Weekly Menu (and recipes too!)

EDITED TO ADD: I had this scheduled for Tuesday morning, but it never published. What is going on with Blogger? This is the 4th or 5th time a scheduled post never happened! Rah!

I'm not sure what night we are eating what, but I made two of the casseroles on Sunday and froze them. They are big, so they will last for several nights. That may throw off the timing of when we eat the other meals.

However, I love seeing what people are eating, and I espesh heart getting new recipes!

Hope you can find something you like!

Menu:
Weight Watchers Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta
Rigatoni with grilled vegetables, served with "stir fried" carrots
Weight Watchers Chicken Spaghetti with salad
Baked Lemon Pasta with salad
Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff with broccoli



Weight Watchers Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta
1 package raw turkey sausage, casings removed (I buy Honeysuckle brand in hot)
2 tsp EVOO
2 medium bell peppers (I used 1 colored and 1 green), cut into strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 C red wine (I omit this and use broth instead)
1 1/2 T minced garlic
28 oz crushed tomatoes-canned
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
8 oz uncooked fusilli pasta (corkscrew-and I use the whole box of pasta)
fresh, chopped basil (optional)
grated parmesan (optional)

This was off the old WW points plan at 5 points per serving. Not sure what it would be now.

Boil noodles. In a large nonstick pan, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up until cooked through. Remove to plate. Heat oil in same skillet. Cook onions and peppers about 5 minutes. Add wine and garlic-cook until most liquid evaporates. (I use broth here). Add canned tomatoes, pepper flakes, salt, and browned sausage. Bring to a boil. Simmer on medium low for 10 minutes until veggies are tender. Add sauce to noodles and mix well. Can add basil and some parm.

Rigatoni with grilled vegetables and "stir fried" carrots is from Food Network website, Sandra Lee. Click the blue link to view it. It is amazing and I LOVE IT! I have featured this recipe several times here before. The carrots are just diagonally cut carrots sauteed in sesame oil with garlic. Add in some soy sauce and cook until tender enough for you. It was originally a 1 pt WW recipe-I just took out the sugar snap peas and scallions this time since we were having crap loads of veggies with dinner already.

Weight Watchers Chicken Spaghetti  (originally I found this on a WW "support" website-no clue if it is legitimately a WW recipe or just called that)
8 oz cooked, shredded chicken (I use two breasts)
1 Lb spaghetti
half a block of Velveeta light
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
1 can 98% FF cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C chopped onions
1/2 C bell pepper

Cook and shred chicken. Cook and drain noodles. In a large non stick skillet, melt Velveeta with soup and chiles. Add the onions and bell pepper. Stir together. Add chicken to the cooked, drained pasta. Pour Velveeta mixture over all and stir well. (This is the hard part. Trying to stir a box of pasta with a bunch of cheesy goodness.) Pour into greased 9 by 13. Cover with foil and cook on 450 for 10 minutes, or until heated through.

I freeze mine. You could also portion it out into smaller casserole dishes. When we want to eat it, I thaw it out in the fridge in advance and cook it as normal.

The nutrition facts that came with it are: 221 cal, 4.3 g fat, 4 points per serving on the old WW system.  Oh, and PS, I use a whole box of pasta and 5 oz more Velveeta b/c I make the big casserole dish to have for 2-3 nights worth of dinner/leftover lunches. So my recipe listed above calls for 8 oz Velveeta instead of 3.


Baked Lemon Pasta
This is one from my mom. I like it a lot b/c it can be simple and great by itself with a green salad, or you can add all types of things to it to make a major casserole. (Like chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, other assorted veggies).
1 Lb thin spaghetti
4 T butter
3 T EVOO
2 cloves minced garlic
1 whole lemon, juiced and zested
2 C sour cream (I use 1/2 FF and 1/2 light)
kosher salt
lots of shredded Parmesan
flat leaf parsley (I use dried)
extra lemon juice

Cook spaghetti. In a skillet, melt butter and EVOO. Add garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into pan. Turn off heat. Add sour cream and stir. Add lemon zest and salt. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti, stirring to combine. Pour into oven safe dish. Cover with foil on 375 for 15 minutes. Take off foil and cook for 7-10 more minutes. Don't over bake or it will get dry. When you remove from oven, squeeze more lemon juice on top, then top generously with Parmesan and parsley.

I also made this as a casserole. It will last for 2 nights. It's freaking good.


Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff
Another tried and true WW recipe from a "support" site, this joker is GOOD and EASY!
1 pack frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
16 oz container fat free sour cream (I know it sounds gross, but you cannot tell!)
1 can 98% FF cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 jar sliced mushrooms (you can use fresh, but add them later in cooking time)

Brown/white rice or egg noodles (I use 2 bags of Success brown rice-easy and healthy!)

