Smitten

This is the third time Lola and Regan have hung out, and so far it looks like they're going to be pretty good buds. :)

Gotcha!

Lola: 2, Oklahoma: 0

A couple of weeks ago we took Lola to her first Mizzou basketball game with Matt's dad and brother, Jeff. My parents, Cal and Kate were there, too, but they sat in a different section. Oddly enough we played Oklahoma - the same team we played at Homecoming, which was Lola's first Mizzou football game. And we beat them both times. Do you see a pattern here? She was all eyes for pretty much the entire first half. It was super loud, but the noise didn't seem to bother her. It worried me, so I stuck some cotton in her ears underneath her headband. As you can see by the third picture, she was really interested in the giant scoreboard. By halftime, she was tired and fell asleep in my lap. She slept through the second half and only jumped when the buzzer sounded. It was a fun time! Afterward we had dinner with Lori and her boyfriend, Peter, at Murry's. Lola slept through dinner, too. The last couple of pics are Lola and Matt goofing off in the hotel room. Enjoy!

I'm a monkey!

I recently downloaded a bunch of new Lola pics... hopefully I'll have time to organize and post them this week. In the meantime, I thought this was a particularly cute shot of her - she's sitting up on her own pretty well now, although she still sort of leans forward and puts some weight on her hands in front of her. Like a little monkey. :)

We're still here!

Haven't had a chance to sort through the latest pictures and post our first basketball game story. I'm working on it! Hopefully this picture will satisfy you for a little while. :)

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers

YUM! Give these a try sometime.

1.2 pounds ground turkey*
5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (half a box)
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg, beaten
Extra virgin olive oil
Pesto (optional)

Mix first five ingredients well, then form into six patties. Preheat a saute pan over medium heat. Coat the pan with olive oil and saute burgers on both sides until cooked through. Spread pesto (if you like) on toasted whole-grain buns and serve. Add lettuce, tomato, onion, or whatever veggies you like.

*You don't have to use exactly 1.2 pounds...just a pound or so. Ours just comes in 1.2-pound packages.

Full disclosure: Matt didn't really care for these. He likes spinach and feta and pesto and turkey burgers. But, he didn't like it all mixed up. (I think he just didn't like them because they didn't taste good with Syberg's on them.) Oh well! I thought they were good. :)

Gearing up for the game

We're taking Lola to her first Mizzou basketball game this Saturday in Columbia. We're not sure what she's going to wear - this is one option. Thank you, cousins Chaney and Keaton, for the hand-me-down Tiger tee! She also has a cheerleader outfit and a Mizzou sweatshirt... oh, decisions, decisions.

Spit-up Part 2

We recently learned something about Lola's spit-up: Oscar loves it. She could be in another room and spit up, and he'll make a bee line for her chin, onesie, burp rag, the carpet, stuffed animal, my clothes... whatever the spit-up lands on, he's on it. Now, Daddy (aka Matt), on the other hand, doesn't really care for the taste of Lola's spit-up - and he knows all too well what it tastes like, as she spit up directly in his mouth this week. I suppose that's what he gets for holding her in the air and "playing rough" with her right after she ate.

Apple and Quinoa Salad/Cereal

My neighbor, Sue Klayman, turned me on to this recipe. It was in the January issue of 417 Magazine as the winner in MaMa Jean's Keep it Clean Recipe Contest. To be considered "clean," a recipe had to be made with food that's as natural and healthy as possible - and no chemicals, preservatives or highly processed ingredients.

Sue made it and brought me a sample to try last week. I absolutely loved it. I told Matt about it and asked him if he wanted me to save him some to try, and he said, "Eh, no thanks." So, I ate it all myself.

On Friday I made a batch, and he popped in the kitchen to analyze everything that was going in it. He still turned up his nose. But, then he tried it. And. He. Loved. It. We ate the whole batch that afternoon, so I made another on Saturday. We sent some home with Matt's dad to try, and he liked it, too! In the magazine it's called "Quinoa Salad," - pronounced "keen-wa" - but, I really don't think that's a very good name for it. It's more like an apple-quinoa cereal... or granola? It's sort of breakfast-y (except for the celery, which really just adds some crunch and not too much taste), but, you can certainly eat it for breakfast or lunch or just for a snack. Here's the recipe. (I tweaked it a bit - for example, the original recipe says to boil the quinoa in half water/half apple juice, but, we didn't have any apple juice, and it's loaded with sugar anyway, so I just used water. It also called for vanilla-flavored yogurt, but I used plain, nonfat yogurt and added a little honey to sweeten it.) Tryyyyy it. You'll liiiiiike it.

1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
1/4 cup red quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup yellow quinoa, rinsed
2 medium-large apples, diced
1 tablespoon orange juice, to coat apples
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
Honey, to sweeten yogurt to taste

Boil quinoa, cinnamon and nutmeg in water until all the liquid is absorbed. Transfer quinoa to a large mixing bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled. Then add apples, cranberries, walnuts and celery, stirring well. Mix yogurt and honey in a small bowl, then fold into apple and quinoa mixture. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.

*Quinoa is an ancient seed that has recently become popular again. It's considered a complete protein - it contains all nine of the essential amino acids that the human body needs. If you live around here, you won't be able to find quinoa in the local grocery store; however, it is available at the Truck Patch in Mountain Home, Ark., and at Jean's Healthway in Ava.

Spring fever

I think Punxsutawney Phil knew he'd better predict an early spring this year, or else he was going to be in big trouble. Groundhog stew, anyone?

She's unstoppable!

A few random Lola pics