Weekly Recipe Roundup

I have been on a kick lately with trying new recipes. Here's what we've had the last week or so:

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Ring:

This was very tasty, but basically just everything you would have for breakfast presented in a pretty package. Jason said I could just serve each thing separately and not go to the trouble, haha. This was my first ever attempted ring though, so I was glad for the experience. I didn't do a great job but at least I have the first one under my belt. They make nice presentations at holidays and such. 

Next up, Crockpot Mexican Chicken:

(my plate) 

(Jason's bowl) 

This was a big hit! A nice deviation from our normal dripless tacos to get our mexican food fix. We made the chix in the crockpot and then served it on rice with black beans, green onions, and cheese on top. We even scooped all of it with corn chips and it was delicious! This will definitely be a keeper. 

Third, Melt In Your Mouth Chicken:

Although mine looks absolutely nothing like the picture on the website (in fact, mine looks kinda gross), this was very tasty.  Basically it tasted like chicken with alfredo sauce on top. Very rich. And very high in calories, haha. But still tasty and easy, nonetheless. 

Next was Homemade Applesauce:

Oh my word...this was DELICIOUS! So, so easy too. This was actually an impromptu experiment because I had some apples I needed to use and was planning to make applesauce cookies later in the week. I used four apples and got about 3/4 cup of applesauce. I'm thinking this may be a good thing to give as Christmas gifts - it had such a comforting, home-y taste to it. Will definitely be making this again. 

I used the homemade applesauce for these Applesauce Cookies:

These were pretty good as well, but more like biscuits. In fact, I decided to rename them Applesauce Snickerdoodle Biscuits. They were very dense but delicious with a cup of coffee in the morning. I don't think Jason was a big fan. :) 

So that's this week's roundup! Stay tuned next week for more experiments, including Mediterranean Pasta, Cauliflower Tater Tots, and Strawberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars!

Photo Dump: Crazy Caranci Kids

Get ready for a bunch of random pictures! 

I think Eden is ready for some snow - she came out of her room the other day dressed in her winter hat, gloves, and boots (which made a great ensemble with her shorts and sundress):

Hanging out in Eden's room:

Dressed and ready for a luau:

I heard a weird scraping sound from my bedroom and looked into the hall to see Harry getting a free ride on a toy bin, courtesy of his sister:

We have kept Harry's hair super short since he was born (I like a really clean look), but on a whim decided to let it grow and see what happened. I was hoping he might have inherited some curl from me, but no go - he just looked like a ragamuffin. This is as long as I could stand it:

(don't worry, he is just trying to eat his maraca)

After he got chopped (SOOOO much better!):

A sweet shot of Eden with her Daddy (and still in her winter hat):

One of our big endeavors this week has been to re-train Eden to use the potty. Although she was basically trained last year, she had a MAJOR relapse and I just didn't have the energy to keep it up til now. I did a lot of reading and prep for the big day one. Jason took Harry out for the day and Eden and I had a mommy/daughter date at home with the toilet. Sounds kinda bad, but we had a wonderful time. It was so nice to dedicate a whole day to her - no computer, phone, or any other distractions. In case anyone is interested, I implemented a lot of the strategies from here. Here is my prep pile:

Prizes, yummy food (to make her drink more and have to go more often), stickers, a new big girl cup, new blocks and a new pad for drawing. We had a great time playing together! She did awesome - no accidents the first day. Frankly I expected that though, since I was taking her every 15-20 minutes.  Day two had a few more accidents, but I tried to leave her on her own a bit more. I think her two best accomplishments in the last 4 days have been staying dry during all of her naps (not quite overnight yet though) and staying dry while she was at church for 2.5 hours (in a new environment and distracted by toys and friends). I am really proud of her - she is one smart cookie. :) 

One of her prizes, a new ballerina skirt (notice her toe point):

Another prize, her favorite - a new baby. She named her Maddie:

Harrison's latest trend has been climbing into anything he can. Here are some shots I managed to snatch:

(Eden managed to sneak in on this one)

The kids love hanging out in their chairs to watch movies - caught this shot this morning. I love how they looked so relaxed and almost sleepy. :) 

