Week 34

How Far Along:  34 weeks…I can’t believe how close we’re getting!

Size of Baby:  “Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she’s born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you’ve been nervous about preterm labor, you’ll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.” -babycenter.com
*First off…the size of a cantaloupe??  Those things can be big!  Secondly, I am happy to know if Peanut does happen to show up now, there isn’t as much risk to his health as there would have been prior to being 34 weeks.  But, as far as I’m concerned, he can just keep on cooking a little longer!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I am still right around 32 pounds!  I haven’t put on much weight since the last OB appointment and that works for me!  My body is probably in catch up mode since I put on a bit more weight than maybe necessary earlier on in the pregnancy.  My appetite really isn’t that much bigger than pre-pregnancy.  The only thing different is that I have to eat something for breakfast or I start feeling ill.  It’s the same thing if I go too long between meals, but skipping out on breakfast effects me the most.  I gotta say I’m pretty pleased with my weight gain!  I think I could have done a lot worse!

Maternity Clothes:  Still trying to be creative.  The shirt I’m wearing today is, again, not a maternity shirt, but this time I think you can tell.  It’s definitely not long enough (you can see the fabric of my jeans panel a little bit) and really the only reason I’m wearing this shirt is because I had to take my mom to the airport before work.  I will be adding another shirt on top before I go to work today.

Gender:  A little boy…at least I hope because there’s a lot of blue sitting in my living room right now!

Movement:  I think his quarters are getting a little cramped in there because he has definitely slowed down a little.  He still moves and he likes to wedge himself right up around my ribcage on the left side at times (especially when I’m driving).  My OB said he would probably flip to my right side soon, but so far he’s staying comfy and cozy on my left.  I can just picture him all snuggled up.  So cute!  (Well, if you think being surrounded by organs cute…)

Food Cravings:  I thought long and hard about this over the last week and realized I crave something that I didn’t really consider before…lemonade!  I’m not sure if I crave this because I’m trying to stay away from extra caffeine and fake sugar (i.e. Coke Zero) while still getting a water-based drink or if it’s a legitimate craving.  All I know is I love going to Chick-fil-a because I love their lemonade!  I like mine a little more watered down though, so I usually drink some and then let it sit for a while to get a little less intense.  Either way, that’s what I’ve been craving for a good while now.  I did get to enjoy a Bloomin’ Onion with my mom last night!  One food craving from last week down!

What I Miss:  Same old, same old.  I miss wearing regular clothes.  I miss drinking a glass of wine.  I miss steaks done medium.  I miss sleeping on my stomach.  I miss not feeling random pains throughout the day.  You know what though?  It’s all worth it.

Sleep:  I cannot complain here at all!  I’m still sleeping pretty well at night (and sometimes during the day).  I have only been using the bathroom once a night and I typically fall right back to sleep when I’m done.  I just really can’t complain.  I’m enjoying it now because who knows what the future will bring!

Symptoms:  My symptoms are much better this week!  I almost don’t want to say that too loudly just in case they hear be and come back!  My itchiness may have been due to dry skin more than pregnancy.  I have been trying to use exfoliators and moisturizing body washes in the shower as well as lotion as often as I think about it.  It seems to have worked!  My stomach is the itchiest part on my body and it only itches a little bit (probably from the skin stretching).  Other than that, I’m good!

Best Moment This Week:  The baby shower!  It was so nice seeing everyone and being able to spend time with all the ladies I love!  Everyone was so generous.  I truly feel blessed.  I’m so thankful to have so many loving people in my life!  I’m sure you guys are as excited to meet Peanut as he is to meet you!

What I Am Looking Forward To:  Getting the room put together.  Now that we have a lot more of the items we need, I can start putting things away and figuring out what exactly we need.  I got some of the items I had been looking for for Peanut’s room yesterday at Ikea and hopefully I’ll be able to finish decorating in the next few weeks and do a nursery walkthrough.

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made:  Obviously too many to list!  One thing I was amazed by were the three  hand painted canvases from one of my dad’s friends.  She is such a talent and painted three of the animals found on Peanut’s bedding on canvases I can now hang in his room!  How special!

This past week has been great!  Even though I had a lot to do both at work and at home, it ended on a wonderful note!  As I said above, I am so grateful to have such loving, caring people in my life and I’m so glad I got to share this special time with them.  If Peanut feels half as much love in his life as I have felt over the past year, he will be truly blessed.  Love you all!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go eat one of these Baby Shower cupcakes from Yummy Ever After.  (Daytonians, these are so good!  Trust me…I know my cake.)

