Chicken Quinoa Chili - Shhh don't tell the hubby!

I love making chili, and this past week the weather has been feeling like fall so I decided to make some chili using what I had on hand. It came out great, and with a few hidden ingredients that we will not tell the hubby about, it was also pretty good for you!

Here is my Chicken Quinoa Chili recipe:

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves put through the garlic press
1 medium onion diced
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots (use a food processor to get 'em good and fine)
1 lb ground chicken
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup quinoa
1 can kidney beans

Directions
Heat the oil in a large soup pan. I use my spaghetti pan because I love how big it is! Add in the onions and cook until they are soft, then add the garlic and carrots and let cook for a few minutes until it really smells like garlic. Add in the chicken and cook on medium until the chicken is no longer pink. Now lower the heat a little and add in the tomato paste and spices and stir until it is combined. Add the broth and tomatoes and raise the heat until the mixture is boiling. Add in the quinoa and the kidney beans and let boil for 5 mins. Lower the heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes, but letting it go for 20-30 minutes is best because the quinoa soaks up the flavor and the chili gets good and thick just how I like it!

To serve top with cheese and sour cream and eat with chips or cornbread. You get some unexpected veggies with the carrots that I so sneakily (is that a word?) hid, some nice fiber with the beans, and of course all the goodness of the quinoa which dear hubby claims he hates but he gobbled up the chili anyway. Little baby girl also slurped up the chili so it is kid approved since I left out a lot of the heat that most chili has. If you want to knock your socks off you can add jalapeno and chili powder but we have a little one at home so we keep it tame.

I only got one photo before we ate it all...and so excuse the rubber ducky under the table! Ha!

 

Memory Lane: Reliving My Biggest Pregnancy Issue

I am quickly approaching the one year anniversary of becoming a mother! As it gets closer and closer I keep reliving all of the memories of pregnancy from the first positive test, four months of throwing up my insides, the first kicks, the waiting a week past her due date, and finally the fast and intense delivery. It was all wonderful. Well mostly wonderful, with the exception of what I like to call My Biggest Pregnancy Issue. It is the issue that shouldn't have been on my mind every time I went into the doctor to hear the heartbeat, receive the exciting handouts about what the baby was doing now, and to blissfully count down the days. It caused a deep depression, an obsession, and a black mark on my whole pregnancy. It was weight gain, and not that I alone obsessed about my growing butt or the clothes that got tighter, but that every. single. check up. I was told I was fat.

Yes I said it - fat. The midwife that I oh so delightfully had to have for months would look at my chart, cluck her tongue, shake her head and say "Honey, you are very overweight. Your baby will be a million pounds because you are fat." I think every woman out there, pregnant or not, just had their mouths drop to the floor. Yes I had gained a few too many pounds. In the end I had gained about five to six pounds over the "recommended" amount to gain, but according to this horrid excuse of a midwife I was a worthless blubber of a whale that was going to have to have my giant child ripped from my huge body.

Now after about five appointments where I would leave in tears and sit in the bathroom down the hall having myself a "fat" ugly cry, I finally told my sweet husband my issue. He didn't really understand because of course they would track my weight gain and be concerned if I was "over" the average, but at the same time he saw the "fat" ugly cry and suggested I complain. Here is the thing. When you are pregnant your whole body changes, and really it should be celebrated because you are creating a new life inside of you. Yes, I probably had one too many cookies, but give me a break. I threw up for four months straight and after that I should be allowed to eat an entire Girl Scout cookie factory. They ended up giving me a very sweet midwife who never once in the last few weeks of my pregnancy comment on my weight. She just delighted with me in the final days and praised me for my birth plan detail, my perseverance through the summer heat, and of course told me how I looked beautiful.

Here is the thing ladies, if anyone calls you fat while you are pregnant you need to punch them in the throat. Okay maybe not be so violent, but don't have yourself a "fat" ugly cry in the bathroom down the hall of the doctor office. Instead, thank them for their rude comment, tell your baby that you love them, and then have a donut. Yes, be healthy, but also enjoy yourself. It isn't worth letting some jerk make you feel like a whale. Plus, weight can come off and on. It is your body, not some freak of a midwife who needs some bedside manner classes.

