How to make baby food

This is so easy I'm doing it more! At first the idea of making my own baby food was slightly overwhelming, but once I tried it I actually had fun.

I used apples this time, but you can use a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Some suggestions would be sweet potatoes, carrots or pears. These are typically safe for babies first foods. The professionals say introduce new foods to baby one at a time and allow 3 days before you try the next food. This makes it easier to identify allergies.

 

How to make baby food:

 

Any type of apples will do. I did two different kinds. First wash the apples and then peel them. Want to learn how check out my post "How to peel an apple". Cut apples into chunks. Quarter each apple. Cut out the core and then cut each quarter in half. This should give you 8 chunks per apple.

 

 

 

Put apples in a pot. Add a cup of water for every 4 pounds of apples. I did a half recipe and only used 1/2 cup of water. Now sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon. You don't need much. Bring to boil then bring temperature to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Allow this to cool(side note: if you don't the top of your blender will pop off and make a huge mess. Don't believe me..try it!). To speed up the process pour contents in a bowl and put into the fridge. Once cooled add contents into a blender, food processor, bullet etc. Add in sections. I added mine in three parts.

 

 

I grabbed my little test monkey to see how it turned out. From the looks of it I'd say it's a hit!

 

 

For storage pour applesauce into an ice tray. My half recipe filled two ice trays. Freeze them. Once they are frozen, remove them from the ice trays and put them into a plastic bag. Label with contents and date.

 

 

Recipe altered from SmittenKitchen

How to peel an apple

You wouldn't think this would be hard, but it is. Peeling anything can be challenging. Especially without any knowledge how to do so and the wrong dull knife. Tomorrow I'll be showing you how to make some yummy baby food. I used some fresh apples my mom & dad received from a friend. All natural. No pesticides. No preservatives. No hybrid. Not genetically altered. Just good all plain apples of someones tree.

How to peel an apple

To start you'll want to find a pairing knife. This knife has a short blade. It will probably be about the size or shorter than your pinkie finger. Some have a slight bend inward, making it almost look like a beak or a hook. Finding a good knife is very important. So start the hunt!

 

Next grab two bowls. If you have a lot of peeling to do grab the two largest bowls or even a bowl and a paper bag will work. I usually like to set up my peeling station somewhere outside. You'll be sitting for a while so find somewhere you enjoy.

 

Take a firm hold of a (washed) apple. If you are right handed take your left hand and hold the base (bottom) of the apple. In your right hand hold the paring knife. Grip the pairing knife as high up on the handle as you can. You want to grab it as close as you can to the blade. Your thumb will be used as a guide. When you cut the apple you will be applying pressure with the knife, but also with your thumb. Be careful! Pairing knifes are sharp and your thumb is no match!

 

To start peeling you will want to cut the top portion of the apple off so that you are left with a peel that looks like a donut. Drop your peels in one bowl or in the brown bag. The other bowl will be reserved for the peeled apples.

 

 

Next, again using your left hand to hold the base begin at the top of the apple with your right hand and begin peeling clockwise (towards you). Again use your thumb as a guide. As you rotate the apple counter clockwise use your thumb as a guide to follow with your pairing knife.

 

After some practice you will be able to peel as apple easily with little mess. Keep peeling in a circle moving your way down the apple.

 

Once at the bottom do as you did on the top of the apple and remove whats left of the bottom peel in one swipe giving you a donut shaped peel.

 

You did it! When you're done you should have two donut shaped peels and one really long peel. It makes peeling so much faster than the old chunk it out version.

