Pizza, pizza

Pizza is one of my go-to meals. It's quick and easy to throw together with ingredients I almost always have. Except when I don't. Tonight, I'd already decided that we were having pizza when I realized I didn't have yeast. This yeast-free pizza dough from House of Yumm saved me. I thought the dough turned out a little more biscuit-y than pizza-y, not that there's anything wrong with that. Hubby thought it was delish. It made a pretty pepperoni pizza, right? 

And I love that the dough doesn't have to be pre-cooked, you just layer the toppings on the raw dough (sauce, cheese, pepperoni, cheese, pepperoni, cheese... in case you were wondering).

And half the recipe made a perfect sized pizza for the two of us. 

And I realize that if I'm going to share food pictures on the Internet, I should probably invest in a shiny new baking sheet. Probably.

Magical Blackberry Turnovers

I used to think I didn't like cooked fruit. Or maybe I somehow knew that it was safer for me to not like cooked fruit. And then someone gave me a dutch apple pie and it was super tasty. And then my honey made strawberry tarts with leftover phyllo dough (probably the only time I'll use the words 'leftover phyllo dough') and they were super tasty, too. So it turns out, I do like cooked fruit. That's a wonderful and dangerous thing to know, and also how I ended up making these magical blackberry turnovers.

Like, they're literally magical. You make the dough in a food processor and somehow it turns into these beautiful flaky layers in the oven. I will definitely be making more of these, and more variations, at harvest time.

Ingredients
6 oz cold butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup flour
a pinch of salt
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour

Directions
Blend first four ingredients in food processor until well mixed. Smoosh together into a ball, then roll on a floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into rectangles.
Lightly smash blackberries, sugar, and 2 tbsp flour until incorporated. Add more  sugar if you want sweeter turnovers, or less if you want to really capture the essence of the berries. Spoon berry mixture onto half of each dough rectangle, then fold dough over itself and pinch down the edges to seal in the berry goodness. 
Bake (on parchment paper so they won't stick) at 375° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Admire and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Back when I had more free time (i.e. no Baby), I used to get all fancy about potlucks. Nowadays, I consider it a win to leave the house wearing pants. But I still go to kind of a lot of potlucks. 

When Hubby and I went to the super secret preppers' club meeting, it was a potluck. When Baby and I go to the old biddy book club, it's a potluck. Community events are pretty much all potlucks. 

So I decided I need to have a go-to recipe for potlucks that's easy, yummy, and made with ingredients I usually have in the house. These peanut butter cookies are perfect. Except they came out kind of messy because I rolled them into balls with one hand because I was holding Baby with the other. Yay multitasking!

Ingredients 

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter 

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

How-to:

Beat brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter in a stand mixer until combined. Add vanilla and egg and beat again. Add flour and baking soda and beat again. 

Roll dough into meatball-sized balls and spread out on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Use a fork to smoosh an X into each cookie. This is crucial, otherwise no one will know they're peanut butter cookies. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. They're done when they're puffy and just a little squishy. You'll probably have to eat one to make sure they're done. Just try to wait long enough so that you don't burn the inside of your mouth like I may or may not have. 

Happy potlucking!

Homemade Applesauce

Can we get personal for a minute? My baby isn't a big pooper. He never has been. But since we've started dabbling with food, he's down to pooping about once every four days. Thankfully, this is still considered normal for babies, but I think he'd be more... comfortable if it was happening just a little more often. I asked some fellow mamas for ideas, and one of their recommendations was applesauce. We try to always have apples at home, so I decided to try whipping up some homemade applesauce. 

Making applesauce is pretty much the easiest thing ever, once you've peeled and cored your apples. Simmer (covered) on the stove with a little water for about 30 minutes or until they're nice and squishy, then blend until you're happy with the consistency. 

Looks good, right?

I probably would've thrown in a little cinnamon or apple pie spice if I wasn't making it for the baby. 

The 5 Fuji apples and 1/2 cup of water I used made almost 2 cups of applesauce, which is more than enough for one non-poopy baby. Look for recipes for using extra applesauce in the future, and in the meantime, enjoy!

