Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I am on an organizing binge, trying to rid my house of everything that hasn't been used in quite some time. That organizing spilled into my kitchen this weekend. I was given an abundance of craisins. The little orbs aren't easy to eat alone. So, when I came across a recipe in a magazine for Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies, I immediately ripped it out. First of all, because I love cranberries and white chocolate chips (the Panera Pink ribbon bagel was my favorite.) Second, because I wanted to rid myself of the craisins. And it must have been meant to be. My food scale measured 6 ounces left in the container, which is exactly what the recipe called for. I also was able to finish off my old-fashioned oats and brown sugar. All I had to buy was white chocolate chips.

I made a few substitutions applesauce instead of butter and whole wheat flour instead of regular bleached flour. But, here is the recipe. Mine came out more like round balls, but by the last batch, I tried to flatten them out, since they were flattening on their own. They don't look as good as I thought they were, but they are still mighty tasty.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 ounces of craisins (dried cranberries)

2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several small additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2.5 dozen.

Trading in challenges

I got the e-mail notice the other day for the YWCA Sprint triathlon. The same triathlon that I have trained 12 weeks for every spring for the last three years. It's a part of me. Last year, I completed it while a few weeks pregnant and beat my time from the previous year. I can't tell you how accomplished I feel after finishing that race. I got butterflies when I opened that e-mail, thinking about the commitment I make each spring to be able to complete six workouts a week all of which are usually anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours each, some that start with the alarm chirping at 5 a.m. And then reality set in. I am not competing in the triathlon this year. It almost brings tears to my eyes, like I am losing a best friend. I am trading my spandex, padded shorts for nursing bras. I am trading running shoes for slippers. I am trading my swim suit for burp cloths. I am trading the challenge of completing a three-event race for the challenge of giving birth to a beautiful little miracle. I have talked a lot to my mom and sister about child labor and delivery. It's a scary process, but they both have all of the confidence in the world in me because they know that when I face a challenge (like the triathlon), it's my mental more than my physical shape that carries me through. I don't like to quit. So, even though a part of me is torn and wants a find a way to do it all (raise a newborn and train for a triathlon,) the less crazy side of me says that my baby is more important than a race any day. And, of course, I am not saying goodbye to an exhausting challenge, just trading it for a new one!

Nate calls it nesting....

I call it doing all of the creative crafty projects I can before baby bottles and dirty diapers replace my crafting scissors and sewing machine. Starting at Christmas break, I had a pretty long list of craft projects I wanted to start and/or finish. Surprisingly, I was able to get nearly all of them finished. The final entry to cross off my list was to make an abundance of cards to carry me through birthdays and other occasions that require a card. So, Saturday night, I set up a long, rectangular table in my living room and went to town. I spread out papers, ribbons, hole punches, stamps, brads and other baubles, and inks and markers. I can honestly say that my inspiration for cards comes from scraps. I like to use every last piece of scrap I have created. The photo represents some of my favorites. Between Saturday and Sunday nights when my living room was turned into a crafting room, I cranked out nearly 30 cards. Nate came home late on Saturday night from work and gave me the concerned husband look. "Are you nesting?" In birthing class they say nesting can be a sign you are soon to go into labor. I guess he is worried that my love of homemade items will set me into pre-term labor. He should fear not. I just really enjoy immersing myself into something creative. The more cards I made, the more ideas I came up with. I have a ton of materials and supplies, so it doesn't cost me any money. I told Nate that I would miss these long hours of immersing myself in a project. Then the sweet man said, "All you have to say is, 'honey, I need some alone time.'" What a man!

Nursery, continued

Here is the view of my cozy corner with the awesome canvas paintings Amy made me for Christmas and the prints I also received. The chair was a steal for $75 at Pottery Barn...one of my first baby purchases. I draped the quilt and the other cover is from my mother-in-law.

Nursery, check!

Well, thanks to my mom, the nursery is pretty much done. We have one more project to hang, but that is Nate's job because it's a big, heavy window and I am not attempting that. The first picture is of the crib with the lovely tree decal from Stampin' Up. It took two, but with my mom's expertise, we easily got the tree up on the wall.

More to come...

Dinner dilemma

I am horrible at planning dinner. It is never a priority for me. I realize that as I build my little family, I am going to have to get better at this. I would have been devastated if I came home from school and asked my mom what was for dinner and she said, "I don't know? What do you want?" That is what I say nearly every day to my husband, Nate. I get frustrated, because he never has an answer. And when I do cook, he never seems really impressed. I call him picky, but maybe that is because I will eat ANYTHING. I hope my daughter gets my appetite.

