Category: Everyday Life

“When you win, nothing hurts.” ~ Joe Namath

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Well, I’m a little sad.

You couldn’t ask for better fall football weather in the south, couldn’t ask for an opponent with fans just like ours (Ole Miss), nor could you ask for a better kick-off time for tailgating than 5:30.

But I am at home. 😦

I miss my tailgating family…..

I know I could have pushed my 8 month pregnant self to make the trek to campus but I also know about 30 minutes in to it – I would be miserable. My feet would most definitely swell and no fold out chair could be as comfortable as my big comfy chair with ottoman here at home, but most importantly – there would not be a bathroom one room over from me – the one I visit about every 15 minutes at this point.

So I will just have to make the most of it from home. We will chill in our comfy clothes, set a TV up on the back porch and fix a yummy supper.

Tonight’s meal will also be one of comfort.

Vegetable Beef Soup

(adapted from Ground Beef Budget)

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies (I used mild)
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 cans whole new potatoes (drained and cut into bite size pieces)
  • 1 bag mixed vegetables
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

1.  Brown ground beef and chopped onion, drain off grease.

2. Add flour and stir until incorporated.

3. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

****I added everything listed above but at the end added some of my favorite seasonings (Crazy Jane’s Mixed Up Seasoning Salt and Zoe’s Seasoning) to get the flavor I preferred. Feel free to adjust to your liking as well.

This was a very, very simple soup to throw together but you would never know it by the full on flavor it delivered!!! I also doubled it so I could freeze half.

photo-9

Roll Tide.

-abp

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 cans whole new potatoes (drained and cut into bite size pieces)
  • 1 bag mixed vegetables
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni

– See more at: http://groundbeefbudget.com/2012/02/homemade-ground-beef-vegetable-soup/#sthash.GYHOVy28.dpuf

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 cans whole new potatoes (drained and cut into bite size pieces)
  • 1 bag mixed vegetables
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni

– See more at: http://groundbeefbudget.com/2012/02/homemade-ground-beef-vegetable-soup/#sthash.GYHOVy28.dpuf

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1 small can tomato sauce
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 cans whole new potatoes (drained and cut into bite size pieces)
  • 1 bag mixed vegetables
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni

– See more at: http://groundbeefbudget.com/2012/02/homemade-ground-beef-vegetable-soup/#sthash.GYHOVy28.dpuf

“Mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.” ~Emily Dickinson

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My momma is so good to me.

In these last few weeks of pregnancy, I have had cravings. Nothing crazy but when I decide I want it – I WANT it.

So thank goodness for mommas!!

Not that the husband wouldn’t help me out – it’s just that he’s busy working most of the time and well, sometimes a girl just needs her momma.

One example this week was I decided I just had to have the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Whipped Pie she makes, within 24 hrs – she had one in my fridge.

Happy, Happy Girl.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Whipped Pie

  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 8 oz tub Cool Whip, thawed
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 8 oz powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1 oreo crust

Mix cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar together. Add cool whip and blend well. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour in to pie shell.

Refrigerate over night. Serve with whipped cream.

photo-6Love on a fork!

-abp

“Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.” ~ Martha Stewart

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I have always loved omelets but have also been afraid of them.  It was always easier just to scramble the eggs.

So when I told my husband I would be attempting an omelet for dinner, I warned him that he would more than likely end up with scrambled eggs.

But alas! It worked and I must say I’m pretty proud of myself.

When contemplating making omelets, I have always envisioned the good old hearty cowboy omelet with tons of cheese, onion, ham, bacon, tomatoes etc. because that’s how I always order my omelets (i.e. IHOP). But my health conscious better half (my husband) always liked the lighter style with no cheese and just herbs – he ordered one in NYC this past June, shared with me and I have to admit – you don’t need all the hoopla to be good.

So, when perusing one of my Martha Stewart mags – I came across the recipe “The French Omelet” and I just knew this would score me brownie points with the hubs. But to do so, I must first overcome my fear of omelet making.

The fear is now gone, which is a good thing because I have a feeling this will be requested frequently.

The French Omelet

(adapted from Martha Stewart Magazine)

  • 3 large eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • Large pinch of coarse salt
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter – ½ cut into small cubes
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon, chives, chervil (or other fresh herbs you may have), finely chopped (I used chives and parsley)
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Add eggs, water and salt to bowl and whisk with fork until blended.

