I'm Back!!!

So It’s been a while…

Since last November there have been a number of changes in the Fleming-Park household...

CHRISTMAS…

I discovered that I am what Matt lovingly refers to as a “Christmaszilla.” I have to admit that I did go a little over the top with everything this Christmas… gifts, decorating and the need to host a PERFECT Christmas Eve dinner.

It ended up being a wonderful Christmas! Thanks to homegoods (my favorite store) the house was decorated beautifully and thanks to on-line shopping I was able to get all of the gifts for family and friends. How did people shop for Christmas before the internet… this is a huge mystery to me!

Matt’s mother and Brother Brian were in town for the holidays. They came over on Christmas Eve for dinner which ended up being the highlight of the season for me. It was so important to have both my family and Matt’s there to share in the holiday. As I looked around the table I was happy to know that this would be the first of many Christmas Eve dinners that we would all share as a family.

On Christmas Day after opening presents at home we went over to Matt’s Aunt’s house in Fairfax for a wonderful lunch and some more family time.

Home Purchasing…

Matt and I started looking at homes in January. We have an amazing realtor from PENFED and actually put an offer on the second house that we looked at.

The house is a 5 bedroom 2.5 bath in Annandale one street outside the beltway. It is a short sale so while the owners have accepted the offer we are still waiting to hear back from the bank… this process is going to take a while but we are in a great position with the house we are renting and not in a huge rush.

Emma…

I cannot believe it but in 8 days Emma will be 6! How did I become the mother of a six year old. Time has just flown by and Emma is turning into a young lady before my eyes!!! Last week she lost her first tooth. She was so brave and had Matt pull it out for her! Here she is with her new smile…

Emma has also kept me very busy this year! Between events at school, Daisy’s, ballet, soccer and play dates our plate is full! I feel like we are constantly running from one activity to the next but it is completely worth it to see her interacting and having fun with all of her friends. She even had her first sleepover last Saturday… It was just with her “cousin” Shay (really Matt’s Cousin) who is 7. But still a huge milestone for her. She felt like such a big girl!

For her birthday we are going to have 5 little girls from her school over for a “Fancy Nancy” Birthday party. Emma’s loves the Fancy Nancy books http://fancynancybooks.com/ and she is looking forward to a super FANCY tea party.

Nov 16 - Nov 21

Here is my planned menu for this week:

MONDAY, NOV 16
- Shrimp w/ ginger herb butter p.347
- Saffron Couscous w/ peas & chives p.228
- Sweet cream biscuits p.547

TUESDAY, NOV 17
- Grilled pizza w/ tomato, mozzarella & basil p.194
- Crunchy onion rings p.467
- Cinnamon swirl coffee cake p.541

WEDNESDAY, NOV 18
- Mexican style chicken sandwiches p.153
- Guacamole
- Buttermilk cornbread w/ montery jack cheese p.543

THURSDAY, NOV 19
- Farfalle w/ bitter greens & sausage p.207

FRIDAY, NOV 20
- Salmon w/ pistachio-basil butter p.312
- Rice
- Cabbage

SATURDAY, NOV 21
- Oatmeal-buttermilk pancakes p.495
- Warm back bean & veg wrap p.156
- Outrageous peanut butter cookies p.604

and a few more...

What you've been missing

HELLO!

Tonight I will be blogging!!! I am so sorry for my absence. Things have been crazy with starting a new job and Emma starting school. I can say however that I have continued cooking and tonight I will post some pictures to prove it!

100 Recipes Completed!!!

Last Saturday I celebrated the HUGE accomplishment of completing my 100th recipe!

A few weeks ago it was decided that there was only one way to bring in that 100th recipe in style and that was to throw a party. This party pushed me to continue cooking so that I would actually be able to meet the milestone and it was a good way to complete 19 recipes!!! I will post the menu from the party tonight so that all can see what was served and I will also be sure to post a few photos of dishes which led up to the party.

After hitting this important milestone of 100 recipes in UNDER two months I decided to take a break from cooking for two days. Last night Matt and I decided to participate in DC’s Restaurant Week and he took me to Zola www.zoladc.com. Everything was delicious and it was nice to eat food prepared by someone else.

I will start cooking again tonight and bellow is the menu for the week. Next weekend is a bit ambitious but I want to have my parents over for a really nice dinner on Saturday as a thank you for all of their help with the party and I am thinking about having two couples over for Sunday brunch.

Tuesday, August 25
One Step Lasagna w/ Sausage and Basil p.222
3 Cheese Garlic Bread p.550
Arugula, Blood Orange & Blue Cheese Salad p.124
Wednesday, August 26
No Cooking--- 1st Kickball game!!!
Thursday, August 27
Oven Fried Deviled Drumsticks p.274
Iceberg Wedges w/ Warm Bacon & Blue Cheese Dressing p.132
Mexican Corn & Zucchini p.472
Friday, August 28
Moroccan Shrimp & Red Onion Salsa p.349
Couscous
Saturday, August 29
Cardamom & Orange Panettone Toast p.494
Salad Bar Cobb p.116
Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches p.159
Banana Nut Macadamia Nut Muffins p.535
Popovers w/ Gruyere p.539
Broccoli & Rapini w/ Lemon & Shallots p.484
Filet Mignon w/ Green Peppercorn Cream Sauce p.379
Asparagus Soup w/ Lemon Cream Fraiche p.88
Brown Sugar-Bourbon Peaches p.581
Sunday, August 30
Herbed Cheese Scrambled Eggs on Asparagus p.508
Rosemary & Mustard Breakfast Sausage p.523
Quick Sticky Buns p.546
Rigatoni w/ Cheese & Italian Sausage p.205
Zucchini & Two-cheese Flatbread p.551
Raspberry Pecan Blondies p.610

Only 400 to go!!!

Banana Cake and Stir-Fry

Yesterday was a successful cooking day!

After picking up Emma from the pool and driving home I started working on things in the kitchen. Looking at the banana pudding recipe I decided that it looked like TOO much effort and decided instead to make a Banana Cake w/ Sour Cream Frosting (p.629). I mashed up my bananas and mixed up the cake only to discover, while it was baking, that I didn’t have enough cream cheese for the frosting. I decided to use some Betty Crocker Whipped Chocolate frosting for the top of the cake. I actually think that this made the cake even yummier. It was perfection!!!

For dinner we had Chicken, Asparagus & Broccoli Stir-Fry (p.281). This was also a great recipe that I will be making in the future! Matt and I both agreed that we would prefer it over take out. I think that the next time I make the dish I will try to add in a few additional veggies and maybe substitute shrimp or beef for the original chicken… just to try something new.
I am planning for a super busy night after I get off from work! I am planning on picking up Emma and heading to Homegoods to do a return and look for a clock or picture to cover a fan in our kitchen. Once we get home Matt and I will be completing some finishing touches in the spare bedroom. We need to hang curtains, a shelf, a mirror, and some pictures. I will post a photo once we complete the room. I am also planning on painting in the upstairs bathroom on Wednesday or Thursday so I want Matt to remove all of the fixtures so that we can tackle the painting this week… BUSY BUSY