Buffalo Mac & Cheese!

So, I go in waves--either I'm cooking all the time or I'm cooking never.  Well, this week I'm cooking up a storm.. and it's been (mostly) delicious!

Last night I made Buffalo Mac.  I got the recipe from my stepmom after commenting on a Buffalo Chicken Dip that someone made at a party.  Wow.  It was (is) delicious.  This recipe can feed a small army.... so have lots of people over or be prepared to eat it for lunch and dinner the next day!

• 1 lb. fusilli or rotini
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 T. butter
• 3 T. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 1/2 c. 2% milk
• 1/2 c. Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded
• 3/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 c. plain bread crumbs

1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain.
2. Season chicken with 1 tsp paprika and salt.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Brown chicken (3-5 min), until cooked through; set aside.  Lower heat to medium.  Add celery to same skillet; saute 4 minutes.  Add garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes.  Set aside with chicken.
3. In saucepan (not skillet), melt 3 T. butter over medium heat.  Sprinkle in flour and mustard powder, whisking for 2 minutes.  Pour in milk and sauce, whisking until it boils.  Simmer 3 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in cheddar, 1/2 c. blue cheese and remaining tsp of paprika
4. Add pasta, celery, garlic and chicken.  Place in a broiler-safe dish.
5. Microwave remaining tablespoon (I used 2 T) butter for 30 seconds, stir in breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle over dish.  Sprinkle last 1/4 c. blue cheese.  Broil 2-3 minutes or until browned.

Delicious!  I just had it again for lunch.  Yum!

The High Chair Gourmet

I got a crazy idea today... I started a second blog!  

It's called The High Chair Gourmet!

It chronicles my adventures in feeding a little person... and maybe trying to eat healthier myself.

Check it out:

Christmas! Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas again this year!  On Friday, we went to my aunt's house for our annual Christmas dinner/gift exchange/party!  It was a blast.  We ate delicious food, had a white elephant exchange (I got an awesome ring that was stolen... and then stolen again... and I ended up with a Santa piggy bank!), exchanged real gifts and played bingo!  I won the big prize of the night in bingo--$12 worth of scratch-off lotto tickets!  Out of that, I won $4.  Not too shabby... I also won $5 on another scratch-off.  So, $9 in my pocket.  It was a great night and it was fun to be with my aunts, uncles and cousins!

Oh, and I also made these cookies as gifts for my aunts and uncles:

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip cookies.  Be jealous.  They melt in your mouth.  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It was easy-peasy, but in the event that you make it, I want to give you some advice:  After every ingredient is in the bowl, you're going to think:  "There's not enough moisture here.  I'm just going to end up with a clumpy powder mix!"  Just keep mixing!  It takes a little elbow grease to blend!  I sure do love Pinterest.  I made so many things that I found there this Christmas!

On Saturday night, Steve had to work, so George and I went to In n Out with some of our friends and then to go see Christmas lights!  While we were driving through the park with the lights, we let George out of the car seat so that he could see--his head was on a swivel!  He absolutely loved all of the lights!

We've officially discovered that Christmas Eve is exhausting when you're a parent--which is funny because Santa was good to us, but certainly didn't go crazy.  I don't know what took so long, but I was up until about 2am--and then rudely awakened by our terrible upstairs neighbor at 3am.  Her mom parked beneath our windows and left her big diesel truck idling for about 25 minutes while they said their (loud and enthusiastic) hellos.  I was seriously ready to explode.  The day only got worse and worse with her, but we won't dwell on that.

Christmas morning was great!  We had church at 8:30.  It was a spectacular way to start our Christmas!  It was entirely musical numbers.  They were beautiful and George loved them.  Even if he's being crazy during church, he always sits and watches musical numbers.  I think it's neat how the Spirit is so strong during the musical numbers that it even calms our crazy boy!

After church, we opened presents!  George was more interested in presents that he could already see.  I figured as much, so Santa brought him one toy... and then he brought bibs and socks and mitten clips.  The big present of the day was a small box of goldfish.

After presents, Steve made a delicious breakfast (Eggs Benedict with potatoes):

The boys relaxed while I got dinner ready (it was cold in our apartment, so I put G back in his jammies):

Dinner was delicious (if I may say so myself).  We had Cornish Game Hens with Apple Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Beans and rolls.  I also made a pecan pie, but I forgot to take a picture before it was sliced.  Rest assured, this was the best pecan pie I've ever made.  Thanks to Pinterest, I really brought my A game for Christmas.  This was my first time cooking for a holiday... and it was a lot of work!  I started right after breakfast, prepared everything and then relaxed for exactly 1 hour before I had to start cooking everything.  It was worth it, because it rocked:

We relaxed and talked to family after George went to bed.  It was a nice, relaxing holiday with my little family.  We missed spending Christmas day with our families... but there's something so nice about not having any obligations and getting to just spend the entire day with my two loves.  We almost never get a day with almost zero things to do (no work, no studying, no errands)!

We are so grateful for this day that we had to celebrate the birth of our Savior!!  We were saying that we wish we had church on Christmas every year!  It was so nice to start off the day with a reminder of what we are celebrating!

