Tuesday: Bibimbap

I made this recipe by request from Joe. It has an unusual name, but it's basically rice, ground meat and vegetables. It's one of those great recipes that you can make nearly everyone happy with and you can choose what veggies you want. This can also be easily made to please vegetarians and omit the meat and maybe add in some tofu. Oh and soy beans would be good, too. By the way, we eat out of Tupperware containers at our house. Well, Joe does. He hates the sound of the fork hitting a glass plate hence the not-so-fancy-bowl that I used for the picture.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup soy sauce
6 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 pound ground turkey, beef, or pork (*I almost always use Turkey instead of beef).
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 slices onion
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large eggs
2 cups cooked rice (Chinese takeout works well)
Assorted vegetables (shredded carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, canned baby corn, spinach, bean sprouts, red onion, whatever you want)

Preparation:
1 Mix together the first three ingredients; set aside.

2 In a pan, brown the meat, onion and garlic in half the vegetable oil, about 5 minutes. Add half the soy-sauce mixture and continue cooking until the liquid is absorbed, 3 to 4 minutes. Add in vegetables and saute until cooked, but firm.

3 In another pan, fry the eggs in the remaining vegetable oil (*I used Pam cooking spray), 4 to 5 minutes. The egg is supposed to be sunny side up, but Joe is not a fan so I do them over easy. You basically just put the egg on top of the veggies then cut it up and mix it into the food so the yolk becomes part of the sauce. Either way you do it (or not at all by omitting the egg all together) it doesn't matter.

4 Divide the rice among 4 bowls. Arrange some vegetables and meat and an egg in each. Drizzle the remaining soy-sauce mixture over the top.

Tomorrow will be "left over day" since we have plenty of Bean Burrito Casserole and Bibimbap in the fridge. No cooking until Thursday!

Monday: Bean Burrito Casserole

I don't think I've ever made a casserole since I've been married. Like ... ever. They always sounded to bland and mushy. However, I have been on a desperate search for food that will be good for dinner, even better tasting for lunch the next day and something I've never cooked before. If it's freezable I may just pass out in sheer gratitude. So I went to my favorite (and only) web site where I get all of these fabulous recipes (www.epicurious.com) and searched casseroles. I stumbled upon this one and it sounded good and not very "casserole-y" so I tried it. This whole week I will post all the recipes I make. I went to the store and bought all the food I would need for the entire week. I usually try to go twice, but I find when I do that even though the food is more fresh by the time Saturday rolls around, I have over spent on my weekly budget. I spent $85 on all the groceries so you know that you could make all 5 of these recipes for that amount more or less depending on what you already have on hand in your pantry. (I usually wait until the end of the week to do chicken recipes because I buy frozen chicken breasts from Costco and those won't go bad.)

Ingredients:
For the filling
1 onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
two 1-pound cans black, pinto, or pink beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup tomato sauce (*I used a 12 oz. can since that what I had and didn't want to waste it. I think it made it better and not as dry as it would have been)*
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 fresh or pickled jalapeno chilies if desired, seeded and chopped (wear rubber gloves) (*I feed this to Devon so I used canned, MILD green chilies instead of jalapenos. Even better if you ask me)*
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander if desired
*Joe needs to have meat with his meals so I added 1 lb. of hamburger and it was SO much heartier. I also added a small can of sliced olives ...yum! Next time I would add corn and cilantro. *

twelve 7- to 8-inch flour tortillas warmed
1 1/2 cups grated Monterrey Jack (about 6 ounces) (*I used cheddar)
guacamole and tomato salsa as accompaniments

Preparation:
Make the filling:
In a large heavy skillet cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, add the beans, and mash about half of them coarse with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the tomato sauce, the cumin, the chilies, and salt and black pepper to taste, simmer the mixture, stirring, for 3 to 5minutes, or until it is thickened slightly, and stir in the coriander.

Working with 1 warmed tortilla at a time and keeping the others covered, spread about 3 tablespoons of the filling down the center of each tortilla and roll the tortillas, enclosing the filling but keeping the ends open. Arrange the burritos, seam sides down, in one layer in a baking dish, sprinkle them with the Monterrey Jack, and bake them, covered with foil, in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 10 minutes. Serve the burritos with the guacamole and the salsa.

This is a great vegetarian dish as is and cooks up super fast and easy. Although my husband liked the flavor he said it was basically,"Burritos in a pan." It defiantly needs the avocado, salsa and sour cream and would be great with some Spanish rice and watermelon. I think this is OK for dinner, but great to freeze pre-portioned for a quick and easy lunch.

