To Cook Or Not To Cook?

One of my many New Year's Resolutions was to cook and eat at home more.  On a very good week, this might happen 4 times.  I just don't enjoy cooking and am certainly not creative when it comes to meals.  I need a recipe, with pictures, and sometimes it turns out well.  Of course I have about 10 "go to" meals that are always tasty, but I am constantly on the hunt for more to add in the rotation.  About once every 2-3 weeks I will sit down and browse through cooking blogs and pick out a few recipes I feel like I cannot screw up.  About half of them turn out alright, the other half get thrown in the trash and we order pizza.  Per one of my 5 readers requests, here are a few of our "go to" recipes.


Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

 1 package of cooked lasagna noodles
2 jars of Alfredo sauce (if you want to be healthy, get the low fat kind)
1 large jar of roasted red peppers
1 package of cooked chopped spinach
1 rotisserie chicken
1 tbls. lemon juice
1 bag Italian shredded cheese
Salt and Cracked Pepper to taste


Mix alfredo, drained roasted peppers, drained spinach, shredded chicken, lemon juice and seasonings.  Layer with the lasagna noodles.  Top with cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

1 package of Penne pasta cooked
1 package of sausage (cooked)  You can use any kind.
1 package of frozen chopped spinach cooked and drained
1 jar of Vodka sauce
1 small tub of low fat cottage cheese
1 bag of shredded Italian cheese
garlic salt and cracked pepper to taste


Mix everything but the Italian cheese together, put in a baking dish, top with Italian cheese, bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Russian Chicken

Frozen Chicken Breasts
1 Russian Dressing
1 packet of onion soup mix
1 jar of apricot preserves

Put chicken in the crock pot, mix the rest together and pour over chicken, cook 6-7 hours on low.  Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

Chicken Tacos

Frozen chicken breasts
1 can of Rotel
1 packet of taco seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste


Put everything in the crock pot.  Cook on low 6-7 hours.  Shred the chicken apart.  Serve on corn tortillas with sliced avocado and cheese.



PLEASE feel free to shoot me some easy and delicious recipes.  I always welcome recommendations!

Spring Into Fashion

I cannot get over the cuteness of this season's fashion.  Too bad I already look like I'm 6 months pregnant or I could totally justify buying some non maternity clothes.  The thing I have noticed most about the Spring/Summer collections is a lot of COLOR.  Bright colored pants, multi colored tops and sun dresses to make you drool.  What I love about the style lately is that nothing has to match.  I know, sounds weird, but pretty much anything goes.  Mix matched patterns, different bold colors and bright jewelry on top of it all.  Don't go crazy, you could end up looking like a clown.  But don't be afraid to mix things that you might of thought would never go together. 


A couple of weeks ago I ran through my favorite store on the planet Target and browsed their maternity apparel.  I was that lucky person that got there right after they put out a whole new line of clothing and they actually had everything I loved in my size.  It was one of the happiest days of my life.  So I obviously grabbed a few things I couldn't live without.  Let's start with the maxi dress.  Love this first one because it will be so cute with some bright colored earrings and sandals to add some color.

Let's don't forget about those maxi skirts, only because they are SO comfortable I could practically sleep in them.  Either of these would be cute with a plain tank with a bright spring scarf.

Those were some of my bargain buys, but if I was made of money, I would shop at A Pea In A Pod and grab a few items like these.

I'm pretty sure I can talk my mom into buying her favorite oldest daughter one of these swimsuits if I asked really nicely.  Pretty please?

My one piece of advice to all the preggo mommas out there is to wear fitted maternity clothes.  No matter how big you think you are, you will look even bigger in baggy stuff.  Not only that, but you should rock that baby bump.  Don't try to conceal it!  Cheers to a bright Spring!

 

I'm Itchy

Well, I made it through the first trimester.  Lots of anti-nausea meds and naps helped get me through, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  It's been 2 weeks since I've had the urge to throw my toenails up and I don't even know what to think about it.  My other 3 pregnancies consisted of all day nausea until at least 20 weeks.  Looks like this baby is going to follow the rules.  Except that I have come to the conclusion that I am allergic to this pregnancy.  For the last 4 weeks I have broken out into the itchiest hives on average 10-14 times a day.  The nights are the worst and even heavy doses of Benadryl cannot bring comfort.  After changing laundry detergent, soap, lotion and taking Zyrtec on a daily basis didn't help, I broke down and went to a dermatologist yesterday.  Our convo went a little something like this...

Dr. - Well, it sounds like hives to me.
Me - Yeah, obviously.  So fix me.
Dr. - Well, I'm going to give you a medication that is like Zyrtec on steroids.  I'm pretty sure it's safe during pregnancy, but check with your OB just in case.
Me - I don't care if safe or not at this point, I am about to claw my skin off.  If you told me to put pig urine all over my body, I would try it at this point.
Dr. - Umm...okay?  I'll call it in to your pharmacy.


So this morning I ran by to pick my script up and about fell out of my car when the lady asked for $160 for a 30 day supply.  Excuse me?  You've got to be kidding.  Hives for the rest of my life it is.  Or hopefully just until this baby gets out.