No matter what, my mom had dinner on the table. I don't really recall eating out a lot. There was always something hot on the table, even if it was later in the evening than I would have liked as a growing teenager.

So, today when I was getting in my car at work (a little later than I like to on a Friday afternoon), my husband called.

"What's for dinner?"

"I don't know," I said.

It's not for lack of food in my house...because I spend a lot on groceries and pride myself on having a stocked pantry.

I start going through the file in my head. What can I make quick? He said he is starving.

In my defense, Nate doesn't eat lunch at a set time every day like I do. When he is on day work, he can be hungry for dinner at 3:30 p.m. when he gets home or at 6:30 p.m., which is way too late for me. So, even if I planned, it might not work out perfectly.

Tonight, I happened to have chicken breasts set out. I called my sister for a chicken and rice recipe she had made when I was visiting for New Year's Eve, but it took an hour to bake and sit, and that was too long for my starving man.

So, I saved it for another day and tried to improvise something quicker that would taste similar.
Here is what I came up with.

Chicken and Rice Skillet

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can cream of chicken soup (plus one can water)

2 cups instant rice. uncooked

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 small can mushrooms

1/3 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch strips. Cook the chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, until no longer pink inside. Add the chicken soup and can of water. Bring to a boil. Add the rice, onion powder and pepper. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for a few minutes so the rice cooks. Add mushrooms. Stir. Remove from heat and let it sit until the liquid is absorbed, about five minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with crumbled buttered crackers if desired.

Enjoy!

Another baby blanket

I knew that I wanted to attempt a quilt, which I successfully finished. However, my favorite blankets in our house are the double fleece style with the knots. And, I have been told that babies like tags or little items to play with, so I wanted to make my daughter one of these, too. You can never have too many blankets, or so I have been told. Fleece was $2.99 a yard back before Christmas, plus there was a 20% off coupon for an entire order. What a deal! I couldn't pass that up. So, I picked out two prints and both matched the cream fleece. Then, I found this gorgeous fleece on the remnants rack. It wasn't the fleece that was on sale, but it ended up being about $4 for about a yard and a quarter. It fit my organic, earthy theme of the nursery and even had a little pink for my gal. The blanket took less than an hour and when I was finished cutting, I tied the knots while sitting in the nursery chair. When it was all finished, I curled up and fell asleep with it. Super cozy. Click here for more detailed instructions on how to make these blankets. They are so easy, inexpensive and make great gifts.
I still have a yard of each of the other prints, so I am trying to decide what to do with those. The one is adorable little birds, which matches the nursery! We will see.

Nesting or organizing?

I am on a mad dash to organize and clean my entire house. It all started a few months ago when I had to clean out the spare bedroom (aka my personal dressing room) to make room for our first born. I have been very proud of my dedication to getting rid of junk. I sold a lot at yard sales/flea markets this summer, which proved to be a great way to spend time with my dad and stepsister as well as a good way to rid myself of unwanted goods and make a few bucks. I also unloaded some large furniture items on Craigslist, which has proven to be both profitable and easy. Now it's down to the items I am just not sure where to move and what to do with. I have one day left of Christmas break, and I feel like I am running out of time (which is totally not the case since I still have 8 weeks until the baby is predicted to arrive.) I have been moving organizing units all over the house, filling drawers with baskets and containers to organize items.

One of the major dilemmas was my jewelry. I had it organized nicely on an accordion peg thingy (sorry, that is the best I got) and hanging in my dressing room. Well, that had to go. So, I ended up using a bulletin board with thumb tacks in my closet (still in the nursery..sorry baby, Daddy and I can't share a closet) and a silverware drawer in a plastic organizer in the bathroom closet to organize. With Nate and I getting up at different times, we try not to get ready in the bedroom so we don't wake up the other one. That doesn't leave for much choice in where I keep my stuff. Because everything was in my dressing room, I had to move a lot to the bathroom, which made for a lot of creativity in using the space wisely. It's amazing how beauty products, cleaning products, lotions and body splashes accumulate. I am not done yet...I left a lot laying around because I just got tired and overwhelmed. I still have tomorrow. Thank goodness for resourcefulness, but I still have a long way to go.