Hello Cyber Space

Who knew 7 days without the Internet would be so challenging. I tried to find one word that described each day during my...mmm...vacation. The first day was almost surreal. I actually felt relieved. My typical morning routine is to check Facebook, email, write my blog, browse Craigslist and if there is time oogle Pinterest. My hiatus brought about feeling of freedom. However, the first day anti-internet I almost checked something online twice by 6:44am. I could tell it was going to be a rough week. By day two it felt like a nuisance. It's the end of the month and I have bills to pay. What the heck was this blonde bozo thinking? Day three: waste. I'm wasting away in this land void of facebook. I'm a vapor. My presence is slipping away from the absence of updates. Four...this feeling is getting repetitive. Five. I need it! Not having the Internet is really delaying my ability to live life. I want to make chicken pot pie, but my favorite pie crust recipe is online. I need! I need! I need! (not to be confused with I want..Internet is a need. right?) Six. Nada. Seven. I'm coming back around the bend. I'm reading again. I'm reclaiming my passion. My passion to learn....through books.

The difficult parts:
- Going online is a habit and it's hard to break
- Inability to pay bills online
- I had to learn how to cook WITHOUT allrecipes
- Uninformed (or at least I felt like it)
- No one knew what was going on in my life
- Had to use primal ways to contact people (aka the phonebook)

The benefits:
- I spent more time with Juliet
- I had to be creative (meals, projects, free time, etc)
- I went outside
- I read more
- I spent an afternoon at a used bookstore

Overall, I found the experiment to be successful. It helped me to analyze how I spent my time. It also scarily made me aware of how stinkin' much I use the Internet. I could see myself doing this again in the future. I like to make sure my life is balanced and what better way to check the balance than to go without for 7 days. It's really not that long, but after three I was really wondering if I was going to make it.

Photo Book

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Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

7 Day Absence

I'm doing an experiment which necessitates my absence for a week. My goal is to abstain from technology for one week apart from the basics, that being phone calls, texts and email. This means NO instagram, browsing on the web (phone or computer), No Craigslist (this is gonna be a hard one for me), NO Facebook (I think someone just fainted), Twitter, Blogger, Pinterest (how I yearn for thee). I'm not sure what will come of this, but I feel it will be something GREAT! Until next Friday folks!

 

Photo courtesy of helpforinternetaddictions.com

Pork Carnitas

I always try to cook something unique on special occasions. When I asked Jon what he wanted for his birthday dinner I was a little intimidated when he said "carnitas!" First, I've never made carnitas or anything remotely as involved. Second, my husband has high standards when it comes to Mexican food.

I scoured the Internet for recipes and finally landed on this one, which actually has more of a European background. The flavor was a little dull, but after adding a little bit more spice it got raving reviews and tasted even better the following day when we had it for leftovers.

Recipe with adaptation from David Lebovitz

Pork Carnitas

serving: 8

 

ingredients:

4-5-pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 5-inch chunks, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
water
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon (Canela Molida)
2 teaspoon chile powder mix
2 teaspoon ground regular chili

1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
 2 bay leaves

2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly-sliced

 

directions

Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. Refrigerate for 1- to 3-days. Due to time restraints I only allowed 1/2 a day for them to sit. (You can skip this step if you want. Just be sure to salt the pork before searing the meat in the next step.)

 

Heat the oil in a roasting pan (I used a dutch oven) set on the stove top. Cook the pieces of pork shoulder in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around. If your cooking vessel is too small to cook them in a single-layer, cook them in two batches.

Once all the pork is browned, remove them from the pot and put into roasting pan. Blot away any excess fat with a paper towel, then pour in about a cup of water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged utensil to release all the tasty brown bits.

 

Heat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees.

 

Add enough water so the pork pieces are 2/3rd’s submerged in liquid. Add the cinnamon stick and stir in the chile powders, bay leaves, oregano, cumin and garlic.

Braise in the oven uncovered for 3½ hours, turning the pork a few times during cooking (I did every 45 minutes), until much of the liquid is evaporated and the pork is falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and lift the pork pieces out of the liquid and set them on a platter.

 

Once the pork pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into bite-sized pieces, about 2-inches (7 cm), discarding any obvious big chunks of fat if you wish.

 

Return the pork pieces back to the roasting pan and cook in the oven, turning occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and caramelized. It will depend on how much liquid the pork gave off, and how crackly you want them.

