G helped me make a peach pie! and it was a very yummy peach pie! At least my husband said it was the best he's ever had, and that I'm more than welcome to make the pie whenever I feel like it. The funny thing is, I don't really feel like I baked a pie...I used a store bought crust (Aldi's, which was very good) AND frozen peaches. But it was delicious and that is what counts. It also could be that I added the whole half a cup of sugar into the filling instead of the divided amount (1/4 cup in the filling & 1/4 cup sprinkled on top of the crust). It's still 1/2 cup of sugar in the end...mine was just all inside.
It really was a great pie. Not too runny and definitely something to make again (when I can eat butter).
Here's the recipe if you feel up to baking a tasty pie.
Grandma’s Peach Pie
**recipe from Homesick Texan
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup milk
For the filling
1 quart (4 cups) of peeled and sliced peaches, uncooked (if using frozen, let thaw a bit)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
5 tablespoons of butter, sliced
1 tablespoon of flour
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour and salt. Mix oil and milk. Pour oil and milk into flour and salt and stir until combined into a dough. Can add more milk if dry.
Separate into two balls. Roll out one ball between two sheets of wax paper, and line a pie pan with crust. Roll out other ball and set aside.
Add to the crust-lined pie pan the peaches. Sprinkle on top 1/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon and flour. Add slices of butter.
Take other rolled-out crust, and lay it on top of the pie, crimping and sealing the edges. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar on top of pie, and poke holes in top crust with a fork.
Bake in oven for about an hour, or until crust is golden and pie is bubbling.
Enjoy!
xo, logan
As my maternity leave is coming to a close, I finally feel like we're settling into this new life with two. It has definitely had it's ups and downs, but we're hanging in for the long run. Each day will get better.
I haven't been able to blog (at all), since both kids keep me pretty busy, and we fought a long and tiresome battle with jaundice that kept us going back and forth to the doctor. But we are finally done with that! Thankful!
We have managed a little fun too with a family beach trip and some visits to IKEA.
So even though I'm very behind on blogging, I wanted to share some of the things we've been doing lately. A lot revolve around food, because really what is better than eating :)
G has helped me bake some goodies (at least until I had to cut out dairy from my diet).
He was such a good little helper! and of course he enjoyed helping us eat them too.
I used this recipe, but I substituted white and dark chocolate chips instead of m&m's, mainly because I didn't have any on hand. and chocolate is chocolate right? The only thing I would change would be to not add as much vanilla. I thought it was a little too much. Obviously we didn't have any problem eating them all, they were still delicious!
Hope to be back sooner than last time!
Happy baking!!
xo, logan
She arrived 4 weeks early on June 22 at 5:37pm. She was 6lbs 3oz, 19 inches long.
To say we were ready would by lying. We had nothing ready. My bags weren't packed, no nursery, no crib...but we made it. And we are very slowly getting things together. We put her crib together! But still need her mattress, and a dresser. One small step at a time.
I'll be back to share more - birth story (still writing this) and how we are all dealing with becoming a family of 4.
xo, logan
Getting close! Less than 10 weeks!
and yet, nothing has been done in preparation for this baby. I guess that's how it goes with a second baby?
Yesterday I earned my 50th "gym" star.
My goal for this pregnancy is for it to be a completely different experience than my first. So to help with that goal, I wanted to stay committed to going to the gym. A good friend of mine challenged me to go 50 times starting January 1st. and yesterday I met that challenge.
It feels good! I know it may not seem like a lot, but I am still very proud. I started this pregnancy at a higher weight than I ideally would have liked, so going to the gym has definitely helped to keep the weight gain curve less drastic as it was with the first. In fact, I've only gained 7.5 lbs since my first appointment. I'm very pleased, because I know being heavier at the beginning of pregnancy can cause problems later, and since I gained 40 lbs in my first pregnancy, I was worried it would cause issues with my VBAC birth plans. So hopefully that's not the case!
