A baby changes everything

Otto Constantino - 8 weeks

A baby does change everything - trips to the grocery store, my diet, the amount of laundry we do in a week, how much sleep we think is "good", the amount of time and money I spend on myself, and even his own room. I had set up Otto's room with some limitations such as my budget and the fact that we are renting our place. Once he was born, a few things changed, and now I know what I will do next time I design a nursery.

A few things I changed:

1. I put a table next to the rocking chair for water, books, etc. I know this sounds obvious, and I did think about it before he was born, but I couldn't find a table I liked. I still don't have a table I like, but it doesn't matter - any table will work. I want to find a bookshelf/side table or I might just build one myself if I can't find one.

2. I put the elephant mobile above Otto's crib. Now that he's sleeping in his crib, I thought it would be nice for him to have something to look at when he wakes up. And I never really liked how it looked above the rocking chair - too busy or something.

3. I hung the "Otto" frame by the door instead of the chalkboard. My friend made me the "Otto" frame with pictures, and I just love it, so I wanted it to be where everyone could see it.

4. I put hooks below the Otto frame for his sweatshirts and jackets. You wouldn't think a baby would have so many hoodies, but he has lots of hand-me-downs from his sporty cousin, so we have ended up with a lot of sweatshirts. I used cup hooks (see link at bottom), which are super cheap (I bought mine at Target), and you don't need any tools to put them up. I just twisted them directly into the wall. Technically, you're supposed to pre-drill holes, but I have used these hooks many times without doing so. They can hold up to 5 pounds each, which is more than enough for hanging jackets and sweatshirts!



5. I always have a receiving blanket on top of the changing pad cover. The first few weeks, Otto liked going to the bathroom as soon as his diaper was off, so we were washing the changing pad cover every other day or something (I can't remember that long ago.). Now, I just use one of my flannel receiving blankets so that if he has an accident, I can just wash that. You could also just buy fabric from the fabric store, but since I had these cute receiving blankets I wasn't using for anything, I thought they would be perfect.

Cup hooks instead of a coat rack - so cheap and easy to install!

Mobile above his crib.

Ugly table from outside that I'm using for next to the rocking chair.. for now, at least.

Receiving blanket on top of the changing pad cover so it can be changed easily.

 

3 months



A gluten-free, dairy-free cookie that is actually good! Peanut Butter Cookies.

Peanut butter cookies are often overshadowed by the oh-so-popular chocolate chip cookies. I don't know why I never think about making them. Every time I make or eat a peanut butter cookie I think,  "I need to make these more often." I love salty sweets, and these are a perfect example. As much as I love chocolate and peanut butter together, I think that these are best without chocolate chips. The chocolate can be overpowering, and in these cookies you really want to taste the peanut buttery-ness.

I definitely eat butter and use it to make a lot of baked goods, but this recipe doesn't contain any. Because the peanut butter is so fatty, it adds the richness and flavor that you need. These cookies also don't contain flour, which doesn't really matter to me one way or another, but they have such an interesting texture without the flour. You would not believe that peanut butter, eggs, sugar, and baking soda could produce a cookie! The texture is slightly crumbly and they go perfectly with a cup of coffee. I ate one of these every morning with my coffee for a week after I made them. I had to limit myself to one a day.

The original recipes for these type of cookie contain 1 cup of sugar, but I thought brown sugar would be better because it has more flavor and would keep the cookies from becoming too crispy. I also decreased it to 2/3 cup because I don't like things too sweet and the peanut butter has a little natural sweetness on its own.

These are probably the easiest cookies in the world to make. You just need a bowl and a spoon. Stir everything together in no particular order, form the dough into balls, and flatten with a fork. That's it! I think the hardest part of this recipe is cleaning the peanut butter out of the measuring cup.

Flourless Butterless Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 12 cookies.

1 cup natural peanut butter*

2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir all ingredients together in medium bowl.  Using moistened hands, form generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie into ball (I used a 1 oz cookie scoop). Arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten with a fork to make the cross-hatched pattern on top.

Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 10-12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

*If your peanut butter is unsalted, add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Pumpkin Pie without Evaporated Milk

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The weather is changing and the smell of fall is in the air. My husband, the non-cooked-fruit guy, actually loves pumpkin pie and has been talking about it for the last couple weeks. Go figure. I think he likes the smooth texture. For his last day of work before he moves on to a new and better position (yay!), I decided to make him a pumpkin pie. I happened to have a can of pumpkin from last winter, but I couldn't find any evaporated milk. We had leftover heavy cream from some other dish we made, so I thought that would work perfectly! The reason evaporated milk was used in the original recipe is because it's shelf stable and can last for months or years even in the cupboard. The flavor is a little sweeter than milk since some of the water is evaporated, so I figured heavy cream would be a perfect substitute since it's a little sweeter and a lot richer than milk. I think I added about 500 calories to the pie by making this substitution, but that only amounts to a little bit in each slice (unless your "slice" is 1/4 the pie, which my hubby and I could easily devour).

Since I had a large can of Libby's pumpkin but only wanted to make one pie, I halved the recipe from the back of the can. My brain isn't working like it used to before the baby was born, and I forgot to add half the amount of salt. Well, that turned out to be the secret to a delicious pie! I am always a fan of adding more salt than recipes call for, because I think it brings out all the flavors, but I never thought of adding more salt to the Holy Grail of pumpkin pies. I had always thought the original Libby's pumpkin pie recipe was delicious, even after trying various recipes and even roasting a sugar pumpkin to begin with. I guess even classics can get better!

This will be my new recipe for pumpkin pie. I can't wait to make another one!

Better-than-Libby's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk or a combination of the two (I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup milk) OR 1-12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell (I used Barefoot Contessa's Perfect Pie Crust recipe)

Whipped cream (optional)

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in milk and/or cream. Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425°F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.