Soup Lady

Hello from 2014! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Austin and I spent most of ours sick with awful colds that turned out to be a sinus infection for me, and double ear infection for him. We also had quite an adventure traveling to Idaho before Christmas. We were in four airports in one day, and up for over 20+ hours, but we made it to our destination in one day in one piece!

On Our Last Flight of the Day, about 15 hours into traveling

The silver lining in our journey, was that during our layover in Minneapolis, we got to see Ben's cousin and her family, and enjoy some delicious Pizza Luce. Next to District of Pi, Pizza Luce is the best gluten free pizza (and other gluten free dishes as well) I've ever had.

We had a great time visiting Idaho, and Austin got to spend some quality time with his cousins, which is always fun! I loved having so many adults around, so I was able to go to the gym a few times, and Ben and I were able to go to a movie (American Hustle, it was good, but a little too long).

Since we've returned from vacation, I've been craving, and making a lot of, soup! Soup and chili I should say. Maybe it's the colder weather here (it is supposed to be Minnesota style cold here this week, I thought I had escaped this!).

These are the recipes I've been loving lately. They're great for making huge pots that warrant a bunch of leftovers for easy work lunches that week, or to freeze to mix it up in the future.

• Gimme Some Oven Chipotle Chicken and Rice Soup Spicy Alert!
• The Pioneer Woman Corn and Cheese Chowder Lightened up with 1% Milk and 3/4 cup of each cheese
• Iowa Girl Eats Cheesy Pepper Jack Potato Chowder I made this New Years Eve, and it is so filling! Definitely a whole meal in itself, and the whole family loved it. Also lightened up with 1% milk, instead of the called for 2%
• Kraft Three Bean Chili My go to, it's always a winner!

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It's The Holiday Season...

Most years, I put a pretty nice Christmas list up on here, but this year, I've been having trouble coming up with things I'd like for Christmas. Most things I'd like aren't very exciting, like Starbucks or Target gift cards, new yoga pants, or more Smart Wool socks (please tell me you've worn them, please, they are heaven on your feet).

The few ideas I've had our:

A Good Grips Container Set

These would be great for organizing items in my pantry like pasta, nuts, baking items, etc. and I would never buy them for myself.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Food From My Frontier

I know I'm one book behind on her cook books, but I finally picked his up when I was browsing at Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago, and it has some really great recipes that I would love to try. I really love her picture by picture recipe directions.

Rugby Striped Sweatshirt From Gap

I am always in need of more casual clothes to wear on weekends that aren't either pajamas or work out clothes (my wardrobe basically consists of work clothes, and comfort clothes, very little in between) and am truly obsessed with this sweatshirt and don't whether I should bite the bullet and buy it, or wait until after Christmas. I think I'm going to wait, I just hope it's not sold out by then.

I still have quite a bit of Christmas shopping left to do. I've handled all the kids in our life, my friend Ashley who I exchange with each year, and my parents, but I still need to do Austin's daycare teachers, stocking stuffers for Austin and Ben, and Ben's siblings who's names were given to us. Wish me luck!

I went all out with our Christmas decorations this year and put out all that I had (besides breakable ornaments) since the last two years they have been sparse. When we were in our apartment there wasn't a lot of room for them, and last year I only put up so much because of having a newborn.

This year we have a minimally decorated tree (only unbreakfable ornaments) and a back corner so it doesn't attract little hands to grab at it.

The Department 56 News Station that I bought myself in 2005 when I worked in news. The call letters have lost some of their paint, but I still love it. I'm very glad I bought it before it was retired. I would really like to start collecting more Department 56 villages to have a whole set up.

And new this year is this ornament tree from Target (they only had the red version online) I had to have. It was 25% off last week, so I snatched it up.

It goes alongside the Pottery Barn deer received from Ben's sister a few years ago, and the most pinteresty project I've ever done, a cookie jar full of red ornaments with a strand of lights wooven between them. That's as crafty as I get.

Even though Austin still doesn't "get" Christmas, it will be even more special this year because he loves opening gifts and having new toys to play with. He loves throwing tissue paper in the air and looking in boxes when packages in the arrive in the mail, so it should be a lot of fun.

