Recap!

Lucky for me, there were leftovers of the delicious foods I mentioned in the previous post!

The fruit plate:

The salad:

aaaand a grilled chicken pita with some of the chicken (chicken + spinach + provolone + ranch = YUM!) I will definitely be making another one of these today.


I am now 21 weeks pregnant! Over halfway there!! Unfortunately, I think that my transition to a more healthy lifestyle and my extreme aversion to beef recently (part pregnancy, part food documentaries that scare me away from food) I have been experiencing extreme headaches which I can only assume are caused by low iron. I cannot really diagnose this myself, but it explains the sluggishness and the headaches that I've been having recently, add in that I haven't eaten red meat in almost a month AND I have not been eating a ton of fortified cereals or leafy greens, I would say that's probably what it is. It was so bad last night Brent ran out and got me a cheeseburger from Burger King (gross, but it lessened the headache) and I decided that tonight we are having STEAK for dinner! SO excited. Normally I am a medium rare kind of girl, so I will have to survive with it being a little more brown, but I'm sure it will be delicious. :)

I also plan on experimenting with some recipes today... including a delicious looking banana bread!

potato love

I have been on a giant "I have to be in the kitchen" kick recently. I'm not sure if it's a nesting thing caused by pregnancy or because I just want to cook and try new things? or it could be I'm just trying to occupy my time since Brent got promoted to full time and I have nothing else to do to while he is away. Maybe all of the above? Either way, I am loving it and so is Brent, obviously. :)

Yesterday he ended up opening the store (which was wonderful because he almost always closes and making a nice meal for myself isn't always super fun) AND because Megan was coming up for the weekend so I could make a really nice meal for everyone to enjoy.

I started cooking, and then got a text from Megan apologizing that she wouldn't be up this weekend. Totally understandable, seeing as how life seems to be in a slump for most of my friends now-a-days, especially sad because everything was looking so up and happy for a change. Le sigh. Nonetheless, dinner must go on!

We had BBQ pork chops (crock pot style), baked potatoes, corn, salad, and a fruit mix.



I ended up eating my potato loaded with butter, sour cream, and cheese. YUM. I am such a potato nut. In my salad was a mix of romaine and spinach with cucumber, cherry tomatoes (buried), and a hard boiled egg topped with catalina dressing. Fruit was peaches and grapes... I had a plum too but my tummy could not wait for the picture so it was consumed before this shot ;)

For dessert I made funfetti cupcakes.. not extremely adventurous but the box and icing some how found its way into my cart at the store.. sneaky sneaky.



They were delicious nonetheless. :)

Overall great meal... unfortunately the storm or ridiculous drama that followed it kind of ruined the evening, so maybe it was better that Megan wasn't here. Such is life, I suppose. Brent is once again slaving away at work so I may go try a new recipe.

Quick and Easy

It has been forever and a day since I last posted here, I apologize! I swear I haven't stopped cooking, but I've been having more really weird cravings and lots of aversions. I've also been feeling nauseous almost all the time and haven't felt up to photographing food or getting big into preparation.

However, here are a few things that I've put together that are quick and easy!


Fruit Kabobs
Simply take a skewer and put on any fruit that you like. Mine were for Brent's step-sister's, Haily, graduation party. They included a colby jack cheese cube, strawberries, grapes, and cantaloupe. They were a huge success!


Oreo Toads
Another favorite at the graduation party. This was Beth's (soon to be mom-in-law) idea, that she found on the interwebs! Start with an oreo cookie, smear some vanilla frosting on the back and attach two pretzels for the feet, then put a dab of frosting on the front and place two M&M's for the eyes. Definitely a hit with the kids!


Panini? Wrap?
I really wanted a turkey sandwich for lunch, but since I am not allowed to eat cold lunch meat at the time I had to get creative. I used a small flour tortilla, half a slice of provolone and a couple slices of turkey. Fold. Grill (I used the George Foreman).. I added a little mustard for dipping, a few chips and some natural cinnamon applesauce. Delicious!


Summertime!
This dinner screams summertime to me because I love the taste of barbeque. However, this one was made in the crockpot. I marinated a few chicken breasts in BBQ sauce for a few hours, then steamed some corn and green beans... and the staple, mashed potatoes! Seriously my favorite meal, ever!
Confession... those are Bob Evans instant mashed potatoes, which I am absolutely addicted to at the moment (and have been for quite some time), they are just soooo good. :)

aaaaaand, it could never be summertime without... WATERMELON! so delicious! :)

Fun with Fruit

I've been trying to incorporate more fruit into our diet, but in fun ways.

So far I've come up with fruit pizza:


Crust:
sugar cookie dough

Icing:
fat free cream cheese
fat free whipped topping

Fruit of your choice, I used: strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, and banana.

It was absolutely delicious, and the boys LOVED it... so it will definitely be making a reappearance. Next time I will be making a homemade crust. :)

Then I tried some parfaits. I figured these would be a great hit because everyone here likes yogurt and fruit.


Dannon All Natural light vanilla yogurt
strawberries
blueberries
fruit and nut granola

A definite success!!

I also made Brent and I fruit smoothies the other night with the rest of the fruit since it was going bad, and lets be honest.. fruit smoothies are always amazing!!