Baby Chalkboard Updates: Round 2

A while ago I wrote a long post about the monthly chalkboard updates I did for our first son, Townes.  When we had our second son, Hayes (who also goes by Hondo), I wanted to continue the tradition, but also changing it up a little to make it his.  I was also much busier, since I had a toddler running around and a newborn to take care of, so doing two per-month for holidays and milestones was a bit much.  This time around I consolidated my holiday themes into the monthly update when I could instead.

However, the main difference with Hayes' is that instead of using a chair, I drew Hayes right into the picture.  I accomplished this by using the same chalkboard "wall" I had made for Townes during the renovation, and instead of leaning it up against a wall, I laid it down on the floor and then put Hayes down right on it.  Then I photographed him from above.

As always, some of the designs came out better than others, and you can tell it took me a couple months to get into a groove of what works. One big thing that changed was the kind of chalk I used, I found the most fantastic, high pigment chalk from Crayola at Michael's and it changed a lot.  The colors were so much brighter, had more depth and I was able to really expand my creative range.

Its hard to choose favorites, because so many of them are just wonderful memories of my little guy at that age, but my top four are certainly seven months (May/Cinco de Mayo), eight months (June/Father's Day), eleven months (September/Where the Wild Things Are) and his birthday.

My final thoughts on this method are to remember that the chalk will smudge, so be ready to snap your photo the second you put your baby down.  Normally for that reason, I had an extra set of hands (Chanel's) around to help.  I would stand on a chair to get the shot from above, and she would place him down and get him to giggle.  But once he rolled over, we were done.  Also, keep in mind that the little one will get chalk on whatever they are wearing - the high pigment chalk can be a bit harder to get out of light colored clothing - so you've been warned.

For more photo tips and editing (remember to adjust your white balance when you edit) - see the original post about Baby Chalkboards!

Traditional Shepherd's Pie

Once a month at our amazing preschool, which I could rave and rave about, each class "hosts" a luncheon for the teachers as their monthly staff meeting.  What that entails is that all the parents from each class plan a short lunch party (food, dessert, decor, drinks and a little gift) for the entire staff to enjoy at the end of the school day.  Last week, it was the Young Two's turn to host the luncheon and we decided to go with a St. Patrick's Day theme.  It seriously turned out SO cute and the teachers had a ball.  I think the group of moms in this class are some of the most talented women - I got these pictures from one of the moms, Amy, who did the GORGEOUS flowers and adorable balloons.  Another mom brought the theme-perfect cake, another purchased on-point table settings, and class mom, Kyndall, put together the adorable teacher gifts on each plate. 

In any case, I got asked to make the entree and I was more than happy to oblige, but at first we were stumped with what would make a good, Irish-themed entree for 15 people.  Of course, the second I mentioned it to Aaron, he said, make Shepherd's Pie.  I don't know how traditionally Irish it is to be honest, I haven't researched the food-etymology of it, but it worked perfectly!  Since I made it in such a huge quantity - think six pounds beef! - I wasn't initially going to write up the recipe for the blog and make it another time, but I got asked a whole bunch of times how I made it today and so I thought I would go ahead and write it out. 

The photos show a small, square dish of pie, because that day I made two large casseroles and one small one for us, the recipe below will yield enough for one rectangular casserole.

Traditional Shepherd's Pie

Serves 6

For the Filling:

• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1-2 cups chopped carrots, to your liking
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 lbs. ground beef (I used a 75% lean for this recipe, it will have more flavor)
• Salt and Pepper
• Ground sage
• Dried Basil
• Dried Thyme
• 1-2 cups frozen or fresh peas, to your liking
• 1 Knorr beef stock base or 2 beef bullion cubes
• Flour

For the Potato Topping:

• 4-5 medium russet potatoes (3-4 lbs)
• 2 tbs. butter
• Salt, pepper
• Freeze dried or fresh chives, minced
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Heavy cream or half-and-half

In a large dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion and minced garlic. Saute for a few minutes, until fragrant.  Add the carrots and saute for a few minutes more, until carrots are just tender, but not smushy.

