Category Archives: food

Muffins For Days!

July 11, 2015 Only Hsuman 7 Comments

Y’all… I’ve been losing my mind. I’ve not necessarily been any busier than usual, but I’ve been the most forgetful I think I’ve ever been, and the most distracted. I can’t seem to get my normal rhythm going. And on top of that, today I had the pregnant rage of a total crazy person. Poor family. Anyway, sorry for the blog lapse. It was unplanned, accidental, and so sad! But here’s a good one… now on to what I’m actually talking about!

A couple of days ago, I finally acted on my idea to make several batches of muffins so that lots could be frozen, and I could use them as easy breakfasts for the kids and me when baby D gets here. I chose several different recipes, including one adapted by a friend. They’re all gluten free, and fairly healthy – no added sugar! I’m not a very good food photographer, or else I’d have taken some awesome pictures. I apologize. There are pictures that accompany the original recipes that I’ve linked for ya.

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

I first found out about these on my friend Melissa’s blog (One Mother to Another) although they’re originally a Dashing Dish recipe. They. Are. Delicious. I basically just made these because I wanted them. I wasn’t sure how they’d freeze, so I only froze a few from the batch and will let you know how they warm up later. (By the way, I did what Melissa did in her original post about them, and instead of a dry sweetener like stevia, I used 1/2 cup of honey and just cooked them a minute or two longer than the recipe suggests so they were cooked through. STILL DELICIOUS.)

Paleo Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

These yummy little guys are actually mini muffins, so I doubled the recipe for good measure. Hubby had just picked a HUGE zucchini from our garden (we lost it underneath the squash plants that were growing all around it) and I had to figure out how we could use it. He grated it and we are adding it to basically everything. So naturally, I googled around a bit for a recipe! I wanted muffins instead of the usual zucchini bread because I wanted them to freeze well. I let Hubby choose between two recipes, and he obviously chose the ones with chocolate! (By the way, I didn’t have any grapeseed oil, so I used coconut oil instead. It worked just fine!)

Carrot Cake Muffins (adapted by my friend from Against All Grain’s Black Forest Cupcakes)

These babies have shredded carrot added in, and some cinnamon instead of the cocoa, and they’re delicious! Technically they’re cupcakes, but I didn’t ice them and I figure they’re so healthy I’ll just call them muffins and eat them for breakfast! Also, if you like chocolate, I suggest making the originals, too!

What are your favorite muffin recipes? What else do you stock your freezer with?

food, food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Why We HAVE to Buy a New Espresso Machine

July 1, 2015 Only Hsuman 3 Comments

Naturally, as a parent, I need some caffeine. Hubby and I are constantly feeding our addictions. We wouldn’t survive a moment without it. So we have a percolator, a Keurig, a French press, and an espresso machine. And a grinder, of course. Between these things, we usually manage to survive on our coffee intake without having to go out and get it from somewhere (although we have a few choice places around here we like to go if, you know, we’re already out).

But recently, our beloved espresso machine is doing this thing… It’s like it wants to explode a little. We aren’t overfilling it, or letting it run out of water or letting it run too long. Truly, I think the machine is just old. It’s about 20 years old and we are the third owners (all in our family – it’s not from Craig’s List or anything). But anyway, it’s put a serious kink in our routine.

We like to have a cup of coffee, or even two, in the morning, and then about lunchtime we like another little punch. This is usually in the form of a beverage from the espresso machine. Hubby typically likes a straight up shot (or four). He likes to do the least amount of sipping with the most amount of power. I go back and forth… I like regular espresso, but I also like to make fancy drinks or iced lattes when it’s hot. This blast to push us through the afternoon is crucial. If we don’t get it, we don’t get anything done during naptime (like gardening, bill paying or house cleaning) and we are in terrible moods the rest of the evening. If Hubby has to go into work late, it takes another round of caffeine shots. It’s like a vaccination against tiredness.

