Summer Side Dish

So, this week is one of those weeks where Brian is out of town all week. I hate cooking just for me, especially right now, I hate cooking period. The smells, food in general, makes me sick~ I thought at 13 weeks pregnant it was supposed to get better!

Anyway, I have had the pleasure of eating at my mom's every night this week. Thanks mom! Sometimes it feels like I've never moved out! Ha ha. We live so close, it's great to reap the benefits. Needless to say, I won't be posting a recipe for a main meal this week, but I will post a side dish recipe. While my mom has been doing most of the cooking, I have helped with side dishes.

We were rebelling the weather and planning a summer-like menu this week with grilling and fajitas, etc. This is one of my favorite Mango Salsas in the world! It has a ton of flavor, lots of color, and the right mix of sweet and spicy! There are no tomatoes, and in my opinion, tomatoes don't belong in mango salsa! The taste and the texture mess it all up! But this recipe is like garden fresh goodness! I always feel so healthy eating it, even if I do have a side of tortilla chips to go along with it! So here you go. You can't mess this up, unless yo change the ingredients!

Mango Salsa

1 to 2 ripe mango(s), peeled, pitted and diced

1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 jalepeno chile, de-seeded and finely chopped

1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 red bell pepper

2 tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped

3 limes, juiced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Bird Watching

I remember spending time with my Grandma when I was a young girl, growing up just outside of Houston, Texas. She was a Bird watcher. She lived just around the corner from us and so it was easy to walk or ride my bike to her house and spend the afternoon. She had many bird houses in her yard and kept them full of seed so that there would always be flocks of several kinds of birds at each one. She kept binoculars and a bird watching book in her kitchen, that looked into the backyard, so that these different birds could be identified.

That must have been where I picked it up. I never thought of myself as a "bird watcher" before. It sounds kinda nerdy, but I think a part of me is drawn to it.

On our honeymoon, Brian took me to this quaint little cafe in the middle of nowhere (that was definitely not the highlight, just a stop on the road!). It is known for having the most birdhouses in one place (of all things a cafe should be known for)! All of them are unique and eccentric.

Brian and I lived at the Village in the Riverwoods for a couple of years. Once, we had a Robin build it's nest and raise it's young on one of our beams on our patio. I thought it was so cool. We even filmed them and gave the chicks names!

When we moved to our next place, I turned a bird bath into a bird feeder, and enjoyed all the different kinds of birds that came to visit our patio.

A new tradition Brian started last year is getting me beautiful bird feeders for Mother's Day. I have a start to a wonderful collection of humming bird feeders, and seed-filled feeders.

All of these are just small happenings that, by themselves are insignificant, but have culminated in me a joy for watching birds. My favorite are the hummingbirds. They are most active when the weather is rainy, like today. Here is a picture I was able to snap of two birds perched on my feeder. One is feeding, the other is keeping watch. I just love how tiny these birds are. They are fast, shy, and fun to watch. So unique!

I can't believe these tiny birds fly so far south, being so small! Brian often travels to Mexico, and in humminbird migration season, he says the birds will appear in Mexico, so exausted from their flights across the gulf of Mexico, that they literally fall off the branches from fatigue!

Anyway, with such a long spring we've had, I've looked forward to the hummingbirds return, and have enjoyed watching them outside my window! Joy in the little things!

Disclaimer: Don't worry, this feeder is not one of the beautiful gifts Brian has given me for Mother's Day (those are already at our new house). This was a cheap, but practical feeder from home depot...

What's for Dinner

Ok girls. Here is this week's recipe post. I actually made this one up one Sunday afternoon when I had to get creative and whip something up for dinner. It has become a favorite. Brian loves it, but then again, it's pasta, and he is the pasta king.

Chicken Artichoke Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 med onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 small chicken breasts
1 can artichoke hearts (bottoms only)
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup cream
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Boil a large pot of water and cook any shape pasta. I like penne or rotini with this meal, but I've also served it over linguine.
Saute onion in olive oil and garlic in a large saucepan. Meanwhile, chop chicken into bite size chunks. Add to onion mixture. Dice artichoke hearts. Add artichokes and diced tomatoes to chicken mixture. Cover and cook until chicken is well browned on all sides, stirring occasionally.
Mix milk, cream and flour together. Whisk into saucepan. Add Parmesan cheese and simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. Salt to taste.
Top sauce over pasta, add more Parmesan if you wish and enjoy!

Any ideas for Blog Names?

