Confessional Friday: {Link Up}

 

 

I confess that I have become addicted to watching Call the Midwife on Netflix this week.  So much so that I believe I watched an entire season in ONE day. 

 

I confess I'm THAT friend who doesn't answer her phone but will text you immediately back.  I hate talking on the phone.  However, moving 7 hours away from all my friends and family this year has made me realize that talking on the phone and hearing a loved ones voice is far better than any text I could receive. 

 

I confess that I've lost 5 pounds this week but I'm scared to step on the scale today after I ate an entire bag of peanut M&M's (and I ain't talking about the small individual bags) over the course of a day yesterday (only like 1,200 calories).  Gahhhhh WHY WHY WHY!?!?

*Maybe it could have been the fact that my poor teething baby had such a rough day yesterday I couldn't even put him down to use the bathroom...

 

I confess that I'm a STRESS EATER. Ha...that might be an understatement! 

 

 

 

I confess that God has really been working on my heart about what I post on facebook and instagram.   We tend to only want to share materialistic things or ourselves looking perfectly put together which leads to everyone seeing a picture perfect life.  I encourage us to post pictures and share things with a joyful pure heart and not one of self indulgence, boastfulness, and conceitedness.    

 

I confess that this has been the first confessional Friday I've participated in! :)

 

 

Dutch Apple Pie

We went to my parent's house over Labor Day and my mom made this amazing apple pie!!! Even baby James loved it...hehe.  Here is the recipe...

 

 

Hope you enjoy this recipe! Perfect for this coming fall and the holidays...

 

I have been so bad about keeping up my blog and posting.  I hope to make it more of a priority in the future but having a little one with me 24/7 makes it a wee bit difficult.  I'm hoping to post his 8 month photos tomorrow as he is 8 MONTHS TODAY!!! Woo Woo!!!

 

Here's what we've been dealing with the past month...

 

 

 

So we did what all parents are warned against doing...co-sleeping.  Once James hit 7 months old we were determined to get him in his crib and cut down on his night time nursing.  Now let me add we tried many approaches and everything failed.  After talking to our parents and getting advice we finally decided to try the Ferber method.  At first we were totally against this because the thought of leaving him in his room crying seemed cruel...but desperate times call for desperate measures (desperate meaning sleep deprived).  The first few nights were SO hard.  The books say it usually takes about a week but it took us about 3 weeks before he was "Ferberized".  First week it took him about 30-45 minutes of crying and us going back and forth every 10 minutes before he fell asleep.  Second and third week it was about 10-20 minutes of crying before he fell asleep.  BUT now I nurse him and then lay him in his crib and he immediately rolls onto his stomach and falls asleep.  It's a miracle!!!

 

He now sleeps from 7:30 pm to about 7 am EVERY time.  I am a firm believer of the Ferber method now.  Before, when he slept with us, we went to bed around 9-9:30 pm and slept till 6 am and then he would wake up every 3 hours to nurse in between that and he just didn't sleep well.  He would fuss in his sleep and wake us up hourly.  I am so thankful those days are behind us.  James sleeps better and has done great without the nightly nursing.

 

Mom and dad are thankful for time together every night to unwind, to watch tv, catch up on chores, and sleep ALL night like we used to! :) 

 

***Ferber method is not for everyone but it worked for us and we're extremely happy with the results. I don't think the 3 weeks of crying will cause him any long term psychological issues.

 

 



Firecracker Pasta

In honor of the 4th of July around the corner....
(AND because my husband said it actually smelled like firecrackers...ha!)

 

 

Firecracker Pasta (aka Spicy Smoked Sausage Pasta)

 

Ingredients:

1 1b. smoked turkey sausage

1 medium onion (chopped)

8 oz. pasta

1/2-1 cup heavy cream (I used 1 cup for a thinner style sauce)

1 can rotel

2 cups chicken broth

1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

1 tsp. salt (I actually omitted this)

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

 

Directions:

In a large skillet, add olive oil, sausage, and onions.  Cook on medium high heat until browned.  Add minced garlic and cook for about a minute.  Then add rotel, pasta, cream, chicken broth, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is cooked.  Lastly, add Monterey Jack cheese and stir to combine.  Broil in the oven for 3 minutes or until cheese is golden.\

 

Servings: 4

Calories: 625

 

 

 

This is my NEW favorite recipe y'all!!!!

