On the Menu

I've been thinking about food quite a bit lately. Is it because I'm watching the number on the scale go up here at the end of this pregnancy game? I mean, I'm eating all the food, and it shows. Check out this side-by-side, or top-to-bottom.

This is me at 38 weeks. 

This is me at 39 weeks

So... there's that. Also, photographic evidence that this baby has not dropped. April is right around the corner, so I'd like her to start moving down. You know, prepping to move out. Anyway, back to the food discussion.

When J & I first got married, I was pretty good at meal-planning. (*toot-toot* that's my own horn!) I had a spreadsheet with our favorite meals laid out, and I was teaching myself Access so I could make a database. It's the kind of geek that I am. Somewhere along the line I got busy, or lazy, or bored with the 12 or so meals that we knew how to cook and I stopped doing it. Recently I've been trying to get back into the habit. A few weeks ago I tried two new recipes from Food on the Table. Thankfully, they both worked out & J really liked them. Hooray. The site is a success. The only problem is J and I were rarely home at the same time to eat together. Our commitments were on conflicting nights and blah blah blah.

Now, however... I'm home! And I have time! So, I'm trying again. Only, now I'm trying to plan in advance a freezer full of things that take little to no brain-power to make our lives easier. I've already made 2 batches of these enchiladas for MDM & KRho (to really good reviews--I have yet to eat any myself), only... I'm bad at following recipes. I cooked some chicken breasts in the crock-pot overnight with a can of Rotel (the regular kind, not the super spicy kind), and for the first batch, I skipped the enchilada sauce completely, instead using the juice from the crock pot. The second batch I just poured some on top. Third batch... as yet undecided.

So, I've got some pre-fab pasta sauce and pasta, a batch of enchiladas, two pre-seasoned-just-throw-in-the-oven tenderloin thingies (one chicken, one beef). So far, I'm resisting the temptation to just stock up on chicken nuggets and french fries. I figure the days when those become necessary freezer staples are coming & I shouldn't hasten them.

Now, gentle readers! Give me your recipes! Crock-pot gems. Things that require no brain-work, skill, or excess time.

And, an update on J! He's fine. He's recovering really, really well. So far, it looks like he may have avoided the permanent nerve damage part of things, so that's really, really, really good news. Also, here's a picture of the offending tooth.

See it there, on the bottom right? Yeah. Icky.

Thank you all for your prayers though. He's already eating mostly real food (soft, but not purees) and hasn't been on drugs 24/7, so I'm very grateful. For some truly suck-tastic timing, things have gone amazingly well.

Also, I've gotten to have my husband home for a week! A whole week! Even sickly, it's been a treat. 

Now, to go retrieve my car from the shop. nearly $900 in regular maintenance and replacement parts later, she'll be as good as new, just in time to be carrying around a wee person. Hear that, Freckle? Nice clean, safe car! Leather seats! A sun-roof! Head towards the exit now and make your debut in 4 days or so. (I really would like her to get here in time for Easter. I have a great dress with matching bonnet and booties for her to wear. I mean, she can't avoid wearing it. I'm going to put her in it, Easter or not, but it would be really nice to have her in it for a picture in a little Easter basket, right? I mean, cute overload... assuming she cleans up nicely after that whole birth thing.)