December is such a blur. It was a fun month but busy and a bit emotionally heavy and uneasy- a lot at work, too many Covid cases in the world, plans too TBD for me, and I really enjoy this season but also like to look forward too.

Pizza Beans were a bit of a re-do and we love it for a quick dinner with lots of options. The leftovers are great, though it is also an ideal way to use up little bits of leftovers.

I made Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies which were fun and not an excessive treat to have around.

Meatless Bean & Mushroom Meatballs were really fun and nice to have on hand. I like them in sauce and some garlic bread. I formed some into burgers too.

Last but not least, I made a lasagna with Sausage & Pesto Lasagna was so so good and a nice change from a tomato-sauce lasagna.

Before we get into 2022, NYE is sliders & frappes – our tradition for 7 years running!

The Little Girl:
She forgot about what Santa does – for a while she was planning to ask Santa to bring “a cookie with green on it”. She asked for a puzzle and really enjoyed the holidays. She was thrilled to get 2 babies (a Bitty Baby named Winnie and a Cabbage Patch Kid) and she loved a package of undies and lots of bath toys.

The Big Guy:
He was torn what to ask Santa for – he ended up asking for Pokemon cards and now has a whole bunch. He looooves some Beyblades and legos. The cookie season brings him lots of joy. He’s been not interested in cheese – weird.

Goals:
Year of nail polish! I got a neutral pink (this one – it is nicely solid and not streaky like an essie one I had.)
More international food inspiration: hmmm. I’m not sure I did.
More soups/salads: We had broccoli & cheddar soup. Seems like chowder or chili are in order.
More apps: We had an app party for Christmas Eve, a candy cane caprese salad – a smear of pesto plus the tomato/mozz.
More fun drinks: nope, but maybe NYE?
Updating photos: Pizza Beans! An update from Tomato, Basil, Polenta Bean Bowls
What I’m reading: I read The Night Watchmen and wasn’t into it. Then, I read We Are Not Like Them and loooooved it – one of the best of I read this year. A cute NYE one was This Time Next Year.
What I’m watching: All the Christmas movies! Our must-sees are Christmas with the Kranks, Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone.
What I’m listening to: still loving the American Girls podcast.

I love November – Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. I make fun-but-easy breakfast (cinnamon rolls from a tube & bacon!), and we watch the Thanksgiving Day parade in pjs, and I love the early-dinner and the food. The day has a casual mood and we all just mill about together. It is great. I do not do Christmas things until Black Friday, so it is fun for me to usher out one holiday to welcome in the next.

This month I made Caesar Broccoli which is so so good and I hope it is on your future menu – it is perfect alongside any entrée. Make with ham! Grilled Chicken! Sausages! Pasta! You name it. The kids loved it once and didn’t care either way the next time, so give it a whirl!

If you’re planning your leftovers, whip up some Thanksgiving Nachos! In all honesty, I used roasted chicken when making these before Thanksgiving and can whole heartedly encourage either way!

I love a seasonal hot bev and this is tea with cider and it is spiked! Add it to your brunch or dessert with leftover pie or whatever!

My blog turned 11! I set a few new goals and awarded my own superlatives.

The Little Girl:
She’s becoming more self-sufficient all the time. I love seeing her grow up and it is funny to see old videos of her as a tiny toddler now that she’s such a kid. Decisions are based on whatever her brother has or is doing and she loves him so so much. I promised next year when she’s 4, we’ll go see the Nutcracker – then days later she asked about seeing the cracker show. 😉 She’s been pretty into hummus lately and has been eating quite well lately – knock on wood.

The Big Guy:
He finished his soccer season. It was fun and also endearing to see them improve (go the right direction/pay attention). I don’t mind a practice night and a game day off our schedules. He got his first vax dose! Hallelujah! He’s super into trading Pokemon cards on the bus and at school. This kid loves canned cranberry sauce more than anyone I’ve ever met. I had to ensure there was plenty for others at Thanksgiving. He normally eats some of everything so we’ll see what he’s into this year. For breakfasts he has been obsessed with hard boiled eggs.

