Amanda @ Kids and Cabernet {Guest Post}

Hi! I'm Amanda and I blog over at Kids and Cabernet.  I blog about my two beautiful kids, my favorite wine finds, and basically anything that's happening in my life or that pops in my head :)  I'm so excited to guest post here for Stephanie, I love getting recipe ideas from her and reading about her adventures as a new mommy!

Today I'm sharing a fry-fest.  We typically eat pretty healthy - lots of fruits and veggies and lean meats but every once in a while you have to give into a craving right?!  While on Pinterest I found these Wonton Mozzerella Sticks and I just had to try them.  They are SO easy to make and SO good! They're great for an appetizer or if you have unexpected guests over and want to whip up something easy and delicious for them to munch on.

Ingredients:
- one beaten egg with a teaspoon of water
- pack of wonton wrappers
- mozzarella string cheese (halved)
- marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)

Step one:  Beat the egg and brush the egg wash on the wonton wrappers

Step two:  Place halved cheese in center of wrapper and wrap the cheese folding down the wrapper on the top and bottom of the cheese and wrap

Step three: Fry those babies!  I fried them on medium-low heat until they were golden brown

Step four:  Heat up some marinara sauce and dip!  

After we ate the cheese sticks we thought that our cholesterol wasn't high enough and we decided to fry more wonton wrappers this time with Nutella in the middle - one word YUM!

We spread the egg wash with our fingers around the wrapper and filled the center with Nutella.  You have to be careful not to put too much Nutella or it will burst open while frying.  

I fried them on medium-low and flipped them constantly until golden brown

Serve with some vanilla ice cream and you'll thank me later :)

I hope you all give these two simple recipes a try - enjoy!

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Kitchenspiration {Link-up}

It's time for another round of Kitchenspiration!
Chelsea and I are SO excited to bring you this weekly link-up! Kitchenspiration is all about ANYTHING that inspires you in the kitchen. 

This can be:

-Recipes you've tried or want to try

-Weekly meal plans

-Pinterest recipe ideas

-Food related tips

-Your favorite kitchen essentials

The possibilities are endless!

You can link-up a brand new post OR link-up anything food/meal/recipe related from your blog that you posted within the previous week.

Before you scroll down to link up:

***Check out some Kitchenspiration from this past week on NTSST:
Kaylin's Tomato Bacon Linguini {Guest Post}
My Weekly Meal Plan

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What's cooking this week?

Morning! Is everyone enjoying their Sunday a little extra today? I am since Hubs will be home tomorrow too! That is why I am going to get fancy and attempt a new soup creation. If it comes out good you know I'll be sharing it here! 

Sunday: Apricot Chicken and Garlicky Green Beans
Monday: Sweet Butternut Squash Soup with salad
Tuesday: Crock Pot Turkey Veggie Chili
Wednesday: White Bean and Basil Hummus Chicken Wraps
Thursday: Burritos with leftover Chili from Tuesday (*easyyyy)

So far it has been an extremely productive weekend. We went shopping yesterday for an outfit for Ella to wear on Thanksgiving and also something for Christmas card pictures. Afterwards we went to the restaurant to finalize the menu for next weekend!!! We CAN'T WAIT! Family will be in town for Ella's Christening, it is going to be so wonderful! This is the first time we are hosting an event in our neck of the woods. The fact that everyone is coming to us to celebrate our little peanut excites me more than you know. I told Stephen at the restaurant yesterday that I've never felt like more of an adult planning an event like this all on our own. He mentioned the wedding, which was a good point...but I think I feel this way because for once everyone is coming to US. Ahhhh, only 5 more days until their arrival! Of course not everyone can make it, but we know they will be here in spirit! Expect tons of photo updates!

Speaking of photos, here is what our weekend looked like so far...

On our way to run some errands...looking cute of course!

A little fussy at the restaurant...Daddy makes it all better though! She WAS wearing socks, she kicked them off...again!

Exhausted on Mamma's lap after a busy, busy day!

Happy Sunday!

