Show us your life - Main Dishes

I am linking up with Kelly's Korner again this week for show us your life friday.  This week is all about recipes for main dishes.  I love to cook!  I especially love to cook foods that impress my husband and have guests asking for the recipes afterward.  Here are two of my favorites:

1.  Pepper steak

I don't have a picture, so this is a picture from Paula Deen's magazine of her version of pepper steak, and it will basically look like this.

This is one of my most favorite dishes that my mom would always make growing up.  It is always the dish my brother and I request for her to make when we visit.  She doubles this recipe, by the way, but this should yield between 2-4 servings.  I have started adding this to my cooking repertoire since  getting married and it has now become my husband's favorite dish as well.  It is an Asian stir-fry type of meal.  I have altered it a little and usually add in extra garlic powder.  Enjoy :)

Ingredients:
3/4-1 lb round steak (freeze for about 15 minutes and cube)
2 Tbs veg. oil
2 large green peppers (sliced in thin strips)
1 large tomato (peeled and coarsely chopped)
1 jar sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 can beef consomme
Hot cooked rice (I usually make enough for 4 servings)

Directions:
1.  Cook steak in oil in a large skillet until brown - drain.
2.  Stir in green pepper, tomato, mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar, garlic salt, pepper, and ginger.
3.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
4.  Pour out enough consomme to add in the cornstarch and mix it up - then stir into steak mixture.
5.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes or so (I usually cook it until my peppers are no longer bright green and crispy.
6.  Serve over rice.
*When finished, combine the rice and steak mixture - it is great leftover too!


2.  Poppy Seed Chicken

I didn't have a pic for this either, so this is from a google image search, but it will look exactly like this.

A lot of people I know have their own version of this, but it is still one of my favorites and thought I would share for people that may not have a recipe for this.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts - cooked and shredded
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 sleeve Ritz crackers - crushed
1/2 stick butter - melted
poppy seeds -  around 1 Tbs, but I just shake them in to my liking

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350
2.  Lightly grease baking dish (you can use a 9x13 dish, but because I like my casseroles a little thicker I use a little smaller dish - I think mine is 7x11.  Often I make this as a meal to take people, so I do 2 8x8 pans)
3.  Put shredded chicken in an even layer on bottom of dish.
4.  Mix together the sour cream and soup and spread over the chicken.
5.  Mix together the crushed crackers, butter, and poppy seeds, and spread in an even layer of the top.
6.  Bake for about 45 minutes - top will start to get golden brown.

I usually serve this with green beans and roasted red potatoes.

*Just as a tip - If you are making a large dish or multiple dishes with shredded chicken, you can cook your chicken (I usually boil mine) and then throw them in your standing mixer with the paddle attachment on low for a minute or two = perfectly shredded chicken every time.  And, what a time saver! 

Enjoy!

34 weeks!

How Far Along: 34 Weeks
Size of baby: 18 inches long and weighs almost 4 3/4 lbs. Molly Kate is the size of a cantaloupe!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained again this week.  The doctor didn't seem concerned that I was gaining too much, though.
Maternity Clothes: Yes-all maternity clothes.
Gender: Girl!
Movement: This week she has been moving a lot!  I just watched her move in my belly last night for about 30 minutes straight.  It is definitely one of the weirdest and coolest things about pregnancy!
Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty good.  Some nights I sleep like a rock, and other nights I go to bed late and am up several times, so it just depends.  One morning this week Emma slept until 8:30 or so which means I did too - amazing!  (She is normally up around 7).
Symptoms: Lots of back pain this week :(. 
What I miss: Nothing of real importance, but it would be so nice to be able to give Emma a bath easily, haha.
Cravings: Chips and dip, salad.
Best Moment this week: Hearing that everything looks good at my 34 week appointment!
What I am looking forward to: Getting the house cleaned and organized before she arrives, and also going on our youth retreat this weekend!  It will probably be my last overnight youth event until Molly is done nursing, so I want to enjoy it while I can.  Oh, and Emma will get to stay with my parents since our retreat is so close to them, so I know she is thrilled! 
Oh - and I am really excited to have a thanksgiving meal with my church family next week, visit Aaron's family over the weekend, and get our Christmas decorations up! 

