Made With Love

Chicken & Veggie Pockets

One of my favorite activities is cooking with my sweet little boys. And I have found that if I can get my 3 year old to prepare the food, he is much more likely to eat it! He loves helping and although he is pretty limited to pouring, kneading or stirring, it's the time together that I appreciate the most. I am hopeful that by encouraging his interest now, he may be more likely to continue his love for cooking as he grows up.

We have especially been loving our newest cookbook, The Baby & Toddler Cookbook, which includes healthy, homemade foods for both baby foods and toddler dishes. 

Tonight (after an evening of water gun fights) we came inside to try our newest recipe, Chicken & Veggie Pockets. And we loved it! These yummy pastry pockets, filled with chicken, melted cheese and sweet corn are the perfect hand-held toddler lunch or snack.

Chicken & Veggie Pockets

What you'll need:

1 Tblspn olive oil

1 leek, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced, about 2/3 cup total

2/3 cup fresh or frozen thawed corn

1 1/4 cups finely chopped cooked chicken breast

1/2 cup shredded white Cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

All-purpose (plain) flour for dusting

1 large egg, lightly beaten

MAKES ABOUT 16 POCKETS

• In a frying pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the leek and saute until softened, 5-8 minutes. Add the corn and saute until tender, 2-3 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool, then stir in the chicken and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Mixture.

• Unfold 1 sheet of the thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin (we used a glass cup), roll out the to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter (we used our glass cup again), cut out 8 rounds and arrange on a baking sheet (we used parchment paper). Repeat with the second sheet of puffy pastry.

Kneading our dough.

• Place 1-2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on one half of each round. Fold the dough over the filling to make a crescent-shaped pocket. Press on the edges to help them adhere, then crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Pierce the pockets in several places with the fork. Brush the tops lightly with the beaten egg. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. (Bath & PJ Time!)

Pre-refrigerator.

Final product.

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Transfer the pockets directly from the refrigerator to the oven and bake until puffed and golden, 16-18 minutes (we added a few more mins until they were good and golden). Let cool slightly, then serve.

Hope you enjoy this yummy, healthy treat as much as we did! 

Something smells good in the kitchen...

The boys and I enjoyed a very lazy PJ-kind of Saturday morning of coffee and cartoons.

The weekends have turned into our stay-home and veg-out kind of days. I'm finding myself in the kitchen cooking something yummy...still in my PJs through the afternoon. I tried out a new dinner recipe this morning, something delicious for the hubs to take to work. I'm hoping it tastes as good as it looks. Another Pinterest find (thanks to The Novice Chef Blog).

Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

Jackson, my growing 3-year-old officially eats more than I.  I'm constantly searching for recipes that will satisfy a toddlers' taste, as well as fill his little belly! Lately, I can't seem to go wrong with Mexican food. I also made this...

Amazing Spanish rice...

Nothing better than yummy comfort food to fill the tummies of my sweet Lovies....

Happy Saturday! Life is sweet. 

Have a blessed weekend with your loved ones. 

Nathan's First Golf Lesson

We had a blast the other day taking little Nathan out for his first golf lesson. At just 17-months-old, my husband, Andrew couldn't wait any longer. Nathan was ecstatic. Thought these photos were too freakin' adorable not to share. But that little man's got such attitude...

Pause For Those Larger Than Life Moments

In the past few weeks, events have unraveled in a way that have allowed me to pause...
pause to appreciate, pause to love, pause to remind myself just how amazingly God has blessed me.

Our little man, Nathan had severe symptoms following a routine medical procedure, landing him in the hospital for three days. And as strange as it sounds, I left with a stronger, deeper appreciation for what I've got today...realizing that you have no control over what may come tomorrow.

Jackson, my 3 year old is finishing up his first year of preschool, has outgrown most of his clothes and swears he'll marry his schoolmate girlfriend. He also just completed his first soccer season. Today was his final game. And although he never made a goal, I couldn't be prouder of the little guy as he constantly stopped mid-game to turn around and blow mom kisses. The league handed out ceremonial awards to each player and as he approached the stage, I had to pause. Pause and embrace. Embrace that larger than life moment when you feel like there's too much emotion for one person to handle...wishing you could slow life down a bit, to assure yourself you won't miss a single thing.