Using a spatula, push your veggies to the side and add the ground beef.  Brown the beef, breaking it up with your spatula.  As you go, season the meat liberally with salt and pepper, and then season with sage, thyme and basil to taste (I just give each a good shake over the mix, probably 1 tsp or so). Then mix the beef into the veggies and continue to cook until all the beef is broken up and cooked through.

Add the beef base to the pot and stir until its dissolved.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the peas. Mix evenly until the peas have heated through.  One spoonful at a time, sprinkle flour over the beef and mix until the flour has absorbed the loose liquid in the pot.  How much flour you use will depend on how much "gravy" you will like in your beef.  I prefer the base to be rather thick so it doesn't bubble through the potatoes on top, so I continue to add flour until the juice has turned to a thin paste or thick gravy and is no longer runny. 

Remove from heat and spoon the beef mixture into a rectangular baking dish.  Set aside to cool while you make the topping.

Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil in a pot of salted water. When the potatoes are tender enough to easily pierce with fork, turn off the heat.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add the butter to the potatoes and mix with a paddle attachment on low.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add 1 tbs. of chives.  Stir in a small handful of cheese, reserving the rest.  Slowly add cream, just a little at a time, beating until smooth.  You want the potatoes to be THICK, not watery, so go slow with the cream, really whipping them up on high between additions. You want them to be the consistency of a thick buttercream icing, but smooth.  Taste and re-season to preference.

Top the cooled beef mixture with the remaining shredded cheese.  Then top with the potatoes, spreading evenly.  I like to add texture to the potatoes, swirling them up with a fork, so they brown attractively in the oven.  You can get really fancy, and apply the potatoes with a pastry bag and a large cupcake tip - extra points for presentation on that one!

If making ahead, you can cover the casserole and refrigerate until you want to use it, up two two days or freeze it even!  If doing either of those, when you are ready to bake it, set the casserole out on the counter while the oven pre-heats so its not super cold going into the oven.

You can kick it up one more notch and brush the top of the potatoes with just a tiny bit of melted butter before it goes in the oven.  It will brown and form almost a butter crust on top and is kind of amazing.

If making right away, bake in the top third of your oven at 400° for 15 minutes, then turn the casserole and cook for 10-15 minutes more until bubbly and browned on top.  Serve immediately.

Broccoli and Cheese Pasta

This pasta dish is a straight indulgence.  I'm not even going to try to pretend otherwise just because there is something green in here, this is thick, dreamy, cheesy indulgence.  If you grew up a fan of Velveeta shells and cheese, this is right up your alley.

I was having a craving the other day for something cheesy and filling and comforting.  It was cold and I was the kind of exhausted that makes you want to get in bed and stay there until spring.  All I could think of was bacon cheeseburgers and Velveeta shells and cheese. So I started thinking maybe I should make the kids broccoli, cheese and rice soup, but I couldn't quite convince myself of it because I wanted something richer, more decadent.  So I decided to make my version of Velveeta, but with some broccoli and chicken thrown in there, all over pasta instead of rice.

This cheese sauce is stick-to-your-ribs thick, but you can thin it out a little more if you want, and the cheese level is easy to adjust to your taste as well.  Once you master a sauce like this, the possibilities are endless. Next up, I am going to make a homemade version of the Annie's White Cheddar sauce.  Stay tuned for that!

