Thursday, June 27, 2013

buffalo chicken nachos

I have a husband who is obsessed with buffalo chicken. And I do believe the word obsessed is an understatement.


As an example, he has eaten it 3 times this week.

He has been begging me to make buffalo chicken for 5 years. I haven't. Because I didn't want to fail at something he loved so much.


And then this thing called wife guilt happened. {It's a lot like mom guilt.} So I scoured Pinterest and decided I was up for the challenge.

And then, the ideas just started coming to me, and I vowed to make some sort of Buffalo chicken once a week for the rest of his life. I'll take a giant slab of wife guilt if I ever fail him on Buffalo Chicken again.

These buffalo chicken nachos are crunchy and flavorful, topped with black beans, cheddar cheese, and drizzled with avocado ranch sauce. They just might turn you into a buffalo chicken fanatic too.


Buffalo Chicken Nachos
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp dill
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 bag of tortilla chips (we use whole wheat or flax)
1/4 cup buffalo sauce, plus more for drizzle
6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 very ripe avocado
1/4 cup ranch
1 can black beans

Marinate chicken breasts in 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, dill and garlic powder for at least one hour. Grill at 450 for 10-12 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through. Slice Chicken into small slivers.

Cook the beans over low heat with liquid from the can for 10-12 minutes while chicken is grilling. Drain beans.

On a jelly roll pan, spread out bag of chips. Top with chicken, black beans, cheddar cheese. Broil on HI for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.

While the cheese is melting, in a food processor, puree avocado and ranch together until creamy and smooth.

Take nachos out of the oven to serve, drizzle with extra buffalo sauce and avocado ranch sauce.

***

What are your weeknight staples?

9 months and favorites

9 months in...


And 9 months out! 


What an incredible 9 months it has been! When you are pregnant, you think nothing could top the feeling, until the day you meet your sweet baby. 

At 9 months, you are amazing us every day! You are attempting to baby sign (and making up your own signs along the way), you are working on your two top teeth (teething is the pits,) you stand and balance on your own and are thinking about being an early walker (slowwww down!) 


You understand what "no" means, but you don't like to hear it, and you say "uh-oh", mama, dada and baba all day long. It is music to our ears!


You also love to stick your tounge out and blow raspberries in response to all of our questions. Quite the little clown already!

Our favorites this month: 



1. Silicone Bib: A must for babies eating finger food. Lucy loves to peek down into her bib pocket and pick up food that didn't make it in her mouth.

2.Sassy Sensation High Chair Toy: For entertaining your little one while you are cooking, trying to open their jars of baby food, microwaving food, etc. (Gets crazy dirty but goes in the dishwasher great!)

3. Leapfrog Animal Fridge Toy: My sister gave me this toy and Lucy is in love. She dances to Farmer Ted's songs, tries to take the animals out, and me and my husband like to make weird animal combos to hear the "That's Silly" song. Fun for all ages.

4. Nosefrida: This thing looks absolutely gross and crazy. It's basically like siphoning the snot out of your little one's nose. But it is simply amazing. And really easy to clean. I'm afriad to see what the middle of my nasal aspirator we have been using looks like. With the NoseFrida, you can make sure you get every lick of snot out of the tube when cleaning it. I wish we had introduced this to Lucy early on because she hates having her nose touched or sucked out with any apparatus, but she does think I look funny with the hose in my mouth.


What are your 9 month favs? 












Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Pesto Chicken Kabobs

My sweet dumpling Lucy is 9 months today! 


I will be sharing our favorites later, but in the meantime wanted to share a quick weeknight dinner idea with you.

They are easy, fun, and super delish.


Pesto Chicken Kabobs
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp prepared pesto
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp garlic powder
Assorted veggies

Cut chicken into cubes. In a bowl, add chicken, pesto, garlic powder, and lemon juice and toss until well coated. Marinate for up to 1 hour.

Skewer on kabob sticks with your favorite veggies. (I use tomatos and zucchini.) Grill at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, turning twice to char all sides.


















Thursday, June 6, 2013

Water baby

Day 6 in the blogger challenge #behappy is "the way to your heart. "

The way to my heart...

This baby. 


These babies. We went to the zoo this weekend (totally didn't snag any pictures of Lucy with actual wild animals in it. Just very wild cousins.)


These two....And the water!  { Lucy's first trip on a boat. }


Don't you just love that baby squished up in a life jacket! She loved splashing her little feet in the water. She did NOT love being immersed in the cold, brown water. Ick. I wonder where she gets that from...












Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Home.

Joining the #behappychallenge to blog everyday in June over at Love Builds This Happy Home.

So far, I've missed 3 days... I can only get better from here, right?!

Day #5: Home.

Where you can walk around with no makeup on, dance and sing to entertain your 8 month old, make  a mess, and sink into a cozy couch. And no one can see any of it.

Unless you choose to do these things in the backyard...