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Monday, April 25, 2016

My Go-To Foods

Sometimes people ask me what sort of food I like to cook.  I'm never really sure what to respond.  I'm that sort of person who tries 1-3 new recipes per week.  A lot of things I make once and totally forget about and never make again.  So ya, we don't really eat the same things over and over.  This week though, I made my in-laws some roasted chicken legs, potatoes and carrots.  Thanks to a tick bit, my father-in-law is currently allergic to dairy, pork and beef so chicken and veggies roasted with olive oil was the perfect option.  As I was eating it, I realized that I do not like bland-ish food.   I mean I'll it eat it and it is fine but I'd take a good curry over that meal any ol' day.  I particularly love acidity so balsamic vinegar and lemons are some of my favorite flavors.  
Today, I thought I'd assemble a list of some of my go-to recipes that are on the internet.  Even though we don't eat the same food day after day, we do find ourselves coming back to a few recipes over and over.  So here is a list.  Perhaps you'll find something that you like off it.  I will say as a word of caution, I probably change at least one thing on every recipe I'm about to post.  Even if I cook the same thing twice, I always mix it up based off of personal preference or what I have in my refrigerator/pantry at the moment.


  • Bread: Lately, I've been dabbling in sourdough so my bread preferences are changing.  But up until the past few weeks, this has been my main sandwich bread recipe: Simple Whole Wheat Bread.  To be honest, we eat lunch meat about 2-3 times a year.  We do enjoy our fair share of PB&Js and a few tuna melts.  We also love this bread as toast.  
  • Light and Easy: These P.F. Chang knock-off chicken lettuce wraps are super easy and very light.  They cook up in one pan on the stove and you feel super healthy stuffing these yummy wraps in your face. 
  • Casserole: For some people, comfort foods mean things like mac 'n' cheese or fried chicken.  While we like those things, curry is one of our comfort foods.  I don't cook a lot of casseroles but these are two casserole type dishes that we love.  The best thing about this Pakistani Kima is that I almost always have everything I need to make it one hand. It is a good one to serve to large crowds and even people who have never had curry seem to like it. I also really sweet potatoes so anything with those magical orange bits of goodness really speak to me.  Give this Moroccan Shepherd's Pie with a Sweet Potato Topping a try for twist on a classic casserole.  Both of these recipes are gluten and dairy free so they are perfect for serving to guests with allergies. 
  • Comfort Foods: Some days you just need meatloaf with mashed potatoes.  This is my main meatloaf recipe. For those days when I want a meatloaf type dish with some real flavor, I make up these kofta kebabs and serve with homemade pitas and tzatziki sauce.  Killer, seriously killer.   
  • Soup:  We eat a lot of soups in the fall.  One of our favorites is this vegetarian Sweet Potato, Carrot and Apple soup.  Yes, it does look like baby food but it is so sweet and yummy!
  • Bachelor Party Food: This is good for women too, but I've sent this Seven Layer Tex Mex Dip to two different bachelor parties (for the record, I was invited to neither).  Both times I got rave reviews.
  • Fancy: One of the easiest and cheapest "fancy" company dinners to make is a whole roast chicken.  I love this Roast Sticky Chicken - Rotisserie Style and Ina Garten's Engagement Roast Chicken
  • Vegetarian: I know I've mentioned my love of sweet potatoes probably 10 times already, but this Roasted Veggie (SWEET POTATOES, PEOPLE!) and black bean bowls really knock it out of the park.  You can add meat, but why?  
  • Pizza: Because we all agree that pizza deserves its own food group.  I always do the Pioneer Woman's Pizza crust.  It is just the right amount of thickness with a crusty bottom.  Aaron loves it grilled.  We eat all different types of pizza.  Sometimes we top with roasted garden veggies, other times it is more tradition like sausage and black olives, and other times we really crank up the flavor and go for BBQ pork with fresh mango or pineapple drizzled with some sweet Thai chili sauce.  
Whelp, there is my list.  I'm sure there are about 10 others I'll think of later but thanks to the fact that I eat all of these yummy things in large amounts, I know have to go work out.  

