Packing Up!

We are in a whirlwind of transition here in the Kruger household, so forgive me for being somewhat absent. Here's what we are up to:

Remy turned 9 months old! She is scooting all over the floor, pulling herself up, jabbering a lot, eating all kinds of big girl food, sleeping through the night and just all over the place! She has this talking dog that she LOVES. Im talking obsession here! She started to say 'mama' loves to swing and hates when you touch her hair or face. Yea, it makes for quite an experience trying to clip her hair up!

 A and I took our first vacation together since Remy was born! We went to Key West and even though we went during the cold front we were able to get in our swim suits one day and do a lot of relaxing (and sleeping)!

My mom came to watch Remy while we vacationed and has stayed to help us pack up our house. They officially broke ground on our house and it is underway! I can't wait to begin planning out the colors, decor, etc. We gave away and sold a lot of our items that we no longer want so that we can make way for new things.

I quit my job and will now be a stay at home mommy to little miss Rem! It has always been my dream and I'm glad that I put in a few months after having her to be able to now leave my job knowing that it is the right thing for us. Remy and I are actually headed to Florida at Easter and won't be back to Nashville until our new home is complete. Adam will visit us every other weekend and even though it will be hard, we will save some serious cash which will help us with the house.

We are on quite an adventure and come August we will have our lives back together, but for now we will just enjoy the ride of craziness!

Florida!

Other than going to Disney, we had a fun, but very short, stay in Florida. Remy had a sinus infection the whole time so really was feeling under the weather, but she managed to make it through!

 Early wake up call for the airport!

 Bribing her with cookies on the plane, of course.

 So many new toys at Grandmom and Pappy's house!

 Her first Lollipop

 Pickle and lemon....hmmm what to pick?

 Remy's First Super Bowl!

 Remy and I will actually be back this week, but just for 3 days, so that I can train the person who will be taking over my job. I plan to be a full time stay at home mommy by the end of the month!

Bisquick Ultimate Chicken Tenders

Chicken can be so boring. There are so many ways to season and cook it up, but it seems like I always do the same old thing. I look to pinterest for inspiration as much as I can, but in this case it turned out that all I really needed to do was turn to the back of my bisquick box. These tenders were juicy and flavorful and EASY - which is what I'm all about on weekdays. You could even toss them in a sauce and put them on top of a salad, or leave them as is and make a yummy cobb salad. Or a wrap! So many possibilities.

Sometimes the best recipes are on the back of a package, like nestle tollhouse chocolate chip cookies! I pounded out 2 chicken breasts and cut them each into 4 strips. I baked them on an oven rack on top of a baking pan so that they got crisp and didnt cook in the juices.

Bisquick Ultimate Chicken Tenders (from Bisquick)
2/3 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt or garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted   Heat oven to 450ºF. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

Mix Bisquick mix, cheese, salt and paprika in 1-gallon resealable plastic food-storage bag. Dip half the chicken strips into egg; place in bag of Bisquick mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center.

Remy's 1st Disney Trip 1/31/13

I am lucky to have a sister who works in the tourist industry. She has so many connections to all things happening in Orlando and made it possible for Remy to visit Disney (for free) when we visited for a weekend.

I was SO excited! I know that Remy won't remember anything, but sharing it with her was just so much fun for me. She slept a lot of the time, since we went directly from our flight to the Magic Kingdom, but she enjoyed herself as well!

 Already sleepy on the monorail ride to the Magic Kingdom

 Mickey Ears!

 Waiting for It's A Small World

 She loved the singing and dolls on the ride

 Nap Time Again - and of course a Mickey Ice Cream

Final nap and time to leave the park.

She met Donald and Goofy, ate some Ice Cream, also rode the Pirates and Tea Cups and I bought her a little Minnie souvenier. She got a '1st Time to Disney' button but the guy wrote the date as 1-31-2012.....oh well, we all know she couldn't have gone before she was born! She slept through every Parade/Performance in the streets which I think she would have enjoyed seeing, but there's always next time!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Love is in the air! Can you feel it? I just love Valentine's Day and it's not just because you can eat candy all day long, although that is a big plus!

I wanted to whip up these cookies for our family Valrntine's Day party, but then decided I would have so many leftover that I should bake them ahead of time and send some to Remy's daycare teachers. I boxed them up in a pretty pink package and gave them to the front desk to be put in the break room. I know peanuts have ot be away from the kids, so this way the teachers can still enjoy them!

We will be having some tonight and freezing a few a well. I opted for dove chocolate, instead of the reeses peanut butter hearts. I just love how creamy the chocolate is and think that the cookie has more than enough peanut butter. These are soft, moist and really yummy! I do admit that I hate the fact that you can't eat these until the heart becomes hard again - I wanted one last night but they take a few hours to set. I had one this morning and it was perfect. Yum cookies - Yay for Love!

Peanut Butter Cookies (from I heart Nap Time)
*the original recipe makes about 48 if you go with the 1" balls. I made mine a little bigger*
1 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 3/4 Cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
Chocolate candies
1/2 Cup Sugar, for rolling cookies in

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and white sugar in a large bowl. Mix well until combined.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Add flour and baking soda and mix until combined.

Place 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll cookie dough into 1" balls and then roll in sugar. Place on baking pan.

Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 1 minute. Place chocolate candy on top and then remove from pan and let cool completely.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope that everyone has a happy day with lots of Candy and Flowers and Love! We are having a little dinner party tongiht so I'll post pictures later on about that. So happy to have the 2 loves of my life with me today :)

DIY Valentine's for Daycare

Remy's days in daycare are numbered, but she will be there for her first Valentine's Day! They are having a party (she will bring Puffs/Yogis) and I really wanted to hand out some things to her classmates. Of course, what do you give to a class of babies? The age range is anywhere from 8 weeks to 1 year so cheerios, puffs or pouches were out of play.

