Meal Planning for a short week and Valentines

This week was a little different than most... Rich and I took a little "babymoon" trip to Big Cedar for a couple days. We had nothing planned other than eating and relaxing! We, for the most part, accomplished this as I forgot how a new bed can be challenging for sleep. Especially for a pregnant lady who doesn't even get comfy in her own bed easily!  We liked being only responsible for us and being lazy!
So I had 2 less days to plan for this week.  We got back home on Valentine's Day and so I wanted to make an extra special meal for my boys complete with a yummy dessert.

Fettuchini Alfredo with bacon
Because we were out of town that morning I wanted something easy and yet still somewhat fancy that I know Rich and Asher would like. This is a very easy recipe, but the sauce was not enough for me... I wanted a little more creamy and garlicky flavor than it had. Also I forgot to add oil to my pasta water and some of my noodles stuck together and didn't cook evenly. I also added some chopped grape tomatoes and a little more Parmesan cheese at the end.  Also I almost always replace real bacon with turkey bacon and I'm not sure if I would have this time... the grease that the real bacon would have given would maybe have helped the sauce a little.  But, it's a good go to meal and fairly easy! Will make again with modifications!

Fudge cupcakes
This picture and link are deceiving.... I didn't make these incredibly sinful looking brownie batter cupcakes. I needed convenience and this simply looked to be too many steps for the time I had to devote to dessert. BUT... I did want to try this frosting. I mean look at it... it just almost make you want to lick the screen!! I used a box of chocolate cake mix for the cupcakes and then topped with this frosting.  Forewarning: this is the most fattening frosting I can think of... as it calls for 5 STICKS OF BUTTER. Ok, Paula Dean... no thanks!  Nor did I need enough for 36 cupcakes. So, I just used half the recipe and it was more than enough.  It was however very yummy and fudgy! I had to refrigerate mine as the frosting was finished before my cakes were and it was fine. In fact, I felt like it was easier to spread that way.  And it was approved by all! Make Again but not very often!!

BBQ Chicken stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This was the hit of the week!! It was WAY more time consuming than I had imagined and almost made us late for church, but  SO worth it! It also it a pretty healthy dish that really has awesome flavor! It is very self explanatory... only thing I didn't add was the fresh cilantro on top. Also another recipe I might try with real bacon instead of turkey, but either way it was Goo-ood.  Asher ate the heck out of this!!! Yes! One entree I don't have to beg for him to eat! I did have to watch not to over pepper his though. I also added a little cinnamon to the mash mix, just for kicks! Definitely Make again!!!

This next week we are gonna have some asian inspired things as well as a couple old favorites!
Happy Meal Planning!

Meal Planning... week 4

I am sold out for this meal planning!
I actually really enjoy it a lot and it scratches the organizing/creating itch that I have.
Here are a few new recipes that we have had lately. Most of them were " Make it Agains".

Apple Chops w/ Mashed Potatoes
This was a HIT! Very simple to prepare and very economical. We typically don't eat a lot of pork.. even usually get turkey bacon instead of real, but we will make this more often.  It was very moist and had great flavor paired with the garlic mashed potatoes was yumms. I did mess up and used my mixer to fluff the potatoes while still in their teflon pot.. so what I thought was ranch spices was actually little pieces of teflon that scratched out of the pot.  Hopefully we didn't get too much. Asher, luckily, only ate a couple bites.  That pot was my last non-stick one so we won't have to worry about that again.  I'm still not expert people! Definitely make again!!

Taco Pasta
This was a tricky one. I was not sure how Rich or Asher would like this. It sounded good to me and would be fairly cheap to make, so I jumped in.  ( Before I started this, I told them both they had to be food adventurers on some things and we would learn together what worked and what didn't)  Rich and I both liked it, but Rich has issues with ground meat paired with any kind of pasta, so there was still that initial resistance, but he ate it. Not really sure how I can conform it to make it more palatable for him... maybe shredded chicken? Asher is heading in the stage of life where things that look all mixed together are yucky. I went through that too... I tore all the toppings off my pizza for a while.  So, he just has to try it and there are usually plenty of other healthy things on his plate to satisfy me and him. Funny how this boy will woof down all the fruits and vegetables first and usually need a little coaxing to eat the main dish!  Make again, with modifications!