We hope that you had a great holiday and are looking forward to reading about everyone's day (so keep them coming)!!! XOXO

Giveaway!

Ok, so my friend Kaley's friend Chrissi has had "Supermonth Giveaways!"  I won the first one-- Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant.  Can you believe I won?? I never win anything!  It came in the mail when I was visiting my dad... but now I'm home and excited to try it today!!

Anyway, today starts the 4th and final Supermonth Giveaway.  She is giving away the Waterpik Rainfall + Rain Showerhead!  We have a pretty good showerhead, but I know it's not as fancy as this one!  I entered.  I hope I win!  And for a second entry, I have to blog about it.  So... this is me blogging about Chrissi's awesome "Supermonth!"  But if you don't enter, my chances of winning are higher.  Do we have an understanding? K, thanks!

Also, even though I don't know Chrissi personally, I read her blog all the time.  Creepy?  Maybe.  But it's a great read!  Check it out here!

A Birthday Party!

G's birthday was on the 8th, but since it's difficult to get everyone together on a weeknight (without G being grumpy because he's up too late), we had his party on Saturday!  It was super-fun!  It was nice to see some friends and family that we haven't seen in a while!  We didn't take a ton of pictures, but there are enough here for you to get the idea!

The table:  complete with cake, framed pictures of months 1-11, and sugar cookies in the shape of "G", "1" and a star!  I decided that the "theme" was just bright, primary colors.  I really liked those napkins (with matching invitations, party hat, high chair kit, etc.) and based the theme around it!

Balloons and a little banner (hanging on the mirror).  This picture was an afterthought, so pay no mind to the mess!

He was not too happy about being strapped into his high chair.  This is a good shot of his really cute 1st birthday onesie (the one he only wore for a few hours on his actual birthday).

He was fascinated by the cake!  He took a swat at the icing!

Singing "Happy Birthday"--he just looked around like, "what is going on??"

He was hesitant at first... but after he squished the icing through his fingers for a minute, he warmed up to it.

Clearly, he warmed up to it!  And just for fun, Daddy gave him a second piece! (yaaaaaay....) He stayed in his high chair for about an hour and got most of it in his mouth.  (Why can't he eat real food that well??)

I love his face here--like he just got away with something!  He made such a mess!  And he had such a sugar high that he was crawling around like a crazy person that afternoon... until he crashed, of course!

It was a fun party!  I can't believe we didn't get pictures of any of the people who were there!  We had a good turnout!  It's been a great year!  G is one loved little boy and is lucky to have so many people celebrate the day he was born!!

One Year!

Can you believe it's been a year already?? That's right, folks--today is George's birthday!  We had a great day!  George saw the doctor... then he opened presents... then he took a nice nap and got pictures taken... then we hung out as a family!  George is such a good boy and I have loved every second of being his mommy!  I look forward to the next year.. and the year after that... and the year after that!

We (heart) Ohio!

I got crafty tonight.  First, a story.  We decorated the tree last night and put our Texas ornament on... then we said, "we don't have an Ohio ornament!"  So we got online and looked at some and the only one we liked was more than we wanted to spend.  So then today I was looking again and I found this on Etsy.  "I can totally do that!"  I said to myself.

So tonight I went to Walmart to get some things and stopped by the craft section to get felt.  I was just looking for those little sheets of felt--you know what I'm talking about?  Well, all I could find was the fabric by-the-yard.  So I chose my fabric and waited 10 minutes for someone to come cut it.  Then the computer that prints the label took forever to heat up.  And I listened to the nice lady talk about quilts.  This process took at least a half-hour!  Thank goodness I have a patient baby!

So after G went to bed, I drew myself a pattern and got to work!  It was so easy!  I don't know how long it took because I was watching tv, making dinner, talking on the phone, etc. while I did it.  The heart is supposed to be over Columbus (where we met), but it somehow traveled a little bit west.  I can't decide, though.  According to a zoom-out of Google Maps, it might be in the right spot. Oh well!  I love it.  And I think Steve will, too!

Thankful for Thanksgiving!

(This post was started last night)  Right now we're decorating for Christmas--but our tree lights stopped working last year.  So, instead of just putting on a new set (which I have sitting here and ready), Steve is trying to fix the original set.  There are some things about men that I will never understand.  So, while I'm waiting for him to "fix" the lights, I figured I would update on the last few weeks!

How was everyone's Thanksgiving?  Ours was great!  We were able to go to AZ to visit the family.  George had a great time and especially loved the dog & cat (neither of which were too fond of him...).  

Here are just a few pictures (the rest are on Erin's camera--so who knows when I'll see those):

The most serious kid on the carousel.  I think he really liked it, though!

After church with Grandma & Grandpa C!

After church!  He looked so cute in his little shirt, tie & vest!

He was such a good sport while we shopped!

Thanksgiving was so fun!  George was great on the plane! (He was a monster--but a quiet one for the first hour, but slept the second hour!)  We had fun visiting Grandma & Grandpa!  We're looking forward to Christmas!