27 weeks

I bought this painting before I knew I was having a girl because I liked it so much. I don't know why, but I do. All the pictures are of things I have bought to go in the baby's room. I don't know how I will arrange everything so it doesn't look cluttered, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Delivery day still seems so far away, but now that I'm to this point it feels like it went from,"18 weeks and you're having a girl," and a second later to,"You're 27 weeks." Craziness. I think once I get to the 30 week marker time will somehow speed up.

I think my luck is running out a bit with having an easy pregnancy. I say that with a wink because the things I am describing as "having a difficult pregnancy" are not really a big deal, but they are the first hard things I have had to deal with this far since it has been a breeze up to this point. Going to the gym isn't as easy as it once was. I have been running a very slow 10 minute mile for 2 miles (yes, BOTH my feet leave the ground at some point)plus an extra mile on the elliptical. I get a little bit of back pain on my left side when I start the run, but it eventually goes away after a few minutes so I feel OK to keep it up. I also have been getting some pain in my feet and have started to feel some pressure on my belly probably from baby pushing out. None of these things make me feel like I should stop since they are temporary (and don't fall under the "stop running when BLANK happens" list), but I have heard that women stop running sooner with their 2nd child so who knows when I will have to call it quits for a while. They probably stop because they know that after the gym they can't go home and nap like they used to. They have a little one to play with until nap time and they're just too damn tired to burn out all that energy like a mouse on a wheel. I get that. Anyway, it's on my list of things to ask my doctor at my next visit which is coming up. I go in to see her every 2 weeks now which means I am getting closer to the end.

At my last appointment my OB said that the baby was nearly twice the size she should be so she moved up my due date a week to August 2nd. She did say that I may not stay a week ahead if the baby's weight gets back to normal, but when it gets down to it it doesn't really matter if my date is a week this way or that way because the baby will be born whenever she's ready to come out. I am not going to get pregnant again so I would like to be pregnant for a while ;)It would be cool for her to be born on her original due date of 8.9.10 so if she goes all the way til the end that would be a bonus. Not a day past though ... I will be induced on the 9th if things don't happen on their own. Chop chop little lady!

In a weird way I am happy to report that I have experienced my first situation with true "water weight gain" because those strange 3 pounds that appeared in 3 days DISAPPEARED literally overnight plus an extra just for spite. Yes ma'am I lost 4 pounds from one day to the next. So strange. Too bad true weight gain doesn't happen that fast.

I have gathered a few more things to decorate the little lady's room with and I think things are starting to come together. I don't want to buy an entire bedding set like I did with Devon. I got "gender neutral" bedding so I could use it for 2 kids, but I'm having a GIRL ... I want pretty pink roses and Frenchy-French looking stuff not red, blue and green alphabet letters! It's totally perfect for Devon and it works for his big boy room, but not for my new little lady. I am toying with the idea of making my own bumper, skirt and quilt and buying the bed sheet. It doesn't look THAT complicated, but I am not sure I have the energy. Usually in the evenings I either read or watch TV and I just want to sit there. Sewing requires lots of up and down, starting and stopping and trips to the iron. It's a lot of work, but I haven't done ANYTHING creative in a while and I may need to do it for that reason alone. If I find some fabric that I love I could be swayed.

19 months: Devon (April)

Devon has a favorite TV show. It's pretty much the only TV he's seen so it's an easy choice. He will hand you the skinny remote to turn on the TV and he'll say,"Show" then hand you the big remote so you can find the tivoed episodes and say,"Pooh" (Tigger and Pooh 3D .... not the old ones. Trust me .... I tried and he hated them). I am somehow not annoyed by it and he only sporadically watches so it's fine. God forbid he develop a liking for Elmo .... I may just have to get rid of the TV.

He has developed a new game simply called "Bed". The rules are simple. Round up the 2 down comforters into a big pile in the center of our bed. Place Devon in front of the piles of blankets. Push Devon over into the blankets. Shrieks of laughter and giggles and,"Again!" ensue. If you tire of pushing him over he will just throw himself on top of the blankets so not to worry .... the game will continue for about 20 minutes with or without you. When he starts to get tired he will want to be tucked in and will start snoring. This means that you should lay down, close your eyes, make snoring sounds and at some point open your eyes and make a sound that will both startle and amaze him.

