How Appeal-ing: Sour Cream Cookies

I know I made it sound like my weekend was all full of fun and frivolity, but that was just Sunday.  Last week, I got the last minute word that my boss wanted me to argue an appeal on Monday.

A quick law lesson:
There are 3 levels of courts in the state system - trial, appellate, and supreme.  Cases start out in the trial court.  If you watch any courtroom dramas, this is probably what you're familiar with.

If things go wrong in trial court, you can seek an appeal with the appellate court.  This isn't a case of "I don't like the verdict,"  there has to be a clear error for the court to address.  When this is done, both sides research the laws and write briefs arguing their sides.  The court then schedules a time when the parties can come in and argue their points.

I wasn't around during the time of the trial.  I wasn't around during the researching and writing of the briefs.  Up until Thursday I hadn't given two thoughts about the case or the appeal.

Which meant I spent Friday at work reading over all the papers.  And getting home pretty late.  Saturday I holed myself up, reading cases and crafting my argument for Monday.

And Monday morning I was up bright and early, heading for the Court of Appeal.  Appellate argument is very different from what you see in trials.  There is no jury.  The parties aren't there.  Instead you stand and begin making your argument, as the judges throw question after question at you.  Your "argument" really consists of having convincing answers to their questions. 

I did Moot Court in law school, which is mock-appellate argument, but this was my first time doing it for real.  And it was just like in school, and I enjoyed it just as much.  Even though the judges seemed to be against our position. 

Monday night I celebrated all my hard work with cookies.  Wouldn't you?  I'm sure you've had "cake cookies" made with boxed cake mix.  They're cakey and fluffy and easy to make.  These cookies taste similar - cakey and fluffy, and obviously easy to make.  Thatboy thought they were the infamous cake cookies, and after my day in court, I wasn't going to argue with anyone!

Sour Cream Cookies

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

5 Tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

12 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 375.  Beat the eggs in an electric mixer.
2. Add the sugar, sour cream, butter, and vanilla, beating until combined.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and nutmeg together and add to the wet ingredients, beating until combined.
4. Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Mother's Day Wrap-Up: Baked Penne with Sausage and Creamy Ricotta

Let's get into the meat of it, Mother's Day itself.  The piece de resistance of the week.

I started it out with my now regular Sunday morning run with Jurisslave.  My runs are already my "me time" so it made sense to incorporate it into Mother's Day.

Thatboy really wanted to make me breakfast in bed, but settled for having breakfast ready when I got home.  He had me text him when I was done with the run.  I found out he had ulterior motives for that.  He had to get my gift from Thatbaby all set up.  I returned home to find this:

He turned some of our cabinets into a corkboard station - giving me places to hang our important notes that always fall off the fridge, decorated by my favorite young and upcoming artist.  They had spent all weekend putting these together - taking advantage of every moment I wasn't in the house to cut, glue, and paint.

Of course,  he took care of the breakfast part too.

After breakfast with my boys, I took a shower and headed out to the spa, where I was meeting Thatmom and UDubb.  Last year, Thatmom and I met for a day at the spa, complete with manicure and pedicure.  And that was the last time I had a manicure and pedicure.  I was long overdue.  UDubb and I traded stories about work, friends, and running while lounging by the pool.  I got much less sleeping and reading done than I had planned, but I have beautiful hands, feet, and a sunburn to show for it!

After we were done spa-ing, we headed over to meet the boys for dinner.  Thatbaby brought his gift for Thatmom.  He was very busy this month with art projects for the women he love.

After dinner, we came home, and I got a present from Thatboy - a bath set - candles, wine, and a journal.

We ate out for Mother's Day, and we all had burgers.  But rather than feature a burger, I'm sharing a different favorite - a baked pasta dish.  These never get old.  Inspired by Thatmom who was raving about baked ziti,  like she used to get in the old neighborhood.  I'm more partial to penne than ziti, so Joelen's recipe was especially appealing.  And like always, fresh ricotta and mozzarella is a must for this. 

Baked Penne with Sausage and Creamy Ricotta (From What's Cooking Chicago)

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound chicken sausage, diced

1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground fennel

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound penne

3 cups ricotta 

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large sauce pan.  Add the minced garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant , about 15-30 seconds. 
2. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the tomato puree, water, sugar, bay leaf and fennel. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until thickened, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
4. While the sauce is simmering, cook the penne according to package directions.  Drain.
5. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce.  Combine the remaining sauce with the pasta and spoon into a baking dish.
6. Pour the reserved meat sauce over the pasta and dollop large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top, folding it into the pasta.
7. Scatter the mozzarella on top and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

The Other Mothers: Flank Steak with Sundried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Basil

 

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week.  Falling on the last day of the week is a day that recognizes people who are just as important as teachers - care providers.  It's fitting that their day of recognition falls on the Friday before Mother's Day, because I think of them each as Thatbaby's "other mothers."

