First a quick update:  The Littlest Apple’s gastric emptying study went better than expected yesterday.  His arms weren’t strapped down this time, and he only screamed for the last 15 minutes or so.  Hooray!  As for the results, we haven’t heard the official verdict from the doctor, but we were able to watch the screen shots as the scan was proceeding.  I’m no doctor, but it didn’t look like things were moving much at all.  That little white blob in his stomach was basically the same sized white blob at the end of the study.

Now, on to the real post of the day, the results of the Eat From the Pantry/Freezer Challenge!

It has been fun challenging myself to come up with meals from what we had on hand this month.  I only made 2 trips to the grocery store this month, but we had plenty of stuff on hand already, with a crammed pantry and a freezer full of meat.  I’ll be the first to admit that there were several flops this month, most involving leftover turkey.  The turkey soft tacos and turkey etouffee were inedible.  The turkey gumbo was only slightly more tolerable.

My favorite meal creation was the Chicken Soft Tacos with Homemade Tortillas, Mexican Rice, and refried black beans.  I also made some pretty tasty homemade pitas this week (recipe coming soon!) to eat with Greek Chicken Pitas.

If you remember, I was trying to keep our grocery bill to $500 or less, which would be an vast improvement from last year.

My total grocery store expenses for January…..

$317.59 !!!!!

Pretty amazing reduction, right?!  I almost couldn’t believe my eyes!  That even includes a purchase of some frozen convenience foods for The Littlest Apple from Schwann’s.

BUT, to be honest, that’s not the whole story.

I think it is important to note that our dining out expenses for the month of January were a little HIGHER than normal.  Too high, if you ask me.  And honestly, it was just laziness.  We certainly weren’t lacking food at home.  We got tired of eating sandwiches for lunch every day and The Picky Apple didn’t take his lunch to work like he normally does.  Also, I was counting on leftovers from all of those dinner flops, and that didn’t work out.  (I guess the lesson here is to use some tried and true recipes instead of experimenting too much when you’re trying to save money!)  I need to do a better job of planning for lunches and having them prepped and ready to go.  Same for breakfast.

Which brings me to my challenge for February: preparing a wider selection of lunches and breakfasts.  I am going to continue grocery shopping every other week, because I like the way this is working out (and because I hate grocery shopping!).  I am hoping to keep the monthly grocery bill for February under $400 and to decrease our dining out expenses as well.

Not to bore you with yet another GI update, but tomorrow morning is The Littlest Apple’s gastric emptying study.  And while we are eager to know the results of the exam, we aren’t exactly looking forward to the exam itself.

The exam isn’t invasive, but it is rather unpleasant.

After The Littlest Apple drinks some radioactive material, they will strap him down to a table, hands and all, and take scans every minute for 2 hours.  He’s going to be strapped down. For 2 hours.  You can imagine how much The Littlest Apple enjoys that.  When we did the scan last year, the tech in charge of the scan told us that most children typically cry for a little while then fall asleep.  The Littlest Apple, our Little Exception to the Rule, did not.  He screamed the entire two hours.  Of COURSE he did.  Despite having a TV to watch, books to look at, and Mom and Dad doing everything they could to distract him.

We’re hoping this year will be different.  But I’m guessing it won’t.  I think I would scream too if I was strapped down for 2 hours.  In fact, it makes me hyperventilate a little just thinking about it.

I”m not sure if I’ve just got home and food on the brain this week or what, but that’s what these Apple Picks are all about!

For starters, here is an awesome children’s closet makeover at It’s the Little Things That Make a House a Home.  I’d love to install some shelving like this in the niche in our playroom (and/or The Littlest Apple’s closet).

I’ve been following the saga of the bathroom makeover on a budget at Young House Love since it began.  They’re finally finished and it looks AMAZING!!  DIY inspiration at its finest.

I STILL haven’t tried making homemade sandwich bread yet, even though I keep talking about it.  This honey whole wheat sandwich bread at Musings of a Housewife looks like a perfect recipe for me!

Caramel Apple and Chocolate Chip Cookies from Picky Palate sound so yummy!

Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip from Noble Pig would be a great dish to serve on Superbowl Sunday!  You had me at bacon.

I thought these Quiche Lorraine Scones from Brown Eyed Baker look like a yummy delicious twist on quiche!

It’s been a while since my last book review, hasn’t it?  That’s partly because the last few novels I checked out from the library were duds, and I try to share only books that I truly enjoyed.

