GLUTEN FREE DONUTS!

This morning I would like to take a moment and give a shout out to my friend Jessica Jellig! On Sunday she told me about kinnikinnick Gluten Free donuts. This morning before work I headed over to Frazier Farms and picked up a box in each flavor. Yes, it may seem crazy to spend $4.99 (this is the sale price normally $6.49) for a box of 6 small donuts but when you have not had a donut in 8 months and you are pregnant money is not a thought.

To the gluten eating world these may not taste to fabulous but for me and Jess we are happy campers.

Thanks Jess!!!!

30 weeks - the countdown has begun!

People have asked for an updated pic so here it is... I am really getting excited to meet her! She is super active kicking all the time. My stomach moves like it's no one's business. I think she is going to be one energetic little girl.

Beer Bread and Chicken Sausage, Pepper and Onion Pasta Fake-Bake

This weekend I made two loaves of gluten free beer bread. I made my first loaf last weekend and it took me like three hours. But this time it was much easier. If anyone else lives the gluten free lifestyle this is a wonderful alternative to eating the store bought stuff that feels like cardboard. It is actually soft. I got the recipe from www.glutenfreemommmy.com
I also made Rachel Rays Chicken Sausage, Pepper and Onion Pasta Fake-Bake. Neither my husband or myself love cooked peppers so I just left those out and of course I used GF brown rice pasta for my portion of the meal. We both liked this dish so much that we had seconds and we ate it on Sunday for lunch. Yes, if you cannot see the trend here I am cooking a ton right now and have kind of become obsessed with the Food Network. But that's what you have to do when you can't eat out. My husband says he has never seen a sink fill up with dishes so quickly.

Chicken Sausage, Pepper and Onion Pasta Fake-Bake
1 pound rigatoni
Salt
1 pound cooked chicken sausages
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock, a couple of glugs
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano)
Handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh basil, 10 leaves, torn or shredded
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at table

Place a pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta. When the water boils, salt it and cook pasta to al dente, with a bite to it.

Prick sausages with a fork. Place chicken sausages in a large skillet and add 1 inch of water. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet, 1 turn of the pan. Bring water to a boil then reduce heat a little. Allow all the liquid to cook away then brown and crisp the casings, 5 to 6 minutes.

Preheat broiler.

While pasta and sausage cook, heat a deep skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the peppers, onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. When the sausages are cooked through, slice them on an angle and add them to the peppers and onions. Cook together until peppers and onions are tender and sliced sausages are crisp at edges then deglaze the pan with white wine or chicken stock. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring to a bubble, reduce heat to low.

Drain rigatoni and return to warm pot. Add ricotta cheese, salt and pepper, parsley and basil and half of the Parmigiano, a couple of handfuls, stir to combine.

To assemble the "fake bake," place half the sausage, peppers, onions and sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Top with all of the pasta and then the remaining sausage and sauce. Cover the top of the dish with the grated Parmigiano and place until broiler 2 minutes to brown cheese and set pasta.

This is a very detailed recipe but it only takes 30 minutes and the flavor is to die for - well if you like Italian food and Ricotta cheese.

My Thoughts

So I made it for one week on the strict diet that my chiropractor told me to do. But by Friday I was so depressed I quite and just ate gluten and corn free. Since that time things have been looking up quite a bit. Well, until Monday night when I had really bad indigestion. It is so hard for me to separate what is a food allergy induced response and what is just a side effect of pregnancy. I know indigestion is part of being pregnant. Today I was frustrated because since I was not home to make dinner last night I did not have left overs to bring for lunch. I did have some GF bread I made over the weekend and so I hoped I could find some lunch meat to put on it. I called Boars Head to see if any of their meats were gluten and corn free. I found out that they are all gluten free but only three are corn free. So I went to Ralphs and they did not have the meat I needed. I felt like crying. This may seem extreme to some but for me this whole thing is just overwhelming at times. Some days I am doing great and other days I just feel flat out frustrated.

The other thing this leads to is my anxiety. For those of you who have not experienced true anxiety it may be hard to relate to someone like myself. You may think to yourself well you just need to calm down and relax, stop worrying it will all work itself out. I wish it was this easy. I know in my head everything will be fine but I still cannot stop the side affects that come along with it. I actually think this is the primary reason that i am having indigestion right now. I am getting ready to face a huge change and things are a bit uncertain right now. I have not been able to talk with my boss yet about what my future working situation looks like. We just found out on Monday some wonderful news about my husbands schedule for work. It looks like as of August 1 he will be working Wed, Thur, Friday and every other Sat. This is the best schedule we could have hoped for. So every two weeks we will have Saturday and Sunday off together! What a gift that is going to be and two days a week he can watch our daughter. I need to have the conversation with my boss and see what my life is going to look like after my maternity leave.

This post probably seems quite random especially to those of you who really do not know me or have not know me for the past couple of years. But this is my truth for today and why I think I feel a bit down. At times I do not want to post things that are so real but today I don't really care. This is me... take it or leave it!

God is good no matter how life is going and my life is great! Food allergies are just a small hick-up in the grand scheme of what others go through. Just for today I am going to try and figure out what to make for dinner when I get home that will not upset my stomach and I am going to go on a walk and take care of myself.

Homemade Meatballs

So lately I have been doing a lot of cooking. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies and it goes along with my love for entertaining. Since I have been having trouble with food allergies it has motivated my to cook even more than usual. Plus I have been spoiled because my husband has been home every night this week for dinner. I TiVo Rachael Ray's 30 minutes meals because they are practical in regards to making dinner after work. I thought I would start listing some of my favorite recipes. Some of these have been passed down from our families others I found online and some are from the Food Network.

Monday Night I made spaghetti and meatballs. I have never made my own meatballs but it was super easy and fun. Most importantly my 100% Italian husband said they were good:)

Aunt Lena's Meatball's

1 lb of ground beef
2 cloves of garlic
1 egg
2 handfuls of breadcrumbs (I used gluten free bread crumbs)
1 handful of Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 TBS parsley

Pre-heat oven to 450
Mix all the ingredients together
Get hands wet and roll into balls
Place meatballs on a cookie sheet
Cook for 20 minutes

We ate this with homemade marinara sauce over pasta ( I had brown rice pasta and he had ravioli) and some steamed green beans.

Pregnancy Reality

This was on my 29 week babycenter.com email I got yesterday and I thought it was pretty funny~

If only you'd known you were going to trade...
• Monthly PMS for nine months of weeping
• Lacy thongs for cotton tents
• Sex for gas
• Zinfandel for Ovaltine
• Birth control for laxatives
• Going to the gym for getting up to pee
• Your waist for a hot-air balloon
• Kickboxing for kick counts
• Your innie for an outie — a way-outie

28 Week Utra Sound

Last week we had another ultra sound of our little girl. I finally figured out that I could upload it to You Tube to share. It took like 1/2 hour to upload this 24 second file. It is basically of her face. Seeing pictures of Kellianne, Jen and Stephanie's new little ones has really made me feel anxious to meet her. I cannot believe God actually forms a baby inside of our tummies! What a miracle. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KORCeidwrPo