Fiesta Inspired Rehearsal Dinner

This one time, way back in January, I did a whole bunch of Pintersting, crafting and planning for a rehearsal dinner along side my 'otha motha' Bev.  The rehearsal dinner was Fiesta themed, because in Texas your rehearsal dinner usually involves Mexican food.  The rehearsal dinner was for some dear friends Jeff & Lori.  Here's what it looked like:





 

 

 

 

This was definitely a collaborative effort.... and so much fun to do!



Abby Jane is ONE!

I can't even begin! This can't be happening! There is no way! 

It's true.

She is ONE...1... a year old!!!! Abigail Jane is ONE!

This tiny, sweet, cute, gorgeous, smiley, little peanut has blessed our lives for an entire year!  She is just a little ball full of joy.  She is always smiling and happy.  She cries when she is out of food, her teeth come in and her sister crawls on top of her.  Other than that she is smiling!

Abby loves to...

eat:  blueberries, bananas, yogurt, sweet potatoes and chicken nuggets

wear:  9 month clothes, a size 2 diaper, a flower on her head... all the time

play:  the stuff in the kitchen cabinet, garbage in the recycle bin, her sister's toys

sleep:  all night (most of the time)

people: momma's girl, gets super excited when daddy walks in the door from work,  she gets a BIG smile when she sees sister first thing in the morning, she also loves people and usually will go to anyone

activity: taking a bath and splashing, brushing her teeth



Abigail's stats

 

Height: 28.5 in. (27%)

Weight: 16lb. 3.8 oz. (5%)
Head: 17.44 (33%)

My sweet happy tiny ginger baby, I love you!  I'm so happy I get to share this day with you for the rest of my life.  Love, Mommy

Easy "Real" Dinner

Oh, cooking dinner, it can get over whelming at times. Planning the meals, shopping and then making it all happen in the kitchen, at the worst hour of the day. I love following recipes from my favorite blogs and Pinterest finds, but some nights that's just a little much. Tonight's dinner required no recipes and little clean up after we ate. Just a little creativity and experience I guess. Here is dinner tonight at The Haywood's:

 

Pork Tenderloin :: Natural selection from HEB 

Find a pork tenderloin that is the right size for your family. I put it in a Pyrex pan sprayed with cooking spray and put some seasonings on it. I happened to have some raspberry chipotle sauce in the fridge and I poured a little on top. I then warm some up in the microwave to put on top once cooked and sliced. Cook according to the instructions on the package. You could use any kind of extra marinade or barbecue sauce you have to flavor your tenderloin. 

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon Jam

Yes, I said brussel sprouts! Calm down! I promise the end product is good. If you live in Texas and shop at HEB you can find this Bacon Jam I speak of. It is usually found near the Cooking Connection and is often advertised at the brussel sprouts. Cut the knobs off of the brussel sprouts and cut in half. Put them on a foil lined cookie sheet, spray the brussel sprouts with cooking oil and season. A little salt and pepper is good. Bake at 375 for about a half hour. Take them out and mix with the Bacon Jam in a bowl. Done. 

 

I just found a recipe for this on HEB's website... I do basically the same thing.

Roasted Red Potatos 

Usually when I make this meal I make baked sweet potato wedges. Tonight I switched it up since we had those last night. I would recommend eating red potatos or sweet potatos if you are watching your waste line. 😉 Anyways, I cut these up in mini-wedges, mix with olive oil, and season. Any seasoning you like works. I used garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary and salt tonight. I baked these on a foil lined cookie sheet, too. I had them on 425 for the first 30 min because that's what my tenderloin was on. When the tenderloin was done I switched the temp for the brussel sprouts and kept the potatos in. We like them crispy!

While this was cooking, I cleaned up the dishes I could and played with the girls a little. When dinner was over, clean up was easy because I used foil on two of the pans. 

It literally took me longer to write this than to actually make dinner tonight. The total cook time is almost an hour in the oven. {However, if you're cool and have a double oven you could do this in about thirty minutes.}

Disclaimer: I ❤️ HEB! I don't work for them. 

Hope this gives you a new idea!  Enjoy!!!

Love,
Sarah