2. Add cubed butter, herbs and pepper. Stir to combine.

3. Heat a non-stick 10 skillet over medium-high heat for 30 seconds.  Add butter, melt, swirl to coat pan.

4. Add egg mixture and let sit for about 15 seconds or until edges start to set.

5. (Here’s the tricky part) Holding a fork flat, stir the eggs (not touching bottom) in a figure 8 pattern with one hand while shaking the skillet back and forth with the other. Keep incorporating edges into running center until almost completely set.

6.  Turn off heat, tilt skillet away from you and roll the omelet onto itself, then fold in the other side. Press slightly to seal and slide onto plate.

7. Garnish with extra herbs.

photo-34

See – that wasn’t so bad. 😉

-abp

“It’s funny how fast you can get up in the morning once you’ve realize you overslept.” ~ unknown

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Since I have been in search of new, tasty, simple ideas for my quickly approaching new lifestyle, I thought it would be a good time to try out the “cinnamon roll in the waffle iron” idea I have seen all over Pinterest for months.

You know what??

That was a pretty good idea somebody had!!

I already took the easy approach when it came to cinnamon rolls by buying the ones in the can (or better yet – picking them up in a bakery) but it still was a weekend morning thing because you had to preheat the oven (10 mins) then bake for some 15 or so minutes more.  They were on the table I’d say in 30 minutes, give or take. (I know this doesn’t sound like a whole lot of time but compared to grabbing a Fiber One Bar as your walking out the door – that’s a whole lot of time.)

Well. Let me just tell you – I had all 5 rolls (one at a time -mind you) cooked and on the plates by the time my oven would have normally just heated up.

Score.

Granted, you are going to have more of the crunchier outside than the gooey inside that comes with traditional cooking but I like that too.

I would definitely give it a try on those time crunched mornings!

photo-33Happy Wednesday!

-abp

 

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucius

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In preparation for how much my life is going to change in a couple months, I’ve been scouring over Pinterest for more simple but still flavorful meals.  I have a feeling that the crock pot and I are going to be taking our relationship to the next level….

This one has now been added to the must do again list.

It smelled so good cooking and this pregnant girl was so hungry – she forgot to take a picture before she dove in. So the pic below was taken with my phone and is of my mom’s plate who luckily is very neat eater.

Oh well. 🙂

Crazy Slow Cooker Pork Chops

(adapted from Recipelion.com)

  • 4 pork chops (I used boneless)
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • parsley, for garnish

In a small saucepan, melt butter and whisk in broth and seasoning.

Place onion, garlic and pork in crock pot and pour over the sauce on the top.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

photo-32

Enjoy!

-abp

4 loin chops, lean 1 medium onion, sliced 1 teaspoon butter salt and pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sage 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon basil 1 cup chicken broth 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper parsley, garnish
Read more at http://www.recipelion.com/Crock-Pot-Recipes/Crazy-Crockpot-Pork-Chops#yPJvWd2zJYYeE4AY.99
4 loin chops, lean 1 medium onion, sliced 1 teaspoon butter salt and pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sage 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon basil 1 cup chicken broth 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper parsley, garnish
Read more at http://www.recipelion.com/Crock-Pot-Recipes/Crazy-Crockpot-Pork-Chops#yPJvWd2zJYYeE4AY.99
4 loin chops, lean 1 medium onion, sliced 1 teaspoon butter salt and pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sage 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon basil 1 cup chicken broth 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper parsley, garnish
Read more at http://www.recipelion.com/Crock-Pot-Recipes/Crazy-Crockpot-Pork-Chops#yPJvWd2zJYYeE4AY.99

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” ~ Michelangelo

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There is a touch of fall in the air!! And that is so hard to believe considering it’s the middle of August in Alabama. But I am not complaining at all! It has been a very mild summer and for that I am grateful – pregnant in the summer in the south is not a good thing. Oh the swelling and the sweating. Fun, huh?

I’m afraid the temperature will start rising again this week so I’m going to enjoy this very mild morning while I can and tell you about an easy crock pot dinner we had last week. It’s packed with flavor and simple, simple, simple.

Angel Chicken

(adapted from cleverlyinspired)

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 pounds)
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 12 ounces of sliced mushrooms (your choice of kind – I used a combo of button and shitake)
  • 1 0.7-oz. pkg. Italian dry salad dressing mix
  • 1 10-3/4-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
  • 1/2 of an 8-oz. tub cream cheese spread with chives and onion
  • Hot cooked rice

Start by melting butter in a sauce pan and add in Italian dressing, stir until mixed thoroughly.

Stir in soup, cream cheese and wine unit completely melted and combined. Gently fold in mushrooms.

