Friday Things #349
1. Joseph has been absolutely obsessed with reading lately, and it is so much fun to watch. He has learned a ton of “sight words” at school, but now wants to know what every word he sees is; he constantly points something out and says, “what does that spell?” Then we work on sounding it out and wow, suddenly I have a big kid!
2. Poor Isabelle fell while pushing her little push toy last weekend and on top of splitting her lip, she chipped her front tooth 😩 However! She has been so insanely happy over the last few days and has been “talking” nonstop, like she’s trying to tell us stories, and laughing, and oh my gosh, I nearly forgot how so sweet and magical this age is ❤️️
3. Dominic has become such an amazing big brother; I am absolutely astonished at how patient and sweet he is with Isabelle. When she tries to grab something out of his hand or pushes him because she wants to sit where he’s sitting, he hands her the toy or gets up and moves and says, “here sweetie, you can have it”. Totally melts my heart!
4. Has anyone made Amish apple fritter bread? It looks amazing! I might be tempted to mix the apples all through the batter; good idea or bad idea?
5. Give me your cutting board recommendations! I’ve had three OXO cutting boards for… ever? But they’re stained and scratched and are due to be replaced. I don’t dislike them, but am wondering what you all use that you love. Share in the comments!
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6. I had a total AH HA moment last week. The kids took turns coming down with fevers and sniffles after Thanksgiving and then my husband and I both got a touch of it, as well. The last thing I wanted to do was cook and I spent multiple nights rummaging through the pantry and fridge for something decent to throw together. Then it hit me… I stocked my freezer before I had each of the kids, but WHY AM I NOT STILL DOING IT? For moments just like this! I don’t want to cook, but I don’t want to get take out (plus our selection is super limited because of Joseph’s nut allergies), still want a decent dinner. I made a list and am going to start chipping away at getting some things stocked! What are your favorite meals to keep on hand in the freezer?
7. Is there anything better than sinking into bed with freshly washed sheets? It literally makes me want to wash my sheets every single day. Pure bliss.
8. A reminder that we are baking chocolate babka for this month’s Bake-Along! Have you made it yet? I’ve loved seeing some of your pictures in our Facebook group and on Instagram; please join us for this absolutely indulgent holiday treat :)
9. My husband and I went to the movies last weekend for the first time since I was pregnant with Dominic 😱 We saw Ford v Ferrari and it was absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend! (Also, my first time in leather reclining theater trays with a tray and cup holder and omg, it’s like I stepped into another universe. How will I ever watch a movie any other way again?!)
10. TGIF! I had a little dance party with my furry girl last night 😍
Cutting boards: I was lucky enough to find a set of Boos Block wooden cutting boards on a really good sale and I use them for almost everything. I also have a set of plastic cutting boards and I use the middle size (8.5 x 11 ish) for raw meat, garlic, and onions because I can bleach those and not worry about cross contamination. I should probably donate the other two sizes now that I think about it… But bread, fruit, veggies, and literally anything else gets cut on my wooden boards. I do use cutting board oil on them every once in awhile to keep them from drying out but I’ve had them I think 7 years now and they still look gorgeous.
Freezer meals: Totally depends on what you typically eat. Casseroles freeze well – lasagna, manicotti, chicken pot pie, etc. Casseroles usually need to be defrosted before baking though. Anything that gets cooked in a sauce or goes into a crockpot can also be frozen together. I’ve stumbled across some online places that have a whole collection of crockpot meals to prep, freeze, and dump in the crockpot later from frozen. Also, chicken freezes really well. Just put it in a plastic bag or the absorbing pad on the tray will freeze to the chicken and that’s not good for later cooking! One of my easiest frozen chicken recipes is to dump boneless chicken in the crockpot with about 1/2 cup salsa and let cook for 8 hours on low (4 hours on high). Shred the chicken and serve in tortillas with toppings for chicken tacos. Meatballs also freeze well – whether you make them yourself or buy them pre-frozen at the store. Spaghetti and meatball subs are two popular meatball recipes in my house.
You can also make chicken taquitos and freeze them. My girlfriend shared her recipe with me and they aren’t terribly hard to make and they cook from frozen in less than 20 minutes – let me know if you want the recipe.
The suggestion to double whatever you’re making for dinner and freeze the second is genius and makes stocking your freezer almost painless. Just make sure you label whatever you freeze, I like to put cooking directions on the label too so I don’t have to look those up when I’m ready to use what’s in the freezer.
Ditto on the Epicurean cutting boards. Highly recommend!
Just re read some posts. Great ideas on freezer meals. Your white chicken chili is my favorite white chicken chili recipe to date. A few steps involved but so worth the end result of deliciousness!! I was reading the post about Oprah getting clean sheets every night….somehow to me it seems like it would take away the intense appreciation and pleasure of those fresh clean tightly made bed sheets after a night shower and great body butter. Bliss in the simple things😊