So, in light of our addiction, our broken espresso machine, and our upcoming addition to the family, we pretty much know that we’re going to need a hasty replacement or else we are IN FOR IT when Baby D gets here and is waking us up at all hours of the night. I know we’d survive, but I don’t think I’d remember anything. I use caffeine as a motivator, an encourager, a Rememberall (a little HP reference for those of you fellow nerds), a communicator (often I let it speak for me), and a peacekeeper. I’m less annoyed, more able to function and generally happier if I’ve got a little caffeine flowing through my veins. Okay, fine. It does sound like I have a problem.

food, mommyhood, travel

Currently

June 8, 2015 Only Hsuman 4 Comments

Happy Monday, everyone! After a lovely weekend of being away and unplugged (aka bad internet connection and no blogging) I’m back to the real world! I was glad to be back and see my kiddos, and I’m excited for a full, busy week this week. I’m linking up today with Becky at Choose Happy, and some other fabulous bloggers, to bring you this week’s edition of Currently.

Celebrating || Hubby’s cousin Parker and her new husband, Charlie! Two of the sweetest, most genuine souls you’ll ever meet, they are dear to our hearts. Their wedding was a beautiful weekend in the mountains, with delicious food and fun family. We were able to stay in a beautiful, old hotel in Blowing Rock, NC, called the Green Park Inn on Friday night. It was charming!

Exploring || the Appalachian mountains! Hubby and I spent Saturday before the wedding driving and walking up Grandfather Mountain, driving through several small mountain towns, and seeing the gorgeous colors and lines that are made up by the Appalachians. The weather was perfect, and the setting was incredible. We couldn’t have asked for a better day! It was a perfect “mini-babymoon”, and we’ve also decided we are taking the kids back really soon to take them to Tweetsie Railroad! I’ve never been- have you?

Here are a few pictures of the afternoon. You’ll have to pardon that they’re just of me. When there’s only two of you, it is difficult to get a picture of both of you!

It doesn’t swing much anymore, but it sure was windy up there!

I was literally on top of the world. At least for a few miles.

Couldn’t you just look at that for the rest of your life?

Thankful for || my mom, who kept our kids Friday and Saturday while we romped in the mountains. She was totally willing to drive up from Georgia and snuggle my babies all weekend to let Hubby and I get away, guilt-free!

Craving || donuts! Friday (National Donut Day!) was a little too hectic (trying to pack, make sure the kids had what they needed for the weekend, and get out the door on time to make it to the rehearsal dinner) for us to make it to Krispy Kreme to get donuts. So now I’m craving them after seeing everyone’s pictures and posts about it! My absolute favorite is a chocolate iced donut with sprinkles, followed closely by a chocolate cake donut. What’s your favorite?

Excited about || submitting my writing to several places, and actually getting chosen to be published! The first piece to be chosen and published was my list of Life Lessons You Probably Learned in Your 20s on Scary Mommy last month, and I have another piece that’s being published on a different site in July. I am so excited, especially being fairly new to blogging and writing, that I have some good stuff in my brain that I can get out with the right words, and pass on to others.

Well, that’s what’s going on with me currently. Link up or comment, and let me know what’s going on with you!

food, food, home, mommyhood, pregnancy, random thoughts

Currently – Thank Goodness It’s Summer!

June 1, 2015 Only Hsuman 7 Comments

Hey y’all! I hope you had a great weekend, and happy Monday! Can ya’ll believe today is the first day of June? It’s blowing my mind that 2015 is half over, I’ve got less than two months till baby #3 gets here, and that preschool is over and summer is in full swing!

I’m linking up again this week with Becky at Choose Happy. It’s her twentieth week hosting the link-up, so join us to celebrate!

As for me, this is what I’m currently up to:

Watching || Movies! It’s summertime, and TV has come to a halt. I’m catching up on movies that have been out and I haven’t seen them yet. Let’s be totally honest: all you parents know that going to the movies is an expensive date night, since a movie ticket these days is anywhere from $12-15 right off the bat, and that’s not counting snacks or dinner, or a babysitter! So naturally, we don’t go very often. We love to just catch things when they hit Redbox or Netflix. Anyway, the two I’ve seen most recently are Wolf of Wall Street (totally awesome movie but not for the faint-hearted, due to sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll), The Duchess (historical fiction, Kiera Knightley, wonderful costumes, enveloping story, and winner on Netflix), and Big Hero 6 (so much awesome that I can’t fit it into a description). I really enjoyed them all! What’s something that’s come out in the past year or hit Netflix recently that I should see?

Eating || Tomato sandwiches! This is my favorite summertime staple. Of course, my favorite way to do it is go out to the garden and hand-pick the tomato is like on my sandwich, but since we aren’t quite there yet, I’ll settle for heirlooms from here and there. Delicious!

Pretty soon these babies will be sandwich ready!