Notice how she put the monkey’s face from the party supplies on the cupcake?  So talented!  And truly delicious.  They really are yummy ever after!

Oh yeah…happy Halloween everyone!  Be safe trick or treating on this glorious fall day!

Party Food: Spinach Artichoke Wonton Cups

Today was a really fun day.  It was the day of my baby shower!

More on that later.

I was in charge of the food.  I know what you’re thinking…Bethany, it’s your shower!  Why are you making the food?  To be honest, I love cooking for a party!  I love appetizers and trying new things.  What better way to try new things than to host a party with a bunch of guinea pigs at your beck and call?

When I was talking to my friend, Chrissy, she mentioned I should make the Spinach Artichoke dip I had made last year for a game night.  I broke out my favorite appetizer cookbook (thanks, cousin Melissa!) and looked up the recipe.  Well…I thought that’s where I had gotten the recipe.  Instead I found a different recipe that looked even better!  I had to try it.  It was such a big hit I had to share.

BTW, this one’s for you, Sara!

Spinach Artichoke Wonton Cups
(adapted from Favorite Brand Name Appetizers cookbook)

1 package wonton wrappers (found in the organic section of the grocery store)
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

For the shells:
Preheat oven to 325º.  Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Press one wonton shell into each cup.  I found the best way to do this was to lay the shell over the opening, then with my middle and index fingers, I would press down on opposite sides of the cup.  Basically, you want the shell to pucker evenly all the way around the cup.

Some of my shells did not pucker very well and I had to discard them as they wouldn’t hold filling.  Be a little picky when you form the cups.  It will pay off in the long run.  After forming, spray each shell with the cooking spray again (so it browns nicely) and bake until lightly golden.

I ended up cooking mine for about 12 minutes.  Remove shells from pan and let cool.  Repeat with remaining shells.*

For the filling:
Mix the artichoke hearts, spinach, cheese, mayo, and garlic in a medium bowl.  Mix well.  (Yes, I forgot to take a picture of this.  I was kind of busy getting the other foods made at the same time.  Whoops!)

To assemble:
Place the shells back in the mini muffin tins.  I did this so the shells stay standing up.  Fill the shells with about 1/2 tbsp of filling.  I used a mini ice cream scoop to make easy work of this.  The filling doesn’t have to go all the way down into the shell.  Once you start cooking them, they will melt down into the shells.  Bake the cups at 325º for about 7 minutes or until heated through.  Serve immediately.

*This process can be done up to a week in advance.  After the shells are cooled completely, store them in an airtight container until ready to use.

Easy to view recipe available here.

From Russia, With Love

When you see a super thin piece of beef, what is the first meal you think of?  Some people think of steak tacos, some think of beef stir fry.  Me?  I think of one thing:

the Russian originated Beef Stroganoff.

Beef stroganoff is one of my favorite weeknight meals to make because it is simple and easy.  It’s also one of those meals you can prep ahead of time and throw together quickly at the end of a long day.  I tend to make a double batch of sauce so I stretch my buck even further and get two, two, two meals out of one!

Yesterday at the store, I found a super thin piece of beef marked down to $3.82.  It was going to expire on 10/27, so I popped that baby into my cart and earmarked it for tonight’s dinner.  Because I was able to get two meals out of the one piece of beef, I was able to make that $3.82 stretch waaaaaaaay out!  Love it!

Apparently, Beef Stroganoff is one of those meals you can also make in the crock pot.  Well, I must have done something wrong last time I tried this because my husband said the recipe was so bad he couldn’t even choke it down!  Take it from me (and Paula Deen)…this recipe is so quick and easy, it takes no time to throw it together.  Trust me.  Would I lie?

Beef Stroganoff
(adapted from Mrs. Paula Deen herself)

3/4 pound thinly sliced beef, cut into bite sized chunks
Steak Seasoning
Flour
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp butter, divided
1 small onion, finely diced
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 can-full beef broth (see below)
Salt & pepper to taste
4 oz cream cheese
1 pound egg noodles*

In a large skillet over medium high heat, warm 1 tbsp each of the olive oil and butter.  While the skillet is preheating, cut up your beef.