Teething Troubles

My little Nugget is currently working on his first two top teeth and is quite put out by the whole experience.

According to this meta-analysis of teething studies, Nugget is going to be a total smarty-pants. Maybe. The authors quote an old wives' tale about a baby's first tooth's "precocious eruption as a sign of great intelligence" and my little guy popped his first tooth at the ripe old age of 3 months and 3 weeks. I guess that would make up for all those times he's chomped down while breastfeeding. Maybe.

I have to say, I'm so glad we live now and not 100 years ago, when doctors would cut an X into a baby's gums to help get teeth through. Or before that when leeches were put on the gums and just generally used for treating everything. Yay for modern science!

Although there's still a lot of disagreement about teething.

Some studies say that teething can cause "general irritability, disturbed sleep, gum inflammation, drooling, loss of appetite, diarrhea, circumoral rash, intra-oral ulcers, an increase in body temperature, increased biting, gum-rubbing, sucking, wakefulness, and ear-rubbing" while other studies disagree. Nugget is experiencing 7 of those 14 symptoms, so I'm going to go with yes.

What is teething? Supposedly, it's the "4 days before, the day of, and 3 days after emergence of the tooth," however they follow that up that symptoms "cannot predict the emergence of tooth" in literally the same sentence. So Nugget might have another 6 days of waking up cranky at 6am. Or he might not. Super.

When it comes to treating teething pain, the only recommendation that doesn't come with risks is applying pressure to the gums... except the authors warn that gel-filled teething toys could explode toxic goo all over your baby.

And molars are supposed to be even worse.

Being Prepared

When you live in the woods in the mountains, you have a lot of... interesting neighbors. Like the dairy farmer who makes goat cheese every day. And the church organist who practices late at night. And the engineer with the top secret security clearance. And the felon with the chihuahua named Nacho. And the crazy lady who looks like Grandma Death from Donnie Darko who lives in a house with no running water... on purpose. I'm going to let that one sink in for a minute.

Gross, right?

You might also have some neighbors who live in the woods because they believe the world is going to end. Not in the "everyone knows that in billions of years the sun is going to expand and swallow the earth" way. In the "who would you like to have on 'our' team when the sh!# truly hits the fan? This is a very serious question. When the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket... who do you want at your side?" way. And yes, that is a real quote from one of my real neighbors. You can't make this sh!# up. There's this super secret club that Hubby and I were invited to join because Hubby cleared a tree out of the road during a storm and the other guys decided they want him and his chainsaw at their side when the sh!# truly hits the fan.

Anyway, I wanted to see what kind of hilarity would happen at a secret preppers' club in the woods, so we went to one of their meetings. Supposedly, we would be learning how to use acorns for food like the Native Americans did. In reality, one guy had made cookies with acorn flour before the meeting and then described the process to the group. I checked out after a woman asked what kind of sweetener you would use in the apocalypse. After I suggested that you're not going to worry about how sweet your acorn cookies are if you're in a survival situation, I casually mentioned that I'm planting a sugar maple tree so I can try to make my own maple syrup. It almost felt like one of those mic drop moments.

Even though I don't think the world is going to end soon (although with our current political situation, who really knows?), I do think it's a good idea to try to be a little more self sufficient. My sugar maple arrived today, and I know just where it's going. We're starting to run out of sunny places in the yard to put more apples, strawberries, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, pomegranates, figs, nectarines, potatoes, garlic or anything else. But I'm sure we'll figure something out. Or we'll have to start stealing acorns from the woodpeckers to make flour.

Impractical Stuff

I seem to be having a slight identity crisis. It's more like a clash between my whimsical side and my practical side. Or between my youth and my adulthood.

I know, in the grand scheme of things, it's basically nothing. But it doesn't feel like nothing.

Hubby and I are trying to declutter. Again. Still. It feels like we're always fighting a losing battle with stuff.

