chili weather.

Thank goodness it got freezing cold, otherwise I might have forgotten what Canadian winter feels like.

(you can all sense the sarcasm, yes?)

It's chili weather.  

I loosely followed this recipe, but added extra veggies, as well as chickpeas.  

Oh, and I substituted vegetable oil with bacon... cause you know, it's bacon. 

(I fried 2-3 strips of chopped bacon before adding the veggies)

I also added a little extra of the spices at the end to perk up the flavour.

And you must have corn bread with chilli.
I used the same recipe as those corn dogs but instead of hotdogs,
I added some corn, chili powder and of course, cheese.

...anyone else getting hungry?

The snow is much prettier from home, so we stayed inside today.
Loading/unloading the stroller in -20degree weather with an angry bundled up baby
is not my idea of a fun time.

The things we do to pass the time...

She just wanted to roll around on the floor.

So I let her.  Cause I'm a good mama like that.

T.G.I.F.

highchair and corn dogs.

Two completely unrelated things, but the former enabled me to do the latter... kind of.

We opened the big box that was under beside our little tree since it was a practical gift.

The Boon highchair - I'd say she approves.

So she happily ate played with Sophie for a little bit while I made corn dog muffins
for a potluck Christmas party.
You may or may not know that my artery-clogging-guilty-addiction is corn dogs (& funnel cake).
I will without a doubt get one if I see it at the carnival, amusement park, restaurant... really anywhere, but I draw the line at making deep-fried-dough-covered-hotdog-on-a-stick at home.
So the "healthier" alternative were these muffins.
I used a corn bread recipe and added hotdogs (all natural).
And cheese.
Cause cheese is delicious on everything.
And jalapeños in a few of them as well.

Ok, who am I kidding (especially not myself...) they are definitely not as delicious as the real thing, but they were pretty good.
Even if they came out a little bit dry because a certain supervisor decided that she did not want to supervise anymore, and was demanding that she be entertained.

Ketchup is mandatory. 

winner winner chicken dinner.

... well it's more like a lunch, but it's so good that we eat it for dinner too.

This chicken salad is where it's at yo.

I very loosely follow that recipe, but mine is more like a guacamole with roasted chicken.
I don't use any mayo, sour cream, or worcestershire sauce, but add lime juice/zest, hot sauce, onion & garlic powder.  I'd add some chopped tomatoes and peppers in there too if it weren't for Shaun's passionate hatred for them.
We use leftover Costco roasted chicken, but frankly, I love this salad way more
than eating the chicken alone.

With some greens and soup, it's a perfect lunch or dinner.  

Or breakfast... snack... whenever really. 

poppin'.

Finally, a cooking post...

Some very good friends had their Jack&Jill over the weekend and I made some "pops" for the occasion.

Considering that the preggo brain never went away, and I get so easily sidetracked by Bean, I ixnayed turning on the oven to avoid burning down my kitchen.  

(which is no exaggeration considering my forgetfulness these past few months)

I made this & this.

Supervisor Bean

More pops than food in the fridge...

A few things that I found helpful:

I do not have a food processor.  Which would have made it a lot easier, and would have spared me from smashing Oreos and graham crackers in a ziplock back with a pot at 1am.  Ghetto styles but it's do-able.  (ok, maybe that point wasn't quite helpful... a food processor would have been helpful...)

I kept the graham crackers a little coarse on purpose to add some texture.

After forming the Oreo balls, I put them in the freezer for a few minutes to get them a little firm before inserting the sticks and freezing them completely.  Much easier for the sticks to stay in!

Work quickly when coating the chocolate, and try to stir the chocolate frequently between coats.  The quicker you work, the more likely that you'll avoid the chocolate from hardening, separating, seizing, getting grainy... you get the idea.

I bought a styrofoam block at the art store and wrapped it in tissue paper as the base for the pops.

Both pops were super easy to make and only 3 ingredients each! 

Plus, everything tastes better on a stick.

Supervisor Bean was confined to the chair and wasn't even allowed to taste test.

PEEVED.

cabin fever.

I'm certainly glad to be on leave, and I'd rather be sitting at home than at work, but being cooped up in the house is starting to drive me a little crazy (crazier than usual).  

Because of the hypertension and swelling (not to mention the usual end of pregnancy symptoms) the most I do in a day is some house work and little walks.

Although I have a feeling that I may reflect back on this time fondly in a few months when I'm up to my eyeballs in diaper changes and feedings...

Aaanyways, 

I found a cookie recipe that intrigued me, and since I had all of the ingredients sitting in my pantry, I made some today.

Instead of regular softened or melted butter, this one called for browned butter.  I think it was a great idea, I could smell the nutty browned butter even as I was mixing the ingredients.  

I also used chopped dark chocolate (because I prefer it to chocolate chips), and chopped dry roasted  almonds (because I had them in the pantry - and for textural contrast).

I personally prefer oatmeal raisin over chocolate, but I'd say these turned out pretty well.

A definite repeat recipe.

A little bed time snack anyone?

what's for dinner?

(If this is your first visit, get to know US!)



Shaun is many things - including a very helpful husband - but a cook he is not.

Which isn't that big of a deal because I quite enjoy cooking (unless I have all-day morning sickness, and/or it's after a 10 hour work day).

My only daily challenge is "how much vegetables I can cram into a meal before Shaun starts complaining". 

He's a carnivore through and through (and me, who is a border line vegetarian), so our dinners often end up being one platers that are much easier for me to "sneak" veggies into.

(In his defense, Shaun's diet has become much more diverse over the years that we've been together.)

Today's dinner was on the simpler side.
Thanks to a migraine which I can't take medication for.
Thanks to the bump.

(It's okay Jellybean, you're worth it)

I made a quick tomato sauce with turkey/chicken sausage and lots of veggies (zucchini, eggplant, celery, & green beans).

 

Usually I stick to whole wheat, but today's was fresh pasta from St. Lawrence Market.

Thank goodness I had gone grocery shopping earlier this week, since migraine days equal being stuck in a dark room in bed...

Hoping tomorrow is a better day. Happy Friday!