Girls Night Out

I purchased Miley Cyrus tickets back in...July for a show in Chicago last week. My goal was to surprise my daughter and her best friend by keeping it a secret until the day of the concert. As hard as it was, I made it to the day of the concert. My daughter SCREAMED with excitement when I told her to get dressed so we could go to the concert,she got even more "7 year old crazy girl acting" when we pulled in front of her best friends house to pick her up also. We had 3rd balcony seats and Miley was a dot on the stage but the girls behaved as though we had front row seats. They sang, they danced, they screamed....but most of all my girlfriend and I got to bond with our girls and have a GNO (girls night out)together. At one point during the concert, my daughter looked at me while we were both singing along with Miley and dancing and said "mom, I didn't know that you could have so much fun"...WOW....we need to take time with our kids to have fun together a little more often...play time, silly time, whatever it is..just time together doing something that everyone enjoys! Take time and have a GNO!

What would you enjoy doing with your children?

Blueberry Crumble

I was excited when fellow blogger, InnerHOTmama asked me to write a guest post for her for Foodie Friday. Thanks so much, Angel for inviting me!

Blueberries are a fruit that I bake with alot. My boys love them and they are really good for you too.

Today, I’m sharing my Blueberry Crumble recipe.



Ingredients:

1/2 c. Butter
2 c. Flour
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
3/4 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 t. Vanilla
1/2 c. Milk
5 c. Blueberries, Fresh or Frozen
1 t. Cinnamon
2 t. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 t. Salt
1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 c. Flour
6 T. Butter, at room temperature
Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3-4 min. Add egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk. Gently fold in berries. Pour batter into prepared square baking dish, sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.


Liz Latham
HME of http://hoosierhomemade.com/

Foodie Friday Guest Blogger: Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes

From our friend Gretchen.  She is a busy working mom with both home-grown children and a lovely girl born in Ethiopia.  She is raising healthy/happy children and has a surprisingly healthy cupcake recipe that both kids and grown-ups will love.  I thought it would be perfect for Halloween!
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Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes



1 cake mix (I like Devil's Food best)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup water
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips


Mix together and pour into greased or papered cupcake pan. Bake @350 for about 20 minutes. Top with FF Cool Whip. I can usually get 24 medium cupcakes or 12 giant ones.

Medium cupcakes are 2 Weight Watcher pts.
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Experiment with this quick and easy recipe.  I think Spice cake mix with butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate chips would be fantastic.  Hmm, I might just have to make some this weekend. 
Happy Halloween everyone!

Wellness Wednesday: be a Mover & a Shaker!

Getting and staying in shape with kids is a struggle.  It reminds me of when grandparents tell the "when I was your age I walked to school 4 miles, barefoot, uphill both ways, and still had energy to help with chores when I came home in the afternoon!"  story.  We try to eat right, but convenience usually gets in the way.  We try to exercise but time usually gets in the way.  We have every intention of being good to our bodies but there always seems to be a stumbling block in our path.
Last week I started TRYING to get healthy again: I started walking, with my son.  Sam is almost 14 months old and is still a good stroller napper so I figure I should take this chance while I have it.  I go home at night, change, and take Sam out for 4-6 miles while Dad has some "ME" time of his own.  I get time with Sam...it's a win-win for everyone.  I logged 22 miles, by walking a couple miles for five of the seven days last week.  I was shocked!  Who knew an hour here and an hour there could equal 22 miles???
On rainy days (which we have in abundance this time of year in Chicago!) we have family dance party!  This is when we put on music or one of Sam's music kids shows and we ALL dance.  We dance fast, we dance slow.  But we really, really move.  Sam can shake it with the best of them, so we repeat his moves or show him a new one and he tries it out.  It's always loads of fun, and great together time.  It may only last 15-20 minutes, or may go on for 45, depending upon everyone's energy level.  We started it to get Sam tired for bed...but it usually just exhausts US.

I'm learning that I MUST take time for fitness.  Pressed for time?  No problem: you don't need a gym to be healthy.  Get up and dance with your kids.  Or walk with your kids.  Or walk with your kids in the stroller.  Or play soccer in the back yard.  Or ANYTHING.  Just get up and MOVE!

What are you doing/can you do to add more fitness into your days?

The Chopping Block

For todays "ME Monday" I thought I'd tell you about how my girlfriend and I took a little time out for ourselves last Friday. A month or so ago we booked a Bread Making class for ourselves in Chicago during the day while our children are at school. Little did we know that a field trip was scheduled for this same day to the Pumpkin Patch for our 4 year olds. Here comes the GUILT. We both felt quite a bit guilty for not volunteering to chaperone but also wanted to take some time for ourselves.

Friday was a rainy cold day and when we dropped the kids off at school we found out at the Field Trip was cancelled, WHEW..guilt be gone. Our cooking class was at The Chopping Block in Lincoln Square. There where only 5 of us in the class plus our instructor. We made wonderful poppyseed and sesame seed bagels, Focaccia Bread with with Rosemary, Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomatoes, and Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls....all with our hands and all from scratch. First I must say, that their kitchen setup is AMAZING as well as all of their gadgets. Our class was scheduled for 10-12:30 and I think we finished up at about 1:00. We learned alot about making breads and the science behind it but more than anything we were in the MOMENT. It was such an enjoyable experience: the feel of the dough between your fingers, the smell of the breads baking, seeing the finished products...a very peaceful experience. Oh, and did I mention that you get to bring everything you made HOME!!! YUM....

Our children didn't even know that we took time for ourselves and the laundry and everything else was still waiting when we got home!

If you enjoy cooking, take a class!Freshen up on your skills or learn new ones, take the time for yourself!

What are you doing for yourself on this ME Monday?

Foodie Friday Guest blogger: Angel Hair Pasta wth Shrimp

Many thanks to Liz for sending this recipe from Dreamfields! Please check out her blog for moms of older kids here You can always substitute Chicken or tofu for the shrimp! Happy Friday!

Ingredients:
1/2 of a box uncooked Dreamfields Angel Hair
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped basil (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1.Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pan.
2.Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; cook 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes; cook until garlic is tender, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. (Do not let garlic burn.) Remove shrimp from skillet; set aside.

3.Stir tomatoes, wine, parsley and basil into skillet. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and pasta to skillet. Continue cooking just to heat through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and additional chopped basil, if desired. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition information (1/4 of recipe): 461 calories; 33 g protein;
18 g digestible carbohydrates*; 13 g total fat; 2 g saturated fat; 225 mg cholesterol;
776 mg sodium; 6 g total dietary fiber.

*If traditional pasta is used in this recipe there is a total of 48 g carbohydrate. For more information go to http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/

Foodie Fridays Guest blogger: Butternut Squash Soup

This is a great fall recipe from our friend Seaweed Snacks.  It's quite low in fat and high in beta-carotene which = super healthy for you and your family.
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Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash skin and seeds removed, chopped into cubes
4 cups stock
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 onion chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
juice of a lime
1 tbls. olive oil

I use an immersion blender to make this soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, then you can pour the soup into a blender after it has been cooking about 40 minutes. Make sure you put a dish towel on top of the blender lid to prevent burning yourself while blending.
Return to soup pot and cook for 30 minutes more.
This is a really basic recipe. You can add things....like vanilla seeds, roasted peppers or leeks. Crumble goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes on top. Oh that would be good.
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