Chicken Ranch Fajitas
We LOVE fajitas at our house! It's so simple to make and never disappoints. This one was pretty much exactly what I serve with chicken fajitas, but only added ranch dressing mix in addition to some taco seasoning. This is a good meal for kiddos too because you can either make them a fajita or just put everything on their plate separate and let them decide. Very fresh and good leftovers. This link also has some other really good recipes as well from BHG. Definitely Make Again!

Smoky BBQ Chicken Salad
This was a funny one too. I planned it thinking it would be a Entree, but in reality it seems more of a side dish. Rich is not a mayo fan... this calls for mayo. I added a little and then added some cream cheese with it. I think I added too much BBQ sauce to mask the mayo flavor and so that really made it too much.  Again... it's a mixture of stuff so Asher picked out all the chicken and tomatoes.  Rich ate it, but I don't think that he was much a fan.  This would be great as a cold salad to take to a BBQ and make it as it says. I love all the fresh ingredients and it was very easy to make.  Probably not make again... at least as a main dish!

How Bout some Sweets!!!!!????

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have to laugh. I have never really been a good cookie baker.. I have had 3 ovens in my lifetime and they have all cooked things differently. As well as, until recently, I have not had a really good, even baking, cookie sheet.  This recipe sounded so good and I needed to use up the rest of the bag of pretzels from Christmas dipping. I had everything I needed. I mixed them up using a technique from here. I didn't think about the added salt and surface area the pretzels would take up, so they didn't flatten out very much and were super crunchy. Another cookie fail. Will make this again! Game face on!!!

I have big plans for some yumminess next week as well as a Valentine dessert using this frosting... possibly strawberry cake on bottom.
Off to pin some more cookies....

34 Weeks

I'm so sorry that I have not been around here lately... I have been doing a lot of reading, just not in the mood to blog.
I have said this before and I will say it again... this pregnancy has flown by!
It has definitely not been as enjoyable of a pregnancy as the first... I think due, in part, that I still need the energy to take care of another child and the lack of pep and limitations physically are really in the way!
Although I am just, if not more, excited for this little dude to join us!! Since I somewhat know what to expect, I'm just ready to get it done! The fears are not NEAR what they were and more happiness and readiness have taken it's place.
I have been getting comments for about 2 months now about how much I look like I'm about to give birth. Especially now that he has dropped a bit and my stomach sticks straight out now.
Sometimes I just want to tell people how much I know how big I look and I definitely FEEL how big I am, and by the way, thanks for commenting on it! Har har....
I vow to NEVER step foot in Braums in Nixa again until after this child is born . The cashier there  always bugs her eyes out at my belly and makes a huge deal over how much it pops out.  Even though I know she means well... it's still really embarrassing and makes me completely self conscious when there are people standing behind me.
Overall, I feel tired. Sleep is a chore and my body is weary come the end of the day.
He's heavy. It feels as there is a rope tied around my waist and someone is constantly pulling it to the floor. 
A few contractions here and there from a UTI and dehydration. Things are starting to change into labor mode. And as all mama's would contest, this is the time when you are done!

The nursery is mostly put together.. just has empty walls. I'll get to it... he is a 2nd child after all. :)
I have been pretty good with my time management... we went through all the baby clothes and washed and put them away as we moved in to the new house. I thought I should take advantage of the energy I had as well as having all the clothes out of the attic.  Owen's bag is all ready for the hospital, mine... well, it will be soon.

To add to my excitement... I have a new nephew! His name is Kenson James Gaisford and he is such a sweetie! He really resembles Asher in both the way he looks and his character. Loves to be snuggled, loves to eat, and is pretty alert.
He has wonderful parents who have settled right in to this parenting thing and are doing awesome taking things slow and allowing time to get to know each other.
So... we are plugging right along. 
About 4 more weeks now..... give or take. :)