4 months (almost)

twins.

doing the model pose--a must for all dunhams.

playing bounce on the couch with dad.

such a sweetie.

dinner = success

it was soooo good.  you must try.

i added mushrooms & doubled the recipe.

oh hey there!!!

what's for dinner - vodka pasta

·         1 pound uncooked penne pasta

·         1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

·         1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

·         3/4 teaspoon salt

·         2 tablespoons vodka

·         1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

·         1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

·         2 (3.5 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage

1.     Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2.     In large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Remove casing from sausage and add to skillet. Cook, breaking up the meat, until brown. Add garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring until garlic is golden brown.

3.     Add tomatoes and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

4.     Add vodka and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and add pasta, toss for 1 minute. Stir in fresh parsley and serve!  via allrecipes.com

I am going to use whole wheat penne.  My friend EW who I get to see in ONE WEEK gave me this recipe.  She had her son 6 weeks after I had Rea.  They have been in an arranged relationship since before conception...my Senior year of college to be exact :)  We even knew what their names were then!

now i'm off to eat a almond butter strawberry jam sandwich, my latest favorite.

i'll let you know how dinner turns out :)

super bars.

the perfect, healthy, snack that JD and I can't get enough of...full of protein, omega 3's, coconut oil and fiber.  Plus they are EASY...I can make them with Reagan in one arm ;)

2 cups almond meal (or almonds ground up in a food processor)

1/4 cup flax meal/ground flax seeds

1/2 cup dried cranberries or apricots

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup melted coconut oil (unrefined)

1-2 T honey

2-3 t vanilla

a few squares of white chocolate or 1/2 bag white chocolate chips

Blend all dry ingredients plus almond butter together in a food processor if you are using whole almonds/flax seed.  If you have almond meal and flax meal you can blend together in a bowl.  In a saucepan melt coconut oil over lowest heat until it looks clear with no lumps.  Remove oil from stove and stir in honey and vanilla.  Add the liquid to the other blended ingredients.  Press into a square pan...it should be a thick gooey paste...almost like a cookie dough consistency.  

Chill in fridge for an hour.  Melt chocolate and drizzle or spread over chilled bars.  Return to the fridge for another 30 minutes.. Cut into bars and ENJOY!!!  Keep in fridge or freeze.

For this batch I used dark and white chocolate because I only had a little bit of each.  I also didn't have any coconut because I used it up in the last batch.  They were still amazing.  Sometime I am going to use natural peanut butter instead of almond butter and another type of seed...maybe chia?  Super flexible recipe.