I headed to the trusty $1 section at target and found some Rubber Duckies and Cellophane Bags. I picked up a box of Valentine's, labeled them to X and from Remy and placed them in the bag with the duckies. I think it's a super cute, and cheap, gift to give out.

I also put together some candy bags for her teachers. (and ate the remaining candies myself)

Peanut Butter Brownies

Do you ever bake something, or buy something, knowing the entire time you are doing it that it is a BAD idea? I tend to do that a lot. I'm all like 'Oh a brownie sounds good' and then I'm looking through my pinterest boards, baking a whole batch, then eating the end pieces to 'test' and then of course having a 'real piece' and then having a bite once they've all cooled. Dont forget that one I tried after they had frozen. It's just a really bad process and I know it every step of the way! But, I do it anyway and I enjoy each bite just like I should.

I looove these brownies. Especially because I keep them in the freezer and these came out undercooked. The best way to eat a frozen brownie is when it's undercooked because it's very soft, but without tasting completely like batter. If you are going to eat these fresh I would cook another couple of minutes but if you plan to freeze, just go with the recipe time.

and yes, that brownie is sitting atop a Hello Kitty Valentines box. Remy is giving those out, along with Rubber Duckies, to her classmates this year :) But I wouldn't dare give away these brownies with them.

Peanut Butter Brownies (slightly adapted from Blue Eyed Bakers)
1  package of brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines and a 10x10 pan)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (not old-fashioned)
1 tbsp cremy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a  baking pan - you can choose how thick you want them to be. for me I had to spread the brownie batter really thin, but I like how they came out.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil and vanilla extract and whisk well. Add the brownie mix and stir until combined.

Spread half the brownie mixture into the pan first using a spoon and then using your hands to flatten evenly.

In a medium bowl, using a rubber spatula or spoon, mix together the sweetened condensed milk and the peanut butter until smooth. Gently spread the mixture over the first layer of brownie until evenly covering the brownie mix. (I found that I had a little leftover, so feel free to just eat that! :) )

Break the remaining browniemix into pieces and flatten with your hands and slowly and gently spread over the peanut butter mixture. It will be a bit messy. Use your hands to coax the final brownie layer into the corners and covering the peanut butter. (some of my edges weren't covered by the top brownie mix, but that turned out to be ok)

Finally, bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes until the top is set and the edges are lightly browning. Cool on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

Glazed Salmon with Broccoli Rice

Adam and I eat fish probably 1-2 times a week. It's something lighter than other meats and always quicks up fast. I'm always looking for new recipes to work with, because I feel like the basic salt, pepper, lemon recipe is always  good but boring. So I pinned this salmon recipe and gave it a go.

This was one of my favorite meals that I've had in a while. It was so simple and I loved the onion added into it. The Glaze is amazing. It takes no time to throw together. There are no negatives in this dish. With lent coming up, you'll need some no-meat dishes for your friday nights - I suggest adding this to your list and trying it out. (yes, we eat on paper plates. I hate doing dishes at the ened of the day.)

Glazed Salmon with Broccoli Rice (slightly adapted from Real Simple)
1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup brown rice
1 head broccoli, florets only, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 pieces skinless salmon fillet (1 1/4 pounds total)
1 large red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
kosher salt and black pepper

Heat broiler. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and soy sauce. Set aside.


Cook the rice according to the package directions. Steam broccoli.

Meanwhile, place the salmon and onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Broil until the salmon is opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes, spooning half the soy sauce glaze over the fish during the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Plate your rice and broccoli, and serve the salmon and onion on top with the remaining glaze.

Glazed Donut Muffins

I'm not sure it gets any better than donuts. I love chocolate, cake, candy, ice cream - any sweet food under the sun! But donuts are where it's at. If I drive by a DD it takes everything in me to not stop and get 2 a donuts. Naturally I was drawn to this recipe.

I baked them up and they sit in my freezer until I pop one out. I usually try to take slivers at a time to make it last half the day

I went with the double dip method on the glaze and next time I would even triple dip, because I had enough icing left over. I would cook them at the 15 minute mark too. Last time I did 17 and I just find the very bottom a little too done for me, but overall these are a keeper!

Glazed Donut Muffins (from My Baking Addiction) - makes 12
 1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste (I used ¾)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Glaze
3 tablespoons butter; melted

1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water


Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

Add the eggs, beating to combine.

Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.

Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.

When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice.

Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day or store in the freezer, individually wrapped.

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Overnight French Toast has really made its mark on the blog world over the past 2 years or so. I've been wanting to try it, but put it on that Christmas Morning list that I told you about before. I decided to go with this Pioneer Woman version. It was sweet with a crunchy cinnamon topping, which added a lot of texture and flavor. I loved that it made a lot so we were able to eat it over a few days, but also that I did all of my work ahead of time.

I am still wanting to try a lot more recipes. There are some blueberry ones and some with no topping that look completely delicious, but I always know that I have this one up my sleeve. Have you tried an overnight breakfast dish yet? It's perfect for if you have company or if you know you will jsut want to be lazy in the morning. Hey, that's how I feel everyday!

Cinnamon Baked French Toast (from Pioneer Woman)
1 loaf French Bread - I used sourdough
8 large eggs
2 cups milk (we used skim, but Ree uses whole)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Tear French bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly place in the pan.


In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour evenly over bread. Cover pan with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter pieces and cut into the dry mixture using a fork or your hands. Combine until the mixture resembles sand with a few pea sized chunks. Cover and store mixture in the refrigerator.

When you’re ready to bake the French toast, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from refrigerator and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the French toast is set and golden brown.

Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.