Pregnancy and Cooking

...are just two things that don't always mix!

I'm sorry for my absence, but I sure do hope that makes your heart fonder.  <3

Here's the skinny on what's been happening...

1.  I have had NO time to blog.  I started a crochet business called Made by Magissa and it boomed during the Fall.  A wonderful thing!  Just didn't leave much time for anything but crocheting and being a momma during what "free time" I have.  (I'm kinda okay with that.)

2.  I'm pregnant with Baby #2, a BOY this time!  He is due on May 16th and is currently the size of an ear of corn, to give you some perspective:

3.  This pregnancy has been tougher sickness-wise and cooking-wise, if you thought the last one was bad!  Though, that was mainly in the first trimester.  I'm happily sailing through the second trimester and have been doing lots of cooking to try to keep some of those inevitable pounds away (one of my New Year's resolutions).  I'm currently determined to add spinach back into my diet in the form of lots of yummy salads.  Stay tuned.

4.  I haven't forgotten about the blogging world!  I've been taking pictures of some things I've been making, just haven't posted.  Feast your eyes on these... can you guess which are pregnant cravings and which are attempts to be healthy?

I'll be honest, I don't remember what this is...

Seriously.  I've been sitting here looking at the picture and thinking about what it could have been.  Maybe a meatball sub?  Perhaps a cheeseburger attempt on a hot dog bun?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Pretty sure that's meat, cheese, and tomato at least... so... yeah.

Crockpot Maple Ham

This was sooooo easy to make.  Good, because I didn't want to be smelling everything!  Basically, you put a layer of carrots and sweet potato in the bottom of your crockpot... put a 1-1 1/2 pound ham on top of it... and pour some maple syrup over the whole thing.  It ends up cooking for about 6-8 hours, depending on whether you put it on low or high.  Yummy!

Yes, I know that wasn't pictured in the crockpot.  At least I remembered to take a picture as I portioned it out for my lovely hubby's lunches!

Mac & Cheese on a Stick

I did not make this.  I bought it at a Renn Faire.  It was A-MAZING.  Jealous?

Egg Salad Wrap

Just like it sounds... there are tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and spinach on there, too.  Maybe avocado?  I love all things avocado.  Guacamole, especially.  Mmmm... guacamole...

Enjoying my favorite!

Blueberry Oat Pancakes

You've seen the Oat Pancakes before.  Still an all-time favorite in our house.  We added blueberries because my daughter had been obsessed with "Curious George makes Pancakes" and wanted to add blueberries to them like he did in the book.  *heart melts*

My lovely helper!

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Mine were topped with peppermint marshmallows... just because it's what was in the pantry!  These were tasty, but got a little moist when covered up for too long.  I will say that I didn't add all the butter, but substituted applesauce for some of it instead.  That tends to make cookies a little more cake-y.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Recipe came DIRECTLY off the bag of Hershey's kisses.  Yum.  Yep, just yum.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were good, but also a little cake-y because of my butter substitution.  Don't worry, they still got eaten.

Soft Pudding Monster Cookies

BEST.  COOKIES.  EVER.  Pregnant me ate most of them.

Eggplant Parmesan

I cannot divulge my recipe, as it is from my wonderful uncle!  Come on over sometime, I'm itching for a reason to make this again.  Mmmm...

My helper, at it again!

Egg Salad on a Waffle

Haha, had to throw it in here... oh so good.  If there's hard-boiled eggs and waffles in my house, this is my go to lunch.  :-)

Okay, so I can explain all of the cookies like this... if you can't eat cookies when you're pregnant, when can you?

Happy Cooking, folks!  Hopefully I'll be back again before baby comes.  No promises.  ;-)

Fondue and Grilling Fun!

I hope you had a nice weekend... it was a busy one for us!  We went to a cookout, had a fondue night (just barely!), had lots of playground time, worked on the house, bought a new sofa, and I feel like the list goes on and on... 

I feel productive, yet exhausted.  Though I didn't feel exhausted until today.  In the rain.  The gloomy, gloomy rain.  Why does rain make you feel like that?  Is it just me?  I wasn't even all that tired today (and I do know tired), but I could probably have taken a solid 2-hour nap.  If I napped well.

I digress.  

It's the food you're here for, isn't it?  

First off, Fondue Sunday with Neal and Casee!  :-)  

They sure do look like a weird bunch, don't they?  (Love you guys!)

Things I learned on Fondue Sunday:

1. You can solder a cord and finagle it so that it works (if you can't find the real fondue pot cord because you moved).  Thanks hubby!

2. Hard cider is delicious.  Seriously, Angry Orchard?  Do it.

3. There's a fine line between cheese fondue and a big lump of gooey cheese that barely counts as fondue.

4.  Fondue pots are not easy to clean when they are filled with gobs of cheese.

5.  You cannot take a picture of someone stirring fondue without it being a blurry, action shot (See below).

We used a vegetarian broth base and then added some garlic, Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, and cheese (Sharp Cheddar and Colby Jack).  Now, it's been a long time since we've had a fondue night, but I've found that pretty much whatever you put into a cheese fondue is delicious.  Tomatoes, mushrooms, tofu, apples, carrots, celery, oh, and crusty bread.  Rock on.

