Author Archives: annettelharvey

Mexican Corn

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This month we are making four meals for four different friends who just had babies. Each meal we are bringing some form of Mexican food- one of our favorites! My go to side item for Mexican is often black beans so when I finally found this recipe (and loved it) I knew we had to write this one down. If you’re looking for a quick and easy side dish with ingredients you’ll most likely find in your pantry then you’ll love Mexican corn!

IngredientsIMG_2153
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 cups corn (about 4 ears), cut from the cob
  • 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 glove garlic, grated
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1 handful cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lime, juice
  • 2 tablespoons cotija (or feta), crumbled
  • chili powder to taste
Directions
  1. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the corn, toss and let it sit cooking until charred, mix it up and let it char again, about 6-10 minutes.
  3. Add the jalapeno, saute for a minute and remove from heat.
  4. Mix everything and serve warm or at room temperature.

*This is one of those recipes that you don’t need to include all of the ingredients. We’ve often made it without the feta, jalapeños and even onion. It’s great with as many or as few ingredients as you want to include.

Three Months!

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Happy New Year and Happy three months to these two little ladies! They weigh about 12.5 and 13 lb, eat every 4 hrs during the day and we just stopped their last (5th) feeding of the night and now they sleep 11+ hours! Thank you Moms on Call!  They are wearing 3 month and 3-6 month outfits and 6 month pjs (they are too long for 3 month pjs already!

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They are growing and changing so much. My goal in 2016 is to finally get a pic of both of them smiling at the same time! I love these sweet girls! 

Here is their current schedule:

  • 6AM- Wake and Eat 7 oz
  • 8AM – 10AM – Nap
  • 10AM – Eat 7oz
  • 12PM-2PM – Nap
  • 2PM- Eat 7oz
  • 4PM-6PM – Nap
  • 6PM- Eat 7oz
  • In bed by 7:30pm*

*When we bathe them we do it after this last feeding and then “top them off” if needed to get them sleepy again and ready for bed. Ideally you would bathe before their last bottle but we can’t make it work with big brother’s schedule.

*Awake time usually involves, eating, tummy time, fun under the play gym or going for a walk outside. The most active they are during their wake time the better their naps are.

*When we put them down for the night they sleep all the way through until they wake up at 6am. They are great sleepers!

*At three months the girls were still in size 1 diapers. A week after writing this we moved them up to size 2 diapers.

Easy Shredded Chicken

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With the holidays in full swing there is lots to do and lots to get ready for. And with my husband out of town this week I need quick and easy dinner meals to get us through those busy nights after school and before bedtime.

One of my favorite recipes for a quick and easy dinner are these Creamy Chicken Taquitos. The only downside is they call for shredded chicken which always seemed like a hassle to come by. Usually I’d buy a rotisserie chicken but even that takes a lot of time to prep. So finally I came across this recipe which results in tasty shredded chicken ready in no time. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTSIMG_1275

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot and rippling. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the chicken top-side down in the hot skillet and let the chicken cook for 5 minutes until golden brown on top. Flip the chicken, add the water or chicken broth, cover the skillet and let the chicken simmer gently over medium heat for 7-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (it will register 160 degrees on a thermometer). Don’t overcook or it might be dry. While the chicken is simmering, add additional water 1/4 cup at a time if the liquid evaporates too quickly. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Let it cool slightly before shredding.

 

Original recipe available here.

Getting Ready for Weekday

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It’s time for another transition for the girls. As soon as we get used to one routine its time to change again. I go back to work in January and so its time to start getting the girls on a schedule that will work for them being at weekday (my work’s daycare program) and traveling back and forth each morning and afternoon.

The girls have also not been very hungry every 3 hours and are still really sleepy when its time to wake them up to eat and so I decided they could definitely go longer than 3 hours for each feeding. Ideally I would move them to a 3.5 hour schedule next but with driving to and from work and pick up at weekday that schedule just won’t work for our family. So yesterday they turned 10 weeks old and today I started them on a 4 hour schedule to see how things go.