I Don't Do Animals

Thank you to my one and only blog reader, Joanna, I have 3 topics to write on this week.  We will start with, do you have any pets?  The simple answer is no.  The complex answer is that I always had family pets growing up and loved them dearly.  When the hubby and I got married I talked about wanting a little dog, like a chihuahua or something like that.  5 days before I delivered our first baby, the hubby showed up with a teacup chihuahua.  We named her Maggie, she was black and VERY tiny.  She was also apparently too young to have been sold and needed to be bottle fed.  It was like I instantly had 2 babies.  She was untrainable, she shook uncontrollably and drove me absolutely bananas.  We kept her for several months and then gladly gave her away to a cousin that loved chihuahuas and had a friend for Maggie.  We were both happier, meaning Maggie and I, when she found a new home.

About a year later, we had moved into our new house and had a big back yard.  We decided to give a puppy a go again and got Charlie, a westie/shih tzu mix.  I actually liked this dog, but he drove the hubby bananas.  He did little things like dig a million holes in our backyard, escape every chance he got and roamed the neighborhood.  We had a random neighbor on a daily basis that would bring him home.  No matter what we did, he dug and escaped.  One day I had a client at work that had just lost her dog of 12 years.  I told her I had a dog that she could have and she said sure!  I gave her the code to our garage and told her where all his stuff was.  She went straight over there and got him and we never had to say good bye.  The next time I saw Charlie was months later when his new owner brought him by the salon.  He was wearing a sweater and had a bandana on.  She obviously loved the dog and took great care of him.  Again, I think we were both happy Charlie found a new home.


After that I decided that a family pet was not for us.  Especially after #2 and #3 came along.  An animal would just be one more thing for me to clean up after and take care of.  No.  Thanks.  The hubby keeps saying that he is going to get a big dog for the backyard.  I keep telling him that if that ever happens, him and the dog will be at Wal Mart with a free sign attached. 


There you have it.  No pets for the Green fam.  Not now, not ever.

Help!

I'm such a horrible blogger lately and it's only because I have zero to talk about.  Help a sister out and leave a comment on the blog with a topic you would like me to blog about.  Anything goes.  I will give my biased opinion on absolutely anything. 

Blues

I've been feeling funky lately.  Pregnancy does not sit well with me.  I keep telling myself that it could be worse, but the pessimist in me keeps saying that it could be a lot better!  Pregnancy does not make me a happy person.  I know there are "those" people that love every minute of it, I think they are lying.  To me, it's just a necessary evil to get the most amazing prize at the end.  I can do this.  12+ weeks and counting. 

On a much brighter note, tomorrow is Valentine's Day!  I could actually care less about this holiday, I'm not your typical girl when it comes to lovey dovey stuff.  However, it was Valentine's Day 9 years ago that the hubby formally proposed to me.  We celebrated by going to our favorite sushi place in Dallas last night.  It was nice to get to actually talk and discuss our future.  Lots of changes coming our way along with this little baby and our adoption.  We are so excited about God's direction for our family and feel such peace knowing that he already has our story written out for us.
 
In the mean time, I'm in survival mode.  Cooking a precious baby, managing our household, keeping up with 3 rug rats, working and trying to fit sleep in there somewhere.  Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.  I'm going to spend mine going from school party, to school party, and enjoying the mountains of love that surround me.  Let the festivities begin!

Don't Invite Me To Pinterest

This past Friday we were invited to a delightful little dinner party at some new friends house.  It was perfect.  There were lights strewn from the ceiling in the den, with a big table covered in butcher paper and crayons to color with.  There were different varieties of flavored popcorn, delicious pulled pork sandwiches, homemade beans and corn and sweet potato fries.  Along with tiny mason jars with different flavored cobblers for dessert.  I want to be THAT person.  THAT person that hosts dinner parties and gets all these cute little ideas and recipes off Pinterest.  I want people to leave my dinner party bragging about how cute and fun it was.  I want to be cool and hospitable like that.

Seems like everywhere I turn lately people are talking about this Pinterest business.  Look at this amazing dinner I'm preparing from Pinterest.  I made my own curtains using this tutorial on Pinterest.  Did you see how to decorate your table for Valentines off Pinterest?  No.  No, I did not see that because I am not on Pinterest.  Don't invite me to be on Pinterest either, because it ain't happening.  Before you boycott me and my little blog all together, hear me out on this one.

 Pinterest to me is like shopping at T J Maxx.  I have clients on a weekly basis that come in wearing the most adorable clothes, shoes and bags.  When I compliment them and ask them where they got those fabulous boots?  "T J Maxx, Girl, $549.00 marked down to $29.99".  "Wow, that's amazing, I should shop there more".  I'm lying.  I'll never step foot in that store.  Want to know why?  Because it's a time suck.  This momma of 3, almost 5, doesn't have time to sort through piles of crap in order to, on rare occasion, find a treasure.  I want to walk into an organized store, see something on a manaquin, grab my size, check out and jet.  I don't care that I might have paid $10 more for something, because my time is more valuable than money.  Period.

 This is how Pinterest works.  You spend hours upon hours looking at all your friends boards and searching for ideas for your child's next birthday party and every once in awhile you find a treasure.  In the mean time, you waste precious time scrolling through the junk.  Here's my proposition.  If all you Pinterest people see something that you think will change my house, recipe box, accessories or life in general, just forward it on to me.  I will gladly take a look and thank you for saving precious hours of my life.