Weeknight Carbonara

Normally carbonara tastes incredibly rich and decadent. I call this one weeknight carbonara because it doesn't have that heavy, overly gluttonous feel. It's still rich and very satisfying, but you can eat it without feeling like you overdid it. Perfect for a Monday night when you want something delicious and easy.

Weeknight Carbonara

Adapted from The Winemaker Cooks

Serves 6

6 oz. pancetta, diced

2 shallots, finely chopped

1/4 cup dry white wine 

10 oz. frozen peas

12 oz. orrechiette pasta

3 eggs at room temp

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup heavy cream at room temp

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

• Saute pancetta in a large frying pan over medium heat until it renders fat, about 3 minutes.
• Add shallots and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Add wine and scrape up bottom of pan.
• Add peas and cook for an additional few minutes until warmed through. 
• Turn off heat and cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1/2 cup cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Stir pasta into frying pan, along with egg mixture (the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs).
• Top individual servings with remaining cheese.

Potatoes that Taste Better than the Chicken

When I first started to cook I was pretty intimidated by the idea of roasting a whole chicken. I guess it was the whole bird thing. It just seemed like something only an experienced cook could pull off. In truth it's so easy! I even consider it one of my weeknight go-to meals. It's comforting and homey without being heavy, which is key during these hot summer days. 

This particular recipe goes a step further and includes the potatoes in the same roasting pan. As I'm sure you guessed from the title of the recipe, they are the real star of the show. All the chicken juices drip into them and they get brown and crispy on the outside. Yum! Just throw some asparagus (or other veggie) in the oven for the last bit and you have a complete meal that took a handful of minutes to prepare. 

Potatoes that Taste Better than the Chicken

Adapted from Martha Stewart & Jean-Georges Vongerichten

6 T unsalted butter

6 T grapeseed oil

2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 whole chicken (2 1/2 - 3 lbs), wings removed

salt and pepper

4 sprigs rosemary

4 sprigs thyme

1 head of garlic, halved crosswise

fleur de sel

• Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Butter a medium roasting pan (I used a cast iron skillet) with 3 T each of butter and grapeseed oil.
• Place potatoes in pan in a single layer.
• Rub chicken with remaining butter and oil.
• Season chicken inside and our with salt and pepper.
• Place rosemary, thyme and garlic inside cavity. Tie legs together with twine.
• Place chicken on top of potatoes on one of its sides.
• Put in oven to roast for 20 minutes, then turn to other side and roast for 20 minutes more.
• Turn chicken breast side up and roast until internal temp is 165 degrees (10-20 minutes more).
• Carve chicken in pan so that all the yummy juices get into the potatoes.
• Sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Getting your Life back after Baby

I admittedly read way too many parenting books before Brandon was born. I would literally read every book out there that anyone with an opinion had touted as the latest and greatest in the parenting world. It probably just confused me with too many methods and thoughts, and it took a long time for me to get out of my head what kind of parent the books were telling me to be and what kind of parent I actually was/wanted to be. I was convinced that I needed to be this hippie lovin', no-schedule, nurse-whenever my-precious-little-baby-wanted kind of mommy (this also fell in line with what my pediatrician at the time was telling me). Although most of these books never flat out said it, they pretty much expected you to meet every demand your tiny addition would make, regardless of how it affected your life, or if it was even reasonable (like feeding every 2 hours at 4 months old!).

Fast forward 5 months later, I was a wreck. Brandon would wake-up 10 times a night and was completely unpredictable during the day. I never slept more than a couple hours at a time and felt like a walking zombie. Being the type-A person that I am, having no clue how our days/nights were going to go drove me nuts. I couldn't understand how any mother out there ever got her act together after having a baby. 

At our wits end, Brad and I finally called in Dream Team Baby sleep consultants to help us get Brandon sleeping at night. Not only did they do just that, but they also showed me a totally different picture of what motherhood could be like. They immediately put Brandon on a strict schedule during the day and used a version of "cry-it-out" to get him to sleep at night. It was incredibly hard the first day, but after 3 nights, he was sleeping 12 hours and taking 2 solid naps during the day. Hallelujah, praise the Lord! 