Here is our new schedule:

6AM- EAT 5.5-6 oz
7AM- Nap at home, then in the car and drop off at daycare by 9am
10AM- EAT
11:30AM-2PM – NAP at daycare (swaddled in a Woombie)
2PM – EAT
3-4:30PM- NAP at daycare, I pick them up at 4:30, ideally they will nap in the car and at home
6PM- EAT
7PM-8:30PM NAP
8:30PM- BATH
9PM* – EAT

*Definitely hoping to drop this last feeding eventually, especially once the girls start solids and are getting enough calories during the day.

Not So Secret Chili

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So my husband started developing a recipe for chili since he was invited to Chili Cook-Off Competition at his work in 2015. His original recipe was so hot I could barely get it down, even with a glass of milk.  He has spent the last 5 years perfecting the recipe so it kept the flavor but cuts down the spice. There are still optional ingredients you may include,  depending on how spicy you like your chili.  Check out this hearty recipe you’ll definitely want to try this winter!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 7 cloves of garlic, minced (or 3.5 tsp pre-minced garlic from jar)
  • 2 bell peppers, diced
  • 1 lb. ground chuck
  • 1 lb. chorizo sausage
  • 1 packet of low sodium taco seasoning
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, light heat)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can chipolte peppers in adobo sauce (optional, SPICY)
  • 1 can of SweetWater 420 (or favorite beer)
  • 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes in juice/puree
  • 1 28 oz Prego traditional tomato sauce (OR 1 more 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes)
  • 1 small can tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 15 oz can yellow corn

Directions:

Brown the ground chuck and chorizo together, drain, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add your onion, green pepper, and garlic…sauté until tender.  Add in the meat mixture and all the spices and stir well.  Add in the beef broth and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add in everything else except the tomato paste and corn. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Turn down the heat and simmer for another 60 minutes.  Add in the tomato paste and corn, cook for 5 minutes and serve when ready.

Two Months!

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Screen Shot 2015-12-03 at 2.19.13 PMOur little loves are officially two months old today! They are growing so fast! They are in size 1 diapers and wear 3 month clothes. Sloane weighs 11 lb and is 22 in long. Maisie weighs 10lb 14 oz and is 22.5 in long. They sleep swaddled, side by side in one of their cribs. They are sleeping roughly 10pm-6am but we are working on getting them both to consistently sleep through the night each and night. We are in love with our little angels 🙂

 

 

Here is their current 2 month schedule:

  • 6am- wake and eat 5 oz
  • 7-9am- nap
  • 9am- eat 5 oz
  • 10am-12pm- nap
  • 12pm – eat 5 oz
  • 1pm-3pm – nap
  • 3pm – eat 5 oz
  • 4-6pm- nap
  • 6pm- eat 5 oz

After the 6pm feeding I’ve tried a couple things.. at first we were consistently letting them nap until 9pm and then feeding another 5 oz and then bed from 10pm-6am. However I really wanted to work on dropping that 9pm feeding and getting closer to them sleeping 12 hours so I also tried feeding them a little more at 6pm and then putting them to bed for the night. They woke up a couple times but I never had to feed them. Just gave them their pacis, changed diapers if needed, and then back to bed.

Diaper Diaries for Twins

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So with our first child I tracked the size and number of diapers we used each month. With the girls we are definitely flying through diapers MUCH faster! And so far staying in smaller sizes a lot longer.. Obviously size depends on the weight your little one is born. Our girls were 5 lb 5 oz and 5 lb oz when they were born. Here is my running list of our diaper diaries 🙂

Diapers by Size:
Size N (Our girls: 0-6 weeks)
Pampers Size: Up to 10 lb.
(5lb 5 oz and 5lb 1 oz – 7lb 13 oz and 7lb 12 oz)
Total: 942 newborn diapers for the first 6 weeks

Size 1 (Our girls: 6 weeks – 14 weeks)
Pampers Size: 8-14 lb.
(Roughly 8-13lb)
Total: 980 size 1 diapers

Size 2 (Our girls 14 weeks – 24 weeks)
Pampers Size: 12-18 lb
(Roughly 13-15lb)
Total: 1106 size 2 diapers

Size 3 (Our girls: 24 weeks- ?)
Pampers Size: 16-28 lb
(Roughly 15lb- ?)
Total: ?

