Bun in the oven

Time for the official blog announcement I guess- I am pregnant! I am 8 weeks along as of yesterday. So far being pregnant has been pretty great. I am one of the lucky few who doesn't seem to be getting any morning sickness, so I'm really happy about that. Now, I've never been more tired in my life and (TMI alert) my boobs are killing me, but I'm not throwing up, so I can't complain.

I took 5 pregnancy tests the morning of December 14th, and I was thrilled to find them all positive! I think my count is up to 11 tests right now. Still all positive :). Here's a picture of the dinner I made Mike that night:

Get it? Baby carrots, baby back ribs, baby peas, baby corn....any Full House fan will of course get the Becky/Jesse reference. Mike did not get it (not surprisingly, I didn't marry him for his observational abilities), but was very happy when I explained what it meant!

We told all of the grandparents over Christmas/New Years visits. All are excited, and I'm currently trying to convince my mom that she needs to move in with us for about a year. That's not asking too much, right?

Here's a picture of the first ultrasound taken at 6.5 weeks. We were able to hear the heartbeat then too, which was awesome! We had another ultrasound done at 8 weeks, but the quality wasn't great and I don't have it scanned in. The good news is the baby looks slightly less like an alien in the 8 week picture. There are two sacs in the ultrasound, meaning I probably started out with twins, but the doctors don't know for sure.

So that's that! I'll try and update every few weeks, especially when I start getting a cute little belly :). Right now it's just fat I think!

You put WHAT on your pizza?!?!?

So, anyone that knows me is probably shocked that I put spinach on a pizza- but it was actually delish! I was pleasantly surprised :). I took pictures, but I haven't downloaded them yet, and honestly, they kind of make the pizza look like cat throw-up, so I might not ever add them, lol.

Jenni's (not me, a fabulous nestie that shared this great recipe!) Whole Wheat Herb Pizza Dough:

Ingredients

1 package dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, divided

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons pizza seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cooking Spray

______________________

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, oil, garlic powder, pizza seasonings and salt to yeast mixture, stirring until well-blended.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

4. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.

5. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface. Top and bake according to recipe directions.

Note: You can prepare this in a stand mixer using the dough hook. Add all the ingredients and let the hook knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes. This is how I made mine and it was soooo easy! Don't be afraid, yeast is your friend!

Also, this dough may be frozen. Follow directions for kneading dough, and shape dough into 2 balls. Coat balls with cooking spray and place into a ziptop plastic freezer bag. Thaw overnight in a refrigerator. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85'), free from drafts' 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If Indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Shape as instructed.

And now, for the fabulous White Spinach Pizza:
Serving: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

1 (10-oz) can refrigerated pizza crust
1 cup skim milk
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
½ lb mushrooms, sliced
½ tsp minced garlic
3 cups fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
½ tsp dried basil
¼ cup crumbled feta
½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Pat crust into a round 12-inch pizza pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 7 minutes or until crust begins to brown.

2. In a small pot, mix together milk and flour over medium-high heat until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread white sauce over partially baked crust.

3. Meanwhile, in a skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, sauté mushrooms and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, stirring until wilted. Add basil.

4. Spread spinach mixture over white sauce. Sprinkle with feta and mozzarella cheeses. Return to oven and continue baking for 10 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Based on individual serving.
Calories: 152
Total Fat: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 23 g
Protein: 8 g

I used chicken instead of mushrooms and just cooked the chicken (diced) for a few minutes before adding the garlic to make sure it was well cooked. I also used Grueyere and Parm as my cheeses, 'cause those are my faves!

Tack-ay!

Had to include a couple of pics from the 2007 Nestie Tacky Sweater/Cookie Exchange Extravaganza! It was SO much fun, Dizz's house was gorgeous, everyone made delicious food, we all looked extremely tacky (especially Pami!) and most importantly, I came home with 3 dozen yummy cookies.

Here's my (well technically my mom's!) Ginger Snap recipe for those that want it. Sorry I forgot to take a picture. I was so bummed that I only had 4 leftover!

Ginger Snaps
3/4 C shortening
1 1/4 C sugar, divided
1/4 C molasses
1 egg
2 C flour
2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ginger

1. Cream 1 cup sugar and shortening.
2. Add molasses and egg, beat well.
3. Sift dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture and mix well.
4. Roll into small balls and dip balls in 1/4 cup sugar.
5. Place 2" apart on greased cookie sheet.
6.Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes (chewy) or 15 minutes (crispy).

When I took mine out, they didn't look cooked all the way, but I let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 mintues after I took them out and the hardened up! I also sprinkled a little extra sugar over the tops right after they came out of the oven.

Mmmmmmm

This is quite possibly my favorite dish that I make. That I've ever made. It is delicious. Make this one when you want to impress the heck out of someone (but don't particularly care about their arteries). It's kind of a pain to make, but after you make it once, you'll realize that it's worth 3x the effort. I only use about 2T of butter when I make it. Ya know, to make it more healthy. Kind of like ordering a diet soda with your large fries.

Caution: When this dish is baking you will most likely start drooling from the scent wafting out of your oven. Don't say I didn't warn you. Also known to cause knock down, drag out fights over the last bite.

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with about 1 tablespoon of the softened butter.

