Roasted Parmesan Zucchini & Yellow Squash

It has been so hot here in Minnesota the last week or so. Pete and I have been planning to have his Aunt and Uncle over for supper (Pete had his heart set on some thick-cut New York strip steak from Bob's Produce) and it worked out for them to come over this evening. Laurie sweetly offered to bring a light potato salad, so I took the opportunity to try out some baked parmesan zucchini and squash!

I thought the roasted veggies sounded light and warm, not to compete with the cold potato salad, and to compliment the steaks. With David sleeping over at Grandpa and Grandmas last Friday, James and I scooted over to the Northeast Farmers Market Saturday morning to pick up the zucchini. We got a basket of 10 zucchini and squash for $3.

I got the roasted zucchini recipe from The Gracious Pantry:

Roasted Parmesan Zucchini and Yellow Squash

4 large zucchini
2 large yellow squash
2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Pepper
Olive oil – In an oil sprayer (I used a basting brush because I don't have a sprayer)
1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 1 – Chop your squash into large, chunky slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness.

Step 2 – Spray a cookie sheet with a light coat of olive oil.

Step 3 – Line up your squash slices. Don’t worry about leaving any space between them.

Step 5 – Spray a very light coat of olive oil over the top of your squash.

Step 6 – Sprinkle your spices, including the parmesan over your squash.

Step 7 – Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until they have a very light golden hue to them, and you can easily push a fork through them.
Step 8 – Allow to cool slightly and serve!

Easy peasy! My suggestions?
I may have over cooked my veggies a bit so I would bake closer to 30 minutes or check at 30 minutes.  I also might use BUTTER (gasp!) instead of oil next time. Why? Because it's BUTTER!

All-in-all it was a pleasant (warm...) evening! Here is what our Sunday, Summer meal consisted of:

Appetizer
Pain de Campagne bread from Turtle Bread Company
Hummus
Creamy tomato cilantro dip
Pita chips

Dinner
Thick-cut NY strip steak
Light potato salad
Roasted parm zucchini and squash
Beer

Dessert
Blueberries and Cherries (Yes, David swallowed a cherry pit when I wasn't paying attention! Oops!)
Apple pie

What did you do for supper?

How Pinterest Has Ruined My Life

A shout out to Kristina's post at Toddler Approved, for inspiring my blog post today!

Someday:
I will get in the car without having to pack it first.
I will enjoy getting dressed.
I can be a super cook.
My husband will come up the steps from work without the look of fear on his face.
I have the cutest front yard on the block.
I will run farther than I ever thought possible.
I will have time for coffee out, a play date, shopping, time at the park, quiet dinner at home and sweet bath time.

But for now...
It takes us 2 hours to get out of the house.
Trying to look normal only makes me feel worse.
I have a 30 minute window to slop something for dinner.
My husband comes home and has to ask how my day was, before kissing me hello.
I have two hanging plants that are almost dead.
Getting a work-out in means I have to sacrifice something else in my day to complete it.
There isn't a diaper bag big enough to pack for a perfect afternoon out.

I am happy because...
I can take my kids anywhere - and we have the best time together.
I can fit into smaller jeans than when I was married - and I have had two kids.
I cook dinner - and I love it.
My husband always kisses me hello - and he really missed me.
My plants are gifts from my children - and my front yard looks better than my neighbors, at least.
I can run - and I don't die.
I thrive in chaos - our life wouldn't be as fun without it.

No, Pinterest hasn't ruined my life. However, I just came out of a small rut where I thought my life had to be Pinterest to be good/interesting/beautiful/creative/fashionable/educational/delicious/inspiring..... I could go on and on and on.

I can't think it is entirely healthy for me too look at living rooms from $2 million dollar houses, and feel like I need to somehow compete with that. I like my little barren, miss matched, kid consumed living room. It suits us. However, I have spent wayyyyyy to much time researching chevron printed pillows in order to satisfy some kind of designer home urge.

Photo Credit // Joss and Main

The same goes for food. Sometimes, I just pan fry the damn pork chops. I don't make a marinade. I don't serve it with an appetizer or flashy salad. I throw some frozen corn in the microwave and I call it good. Am I doing my family a disservice? No way! Have I used my time wisely as a stay-at home-Mom? Hell, yes! My son had protein and vegetables for dinner AND I got to spend an extra 25 minutes playing in the yard.

