First Ever WIAW

Yesterday was a VERY big day in the Notarange household. Our little lady turned THREE months old! I cannot believe it. I know I say it all of the time, but seriously, WHERE does time go?!

She is no longer a ‘newborn,’ she is officially a ‘baby.’ Kind of crazy if you ask me!

With each step, I feel like we are learning SO much more about each other. I swear everyday we are learning a new quirk about Gabriella. She’s so funny & has me cracking up all day long. For the past few weeks she has been smiling like crazy (LOVE her smile) & she’s finally laughing!! A baby laugh is the sweetest sound in the whole world. The best part is that she is laughing at US! When she was younger, she would smile when she had gas. But now it’s at US- when we make funny faces, or when Craig dances, or when I sing. HA! A tune is something I cannot hold..and half of the time I forget the words to nursery rhymes, so I end up making them up…and G can’t stop laughing.

One of the posts that I plan on doing very soon are the changes I’ve noticed in her over the past three months- so be on the lookout for that one very soon! 🙂

Anyways, today is a first here at ‘Everyday’s a Hollyday.’ I doing my very first ‘What I ate Wednesday.’

Thanks to Jenn at Peas & Crayons for hosting!

This is a list of everything that I ate yesterday.

Breakfast:

What the heck is that?! It’s what I eat everyday for breakfast (I’m very much a person of routine 😉 ) – It’s a banana cut in half with peanut butter in the middle, sprinkle with cinnamon, drizzled with honey & topped with something crunchy. (today is was Rice Krispies, but other times I will use granola, or another type of cereal)
And of course coffee, iced coffee!

Snack (Morning & Afternoon):

Animal crackers. Multiply that by about 5. Seriously. I can’t stop eating these. I eat them between meals when I need something quick to snack on. They aren’t too bad (calorie wise), and they are portable…which is key! I mean I do have a 3 month old to keep up with 😉

Lunch:

(I feel like a Julie copy cat 😀 I know how much she loves her Tervis tumblers too!)

Smoothie made with:
-2 cups almond milk
-1 scoop vanilla protein powder
-about 1 tbsp peanut butter
-approximately 1 tsp cinnamon (I LOVE cinnamon)
-HUGE handful of spinach
-5 ice cubes

Dinner:

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken with mixed vegetables

Super easy recipe:

Crock pot Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

-about 2lbs. chicken tenderloins-1 cup pineapple juice
-1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
-1/3 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
-1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Throw everything in the crock pot, give it a nice stir, then cook on low for about 5-6 hours, or until chicken comes apart easily. (I just broke it into chunks)

I served it with rice because it was a little runny, I think next time I make this I may only use 2/3 cup of pineapple juice….or I will add a little cornstarch to thicken it up. But it was nice & flavorful.

I thought it might be good with peanuts sprinkled on- the whole ‘sweet & sour’ thing- but I preferred it without the peanuts.

Dessert:

Edy’s half the fat vanilla bean ice cream. YUM! (& only 100 calories per half cup- can’t beat that) And because I was too lazy to take an actual picture of the bowl of ice cream I had…I just took a picture of the container. I had about a cup of it, sprinkled with cinnamon, LOTS of cinnamon.

And there you have it, a day of eats from me. That was kind of fun…I may have to do it again next week.

Hope you have a great day- half way there!

PS: Anyone else watching the Bachelor? LOVE Sean! Totally was betting Alyssa would end up with him 😉 But my favorite so far is Lesley.

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Buffalo Noodle Soup

So guess who woke up with the symptoms of a lovely head cold yesterday morning? This girl.

Boo! It sucks. I thought it might just be from how I slept, since I usually sleep with my mouth open. (with a nice puddle of drool…isn’t that nice?!)

But as the day went on I just kept having more of a scratchy feeling in my throat rather than just a ‘I slept with my mouth open’ kind of feeling. Ugh. 😦

Guys, I JUST got over being sick. I was sick for nearly two weeks with that funky bug that is going around that I feel everyone has had. It was terrible. Everyone I know said that they had it for at least 2 weeks. Well a few weeks ago I started feeling myself again.

Then this morning hit. I have been trying all of the remedies that I know to try to get rid of it. I have downed ‘E-mer-gen-c’ like water. I also have been eating even MORE fruits & vegetables than I normally do. (and more ‘normal’ intake is pretty ridiculous) And the hand sanitizer has become my new best friend.

Needless to say when I was driving home from work I only had one thing on my mind: soup. Nothing quite helps a head cold more than soup.

When I was thinking of a recipe, one kept popping up in my head. A week or so ago I saw a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Soup on Jessica’s blog. (if you read my old blog you know that I have an obsession with her recipes.)  The best part? It takes less than 30 minutes to make!

I did my own spin on her recipe, only because I wanted to make the soup a bit more filling & because I wanted to add in some more vegetables.

Buffalo Noodle Soup
(slightly adapted from Jessica’s Buffalo Chicken Soup)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 stalk celery, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon flour

32 ounces low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce

1/3 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup ditalini, or other small pasta

sliced green onions, crumbled gorgonzola and cilantro for topping

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, & spray with cooking spray. Add the chicken & cook until no longer pink in the middle.  Set chicken aside.

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onions, carrots & celery with a sprinkle of salt to the pot, stirring to coat, then cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add in garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Sprinkle in flour and stir for another 1-2 minutes. Add in stock, buffalo sauce, chicken and grated cheeses, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, then add you pasta. Reduce and let simmer (stirring occasionally)  for 20- 25 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.

I topped it with some scallions, cheese & croutons.

I also made a side of corn bread. Because what doesn’t go with corn bread?! Oh maybe it’s more of ‘I’m a CARB-O-AHOLIC’ & can’t get enough. Nothing says I love carbs more than adding pasta to a soup recipe, topping it with croutons & then having a side of bread. Oh yes, I love my carbs. 😉 Remember all of those extra vegetables I added to the recipe? They help counter balance all of the carbs, I promise!

And if you’re like me, you just throw it all in the bowl & call it a day. I mean it all goes to the same spot anyways.

(and if you’re like me, you make a mess. Gotta love the little noodle & crumbs sitting next to the bowl. Now that’s some great photography. 🙂 )

Just be prepared when you eat this soup. Your nose will run. I guarantee it. It is pretty funny to try to eat your dinner in between blowing your nose. We were quite a pair to see.

This soup is spicy. But not the kind of spicy like, ‘OMG! My tongue is going to fall off from the flames.’ But more of a subtle spicy, that kicks in as you eat. That is my favorite kind of spicy!

The only negative Craig had to say about the soup was that he ‘didn’t like the carrots.’ No surprise there, he hates them & I swear he can spot them in anything. I always try to sneak them in, but he finds them & ends up pushing them aside. Typical guy, right?! 😉

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it! & thank you to Jessica for such a great recipe!