15 month "celebration" weekend

Ahhhh.....finally I have a chance to sit down and talk about this weekend.  It took me so long because I was busy making this fantastic meal that I must say, was really, really good. I even said to Mike, "I can't remember the last time I made something that was actually really, really good."  I like to cook but I'm not super at it. I can knock off some good meals and some Vail mainstays but I'd never say I make anything that is outstanding.  Well, maybe a few appetizers I have can be categorized as fantastic but they have been tweaked here or there for so many years that they'd have to be good.  Anyway, if you are interested in making a delicious pomodoro sauce and some meatballs to go with it....here you go.

The pomodoro sauce is from this month's Runner's World. Seriously delicious. I'll be making this a lot. And the meatball recipe was a modified version of this. I use just beef and also, I use breadcrumbs and a little milk vs. soaking day old bread in milk.  We're both completely stuffed after going back for seconds. I'm a wanna-be-Italian I guess. I'm always trying to make great pasta recipes. This one goes down in the books. Yummy!

Ok, back to the weekend.  Mike's buddy Lurch was in town on Saturday so after the Monkey's afternoon nap, we headed down to the BBQ festival. You know all of this already. The added part is the Monkey was on the loose. Bottom line, if we let her out of the stroller, she will not go back into the stroller until she is completely dog-tired.  She wants to run and run and run, and with the festival music going in the background, she wants to shake and shake and shake that booty of hers.  I laughed too much that afternoon. Honestly, it was like a stomach workout. And with chasing her around, it was like going for another run.  Perfect example....I was waiting by our table in the courtyard "guarding" it while Mike and Lurch went to go get BBQ for us to eat.  Our table had 3 chairs. A guy walked up and asked if we were using all of the chairs and at first I said, "yes" then I said, ".....you know what, go ahead and take one because there is no chance with this little girl right here (pointing) that all of us will sit down at the same time and eat."  And that was right on the money. Mike and I rotated eating while the other ran around and grooved with the Monkey.  She had a total blast. And yes, we were tired.

On Sunday - per a recommendation from Lurch - we went to the NC Transportation Museum in Salisbury. What a cool place. We were too late for an actual train ride but as far as Eloise was concerned, it didn't matter. We saw the last train ride of the day go by a few times and she was beyond herself.  And it was a real live train in all of it's enormity.  Not some rinky dink train they have at carnivals or whatever. The museum was mostly trains but they also had some planes and cars. Pics to follow here in a second. The Monkey let loose here as I showed in the previous post.  Once she's out of the car seat or the stroller she puts her head down and just starts running.  I'm trying to teach her to watch where she's going so occasionally she'll look up, but it's rare.  More often you'll see her with head down and just going as fast as those little legs will take her.  As far as the museum goes....I highly recommend it. It took us 45 minutes to get there. Mostly all highway and super easy to find. Also, it's free!  (maybe the train ride cost money but we missed it.) And for the amount of trains and buildings and displays they have going on, it's way worth the trip.  Both Mike and I were really impressed. Definitely a hidden gem in this area.

As far as 15 months go....I have some orange chair shots to show in one sec.  Her Dr. appt isn't until next Monday so I don't have stats quite yet. I'll get those up here as soon as I can.

And.......here they are, the much awaited orange chair shots. I wish one other thing was added in here but my explaination will have to do.  Earlier this day I told the Monkey we were going running and what did she do?? She ran to her shoe basket and came back with her florescent green and blue water shoes.  Awesome. We immpediately put them on and went running because I wasn't going to say no to that outstanding effort.  I must have taken those shoes off of her when we got home because sadly, they are not in these pics.

And the Transportation Museum....it's sad when you get home from a really fun Monkey outing to discover that roughly 90% of the pictures you took are of your daugher in a full out sprint.  MANY examples of our little runner.

And some cute ones of the museum when she actually stopped running and enjoyed the scenary.

If you have kiddos, you should head on out to the NC Transportation Museum. It's a pretty cool place.

Grilled sausage, peppers and onion pizza

Mike and I used to make this pizza every so often but I completely forgot about it until today. It's really so delicious. I even said aloud while eating it (probably had my mouth full.....)"honey, this is one of the best meals we make!" So I had to share in hopes that you will make this and love it as much as we do.

Grilled sausage, peppers and onions pizza

Marinade:
1/3 cup of olive oil
3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Grilled toppings:
½ pound spicy Italian sausage
1 red bell pepper – cut into large pieces length wise so you can grill them.
1 yellow bell pepper – cut into large pieces length wise so you can grill them.
½ yellow onion – cut into large pieces length wise so you can grill them.

Additional ingredients:
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Boboli thin pizza crust (of course you can use any kind of dough you prefer)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the pizza pan in the oven.
Whisk together all marinade ingredients; set aside.
Grill sausage, peppers and onions while brushing occasionally with the marinade.
Grill sausage until cooked through – usually around 12 minutes.
Grill peppers and onion until slightly charred and crisp-tender – usually 8 minutes.
Transfer all grilled items to a cutting board. Cut sausages into ½ inch pieces and peppers and onions into thin strips.