Season liberally with the steak seasoning (I used my favorite grill seasoning from Dorothy Lane Market.  If you live in the area and haven’t tried it, you are seriously missing out!)

Sprinkle with flour and toss to coat.

Shake off any excess flour and place in the skillet.  Brown on both sides.  Once the meat is browned, remove and drain on a paper towel.

Add the second tbsp of olive oil and butter and then add the onions.  This is also the time you add the mushrooms if you desire.  I desired.  Jeff did not.  Guess who won that debate.  (Let’s be honest…he’s just lucky I didn’t have any mushrooms in the house.)

Once the onions are nice and soft, add a tbsp of flour and mix in.  Add your cream of mushroom soup and then fill up the empty can with beef broth and dump that in.  Mix well and bring to a boil.  Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your egg noodles to the package directions. Once cooked, drain and return to the stock pot.  I try to plan my noodles to be done around the same time as the sauce so they don’t sit in the hot pot too long as they can start bonding to the pot itself.

After your sauce has simmered for 30 minutes, add in your cream cheese and stir to combine.  I let my cream cheese sit in the sauce for a few minutes to soften up and then I stir it.  Honestly, the whipped cream cheese would probably work better for this recipe.

Once your sauce is finished, add it to the drained noodles and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

I love beef stroganoff.  I honestly think it’s one of our favorite meals!  It’s definitely comfort food at it’s best.  And Peanut liked it too.  That or he just likes kneeing me a lot!  One thing’s for sure…I love my new camera!

*This recipe is a full recipe that would feed 4 people easily.  For the two of us, I save half the sauce and only make 1/2 a pound of egg noodles, saving the rest for when I make the second half of the recipe.

To view this recipe in an easy to follow format, click here!

Week 33

**First off…please forgive any out of focus pictures.  Hubby hasn’t quite learned how to use the new camera yet. 

How Far Along:  33 weeks

Size of Baby:  This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained approximately 32 pounds so far.  My OB from last week’s appointment said I’m right on track!  Of course Halloween is right around the corner and if hubby and I keep eating these I may not stay on track very much longer!

Maternity Clothes:  Last week I said I was mostly in maternity clothes as I had been for the past few months.  Today, I discovered a lot of my sweaters from a few years ago (when I was slightly bigger than I like to be) fit my pregnant belly!  Yay!  (I’m wearing one of those sweaters in the pictures for this week.)  I have found I don’t really like many of my maternity clothes anymore and I’m not quite sure why.  I’m ready to wear normal clothes again!

Gender:  A little boy

Movement:  Tons and tons.  He has gone from making the “muscle twitch” movements from early on to full body somersaults!  Sometimes I really do feel like he’s rolling around in there literally.  (I just pictured the crocodile scene from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” where the crocodiles are eating the bad guy at the end and rolling his body over and over.  That’s just creepy.)

Food Cravings:  I was just talking about this today.  I don’t know if I’m having pregnancy food cravings as much as general food cravings.  Let me explain.  Jeff always makes fun of me because if I’m watching TV and certain foods come on, I automatically start craving those items.  I am definitely advertisers’ target market during the dinner hour.  I’m the one calling Papa John’s after I see their pizza commercial around 6:30p.  Anyhow, I was watching this show called “Top Secret Recipe” on CMT today and the host was trying to decipher Outback’s Bloomin’ Onion recipe.  Ever since about 11A today I have wanted a bloomin’ onion.  So, you see, I don’t think this is really due to pregnancy…just my mental state.

What I Miss:  Feeling normal.  When I walk, I feel like I waddle.  When I get out of bed, I basically have to roll out.  When I climb stairs, I have to stop and catch my breath at the top.  When I walk for long periods of time (like at work), my abdomen feels a little painful.  I’m ready to sleep any way I want (when I can) and I’m ready to not cry over the stupidest things.

Sleep:  As much as I complained in the paragraph above, honestly I’m sleeping better than a lot of other preggo ladies out there, from what I can deduce.  Some nights I get up to pee 3 or 4 times, but honestly, I usually only get up once between 2:30 and 3:30a.  I go to the bathroom before bed, then during those hours, then again when I wake up.  Only if I had a lot of water right before bed do I go more than that.  I think it’s strange (but normal if that makes sense) that I get up around the same time every night!

