21 week update

Hard to believe I'm at 21 weeks! The time has been flying by! Getting all the house details together, starting to pack up, well and being sick the past week...all makes the time fly I guess!

Here are some photos from the wolves hockey game, 20 week ultra sound and one in a new top from my momma.
Nothing too much new - just feeling more movement in my belly and starting to get excited to close on and move to our new house in 3 weeks - eeks, is that true?!


Littlest Wolves fan :)




after our ultra sound appt


20 weeks

Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup

Well, we've been real sick around here...so I just had to make some soup. Sari didn't send me her recipe in time so I made this one that I found online. It says it's Panera's Broccoli Cheese. From the taste of it, I would believe it. It was SO good. Very thick and filling.
Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cupschicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar


Directions:

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree. Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

Weekend with the parents in Wheaton

Here are my photos from when my parents were in town. We had so much fun together, seeing the house, going out for brunch, shopping for maternity clothes and then going to church and lunch together when Joe was back in town.
It was such a great time - here are photos!!

Baby Jones' First Photos

20 week ultrasound - he or she is quite a mover - but wouldn't turn just the right way to get a full profile shot, so the technician did her best, but we mostly just saw the spine, arms, legs and face straight on and lots of moving!
Below are a couple attempts at a profile shot and one straight on shot.


How far along? 20 weeks! UPDATE: apparently my due date has been March 4 all along, not March 8...oops!

How am I feeling? Pretty great overall - a few headaches here and there and at the tail end of the allergies, hopefully :)

Movement: Yes!! I think I was feeling the "flutter" stuff around 18-19 weeks and have felt some real movement while trying to nap on saturday and sunday! :)

Doctor’s Appointment? Still hearing the heartbeat every 4 weeks and then in between my 18 and 24 week appts had my 20 week ultrasound today! SO amazing so see the little one - to see him or her move and to see the different body parts. I'm still having trouble comprehending it all!

Workouts? ha....right. Just trying to stay active. Walking to and from work to my friend's condo a couple times a week. Better than nothing!

Sleep? Still pretty tired, but chugging along like normal. need more sleep, but hard with working long days.

Weight Gain? at 18 weeks I had gained 2 lbs since my 6.5 week appt.

Baby Preparation? Just having fun putting things on and taking them off of my registry...so hard when we're trying to keep it pretty gender neutral! Waiting to move into our house first, then we will paint, set things up and get more ready for the baby...

Likes/Dislikes? No real dislikes these days, just can't eat big portions anymore and eating lots of fruit. Not really into desserts, but did have a big ice cream craving the other night, so we went to Jewel :)

Milestones: The little one is 6.5 inches from head to bottom and 10 inches from head to toes (size of a banana!) - crazy!!

House photos

Well, it appears everything is moving along with the house! So we officially started boxing up some things today - WEIRD! Here are some photos from when we had the inspection done a couple weeks ago. Again - will have more pics of house and me when I get them from my dad - the CD should come anyday! :)


The front porch


baby's future room


front of house


kitchen


will be guest room/office


the track next to our yard...guess I'll have NO excuses post-baby...

yard


back porch off of house and area to put patio furniture


yard and back of house

The Chicken Tortilla Soup was a Success!!!

I got this recipe from a local Wheaton girl's blog - a fellow TU grad :)
Well when I went to the store, I had forgotten my list so I went from memory and had to tweak it a tiny bit when I got home and was missing a couple things. You can see my revisions below - because it was AWESOME. Love, Loved it.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
4 chicken breasts
2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can corn (rinsed and drained)
2 cans mexican stewed tomatoes (Del Monte brand)
1 can tomato sauce
1 jar salsa
1 small can green chilies, if you like a little kick
*Throw all ingredients, in that order, into the crock pot. Cook on high 4-6 hours, then pull chicken and tomatoes out and shred / chop. Return to soup and stir well. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and crushed lime flavored tortilla chips on the side. Another fabulous freezer soup. We always make simple Monterey Jack quesadillas on the side.

