Top 3 for 2023

It’s a tradition now! Here are some of our favorite things from 2023:

Top 3 Fav Books of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. Hello, Beautiful by by Ann Napolitano– I haven’t cried this much reading a book in a long time, but OMG the story and characters were epic. LOVED IT!
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – A cozy read with a hint of mystery in the story! My favorite parts were the narration from the octopus.
3. Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon– Emily and I were huge Superstar fans growing up and this book made me love her even more! Molly Shannon has an incredible life story and and incredible outlook on life.

Emily’s Picks:
1. The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork. A retelling of The Nutcracker. A perfect Christmas read! Cozy atmospheric vibes and fun action.
2. The Bookwanderes by Anna James. A middle grade read with lots of fantasy elements. This is also a 5 book series. I’ve read the next 2 and each book offers something different and fun.
3. Momfluenced by Sara Petersen. A very insightful thought provoking look at motherhood, social media, and comparison. This is a book that I want to reread which is rare!

Top 3 New Recipes of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. Protein Baked Oats– These have been my meal prep on repeat since having Wiggler
2. Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole– When you need something just plain tasty!
3. Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers– Low Carb and delish

Emily’s Picks:
1. Quiche – Not really a recipe to link but I’ve been getting premade pie crust, bushing with Dijon mustard (my mom’s tip!) and adding whatever we have. Delicious and great for meal prep.
2. Spicy Pork Dan Dan Noodles -My Postpartum Doula made this while I was recovery after birth. It was amazing and I think about it weekly. Hello Fresh recipes are generally all very delicious.
3. Hulk Smoothies. Again no real recipe. Chocolate protein powder, frozen banana, peanut butter, milk, and spinach (to make it Hulk green). Add yogurt if you got it. These have been the unsung hero these past few months. The boys love them. They are easy to make and easy to clean up. Also a low mess meal since it’s all in a cup.

Top 3 Purchases of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit– Wiggler used this from 4-8 months and you can’t put a price on good sleep!
2. All Birds Sneakers– I’m loving wearing these in the office, cute and professional-ish looking
3. Barre3 Online Membership- I didn’t technically buy this because my work does a fitness reimbursement but I absolutely LOVE Barre3! They had an amazing postpartum series that helped me regain my strength after Wiggler and I do their regular classes whenever I can fit it in!

Emily’s Picks:
1. The Five Minute Journal. I have kept a journal since I was in the 5th grade but recently I’ve lost motivation to write. Mostly because my days look the same and I don’t want to rehash them at the end of the day. This has been the perfect solution. I quickly allows me to record key moments while also practicing mindfulness.
2. H&M 3 Pack Slim Fit T-Shirts. I got these right after I had Gal and I have been wearing them ever since. They fit perfect and wash easy. Also not see through like most women’s T-shirts. I proceeded to buy 3 more packs. So I now have 9 of these.
3. Kindle. Loves it! Isn’t so hash on my eyes (like reading an ebook on my phone) and light weight.

Top 3 Watches of 2023
Maddie’s Picks:
1. House of Villains– I’m so sad this show is over, it was the perfect reality show IMO
2. Girls5Eva– I love the premise of this show and all of the musical numbers, can’t wait for Season 3 on Netflix
3. Mrs. Davis– This was a thrilling watch that really made me think about AI!

Emily’s Picks:
1. House of Villains – Amazing show! Loved it so much I rewatched it with my husband.
2. Abbot Elementary - A rare show my husband and I could agree on.
3. Hook – I had never seen this before and don’t know what took me so long.

Current Meal Planning – Dinner

Emily here! Sharing my current meal planning plan. This is focused on dinner planning. Recently my goal has been to make double our dinner portions so that I’m not cooking every night. Here is my rough outline with a few meal ideas and some meal ideas for toddlers.

Sunday – Casserole/Crockpot/Comfort
Meal Ideas: Chicken Tikka Masala, Zuppa Toscana, Shepherd’s Pie, Ham and Noodle Casserole, Potato Soup, Stroganoff, Chili Dog Casserole, Minestrone Soup, Chip Beef on Toast, Pork Loin, Roast Chicken Dinner, Ribs.
Toddler Meal: Snack Plate (Cheese, Cracker, Fruit, Veggie, Hummus, Cottage Cheese).