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The Boys Behind The Blog #6 - {Questions}

It's hard to believe that this is the sixth month of our Boys Behind the Blog link up! I remember how excited Mallory and I were when our idea went live and nervous no one was going to link up with us. Now it is my favorite post of the month and it seems like you are all having fun with it too.

New to The Boys Behind the Blog? It is a monthly linkup featuring your husband/fiance/boyfriend/best guy friend/dad/brother/grandpa! Here's how it works: we post the questions on the 1st Thursday of the month (today), you ask your man to answer 5 easy questions and then link up with us on the 3rd Thursday of the month (November 21st).

The Boys Behind the Blog #6 Questions:

1. Who is your favorite band/musician?

2. What was your first CD/tape?

3. Who was your first concert?

4. What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

5. Finish the sentence: I am thankful for...

  

Have fun and don't forget to link up with us on Thursday, November 21st @ 6am EST. 
You can find all the previous Boys Behind the Blog posts here.

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Ella's Two Month Update

We are already two months in! Although it has obviously gone fast, I still have a sense of disbelief over just how much we have been through with this little peanut of ours! She has come such a long way in just the past few weeks. I'm really getting to know her little personality, what she likes, and what makes her tick! She is very strong willed. I'm sure that will be real interesting at some point.

Ella weighs 9 lbs 10 oz, her eyes are still that blue-grey (more blue than grey - I wonder if they will stay that way), and her hair is light brown. 

People keep asking me how she has been since we have both gone dairy free. I THINK it's been better. It's so hard to say if the reason things have improved are because of the absence of dairy in her diet, or if it's just general improvements due to the fact that she is just getting older and adjusting a little better. The Pediatrician gave me the green light to start gradually introducing dairy back into my diet, but I'm not ready to rock the boat just yet...justtttt in case! I think it's a little soon for that.

The biggest change is that she actually has long periods of being content! FINALLY! She smiles and coos...and is just the sweetest little thing. I can finally put her down in her glider or swing without her freaking out. She sits nicely, looks around (she is fascinated by ceiling fans), and often falls asleep on her own. We still have our rough patches throughout the day of course, but it is SO much better. She normally has one freak out at some point in the afternoon where she screams her head off and is completely inconsolable (she used to do this all day long). It lasts for about a half hour or so then it passes. Then she is just generally cranky and whiney in the evenings but it is so much more manageable! All in all, she has been a completely different kid from her first month. I'm so proud of how far she has come!

She has even slept through the night! It started off happening a little bit here and there, and seems to be happening more and more. We usually put her down around 11, and she sleeps until about 5:30. There are still nights where she wakes up around 3 for a feeding and it is usually really tough to get her back down afterwards! I'm not getting my hopes up just yet, but we have been doing well in the sleep department. She is even napping better throughout the day. I'm interested to see how she does over the next few weeks. Hopefully she can keep this up since I'll be going back to work soon!

During the day she eats every 2-3 hours. She gets 3 bottles throughout the day (half formula/half breast milk) and she takes about 5 ounces. Normally I give her one bottle in the morning, and then the other two she gets in the evening. I breastfeed her in between. I also breastfeed her when she wakes up at night. We will obviously have to start changing up this routine over the next few weeks to get her ready for when I go back to work. My plan is to still breastfeed her at home, and pump so that we can still supplement her bottles with my milk as well.

My smiley little lady sticks her tongue out sometimes when we stick ours out, she also blows kisses back to us sometimes (she smacks her lips like she does when she is hungry). She is not grasping anything yet besides her bottle, but when I put her on her activity mat she smacks the toys that are hanging. She also has been doing well with tummy time and she has a little more control over her head.  She HATES pacifiers! I'm sure in the long run I will be glad about this, but it would be nice to have the option of soothing her with it when she has her melt downs.

Like I said, one month Ella and two month Ella are like two completely different kiddos! She is developing such a happy little personality it makes me so emotional! We had such a rough first month. Watching her in distress all day every day was really wearing me thin. Her adorable little smile warms my heart like nothing else ever has! It's incredible, I can't get enough of it! Hubs and I are head over heels in love with this sweet little girl!

Happy Two Months Ella Rose!!!

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