Excited about || This coming weekend! Hubby’s cousin is getting married up in the mountains, and so we are packing up, totally kid-less (thanks, Mom!) and spending Friday and Saturday in the mountains, celebrating and relaxing! It’ll be the only time we “get away” without the kids before baby #3 arrives, and so I’m really glad that we had an excuse (and a good one at that!) to get out of town, even just for one night. And it’s really nice that my mom was able to come up here and stay with the kids… that way they’re at home in their comfortable space, and with someone they know really well.

Preparing for || baby #3’s arrival! I guess I’m always doing this off and on (well, I’m always cooking a baby), but this week I’m really planning on doing some work in his nursery and with the clothes, etc that I have for him to use. I’ve already got some size 1 diapers (leftover), crib sheets (shared from J) and clothes (hand me downs, of course!) I need to get organized and put away. It’s totally coming soon – less than 9 weeks till my due date! – and I want to be ready if possible. Also, with my third, it’s a little more likely that he’ll be a day or two early, so I want to be ready for that, too.

Feeling || energetic (finally!) and productive. I have a long but needed to-do list (see above) and I want to do a few workouts this week as well. I’ve been enjoying working outside in the garden (having had a green thumb a day in my life) and calling it exercise, but I need to be walking, and visiting the Y also. Here’s to a great week ahead!

That about sums up what I’ve got going on. What about you? What are you currently up to?

food, holidays

St. Patrick’s Celebration!

March 14, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

What a fun day we had at our St. Patrick’s Day event! Everyone put on their green best, shamrock necklaces and tutus (well, EK did) and ate delicious traditional Irish food (breakfast, lunch and dinner!), sang Irish tunes, drank some Guinness, and visited with old friends.

This is still at home, but it’s the only picture of her whole outfit!

They don’t make many adorable shirts for bigger boys. All that “first St. Patty’s Day” and “Kiss Me I’m Irish” stuff stops for boys around 18 month size. He’s clearly a little past that.

The Bedlam Boys is the name of the Irish band Hubby plays in, and they always kill it at the big party each year.

Tim Finnigan, waking from the dead! (The party is called “The Wake” and it’s based on the song “Finnigan’s Wake” – obviously what the pub is named after.)

Let me tell you a little background about this pub we love so dearly. It first opened in 2006, but I first went there in 2007 – my senior year of college. I knew it first as a bar, but it’s always been a restaurant, too. My first visit was with Hubby, who took me there for our first hangout. They’ve got a lovely back porch to spend time on, in addition to the pub inside. It’s always been a spot for dates ever since we’ve been together, whether the whole date is there, the beginning or the end. The summer we got married, we did this thing called the “90 Day Club”. At the time, the rules were just that you came to the pub, every day in a row for 90 days. It didn’t matter if or what you bought, it just matter that you walked in the door. We did it the two summers after that, also, becoming the only couple (or person) to do three separate 90-day runs. We’re kind of a big deal. Ha. We finished the last time a few weeks pregnant with EK, so she became known as the first 90 Day Baby, and her one-week birthday was celebrated having dinner at the pub.

Ever since spending 90 days in a row there, and getting to know the bartenders, wait staff, and owners, it’s felt like family when we’re there. Hubby’s band plays there a couple times a month, and it’s a favorite lunch spot or dinner place to go with our kids.

That being said, one of our favorite days of the year is the big St. Patrick’s party, so naturally, our kids will grow up having that as their big celebration every March.

food, home

Currently – the Home Edition!

February 23, 2015 Only Hsuman 6 Comments

Linking up with Becky at Choose Happy and the other super bloggers for another Currently party! Join us – we want to hear what’s going on with you currently!

Watching || The Oscars! Since we don’t have cable, on nights like these with exciting televised happenings, I’ve gotta phone a friend and beg to use their cable. Luckily, my friend Ginna said come on over! So in my pj’s, snacks and laundry in hand (yeah, I used her big time) I headed over to watch the Oscars till I got too tired to pay attention. So naturally, I had to Google who won best picture this morning when I woke up (I loved Birdman, by the way, but I also kinda wanted Grand Budapest Hotel to win, because I also love Wes Anderson). And also, NPH is a favorite fellow of mine!