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday – Mexican Night
Meal Ideas: Shrimp Sheet Pan Fajitas, Taco Bowl, Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Bowls, Chicken Enchiladas, Chipotle Chicken Tacos (El Snacho Style), Quesadilla, Burrito, Pork Tacos, Fish “Tacos”, BWW Nachos,
Toddler Meal: Quesadilla (cheese, chicken or beans).

Wednesday – Leftovers

Thursday- Italian
Meal Ideas: Spaghetti, Cheese and Spinach Ravioli with Meat Sauce, Meatball Subs, Alfredo Pasta Bake, Lasagna (frozen for an easier dinner), Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Rollups.
Toddler Meal: Brown Rice Pasta with whatever sauce is being used or butter.

Friday – Burgers and Fries
Meal Ideas: Beef Burgers, Grilled Chicken, Crispy Chicken (get premade from freezer section), Turkey Burger, Veggie Burgers, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich, Sloppy Joes. Side of fries, tots, or onions rings.
Toddler Meal: Usually Veggie Burger or same as above with no bun.

Saturday – Pizza
Meal Ideas: My pizza dough as the base. Pizza, Calzone/Pizza Pocket, Pizza Rollups, Stromboli, Pizza Pinwheels.
Toddler Meal: Mini Pizza. Cauliflower Pizza Crust Topped with Red Sauce, Cheese and Chicken.

A few things to note.
1. I always try to make a meal that everyone will like. But that doesn’t always happen so the toddler meals are easy meal to make if my main dish won’t work for their taste buds or eating abilities.
2. In addition to the main dish I add a side veggie. Most of the time I cook it but for an easier dinner I will just put something raw on the side. Like carrots, cucumber, celery, or an easy salad.

What We Eat in a Day

Emily here! Sharing what me, Pal (3), and Bud (12months) eat in a day.

We always start the day with coffee and bottles. (Coffee is for me obvi). So upon waking up the boys get 4oz of milk and me a cup of coffee. About 30 min later Bud is hungry so we have breakfast. This day we had banana pancakes. I added Nutella for all. Bud doesn’t like eggs so he got sliced cheese instead (some days I still offer eggs to Bud). Also he doesn’t really like strawberries so he got blueberries instead.

Next Pal and Bud had a mid morning snack of freeze dried apples.

Next was nap time. Both boys got another bottle before their naps. We like to have full bellies before naps in our house. I ate leftover Mac and cheese and broccoli for lunch.

The boys wake up at different times from their naps so we have snacks. Also they don’t like to sit for a meal after their naps for a long time. Here was todays variety. Mango, goldfish, crackers, and fruit pouch. We played outside and then I got everyone inside with another bottle of milk (we have big milk drinkers in this house).

Dinner was leftover orzo pasta with butter, fruit, and cottage cheese. (Bud had more than 7 blueberries but he eats them very fast). I ate enchiladas after they went to bed and forgot to take a picture of it. Bud got another bottle of milk before bed.

Winter Solstice 2022

Emily here! Sharing how we celebrated the Winter Solstice this year! I mentioned in my Autumn Equinox post that I want to start celebrating the solstices and equinoxes this year. So far I’ve been keeping up! I had a few very cute ideas but had no energy on the actual day of the solstice so I took Pal and Bud to my mom’s house and we did a little baking project there.

We dipped pretzels in chocolate and added sprinkles. Honestly very similar the our autumn equinox celebration but I knew it would work with Pal lol. He’s really into sprinkles so he loved this and he enjoyed eating them too. He kept saying it was ice cream and licking it like a popsicle. Bud sat in a highchair and watched us while he had snacks and my mom chatted with him. Also shout out to my mom for taking the pictures!

Cheers!