Goals:
Year of nail polish! I got a deep redish one (this one – the bottle looks more purpley than it comes out to be)
More international food inspiration: does Diwali lunch at work count?
More soups/salads: I made a super quick tomato soup for dinner one night
More apps: Thanksgiving Nachos!
More fun drinks: Apple Cider & Vanilla Tea Hot Cocktail
Updating photos on some old posts: not yet, stay tuned!
What I’m reading: I read The Last Story of Mina Lee which was a mix of true-crime versus mother/daughter relations versus immigration story. It was pretty good. Bookclub read Midnight Library. I liked the fantastical element of between life & death and the themes of regret or what-if was pretty good. I didn’t love it like the masses did, but pretty good.
What I’m watching: We finished the Impeachment: An American Crime series. We were fascinated and it was fantastic. I loooove a deep dive into something that happened in my lifetime that I do not have the full story on. Next up will be Christmas movies!
What I’m listening to: loving the American Girls podcast to look at the literary merits or deficits of the books, and The Dropout because Elizabeth Holmes is mind boggling.

I’m shocked annually that the hobby has carried on. I’m still enjoying it so cheers to 11 years! Thanks for being here! I love hearing what resonates and what’s been good!

For each blogaversary I declare some superlatives and look forward with some new goals for the upcoming year.

Superlatives:
Most Popular: Breakfast Tot-chos these are breakfast with nod to those elements of nachos. Plus bacon makes everything better.

Most Photogenic: Chicken Bacon Ranch Burritos are everything you love about a burrito mashed up with a wrap. (Pssst! These Chicken Broccoli & Rice Warm Wraps are along those same lines of a burrito-y wrap).

Most Insta-popular:
Not blogged, but the Olympics food was a hit on Instagram. Duley noted. Winter 2022 is coming right up and I have LOTS OF IDEAS.

Most Likely to Succeed: French Onion Soup Burger – this one is so so so good. There were a few burgers this year and this was the clear winner. French onion soup mix and caramelized onions plus some really great cheese made this additionally special.

Most Popular: Pineapple Coconut Rice with a honey teriyaki drizzle. This is such a crowd pleaser and works great with pulled pork, chicken thighs, or kielbasa. I like the hint to a tropical vibe, but is so great year-round.

Goals for next year:
Year of the ______: this past year has been year of fun mail. The year before I thought I’d do plants/flowers but quickly dropped that. It really became a year of treat for myself each month. This year, I’m going to do a year of nail polish! Some of mine are embarrassingly old. I loved some more elaborate ideas but want to stay true to easy to find and something for me – my kiddos are treated to things all the time.
More international food inspiration: take out or make my own.
More soups/salads: this is kind of seasonal so it seems useful to reach towards but might not always happen.
More apps: I’ve done this before and love it – esp when it becomes dinner 😉
More fun drinks
Updating photos on some old posts
What I’m reading: I read 40 books this year! Wow! I love books and keep adding to my list to always be ready for my next.
What I’m watching: maybe more movies?

October has been a whirlwind! Work has been super busy- pandemic alumni weekend and family weekend events are no joke- and our weekends have some more other things keeping us a bit busier than recent times as we do all the things outside! I’m grateful for some normalcy for tiny things like daycare painted pumpkins and leaf pile play. October was good in the kitchen too – just some of those days of: hmm. I planned soup but it is almost 80-degrees…

We made this super fun hot dog pizza that not all followers said they would try, but we thought was good and probably once-a-year fun:

Then I did a chicken, bacon, ranch burrito that is just perfect. It feels filling from the brown rice and chicken then melty cheddar makes it burrito-y and of course there is ranch dressing and bacon for that perfect pairing, and some greens for freshness. So good. I froze some and already wish there were more stashed away. Make some now and you’ll thank me later on a busy weeknight. I defrost in the micro and toast in the toaster oven to finish for a much better packed lunch.

Then I gave the Parisian Burger some photo updates from the original one in 2014. I had made it a bunch to practice the cooking competition timing and wasn’t interested in making it again anytime soon – and perhaps I was bitter that I didn’t take home the big prize.

Next month I have a side dish that was a winner once and neither of the kids cared the second time – so take that for what it is worth. Then I’ll blog a fun dinner that the kids gobble up and my blogaversary where I’ll set some new goals and declare some superlatives from the year.