Recently

 

These are some pictures from the last several weeks.  The first two are just before we took her to our town's Halloween Spooktacular.  We just told her it was a Halloween party and she was so excited to be able to wear her Minnie Mouse costume and see all of the other kids in costumes there.  We met her buddy Cooper and his parents there and the kids enjoyed playing the games, getting prizes, and jumping in the bounce house.  Our community puts on fun events for holidays, so we try to take advantage of those, especially when they are free!

The next picture in her jacket was on Halloween night.  It was Emma's first time to go trick-or-treating, and thanks to a Dora episode she saw, she knew all about it.  She had been pumped for this for weeks and her first time did not disappoint!  She loved getting to walk through the historic district homes and get candy, and then we went over to the Smith's neighborhood and she was able to trick-or-treat with Cooper.  I think she had an even better time going with her buddy in the wagon, and they laughed with each other the whole time.  Thanks Smiths for letting us join you!!

The last picture was taken in Blowing Rock.  Aaron and I wanted to do something by ourselves before little Molly Kate arrives, so we made a plan to visit my parents, leave Emma with them, and take a day trip to Blowing Rock and Boone.  We considered this my birthday weekend/babymoon/early anniversary gift, haha.  January will mark our five year anniversary!  We would have liked to do something bigger for year 5, but being so pregnant, and paying for the expenses of my sickness meant that we would have to do something smaller.  We loved being in the mountains though, and it was the perfect little getaway.  In any case, we would much rather have our little Molly Kate on the way then go on a nicer vacation anyway!  So thankful for my husband taking the time to plan a wonderful weekend for us, and of course Emma had the best time with her grandparents too!

In other news, I will be 34 weeks tomorrow which means that I have 5 weeks left - wow!  With the holidays, a youth retreat, and baby preparations, these next few weeks are going to fly by.  So I am busy making lists of everything that needs to get done, but also trying to make sure to savor this time with my sweet family before it gets a little busier with our new addition!  

Thankful!

Everyone seems to be putting up facebook posts, etc. on what they are thankful for, so instead of trying to keep up with something like that every day, i thought i would do a one time, short list.


What I am most thankful for November, 2012:
1.  The Gospel - the fact that by God's grace, He drew this sinner to Himself and turned my heart of stone into a heart of flesh is something I will never get over.  God has made me alive through Christ, and for that I am most thankful!
2.  Those two cuties in the picture above and this precious little one in my belly.  I'm so thankful for the husband that God has given me - he loves me with a sacrificial love and works so hard to provide for our family.  I still can't get over the gift of our biggest girl, Emma.  She is 2 and I still can't get over the fact that she is ours.  I am so thankful for a happy, energetic, talkative, and loving daughter.  And also, our soon to arrive little Molly.  I am thankful that God has knit her together in my womb and thankful for the opportunity to be a mommy to our girls.
3.  Family.  This includes mine and Aaron's biological families as well as our church family.  These are our support systems in good times and bad.  This year has been both wonderful and difficult and we have been so blessed by other people and I could never express how thankful my heart is to the people that have helped us through.
4.  My "job."  So, I am a stay-at-home mom.  I absolutely love it, and really can't imagine doing anything else.  I am by no means, a super-organized, always has a clean house and laundry caught up type of mom.  In some ways I wish that I was - I could better manage my time and my tasks almost every day.  But, I do try and love on, play with, and teach my daughter every day and use my time wisely.  I am so thankful for God's provision for our family that I am able to spend my days doing these things.

