Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving in Houston

The Lucas Family traveled to Houston for Thanksgiving...all four of us! This was Harper's first road trip so we didn't really know what to expect but she did great! Going there and coming back we got a 45 minute nap out of her which helped with the 3 hours car ride...the rest of the time she entertained herself and I sat in the back with her for awhile too. We are glad that she did well because we will all be going back to Houston for Christmas! While in Houston we had a fabulous Thanksgiving Feast and Grandma, Grandpa & Uncle Jason got to spend some good quality time with Miss H!



Monday, November 22, 2010

Thanks!

Thanks Granny & Papa Wilson for the new chew toy, I love it very much!!!



Guitar time with Daddy



Open & Close

Harper is totally into opening and closing doors right now! It started last week at a playdate where she fell in love with a toy that had a barn door, she spent at least 30 mins opening and closing the door. Then she discovered that the mini kitchen she has at home has doors and most recently she has been having fun with the doors in our house! Too cute!


Teething!

Well, this morning I spent $30 for a teething consult! ;) Harper started to pull on her ear yesterday and was super fussy last night (it took a couple hours to get her to fall asleep) so we thought she probably had an ear infection so we took a trip to the doc this morning...nope, it's all teething related!!! Apparently sometimes the pain they are feeling in their mouth can carry up to the ear area and/or they just can't figure out where the pain is coming from...poor baby! And did I mention she is drooling buckets of drool...she drooled before while teething but nothing like this, she is soaking through bibs and clothes in under an hour! So she had 3 teeth come in on top a couple of weeks ago and now she is working on the 4th top one! I hope after that one comes in we will have a little break until the next tooth comes in!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

Simple Tomato Sauce

Duh, here is the pasta sauce recipe...I forgot to include in the previous post. I also added a carton of roughly chopped mushrooms, enjoy!

Simple Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make Simple Tomato Sauce:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and garlic and cook until soft and golden brown. Add the basil and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. With a potato masher, break up the tomatoes to achieve a sauce-like consistency (unless you already used crushed tomatoes). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Cook's Note: Tomato sauce will last 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

This and That

I am feeling a bit like a scatter brain tonight so I figured I would just share this and that!

Tonight I had a couple new culinary adventures...I made graham crackers and pasta sauce (not to serve together though!)...and I am pretty happy with how they both turned out! So I made the graham crackers as a test run for Harper's Birthday party in January...I found the recipe on a baby/toddler food website and thought it would be a good party favor, I think it's a winner! I found the cutest mini cookie cuters and one batch made 100 cookies!!! Aren't they cute!


The pasta sauce just sounded good and I found a really simple recipe. We paired it with a fresh whole wheat linguine pasta and my version of a wedge salad and it was fabulous!

Since we are on the subject of food, I will share with you what I fed Harper this week. I am having so much fun feeding her table foods and we have yet to feed her something she doesn't like! Asparagus, corn bread, a bean and cheese quesadilla, homemade graham crackers and she had pasta with mommy & daddy tonight! Oh, and I also found some healthy chicken nuggets from Costco that are all white meat and are grilled and not breaded...makes for a quick and easy meal, just the way I like it!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

New Hat!

Aunt Kasey sent Harper the sweetest hat...so we have to show it off of course!!!





Monday, November 8, 2010

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

If you like pesto this is a great change of pace! I tossed it with pasta and leftover grilled chicken, very good! My only suggestion is that you play with the amount of parmesan, I put in the entire 1/4 cup but I think it would have been better with a little less. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Seed Pesto (Makes about 1/2 cup)
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (pepitas), hulled
1/4 Cup Parmesan
1 Garlic Clove
1 Cup Basil or Parsley (or ½ & ½)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/3 Cup Olive OIl
1. If using raw (green) pumpkin seeds, place them on a baking sheet and toast for 10-15 minutes or until golden. If using toasted/roasted pumpkin seeds you can skip this step.
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Serve on pasta, fish, chicken or a spread on sandwiches.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Walker Toy

So a mama friend of mine gave me some toys awhile back and one of those toys was a walker toy...I threw it in the garage because we were months away from Harper being able to use it, well the day has come to bust it out! :) Harper has always had strong legs and has been putting weight on her legs since she was 2 months old...she started crawling around 7 months and has been pulling up on everything for awhile now! Needless to say, Chris and I have been holding our breath just waiting for her to take her first steps (I have made a deal with her though to wait until she is at least 1, mama isn't ready yet!)...so I guess in hindsight, taking out this toy might have not been the best idea, ha! But she loves the toy and loves the freedom it brings! It will be interesting to see how quickly her walking legs develop, here's to the next milestone!


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sesame Street

This is only the second time I have put Sesame Street on for Harper (normally we aren't around in the morning when it comes on PBS)...she really seems into it though, as you will see by the pictures! I remember watching Sesame Street as a kid and I think it would be pretty cool to have my own daughter watch it too!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Thanksgiving/Harvest Tree

Halloween is over so it's time for the Thanksgiving/Harvest tree!!