Broccoli and Cheese Pasta

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

• 8 - 16 oz of pasta, cooked and rinsed (I made the whole box and then added until it was my desired cheese-pasta ratio)
• 6 chicken tenders
• 1 white onion, minced
• 3 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of flour
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 - 12 oz of sharp orange cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 4 oz. (half a block) cream cheese
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets

In a dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt 1 tbs. of butter.  Season one side of your chicken tenders with salt and pepper, then place seasoned-side down into the dutch oven and brown, about 3-5 minutes.  Season the uncooked side of the chicken and then turn it over, browning the other side.  After the outsides are browned, add enough chicken broth to cover half the depth of the chicken.  Flip the chicken and cover the pot, turn the heat to medium, and let the chicken simmer and steam in the broth until cooked through and tender.  Once the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate. 

Add the minced onion and garlic to the broth, saute and simmer in the broth until onions are soft.  Add the remaining 2 tbs. of butter and let it melt.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour over the broth mix and whisk together.  There should be enough flour to absorb all the liquid, if you need to add more flour, do so a little at a time until all the broth is absorbed. 

Slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add the shredded cheese, a handful at a time, and stir after each addition until cheese had completely melted and incorporated.  Add your desired amount of cheese, I recommend at least 8 oz, but go for more to your taste.  Stir in the cream cheese until incorporated. 

If the cheese sauce is too thick for your liking, slowly add chicken broth until it has thinned to your preference.

Add the pasta, a handful at a time, mixing to coat in the cheese sauce.  Add the broccoli florets and stir to incorporate.  While the broccoli heats through, chop the chicken tenders into bite sized pieces and add to the pot.  Season with salt and pepper, serve immediately.

Photo Flipbook Party Invite

Townes' 3rd birthday is coming up next week and it has me, as most mom's do, thinking back on his first birthday and how much he has grown.  I love throwing parties and so when his first birthday came around I was just tickled to throw my very first kid's party.  I had probably started thinking about it from the day I got him home from the hospital honestly, just casual thoughts about what we could do.

Its hard to pick a theme for a one-year olds party because, let's be real, they don't really have interests.  I mean, sure they are into food and toys and sleeping, but who isn't and anyway, those things don't really make for much of a party theme (though now that I've said that, I'm starting to wonder if I couldn't throw an adorable "nap themed" party for a baby - stay tuned, I'll work on it - I'm thinking some sheep and clouds and cozy blankets....)  Shit, sorry, I digress.

Townes' first birthday wasn't shaping up like I thought it would because first of all, we weren't living in our house.  We were four months into our HUGE remodel and living in a rental so I already felt disjointed.  Also, I hadn't anticipated how bummed I would be at the idea that all of my family probably wouldn't be there since they live in New York, California, Washington and elsewhere that isn't here.

However that is where I got the theme, in missing my NY family, I decided Townes' birthday could still pay homage to them in some way and so we did a NY theme with T, starring as King Kong.  We had Nathan's hot dogs, hot pretzels, and a popcorn bar. There was a King Kong pinata and a custom made cake to look like a skyscraper for King King Townes' to smash (it was the Frost Tower, which is here in Austin, so we had a little Texas sprinkled in).  I even made favors for everyone to take home that were "bagels in a jar" - I filled large mason jars with all the dry fixings to make homemade NY Style Bagels, topped them with a cute label that said I Heart NY and a tag with the recipe and instructions.

The crowning jewel of this party theme though was the invitation.  We had an adorable black gorilla costume for Townes and we decided we wanted to make a video of him walking through towers of cardboard blocks and knocking them down - that idea ended up posing a few problems: 1) he couldn't walk yet, 2) what exactly would we do with said video, and 3) he was having no part in any of it at all, just wanted the damn gorilla hat off.

After some more brainstorming and discussing, Chanel and I decided to scrap the video idea and make a flip book.  At the time the plan was to give them out as favors to people at the party.  So we dressed him back up, set up the blocks and tried again, this time rapid shooting stills with our camera.  No luck again.  He wouldn't cooperate.

Back to the drawing board, one last time.  We went back to something he knew.  Since he had been doing his chalkboard photos for a year we knew he would cooperate that way.  So we drew the skyline of Austin (another subtle nod to his hometown) on the board and tried to get him to walk in front of it.  Nope.  Finally we gave him his chair and a banana (his favorite snack) and went with what made him happy.  SUCCESS!

