Veggie-packed Quiche

Quiche is a wonderful comfort food, but most recipes are packed with fat and calories. Each fork full typically offers a minimal amount of veggies.

Here's a great recipe for a veggie-packed quiche that tastes fantastic.

Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter

pinch salt

fresh ground pepper

5 Tbs cold water

Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, adding 1 Tbs at a time until it's moist and forms a ball.

Roll out very thin and place in pie plate. Cut off extra edges and crimp. Prick center with a fork and place in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Quiche:

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

2 cups chopped fresh spinach or small package frozen, thawed

1/2 cup broccolli, chopped

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 small zuchinni, sliced into thin quarters

1/2 cup almond milk or skim

2 eggs or egg replacer

1 Tbs thyme

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbs basil

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 cup mozerella or 2 oz goat cheese

Combine all the ingredients by stirring. Spread in pie crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and the middle is firm.

A day for "Slowcooker Chicken Soup"

After a long, rainy week I began looking for a comfort food that was both easy to make and would keep well for leftovers. That's when I saw a post by Nourished Kitchen for a Slowcooker Chicken Soup recipe. Even the pictures look comforting!

I changed the ingredients slightly to use what I could find, but even so it's filling the house with a tasty aroma.

First, I seasoned two large, organic chicken thighs with sea salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, and dried bay leaves (I preferred whole but did not have any). I then covered the chicken with water and cooked it on low in a pot for a few hours. I then added chopped celery, carrots, and a yellow onion. I continued cooking for a few more hours on low until dinner. Towards the end, I will sprinkle in chopped parsley.

I'm planning on serving this tonight with a crusty loaf of french bread from the organic grocery store.

Bon apetit!

End of Summer at the new house

Maddox has adjusted quickly to the new house. It took a few days to get organized and I wish I had my camera to snap some photos, like when Maddox found a step ladder to pull into the kitchen and eat his breakfast cereal.

I'm sure it helps that we have been resurrecting his old toys to his delight, the ones that have been boxed up for half the week that he sadly watched disappear at the old house. And with more room to play and new places to explore, he's quite happy.

Yesterday we went outside for an impromptu photo shoot. Here is Maddox posing (yes, definitely POSING and saying "cheese") around the yard.

Baby room preview: Before and after makeover

We finished the baby room!

Here's a before and after of the new room for our little one. I love how it turned out, especially since I got everything to put it together before we moved in so it was the first time to see how it would look.

Here's the room before...

And here is what it looks like now...

I made the mobile, quilt, and rug which I think gives it a more personal touch.

It's good to be settling in and making the house our own.

Moving in and 35 weeks



We finally made the big move. At the last possible moment housing came through and I joined the hubby in Knoxville.

He happened to have inventory (a once a year event) that weekend so I managed the house during the movers coming and delivery our boxes. Lots of cleaning, little sleep, and two long days later the pets, Maddox, and I arrived. By Monday, we were moving in and painting.

It's been a whirlwind of unpacking, prepping, and preparing for baby #2. I finally hit my point of exhaustion yesterday but picked back up by this afternoon to work on refinishing our entry way wood floor and unpacking most of the garage.

I hate boxes. I hate disorganization. I hate not having the house set up. I want to focus on decorating and not unwrapping individual packed items.

By now, the little one has dropped and is sitting comfortably on my bladder and pelvis-- not so comfortably for me. It's coming down to the wire and seeing the crib all set up made it all very real, more real than it's been so far.

Is there really going to be a baby sleeping in that room? Are we really doing this again? It seems so long ago that we were at that point with Maddox.

That's all for now, but I also wanted to share this shot of Maddox getting curious while I was trying to photograph "the bump." Big brother is already trying to steal the show!



Happiness is a bargain and laundry detergent making 101

This morning on our way to run errands, I stopped at a few garage sales. At one moving sale I found my latest project-- a mirror from the 50's with a funky frame and shelves. I'd never seen anything like it before and bought it for just $10!

After a little ivory spray paint to cover the original flaking gold coat ($3.25 at Walmart), this is what it turned out like.

For a total of $13.25, I now have another fun piece for the baby's room.

My next project for the day was to try making my own laundry detergent. I'd been reading different recipes for detergent and decided the three ingredient ones were the easiest.

I mixed 2 bars of Fels Naptha soap (in the laundry aisle) by grating it with a cheese grater, 2 cups of Washing Soda, and 2 cups of Borax. I stirred it all together and stored it in a tupperware container with a small scoop.

You will have extra Borax and Washing Soda left over for the next batch and it only takes 1 Tablespoon to wash one load of laundry! In all, I believe the total was around $5 (including the generous amounts of the two ingredients left over).

Stencil rug = Success!

After a few failures, I'm proud to show off my new personalized rug!

Giving an old rug a facelift proved to be easier than I expected-- once I found a good dying technique. The hardest part of the project was finding a way to dye the rug so it would keep it's color. I purchased two cotton rugs last weekend from a garage sale to try this, but I think this one may have had a stain guard that kept the dye from taking easily.

To make my rug, I first soaked it in a 50/50 water and bleach solution. It didn't take long since the rug was originally an off-white. I then put it through the washer and left it slightly damp to help take the dye better.

I decided to put the dye in a plastic tub I purchased specifically for this project. It was on clearance and would save our bath tub from any unsightly staining. I then soaked the rug for about 10 minutes in one packet of gray RIT dye. After it was the color I liked, I rinsed it in the sink and put it through the wash without any soap. Unfortunately, the rug quickly went back to it's original color.

Attempt #2. I had already thrown out the RIT dye, so I decided to try a homemade dye. I looked up natural dying techniques but getting a true gray was going to be very difficult. I didn't want a red rug (using wine, grape juice, or food coloring), so I opted for a shade of brown. I brewed a strong pot of coffee, added some vinegar, and let it soak for about an hour. That didn't quite get it dark enough.

Attempt #3. So I brewed another pot of coffee, added more vinegar this time, and left it soaking overnight. In the morning, I let it dry before sending it through the rinse cycle of the washer. After it was rinsed, I hung it outdoors to dry again.

Success! I came out with the perfect shade. Once the rug had dried, I took a stencil and white fabric paint and made my design.

I love my new rug and even have the second rug (my backup since this was my first attempt) to make another.