Friday, May 31, 2013

Baked Vegetable Ziti

Baked Ziti Original Pin
I know that I have epically failed at the Pintested section of my blog. Oh well, life gets busy and these things fall through the cracks. Recently I made a baked vegetable ziti, and it was pretty dang delicious especially considering it did not have any meat in it! I basically stuck to to the recipe, except I double the amount of noodles and ricotta cheese. It is the kind of dish you can play around with, you can substitute or add ingredients as you like.

This recipe is Pintested, Amber Approved



Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces uncooked ziti
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped yellow squash
  • 1 cup chopped zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cups chopped tomato
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomato and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
4. Combine ricotta, remaining salt, and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon into an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

California Dreamin'

This past weekend Aiden and I did A LOT of traveling. On Wednesday we drove from Kingman to Apple Valley to Fullerton to San Marcos to La Jolla, back to Fullerton to Apple Valley and finally returned to Kingman on Memorial Day. I totaled 950 miles in a matter of a few days, the good news is that Aiden has started to learn proper car etiquette. He actually started SLEEPING in the car! It happened several times during our trip, so it does not seem to be a fluke. I am so incredibly thankful for this small victory in life, it makes all the difference on a four hour drive. We had a wonderful time in California, I got to meet all the people that I work with and hang out with my awesome family. While we were in San Diego, Aiden got to experience the ocean and the beach for the first time which was super fun to see.  He was not a big fan of the waves hitting him, but he loved running through the sand. We also went to Disneyland and had a blast. It was Aiden's first time on It's A Small World, and he really enjoyed himself. Unfortunately,I left the chip from my camera in the Wii at my grandparents house, so you will have to wait to see Dland pictures.  The Churchillls got to experience Aiden's love of balloons, and got them all to play his game with him. I have never met a little kid who loved balloons as much as my little munchkin does. This upcoming week is our first week having Dave home on summer break, I know that Aiden will love having more playtime with Daddy. Hope you are all having a great week, I'll update you next week!





Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Productive & Happy


I have felt incredibly productive lately and like I am rocking it domestically. In this past week, I've painted Aiden's chalkboard, changed our sheets, made raspberry jam, bread, ice cream, walked to the park everyday, done a TON of laundry, put in full 8 hours work days, and that is just naming some of the stuff.  Aiden has slept through the nights a couple of times this week, but he is starting his days pretty early. His early rising is probably a strong contributing factor to my ultra productive week, so I will take it. Aiden had some fun firsts this week. It was his first time eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, drinking out of a water fountain and getting a balloon (several balloons) from a carnival. We are headed back to California and have a SUPER busy schedule; including Disneyland and a business brunch in San Diego. We are just living it up everyday, and trying to make the most of every moment this beautiful life has to offer. Wishing you all a wonderful week!!


First PB&J!

Goofy Grin :)

Loves Water Fountains!

Best Friends!

He LOVES his balloons!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Hell on Wheels

Aiden and his puppies!
I love Aiden. I love being his mom, watching him grow and being there as his personality develops. I am savoring the moments that he is this small, because I know that they go by all to quickly. Keeping all this in mind, I cannot wait for him to outgrow a couple of things. I think that angels will start to sing choruses of Hallelujah when this kid sleeps through the night regularly and can make it through a long drive semi-peacefully. You would think that after making the drive to California nearly a dozen times, he would be relatively comfortable with the trip. You would be WRONG if you thought that though. My cute, perfect little child seems to be possessed during the middle two hours of our trip, and he refuses to fall asleep until we are less than 45 minutes from home. 3 1/2 hours of entertaining an unhappy child in the backseat is it own kind of hell.  Despite the really unpleasant drive, we continue to make the trip out there (each time hoping this will be the one that he finally settles down) and I hope that my family can see how much they mean to us, that we would subject ourselves to this so often.  I know that usually I just talk about how perfect my little man (because he is) and what cute things he is doing, but I wanted to bring a little different perspective and document this "different" stage of his childhood.  I know that these days will make me appreciate when he grows out of it that much more. Here is a little video of him being silly to end on a good note!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Swiffer Baby


There is nothing worse than your kid getting sick, except for both of you being sick at once. Sunday Aiden and I were stricken with a 24 hour bug that has had me doing nonstop laundry for the past two days. Thankfully, we are both feeling much better, but we have passed it along to those closest to us. My family was kind enough to visit us this past weekend for my birthday, and we had a grand time on Saturday. We went out to dinner, had ice cream at home and played a killer game of Scattergories. There is nothing quite like playing games with your family, I must admit that I have missed it greatly. I look forward to the days when Aiden is older and we will institute our own "family game nights."Aiden continues to help me keep the house clean in his own special way, he just seems to keep adding little duties to his chore list. He no longer allows me to swiffer the house, if he sees me with the swiffer he will take it away from me so that he can do it himself. He actually does a pretty good job for a 14-month old, he even gets under the furniture! Aiden has also added the word Uh-oh to his vocabulary. Whenever anything gets dropped, or falls to the ground it is usually followed by his cute little "uh-oh." Well that is all the updates I have for Aiden this week, I am sure that since this weekend is Mother's Day weekend I will have more to report soon. Have a great week!


Swiffer Baby! :)

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Happy Helper

I have been pretty busy this week, trying to end my last couple days as a twenty-six year old being productive so I can start my twenty-seventh year off right. Aiden has been doing his best to keep me from doing most of my every day chores, except for laundry. He actually helps me with that chore, which I find quite adorable. I am sure that you have noticed that I have not actually been including weigh-ins the past few Wednesdays. Since his weight does not change as much as it used to, I thought I would save the weigh-ins for the first Wednesday of each month. I decided it would be fun to add some new categories for Aiden's stats. We might have the pleasure of hosting some of my family this weekend, I would feel pretty lucky if they made the long journey to celebrate my birthday. Hope you enjoy this weeks video, I know that you guys really visit my blog to see cute videos of my little boy! (I don't blame you, I would too!)

These are some pictures Aiden & I took on the new laptop! :)

Date: May 1, 2013
Weight: 25 pounds
Height: 34 inches
Shoe Size: 6
Clothing Size: 12-18 months
Favorite Toys: Balloons, Flashlights, & Balls
Favorite Foods: Blueberries, String Cheese & Ice Cream




Such a Helpful Little Boy!!!