By not giving into Brandon's every desire (i.e. me comforting him multiple times during the night and letting him set the schedule during the day) we had regained our control as the parents. I finally knew what to expect during the day and could actually get out for a run or lunch with a friend. I could plan things! I also had enough energy to do them since we were all finally getting a decent amount of sleep at night. It is no exaggeration when I say that sleep training, scheduling, and a bit of parental control literally gave me my life back.

There is no one-size fits all solution, but I would say the secret to getting your life back after baby is doing just that, get back to your life. Hire a babysitter, enlist the help of friends, let your child be a little uncomfortable as they work through the fact that the world doesn't revolve around them. I'm not saying let your newborn go hungry, but be reasonable. Respect your needs as well as your child's and don't think you have to give up your own life to be a good mother. 

Here's a list of a few practical things that have helped me:

• Sleep Training - not for everyone, but it does work and it works fast.
• Scheduling - I'm a hyper-scheduler by nature, but I think just having a similar flow to your days is helpful.
• Parental Control - what I mean by this, is understanding that you're the parent and you know best. There will be a day when your toddler will cry and yell because they want to run into traffic, which you obviously won't let them do. Crying or being uncomfortable does not mean that you are being a bad parent, it's actually what it takes a lot of times to be a good parent.
• Independent Play Time - Brandon plays happily in his room for an hour everyday by himself. It is wonderful and heavenly, but it took a lot of work to get up to this point. We started young and with only 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, etc. Very worth the effort!
• Babysitters & Housekeepers - if you can afford to, hiring good help is one of the best things ever. Get out of the house without the kids.
• Planning - from weekly menus to playdates, having an idea of what's going on helps me immensely.
• Delegate to Dad - give Dad a task that is all his. Brad is in charge of baths in our house. It's a wonderful break for me at the end of the day, and since the bath is his domain he doesn't have to worry about me nagging him because he does something a different way than I would have (like filling the water up too high). Dad's like having an area of expertise where they don't feel like they are going to be critiqued every 2 seconds.
• Chocolate and Wine - every tired mom's best friend. :)

For the first few months you certainly have to give up a lot of your time and energy to your new bundle who relies on you for everything, but as they get older, making an effort to regain some of your time and freedom is beneficial to the whole family. You will feel better and your kids and spouse will have a much happier mom and wive.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

This is a great recipe if you are looking for something different than your average chocolate chip cookie. The cream cheese gives it a bit of tang and an almost cakey texture. The real star is the dough though. You will want to lick the spoon. I know you aren't supposed to eat raw cookie dough, but this is worth it. It's like cream cheese frosting and cookie dough combined - totally amazing.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

Adapted from Bake or Break

makes about 4 dozen

2 & 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease baking sheets.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• Mix butter, cream cheese, sugar and brown sugar together with electric mixer until fluffy.
• Add one egg at a time and mix well.
• Add vanilla.
• Add flour mixture in batches, then chocolate chips. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
• Place tablespoon size balls of dough on pans and bake for 12-15 minutes, until edges begin to brown. *** These will not brown up like normal cookies. Even though they are light they will be cooked through.
• Cool on wire racks. 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day from our family! Big hugs to my Daddy, PopPop, Father-in-Laws, and wonderful husband!

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

This is so good! I don't even particularly like broccoli and I thought this was awesome. The lemon and basil give it such a fresh taste. I made the mistake of only making half the recipe - everyone wanted more! I now understand why this has become a favorite in the food blogging community.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

4 to 5 pounds broccoli, trimmed and seperated into florets

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp lemon zest

2 T lemon juice

3 T toasted pine nuts

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

2 T basil, julienned

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Toss broccoli with garlic, 5 T olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Place on baking sheet in a single layer.
• Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender and some of the tips have browned.
• Remove from oven and add  1 1/2 T olive oil and remaining ingredients; mix and serve hot.

Our Life in Pictures

We got the kids a little table. Big hit!

Brandon met Elmo (his current idol). 

And this is how Brandon reacts when we turn Elmo off the TV...

Our baby nurse, Merle, left us for greener pastures. We will miss her!

Grandma came for a quick visit. Brandon had a ball going to the park with her. They played in the sprinklers and he came back soaking wet and totally happy.

I ran the women's mini 10k in 46:10 - a new post-babies pr. Brandon and I both enjoyed the post race popsicles, hence the green teeth. :)