Egg Scramble Plant Points Galore

I know I've shared this before but I was so excited about alllll of the plant points in this. Grady and I had fun counting! If you want to hear more about plant points and their benefits to your immune system, follow Molly Anne's first pediatrician on Insta - @dranamariatemple 

The key to having this on a work day is to cut all veggies on Sunday. Here's what I have in mine:

Spinach

Kale

Tomatoes

Garlic

Brussel sprouts

Broccoli

Orange pepper

Mushrooms

Scallions

Throw it all on a big skillet.​ Add a little avocado oil. And saute it up.

Now much smaller

Then here come the eggs.. I know I shouldn't eat four eggs but I love them and I don't eat this every day. 

Ta da - add some truff hot sauce and some feta from a block (so much better) and you have a delish breakfast!

Menu This Week

My goal this week is to amp up my kid's plant point intake! The more plant points the better, their immune system this time of year! Plant points - fruit, veggie, nuts​.

Sunday - Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden copy cat) - this was soooo good. I added carrots for an extra plant point!

Monday - meatloaf, leftover mac n cheese (viral Tini's is best ever!) from a Sunday evening get together and French green beans for something different. My Mom's meatloaf is something like this - 2 lb ground beef, half sweet onion chopped, 1/3 cup ish Italian breadcrumbs, few tablespoons ketchup, couple teaspoons minced garlic and tablespoon dried parsley. Mix all together, put in loaf pan and put ketchup on top. Cook 40 min or so at 350. 

Tuesday - chicken bowls (chopped rotisserie chicken on Sunday when I meal prepped).

Wednesday - shrimp nachos with blue corn dipper chips. I'll just cook some shrimp the night before and then chop them and put them on the chips with cheese and other good toppings.

Thursday - leftovers 

Baked Beans - I made this recipe on Sunday too. I was skeptical of the amount green peppers but they were good. 

Tini's Mac N Cheese

​My sister in law told me about this recipe and she was not wrong. I don't have tik tok but it's some viral recipe on there! It is sooo good. You must grate your own cheese - yes 2.5 pounds with 1 pound of pasta. Trust it!

Tini’s Famous Mac and Cheese 

Ingredients:
1 lb. cavatappi pasta, cooked
16 ounces of mozzarella cheese, grated
16 ounces of Colby jack cheese, grated
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
3 Tablespoons of butter
3 Tablespoons of flour
1 can Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish

Cook cavatappi according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Combine all 3 shredded cheeses in a bowl and divide half into another bowl. Set aside

Combine garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Divide in half and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add half of the season mixture and flour. Stir until the mixture becomes paste-like, about 3-5 minutes. Add evaporated milk and whisk until thick. Add heavy cream and the rest of the seasoning mixture and mix until combined. Whisk in Dijon mustard until thick. Slowly add in half the cheese, allowing it to melt before adding more.

Stir in cavatappi until coated with cheese sauce.

Add a layer of cavatappi and then a layer of shredded cheese to prepared baking dish. Repeat layers.

Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 25-30 min. Finish by broiling until top is golden brown, about 2 min.

New Years in OIB

We went down to the beach on the 30th after knocking some work out Monday and part of Tuesday. We arrived just in time for the gorgeousness.

Immediately "gem mining"

Dinner at a new to us place - fibber mcgees. 

A quick stop for an annual pic at the OIB!

Our annual hibachi NYE night was a huge success for year five. Key to it was going to Costco before leaving Charlotte and getting much better meat. Thank you Hilary!

Other pics from the week... Grady swimming at Jen and Jades pool which they had heated. It was toasty!

Smash burgers 

Great times with dear friends! Lots of walking, lunches out, playground time, kids played putt putt by themselves. They're gaining lots of independence in our little town during the off season. It's so wonderful. We love OIB. 

Grateful for the fun, relaxation and memories. 

Year End Recap

Every year I love to do a little recap on NYE with the big thing(s) that happened each month. It's a good look back for me. So here it goes!

