Ina's Meatloaf

Would you believe that the first time I ever had meatloaf was a couple of months ago when I tried this recipe? We rarely ever have the TV on during the day, but for some reason I happened to be watching Ina Garten on the Food Network one day when she cooked this meal. It looked so good... not at all like the greasy mess featured on Ollie Hopnoodle's Heaven Of Bliss (one of my favorite movies as a kid). I had most of the ingredients in my pantry, so I gave it a try! It was actually really good. Good enough for me to recommend it to you! I used the lowest fat ground beef I could find, Italian bread crumbs (that's what was in the pantry), and two large eggs instead of XL ones. I don't think these substitutions hurt the dish a bit. Serve it up with mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli and you have a pretty good Monday night dinner with lots of leftovers :) Grace, my non-meat-eating child, even cleaned her plate tonight! Who knew the Nida's ate Meatloaf?!?!

Squeaky Shoes

Grace's friend, Mary Elizbaeth, was soooo nice to share her shoes with us! She is almost 2 now and had outgrown several pairs. These are by far Grace's favorite! I know you can't imagine why! She loved them so much I got her a pair in the next size up for when she outgrows these! It was not too long after this video, however, that the squeakers had to be removed from the shoes : ) We do put them back in every once in a while though.

Need A Hug?

Well, if you do then just come on over to our house! Grace will surely give you one! She is very into hugging these days. I am so glad that she is becoming so affectionate. It is nice to not even begin to be able to count the number of hugs I get every day!

Aunt Jody, I think she still likes her birthday gift : )

Just Chatting

Grace tends to get a little phone shy when there is someone on the other end of the line. However, when she is just pretending to talk on her own terms it's a whole other story. She jabbers away. It is so fun to hear her talk about the many things that run through her head. As her language skills develop it gets more and more sweet. Today she had a lengthy conversation with the phone about bread (bed), elmo, mommy, daddy, baby, elbow (ebow), shoe, poo poo (boo boo), apples, and many many "oohhs" and "ahhs" and "wows!". This video is a little old and her vocabulary seems to be growing exponentially day by day, so she doesn't say too many actual words. I still had to share it though. Maybe one day she will actually talk to y'all when you call!!!

New Toy Joy

We were so glad to have Granny, Papa and Uncle Andrew come for a few days last week! While they were here they bought Grace a new toy! I think she may have enjoyed it just a little bit :)

Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup

Susy, you have inspired me to start blogging about some of my favorite recipes. I have been thinking about it for a while, and I have decided to start doing it. Now that I am staying at home and our budget it tighter than it used to be I am cooking a lot more. I have always loved to cook, but only when I have plenty of time to do it. So now that part of my job is staying at home and cooking I can plan time during the day to enjoy myself while I cook! It is so nice to not have to rush to start cooking dinner at 6 after just walking in the door and then spend all of my free time doing dishes after. Anyway, now I am trying lots of new recipes and having fun doing it! I have found some really good ones, so hopefully you can get a few ideas of things that we have tried and found good enough to put on the meal rotation here at the Nida house!

The other weekend it really felt like fall so I decided to make a new fall-ish soup. I found a yummy sounding recipe and tweaked it a bit. After three tries I think I have finally got it how I like it. So for all of you people out there who are in the fall spirit and want to try a new recipe give this one a go! I am actually going to make it for dinner tonight!

Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup 2 tbsp olive oil 2 medium carrots, peeled 2 celery ribs 1 large onion, peeled and halved 1 large sweet potato (or two small) 2 garlic cloves salt and pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf 1/2 cup dry white wine (if you don't have any wine in the house... you good Baptist, you... just use apple juice) 1/2 cup apple juice 1 quart+1 cup chicken stock 1 can navy or great northern beans drained 1/2 chicken boiled and pulled (I use the other half and broth for chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie, chicken salad etc... there is A LOT you can do with a chicken.... more recipes to come) 4 scallions, thinly sliced handful fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped Heat pot over med-high heat with the olive oil. While the oil heats, cut the carrots in half lengthwise, then slice into thin half moons. Add the carrots to the pot, stirring to coat in oil. Let them brown a bit. Chop and drop in the celery and onion, chopping them as small as you can, but don't make yourself crazy. Let all of that brown really well. Peel and then cut the sweet potato into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice them into bite size pieces. Add the sweet potatoes and garlic and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt and pepper, the thyme and the bay leaf. Cook them down together for a while. Add the wine and juice to the veggies and reduce that for a minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise the heat to high. When the soup boils, remove the cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the chicken and beans and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Turn the heat off, and stir in the scallions and cilantro. Like any good soup, I think it tastes better on day #2, but it's pretty good right off the stove too! Well, there you go! A new fall soup recipe! Maybe next time I will take a picture of whatever I make so you can see. And you know I have to add in a little tidbit about Grace for the Grandparents! She LOVES this soup. She eats the sweet potatoes and beans and carrots till they are all gone! HAPPY COOKING!!!!

Hugs for Elmo

Our internet is working tonight so y'all are getting a new post!!!

Here is a video from about a month ago of Grace hugging Elmo. Since this video was taken Grace has really come to love hugging. I did not realize how great it would feel to have my kiddo run into my arms and give me a big ol bear hug! It is awesome! Grace gives the best bear hugs! She wraps her tiny arms around you as far as she can and squeezes you as tight as she can and rubs your back and says "Ooohhhh!" What a sweetie pie! I hope she always wants to give Mommy and Daddy hugs!