One last random shot of Harry:

Hope you enjoyed the show! :) 

Health and Fitness

I wanted to do an update for my weight loss. Basically, I haven't lost anything. Kinda went off track for a (long) while, but now things are back in motion. Here is my plan of attack:

Sticking with weight watchers for the diet side. At least for now. It is still the easiest way for me to conveniently stick to something, because I can still eat what I normally would. My brother is trying to lose some weight too, so we are keeping each other accountable and helping each other out a bit. It helps we are both putting some moolah in a pot and having a little competition between now and Christmas too. :)  So I am counting my points and focusing on eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies, drinking lots of water, and exercising. 

Which leads to the next part: fitness.  I am super excited about a new goal I have set! It sounds crazy and lofty, but I am entering a mini triathlon. I realize that my fitness level is very low, but that is the great thing about this particular race - it is "mini." Although there are still three events, they are all condensed from a regular triathlon race. The layout is a 250 yard swim, 9 mile bike ride, and 2 mile walk/run. The first time I did the swimming I finished in 10 minutes which I thought was really good til I googled how long it should take an average person and it said 30-60 seconds, haha. Haven't started bike training yet, and the 2 mile walk/run (which I will definitely be walking) is old hat. 

I know doing all 3 things back to back will be a challenge, but the individual events are not intimidating on their own. I think the time I spend training will easily prepare me to finish without pushing my back and knees too far. And my goal is simply that - to finish. I am not concerned with how long it takes me, just finishing. I am the world's slowest swimmer (so it would seem), don't even have my own bike (am borrowing one from a friend), and walk like a granny. But I don't care! I am not going to worry about all of the major athletic people who will be there probably wondering why someone like me is doing it, I am simply going to focus on meeting a fitness goal I think is reachable with consistent preparation. 

The name of the race is Ramblin' Rose and is held in Charlotte. I am planning to go down the night before with a friend and after the race reward myself with some IKEA shopping. :) 

I am so excited to be doing a real race like this, I have only ever done a 5k. Jason has been really supportive too. My back has given me a bit of a slow start, but my chiropractor has given me the go ahead to start slow. 

Please feel free to ask about how I am doing with these goals! One of the reasons I am blogging about it is so people will ask and keep me accountable. I appreciate each of you being supportive! :) 

What's Up?

Here's what's up in the Caranci household:

1. My back is out, Jason is playing stay at home dad, I'm headed to the chiropractor this afternoon. 

2. The kids have been awesome this week - Harry especially seems to be breaking into some new habits including playing happily, being more content, and being more obedient. 

(yes, I realize this is the back of his head but isn't it so cute?) 

 3. It is REALLY hot. We are trying not to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. I can't wait for fall!

4. We have still been trying out new recipes, including french toast muffins for breakfast on Saturday. They were good. 

 5. We confirmed this week that Jason's sister (Joanna) is coming to visit for a WEEK over Labor Day!!! And...we get to go to the beach while she is here! Plus (as if it could get better), our closest friends (Glenn and Rebecca) get to go to the beach too! Gonna be a great time. 

6. My grandmother has been in the hospital since last Thursday for dehydration and a reaction to some medication. She still isn't home, and the kids are missing her like crazy. She seems to be slowly recovering. 

7. Although I hate Grammy is in the hospital, I'm really excited that my Mom is coming into town this week to stay for a few weeks to help them. That means we get to see her too! 

8. We are doing some little things around the house, and I even picked up painting again. I took a long hiatus after spending months painting the entire house and I finally feel ready to finish up the trim. I'm already tired of it again. 

9. I am excited about my current exercise regime and the next blog post will be all about it.

10. It's time for lunch. :)  

Just a Few Random Shots

For some reason I seem to have an abundance of pictures of Eden, but not so much Harry. Maybe because he is harder to catch! Here's just a couple of random shots from this week. :) 

Eden's red tongue after trying fruit punch:

Her first experience with headphones, she loved it!

