Thursday, February 26, 2009

Recipe Round Up - Grilled Halibut with Sauteed Snap Peas & Cherry Tomatoes

Here's another healthy and super easy recipe!!

4 halibut steaks( 1 inch thick) - I buy frozen at Schnucks
1/4 cup pine nut plus extra for garnish
2 lemon; zested and juiced
1 orange; zested and juiced
1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 oz FRESH parmesan cheese - cut into chunks
2 whole garlic cloves
1 bag Sugar snap peas
1 small container cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil - divided
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound angel hair whole wheat pasta
Kosher Salt & Pepper

In a food processor, combine basil leaves, parmesan, 1 garlic clove, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, and pine nuts. Mix all together. Then add 1 tablespoon oil. If mixture is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of oil at a time.

Bring your water for the pasta to a boil.

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. I used my wonderful George Foreman grill!! I encourage you to get one because it is so easy and you can grill inside. Rub 1 tablespoon olive oil onto halibut. Season both sides with salt & pepper. 

Put you ww pasta in the pot and cook according to the directions.

Place the halibut on the grill and cook (without moving it around) 3 minutes on each side.

While fish is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 whole garlic clove in a saute pan over medium heat. Let the garlic cook in the oil for about two minutes - just enough to flavor the oil. Remove garlic and add snap peas, cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 6-8 minutes.

While fish is resting, drain the pasta. Put it back in the pan and add the juice and zest of 1 lemon. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix.
Make a small bed of pasta on each plate. Place halibut on top and spoon citrus pesto on top of the fish and garnish with pine nuts. Serve snap peas and cherry tomatoes on the side.


Sunday, February 22, 2009

Amelia's Posse

Amelia loves a lot of things! But, she definitely loves her stuffed animals more than anything else! Her old crib is FULL of them. She tends to pick out a different one every week to be her main sidekick. Whoever is the "chosen" one, will get to sleep with her, go to school with her, grocery store, bathroom, EVERYWHERE!! The other night she was feeling kind of sorry for all her animals piled up on each other, so she decided (like at 9:00 pm) that some of them needed some fresh air. She was very particular about who got placed where. It was so fun to watch!


Guess who's back, back again.....

Princess Glitter is baaack!!!
She thought it was time to bring it back out after she got a new fancy nightgown from GiGi and PawPaw for Valentine's Day. And, what better to accessorize the nightgown with than rain boots, gardening gloves, her movie star sunglasses, her dog Pinky, and a Cinderella figurine!!
A+ for creativity!! 

Monday, February 16, 2009

The BEST cookies & gelato EVA!!!!!

We lucked out this weekend!! Noel  is the  GM  of Christie Cookies and Bravo Gelato
So, we were lucky enough to eat some treats in the store as well as out of their super stocked freezer!
All I can say is yum, yum, yum!! It really is the BEST! I now am hooked and hope they offer some kind of 12-step program! I am in luck that they will deliver both. Wooo Hoooo :)
Amelia LOVED it, to say the least! And, she probably has never eaten so much before!


Amelia diggin into her Chocolate Lovers Gelato Cone
Are those not the sweetest lips you have ever seen?
The girl loves a chocolate face!
WARNING - this might happen after consumption 

Water Fights 101


What a fun trip!! Amelia and I went to Nashville this weekend to visit Heather and Noel. We were both super excited about seeing them. I'm not sure what Amelia liked the best - seeing Lola(our old dog), loving on "her Heather", or playing with her new BFF - Noel. While "washing dishes", Noel and Amelia started splashing each other with the water. After a few minutes, it turned into a full-on waterfight!! SO fun! Amelia was in heaven. She got to play in the water and make a big mess - is there anything better? To say she was soaking wet at the end would be an understatement!!
Thanks Heather and Noel for everything - we had a blast!!




SpongeBob Band Aids


Our conversation :
Amelia - "mom, may I have some spongebob bandaids
Me - "sure, why not"
Amelia - "mom, can I put these on my stuffed animals?
me - "no"
Amelia - "can I put them on me"
me - "that would be fine"
(Amelia then puts them all over her legs
and then she's over in about 10 minutes)
Amelia - "mom, will you cut these off me?"
me - "just pull them off"
Amelia - " I can't!! JESUS told me that I had to cut them off"
me - "ummmm, did you say Jesus told you"
Amelia - "Yes!!! Jesus told me in a story that I HAD to cut them off with sissors!'
me - "whateva"


Sunday, February 1, 2009

I love pictures


I love pictures. And, of course, love pictures of Amelia. I have them all over my house and about 15 8x10 pictures of her in my room. Borderline obsessive. I know. I have really beautiful pictures of her. Things, however, have started to change. Amelia's sweet smile has turned into a "fake" smile. Oh, and she can't take a picture without posing - which is pretty hilarious, because I think (no, I'm sure) I have pictures of myself at that age doing the same thing. Actually, it kind of scares me. Just the other day, Amelia was dressed for ballet and while looking at herself in the mirror, pulled the sleeves down so that now she had an off the shoulder leotard. Oh goodness. I have pictures of me doing the same. I always thought showing a little shoulder was fun. Here are some of the pictures lately.....


This is her posed smile these days
She came in to show me her "new boobs" - Christmas return labels

She thought it was hilarious - and so did we!!
I'm not really thinking these are going to make my 8x10 wall of photos. Maybe when she turns four, I'll have another acceptable one to add!!!