Another thing, I may not have Gap kids, but I have the cutest kids on the planet! I may have accidentally missed James' 3 month picture. My bad. However, I have taken thousands of pictures of him while looking into is sweet face on the living room floor since he has been born. I may not set him up in color coordinated, outdoor, professional photographer photo shoots, but I can take a mean shot of him eating green peas in his high chair!

I think sometimes, with too much consideration to how my days are spent, I often have to remind myself to look at the positive in every situation. I may not have the "best of everything" in a Pinterest sort of way, but I HAVE THE BEST OF EVERYTHING in my life!

Kristina wrote:
When I am trying to be super mom, I do too much, am overly stressed, neglect what is most important, am never really present, and only appear to "have it together" on the surface, when really pretty much everything else is falling apart. Instead of aspiring to be Super Mom, I want to be more intentional about "trying to be a good mom."

I am going to try my hardest  to keep a healthy outlook on how it is ok to live by my own standards, because in the middle lies all the amazing experiences to be made. These experiences are for me and my family and can't be discovered or created by anyone else but us!

What a Foxy Fridge We Have

I opened my fridge this afternoon to find some lunch for David and I, and when I opened the door, it was as if the angels started singing and sun beams shot out from behind our 2% milk. I don't remember stocking to such perfection but somewhere between Sunday and today, we may have achieved the foxiest fridge I have ever had the pleasure of eating from.

I grocery shop at three different stores to feed David, myself, and Pete (well, James too but he is still on rice cereal and baby food). I also listed my little family in order of feeding importance when it comes to what I chose or chose not to buy. David, number one, is on the top of my list for foods I buy because if I start buying David the right things to eat - the good seems to trickle down to us. I don't want my 2 year old to eat junk. So, I try not to buy it and if I do - it is in moderation (or a little bribe to be good in the store....).

I shop at Aldi for most produce, Target for most dry goods and frozen items, and Bob's Produce for meat. Sometimes, I just make one big trip to Cub but the shopping trip exhausts me. I am too uptight about my coupon use, that when I shop at Cub, I end up getting really tired and frustrated trying to find the best price amongst the rows and rows of whatever I need.

Aldi is great because I know my prices. I know how much to spend on a certain item, what the item is priced at other stores, and Aldi doesn't accept coupons (as most of their items are off brand anyway) so I don't have to worry about watching 2 kids and sort through my coupon book at the same time. Aldi beats most prices without coupons most of time. For example, Aldi this week had limes for $.11 cents. ELEVEN CENTS (I had to type the numbers out in all caps to demonstrate my excitement about this - not to mention, I get excited about cheap limes...). Limes are about $.33 at Cub and at Bob's 2/$1. FIFTY CENTS?? For ONE lousy lime? Yeah, right!

Target is great because I can get pretty good deals with coupons and generally, they are cheaper that Cub. Plus, I can get whatever else I need for the kids and house at the same time. I often have meat at home but need a "go with". So, we run to Target pick up toilet paper and pasta. One example of a good Target deal is, I got Market Pantry (the Target brand) bagged frozen vegetables last week. They were on sale for $1 a bag and I had a Target coupon for $1 off 4 bags. $.75 for a bag of frozen vegetables is a great deal to me. First, we go through frozen vegetables like no ones business, so stocking up on 4 bags is no big deal. Second, I throw veggies in everything. I try my best to hide them from David - and Pete, too. They really don't put up to big a fight about a scoop or two on the side, either.

I have been raised to appreciate Bob's Produce as the mecca of meat stores. They have quality meats with decent meat sales. Most of our dinners consist of a Bob's whatever-is-on-sale protein like grilled chicken (great to stock up on sale at $1.99/lb), steaks (on sale $7.99-$9.99/lb) or baked pork shops ($2.99/lb). These meats are always better than Cub or Target meats. They may have a less favorable cut from time to time, like an extra fatty steak, but I consistently go back once a week or more. Plus, I love their baked pies, potato salad, and I love telling David we are going to Bob's where he picks out his own apple.

So, after all this explaining behind my grocery shopping trips - what is exactly in my fridge right now that makes it so foxy?

