Cheesy Hasselback Chicken

I was so excited when I saw this recipe! It looked so pretty yet so easy! It definitely was those two things, but it just didn't taste as fabulous as it looked. Don't get be wrong it was still good, but I guess presentation isn't everything.

Cheesy Hasselback Chicken (www.wearychef.com)

Ingredients

• 4 thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4-6 oz. deli-sliced ham, cut into strips about 1" by 2"
• 4 slices cheese, cut into strips about 1" by 2" (colby jack, pepper jack, cheddar, provolone, etc.)
• seasoned salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice slits about 1" apart in chicken breasts almost all the way through, leaving the bottom surface connected. Slide strips of ham and cheese into each slit.

Sprinkle chicken liberally with seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve and enjoy!

Dan and I thought this meal looked pretty fancy, but sadly the chicken turned out kind of dry. Dan rated this a 3 stars out of 5.

30 Weeks

As I get closer to the end of my pregnancy... only 10 weeks left but who's counting... I'm having more and more emotions come to the surface. Mainly I'm pretty much terrified at the thought of physically having this baby. I know, I know... millions of women do this all this time, but I am so scared at the thought of pushing this human being out of my body. YIKES! Dan has been really good about giving me encouraging words and promising that he will be right by my side the entire time, which does help with my anxiety (a little bit).

I have increasingly become more uncomfortable and frustrated as time passes. I hate how extremely exhausted I feel all the time, how I can't physically do what I use to, how shaving my legs is almost impossible, how I just plain hurt all over, how I'm suffering from horrible acid reflux, how I have to pee constantly... and the list goes on. I know it's all part of being pregnant and this is something I wanted and feel blessed to be capable of, but it has been a really hard adjustment for me recently when I'm use to living a different way. I also am having a really hard time wrapping my head around that I no longer have any usable muscles in my stomach. My brain can tell my stomach muscles to flex, but there is nothing there to do so. It's a very odd feeling to me. And how long will it take me to get myself back into shape? I'm already looking into the next 5K I can run this summer!

Yes, I'm complaining... and truly I shouldn't be because in the grand scheme of things I have had an easy and healthy pregnancy so far. Life is good and God has blessed me a thousand times over with this amazing experience. I need to soak in every moment that I have because one day I'll look back and wonder where the time went. I am truly grateful even though I may sound like a Negative Nancy.

My sweet Remi Bear saying hello to his baby brother or sister! Goodness I love this dog!

Anyways... back to the stuff you might want to hear about. Currently, our June Bug is the size of a cabbage and weighing in at about 3 lbs. The baby will double or even triple in size up to my due date. When the baby moves... boy do I know it!!! I usually feel it mostly during the evening time when I'm settling down from a long day. It's nice to lay beside Dan and have him feel all the jabs I'm getting. I had my glucose test several weeks ago and passed all my labs just fine, which I was so thankful for because several of my friends who have had babies have not. More recently, I had an appointment and the baby's heartbeat was 158 and I'm measuring right on target. Currently, I have only gained 22 pounds, but it sure feels like a lot more to me. The doctor asked me if I had been having any contractions (which I have been since 5 months along, but they are just Braxton Hicks) and told me that if I start having really hard ones that I need to rest for an hour and if they continue then come in. There has been a lot of talk about pediatricians, touring the hospital, classes I could take, etc. Since I have not been having any problems I will have my next ultrasound at 36 weeks just to ensure there are no surprises before the baby is born and that the head is down.

Other than that, my parents have been a big help with assisting us in arranging the nursery, assembling the crib, and moving all sorts of furniture around since I'm pretty worthless with lifting anything at this point. For the most part Dan and I have things where we want them to go, we just need to hang shelving and pictures up to finish it up. I'm sure there will be a nursery post come along when we are ready to show it off. 

I think that is all the news I have to share with you right now. The time is getting closer and closer so I will try to make sure to update you as I find things out along the way.

Celebrating Baby Logan

If you were to walk around our place of employment you would probably think to yourself... "Don't drink the water" because there is definitely several of us ladies who are pregnant and waddling around the building. One of the good things about this is that we have a lot to celebrate and recently we did just that for our Assistant Director of Nursing!! Here are some pics of her "work" baby shower.

