Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Honey and Maple Syrup Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot

This was seriously one of the easiest and tastiest pork chops I have ever made and eaten! I did some research when trying to figure out the right cooking time. For 1 lb of boneless pork chops, I cooked them on high pressure for only 3 minutes and did natural release for 15 minutes. You might wonder if there's enough liquid in this recipe for it to work. I can assure you, there is plenty. In fact, once it was done and I removed the lid, there was excess liquid. These pork chops were moist and delicious! My family loved these sweet pork chops!

Honey and Maple Syrup Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot

1-2 lbs boneless pork chops. Salt and pepper both sides of pork chops. Sauté pork chops in some olive oil.

Then add the following on top of the chops.

1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
2-3 Tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
 
I topped the chops with two peeled sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and salt on top.

Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes and slow release for 15 minutes. It's very important you let it slow release and don't over cook them. These came out perfectly! I added sliced apples as another side and the whole meal turned out fantastic! 

Friday, August 19, 2016

Happy 1st birthday Jackson!

Dear Jackson,

Happy 1st birthday!! You are now 1 year old! This past year seems to have flown by. We love watching you learn, grow, and explore. You are such a happy and sweet baby and very active! You love to crawl, climb, sing, babble, and want to try to fit in the smallest places. We had a wonderful birthday party at our house for you last weekend. On your actual birthday, we met Daddy and Opa at Chick-fil-a. You even climbed to the top of the playground! You also took a little fall, which sometimes happens when you're learning about gravity. I'm so glad you were okay!

Your 12 month well baby appointment was yesterday. You're an active and healthy baby/toddler. Here are your stats: 

31.5 inches long (90% height)
23 lbs, 7 oz (80% weight)
47 cm head (75%)

They now do a new eye screening test and it showed up that you could have a potential eye problem. They recommended we see a pediatric ophthalmologist. Your vision seems fine and I'm not sure what they could detect at this point but we'll check it out. 

You typically take one nap per day, in the afternoon from around 1-3. You wear size 18-24 month clothing. You're in size 4 diapers, still. You sleep from around 7:30pm-7am. You like a wide variety of foods but love fruit the best. You still prefer crawling over walking. One cute thing you've done for months is that you like crawling with a ball or car in your hand. You still nurse 5-6 times per day and we'll eventual introduce you to whole cow's milk, although the World Health Organization recommends breastmilk until 2 years. So we'll mostly stick with that unless you decide to wean on your own before then.

We love you so much, Jackson! It's been a great 1st year! Happy birthday! 

Love, Mom


Eating pancakes and blueberries for breakfast

My helper!

Such a cutie!

Eating lunch. You ate grilled chicken and fruit.

Opa loves you!

Daddy loves you!

Mommy loves you!




Where you bumped your head

You climbed into your sisters chair and started eating your brother's watermelon and carrots

Playground fun

You and your sister had so much fun!

Monday, August 15, 2016

Jackson's 1st Birthday Party!

This past weekend we had Jackson's 1st birthday party at our house! It was so much fun! We kept it pretty small and invited family and a few friends from church who have kids in his cradle roll class. In all we had 13 adults and 12 kids. 8 kids were 2 and under. We decided to have a brunch. We served fruit, yogurt, lots of breads, muffins, veggies, sandwiches, coffees, juices, dips, and chips. We bought an indoor Jumping Gym as his big present from us that the kids 2 and under enjoyed. We set-up Caden's big water slide for him and the older kids who came. It was a fun party. We really like home parties the best and loved having some of our friends and family over to celebrate our cute and sweet boy! Happy birthday, Jackson!! We love you!


 




 


















Avery




Ethan and Avery


Emi, Brandon, Ethan, Slade, and Grace


Heather

Daniel and Brandon

Ethan







Jackson and Brandon

Grace, Jackson, and Ethan

Caden with Nickolas and Owen
Audra, Genevieve, Marisa, and Jackson

Audra and Genevieve


Chase and Slade

Jackson and Aunt Karen





Grace, Jackson, Emi, and Genevieve

Grace, Jackson, Emi, Ethan, and Genevieve

Birthday boy!



Chase, Corbin, and Slade


Alina, Daniel, and Brandon

Collin, Clint, and Heather



Grand Cathy

Brandon, Elea, and Emi








Party favors! They got organic animal crackers and apple sauce