MOPS this year. I’m joining the steering team  in the hospitality position, and I can’t wait  to get started. Last year MOPS was a lot of fun for the kids and me too. We all made a lot of friends, and the meetings were a blast.

Friday also brings the first PTO meeting for the school-year. I’ve been picked to be room coordinator for Thade’s class, and I’m super happy about this one too. I have a few parties to coordinate, and I know that helping out with the PTO is going to teach me a lot about Thade’s school.

We are still getting the house in order and working on the nursery. I have a lot of decorating ideas rolling around in my noggin, and I had better get the room finished soon. I’m still searching for the perfect fabric for curtains, and I still haven’t found it…

I’ve been doing some major de-cluttering around the house too. The boy’s room closet is done and organized, and I got 6 boxes of clothes cleaned out of there. There is a city wide garage sale next month, and a MOPS swap coming up too. I hope to have many more items ready for the sale and the swap.

I’ve got the boy’s Halloween costumes, and they are both pretty happy campers about it. Dylan is going as Brobee, and Thade is going to be Batman. They are really looking forward to Halloween this year, me too. I tried to wait until October 1st to start the decorating, but I couldn’t wait one minute longer, and I got all of the Halloween decorations out today. We got a little bit of decorating done, and I’m going to try my best to hold off buying any Halloween candy until it’s a little closer to the holiday.

It’s Wednesday, and that means I had better get in the kitchen and get to cooking. I’ve got 2 meals to make tonight, and the boy’s are ready for dinner.

Sep 15

A Day In the Kitchen

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Sunday I was working on a Vanilla-Raspberry Muffin recipe, and I decided to bake a free-form Apricot pie too.

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The muffins turned out really pretty, but they could use a bit more sweetness…

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I loved how the free-form Apricot Pie turned out though, it was super simple to make, and took about 1/2 the time to bake.

Today I have another day of baking planned. We have our MOPS kick-off party this evening and three of us have volunteered to bring baked goods. I’m making Iced Vanilla Cookies, and I hope to get 6 dozen done this morning. The weather is nice and cool for baking too… Time to get to it!