I knew this day was coming. Our html address will have to change soon. Our blog address has been, as you know, "a guy a girl and a boy", but with adding another member to our family, that will no longer work (you don't have to read that sentence twice, I'm pregnant!). If you have any ideas for a new address, let me know! At least I've got six months to think about it.

New baby Beutler is due on November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving! I am hoping we will be able to avoid spending the holiday in the hospital. I am also hoping for another boy, Jackson has been so easy, and so the thought of having a hormonal girl, or anything different than Jackson, scares me. Brian thinks it will be a girl, and his logic is kind of funny: Brian's birth month is in May and Jackson was also born in May. My birth month is November, and so it only makes sense to him that it has to be a girl since my due date is in November....

The first trimester has gone by pretty well. Morning sickness has been easier this time around. I still have an occasional bad day, but I've never felt as sick as my pregnancy with Jackson (and his was easy, I thought). The fatigue has been the thing that has wiped me out this time. I feel ready to go back to bed after being up for only an hour! I usually take a nap everyday while Jackson is sleeping, but it doesn't guarentee that I will feel better when I get up. I'm looking forward to the 2nd trimester~ I know my energy should pick up and I will feel a lot better overall.

This pregnancy is flying by so fast already, it seems. I know it's not even summer yet, but Thanksgiving seems too close! We are so excited for another baby in our home. We should find out before the 4th of July what we are having, so I'll keep you posted!

Recipe of the week

My great sister-in-law started doing this on her blog, and I totally enjoy it because I love her recipes (she's a great cook) and I'm always looking for new but tried-and-true good recipes! What I like about it is she just posts one recipe that she is already making for dinner that week. I think that if it's something she's making for dinner it's probably a family favorite and one that she has made often. She invited others to do the same on their blogs~so I'm giving it a try myself. I hope you enjoy the recipes that we enjoy and maybe you can post something too!

This is what we are having for dinner tonight. It's Brian's favorite meal at Springtime when these veggies are at their best. It is meatless, but filling. I'm sure you could add chicken if you absolutley needed to, but I think it's perfect without...

Spring Pasta

8 oz. Penne pasta
1 head broccoli (cut to be bite-sized)
2 zucchini – sliced
8 oz. asparagus – trimmed
4 oz snow peas – trimmed
1 Cup frozen peas

sauce:
4 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Lg. pinch grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
parmesan


Steam broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, and snow peas in a pan of boiling, salted water. Cook until tender but not too soft (I usully add the rest of the vegetable stock not being used for the sauce to cook the veggies in too).

Remove from heat and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking further. I add the frozen peas in and mix with the other veggies here. The steam will cook them just fine.

Cook pasta in large pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil; drain and cover to keep warm. While pasta is cooking, mix butter with vegetable stock and cream in large pan, over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. It should thicken slightly.

Add pasta, cooked vegetables, and heat through. Transfer pasta to warmed serving dish and mix in parmesan to taste.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday!!

Thursday was Jackson's first birthday! I can't believe it has already been a year! He has grown so fast. We threw a little birthday party for him with family and friends~thank you to all who came! We had a BBQ baked potato bar, and of course, cake and ice cream for dessert.

I had been practicing with some cupcake recipes and found an egg less chocolate recipe that turned out all right. At least I could let Jackson eat the batter on a spoon without feeling guilty! But ultimately the vanilla cupcakes won (Brian said the chocolate recipe was like a lethal dose of chocolate). If you have ever tried a made-from-scratch recipe that doesn't turn out too dry, let me know! I ended up going with a box of good old Betty Crocker~ moist every time!

Jackson has always been cautious about new things (except for walking!) He studies toys before he decides he likes it, he studies food before it goes in his mouth, he studies new places, everything ( I think he gets it from Brian)...so it came as no surprise that he didn't dive into his cake. He studied it, touched it, licked the frosting (and then wondered why it was still sticking to his hand ~ he tried to shake it off). Finally, he ripped the cake open, tried a couple of bites, and then decided it wasn't for him! It was fun just watching!

It was more fun watching Jackson, this time, open his presents than at Christmas. He actually got the idea that something fun was beneath all that paper. The day after his birthday was really nice too! He kept busy and mom was happy!

Take a close look at Jackson's shirt...it says "I'm a big bother!" yes...that is an announcement! Jackson will be a big brother around Thanksgiving. We are so excited. I am almost three months along and out of the first trimester! I wanted to wait until I found out the sex of the baby, and make a total surprise announcement, but I couldn't wait that long! I am hoping for another boy, but Brian thinks it'll be a girl. We'll just have to wait and see!