Spring at the Ratto household

We've been going to parks, parks, and more parks these past couple of weeks. The weather has been (mostly) great and I've been trying to get the kids outside as much as possible before the hot summer sets in! I forget the camera every time, of course, but here are some pictures we've taken other times.

This one was taken pre-spring, so he is all bundled up. It was his first time sitting up in a stroller by himself. So cute!
These were taken just a week or two ago on a Sunday afternoon walk. Ah, the joys of a large stick and a big empty field.


Happy Spring everyone! I've heard that it is supposed to be 85 this Friday, which makes me worry what it will be in July and August... At least we got in a couple of good weeks!

Lemon Pepper Chicken and Onion Roasted Potatoes

Here is another "healthy" Ratto favorite. We eat it at least once a week.

Lemon Pepper Chicken
Matt Ratto

2 Chicken Breasts
1 T. Olive Oil
Pinch of Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Juice of 1 Lemon

Cut thawed chicken in half through the middle (butterfly) and lay out on a cutting board. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap or wax paper and beat the ever loving tar out of it with a tenderizer (glass jar/cup works pretty well). Season both sides with thyme, salt, and pepper.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook on one side, approx. 2-3 minutes. Turn the chicken and add the lemon juice to the pan and allow the chicken to finish cooking, approx. 1-2 minutes.

Serve with Onion Roasted Potatoes and coleslaw. We get the package of Fresh Express coleslaw and only add half the dressing. I used to hate coleslaw, but now I can't get enough of it.


Onion Roasted Potatoes
Modified by Matt Ratto

2 Lbs Red Potatoes
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Marjoram
¼ tsp Pepper
1 T. Olive Oil
1 T. Butter, melted (optional, I think they taste fine without it)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Spray roasting pan thoroughly with cooking spray. Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces and set aside. Combine all other ingredients then add the potatoes to the party and toss to coat. Transfer potatoes to the pan and roast for about 45 minutes until tender and golden brown.

Our Freshly Blessed Baby

We finally blessed Cole at the ripe old age of 3 and 1/2 months! (In case any of my 5 readers are not LDS, a blessing is sort of like the Mormon version of a Christening). There was some confusion about where we would be doing it, which is why it took so long. In the end we did right here in Virginia. Matt's dad came for the weekend and we had a really good time. We almost forgot to take pictures of Cole on his blessing day, which just goes to show he is the second child! We did get some in the end, though, never fear.

Rachel was already down for a nap, so we didn't get any with her.
Grandpa Ratto and Cole

Matt's parents came for a long visit last summer and did a lot of the tourist stuff in DC, so this past weekend Matt really had to be creative. The very first thing they did was go to the NRA museum that is just a few blocks from our apartment. I stayed at home with the kiddos (don't worry, I wasn't too sad to miss it). I saw that they bought something at the gift shop and asked what it was. Steve said it was a surprise. You should have seen the gleam in their eyes at dinner when Matt said, "Dad, I think Rachel needs a bib for this dinner!"

Very funny, guys! The NRA likes to start them young, I guess. By the way, this was dinner:

A dish involving 4 different pork products, red potatoes, and sauerkraut. Matt's been wanting to make it every since he read about it in "The Man Who Ate Everything" (a great book, by the way) and it turned out really delicious. And so healthy too :)
We also drove downtown for the first time (we always take the metro) to go to the Good Stuff Eatery, a yummy burger place that a friend told me about. The owner was the competitor on Iron Chef America on Sunday. Here we all are getting ready for the drive:

You can see we had our faithful GPS with us. And did you notice I got a hair cut? I've been doing a great job keeping it straight and haven't worn my old stand-by ponytail in two weeks! At 26 I've finally decided I can put a little bit of effort into my appearance.
Anyway, it was a fun weekend and we're happy to have our sweet baby boy blessed at last. He seems to have inherited his father's calm and happy disposition, thank goodness! Matt did a great job with the blessing and we are also so grateful to have so many great friends in the ward to share the experience with. So different from 2 and 1/2 years ago when we blessed Rachel here without knowing a soul in the ward.

Our Little Valentines

We tried to do a Valentine's Day photo shoot after church and this is how it turned out:


We finally got Cole calmed down, but then Rachel wouldn't stop cramming her fingers into her nose, eyes, and mouth. Matt finally got her to fold her arms, which is apparently the only way to make those appendages behave. I keep thinking we should get professional pictures taken, but I'm pretty sure we would just have a really nice picture of Cole crying and Rachel picking her nose.

