Naan pizza

So I used to work for an Indian company. All of the execs were obviously Indian (duh) and would take us to Indian restaurants whenever they came to town. I was always wary of Indian food because I don't like anything really hot. While the jury is still out on most Indian food ( I always ordered the same chicken dish because I knew it worked for me) I discovered the awesomeness of naan. It's this amazing Indian bread/pita type thing and I could eat it by the ton. They had it at my local Wegman's (best grocery store EVER) so I picked it up.  This naan pizza was specifically for my Little Peanut, so I hid some veggies in there just for her. I used a base of Alfredo sauce, chopped broccoli and cauliflower, leftover ranch chicken (chicken thighs tossed in panko and Hidden Valley ranch seasoning mix, then baked) and covered the whole thing with mild white cheddar and muenster. 

This isn't the best photo as the pizza is half eaten at this point, but you get the idea.  Super tasty and so easy because all ingredients were leftovers except the Alfredo sauce.  Little Peanut liked it, slinky book that's a gold star for Mom!

Baby sleep

I'm going to be honest, my Little Peanut is not a great sleeper. Neither am I. I have always been a light sleeper.  I mean I'm an "if a gnat farts I'm awake" kind of light sleeper andi think my daughter is too. I am definitely to blame, I tried to be quiet when she was a newborn napping, and at 14 months I still rock her to sleep (I know, I know....terrible for a child her age.) I am strongly against cry-it-out, mainly because I cannot bear to hear her cry for any length of time (I'm weak!)  Here's the other thing- she puts herself to sleep in the night WHEN SHE FEELS LIKE IT. it's not consistent, no rhyme or reason. Sometimes she goes right out by herself at naps. I'm so lost in this because everyone talks about teaching your child to put themselves to sleep, but Little Peanut knows how and does it when it suits her. 

       We are also still having some waking at night issues, partly due to teething, but also just as a "check in" to see if I'm still here. It's making me crazy and I look like a zombie. I'm praying that we outgrow some of this soon?

I'm the worst/zuchinni lasagna

Ok, so I'm a total deadbeat when it comes to blogging.  I have an excuse..... My Little Peanut has been sleeping like total poo since her 1st birthday. We've had bouts of sleepless nights worse than when she was a newborn. Some nights she stays up for a stretch of 3 hours so I can barely dress myself in the morning, let alone compose any type of interesting blog post. Anyways, enough griping......zuchinni lasagna.

I got this recipe from Skinnytaste.com (awesome site.) My Little Peanut loves zuchinni so I thought this would be great. Thinly sliced zuchinni, onions and tomatoes all layered with delicious mozzerella.  Yeah, she ate like 1 bite. Luckily the hubs and I enjoyed it!

Discovery bottles

I am always on the hunt for something new and interesting for my Little Peanut to play/learn with. I found this idea for discovery bottles online, so I cannot take any credit for coming up with the idea.

So far I have one with rice and food coloring, one with baby oil and water with food coloring, soap and water with food coloring, and water and sequins.  I just super glue the lids on, and then wrap with electrical tape. So far, my a Little Peanut has been interested in shaking the rice bottle, and the sequin bottle seems to catch her attention. I am going to make a few more in smaller bottles that may be a better fit for her hands. I'll keep you posted when I come up with some more ideas. 

Infused Thanksgiving Vodka

I have had a rough experience with infused vodka before. My mom let pineapple soak for ages, and then we are the pineapple..... I'm mainly a beer person, so it was a tad much. And by a tad much I mean that I ate it an passed out on my parent's sofa shortly thereafter. Not a good scene. This time around, we are going to infuse for a shorter period.

Our plan is to mix with tonic as a post dinner treat once our Little Peanut is asleep. Our recipe is as follows:

2 cups pomegranate seeds

2 cups cranberries, halved

The skin of one orange

One vanilla bean, split down the length

750 ml of vodka

Mix it all together and wait 2 weeks. I'll keep you posted on the results!

Brie en Croute

Ok,so since out Little Peanut was born the hubs and I have tried to do a date night at home on Saturdays. This week we made Brie en Croute, which was shockingly simple but delicious and looks fancy (it would be great for a party.) our first step: thaw out a sheet of puff pastry (I just bought a box of Pepperidge Farm brand at the store) and lay out our toppings. I try to roughly shape them to the same size as the top of the Brie. I used 2 Tbs of raspberry jam, dried cherries, and walnuts.

I place the Brie on top:

And then fold the puff pastry over the whole thing:

The last step is mixing 1 Tbs water and an egg and mix together well.  Please the ends (the non-smooth side of the pastry) down and brush the whole thing with the water egg mixture. Bake that bad boy on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. When it's done it will be a sweet savory melty bundle of goodness. Place on a cracker, slice of apple or pear, or just eat a chunk out of your hand. So good!!

Our travel high chair

Sorry that I fell off the planet fora while, our Little Peanut is teething so sleep is not happening I our house. Anyway, every time we go out, someone stops us to ask about our travel high chair. It's the Inglesina Fast Table Chair - Liquirizia (Black) from Diapers.com, and we bought it for $50. This past weekend, the Hubs, Little Peanut and I went out to lunch (a rare and special occasion in our house) and we were stopped by the parents of a 4 month old who was in her car seat and a grandmother to an older baby asking about our chair.  It hooks onto the table, and we use it on the edge of our island at home so when we go out it's familiar for our Little Peanut.  

It folds flat into a pouch that is hidden under the seat, and the back is higher for early sitters who need more support.  Best of all, you are putting your little one in a high chair that may have the spills and germs for the previous kids ( I'm a pretty hardcore germaphobe so this is a big deal for me). Awesome chair all around, I just wish I had given out my Diapers.com account info for the referral reward!