{what a day!}

You'll never guess what BOTH my kids did today at 3:30. Go ahead, take a guess. Nope. Nope. They took a nap! I couldn't believe it. A few days ago we decided to try "quiet time" with Gerard. He is normally sooo exhausted by the end of the day, and when the weather is nice we'd like to go outside after dinner, but he's just too tired. We really just expected him to relax in bed and "read" books, but today he listened to two books on tape from Grandma and then he fell asleep. I almost didn't know what to do with myself for that hour! Actually there was plenty to do... clean, cook, clean some more, and go through more pictures.

I tried another new recipe tonight. The chicken was good, but I won't even post the recipe for the spinach salad. That was not a hit. Here's the chicken recipe, once again from Cooking Light:


Hoisin and Lime-Marinated Grilled Chicken

1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

Combine hoisin sauce, ginger, and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is done.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half)

CALORIES 243 (17% from fat); FAT 4.5g (sat 0.9g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 39.9g; CHOLESTEROL 99mg; CALCIUM 24mg; SODIUM 618mg; FIBER 0.4g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 6.4g

Cooking Light, JULY 2007


And here are some more pictures from today:

{new haircut}

Check out Gerard's new haircut. Just like Daddy....

I know he looks goofy here, but you can see the spiky top best in this picture:

{good food, good pictures}

Our dinners have gotten so boring. Since we've grown tired of many of our old stand-bys, I've decided to try at least one new recipe a week. If we like it, I'll post it here. Last week I tried a new salmon recipe (it was good, but not as good as our Jack Daniels salmon). Tonight I made a variation of linguine in clam sauce and even little Gerard liked it. OK, he didn't like the big pieces of clam, but overall it was a hit. Here are those recipes, both from Cooking Light:

Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Mustard Glaze

A slightly sweet, simple glaze complements the fish. Pour viognier, if you're having wine. Time: 39 minutes.

Salmon:
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:
1/4 cup apricot nectar
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Remaining ingredient:
Cooking spray

Prepare grill.
To prepare fish, sprinkle fillets evenly with garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.

To prepare glaze, combine nectar and next 6 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon pepper) in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat; set aside.

Place fillets, skin side up, on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 2 minutes; carefully turn over, and grill 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Brush each fillet with 1 tablespoon glaze; grill 30 seconds.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet)

CALORIES 342 (34% from fat); FAT 13.1g (sat 3.1g,mono 5.7g,poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 36.4g; CHOLESTEROL 87mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 482mg; FIBER 0.2g; IRON 0.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 18.1g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

This was yummy, but it took longer than 6 1/2 minutes to cook. I served it with grilled pineapple rings and asparagus. All three of us liked it.

Linguine with Garlicky Clams and Peas

Fresh linguine from the supermarket's refrigerated section cooks quickly, so this dish comes together in a flash. Crusty bread and a tossed green salad will round out the meal.

1 (9-ounce) package fresh linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
3 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
1 cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Drain clams, reserving clams and 1/2 cup juice. Add reserved clam juice, broth, wine, and pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add clams and peas to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add pasta to pan; toss well. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 1/2 teaspoons basil)

CALORIES 368 (29% from fat); FAT 11.9g (sat 3g,mono 6.9g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 19.8g; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 166mg; SODIUM 961mg; FIBER 4.3g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.5g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

For this one I used regular dried pasta and substituted low sodium, fat free chicken broth for the vegetable broth. Very garlicky and yummy!


OK, enough with the recipes. Here are some more pictures from our trip:

Gerard had fun with Eliya and Anna at lunch (not so relaxing for the grown-ups!)

isnt' Anna a cutie!

Aldine and Noah:

Gerard with Eliya and Noah (why is it impossible to get 3 kids to smile and look at the camera at the same time?)

We went to *that* amusement park near Grandma and Grandpa's. Gerard had a ball. There were cute rides for little kids, but he definitely preferred the water park.

Gerard with Grandma on the merry-go-round:

Not a huge fan of this ride. We had to have them stop it early so he could get off.

on the boats:

the water slide:

Grandma and Morgan in the shade:

in the wave pool with Daddy:

those are pretty strong waves!

on the bumper cars:

My parents had a little get-together so our family friends could meet Morgan.

Patti with Gerard and Morgan:

Laura and Morgan:

Gerard and Christian:

{photos, photos, photos}

As promised, here is a glimpse of our vacation. I still have LOTS to go through and will be posting those soon.

Grandpa G teaching Gerard how to cast:

practicing:

Mima and Morgan:

three Gerards fishing:

his first catch:

Mima and Aunt Elizabeth:

one of SEVEN fish he caught:

more fishing with Daddy:

Morgan at Nani and Poppy's:

Nani and Poppy and crew:

Grandpa Ian and Gerard:

Grandma Andrea and Gerard:

a very unhappy Morgan:

I'll post more from the vacation, but here are some from yesterday -- the 4th of July:

{we're back!}

For those of you who didn't know, we were on vacation for 10 days. It was a lot of driving, but it was nice seeing everyone. I took WAY TOO MANY pictures (not surprisingly), so it will be a few days before I have a chance to go through all of them. I PROMISE I will post them as soon as possible. In fact, you can expect some later today! Be sure to check back!

{sleeping beauty}

I don't have a ton to report today. Morgan had her 8 week check-up and she's doing great. She's in the 50th percentile for height and weight (22.5 inches and 10 lbs 10 oz.) and in the 75th percentile for head circumference. She also got her immunizations today -- FIVE shots and one oral vaccine. She was NOT a happy camper and she was a little fussier than usual tonight. Nothing a little infant Tylenol can't help, though.

Here are a few pictures of her sleeping on our bed yesterday. It looks like she might be a thumb-sucker eventually...