Haciendas Salsa

1- 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. jarred roasted red pepper
1/3 cup pickled jalapeno juice (the juice from the jar of jalapenos)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt

Blend all above ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Then add 3 Tbsp. sliced pickled jalapenos and pulse the blender until the jalapenos are roughly chopped. You don’t want to blend them in.

Chill for 24 hours for optimal flavor…or just eat right away because its so stinkin’ delicious.

We eat this on everything from scrambled eggs to chips and burritos, taco salad, ice cream…just kidding about that last one

SOOO GOOD.

Why are you still sitting here listening to me ramble on…go make some already!

P.S.  Baby Boy turned 2 months old this weekend!

Okay, so I know that so many of my friends are interested in Baby Boy’s birth story.

Its a sort of reality-TV-for-the-child-bearing-years. Almost every mom gets a kick out of hearing all the details of others stories. I am no exception.

So I thought I would share Baby Boy’s story. However in order to protect the eyes of any men who read this blog to keep up with our family I have decided to do it in a different way than in a post.

See, I know that many men are thoroughly creeped out by words such as cervix, placenta, contraction, and the like. This is due to the great mystery that IS labor and delivery and all that goes on in a womans body to bring forth a baby.  I know most men, if you are not a husband or dad, do not realize that there is nothing awkward about these words, however in order to protect you I will not post them here.

If you are NOT creeped out by these words, and desire to hear our story, feel free to click here to read it in a google document.

Unmarried guys, consider yourself forewarned.

]]> http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/a-story-with-forewarning/feed/ 3 robinsonhomesweethome finger color 8 by 8 veiwfinder http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/baby-things-i-love-this-time-around/ http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/baby-things-i-love-this-time-around/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:51:16 +0000 robinsonhomesweethome http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/?p=2156 Continue reading →]]> With Little Man there were a few things that we couldn’t live without…our baby swing was one of them. It was the only way I could get him to sleep longer than 45 min. for a long time.

This time around there are very different things that I have found myself so incredibly thankful for their invention. For any Mommy friends out there or soon to be Mommy’s, I thought I would share:

1) Bassinet: A friend of mine lent me this sleeping apparatus after Baby Boy spent the first 2 weeks sleeping in his car seat.  He seemed to prefer to be at an incline instead of flat on his back or sitting directly up in the swing.  In fact he couldn’t care less about his baby swing, really.  This thing has been SO great.  Its light so it is easy to bring up and down stairs and from room to room, which we do all day long.  Baby Boy sleeps great in it!  I think its because it kind of cups him, making him feel like he’s being held.

2) Video Monitor: We now have the Motorola 2.8 inch Digital Baby Monitor and it is SO wonderful! We first bought this one and it was horrible, cheaply made, and broke within 2 weeks.  For someone as frugal as me, you can imagine this was incredibly frustrating. We returned it and did more research and decided on the Motorola one and couldn’t be happier.

With Little Man, I always found myself wishing I had a video monitor.  I would want to check on him while he was sleeping in his crib, but didn’t want to open the door and either wake him, or let him see me.  So we decided with our second to make the investment.  We even bought an extra camera so Little Man has one in his room too.  The monitor has a talk back feature on it so when I see Little Man NOT going to sleep, pulling the window curtain over his head, picking his nose, etc…I can talk to him with the monitor base and tell him to stop.  Ha!  The first time it really flipped him out even though we had talked about how I would be able to talk to him from downstairs.  Hubby and I got a very good laugh out of Little Man’s reaction.

(If you have a baby and have swaddled before, this cartoon should be hilarious to you.)

3) Super Amazing Swaddling Technique: LIFE CHANGING ladies…this is life changing…click on the link and watch the video! I know every baby thinks they don’t like to be swaddled, but unfortunately, they don’t know what is best for them (And best for mom, because with this way of swaddling, they literally can not bust their little flailing arms out and they sleep SOOO much better.) Baby boy immediately calms and falls to sleep when wrapped up this way.

We do it just a little different.  I cut a flannel swaddling blanket into 3 large triangles and use them for the “bat wings’ part, laying the triangle inside another swaddling blanket ready to be wrapped around him.  If I use a whole blanket folded in half as a triangle and then another to wrap around him he gets too warm.  I use the Aden and Anais swaddling blankets to wrap around the outside and they are perfect!

Those are our top baby things right now.  Do you have a few favorites of your own?  Id love to hear.

Over the last days I have found myself singing these lyrics over and over, “This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the babe the Son of Mary.”

May our hearts quicken to give Him praise always and today as we celebrate the greatest gift the world will ever know.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

6lbs 13 oz. 19 inches long..not bad for a 37 weeks delivery! He was and is, totally healthy. God is so generous. Mommy is doing great as well.

Things around here have been pretty focused on enjoying this newest bundle and settling into our family of four. It was been wonderful. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the last couple weeks.

Just in time for Baby Boys arrival, since the goal was to have it done by the time he was born.  AND I am 36 weeks this week.  Only another month-ish until his predicted arrival time.  Oh I can hardly wait.  The baby room is also coming along.  I will show you that next!

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
1 rounded tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 tsp. red pepper

Mix all ingredients and store in an air tight container.

I usually quadruple this recipe and keep it in a glass jar in my spice cabinet to be used whenever I need it.

For a yummy Ranch Dressing:

Mix 2 tsp. ranch seasoning mixture with 1/2 cup full fat plain yogurt (could sub sour cream if needed) and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Store in refrigerator. Best if allowed to ‘marinate’ in the fridge overnight to let the flavor mesh

(Photo Credit)

So I saw these little beauties a long long time ago on the Rachel Ray Show.  I used to LOVE watching her 30 min. meals back in the day.  We went to a little game day party at our friend recently and I decided to give them a try…oh…my…goodness.  They are SO yummy.  I served them with my Homemade Ranch Dip. So so yummy you guys.

Poblano Chili ‘Fries’

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 poblano peppers, de-seeded and cut into sticks

• 1 cup flour, divided

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 tablespoons mustard, whatever variety you like (I used spicy mustard)

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Salt and ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Set up 3 plates on the counter; in one spread the flour, in the second beat the eggs with the mustard and about 2 tablespoons of flour, in the third combine the breadcrumbs, cheese and some salt and pepper.

• Coat the peppers in the flour, then in egg and finally in the breadcrumbs, pressing to make sure coating sticks. Roast peppers in the oven, turning halfway through baking until golden brown and crispy, about 18 minutes.

• Serve immediately.

Notes: I ended up tripling the amount of ingredients I needed for the dredging process. I’m not sure why I needed so much more than the original recipe called for. But they turned out yummy nonetheless!  Also I lined the baking pans with parchment paper. It really helped to get the ‘fries’ extra crispy.

Last weekend, my incredible sister’s in law and mother in law threw me a sweet shower for Baby Boy.  There was delicious food, fun games, and wonderful company.  Fun Fact: Every guest in attendance either had a baby in their belly, or a baby of their own under the age of 6 months…crazy right?  We are for sure in the season of babies in our lives right now, as are most of our friends…

Here’s a few pictorials:

Much fun was had.  Have I mentioned that I am pretty sure that I have the best friends and family that a girl could ever ask for?  I am one thankful lady.