The Blog Post that Almost Wasn’t and a Greek Chicken Crockpot Recipe!

Well here we are again…three months have passed with no blog posts after I specifically wrote in my last blog post (and the one before that, and the one before that…) about how I was going to try to post more. I’m going to specifically NOT write that this time…although it’s still a secret goal!

As it is for everyone, life has been busy and my time management skills are constantly being put to the test. Babies tend to do that to you I suppose. Most of my time is allotted to this sweet girl who is somehow already nine months old.

9 Months

I’m honestly not sure how that happened…science I guess. Amelia keeps me quite busy but we have fallen into a weekly routine which works quite well for us. Her two naps provide me with a respite to shower/eat/clean/do laundry/cook/work from home and occasionally do this. Most days…getting it all done is a distant dream, but we somehow manage to hit all the important parts at the right time. We haven’t yet resorted to wearing dirty clothes or only eating take out.

Amelia eats real people food now which has been a little scary (gagging…ugh), mostly funny (she looks like a squirrel with a nut) and incredibly messy. And although we are still doing our fair share of Hello Fresh for convenience, it has also inspired me to cook more. We started out just feeding her breakfast and lunch but have recently added in dinner. Robert works late so most nights, I feed her random things before he comes home but occasionally, when the stars align (aka when I use my crock pot), we are able to have dinner as a family.

 

Shame on me for forgetting how wonderful a crock pot can be. I can assemble meals during her morning nap and voila, dinner is ready when Robert walks in the door! Now I know why my mom used hers so often when we were growing up. Crock pots are also great when you are feeding a baby because everything comes out soft, which is still necessary for her despite the fact that she has EIGHT teeth already. We don’t listen to the song “Baby Shark” but I imagine it was written about my child, although she seems to be over her biting phase thank goodness.

Amelia

I called this the blog post that almost wasn’t because despite rediscovering a love for my crock pot, I can’t claim to be overly inspired by most of my go to crock pot recipes…at least not inspired enough to share them. Also I think we can all agree that crock pot meals don’t photograph particularly well. This particular recipe was shared with me by my friend Rebecca. I in turn told my sister about it who asked me to share it with her. I figured if I was going to send it to her I may as well write a post (which I’ve been meaning to do for ohh, three months) and send her that instead. I mean a recipe with pictures of your niece embedded is preferable to just a recipe, no?

This chicken recipe is so easy and flavorful. I serve mine over a bed of brown rice to which I add; a can of black beans, a diced and sauteed red onion, a diced avocado and crumbled feta cheese. Other delicious additions to up the veggie factor would be roasted red peppers or even sauteed zucchini.

Chicken

Continue reading

Waiting…& Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

In case you can’t tell from the title of this post…. no baby yet 😦 We are now only 3 days out from our due date and not much seems to have changed, although according to my doctor things are still moving in the right direction, so at least there’s that! I’ve cleaned all I can clean, run all the errands there are to run, done all the laundry there is to do and the nursery is completely finished. Nesting is officially complete so now we wait…and wait…and wait.

Ingredients

If our girl doesn’t arrive before her due date we are going to discuss inducing (induction?). My OB doesn’t like for you to go more than a week over your due date, and although I was initially very reluctant, I am becoming more open to the idea of being induced. I am not terribly uncomfortable physically but emotionally the anticipation and waiting has taken a toll and I am ready for a change. Above all else I am thankful for a still healthy and growing baby girl and that is the most important thing!

Wet and Dry

One thing that made the waiting slightly harder (but also so very exciting!) is that my good friend Lindsay who was due a few weeks after me had her baby boy a few weeks early on Tuesday! He is absolutely darling and they are both happy and healthy despite his early arrival. Seeing her little one definitely made me more ready for the arrival of our own, and I think finally made it more real for Robert! I’m still not sure he quite knows what he’s in for (um do I even know? Probably not) but I think he’s going to be great in the moment!