Diapers by Month:
1st month: 657 diapers (newborn)
2nd month: 550 diapers (newborn and size 1)
3rd month: 581 diapers (size 1)
4th month: 533 diapers (size 1 and size 2)
5th month: 486 diapers (size 2)
6th month: 221 and counting… (size 2 and size 3)

18 Months!

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IMG_2496 (1)Our boy is 18 months old! Jude loves to play outside, especially with his Little Tykes car (his favorite toy), he loves Elmo, Toy Story, throwing balls, his cars and trucks and is still a big Daddy’s boy. He is an incredible big brother to his sisters and now in addition to patting their heads he likes to give them kisses and hugs and likes for his stuffed animals to do the same.

Jude’s favorite words are “hi,” “uh oh,” and “no” and his favorite animal sounds are “roar,” “moo,” and “woof woof.”

He wears 18 month and 18-24 month clothes, and size 5 shoes. His favorite foods are fruits, especially peaches and strawberries and apple sauce. He also loves meat. He is not a big fan of veggies but we are still working on it. Here is his usual schedule:

  • IMG_24637AM – wakeup, breakfast with milk
  • 9:30am- snack at school
  • 12:00pm- lunch with milk
  • 1:30pm-3:30pm- nap
  • 3:30pm- snack at school
  • 5:30pm- dinner with milk
  • 6:30pm- bath and brush teeth
  • 7:00pm – bedtime

One Month!

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Our little loves are one month old today! I can’t believe how fast time is flying by with these two! They still sleep between each feeding and wake up only once in the middle of the night. Sloane weighs 7lb 13 oz and Maisie weighs 7lb 12oz! They gained over 2 pounds in a month! Unbelievable! Diaper count for the first month is 657 diapers! And they are still wearing newborn diapers and newborn clothes. Love these two!

Lactation Cookies

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IMG_9627Lactation Cookies… sounds kinda weird right? I don’t know how I had never heard of these with our first but they seem to be all the rage this year… a healthy cookie that you are encouraged to eat (like I need encouragement to eat sweets!) and it boosts your milk supply. Yes please! As I’m still trying to build up enough supply to feed our twins I’ll take all the cookies I can get- and in the meantime I’m also trying the fenugreek pills and Mother’s Milk tea.. I’ll let you know what works after I give them a couple of days to “kick in.” Meanwhile here is one recipe I’ve tried for the lactation cookies. Enjoy!

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Ingredients: 

  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached organic all-purpose flour
  • 5 tablespoons brewers yeast
  • 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons organic unsalted butter (1.5 sticks)
  • 4 tablespoons unrefined organic virgin coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

*I was able to find all ingredients at Publix except for the Brewers yeast which can be purchased at a health foods store like Whole Foods or I bought mine off Amazon.

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven the 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, yeast, flaxseed, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.
  • In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and coconut oil on medium speed until creamy.
  • Add in the sugar and beat on medium to high speed until fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
  • Add in the egg and egg yolk, beating until combined, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add in the vanilla extract and beat until combined again.
  • Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined and mixed.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula until they are evenly dispersed.

Scoop the dough into 1-inch rounds* and place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the bottoms are just golden. Let cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

You can also easily freeze this dough – scoop the rounds on a baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer for 2 hours, then place the dough rounds in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer. Bake at the same temp – they may or may not need an extra minute or 2 – your preference!

*Note: these cookies do not “expand” like regular cookies/cookie dough.. so the scoop size you use will yield the exact size of your cookies. I used a small cookie dough scoop and ended up with small cookies. Next time I’ll probably try using an ice cream scoop to get more “normal sized” cookies.

Original recipe available here.