I wanted to do something really nice for all the day care providers.  Not just the ones in the toddler room, where he is now.  Over the past year he's been in 3 different rooms with different care providers, so I didn't think it was fair to only thank the ones who happened to be the right room on the right day.

I found a brilliant idea on Pinterest and created vases filled with alphabet magnets, then stuffed those with bright flowers.  I dropped them off, and all of the providers seemed grateful.  Grateful?  It seems so backwards.  I don't know what I'd do without these wonderful women who probably spend more time with my son than I do.  Who are there to help nurture him and help him grow.

At home, I have my own methods for helping to nurture Thatbaby and help him grow.  It mostly involves making him amazing dinners. And making sure he doesn't jump off chairs.  Luckily the amazing dinner portion is fairly easy.  Especially when I have such a great resource of bloggers who can supply me with fancy-type easy meals.  Elly calls this "Flank steak like Giada would make."  And she's right.  I'm not sure if it's the basil or the sundried tomatoes, but these definitely have the Italian feeling Giada is famous for.  And the goat cheese makes it a sure fire winner in  my book.  I never turn down goat cheese.

Flank Steak with Sundried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Basil (From Elly Says Opa)

10 oz. flank steak

2 oz. goat cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Optional pan sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. white wine

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butterfly the flank steak, then pound it flat. 
2. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper.
3. Combine the goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, basil, a few grinds of pepper in a small bowl.
4. Spread the goat cheese mixture on top of the flank steak, and then roll it up. Secure the roll with toothpicks.
5. Heat a large, ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. 
6. Add the rolled steak and brown on all sides.  Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until cooked to your preference.  Let the steak rest under a foil tent for 5-10 minutes before slicing. 
7. While steak is resting, make the pan sauce.  Place the pan back on the stove and add the garlic.  Sautee just until fragrant.
8. Add the wine to deglaze, scraping up the browned pieces.  Keep cooking until the sauce is reduced.
9. Season with salt and pepper, strain and serve over the steak. 

Tea and Peppers: Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole

 

Last Thursday Thatbaby's daycare held their annual Mother's Day Tea.  Thatbaby's class made our welcome sign.

Thatbaby was in rare form.  Mostly because there was a table of food.  And where there's a table of food, you will find my guy standing beside it asking for more.  He did take a break to give me a flower.

But then he took it back and gave it to one of his classmates.  I eventually got it back because his friend was totally confused by the gift and handed it over to me.  After several meltdowns involving all the crackers being gone and my refusal to let him walk around with a hand of melty chocolate pastry, we headed home, where I opened the gift he made me this year.

There are very few things moms like better than a handmade gift (At least at this age.  I'm not sure how I'd feel about a handprint once Thatbaby is 25), but an easy dinner ranks right up there.  This goes along with my favorite "dump in a pan and bake" cooking I've been doing lately.  Especially because lately I've been cooking after dinner for the next day, so it's ready to go when we get home and I can go for a run later.   Casseroles are perfect for this, because they don't take a lot of time in the kitchen and they reheat really well.

Bell Pepper Casserole (From Branny Boils Over)

 1 lb ground beef

 2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 large bell peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp worcester sauce
pepper
1 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken broth, heated
2 cups shredded cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Heat a skillet over medium heat and brown beef.
2. Combine beef with the remaining ingredients (except for the cheese) in a casserole dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
3. Uncover (but reserve the foil!) and add cheese. Bake for additional 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, put the foil back on and let stand for 15 minutes or until rice has absorbed all broth.  Serve.

Mommy Mondays: Nap-ercise

Once you become a mom, you become obsessed with sleep in all forms.  How much, how long, how often.  Today we're going to talk about naps.

As I've said before, in the beginning, sleep is about survival.  You do what works.   For us, that meant for the first 3 months, naps required a human mattress. 

Thatbaby wasn't particular about who he slept on, or what they were doing.  He was just as happy in the carrier or in arms.  But try to move him anywhere else? No go.  Sleep in a carrier or swing?  Never happened.

And for a while, this worked out fine for us.  But eventually I figured he'd be starting daycare.  And I didn't see them letting him sleep on them.  So at 3 months I decided to start working on getting him in the crib.  I know I'm not the only one who has gone through this situation, so I thought I'd share how I did it.  It was a long process - about 5 weeks.

Week 1:  I've told you guys how much I love The Boppy, it's so much more than just a nursing tool.  For us, it was a sleep aid also.  I laid it right beside me on the couch and let Thatbaby fall asleep on me.  Then I, ever so slowly, rolled him onto the boppy, its arms supporting him the way mine would.

