Happy Due Date Day to me!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Stillll pregnant!  Because I'm still pregnant, I obviously need to keep eating treats!  I needed something that didn't need to be baked, because what if I go into labor while it's baking?  Would I forget to turn the oven off and burn the house down??  I would hope not....

So, I made this lovely treat from one of my fave blogs in 20 minutes flat!  Sweet and salty goodness!  And you can eat it in the morning because it has peanut butter, right? ;)

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies, made exactly as Jessica posted:

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup corn syrup (or maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of ginger
• 1 oz Baker's chocolate, melted

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together.  Trust me, as Jessica said, it will be very very crumbly!  I ended up adding another 1/2 cup of peanut butter to make it stickier.  Continue to mix until it's sticking together, then roll into 1" balls.  Place the ball on a plate or baking sheet, covered with wax paper, and press with a fork to flatten.   Cover with as much of the melted chocolate as you like.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and then eat them up, before anyone else knows you made them;)  My batch made 15 cookies.  I tried one at the 30 minute mark, but it was still a bit warm/crumbly, so I tried another again one hour later, and it was sooooo good!

Thank you, Jessica for this recipe!  Everyone visit her blog linked above - it's amazing and always a great read!

And btw, if I had Smartfood, I probably would've put a piece of popcorn on top of each peanut butter cookie then put the chocolate on top...yes, that is what prego me wants...

It's getting hot in here!

Spicy-ness wise;)  Happy Tuesday, everyone!  Still here, still pregnant!  Tomorrow is my "due date" so fingers crossed for some Christmas magic!

This week I'm trying to use up a lot of foods we already have in the fridge/freezer/cabinets, but also making sure we get a lot of good, substantial, meals in, just in case I do go into labor - need that energy!  Tonight I tried a new recipe, found at cooks.com, for Cajun Shrimp Casserole!  It took quite a bit of time to make, but it was very simple, and perfect for this very cold New England day!  Well, according to everyone else it was cold...prego me thought the 30 degree temp was quite nice;)

You will need:

• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned
• 1 can of cheddar cheese soup
• 2 cups cooked yellow rice
• Cajun seasoning - I used cajun seasoning and also a Goya seasoning packet, with some CRP
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Phew!  That's a lot of ingredients!

Heat a large pan with the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion, pepper, and celery, and saute until soft.  Add mushroom soup and diced tomatoes, simmering on low for 15 minutes.

Add shrimp and cheddar cheese soup, turning up the heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring everything together.

Looks...interesting, right?  I thought so, anyways!  Trust me, the textures and tastes together are perfect!  Once those 15 minutes have elapsed, add the cooked rice and seasoning, stirring it into the rest of the mixture.

Pour into a 13x9 pan and bake 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes have elapsed, broil on high in your oven for another 4 minutes, so that the bread crumbs get a bit crispy on top.

I used a little too much bread crumbs, so definitely don't go overboard with those!  We enjoyed this warm comfort food, that really wasn't too spicy, with some nice clam chowder and rolls.  Definitely filled me up, and finally now, about 2 hours later, I'm craving more food:) 

I'll definitely be making this again, and adding cut up sausage!  Now, where's my ice cream...

Who doesn't love a good Christmas survey?!?

Stolen from the bff's awesome blog!!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

I am the worst wrapper ever...tons of tape, bad edges, and I like to get it done fast!  But I wrap more than use gift bags:) 

2. Real tree or Artificial? 

Always had artificial growing up, which I loved.  Now, the husband and I get a real tree, which I love the smell:) 

3. When do you put up the tree? 

Usually Thanksgiving weekend or shortly after - especially this year with the baby coming in December!

4. When do you take the tree down? 

Early January :(

5. Favorite gift received as a child? 

Probably anything Barbie!

  

6. Hardest person to buy for? 

My dad

7. Easiest person to buy for? 

husband, the motha, brother, bff, anyone except the fatha!

8. Mail or email Christmas cards? 

 Mail for sure - who doesn't like getting a card in the mail??

9. Favorite Christmas Movie? 

Original Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, any Falalala Lifetime movie;)

10. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

Pretty much right after Thanksgiving!  So fun to find a perfect gift for someone!

11. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

I don't think so

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? 

the motha's Christmas cookies!  Also, all the appetizer foods!

13. Lights on the tree (colored or clear)? 

Clear

14. Favorite Christmas song? 

O Come All Ye Faithful, All I want for Christmas is You...etc...pretty much anything but anything by the Carpenter's!

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

Usually we travel to one of our parents' homes...this year, family will be coming to our new home:)

16. Angel, star or ribbon on top of tree? 

Star!

17. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? 

12:01am Christmas morning;)  At least we did that one year, the year the husband proposed!

 

18. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? 

People that look miserable while shopping, decorating, etc...complaining about all they have to do.  It's not about that stuff, it's about spending time with family and being thankful for everything we have in our lives!

19. What do you want for Christmas this year?

A healthy baby!

20. Traditional colors (red and green) or other colors? 

Mostly tradional, it's so pretty!

So there it is! Now, how about you? Please let me know if you decide to fill out these questions, I'd love to hear your answers!

Falalala Fudge!

Remember this post?  How I promised I would post a picture when I made it again during the holiday season?  Oops, never did post a pic, did I!  Here are those pics since I made some yesterday for my dad's birthday...and because I love fudge and the chocolate-y breath it gives you!!!

