I make a big dinner, but since I’m the only chef in the house, I only include the basics:

Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, and apple pie.

The big dishes will be homemade from scratch, but there are a few things that I take some pre-made help from. My husband prefers Stovetop stuffing to all other kinds, so we’ll go with that 5 minute boxed stuff. Cranberry sauce from a can, and gravy from a few packets because even though I can make homemade gravy this is easier and never gets lumpy or over-thickens on me.

I have never made a turkey before. The last two years Jason did the dirty work of touching the raw bird and slicing it after cooking. Before that, my Nana always did it for the family potluck holiday dinner. I know I can do it myself, but I’m a little a lot squeemish about touching raw poultry. It’s so gross. What’s worse is that I not only have to touch it to get it into the pan, I have to stick my arm inside to pull out the neck and giblets (OMG!) and wash out it’s insides. Save me!

To make tomorrow easier, I’m making the mashed potatoes and apple pie today. The mashed potatoes will be heated back up tomorrow in a casserole dish and I think homemade apple pie always tastes better the next day anyway after it’s had time to set and gel up a little after being baked. I’ll reheat the pie while we’re eating everything else tomorrow afternoon. It’ll be ready for us just as soon as we’ve made room for it.

On Pinterest I found a simple looking roll recipe that promises to be perfect in 30 minutes. I can whip those up tomorrow and bake them off while Jason is carving the bird. After that all I need to do is the Stovetop quickie stuffing, boil the corn, make fast gravy, and dish up the cranberry sauce.

Is there anything terribly important that I’m missing? The grocery store will be open tomorrow and it’s only a mile away if I need something. And don’t even suggest sweet potatoes or green bean casserole. Eew.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your holiday is spent with people you love and lots of food. I love Thanksgiving very much, but I’m also looking forward to putting up our Christmas tree and stockings this weekend! We don’t have much for decorations around the house and haven’t amassed a ton of children’s homemade tree ornaments yet since our kiddos are still little, but we’ll put up what little we have and love it.

We learned the news just a couple of days before we flew out to California a little over 2 weeks ago for our friends’ wedding. At that point all we’d seen is a pregnancy test, but since it was still really early on we didn’t want to announce until we’d at least seen a sonogram or heard the heartbeat. Also, a wedding is no place to announce a pregnancy, stealing the spotlight from our friends would have been pretty darn rude on a day that’s supposed to be all about them. So, we kept it to ourselves the whole trip and then once we got home went to see my doctor. He confirmed everything for us again and we got to have an ultrasound to check the due date and make sure everything looked as it was supposed to.

At this point we’re just 8 weeks into the pregnancy making our due date June 4th. Looking back at my other two pregnancies, Jason and I are amending our expectations to the last week or so of May. Jeremy arrived 10 days before his due date and Jesse joined the family exactly 7 days early. Also, our babies have gotten bigger each time. Jeremy was 8 lbs 13 oz and Jesse was 9 lbs 9 oz, my second baby was 12 oz larger after staying in for 3 days longer. During our discussion with my doctor at our first prenatal appointment this time around, he mentioned that if this baby appears to be following suit and gets really big toward the end of the pregnancy, he would like to entertain the idea of inducing when the baby’s size indicates to ensure a better chance of having as great and “easy” of a labor as we did last time. I don’t particularly like that idea, at least not until I’m more than a week past due and the baby isn’t moving as much due to lack of space and reduced amniotic fluid. I really don’t think that will be a problem, but I’m glad to know now where my doctor stands on that issue. I prefer to go into labor naturally when the baby decides she or he is ready.

To the fun stuff… We’re hoping for a little girl this time, but like we’ve told everyone already, if we are blessed with another boy we will be just as thrilled. We love our boys and whether a little girl comes along or a third brother to add to our pack, we will thank God for His blessings on our family.