He loves to eat cheese, strawberries, raspberries, apples and peaches. He will even go into the pantry and retrieve a cup of fruit for me to feed him which is nice for me to feel like he is communicating his needs. He seems to really understand what we are saying when we talk about feelings, being careful and describing what is going on. He has stopped throwing food on the floor when he eats and has learned to just tell me that he's done and I get him out of his chair. I hated mopping the floor after every meal!

I'm not even going to tell you what words Devon can say up til now because he will pretty much say and repeat anything at this point so watch your language ;) If he doesn't get the word exactly right he gets the syllables or the basic sound. He is such a chatter box and Joe and I love hearing him go on and on ... and on ;) It is so fun to hear him say new words with perfect enunciation. We talk all the time about how sad it is that he is getting big. Then Devon will say,"Sad" and make a pouty face and we try to avoid saying the word sad around him because watching him do it is well ... sad. I have started to get into the habit of calling Joe "Daddy" because Devon started saying,"Joe! Joe! Dada!" Cute and everything, but I don't want him to start calling us by our first names until he becomes an ornery teenager.

He is learning to jump and kick a ball and is getting so independent! He is into everything and I begrudgingly baby proofed the kitchen drawers. Joe and I find all the baby proofing to be SUPER annoying and hoped that we would be able to somehow avoid it, but we both agree that it is totally a must. I don't mind him getting into that stuff, but I want to be able to have some control over the amount of mess and I had to keep him out of the knife drawer somehow!

Devon is such a good boy and is so funny! He is very careful about getting down from chairs, going up and down stairs that he will, more often then not, wait until I can help him and hold out his hand for me to hold. He is definitely not that kid that runs off and goes in a million directions with boundless energy. He does have (and require) lots of energy, but he is a really calm kid. He is not one to go up to kids and interact very much, but he is very friendly and will say hi to everyone at the grocery store. I have seen him turn grumpy shoppers from stone to mush with one flash of his toothy grin. By the way, he seems to be getting his molars. All of them. At the same time. That's a lot of teeth at once, poor guy.

Joe and I worry about the adjustment phase that will inevitably come when the little lady arrives, but there's nothing we can do except be attentive to Devon and let him know that he is still important to us. He isn't terribly interested in other kids (and he HATES it when they touch him ... that's my little germaphobe ;) so hopefully he won't mind having her around as long as she keeps some distance. He has been very interested in his new furniture that arrived last week and it has been encouraging to think maybe it won't be a huge room-switch-new-baby-all-at-once-adjustment that I've been building it up to be. I have been thinking that as soon as we get the floors done we could move Devon into his new room before the new baby arrives. I have been looking for stuff to decorate both of their rooms so they look more put together without going overboard, but it is a process. There is a lot of work that will have to get done before that happens, though, and I am anxious to get it all going!

Roses for the lady

When Joe and I were dating, I think it took about a year for him to literally hand me flowers. Don't get me wrong ... I got flowers all the time, but he always found a clever way to give them to me. They weren't usually given for any special reason other than just making me feel special. He left them on my car, in my car, in my locker, on the window sill of my room or he would get to one of my classes early and leave them on my desk. I always got something a little out-of-the-ordinary like Bird's of paradise, tulips, hand picked yellow wild flowers or fire and ice roses. No red roses or carnations for me! At the ripe old age of 16 I always thought he was so romantic ... and I still do ;)

He planted these for Valentine's Day.

I have been with Joe nearly half my life. This post is a bit late, but as of April 13th we have been together 14 years. Joe still gives me unusual flowers, but also plants them around the house so I can have flowers everyday. Well ... every day when they are in season ;)

I knew there was something special about Joe before I even really got to know him. He was just unique ... he stood out. He was different from every other 16 year old high school boy I knew. He had this brilliant smile and an infectious laugh. He was so good looking he made me nervous! To be honest, I didn't really think that he liked me for a long time because I thought he was so cool and I was ... not. I mean, I was "cool" in the sense that I wasn't a dork or totally weird or anything, but he was mysterious cool.

Now we are "grown ups" and it has been so amazing to go from being his high school girlfriend to his wife and all the wonderful time in between. Joe is such a good Daddy and really looks out for Devon in ways that I haven't seen most Dad's do. It's hard to describe, but you can just feel the difference. When most Dad's complain how kids changed their lives (ie: no more golfing, no going out, all the negative stuff you usually hear, etc) Joe talks about how amazing it is and how excited he is for his 2nd one to arrive. He works so hard to provide for our family so I can be a stay at home Mom and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband.

