"I don't like Mac and Cheese anymore...

I just like popstickers all a time now!"

That's what Aeneas said after dinner tonight. I haven't made potstickers in a long time but they are so fun and delicious I thought I'd share the recipe. And they aren't that hard to make.

Make the filling ahead of time and refrigerate for an hour or so.

Fill the wonton wrappers, using water and a fork to seal.

Little precooked pockets of goodness.

The pockets get browned in oil, then steamed until the water evaporates.

Then they cook long enough to crisp up again. When you put them in the pan, flatten them down a bit so they stand upright in the pan.

Here's the recipe:

Asian Potstickers

1/2 lb ground pork (look for it in the natural foods store in the free range variety or substitute it with ground chicken or turkey, Merritt, if you like)

1/2 medium head of cabbage, finely chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped, green and white parts

4 sliced of fresh ginger root, minced

4 minced water chestnuts

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sugar

14 oz pkg wonton wrappers

veg or olive oil to saute

3/4 cup water

Mix the above ingredients and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. Use about a tablespoon to fill each wrapper, fold over, seal with a little water and crimp with a fork. Keep them under a damp towel so they don't dry out while you are fixing the rest of them.

In two batches, depending on the size of your pan, saute the pockets in oil for a min. Pour in the water, cover for 2 min and let them steam. Remove the lid and allow the water to sizzle out completely. Add a couple more tsp of oil and allow them to crisp up.

Serve with sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce and soy sauce. YUM!

We LOVE Sushi Night!

We love love love sushi. It took until my late 20's to begin liking it AND moving to a town with a terrific sushi place that has a killer happy hour deal to really appreciate it. When we set foot in Durango 3 years ago for the first time, we walked to Sushitarian for lunch and what is now one of our favorite places in town to eat. We frequented it often over the time we've lived here, introducing the boys slowly by filling them up on edamame and then letting them taste our rolls as they asked for it. Before we knew it, they were eating so much, that it left us hungry when it was time to go. With the exception of the Nori and the actual fish, which you can find at any natural foods store and sometimes Kroger etc., Wal-Mart carries the rest of the stuff you need.

We figured out recently that it is actually really easy to make at home, relatively cheap and a fun social evening with friends. SO don't be afraid. Check out the steps below and plan your own sushi night soon! You won't be disappointed. And do yourself a favor, don't make PBJ for the kids. Get them trying it now. They are never too young.

You will need to get a bamboo sushi mat to make your rolls.

Not all sushi Nori is the same. Some of them are chewy so try some different brands to figure out what you like. Eden makes a decent one. Place a sheet onto your bamboo mat.

Sushi rice is sticky (recipe to follow) so get your hands really wet before digging into the rice.

Get a big handful of the rice.

Sprinkle the rice over the Nori, spreading and pressing it hard into a packed, even layer as you go.

We really like toasted sesame seeds on the outside of our sushi but it's optional. Just sprinkle them over and then press them into the rice.

Flip the whole thing over on your mat and then begin to line up your goodies on one end. You never need as much as you think you need. Cucumber, avocado and tuna are staples at our house but imitation crab, salmon, and Unagi (BBQ eel) is so delicious.

Using the mat to hold everything together, begin rolling your filling into the Nori.

Work the roll up the mat, squeezing a bit to tighten the roll as you go.

Get a really sharp, clean knife to cut the roll in half.

Rinsing your knife as you go, flip one side around and slice the roll into bite sized pieces.

Note: You can always make your sushi with the Nori out too. Just don't flip it and leave a little bit of the Nori exposed from the rice to allow for a seal with some water. Also, 1 lb of fish (not including anything else) is plenty for 4 adults with some left over even. Get good quality fish, in fact ask for sushi grade to be safe and despite it being a little more expensive, it ends up being reasonable because you only need a little bit.

Serve it with steamed edemame, pickled ginger, wasabe, soy sauce and Sake. Sweet chili sauce and Sriracha Hot Chili sauce is a fun addition as well. We put it inside the rolls or just dab some on top. It's fun to see what rolls your guests will come up with and it becomes a competition over who makes the best rolls.

Things you will need:

• Bamboo sushi mat
• Sushi Rice (Nishiki)
• Nori
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Avocado, sliced into thin strips
• Cucumber and carrots, sliced into thin strips
• Sushi grade tuna
• Sushi grade salmon
• Imitation Crab
• Soy sauce
• Wasabe
• Rice vinegar
• Sake (to drink if you are really adventurous)

Sushi Rice (Nishiki)

3 1/2 cups dry rice

1/2 cup rice vinegar

6 Tbsp sugar

2 1/2 tsp salt

Rinse the rice until the water is clear and then cook according to package directions. Heat vinegar, sugar and salt over medium heat until everything dissolves. Dump your rice into a large bowl and then get some kind of room fan blowing directly over the rice. The idea is to cool it as quickly as possible. Slowly pour the vinegar over the rice while cutting through the rice with a wooden spoon, folding gently to mix. You can use the prepared rice warm or cold although room temp or a little bit warm is best.