Organizing || The kitchen. And when I say organizing, I really mean that my husband is doing it (thanks, Babe!). Our sink is leaking somewhere, so he had to clean out the cabinet underneath and do some investigating, and organized while he was going. We’ve also got lots of kitchen stuff in valuable storage places that we aren’t using as often as other items, so we are having a few days where we evaluate what we want at hand, and what we don’t mind digging for when we use it every 4 months.

Loving || the paint color I chose for the mudroom and powder room downstairs. We used a totally neutral grey everywhere down there except for those two rooms and the laundry room. which is bright white. It’s tough to get a picture of how gorgeous the color is, but here’s my try:

We asked EK where the potty was... and she totally found its spot. — We asked EK where the potty was… and she totally found its spot.

The color is called "Swimming". It's a few shades lighter than the one of the tile colors we're using for back splash in the laundy room. — The color is called “Swimming”. It’s a few shades lighter than the one of the tile colors we’re using for back splash in the laundy room.

The grey we're using is called "Anew Grey" and it's a little less beige than our color from upstairs, but close enough that it won't look totally different as you walk down the stairs. — The grey we’re using is called “Anew Grey” and it’s a little less beige than our color from upstairs, but close enough that it won’t look totally different as you walk down the stairs.

Eating || these little fruit-and-nut treats that I found at Costco! They’re not great for you but not terrible, and right now the salty-sweet combo is floating my boat big time. Totally yum!

Partially dipped in dark chocolate, and only 7 grams of sugar per serving? Okay!

Well that’s what’s happening currently in my home – what’s going on with you?!

food, health and fitness, mommyhood, pregnancy

Smoothie with a Punch

January 24, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

I’ve been really enjoying smoothies during my pregnancy. My heartburn sometimes gets pretty bad, so cold things are my favorite to eat right now.

Today’s smoothie was an everything-I-had-in-the-freezer smoothie.

I also sometimes put in peanut butter, but I only had Jif (with sugar in it) and no natural pb so I left it out. I don’t always have so many ingredients, but I just didn’t say no to anything.

I try to make most of the fruit be frozen. I just like the consistency better that way. Some of it is obviously store-bought, and some is fresh frozen. (If berries are on sale, or if my bananas get too ripe, I freeze them.)

I put the dry grains in first. Today it was oatmeal and flaxseed meal. That way they grind down finer and don’t clump as much as if you just dump them in with the wet stuff. Then I added some almond milk, then the fruit (all frozen except the blueberries) and the plain Greek yogurt. Then I keep adding almond milk till it was smooth and blending well. I never seem to add the right amount from the get go, and have to keep adding it in later.

What do you like in your smoothie? What’s a healthy thing you toss in so you get the benefit without the taste?

food, mommyhood

How I Got Us Through the Grocery Store

January 22, 2015 Only Hsuman 6 Comments

The other day, the kids and I needed to get out of the house, and I needed a few things from Costco. So naturally, I called a friend who I knew would be free, and said “Meet me there!”

I packed what I thought were adequate snacks, bundled the kids into their winter gear (it was 30 degrees MAYBE) and braved the store.

Lauren met me a few minutes later than we got there. She didn’t even need anything – just wanted to tag along. It was only my second time at Costco (We just got our membership. It is awesome!) so I was doing a lot of wandering. After a few rows of “boring” things like Swiffers and canned tomatoes (read: fantastically priced things that convinced us to get a membership in the first place), we finally got to the fun part: the grocery section. This is where there are yummy samples, as far as the eye can see. Everything from quiche to little fruit-and-nut-bites, covered in chocolate. Lauren, the kids, and I had a bite of everything under the sun. This seemed to appease them. Then I tried again to look at boring things. We ate the snacks from the diaper bag. This seemed to appease them…

THEN IT WAS ALL OVER. They were done. Just like that. So what did I do? Well, food is everything to my kids, so naturally I opened up the package of blueberries. Yeah, I did. I fed them to my kids, unwashed, in the middle of the store, (GASP!) before I had paid for them. They weren’t sold by weight, so I didn’t cheat anyone. But here’s hoping my kids don’t have some crazy disease from the unwashed California blueberries.

Has anyone else had a similar time of need in a store? Opened some food before you bought it? Let your kids do something… they shouldn’t have..?

faith, food, holidays, home, mommyhood

Happy Christmas Eve!