Place frozen chicken breasts into crockpot. In another bowl, mix sour cream, soup, onion soup mix, and mushrooms. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 7 hours.

4 points per serving on old WW system. Add the "bottom" layer of rice or noodles and top with the heavenly mixture of slow cooked strog. It ROCKS! There is always left over rice and "sauce" and it's good for lunch even without the chicken.

Hopefully you found something that struck your fancy or inspired you!
Happy Tuesday!

Update in bullets

So, we've been super busy up in these parts lately!

*Getting back into work after a week off for snow proved to be (and still is) difficult. We lost every day from now till Spring Break that we had off. We are now making the days up throughout February and April. Lovely. No break for 10 weeks. Shoot me now.

*I finally got to go use my Christmas mani/pedi gift certificate from the hubs. He has been working without a break since January 1, which is what happens in the accounting/finance industry at the beginning of each year. I have been a single parent on weekends too. He had his first day off today and Emma slept til 8:45! We spent the day eating Mexican (typical for me) and shopping for a mahogany toy chest. That proved to be a little difficult too. We finally found one for $70 and we will put it together tonight. Future home=the office turned playroom!

*I'm not going to say much on here since this is a public blog, and I don't know who reads it, but FOR THE LOVE of pregnant hormones+crazy ass parents=I will NOT BACK DOWN and you best watch your face. Thank you.

*If one more person asks me how pregnant I am, then looks surprised, I will cuss them out. And don't ever ask someone if they're having twins. Freakin' P.S.

*I have been working my Keurig out like whoa. Only complaint: Keurig website is totes out of flavored variety samples. Hook it up yo!

*Emma is totally off the bottle as of today. I've been weaning since my last post, and she has been taking sippy cups in the AM and at lunch (with milk) and now it's go time. Tonight was the last bottle ever-till the next baby arrives.

*I decided to wait on the "full on" potty training after doing some research into regression and talking with other moms. Emma still tells me she pooped, and she still sits on the potty before bath time. We put her poop in the pot and she flushes it and tells it bye bye (hilarious!) and she comes into the bathroom with me and "sees" me going. I'm sure it will click evench. I can't handle doing all the work, then having the shi* hit the fan once the new baby comes.

*Hitting has lessened considerably! Her new things is "mine!" I think that's an age thing-according to my friend Jen, her daughter is doing the exact same thing and they are 2 weeks apart.

*I am almost through Nanny Returns and am loving it! I need to make more time to read.

*I have been sleeping like DUMP lately!

*Did I mention school was kicking my a** and we've only been back for 4 days?!?!

Bleh, sorry for the suck a** post-I'll do some pictures in another post!

Love ya all!

For Me?

You shouldn't have!

My sweet husband and daughter gifted me with this awesome Keurig for my upcoming 32nd birthday! I still have two days till then! ;)

I can't wait to choose a flavor from my sample pack tomorrow morning! This weekend I will venture to Bed Bath & Beyond to look at more flavor choices.

Tell me: Where is the best place to get K cups? I'm looking for variety (right now) and the best price. I know Jordyn will say greenmountain.com!! Doesn't necessarily have to be in bulk.....yet. Please share!

xoxo

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Love ya all!

Brain Dump

Emma and I finally escaped the house on Wednesday and we went to Subway for lunch! Emma brought lunch from home.




My godmother cross stitched one of these for me when I was little, and she made Emma one too! It's amazing! It is being framed now.




I was THAT mom in Publix with the giant car buggy. Emma loved it! That joker is super hard to steer!




We went to Barnes and Noble on Thursday so I could spend a giftcard (and look for the BCS SI mag) and Emma got to play on the train table. She luuurrrves that train table.




She read a "Cars" book.




Girlfriend has been eating Kix and Cinnamon Toast Crunch every morning with her milk. If I say, "Do you want your cereal?" she starts screeching and running to the kitchen!





BEST stuff ever! Go get some now! BBW scrub that suds up!




OMG-overwhelming-let the organizing begin. I looked through sooooooo much of this last night and took about 357 pics and texted them to friends!!!



I need to organize this book dump-it's my "to be read" pile!




18 weeks! Can't believe it! It looks bigger in real life!




How do you get a zit when you haven't worn makeup since last Friday? I scrub my face clean each day and do the proper moisturization, and today I discovered a nice painful pimple on my cheek! and I've been drinking/craving about 6 huge glasses of lemon water per day!

We are meeting J for lunch today! Mexican!!!

I have to go to work on Monday for a teacher workday-even though it's MLK day. Explain that. I'm sure it's somehow legal, but I can't figure out how. You have the "option" to not come in but you have to make it up after school is out! BS! I'll use it as a full planning day I guess!

What's been going on with you all lately, besides the wild weather? Dump your brain!




Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Love ya all!

