Little Miss Has the Magazine Munchies

I recently bought a food magazine, and I caught Naomi looking through the pages and pretending like she was eating pieces of food from the mag photos.  At least I hope she was pretending!  This girl is seriously such a ham.  So thankful to God for a little lady who keeps me amused and laughing...a lot, lot, lot.  The very end cracks me up the most.

Fall Festival: NW DC Style

Last Saturday, we happened upon a Fall Festival hosted by a community in NW DC. Highlights of our time there included cotton candy, African dancing and a drum circle, and a special "hay ride" that basically involved an oversized stroller with a bit of hay taped onto it.  Too funny.  Here are a few snap shots of our day!  Happy Fall...y'all.

Fall Recipes: Sweet Potato Pie

Had Instagram existed a few years back, I would have IG'd the look on my husband's (then boyfriend's) face when I volunteered to bring a pumpkin pie to Christmas Eve dinner at his mom's house.  It was a look of shock, horror, disapproval, and dismay.  "No, you can't," he insisted.  "We don't eat pumpkin pie," he explained.  OK, then.  

Christopher has never tasted (and does not personally care to ever try) pumpkin pie. However, he is an avid fan of sweet potato pie.  

I never had sweet potato pie until we started dating, but you better believe I had to pony-up and figure it out once we got married.  It is similar to, but not exactly like my mother in-law's recipe.  You see, my mother in-law is an amazing cook and baker.  She does it all so effortlessly too.  Let's be honest, there is simply no need for me to hopelessly try and replicate her amazingness.  So I take her foundations and just kinda twist and turn it here and there to make it different.  (Let's be honest again, CB probably likes his mom's pie more, and I am totally and completely OK with that.  :D)  

Alas, here's what we've got:

Oh hello, Gorgeous.  Get in my belly.

Ingredients:

*2.5 c sweet potatoes (Or I go by using 3 really big ones because I cannot look at potatoes and somehow think in "cups")
*3 eggs
*1 c melted butter
*3/4 c evaporated milk
*1/2 c sweet condensed milk (or a little more, because why the heck not)
*2 t cinnamon (go big or go home, baby)
*2 t nutmeg (side note on spices: Be mindful of how old your ground spices are.  Spices like nutmeg and cinnamon only have a shelf life of about 2 years.)  
*1 t vanilla (another side note: not all vanilla extracts are created equally.  For pies and other baked goods, I LOVE to use Watkins.  You just have to trust me on this. You will notice a difference!)
*1 c sugar (yeah, you read that right)
*2 pre-made roll-out pie crusts

Gather all your ingredients.  And uh, please excuse that jacked-up wall.
Our home is still under construction!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Do not be like me and cut corners by setting it to a higher temperature (unless you are in a rush to get to a Church potluck, then fine.  Hi, Grace Mosaic!) or else your beloved pie will come out a bit dryer than it's supposed to.

Cut sweet potatoes in half and boil them (with skin) until tender.  When ready, run under cold water to easily peel skin off.  Stick em in a bowl like so.

Mash em real good in any way you can.  I used a masher (or whatever that's called), a hand mixer, AND a hand blender.  OCD much?

Whatever you do, just make sure you get all the lumps out.
Note that some SPs are stringy.  You DO NOT want that!  No lumps!  No strings!  You do not want a whole bunch of Betty Crockers judging you.  If you are a novice baking lady or a dude who actually cares to read this post because you want to impress a lady, you must understand that people take their pies very seriously.  
Let me say it again: No lumps!  No strings!

Add the following 8 ingredients listed above.  Keep mixing. Just check out that beautiful sweet condensed milk action.  

Roll out your pie crust into the pie pans and shape the crust as you wish.  

After all the mixing at whatnot, it should look something like this.  

Pour evenly into pie pans.  

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until it's baked through!

Cue the "Hallelujah" chorus.  And enjoy!  

Daddy-Daughter Date Night

Our Little Miss had quite the milestone on Monday night: her first Daddy-Daughter Date Night!  There are no words to fully express how grateful I am for Christopher and the way he tirelessly loves, serves, teaches, and sweetly cares for our daughter.  I'm so grateful that God blessed me with a man who is such an active part of her life, no matter how long and exhausting his days at work have been.  

I hope our Little Miss grows up knowing how incredibly blessed she is as well to have a "Dada" like him.  And that she holds every single man who ever comes her way (in the LONG and DISTANT future, of course! ;) up to the high standard her Daddy has already set for her. Yes, Lord!  

All dolled up for Date Night!

Cheese!

Love her so much!

Playing with the pretty flowers.

Kisses from Daddy!

Love love love.

Hello, Apple Cider Season!

It's that time of year!  All things pumpkin and apple cider season!  Hallelujah.  

Given our recent house move, my home is still a wreck.  Not to mention, I've been under the weather and rather debilitated too. But that did not stop me from preparing 
some cider as soon as the summer-like weather (in October?!) here in DC went away.  Priorities, people.  

 

I know some people like to make apple cider from scratch.  With a toddler, a husband, a new house, a job, and did I mention a toddler?, I do not have time for that.  
Also, I am not Amish.  But I still like to do the next best thing.  

Bought this baby from our local grocery.  Pour however much you want into a pot.  
I used about half a gallon. 
Turn the oven on low.  Simma down nah!
Add a couple Tabslespoons of brown sugar and stir.

And now for some citrusy goodness.  Use one orange per gallon.
Cut it in half if you'd like to give your cider a more citrusy kick.  

Here's a special little infusion secret I learned from my friend Josh.  (Hi, Josh!)
Take whole cloves and stick em ever so nicely into the orange, 
so as to create an alien-like species of sorts.
It is tres annoying to me when little remnants of cloves get into my mug.  Hence this trick.  Don't use too many cloves though or else your cider will become way bitter.  
Stick it in the pot.    

Now meet the ALL STAR players of the season.  Nutmeg and Cinnamon!  Stick one cinna stick in the pot.  Add a few dashes of nutmeg.  
Your house will start to smell heavenly right about now.

Wait anxiously for ~20 minutes and then, voila!  It's apple cider time!  
Instant happiness in a cup!  Enjoy!  #sickiefaceselfie