What is on your Christmas list??

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Gluten Free for Thanksigving

We will again be hosting Thanksgiving this year for my parents at our house (and I say "hosting" loosely, because my mom does as much of the cooking as I do) and again be bringing gluten free into the mix so that one of my favorite holidays, doesn't end up making me sick.

One would think Thanksgiving would be an easy gluten free holiday, since the main components are meat and potatoes, but it can be more challenging than that. Many turkeys are infused with flavorings that are not gluten free, and pre-stuffed ones are obviously out of the question.

Last year, I thought the only place to get a gluten free fresh turkey would be Whole Foods, and ended up spending $45 for a turkey. This year, things are looking better, as Wegmans has gluten free fresh turkeys (and when I called they said all their fresh and frozen turkey are gluten free) for $.59 a pound--awesome!

Also, I'm going to try and track down some gluten free stuffing this year. My friend Amy over at the Savvy Celiac just did a review and picked her favorite gluten free stuffing, Aleia, which is available at Giant stores in the DC area it appears.

My parents enjoy traditional dressing instead of stuffing, so they usually buy some from the grocery store deli and scoop it individually on their plates, as to not cross contaminate.

Making pies for Thanksgiving is a huge tradition in our family, and this year I'll be making an apple pie with the Williams Sonoma Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix. I can't wait to try it! The past two years I used my mom's pie crust recipe, substituting in Glutino Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix, and although I love that blend for most baking, it didn't cut it for pie crust, and was rather dry. Williams Sonoma has a great variety of gluten free baking mixes; I've tired the chocolate cake and brownies and loved them both, so I'm hoping the pie crust will be the same.

I'm also very excited to try the Trader Joes Cranberry Orange Relish I found there this week. I'm not going to lie, I heard it mentioned on one of their radio ads, and it inspired me to go there to get it. I'm a sucker for good marketing.

I made my own version of Cranberry Orange Relish last year, based on a friend's family recipe, and it was extremely delicious, especially on the leftover turkey sandwiches. I'm hoping Trader Joes doesn't disappoint. It has no gluten containing ingredients, but does say its made in a place where wheat is also present.

For gravy for the mashed potates, I have used a gluten free, pre-made variety that I've found at Whole Foods, and find it good. It's a bit thin, but has good flavor, and is the only gluten free pre-made gravy I've ever been able to find. However, this year, I've decided to try this gravy mix and see how it turns out. I'm hoping its thick with good flavoring.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner this year, and the great leftovers that always follow. I can't wait to watch Austin enjoy his first real Thanksgiving meal (last year he was three weeks old, and still on a milk only diet, poor guy just got to smell all the good food!). I think he will love the turkey, potatoes, stuffing and will think gravy on top of it all is delicious!

Also, the winner of the Old El Paso giveaway is Cori Westphal, who random.org helped me pick, and said her favorite weeknight meal is spaghetti. Congratulations Cori! Thanks everyone for entering and check back for more giveaways in the future.  

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Giveaway: Old El Paso Meals and Gift Set

Per usual it's been a crazy month. The last week in October, in particular, with Austin turning one, and then Halloween a few days later.

In true fashion, the little guy loved his birthday cake.

Turning one was definitely a bigger deal for mom than it was for Austin. I had a lot of tears putting him to bed one last time as a baby the night before his birthday.

Austin, just knew that he loved having a couple little friends over for his party and opening gifts that he now can't stop playing with.

He had two Halloween parties to attend, and trick or treating, and I think he was very done with his puppy costume by the time the week was over.

I, however, couldn't get enough of how cute he looked in it. He thought trick or treating was okay, but really loved the party at my work where he could crawl around between cubes, and pick out candy (he was really drawn to grabbing Butterfingers, must be something about the yellow).

On crazy weeks like this one, cooking is hard. I try to plan ahead, I have a weekly menu planned out on Sunday that I shop for, and sometimes chop things up, or cook up meat ahead of time. Sometimes though, even with the best intentions that doesn't happen.