Symptoms:  Two symptoms have really stood out in the past week:  itchiness and dull aches.  I touched on the itchiness a little bit in my last post.  It’s very strange.  Have you ever had a bug bite you just can’t quit scratching?  That’s how my skin feels.  Certain parts on my body start itching like crazy and, try as I might, I just can’t help but scratch them!  I have tried moisturizer, which helps a little bit, but really I usually just have to grit my teeth and ride it out.  Right now, my left hand and my left side itch.  When I mentioned it to my doctor, she said it was normal, but if it got much worse to let them know.  Apparently there is a liver condition called “intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy” that is a backup of bile in your body.  It causes your skin to itch like crazy and can be potentially harmful to the baby.  I am keeping an eye on things and have been instructed to call the doctor if it gets worse.

Tyler wants to show his belly too…

Best Moment This Week:  Finding an OB I love!  Now, this may sound like an insignificant thing to some people, but to me it’s fabulous!  I have had not so great luck with OBs in the past, so finding someone I really feel comfortable with is such a bonus!  I have heard a lot of great things about her so when I finally got an appointment with her I was over the moon excited.  She lived up to all the expectations I had of her.  I could tell she really loves her job, which is a great thing to feel.  Of course, I’m not guaranteed to have her as my delivery doctor, but at least she’ll be my OB for the rest of my appointments.

Another thing I loved about this week was receiving and putting together the stroller and car seat!  Jeff and I put them together on Saturday and then yesterday we installed the car seat in my car.  We still have to get a mat for the car since I have leather seats and then get it checked by a professional though.

What I Am Looking Forward To:  The baby shower this weekend!  I’m so excited to see everybody!  I, being the foodie person I am, will be making the food for the party.  I honestly love to entertain, so making the food doesn’t feel like a chore at all.  I have spent the last two days cleaning here and there to get the house sparkling for this weekend.  Of course, cleaning so early means I’ll just have to go back and clean again on Saturday morning.  Oh well.  At least I’ll have help.  Thanks, Mom!

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made:  I talked about this already but my mom sent the Travel System (stroller & car seat) this week.  I also exchanged the curtains out for the right size.  I had mistakenly purchased 65″ ones instead of 84″ ones.

I can’t believe I’m 33 (well, nearly 34 now) weeks along.  I think in no time I’ll be posting Peanut’s birth story on here!  I can’t believe Jeff and I are going to be parents.  It still feels surreal…

Picture Perfect

The other day I realized something.  I hate the way my pictures look on my blog!  The coloring is usually off, even though I edit every picture I post.  The composition of the picture isn’t always quite what I want it to look like.  You know, that kind of stuff.  See?

Ick.

So I decided to do something kinda crazy.  I bought a new camera.

I love her.  Now I have just 7 weeks to learn how to use her.  Tips, anyone?

Week 32

This post is mega late because I kept forgetting to take pictures!  Nevertheless…here we go!

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Size of Baby: Babycenter says: “By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she’ll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.“

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I’ve gained about 30 pounds so far. Honestly I haven’t been paying as close attention to my weight as I did in the beginning of the pregnancy. And I’m OK with that!

Maternity Clothes: What exactly are non-maternity clothes? I don’t really remember… I was organizing the basement last week and I came across all my jeans and pants from before pregnancy. I got very anxious to get back into them and get my old, much smaller body back. In time…

Gender: A healthy, little boy!

Movement: There has been so much movement lately! I love it all. I think one of my favorite things is to see him move from one side of my belly to the other. I have discovered he likes being warm! If my belly is uncovered, he stops moving. When I cover it up, especially with a fleece blanket, he gets excited and starts rolling and tumbling all over! I have started noticing him kneading me more and more. He’ll put pressure on a part of my belly, then release it, then put more pressure on me. I have been comparing this to the feeling I get when Tyler kneads me.

Food Cravings: Nothing really. This changes from week to week. There hasn’t been any one thing that I have said to myself “I must get that now!” lately. Though this kid does like the sugar. Some days that’s all he wants me to eat! I have to tell him no a lot, but sometimes I can’t be strong and I end up caving!

What I Miss: My prepregnancy figure! I was looking at pictures from a few summers ago and saw how little I actually was. I miss that. I have a feeling I’ll get back to it at some point. Now, however, Peanut wants me to be as big as a house. Ha!