*Rachel made it with 1 can of black beans, 1 can of mexican stewed tomatoes and because of that I only made 3 chicken breasts. I also added some salt and pepper toward the end. Definitely serve with sour cream, cheese and lime tortilla chips or cool ranch doritos crushed on top (whatever you have :)) and also good with quesadillas on the side!

Easy Chili Cheese Dip

This might be one everyone knows (??) but I learned about it a year or two ago from my sister-in-law. It's super easy, super good. At parties, events or on days when you can't think of anything to have for lunch because your husband left a whole loaf of bread at work....

1 can Hormel chili (without beans typically)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1-2 cups of cheddar cheese (just a guess)

Directions: Soften cream cheese and spread evenly along bottom of a microwave safe dish. I use a small quiche or pie plate. spread chili on top evenly and then spinkle a nice layer of cheese over top. Microwave for 5 minutes and voila! It's delicious - serve with tortilla chips!
*thought of posting after we'd eaten a 1/4 of it, so it looks a little torn up in the photo :)

Salmon fishing

Joe and his brother Don went on a fishing trip to Michigan last weekend...Yes he left little old me to fend for myself :( Fortunately my parents were in town for the later half and I got to spend some quality time with them - more pics and posts to come on that when I get the pics from my parents!

Here's a sampling of the trip and clearly it was a success!

Three Fall Recipes

Since I haven't written in awhile, I thought I'd post 3 recipes :) They all sound excellent - so far the only one I've tasted are the cookies.
The cookies were brought into work by a friend and they are GOOD, the minestrone is from Pioneer Woman and the Chicken Tortilla soup is from another blog of a fellow Wheaton gal :)




Black Cat Cookies
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 package chocolate cake mix (my friend used Devil's food cake mix)
M&M's plain chocolate candies (or candy corn apparently based on the photo)
Red hots or similar cinnamon candies

Beat together peanut butter, eggs, and water. Gradually add cake mix. Mix well. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Pinch out 2 ears at the top of the cookie. Add M & M's for the eyes and red hots for the nose. Press fork into dough to form whiskers. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.



Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

2 whole Zucchini, Halved, Cut Into Strips, Then Cubed
2 whole Summer Squash, Halved, Cut Into Strips, Then Cubed
8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Stems Removed And Quartered
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
2 Tablespoons (additional) Olive Oil
2 whole Carrots, Washed And Sliced (not Peeled)
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 stalks Celery, Sliced (leaves Included)
8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 cans Cannelini Beans, Rinsed
1 cup (heaping) Cut Green Beans, Fresh Or Frozen
1-½ cup Medium Or Small Pasta Shells, Uncooked
1 can (14.5) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
Salt And Pepper, to taste
¼ teaspoons Turmeric (optional)
Parmesan Cheese, Shaved
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Toss cubed zucchini, squash, and mushrooms in a bowl with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Arrange onto two sheet pans (to avoid crowding) and roast in the hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until brown and black parts begin to show. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery and stir to cook for 3 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.

Add cannelini beans and green beans. Cook on low for five minutes. Add pasta and cook for an additional five minutes. Add canned tomatoes, stir, and cook for an additional five minutes on low heat. Check for seasonings, adding salt, pepper, and turmeric.

Add roasted vegetables at the very end. Stir and allow to simmer and heat for a few minutes before serving. Be sure to check seasoning! Add more broth if necessary to increase liquid amount.

Serve with Parmesan shavings and crusty Italian bread.



Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
4 chicken breasts
2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can corn (rinsed and drained)
2 cans mexican stewed tomatoes (Del Monte brand)
1 can tomato sauce
1 jar salsa
1 small can green chilies, if you like a little kick
*Throw all ingredients, in that order, into the crock pot. Cook on high 4-6 hours, then pull chicken and tomatoes out and shred / chop. Return to soup and stir well. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, and crushed lime flavored tortilla chips on the side. Another fabulous freezer soup. We always make simple Monterey Jack quesadillas on the side.