We always seem to acquire more stuff than we get rid of. Especially clothes, so I decide to start there. I quickly run into a problem. I have a lot of clothes that I like and are cute and completely impractical. Like the strapless red party dress with the short poofy skirt that I love that I've worn once. It's not something that's really mama-esque even if I did miraculously have an occasion when it would be appropriate to wear it. But I don't want to get rid of it. I'm just not ready to let go of that part of me. So, even though it isn't practical, I'm going to put it back in my closet. At least until the next time I try to declutter.

Why I Don't Cover Up When Breastfeeding In Public

I've always been modest when it comes to showing my body. Don't get me wrong, I wear short shorts and tank tops in the summer. But I try to keep it classy. No pretending that sheer tights are really leggings and/or can be worn instead of pants.

So when it came to planning how I was going to feed Baby, I wasn't quite sure what I would be comfortable doing. I knew I wanted to breastfeed, so I expected to carry around one of those cute breastfeeding covers that doubles as an infinity scarf. Baby is here, and I don't own one. And I probably I wouldn't use it if I did.

One of my defining breastfeeding moments happened in Target. (I feel like everything happens at Target. I love Target. Anyway...) Baby and I were most of the way through the store, and he decided he was HUNGRY. So I pulled down my shirt and we breastfed in the toothpaste aisle in Target.

Because that's what Baby needed, and the hell with anyone else.

Although I will say the furniture section is a much more comfortable and relaxing place to breastfeed than the toothpaste aisle. If Baby can wait that long. If we're being real, the backseat of the car is even better. Better for me, that is. What's better for Baby is whatever fills his little hungry belly faster, so that's what we're going to do. And if that means a few strangers see some boob, so be it. They're not really even my boobs; I didn't get them until Baby, so I'm pretty sure they belong to him. And for the foreseeable future, they're his whenever he decides it's boob time.

Easy French Toast

This post may contain affiliate links, which means you're helping me support my stay-at-home-mama adventures when you make a purchase using these links. 

Happy Sunday! Today, I'd like to share with you my easy recipe for French Toast. It's delicious and passes the "can I make this with one hand while wearing a baby" test. My recipe is for one adult-sized serving, but it's easy enough to double or triple or quadruple (you get my drift) as needed.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 splash vanilla
1 dash cinnamon
2 slices bread

How-to:
Stir together first 4 ingredients in a small flat-bottomed dish (I use this one--it's almost exactly the same size as a slice of bread). Dip both sides of both bread slices to coat. Cook in skillet until slightly browned, flipping as needed. Serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

I used my new copper pan. I absolutely love cooking with it because it's the first truly nonstick cooking surface I've ever found. This is how it looked after I finished the French toast. I didn't use cooking spray or butter on the pan, which means there's no extra fat or chemicals in the food, and those bits that are leftover can literally be wiped off with a sponge. This pan is so amazing it makes me not hate washing dishes. You'll be seeing a lot more of it in future posts.

Make Your Own Stuffed Animals For Teething Babies

This post may contain affiliate links, which means you're helping support my stay-at-home mama adventures if you make a purchase using these links.

Baby is four months old and teething pretty hardcore. Thus, he puts everything in his mouth. Especially fingers (anyone's fingers, he's not particular). But toys are good too. The problem is that baby toys (specifically the stuffed animal variety) don't hold up as well as I want them to. Of the three that came with his Baby Gym (which he loves), one of the toys has polyester stuffing poking out and the stitching on another one is coming apart. Already. And I don't think I want Baby eating polyester stuffing. Which can mean only one thing.

It's time for Mama to pull out the sewing machine and start making baby toys.

I used this cute dinosaur pattern for my first baby toy. And this organic cotton stuffing, so I know Baby won't accidentally ingest yucky petroleum products or other funky chemicals while sucking on it. And a couple different textured ribbons I had lying around. And, (don't laugh) a really old, really worn pair of corduroy pants. Baby loves different textures, and corduroy is a nifty one. So here's my first ever handmade baby toy.

Not too bad for a first attempt. I'll do a step by step for you next time. What other animals do you think would make good stuffed animals for Baby?