I heart fondue.  :-)

Oh, and yes, Jimmy did indeed solder a cord to make our fondue pot work.  We probably spent an hour looking for the cord and couldn't find it!  Ugh.  (I still haven't found it, for the record.)  I thought for sure it would show up immediately after we made the fondue.

Next up... last night's dinner.  I would say that this was something I would never have eaten as a child.

Chicken Sausage with Grilled Onions, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Carrots

I'll be honest.  Not my favorite.  Here I was, trying to like sausage.  What was I thinking?  I'm just not a fan!  With the exception of the Hot Creamy Sausage Dip my mom used to make.  Click here to see the blog post where it was included.

By all means, if you enjoy sausage, cook some up!  I got chicken sausage that was already de-cased or whatever you call it.  I HATE de-casing sausage.  It's icky.  Anyway, since the sausage was already de-cased, it was certainly one of the easiest meals I've made in a long time.  Just chop everything up and throw it on the grill pan.  Enjoy!  :-)

Okay, this post is getting out of hand.  Bear with me!  Here's what I had today...

Moooooore Eggsalad!  (On an Arnold Sandwich Thin)

Can I tell you that it was amazing?

For dinner, I was going to make Grilled Eggplant with a side of Red Pepper Sauce.  Then I realized that you actually need to have a real grill to make that happen.  So, I chopped up an eggplant and grilled it with some mushrooms and red pearl onions (better than the white, yum!) and applied it to some spaghetti noodles with tomato sauce and roasted red peppers.  Mmmm...

Eggplant Spaghetti?

Not exactly the prettiest dish, but it was delicious.  AND... it made enough leftovers so that the hubs has lunch for a week.  I'm not kidding you.  A WEEK.  Score!

Until next time...   

A Day of Cooking

Ugh.  I came home from work on Friday super frustrated with life.  Don't get me wrong... I have a very full life.  I love my family.  I like my job (most of the time).  Not too many people can say that!  It's just that life is a little too full at the moment.  I am counting down the days until summer vacation.  It can't come fast enough!

So, in order to try to give myself more time each night this week, I did a whole lot of cooking today.  My lovely husband, who does not get nearly enough credit for all that he does, went grocery shopping for me while I watched the baby.  Did I say that I love my family? 

Here's what I made:

Rosemary Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

Except that I used beef instead.  Lamb is crazy expensive and we are trying to stick to some sort of a budget here, people.  Plus, who wants to eat lamb?  Lambs are baby sheep!!!  :-(  If you eat them, they won't grow to their full potential and give anybody any wool.  Sheesh. 

Smokey Shrimp and Corn Soup

This is not for those allergic to shellfish *cough* Jimmy *cough cough*.  I'm eating some right now for dinner though and enjoying every bit.  Both of the above recipes were from the infamous WW recipe book that I can never find links to online.  I'll see what I can do. 

Veggie-Stuffed Shells

Absolutely no lactose in those... well, at least right now.  I may add some cheese directly to the top once I scoop some out.  They smelled really good while they were cooking and I'm excited to try some this week.  I love all things pasta.  There's also no meat, by the way.  Completely vegetarian. 

MORE Barley with Spinach and Asparagus

Yeah, I made this last week and it was so amazing that I made it again.  I didn't even take a new picture.  It looks exactly the same except that I accidentally added more onion than last time and I did add some leeks (on purpose) because I had one to use.  I like leeks. 

Anyway, if I have to cook this week, then there's something wrong.  Our refrigerator currently has a lot of yummy, healthy choices in it!  Go me!  :-)

Ugh, just ate a spoonful of onion.  I think I chopped/sliced/diced too many onions today. 

Veggies

As I've been cooking lots of baby food lately, I've been learning more about different vegetables.  Squash, sweet potatoes, peas... all good things for baby!  Good for us, too. 

A new goal of mine is to try to use the veggies I've been using to make baby food in other recipes. 

Grilled Zucchini with Mint Gremolata

I know, I didn't say that I'd used zucchini to make baby food yet... that's next on the list.  I actually did make this with yellow squash today, but forgot to take a picture!  We chowed down on it before I remembered... doh.  Oh, and I used my new grill pan to cook it.  :-)  Pretty exciting. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

So, there it is.  A sweet potato recipe to which I am totally addicted!  I've made two batches in less than a week... I think I like it.  Just chop, add seasoning, and bake!  Mmm.

I have yet to make something with peas yet... I'll keep you posted.  However, I did make this soup yesterday:

Lentil Soup with Eggplant and Zucchini

...and onion and bell pepper and carrot and tomato and garlic and... well, I think that was everything I had to chop up.  My arm was pretty exhausted after all of that!  This is a WW recipe and made a GIANT pot of soup.  It's a good thing it was a hit with the hubby.  ;-)  We'll be eating all week!!!

Happy cooking, people.  I'll come back with more recipes/updates soon...