What we do on a snow day.........

We have had some pretty major winter weather here in Georgia lately! It started on Sunday night, and when we woke up on Monday morning, we had about 5-6 inches of snow! And not powder either, real snow!

The high lately has been 25, and tomorrow it is supposed to only be 19.

So, all this snow/ice/water isn't going anywhere soon. Yikes!

 

The dogs were not sure about the snow at first. Flash, the bloodhound, went wild! He was traipsing all over the place and having a blast getting frozen solid.

Meanwhile, Bart, the ridgeback, was not having any part of it. He quickly darted out to the fenceline, did his business, and headed back to the door. Even our screened in porch was covered in snow! The snow was blowing sideways when we checked on Sunday night.

School was cancelled for Monday on Sunday night, before anything even happened. I was thinking that was a bad idea, but as you can see, the school board clearly knows what is up! We are out tomorrow too-so that makes three days we will have to make up at some point! Ugggggggh.

This little joker wore a new Auburn cheer outfit yesterday. It finally fits her. It's a long sleeved top with a skirt, and I put some white leggings under it since it was obvi freezing!

Then we decided to try out the snow. Last year, Emma was only about 5 months old when it snowed. She wasn't real sure what to think about yesterday's excursion. First things first, of course, was to put her in the "Ralphie suit."



Pretty damn cute! This was a hand me down from a friend. In Georgia,
we don't buy snowsuits for our infants/children. :)

Taking the first steps out into the snow.

I laid her down to see what would happen and what she would do. The snow was so hard,

she barely made an impression. She was like a little turtle though!

Monday night, snow still coming.

Before bath time. Emma was ready to cheer on the Tigers!



This is what these two have done the past few days. Must be like normal life for them!

Emma's lair during the snow storm. This is what our house has looked like since Sunday night. Except, y'all know me-I am so OCD, I have to clean it up when she goes down for a nap.



My lair-with the camera, computer, phone, monitor, papers to grade, etc. I am having fun getting caught up on my words with friends, google reader, gossip mags, grading, and playing with girlfriend! However, with the lack of a schedule, I am going a bit stir crazy. We haven't left the house since about noon on Sunday. Shoot me now.

The positive thing about being home two days in a row? I have every single piece of laundry washed, folded, and put away. But, it will probably be dirty again by Thursday. :)

Hope wherever you are, you are warm, dry, and having fun!

xoxo

Kid Stuff

First of all, thank you for putting up with all of these advice askin, not real post things I've got going on! I am a needy Nelly right now, for sure! I need some more advice on "kid stuff."

Emma's 18  month appointment isn't until early February, so I wanted to ask you about three things that I plan on asking the pediatrician. I need some mom to mom (or non mom, if you have ideas) advice!

First up, we have the lovely subject of taking milk from a bottle. Ugh. I know I'm going to get sh*t for this, but Emma still takes all of her whole milk from her bottle. I think at her baby sitter's house, she drinks her lunch  milk out of a sippy cup with a straw. 

Now, it's not that I  don't want to transition her from a bottle to a cup, it's that SHE doesn't want to. She really finds comfort in her bottle. She walks around calling for her ba-ba. I have tried on several occasions, when we are on a long weekend, vacay, snow day, etc to give her the lunch milk out of a sippy cup. She takes about 2-3 of the 7 ounces, and calls it quits. And those 2-3 ounces are over a period of about 2 hours!

How can I do this? I know she won't starve, but it is KILLING ME to throw away the 6$/gallon organic whole milk when she doesn't drink it! Suggestions welcome. Criticism, take a hike. :)

Next up, we have the topic of hitting. I am about to go postal on this one. Emma has started "slapping" at things that make her mad. Upon the suggestion of several friends and her trusted baby sitter, when Emma hits/slaps at another person or living thing (the dogs) she is told NO and goes to timeout for one minute.

This has not really lessened the hitting episodes though. Maybe this is normal for this age, but it is unacceptable to me. I have taught her how to touch "nicely" and when she hits or swings at me, I say NO and then she says NICE and rubs me. It's a pattern. I also think she has no clue what time out is and why she is in it, even though I talk to her. I make her sit facing the front door, and I have to sit with my legs around her so she can't escape.

I tell ya, this child rearin' business is tough work! Again, what do you do? What could I be trying?

And finally, the dreaded topic of potty training.

I think it is time to do this for two reasons: one, because Emma says poo poo and she has a shi**y diaper, and two, because I would love to have her potty trained before the next one comes along.

I have a book called Three Day Potty Training by Lora Jensen. Two of my personal friends have used this method and it has worked! On 17 month olds or younger! Amazing! I am going to read the book (a quick 40 pages) and give it a go. However, do you think this is too early to try, OR do you think I have screwed up by waiting? I mean she is telling me when she has a poo poo and saying ewwww! Yikes.

