A Little Chicken Ragu With Them Noodles

Its a bit busy around here, I'll fill you in shortly.  Wait...that makes it sound really exciting...its not.

In the meantime I thought I'd leave you with a tasty recipe I tried last night.  It was easy (of course) and didn't take as long as it said.

Linguine with Chicken Ragu-- Giada De Laurentiis.  Here is the original recipe, but I found this step by step guide here.  Kind of clever.  It uses Giada's basic marinara sauce, which I love! Its SO EASY and great to freeze and use later.  I won't buy pre-made marinara again after making this.

Enjoy!

Holiday fun

I've seen some folks posting about their lives in the past decade...its awesome! I need to get organized so I can see what we did.  I'll get working on that...right after I care for this sweet baby ;)

I'll just start with what happened the past month with the Holidays

 This was the weekend after Sloane was born..there was no way we were missing out on the tree farm...or was it that i wasn't going to let B pick out the tree?! J/K...although that might have been scary. 

Christmas Eve dinner at my parents...one of my very most favorite Christmas traditions and memories of growing up.

 Not the greatest picture of Sloane, but its her first blue box! Her Grandpa Kevin ordered something special for her...too sweet.

Santa visited on Christmas morning! Davis was beyond thrilled but was pretty composed.  He was adiment about Santa taking a cookie for himself and carrots for the reindeer.

Santa came with a few goodies for the kids

I look forward to Davis getting a bit older and understanding that Christmas isn't just about getting gifts.  While its fun to see them get so excited, it gets to be a bit much after celebrating with two families.  I always put a few of the gifts away to pull out once the excitement of these wears off.

Wish I had a picture

Of the delicious Strata I made for Christmas day brunch!  I thought the online recipe would have one, but it doesn't.

I need to recap Christmas, but until I do that I thought I'd pass on a fabulous strata recipe that you can make the night before.  I was a bit skeptical when I was making it, but it turned out sooo yummy and even good the next day reheated.

Proscuitto and Goat Cheese Strata
(just imagine a 9x13 dish with a golden brown topping in place of a picture)

I didn't add extra eggs or milk as others had mentioned in the reviews.  I didn't think it needed it. 

Quick, easy, early prep and a crowd pleaser....right up my alley!

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

I heart Food Network Magazine.  While reading through the December issue I saw a recipe that sparked my interest. 

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

Not that I have alot of time right now to bake, but I enlisted a little Elf (Davis) to help and it kept him occupied for awhile and was a little time for us to hang out.  

Enjoy!

Finally

You may remember this post.  I had agreed to a trade for help with some house ideas and in return I would make her two cute kids aprons.  Well...then I got pregnant and was so tired I didn't get around to sewing.  When I finally started I made part of the aprons but never finished them..for some reason I wasn't real motivated to make kids aprons.  I think its because I didn't have anything to measure them on and hated spending time making something that might not work.

Needless to say I made a switcheroo and decided to make her a bag out of the fabric she picked out for the aprons.  Kinda tacky, I realize, but I whipped this together much faster and was hoping to finish it the day I went into labor. 

I finally finished it yesterday.  I'm happy with how it turned out, hope she is too.

Birdie Sling

Anna Marie Horner Voile Fabric

Added some piping to spice it up a bit.

Took the same piping fabric and added it to the inside of the strap



Hate it when I'm this behind on things...and am thankful I'm done.  It felt good to be sewing again.

Alot can happen in a week

Last week about this time I found myself in the hospital.  Let me take you back just a bit..I promise to keep it short. 

Last weekend was full of Thanksgiving, Duck football game, friends staying with us over the weekend, Duck Basketball game, dinner party at our house and ended with what I was hoping was a lazy Sunday.  As I was watching Kendra :) relaxing on the couch I felt like I tinkled my pants...hmmm that wasn't normal.  I brushed it off until it kept happening.  I quickly started to panic and jumped into the shower just in case it was something. 

After talking with the doctor we went to the hospital. And after some deliberation (I swore up and down to them I don't pee my pants, this was very unusual!) I was admitted and while my body started to dilate more on my own they decided that night to start Pitocin.  Ok, fine I had been there done that..lets roll!  Well, holy crap, not sure how I made it to a 7/8 last time without an epidural but I was at a 4 and needed one stat.  After getting the wonderful drugs I changed in 30min to a 7 and then 20min later to a 10...it was time to push.

WAIT, how the hell did I get here?! I'm actually having this baby?!!!...was all I could think of.  I was supposed to have another 2-3 weeks! I still had a week of work, I had a pedi/mani that weekend, I needed to get some more stuff and.... Anyway after pushing 3 times, Miss Sloane decided to make her entrance. 

Sloane Marie Simmons

11/29/10

1:13am

5lbs 15oz

19 inches

Thankfully she is eating well and is pretty low key.  I realize they wake up in another week or so, but Davis wasn't even eating well from me at this point so things are already better.

I'd like to check this off my 40 b4 40 list, I'm sure I'll be talking alot about her on this blog.

Here's to sweet surprises!

Left-overs..

Looking for a tasty way to use your Turkey left-overs this week?

I've made this recipe quite a few times, even though I've only used chicken it calls for turkey.

Turkey Enchiladas w/ Sour Cream

[Sunset]

Its easy, quick and tasty.  When I make mine I shred a Rotisserie Chicken from Whole Foods, and have tried it with various cheese.  Tonight I mixed cheddar with cotija cheese and it was great.  I also add some canned green chilis to give it a bit more flavor.

I should be done with my sewing project this week.  I'll post pics of that and the nursery soon.

1.5 cm dilated, so things are looking favorable for induction a week before my due date (if she doesn't decide to come on her own).  2 weeks left of work and this week is short! yahooo!