For Valentine's Day dinner Matt made us a sumptuous feast featuring real, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (the kind of parmesan cheese that many of our favorite Food Network chefs swear by). Dinner was delicious, but we decided our palates aren't too picky and that we'll probably just stick with the pre-grated parmesan cheese next time (which is great, since it's a lot cheaper!).

Wednesday Recipes: Chicken Noodle Soup

Lately Matt and I have been trying to eat just a little bit healthier. I've found that my biggest problem (besides wanting to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and elevensies) is finding healthy recipes for dinner. We've been trying a lot of new ones, so I thought I'd start sharing the good ones. And please send me your favorite healthy recipe so that we can have some more to try! This is my friend Sara's recipe, and I could eat it every night. It makes a lot, but it freezes great. I just thawed out an individual portion that I froze in a small ziploc bag. Just as delicious as the first day I made it!

Chicken Noodle Soup
Sara Stevenson

8-10 cups water
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 C. carrots, chopped
1 C. celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 T. minced garlic (we always used the kind in the jar)

Salt, pepper, and parsley to taste (don't add too much salt before tasting it, the bouillon adds a lot of salt on its own)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 C. milk

3 C. cooked noodles

~Boil the chicken in the water until cooked through, remove and let cool slightly.
~Add bouillon to water. Add veggies and garlic and boil just until tender.
~Meanwhile, cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
~Add spices, cream of chicken, milk, and the cut up chicken. Simmer for about 20 min.
~Add cooked noodles, stir, and serve.
Makes about 6 servings.

Let me know if you try it and like it!

Catching Up

I wasn't going to try and catch up after my summer break from blogging, but we did some fun stuff this summer that I want to post about. Rachel and I spent 3 weeks in Utah visiting family and dog sitting Sam while my aunt, uncle, cousins, and my sinfully lucky sister were in Europe (I love Sam, but I think Europe might have been even more fun).

Kisses for Sam!

Her favorite thing that we did in Utah was go to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving point. She was OBSESSED with the pony ride and went on it several times. She really, really liked it in that special way that only little kids can pull off. I wish I could get that excited about a pony ride.
She also really liked the roosters. We stood and watched them for quite some time. My good friend Shannon came with us and was such a good sport about hanging out at a petting zoo for well over an hour.

Who doesn't love running down a ramp?
Sam was very tolerant of Rachel.
I hung out with my aunt Julie and my cousins (the ones not in Europe, obviously) for a lot of the time. Maren was a good friend to Rachel and Rachel talked about them for weeks afterward.
My favorite pic from the trip. Sterling loves being snuggled, and since there was no one there besides Rachel and me he took her snuggles out of desperation.

Just a few pictures from her b-day party. It was Mickey Mouse themed (the banner says happy birthday Rachel, as you can probably guess).


And now on to current times: Almost everyone knows this, but I like to say it anyway. I'm being induced this Tuesday the 17th! What the heck, that's 4 days away! I'm almost a mom again. I'm pretty terrified, but also really excited to not be pregnant anymore and to see what my baby boy looks like.

In Memory of the Best Dog Ever

This post is quite late in coming, but I decided to still do it. A few weeks ago my mom and step dad had to put our 14 year old dog, Carmel, to sleep. 14 years is a great run, especially for a big golden retriever/chocolate lab mix. We got him on my sister's 8th birthday and our house was never the same! I remember opening the door when my parents came home and screaming when I saw that cute little puppy in a cardboard box. We had been asking for a puppy for years and they totally surprised us with him. Our family went through quite a few tough years after we got him, and he helped us through them all. He was always super excited to see us, even if we had only been gone a few minutes. And he was a terrible bed hog. Some nights I would wake up crammed in the very corner of my twin bed and have to spend several minutes trying to get him off of me. He also loved to sit right by me and lick my tears when I had one of my many teenage crying spells. Dogs are the best at making everyone feel loved. I think we humans have a lot to learn from them. We miss you, Carmel!
These are 2 pages out of a scrapbook that my sister made a few years ago. She made copies for my mom and me. As you can tell, we love our dog :)