My hope for next year is to do some more winter solstice specific activities. I’d like to try and make some candles with Pal. Maybe dip candles or use leftover broken crayons. I’d like to make sun-bread on that day too. And I’d like to start the tradition of the children opening a present early on that day. We always got to open a present on my parents anniversary and I look back on it fondly!

Top 3 for 2022

Emily and Maddie here for a joint blog post. We wanted to wrap up the year with some of our fav things from 2022!

Top 3 Books of 2022

Emily’s Picks:
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. This book no joke changed my life. I couldn’t read another book for like 3 months after. I still think about it everyday. It was inspiring, eye opening and heartbreaking. I didn’t see the ending coming and those are always the best books to me.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. The book was such a cozy delightful read. Perfect for October-December. I loved all the witchy talk of potion making and in a way felt like a very modern Circe.

I’ll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood by Jessi Klein. This was hilarious. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in like 2 days. Jessi nails so much of motherhood and made me laugh out loud and cry as well. She this book talks a bit more about the toddler phase so if you’re a mom with a baby I would say to wait until you have a toddler to really “get it”. But again so funny!

Honorable Mention: I couldn’t finish this post without mentioning Wintering By Katherine May. I read this book at the beginning of the year and I’m currently rereading it right now. (Maddie jumping in here to say SAME!)

Maddie’s Picks:
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Wow this was such an amazing and profound read! The story was epic, exploring multiple generations, and what I loved most was how the author managed to show the perspectives of so many different kinds of people, even those who were not necessarily important to the story. The family in this book and all that they experience has stuck with me long after reading it.

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe. I listened to this on audiobook read by Anderson Cooper, which I highly recommend. The Vanderbilt history is in many ways the history of America and it was extremely eye opening to learn about the story of this iconic family. Would you believe it made me cry? This book is definitely unexpected in all the best ways.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Mass. I love me a good fantasy series and have torn through 4 of the 5 books in 2022 (currently reading the 5th book as I write this in 2023). I was immediately drawn into the characters and storyline of this book about high faeries and humans and have not stopped reading it since!

Top 3 Recipes

Emily’s Picks:
Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. Okay this one feel like I’m cheating a little but I got this cookbook last Christmas and about halfway through the year started using it. Everything I have made from it turns out perfect and amazing. This is something everyone (and I mean everyone) should have in their kitchen.

Oatmeal Cookies (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Cookbook). My husband’s one and only cookbook is this adorable If You Give a Mouse A Cookie Cookbook. I started making a few cookies from it with Pal and discovered the most delicious Oatmeal Cookies recipe in it. I think the secret in the heavy cream. It’s also very easy to put together. (I assume the book is now so expensive since it’s out of print.)

Cottage Cheese Pancakes. Maddie sent me this recipe when she was going ham for cottage cheese this Christmas and this has been a hit with everyone in my family. It’s not common that I find a recipe that everyone will eat. Love that it is low in sugar and has great protein!

Maddie’s Picks:
Emily’s Pizza Recipe (Sister Hack) After visiting Emily in Oregon and getting an in person tutorial on how to make her famous dough, the hubz and I upgraded our home pizza accoutrements and have been making this almost weekly with delicious results.

Pasta Fagoli Soup (Taste of Home) Healthy, cheap, tasty: check, check, check! This is a simple but oh so yummy recipe that I found on Taste of Home in early 2022. Perfect for fall or winter nights.

Turkey Meatball Subs (Six Sister’s Stuff) This recipe is a light and perfect for game day! I also like how I can use the leftovers for spaghetti later in the week.

Top 3 Purchases

Emily’s Picks:
New Dining Table. This was the best purchase of the year. Our other dining table had fabric seats which were getting destroyed with children learning how to eat. It was also a hand-me-down which we have used for 5 years. We were ready to purchase something specific for our space and agreed that this table would be perfect. (Bonus we reused our old dining table as a play table for our children. My husband just shortened the legs.)

7 Pack of Black Leggings. I kept telling myself that I couldn’t wear black leggings everyday. Idk why I was so set on it. But once I let myself it was so freeing! I bought a pair for each day and they have really held up! I’m currently 5 months pregnant and still wearing them!