The Little Girl
Her imagination is coming alive and I love the reasoning behind her made up play- from what dolls are doing to what she pretends in the leaf pile, it is too cute. She’s totally protested eating dinner a few times which I think it just the authority of being 3 years old. She loves pasta and can eat her weight in pizza. I was surprised that she was into sesame oil/rice vinegar cucumber salad one night. She’s excited for halloween but doesn’t remember trick or treating. That will make it even more exciting! Last year we didn’t go and the kids wore costumes and found candy hidden around the basement – a la easter egg hunt. Before that she was 1 1/2 so trick or treating was more of a spectator sport in the stroller for her.

The Big Guy:
Soccer is going well and he’s quite happy going to school and being home in the afternoons or whatever. He’s gotten better at communicating what he wants (or doesn’t want) his little sister to do. He looooves the leaf pile. His very fav fig bars were back at Costco which makes breakfast decisions so much faster. He lost his 2 front teeth! It is so so cute. He saved some dollars and picked out a few new hotwheels cars. Pokemon card trading is big time with the first graders at his school.

Goals:
Year of the fun mail! I thought of a card to get out just at the end of Oct!
More breakfasts: nope
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance: I made a quiche and some burritos for the freezer which was helpful.
I’d like to get the house a bit neater: I’ve been clearing some surfaces, nothing major.
Bullet journal – yup, keeping a meals list.
What I’m reading: I read Know My Name for bookclub and looooved it – let’s get Chanel Miller famous for her writing instead of Brock Turner who got off easy for being a white male. I read Meet Me in Bombay and really flew through the story. I was “ehhh” on Things We Lost to Water.
What I’m Watching: Instead of MLB playoffs, I watched a CNN docuseries on Diana. I also devoured LulaRich and was fascinated! That one is a must-watch.

I love September though this one was a bit of a rollercoaster! There were some real highs: our 10th wedding anniversary! T started 1st grade! The lows were all the Covid cases in first grade and quarantining…2x and going remote and postponing other fun things. We’re wrapping up the month quarantined – again. This time the entire class was sent home. Are we done yet???! I’m psyched for October and Halloween!

This month was a good one in the kitchen! I love love loved this French Onion Soup Burger. All that melty cheese in the middle and on top!

I am also ready for fall so I whipped up a pasta with some fall flavors into a pasta – it has sausage, butternut squash, smoked gouda, sage, and a light brothy sauce.

I took flavors we love: pesto chicken, tomato, fresh mozzarella and turned them into a sandwich. This was delicious – especially since the kids love pesto on pasta so I like them seeing it in other ways.

Oct will have some fun ones. Wait till you see this pizza coming up! I have an old post to give a face-lift and some fun ones. Work is full force – especially for September and October.

The Little Girl
She loves being back to daycare and having grandparent days! Her favorite things to do are playing outside and playing games that her big brother makes up for them! Her fav foods are pb and cheese. I get a kick out of giving her something, like an egg, when she resists, then eats it and says “Ohh I loooove eggs”. She likes tasting all the ingredients.

The Big Guy:
School started well and he loved the bus. I wish we heard more from him. It is hard to tell how he feels about anything. I try not to pepper questions and lately have had some luck with: what surprised you today? what do you wish didn’t happen today? what made you laugh today? what was delicious today? what felt hard today? etc. only asking a few. He’s playing soccer and despite having to miss some, so far so good! He loves school lunch, hard boiled eggs, and all the pasta.

Goals:
Year of the fun mail! I thanked the teacher & principal for a little preview we got from the playground to ease the first day.
More breakfasts: ehh. not really
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance: Having the standby of turkey/cheese/arugula is helpful!
I’d like to get the house a bit neater:
Bullet journal – yup, keeping a meals list.
What I’m reading: I read Malibu Rising and worried since it was so hyped but I loved it (though the author’s Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is still the best)! For bookclub, we read This is How it Always is and it might be the best one I read all year. Next was Dear White Peacemakers and really appreciated it. Then I read Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First – it was ok.
What I’m Watching: I got all caught up on Million Little Things awaiting the return. We watched a few movies with the kids: Toy Story 2 & Rio 2 & Jungle Book.