We had our nephew Brendan’s third birthday party this weekend. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t feeling up to making his cake this year. Being nine months pregnant really limits my ability to be on my feet for long periods of time, and being hunched over a cake to decorate it just didn’t seem to be a good idea. So, reluctantly, I had Melissa order a cake this year. I sure felt guilty, though! :(
Even if I couldn’t come bearing a fun character cake for Brendan (I made Pooh and Tigger for his 1st birthday, and Lightning McQueen for his second), we couldn’t show up empty-handed. And so we once again turned to my recipe stash to see what we could come up with for an appetizer.
These Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls seemed to be easy enough, and they’re different–I knew I didn’t have to worry about anyone else showing up with homemade egg rolls! :)
We whipped up a batch of homemade salsa to go with them, but truthfully, I think it’s completely unnecessary. These egg rolls are kick-ass on their own! They have enough spice and flavor to them without needing to dip them in anything at all. Also, rolling them up wasn’t difficult at all–there were directions with pictures on the back of the egg roll wrapper package, plus it turned out to be the same method I use to roll up sandwich wraps. Easy-peasy.
Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls
(Source: Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients:
– 2 cups frozen corn, thawed (or canned corn)
– 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
– 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
– 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
– 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
– 4 green onions, chopped
– 1 tsp. ground cumin
– 1/2 tsp. chili powder
– 1 tsp. salt
– 1/2 tsp. pepper
– 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
– 1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total) – I only got 19
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Mix well to blend.
2. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place 1/4 cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with salsa.
Now that I am (ohmygod) 36 weeks pregnant, it’s time to shut down the Heather Drive Baby Pool. In other words, if you’ve been slacking, you need to get your guesses in now in order to have a chance to win an awesome vintage apron from Etsy seller Terrace Hill. In case you missed the first post with all of the details, it’s here, but check out this cute apron as an example:
I’m also throwing in a Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book for our winner, so hurry up and enter!
All you need to do is go to our Heather Drive Baby Pool page on Expectnet.com and enter your guesses for our baby’s sex, birth date and time, weight, and length. Also, PLEASE remember to enter your e-mail address in the “How do you know the parents?” field so that we can easily get in touch with you should you become our winner.
See all terms and conditions for the contest and giveaway at the original Baby Pool post.
You all have until Sunday, August 22 at 9:00 p.m. EDT to get in your entries. At that time, the pool will be closed, and we’ll just be waiting for baby to arrive! :)
By the time we sat down to eat this meal, I was so hungry and pissed off that I barely got the chance to really enjoy it. Now that’s an endorsement for a recipe, isn’t it? I’m sure you’re all dying to make it now.
The thing is, I didn’t plan ahead. I didn’t roast the garlic ahead of time, and that turned out to be a mistake. If you make it beforehand–well, this recipe is a piece of cake. And when we make this again, we’ll most certainly be making the roasted garlic paste a day or two in advance.
I’m not a big fan of cheese (or most dairy, really), but I have a love affair with cheddar. I seriously *heart* cheddar. So I thought this dish was going to be heaven on a plate. To my surprise, I couldn’t really pick out the cheddar taste; if I didn’t know what was in the sauce, I would never have been able to guess cheddar. But the cheese gives this a wonderfully creamy texture and, paired with the roasted garlic and wine, this is a real winner.
For obvious reasons, this recipe reminds me a bit of Spicy Garlic & Lime Chicken Pasta, but it’s different enough where they could both be in the regular dinner rotation.
Pasta with Chicken & Broccoli in a White Cheddar Wine Sauce
(Source: Good Things Catered)
Ingredients:
– 1 lb. uncooked pasta
– 3 tbsp. butter
– 1/2 cup roasted garlic paste (see instructions below*)
– 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
– 1/2 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
– 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
– 1 large head of brocolli, cut into florettes (about 2 cups)
– 10-16 oz. cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (about 2-3 cups)
– 3 oz. aged reserve cheddar (preferably white), grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
– parmesan cheese (optional)
– salt and ground pepper
*To make garlic paste (HIGHLY recommended to do this in advance): Peel the outer papery skins off two heads of garlic, leaving the heads still intact. Slice about a quarter off the top of each head so that all of the cloves are partly exposed. Wrap the heads in foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the peels and smash with a fork to make roasted garlic paste. (Alternatively, you can toss the cloves into a food processor–I found this to be much easier.)
Roasted garlic instructions from Annie’s Eats
1. Bring water to a boil in large pot. When boiling, add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Throw uncooked broccoli florettes into the boiling water 3-4 minutes before pasta is done. Drain pasta and broccoli mixture.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When just coming to foaming, add garlic paste and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
3. Add flour and cook until beginning to turn golden (about 2 minutes). Add vermouth and cook until evaporated (about 1 minute). Stir broth into pan and simmer sauce until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes).