I also miss being able to bend down and get back up without it being a national feat! I have to straighten at my job (you know, make sure the store looks all pretty) and when I have to straighten the bottom shelves or get down on my hands and knees to reach something, I feel like I need a forklift to make my way vertical again!

Sleep: Honestly, all things considered, I’m sleeping great! Some nights (like last night) I am up every 1-2 hours to use the bathroom, other nights I get up once (around 2:30a) to go. It’s so strange how it varies from day to day! I also am still enjoying my pillow! I’m wondering if I’m going to like sleeping without it once I have Peanut. I’m sure my husband won’t miss it taking up our bed…

Symptoms: HEARTBURN! It’s not all the time. In fact, it’s not as much as I’m probably making it out to be, but it’s definitely there. I have found I get it much worse when I’m laying down. Last night a couple times I woke up to the feeling that I was choking a little. Not a pleasant sensation to be awakened by.

My other, very weird, symptom is itchiness!!! At certain points in the day, my legs and arms get very itchy, especially when I’m taking a hot bath. Part of it may be due to dry skin (I’m horrible at moisturizing) but another part of it might be “pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP)”. Apparently, it’s common to have itchy skin during pregnancy, especially in the last trimester. I’m going to mention it to my doctor on Wednesday and just double check it’s all normal. I’m sure it is, but still. You can never be too careful, especially now, right?

Best Moment This Week: Getting some things taken care of for the nursery! I had a few extra days off after our vacation to Florida, and I took full advantage of them. I put the sheets on the crib, hung curtains (which I have to exchange because I got the wrong length like a dummy), and put together a little bookshelf complete with canvas storage bins. I have decided our colors are baby blue and bright green apparently. The curtains and a few of the bins are a really pretty green and, as you may remember, the walls are blue.

We still have to hang the shelving in the closet, put the dresser in the room, and hang pictures and decorations on the walls, but I’d say the room is about 50-75% done. I am hoping to have it as complete as I can by the shower so people can see the room for themselves.

What I Am Looking Forward To: My doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. It’s really nothing special I don’t think, but it’s my first two week appointment. I’m officially on biweekly appointments for the next month and then, gasp, weekly appointments! I’m not gonna lie…I’m still really freaked out about giving birth. If I’m being really honest, I’d say I’m really freaking out about being a parent in general, but I’m not focusing on the after part as much right now. I keep having fears about my water breaking while standing in an aisle talking to customers at work. I know people go into labor every day, but I wish I could pinpoint when my labor was going to start. In a perfect world, right?

I did realize that starting in week 36, I would be visiting the doctors weekly and they would be checking me for progress. Hopefully they will be able to give me a little insight into how my body is coming along…and if that’s not the case, I don’t want to know about it, because those thoughts gave me a little comfort which is all I’m looking for right now!!

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made: We got the call last week that the dresser was here! Jeff and his brother went and picked it up yesterday and it is beautiful! All we have to do is move it into place in the nursery. One more thing checked off the list!

I plan to do a full nursery post later in the year once we get it as decorated as possible. I don’t know why, but I’m really not that great at decorating. I’m a perfectionist and if I can’t see the end result clearly, it’s hard for me to see any part of the planning process. I’m getting better and have a much easier time with smaller spaces, but still. Just keep an eye out and I promise I’ll have a walk through posted at some point. Have a great week everybody!

Slow and Steady Risotto

Risotto is one of those dishes I rarely make because I don’t care to stand over a hot stove for 45 minutes stirring a stock pot.  It is, however, probably my favorite way to eat rice.  I love how creamy the texture is and how the flavors meld together in my mouth.

The other day, while visiting my dad and stepmom, Nan, in Florida, Nan and I got to talking about risotto.  I knew she really liked it.  More often than not, if risotto is offered on a menu, she will get whatever dish the risotto is featured with.  When she found out I liked it to, she got excited.  Apparently there was a recipe she had been wanting to try for a while and hadn’t gotten around to it.  When asked what the recipe was, she proclaimed, “crock pot risotto!”

She threw together the easy recipe quickly and let it bubble away in the crock pot for a few hours.  Dad grilled up some devilishly delicious filets that night as well.  Steaks, risotto, and salad.  What a perfect meal!  It was probably one of my favorite meals of the whole trip.