Thursday, April 14, 2016

My Maternity (un)Style

To be honest, I'm not a very stylish pregnant woman so this post is really about my lack of style as opposed to tips on being a super hot preggo lady. As I'm well into summer pregnancy #3, I'm quickly realizing one thing: I'm tired of being super frumpy preggo mom.  Seriously, though.  With number #1, I was so desperate to get clothes that I found a bunch of things that were "ok" at consignment stores and garage sales.  I did find a few things that I love and the rest of just "worked."  I did get a few new things but I felt so limited by my options and the incredible prices on them that I didn't buy much.  Before I even became pregnant with #2, I started to shop for new maternity clothes.  Whenever I was in one of the few stores around here that actually carry new maternity clothes (I think we have 3 total), I would scan the clearance racks to see if I could score anything good.  Same if I happened upon a garage sale that had maternity clothes and on my semi-annual trips to Goodwill.  I scored a few pairs of decent (as well as a few pairs of just "ok") jeans for around $3.  I also found a few tops and dresses.  When I was actually pregnant with #2, I felt like I starting to figure out what I liked and what I didn't  Now with #3, I feel like I'm ready to invest in some decent clothes.  My plan, which I've already started on, is to get rid all the things that I don't love (except for a few shirts that are good for exercising and cleaning), and fill my closet with a few things that I can wear everyday and feel beautiful in.  Here is what is on my to-buy list and how I plan to find them for affordable prices.  
  • Tank Tops.  To be honest, I'm not really a tank top sort of person.  In "real life", I hardly ever wear them unless they are more dressy and even then I think I have maybe 1.  I scored one navy colored tank top at a garage sale for I think $2 and I wore it non-stop.  The summers here are really hot and humid and overheating is a serious problem especially as I swell up like a watermelon the second I start to get hot.  I noticed that if I wore a pair of shorter shorts and a tank top, I stayed significantly cooler than a normal t-shirt and a pair of capris.  I would wear this one lone tank top on walks and also with skirts and nicer jewelry for a dressier option.  This time around I've already ordered 2 more more of the same brand since they were on super sale for only $4 a piece. 

My poor over-worked tank top
  • Shorts! At the same garage sale as the aforementioned tank, I also scored a pair of shorter gray shorts.  I wore the life out of those suckers.  I wish they were just an inch or so longer to hide more of my upper thighs but they were so comfy and cool.  One thing that I loved was that they were the under-belly type of elastic.  So much cooler and less hiking up!  They were also my go-to post partum pants as I found I couldn't into my regular shorts and I quickly got tired of hiking up huge swaths of elastic over my flabby post-baby belly.  I definitely plan on getting at least one more pair.  Since it is still a little too early to need to wear shorts, I have been super picky about trying to find a cheap pair.  If I can't find anything in the next month or so, I will up my price range and get something new. 
  • T-shirts.  This probably sounds really dumb, but I really want to get some new t-shirts.  I have a few that I like pretty well, but no "perfect" ones.  I want to get a couple of plain colors and at least one with a graphic design of some sort.  Oooh or maybe some striped ones! I want something more fitted and probably with ruched sides.  I already feel so huge during pregnancy that I'm not a fan of loose fitting maternity tops in general. I also like t-shirts as compared to blouses simply because they are knit and stretch with me.  
    Buy here
I'd love to look this glam though it might also require actually styling my hair which I just don't see happening.  
Buy here
  • Swim suit.  My parents put in an in-ground swimming pool last summer so a bathing suit is definitely on the "need" list.  I scored a supposedly never been worn tankini top on eBay for less than $5.   Note: I would never buy a used pair of bottoms.  So gross. I'm hoping it will fit but I figured that it isn't much of a risk compared to the store-bought prices. 
  • Skirt.  I also just purchased a skirt off of Old Navy. Last summer I found myself wearing my one maternity maxi skirt constantly.  The one I found to add to my collection is a knit pencilish skirt.  I just bought it on Monday (not on clearance) and it is already down from their website so I can't post a picture.  I found that stretchy knit skirts are one of the best post-partum pieces of clothing to own.  I was so tired of wearing sweat pants and slightly too large maternity pants but popping on a stretchy skirt made me feel a lot prettier and it was just as comfy.  
I am currently scouring ebay nearly every day for good maternity clothes.  So far I've only found my bathing suit.  I also plan on listing my used items on ebay since they generally have a quicker and more profitable return than consignment stores and garage sales.  At the end of the day, I'd rather have 10 really good pieces that I wear over and over instead of 30 only so-so ones.  
I have also checked some online consignment stores but I either didn't find anything I loved or I was currently unwilling to pay the prices as listed including shipping.  
If I can't find the items I want over the course of the next few weeks, I plan on probably getting something from Zulily.  They have a lot of good options that cycle through and good prices for new items. 
I also try to check online with big box stores and watch for items to go on good sales or clearance.  

Where do you get your maternity clothing?  Any hot tips or items I really need to add to my closet?