 

I got so involved in the consuming process I completely forgot to take pictures of the finished product, but trust me it's good :)

Making an Man-Bouquet

Jon has always been so good about getting me flowers for special occasions like birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and some fights. This time I wanted to be the one to give a thoughtful arrangement. So, I set my brain to work, did some research, studied my subject and came up with this...

 

Man-Bouquet 101

materials:

assortment of shots

wide mouth vase

green floral foam

fake flowers

colored rocks or marbles

cellophane

skewers

ribbon

glue gun

glue sticks

I purchased my mini shots at BevMo. The cost was under $15. The foam, marbles, cellophane, ribbon, flowers, vase and skewers can all be purchased at the Dollar Store. Score!

 

 

I started by gluing the skewers to the back of the shots using the blunt side, making sure the label was on the opposite side of the skewer so it would showcase the liquor.  I then cut my cellophane into squares (10x10inches is a good size). Then, take the pointed side of the skewer and poke through the middle of the cellophane, slide it up towards the bottle, pull taunt at the top and tie tight with a ribbon.

 

 

 

Grab the vase and put in your foam. Add some flowers and then begin to add your liquors. If you want to add different heights cut the bottom of the skewer. I used my husbands tools for this :) Once you have the flowers and liquor in place add the rocks to the vase. This will hold down the foam and give the bottom some weight since this is a top heavy arrangement.

 

 

Add a cute card (Dollar Store) and set it on the table for hubby when he comes home :) You can also add cigars, tobacco etc. This can also make a great 21st birthday gift!

Blue Moon Cupcakes

I've been MIA lately and I apologize. It has been a rough few days in the Hobbs household. Baby girl has decided to wake up at 2:30am and it's been a little rough on momma bear. I also hosted Jon's birthday party this weekend which was a lot of fun and a lot of work (pictures coming soon).

ANYWAYS, I made these cupcakes to bring to Jon's work on his birthday. Let me tell you...he was thrilled. Yeah! You're gonna bring cupcakes to work like my mom used to bring to the classroom when I was like......5....and I'm 28! He got over the shock and enjoyed it :)

I got this recipe from Erica's Sweet Tooth. This girl is talented, her site is beautiful and she can create some mean (meaning good) sugary morsels!

Blue Moon Cupcakes

serving: 24

 

cupcakes:

3/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange
1 cup Blue Moon  beer, plus more for brushing on tops
1/4 cup milk
Orange/lime wedges and sanding sugar for garnish

 

 

 citrus cream cheese frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, cold
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
4 cups powdered sugar

 

cupcake directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer (I used my muscles), beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes (and was exhausted).

 

Add eggs, beating after each addition then add the vanilla and zest.
Combine milk and beer and alternatively add this mixture and the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture with the mixer on low speed, starting and ending with the flour.

 

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
When cupcakes are done, poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes with toothpicks or skewer and brush some beer on each while still warm. I didn't have a brush so I used a 1/4 teaspoon and poured beer into it and then poured the contents over the cupcakes.

 

for the citrus cream cheese frosting:

Cream together the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the citrus juice and zest and gradually add the powdered sugar until well-combined. Beat until smooth for about 2 minutes.

Frost cupcakes once they have cooled. Add a slice of orange to the top and a sprinkle of raw sugar...colored is fun.

 

 

These turned out great and people loved them. This is definitely a recipe I will use again. You can also substitute Corona for Blue Moon and a lime for the orange. I have yet to try this combination, but I'm sure it's as scrumptious as the first. Enjoy :)

Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

Mom's coming over for dinner. I have chicken defrosting, but what to make. A quick 30 seconds on the web brings me to this goody. Honey? Yes! Lime? Great! Barbecue? Amen!

 

Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken

Serves: 4

 

4 chicken breasts
1/3 cup lime juice

(original recipe says 1/2 cup of lime but it made the chicken too tangy)
1/3 cup oil
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp black pepper

 

Combine lime juice, oil, honey, thyme, rosemary, garlic and pepper. Pour it over chickens in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Grill until done and juices run clear.