  It was so flavorful and reminded me of a New Orleans Cajun-style pasta.  

 



Our Weekend

We had such a great weekend this past week!!! My mom surprised me and made the long drive to Cape to spend a few days with us.  It has been several months since she's seen us so she was thrilled to spend some time with her grandbaby.  Then, my brother and his family also came Saturday to spend the day with us.  We grilled, walked along the river front, and had lots of fun!!!

 

 

I made my favorite summer dessert recipe also.  This is SO easy and quick to make! 

 

 

 

Key Lime Pie

 

Ingredients:

 

For the crust:

 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted

 

For the filling:

6 egg yolks (at room temperature)

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tbsp. grated lime zest

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

 

For the decoration:

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

thin lime wedges

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For the crust, mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl.  Press into a pie pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.  For the filling, beat the eggs and sugar on high speed in an electric mixer for 5 minutes (or until thick).  Reduce to medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice.  Pour into the graham cracker pie crust and freeze.  For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar and vanilla next and beat until firm.  Spoon or pipe onto the pie and decorate with lime wedges.  Freeze at least for 2 hours but best overnight.

 

***I sometimes use shortcuts for this recipe like buying premade graham cracker crust and lime juice.  You could also use cool whip if you didn't want to make your own whipped cream BUT the homemade is SO much better!!!

 



Father's Day & Meal Prep

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day this past weekend.  It was special to celebrate Jamie's first Father's Day.  I planned a dinner out and one of our church friends watched little James.  We went to a Cajun place called Broussard's.  It was so nice to get out and spend some alone time together!!!

 

 

I've been wanting to do a blog post about our weekly food prep and go into further details on how we budget and make things work for us. 

 

First, we set a $50 grocery limit for each of us.  Jamie is doing a keto diet right now so we have totally different nutrition needs.  He spends most of his money on protein.  I spend most of mine on fresh produce. 

 

Next, we make out a weekly menu so we can plan ahead before going shopping.  Jamie is perfectly fine with eating the same three meals every day for an entire week.  I however like to have several different choices each week for at least my lunch and dinner. 

 

This week I decided on oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast, cottage cheese w/ strawberries and carrots for snacks, and chicken pot pies, grilled chicken & couscous with baked veggies, and skinny chili for my lunch/dinner options. 

 

 

Since I'm a nursing momma I am suppose to eat around 2,300 calories a day.  Which means I could eat all that you see above easily and stay within my calorie goal. 

 

 

Chicken Pot Pies

 

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (cooked and cut up)

2 cups of frozen peas and carrots

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 cup of Bisquick

1 egg

1/2 cup of skim milk

 

Preheat oven at 400 degrees.  Combine your chicken, soup, and frozen peas and carrots.  Mix together and divide between 6 oven safe bowls.  In a small bowl whisk together your egg, milk, and bisquick.  Pour mixture on top of each bowl.  Bake for 35 minutes. 

 



 

This recipe is a family favorite.  I make these ALL the time in the winter.  For some reason I had a craving for these this past week.  This is a weight watchers recipe my mom gave me a while back.  I've experimented with this recipe and this is just my favorite combination.  If you wanted to add potatoes or other veggies you could certainly change it up.  These taste just as good the next day as they did when they came out of the oven!!!

