"The storm of the century"

Well we are currently waiting out what our local news is calling "the storm of the century". I have to laugh at this because it is pretty easy to be the storm of the century when your area has been going through a drought for the last 10 years and you're not even 15 years into the century lol anywho; We are getting some decent and desperately needed rain and some really good winds! I have the blinds open and am sitting under a blankie, watching the trees whip around from the wind, drinking some hot tea and listening to Christmas music while Hubs and Tank sleep in...... In my opinion, it doesn't get much better than this :-)

It's been a LOOOOOOOONG time!

Well hello again. Its the middle of the night (at least in my book, 4AM counts as the middle of the night) and I thought it would be a good time for an update here..... also I can't sleep.... for some reason my brain is way too active for its own good right now. Not really sure anyone will see this anytime soon seeing as its my first post in roughly 6 months. Oh well. Lots of things going on these days. I'm coming up on 37 weeks pregnant and go back an forth several times a day between excitement and shear panic that in just a few short weeks (or really any day) I will become a mother and be responsible for this precious tiny life. The Lord has really been watching over us the last few weeks during hardships with vehicles breaking and what not and I am so thankful He has provided us with a very very good deal and a good running and trustworthy vehicle for our growing family. The Christmas season is upon us (much to hub's chagrin) and I'm trying to soak up as much as I possibly can! Hubs even promised me we'd get a real Christmas tree this year!!!!! With the baby's arrival quickly approaching and all of the fun and excitement of the current Holiday Season, my to do list seems to keep getting longer and longer and time to get it all done seems to be getting exponentially shorter! As I sit here sipping my hot tea I am just reflecting on how blessed we really are and how often these blessings are easy to forget or go almost unnoticed during the rush of everyday life especially during the holidays. I am so thankful for my amazing husband, my wonderfully supportive family and the incredible support system of friends that I have in my life. *Feeling Blessed*

Black bean tacos with a Lime/cilantro/avocado sauce

Wow these were too good to photograph! This recipe was found on pinterest and was super easy and quick! Plus it had the benefit of allowing me to cook and prepare it without getting sick : -) By the time I thought of taking a picture of this meal it was gone!!! So good. We will be making it again for sure. Hope everyone is doing well!

Crock pot BBQ chicken sandwiches and canteloupe ( sp? )

One of my favorite and one of the easiest recipes in my " arsenal " lol. You toss chicken breasts in the crock pot ( Ours were frozen and you just put them in the bottom ) Slice half an onion and put it on top of the chicken, then pour your favorite BBQ sauce on top ( The whole bottle ). Cook on low for 8-10 hrs or on high for 4-6 hours. Once cooked, shred the chicken ( In the crock pot ) and serve on your favorite bread : -) Delicious!

Grilled terriyaki chicken, veggies and rice

Yep! That's right folks, I actually cooked! Hahaha ok not really. I cooked the veggies. My amazing husband grilled the chicken and made the rice : -) I am a very lucky lady to have such an amazing man in my life!!! Dinner was delicious : -)

Amish Cinnamon Bread

Well this was a fun new easy recipe : -) I'm not really sure if this is really an Amish recipe, but I found it on pinterest and that is what the name was lol Whatever its called, its delicious : -)

Last night for dinner. . . . .

Last night's dinner was beef lo mien. . . . . . from a bag lol followed by ice cream sandwiches : -) Today has been a nice day. Nothing super exciting to report today. Had a nice nap and did a load of dishes and ate half a tub of cottage cheese. Don't judge, but it seems quite productive to me. Anywho, thought I would check in : -)

Well, I am lazy. . . . . . . tonights pic is of Cinnamon Sugar Toast

Well I wouldn't say I'm too lazy. I am about 7 weeks pregnant and I have been having issues with raw meat : -) We are blessed! We saw a heart beat on the ultrasound yesterday and my Dr said she sees nothing that concerns her : -) Woot!

Tonight for dinner, we had canned chili on top of hot dogs and French fries : -) Super healthy for pregnancy right? lol in the picture, the cinnamon is what looks black. It's not burned I assure you and was super delicious!

Balsamic Beef and Onions with Roasted veggies with sourdough bread

Well, this meal was an accident. I decided I didn't want to make what the emeals recipe told me to make. . . . . a.so I came up with this. It was way surprising and way good! Both Hubs and I were stuffed after one serving! So yummy : -)

We bought the bread while we were in San Francisco the other day. I always forget how much I like sourdough bread. lol Not quite paleo, but it was delish!

Not sure what I'll make for dinner tonight, but I always come up with something : -)

Italian Flank Steak with Lemon-Balsamic Broccoli

The retreat this last weekend was wonderful! I really enjoyed spending time with the ladies in my church : -) It was such a wonderful experience, but I am so glad to be back home. Last night for dinner we had subway. . . . I didn't think y'all would want to see a pic of that

Tonight's dinner  was pretty good. I realized tonight I prefer marinated meat as approved to meat with a dry rub. Tonight's flank steak was seasoned with a dry rub type seasoning then broiled. I wasn't too impressed but Hubs seems to have enjoyed it. . . . The broccoli was really good! : -) Probably gonna have a cookie or two to keep me full ; -)

Cheat Night = Chicago Style Stuffed Crust Pizza

Well when we cheat, we make it count! I'm off to a Women's retreat with the church for the weekend so I wont be posting again until next week, but I wanted some form of left overs so that Hubs had something to eat : -) Rumor has it, he's going out for Indian food tomorrow night though lol Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!!

