Busy Boy

My man has had a very busy week. Mama is back to work and Nana is stepping in as babysitter. She is just in time. Everett is a crawling machine! He enjoys pulling up on everything and then then falling down and hitting his head and either laughing or crying, playing on Bleu's dog bed (disgusting!!), sharing snacks with Bleu (see picture above), learning how to drink from a sippy cup, picking out books from one of his crates (see picture above), chewing on everything and my personal favorite---smiling and laughing when he sees me come home and then reverting back to his regular screaming between 4:00-5:00. At least now when he starts screaming we can go outside without worrying about being dehydrated or the little dude getting heat rash.

As for Mom, even though I am completely exhausted at the end of the day, I have really been enjoying work. I have to say that I think I have found where I belong. I LOVE middle school! I love how everything is more laid back and the kids are really fun. It doesn't hurt that my BFF works right next door, I live literally 2 minutes from work and I don't worry one bit about Everett. Do I still miss my sweet boy? Absolutely! I miss running errands, reading, cuddling, meal times and taking walks, but I have to say that this is the best case scenario.

Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

(The dough got a little stretched out...It was good though.)

3/4 pound of cubed or shredded chicken (An easy trick is to take it off a rotisserie chicken...They're on sale at Hen House for $5:0)

EVOO

2 teaspoons of grill seasoning

store bought pizza dough

cornmeal or flour

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

2-3 tablespoons of hot sauce

1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup of bleu cheese crumbles

3 scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven 425 degrees

Heat pan on stove and add chicken drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. Cook for about minute each side.

Place pizza on pan or warmed pizza stone sprinkled with flour or cornmeal and set aside. Let the dough rest.

Add butter, Worcestershire, hot and tomato sauce to chicken in pan. Coat chicken with sauce.

Cover pizza dough with chicken and sauce. Cover Buffalo chicken with cheese and scallions.

Bake 18 minutes or until crisp.

One Happy Boy!

Look at our BIG 6 MONTH OLD BABY! Can you tell he smiles all the time?

Everett's Likes-

• Apples! His favorite food hands down.
• Daddy's weird noises
• Hitting Daddy in the face. Makes him crack up every time.
• Running errands with Mama.
• Toys that light up.
• Puffs
• The black and white family picture on our stair landing. He reaches out and grabs it every time we come down the stairs!
• Chewing on any and everything.
• The play yard at Nana and Grampie's house.
• Crawling
• Rolling over while getting his diaper changed.

Everett's Dislikes-

• Getting his face wiped.
• Being tired (much like his Mama)
• Green vegetables
• Being hungry
• Getting dressed in the morning.
• Not giving him his apples fast enough.
• Going under water at swimming lessons.
  

Have Extra French Bread?

Since it is only two of us eating an entire loaf of French bread, we usually get half eaten before throwing it in the trash. The solution? French Toast Strata!

• Take the leftover bread and cut into 1-2 inch cubes. Don't worry about stale bread. If it is dry, it will work fine.
• Mix 1/4 cup of syrup, 1/4 cup of milk and 6 eggs (You can use less or more eggs depending on how much bread you have. You just want enough egg so that none of the bread is dry.)
• Leave plain or sprinkle blueberries, golden raisins or cubes of cream cheese on top.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours. I like to make this on Friday or Saturday for a warm weekend breakfast.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
• Top with powdered sugar, syrup or fruit.

Fish Tacos

• Coat 1 pound of thin fish fillets with 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and ground cumin.Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet.
• Add fish; cook 5-7 minutes, turning once, until just cooked through.
• Meanwhile in a medium bowl, toss 2 cups shredded lettuce, 1 diced avocado, 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
• Remove cooked fish to a plate and break into chunks.
• Fill 8 warm corn tortillas with lettuce mixture and fish.
• Top with salsa. I also topped mine with cheese.

Whole-Grain Apple Cake (SUPER EASY)

• Heat oven 375 degrees.
• Coat a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Prepare 1 box whole-grain apple-cinnamon muffin mix (Dunan Hines) using 2 eggs (or egg substitute), 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 cup of oil (or applesauce).
• Gently stir in 1 sliced, peeled and cored Granny Smith apple and the pouch of apple-cinnamon provided in muffin mix.
• Spread in pan.
  
• Arrange 2 apples worth of sliced, peeled and cored Granny Smith apples on top.
• Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
• Sprinkle with provided granola from the muffin mix.
  
• Bake 55 minutes