Just some pictures from our awesome weekend filled with great friends, Zoolights, and Christmas tree getting and searching for snow at the base of Mt. Hood.
on the zoo train with Ryan, Kaitlynn and Truman:
Bennett's first time seeing snow:
(he wasn't too fond of it, and really didn't like walking in it, though he warmed up to it a bit towards the end)
He was totally pooped on the way home:
Truth be told, we didn't even end up finding a tree. We saw a lot of tiny trees and a lot of huge trees but nothing that would really fit well in our living room. We ended up stopping by Al's Garden Center to pick up a nice tree on our way home.
And tonight we decorate it!
Be sure to check out
Lauren's video she made about our adventure
here!
So I've been wanting to make
this recipe that I've had stashed away in my recipe binder for a few years now.
A few weeks ago I gathered all of the ingredients and started cooking.
It was super simple and reminded me so much of my favorite butternut squash ravioli at
Cafe Murrayhill.
Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go!
(trust me you won't regret it, and don't judge the pictures...it was dark!)
Pumpkin Ravioli
makes 4-5 servings, or dinner for 2 plus lunches for the next few days
Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (just buy the canned stuff...making your own never turns out the same anyways)
4oz. softened cream cheese (half of a brick)
1/4 cup parmesean + more to sprinkle on top
1 large egg
salt and pepper
32 wonton wrappers (I think my pack had way more than 32 and I ended up using all of them!)
6 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup toasted walnuts (or any nut really) to sprinkle on top
balsalmic vinegar
1. In a large bowl, mash together pumpkin, softened cream cheese, parmesean, egg, and 2 pinches each of salt and pepper.
2. Roll out a bunch of wax paper on your counter and place 16 wonton wrapers on it. Spoon out pumpkin mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper and wet all of the edges (I just kept a little bowl of water nearby). Place a wonton wrapper on top and press to seal the edges really well (you'll have a mess if you don't!)
3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
4. While you're waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a large skillet. Be sure to keep the butter warm, and if it gets to be
browned butter, even better!
5. Working in batches, drop the ravioli in one and a time. You may need to turn down the heat if the water is boiling too hard because these guys are fragile! They will be done once they float to the surface (about 3 mins).
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli from the water and add them to the butter. Turn to coat.
7. Divide the ravioli amongst yourselves. Top with parmesan, toasted nuts and a drizzle of balsalmic vinegar.
8. Enjoy!
The picture doesn't do it justice. Trust me on this one.
(when I got to the end of my wonton wrappers, I started to make triangles because I had so much filling left over)
Let me know if you try it, and I was intimidated at first...but making ravioli is actually super simple!
...well kind of more like a week in review, since I did one measly post last week.
Chris took all of last week off, and it was amazing to have him home! One of my best friends came all the way from Germany to visit family for a few weeks, and luckily wanted to spend 2 whole days with us!
Onto the pictures...
Jessica and I in a silly mood:
completed and piled high with homemade whipped cream:
not a great photo, but it tasted amazing...I love making cheesecakes!
I decided that I needed to make an advent calendar for Bennett:
(the pockets are filled with activities to do instead of sweets or toys)
crazy family:
Saturday morning breakfast:
(homemade oatmeal brulee and a scramble)
finished advent calendar:
finally:
a new/warm coat:
and decorating for Christmas:
That's it!
Happy Monday!
Chris took the whole week off and one of my best friends
(we met eachother on the first day of first grade...21 years ago!)
is in town from Germany.
Needless to say, I don't want to spend a lot of time blogging so I leave you with mostly pictures from our busy weekend...
cozy after a bath:
snow on the way to date night dinner:
our Bryan's bowls and agua fresca:
they have crepes and rice bowls too, but I can never go without getting rice pudding!
by the time we got there they were sold out of the seasonal Pumpkin and Eggnog flavors
(which are complete bliss)
so we settled for our non-season fave Patience Grasshopper with a big twirl of tart frozen yogurt on top:
(soo good)
monster feet:
Lauren and I went to a diy craft fair and got lots of great ideas for Christmas gifts...
though I was loving the decor:
Chris made me an amazing peppermint mocha, complete with crushed candy canes on top:
family dinner out for my bro's b-day:
Monday, Chris and I got up and went on a walk in 32 degree freezingness.
It made for awesome pictures and it felt good to get out:
Bubs all bundled up:
frozen:
while we were making dessert to take to my family's Thanksgiving on Sunday, Bennett entertained himself by reading books on the couch for almost an hour.
He's obsessed:
early family Thanksgiving at my sister's:
enjoying dinner:
my lovely Stumptown mocha:
(seconds before B ruining the pretty design by putting his hand right into it, yes his hand was fine)
I most likely won't post anymore this week so have a good Thanksgiving!
(oh and I'm making the cheesecake today, so I'll let you all know how it turns out. Pray that it doesn't giant crack down the middle!)
I always feel weird posting pictures of my awkward self, but you guys really seemed to enjoy the little
preview of my weekly photos. Not sure if I'll post a picture every week but here is the one for week 15.
I'm actually officially 16 weeks but that picture has yet to be taken.
(I can only take pictures on the weekends when Chris is here since it's so dark out when he gets home these days)
I totally still don't look that pregnant, but it also depends on what I'm wearing.
They say you're supposed to show earlier with your second but I'm pretty sure it was a little more obvious at this point last time around. I have "gotten sick"(a nice way of describing throwing up) a large majority of the days since week 7...and it's still going! Ugh.
We are finding out what this sweet little thing is in four weeks and I can't wait!
Happy Friday Friends!
It's time for the post where I ask you what dessert I should make for Thanksgiving!
I LOVE making desserts for people and though it's kind of expected to show up with a plain old pumpkin pie, I like to mix it up a bit.
(pun fully intended)
Help me decide...what should I make this year?
pumpkin cream pie
pumpkin crunch cake
brown sugar pumpkin cheesecake with chocolate shortbread crust
pumpkin gooey butter cake
pumpkin lust cake
apple and buttermilk pie