After we returned home, I took an hour and organized our pantry.  One of the items that has been staring at me in our pantry for a looooooong time now was Arborio rice.  It took me about 2.5 seconds to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I googled slow cooker risotto and found a recipe that sounded pretty close to the one Nan made.  Then of course I added it to Pinterest.  (Does anyone else love that website as much as I do??)

You know what one of my favorite things about risotto is?  I typically have everything I need on hand!

Crock Pot Risotto
(adapted from this recipe)

4 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay)
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
3 3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
8 oz mushrooms (whatever variety you like) roughly chopped
3 tbsp half & half
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion in 3 tbsp of the olive oil until softened.  Add 1/4 cup of wine.  Cook onions and wine for a minute or two so the onion has a little time to absorb the wine.  Add the rice and stir to evenly coat the rice in the wine mixture. 

One thing I didn’t do that I wished I had was season this step.  I would add a pinch or two of salt (use your judgement) and maybe a bit of pepper.  I added salt and pepper at the end, but I think adding salt before slow cooking the dish would enhance the flavor much better.

Add rice to the slow cooker and return the pan, unwashed to the stove.  Add the chicken broth to the slow cooker as well and turn your slow cooker on high.  Cook rice mixture for 1.5 to 2.5 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice appears thick and rich.

Meanwhile, while your rice is cooking, prepare your mushrooms.  In the same pan we cooked the onions, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter.  Saute your mushrooms until they get nice and soft.  Add the other 1/4 cup of wine and, as with the onions, let the wine absorb into the mushrooms a little.  Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and set aside.

When your risotto is completely cooked, add the half & half, mushrooms, and Parmesan.  Check the salt and pepper one final time and serve.

To accompany the risotto, I also made Asian Style Hawaiian Luau chicken.  Yes, it’s a seasoning from McCormick Grill Mates, but honestly it was so yummy!  I followed the recipe for the “Asian marinade” and let the chicken soak the entire time the risotto was cooking.  Then I grilled the chicken to perfection.  It was an insanely delicious dinner.  You really should try this one.  It made me feel like I was back on vacation again!

 

Freezer Meals: Chicken Enchiladas Two Ways

You may remember when I did my Marathon Cooking session a few weeks ago.  Well, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had been scheduled off for today!  Technically, I’m still on vacation.  So what does that mean?  Cooking, cleaning, and staying in my pjs all day of course!

I made several dishes during my Marathon Cooking session and unfortunately some of them did not turn out as delicious as I had hoped.  This taught me a valuable lesson:  only make bulk dishes to freeze out of meals you already know you like!

Learning this, I decided to make three meals in big batches:  “Cheater” Lasagna, Buffalo Chicken casserole, and Chicken Enchiladas.  I’ll post the lasagna and the buffalo chicken recipes at a later date, but today we are going to focus on the Chicken Enchiladas.  I came up with two different ways of making this dish.  The main recipe is the same, but the construction of the dishes are a little different.

Chicken Enchiladas
The Basic Recipe (makes enough for 2-3 people):

1 chicken breast, poached & diced
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/2 can refried beans
1/3 can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

To start, bring a pot of water to a boil, season with salt and pepper, and poach your chicken in the liquid for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from liquid and let cool.  Once it’s cool enough to handle, dice it into small pieces.

While your chicken is cooking, make your rice.  I used my Cuisinart rice cooker to make this rice.  Typically when you make rice, you use a 1:2 ratio.  I used one cup of rice to two cups of water plus a pinch of salt for flavor.  With my rice cooker, I just add the ingredients and flip the switch to “cook”.  Once it’s done, it switches to “warm” and lets me continue what I’m doing until I need the rice.  Just follow the directions on your bag of rice to ensure it turns out perfectly.

Once the chicken and rice are cooked and ready to go, add them to a big bowl along with your salsa, beans, cheese, and enchilada sauce (just to help the beans incorporate into the dish).

This is where you can get creative!  Add whatever kinds of Mexican-y things you like!  Corn, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, you name it!  Jeff is a simple man and is not a big fan of veggies in his enchiladas so I left them out.  I figure I can make a nice little Mexican side salad the night we eat this so I get all the yummy veggie nutrients.

That’s your basic recipe.  Here are two ways to use this filling to create a couple yummy dishes:

Method One:
Mexican Rollups

1/3 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 burrito sized tortilla shells

Since I am freezing my meals, I opted to use foil 8×8 cake pans.  We are just two people, so typically I only want to make a small portion.  If you have a bigger family, you can double the above recipe and use a 13×9 dish.  It’s totally up to you.  I sprayed my pan to ensure no sticking and then started rolling.

