He's Here!

Baby Jack has arrived! Jack Thomas Ivey was born August 29th in Newport Beach. He weighed 8 lbs. and was 23-1/4" long (he had a conehead, he's back down to 22")! He spent five days in the NICU because he had some initial trouble breathing when he came out, but he is super healthy and thriving now! Here are some cute pictures of our favorite person!

This was taken in the NICU the first time we were able to hold him. 

After five days, we were finally able to take him home!

Papa getting some good snuggle time with baby Jack!

Dad combed Jack's hair for a more "business" like hairdo! 

Sleeping peacefully...

He's getting more alert every day...

After feeding milk coma!

He doesn't always sleep!

We are so in love! We'll keep the pictures coming!

Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

This is a yummy, quick, easy, delicious weeknight meal! I cut the original recipe in half but doubled the noodles, and added peanuts and edamame.

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
3/8 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon dry cooking sherry
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

1 cooked and shredded chicken breast
8 oz. linguine or Chinese egg noodles, cooked to al dente and chilled
2 heads hearts-of-romaine lettuce, chopped or 1 head regular romaine, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 large English cucumber, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices
Pinch salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Handful peanuts
Handful of cooked edamame

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil and sherry in a bowl until smooth. Add soy sauce and Sriracha sauce, and stir to blend. 

Combine remaining ingredients with sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Original Recipe: Good Dinner Mom

The Final Countdown...

The final countdown has begun! T-minus 6 days til my due date! I compiled all the weekly bump selfies I took for my family into this collage. Crazy how big this belly has gotten! Only a few more days til we meet our little man. 

New (Old) Saarinen Chair

Trip and I went to a local antique store a few months back, and I spotted this awesome vintage Saarinen Executive Arm Chair. It needed some seriously love (new fabric, obviously, new seat cushion, new feet), but I just couldn't pass it up. 

After months of trying to find the right fabric (yes months...Trip would've picked a bright purple chair at that point, he didn't care!), I finally found one we both liked that was semi-reasonable in price. We found authentic chrome feet for the chair, and got it reupholstered. It's now STUNNING, and such as great showpiece in our living room. 

Here is the before:

And here the after:

What a difference! 

Nursery for Baby Jack!

Our baby boy is due any day now (!), and we finished up the nursery last weekend. This room was so much fun to put together. We tried to create a mix of old and new. 

This is the view from the door. We went with a gray/white/chartreuse color scheme in here. I wanted to keep it more on the modern side, and less "precious". I also am not a fan of themed rooms, so we just kept it light, bright, and inviting. 

This is the view from the closet. We found an awesome mid-century modern dresser on Craigslist to use as clothes storage and as a changing table. This room also doubles as my home office, so in the corner is my desk with filing cabinet. I'm not a huge fan of the cabinet or chair, but we're on a budget, so we'll keep it for now. 

Above the desk are clear acrylic bookshelves to display all of his new books! This is probably my favorite part of the room...functional and decorative at the same time. 

One day last year, Trip and I went for a walk in our neighborhood, and found an old chair on the side of the road (I made Trip inspect it for cleanliness!). We finally got it reupholstered, and it turned out great. Here is what the original chair looked like when we brought it home:

 Big improvement, huh??

When we got the dresser, it came with a wooden frame that had a missing mirror that was supposed to attach to the back of the dresser. Trip spray painted the frame gray. Then we bought some cork, some cheap white fabric, a sheet of metal, and chalkboard paint, and created this cool magnetic pinboard/chalkboard. 

We do not have a lot of storage in our apartment (no linen closet???), so we needed a place to store diapers, blankets, etc. We decided to buy new, and got this IKEA Besta storage unit with the glossy white doors. We kept the middle portion open for cool toy display. 

 Here's Zippo the Hippo, just waiting for his new best friend to arrive!

There is only one thing missing from the room....c'mon baby Jack, we can't wait to meet you!!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Image courtesy of Stonewall Kitchen

I made these this morning from a recipe I found on Pinterest. The butter topping was too buttery for our taste, so I modified the last batch to exclude the butter, which made for a much lighter doughnut. 

INGREDIENTS:

Doughnuts:
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten (must be room temperature!)
1-1/4 cups whole milk (must be room temperature!)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray doughnut pans with cooking spray or grease lightly.

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Wisk together until well combined. In order to NOT make scrambled eggs, make sure your milk, butter, and eggs are about the same temperature. When you melt the butter, make sure it cools a bit, and bring your egg and milk to about room temperature. Otherwise you get a lumpy mess. 

Stir wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined. Don’t over mix.

Spoon batter into baking pans and fill each one to 3/4 full. Don't overfill.

Bake for 17 minutes or until toothpick comes out easily.

While doughnuts are baking, create the topping. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. 

Let cool for a minute to two, then place doughnuts on a cooling rack.

While doughnuts are still warm, dip them in the topping mix. If you let them cool completely before you dip, the cinnamon sugar won't stick to the doughnut.

RECIPE ADAPTED FROM: Redefined Mom

Crispy Pesto Gnocchi

This is a super quick weeknight meal! This can be a side dish or a main dish (if you eat a ton, like me!).