Sharing the ear buds. :) I love her look of concentration:

And a bonus shot of Harry boy - his latest favorite thing is to sit in the basket for the kitchen toys:

Recipe Reviews

I have been trying to experiment with some new recipes to get out of the same old, same old all the time. Here are reviews on 4 of my most recent newbies!

First up, Peanut Butter Fudge (found here, through pinterest).  I pinned this because it was a weight watchers recipe and I have been craving sweets recently. The recipe was somewhat time-consuming, but basically you brought the sugar mix to a boil:

Added confectioner's sugar, mixed well and spread out into a pan to refrigerate:

Then cut into squares:

I was super excited to taste them, but honestly they tasted exactly like our family's buckeye recipe (which is delicious!) but this recipe was more complicated. Next time I will just make the real deal. :) 

Next up is a Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake (again through pinterest, here). We had fresh blueberries from the farmer's market (Eden loves them). Jason was home on Saturday morning last weekend so I decided to make a special breakfast. This turned out really good, and was even better the second day. 

Saturday night we had Jason's best friend, Ken, over for practice (they sang a duet and I played for church the next morning) and dinner. I had made everything before except this chicken recipe, called Sweet Garlic Chicken. It was very tasty, although I think I needed to double the recipe for the glaze (I like a LOT of flavor). 

Served with green beans (with onions and bacon):

Potatoes au gratin, courtesy of Omaha Steaks (10 points if you can see the face):

And zucchini cornbread:

A recipe I have been wanting to try for a while is mashed cauliflower. I really don't like cauliflower but I have heard it is supposed to be a good switch from mashed potatoes. I gave my favorite paleo girl, Jennie's recipe a whirl and thought it was great! Jason wasn't a huge fan, but the more I ate it the more I liked it. Very light and fluffy, not so heavy as potatoes. It was a bit of a pain to make and it is a bit runny, but overall a good experiment. I will make it again, for sure (sorry the picture is in a leftover container, I forgot to snap shots as I prepared it):

Last up is not a recipe I tried, but a picture of what my sweet friend brought us for dinner one night (again my paleo friend, Jennie). We were supposed to have dinner with her and her husband last Friday, but after a very long and difficult week I rescheduled. She was so kind to offer to still bring her part of the dinner (basically all of it, minus the salad) and wow am I glad! It was DELICIOUS. She brought zucchini noodles and lamb meatballs. The house smelled so amazing when she dropped it off, I couldn't wait to try it - which is why I only have a picture (once again) of the leftover containers:

Now you are probably all hungry. :) 

House Projects

We have still been working in the house, little by little. One of the most recent things I have done is hung some decor in the dining room. This is a rubber mat, spray painted white. I am trying to decide whether to sand it some to copy the look from the website, or just leave it white. Opinions?

Sorry about the horrible pictures, you will have to use some imagination. :)  I got the idea from here, and thought it looked really pretty but still simple. Not to mention cheap! And I needed something somewhat large on that wall. I still need to add some sconces to each side, but then I think that will be it. I don't like to overdecorate, just to fill a huge space. Once the table is centered, new light fixture installed, etc., I think it will be a nice clean space.  

Eden and I also did some new decor for her room. She is all about ballerinas these days, so I thought it would be fun for her to paint some dance pictures on a couple of canvases. Here she is getting her creative side going:

These are just stick-on stencils from Hobby Lobby, leftover from a baby shower project. 

All done and ready to hang:

Here they are hung in her room above her changing table. This is the wall we eventually want to have the tree mural, so this looks fairly simple on such a large wall. Any ideas on how to help it look a little more beefy?

We also made her a little reading nook, as inspired by pinterest. Check out my inspiration here, here, here and here. The book shelves are just $5 spice racks from IKEA, spray painted white. The letters are from Hobby Lobby for $3 each.

As she gets older I would like to expand it to something like this with shelves around it, but for now it is a cute addition to her room decor. Plus, she loves saying the letters out loud to spell "read." :) 

Current projects include sconce hunting for the dining room, assembling an IKEA light fixture for the entry, spraying/hanging shelves (the same spice racks from IKEA) in our bathroom for my hair products and such, and a futon makeover. Pics and posts to come!