Our building is very large and often times you really don't get to build relationships with your co-workers because you are constantly on the move and just don't see one another. It was nice to take an hour and celebrate Baby Logan and him coming into the world soon! Plus his soon to be momma is super sweet! Love you Jenny!

Mileage Monday x 2

Stats for the week of March 23rd - March 29th... And once again I'm behind on my blogging! How does this happen people! Too many other things on my mind I suppose and an insanely busy schedule. Anyways... I have still been truckin' along and walking a lot! I have a feeling that walking will not be something that brings on labor for me because my body is so use to it :)

Monday, March 23rd, 2015 - 9,719 total steps / 3.3 total miles / 200 calories

Tuesday, March 24th, 2015 - 8,199 total steps / 2.7 total miles / 143 calories
 
Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 - 13,352 total steps / 4.3 total miles / 347 calories

Thursday, March 26th, 2015 - 9,891 total steps / 3.4 total miles / 214 calories

Friday, March 27th, 2015 - 10,478 total steps / 3.9 total miles / 241 calories

Saturday, March 28th, 2015 - 13,292 total steps / 4.2 total miles / 357 calories

Sunday, March 29th, 2015 - 10,003 total steps / 3.5 total miles / 211 calories

Totals for the week : 74,934 total steps / 25.3 total miles / 1,713 calories

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Stats for the week of March 30th - April 5th... I was so thankful to see this week come along. It was the week that my 7 days of vacation started and that was such a blessing. When you work the way I have been for the past year you get really burnt out after awhile. The first day I had off started on Wednesday and then I will go back on Wednesday of this upcoming week. I had lots of stuff I wanted to accomplish this week around the house, but exercising wasn't one of them. My feet got a rest!

Monday, March 30th, 2015 - 10,971 total steps / 3.6 total miles / 225 calories

Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 - 7,249 total steps / 2.9 total miles / 156 calories
 
Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 - 5,640 total steps / 2.4 total miles / 148 calories

Thursday, April 2nd, 2015 - 3,581 total steps / 1.9 total miles / 102 calories

Friday, April 3rd, 2015 - 2,053 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 65 calories

Saturday, April 4th, 2015 - 1,910 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 62 calories

Sunday, April 5th, 2015 - 2,296 total steps / 1.4 total miles / 78 calories

Totals for the week : 33,700 total steps / 14.8 total miles / 836 calories

Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas

Personally, I loved this meal. Mainly because the week that I made it I was craving pineapple! YUM! Dan on the other hand probably could have taken it or left it.

Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas (www.budgetbytes.com) $7.28

Ingredients

• 1 lg. chicken breast (3/4 lb.)
• 1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans
• 3 whole green onions
• ¼ bunch fresh cilantro
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella or monterrey jack
• 8 (8-inch, soft taco size) flour tortillas 

Cook the chicken in a countertop grill until golden brown on the outside and completely cooked through. If you don't have a grill, cut the chicken into 1-2 inch chunks and sauté in a skillet until golden brown on the outside and cooked through. Allow the chicken to cool slightly as you prepare the rest of the filling.

Drain the pineapple chunks well, then roughly chop the chunks into smaller pieces. Rinse and drain the black beans. Roughly chop the cilantro and slice the green onions. Combine the pineapple, black beans, cilantro, green onions, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, and shredded cheese in a bowl. Stir to combine.

Once the chicken has cooled some, chop it into small chunks (no need to make neat or tidy shapes, just chop roughly). Add the chicken to the rest of the filling in the bowl and then stir to combine.

Place ½ cup of the quesadilla filling onto a tortilla and spread it out over half of the surface. Fold the tortilla in half and then cook it in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown and crispy on the bottom. Flip and cook on the second side in the same manner. Use oil or non-stick spray in the skillet as needed to keep the tortilla from sticking (I find that I don't need either when using a non-stick skillet).

 

Use a pizza slicer to cut the quesadilla into three wedges and serve hot.

Dan gave this a 4 out of 5 stars. I rated it delicious!

