A few things we've learned about Ellie ...

• She has discovered her tongue and loves to play with it. She also enjoys blowing bubbles.
• Italian sausage does not make her tummy happy. So I guess I won't be making this easy, delicious tomato basil soup with sausage again!
• Piano music mesmerizes her. Songs by "Pink" do the opposite.
• Her hair gets her a lot of attention. People always ask me if I try to make it stick up straight on purpose. No, siree! I have tried to tame it down, in fact, but it has a mind of its own. I think it's so cute that Ellie runs her fingers through it when she's nursing and when she's tired.
• She already loves baby animals like her mom. She always goes silent and talks along with Clay when he reads her baby animals book.

{I'm usually anti-flower-that-is-bigger-than-the-baby's-head, but my visiting teacher gave this to me and I had to try it on! Kind of funny and cute at the same time, right?}

Ten Quirks

• I love unpacking my clothes into drawers at hotel. It makes me feel all moved in and committed to my vacation. In fact, I love packing too — because it means I am going on a trip. (Still rings true for when I packed for the hospital. Talk about a trip — especially when they gave me morphene.)
• I religiously abide by expiration dates. My mom calls it picky. I call it a fresh obsession.
• I crave change. I get bored of things that remain the same, so I'm always switching up my daily routine, my meals, my clothes, etc.
• My pinkies are crooked. And I passed that trait onto little Ell-bell.
• I have 10 sisters. At one point, seven of us shared a half-bathroom.
• I cannot stand the sound of styrofoam scraping against cardboard.
• Clay puts a little piece of paper over the pin-sized pilot light on our humidifier every night because I swear it disrupts my sleep. Come on — someone out there has got to have crazy sleeping preferences too.
• I think the smells of rain-soaked sidewalks, Comet cleanser and chalk dust are intoxicating. I think it might something to do with an iron deficiency.
• Bright orange kind of grosses me out.
• I have a freaky-good memory with certain things. I remember several random scenes from my life when I was only three years old.

Tag — you're it! The weirder, the better.

love my girl.

saturday morning breakfast.

Cinnamon oat pankackes wth banana

Ingredients

{Makes about 20.}

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups milk

1 large egg

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil, plus more for skillet

Directions

In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and 1 cup oats and pulse a few times to coarsely grind oats. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and oil. Add mashed banana, then dry ingredients and 1 cup oats and whisk just until moistened.

Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Lightly oil skillet. Using 2 to 3 tablespoons for each pancake, drop batter in skillet and cook until a few bubbles have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until browned on undersides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat with more oil and batter.

Penne with Two Tomatoes and Mozzerella

I've loved my little cooking fest over the past few days. Please share your recipes with me because I am always looking for something new to try.

This recipe comes from Everyday Food. I added pesto (from Winder Dairy) to make it even more delicious. I think it would be yummy to add some grilled chicken too. 

Ingredients

{Serves 4}

• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch pieces *chill them in the freezer while you cook the pasta so they don't turn into globs when you add them to the pasta.
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 12 ounces penne rigate
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4 cup snipped chives

Directions

1. Place cheese in freezer. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.
2. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and pasta water. Cook until cherry tomatoes soften, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Add pasta, chilled cheese, and chives to pot, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. 

Chicken Cutlets with Herb Butter

I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine (I love the magazine because it's full of quick recipes using every day food that isn't as obscure or complicated as you might expect from Martha.)

Chicken can get boring, but this chicken is moist and full of flavor. I served it with chicken garlic rice Rice-a-Roni and salad. Yum!

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 thin chicken cutlets (1 1/2 pounds total) *you can just use 4 normal chick breasts and pound them thin.
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup dry white wine *or you can use water, chicken broth or white grape juice
• 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or mint (or a combination) *I didn't have any on hand, so I used fresh garlic

Directions

1. Place flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken until browned, 1 to 3 minutes per side, adding more oil to skillet as needed. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil.
2. Add wine and accumulated juices from chicken to skillet and boil until liquid has reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add chicken and turn to coat. Remove skillet from heat and swirl in butter and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

A Healthy Resolution

A new-found post-baby pooch is great motivation to start eating healthier. But my intense love for food (and sweets) isn't going to let me skimp on flavor, and I believe 99% of diets do more harm than good in the long run, so I am just going to try and eat more whole, fresh  foods.

I'll share my always easy, always tasty recipes here, because it's always more fun to make something when it's been tried and tested by someone you know and trust. And believe me — when it comes to yummy, you can trust me. 

Recipe #1: Arizona Chicken Chili

3 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 can white kidney beans (or any bean), rinsed and drained
1 small can chopped green chiles
1 large tomato, chopped
1 14-oz. can low sodium chicken broth
1 can corn, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything in a big pot (or crock pot) and let it simmer for about an hour, but longer doesn't hurt. If you're feelin' a little crazy, serve with grated cheese, sour cream and tortilla strips.