A special thanks to my lovely husband who modeled for this post.

And a special thanks to Dad and Vicki who gifted us beautiful sushi dishes made by a local Savannah artist, 10 years ago (they are finally getting the attention they deserve) and a sushi feast sent FedEx to our door for Christmas! We are still eating it and we've managed half a dozen meals out of it although the squid salad and Unagi was the first to go! Party in a box! What could be better?

What happens in college stays in college...

Here are some snapshots of what living in the dorm means for our little guys.

College girls have every color fingernail polish known to man and are happy to take the time to paint every nail of yours, provided you are under 4' tall, into a virtual rainbow even if you are boy.

There is almost always an excuse to make desserts for visitors.

Which also means there bound to be leftovers on occasion to be consumed by you know who!

There is always a student that will take up your cause to prolong the life of your potato that you were growing in one of the juice glasses from the kitchen.

I LOVE Muffins

I love love love muffins. Problem is, I'm no good at actually making them. However, over the past few months, I've managed to combine two recipes that make some pretty darn good 'uns. It's a basic recipe that you can make and then use add-ins to your own taste. I almost always have craisins and pecans on hand so those are the ones I usually make. Try it next weekend and let me know how they turn out...

The trick to these muffins is to use buttermilk and to soak the oats in it ahead of time. Add the egg, sugar and melted butter.

Sift the dry ingredients together then add them to the wet ingredients.

Any time I use nuts in baking, I toast them first.

Gently fold in your "add-ins"

Best Ever Muffins

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup oats

Allow oats to soak in buttermilk for 30-60 mins.

1 egg, room temp

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 stick melted butter

1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add egg, sugar and melted butter to oatmeal mixture. Sift together dry ingredients and then add to the rest until moistened. Fold in your add-ins and bake 375 for 10-12 min.

Makes 12 muffins.

Add-ins:

• 1 cup raspberries, 1/2 cup semi sweet choc chips
• 3/4 cup apples, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup white choc chips, 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup toasted coconut, 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup diced rhubarb, 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 3/4 cup dates, 1/2 cup pistachios
• 3/4 cup golden raisins, 3/4 cup shredded carrots

Main Course Mainstay

I've actually forgotten just how many times we have had this recipe over the course of the winter. It's so good, it just never seems to get old. And despite us putting only one animal in the freezer this year, we have found that when it's an elk, it's like having an entire cow in there! Lazy as we were, we cut most of it into stew meat and roasts, both of which will work well in this recipe. So get out your, deer, elk or beef roast/stew meat and try it out. It's guaranteed to bring you back to everything that is comforting, warming and in all honesty, the best of home cooking.

Beef Bourguignon Soup

(And NO, I can't actually say the name even after 4 years of highschool French. GO figure. We'll have to head to France next year. I'll be complaining about that! Let me tell you.)

2 lb roast, cut in 1" pieces or stew meat

4 Tbsp flour

Olive oil to sear meat, or some bacon grease from a couple slices of bacon

8 oz button mushrooms

3 carrots, sliced in 1/2"

3 shallots, sliced (substitute leeks or just a yellow onion if you need to)

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

3 Thyme sprigs, or more (I use half of one of those things you buy at the store. Fresh is key though. And don't bother chopping Thyme. It's for the birds. Just throw the whole sprigs in there. The leaves will cook off and the little twigs are easy enough to fish out before you serve it.)

2 bay leaves

1 cup red wine (Trader Joe's Baby! Don't leave this out!)

8 cups beef stock (this is a soup so you will want something tasty. It should be a good quality)

Turn your crock pot on high.

Season the flour with salt and pepper and then toss the meat to coat. Sear meat in a cast iron pan or pot in either bacon grease or olive oil in batches and throw into your crock pot.

Next, without cleaning the pan, add a bit more olive oil and saute the carrots, onion and celery. Throw into the crock pot.

Saute the mushrooms for maybe 4 minutes then pour in the wine. Let it reduce for maybe 6 min. You guessed it, throw it all into the crock pot.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot and cook on high until the meat starts to fall apart.

Serve it over rice or some cooked egg noodles. Add crusty bread and a glass of the 'ol red and you've got yourself a full and happy belly.

