New Blog...

I've started a new, very basic, simple blog where I'll post our weekly menu, plus other recipes. Check it out! I'll also try and post pictures to what I can - it's always nice to have a visual!!

All My-Byself

Reid now has to get in the carseat "all my-byself" and will throw a fit if I even think about putting him in it! I, of course, am encouraging this "all my-byself" stage because it will make it all the more easier once Baby comes (now, if he could only learn how to buckle himself in...)!

Menu

Wow! I'm so excited to get some different beef recipes to try! I think my picky husband would like everything suggested, so now I've got a variety of beef meals to try for the upcoming weeks. Thanks!

Our meals this week

Sunday: My parents and sisters ended up coming over and we all went and ate at Snuffer's - I've decided to "diet" after I have the baby! Because who can resist Snuffer's cheddar fries and hamburger?!?! Not this pregnant girl!!!

Monday: We have our afternoon playgroup today so Matt is going to bring home his favorite Chinese food: Panda - can you believe it?? I used to scoff at this until I found something I like from there...the Mushroom chicken and fried rice. I scoff no more!!!

Tuesday: Meatloaf (thanks to Jessica) - Matt normally doesn't like meatloaf; it has to be a very simple one, and this looks like one he'll like. I'll serve it with baked potatoes and a green veggie. I have to tell you the ABSOLUTE BEST way to bake a potato: wash, pierce, and rub butter and salt over the potato. DON'T cover with foil, but bake on a foil lined pan (I just use an 8x8 and sometimes will spray the foil with PAM) at 425 for an hour and a half, flipping half-way. The outside forms a hard shell and the inside is like mashed potatoes - it is SOOOOO yummy! What I'll do with this meal is just cook the potatoes longer since the meatloaf needs a 400 degree oven.

Meatloaf

1 ½ lb. ground beef
1 2-oz envelop onion soup mix
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
2 eggs
1 ½ cup saltines, finely ground
1/3 cup water


Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the beef, soup mix, cheese, eggs and saltines. Add the water combine. Transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish and form it into a 9-inch loaf. Bake until cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Wednesday: Pete's Chicken (this has beer in it, but I'm assuming that the alcohol gets cooked out....right?? If this is wrong, please let me know because I'd hate to have alcohol being preggo and all!! This is similar to the crock pot chicken from last week, so it can be served with rice or noodles - I'll do noodles this week, either an Egg noodle, fettucini, or linguine (whichever I can find in wheat).

Pete's chicken

4 chicken breasts

salt/pepper

1/2 stick butter

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup beer

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 (4 oz) can mushrooms

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown in butter and place in glass baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients over burner until smooth. Pour over chicken and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Thursday: Fun Edward Jones dinner - I love these because we get to eat somewhere nice and the company pays for it!

Friday: Dinner with high school friends!

Any beef suggestions??

I'm trying to think about what we're going to eat this week, and if you haven't noticed from the menu, Matt doesn't like to have chicken 2 nights in a row, so we have to mix it up and do a beef, chicken, etc. But, it's so hard to find good beef recipes that are not either a Mexican casserole, or spaghetti! So, can you recommend a good beef recipe? :)

Recommendations

I always love good book recommendations, especially if they apply to what's currently going on in my life! So, here are a few non-fiction recommendations (click on the book and it links to the amazon page):


1. Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel

This is exactly the type of parenting philosophy Matt and I want to use. It's a great one to read for an overall mind-set.

2. Making the Terrible Twos Terrific by John Rosemund

I'm about a quarter of the way through the book, and this is the perfect choice for the stage where we are right now with Reid. GREAT advice on dealing with and shaping your wild little monkey into a more civilized little person :).

3. The Busy Mom's Guide to Bible Study by Lisa Whelchel

I haven't actually started this book, but I'm really looking forward to it. Cara, Kara, Annie (private blog), Amy and I are doing this as a bible study and I cannot tell you how excited I am. I feel like this is exactly what I need right now. It's divided into 15 minute devotionals that you do 5 days a week. Let me know if you get this book and what you get out of it!!!

There you have it, some pretty "deep" reading material!!! Although, I also love me some chick lit, murder suspense stories, and magazines!!

Weekly Menu...a little late...and Sono pics

Last week Matt was out of town so I went and stayed with my parents a few nights and so whenever that happens, the following week (which would be this week) always creeps up fast and I'm not as prepared! Soooo, I didn't plan what we would be eating until yesterday morning. But, this is an easy week, so here are some very easy recipes!!

Sunday: We took dinner to a friend and then went and ate barbecue.

Monday: We took dinner to another friend and went and ate at Black Eyed Pea, and I just have to tell you that I got some good ol' Country fried chicken tenders with mashed potatoes and broccoli (you know, to balance everything out) and it was just what I was in the mood for!!! Of course, it gave me indigestion all that night, but so worth it!!!

Tuesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce- and I did the pureed butternut squash again in the sauce - can't even taste it! I didn't even tell Matt and he never knew! I roasted 1 butternut squash about a month or longer ago and froze about 4 baggies of 1/4 cup puree mixture that I'll pull out and use as needed. Very easy to thaw - only takes a few minutes - I use the same technique that I did to thaw breastmilk. Click here to see how to roast one of these bad boys. Also, I had found some Earth's Best ABC pasta for Reid and he LOVED it!!! I had to take some pictures. :)

After Reid ate his dinner, I let him eat some more pasta directly out of the pot - I mean, who doesn't love a little "after dinner" taste of just the pasta from the cooking pot??

This is the pasta - Reid called it his "ABC 'pasgetti'" - and I think he totally ate better because he loved this! [Plus, a good way to work in a little "lesson" :)]

See - can't even tell there's some butternut squash hidden!!!

Wednesday: Crock Pot Chicken - I might have shared this recipe before but I don't want to go searching for it, so here it is again.

boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use fat free)

block of cream cheese, cubed (I use 1/3 less fat)

1 packet dry Italian seasoning

4.5 oz. can chopped green chiles

1 cup milk (I use 2%)

Put in crock pot (I put the chicken first, sprinkle half of the seasoning, put cream cheese, soup, green chiles, milk, and then rest of seasoning and stir the mixture a little). Cook for about 6 hours (I'll check the chicken after about 5). I serve this with brown rice for me and white rice for Matt, and broccoli (I'm SUCH A FAN of the Steam Select veggies). This meal would also be good with noodles because the sauce is so yummy it's good to serve over rice or noodles!

Thursday: Old El Paso hard/soft taco dinner kit

Friday: Have no idea - usually pizza.

Also, since we don't have a scanner, I just took a picture of a couple of the sonogram pictures. The first is the "money" shot - um, hello!, am I already embarrassing the little guy?

Do you see the 2 legs with the thing in the middle?? ;)

a little side profile

Reid is going to have a......

Oh my goodness, we're having another!!!

Reid will have a BABY BROTHER!!!!!

That's right! Lilly and I will now be outnumbered in our household!!! I'm so excited that Reid is going to have a brother. Everything looked great, and in fact, the baby was measuring a little further along (12 weeks 5 days versus 12 weeks 1 day) but we're keeping the same due date since it's still early. The doctor said everything looked great! We go back in 6 weeks and then every 4 weeks for sonograms. It will be so fun to watch this new little guy grow and develop!

Menu and (early) 12 week Appt.

We had the 12 week appointment today and everything sounded great! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat which is always a relief! It's about 150, which is around what Reid was. I've gained 5 pounds, which is more than what I wanted, but I shouldn't be surprised with the way I've been eating lately! Just not watching it at all which is unlike me. My goal is to gain around 25 pounds (I gained 25 with Reid) so I'm really hoping to stick to that!!!! We have our sono appointment on Friday with the perinatologist so I'm just crossing my fingers that he will be able to tell the gender. If you can, would you say a little prayer that everything looks ok with the baby? I'm more nervous second go-around!!

Here's our menu for the week:

Monday: Spaghetti with meat sauce (with some hidden pureed butternut squash - I'll let you know if it remains "hidden")

Tuesday: Black Bean chicken, the Good Rice, and broccoli

Black Bean Chicken

*4 chicken breasts

*2 cans black beans, semi drained

*4 slices pepper jack cheese

*cumin and paprika

Spray baking dish with pam. Put chicken in dish and sprinkle with paprika and cumin. Place cheese slices on top of each breast. Pour black beans on top. Cover and bake at 350 for about 50 mins to an hour.

Good Rice (OH SO DELICIOUS)

*1 can beef broth

*1 can french onion soup (Campbells)

*3/4 can water

*1 1/2 cups Uncle Ben's uncooked, converted rice

*1 stick margarine

Melt margarine in a 13x9 dish. Add rice, soups, and water. Stir. Bake at 350 for an hour, or until the moisture is absorbed.

Wednesday: Tator Tot Casserole (I've posted this before, but I found a different recipe for this and it has some veggies in it. I put the veggies on half because Matt won't eat the veggies!)

Tator Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup milk

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb. frozen tator tots

Preheat oven to 375. Brown meat with onions in skillet; drain. Spoon into 8 inch square baking dish. Mix soup and milk; add to beef; stir together. Top with layers of mixed vegetables, cheese, and tots. Bake 45 mins. or until tots are golden brown and casserole is heated through.

Thursday: Pork Shoulder with baked potatoes, cornbread, and veggie (Matt will have leftovers on Saturday night when I'm out)

Pork Shoulder

3-4 pound shoulder pork

18 oz. bottle barbecue sauce

1 can coke

Put pork, coke and sauce in crock pot. Cook on low for 7-9 hours (depends on crock pot - mine is usually done after 7 hours)

Friday: Probably pizza, our normal Friday night dinner

Saturday: Matt will eat leftover pork shoulder, and I'll be livin' it up at a bachelorette party! Because you know how pregnant girls like to party - a little dinner, and then back early to the hotel to enjoy a night away from having to be woken the next morning by a little one!