Chocolate Chips

When my friends give birth or are going through a major life event I am a big believer that the most helpful thing you can do is bring a meal. Bring a meal, then leave, to be precise. Not bring a meal and stay to share it or bring a meal and stay to be entertained for a few hours. I imagine that new parents have quite enough going on and often family around to entertain so I like to drop something hot off, hold the sweet babe for a minute if they so wish and then merrily be on my way. It’s been a tried and true formula that most people seem to appreciate so I highly recommend it.

Dough

I have a few go to recipes for times like these; Chicken and vegetable casserole, Sausage and Tortellini Soup (Can be prepared Gluten Free if need be!) and most recently Chicken and Poppyseed Casserole. None of these recipes qualify as health food but all are delicious and comforting which is exactly what you want during a time like that. I typically add a bagged salad to the casseroles to be made at their convenience, or a loaf of fresh bread to the soup and in the case of new mamas, I always bring lactation cookies. Continue reading

Post Holiday Update! A Christmas Card Craft and a Detox Side Dish: Roasted Winter Salad

Happy New Year! Well technically happy January 4th but close enough! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Ours was fabulous, full of family and joy and FOOD. My parents and sister came to town to spend Christmas with us and having them here along with Robert’s whole family was really a special treat!

They got to experience some of the fun Christmas traditions we do with Robert’s family like his mom’s fun Christmas Eve Birthday Lunch where everyone wears Santa hats.

And the most beautiful Christmas day dinner hosted by our Aunt Vanessa.

V's Table

Her place settings included a special ornament for everyone which was so creative and thoughtful!

After being told at my 36 week Dr’s appointment the Friday before Christmas that I was already 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced and that they wouldn’t be surprised if the baby came within the week…we are still waiting and not much appears to have changed :/

On the bright side, it did cause us to hurry up and get all of our baby gear assembled and hospital bags (half way) packed. So we are “ready”, and now we wait…and wait…and wait. Luckily I have found plenty of ‘nesting’ activities to keep me busy. Besides the usual laundering and cleaning, I put all of our Christmas decor away and completed an easy Christmas card craft!

Card Tree
My card tree

I LOVE getting Christmas cards from family and friends, especially photo cards! I also hate the thought of tossing them out post holiday, it seems like such a waste! So a few years ago I came up with this idea to save my cards…just in case I ever get extra nostalgic and want to flip through them all (which I do every year!).

All you need for this craft is a hole punch and a set of loose leaf rings. I bought mine in a pack from Michaels but I’m sure you can find them at Staples or on Amazon.

Rings

Continue reading

Peanut Butter Protein Balls & An Announcement

Yikes! No blog posts in over a month! I am feigning shock because lets be honest, this happens every summer (insert emoji with the grimmacing face here). Life is always busy but it seems to get infinitely busier when the weather is warm and despite school being out, I always seem to find myself with less ‘free’ time than ever. One of my goals for the coming year is going to be getting serious about practicing the art of saying “no”. That and more organization. Always more organization 😉

So why don’t we begin with a life update. Here’s a little of what I’ve been up to over the past month, besides not writing blog posts of course: In June, school ended, I put on a yearly event for the non-profit I work with (our biggest yet!), we attended two out of town weddings, Robert and I celebrated our three year anniversary with a fancy dinner out and a weekend getaway to Sea Island, Ga. (I hope to recap that little trip here soon) AND our favorite aunt and uncle officially moved to Hilton Head (Welcome Vanessa and John)!

John and Vanessa

In July, my whole family visited for the 4th, Robert’s whole family visited for a party at his aunts, we moved a LOT of furniture around (our house, friends houses, families houses…and by we I mean Robert), we hosted 3 dinner parties, had two sets of friends come stay for the weekend and a surprise visit from my grandparents. And that’s just the fun stuff!

4th

So now it is officially August and I am trying to get back on track, with blogging and with life in general, for now.

I say for now because there is still one big change that has added to life’s ‘busy-ness’ that I’ve yet to mention; as of this week I am officially 4 months pregnant.