This book was one of my Christmas presents from The Picky Apple.  He picked this one out all by himself based on my love of Outlander, and I’d say he made an excellent choice!  Into the Wilderness, by Sara Donati is the first book in another great historical fiction series.  There are many similarities to Outlander (and there is even a mention of Claire Fraser, the main character from Outlander), but this one is just straight historical ficition: no time travel.  I guess you could say I’ve been on a bit of a historical fiction kick lately.  My mom borrowed my book while I was reading the aforementioned dud novels from the library, and based on her glowing review, I couldn’t wait to read it!!

Into the Wilderness is the story of Elizabeth (Lizzie) Middleton, a strong-willed 28 year old Englishwoman who moves to upstate to New York (to a little town called Paradise) in 1792 to live with her father (the Judge of the town) and her brother Julian.  Lizzie intends to open a school and teach the children of the town, but her father has other plans, including an arranged marriage to Richard Todd, a young and prosperous doctor in the town.  Soon after her arrival in Paradise, Lizzie meets Nathaniel Bonner, a mysterious man of Scottish descent who lived among the Mohicans and now lives on nearby Wolf Mountain.  Nathaniel and Richard (who was kidnapped by the Mohicans as a child) are longstanding enemies, and Lizzie’s choice of Nathaniel over Richard only fuels the fire.  Lizzie quickly becomes immersed (whether she wants to be or not) in small town politics, learns how to brave the wilderness, and becomes acquainted firsthand with the Mohican way of life.

I found this book a little slower to get going than Outlander (which has ruined me for all other fiction, I’m sure), but once the action commenced, it was nearly nonstop until the end of the book and hard to put down!  The end of the book definitely lacks some closure, but I suppose that was done on purpose so that a sequel (a whole series, in fact) could be written later.

If you love historical fiction (or even if you don’t…if you love fiction, period) then you should check out Into The Wilderness.

Do you enjoy historical fiction?  What great books have you read lately?

Disclosure:  The links above are Amazon affiliate links, which means I MIGHT receive a tiny compensation from Amazon if a whole bunch of people click on those links and order books. (Hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon.)  I have not been asked to review this book.  This was just a Good Read I wanted to share!

The Picky Apple LOVES rice, but is rather particular about how it is prepared.  He especially loves the rice served at Mexican restaurants.  I’ve tried several times to recreate rice like that at home, but with less than stellar results.  I think I’ve finally figured out how to do this at home!!  I served with Homemade Tortillas and Chicken Soft Taco Filling.

Mexican Rice

recipe by Cara

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 cup rice
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat butter in skillet over medium high heat.  Add chopped onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until onion is tender.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add rice to pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until turning golden brown, stirring constantly.  Add Rotel, chicken broth, cumin, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat, simmering for 15 minutes or until rice is done.  You can add more chicken broth as it cooks, if needed, but we like ours on the dry side!

Thanks again to everyone who left comments wishing my blog a Happy Birthday!  It made my day!

Now, on to the winners of the Amazon gift cards….

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

3	10	

Timestamp: 2010-01-21 13:35:38 UTC

The winners of the $25 Amazon Gift Cards are:

Courtney from Cooking Up a Family

and

Ada-Marie from spark!

Congrats to both of you!!

I’ll be emailing you your Amazon gift card shortly!

I promised to share an update on how The Littlest Apple’s GI appointment went last Friday, and I’ve already been getting questions.  Sorry to leave you hanging!

I had a long post started, sharing all of the nitty gritty details and a few little rants, but I think I’ll save that for another time (and also because I’m trying not to worry too much right now).

The bottom line is that The Littlest Apple is going for another gastric emptying study next week, and we’ve got a couple more months to get The Littlest Apple to gain weight or he’s getting a feeding tube.  And this time they REALLY mean it.

His current measurements:

Height: 33 inches (no change)

Weight: 21 pounds, 8 oz (a gain of a couple of ounces since November)

Subtitle: What Personal Space?

The Littlest Apple is 100% boy.  He’s very physical, likes to crash and smash and do BOY things.  He’s got Boy Energy.  But it doesn’t stop there.

He’s also most definitely a spirited child, a kid that always makes his presence known every where he goes.  He’s got EXTRA Boy Energy: he literally cannot stand or sit still and rocks back and forth while standing or sitting. (So much rocking in fact, that we mentioned it to his doctor, concerned it might be a sign of autistic behavior.  In this case, nope, he’s just got too much energy).  At the same time, he’s also very empathetic and extremely aware of how other people around him are feeling.  Extra expressive and enthusiastic.  Very tactile.  (He’s also beyond stubborn, relies on routine to the extreme, and is a bit of a drama queen, but those are spirited-child traits we’ll discuss in another post!)