New Water Bottle. I had been using the same water bottle for many years and anytime it got knocked over it leaked no matter what (and it gets knocked over a lot). So I bought this new one and its been so nice!

Maddie’s Picks:
Hot Pop Microwave Popcorn Maker. I was influenced to buy this after seeing it in a Youtube video from See Mindy Mom. I love that it is so easy to use and we can control all of the ingredients in our popcorn. We use it weekly for movie night.

Dining Room Rug from Wayfair. We bought this to replace our old dining room rug and I got the 8×10 size on sale for $164. It’s an indoor/outdoor rug, so very durable and the subtle pattern adds a little something to the room without being distracting.

Ever Go Blazer from Maurices. I bought three of these blazers in different colors for my new job that I started in April and I wear them all the time. They are so easy to dress up or down! My favorite way to wear them is with a v-neck tee, jeans, and loafers.

Homemade Pizza Dough

Emily here! I have been on the hunt for many years to find the perfect pizza dough recipe. I have it here folks! I would title this blog post “The Best Homemade Pizza Dough” because I truly think it is. BUT I hate when people on the internet do that so on principle I won’t. Also if you’re naming a post like that I feeeeeel like you should literally have an award or something. Or like enter it in a county fair and have a blue ribbon? Anyway moving on.
The original recipe is from Bread Baking for Beginners by Bonnie Ohara (amazing book that has served all my bread needs). I have made a few changes to that original recipe to make it my own.

Homemade Pizza Dough
Makes 2 Pizzas
Total Time 2hrs 30min (ish)

Ingredients
8 grams instant yeast
375 grams warm water
400 grams all purpose flour
100 grams whole wheat flour
10 grams salt

Steps
1. Measure out yeast in a small cup. Next fill a measuring cup with warm water (I usually shoot for the water to be slighter warm to the touch). Place a glass bowl on your scale. Start pouring water until you reach a weight of 375 grams. Add measured yeast. Mix and let sit for a few minuets.
2. While yeast and water are resting measure out salt in a small cup.
3. Next weight out 100 grams whole wheat flour and 400 grams all purpose flour into your glass bowl with water and yeast mixture. Add measured salt on top.
4. Mix ingredients until just combined then pour them out onto a lightly flour and clean counter. Knead the dough until it is smooth (2-3 min).
5. Flour your bowl and place dough in it. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour and 30 minuets.
6. After the rough has risen preheat your oven to 525°F and add a pizza stone if you have one. Removed the dough from the bowl and divide into two balls. Reshape balls and let them rest while you prep you pizza ingredients (5-10min).
7. Cut parchment paper large enough for your dough. Roll dough out in parchment paper. Once rolled to your preferred shape and thickness you can begin to assemble your pizza.
8. Once your oven comes to temp put your pizza in there for 9-13min. I prefer 13 for a darker crust.
9. Remove pizza and let rest for 5 min. Then dig in!

Some notes:
-You can use 500 grams of all purpose flour instead of the 100 grams of wheat but I think it really adds to the flavor of the crust.
-Sugar shouldn’t be in pizza dough.
-When putting the pizza in the oven asked a loved one for help. My husband and I each take a side of the parchment paper to get the pizzas safely in the oven.
– Set a timer when you put the pizza in the oven. I have nearly burnt many pizza not setting one.

Easy Crockpot Dairy Free Chicken Tikka Masala

Emily here! I wanted to share a favorite recipe in my house. Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala. This is easy and so flavorful. I hope you enjoy!

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic (I purchase precut garlic for a shortcut)
1 tbsp ginger (I purchase this in a tub for a shortcut too)
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp salt
1 can coconut milk

Combine all ingredients, except coconut milk, in crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours.
After 6 hours remove chicken. Using an immersion blender (or put sauce into a regular blender) blend sauce until smooth.
Shred chicken and add back into crockpot.
Add coconut milk and stir. Serve with white rice and naan. I like to use this recipe for making homemade naan.

