Wyatt's 3rd Birthday

Our little Godson, Wyatt, turned three this April. We were so excited to attend his third birthday party, red themed - his favorite color!

He received lots of fun presents and clothing. His favorite was a Marvel bowling set! He was very excited to try it out and even got a strike within a couple minutes of playing.

Carly and her family put together a lovely spread for us to enjoy of an Easter ham, fruit and potato salads and yummy cupcakes and cookies.

He was pretty pooped when we were leaving, which means it must have been an excited party :) And probably the 30 or so laps he run around the dining room table ;)

Fun with Wyatt & Double Crunch Pork Chops

Last Saturday I got to hang out with my favorite Godson Wyatt!!! We had so much fun racing cars and trucks, playing airplane and making a paper chain to countdown to his birthday! I can't believe he will be three this year! He is so excited for his birthday and wants everything red - his favorite color. Red cars, red plates, red cups, a red shirt, etc. He is too funny. I told him that my favorite color is red and he said that couldn't be because it is orange. Silly Wy-Guy. 

Speaking of "Wy" or "why" - he is going through that questioning phase. I think he thought I was an encyclopedia or something. It was pretty cute to see how curious he was about certain things. 

After playing with Wyatt all morning, I took a nice nap (I hope he did too for Carly) and then made some dinner. I saw some thin cut boneless pork chops when I was grocery shopping and they looked so good. I made breaded pork chops with a honey sauce. Instead of using flour or bread crumbs, I used milled flax seed, hence the dark color in the picture and for the honey I used my Uncle Jack's honey. I think I go through two to three containers in a year. I swear this stuff is also the reason I never get the cold or flu. If I feel any symptoms coming on, I take a tablespoon of it with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. 

Breaded Pork Chops & Honey Sauce
Makes 2 servings
Pork Chops:
4 thin sliced boneless pork chops
1/2 cup milled/ground flax seed (or almond flour, regular flour, etc)
salt & pepper
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp ground sage
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp water

Honey Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
pepper (to taste)

Stir together all of the dry ingredients for the pork chop breading as listed in a shallow bowl. Make an egg wash by whisking the eggs with the water in a separate shallow bowl. Dip the meat in the breading mixture, then dip in the egg wash and then a final dip back into the breading mixture. Make sure the breading makes good contact with the chop. After coating all of the pork chops, place the chops in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the breading to stick better to the pork.

While the pork is resting, in a small saucepan, add the olive oil and minced garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic. Add the honey, soy sauce and pepper. Simmer together for 5-10 minutes and then allow to cool and thicken. Do not let the sauce boil or it will cause a mess.

Heat a skillet on the stove with a little bit of canola oil, just enough to coat the bottom. I used a medium setting, as to not super heat the oil and over cook the pork. Once the oil is warm, add the pork chops to the skillet and cook each for about 3 minutes per side. Plate the pork immediately and drizzle the honey sauce over the pork chop (or dip them - whatever floats your boat).

Wy-Guy

Last Saturday I got to watch my favorite God son Wyatt for a bit. We had a blast. He is at such a fun age right now where he loves to draw, play with blocks, dance, bounce and read. And we did all of the above many times over on Saturday.

I learned that:
- he loves Disney, especially Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Cars
- his favorite color is orange followed by purple
- he can draw lines and dots very well
- he loves to repeat what you say (good thing I watched my mouth!)
- towers are only good if you can knock them down (obviously)
- he is an excellent snuggler

Oh to be a kid again!

Surprise Romantic Dinner for Christopher

So this weekend was rare in that I did not have any formal plans - YEAH! But don't think I sat on my butt doing nothing either. On Saturday I started to deep clean several rooms in the house in preparation for Fall. I also ran errands and got to visit with my friend Carly and our Godson Wyatt. What a cutie pie! I loved his big belly laughs - they are just so precious.

Then on Sunday I continued my cleaning marathon and errand running. But I was really in the mood to cook...sooooo I decided to cook a 5 course romantic dinner for Christopher. He has been really busy lately working hard to find a job, volunteer, network, etc. I surprised him when he came home! I styled our dining room table with linens, centerpiece and placing settings. For the courses, I made the following:

1) Zucchini Feta Fritters with cool ranch sauce

2) Wedge Salad with turkey bacon, tomatoes and onions and a bacon infused creamy blue cheese dressing

3) Chicken and Herb Dumpling Soup

4) Roasted Garlic Chicken with steamed broccoli and roasted garlic potatoes

5) Oreo Marshmellow Bars

I will post recipes in a bit! For now, here are the pictures of the table and place settings.

Easter is Coming!

I am very much looking forward to the Easter Holiday. This past weekend we made our annual trip to the Broadway Market. We picked up our smoked Polish sausage for Easter morning and some pierogi to have for breakfast and for Dingus Day. We are always a sucker for the spice shops and bought three different mixes, which are delicious! We bought a garlic one that will work great with fish, a steak seasoning one and a dried pepper one. We tried both the steak and pepper one Sunday night by mixing into beef and making hamburgers. I preferred the burgers with the steak seasoning and Christopher preferred the one with the pepper seasoning. And we bought a bunch of other things too.

I am pretty proud of myself for getting most of the Easter baskets done. I have Christopher’s, our Godsons and nieces and nephew done as well. Now I just need to send them…why is that always the hardest part? I have our parents and siblings left to do.

Sunday we had our Easter celebration with our Godson, Wyatt and my friend Carly. We had such a great time with them. Little Wyatt is getting so big, it is hard to believe he will be one years old in less than two weeks.

This week, Mom and Dad Musialowski went on a much needed vacation to Florida, with a stopover in Charlotte to visit Micah and Max (our niece and nephew). We are looking forward to hearing all about their trip. At home, Christopher and I are visiting with Jonathan and have a bunch of things planned this week, including quesadilla night, going out to Fat Bob’s and taking him along to Easter Brunch with the Leutze Family. Maybe even a Lego night or Wii tournament…we shall see.

Last night we counted our piggy banks; we like to call it our vacation fund. We both surprised ourselves when we counted over $300 in cash and change! We are well on our way for vacation 2013. Where to…that is yet to be determined!