Take a burrito sized tortilla shell, add about a 1/3 cup of filling towards the bottom of the shell, tuck the bottom of the shell over the filling, fold in the sides and roll the remaining of the way up.  (Yes, I realize I should have taken pictures of this, but I didn’t think I would be doing a blog post about these meals.  Hey, when inspiration strikes…)

Line your rolled enchiladas in the pan, top with enchilada sauce and the cheddar cheese.  Cover with foil and freeze.  I decided to turn up the collar of the pan just to provide a little extra holding power for the sauce.

Method Two:
Enchilada Lasagna

With this method, you just want to create layers in the dish.  I put one tortilla in the bottom of the pan, added 1/2 the filling,

topped with a second tortilla, some of the enchilada sauce, the remainder of the filling, a third tortilla, and the remainder of the sauce. Just use your judgement as to how much sauce you want to use.  Obviously you don’t want the sauce to be overflowing, but you want enough for the tortillas to soak up while cooking.  Finally, finish with the cheese.  Cover and freeze.

One thing I decided for my last tortilla layer was to cut the tortillas to fit.  I would have done this for the whole dish, but again I wasn’t thinking ahead.  To do this, just lay your tortillas in the pan and cut the excess off the sides like so:

When you are ready to serve either dish, you can preheat the oven to 400º and bake for about an hour (or until the meal is heated through) or you can thaw it overnight in the fridge and shorten the cooking time to about 30 minutes.  My husband is funny.  When he decides he’s hungry, he’s hungry now.  I think his hunger cues are off because it’s almost like when he realizes he’s hungry, he has to eat then or he’ll faint from starvation!  He also likes to eat around 6p (apparently he’s in his 60s), but I don’t get home until 5:30p at the earliest.  For this reason, I have to try to plan things well in advance.  This is why thawing the dish ahead of time is better for us.

So there you go.  Two freezer meals that are simple, delicious, and crowd pleasers!  Hope you like them!

 

My Interest in Pinterest

If you are online even a little bit, chances are you’ve heard of this little website called “Pinterest“.  It’s a virtual pinboard for all the things you come across online that you like, are interested in, or want to remember.  For me, it’s a great place to store all the neat ideas I read about from my bloggers I follow.

I typically read my blogs through Google Reader and when I come across something I want to try, I star the blog post.  It then moves into a folder called “Starred Items”.  Once every few months or so, I’ll go through the folder and look at the starred items.  More often than not, I can’t remember why I starred the post in the first place!  Pinterest takes the guesswork out of this method.  Instead of starring the post, I can “pin” the picture I want to remember to one of my virtual pinboards.  Then when I’m on the website I have snapshots of things I have found interesting in the past.

For example, if I’m looking for a yummy treat to make, I would navigate to my “Sweetness” board and see this:

When you click on one of the pictures, it takes you to the page on pinterest.  One additional click will take you to the webpage you can find the item in question.  Genius!  You can also keep track of items you see while online shopping that you are interested in buying!  So many options at your fingertips!

Here are some of my favorite pins since joining Pinterest:

Obviously, seeing as I follow primarily food blogs, most of my boards will be full of food images, but as you can see there are no limits to the kinds of things you can pin!  One of my friends has kids and is constantly pinning things to do with her children.  My sister has very eclectic tastes and has boards covering everything from inspiration to travel to stylish things.   Carolyn and I have very similar tastes so I feel like I copy her quite often by repinning things she has found an interest in.

That’s the other great thing about Pinterest…you can share your interests with friends and family!  They can follow you and see what you like.  In my opinion, this tells you a lot about a person.  Plus it may just make buying that one of a kind Christmas present that much easier!

The one downside?  You have to be invited to use it.  Luckily, I’m here to help!  If you’re wanting to join, let me know!  I’ll gladly send you an invite.  If you’re already a member and would like to follow my boards, click on the red “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on the left side of my blog.  I love sharing and would love to see what you’re “Pinterested” in too!

Week 31 (From Florida!)

How Far Along:  31 weeks and counting!