Place chicken in crockpot and pour sauce over the top.

Cook on low for 6 hours, serve over rice.

Angel ChickenThis will become one of your quick “go-to” meals!

-abp

“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.” ~ Horace Mann

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Well, today I’m sitting here killing time as the guys for AT&T are installing U-Verse throughout the house.  I’ve never had anything but cable so I’m a little wary but hopefully it will be a good change.

Really, why does anything to do with cable/internet have to be so complicated?

While I’ve been sitting here (before they cut off my internet – please oh please work when they re-hook-up everything) I have found several new recipes to try! 🙂

But today I’m going to tell you about last nights dinner.

Chicken Cutlets with Tomato Cream Sauce

(adapted from Southern Living Magazine)

  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 lb chicken cutlets
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ¼ cup olive oil, divided
  • ¼ cup loosely packed sage leaves
  • ½ large shallot, sliced
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth 2 medium  tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
  • 8 oz hot cooked thin spaghetti
  1. Stir together flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour/cornstarch mixture.
  2. Cook chicken in 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels.
  3. Heat remaining oil in skillet; add sage. Cook, stirring often for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
  4. Add shallots and saute until tender. Add wine and cook until mixture is reduced by half, stirring to loosen all brown bits.
  5. Add broth, next 2 ingredients and chicken.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Sprinkle with cheese.
  6. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with crumbled sage leaves.

*****being pregnant, I do not have wine on hand like I normally would so I used 1½ cups chicken broth and added it when it calls for wine and cooked it down.********

DSC03831DSC03834I very much enjoyed this meal! I will say I thought it to be a little mild but would be perfect to serve to people who might not like “bold” flavors.

-abp

“I got to thinking about relationships and partial lobotomies. Two seemingly different ideas that might just be perfect together – like chocolate and peanut butter.” ~ Carrie Bradshaw

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I now officially know how to perform CPR on an infant – let’s hope and pray I never, ever need to use it but like a good girl scout (or was it boy scout?) – BE PREPARED.

All this learning to save a life worked up an appetite and it is still several hours until dinner.

Snack time!

And that brings me to my new obsession.

Jif® Whipped Peanut Butter and Chocolate flavored Spread.

Oh my.

No recipe needed here.

Just add fruit or bread and boom. You are very happily satisfied. Actually – you don’t have to add anything – a spoon would cover it 😉

Jif Whips

DSC03838

Yum.

Try it! You’ll be glad you did!

-abp

ahh.

“When not eating, I like shopping; although I’m afraid I’ve become a bit of a cliche.” ~ Arabella Weir

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For a girl who really loves to shop – I thought I was going to love registering for baby items.  After all, I had a blast working on my wedding registry.

Wrong.

It was so stressful! Do you have any clue how many choices of baby stuff they have out nowadays???

3 hours and one stress headache later I left Babies “R” Us.

And I still have to do Target.

Now Lily Pads/Baby Bundles – a local baby boutique, will be a different story. That’s for the fun, cute, frilly items. I could do that all day long.

After all that stress I need comfort food. Which usually consists of some kind of pasta. This meal is no exception.

Beef Ragu (adapted from SlenderKitchen.com)

  • 2.5 pounds lean beef chuck, trimmed of fat
  • 1 ribs celery, diced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 1.5 cups beef broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh oregano or thyme, chopped
  • Wide noodle pasta
  1. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the bottom of the crock pot.
  2. Season your beef liberally with salt and pepper and add it to the crock pot.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 6-8 hours until beef is fork tender. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Beef Ragu

Hope all is well!

-abp

“The thing that’s nice about pregnancy is that in the end, you have a baby.” ~ Ann Romney

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Hi everyone!!

I feel terrible, figuratively and literally!

I totally disappeared and I have missed everyone so much!

But if you noticed in my last post – remember when I didn’t feel so well when I was making the Spicy Tuscan Soup and I blamed it on the bug that had been going around??

Weeeeelllll, it was more than a bug – it was a nugget, a little baby nugget!! And that baby nugget has literally kept me out of the kitchen. Food smells bothered me so much that there were days that I couldn’t even open the refrigerator.

I’m 14 weeks along and starting to feel better so I’m hoping to return to my old cooking ways in the next week or so. (I know my husband will be happy – it’s been take out and eating out for about 5-6 weeks now)

Good thing there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel because man! – It’s been pretty rough for a foodie like me – I couldn’t even look at recipes in magazines!!

I hope everything is going well for everyone in bloggerland!

Miss you and see you soon!

-abp