Days of Red Plaid, New Boots and Pesto Steak Pizza

Rainy days make me want to curl up surrounded by candles and do some writing or read a good book. Sometimes those days are just a fantasy in my mind and no matter how much I dream about it, it's just not a reality. But Addy and I have been enjoying being home a lot more these days. I'm trying to venture out a little less and group our errands together or do them on days I'm already out with work, etc. Addy has also mentioned she just wants to stay home too, which is pretty cute. 

So this particular day called for red plaid for me. 

I was happy. 

And for Addy, it meant wearing her new pink boots she got for her birthday. 

I love this girl. 

These boots were made for walking...

So we walked. 

And she enjoyed throwing rocks in a formally dry pond. 

These days the weather is changing all the time...

This week, I made another batch of basil pesto which inspired a meal at the bottom of this post. 

And speaking of inspiration, we were inspired to whip up a taco pizza, inspired by Pioneer Woman in her latest Food Network episode. 

No regrets here...it was fantastic! 

And the second half of the dough went toward our Basil Steak Pizza (below). 

This week, I received a new cookbook I ordered in the mail. 

I'm super excited about Lisa Leake's work on her blog first and now in her first cookbook. 

The goal: cutting out processed foods from her families diet in 100 days. 

I've learned so much about how our food is made, food labeling, the food industry and some surprising culprits that have given rise to many health problems and diseases. 

Eventually, I'll share some of those revelations here on the blog. 

For now...here's the cookbook in all of it's pretty glory! 

Josh and Addy have had some fun times together lately. 

They took a walk to a park while I was at work one day. 

Addy is loving going down the BIG slides by herself these days! 

And her and Josh headed out with our friends for a double daddy/kid date, their first ever! 

I had such high hopes and excitement for this adventure for them...

I took a shower and decided to spend a little extra time straightening my hair...it's the little things these days. And then I went to a coffee shop to read (also a simple luxury...). 

But after about an hour there, I found myself distracted. I use to look forward to those moments to myself in a coffee shop, journaling, writing, reading, sipping on a hot mug of coffee. 

These days, I get so excited for those moments and when they come, I feel lonely and can't focus. 

I saw a little girl walk in, Addy's age, and she was wearing the same sweatshirt that Addy has. 

I saw Mom's juggling two, three, four kids. 

I saw friends walking together and stopping for coffee. 

I saw families hanging out. 

It just made me feel out of place, in a weird way. 

And then I got a text from Josh: "Guess who got car sick?!" 

And that was it. 

I texted back and didn't hear anything. 

I assumed the one who got sick was Addy. 

Since she had just finished a week of being tummy sick with me, my first thought was, "oh goodness, it's back." But Josh was convinced it was just car sickness (a first for Addy). 

I gathered up my stuff and ran home, thinking they were already home but they hadn't made it yet. I quickly changed my clothes, thinking she would be covered in vomit, pulled my hair back and made sure the bathroom was cleared so I could throw her in the tub and hose her off. I grabbed towels and watched for them to get home. Don't you think I could work in the ER???

Well they arrived a few minutes later, Addy and her car seat weren't covered in vomit. She was calm, the dad's were calm. I guess they had already gotten things cleaned up. It wasn't as bad as I had expected. Josh wanted to take them to the park so they did. 

Finally, a new family favorite recipe to share after all of that excitement. 

I shall call it: 

Pesto Steak Pizza. 

We grilled up some steak in a simple rub. 

I grabbed a few tomatoes from our garden that is still producing many of those beauties! 

I zested some lemon and lime and squeezed the juice in along with some cilantro. 

We had some leftover homemade pizza dough in the fridge I needed to use up. So I very rustically rolled that out and added some homemade pesto with melted butter. Then I baked it at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes until it bubbled up a bit and was cooked through. 

Josh sampled the steak. 

My jealousy grew as he made this face and ooo'd and awed...

Josh sliced up the very delicious and very tender steak. 

And pause for a commercial break as Addy would like to show you her latest empty spice jar from mommy. She loves using these in her kitchen for "cooking." 

And now back to our regular broadcast...

Steak...mmmmmm 

When the crust was baked, we topped it with strips of steak, tomato mixture and spinach. 

Oh

My

Steak

SOOOOO delicious! The crust was kinda like a soft pita. 

It was a quick dinner to throw together and we all loved it! 

And the fact that Josh and I cooked it together I really loved! 

Making Messes I Love to Clean Up: Addy's First Pizza

Adelynne will be two in a few weeks.

I am constantly marveling at how much she is learning everyday. Honestly, once she hit the 18-month mark, especially, I've been astonished to hear her saying numbers, identifying colors and now within the past month or more, she's been singing along to her favorite songs. She is currently obsessed with "Roar," from Katy Perry, "Jesus Loves Me," and what she calls the "Neck Song" (a song I grew up hearing my Auntie Irene sing to me.

What a character she is.

Of course, like most toddlers, she enjoys being active. She LOVES the outdoors (understatement of the year) and enjoys taking walks...long walks!

Her laugh is contagious and her little compassionate heart melts me.

She is getting better at sharing her toys.

But of all of the little things that help to describe my daughter, she is quite the little chef. She play's in her playroom with her pots and pans and pretend food and likes to make "num nums" for her babies, sometimes for us to sample as well. She says, "Taste, taste!?"

Recently she and I made homemade pizza for some friends who came over for dinner. I had planned to put them together while she was napping or after she woke up. But it was a day when she just wanted to be involved and do things that mama was doing.

So I set her up at the kitchen island, apron on and flour before her.

We started with some homemade pizza dough that was left to rise for a good couple of hours. 

I let her spread out the flour. 

Then we patted the dough down with our fingers. 

This is my most favorite picture. As the flour was going everywhere, coating the floor, her high chair and lap and all over me, I let her roll out the dough all on her own! She giggled HARD! 

Then she "proofed" the dough with her fork. I had to help rotate the pan because all of the holes kept ending up on one end! 

Next came the mixing of the marinara sauce. She LOVES mixing. So I got out a metal bowl, added some organic tomato sauce, some garlic powder, (she added the onion powder), salt and pepper and oregano. Then came her part: mixing! 

MIX, MIX, MIX!!!!!

Of course she had to sample the mozzarella I just sliced. "Hmmmm Nummy," she said.  

She was very precise as she spooned out the sauce onto her dough. 

Added the slices of cheese (look at those cute fingers!)

And pineapple (the only topping she said she wanted). 

Adding our finishes touches. 

And of course cleanup is essential after the mess we made! She was a big help in wiping her table, her hands and her chair. I got the floor, along with our beagle, Cocoa.  

Then I stripped her down to her diaper since all of her clothes were drenched in flour. And she watched her pizza bake! "Hot," she said. 

I didn't get a final picture of her first pizza, but it tasted really "nummy." 

I love my little chef and her excited over being in the kitchen and creating things. And you know what, the HUGE mess we made was totally worth it! I had a big smile on my face the entire time...so did she. 

Water Park and Pizza

Some of our most fun summer activities have included friends, water parks and pizza! Sounds like a good summer combo to me!