 

 

 

Recipe adapted from Steph at Plain Chicken

She is 4 months....

Baby girl has her four month appointment today! I can hardly believe it. She has been a miracle since the day we found out we were pregnant. She brings so much joy into our house, families, friends and even our neighborhood. Her smiles are precious gifts. Her giggles make my heart want to burst. She is a treasure to be shared. Each day is cherished because it could be the last . I relish each moment because I'll never get them back. The phone, laundry, dishes, to-do lists can wait. When the moment is special it is uninterpretable because I make it. Nothing is more important than time. Time spent with the one I love.

 

I don't want thoughts of regret when I look back at her childhood thinking I should have played with her more, giggled more, spent more time, loosened up more, created more, imagined more, stepped into her shoes and wondered, awed and discovered more.

Responsibilities are important, we're weighted down by the luggage of life. But, sometime we pick up bags that aren't as important as the ones we leave behind. We need money so we pick up an extra job or work a lot of overtime, but is it worth what precious time we have. It'll be harder without the extra cash, but is it worth it? We clean frantically, switching out laundry, wiping down the (what we thought was a good idea) dark wood floors. She's happy and laughing and we say we'll play with her after. Why not take advantage of the opportunity now?

Balance is a constant struggle. I've learned to let go in so many ways and have so much more to loosen my controlling, death grip of a hold from. Life is learning.

The photos were taken by some dear friends at Gleason Photoworks in Red Bluff!

Fudge Brownie Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting

 

That's a mouth full of a title.

Serving: 9-12

 

Fudge Brownie Cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper cups.

 

Melt butter in the microwave in a large microwave safe bowl. Mix in the sugar until smooth and microwave for about 1 minute. Stir the mixture until smooth again. Whisk in the vanilla and eggs (or stir in with the same spoon if you hate to do dishes). In a separate bowl, mix together the salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.

 

 

Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake in the prepared muffin tin for about 8-10 minutes (mine took a little under 10 minutes). Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

 

Cookie Dough Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temp

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp milk (I used coconut milk, but soy, almond milk or regular would be fine)

1 cup mini chocolate chips

 

 

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour and salt until doughy. Stir in the milk and beat until fluffy. Gently fold in chocolate chips. Frost cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

 

 

*The original creator of this recipe recommends serving these cold. I agree! Toss them in the fridge and serve chilled. To see the site for the original recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction click HERE.

 

 

And of course here is picture of my little baking cheerleader. Love this lil' gal!

 

Raised Lettering Wall Canvas

I have some funky projects from college and I was at a loss of what to do with them because they didn't seem to fit my current decor scheme. My home has very muted colors...grays, white, off white, light green, etc. My art projects are the complete opposite. They have no color scheme. No structure. They're wild and crazy! Some would say my "creative" projects look like they got gang banged by crayola (Pinterest readers should recognize this, if not, check out THIS).

 

AND I really really like to recycle uses for things I already have. You'll discover that if you stick with this blog long enough. So, why not create another project...

 

First, I had to decide what I wanted to write. I wanted it to be meaningful, inspirational and applicable to marriage. I got out my  Bible and found the section in Ephesians about the role of a husband and wife and picked out some lines. I got my area ready; cleaned of the old canvases, plugged in my glue gun and got lots of extra glue sticks, grabbed a pillow for my rump.

* For future reference be sure to grab a ruler and pencil to mark even lines on the canvas and pre-script what you're going to write. I was crunched with a time bomb anytime detonation sleeping baby.

 

Now, go over your scripted lines with the hot glue gun. Take your time. I got a little antsy. There will be little webs of glue everywhere. Don't worry we'll take care of it later, but do try to keep the words as clean as possible. It will save you time.

 

Let it dry. Take a dry paint brush and wipe the canvas. This will help clean of the webs of glue (don't use your husbands nice paint brush or he may yell at you!) Check over the canvas and pull any loose webs that didn't come off. This is an extremely important part. The get out your paint and paint away. two coats is best. I think white looks great!

 

 

And there's your trash to treasure :)