Oh and guess what midwife from hades - I lost all of the weight plus five more and counting. You on the other hand will always be a horrible, horrible, ugly person.

One Sick Baby

Unfortunately Ella is sick. The doctor kindly told me that she isn't "too sick" but she is sick. She has a fever and upset tummy and one big case of the grumps. For the past week we have been sitting on the couch cuddling and sleeping. Her little cry and whimper breaking my heart.

How in the world do mothers handle this? I feel like I am totally unprepared to deal with it. I am extremely lucky because she has not been sick like this before, but that doesn't make it any better. Sometimes when she is crying and nothing makes her stop I just want to give her the world. By the world I mean a wet washcloth, clean diaper, hair brush, or whatever random item she clasps on to and won't let go. Yes, my child has slept with all of the above and also a wad of my hair she pulled out, a bag of Goldfish crackers, and a spoon. I don't know why she feels the need to hold on to an object while she feels sick, but she does. Very strange, but for some reason comforting.

All I have to say is that my heart goes out to mothers who have sick babies, and an extra prayer to those mothers who have "too sick" babies.

A rare not-crying photo of the patient

Our International Trip!

We decided to take Ella to Canada for our fourth anniversary. It was a great idea, until we realized that Ella is not really a calm baby anymore. She is a moving monster these days and her idea of fun is not being strapped into a carseat while we wait in the line at the border. She cried both ways across the border, but needless to say they let us back in!

While in Vancouver, Canada we went to the aquarium. I had visions on seeing whales since the website proudly boasted that they had whales. Well they did, but one of the smallest whales. Boo. Oh well, I still saw a whale!

When traveling with a small child I have learned a lot, especially because I have never traveled with a small child before! Here are my top 10's:

10. Don't forget the snacks - cheerios or puffs are a must!

9. It is okay to over pack because it is when you are down to your last onesie that there is always an accident. Always.

8. Squeeze babyfood packets are made by a genius and are a great quick meal on the go!

7. Always check online to see if there are restaurants that have kids menus because even if you don't plan on having your child eat the food there, childrens menus always mean highchairs. You would be surprised how maybe places don't have highchairs.

6. Plan to drive around aimlessly because your child has finally taken a nap and you don't want to stop the car. Just plan on it.

5. Even in other countries/states your child is adorable and people will want to talk to you. Just smile and be glad you have a cute baby, even though it is the millionth person who wants to talk to you!

4. Always back a non-noisy toy in your bag for when the baby gets bored. If you don't have a toy, plastic bags work well also but are not non-noise. Just an FYI.

3. Don't count on anything late night other than waking up with your baby screaming. This is a great time to bring a laptop or tablet so you can watch netflix or read the news. You will feel old. You are.

2. Hotel cribs are just fine, especially when it means you don't have to lug your travel crib everywhere. Bring a sheet they have slept on and they won't know the difference!

1. Expect to be late and not get as much done as you thought. Babies apparently don't understand that the dolphin show starts in five minutes, or that it is one in the morning and screaming is not really allowed.
After four wonderful years of marriage I still feel like a very lucky girl! My husband is an amazing father, partner, and provider. He also is accident prone, which is a new thing. In the past month he has be in a car accident that hurt his back and shoulder, fell down in a parking garage and hurt his wrist, and most recently hurt his toe while chasing Ella. Yikes! Despite his less than graceful self, I love him! In honor of our belated anniversary here are some wedding photos! I always love wedding photos!

Pork Chops and Apples

So I have been slacking on posting my cookbook updates. I also have been bad about taking photos of the food I make. I just want to eat it! NOW! Ha!

So I'm going to try to get back on the wagon. Last night I made Pork Chops and Apples from Betty Crocker's New Good and Easy Cook Book

Pork Chops and Apples p. 71

6 Pork Chops

3 or 4 unpeeled apples, cored and sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown chops on all sides in hot fat (I used olive oil). Place apple slices in greased baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Dot with butter and place chops on top. Cover, bake for 1.5 hours.