How to de-boogie a baby

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Because Hubby works in a hospital and also goes to school, he's exposed to a lot of cooties. Which means Baby and I are exposed to a lot of cooties. A lot meaning we had a house full of sickies six weeks ago and we have a house full of sickies now. Fan-freaking-tastic. Which means I've been getting a lot of practice de-snotting Baby.

Let me tell you: not all boogies are created equal. And you can't really pretend like they are. You need different boogie tools for different boogies.

Remember that boogie bulb everyone told you to steal from the hospital when your baby was born? They can keep it.

When you need to suck humongous boogies out of a tiny baby nose, you need a snot sucker that a) you can see into and b) uses more force than that little bulb thingie inflating. Yes, the NoseFrida is more expensive, but it is totally worth the price! It's so rewarding to see boogies get sucked out of Baby's nose... and he loves it. Which may have more to do with me calling myself a big weirdo in a goofy voice than the actual snot sucking...

Is it weird that I enjoy getting Baby's boogies?

But I digress. You also need an Oogie Bear for smaller boogies. Think of it like an ice cream scooper, but for boogies. Mmmm, ice cream. I'll have to make some once the cooties subside and my taste buds can thoroughly enjoy things again...

How do you feel about de-snotting other human beings? Are there any other tools you think I need to add to my boogie-fighting arsenal?

Baked Oatmeal

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If you're looking for a hearty, healthy breakfast that's tasty and passes the "can I make this while wearing a sleeping baby?" test, look no further.

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (or less, to taste)
1 egg
1 handful chocolate chips

From here, you can add pretty much whatever else catches your fancy. If you want to make this into a breastfeeding recipe, you could add some flaxseed meal, but I wouldn't do more than 1/4 cup. I'll add a handful of pecans if I have them, and a splash of vanilla if I'm feeling fancy. And cinnamon. I love adding cinnamon to just about everything sweet. If you're not like me, leave it out.

How-to:

Pour all ingredients into loaf pan. Stir to combine, making sure you don't end up with clumps of peanut butter (which might take a minute). Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set. Kiss sleeping baby (of course, this doesn't have to wait until the end).

I only have a "before" picture because the baby woke up while this was in the oven and I was too hungry when it came out to get an "after" photo. I'll try to remember next time I make this delicious breakfast. Unless you want to try this recipe and share your own photo?

The Ultimate Barbecue Chicken Post

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Because Hubby is from Texas (or maybe because he's a weirdo... could go either way), he doesn't share my love for barbecue chicken. Which means one batch makes me about a week's worth of lunches for while he's at work! It's literally the easiest thing to make in the slow cooker and it's so delicious and versatile once it's done. If you don't have a slow cooker, I definitely suggest getting one. They're great for when you don't want to spend a ton of time cooking.

This recipe works just as well if you have a nice pork tenderloin, except then it's pulled pork instead of barbecue chicken. And then it won't last as long, because Hubby will eat it, too.

Here's how you make it: put 2 or 3 boneless chicken breasts (or 1 pork tenderloin) in the slow cooker, pour about half a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce over the top, turn the slow cooker on low for about 6 hours and walk away. When it's fully cooked, shred the chicken with a fork right in the slow cooker. You don't want to lose any of the chicken-y barbecue-y juices. And then comes the hardest part... trying to figure out how you want to consume your delicious barbecue chicken. 

Here are some of my favorites.

Pizza: barbecue chicken, red onion, green onion, extra barbecue sauce, and jack cheese (cheddar works, too) on a homemade pizza crust.

Salad: barbecue chicken, green onion, black beans, corn, lettuce with equal parts barbecue sauce and ranch dressing.

Sandwich: just barbecue chicken on toasted sourdough works just fine for me. I'm so California.

Nachos: barbecue chicken, black beans, green onion, any shredded cheese, and tortilla chips.

Quesadilla: a substitute for nachos if you don't have tortilla chips.

A la carte: with a fork, unless you want sticky barbecue fingers.

What's your favorite way to enjoy barbecue chicken?