My little guy is also super affectionate.  Way more so than other kids, or so I’ve been told.  This is a boy who is CONSTANTLY giving kisses, hugs, and the most adorable of all: lots of pats on the backs.  He does this with me, The Picky Apple, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and pretty much everyone we know.  He reaches out to touch other kids and strangers whenever we’re out and about.

(Is affection a trait that you are born with or something that is learned?  I think it is a little of both.)

He has to be in physical contact with me nearly all of the time.  Endearing yes, but sometimes I do miss my personal space.  In addition to the hugs, pats, and kisses (all things I wouldn’t trade for the world), I’m also jumped on, hung from, hit, climbed on, pulled around, kicked, prodded, etc.  (And that’s when he’s happy!)  Sometimes it is just a little too much.  There is no sitting together side by side to read stories: even when he’s interested in the book, he’s jumping on me, wiggling around, poking me with his toes, trying to crawl behind my back.

My favorite of all though, is the frequent head butting.  I’m not sure exactly where he learned to do this, though I’m guessing I have my dear husband to thank.  The Littlest Apple head butts me ALL THE TIME.  (and there are usually coordinating sound-effects too!)  Usually at the most inopportune times, like when I’m eating, drinking, chopping, cooking, or writing.  When I’m putting on makeup, he’s standing right behind me head butting me (now you know why my eye liner is always crooked!), and trying to wedge himself into the space between me and the cabinets and/or between my feet.

As tempted as I am to lock myself alone in the bathroom sometimes to get a little personal space back, I know those head butts are just The Littlest Apple’s way of saying “I Love You, Mommy!”

But I still prefer the hugs and kisses.

These brussels sprouts are mind blowing good!  The most delicious vegetable I’ve ever cooked.  Brussels sprouts, people!  I first had them a couple of weeks ago at my mom’s house (thanks again for the recipe, Mom!!).  I couldn’t wait to cook them for myself.  The Picky Apple has deep hatred for brussels sprouts.  I was hoping that maybe he would give these a chance, but he didn’t, and clearly, The Littlest Apple, the Pickiest of Picky, wouldn’t get anywhere near them.  So you’ll just have to take my word for it, or try them for yourself!

Melissa’s Brussels Sprouts

from Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6 whole garlic cloves
• 4 to 6 slices bacon
• 3/4 pound (about 12) Brussels sprouts, cut in 1/2
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Put the garlic cloves in the skillet and brown completely. Remove the garlic to a small bowl. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook until crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain, then cut into small pieces and set aside.

Put the sprouts in the skillet with bacon grease (Picky Apple note: you might need to drain a little of the bacon grease…mine were a little too greasy), flat side down, and saute until they begin to brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them over, increase the heat to medium-high and add the sugar and the broth. Cook for a few minutes, then add the cooked bacon and the garlic cloves. Cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Today, this little blog of mine turns 2!!  Two years ago today, I started this blog as a food blog with a little post about cupcakes.  I reinvented the blog back in September 2009 to more accurately reflect my life: a little cooking and baking, lots of thoughts on being a mother, activities with The Littlest Apple, making my house a home, and books galore.  I couldn’t be happier with how my blog has grown!  I can’t believe it has been two years already!!  Writing this blog has been such an amazing experience thus far.  I am constantly amazed by the generosity and kind souls out there in the blog world.  I am also humbled by the number of people that read my blog in all its random glory on a regular basis.

Sometimes I wonder who is reading The Picky Apple.  I know I’ve got family reading, and there are some of you that comment on a regular basis.  But who are the rest of you?  In honor of my little blog’s birthday, I’d love to hear from you!  I know there are lots of you reading that don’t usually comment.  It would absolutely make my day if you could leave a comment to say hello and introduce yourself.  If you’ve got any questions about me or anything else, I’d love to hear them!  I’ll try my best to answer them in an upcoming post.

In honor of my blog’s birthday, I’m hosting my first giveaway!!  If if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win 1 of 2 $25 Amazon gift cards.  One entry per person.  I’ll select two winners randomly and announce the winners on Thursday, January 21.  I look forward to hearing from you, and thanks again for reading The Picky Apple!!