Size of Baby:  “This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He’s probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby’s kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.” -babycenter.com 

Boy this is true!  He moves a lot more now.  Either that or I’m sitting down enough to realize it!  He hasn’t been keeping me up at night yet, but I’m sure he’ll find a way soon!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I don’t know an exact number this week but I’m sure I’m up as I’m on vacation in Florida.  I try to make smart choices when I go on vacation, but let’s face it, everyone indulges just a little bit more when they travel.  Or is that just me? 

Maternity Clothes:  This is not going to change any time soon, but I have noticed something.  My shorts I wore this summer are slightly too tight.  Luckily, I should only have to wear them this week since temperatures in Ohio are cooler.  I love my maternity jeans I have, but I need to pick up a few more pair.  I have three pair of jeans, but two of them are low rise and you guys know how I feel about low rise maternity jeans!

Gender:  A little guy!  Since Jeff and I have been on vacation this week, we keep thinking about going on vacation with him.  Jeff and I are both big Disney World fans and cannot wait to share that place with him!  Not looking forward to lugging around all the necessary crap, but what are you gonna do?

We have decided he is gonna be a golfer though…

Movement:  Like babycenter.com was saying, he’s going to be moving a little bit more for a few weeks I think.  Then I’ve heard he’ll get a bit cramped and slow things down.  Of course, I expect to get a head or a foot in the ribcage, but again, what can you do?

Food Cravings:  This week I have had the luxury of having really great melon!  I am indulging in lots of produce (cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, bananas) these days, trying to enjoy it as much as possible before returning to the cold.  My stepmom is a great cook so I’ve also had lots of yummy dishes I’ve never had before.  Being spoiled isn’t half bad!

What I Miss:  Being able to sleep on my back and turn easily in the middle of the night.  I sometimes feel like I have to sling my belly around when I’m trying to turn!  Other than that, I miss having a glass or two of wine.  My dad and stepmom are big wine drinkers, so I’ve had to watch them indulge this week.  At least I got to sniff the glass a little bit!

Sleep:  Honestly, sleep hasn’t been too bad still!  Even though it’s harder for me to turn over in the middle of the night, I still manage relatively well.  One thing I’ve noticed has increased is my trips to the bathroom!  I counted five trips last night between going to bed and waking in the morning.  Yikes.  It’s not very fun at all!  I have also been having some crazy dreams lately!  But of course they only last until I wake up to the call of nature…

Symptoms:  When we got to Florida, I was nervous about how I would sleep without my maternity pillow.  I was right to worry!  The first night I got about two hours of sleep total, and the sleep I did get was not restful at all.  My back hurt, I couldn’t get comfortable, etc.  I promptly asked my dad to take me to Target to pick a body pillow up.  I found a pillow and a 2-pack of pillowcases for $20 and I think it has been the best $20 I have spent on vacation so far!  I only hope I can figure out how to smuggle the pillow back in my suitcase!

Another symptom I have been noticing is soreness on the lowest part of my belly.  I think either he’s laying on me weird or my pants are too tight.  It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it hurts!  I just try to stretch a little and work it out.  Otherwise there’s not much else I can do.

Best Moment This Week:  Spending so much time with my husband!  We have such opposite schedules we never get to see each other.  He works a traditional 8-5 job and I work retail hours.  I could be home at 5:30, 8, or 11 at night!  Every day is different and we never know if we will get to see each other or not!  This week we have spent pretty much every hour together since Monday night.  It has been fabulous. The belly has gotten lots of kisses this week.  Peanut is happy. 

One other moment that was wonderful was when the little guy said hi to Jeff.  I was sleeping on the couch and Jeff looked over to see my belly moving.  He put his hands on my stomach and felt Peanut twisting and turning like he’s never felt before!  It was so great since Jeff hasn’t really been able to feel the boy move too much.

What I Am Looking Forward To:  Lots of blogger friends have had their babies in the past month or so and it’s made me dream of seeing my baby’s face for the first time.  I wonder how he will look, smell, sound like, act like.  I am excited to see how Jeff interacts with him.  I imagine cuddling him on the couch while watching snow fall outside.  I am just really looking forward to being a mom.

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made:  Not this week!  Though we did see a few Christmas items we thought were cute when we were shopping the other day.

(That onesie says “What Santa Doesn’t Bring Me Grandma Will”.  So cute!)

I hope everyone is doing well!  We head back to Ohio on Monday, but until then we are going to continue to relax and enjoy our time together.  Talk to you all soon!