  Of course I am thankful for so many more things, but these are the ones on the very top of my list, and if I were to keep going this post would be much longer than anyone would want to read through.  :o) 

Favorite Side Dishes

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner today to share a favorite side dish of mine.  I love to cook, and this is a category I had a hard time narrowing down because I love to make casseroles for side dishes in the fall, but here is one of my favorites that is quick, simple, and delicious! 

1.  Corn Casserole
This is so delicious and easy and it seems people always ask for the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter - melted
2 eggs - beaten
1 pkg corn bread mix (I use the Jiffy corn muffin mix in the small blue and white box)
1 can whole kernel corn - drained
1 can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 and grease a round or 9x9 baking dish
2.  In a bowl, combine all ingredients and pour into dish
3.  Bake for about 45 minutes - top will be golden brown

 

This photo is just from a google image search because I didn't have a picture, but this is exactly what it looks like :)

33 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 33 Weeks
Size of baby: 17 inches long and weighs almost 4 lbs. Molly is the size of a pineapple!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained again at my last appointment.  I am definitely already larger than I ever got to be with Emma, but I am so thankful!
Maternity Clothes: All maternity!  I have even started to wear Aaron's t-shirts at home to be most comfortable, ha!
Gender: Girl!  Molly Kate!
Movement: Some days it seems like she moves non-stop, and others I really have to focus on counting kicks (supposed to get at least 7 kicks/movements in a 2 hr period)
Sleep: It depends on the day, but most of the time I am still sleeping well - just with the typical bathroom wake-up calls.
Symptoms: Less nausea this week, but having lots of back pain every afternoon and evening and some heartburn and tiredness too.
What I miss: Nothing really - but maybe bending over easily, sleeping on my stomach, and having energy past lunchtime are all things I won't mind being able to do again!
Cravings: I got to have 3 of my craving foods this week!  Pimento cheese sandwiches (thanks to Caroline for bringing them to my shower!), fried mushrooms (we used some of my b-day money to eat at a local place that serves them - yum!), and a Toblerone (thanks to Kristen!).
Best Moment this week: So many...hearing that everything was great at my appointment, along with a great baby shower from the ladies at my church, my mom being able to visit, working in the girls' room and getting the clothes organized, receiving some baby gifts in the mail (thanks to my wonderful aunts!), taking Emma trick-or-treating last Wednesday, oh, and not to mention setting a date for Molly's arrival!!!  Of course this date is set for around 39 weeks, so it is a definite possibility that I may go into labor before that, but we shall see!
What I am looking forward to: Getting the girls' room completed!

32 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 32 Weeks
Size of baby: 16.7 inches long and weighs almost 3.75 lbs. Molly Kate is the size of a large jicama!  Although during my ultrasound this week, the tech said she was already around 4 lbs.  I can't believe it because Emma was just over 4 pounds when she was born, so I can definitely picture what she looks like right now!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained again :/ - but so thankful to be eating still, so it's worth it!
Maternity Clothes: Yes-all maternity clothes all the time.
Gender: Girl!  Molly Kate!
Movement: Yes, she is moving a lot!
Sleep: I am sleeping okay, just uncomfortable and have to wake up often.  Emma has been sleeping later recently, which has been an unexpected blessing for a little extra rest too!
Symptoms: Tiredness, a little nausea, reflux?
What I miss: Bending over easily, and not feeling miserable after large meals.
Cravings: I've been enjoying coffee again, so I crave iced vanilla lattes most of the day, haha.
Best Moment this week: Emma got to go trick-or-treating for the first time last and that was a blast, but hearing at my ultrasound that everything looked good and Molly was growing like she should was also wonderful news!
What I am looking forward to: Finishing up the girls room - i have a lot of organizing to do, and I also have a baby shower this weekend!  I am so humbled and thankful to be given a shower from some of the ladies at our church.

We also have a date for Molly Kate's arrival, so unless I go into labor before then, the week before Christmas will be a very special one for our family!!