Parenting Tip: Tire her out!

Posted by: Dyas  :  Category: Lauren

After a recent spell of struggling to get Lauren to go to sleep, I decided to employ tiring tactics.  After dinner, Lauren and I have a solid 20 minutes of in-house cardio.  We run around in circles, we jump up and down, we dive off the couch into a pile of pillows (the “cloud”), etc.  Not only is it good exercise for both Lauren AND Daddy, but she’s been going to be much easier and sleeping much longer since we started this!

New Videos!

Posted by: Dyas  :  Category: Lauren, Video

I posted a bunch of new videos to my YouTube page today.  Check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/user/stevedyas

Grandpa Dyas’s Birthday Weekend

Posted by: Dyas  :  Category: Lauren, Pictures

Melissa, Lauren and I travelled down to Greenville, SC this past weekend for Grandpa Dyas’s birthday.  Here are some photos from the weekend: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=lgqo907.48zcu2jn&x=0&y=-g62rng&localeid=en_US

Valentine’s Day Greaze

Posted by: Dyas  :  Category: Cooking, Food, Steve

For Valentine’s Day, we made heart-shaped pancakes:

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and then ordered heart-shaped pizzas from Papa John’s:

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Recipe: Mexican Black Bean Sausage Chili

Posted by: Dyas  :  Category: Cooking, Food, Recipes, Steve

Ingredients

  • Sausage:
  • 1 1/2  tablespoons  Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 2  tablespoons  minced garlic
  • 3  tablespoons  dry red wine
  • 2  tablespoons  sherry vinegar
  • 2  teaspoons  ancho chili powder
  • 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
  • 1/2  teaspoon  dried oregano
  • 1/2  teaspoon  ground coriander
  • 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
  • Dash of kosher salt
  • 3/4  pound  lean ground pork
  • 3/4  pound  ground turkey breast
  • Chili:
  • 2  tablespoons  olive oil
  • 2  cups  diced onion (about 2 medium)
  • 1  tablespoon  ground cumin
  • 1  tablespoon  finely minced garlic
  • 2  teaspoons  dried oregano
  • 3  canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
  • 4  (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
  • 3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 3  cups  water
  • 2  (14.5-ounce) cans no salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1/4  cup  freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/4  cup  very finely chopped cilantro, divided
  • Low-fat sour cream (optional)
  • Sliced green onions (optional)

Preparation

To prepare sausage, combine first 12 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To prepare chili, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage mixture; cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 teaspoons oregano, and chiles; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Place 1 1/2 cups black beans and 1 cup broth in a food processor; process until smooth. Add puréed beans, remaining beans, remaining 2 cups broth, water, and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 45 minutes or until slightly thick. Stir in juice and cilantro. Ladle about 1 3/4 cups chili into each of 6 bowls. Garnish each serving with sour cream and sliced green onions, if desired.