So, when General Mills came to me to try their new Old El Paso frozen entree meals, I was sold.

Ben and I tried the Chicken Enchiladas this week. I was impressed to see no gluten ingredients on the list of ingredients (no claims of gluten free though, but for the record, I did not have a reaction). There are other options as well, including burritos and quesadillas.

These enchiladas definitely aren't "clean" food per say, I mean, they're a processed, frozen entree, what do you expect? But they are great for nights when you don't want to get take out, but can't pull off a homemade meal forgot to set out meat to thaw, etc. They were ready in under 30 minutes, and required little prep from me.

Ben said he liked them, but could they could have used more cheese (he complains about that with MY enchiladas too though, recipe found here). He also said that they could have used some sour cream on the side and I agreed (we were out, I like sour cream on all Mexican foods, chillies, etc.). The pan included six enchiladas and Ben and I were perfectly full splitting that with no additional sides.

Old El Paso and General Mills are now offering one of my readers the chance to try these new entrees, with the same prize pack they gave me, which includes:

• A coupon for a free Old El Paso Frozen Entree
• $10 Visa Gift Card for fixins with your entree
• A cute Blue chips and dip serving dish

If you'd like to try and win, leave a comment telling me your favorite week night meal. If you would like an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway and use my twitter handle @AlexaTC and #MyBlogSpark and comment telling me you've tweeted. The giveaway closes on Tuesday, November 12 at 11:59 p.m. and I will e-mail the winner.

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What I Bought at Trader Joes

Quite some time ago, fellow blogger Beth did a post on her Trader Joe's Essentials, and I thought, "I need to do that." I love Trader Joe's, and the quirky items you can find there that you can't find other places, not to mention the good prices for produce, and there are certain staple items I always pick up on a TJ's run, and then random treasures in between. (Side Note: Check out the transformation Beth has made, losing a ton of weight with Weight Watchers, and now having her excess skin removed. She looks amazing and is a maintaining super star).

I thought today's trip to Trader Joe's would be a great example of what I usually buy there, plus some other goodies, because I had just run a couple miles, not eaten enough after, and was hankering for a huge plate of everything, therefore, a lot of things ended up in my cart.

Produce: Vegetable Tray with carrots, jicama, pea pods and cherry tomatoes, Spinach Super Salad, Red Apple Slices, Cilantro and Mango
What These Can Make: I used the jicama, mango and cilantro for a funky little salad with some lime juice on top, the apple slices are mainly for my husband who doesn't like to eat apples off the core, or take the time to slice one, so they're great for his work lunches. The Spinach Super Salad was a first time find that I can't wait to take to work for lunch with quinoa, pinto beans, edamame, ginger dressing, etc. This salad was a great impulse buy.

Dairy: Pumpkin Greek Yogurt, Double Cream Brie Cheese, and Goat Cheese with Apples and Cinnamon
What These Can Make: I've been really digging brie, apple and turkey sandwiches made in my sandwich press for a quick meal (if you have never put apples slices on your sandwiches, I advise you do it, now!) They have light brie at Trader Joe's, but it's really just not very good and not worth the calories, I have to go full fat with this item. That goat cheese was a first find for me, I believe it's seasonal, and would not have ended up in my cart had I not had hungry eyes. Slices of it will end up in my lunch with a few crackers. I'm a big fan of goat cheese mixed with honey and eating it globbed onto apple slices, so this is the next best thing. The pumpkin Greek yogurt will be enjoyed solo, or with granola.

Frozen and Meat: Reduced Guilt Baked Ziti, Reduced Guilt Macaroni and Cheese, Penne Pepperonata, Creamy Polenta, Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage
What These Can Make: The Reduced Guilt meals are my husbands easy meals for work lunches if he doesn't have leftovers. He also picked up the Penne Pepperonata for a convenience meal when we don't follow through on a dinner plan. I like the creamy potlenta to pair with when we grill out meat for dinner. I used the Smoke Andouille for this Spicy Sausage Skillet Recipe. I also use the Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage for the Polenta, Goat Cheese and Red Sauce mix I blogged about before.