He always says something nice about my hair when I get it done and compliments me on what I'm wearing. He encourages me to take naps instead of doing the laundry. He has ALWAYS been my biggest supporter and has fulfilled so many of my life long dreams with enthusiasm as if they were his own. He tells me all the time how beautiful and sexy I am which is nice to hear when you are 6 months pregnant ;) When he's not at work or being a hands on Dad he's building something in the garage, learning a new skill, toiling away on the new and expanded garden or planting me flowers.

24 weeks

Even though my doctor says I'm a week ahead I am going to stick with the week that corresponds with my due date unless she changes it officially at my next appointment. I am not one for the "belly shots", but I figure that I may as well since this is the last time I will be pregnant.

For those of you who know what I mean .... I thought this looked unintentionally "Ollin Mills" with the strange fade at the bottom. The camera did it on it's own and I can't get rid of it. Whatever. I hate having my picture taken so moving on ....

The baby is moving so much! It is a nice change to go from a few movements at night to consistently throughout the day. I have been accumulating things to go in her room (IE: clothes hamper, a painting, a clock, etc) and have been storing them in her closet for now since we will be having some major work done on the floors in the upstairs over the next month or so. All the furniture will have to be removed and moved downstairs so any decorating I do right now will probably be undone with all the mess and moving around.

I don't know what in the HELL happened, but I put on like ... 3 freakin' pounds in the past few days. Not even kidding. HOW does that happen?!?!?! I feel like I am trying so hard to stay on track plus all the working out I do and I put on 3 pounds?!?! It's a little disheartening to say the least, but I guess that's just how it goes in the baby business.

Things seem to be going sort of slow for me right now, but when I look back at the 6 months that have gone by they have flown! I guess the days are long, but the months are fast. I will be in the delivery room before I know it!

Stuffed pasta shells

I am a planner. An organizer. I have more than one label maker and I'm not afraid to use them. My hospital bag is already packed and ready to go. I am starting to plan ahead by gathering recipes for dinners that I can pre-make and have available while I recover after giving birth that A) I can prepare ahead of time B) freeze and thaw well and don't taste like they were ever frozen. My Mom was so great about bringing us dinner for a week after Devon was born and I am hoping to ease the burden off myself and have meals prepared ahead of time to get us by for a week or so. I don't have a lot of freezer space, but I hope that I will be able to freeze SOME dinners so I don't have to be on my feet cooking. Cooking can be a struggle when Devon is this little so it is magical when I can get dinner put together while he's napping and pop it in the oven right before we eat. This is one of those recipes. It reminds me of lasagna, but SO much easier to make with a similar (maybe even better) flavor. I don't eat leftovers (like .... NEVER), but this dish is almost better the next day.


INGREDIENTS:
2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup (about 4 ounces) grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried, crumbled
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper


3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce *(I make my own sauce and skip buying a jar of it. SO worth the minimal extra effort)*
32 jumbo pasta shells, freshly cooked
Additional grated Parmesan

*I didn't take any pictures after I put the sauce on top. It just looked like a pan with sauce ... not a great picture.*

PREPARATION:
Squeeze spinach dry. Transfer spinach to large bowl. Add ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, fennel, basil and garlic to bowl. Season mixture with salt and pepper; blend.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spoon 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce evenly over bottom of 9x13x2-inch baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with spinach mixture. Place shells, filling side up, in dish. Spoon remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve, passing additional Parmesan separately.

FOR FREEZING:
Line the pan with foil THEN ladle on the sauce, stuffed shells and cover with sauce and cheese. Freeze the food overnight in the pan. Remove food from the pan, cover with foil, write down oven temp. and cook time on the foil as well as what's inside. When you're ready to eat just pop the whole thing back into the pan, let it thaw, cook and voila! The foil helps to keep the mess to a minimum so you don't have to even wash the pan. If you are making this dish for someone else you don't have to give them your pan (with the hassle of having to get it back) and you don't have to buy a disposable one. How awesome is that?!?

Let me just say that I am not a fan of spinach. I have tried to get into it, but I just don't like it. I SWEAR you can't taste it at all and there is a lot of it in here. Devon inhaled this for dinner and even had it for lunch the next day. Joe loved it as well and told me I couldn't freeze any to save for later because he was going to eat the rest of the pan by today. It was a hit!

If you get a chance I would love to have yummy, freezable ideas to add to my growing list if you have any. (No soup or sea food please) I need leftovers people! Please send them my way to gotyoga@hotmail.com

So far I have:
stuffed pasta shells
spaghetti sauce
lasagna
shepherd's pie
enchiladas