December 24, 2014 Only Hsuman 1 Comment

Today is a happy day, full of family, music, Christmas pajamas, twinkling lights, yummy food, and gratitude. I’m thankful for so many things, on this day of wonder and joy, and I’ll list a few of them here:

A family that wanted to visit me for Christmas, and arrived safely
Cute kids in their pjs
A Hubby that provides and loves well
A roof over my head to shelter me from this rain
Lots of food to eat
A church family I’m excited to celebrate with tonight
Presents under the tree
A Savior who came for us all

Here’s a glimpse of the lazy morning, and I hope you’re doing the same thing!

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/db9/69663559/files/2014/12/img_8858.jpg — Christmas stockings my mom made for us! We’ve just picked out one for EK, and are looking for one for J!

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/db9/69663559/files/2014/12/img_8859.jpg — EK in her Christmas pj’s watching a Dr. Suess Christmas (from very close)

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/db9/69663559/files/2014/12/img_8860.jpg — J’s Christmas stripes and his current favorite toy.

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/db9/69663559/files/2014/12/img_8863.jpg — My lovely mom, the sausage balls master!

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/db9/69663559/files/2014/12/img_8864.jpg — She also makes delicious stove top coffee. I’m spoiled when she’s in town.

What are you plans for the day? Is it dreary and raining where you are?

food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently: The Thanksgiving Edition

November 25, 2014 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Today’s Currently isn’t a link up. But I just haven’t posted anything in what feels like AGES, so here I am, telling you what I’m Currently up to, in the style of the link up!!

Thinking about || Thanksgiving and all that that entails. For me, it has entailed rearranging my basement for guest space, two (so far) extremely expensive grocery store trips in preparation for cooking and baking, ordering a Honeybaked Ham (we could give or take a turkey, haha!) and making copious amounts of phone calls and emails planning, preparing, and getting excited. My parents, my brother and his girlfriend, my grandmother, my aunt, uncle and cousin are all coming up here from GA for the holiday. It may be a little hectic, but wonderful. And I haven’t even gotten to things I am thankful for!

Thankful for || family, friends, food to eat and a roof over my head. Here in North Carolina, we’ve had a couple of weeks of drastically changing weather, and I’m thankful for warm boots, rain boots, coats, scarves, and heat in my house. I’m also thankful that I have wonderful family and friends to spend my holiday with. It’s nice to not dread the family coming into town and the hours and days that we will spend together. I know many who are not this fortunate.

Cooking || some of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving staples to take them to Hubby’s family’s T-Giving meal. This will include my family’s dressing recipe and our well-loved cranberry salad. Today I also worked on one of my favorite holiday snacks to have around the house: ranch oyster crackers (basically a package of oyster crackers baked with olive oil, ranch mix, dill, lemon pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper) – yum! I’m also baking some cookies (the cherry shortbreads I talked about a few weeks ago and a gluten/dairy/sugar free sugar plum recipe that is SO GOOD. I’m basically excited about it.

Anticipating || some renovations around our home! Hubby and I have decided we’re staying put, and hiring a friend’s company to renovate the basement. The idea is that we will get two more bedrooms, a bathroom spruce up and a laundry room out of the project and we are PUMPED. Hubby and I also have a few projects on the main level that we’re going to be working on during the times that EK is at preschool and J is napping, such as repainting baseboards, touch up painting on walls, etc. I’m excited about this process, and loving my (already well-loved) home even more.

Hoping || I’ve been praying and hoping for more patience with EK. Confession: I don’t know how much better I’ve been getting. She’s amazing – communicating, behaving, potty training, being sweeter to her brother… but still there are attitude issues sometimes (I mean, she’s 2!) and some things she does (to her brother, mostly) that I feel like trigger me losing my cool. I’m working on it. Prayers for that, if you’re the praying type.

Loving || two new pairs of leggings and two new chunky, tunic-length sweaters, all from Crown & Ivy. They are comfy, the leggings are thick (think can’t see through them when you bend your knees, and no panty lines, because they aren’t painted on, either!) and therefore warm, and the sweaters are cozy. Basically, I’m living in them.

Alright. There’s my long-overdue update. What are you up to? What are your Thanksgiving plans and recipes?

Crumbled biscuits and cornbread that I made this morning in preparation for the dressing I’ll put together tomorrow!

Ranch Oyster Crackers, straight from the oven. The ones that I haven’t already eaten, at least.

Cranberry Salad – a little complicated, but always a hit. My great-grandmother’s recipe (one of EK’s namesakes!)

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