Dinner Time!

This week was the official kick off to my new job. I only worked Monday and Tuesday because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, but it was a great glimpse into what my job is going to entail. When I was talking about it to Ted I came up with three main 'duties' that I have.

1. Crowd control (this is my least favorite, but when you have 26 second graders in a classroom it is inevitable.)

2. Small Groups (This is my favorite!) I love working with children (obviously) and R. (the lead teacher) is going to give me a couple groups to work with. One will be during reading, with the on-level readers, to start a book club. The other will be different students each day depending on who needs help with writing, math, etc.

and (just for laughs)

3. Coordinating...mmm-hmm...pumping schedules. R. is the mother of a 6 and a half month old and I am the mother of a 5 and a half month old. (We were in the same baby classes at the hospital!!) And, we both nurse. So...yea. Let's just say there aren't that many private places in an elementary school.

Needless to say, I have been so busy these past couple weeks. With the library on the weekend and school during the week. Whew.

Luckily, Ted and I still made time for some quality dinners on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. (Tonight, we will be eating late because I work till 8.) And, the dinner on Monday night was especially delicious...so I wanted to take the time to share it.

We had Grilled Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas.

You will need:

1 2- to 2 1/2-pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
4 cups baby spinach (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack (6 ounces)
4 large flour tortillas
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup store-bought fresh salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

First, heat grill (or a grilling skillet) to medium. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, spinach, and cheese. Dividing evenly, place the mixture on one half of each tortilla. Fold the other half over to cover.
Then, grill the quesadillas until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with the avocado, salsa, and sour cream.

Ta-da! So easy! And, so, so tasty. In the words of my husband, "Seriously, these are restaurant quality. This is awesome."

My avocado/salsa/sour cream placement preference is above. Ted's is below.

(Thanks Real Simple. You've done it again!)

And of course, Eloise was there to witness it all!

More Yummy Food

The other night, thanks to my Real Simple magazine subscription (compliments to Mom Polleys), Ted and I had something pretty tasty for dinner. Not that every night isn't tasty, this was just EXTRA tasty.

I made a Potato, Leek and Feta Tart. The recipe can be found here. Just look how yummy this is! And, just to prove that Ted liked it even though there is no meat in it...we finished it for lunch today! :)

mmm. mmm.

Soup and Hickeys (!)

Well, if the title of this blog doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will!

Let me explain;

The Soup:

Last night Ted made a DELICIOUS potato soup for my mom (who is in town) and I. The recipe is from Mom Polleys, who got it from Mrs. Friske. For those of you that don't really understand why Mrs. Friske is important...let me have a little side-bar and fill you in.

Mrs. Friske is of Friske's Farm, south of Charlevoix. It is where Ted and I pick apples every year. It is where you cane get the most tasty Reuben sandwich and the best apple donuts you will ever taste. Basically, all of their food is fantastic and last night, we got to have Mrs. Friske's Potato Soup in our OWN HOME! mmmm...it was so good!

Her secret in her own words, "It's the buttermilk!" haha...so I am not going to tell you it is healthy...but we substituted turkey bacon for the bacon...that has to count for something right??

So, here is the recipe so you can have it in your own home:

Mrs. Friske's Homemade Potato Soup

3 T. butter

1 c. white onion, chopped

1 c. celery, sliced

10 strips bacon, cut into 1/2'' pieces (or turkey bacon)

8 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 3/4'' chunks
4 cups water

2 c. buttermilk

3 T. flour

1/2 c. sour cream

s + p

1. Heat the butter in a large sauce pan on MH heat. Saute the onions and celery in butter, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add bacon and potatoes and the 4 cups of water. Boil until the potatoes are tender.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, flour and sour cream until smooth.

3. When potatoes are tender, scoop out 1/4 c. of the water from the saucepan and slowly drizzle into the butter cream mixture while whisking it the whole time. (This prevents lumps from forming). Then repeat this process with another 1/4 c. of potato water.

4. Next, slowly drizzle the buttermilk mixture into the large saucepan, stirring the potato soup the whole time. (Once again this prevents lumps from forming.)

5. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer soup until you are ready to eat! The longer you simmer, the yummier it gets!

Now...to the funny part of the post...the hickey! (kind of a funny word in itself)

The Hickey:

On Thursday, Eloise was hanging out on the couch (sitting up, of course...well propping up, to be honest) and I went over to pick her up because we were going to go to our bedroom, because it was time for her to eat.

In the 5 seconds that it takes to walk from the couch to our bed, Relly had latched onto my shoulder and gave it a few hard sucks. It tickled and I was laughing at her and she smiled back.

Well, when I was done feeding her, I went into the bathroom to finish getting ready for something, and behold! Her sucking was more than just a laughing matter. She has left her mark, literally. It was so funny that I had to have a picture of it. Ted said that he better watch out so he doesn't end up with a Relly-sized hickey!

I guess she might have been hungrier than I thought! :)

Have a good weekend!