Then when I started making the flip books I thought, I should mail them to the people who can't come - then it occurred to me to just make them the invitation and send them to everyone!  It was adorable and everyone loved it. I chose black envelopes to go with the theme (from Paper Source, as always) and then chose a vintage NY subway map wrapping paper for the liner.  I printed labels for the front of the envelope that invoked a little film making with the washi tape and they were all set!  My favorite part was the little message on the last page, letting everyone know we loved them and that this was a keepsake if they couldn't come, which lots of people couldn't.

Like the idea?  Here are some tips on how to do it yourself - its not hard I promise!

Shooting the Photos

At this point, you can do this with just about any camera.  Most digital cameras, even basic ones will let you hold down the shutter button and will just keep auto-focusing and shooting. We used my Canon Rebel, but you could get the same effect on your iPhone with the Burst feature.

It doesn't have to be anything super planned.  We happened to have a theme, but the book will capture the equivalent of a 5-10 second video.  That's not a lot.  So if there is something you love about your little one (a funny face, the way the laugh, how they eat, anything) it will be a cute flip book.  They just need to be moving.

Lastly, if you can, use a tripod.  If you aren't moving then the frame of the photos will all remain the same and will look best in a book because the only moving part will be your kiddo, not the angle of the photo.  This will also allow you to apply the same edits and crop to the whole batch of photos instead of doing each one individually and hoping they match up - trust me this saves a lot of time.

The Cover

I made the cover using (gasp!) Microsoft Word.  All my graphic designer friends would be appalled (not even would be, T's godfather is a super talented graphic designer and he repeatedly tells me he is) but its software I am comfortable with, already own, and can intuitively figure out since I've been using it since elementary school.  I just pull up a blank publishing document, adjust the page layout to be the size I need (in this case 2 x 3) and then go to work adding text boxes, clip art, and so on.

Then what you need to do is save the page as an image and you are ready to go!

The Book

There are a two ways you can go about assembling the book depending on your time, budget and patience.

THE DIY WAY

This is not the way I ended up going because I was making so many (I used about 45, we sent them to everyone - first kid overkill if you will).  But what you could do is print each of the photos on photo paper, cut them to size, and fasten them together with glue and some thread. 

What you would do is cut each photo out leaving a 1/4 inch border on the left side.  Add two small pin holes in the top and bottom quarters of the border (in the same spot of each photo, like the edge of binder paper).  Stack up all your photos (NOT THE COVER), and apply a little bit of glue using a glue stick on the border and glue them all together in order. Once they are glued together, thread a needle and go in one hole, out the other side and then in the other hole and out the other side, twice around creating a secondary way to hold the pages together.

Finally, attach the covers.  The front and back covers should be printed as one long strip, with enough space in the middle to wrap around the bound edge of the book. Use glue to secure the cover pages to the binding area and you are done!

This is pretty simple, if you are making just a couple, but its A LOT of work if you are making more than like, five. So I went with the other method.

ORDERING THEM PRINTED

Turns out, iPhoto has a flip book option in their projects!  Yes, you can order a flip book directly from your iPhoto!  This was the method I chose.  All my photos were already in iPhoto so I just added my cover photo to my Library, made a new project and followed the instructions.

At the time, you could order them in a pack of three for $9.  Now this is more expensive than lotsof other types of invitations, but I never said this was an exercise in cost-efficiency.  The iPhoto project also allowed me to add the final page of text and that was my favorite part.  I am sure that also with some digging other photo printing apps and sites would offer a similar project.

Easy Chicken Carbonara

When I was pregnant with my second baby, my homecooking took a nosedive.  I was so tired or nauseous that most of the time standing in the kitchen for 20 minutes seemed impossible.  So we ate a fair amount of take out which didn't make me super happy.  The one shining star in our food arsenal though was the Whole Foods and Central Market prepared food departments. 

