Written on February 25, 2015
It's getting ready to snow outside. Well…it has been snowing. I should say we are getting ready to be snowed in. Meanwhile, my sister is heading to Mexico. Yes, Mexico. There she will bask in the warm sunshine and spend time with her daughter as they plan Alex's wedding, and explore the city. So as she is on her way out of town she asks what I am doing - I am quickly putting a rump roast in the crock pot - the only thing I know how to use well in the kitchen aside from my bunt pan - before Baby H wakes up to eat. French Dip. It is my first attempt at making French Dip in the Crock Pot. Over the phone we discuss many things: our husbands, her plan for the trip, the baby's sleep patterns, and the continuing issues that only she seems to have with her phone. Threaded through this conversation she throws in her expertise - soy sauce for flavor, better butter the meat. Cook on high. But the recipe says low - I say. Okay, so cook on low and then the last hour - cook on high. Do you have cheese? Get some cheese. You see - my sister is the expert cook. She can whip it all up - pot roast, salad, dip, mashed potatoes, and the only thing that got me through pregnancy - egg salad. You name it - her cupboards are stocked full of the ingredients, and there is always something simmering in her Le Cruset on the stove. Her house smells delicious. She smells delicious. Anyone who has had Jodie's cooking always wonders when she is hosting the next event - from a big Thanksgiving to a Tuesday night meal after work for family. So I listen to her orders very carefully - because she knows best - and I have had her French Dips. They are amazing.
We wanted to start this blog over a year ago. And we did. But then life happened: Samantha graduated, Race moved to Texas, I got married - at her house - which may or may not have taken years off of her life, and then - I had a baby (and subsequently enlisted my sister as the go to expert on all things strollers, baby showers and nursery bedding). At the end of December we welcomed Baby H. In true fashion of those that love food - Jodie made meatballs the night I went into labor. When I cried over having to stay in the NICU for a week - she made steak and brought it to the hospital. When we finally came home in the middle of a snowstorm - she stocked our fridge with chicken, soup, and casseroles. We THOUGHT that 2015 would be much more calm - time to eat at our favorite spots in Des Moines. Time to walk the baby, get our hair done, and visit. Per usual - we were wrong. 2015 is already busier than any other we have had so far - lots of weddings, lots of travel, and lots of time with family. So why no document our journey starting… now.
Today the journey begins with A First Time French Dip, an Iowa Snow Storm, and a Trip to Mexico. Here. We. Go.
It's getting ready to snow outside. Well…it has been snowing. I should say we are getting ready to be snowed in. Meanwhile, my sister is heading to Mexico. Yes, Mexico. There she will bask in the warm sunshine and spend time with her daughter as they plan Alex's wedding, and explore the city. So as she is on her way out of town she asks what I am doing - I am quickly putting a rump roast in the crock pot - the only thing I know how to use well in the kitchen aside from my bunt pan - before Baby H wakes up to eat. French Dip. It is my first attempt at making French Dip in the Crock Pot. Over the phone we discuss many things: our husbands, her plan for the trip, the baby's sleep patterns, and the continuing issues that only she seems to have with her phone. Threaded through this conversation she throws in her expertise - soy sauce for flavor, better butter the meat. Cook on high. But the recipe says low - I say. Okay, so cook on low and then the last hour - cook on high. Do you have cheese? Get some cheese. You see - my sister is the expert cook. She can whip it all up - pot roast, salad, dip, mashed potatoes, and the only thing that got me through pregnancy - egg salad. You name it - her cupboards are stocked full of the ingredients, and there is always something simmering in her Le Cruset on the stove. Her house smells delicious. She smells delicious. Anyone who has had Jodie's cooking always wonders when she is hosting the next event - from a big Thanksgiving to a Tuesday night meal after work for family. So I listen to her orders very carefully - because she knows best - and I have had her French Dips. They are amazing.
We wanted to start this blog over a year ago. And we did. But then life happened: Samantha graduated, Race moved to Texas, I got married - at her house - which may or may not have taken years off of her life, and then - I had a baby (and subsequently enlisted my sister as the go to expert on all things strollers, baby showers and nursery bedding). At the end of December we welcomed Baby H. In true fashion of those that love food - Jodie made meatballs the night I went into labor. When I cried over having to stay in the NICU for a week - she made steak and brought it to the hospital. When we finally came home in the middle of a snowstorm - she stocked our fridge with chicken, soup, and casseroles. We THOUGHT that 2015 would be much more calm - time to eat at our favorite spots in Des Moines. Time to walk the baby, get our hair done, and visit. Per usual - we were wrong. 2015 is already busier than any other we have had so far - lots of weddings, lots of travel, and lots of time with family. So why no document our journey starting… now.
Today the journey begins with A First Time French Dip, an Iowa Snow Storm, and a Trip to Mexico. Here. We. Go.
