Otis

My 18 month old son has been sick for about 4 days now. He's finally starting to get better, but Sunday was a particularly nasty day for him - and, therefore, for me and the hubby as well. He pretty much sat in our laps and moaned for most of the day.

Because he was so sick, I figured my baby could use something to cheer him up. So while he napped and me and hubs wasted 2 hours of our time watching Valentine's Day (don't bother, not worth it), I made Otis the Owl.

Yes, we name everything in our house. No, I don't know where the name Otis came from. I know he's a little bit messy, but I'm not the best and sewing and I did him all by hand. It took awhile, but my baby really loves him. He carries him around saying, "hoo! hoo!"

I used this tutorial as a baseline, then changed it up a bit to make him look more like I wanted. I used an old green sweater and a patterned flannel shirt from pre-baby days, as well as felt that I already had, so I didn't spend a dime!

Vegetable Ribbon Pasta

Sorry Steph, it's another dairy recipe :) I swear I have non-dairy ones somewhere...

Vegetable Ribbon Pasta (adapted from Great Taste, Low Fat)

2 small zucchini

2 small yellow summer squash

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow or sweet onion, sliced thin

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips (i just did two green bell peppers)

1/2 pound baby portabello mushrooms

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup bottled Italian dressing

1/2 cup chicken broth (reduced-sodium is a good idea)

8 oz fettuccine

2 oz Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese), cut into small pieces

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

Place the chicken breasts and Italian dressing in a plastic ziploc bag and put in refrigerator for about two hours to marinate. When ready to start cooking, saute mushrooms in a large, deep skillet in 1 tbsp olive oil until softened and browned. Set aside. Remove the chicken breasts from the bag and slice into 1/2 inch thick strips. Cook in the same skillet until done through. Set aside. With a vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini and yellow squash lengthwise into ribbons. Set aside. In the skillet, heat the oil until hot but not smoking over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in peppers and broth and cook until peppers are softened, about 6 minutes more. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until just tender (al dente). Drain well. Add the zucchini and yellow squash to the skillet and cook until the squash are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese, milk, Parmesan, and black pepper and cook until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes longer. Add the pasta and toss to coat. Serve hot.

Enjoy! It's delicious.

Burgoo

I know I promised I would post more often, but life has been all over the place lately. When I do get a chance to sit down, I usually end up napping or reading a book or watching Gilmore Girls instead of posting. I'm sorry. That's just the way I am... I'm pregnant with baby #2, and life takes more energy than normal these days.

BURGOO! Have you ever heard of Burgoo? It's a stew that originates in Kentucky, also known as "Roadkill Stew." Doesn't that sound wonderful?? Don't worry, I didn't run out to the street and pick up an armadillo for this one. I used genuine, grocery store meats, thanks very much.

The recipe that inspired me to make Burgoo can be found here, but this is what I did:

Burgoo (this is a really rough set of instructions more than a recipe)

I had leftovers from a crock pot pork roast that contained about 1 1/2 pounds pork, 20ish oz of diced tomatoes, 1/2 pound carrots, Lipton's Onion Soup Mix, garlic powder, and black pepper. And one sliced onion. That all comes into play here shortly.

First, I browned 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, 4 bone-in chicken thighs, and 2 thin pork chops in about 4 tbsp oil in a giant stock pot. When I say giant, I mean 12 quart. Giant. Oh, and I lightly salted those meats before I threw them in.

Next, I took out all the browned meats and put them in a bowl to make room for 1/2 pound sliced carrots, 2 large chopped bell peppers, and 1 large chopped onion. I cooked those until they softened, then added in about 1 tsp of garlic powder and 1 tsp black pepper. I continued to cook those for a couple more minutes, then I tossed in the meats I had browned, the leftover diced tomatoes and juices from my crock pot roast, the leftover carrots I'd also sliced, 8 cups of water, 4 chicken bouillon cubes, and 4 beef bouillon cubes. I gave that all a good stir, then I brought it up to a simmer and let it simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.

Next, I took the chicken out and pulled it off the bone. It didn't take much; it basically collapsed off. Then, I added about 16 oz frozen corn, 1/2 pound frozen okra, the shredded pork roast leftover from the crock pot, and 1/2 pound fresh shelled cream peas (also known as conch peas). I brought all that back up to a simmer and let it do its thing for about 30 minutes.

After all that, I tossed in another cup of water because it looked too thick for me. Then I poured in about 6 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and brought it back up to a simmer for another 20 minutes.

At this point, the hubby came home from work and I promptly went into our room and hid for 15 minutes because I was exhausted and needed me time. But you don't have to do that if you make this. I needed it. My feet were swelling.

I made some good Southern cornbread and we ate the stew on top of leftover mashed potatoes. It was really good, BUT here's what I'm doing today: since I think there's way too much meat in this stew in relation to everything else, I'm going to make another 6 cups of broth, add another 1/2 cup sliced carrots, 2 more bell peppers, another onion, more okra, and more corn. I'm going to wish I had more cream peas. But I don't. I'm going to let all that get all soft and good, then I'm going to add it to the vat again and toss in a few cups of cooked brown rice (we're out of potatoes now). Then we're going to have it again and I'm going to hope it's a better consistency for my sensitive pregnant stomach.

Tonight, I'll add a picture to this post. I forgot last night. My feet were too big and I was way too tired. Maybe I'll even format this into a real recipe.

But only if you comment and tell me you want me to.

:)