Beverages:

2% Milk

Electrolyte enhanced water

Gatorade

V8 Splash

Bloody Mary Mix

Fruits:

Strawberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Canned Peaches

Limes

Vegetable/Herbs:

Sweet onion

Red onion

Red potatoes

Cilantro

Celery

Garlic cloves

Roma tomatoes

Dairy:

Cottage Cheese

Colby Jack Slices Cheese

Mexican style shredded cheese

Yogurt

Protein:

Chicken breast

Lean ground beef

Lean ground turkey

Turkey bacon

Bacon pieces

Eggs

Cheddar brats

Grain:

Whole grain brown rice

Oat wheat bread

Wheat hot dog buns

White tortillas

Pie Crust

Jar/Can:

Apple Sauce

Salsa

Pickle slices

Vanilla pudding

I mean, seriously! I can make anything and it would be so delicious AND good for us!

To close my foxy fridge post, I stumbled upon a pretty interesting and inspiring blog by Catherine at Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth.

Photo Credit // Food For My Bunny Teeth

Catherine outlines her own Rabbit Food Pyramid as well as posts her own recipes and ideas for eating and acting healthy. While she began her journey trying to eat better to lose weight, she is now trying to maintain her own health and happiness by eating the right foods to feel good. Just like me!

Check Catherine out and tell me, how foxy is your fridge?

Speed Read Finds

I got rid of my coffee table after David was born. It seemed like an extra four corners to worry about and it only seemed to house piles of crap and magazines I would never read. However, this week I do have a nice stack of magazines next to my chair.

I am not a huge magazine reader. I seem to never get through an article. I just speed through the pages glancing at pictures and picking up a tidbit here and there about an enticing product.

Here are a few of my speed read finds this week:

Midwest Home features Peck and Anderson's poolside cabana. This "entertainment oasis" is from a remodeled home in Highland Park. I love the idea of having the indoor your outdoor.

Photo Credit // Todd Buchanan

Spaces magazine, in the article "Shades of style" by Nancy Ngo, features design guru Jonathan Adler and his flair for geometric design with pops of bright color. A Jonathan Adler boutique just opened on Lake Street and I could see my entire house themed after his designs. Also to mention, Jonathan has a Jonathan Adler Junior section on his website and designed a pattern for my favorite Skip Hop diaper bag.

Photo Credit // Ngoc Minh Ngo

Squished in the page binding and hard to spot, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine mentioned an inexpensive sweet little dress by BB Dakota. The site has great sales, free shipping and 10% off when you subscribe to their e-mails.

Photo Credit // BB Dakota

Photo Credit // BB Dakota

It seems like magazines would be having a tough time competing with the Internet. However, I kind of enjoy the randomness that comes with flipping the pages.

Just don't expect me to start reading ESPN mag or anything. I save that for my husband.

The Perfect Day?

I would say I spend half my day feeling guilty I should be doing more and the other half of the day wanting to just take a 5 minute breather. We are so go, go, go - stop. Go, go, go - stop. When I am not in forward motion, I feel like I am doing something wrong. There has to be more? More I can do?

So, where is the appreciation and happiness fit in? It is there, squeezed in between diaper changes and dirty dishes. There are the moments when my kids look up at me and smile, and I realize all the plates in my sink are a result of how much time I spend getting to look into their sweet faces at meal time.

There is such a sense of joy when I know I have done everything I could have in my day to make my children happy. The joy only grows if I can do the same for my husband. Down the list I go, trying to fulfill the needs of others and hopefully along the way I can make the time for myself as well! Don't get me wrong, I do plenty of selfish things in my day. The times I spend 15 extra minutes in Target even though my kids are complaining, or when I sit on the computer in the morning instead of playing. I am definitely not perfect.

I do, sometimes, feel like I spend too much time waiting for the next moment in our day to happen. Maybe it is a result of my intense need for scheduling. Maybe I am still waiting for the day when I feel like this day is the perfect day. The perfect day that will live on forever.

We have plenty of perfect days. While I am now defined in my role as a wife and mother, I have found myself trying to be ultimately perfect in that role. Which is impossible. Still, I sometimes feel the irresponsible young woman of my late teens and early 20's looms over my days.

Every chance I get, I squash her.

I think I will spend the rest of my life trying to prove myself she never existed. I try to tell myself that I deserve my happiness, that I have earned it - and I have. However, I know it is going to take a little more time for me to accept my life as it is. I can be in, seemingly constant, fear of making huge mistakes. I worry if I stop, mistakes will catch up with me.

