Hot Days in May call for Homemade Frozen Custard

You probably didn't know this but Ott, E's hometown had the first Culvers restaurant in Wisconsin.  And Culvers is famous for their frozen custard, which we both enjoy eating.  Well this past spring Ott, E bought me the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen aid stand mixer, but we've been so busy we haven't been able to try it out. This past weekend we broke it in my making homemade frozen custard in it.  We used a random recipe Ott, E found on the Internet, and it could give Culvers a run for their money.  (just joking)  

New Baby Hospital Visitor Favors

So when you are an organized person and like to have things ready well in advanced, having a baby two days after your due date leaves some time for you to stew and look for additional projects you can do to keep yourself occupied.  One of the things I made in the last days of my pregnancy was favors for people who came to visit our baby in the hospital.  Now I know just having the baby and letting people come see and hold it was enough, but like I said I was 2 days overdue and looking for something to keep my mind busy.  So I decided to make labels for a candy wrapper with our baby's stats as the nutritional information. 

Not knowing the gender of our baby, I was looking for a candy that said baby but wasn't pink or blue.  I settled on sugar babies candy as the wrapper was yellow and baby was in the title.

How I take care of Leftovers: A ChicWrap Review

"What I like a Latte' today" is this awesome plastic wrap dispenser from ChicWrap.  With being a new mom, I've been fortunate to have people stop by with dinners and desserts for Ott, E and I to eat during this time of adjustment to having a new baby in the house.  This ChicWrap dispenser has come in handy when wrapping up leftovers to place in the fridge to be eaten another day. 

Now, I know we've all had our momemts where we struggle with plastic wrap.  Either we can't find the end, or we can't get it cut and it ends up sticking to itself and is a big hassle.  Well after testintg out this ChicWrap dispenser I have to admit, it makes working with plastic wrap much more enjoyable.

MacchiOTTo's Birth Story

Our little MacchiOTTo arrived on May 8th, 2012.  After much anticipation and waiting on our part; the big day finally arrived.  As you may recall we were due on May 6th.  For weeks leading up this we had everything ready around the house; at the office, in the nursery, etc.  So that weekend both Ott, E and I were a little anxious to get this show on the road.  He worked out in the yard and garden to keep his mind busy and I tried eating spicy food and taking long walks as I heard those were wives tales to help spur on labor...but... no luck.  On Monday, May 7th I had a Doctor's appointment in the morning and when I went in to the office they said everything looked fine, but they suggested inducing labor since I was overdue.  At first I was a little disappointed because I wanted the surprise of feeling contractions or water breaking, but at the same time I knew Ott, E and I were tired of waiting so at 8 pm that evening we were checked into the hospital and ready to start this process.       

Double Chocolate Zucchini cookies

I was looking for something to use up the last of my shredded zucchini I had in the freezer from last summer and thought about putting a spin on Ott, E's favorite Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake and transform it into a cookie. Here is the recipe I came up with for a Double Chocolate Zucchini Cookie and Ott, E liked them just as much as the cake version.

Blackberry Glazed Duck Breast

 I had some Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast in the freezer so I thought I would fix Ott, E and myself a nice dinner.  After flipping through some of my recipe books I decided on a blackberry glaze to adorn our duck.  The recipe turned out great and Ott, E said it was his favorite duck entree so far.  (So you know it's good.)  Here is how I made it.  

a recipe for Porkloaf

If I haven't mentioned this before; we go in with my family and have a hog butchered once a year. We buy one at the county fair in July each year, have it butchered and divided amongst us and then enjoy the meat all year long.  One of the cuts of meat we get is pork burgers, and we usually eat them as burgers and fix them on the grill.  So when I found a recipe that called for pork burgers I was anxious to try something different.  This recipe is similar to meat loaf but calls for pork instead of beef so therefore it's called Porkloaf.

Pineapple Mango Crisp

I have been eating a lot of fresh fruits lately and was flipping through the pages of the latest Fit Pregnancy Magazine and found this recipe for a Pineapple Mango Crisp.   I never knew Pineapple could pair so nicely with your average crisp topping, but it makes for a nice dessert.  The other great thing about this recipe is that it has ginger in it which helps queasiness and digestion.

The other thing I really like about this recipe is that it gives me a chance to use my pineapple slicer, which is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.

Ott, E's Dad-chelor Party

With only days before our bundle of joy arrives; Ott, E got once last chance to hang out with some friends this past weekend at his Dad-chelor Party. (That's right a Dad-chelor Party; for 1st time dads.) Ironically, Ott, E's best friend and his wife are expecting their first child a month after we are, so I thought why not combine the two and have a party for both of them at the same time.   And, as I always say any good party starts with a great invitation. So I worked with a lady who prints out cards and came up with the following invite to explain the situation. She did the graphics of diapers hanging on a line next to shorts and I did the wording with a cute rhyme explaining all the details.

Wording on the card.

"With babies due in June and May,

a Dad-chelor Party is held right away.

Their wives gave permission so it's ok,

to hang with the guys one last day."

"Meet at _____ on ____ a Saturday,

From ___ till ____ you'll eat and play,

and enjoy some guy time before Delivery Day."

With simple appetizers, drinks and some games, the guys had a great time, and Ott, E had one more night of fun before the baby, bottles and burp clothes arrive.

This post was linked to: Made by You Monday on Skip to my Lou, It's a Blog Party,

Nesting time

 As we get closer to our due date I've started to get some nesting tendencies, but maybe not in the normal sense as far as cleaning.  I feel like our house is normally pretty clean, but you always hear stories of woman who scrub and clean every little square inch.  I can safely say I don't feel compelled to do that at all.  However, I do feel a strong urge to organize and find ways to make things more efficient and utilize our space better.  So I've prewashed all the baby's clothes, towels and sheets, I've organized the nursery closet, toys, books and even the stuffed animals.  I've stocked the diaper bag, assembeled baby first aid kits and a bath time caddy.  We have stocked up on diapers and wipes and have those organized according to sizes and brands and I could keep on going but you get the idea.(As you can see below, our little MacchiOTTo is well on their way to becoming a shepherd with this flock of stuffed sheep.)

a downright delightful peanut butter brownie cheesecake

I sat down the other evening to watch TV and saw a recipe that had been torn out of one of my Midwest Living magazines.  Since I didn't tear it out I assumed Ott, E had.  So I asked him about this recipe and said, he thought it looked good and wouldn't mind eating it sometime.....  (he wouldn't mind eating it... of course that meant I would have to be the one making it.)  Well I looked over the ingredients, thought of a few ways I could make it better and today I am showing this recipe for a downright delightful Peanut Butter Brownie Cheesecake.

Cranberry Cornmeal Muffins with Orange Glaze

With our due date right around the corner I have been baking up lots of casseroles and freezer meals to have on hand for after the baby arrives.  I have also been working on some different breakfast foods to have on hand as well.  One of the new recipes I've been tampering with is a muffin with a cornmeal base, cranberries and a Orange Glaze.  While I was a bit worried that the cornmeal would dry the muffin out, the glaze kept it quite moist and tasty.  And with using yogurt instead of eggs it keeps the muffin low in fat, making it a little healthier for a breakfast option.