Taco Stuffed Shells

So even though I have been super busy with work, I have religiously stuck with cooking at least three times a week. I even went as far to create a binder with meal plans laid out for each month, ingredients needed, and cost of each meal. I hope to revert back to it in the future to make life a little easier as a Mom.

A lot of these upcoming meals were made a while ago... but I got so far behind posting them because of all that has been going on. I'm thinking for upcoming posts that I will only submit my favorite meals for you since why would you want to see that ones that didn't impress me :)

Taco Stuffed Shells (www.budgetbytes.com) $14.65

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1½ lb. ground beef
• 2 cups black beans
• 2 cups pinto beans
• 1 taco seasoning packet
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 ounces jumbo shells
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 3-4 whole green onions

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large skillet over medium heat with the olive oil until soft and transparent (about 5 minutes). 

Add the ground beef and continue to cook until browned. Mix together the taco seasoning ingredients while the beef is browning. Once the beef is fully cooked through, add the taco seasoning and stir to combine. Drain the beans and add to the skillet. Stir until combined. Taste and season with salt as needed (I used about 1 teaspoon).

Allow the beef and bean filling to sit while you cook the pasta shells. Bring a large pot to a boil, add the shells and cook just until tender. Be sure not to over cook the shells or they will be soft and difficult to fill.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the shells in a colander and rinse with cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Spray the inside of a 9×13 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Fill the shells with the beef and bean filling and place in the casserole dish. It’s okay if they’re not aligned neatly or if they topple over and spill some filling, it will still be good.

 

 

Once all of the shells are filled and in the casserole dish, pour the prepared enchilada sauce over top and then add the shredded cheese. Cook in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through (all ingredients are already cooked, so there is no real danger of undercooking here. You just want to get it all HOT).

Slice the green onions and sprinkle over top after it comes out of the oven. Serve hot!

Dan rated this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I liked it because there were a lot of leftovers which meant I was off the hook cooking for a few days :)

Mileage Monday x 2

Stats for the week of March 9th - March 15th... This is the week that I first started feeling pretty crappy and my work load took a huge toll on me. I really don't have much to report on other than I walked so much at work that there were often days I would come home and was limping around the house because of the pain and swollenness of my feet. The only feeling I can really compare it to is how I felt after running my first half marathon. But I kept on truckin' (big smile).

Monday, March 9th, 2015 - 12,179 total steps / 4.0 total miles / 350 calories

Tuesday, March 10th, 2015 - 11,919 total steps / 3.9 total miles / 287 calories
 
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015 - 17,523 total steps / 6.1 total miles / 621 calories

Thursday, March 12th, 2015 - 9,918 total steps / 3.4 total miles / 214 calories

Friday, March 13th, 2015 - 5,784 total steps / 2.5 total miles / 127 calories

Saturday, March 14th, 2015 - 13,102 total steps / 4.2 total miles / 352 calories

Sunday, March 15th, 2015 - 11,487 total steps / 3.7 total miles / 330 calories

Totals for the week : 81,912 total steps / 27.8 total miles / 2,281 calories

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Stats for the week of March 16th - March 22nd... And this week the joy of pregnancy and a heavy work load continued as I worked three 13 hour days in a row and my back/hips/chest/feet hurt so badly that I was getting only a few hours of sleep each night (cringe). I did muster up the energy though to take Remi on a 2 mile walk on Saturday with the weather being so nice. Actually that sweet boy ended up getting 4 walks in this week thanks to my hubs! What a lucky fella! Remington not Dan :)

Monday, March 16th, 2015 - 10,166 total steps / 3.5 total miles / 220 calories

Tuesday, March 17th, 2015 - 13,110 total steps / 4.2  total miles / 356 calories
 
Wednesday, March 18th, 2015 - 16,009 total steps / 5.8 total miles / 589 calories

Thursday, March 19th, 2015 - 18,203 total steps / 6.3 total miles / 641 calories

Friday, March 20th, 2015 - 6,427 total steps / 2.8 total miles / 220 calories

Saturday, March 21st, 2015 - 2 mile walk with Remi / 5,210 total steps / 2.2 total miles / 189 calories

Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 - 2,399  total steps / 1.5 total miles / 110 calories

Totals for the week : 71,524 total steps / 26.3 total miles / 2,325 calories