Grocery: Allergen Free Snickerdoodles, Individual portioned Trail Mix, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Polenta, Pumpkin Butter, Honey and Pumpkin Body Butter
What These Can Make: Most of these items are snack items, the tubed polenta is what I use for the recipe with Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage linked above. Pumpkin Butter goes great on the Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes, or toast, bagel, in oatmeal, etc.--it's delicious! It's also packed with sugar, so it's important to watch the serving size. I've been going through a lot of honey, as lately I've been making batches of these Energy Bites (my husband says that's a mask of a name for cookies--he's partially right!). They're freaking amazing, and I have to control myself around them. And the Pumpkin Body Butter? Well, it just jumped up in my cart! ;)

With all my love for TJ's, I do have two beefs:

1. Their produce goes bad quickly. Which is why I'm guessing it's affordable. Don't buy something on Sunday you won't use until Friday, eat it within three days, four days tops.
2. Some great items I've found there have gone away without explanation. Not because they're seasonal, sometimes, they're just gone, and it drives me bonkers. 

I would love to hear your favorite items from Trader Joe's!

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Lately

There has been a lot of this, and a little of that around here lately. Nothing enough to dedicate a post to...so, filling you in on all of it one big catch up post!

I completed a couple of 5K fun runs lately. First, the Dulles Day 5K with Ben where we ran on a runway at Dulles Airport a couple weeks back. It was a great run on a flat and seamless surface (that's what happens when you get to run on an airport runway!), perfect fall crisp air for running, and a little morning date with just him and I.

 

I don't really keep track of my times often, but I believe I achieved a personal best at this race thanks in part to the awesome conditions.

 Post Race

I also ran The Color Run with my friend Kristin last weekend. Run would be a liberal term, because we walk/jogged most of it. It's not a race you can really run for competition, but a lot of fun, and had beautiful scenery at the National Harbor near DC. I had never been to that area, and now want to go back with the family. It was great to a girls morning with Kristin that was also some exercise.

On Beautiful National Harbor

I attended a Container Store Grand Opening Preview Party last week. The organization freak in me was loving walking around, checking out different ideas for organizing our life (I always feel like there is clutter in our house, no matter how much I work to eliminate it). The event wasn't for shopping, but browsing, had a large jazz band, and heavy drinks and appetizers. The folks at Container Store were very generous with the food and drink spread, and I loved how they incorporated their organization products into serving dishes.

Mail Organizers Full of Apps!

In the kitchen, I've been in a bit of a recipe rut, but using a few staple recipes I really enjoy. Including these ones:

• The Pioneer Woman Sour Cream Noodle Bake (Made with Ground Turkey)
• Gimme Some Oven Lime Chicken
• The Girl Who Ate Everything Lasagna Rolls
• Eat Live Run Turkey Taco Casserole 
• Iowa Girl Eats Chicken Caesar Burgers
• Heat Oven to 350 Enchilada Rice
• Iowa Girl Eats Spicy Sausage Skillet

**I substitute many items in recipes to make them gluten free, if you have questions on how I do it, let me know, happy to help!

I did try one new recipe recently, for Quinoa Cakes with a Black Bean Salsa, yum!

Quinoa Cakes and Black Bean Salsa

I recommend pairing the Quinoa Cakes with a small chicken breast or hearty salad on the side to make it a full, filling meal.

I'm prepping for a large fall shopping trip in the next few weeks. I haven't refreshed my closet, besides a few items from Target, in what feels like forever. So, I'm taking an afternoon to just go shopping alone, and pick up some fall and winter staples. It may be dorky to say--but I am SO excited!! I've been bookmarking items online to checkout when I'm at the stores--and I just cannot wait to do some focused power shopping.

I'm most psyched to go to a store, and have someone help me find the perfect pair of jeans. I have a few pair that fit me well, but not great, post-baby, and I want a pair I can feel confident wearing with anything. Shouldn't everyone have one pair of jeans like that?? The challenge will be finding a pair that fit in my budget, as well as feel and look great.

Any recommendations on clothing items, shoes or accessories you've purchased lately that you just love? I'd love any tips!