As to how I’m feeling these days… I felt pretty great during our California trip, nauseous when I’d turn around in the car to talk to the boys, but that’s it. Once we got home “the sickness” set it for real. So far I haven’t actually thrown up at all, but for about two weeks I’ve felt constantly nauseous from the time my eyes open to the time I fall asleep. The last few days have been better, but I’m still not doing much. I feel bad for the family because I’ve only cooked about 3 meals over the last week and my live-in mother-in-law has been doing all the dishes. Jason’s been very helpful in lots of ways and extremely understanding, but Jesse doesn’t get it.

Ever since Jesse quit nursing (his own choice and it went well a couple of months ago) one of his favorite things has been to push up my shirt to expose my belly and snuggle his face there. It’s sweet and probably the closest feeling he can get to the way nursing felt. I’ve indulged him because when he wakes up in the middle of the night and comes into our room, snuggling my stomach gets him to fall back to sleep in moments. But lately he’s been doing more playing at it, flipping his face from one side to the other, blowing raspberries, and pushing his face inward. None of those things feel good to me with my nausea and I wind up rolling him off. After a couple of minutes he falls asleep just fine in the middle of the bed, but for the rest of the night he pokes and shoves at Jason and I. By the time morning rolls around I’m rather sleep deprived and most days I don’t get up until at least 8:30 or even 9:00.

I don’t know how Jason can get up at 6 and get to work by 7:30 every day. It would be totally impossible for me at this point. Many days it’s all I can do to keep the laundry mostly under control and keep Jesse entertained in the play room or let him follow me around to whatever I’m up to. I’m dealing with lots of food aversions right now, so cooking is just not something I have been able to consider most days. When the nausea lightens though, I pull something out of my hat that’s homemade so the family will know I’m still trying and that I love them. Other than that, I’m doing great! Our next appointment is on Veteran’s Day and I look forward to updating again after that.

4-6 pork chops (depending on their size and thickness)

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1) Warm a little oil in a large skillet. Brown the pork chops on both sides but do not cook through yet.

2) Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour over the pork chops in the skillet. Bring to a boil, lower the heat a simmer for 8-10 minutes. Do not cover the meat and sauce while it simmers, you want to allow it to evaporate so that the sauce thickens a bit. So good!

3) Serve these alongside or on top of some fluffy white rice and your favorite veggie.

We ate these up so fast last night that I didn’t even have a second to snap a quick photo. I took a bite to try it, and the next thing I knew all of our plates were clean. Next time I’ll have a little more self control, I promise. My husband mentioned that this sauce would taste great on chicken as well and I cannot wait to try this same sauce over some chicken in a crock pot. After it cooks I’ll shred it and make an amazing pulled chicken sandwich.

Monday, September 12:

Breakfast — cinnamon rolls (yes, the rolls that are supposed to be The Best Ever, we’ll just have to see about that.)

Lunch — snacks

Dinner — Chicken & Noodles with cheddar biscuits

Dessert — Strawberry Shortcake

Tuesday, September 13:

Lunch — tuna sandwiches

Dinner — Cran-Grape Meatballs, mashed potatoes, and sweet corn

Wednesday, September 14:

Lunch — hunt for leftovers

Dinner — Thai Chicken and white rice

Thursday, September 15:

Lunch — Deep Dish Pizza

Dinner — a nice big chef salad (and maybe some breadsticks with any leftover pizza dough)

Friday, September 16:

Lunch — Beef & Noodles with carrots

Dinner — Summer Pasta

Saturday, September 17:

Lunch — chicken fried rice

Dinner — One-Pot Pasta

Sunday, September 18:

Breakfast — Oatmeal Cherry Bars

Lunch — Irish Stew and old-fashioned yeast biscuits

Dinner — grilled chicken salad

Dessert — Apple Pie

Monday, September 5:

Lunch — Jesse and I met up with Jason at the galley for lunch since they’d planned a special barbeque meal.

Dinner — An all-time favorite of mine, Cheesy Potato Soup. It had been a long time since I’d made a pot and we enjoyed it immensely!

