getting in the groove

weeks 13 and 14 of this pregnancy were a bit rough as far as the morning sickness goes...i've had morning sickness since about 5 weeks so i'm kind of over it.  plus, i'm now in this weird morning sickness + nesting phase which leads to a lot of unfinished projects, a house that looks like a bomb hit, and a grumpy mommy at the end of the day.  i also have not done much cooking or meal planning for the past two months.  see the empty slots on our what's for dinner page for proof.  i'm not promising that i'll be getting back to that anytime soon, either.  however, i did more cooking and prep this past week/weekend then i have in a long time.  yesterday i cut up a bunch of fruit for the week, hard boiled a dozen eggs for snack times, made granola for my morning yogurt, made a pot of black eyed peas (i froze some and saved some for my favorite 101 cookbooks recipe), doubled our dinner so that i could put some in the freezer, and made these cookies with hendrix.  oh, and i made breakfast instead of making mike take us out. for the first time, in a long time i feel like i have a head start on this week's meals and snacks.  this pregnancy has me craving protein like crazy and eating small meals throughout the day does better for me.  so, if i have no quick snacks then bad things happen and i get sick. hopefully, this week is a little better and my prepping helps out.

here's what we're having for dinner this week...

chile colorado burritos with yellow rice and pineapple
tartiflette with green salad
black eyed peas with leeks (adding beef kielbasa for mike)
venison chops with mashed potatoes and sauteed collards with mushrooms
mushroom meatloaf with roasted brussel sprouts and cheddar squash muffins

{check out amy's meatless mondays for great ideas or a whole month of meatless mondays.}

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if you are in the omaha metro area and are wanting to help make thanksgiving special for folks in need then please consider joining the dessert drive that the heart ministry is hosting this week.

if you'd like to help the folks and small businesses in NYC that were affected by sandy then check this site out.

whoa baby. here we go again.

hendrix made this in preschool

well, it's official.  we're expecting.  for those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile you know that i have been baby crazy since about hendrix's first birthday.  i am happy to say that shortly after hendrix's fourth birthday in march we will be saying hello to another baby.  baby #2 is due may 7th.   i'm getting pretty excited now that the morning sickness is starting to go away and my energy is coming back.  also, if your morning sickness is real bad....zofran is your friend. for reals. hendrix is pretty pumped too and has been pretty great on the days i am feeling especially gross or tired.  mike is like a deer in headlights, but what can you expect?
which brings me to the story i promised to tell all of you...the one about how we brought hendrix home and we had no food in the house.  hendrix was born about 2 1/2 weeks before his due date and i was on bed rest the week before he was born. silly me thought you actually went around your due date and that i had time.  i did not.  also, mike can not be trusted at the grocery store.  i remember coming up with a list of a few things for him to get based on a few quick meals i figured i could throw together.  he came back with cans of chef boyardee. gross.  see why i insist on giving new parents food, slow cookers, and recipes? i did, however, have my slow cooker that my girlfriend, becky, had given me at my baby shower.  becky has five boys...i think she understood the need for a momma to have some arsenal and how great it is to receive something non-baby related at your shower.  because really...how many blankets and hats does one baby need?  i broke that slow cooker out and used it all the time.  it was a few weeks though before i could really come up for air and go to the store for what i really needed....easy snacks + meals. let's face it, actual meals don't always happen in the first few weeks. so, that brings me to what i think you really need to stock your pantry, fridge, and freezer with before the baby arrives....

snack time!
granola (loose and bars)
yogurt
applesauce
hummus + pita chips
black beans, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips
cut veggies
oatmeal
fruit
dark chocolate

homemade freezer meals!
lasagna
pizza dough
marinara
pizza pockets
runzas
quiche
sliced meatloaf for sandwiches
pot pies
rainbow soup
quinoa pancakes
whole grain muffins
chicken hand pies
enchilada's
burritos

store bought freezer meals!
ravioli
trader joe's gyoza dumplings (so good!)
trader joe's burritos
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• if you are still building your pantry, check out my pantry checklist.  to spread the cost out when building your pantry just add a few items every week to your shopping list.  you'll get there in no time. 
• to see more tips on prepping food for a new parents, check this post out. 
• to see what supplies i think a new baby and parents actually need...check this post out. 

anything i am missing? let me know.  be kind, though.  remember i have pregnancy brain.

slow cooker cabbage rolls

'tis the time of year for the cabbage roll.  it is pretty damp and cold here this morning so i thought these cabbage rolls would be perfect for dinner.  they are one of mike's favorites and hendrix needs to go to cabbage eaters anonymous.  seriously.  he asked for a bowl of cabbage for breakfast.  not a bad thing, i guess. did you know cabbage is high in vitamin K and C? so, you see...it's perfect for the cold & flu season.  i'll be honest.  i, too, love cabbage but the idea of cabbage rolls grossed me out.  mike leans towards "old fashioned", farmer food and sometimes it's gross.  he ordered cabbage rolls once at a small town diner and couldn't stop talking about them so i decided to make them.  turns out.  he's right.  they are delicious.  we usually eat them with mashed potatoes. for non meat eaters, like hendrix, the meat & rice can easily be replaced with quinoa, shredded veggies like carrots or zucchini, some beans for extra protein and the proceed as directed .  here's the traditional recipe...
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cabbage rolls
1 small head of green cabbage, you need the outer leaves
1 lb. of ground meat
1 small onion, very finely chopped
3-4 dashed of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. of quick cooking rice
1 large can of tomato juice
in a bowl, combine meat, onion, Worcestershire sauce, rice, and 3/4 cup of tomato juice.  carefully peel 5-8 cabbage leaves from the head, depending on the size of your cabbage leaves, then make an inverted “V” in the base of each leaf to remove the steam. divide mixture and using the greens, roll into “burritos”. place rolls in crock pot.  at this point, i usually shred a bunch of the leftover cabbage and place on top.  pour tomato juice on top, covering rolls, and cook on low for about 6 hours.  serve rolls with mashed potatoes and "sauce" from the crock pot. 
 