Okay here is the deal, I didn't have 1.5 hours and my chops didn't seem thick so I browned them, used my Pampered Chef apple slicer thingy (if you want to order this please let me know, Brentt Roberts is my Pampered Chef dude and would love your business...shameless plug). The apples were thin and peeled so they cooked fast. I cooked it all for about 30 mins and it was perfect. The apples make a yummy addition to the pork chops and it has a buttery cinnamon sauce you can put on top. We had corn on the cob, tomato slices, and rolls too. It was a very yellow looking dinner, but whatever it was good. No photos because we ate it all up!

Now a little note about this cookbook. It is super old, 1962 apparently. The book is actually made into meal plans so you can pick a main dish and it shows what sides and even desserts to serve with it! I didn't use it that way because since it was from 1962 the sides were weird (what are pickled crabapples anyway? people ate that?!). One of the fun things is it shows you how to garnish your meals. The good ol' days where housewives would spend time making the meal look pretty. So fun!

Mommy and Me!

For my own Mother's Day gift I decided to get professional photos of Ella and I together. I don't have many photos with my mom because she always hated the way she looked in photos. The ones I do have I love, especially the ones when I was little. Ella is growing so fast and I want to make sure that I have photos of both of us throughout her life.

I went to Memories By Aly for a mini-shoot with just the two of us and it was fun! We were freezing because of course it was the only day that week it rained. Ella is not a smiler, so a lot of the photos she isn't smiling in them but looking a little annoyed/mean mugging. Oh well - memories!

Here are a few photos:

My little girl is growing up so fast! It was around this time last year we found out we were having a girl. It was a shock since I had convinced myself she would be a boy. I believed that I would spend my life with dirty boy socks and Thomas the Train toys. In one happy moment dolls, bows, and pink came into my life and I have never been so happy! She is a pill sometimes, but I could never ask for a better gift!

Swimmy Lessons

We have been very busy lately and I haven't been able to write! I wanted to make sure that I wrote down our swim lesson experiences!

I never had swimming lessons growing up. Of course I had two lake cabins and grew up around water so swimming was just something you did. With Ella I wanted her to have that same sense of security around water so we started swimming lessons at the YMCA. I call them her "swimmy lessons" and we go every Monday.

The first lesson was less than fun. Going by yourself for with a small child is not only a little scary, but it was exhausting. When we first started she couldn't crawl so I could change her into her pink poodle swim suit and plop her down. Now that we are on our second session she has learned to crawl, therefore she has learned to CRAWL ALL OVER the gross disgusting floor. I have learned to corner her with the dressing stools on a towel. My poor child is in swim jail!

So far Ella has learned to reach for foam letters, "jump" into the pool, dunk under water, float on her back, and stare at the other kids laughing like they are nuts. She always seems so unenthused, but at the same time she doesn't act like she hates it so we keep going! My child is just very serious. Swimming is a serious activity in this household.

Here are some fun photos that we finally were able to get taken thanks to daddy taking a day off of work!

Here are the things that swimming lessons have taught us:

1. Mommy is more afraid of baby in the water than baby is.
2. Swim diapers are not made to hold pee...
3. Three towels is a must
4. Just because your child isn't smiling doesn't mean she isn't having fun
5. Do not place your child in car seat in swim diaper (see #2)
6. No one is looking at mommy in her swimsuit if you put baby in a pink poodle suit. Trust me, they aren't.
7. Naps before swim are very important. VERY important.
8. When it is cold outside the pool is warm, when it is warm outside the pool is ice cold. Go figure.
9. Babies do not mind getting a mouth full of water
10. You will look like an idiot singing in a circle with your baby, but see #6

So fun! I highly recommend swim lessons. People always look at me strangely when I saw we take swim lessons, but it is really just something for mommy/daddy to do with baby and a good way to get baby to get used to the water. Plus, HELLO pink poodle swimsuit!