McBrayer creatives...

My whole life as an artist has been devoted to the visual arts, mainly painting. And in the past years I have found that crafting and sewing, even if it's just something practical, has become a really good outlet for me. As you may imagine, paints, large jars of water, paper that needs to remain pristine until painted on and small people don't exactly mix well, when they all need their space, and the same space I might add.

Interestingly enough about a year ago I realized I had some things I needed to say. And not being one of words, I allowed myself to be convinced that it just wasn't my medium. I have struggled so much over when, where, how and with what do I allow the burning desire to "create" to run free. So on one of our camping trips last summer, in God's great wilderness of creation, more specifically, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, I found a scrap piece of paper in the car door and allowed it to be my canvas for the first time. I began jotting down some lyrics to a song. With the help of Justin, I managed to compose"Higher Ground" and, later, "Tivoli." Who knew?!? Not exactly your top 10 on the radio but something that has fed my creativity for sure.

Even more out of the ordinary, and yet still in the creative spirit, I was recently invited to play and sing in a developing band, (which is more like a few people that just want a more committed group to jam with). So...I sing my heart out once a week with people I barely know and whom are ridiculously more talented than myself. Crazy and very much out of my comfort zone but it feeds my soul in a way only I could know.

So if you are burning with some creative energy, read this post, reflect and then allow yourself to be encouraged to make the move by prioritizing some time for you to create.

It's a baby belly!

Baby Boy Merritt and me at 16 weeks. Okay... I realize it's not much, but he's definitely starting to... ummm... affect the way my clothes fit!! My pants that fit just right are now uncomfortable to keep buttoned throughout the day. So I'm going shopping tomorrow in Atlanta with 3 other pregnant friends to get some maternity clothes.

Profile shot. Do you see his puckered lips and little nose?

A quick rundown on the pregnancy thus far. I have felt REALLY good, no sickness, no tiredness throughout the day... although I do sleep about 9-10 hours a night now as opposed to my previous 7-8. And I LOVE the new change, I love going to bed early! I have been able to eat anything I liked before and haven't had any real cravings or aversions. I've been able to go walking and Joel got me a prenatal workout DVD hosted by a former Olympic swimmer, so it's pretty serious and will have you sore the next day. I like it! We went on 12/30 for our gender ultrasound and he was SO active. He was kicking and turning and crossing and uncrossing his legs. After showing us his boy parts, he even crossed his legs and covered his parts with both of his hands. Guess he'd had enough! Joel and I are both really excited about having a boy. A quail hunting buddy for him and I'm just so used to my brothers, that I think this will be an easier transition for me. And I started to feel the "butterflies" this week. It's all so amazing!

Baby having hello!

It seems like I'm surrounded by pregnancy in my life! Outside of LeeAnn and Ann in our family, an immediate co-worker of mine is pregnant after 4 years of trying, including invetro that didn't take. She was given a 2% chance of conceiving on her own and she did!! All pregnancies are miracles, but it's especially exciting being able to go through it with her. We were pleasantly surprised with our news and she's been waiting for a long time for this. But it's nice to have each other to go through it together. Two other girls in my small group are pregnant. A girl who started at the bank with me in the MA program, Crystal, is pregnant with a boy AND is due the EXACT same day as me! Joel's two closest cousins' wives are also pregnant. And I could go on... but it feels like I've joined a club or something! Admittedly, I didn't always care for pregnancy or baby talk before I was pregnant. But I always knew that someday, when I was pregnant, I'd be more than happy to join in. And I am!


So I've read that during your second trimester, you usually feel your best and have the most energy so it's the ideal time to get all your planning done. Registry, nursery, decorating, organizing and more. We haven't done any of that yet. Partially because we wanted to know what we were having first and also because we are SO busy. But I've googled some nursery ideas and this morning, Joel and I had what seems like our first Saturday morning at home together in a long time. Oh how I LOVE a morning at home to wake up on your own time and make coffee and breakfast together. I have a new soup recipe in the crockpot (Italian sausage and barley... yum!) and will make Aunt Kay's cornbread in a few minutes. But I had a chance to mention a paint color for the nursery (blue) and Joel asked if we could have a bird dog themed nursery!! Oh my! We already live in rural Alabama, I don't know if I'm ready for guns and camo and hunting stuff in my son's room. So I agreed to maybe an animal theme that included dogs, but I don't know that I'll be looking at Cabela's or Real Tree for the crib bedding!


I feel like I could go on and on! About my midwife that I love, weight gain (I'm doing good according to her, better than she did over the holidays!), work plans, etc. But I'll save you your time and eyes for now! But let me know if I've left something out that you want to know more about!