Changes...

My how we've grown!

It's been a month now since we opened our doors to new families and friends.  We have definitely experienced some growing pains, but all in all I'd say that things have pretty much been falling into place.

We've been blessed to welcome a new family into our midst, with a boy in the second grade who joins us twice a week for some extra tutoring and socialization.  He is an absolute sweetheart and so smart!  We're lucky to have him.

We will also be welcoming a new baby into our home, beginning next week.  She is a year old, which makes her the perfect age to become playmates with our existing infant.  She is cute and cuddly and could charm the pants off of anyone.  Plus, she likes to dance (girl after my own heart :-)).  We eagerly await her arrival.

In my last post I promised recipes and blogs to check out.  Some of my favorite recipes have come from a website created by an utterly inspiring mother of two and connoisseur of food for "wee" ones.  Catherine McCord is the creator and author of the popular blog Weelicious.com. Her story and recipes have been featured in various blogs, magazines and she has recently penned a book, to be released later this year. 

Two of our favorite recipes from Weelicious are Banana Avocado Mousse and Kulfi Ice Pops.  Both require minimal prep time and are easy to make.  The Banana Avocado Mousse is tasty and nutrient rich and the Kulfi Ice Pops are a creamy and refreshing treat on hot days. It should be noted that both of these recipes can be made with variations (we've tried the Kulfi Pops with mango and they were delish!).

Another food that is a favorite with the older crowd is Roasted Beets with Caramelized Onions and Feta.  You may be shaking your head and thinking there is no way my family would eat that.  I didn't think so either when I first came across this recipe.  So I chopped up the beets into smaller chunks, diced up the onions into smaller bits, added some garlic (because couldn't just about everything savory use a bit of garlic?) and mixed the whole thing together instead of layering it.  My family didn't know what they were looking at and it looked just strange enough that my, then 2 year old, decided he wanted to try it.  He took a HUGE bite and PRESTO! a beet eater was born.  My husband, who had never liked beets (I actually don't think he had ever tried them before), had to be teased into trying a spoonful and, nowadays I have to make sure I have plenty on hand- or else he'll eat the whole bowl!  This is a food that tastes just as good when eaten fresh and piping hot as it does cold, the next day.

Well, that's it for tonight.  Schy and I have been so excited to get to know our new friends and we look forward to the adventures that await us in the weeks to come!

Good night!

<3 Jazmin