We relied a lot on picking up dinners from Central Market.  Often times, Whole Foods was just too busy and overwhelming for me with my exhaustion and my toddler, so off to Central Market we went and Thank Goodness! They make the most amazing casseroles that you can just take home and pop in the oven: the cowboy casserole, the king ranch chicken and the chicken carbonara.

They are all delicious, but the chicken carbonara really takes the cake.  Its creamy, small enough to be eaten without having to cut anything up for a toddler, it has veggies, proteins and some pasta.  It was a life saver when I was pregnant - but now almost two years later, that is not the case and I always love a challenge.

I prefer to make anything myself because I know what is going into it and I can have more creativity with ingredients and flavor so this week I decided to take on the Chicken Carbonara casserole.

Now a traditional carbonara uses proscuitto, but you could easily substitute bacon for a kicked up flavor and I would absolutely recommend it that way too.  And the stand out factor in a carbonara is that the rich sauce is made rich with egg yolks rather than all cream.  Don't be intimidated by this, its really easy and really is tasty.

Lastly, the way I make the chicken for this pasta is a great tool to hang on to for lots of other recipes - it produces really soft, juicy chicken, with a nice crisp outside, without the time of a slow cooker. 

Quick Chicken

To cook 1 package of chicken breast tenders, season one side of the tenders with salt and pepper.  Melt 2 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken tenders, seasoned side down and turn the heat up to give the skin a good brown, just a couple of minutes.  Season the other side of the chicken, and turn over to brown the other side. Add enough chicken broth to cover the bottom half of the chicken and bring the broth to a simmer.  Turn the chicken over and cover the skillet.  Let the chicken simmer for 3-5 minutes, then turn the chicken one more time and recover. Simmer until the chicken is soft and cooked through, another 3-5 minutes.

This method will work with whole chicken breasts as well, but you will need to simmer them for longer to ensure they are cooked through.  Covering the skillet traps the moisture of the broth inside and acts like a rapid slow cooker which keeps the chicken tender and soft - browning the chicken first produces more flavor and helps avoid that yucky boiled chicken look.

Easy Chicken Carbonara

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (about 8) chicken tenders, cooked and chopped
  
• 1/2 lb of bacon or 1/4 lb of proscuitto, diced
  
• 1 lb. orrichette pasta, cooked and drained
  
• 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets
  
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
  
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
  
• 1/4 white onion, minced or 2 shallots, minced
  
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
  
• 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
  

In a large pan or braiser, heat 1 tbs. of oil over medium high heat.  Add the bacon or proscuitto and cook until just crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Drain the excess fat from the pan, but do not wipe clean.

Add another tablespoon of oil or butter to the pan, add the garlic and onion or shallots and saute for a few minutes until tender.  Add back in the bacon and the chicken.  Stir and cook for a few minutes more.  Add the broccoli and peas, stir to combine.

Add the chicken broth, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Cover, turn the heat down to low and allow to cook while you prepare the sauce.  In bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolk, cream and Parmesan.  Whisk together until smooth and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down to low, it is important not to let the cream mixture boil or you will have scrambled eggs, then add the pasta to the pan and stir to combine.  Add the cream mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and coating the pasta.  If you want a creamier sauce you can add more cream and Parmesan, or if you prefer a thinner sauce, you can add a bit more chicken broth. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Make it a casserole!

You can easily make this dish into a bubbly casserole with just a few extra steps.

Preheat your oven to 350° and butter or grease an oval baking dish or 9 x 12 rectangle.

Pour the prepared pasta into the dish.  In a separate bowl, toss together 1 cup panko bread crumbs, 1/2 stick melted butter, 1 tbs. grated parmesean, 2 tsp. dried basil.  Set aside.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese on the top of the pasta (any Italian will be fine, mozzarella, provolone, an Italian blend).  Top with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.