Pregnancy Update!

We went to the pizza buffet for dinner tonight and yes, we are all stuffed! Since we don't have anything food related to post about tonight, I thought I'd take this time to make some notes about my pregnancy. I haven't been writing this stuff down anywhere else...and I'm kind of worried about forgetting it all. :) So, you've been warned. Don't feel obligated to read on if you don't want to!





16 weeks pregnant today!

Baby B is the size of an avocado

I have managed to only gain 3.5 lbs. This is waaaaay less than what I'd gained with Jack at this point, which is a very good thing.

I am at the point where I have to wear maternity pants or stretchy pants. And on that note...I have to mention how difficult it is for me to find maternity clothes. Tall maternity clothes are really hard to find. Add "plus-size" to that...and it's impossible! I think I will be living in sweat pants until summer time. And then at least I'll be able to pull off jeans as "capri" pants.

I stopped having "morning sickness" at around 10 weeks...but I still get nauseous every now and then.

I've been feeling Baby B move for a few weeks now. I know....I started feeling movement super early! Now I feel movement several times a day and it is wonderful. Definitely my favorite part of being pregnant.

I am still exhausted. I fall asleep on the couch every night by 8:00 or 8:30, without fail. I think part of my exhaustion is due to Jack not sleeping well....and part of it is due to how poorly I've been sleeping when I do sleep. I can't win in the sleep department!

We've decided not to undergo any of the prenatal screening with this pregnancy. The tests are known to be somewhat unreliable, so we don't really feel the need to go through the extra stress right now. Lord knows we have enough of that.

Our "big" ultrasound will be sometime at the end of February. Which seems so far away! We didn't find out if we were having a boy or girl when we were pregnant with Jack, so it is really exciting to (try to) find out this time. I am fairly certain it's a boy.

I haven't really been craving a specific food, but I could live without sweets - which is so not typical of me. I normally have the biggest sweet tooth...and now I could take them or leave them! I am more likely to want a big juicy hamburger than a piece of cake. So weird!


Aaaaaaaaand....here's some baby bump pictures! One from each side. :)

Chili Cheese Nachos

I'll start this off by saying, I don't like chili. Never have. But lately, Lonnie's been on a chili-making kick. And I don't know if it's the pregnancy or if my taste buds are changing...but this stuff is really good! Lonnie made chili yesterday and we had it on nachos today. We ate them in front of the TV, after Jack had gone to bed. The perfect way to eat nachos.


Here's Lonnie - with his latest chili recipe. Try it!!!

** This recipe makes a pretty hot chili. Steph would say about 7 out of 10 on a heat scale, I'd say about 2 or 3. If you like less spicy, omit the habenero peppers and add another poblano. Poblano peppers have a great chili pepper flavor without the heat.

1lb ground chuck
2 diced habenero peppers (seeds removed)
1 diced jalapeno pepper (seeds included)
1 diced poblano pepper
2 diced small onions
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 cup V8 hot & spicy vegetable juice
2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes (I use no salt added tomatoes)
Sea Salt to taste

Brown the ground chuck however you'd like. I boiled and strained it to remove most of the fat. I set the liquid in the fridge to let some of the fat harden so I could later skim the fat off and add some of the liquid back to the chili. Put the ground meat in the fridge as well.

Meanwhile in a large pot, combine the remaining ingredients and simmer for 2hrs, stirring occasionally. Next, add the ground beef and about 1 cup or so of the water from the boiled beef. Simmer on low for another 3hrs. I let it cook for a total of probably 5 to 5 1/2 hrs, giving all the flavors time to blend. You could cook it longer, but might need to add more liquid if you go that route. Let it sit in the fridge overnight and it's even better the next day.

Excuses....

We've been absent the last few days! Really, dinner just hasn't been that exciting around here. :) Thursday we had the homemade pizza...and here's how the rest of it has gone down...

Friday - Breakfast for dinner (pancakes and bacon)

Saturday - was a crazy day. Jack got sick and we ended up at urgent care with a diagnosis of a double ear infection. I (Stephanie) had store bought hummus and pita bread for dinner, and Lonnie had leftover pizza. (Side note - Trader Joe's Chipotle Hummus rocks.)

Sunday - tonight we had fried rice and frozen egg rolls. The fried rice wasn't that great and the egg rolls had a horrible texture. (Another side note - Trader Joe's veggie egg rolls don't rock.)

So....we haven't had any meals to blog about!