I may have had more than this 1 slice, but this lady will never tell hehehehe

Bacon-Red Bellpepper Quiche

I had never made a quiche before and was surprised how easy and yummy it was!!!! There was supposed to be a salad as a side dish, but I was a lazy wife and didn't make it haahahaha It was yummy! I will be making this again for sure! Maybe even making it into "muffins" by using my silicon muffin liners : -) Time will tell I suppose

Due to our lack of salad, we each had a quarter of the total quiche . . . . . I think we were each supposed to have half. . . . . . but I got really full after my piece : -)

Maple-pecan Pork Chops with Two-tomato spinach salad and homemade balsamic vinegarette

Wow this was yummy! I really really liked the pork chops! The salad dressing is similar to a dressing I make regularly, but has a little more honey in it. . . We thought the dressing was a little on the sweet side, but it was a nice balance against the tartness of the tomatoes : -)

The original recipe called for a bag of spring mix for the salad, but I really like spinach and we needed the spinach for a second meal this week. . . so it was far more cost effective to just sub spinach in for the spring mix. On a random side note, if you grind pecans in a coffee grinders for too long you make a pecan butter that was surprisingly tasty : -)

Orange-Rosemary Grilled Salmon with Roasted Lemon-Dill Asparagus

I know it has been a few days, but I had a fun night of Bunco with some friends and I didn't cook dinner, then I had a fun event on base and I didn't cook dinner once again.... then last night hubs and I went on a double date to the local Mexican joint with some friends, so naturally I didn't cook : -)

Tonight I cooked! Sort of..... Chris grilled our salmon and it turned out really well : -) The original recipe is Orange-Thyme grilled salmon. . . . . . . But hubs and I don't like thyme and I have fresh rosemary in the front yard that was an excellent substitution : -) We had a yummy yummy dinner then hubs took me to frozen yogurt for dessert : -) I am quite the spoiled girl

Garlic-Ginger Slow Cooker Beef with Curry-Mustard Cauliflower and red peppers

Wow this was Sooooooo easy and sooooooo delicious!!!! The meat had great flavor and practically fell apart in your mouth. Hubs and I were both concerned about the veggies because neither of us are fans of cauliflower.... at all lol It turned out really really good! Hubs said he wanted to go to and Indian place after eating it : -)

 

Our house is a little full right now.  Miss Lilly (pictured below) is staying with us for a few days : -) Her and Tank are very busy and play pretty much constantly. They are too funny together!! Tank will be tired and lay down then Lilly decided she isn't done playing and barks at Tank then Tank will start chasing her until he gets tired again lol

Cajun-baked Swai with skillet squash and bacon

Sorry I didn't blog last night.  After dinner I did my work out and my homework and went right to bed....sooooo last night's blog had to wait : -)

This was PHENOMINAL!  The original recipe was cod, but we are cheap lol plus, the cod at the grocery store didn't look very good.  I hadn't ever had swai but it was a nice mild fish.  The Cajun flavors were wonderful.  Hubs loved the veggies!! He said even if the veggies didn't have bacon, he would have still enjoyed it : -)

 

Delish!!!!!!

Grilled Beef and Italian Sausage Burger patties with tomato-walnut green beans

Today was a decent day. I have been tired and apparently quite moody lol Hubs is helping me work out. We are doing a couch to 5k program together and I was angry that he made me work out today... poor guy. Naturally I am grateful now. We did the prescribed couch to 5k jog today then I continued on to do my insanity workout..... needless to say, I am exhausted ( In a good way I suppose ), happy and extremely full!!!

Tonight's dinner was another hit!!!!!!!!! We have always ben fans of grilled food so it was no surprise that we both thought tonight's dinner was scrumptious!!!!

I was surprised how much I liked the green beans! The green bean sauce on top of the burger was phenomenal : -)

 

Ta Ta for now

Southwest Grilled Pork Medalions with Roasted Vegetable Salad

Well tonight's dinner was a hit!!!!!! We really enjoyed it :-) I may have over-roasted the veggies, but they still were delicious :-) Here is the pic. We will for sure be having this again in the future :-)

 

 

 

Italian Chicken and spinach stuffed mushrooms with sauteed broccoli with almonds

Last night we kinda cheated....... My amazing husband spoiled me and took me to Olive Garden :-)Well tonight's dinner was quite delicious :-) Except for the mushrooms lol We decided next time the filling will be better with alone or in a pepper :-) Here are the pics

This pic is of the stuffed mushroom prior to the addition of some yummy marinara sauce

This pic is of the stuffed mushroom after the addition of yummy marinara sauce

Pork chops with honey-mustard sauce and roasted beets with apple and mint

We were both quite concerned about this meal. We were quite surprised :-) The pork chops were delicious!!! The roasted beets and apple were quite yummy, however I think we are still both on the fence about the mint....but it was still quite good :-)

 

Paleo meal #1 was a success :-) Now on to chocolate ice cream for dessert ;-)

Big Changes

Well, apparently I am not good at this blogging stuff.... Let's SE, since November, I have had a surgery, been to Oregon 3 times started teaching Sunday school to preschoolers at my church, decided to start working out, put off working out, cleaned up my house, and changed the direction I am heading with my life :-)

As of this Monday I have started Insanity, and so far have stuck with the schedule. Yay!!! I am almost done with school this semester and will begin job hunting soon :-) Yay!

Along with being so busy, my hubby and I have decided to change how and what we eat for our dinner meal each day. We signed up for emeals.com (which is way cool because they do the meal planning and the shopping list for you) and we are planning to eat paleo for our dinners. We shall see how it goes, but tonight will be our first night!! :-) Pics and meal descriptions to come.

Sorry it has been so long, but looking forward to being here more frequently :-)

Tata for now