When you’re a portrait photographer who works almost exclusively with natural light and small children, winter pretty much… sucks.
And boy, has it been a long winter.
I’m working on dusting off the cobwebs and picking the camera back up again. Not just for snapshots, but for actual sessions. To start, I did a very short and informal session with Hunter to get some photos to use for his first birthday party invitation.
We’re planning to do an official “1 year” session for Hunter next month, but this was a good way to break myself back into the habit. It’s amazing how rusty I feel compared to where I was several months ago. Ack! But I think it’s sort of like riding a bike… you don’t forget; it comes back to you.
Unfortunately, Hunter wasn’t in the greatest mood when I arrived. He’s generally such a happy baby, so it figures that the moment I need to take pics of him, he pulls a ‘tude. :) But we waited it out and managed to trick him into smiling for us. And since we only really needed ONE good one for the invitation…
…we called the night a success!
Enjoying every minute with my girl, before she is forced to take a backseat to a baby of the human variety. ;)
I love, love, love potato soup. I’ve never found a recipe that I’ve loved to make at home, so I’ve reserved potato soup for cafes and restaurants. I only get it every once in a while, though, because I usually feel guilty about eating it since it’s so creamy, cheesy, and bacon-y.
When I saw this recipe on Annie’s Eats and saw that it’s made with milk (instead of cream), I wanted to give it a try. I thought we were done with soup season, but today was cool enough to fit in one last soup recipe.
This is delicious. Wonderfully creamy and flavorful. Now I’ll be looking forward to making this once fall rolls around again!
The only problem was that I made a slight mistake with the potatoes. I think I overblended the potatoes in the food processor so it made the consistency of them kind of gummy, and therefore the soup was kind of gummy. Still, even that couldn’t ruin this soup. Next time, I’d skip the food processor completely and just throw the potatoes into the milk (when it’s time) and use the immersion blender to combine everything together and make it creamy. Also, we forgot to take a package of bacon out of the freezer in advance, so we decided not to bother and just used some bacon bits. Next time… real (turkey) bacon! :)
Baked Potato Soup
(Source: Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients:
– 4-5 russet potatoes
– 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
– 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
– 6 cups 2% milk (we used skim and it didn’t matter one bit!)
– 2 tsp. salt
– Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
– 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
– 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
– 1/3 to 1/2 cup light sour cream
For topping:
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped green onions
Bacon pieces
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prick the potatoes with the tines of a fork. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Scoop the insides of the potatoes into food processor, discarding the peels. Pulse until the pieces are broken into small chunks. (As I mentioned above, if you have an immersion blender, I would skip the food processor.)
2. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add 1/4 cup of flour to the pot and whisk into the butter. Cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the milk and the rest of the flour. Cook until thick and bubbling, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Mix in the potato chunks. (Here is where I would use the immersion blender.)
5. Whisk in the salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat, stir in the green onions and sour cream.
6. Serve immediately. Garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onions and bacon as desired.
Eighteen weeks into pregnancy, I don’t so much believe in “cravings” as I do in seeing or hearing about something and just, well, not being able to get it out of your head. I haven’t really had overwhelming urges to have something right now, but if I get an idea for something that sounds good, I have to make it or buy it soon.
Hmmm. Doesn’t really sound like much of a difference now, does it?
Um, OK, yeah… so maybe I do believe in cravings.
My sister-in-law sometimes makes these during the Christmas season, so when I saw these M&M pretzel treats on Beantown Baker and my taste buds’ memory was jogged, it was the end of the story. I had to buy the ingredients and make them. (Perhaps I should stay away from food blogs?)
Pretzels + chocolate + M&Ms = dynamite. See?
The version I’m accustomed to is a bit different than Jen’s. Simply, it’s less melted chocolate and fewer M&Ms. This chocolate-to-pretzel ratio is perfect for me, but the route you choose to go depends solely on your taste. Check out Jen’s version if you think you’d like more chocolate.
These are super simple to throw together and are sure to be a hit at any party or get-together. They’re also awesome to have on hand to have a few for dessert or a snack, but I warn you… they won’t be on hand for long. They are addicting and hard to resist!
M&M Pretzel Treats
Ingredients:
You’ll need plain M&Ms, mini pretzels, and candy melts (I use the milk chocolate and white chocolate varieties that are sold in bulk at my grocery store). The amount of ingredients depends on how many of these puppies you want to make.
Directions:
Spread out a sheet of wax paper on the counter or table. Spread pretzels on the wax paper so that they lie flat. Melt candy melts according to package directions. Pour melted chocolate into squeeze bottles. (If you don’t have squeeze bottles, you can use a spoon to drizzle chocolate onto pretzels.) Squeeze a dime-sized glob of chocolate on the middle of the pretzel. Press a plain M&M down into the chocolate. Allow finished treats to set (15-20 minutes or so), then store in an air-tight container.
Enjoy!
This week, I finally feel pregnant. I feel like my belly has rounded out just enough that I actually look pregnant! Of course, it depends on the clothes I’m wearing, and it’s mostly just me who thinks I look pregnant, but hey: I’m the one who counts, right? :)
When I proudly showed off my belly to one of my coworkers (who is a mother of two) earlier this week, she rolled her eyes and (jokingly) told me to shut up and get out of her cubicle. Then, this morning, a friend looked at me and asked if I’m sure I’m really pregnant. *shrug* Whatever, people. WHATEVER.
17.5 Weeks Pregnant
I mean, come on… that is a BELLY, right? I feel like I really “popped” this week!
The biggest challenge with this newfound roundness has been with my wardrobe. I switched to maternity pants last week, so that hasn’t been an issue, but I’ve found that I am having major issues with a lot of my shirts already. Casual clothes are still fine–t-shirts, long-sleeves, etc. are all OK. But a lot of my work shirts are knit-type shirts and when I put them on this week, I thought they looked ridiculous. Some of them are too short for my comfort, and others are just completely unflattering for my new body.
The problem is that I’m not looking right in maternity shirts, either. In fact, most of them are freaking tents on me and make me look (and feel) horrible. I went to Old Navy earlier this week to see if I could find some cute “regular” work clothes that would work on my pregnant belly, but everything there was hideous. I have to do some more shopping this weekend, because the approximately THREE shirts/tops I have that I feel good in aren’t going to cut it for much longer.
Not much else has gone on this week in terms of the pregnancy. Still feeling movement on a daily basis, and it’s still mostly just at night when I finally settle in to relax on the couch or in bed. Sometimes I feel the baby be-bopping around in there first thing in the mornings, too, when I’m still trying to catch my last few minutes of sleep. But it does seem to be getting a teensy bit stronger, so I hope it’s not long before I’m feeling him/her throughout the day!
At one point last weekend, I was sitting on the couch in the afternoon and was poking at my belly (just because I couldn’t believe how pregnant it looked all of a sudden). The baby poked me back! It was hilarious. I can just imagine him/her saying, “Back off, Mom!” Later that same day, we were lying on the couch watching a movie and I felt the strongest kick/punch yet. I actually said, “Whoa!” out loud because I couldn’t believe how weird it felt. It almost took my breath away. It’s such a cool feeling; I’m loving it.
My BabyCenter and Bump e-mails tell me that baby is the size of an onion or a turnip this week. Growing, growing, growing! It’s pretty amazing when I look back and think about how, when this journey all started, baby was the size of a poppyseed. And amazing when I look ahead and know that it will soon be the size of a watermelon. Yikes!
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
