Oh My Thighs!

Many nights since Ethan was born have been spent with me 1/2 way preparing dinner and than needing to stop to nurse, soothe, play with the baby. Joseph is usually there to finish the job. But on some nights I can't get away even for a few minutes in the evening because Ethan needs me. So Joseph has to make a few meals on his own.

With a bit of help from google we always find a recipe that he can make with what I've defrosted in the fridge. This night was a bit tricky. You see, we hardly ever buy chicken thighs... we always get breasts. And on my recent trip to the grocery store I picked up some thighs since they were reduced price (score!).

So we started to search for a good thigh recipe. And boy did we find one! I'm sure this can be done with breasts too but these thighs were so juicy and tasty! I definitely will be making this again. So simple, less than 5 ingredients and delicious. What a score. Great job, Joseph!

Source: RecipeZaar



Old Bay Chicken Thighs

• chicken thighs
• Old Bay seasoning
• bacon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken dry. Season on both sides with Old Bay. Heat a skillet on medium and add in olive oil. Once the pan is heated brown chicken on both sides.

Once browned, take chicken out of the pan and wrap with a piece (or two!) of bacon.

Place wrapped chicken in a pan and cook for 30 minutes or until done . Remove and serve with your favorite sides and veggies!

We have a winner!

And the winner is...



And who was lucky number 3??



Congrats, Natalie! I know you'll use this book and make me proud :) I'll email you and we'll figure out when we can see each other so I can get this to you!

Noodles & Beef

Since I've been a bit preoccupied most nights with Ethan, Joseph has had to step in on occasion to make a meal. Last night was one of those nights. Ethan was exhausted from his baptism and was sound asleep in my arms when dinnertime arrived. I asked Joseph if he wouldn't mind making something and let him know there was ground beef in the fridge.

He than took it upon himself to search for a good recipe. He checked Joy of Cooking but found nothing so he went to the internet and simply googled "what to make with ground beef". While searching the results he came across a simple pasta recipe.

The recipe was good and filling but I think we need to spice it up a bit next time!

Source: Families.com



Macaroni with Beef & Tomatoes

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

In the meantime, in a large pot, begin browning the ground beef over medium-high heat. After 5 minutes, add the spices, onion, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until beef is browned and onion is tender. Add canned tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add spaghetti sauce and stir. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15-30 minutes (depending on how much time you have).

Add cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and stir well. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Lunch and... a giveaway!

I know you're probably wondering who the heck I am because I've been on hiatus for so long but I have a good reason :) On February 22nd I gave birth to my little boy. He's taken up quite a lot of time and that leaves less time to cook (or finish cooking) and take pictures. Most nights are spent with Joseph getting home and taking Ethan for a walk (or playing on his play mat) while I start dinner. Ethan gets hungry about 1/2 an hour in and Joseph ends up finishing the meal and serving it. Doesn't leave much room for pictures and Joseph's not really into taking pictures of our meals...

So, in order to thank anyone who's still reading this I decided I should do a give away! This past Christmas we did a gift exchange with Joseph's family. It's one where you get assigned a Secret Santa and than buy for just that person. Well, there was a bit of a mix up and I ended up with gifts from two people and Joseph didn't get anything :(

On top of that one of the gifts I received was a duplicate. I was planning on returning it and using the money to buy Joseph a book he wanted but time got to us and we missed the 90-day window to return it. So I'm sure you've guessed that the extra book is what I'm giving away and you're dying to know what it is, right? I hope so!

This book helped out a lot when I was freezing meals for the days/weeks after Ethan was born. It's called Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer and it's filled with useful tips on how to meal plan and stock your freezer full of yummy dinners for the week/month. This worked out soo well for us! We didn't have to make our own dinner for 5 weeks! Yeah, we did eat out but we mostly ate in (and had left overs) so it worked out great.

So if you're interested leave a comment on my blog letting me know what you want to see from me now that I have a bit more time (during Ethan's naps) to blog about what I cook. Oh, and just an update... I'm now back on Weight Watchers too so I'll start to incorporate point values in my recipes when I get a chance!

I'll randomly choose a winner on Friday, April 24th using the random number generator on Random.org.

Oh, and I found a wonderful and simple lunch "recipe" while at Trader Joes a few weeks ago and fell in love with it! So tasty. I changed things around and used Havarti instead of the Swiss TJs uses but it's still as yummy!

Source: Trader Joe's samples



Grilled Ham & Cheese

• 2 slices bread of choice (I used whole wheat)
• 1 slice ham
• 1-2 slices cheese (I used havarti, TJs uses swiss)
• 1 tablespoon cranberry apple butter
• 1-2 sprays non-stick cooking spray

Spread 1/2 tablespoon cranberry apple butter on each slice of bread. Depending on the bread's absorbancy it might look like there isn't much butter on there but don't worry... you don't want to overdo it! Heat non-stick skillet to medium. Place cheese on buttered side of bread and than place ham on top. Add optional slice of cheese on top of ham and place buttered side of other slice of bread down.

Spray the skillet with non-stick cooking spray and put sandwich in pan. Get a heavy pan or flat pan lid and smoosh sandwich down for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until golden brown. Flip sandwich over and repeat until golden brown and cheese is oozing.

Plate and enjoy!