Tuesday, September 6:

Lunch — I have no idea, maybe something simple like tuna sandwiches or grilled cheese.

Dinner — Chicken Pot Pie with Yeast Rolls. (Both are new recipes.)

Wednesday, September 7:

Lunch — Baked Beef Ravioli (new).

Dinner — Cobb Salad sandwiches (new).

Thursday, September 8:

Breakfast — Overnight Coffee Cake (new).

Lunch — Easy cheese quesadillas after getting home from a long fun morning at MOPS!

Dinner — Pulled Pork sandwiches, funeral potatoes, and carrots.

Friday, September 9:

Fantastic leftovers for every meal.

Saturday, September 10:

Lunch — Creamy Corn Chowder with Cheddar Biscuits (both new).

Dinner — Beef Ragoût with gravy (new).

Sunday, September 11:

Breakfast — Best Ever Cinnamon Rolls (new recipe from the magazine, I dunno, it’ll be tough if not impossible to beat Amy’s Mom’s Cinnamon Rolls)

Lunch — Luncheon for the volunteers after church. Since both Jason and I volunteer regularly in the nursery and I help to run the MOPS group.

Dinner — Chicken & Noodles (new recipe as well, let’s see if this is as good as my Nana’s).

Dessert — Apple Pie. Half the work is already done since I processed 5 pounds of granny smith apples a few days ago. They were close to becoming soft and there was no way we’d eat them all before they went bad. So they are peeled, cored, sliced, and hanging out in the freezer with some lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. All I need to do on Saturday night is make the pie crust, season the apples, and bake up the pie.

I’ve been needing to revitalize my menu for a while now and there’s nothing like a magazine full of comfort food recipes to usher in the start of fall.

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced (or diced if you prefer smaller pieces)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (yes, it’s a tiny bit, but it packs a yummy punch!)
1/8 tsp. salt (to balance out the sugary sweetness)
1/2 cup water

1) Stir the seasonings into the water. Add the carrots and stir. No, it’s not a lot of water. It’ll be just enough to wet the carrots and then cook out while they simmer, leaving them glazed with a light sauce instead of floating in water.

2) Bring to a low boil. Lower the heat and let simmer until carrots are at your preferred doneness. We like ours soft with a little bit of crunch left in the middle, but some prefer them barely blanched and super crunchy.

My friend Ericka posted the original recipe on her blog, but I have since made a few slight changes to the coating mixture and I bake mine up in a muffin tin to make individual portions instead of in the 9″ round pan. Either way, these biscuits are delicious!

1 roll refrigerated biscuit dough
1/4 c. butter, melted
4 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp. fresh minced garlic
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried dill weed

1) Separate biscuit dough and cut each round into quarters. (* FYI: I tried this once with homemade biscuit dough. It totally didn’t work as planned. After I chopped up the dough into pieces and started tossing them in the coating, they all smooshed back into one big dough ball. Instead of scrapping it, I just pulled off chunks and put it in the muffin tin. The end result still tasted great, but it wasn’t the same as when I used the pre-made refrigerated biscuit dough.)

2) Combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Add dough chunks and stir lightly to coat. I needed to add a tiny tiny drizzle of olive oil to make things coat a little better, but you might not need to. (* Another FYI: Do not substitute garlic powder for fresh minced garlic. I know I take this shortcut pretty often in other recipes and they turn out just as good, but it really does not work out the same in this one. Use fresh minced this time, it’s only a few cloves.)

3) Separate into the pockets of a well-greased muffin tin. Depending on how many biscuits came in the can you purchased, you may or may not have enough to put the same number of dough chunks in each muffin tin spot. That’s okay. I was still able to make 12 and no one noticed that a few were a smidge smaller than the rest. But if you’re a stickler for equality in your dinner bread, make them even and you just won’t have a full dozen.