​January - a fun trip to Atlanta

February - Bahamas for Kevin's 50th and our favorite day here  

March - a great OIB weekend 

April - quick trip to DC where the kids sung at the Eisenhower Building on the White House campus 

May - Grady turned 7 and I went to Vegas for work and had a great time  

June - we had to put Mills down and while the kids were at Camp, Kevin and I went to Jackson Hole and Grady got to play baseball in Atlanta 

July - Mom and Dad came down for July 4th and Molly Anne is back from camp

August - finally celebrated Molly Anne turning 10 and we went to an Orioles game

September - we lived at the baseball field 

October - redid our bar and Grady's first home run 

November - Thanksgiving in OIB

December - NYC for work, Polar Express and Christmas

A Little Note

​I wanted to make a few notes here so when you saw pictures I've posted over the last few weeks, you didn't think it was the perfect little life. Here's what you also need to know:

I didn't get all of my decorations up. I had to pick and choose and even though I always always put my carolers up, it didn't happen this year.

We didn't get uptown to do our usual pictures and sightseeing I've done every year with the kids. 

We had some hard moments with my mom. What my dad is living 24/7, I was only with her a week. It was not easy in a few aspects. 

Though it looked like we had perfect meals, I can assure you I cut corners and we didn't have balanced meals every day. 

The presents under the tree were not wrapped nicely. Most had sharpie writing on them for who they were to and from. And not all had ribbons. It wasn't what was important. It was the thought behind each gift more than anything.

There was frustration and not listening and late bedtimes and all of that. 

We didn't have a live flower arrangement on our dining table, we had a Lego one in the champagne bucket! Also, we couldn't set the table until right before eating because my mom would have messed with it so it wasn't some amazing tablescape. But who cares!

So just wanted to share this. We do not have nor do I want you to ever think we have this beautiful, perfect, everything to a tee kind of life! We live here and are so thankful for who and what we have. As my friend Ashley and I were talking - may we find joy in each day!

Christmas and Day After

Christmas Day is always so sweet. That morning when the kids come down is my favorite. All off the magic! Look at Molly Anne's face! She is also carrying a pink weighted animal to give my mom! ​

So this was the big story of the day! A couple of weeks ago the kids visited Santa at Santa brunch and I had zero clue what they would ask him for. They didn't have lists. Grady didn't have anything he really wanted. They rolled in and Molly Anne went on a tangent about how she needed a golden retriever. Grady said baseball lifestyle clothes. Santa said puppies are very hard to bring but he would see. Turns out we had to get to work! Parents give puppies in this house! I had been researching all of the golden breeders since a few months after Mills passed but hadn't put the full court press on 'we must get a dog.' We honestly haven't been ready. We = me.  But now I needed to figure something out. The plan was kind of always this coming Spring/Summer. 

I have two good leads on litters. One boy available that was born 11/11 and one other litter due today 12/28 which was my golden from growing up's birthday. Molly Anne is leaning towards that so they can watch them grow up from being born. 

How to tell them Christmas morning? I had two dog tags made on Christmas Eve and figured it would come to me on how to give them these. This was my Dad's idea - hang them where his stocking will be. It was THE BEST. The kids didn't see them until Molly Anne went to get Grady's stocking for him! We have it on video. It's priceless. Lots of happy tears from all of us! So tbd but probably late February early March for 2.0!

Grady outfitted with all of his new things. He loved it all!

Grady had also asked Santa to leave four autographs when he visited. One for him and three for his friends next door. Santa remembered! 

For breakfast I made our typical breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls. I also tried a new one this year - French Toast Casserole. It was a winner and super easy. 

Fun with neighbors on Christmas Day. Molly Anne rode her scooter to Maggie and Greer's. 

Little Christmas Day dip. It was 75 and sunny. 

Kevin's family joined us that afternoon. I always make cream of crab soup and veg crab soup. We got some cocktail shrimp and Kevin grilled brats for them. I also made the Christmas tree biscuits. 

Our friends from next door came over and hung out for the rest of the night. A good day! 

My brother and his family came the next day to do Christmas. Grady totally stoked about his Gunner Henderson jersey (Orioles player)! He said he wants to wear it to watch him in a game next year!

It's cool to have cousins that do your hair and give you roller rabbit pjs!

I made Pioneer Woman's twice baked potatoes and burgundy mushrooms. My brother grilled Cilantro Lime Steak from butchers market. It was good! Those potatoes are a labor of love but having them ready before the crew got to our house was clutch!

On Saturday when they went back to SC, my parents and I drove to Maryland. Now it's Sunday and I'm at the airport flying back to Charlotte! 

It was a great week!