mike's chili...vegged out

it's been quiet around here, i know.  halloween and life got the better of me.  ha!  we had a wonderful halloween with my brother and his family.  i hope you all did, too.  for those of you on the east coast, i hope life gets back to normal sooner than later. xo!
in the meantime, here's a recipe from the top ten slow cooker recipes that i have "vegged out" for those of you that were wanting less meat-focused slow cooker meals.  also, here's the list of my favorite slow cooker vegetarian meals.  mike, my husband, is a big meat eater and our son is not...so it can make slow cooker cooking interesting.  sometimes if i am making meat stuffed peppers or cabbage rolls, i just stuff one or two with a grain, bean, and veg mixture for the kid & me.  things like chili can be a little tougher, though.  so if i am sure hendrix is not going to just eat the beans or i feel like we have been lacking on the veg consumption then i just add some veggies and cut the meat.  mike usually doesn't notice.
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mike's favorite chili - vegged out
1/2-3/4 lb of ground meat, browned
1 onion, chopped
1 T. minced garlic
2 cans of kidney beans, rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato soup + 1 can of water (if too dry looking)
1/4 c. of chili powder
2 T. cumin
1 handful of shredded carrots or zucchini
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 small bunch of kale or spinach, chopped very fine
combine everything but the greens in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  before serving, turn crock pot to high and add greens.  cook until wilted.  serve with your favorite chili toppings. 

being grateful

yesterday a little baby boy from our community passed away after a long battle with cancer.  his family belongs to the same parish our preschool is at and i saw firsthand how the community rose up to support this family.  facebook pages were started to inform folks of fundraisers and to simply ask people to pray.  people  turned out in droves to do whatever they could.  in the end, this baby boy got some peace and slipped away from this earth.  i first found out about his passing on facebook.  of course, when i was trying to tune out my own child who was driving me crazy.  then just like that i realized how lucky i was to have a boy who threw tantrums, spills milk on the rug, calls me princess when i wear a skirt, makes himself fart, refuses to go to bed, hugs me when i don't feel good, and is a healthy boy.
then this morning i wake up and see the devastation that is hurricane sandy.  thousands and thousands of people without power, damaged homes, or worse.  kids who are mostly likely pretty scared. it made me realize that in the end all this trouble with the drought, earlier this year,  in my part of the country was small stuff compared to what the east coast is going through.
it's too bad that is takes tragedies for us to realize what we have and to be grateful.  i guess that's how life works.  today i am grateful and send much love to those who need it.

diy hot cocoa

it was the para-teacher's birthday at our preschool this week.  so hendrix and i put together a quick, season appropriate gift for her.  i typically give hot cocoa to our friends and family during christmas.  usually i do it in brown bags or waxed bags tied with baker's twine and a tag with the prep directions. this time, since i was only doing one, i took a cue from pinterest and used a mason jar and added some marshmallows.  this recipe makes about 1 1/2 pint jars.

clementine's hot cocoa mix
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. sugar
1 heaping teaspoon of salt
whisk and combine thoroughly.  store in an container.

to prep...
1 tablespoon of hot cocoa mix
8 oz. milk
warm in pan until hot and mix is dissolved. ENJOY!

rainbow soup

garden tomatoes from earlier this year.  now my garden looks like the apocalypse hit .

when i posted the top ten slow cooker meals, i heard from a lot of new mommas and soon to be new mommas.  (remind to tell you all about the time i came home with a new baby and no food in the house. it was my first and i apparently thought i was going have time to cook.)  this recipe is for you ladies...it's easy to make, freezes well, can be made in the slow cooker or on the stove top, is super healthy for growing babies in the belly, super great for recovering new mommies, and if you use a little clever marketing...a toddler might like it.  hendrix calls this rainbow soup and loves it.  oh, it's pretty darn cheap to make too! i posted about it a few years ago, but i figured it was worth sharing again. it's basically a very versatile minestrone recipe.  feel free to add some cooked, sliced italian sausage if you like. always add parmesan cheese. xo!
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i love this twist on the traditional minestrone. it is so colorful, versatile, and delicious! don't have butternut squash? use potato. or sweet potatoes.  don't like yellow squash? use green beans or zucchini. you can use kale or spinach instead of cabbage, too. cannellini beans, pinto beans or chickpeas would work in place of the kidney beans, as well. get creative!  this works especially well if you froze any of your garden's bounty earlier this year. 

anna's minestrone
3 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 -2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. minced fresh rosemary or 1/4 t. dried
coarse salt and pepper, to taste
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained (or fresh, chopped)
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 lb. shredded green cabbage
1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. yellow squash, chopped
1 c. green peas, frozen
1 minced garlic clove
7 c. water
shredded parmesan for serving


STOVETOP: in large pot, heat oil over medium - add onion, carrots, celery, red pepper flakes, rosemary, s&p (to taste) - cook until onion begins to turn golden (5-8 mins.) - add tomatoes, cook 1 minute - add butternut squash, cabbage, beans, and 7 c. water - bring to a boil  - reduce to a simmer and cook until all veggies are tender (15 minutes) - stir in peas and cook 5-10 minutes - season with s&p, stir in garlic - serve with parmesan on top - enjoy!
SLOW COOKER: omit olive oil.  combine everything BUT greens and peas.  cook on low for 6-8 hours.  before serving, turn to high and add greens and peas.  cook until greens are wilted. - serve with parmesan on top - enjoy!