INGREDIENTS:

Pesto:
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea Salt, to taste

Gnocchi:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (1 lb.) package potato gnocchi
3-4 cups baby spinach leaves
Freshly shredded Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

Make Pesto:
Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Make Gnocchi:
Cook the gnocchi according to package instructions. Drain completely. 

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until golden and crisp, about 3-4 minutes.  Turn the gnocchi and cook, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 3 more minutes. 

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/3 cup of the pesto and the baby spinach. Toss together in the pan until the spinach just starts to wilt. You might have leftover pesto. Serve warm and garnish with Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, if desired. 

*A good leftover use of the pesto is the Chicken Pesto Spinach Pizza.

ORIGINAL RECIPE: Drop Dead Gorgeous

Chicken Pesto Spinach Pizza

Image courtesy of A Zesty Bite

I made this last night and Trip and I both really enjoyed it. We are definitely going to experiment with different toppings!

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken:
1 large chicken breast
Seasoned salt
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
1/2 cup Tuscan Italian dressing

Pesto: 
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea Salt, to taste

Pizza:
Refrigerated Pizza Dough from Trader Joe's
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Handful fresh spinach leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Make chicken ahead of time:
I do my trusty crockpot method: Sprinkle some onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt with a bit of water. Cook on low for about 4-6 hours. Then shred and pour some Italian dressing on the chicken and keep warm. This can be also be done the day before or the night before. 

Make pesto:
Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse until combined. Season with sea salt, to taste.

Make pizza:
Preheat the oven to 475.

Stretch the dough out into a circle and place on pizza baking sheet. Create a small crust by folding the ends up a bit. 

Using a brush, spread out the pesto onto the dough up til the edges of the crust. 
Place the chicken pieces and spinack on the pizza. Top with the mozzarella cheese (you can use more or less to preference).

Cook for 10 minutes until the cheese gets a bit brown on top and the crust is slightly brown. 

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Wow, these are tasty. Like crazy delicious. I used frozen blueberries and just thawed them for a bit before I started making these, and they turned out fine. I also had to up the amount of time they bake to about 17 minutes (I think I need an oven thermometer!). 

I also only drizzled the lemon glaze on half of them. The glaze was a bit too lemony for me, but for others that tried it, they liked it. So I'm cutting the glaze ingredients by half. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• juice of half a lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, adjust the oven racks to the middle position and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then mix in the vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula, then stir in the oats and blueberries. Be careful not to break the blueberries while stirring.

Using 2 heaping tablespoons per cookie, roll the dough into balls and place them onto a cookie sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookie edges are just turning golden brown but the middles are still quite pale, about 15-17 minutes (original recipe says 12-14, so check them earlier and cook longer as needed).

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

Once cookies are cool, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. Depending on your desired consistency, you can add more or less powdered sugar.

Drizzle glaze on top of cookies and let sit until glaze has hardened.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Original Recipe: A Happy Food Dance

Meatloaf

This is a modification of the Pioneer Woman meatloaf recipe. I've made it probably a handful of times, and it's tasty (and I'm not usually a meatloaf fan). I make it without the bacon, and have found that it tastes exactly the same, just less greasy. I cut the recipe in half, since it's just the two of us. Also, it has always taken me WAY longer to cook it through than her recipe calls for, and I've made it in three different ovens. So here's my slightly modified version:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 3 slices White Bread
• 1 pound Ground Beef (make it close to room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 3/8 teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 whole Eggs, Beaten

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup Ketchup
• 1/6 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry Mustard

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. The reason for the close-to-room temperature beef is that otherwise your hands will FREEZE. Plus, it will lower the temperature in the oven and take longer to cook. Don't leave it out too long on the counter though, you don't want bacteria!

Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the top of the meatloaf. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, then pour a bit of the sauce over the top. Slice and serve with remaining sauce. If the meatloaf is still pink inside, keep cooking til cooked through.

Original Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Au Gratin Potatoes

Another Pinterest recipe keeper! I made these the other night, and they were amazing! The key is the super thin sliced potatoes, which I achieved using my food processor with the circular cutter in it. I think next time I'll change up the Jack cheese for Gruyere, since that's a favorite of mine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick (keep them in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning pink!)
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. In a large bowl, toss the cheeses and cornstarch together until evenly coated.

In a large gratin dish (about a 2- to 3-quart dish), shingle half the potatoes, then sprinkle half the cheese mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on top. Top with the remaining potatoes, shingling them neatly and evenly. Sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper evenly over the top.

Combine the cream and the broth in a large measuring cup and pour the mixture over the potatoes. Top with the remaining cheese mixture and bake until golden brown and a fork inserted into the center slides in easily with little resistance, 75 to 85 minutes. Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Original Recipe: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie

I found this on Pinterest and had to make it, as I was having a serious peanut butter craving. Let me say, that this is so simple but SO DELICIOUS. I didn't use honey, and I don't think it needs it. It was a little more liquidy than I prefer (I like milkshake consistency), so the next time I made it, I used about a third of the milk. I also ran out of yogurt, and it was just as tasty. So here's my slimmed down version of the original:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of natural creamy peanut butter (you can use more or less to taste)
• 1 very ripe banana, sliced, and frozen (I always keep a bunch of cut up frozen bananas in the freezer)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put ingredients in blender in order given, and blend til smooth. 

Original Recipe: Sally's Baking Addiction