Hopefully the rest of the week is a little more exciting. In all honesty, things are a little rough with our family right now. Raising a child with autism is extremely challenging. And when you add an illness to those challenges - it feels almost impossible. If the posts are sparse this week, it's because we're busy and exhausted. I'll try to get caught up when I get a chance!

Lazy Day

Today was a lazy dinner day. I had "pizza quesadillas" on the menu, but decided to just do regular pizza instead. I had plans to make the dough, but got even lazier and bought some dough from the grocery store. Perfect! So...store bought dough (the good stuff in a tube), store bought pizza sauce, pepperoni, shredded cheese, and pineapple. It was great! Jack helped assemble the pizza and wanted to make a "J" out of his pepperoni. So this is what he came up with...


So cute! And...super impressive...he ate the WHOLE THING! Pepperoni pizza is a new food on Jack's super small list of "acceptable" foods, so it was super awesome that he ate this whole thing. We were so proud of him.

That's it for today!

French Dip Sandwiches

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. Yum. This is one of the best meals I've made in a long time. So delicious. Typically, I am not a fan of red meat. Just not my favorite thing. But, I do like good shredded beef. And, apparently I like red meat while I am pregnant. Weird.

So, I plopped this big hunk o' meat in the crockpot at 6:00 am and by 4:30 pm it was falling apart. I can't remember exactly the cut of meat I bought, but it was top round something or other. I got it because it was reduced for quick sale and it looked like what I might need. Like I said, I don't really "do" red meat. So when I buy beef, I have no clue what I'm buying. I just guess. This time, guessing paid off. It shredded wonderfully and was lean, but still tender.

These sandwiches are amazing. The flavors are unique, but still what you expect from a "french dip" sandwich. We toasted our bread and I had Provolone cheese on mine and Lonnie had Swiss cheese on his. I found the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen. I only made a few minor changes from her recipe.

Here's the recipe -

FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES

(recipe adapted from Real Mom Kitchen)

1 Tbsp. minced roasted garlic
1 Tbsp. dried rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 cup soy sauce
6 cups water
3-4 pound beef chuck roast (or whatever kind of roast I used!)
Rolls or buns
Provolone cheese

In the slow cooker, combine the garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, soy sauce and water. Place the roast in the liquid. Cook on low for 10 hours.
Remove roast from the slow cooker and shred. Put shredded beef in a separate bowl. Add some of the liquid to the meat. Strain the rest of the liquid and put in small bowls for dipping.
Butter the rolls and put under the broiler to toast. Put meat on the rolls and top with cheese. Put under the broiler for a few more seconds for cheese to melt. Serve with the reserved liquid for dipping.

Meatless Monday

Normally I am not a fan of broccoli or cauliflower. But, roast them in the oven...and something magical happens. Tonight's dinner was Sesame & Soy Roasted Broccoli, served over rice. I got the recipe from Prudence Pennywise, a great food blog that also takes the cost of the meal into account. This broccoli was amazing. Delicious, salty, little crispy bits - perfection!

SESAME AND SOY ROASTED BROCCOLI

(recipe from Prudence Pennywise)

1 (12 oz.) bag of broccoli florets
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
Hot cooked rice

Preheat oven to 425*. Spread broccoli out on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and stir it all around. Roast for 10 minutes. Drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce and put back in oven for 10 more minutes.
Serve over hot rice.

Not-So-Red Beans & Rice

(It's really hard to get a good picture of beans and rice)

I had Red Beans & Rice on the menu for today, but decided to use pinto beans instead of red beans. I think they're a little softer. And, I decided to use the crockpot. I love my crockpot. Stick everything in in the morning and you have a delicious meal in the evening. Couldn't be easier. And then there's also less excuses to go out to eat. :)

There are some theories on whether or not you should soak the beans overnight before putting them in the crockpot. I would've soaked my beans...but I just forgot to do it last night. They cooked fine without soaking them. I've read that the soaking process is supposed to take out some of the...um...gas factor.

SLOW COOKER RED BEANS & RICE

(recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

1 lb. dried beans (red or pinto)
7 cups water
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 lb. andouille sausage (or kielbasa or smoked sausage), sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 Tbsp. creole seasoning
Cooked rice, to serve over

Add all ingredients, except rice, into slow cooker. Cook on high for 7 hours or low for 12 hours (I cooked mine on low for 7 hours and then on high for 2 hours, just to make sure the beans got soft enough). About 1/2 hour before serving, smash up some of the beans in the slow cooker.
Serve over hot rice.