18 Weeks

I saw the doctor Monday morning. Just a regular 4 week check-up. Standard weight, and blood pressure. I also got to hear the heartbeat for about a minute or so. Dr. Klyn said it was in the 150s, so that's really good. It was a huge relief when she immediately found the heartbeat and it was going strong.

I thought I'd be crazy anxious for February 1st to get here, but I'm not. Just knowing that the baby is fine is enough for me. Trust me, I want to know whether Baby Rebel is a boy or girl. I'm just not as impatient as I thought I'd be.

How far along? 18 weeks 3 days
Total weight gain: Saw the doctor Monday and I'm up 3lbs from 4 weeks ago. Still down nearly 7lbs since the beginning.
How big is baby? We've moved up to a sweet potato. About 7oz.
Maternity clothes: Nope, not needed
Stretch marks: No new ones.
Sleep: I think my body has finally decided I can't sleep on my stomach. Every time I lay on it, it hurts really bad. :-(
Movement: Still waiting
Food cravings: Chocolate, still.
Food aversions: Nothing specific
Belly button: The same
What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender on Monday!
Weekly Wisdom: Appreciate your sleep while you're still getting it, I know it will only get worse from here on out.
Weekly joy: Hearing the heartbeat Monday, and confirming that everything is A-OK with Baby Rebel. It's silly to worry, but I was slightly prior to hearing the heartbeat!

Grilled Steaks with Sweet-Spicy Hoisin Sauce

Source: Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

This recipe sounded really good, and I felt like having steak this week. Mary Ellen has come through with some of her other sauces and marinades that we've tried, so I didn't doubt that this was a good recipe.

I changed all the amounts, so if you'd like the original just go to Mary Ellen's blog.

Ingredients

• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/3 C hoisin sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 C chicken stock
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 steaks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• In a medium saucepan, heat oil.
• Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes.
• Add the hoisin, soy sauce, and chicken stock.
  
• Raise the heat to moderately high and boil until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the honey.
• Remove from heat and stir in the butter until blended; keep warm.
• Season steak with salt and pepper, cook on George Foreman to desired doneness.
  
• Serve sauce over the steak.

Next Time- This sauce was really good over the steaks. I prefer savory over sweet, so next time I may just omit the honey all together. H really enjoyed the flavor.

Banana Pudding Squares

Source: Kraft Foods

I decided I wanted to make a dessert this past week. Nothing too hard, and also sounded good. This fit the bill perfectly. I was disappointed that all the bananas were green at the grocery store, so I had to wait a couple days for them to ripen before I could make the dessert.

No picture, none of mine turned out nice. :-(

Ingredients

• 35 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers, finely crushed (about 1-1/4 cups) (used 45)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine, melted (used 6 Tbsp)
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 2 pkg. (1 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding
• 3 cups cold fat-free milk 1/2 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, grated

Preparation

• Mix crumbs and margarine; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish.
  
• Refrigerate.
  
• Beat Neufchatel and sugar in medium bowl with whisk until blended.
  
• Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spread over crust.
  
• Top with bananas.
  
• Beat pudding mixes and milk with whisk 2 min.; spread over bananas.
  
• Top with remaining COOL WHIP and chocolate.
  
• Refrigerate 3 hours.

Next Time- This dessert is great. The only change I'd make is actually reading the directions and refrigerating the crust as directed.

17 Weeks

Decided to do the survey thing.

How far along? 17 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain: No idea, I'll find out next week.
How big is baby? The size of a baked potato, about 5 oz.
Maternity clothes: Nope, no need
Stretch marks: No new ones.
Sleep: Awful, I wake up sore every morning and wake up numerous times during the night.
Movement: Still waiting
Food cravings: Chocolate
Food aversions: Nothing sounds specifically gross to me
Belly button: The same
What I'm looking forward to: Getting to hear the heartbeat again next Monday.
Weekly Wisdom: Show your appreciation for your husband.
Weekly joy: Knowing I'm less than 2 weeks from knowing whether Baby Rebel is a boy or girl!

20 Minute Vegetable Beef & Rice Skillet

Source: Kraft Foods

Holy cow is this recipe easy. It comes together really fast.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed beef broth (used 14.5 oz)
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 2 cups instant white rice, uncooked (added a bit more since I had more broth)
• 1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation

• Brown meat with onion in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain.
• Add tomatoes with liquid, broth and vegetables; stir. Bring to boil.
• Stir in rice and cheese; cover.
  
• Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.

Next Time- While this recipe was good, it needs a bit more flavor. It was kinda bland. So maybe some kind of herbs or minced garlic to add some flavor.

Meatloaf

Source: Mary Ellen's Cooking CreationsH has been bugging me for awhile to make meatloaf. I kept putting it off, not because I hate meatloaf, but because it was something I never loved growing up. I finally relented, and told him to find a recipe. He scoured my Google Reader, and found this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (90% lean)
• 1 lb meatloaf mix (beef/pork/veal)
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 c (+/-) breadcrumbs (you have to go on feel)
• Salt and pepper (a few pinches each)
• Ketchup

Preparation

• Mix all ingredients together and form into a loaf, except ketchup. Add more breadcrumbs if you need more help holding it together.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray
• Place loaf in the center of the sheet and top with ketchup
• Bake on 400 for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until internal temperature has reached 160 degrees.
• Let rest on a cutting board for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Next Time- I didn't love this recipe. I find that when green peppers are baked, they take over the dish, and that is all you can taste. H enjoyed it, and was happy he finally got to have meatloaf. So while I'm not against making meatloaf again, I do think I need to find another recipe. Any idea?

Herb Rubbed Chicken with Creamy Orzo

Source: Stephanie Cooks

H and I have discovered that we really like orzo. It's like rice, but is actually pasta. So when going through our cupboards we discovered half a box of orzo left. So H wanted me to find an orzo recipe. And along came Stephanie with a great recipe.

Ingredients

• 8 oz. orzo pasta, uncooked
• 2 chicken breasts, butterflied into halves (4 pieces total)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• In a small saucepan combine the orzo and chicken broth and bring to a slow boil.
  
• Boil until all of the water is absorbed.
• Season both sides of the chicken breast halves with salt and pepper.
  
• Sprinkle evenly with the Herbes de Provence.
  
• Heat the olive oil in a 12- or 14-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
  
• Add the chicken breast halves to the pan and cook about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown.
• Add the garlic and sauté an additional minute, until fragrant. (Note- I removed the chicken from the pan and added back to pan after adding orzo.)
  
• Add the diced tomatoes with juices.
• Stir in the cooked orzo, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese.
  
• Mix until well blended and the cheese has melted.

Next Time- This recipe was really good, and nothing needs to be changed. But maybe next time I'll follow Annie's Recipe that just calls for the addition of broccoli.