Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy new year! 

I'll put it out there; I'm really not into the whole gift exchange part of Christmas. My husband tried to play the whole, I'm a grinch card but the thing is, I love the holidays. I love spending time with my family and friends, I love the cheer, the parties and the love but the stress of buying presents?  No thanks. A few years ago my Mom had the book, The Five Love Languages, out and we all took the quiz. Not surprisingly, my love language is acts of service (my husband stole the key to my heart when he built me a kitchen during our engagement and solidified it when for our first anniversary redid an entire bathroom #realmenusetools). So, to spend so much time, money and stress on finding gifts that people, most likely, don’t need, seems crazy to me. I’d much rather spend my money on experiences… #rantover. But, since it is the season of giving, I wanted to come up with something meaningful and special for the grandmothers that they could actually use. I scoured the Internet before deciding on what I thought, was the perfect gift. All you need is a cheese plate, acrylic paint, a paint marker and a baby :) Bake the plate at 350 for 30 minutes, let it dry and wallah!

I definitely dragged my feet on starting solids with Kennedy. Breastfeeding had become so easy and efficient and since she was getting all of the nutrients she needed from the breastmilk, I just really didn’t understand the rush. So, at Kennedy’s six month appointment when the doctor asked if we had started solids, I shook my head and she told me it was time. Begrudgingly, I started solids the next day.  Fast forward four months and she’s eating pretty much everything… and so is the dog. But unlike breastfeeding which takes under 15 minutes these days (plus no cleanup), feeding her solids takes HOURS (as does the cleanup)… If you try to spoon feed her, she wants to grab the spoon and be in control but if you cut up food for her and let her feed herself (my preferred method) then she eats one piece at a time with breaks to feed the dog. It’s actually pretty adorable except that I just spent half the day cooking that meal and the dog is now throwing up from too much human food #mammaproblems. I never really got into purees so I went from mashing up bananas and butternut squash with my fork to just giving her whatever we were eating. In my opinion, all the gear that comes with purees is a waste especially since it’s such a short phase. I’d rather spend my money on cute outfits.
 
A huge hit with Kennedy this week was a slow cooker favorite, Coq au Vin. I adapted it from William Sonoma’s recipe to make it easier and only a one pot meal...  Enjoy!
 
Coq au Vin
 
Ingredients:

• Wine (the recipe states a whole bottle, I probably use two cups)
• 5 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, plus 2 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 leek (cut lengthwise)
• 6 oz. thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice (cooked- I microwave mine, 1 minute per slice with paper towels underneath and on top of the bacon)
• 3 1/4 lb. whole chicken legs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. small button mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 shallot (diced)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (a lot of times I just use water since I’m throwing it all in slow cooker and letting it cook all day)
• 3/4 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

 
Directions:
Throw everything into the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. Top with parsley and serve over mashed potatoes.