Sprinkle the pizza crust with ½ of mozzarella and ½ of the parmesan cheeses. Then top with sausage, peppers and onions. Finish by sprinkling the remainder of the cheeses and drizzle entire pizza with the marinade. Be careful not to get too carried away with the marinade on the pizza. You can make it soggy if you use too much. Just drizzle:) Then bake for 12 minutes until cheeses are melted and crust is golden brown.

P.S. the amount of grilled items this recipe calls for probably gives you enough toppings for 2 pizzas. We just make 1 but save the rest of them and eat them as sausage sandwiches or even have another pizza the next night. Oh, and substitute spicy turkey sausage if you are interested. It's delish!

Enjoy!

Friday's update

This week can nearly be considered a full on hibernation. With a sick Monkey we really hunkered down. We even missed story hour, music class and the consignment shopping I wanted to do today because it didn't seem worth it to drag her out with a cold. She ebbs and flows with being happy and then full on exhausted so it seemed safer to stick around the house. And since the cold knocks her out after about 90 minutes of play time, she's been taking more naps than usual (could she possibly take more? yes.) so going anywhere seemed unrealistic. That said, we did peek our heads outside today to enjoy the warm sunshine (nearly 60 degrees!) and together we played in the leaves for quite a bit. Sweet Pea joined us and so it was pure 100% entertainment for Eloise. What could be more fun than her kitty and some leaves to try and stuff in her mouth? (she was actually getting good at listening to me after about 10 times of saying, "no. we don't eat leaves." and then I'd give her arm a gentle nudge down, away from the mouth.)

Speaking of, she actually knows quite a few more words than I've previously given her credit for. She's very alert and responsive when I point out things and say their name (repeatedly - that's how I think she actually knows some more words). One in particular that I must jot down for future reference - we bought sconces and hung them in the stairwell. My brother freaked me out during construction of the house about the stairwell being really dark because it's literally smack dab in the middle of the house - not a chance for natural light. So with this input, we selected sconces to hang in addition to the standard canned lighting that is always in the ceilings of hallways/stairwells. You see where I'm going with this - the sconces are a BIG hit around here. To Eloise we call them "lights", obviously. She's been on to this for awhile. We'll walk up the stairs and notice that she's smiling. Then she'll even start to giggle. This is all while her head is completely cranked back and she's gazing up at these sconces hanging from the wall. We quickly figured out her light humor because literally every trip up and down the stairs she'd go through this smile/giggle/head cranked back routine. The stairwell has become a 10x daily highlight for her. Isn't it funny what amuses a baby? Too cute. So now we play the light switch game and turn it on and off and then on and off. And she loves it! Of all the things. Anyway, long story short - she knows the word "lights." This is on top of several others that she really seems to pay attention too and lead me to believe she knows.

This next item is totally random but I'll add it just in case this topic pesks someone's interest. Here goes it - I've mentioned this before, I author a couple of blogs for work. They all happen to be healthcare clients and so the posts for February have been about heart health since it's American Hearth Month. Great topic - (I thought) - lots of areas to cover with good stats and helpful advice to provide readers, etc. Perfect. Well I'm nearing the end of the month and honestly, I'm a little over heart health. It's all so obvious. Don't smoke. Start exercising. Know your family medical history. Get a physical. Yada, yada.

Anyway, in my quest to find something to write about (I was very close to throwing in the towel and instead write about the phenomenon of "dying of a broken heart", which I think is fascinating but seriously, what a total buzz kill.) I thankfully came across a press release from the National Barley Foods Council (yes, such a thing exists) who threw themselves a bone this month and told the world - "Barley makes your heart healthy" (lowers "bad" cholesterol).  Alrighty then. Alas, my next blog topic. One post later - complete with "how to find barley in your grocery store" (in the dried beans aisle - next to the rice)  plus a few tasty recipes - and I'm pleased to announce, this random topic peaked my own interest enough to go buy barley and for the first time ever, cook with it. I made beef barley soup this week and it was really good. My mom even had some today and she thought it was delish! So, there you go. Barley - makes your heart healthy. Remember, you heard it here first:)  Here are lots of barley recipes. And here's what I made this week. This recipe does not call for potatoes but I added one, diced.

Today I was able to go running because Grammie Judy came over to watch the Monkey. Big score for me! And tomorrow, she's coming back over to watch her again while Mike and I go out to dinner. Big score for the Vails! Thanks so much Mom - we really appreciate it!

I think that's about it for our Friday's update. A little light on the scoop this week - sorry. Playing nurse maid and getting the Monkey healthy again has been priority #1. After that, work was work and Mike was out of town so basically a typical Vail week at the homestead.

Have a great weekend! If you're in CLT - we're going to have awesome weather!