Recipe Roundup

So, I am not going to do a meal plan this week because I don't have enough brain power to plan it right now. I will, however, do a round up review on the ones I used this week.

The Ranch Style Chicken tasted great BUT beware if you are not used to cooking with bacon grease. We don't eat bacon much and this calls for you to use the grease to cook with the chicken. Let me just say it gave us some serious stomach issues and we probably won't cook it again.

I did make a few pumpkin recipes that all turned out great. I made the Dairy/Egg Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies which were yummy. The consistency was a little more like a muffin top but it was still good.

I also made the Pumpkin Burgers which were very similar to sloppy joes with a kick. They were great.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe that I made was AWESOME! I have become a little addicted to the one that you get at Starbucks. This was a lot nicer on my pocketbook.

Monday Meal Plan

Monday- Black Bean Soup and salad (maybe salad if i have the stuff for it)

Tuesday- Ranch Style Chicken with baked sweet potatos

Wednesday- Pumpkin Burgers (they sound like sloppy joe's but with pumpkin) with corn and whatever veggies we get from our CSA

Thursday- Chicken Alfredo & Linguine with salad and bread (sharing this one with our friends)

Friday- Taco's

Saturday- leftovers

What should I do with my homemade pumpkin puree?

Tomorrow I will bake my first pumpkin and I am looking for some recipes to use with the puree. So far I am thinking of

Pioneer Woman’s Pumpkin Cake with Whiskey Whipped Cream only problem with this recipe is that I don't have any whiskey.

Maybe these Dairy/Egg Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies that I found on Tasty Kitchen.

Here is a great tutorial from the Pioneer Woman on how to make pumpkin puree.

I might just go with a healthier option, pumpkin soup. Haven't found a recipe for that one yet but I will blog about whatever I cook later.

Updates

I am now 31 weeks pregnant! I passed a big milestone during week 28...that was when I went on bedrest with Ruby. Thankfully, I am not on bedrest now although my doctor does have me on some restrictions just to be safe. This pregnancy is much different than my first...I am feeling pretty good now (minus the lack of sleep)and we can't wait to meet little Telia in 2 months.


This is a picture that my good friend Jessica took of Ruby and I. She took more pics of Ruby the week of her birthday that I will post when I get them. She is a great photographer.

Ruby has changed so much in the past month. She, of course, is still talking up a storm but her ability to start having some form of conversations with us has been especially surprising. She said her first out loud prayer this week and it went like this: "Thank you for Papaw, thank you for Daddy, thank you for soup." She had her 2 year check up last week and I was very surprised to find out that she is in the 90Th percentile for height and the 89Th percentile for weight!! Maybe she will be tall like the Laffin's and not short like the Faith's.

Brian and I have been nesting, nesting, nesting. We have cleaned out rooms, gotten rid of furniture, and rearranged things. Our house has become much more clutter free and more inviting. I love it and am so glad that Brian has gotten on board with my desire to nest.

Craft for Ruby

After having the materials for this project for over a year I finally finished it. About a month ago I made this little matching game for Ruby. I got the idea from a blog that I read once but I can't find it anymore. So, it is not originally my idea.

I started with some scrap book paper, mod podge, scissors, and some wooden squares that I got from Hobby Lobby.

So far Ruby is not much into matching the squares but she likes sorting them and showing them to her baby doll.

Monday Meal Plan

Monday- Chili with grilled cheese

Tuesday- Red Beans and Rice with cornbread and greens

Wednesday- Lasagna with salad

Thursday- left overs

Friday- Spinach and cheese tortellini soup with salad

Saturday- Taco salad

Ruby 2 Years Old