And I'll fill you all in on my purchases after they're made, expect a lot of awkward selfies. =)

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Countdown to One: My First Year Must Haves

As we quickly approach on my little guy's first birthday (I know, I can hardly believe it). I've been looking back on the items that made this first year so much easier. Items I will surely have on hand when I have my next one (and watch them not need any of them and throw me for a parenting loop by being completely different from their brother). Here are a few items I would recommend every new parent have on hand:

Halo Sleep Sack

We loved these sleep sacks, and specifically the ones with swaddle capabilities the first few months, because they were warm with a onesie underneath, and easy to use. Neither Ben, nor I, could get a good, tight swaddle with a blanket that we felt comfortable leaving Austin to sleep in, and these were a great alternative. Austin loved sleeping swaddled, and he loves to cuddle and be held close, and these were very easy. Getting into the sack is also a great sleep cue for him. Now, that he can't be swaddled, we use the cotton or fleece ones without the swaddle, and they work great for sleeping in a blanketless crib.

Gas Drops

 Image Source

At around five weeks, Austin was a fussy mess. He would cry for no reason, and let out huge farts after huge lags of crying that left us wondering what happened to our easy going little guy. We tired Gripe Water, and it worked a bit, but not very well after a couple days. Then, we tried these drops (we used the name brand Little Remedies for awhile, then started using the Target generic brand because they were three dollars cheaper) and they brought our happy guy back. We were told by our pediatrician (go to your own doctor for dosing advice), that you really couldn't overdose on these drops, and we would give him a few before each feeding, and in between if he started to act up. They saved me when I was having days straight of misery that left me having more than one meltdown.

Rock and Play Sleeper

The Rock and Play was great for when I needed to shower, or when Austin was having a fussy night in his crib and needed another sleep solution (we had Austin sleeping in his crib in his own room from the first night home, it was great for all of our sleep situation). There were nights when Austin went through his, "I won't go back to sleep after I eat during the night" phases, where the Rock and Play was positioned next to my bed, and I would groggily be rocking it with one arm reached out trying to get him to fall back to sleep. When I went back to work, Austin hung out in the rock and play while I got ready in the morning. He also would take cat naps in the living room in this guy. It is light weight and easy to move around the house, and was very simple to put together.

Wubba Nub

Next comes the Wubba Nub. On those nights when Austin wasn't in the mood to go back to sleep, the Wubba Hub helped when he wouldn't keep his pacifier in. I wouldn't recommend leaving an infant alone sleeping with a Wubba Nub because of the toy on the end and suffocation risk, but when I was right next to him trying my best to stay awake, while he started at me all wide eyed like, "it's 3am, wake up Mom!" this was great for keeping a pacifier in, as he loved resting his hands on the little toy and held the pacifier in better than a traditional one.

Sound Machine/Sleep Sheep

Austin's sleep sheep and also sound machine with projection were a life saver for sleep training. We use both and he knows when the music comes on, it's night, night time. Heck, I love the sleep sheep now, and the sound of crashing waves lulls me right to sleep thanks to it emitting that sound.

Amazon Prime Subscription

This subscription was a life saver. We still use it for diaper delivery (20% off with subscribe and save!), but the first two weeks home, it was amazing. When we figured out sleep sacks were the key, ordered two more, when Dr. Brown's bottles worked the best, ordered another box...and the list goes on. It was great to have things delivered when getting out of the house with a newborn was such a production. I didn't like taking Austin in many public, crowded places before his eight week vaccinations, and I also couldn't drive for two weeks post c-section, so it was a three person trip out, or Ben leaving Austin and I at home, secluded to one floor since I didn't feel comfortable carrying him up and down stairs right after the surgery. Amazon Prime (or Amazon Mom) offers free two-day shipping that is awesome. There were a few weeks between my Amazon orders, and wonderful baby gifts, that the UPS man was at our house daily. The initial sign-up cost for Amazon Prime is totally worth it.

I could go on and on about other items I love, but these were the ones I loved the most. I hope this helps other parents and parents to be. What are some of your must have items??

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