Cooking Bacon

Let me get right to the point. Bacon is amazing! I don't know anyone on this beautiful green Earth that doesn't agree. But one thing is certain, bacon can be a mess to cook. I have tried numerous ways to cook bacon and have officially found the best way. It's probably the easiest clean up too.

No longer do you need to cook bacon in the microwave in 3 minutes increments or make a greasy mess all over your stove trying to cook it in a pan.... from now on, cook your bacon in.the.oven. 

Here's how:

Line your bacon on an aluminum lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven then turn your oven to 400 degrees. Let the bacon and oven do their thing for about 15-20 minutes. Remove and place on a plate with paper towels to catch any extra grease.
DONE. ENJOY. YOUR WELCOME. :-)

I start the timer for 10 minutes and check it. Then I go to 7 minutes. Then 3 minutes. You do not have to do that.. Check it at 15 minutes and depending on how crispy or rare you want it remove them or keep cooking. I time mine like that depending on what I'm using the bacon for and because I want to make sure it's the perfect crispiness.

Note: These bacon pieces aren't very crispy..
that's because I was using it for another recipe the next day.

If you save your bacon grease just take one corner of the aluminum, open and pour it into your cup. Easy.  [I highly recommend saving it, especially to cook eggs. Mmm] And clean up is a breeze.

I hope this is helpful and makes your bacon experience that much better than before.

Irish Beef Stew

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here is my post on Irish Beef Stew. It was so good!! But just a heads up, it takes about 3 hours to cook, so give yourself time. We ended up eating at 8:00pm because I didn't time things well...but it was worth it. Also, please enjoy the amazing smells that come from this dish that will fill your home... It's wonderful!!

Though traditionally Corned Beef and Cabbage is what we eat [and will eat] for St. Patrick's Day, this is a great dish and serves many. So if you are looking for a meal tonight to celebrate this green holiday, try this and let me know what you think. :)

Irish Beef Stew

Ingredients
Stew beef
3-4 Carrots- cut 1/4 thick slices
1 Yellow Onion- 1 inch cut
3 Garlic cloves- diced
3 Celery- chopped
4 Red Potatoes- 1 inch cut
Cabbage- 1 - 1 1/2 cup chopped
Beef Stock- 2 cups [or more]
Tomato paste- 1/3 cup
Stout beer- 1 1/2 cup [I ended up pouring the whole thing in just because though]
Dried Thyme- 2 tsp
Red pepper flakes- dash
Bay leaf- 2
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive oil- 2 Tbs

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then heat a dutch oven or large oven-safe pot with olive oil, add the beef chunks in one layer. Brown the beef on both sides, about 5-6 minutes, set aside.

2. Once the beef is all browned, toss it back in the pot with garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir about 1 minute.

3. Add stock, beer, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves, making sure the stock covers the beef. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir and bring to a boil, then let simmer and cover. Then place the covered pot in the oven. Cook for about 1 hour, then remove and add the carrots, onion, potatoes, and celery. Return pot to the oven for 2 more hours.

4. Add the chopped cabbage about 15 minutes before you need to remove it. Cabbage cooks quickly so you don't want it to wilt.

5. Spoon into a large bowl and enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!! 

9 Months

Winnie is 9 months old. She got a clean bill of health at her well visit today, and her doc says she is advanced developmentally, which is exciting! She weighs 18 lbs, 13 oz and is 28.5 inches long.

Winnie has progressed so much in her motor skills; crawling faster than ever, walking using her walker, and she has taken few steps on her own. She has taught herself to turn her walker around doing a 3, sometimes 4 or 5, point turn to go the other way. It's so impressive and we are proud! She is growing stronger in standing without support and growing more confident in taking a few steps here and there. She is so brave.

Speaking of brave, she is a climber. She climbs on everything with no fear. It amazes us, and she has so much fun doing it. She climbs the most at church while standing in her car seat/stroller. She just bounces and wiggles and climbs. She is getting real heavy to hold the whole time, so as long as I have my arm wrapped around her holding the other side of the stroller so I could catch her if she fell.. I'm okay with it. :)

no big deal.