Anyways, I will continue to go to the gym as long as I feel comfortable (my OB said it was completely fine), so maybe I can get my star count up higher...maybe to 70?
and yes, I work for stars :)
xo, logan
Almost into the 3rd trimester! Can't wait to meet our little girl.
I never got around to blogging this, but I made an Easter basket for my little man this year! It was a last minute thing that I started the day before Easter, but I got 'er done!
I followed this tutorial. It didn't take me too long and it was something that I actually finished. I'm pretty notorious for starting a project and never finishing it, so it felt good to have a finished product after a day. It was a fun little project and I love the way it turned out.
I stuffed it with some bubbles, a coloring book, a plastic concrete truck, and a little sail boat. Little man's reaction wasn't huge...actually, he didn't really even care. He just liked the concrete truck. Boys!
xo,
logan
Lately I've been working on my sister's wedding invites. They're finally in the mail!
I recently received a zoku quick pop maker from the hubby. and I LOVE it so far. It's perfect when you're craving something sweet and you can have a finished popsicle in 10 minutes!
These are the first popsicles of the season.
Strawberry Lemonade Quick Pops
**recipe from Zoku
Yields: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup lemonade
4 oz. hulled strawberries
Directions:
1. Add lemonade and strawberries to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a mesh sieve into a measuring cup, using a spoon to push it through faster. If the mixture is foamy, let it sit for 20 minutes to settle down. Then give it a gentle stir before assembling pops.
2. Remove The Quick Pop Maker from your freezer, insert sticks and pour the strawberry lemonade blend into molds until you reach the fill line. Let freeze completely, then remove the pops with the Super Tool and enjoy! Repeat with remaining 3 pops.
Super easy, and quite yummy. The little man even liked them!
xo,
logan
P.S. I'm on instagram! Follow me at fractionsoflove.
I've started a new knitting project. I'm attempting to make a baby elephant! I've never done anything like this before - I'm usually just a hat and scarf kind of knitter. So we'll see how this goes...
Those are the ears. I've knitted 7 of the 17 pieces, so I've got 10 to go. I need to go buy more yarn though, I ran out tonight. Ooops.
Wish me luck! I'm especially nervous about sewing all the pieces together. I just hope it looks like an elephant when I'm done.
xo,
logan
We recently joined emeals and this was the recipe we cooked last night. It was very quick and easy, which is something we always like around here.
I think it could have used a little salt in the crumb mixture, but that's just my opinion.
Parmesan Crusted Talapia
Ingredients:
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (we used panko)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried basil
1.5 lbs talapia fillets, 4-6 pieces
2 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and basil. Brush one side of fish with butter and dip into crumb mixture. Place fish, coated side up in a greased rectangular pan. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.
and done! So easy! and it was pretty tasty too. Like I said above, it could have used a touch of salt, but was still good as is. We'll definitely keep this in rotation.
We served ours with basmati rice and green beans, but you could choose any sides to your liking. Enjoy!
xo,
logan
This weekend I made an apple pie. It definitely put me in the mood for summer!
Apple Pie
**recipe from Adventures of an Urban Foodie, but I didn't make mine vegan
Ingredients:
1 recipe pie dough
3 pounds apples (6-8 medium-large)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (for vegan version, use Earth Balance sticks)
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
Line a 9-inch pie pan with half the dough. Peel, core, and slice apples a little thicker than ¼ inch.
Heat butter in a very wide skillet or pot over high heat until sizzling and fragrant.
Add the apples and toss until glazed with butter. Reduce the heat to medium, cover tightly, and cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are softened on the outside but still slightly crunchy, 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Increase heat to high and cook the apples at a rapid boil until the juices become thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Immediately spread the apples in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and let them cool to room temperature.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the apple mixture into the bottom crust. Cover with a pricked or vented top crust or a lattice. Bake until the crust is richly browned and the filling has begun to bubble, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack, 3 to 4 hours.
Enjoy!
xo,
logan