Arrange a layer of potatoes in the baking dish, and sprinkle some of the cheeses over them. Continue layering potatoes and cheeses until you've used them all, ending with a layer of potatoes.*

In a small bowl, whisk the cream with the salt and pepper; pour this over the potatoes. Dot the remaining butter over the top and sprinkle with the paprika. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the potatoes are tender and golden brown on top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

*Layer the potatoes all the way to the top. They sink a little when they bake, and trust me, you'll want as many layers of cheesy goodness as possible.

Old standby

This is at least a twice monthly dinner in our house. It's pretty easy, and makes two meals, so I don't have to cook the next night! Always a plus.

Grilled Chicken:
1 bag frozen tenderloins (I like HT brand the best)
1 bottle Italian dressing
1 can crushed pineapple

Add the dressing and pineapple to the bag of chicken, and marinate for at least 6 hours (it's best if it's overnight though). Grill. Can't get easier than that!

Smashed Potatoes:
Red potatoes (I usually use about half a bag)
Milk
1/4 stick butter or margarine
Sour cream
1 cup Cheddar cheese
Garlic Salt
Bacon

1.Quarter the potatoes and boil them until they are soft.
2.Drain potatoes and add butter to hot pot.
3.Smash potatoes with a spoon (they don't need to be completely smooth, but you don't want them too chunky either. Mmm, chunky, there's an appetizing word)
4. Mix in enough milk and sour cream until they are the consistency that you want.
5. Mix in cheese, bacon (I usually use bacon bits) and a healthy sprinkling of garlic salt (to taste, I use a lot).
6. You can add cheese on top, but it's not necessary. Stick in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy! These are super yummy, and the garlic salt adds enough flavor that you don't have to use a ton of cheese if you don't want to.

And the spinach is the HT frozen variety :).

Baltimore

Mike and I just got back from a very quick, but very fun trip to Baltimore. He had a meeting there on Monday, so we left Raleigh at about 8 am Sunday morning so we could have a little fun there Sunday afternoon/evening. We really wanted to go to the aquarium, but we ended up not getting there until about an hour and a half before it closed, and decided it wasn't worth $45 for that short a visit.

So we just wandered around the Inner Harbor area, which is really cool (and cold...but I guess it is November!). I discovered a store called Filene's Basement, and I probably could've spent the entire trip shopping in there. Mike decided to spend some time over at the ESPN Zone while I shopped there for a bit.

::side note::
Unlike many women, I do not care about expensive purses. Or expensive shoes. I've never bought a purse for more than $25 and my most expensive shoes are my Uggs, which I pretty much wear every day during every winter. But I do love dresses. Not just normal dresses, but fancy dresses. So I ended up trying on half a dozen at Filene's. One in particular caught my eye, it was $80, marked down from $288. Amazing deal. It was gold with sequins and a bubble skirt (sounds ugly but it was so adorable) and it fit me like a glove. Oh, and when I put it on, my favorite Michael Buble song started playing over the speakers. It was fate. But alas, I decided that even though it was an incredible deal, I just couldn't justify $80 for something I'd probably only get to wear 3-4 times. Sigh. I should've bought it. I miss that dress.
::end site note::

So then we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner real quick. I had lots of cool suggestions for dinner, but ended up choosing a local place that Mike's client suggested, called Petit Louis . It. Was. Amazing. I had the best French Onion Soup I've ever had, including when I had it in France. The rest of the meal was very good too (I got Steak Frites, Mike got pork, we split some gratin de pomme de terre, and for dessert he got sorbet and I got a pot de chocolat), but that soup...oh man...that was some awesome soup. We split a bottle of yummy red wine, and it really was just a perfect meal. Very comfortable, intimate restaurant with wonderful service.

So all in all, it was a great trip! I really wanted to stop at Ikea on the way home, but Mike's meeting ran late and we had to be back in Raleigh by 9 to pick the pups up from boarding. Guess I'll have to wait until the Charlotte store opens! Oh, here are the pictures we took.....perhaps it was too dark, lol.

At the other end of the scale...

Hehe, get it? Scale? I decided to try and make up for my Heart Attack Soup last night by making something healthy for the hubby tonight. My mom e-mailed me a Spicy Turkey Chili recipe, so I decided to try that. DH loved it! He ate two huge bowls (good thing it's healthy!). Here's the recipe:

1 lb. extra lean (99% fat free) ground turkey
1 large onion (chopped)
2 large cans of whole or diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans (make sure you get chili beans, not chili with beans. Bush's makes three kinds: mild, medium and hot, and I bought the hot kind)
2 oz. Chili powder (they were out of chili powder when I went to the store, so I bought Mexican Chili Powder, and it just made it a bit spicier)
Salt, pepper to taste

Brown the ground turkey and onion together in a large pot. Add canned tomatoes, including tomato liquid. (If using cans of whole tomatoes, make sure to chop up before adding.) Add both cans of beans including liquid. Add chili powder, salt and pepper. I usually add a can or two of water to chili also depending on how much time I have for it to simmer. After bringing it all to a boil, let it simmer for a few hours.

I added 2 cans of water and it was perfect after simmering for about 5 hours. I'm not very good with a crock pot, but I'm sure you could make it in one. DH said it was spicy, which means it probably would have set my head on fire, but I did use the hot beans and extra hot chili powder! And I did take a picture, but stupidly deleted it, so I'll take another one when I unfreeze the remainder of the chili.