Winnie loves to dance, throwing her arms in the air and waving them up and down. She loves loves loves music. She won't watch tv (which I'm definitely fine with), but she will watch the pictures [screen saver] on our tv scroll through while listening to music and dancing. It's adorable. She also started saying her B's. Sometimes it sounds like bye bye or Bumpa or just ba ba ba. Either way we can't stop talking around here. :)

She also loves to crawl over to her play area and rummage around over there. That is what it's for after all. She almost always pulls down all her books and flips through them for most of the time. If she isn't flipping the pages of her books she is usually looking through the bin, pulling stuff out and examining those hidden toys or chewing on all the other toys. She plays really well in her pack-and-play which makes things like cooking or having my coffee with Taylor in the morning easy and peaceful.

that face. that smile.
love.love.love.

We are starting to introduce more finger foods to Winnie. Sometimes giving her tastes of what we are eating and waiting to see if she likes/dislikes the spices. So far, she hasn't complained about anything... only a funny face here and there when she tries something new.

Winnie has 2 beautiful bottom TEETH!! [Picture below was taken before her second one pooped through...]

And best of all, Winnie is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!! It only took her 9 months, which I'm okay with because I cherished those nights with her, but today marks 6... Yes- SIX.. nights of sleeping through the night. Yay baby yay!!!

Went in one morning and found her laying
like this... looks uncomfortable, but she was happy!!

Winnie experienced her first snow:

Of course we became like little kids and went out to play and build a snowman...

Once Winnie woke up from her morning nap we took her out... she was so blinded by the white and wasn't too sure about all the cold, but at least she got to experience it. :)

Our winter wonderland family photo

Winnie went to her cousins first birthday party:

Getting ready to get a smooch from the birthday boy... haha!

Cousin Landon turns 1.

We took Winnie to her first wedding. [hashtagAllieplusevan] It was a total BLAST! We hung out with friends and family and Winnie did GREAT!! We were so proud of how well she did during the ceremony and then how happy she was going off of literally 15 minutes of sleep all day. Way to go baby!! Not to mention, she looked SO adorable!! Gotta love having a girl to dress up. :)

these 2 together <3 <3 <3

my girl forever

Daddy is the BEST!!

Winnie loves her Joshy!

Can't get enough of them.

Even though it's blurry..
look at her smile!!!
Melts me heart <3

Life is keeping us busy these days. We head to Delaware later this month, we are in the middle of painting our kitchen, we are on the hunt for a new car, operation first birthday party plans are under way, I'm trying lots of new recipes [hopefully blogs to follow], and all the while playing with lady Winnie and watching her grow way.to.fast.

Hopefully I will post a blog of her nursery in the days to come....
Until then, Happy almost St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

This is one dish we made for dinner while we watched the Oscars. It was very quick to put together and tasted delicious. Prosciutto has an interesting taste, kind of smokey, and it pairs perfectly with the asparagus. If you ever need a quick appetizer and you want to impress your hubby/wifey, friends or family, make these! They are fancy, pretty to look at, and even better to eat!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients
Prosciutto
Asparagus
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat your oven on broil and prepare a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Rinse the asparagus and chop the ends. Then toss the asparagus on the baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper, set aside on a plate.

 
Begin wrapping each asparagus with one piece of prosciutto. Place it on the baking sheet, making sure the asparagus are spaced apart and not touching.

 
Once all lined on the baking sheet, broil for 3-5 minutes then flip each asparagus over and broil for another 3-5 minutes.

Eat and enjoy warm!

Winnie wasn't too sure about the whole asparagus...
[no prosciutto]

.. but she ate almost all of it. :-)

Have leftovers? Try cutting them up into bite size pieces and tossing it in a cream sauce over pasta. It's delicious and a great way to serve them day 2.

Looking for another delicious asparagus dish? Try this recipe, Asparagus Gratin, it is one of our favorites. You will not regret it!!