Since discovering we were expecting again I have experienced a whole range of emotions; excitement, terror, awe, immense worry, sweet relief, an odd sense of guilt, pure unadulterated joy. You name it, I’ve experienced it at one time or another over the last few months. Losing a baby, especially your first pregnancy, changes your experience, or at least it did for me. Despite my best efforts, I worried through the first 11 weeks. I hoped that passing the point which we got to with our last pregnancy would calm my fears, and in a way it did, but I’d be lying if I said the worry didn’t creep back in…daily. Over the last few weeks, thanks to the passage of time, a finally visible baby bump and some scriptural words of wisdom I feel like I am finally turning a corner. I’m not yet at the point of visualizing a nursery, but I have begun to say, “when the baby comes” instead of ‘if’ the baby comes. It is both a scary and exciting time, and more than anything I am very, very happy.

ingredients

I am also very hungry. I typically have a hearty appetite but being A. pregnant and B. home for summer exacerbates it immensely. I tend to eat more if the food is close at hand so when I have access to my fridge all day long instead of only before and after work, I find myself opening it frequently. I consider myself to be a generally healthy eater, but if I don’t have something quick and healthy to grab when a hunger pang strikes, I have been known to substitute with a few bites of ice cream. Also don’t ask me to define “a few” when it comes to ice cream. I mean really.

Enter peanut butter protein balls. These perfectly fit the bill for quick and easy. They are also equally as tasty and definitely a lot better for you than ice cream. I got this particular recipe from a friend but as with any “ball” recipe, it is endlessly customizable. Sometimes I add coconut, or cinnamon, or whatever else I have on hand that will mix in well. So feel free to swap ingredients in and out as you see fit.

So with that, I leave you with these final thoughts: I’m going to try to start blogging more regularly again (and re-claiming some ‘free’ time while I still can), I hope you enjoy these protein balls and if you are the praying sort (or even just the finger crossing sort), say one for our little one ❤

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Ingredients:

1 Cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (I actually use almond butter so any nut butter works)

1/2 Cup Ground Flaxseed

1/3 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

1/3 Cup Honey

1 tsp Vanilla

Optional: chopped nuts, shredded unsweetened coconut, cinnamon, almond extract, etc.

Directions:

  1. Stir all ingredients together thoroughly. I find it easiest to add the chocolate chips and any other chunky mix-ins last and fold them in.
  2. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
  3. Roll into 1-1.5 inch balls. Keep refrigerated in an air tight container and enjoy at will! They will keep for at least a month in the fridge but I doubt yours will last that long 😉

 

Beef Tacos with Radish and Avocado

I know Taco Tuesday is all the rage and I love alliterations more than the average bear but today it’s Taco Monday. Literally, we’re meeting friends out for Mexican food tonight.

Robert and I eat a lot of Mexican. It is hands down our go to when we want to eat out during the work week. It’s fast, cheap and delicious. Have you ever noticed how all cheap Mexican restaurants have the same menu. And I don’t just mean in the sense that the food is all the same, although that is pretty accurate too. I think most Mexican dishes are the same 10 ingredients just rearranged differently, but I mean they literally have the EXACT same menus. The dishes are called the same thing, the pictures are the same, they even have the same typos! The only change is the name of the restaurant on the front. I’ve noticed this in TN too but we frequent three Mexican restaurants in Hilton Head/Bluffton and they all have the exact same menu, this amuses me to no end every time we eat. Where do these menus come from? Is there a company who makes generic Mexican food menus and literally every restaurant at a certain price point uses them? When you open a Mexican restaurant do you just order the menus first and then decide your cooks will make whatever is on them? Such a mystery.

Taco Ingredients

As much as we love to go out for Mexican, I rarely make anything Mexican at home. That changed a few weeks ago when I discovered the unique and tasty pairing that is radish, avocado and ground beef. I know, I know, radishes? Sounds so weird but tastes oh so right, trust me. You may be wondering how I stumbled upon this deliciousness and of course I want to give credit where credit is due and the answer to that is Hello Fresh.

Continue reading