22 week ultrasound

I'll stop the suspense, and let ya'll know what we're having.

Haha, yeah we got the money shot this morning.

We had our follow up ultrasound today since they weren't able to see everything clearly at our ultrasound back at 19 weeks. We got to see pretty much every little part of Baby Rebel. All his bones in his legs and arms. The 4 chambers of his heart, both hemispheres of his brain, and the umbilical cord and placenta. Everything looked nice and healthy.

Some stats- He was measuring 22w5d, and I'm currently 22w2d, so he's a couple days ahead which is normal. He weighs 1lb 4oz, which puts him in the 56th percentile. I don't want a huge baby, so I'm happy with that.

Spicy Szechuan Beef

Source: One Dish Meals Cookbook

This dish ends up being a fail. While it was edible and not completely horrible, I consider it a fail because I won't be willing to eat the leftovers, and I certainly don't plan on making this meal again. The problem was simply the Szechuan sauce. Pure heat, and that was using half of the amount the recipe called for.

As always, changes are in bold.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 extra-lean ground beef (used a full pound)
• 1 1lb pkg frozen broccoli florets, carrots and water chestnuts (the only mix I could find had cauliflower and no water chestnuts)
  
• 4oz fresh snow pea pods, trimmed (used frozen)
• 1/2 cup purchased Szechuan spicy stir-fry sauce (used about 1/4 cup)
• 3 Tb dry roasted salted peanuts

Preparation

• Cook rice in water as directed on package.
• In large skillet or wok, brown ground beef over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked.
• Remove from skillet; drain on paper towels.
• In same skillet, combine frozen vegetables, pea pods, and stir-fry sauce; mix well.
• Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 7-10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.
• Return beef to skillet; mix well.
• Cook until thoroughly heated.
• Stir in peanuts.
• Serve over rice.

Next Time- As I said there won't be a next time. The only thing that would make this meal re-doable is a different sauce. The spicy Szechuan sauce didn't give much flavor, just heat.

Giveaway Winner!

I love winning stuff! I feel like I never win anything, so I was so psyched to get a message from Abby's Mommy about a jewelry giveaway she hosted. I get to choose a piece of jewelry from AJ's Designs.
I've opted for the Jet Black Sterling Silver Ring. What do ya think? I can't wait to receive it!

I just had to share my excitement. Hmmm, maybe I should think about doing a giveaway, so that someone else can share my excitement over winning.

Suggestions on what I should give away? I could do something cooking related, or baby related. But I have no idea what.

Cube Steak w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy

MY 100th POST!!

Source: My Family!

This is nothing special. Something I grew up eating, and it is awesome comfort food. Pretty simple ingredients, comes together really easy, and it has great flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 cube steaks
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 onion diced
• 2 cans (10 1/2 oz each) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can full of milk
• mashed potatoes

Preparation

• Season both sides of cube steaks.
• Add small amount of oil to skillet so meat doesn't stick.
• Cook on each side until browned and cooked through.
• Remove from pan.
• Add onions, and saute a couple minutes until translucent.
• Add both cans of soup and milk to onions in skillet.
• Mix well, and cook to a boil.
• Return meat to pan, and cook a couple minutes to make sure meat is hot.
• Serve with mashed potatoes, with soup mixture serving as the gravy.

Next Time- I don't need to worry about changing anything. My family has made this recipe the same way for years. Like I said, good comfort food!

Blog Anniversary!

Whoops! Sunday was actually my 1 year anniversary of doing this blog! Unfortunately H and I didn't make any special plans, or a special meal for Valentine's Day, so I had nothing to blog about.

I'm really happy that I've stuck to maintaining this blog. And I'm really happy with all the new recipes I've tried. H and I have expanded the variety of food that we like, and that we're willing to try.

So thanks for sticking with me, and I'm hoping to have some new recipes for you sometime this week.

20 Week Appt

Monday the 1st was our big day. We had our 20 week ultrasound. I scheduled the appointment early so that H could go with me. Our technician was awesome. She was really nice, and was easy to talk to through the whole ultrasound. She even shared a little bit of her experiences.

She said that while she may not see right off the bat what the gender was, she had enough measurements to take that at some point she should be able to tell us the gender. She she started, and the whole thing was amazing. Baby wasn't as clear as during our first ultrasound, but specific body parts were easy to spot. We could see the bones, the little fingers, and all 4 chambers of the heart. Baby Rebel moved quite a bit. When we started Baby was breech facing my back. By the end Baby Rebel was head down with their feet next to my belly button. The tech even asked me if I could feel the kicks that we could see baby making. But I felt nothing.

Once she was done she realized that she hadn't told us what the gender was. She said that she had an idea, but hadn't gotten a clear look. So she tried to look again. She never got a clear shot, but was able to tell us what she thought Baby Rebel "most likely" was. We've decided not to share with the world, until we know more certainly.

The following Thursday I got a call from my doctor's office. They said that they weren't able to see everything clearly, like a leg bone, so we would have to have a follow up ultrasound done. The follow up is scheduled for the 25th. So we'll wait till after that ultrasound to share what the gender of Baby Rebel is!

How far along? 20 weeks 6 days
Total weight gain: Still down 7lbs as far as I know. Won't change till I see the doctor on the 22nd.
How big is baby? At 20 weeks baby is the size of a cantaloupe...uh oh that's sounds pretty large! At 21 weeks, which I'm 1 day away from, baby is the length of a banana.
Maternity clothes: Still not needed!
Stretch marks: No new ones.
Sleep: Sleep has kinda gotten better. I'm actually going to the bathroom less.
Movement: And the waiting continues...
Food cravings: Jet's Pizza, ever since the Super Bowl.
Food aversions: Nothing specific
Belly button: The same
What I'm looking forward to: My mom and grandma coming for a visit today! I'm hoping they'll want to go baby shopping! Then I can finally make our first baby purchase!
Weekly Wisdom: Hmm, I don't feel very wise right now.
Weekly joy: Enjoying that sleep has gotten better. I know it is temporary, but I'll take it while it lasts.