Wow. March? Really??? That's the last time I posted?
Well, since I posted last, I planned two baby showers, am working on a bachelorette party, am planning to be a bridesmaid in two weddings (so... dress shopping), took a family vacation to Alaska/Seattle, met our newest niece, AND we found out we are having a girl.
Phew.
With that being said, this girl has me craving all sorts of sweets and bad-for-you foods. There isn't a day that goes by that doesn't include one (or many) of the following: a cookie (or 4—chocolate chip, white chocolate chip macadamia, peanut butter, oatmeal with cinnamon chips, oatmeal with reese's pieces... excuse me while I wipe the drool off my protruding belly), ice cream (Ben & Jerry's Coffee Toffee Crunch is my JAM!), candy, s'mores, breads, pastas, CAFFEINE (pop, coffee), crystal light... and the list goes on. I'm telling you, it's all sorts of bad. Then, throw in the fact that we've been traveling a LOT, and there's a whole lot of fast food added to my already amazing diet. (You know what else is amazing? The fact that I've gained less weight this time around than I did with the Boy.)
Anyway, in efforts to eat at home more often, I'vespent too much money at the grocery store stocked up on the goods, and I want to share a couple recipes inspired by one of my FAVORITE ingredients: pesto. Is there anything NOT good about pesto? No. Because my plants are not even remotely large enough to make my own (though I'm dying for my homemade pesto!!!), I picked some up and whipped up a couple quick-and-easy meals that are Toddler Boy approved!
Are they healthy? Probably not. But you can switch out ingredients as you see fit.
This first one I've been cooking for about 10 years now. The Boy had it for the first time tonight. He cleaned his plate. It's Campbell's Creamy Pesto Chicken & Bowties. Serves about 3 or 4. Or 2 if you're 7 months pregnant and starving.
I had a little pesto left over, so I made the most amazing sandwiches EVER, which were inspired by a sandwich I had at 29 South Cafe in Janesville, WI.
Pesto & Mozzarella Grilled Cheese
- 1 loaf french bread - 3/4" slices on the angle
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- FRESH mozzarella (I buy a big ball of it and slice it into 1/4" pieces)
- Prepared pesto (If you are buying it, use the refrigerated stuff, not the jarred variety that's been sitting on the shelves for too long.)
- Tomato slices (about 1/4" thick)
There's no exact science to this recipe. Add as much or as little of anything that you wish. But here's what I did: Take 2 slices of bread and brush one side of each slice with olive oil. On the reverse side of one of the bread slices, top with tomato and mozzarella. On the other slice of bread (non-olive oil side), spread a generous amount of pesto. Place that onto your sandwich. "Grill" the sandwich over a hot skillet, using a lid from a smaller pan to press down a little. (This helps create a nice crunch.) Flip the sandwich over. When the bread is toasted to your liking, turn off the heat, put the correct-sized lid on top and steam that sucker until the cheese starts to melt. Then, enjoy.
I just ate dinner, and I'm hungry again. Maybe I'll go make cookies.
Well, since I posted last, I planned two baby showers, am working on a bachelorette party, am planning to be a bridesmaid in two weddings (so... dress shopping), took a family vacation to Alaska/Seattle, met our newest niece, AND we found out we are having a girl.
Phew.
With that being said, this girl has me craving all sorts of sweets and bad-for-you foods. There isn't a day that goes by that doesn't include one (or many) of the following: a cookie (or 4—chocolate chip, white chocolate chip macadamia, peanut butter, oatmeal with cinnamon chips, oatmeal with reese's pieces... excuse me while I wipe the drool off my protruding belly), ice cream (Ben & Jerry's Coffee Toffee Crunch is my JAM!), candy, s'mores, breads, pastas, CAFFEINE (pop, coffee), crystal light... and the list goes on. I'm telling you, it's all sorts of bad. Then, throw in the fact that we've been traveling a LOT, and there's a whole lot of fast food added to my already amazing diet. (You know what else is amazing? The fact that I've gained less weight this time around than I did with the Boy.)
Anyway, in efforts to eat at home more often, I've
Are they healthy? Probably not. But you can switch out ingredients as you see fit.
This first one I've been cooking for about 10 years now. The Boy had it for the first time tonight. He cleaned his plate. It's Campbell's Creamy Pesto Chicken & Bowties. Serves about 3 or 4. Or 2 if you're 7 months pregnant and starving.
I had a little pesto left over, so I made the most amazing sandwiches EVER, which were inspired by a sandwich I had at 29 South Cafe in Janesville, WI.
Pesto & Mozzarella Grilled Cheese
- 1 loaf french bread - 3/4" slices on the angle
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- FRESH mozzarella (I buy a big ball of it and slice it into 1/4" pieces)
- Prepared pesto (If you are buying it, use the refrigerated stuff, not the jarred variety that's been sitting on the shelves for too long.)
- Tomato slices (about 1/4" thick)
There's no exact science to this recipe. Add as much or as little of anything that you wish. But here's what I did: Take 2 slices of bread and brush one side of each slice with olive oil. On the reverse side of one of the bread slices, top with tomato and mozzarella. On the other slice of bread (non-olive oil side), spread a generous amount of pesto. Place that onto your sandwich. "Grill" the sandwich over a hot skillet, using a lid from a smaller pan to press down a little. (This helps create a nice crunch.) Flip the sandwich over. When the bread is toasted to your liking, turn off the heat, put the correct-sized lid on top and steam that sucker until the cheese starts to melt. Then, enjoy.
I just ate dinner, and I'm hungry again. Maybe I'll go make cookies.
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