melted smoosh

we had a little hiatus from an official CSA night earlier this month with various travel plans and vacations, and last week's dinner turned into quite the adventure due to unexpected power outages. thankfully, Amy saved the day with her working electricity and we concocted a delicious Mexican meal! not the most appetizing food photo i've ever taken in my life, but trust me, it was yummy. beef & bean burrito skillet dinner adapted from deep south dish 2 tablespoons  of  olive oil 1/2  of a large  onion , chopped 2 tablespoons  of  chopped jalapeno 1 pound  of  ground beef 1 teaspoon  of  kosher salt 8 turns  of the  pepper  grinder 1 tablespoon  of  chili powder 1/2 teaspoon  of  cumin 1/2 teaspoon of  garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon  of  Cajun seasoning 1/2 teaspoon   oregano 1 packet  of  Sazon seasoning 1 cup  of  beef stock 1 cup  of  salsa (we used pineapple) 1 ( 4 ounce ) can of  green chilies ,  undrained 1 can   pinto beans 4  small  flour t

TGIF!!! it's been quite the week, spending time with friends who are back in Pittsburgh for a much-anticipated visit, attending a phenomenal organ recital, getting our hummus on at Aladdin's , trying to tame the wild beast that is our yard in summertime, and a little more time spent in the kitchen since our dishwasher is on the fritz. i think washing dishes may actually be one of my favourite household tasks. something about the warm water and physically scrubbing away the ick. back in the day, i'd crack open one of mom's red hymnals, slide it into her clear plastic cookbook holder behind the sink so it would be safe from any splashes, and sing and sing and sing. sadly, i have neither the red hymnal nor the cookbook holder, so Kaiser and the cats will be spared my lusty rendition of "And Can It Be." (my chains fell off, myyyy heart was free-ee-ee, I ro-o-ose, went fo-o-orth, and fo-o-ol-lowed Thee!) ANYWAY.  -- my all-time favourite thing about this week w

with the scorching temps Pittsburgh has been rocking this week, it just seems appropriate to kick up the heat on our palates as well. this recipe is a great clean-out-the-fridge supper, since you can toss all manner of veggies into it and they all absorb the sassy Cajun spice. the original recipe came from Cooking Light, and while i do recommend andouille sausage for an authentic bayou flavor, i happened to have a pound of ground beef leftover from a previous recipe and substituted it with very satisfactory results. the original recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, but i much prefer to slice 3 chicken breasts in half and cook in about 1 cup of chicken broth over medium heat for about 15 minutes, then dice.  chicken and sausage jambalaya adapted from cooking light Yield: 8 servings (about 1 1/4 c. per serving) Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Ingredients 1 TBSP canola oil 12 oz smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced (can substitute 1 lb ground beef)

      bump watch: i officially can't see my toes anymore (unless i crane my head waaay forward). there have also been a few days when the bump is lopsided -- Sweetpea still loves that right side!  i can still squeeze into most of my workout clothes, as demonstrated above, but otherwise, all my pants and about half of my shirts/dresses are maternity.  sweet pea:  is supposedly the size of a papaya, which seems so bizarre to me. i always  imagined  papayas to be equivalent to the size of a mango? another website compared the size to a Barbie doll, at 8 1/2 inches long and 1 lb 2 ounces. the biggest developmental phenomenon for this upcoming month is that baby will double his or her weight over the next four weeks. time to chub up, little one!  image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best moment:  hearing Sweetpea's heartbeat for the third time at my last midwife appointment. it just doesn't get old!  symptoms:  the hea

TGIF! it's been a whirlwind week getting back into the daily routine after our trip to Seattle, coupled with crazy storms on Tuesday that flooded several roads. here's some things that kept me smiling: --  AMC's show  Breaking Bad , which is now in its fifth season and for good reason. Nick started watching it last week, and then, like the awesome hubby he is, watched the first few   three   four episodes again with me last night so i could catch up. the plot seems ridiculously farfetched (a nerdy chemistry professor turned crystal meth dealer?!), but the character development makes it more believable ... and impossible to stop watching. ahem. -- this fantastic guide to grilling a steak in a cast iron skillet , from Megan at Country Cleaver . i don't use my cast iron skillet as often as i should, but whenever i do, i feel like the Best. Wife. Ever. add steak to the equation and i'm pretty sure that title is a given!  -- this totally accurate descript

now that we've covered some of our family's favourite recipes in one fell swoop , i'd like to focus on one stellar recipe from the menu plan each week. i suspect most of the featured recipes will be tried-and-true dishes that deserve their spots in the regular dinner rotation, but if i come across any fantastic new recipes i'll be sure to share!  last night's supper was one of our faves. it requires very little active prep work, and the flavors are unbeatable. it's definitely going on my list of freezer meals to make before our little one arrives!  creamy chicken enchiladas recipe adapted from Lori at RecipeGirl photo credit from Lori at RecipeGirl Yield:   6 servings   Prep Time:   20 min  Cook Time:   40 min Ingredients 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup 8 ounces light sour cream 1 cup Pace picante sauce 2 teaspoons chili powder 3 cups chopped cooked chicken 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese 10 (6-inch)

        bump watch:  at almost five months pregnant (22 weeks = five months in pregnancy math), the bump is here to stay! i've also noticed that my bellybutton, which is usually an innie-slit, has started to look more open. it would be so weird to end up with an outie!  sweet pea: is the size of a spaghetti squash! that equates to eight inches long, and a full pound. baby's eyelashes and eyebrows are fully formed, although they don't have pigment yet. and even though the eyelids are still closed, Sweetpea can distinguish between light and dark. image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best moment: on our flight home from Seattle yesterday, i was feeling some major kicks, so i reached over and put Nick's hand on my belly. his entire face lit up when he felt Sweetpea kicking for the first time! there is truly nothing like it!  symptoms: i think bawling through Kelli's entire wedding qualifies! she was such a stu

{20 week picture to come!}        bump watch: ooooo-ooooh, we're halfway there, oooo-ooooh, livin' on a prayer...! i cannot believe that we are already to the 20-week point. it's definitely fun to finally look pregnant, although there's still quite a variation from day to day and it depends a lot on the clothes i wear! sweet pea:  measures seven inches long and weighs approximately eleven ounces. the major development this week is baby's taste buds! i always thought the anecdotes about children growing up to like whatever food their mother craved when pregnant were just coincidence, but apparently the amniotic fluid is actually affected by what i eat. sweet pea is destined for a lifetime of loving meat and salty snacks! i've been eating a lot more fruits and veggies in the past few weeks too, so hopefully we don't have too many fights over broccoli in our future.  image credit from  What to Expect When You're Expecting best mom