Menu: April 30 - May 6

Yesterday I had a severe case of writers block when I sat down to write this post, so I thought I'd come back to it and (obviously) that never happened! I blame it on being very tired since my son has a head-cold type thing and the fact that I can't sleep very well anymore. I had forgotten how crappy I slept last time I was pregnant... except I didn't have a toddler that got up in the middle of the night/way too early in the morning! It makes a huge difference in the amount of sleep received. Although I do remember being told on a few occasions to get as much sleep as I could before the baby comes because afterward I wouldn't. I just smiled and said okay... although that REALLY BUGGED ME! I swear if anybody tells me that this time I will ask them if they even remember what it was like to be in their last trimester of pregnancy. Over 90% of women have trouble sleeping in the last trimester (I read that in a sleep book but am too lazy to go find the source)... not exactly conducive to getting as much sleep as you can before the baby arrives. Even if I had the all-nighter I pulled for labor would have negated it anyway (let's hear it for 39 hours of labor!) I am hopeful that this time labor won't be nearly as long!

Okay, now that I've ranted about sleep and pregnancy... here's what we  had for our meals last week:

Leftover Beef Fajitas 

 Black Bean Tortilla Casserole (we had this 2 nights in a row)

Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Carrots

Gorditas

Pizza (it was one of those days!)

Slow-Cooker Salsa Verde Pork Loin Roast, Coconut rice, fruit salad and horchata (we also had chips and guacamole)

What did you have last week for dinner?

Foodless Friday: Contentement

Today's post is kind of long... however I have tried to add a few pictures to break it up! 

It has not been a secret on this blog that my husband and I had a rough couple of years after he finished his Masters coursework and was working on his thesis. I mean we ended up living in my parent's basement for 2 years! We both only had part time jobs and even though we applied for numerous jobs we were never hired... It can be very wearing on a person/relationship/etc. However, at the beginning of last year I wrote in my personal journal that by the end of the year I wish we would have a full time job, our own place (preferably a house) and I may not have written it but I was getting baby hungry, so I couldn't wait to have insurance again so we could consider having a baby. I also wished that my sister would get better because there would be no way my mom could handle things without us there if she was still going in the the ER as much as she had been. 

 My parents, brother and sister (this was taken just before she got sick for so long)

A year ago I was hopeful that the thesis would be done (my husband had sent a draft to his advisor and was burning the midnight oil to get it completed on time.) I figured once his thesis was done we would be better able to find a job (I don't know why, but that's the mentality I had.) It is amazing how things fell into place. Last May, my little sister stopped having troubles with her breathing and even came off oxygen! She had to use it occasionally but that was better than using it constantly. 

 My son watching airplanes before we boarded on our way home.

 My husband finished his thesis and we made a week long trip back to Wisconsin (the first part of June) so he could defend it and make any corrections his committee wanted him to. The day before we left he got a call for a job interview, we said we'd call back when we got back into town (I figured it wasn't going to happen as we'd be gone a week!) He ended up turning his thesis in the last possible day without having to pay tuition again (June 11th to be exact). If we wouldn't have had some issues at the copy shop the night before we probably could have turned it in the day before... 

 Giving a copy to his advisor

We got back and he called about the job and they interviewed him. He ended up getting the job and started at the end of June. It was convenient because the job was a 40 minute drive each way from my parents so we were able to stay there for a few months while we found a place to live (and save up some money to actually buy a house - we went through a program that allowed us not to pay a down-payment or it never would have happened).

 Our house

Which brings me to the main point I wanted to write about today... a year ago I wanted some very specific things in my life, and right now I pretty much have them all. (The only thing is that I wish I had a baby right now instead of being pregnant, but at least we have been blessed to have a healthy pregnancy - so far!) Now that I have the major things I wanted at this point last year - you think I'd be perfectly content, right? Partly, yes - I am grateful that we have everything we do and it's not like I'm not happy... However, now I  have more stuff to wish for (luckily smaller)... like actually having enough furniture in our house - we have some, but it still looks pretty sparse! (We pretty much have what we had in our 2-bedroom grad housing (except a twin bed for my son and an actual kitchen table.) I want some additional extras for the baby that we didn't get with my son (we ended up using a high chair at my parents -that my sister had left there for when they visited with their children- so that's a definite must!) The hard part is wanting it all right now and not being patient to save up the money to buy it. I have found that when I start getting greedy (ie wanting it all now) that if I remember I have pretty much everything I wanted a year ago that it helps me curb my desire to spend money we don't have yet and be content with what we do have.

Do you have any tricks that help you stay content?

Cinco de Mayo Recipe Roundup

Saturday is the 5th of May... Cinco de Mayo. Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is not actually Mexican Independence Day and is celebrated mainly in only 1 state in Mexico and in the United States. In the state of Puebla, Mexico it is to celebrate a victory of the Mexican Army against the French Army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It was in 2005 that congress asked the president to ask the US citizens to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. In the US Cinco de Mayo has evolved to be a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture. 