Monthly Dinner Meal Plan

Emily here! Today I am sharing what our monthly dinner meal plan looks like. This is a monthly glance at what we eat every month for dinner.

IDK it seems pretty self explanatory? We have dinners that we really like so those show up many times in one month (Looking at you enchiladas, meatball subs, pizza, and burgers).
Also my main tip is to make good food. When we were saving for our home we hardly ate out (and still really don’t). Instead we would ask ourselves if we were to eat out where would be go? What would we order there? Then I would just make it at home. That technique just became how we meal plan. The meals I make aren’t going to make you super skinny and they aren’t going to make you super fat. And it’s like that. (and that’s the way it is boo.)

That’s it. Don’t make it complicated.

Homemade Pizza Night

Emily here! I love having a pizza night planned out each week. Sometimes we order pizza out or I will make it from scratch. Last night I made it from scratch and I think it’s my best one yet!

I use the pizza dough from the Food Nanny Cookbook/Blog. I love this cookbook. Everything I make from it turns out so well. I also love this pizza crust because it is so flexible. If you don’t have time to let it rise it is still so yummy. Here is what I made:

Hawaiian Pizza with Tomatoes

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough from Food Nanny Blog
Tomato Sauce
Italian Seasoning
Goat Cheese or Mozzarella
Ham or Canadian Bacon
Red Onion
Pineapple
Cherry Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Sweet Chili Sauce

1. Put pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to as hot as it goes (I’ve read this is how you get really good pizza). Mines goes to 550.
2. After you’ve made the dough stretch to form it into a circle on parchment paper.
3. Add tomato sauce and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
4. Add on cheese, ham, red onion, pineapple, and cherry tomatoes.
5. Brush crust with olive oil.
6. Place on pizza stone. I don’t time the pizza but it cooks pretty fast. I keep an eye on it and once the crust is brown I take it out.
7. Let cool and slice.
8. Add Sweet Chili Sauce! This is something I haven’t done before but I keep seeing it on the Food Network and oh man it was so good!
9. Add a side salad! This always make me feel like I’m in a restaurant.
   1. Salad Ingredients: Romaine Lettuce, Apple, Cucumber, Crumble Goat Cheese, Champagne Vinaigrette.

First Time Bread Maker! Part Deux

Maddie here! Writing about my experience as a first time bread maker. Emily wrote about her experience in making bread by hand in her post HERE. I used a bread maker for my first loaf and it was AMAZING! My mother-in-law got us this (now discontinued) bread maker for our first wedding anniversary (6 years ago) but we did not take it with us in our initial move to the East Coast because we were not sure how much kitchen space we would have. As it turns out, living in Jersey City we have much more storage than the typical NYC apartment. With our recent re-commitment to staying on the East Coast, me going wheat-free, and being strict with our budget, I asked my fam to ship the bread maker out to us. Shout out to my parents and Emily for finding the bread machine in storage and sending it!

I used the recipe in my bread maker manual, subbing out spelt flour for the regular wheat flour. I included the recipe below, but this is only relevant if you happen to have my same bread maker as me and being that it is now discontinued, this feels unlikely. Honestly, I am mostly including the recipe for my future use.

The bread turned out delicious! The only thing that I would change next time is to choose the ‘light’ darkness as opposed to ‘medium’. I plan on making all of my breads (and jam!) in the machine going forward and definitely recommend investing in a bread machine if you want to make your own bread but don’t have the time to commit to doing it the old fashioned way. It is perfect for those (like me) who want to set it and forget it.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of Milk at 80 Degrees F
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter
• 3 1/3 Cups of Spelt Flour
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Sugar
• 1 1/4 Teaspoons of Salt
• 1 Packet of Active Dry Yeast

Steps:

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add milk to the pan first, then add dry ingredients (except yeast) and level.
3. Quarter the butter and add to the corners.
4. Make an impression in the center and add the yeast.
5. Close the lid, select menu and select 1 for basic setting, select light color, and press start.
6. The bread maker does its thing and TA-DA, about 2 hours later you have a delicious loaf of bread.