And finally, tragedy struck San Diego and the world of sports when Junior Seau, a celebrated Linebacker took his own life on Wednesday. Having gone to UCSD while he played for the Chargers, I was familiar with the local celebrity and am deeply saddened by the news. The media's coverage was thorough but the one interview that struck my heartstrings was this one of his Junior's mother weeping over her son's death, saying "I pray to God, please, take me, take me, leave my son." As terrible and tragic as the story of this mother's little boy, I find it equally as important to embrace those larger than life moments, that may be as simple as a wave from the soccer field or nasty flu that lands us overnight in the hospital....

As San Diego pastor and a former Defensive Back for the Chargers, Miles McPherson says in this recent article, "Be intentional to spend quality time with your family...Take a moment and hug a relative today. Make that "I love you," "I am sorry" or "I forgive you" phone call today...in those moments you realize how much unspoken power we all possess with just three words. I love you. We are surrounded by people who are hurting, who desperately need to be reassured that someone cares. Tell someone today. A simple gesture of acknowledgement just might be the "larger than life" moment that actually saves a life."

Recipes We've Been Lovin' Lately...

A few new, a few old....these are some recipes we've been loving lately...
(Click on the titles)

Easy Tomato Basil Soup

Mozzarella, Tomato, Pesto Grilled Cheese...YUM

Kari's White Chicken Chili

4 chicken breasts

1tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2-4oz cans mild green chilies, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1.5 tsp dried oregano, crumbled

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3-16oz cans white beans

5c chicken broth

3c reduced fat monterey jack cheese

no fat sour cream

jalapeno peppers

salt and pepper

Place chicken in saucepan.  Add cold water to cover and bring to simmer.  Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.  Dran and cool.  Remove and shred.  Heat oil in same pot over medium/high heat.  Add onions and saute about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, then chilies, cumin, oregano, cayenne.  Saute 2 minutes.  Add undrained beans and broth and bring to boil.  Reduce heat, add chicken and cheese until cheese melts.  Serve.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe I've Ever Made

If you want to laugh so hard you pee your pants..

watch this.

Shit Girls Say

Episode 1

Episode 2

Shear Honesty

I've been looking for someone to cut Jackson's hair lately without making him look like Jim Carrey from Dumb and Dumber.

One of my best girlfriends, Kari (who has impeccable style) recommended a local trendy budget salon that is quite hip. 

You know the one, all of the stylists wear black, are super skinny, covered in tats and have crazy hair styles. 

So I walk in with my screaming baby and hyper two-year-old. The minute I enter the building, I get the looks. All of whom which seem to be saying "seriously lady! You're bringing those rugrats into this establishment!" But I couldn't embarrass myself even more by turning around and walking out. So I sign Jack in for a trim.

Anyhow, Jackson ends up with a very trendy young stylist, lots of black eyeliner, a very tall mohawk and a very stern look on her face...all of which, he is completely unphased by.

And up he goes, into the chair, a superman figure in each hand and a big smile on his face (expecting as always to get a lollipop if he's a good boy).

As I'm keeping the baby preoccupied in the waiting area and watching from afar (to make sure Jackson is okay)...I become intrigued by their conversation. She is actually very sweet and starts asking him about his day. He responds with a few cute answers which catches the attention of the rest of the salon.  This is when my alarm goes off! ...CRAP!...he better not say anything I wouldn't want him too...and then it comes...

"Do you go to school?" she asked. Jackson nonchalantly replied, "Yeah, I go to school where I go poop and pee on the potty."

I jumped up as fast as I could cursing myself for not having originally left. "I'm warning you!" I yelled, "My child has no monitor on what he says!" 

The team of hip stylists all gave each other what seemed like an eternity of glances before turning to me with lots of laughter and smiles. "We would welcome the honesty and humor of a two-year-old any day over a stuffy adult who thinks they're too cool."

In the end, Jackson got a very cute, spiky hair-do. He made lots of friends and although I almost had a heart attack, he taught me a very important lesson...

A sweet two-year-old with lots of smiles and brutal honesty is bound to make a friend out of anyone, no matter how cool-for-school you might be!!