My New Ways

I currently live my life in three hour increments. I feed Lyla, we play, she sleeps. Our three activities in those increments vary in length each time. Sometimes we play for an hour and then she sleeps for an hour and a half. Other times we play for two and a half hours and she only closes her eyes for five minutes. But regardless of the length of our activities, our lives still consist of these three hour increments.

Sometimes, I am still amazed when I really think about just how much my life has changed. No longer is my life ruled by a job, but rather a baby. I sometimes miss my old routine and my old ways - the ones that consisted of long runs all by myself, spur of the moment outings, weekend trips, plenty of good wine, date night, lots of cooking and baking, and plenty of "me" time. I miss my regularly scheduled bedtime and wake up time (not to mention the fact that it was uninterrupted, except for on Notre Dame home football weekends, then it was constantly interrupted by the students who lived next door that my father-in-law deemed "crazed!"). But now I live in these three hour increments and they repeat themselves incessantly.

Occasionally, I find myself getting frustrated. I miss my old ways. I keep telling myself that soon enough I will get back to them. Soon enough I will head out for a long solo run and push my body past it's limits. Soon enough I will get to spend endless hours in the kitchen testing new recipes and trying new techniques. Soon enough I will have that date night that includes dinner and a movie. Soon enough I will wear my heels again! Soon enough I will fit into my size 2 jeans. Soon enough, soon enough.

Today though my baby is no longer considered a "newborn." She is three months old and I am pretty sure that means I can no longer use the excuse "I just had a baby." For three months we have been getting to know each other and coming to learn each other's ways. For example, I have learned that Lyla's ways include laughing while she falls asleep; they include waking up in the middle of the night (at least for now); they include sucking on her hand whenever her pacifier falls out, they include grabbing onto her ear as she eats; they include giggling when you make "o" sounds; and they include making my heart ache at least four times every day. Her ways also include those three hour increments.

I took three whole months, but I think I have finally realized that I will never get back to my "old ways." It is time for new ways and I am ok with that. Although different and divided into three hour increments, these new ways are even better than my old ones for they include Lyla and life without her would be no life at all. So I am happy to take on these new ways. Although I will always be fond of those days long gone, I will excitedly look to the future and embrace my new ways with a heart full of love, a slow cooker, morning coffee and a jogging stroller - and hopefully someday soon my new ways will include a brand new pair of size 2 jeans.

Slow Cooker meal of the week: Classic Pot Roast (adapted from Cuisine)

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan. Sear a 4 lb beef roast on all sides.

Move the roast to the slower cooker and set on low. In the saute pan, add 1/4 cup of flour and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook for one minute. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine and cook for another minute or so. Add in 1 1/2 cups of beef broth and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.

Pour the sauce over the roast and set the slow cooker to low. Cleaning and chopping, combine 1 onion, 6 carrots and a few sticks of celery in a large bowl. Sprinkle with thyme and 3 bay leaves.

Add the vegetable mixture to slow cooker and let cook for 8 hours.

4 hours in

During the last thirty minutes of cooking, boil 2 lbs of cleaned and chopped red potatoes. Once tender, drain and add a tablespoon of butter, a splash of milk, and seasoned salt. Mash together and finally add in one bag of defrost peas (because let's be honest, we all know that on Thanksgiving your mashed potatoes are really only a vehicle for your peas).

Serve the roast with a splash of sauce, veggies, potatoes and bread for dipping!

Enjoy!

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated the husband's birthday last week and as tradition goes, he picked the meal of his choice - with no vetoes from me. Throughout the year, he often requests certain dishes that result in disappointed, and even quizzical looks from me. Sometimes his request are granted, others, not so much. Although he does select many of our meals (think various pots 'o meat, meatballs, meatloaf, roast beef, brisket, barbecue pulled pork, etc - are you seeing a trend here?) birthday dinners are usually more extravagant and include higher quality cuts of meat or fishes, nice wines and elegant cakes. In past years, his birthday dinners have consisted of filet mignon, beef tenderloin with mushroom gravy, twice baked potatoes, mushroom risotto, glazed carrots, chocolate ganache cake, coconut cake and various pies.  This year his selection, true to form, was all boy: Chicken Pot Pie and Pumpkin Cake. So in honor of his 26th, I attempted my first ever Chicken Pot Pie.


Having never made a Chicken Pot Pie, I skimmed a few recipes, but could not find one that met my exact expectations. With a few ideas in mind I got to work. I started off by sautéing half an onion in a bit of olive oil until fragrant. 

Next I chopped and added 3 stalks of celery to the pan and allowed them to soften for several minutes.

Once the celery had softened a bit, I add roughly 3/4-1 cup of flour and allowed the flour to heat up in the pan for a minute or two. Once warmed, I scrapped the pan loosening any scraps before adding in my liquids. 

Next, I added in the liquids: approximately 2 cups of chicken stock and about 1/2 cup of white wine and mixed the ingredients together until thick and creamy in consistency.

Once I had the right consistency, it was time to add in 1/2 cup of low-fat milk as well as 2 large chicken breasts which I had chopped earlier. I allowed the chicken to cook in the pan for about 5-7 minutes.

Once the chicken was cooked through, it was time to add all of my chopped vegetables: carrots, peas and corn. I used 4-5 large carrots, 1 cup of peas and 1 cup of corn. Feel free to include as many vegetables as you would like. It is a great way to bulk up the meal and keep it healthy. Finally, I seasoned the dish with freshly cracked black pepper, a bit of salt, and a touch of paprika. 

I cooked the mixture on the stove for a few more minutes allowing the vegetables to heat up. Once this was complete, I poured the entire mixture into a glass pan to finish off in the oven.

I have seen several other cooks make Chicken Pot Pie with biscuits on top rather than in the tradition flaky crust. The birthday boy was all for this idea, so rather than whip up a pie crust, I topped my mixture with biscuits and threw it into a preheated oven 35 - 40 minutes or just until the biscuits were golden brown and the mixture was bubbling. (Note: if the biscuits are beginning to brown before the pot pie is ready, cover the pan with tin foil to avoid burning the biscuits and continue cooking until done.)

When reheating any leftovers, you can do so in a sauce pan on the stove. Feel free to add more flour or chicken stock if necessary.

While the Pot Pie was cooking, I got to work on the Pumpkin Cake. I had recently found a recipe for Pumpkin Cake at The Spice House, a wonderful spice store that I could spend far too much money in if allowed. Their recipe seemed like just the one to finish off the birthday dinner.

First, mix white sugar, brown sugar and eggs together in one bowl.

Next, add in pumpkin and oil and mix until just combined.

Lastly, add in white flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. 

Pour into a greased cake pan and cook at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until done. 

The cream cheese frosting for this recipe called for Brandy. I did not have Brandy on hand, so I substituted a little Cognac instead. Here is how:

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Add in a few tablespoons of pure maple and 1 tablespoon of Cognac. Although the recipe did not call for it, I also added in a bit of cinnamon. Lastly, add in powdered sugar until the frosting is thick and spreadable. 

Once the cake has cooled, top with the frosting and celebrate another great year!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!