Wordless Wednesday - Nest

Wordless Wednesday

5 Minutes for Mom

Menu Plan (June 21st)

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are expecting a new addition to our family in January and I have spent the last 3+ weeks being quite sick. I'm finally felling somewhat better and am ready to get back in the kitchen. One of the things I've noticed about myself this pregnancy is that I have an increased need for carbs - not a lot, but definitely at least one per meal. Without it, I was hugging porcelain, with it, not as often. So, with that, here is this week's menu:

Breakfasts:
French Toast
Baked Oatmeal
Ham and Cheese Omelet with hash browns
Eggs and grits

Lunch:
Hummus and homemade flatbread
Pizza Rolls (trying something new-will try to post instructions later)
Sandwich braid filled with any suitable leftovers
leftovers from supper

Suppers:
*Lassagna, steamed broccoli, cut fruit (we had this yesterday)

*Chicken Noodle Soup (lots and lots of veggies, especially squash, lol), bread (cooked this last night in the crock pot)

*De-boned Shrimp Stuffed Chicken (got this in Louisiana when we were there for my grandmother's funeral last week), steamed California Blend Veggies (this chicken is currently cooking, before it gets too hot to run appliances in the house)

*Mongolian Beef and Broccoli with rice (using some leftover beef stew for this instead of thinly sliced skirt steak)

*Chicken Salad Sandwiches, green salad, chickpea salad

We are also having family in for the weekend. We will cook for them once and they want to take us out the rest of the time (nice!! )

*I will also cook crockpot chicken cacciatore and freeze it for later if we don't need to have it right away.

A Secret I've Beeen Keeping

I've had a really difficult time posting lately. There have been many reasons, but the most challenging one has been this news I've been trying to keep quiet. But now, we have made the news public, so I can post it here. We are expecting a baby in January.
We have a history of miscarriage and being over 40 also increases the risk of miscarriage, so we decided not to say anything, especially to our kids, until we had seen/ heard a heartbeat, which we did last week. The kids are so excited and so are we.

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I was really sick for about 3 weeks - extreme nausea, extreme tired, extremely heightened sense of smell. I spent a great deal of the last few weeks sleeping or lying down and doing my best to avoid walking anywhere near the kitchen. Before I became pregnant, I didn't notice any smells in the kitchen, but now I do - funny. And unfortunately, for some reason I don't notice pleasant smells, only unpleasant ones, lol. The result of all that kitchen avoidance was not cooking for 3 weeks. Thankfully the nausea has subsided.

I actually made a menu plan for this week. I'm hoping to actually follow it. If I get a chance, I will post the menu later this week.

Weekend Farmer's Market Finds

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to find a pastured chicken farmer at the Farmer's Market. I placed an order with her that day and we were able to pick up our first chickens this past Saturday. These were game hens (under 2 lbs each). We will be picking up heritage fryers next weekend. I cannot wait! This week at the market we also found sweet corn, plums, blackberries, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, spring mix lettuce, swiss chard, a purple bell pepper (it has a nice spicy taste), two dozen eggs and (I couldn't help it) a sunflower bouquet.

Between the market we attended this weekend and another in a nearby town, we now have access to farmer's markets on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Ahhhhh . . . summer :)

Neighborly-ness

We have some of the most amazing neighbors here at "The Cabin". They are friendly, kind, generous and always offering help. For the last few weeks, I've answered the door more than once only to receive bags and bags of fresh veggies.

This was the contents of the most recent veggie gift. Between this and the first gift, we've put up lots of dilly beans, grated zucchini, and 8 quart sized freezer bags of sliced summer squash and zucchini (to use as a substitute for pasta in lassagna or to saute with a little butter and salt - yummy!!). The cucumbers, we ate fresh and the peppers are going to become pickles, hopefully today. I cannot wait until the hens start to lay so that I will have some way to return the favor besides just baking bread.

Its Blueberry Time!!