 

Skinny Chili

 

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs. ground turkey or beef

2 bell peppers

1 can of corn (drained)

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 can of pinto beans (drained)

1 can of red kidney beans (drained)

1 large onion (diced)

1 cup of chopped celery

2 tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tbsp. stevia

1 jar of salsa

 

Combine all ingredients except for ground beef and onion into a crockpot.  Cook ground beef and onions in a skillet until browned.  Combine with the remaining ingredients in crockpot.  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

 





 

There is a reason I call this "skinny" chili.  The reason is you can eat this till you're going to explode and it has hardly any calories!!!  This makes 10 huge servings at only 212 calories.  But don't worry...once I add my shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream on top the calories start to climb. Ha!!! :)

 

This is a great dish I can make for my vegetarian and vegan friends.  You could substitute the ground beef for morning star beef crumbles or a couple cans of black beans.  This freezes beautifully which makes it ideal for meal swaps, pot lucks, and large get together where you have to feed a lot of people.  My husband says this reminds him of taco soup but a lot thicker and heartier. 

 

That's basically it for this week.  Very simple.  Very frugal.  I will try to do more weekly food prep ideas in the future. 

 

 

 



Quinoa Casserole

Two things that I have really been wanting to try lately have been quinoa and spaghetti squash.  I am definitely still brain storming and searching cookbooks for some ideas BUT this week we have tried both of them out. 

Quinoa is the newest "super food" and has a lot of hype right now.  Which means I've seen it a LOT among blogs and pinterest and had to try it out for myself.  A few studies have found that it's a high protein grain alternative (more than double the protein of most grains), fights diabetes and hypertension (lowers blood glucose levels and lowers blood pressure if eaten daily), a natural appetite suppressant (high protein and low calories), and an anti-aging miracle (destroys free radicals in the bloodstream which slow down aging, decrease the risk of cancer, and delay wrinkles and fine lines).  Why wouldn't you want to try this and incorporate it into your daily diet!?

I was browsing some body builder websites last weekend (they seem to have the best "clean" recipes) and came across several quinoa recipes.  We have been doing food prep on the weekends (6 small meals a day) and I wanted something that would hold up well for 5 days in the fridge. 

Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper (or any color you prefer)

1 egg plant 

2 zucchini's

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

2 cups of chicken broth

1 can of tomato paste

2 cans of tomato sauce

4lbs. lean ground beef

salt, pepper, cumin to taste (I used 1 tsp. of each) 

2 boxes of quinoa pasta

Servings: 12

Calories: 401

Start out by sautéing your onion and garlic until translucent.

Add your ground beef and cook until done (I had to use 2 skillets since it was so much meat).

Drain and set aside.

Boil your pasta.

While your pasta is boiling add the egg plant, zucchini, bell pepper, and chicken broth to a skillet.  Once it starts boiling turn it down to medium-low heat and put a lid on it. 

Simmer until your pasta is done (6-10 minutes). 

Add together your sauce and ground beef.  Mix together.

Drain your quinoa pasta once it's al dente. 

Line up 10 mini loaf pans to start your assembly.

Divide evenly your quinoa pasta among the pans.

Then, add your beef and veggie mixture.

Lastly, add your mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Voila!

Once they are cooled you can put a lid on them and store in the refrigerator up to five days!

I had to sneak this picture in...these two were snoozing while I made these tonight! :)

PRECIOUS!!!



Hubby and I really liked this recipe.  If you're vegan you could substitute in vegetable broth and black beans and omit the cheese.  Or you could also do turkey instead of beef.  The quinoa pasta is very similar to regular pasta but a little more dense.

***I will blog a recipe using spaghetti squash soon and tell you my opinion on it...

Flooded Basement

Sorry I haven't been blogging for several weeks!  It's been crazy here at the Arnold house.  Arkansas got tornado's and we had flash floods.  I think the weather said something like 8 inches of rain over one night.  I went downstairs to the unfinished part of our basement and noticed a small leak from the wall...within 3 hours the WHOLE basement was flooded.  We were hoping the leak wouldn't travel to the finished part of the basement but it did.  Thankfully, we had a couple people helping us move everything upstairs before it got damaged.  The floors and trim were taken up immediately as well.  We will be glad to have everything fixed and back to normal this summer!!!

 

 

I'm going to share a healthy clean eating dinner tonight!  We've been doing six small meals a day and prepping all our food on the weekends.  More on that later!!!  It's really nice to have all your meals ready to go for the week and not having to cook every day (I love cooking but it's not easy with an infant).  Check back later tonight...