Week 2: After a week of this, Thatbaby appeared to be alright staying asleep on something other than a warm body.  Now it was time to get him to fall asleep on something other than a warm body.  So at nap time, I would lay him in the boppy, lying beside it, holding both his little hands in mine.  And I would sing him a lullaby.  I still had to lie beside him, but by the end of the week, he was falling asleep and staying asleep - not on me!


Week 3: We started the move into the crib.  We swaddled Thatbaby at night, when he had no problem sleeping in his crib.  With a very strong morro reflex, moving him into the crib without swaddling guaranteed a wake-up.  So when moving him into the crib for naps, we introduced a daytime swaddle.  I would swaddle him, turn on his white noise Sleep Sheep, and sit in the glider with him, singing a lullaby.  He'd be asleep by the end of the song, and I'd transfer him into the crib.

Weeks 4-5: This was the hardest part of the transition, getting Thatbaby to fall asleep on his own in his crib.  Mine was never a "drowsy but awake" kid.  At least for the first 4 months.  But over the course of 2 weeks, he turned into a kid who could go from wide awake to asleep on his own.  First I'd swaddle, then turn on the sleep sheep and lay him in the crib.  Then I'd turn on his Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Seahorse.  It plays music for 7 minutes, and Thatbaby would watch the tummy light up, listen to the music, and fall fast asleep.

*Disclaimer 1:  This process, as I stated, took 5 weeks.  Which meant Thatbaby started napping in his crib right around 4 months.  JUST in time for the "4 month wakeful" to kick in - a period marked by a disturbance in infant sleep.  So right as I got Thatbaby into the crib for naps, his naps shortened from 90 minutes to (wait for it....) 20 minutes!  They built back up over the next few weeks and at 5 months he was back to his regular napping.

*Disclaimer 2: This system worked fantastically until we had to stop swaddling.  At which time, I could no longer just put Thatbaby in his crib and he'd fall asleep.  So we returned to the third step, rocking and then lying him in his crib.  Which is still the way we do things at home.  At daycare, he has no problem putting himself to sleep, but at home he likes the cuddling.

Trying something new: Black Bean Burger

Can I tell you something? I'm not a huge fan of the frozen "meatless burgers."  I've tried a bunch of different varieties, but they all are a little...cardboardy.  So for the past few weeks I've been trying the make my own veggie patties at home.

We're not vegetarian, but I do like to incorporate vegetarian meals, and meatless burgers are such an easy way to go.

I started out with black bean burgers, since that is a fairly common substitute.  These tasted delicious.  No cardboard, but they didn't hold together all that well.  Thatbaby loved it, since they became more like refried beans.  Next time I think more breadcrumbs are in order.  I'll keep you updated.

Black Bean Burgers

2 cans black beans
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregan
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

3 Tbsp canola oil

hamburger buns

1. Mash one can of the beans with breadcrumbs, cumin, oregano, and caynenne.  
2. Stir in cilantro and remaining beans.  Form into 4 patties. 
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Cook burgers, 5 minutes per side or until crisp.  Serve on buns.

Sunday Runday: Mexican Chili

You guys - this running with friends thing is quickly turning into a habit.  Sunday found me hitting the coast again, this time with Jurisslave.  And this time she was the one saying how quickly the five miles passed.  And we both talked about how we take living by the water for granted as we looked out over a very calm ocean.

This time Thatboy and Thatbaby hung out on the beach, playing with balls and bubbles - still Thatbaby's favorites.  And when I joined them we did a little tide-pooling.  I'm glad we got out Sunday morning, because my Sunday afternoon, it started raining.  Blech.

Luckily, our Cinco de Mayo feast was something warm for the tummy - chili!  I know, chili doesn't strike you as something particularly Mexican.  But add some guajillo chiles and corona and voila!

Thatbaby agrees.  Delicious chili.  I would say he inherited my chili love, but we all know it's really the beans.  Which is still his favorite.

Thatboy and I also enjoyed some homemade margaritas.  I added some raspberry lemonade to them and Thatboy thought it was one of the smartest ideas ever.  He started calling them "Pink Ladies."  Yes, a real man drinks pink beverages.

Mexican Chili

2 allspice berries

1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 lb stewing beef

salt and pepper

2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, smashed

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 cup coffee

1 bottle of corona

1 Tbsp cornmeal

1 Tbsp molasses

1 can kidney beans

1. In a small skillet, toast allspice, coriander, cumin, and chiles until fragrant.
2. Grind in a coffee grinder until finely ground.
3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper and brown.  Set beef aside.
4. Add onion and garlic Dutch oven and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
5. Add tomato paste and chili powder mixture.  Cook until fragrant.
6. Place onion mixture with coffee, corona, cornmeal, molasses, kidney beans, beef, and 2 cups of water in a slow cooker.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.