 Ingredients, minus Pam butter spray

 Melting together the choc chips, 1 oz chocolate, and sweetened condensed milk

 No, you do not dump in DD's hot chocolate...the awesome husband bought me a large one Friday night, so I drank half then, and half while making the fudge:)

 Keep stirring so it will keep melting together!

 Nuts and vanilla added once melted together, and poured into the pan to chill

 This may or may not be my tongue mark...

The leftover fudge for us to have here at home:)

Everyone should make and eat fudge as soon as possible!  Next time, I'm going to try to add some peanut butter I think!

Oh, and happy online due date to me (doctor's due date for me is 12/15)!!

The best muffins I've ever made!

Seriously.

So, on Friday nights we usually catch up on our DVR (hey, I'm pregnant, how fun can I be?)...so while watching Boardwalk Empire, I like to think happy thoughts during the gruesome parts.  What did I think about last night while a man had his neck slashed in the barber chair?  Breakfast of course!  I made blueberry muffins last weekend with blueberries from my parents blueberry bush/garden thing, and was all out, so I decided I would try the cranberry orange muffins I came across this week at For the Love of Cooking.  Amazing site, and amazing muffins!

Again, seriously, the best.  They look "perfect", the insides are nice and soft while the top of the muffin is so nice and toasty golden with a bit of crunch.  I may never make another kind of muffin again!

Seriously.  Another thing I loved about making these muffins?  How quick and easy they were, and how you could work on multiple steps at a time!  Also, cleanup was a breeze!

You will need:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• one package, or around 1 cup, dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg

Heat orange juice and cranberries over medium heat, roughly 5-7 minutes - according to For the Love of Cooking, it will plump up the dried cranberries, which I believe it did!  While this is doing its thing, preheat oven to 400, and combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, mixing it together.

Once the OJ/cran mixture has heated up, put that into a separate large bowl, adding the veg oil and egg, mixing that together as well.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, mix together, spoon into muffin tin, and bake for 15-20 minutes (mine took 18), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Phew!  Easy, right!?  You will see if you compare my ingredients to the blog I got the recipe from, I omitted the orange rind and raw sugar.  To me, all the other ingredients were sweet enough that I didn't feel I needed these.

What a great way to start a Saturday!  The husband has gone for a run...I could eat them all and he would never know...

Remember how I said last night would be my last night cooking a real meal...yeah right, shrimp tacos!

Happy Thursday!  Still here, still pregnant, and still crazy!  Today I decided I had to clean out all of our cabinets, rearrange them, etc...after cleaning a bathroom, doing laundry, etc.  I should be resting, right??  I sure pay for it later when back is in so much pain it feels numb!!

Enough of that...I still had to make dinner!  I swore after last night that was it, no more meals which required me to be on my feet for a long time.  Shrimp tacos and spanish rice were on our weekly menu, and when I thought about the last time I had made them, it didn't seem like it would be too bad.  Well, I wasn't 39 weeks pregnant, then!  They're so yummy, though, they're worth it! 

This is an adapted recipe from foodnetwork.com called Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Salsa Verde.  The shrimp cooks so quickly that I always make the salsa first.  Plus, you can always dip some nachos, or your finger, in the salsa while the shrimp cook;)  You will need:

• 1 small onion, cut into pieces, don't really need to be that small
• 1 jalapeno, cut into about 4 pieces
• a few small pieces of tomato
• 1 avocado, peeled and seeded, cut into chunks
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cilantro leaves, as big or small as you'd like

Put the onion and jalapeno in your food processor  and finely chop.  Add the tomatoes, avocado, and salt and chop again until combined and in pieces that are to your liking - I chopped it up pretty well, but some like their avocado pieces bigger.  Put into a bowl, add cilantro, and stir to mix together.

Yum!  The husband is lucky there is any of this salsa left as I make the shrimp!  Warning, it's very spicy!!

The shrimp part is so easy - take as many large shrimp as you'd like, place in a large bowl, and mix with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp salt.  When the shrimp are coated, cook them in a fry pan on medium low heat until cooked through.  Look at these!

Sooo good, I could eat these with a fork and be happy!  You can either enjoy just the shrimp and salsa on a whole wheat wrap, taco shell, etc, or add all the fixings!  On mine, I added cheddar cheese and lime juice; the husband added sour cream, lettuce, taco sauce, and cheese.  I could eat these everyday, and I may, if it would help get this baby out...

Oh, and remember how I was craving Hershey's cookies and cream candy bars?  Well they do still make them, and thanks to the bff, I now have 1 in my possession!  I did have 3, but I already ate 2 of them...OH!  and don't forget to vote for your favorite holiday cookie!

This pregnant lady might've just cooked her last "regular" meal...

Yes, I know cooking with a crawler, when that day happens, will probably be much much more difficult, but cooking tonight was really, really hard!  Baby has decided to drop more it seems, which yes is very good, but walking/moving around the kitchen for an hour, cutting, dicing, testing, well today it was a lot!  Okay, rant over, just enjoy our dinner photo below:)  No real "recipes" for any of the items, just a pork loin rubbed with salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning, and fingerling kinda steak fry things with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder:)

Oh, and I'm also craving the picture below our meal picture...something I probably haven't had since 1998; do they even sell them anymore??