Top Ten Favorite Things....Week of 10/15

Top Row:
1 - Trip to the pumpkin patch with friends and family
2 - Morning Room upgrade project Phase 1...stay tuned
3 - Trivia w/DJ Mike is back in West Chester
4 - Crab Fest aftermath

Middle Row:
5 - Favorite fall candles making the house smell wonderful
6 - Blake in his Project Runway outfit...thank you Mimi
7 - Looking through our new album from Lalee Photography....look how small Blake was!

Bottom Row:
8 - The League is back
9 - Halloween Decor in the front yard
10 - Future NBA star!

What's for Breakfast....Blueberry Muffins

At the request of Eaphis, this Sunday I made a big batch of Blueberry Muffins.  I honestly don't think I've ever made actual blueberry muffins before, so I turned to my girl Ina to see what she had to say.   Once again, she didn't let me down.  The cake part of these is not too sweet, which lets the sweetness of the blueberries come through...and to dress them up a little, they have a cinnamon streusel topping.  I won't share how many of these I've already eaten, but I'll just say that I don't think I'll have any problem getting rid of this big batch, especially if Grandpa Klebba comes over this week.

What's for Dinner...Black Bean Enchiladas

I've had this recipe in my files for a while and for one reason or another never made it....but so glad that I finally did!  These had whole black beans instead of the refried beans you normally find in restaurant enchiladas, which just gave them a much fresher taste.  The sauce had the perfect amount of spice for me, although I'm sure Jon could have used a higher scoville rating. 

I'm always on the lookout for the perfect Mexican hot sauce so if anyone has any recommendations let me know!

Blake also really enjoyed these (a non-spicy version of course!)

What's for Dinner....Pizza w/Bacon, Tomato, and Arugula

One day over the summer I stopped at Trader Joe's to quickly pick up a few things in between running errands.  While I was checking out, this old man behind me decided to get all indignant about me buying some pre-made pizza dough because it "only took seconds" to make your own at home.  First of all....I'm at Trader Joe's buying all organic, whole wheat pizza dough - give me a freaking break!  Second...it does not take "seconds" to make pizza dough.  And third....my ultimate response to the guy was that I have a 9 month old at home and when you have a 9 month old, every second counts.

Hopefully one day when I'm retired I will have enough time to make my own pizza dough as well as grow my own vegetables and harvest my own wheat...until then, I really recommend Wegman's pre-made whole wheat pizza dough.  I have an endless supply of pizza recipes that I want to try and this crusts really tastes great with just about all of them, and it gives me the chance to make personal pizzas for Jon and myself, and then make a Blake-friendly version as well.

Top Ten Favorite Things....Week of 10/8

September was a pretty tough month in the Boehmke household but I think we're finally starting to see some light come back into our lives and some stress finally lifting off of my shoulders.  To help get back on track and out of this rut, I put together this top ten list...while not technically just from this week, these are some things from the last month that have made me happy......

Left Column:
1 - Blake picking me flowers from our front yard
2 - Football Sundays w/the Boys
3 - Sam Adams Oktoberfest Milkshake at Red Robin.....sounds gross but it was strangely wonderful

Middle Column:
4 - Bacon Mushroom Melt is back at Wendy's
5 - New Uggs - best part...got them from Blake's shoe store w/coupon and VIP card
6 - First Zoo trip for Blake with the Whitleys

Right Column:
7 - Spending time with the best little man in the world : )
8 - Yummy steak from newly found restaurant, Fireside....cereal pieces courtesy of Blake
9 - Fun pink nail polish / remembering how much I like pedicures
10 - Revenge is back!  Make fun of me if you want...this show is the tits

What's for dinner.....Tomato Soup w/Grilled Cheese Croutons

At the end of this month my favorite cookbook author, Ina Garten, is releasing her new cookbook and I'm super excited.  To celebrate, I decided to cook one of her soon to be released recipes.  Sunday was cold, dark, and rainy...so the perfect weather for tomato soup!

This recipe is definitely a keeper. Nothing makes me happier then when I make something that Jon and Blake love, and they both gobbled this one down!  The soup is thickened w/orzo so it was great for Blake, and the Gruyere cheese in the croutons took it to the next level.  If this recipe is any indication, her new book is going to be fantastic!

What's for breakfast....Caramelized Banana Bread

Keeping my fingers crossed that things are finally going to calm down enough in my life to get back to the things I love to do, including baking.  This Sunday I decided to try out one of the new banana bread recipes that I stumbled across recently.  I love having something baked around the house during the week to snack on for breakfast or after dinner.

This banana bread was a little different than my regular recipe in that I caramelized the bananas in brown sugar before adding them to the bread and then topped it with a browned butter glaze.  Next time I would probably make the glaze a little less thick, but the bread itself turned out great for the whole family.