4) Bake at 450° for about 10 min. or until golden brown. These are best served warm but reheated in the microwave for 10 seconds or less makes a leftover biscuit taste almost as good as fresh. (* Last FYI: In the first picture up top I got them a little browner than necessary, but they were awesome. Not burnt, but extra brown. They were crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, and the parmesan on the outside adopted a bit of a nutty flavor the more it browned.)

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. Thanks for this recipe Ericka!

I looked through several recipes and found that applesauce was very simple to make. So, as usual for me, I decided to wing it.  I had precisely 7 apples, and the ratios I was going off of for seasoning and cooking time were using 4 apples. In order to double those ratios I needed more fruit… Rather than running to the store for a single apple (silly!), I grabbed a can of cherries from my pantry.

This turned out so so good, I was astonished! Never do I hit such a home run on the first try, especially when I wing it!

7 granny smith apples

1 can of tart cherries (not pie filling, just cherries)

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1) Peel, core, and cut up your apples into large pieces. They are going to be cooking for several hours, cutting them too small will make the applesauce too soupy. We like ours with a little body left to it.

2) Stir the apples, cherries, water, and seasonings together in your slow cooker.

* I know some folks like to add a bit of sugar, we usually get our jarred applesauce unsweetened. The cherries do add a bit of tart and sweetness, but I think the cinnamon and nutmeg temper than just enough. If you think it needs it, feel free to add a touch of brown sugar.

3) Set it on Low and let it go for 6-8 hours. (If you don’t want to wait all night, turn it on high for 3-4 hours, just stir it once or twice to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom and sides.) (You could also stir all of this into a stock pot and cook it on the stove until the apples are very soft.)

4) When it’s done, you may want to take a potato masher to it if there are any remaining big chunks. If you prefer really smooth applesauce, you can put it through a ricer.

Enjoy! This was truly amazing warm out of the crock pot, but it was also really great cold out of the fridge when I went back for leftovers.

6 chicken breast halves

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder (or four cloves of fresh minced garlic)

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1) Combine the above ingredients together in a small bowl. Reserve to the side.

2) Warm up a little olive oil in a skillet, just enough to coat the bottom.

3) Arrange your chicken in the skillet, sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. of the seasoning mixture onto each side of each piece (1 tsp. total per piece of chicken). If you’d rather, you can put the seasoning into a ziploc bag, add the chicken and toss to coat. Your choice.

4) Saute on medium-high heat until both sides are browned and chicken is cooked through.

The only slight problem with this is that the kids keep taking my camera! Jeremy does it all the time. Sometimes I don’t notice because he’s stealthy and will put it right back in it’s place when he’s done playing, but then I’ll go to use it and suddenly my memory card is full. *sigh* I go through them, keep a few funny ones and delete the rest. The other day, my friend Hiedi brought her younger daughter Raquel over to hang out and make cookies with us. Well, Raquel snatched my camera and went off to take a few of her own. Here are the handful of photos I decided to keep from the both of them…

Jeremy’s pics	Raquel’s pics
I shared this a couple days ago in it's own post, Jeremy's Rock Monster.	Raquel's mom Hiedi, well, from the nose down. I guess this is what you see from her angle. What a pretty smile!
My kitchen counter from hip level. Because that's important to have captured on digital film.	The inside of the toy box in the play room. I kind of like this one. Maybe I'll make it the desktop photo on the computer and freak out Jason.
Another blurry one of my counter, this time with the tops of the canisters that my Nana gave me!	Here's Jesse reaching for the camera, this was seconds before he started crying because the big kids wouldn't share. Raquel fetched him his toy camera and he was fine.
Lastly, one of our chocolate lab Duke, looking very sad for some reason. Probably because Jeremy was bugging him. Oh well, he's usually rather happy, or asleep.	Another really nice one. My kitchen table, window to the backyard, Hiedi's cookbook, and a cute headband.

Do you keep any of the weird pictures that your kids take for you?