To help in your celebration, here are a few recipes that I love that celebrate the Mexican flavors: 

 Chicken Stuffed Anaheim Peppers

 Macho Nachos (this is a more American dish, but we love it!)

Tamales

Mexican Style Burritos

Beef Enchiladas

Gorditas

Tortilla Soup

Beef Carnita

And don't forget dessert!

Flan

I'm actually making quite a few Mexican-type dishes this week... we've already had Black Bean Tortilla Casserole and I'll be making Gorditas, as well as Tomatillo Braised Pork Loin Roast this week. Are you planning on making anything festive, if so what will it be?

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

I know I said I'd be posting this a few weeks ago...  but you know what? I am overly optimistic about how easy things will be. I started potty training my son and it has taken a lot more of my time than I had imagined (and more of my patience than I can state.) I have also learned that I have one VERY headstrong child. He has to use the big person potty (not the small one we have for him) AND he won't sit on the seat, he lifts it up and sits on the porcelain... I have no clue why... I've learned it's better not to fight it and just let him do it how he wants, because then it is a better experience for both of us! Let's just say that if I'd had this cake on hand during the first few days of potty training it might not have made it past the first day! I was so frazzled and exhausted that I would have eaten it all. Probably a good thing I didn't have it then! However, it is a cake that I'm going to be making a lot more in the future... we really enjoyed it (especially with the chocolate frosting!)

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

You'll need heavy whipping cream. About 1 and a quarter cups. Unless you're a perfectionist then make it exactly 1-1/4 cups.

You'll also need butter- 1 Tbsp of it.

and chocolate... 2 cups of it. I used dark chocolate, but semi-sweet would work as well!

Bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat,

Add the butter

Let simmer for 1 minute more,

Pour over the chocolate

Then let rest for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt.

Stir until smooth.

Let cool slightly.

Pour on top of cake,

Smooth the top and let it drizzle down the side.

Then even the frosting on the side.

The cake I used was cold which helped the ganache thicken and set faster.

I highly suggest placing some wax or parchment paper on the serving dish if you want it to look decent... at least I can never frost a cake and have the plate look good afterward! Is it just me, or does anyone else have this problem?!?

New Little Kitchen Winner

Unfortunately the last winner has not contacted me so I'm going to be giving Little Kitchen away to another commenter: 

Comment # 10 won, which was:

ten b Apr 19, 2012 09:34 PM

fb follower ten coupons

You have until Friday, May 4 to contact me in order to claim your prize!

Menu: April 23-29

Happy May everybody! I was all set to write this post yesterday when I got a phone call that changed all my plans for the day! My mom needed me to go sit with my brother and sister while she went to take care of feeding the cows. (She helps every day, but her sister who usually helps hurt her foot and was at the doctor. My brother has been staying with my other brother and sister while she does this, but he went to help yesterday.) Needless to say, I didn't get to this post yesterday as I came home, heated up dinner (we had leftover fajitas) and I also made some strawberry jam (I'd gotten some strawberries for $1/lb but they ended up turning moldy so I had to get to the actually edible ones yesterday!) So I had a pretty busy day ;). But I got to end the night on a fun note - my husband and I played a boardgame before we went to bed. We've gotten out of the habit of playing boardgames and have been trying to play them again. (We use to play over a dozen boardgames a month and now we can count how many we play each month on one hand!)

On to our menu:

We had:

Leftover Grilled Chicken Salad

Grilled Double Cheeseburgers (except I didn't use smoky cheddar, just regular!) 

Beefy Pasta

Vegetable Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce (had leftovers one night as well)

Grilled Pork & Steak, with grilled squash, flatbread, cantelope and watermelon (We had guests for dinner)

Beef Fajitas (used leftover grilled beef and also tossed in some leftover grilled squash - it was great!)

What did you have for dinner last week?

April Foodie Pen-Pal

This month I participated in Foodie Penpals (for more info and how to join click this link) again. This month I was able to send a package to Sarah. I received one from Jennifer. I love getting packages in the mail, is it just me, or does pretty much everybody? I had a roommate in college who was pretty much as obsessed with it as I was - we'd walk to the mailbox together to get the mail!

Here's what came in my package this month: 

 And a closer look: I've had Almond Milk before and loved it! The Snapea Crisps were also good and didn't have too much of a vegetable taste (my son actually ate some!), and I absolutely adore chocolate covered pretzels!

 I've never seen Pumpkin Butter and am super excited to try it. I'll get more to the Peanut Butter in a minute...

 I'd have to say this cereal was pretty delicious!

 Now onto the peanut butter:

 It was very good, and my son LOVED it...

 He took it away from where I was taking pictures to snitch some.

And I have to admit that by the end of the day, it wasn't just his finger mark in the jar... It also had my husband's AND mine...

It was super fun to be able to try new things - I love getting exposed to new foods (Especially those I can't buy since I live in such a rural area!) Thanks again Jennifer!