4. Add cheddar and stir constantly while returning to a boil.
5. Add in cooked chicken pieces. Fold in pasta and broccoli, cook for one more minute, and remove from heat.
6. Plate and top with parmesan; serve.
I don’t think I’ve ever expressed my disdain for Brett Favre.
Oh, WAIT. Sure I have.
Because I hated him in 2008.
And again in 2009.
And hey, what do you know?… Here we are in 2010, and I still hate his guts.
At this rate, I’m sure I’ll be ready to hire a hitman in 2011. You know, to take him out at the knees or something. To end these shenanigans once and for all.
The annoyance grows with each passing year. With every mention of his name during a NON-VIKINGS football game, I seethe. With every “will he or won’t he” discussion, I resist the urge to throw something at the television (or radio, or computer). Every summer, when he doesn’t show up at training camp in July, pretends to be considering retirement, and then comes back to the team last minute in August… I lose more and more respect for him. And hey, Brett–after three years of this crap, I’m pretty sure the “respect” well is dry. BONE DRY.
Unfortunately, he’s back. Again.
Go awaaaaaaaay. Please. Just go away.
When you’re pregnant, reaching 35 weeks is a big deal. I’m not exactly sure why, aside from the fact that “35” is a magic number. You see, when you hit 35 weeks pregnant, you also have exactly 35 days to go. Well, until your due date, anyway. So this is commonly called 35/35!
I actually celebrated 35/35 on Saturday or Sunday (depending on which due date you’re going with), so today I actually have less than 35 days to go. Eeeek!
35 Weeks Pregnant
Oh, and today also happens to be my 28th birthday. So I guess you can say there is much to celebrated around here.
Last Thursday, I had my 34-week doctor’s appointment. I gained a pound since my 32-week appointment, so I’m up about 22-23 lbs. total. Given my birthday and all, I indulged today, so I’m pretty sure I’m up like five additional pounds now, but at least I have another week or so until I have to be weighed again. Hopefully it’ll even out. HA! :) My next appointment is Wednesday, the 25th… starting then, I’ll be going every week! It’s so crazy to think about.
On Saturday, we took a breastfeeding class. It was nice to get an overview of everything, and get to write down a few tips and tricks before the baby even gets here. It was all helpful information. Of course, the *real* education will come when I actually try to nurse the baby, but still, a little preparation for what to expect is good to have.
Baby is now about 5.5 lbs. and has pretty much grown to his/her full length. All he/she has to concentrate on these next few weeks is fattening up a little bit. And sitting on my bladder. And kicking me in the ribs.
Alright, now I’m going to leave the world where pregnancy is all rainbows and sunshine and transition into what has been my reality. I’m going to be completely honest and tell you that the last few days have been really rough on me. I think it’s been a culmination of a lot of things, but the stress and anxiety associated with everything finally built up enough where I reached a breaking point on Saturday and became somewhat of a hormonal lunatic.
I won’t bore you with all of the details, but I’ll say this: I’ve reached a point where I am tired all.the.time. I’ve discovered that despite still being able to sleep pretty well most nights, getting up an average of four times a night to pee just does not bode well for feeling “rested.” I know this is supposedly helping prepare me for when baby arrives but man, it would be nice to sleep through just one.more.night before the baby actually gets here.
So, I think the general exhaustion, plus the crazy hormones, plus the anxiety associated with knowing my whole life is going to change in just a few short weeks, plus a few totally ridiculous little stressors (that normally would’ve been no big deal) pushed me over an edge. Starting Saturday night, I fell into this feeling of depression and feeling like crap about myself. I cried a few times and couldn’t really function, then spent the majority of Sunday crying and not functioning as well. The funny thing is that I couldn’t really tell you why I was feeling what I was feeling–just that I was generally unhappy and downright sad about things. Then that escalated into feeling guilty for my feelings, which just made everything worse.
I still felt like a waste of space when I woke up this morning, too. But thankfully, the fog seems to have lifted throughout the day, and I was able to fully enjoy my birthday evening with Michael.
I’m told that this kind of funk/depression is completely normal at this stage of the game, but it took me by surprise and I will say that when you’re going through it, your feelings feel anything but normal. I so badly just wanted to rewind and feel good again, but didn’t know how to make myself feel better. I really hope I don’t go through any more episodes of this between now and the end of the pregnancy, but I guess I should prepare myself to do so.
Anyway… I wanted to “confess” because I didn’t realize how common it was to have feelings like that until after I started mentioning it to other mothers/pregnant women. *sigh* End rant.
We can’t believe we’re already halfway through August. And we’re only a couple of days away from the 1-month mark!
I may be hormonal and crazy, Baby, but I still can’t wait to meet you…
Happy Birthday to me. On my next birthday, I will be a mommy.
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