So, I pile drive through my weeks with my kids and swear I will never let myself be a waste ever, ever, ever again. If I am doing all I can do than I shouldn't have to worry about not being perfect. I think I need to take more time to appreciate just being me, and just being an attentive, caring and loving parent will open the doors to more and more happiness.

My happiness happens when it isn't forced, or contrived, or planned. If I make myself a model of a good person than in its own way, life makes room for me to be happy and deservedly so.

Up to now, today has been a vision. We had breakfast together, we played and watched Super Why, we went garage sale-ing, we played outside, we had Spaghettio's for lunch, we went for a walk.

Having coffee and watching David have fun while James took his morning nap.

I got to sleep in with the kids waking at 8 AM, I got to have 2 cups of coffee, I missed my husband and that felt great, I got to get my kitchen clean, I got both boys down for a nap together, I got to write this blog post.

Most importantly, I realize I got to spend 7 glorious hours with my pink cheeked, happy children. Even though I might live in fear it won't last forever, I took the time to appreciate and be thankful we are all happy. That realization makes today the perfect day.

Malfouf - Lebanese Cabbage Rolls

You would think the best thing I took away from Memorial Day weekend was the fun with my family and extra time with my husband.

Nope. The food. Ok, yes fun with my family and husband, but really, let's talk about the food.

When my Lebanese Grandma asks me if I want to take left over dinner home with me I usually thankfully decline. Why? Because I dread that I would accidentally not eat it in time and run the risk of having to throw it away. I hate it when that happens. I am an excellent leftover eater. My husband, is not.

However, when my Grandma asked if anyone wanted to take leftover malfouf home, I could have stood on my chair, jumped up and down while raising my hand saying, "Yes! Yes! Pick me! Pick me!" My Mom raised me better than that though. I just squeaked out a little, "We would." from the end of the table.

Photo Credit // Mama's Lebanese Kitchen

We would = not if anyone else wants it, needs it, or could use it but really, I am the oldest granddaughter and most spoiled, so who has two thumbs and took a big bag of malfouf home??

This girl.

Even as I am writing this post, I look over to my empty plate where I just finished 3 rolls of malfouf for lunch. Cold. Yes people, I didn't even heat it up. I purposely put the remaining 8 rolls in the freezer as to savor them over the next few weeks. God only knows I could finish the bag here and now!

Mama's Lebanese Kitchen describes malfouf as, "a traditional Lebanese dish which involves rolling cabbage leaves with a stuffing of ground meat, rice, 7-spices (of course), then stacking them in a cooking pot in layers with garlic in between, and then simmering them on low heat in a sauce made with lemon juice, fried minced garlic, water and salt." My family adds tomato sauce or paste of some sort.

While they are not for everyone, they sure are for me. I am sure my Grandma makes (and this time she ordered some from church) malfouf differently, Mama's Lebanese Kitchen gives a very thorough recipe on their website with lots of pictures!

Is there anything your family makes or eats that you just can't help but take the leftovers of?

Current Music Obsession - Cults

I am currently informally training for an undecided __k this summer. Commit much? What does this mean exactly? I would love to do a 15k, will probably do a 10k, but most likely, I will do a 5k. Right now I am just trying to get a good 3 miles in 3-4 times per week. I hope to build the miles up from there and once I have a solid routine, I can increase my pace.

It helps me get out on the road when I have some good music to look forward to. When I was listening to the radio the other month I happened to hear "Go Outside" by Cults. David was in the backseat and said, "See, again?". I Googled the song later and told Pete I was sort of into this song I heard on the radio.









Pete already knew the whole song. I was like, what the hell? All you listed to is KFAN... Well, here the same song plays on his PS3 baseball game (yeah, I don't know the name, don't care, it is his thing! Ha!) and Cults isn't really his thing. So, I decided I would like them even more.

Photo Credit // Ben Rowland Photography // Last.fm

Last night, with storms brewing in MN, Pete and I sat and had a beer (or two) in our camp chairs in the garage. We just jammed out to all sorts of music. Music we are getting into, music from our past, music that was perfect for a rainy night in the garage. Cults was on my playlist.






For a while, I found myself jogging along to Muse, Beck & Scissor Sisters. However, my early evening runs are my escape from the hectic day at home with the boys. I found myself feeling panic and anxiety when I was running. It was almost like I was getting claustrophobic with my ear buds in.

So, with little tweaking of my tunes to a more light hearted genre, I have found my jogs so much more enjoyable. What's on your playlist?