Not trying to be a mom fail all around.

I personally don't care about the milk from a bottle. But, the pedi said something last visit about us needing to end it by 18 months.

I DO care about the hitting. That is not cool. And it would be NICE (said in Emma voice) to have a potty trained child!

I welcome your suggestions on any of these topics!

Thanks in advance y'all, you always come through!

xoxo

(Not even gonna mention the fact that someone still takes a paci. I'm choosing my battles here. :))

And that's a win folks!

Never in my lifetime did I think I would see my alma mater win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game!

I am SO PROUD of the Auburn Tigers for such an incredible season.

I am SO PROUD to be a two time alum from the university.

I am SO PROUD that the SEC has won the BCS for five years in a row-way to represent SEC!!

I hope the "haters" can just move on and let us enjoy this year! We are going to get some awesome recruits for next year's team (on top of what we already have gotten) and hopefully we can keep blowing it up in college football.

WAR EAGLE, HEY!

Opinions Needed

Sorry for the overwhelming need for your opinions lately, but what can I say, I really need some advice when getting some new things around here! :)

My 32nd (eep!) birthday is coming up in about 10 days! How can that be when I feel 25? I don't know, but it is moving too fast for me! Anyhow, I am trying to choose the perfect present from hubby!

I have been eyeing the Keurig for awhile now. Thanks to LG, I have become a master at using it. I looooove visiting her house for this very reason-besides the obvs of the presh baby and cute hubby! And she is my BFF! :)

On the other hand, sissy just got brother the Tassimo version. I have tried that too. I'm pretty sure there are many versions of this wonderful invention out there.

Do you use one of these, and if so, do you love it? Hate it? Should I get one? Which one? Why?

My current coffee maker is a great one from Mr. Coffee, but it's six years old, and honestly, I'm over making a pot of coffee when I just want a travel mug in the AM.

Alright, spill please!

Two Questions and a Request

Okay people, I need some advice. My closet is about to look like this if I don't find a way to store/keep all of my "memorabilia." I keep everything, I am very sentimental, so I have cards/pictures from grade school to current day. Right now, they are in three huge boot boxes. However, with a baby, I add tons of cards, announcements, drawings, etc quite frequently. Things are beginning to get a little OOC in there. So, what can I do to either nip this problem or fix this problem? Organizational tips? Please share!! :)

Also, I am starting to think about the double stroller route. I know we are going to need one. I mean, let's be honest. I will have a 22 month old and a newborn. So, I'm starting to do some research-but I value your opinion and feedback. The only thing is, I don't want to spend $500 on a stroller. I guess that is possible. It has to be! So, can you tell me any good brands/types of double strollers?

My request is this: please say a prayer for some college friends of mine, Dawn and Tripp Floyd. She was due in early January with her first baby and had him early, on December 6th. Apparently, he had a heart defect and was sent to Vanderbilt for NICU care/heart surgery. He passed away. I just learned all of this from Facebook-so, I'm not really sure what happened, but from what I gather, they didn't know about the heart defect-if that is possible? I don't know, I was just checking on her to see when she was due, and saw all that and was soooo sad and broken hearted for them. They are older (35 or so) so this was a long awaited pregnancy, and I can just imagine they are heartbroken. Please think of them and say a prayer for peace.

I miss all y'all and feel like not much has been going on in blog land lately! Update me please. And any advice on the card sitch and stroller, do share!

Thanks loves!
xoxo

Since New Years...

We have been busy since the New Year arrived! We came back from Birmingham on NYE.

 

Here is Emma saying, "I've got this under control mom." Thanks darlin, mommy appreciates that!

Our traditional "junk food dinner" that we have every NYE. Basically, just get all of your fave junky foods and eat them! Simple!!!

 

What I did NYE-cleaned out the holy hot mess of a spice cabinet.

Exciting times in the Edwards household for sure.

 

And after. I do have to say, it looks great, but it was LAME that I took a picture.

 

NY day dinner-greens, beans, and pork. YUM!

 

My new boots from Tar-jay that zip up the BACK-meow!!

 

Someone is easily entertained. I love it.

 

Posing for daddy.

 

Aannnnnnd it is always nice to come home to some doggle destruction-thanks Bart and/or Flash for destroying alllll of Emma's board books and now her wooden alligator on wheels from Aunt Sister.

Douchebags.



 Bath time fun with Looby.  I just noticed that all of the pics look awful! I started blogging from my phone and got on the computer to do the typing. Yikers. Sorry! What have you all been up to? On another note, I'm almost 17 weeks pregnant. Wow! I go to the OB tomorrow for a check up. Say some prayers for me. I am ready to feel this baby move all the time!  Hope all is well with y'all, and hello two new followers! Welcome to the crazy that is my life! :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Love ya all!