Updates, Baby Gender Reveal, the Holidays and What's to Come!

Wow, where does the time go?  It flies by, just like the expression says.   I decided I needed to come on here and give a few updates. 


I did more cooking and prep work in the past two days than I've done within the last three months!  I pureed broccoli and carrots.  I boiled and chopped up three cups worth of chicken.  I made my better for you baked spaghetti and meatballs and froze half for later.  I also made my fiesta-style beef and veggie soup (from my cookbook) which I froze 3/4 of it for later.  I made banana waffles for breakfast this morning and even baked ginger snap cookies too.  Then I even made a meal plan for the week, something I haven't done in a long time! 


Sunday - Spaghetti and Meatballs, garlic bread
Monday - Beef and bean enchiladas, salad
Tuesday - Balsamic Chicken Wraps, sesame green beans
Wednesday - Leftovers or sandwiches
Thursday - Black bean burgers, baked chips with salsa
Friday - Homemade pepperoni pizza
Saturday - Eat out or leftovers

Besides all the cooking I did, my husband and I cleaned out rooms, threw out a bunch of trash and tidied up like we hadn't done in weeks.  I guess you can say I'm officially "nesting" now.  I'm now 19 weeks pregnant and doing great.  We just had the gender reveal on Friday too.   It's a.............

It's a BABY!  Hahaha!




It's actually another GIRL!  Yay!  GIRLS RULE in my house now!   Years ago when I had two pets and a husband, I was outnumbered.  Now we're down to two males (my hubby and our dog) and we'll be three girls in the house now. 
 
Hooray!  Another Girl for the Fernandez family!  I am soooo, soooo happy!   Even though I tried to remain gender neutral throughout the pregnancy, the closer we arrived to our ultrasound day, the more I wanted another girl.  Maybe it's because my daughter Vivian has said she's wanted me to have a girl all along.  Every time I asked her, she would say that she wanted a sister.  Or maybe it's because so many people (my husband, father, even my mother-in-law and friends) wanted me to have a boy and I like to be opposite of the majority.  Or maybe it's because a big part of me has always wondered what it would be like to have a sister since I didn't have one.  Whatever the reason, I'm just overjoyed to be having another girl. Girls are what I know.  I can reuse all the same things.  And I can watch Vivian make a best friend for life, someone who understands her as a woman and she can share secrets with growing up, something I didn't have.  I'm soooo, soooo thankful for another precious girl in my life!   Woo-hoo! 


With working and preparing for this baby, I really haven't thought much about holiday baking or cooking.  In fact, we'll be visiting family over Christmas so I won't be doing any cooking.  (Yay!)  I can take it easy and let someone else do the work for the change.  I'm looking forward to relaxing.

I've also decided NOT to participate in any Christmas parties or cookie exchanges this year.  My heart just isn't in it this year and I don't want to spend hours making 100 cookies.  I also don't want 100+ cookies around to tempt my already pregnant, overeating self this year!  No, I'm happy to take off from the hustle and bustle exchanges this year so I can just focus on my family and do my own prep work for the coming months when I become uncomfortable and don't even feel like lifting a finger.


So what does all this mean for this food blog, Learn-Laugh-Cook???  I'm not exactly sure!  I am still around cooking and baking but I've not really made anything new lately.  I've also not wanted to spend an hour blogging in my precious time off.  Yes, sadly it usually takes me about an hour to do each blog post by the time I type it, proofread it, include any photos and more.  Therefore, I'm not sure how much I'll be around in the beginning of 2012 and beyond.  I won't completely go away though either.  I'm just busy and focused on other things.  I still try to share or post weekly on my Facebook page though!  It's easier to jump on there and chat or share a link than it is to post here on Blogger. 


All I know is that I'll follow my gut and my heart.  If I want to be here, then I will be.  If I have something to share, then I will.   But if I'd rather play with my two girls or just curl up for a few rare moments alone, then I'll do that too. 


I'd like to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  There are so many great food sites out there and Pinterest and other venues now where you can find tons of recipes, ideas, meal plans and more.  You don't really need me anyway.  But when I need to share more with you, I'll be back!  Until then, take care of yourself.  Have a wonderful Holiday Season!  I know I will. 

From my family to yours, love and best wishes always!

Weekend Cookin' and Prepwork- July 15 and 16, 2011

Who's ready for the weekend?  I am!  Although I'm not really planning to slow down for long.  I am going to do as much prepwork during the rest of July as I can so that I can relax and celebrate my Saturdays and Sundays in August.  After all, I have much to look forward to: a best friend coming to visit, my birthday, my wedding anniversary and more!

I plan to use up some remaining items in my freezer now, which includes two pounds left of ground turkey.  I also have just a small amount of broccoli and spinach purees left.  I'm intending to use all that up this weekend.  (So I guess next weekend will be another puree party of vegetables!) 

Let's get to the plan.  Here's what I am hoping to accomplish, cook or make this weekend.  See my below list:

Weekend Cookin' and Prepwork for July 15 and 16, 2011:  

1. Clean my Coffee and Tea Mugs- I found the quickest and most effective method of making your dirty-looking coffee cups look like new.  Check out this post where I talk about the secret to my success!

2. Mandy's Magnificent Meatloaf-  I have spent years trying to perfect the traditional meatloaf recipe.  And this is my family's absolute favorite.  It freezes well so I'm going to make this, portion it out and put it straight in my freezer for future lunches and dinners.

3. Turkey Burgers - I only have one burger left in my freezer so I'm going to make a small batch of these.  The recipe is in my cookbook and it's one that we enjoy every month at least once.  I add broccoli and carrots to ground turkey making it a moist, nutritious burger that you can make on your stovetop in just ten minutes.

4. Popover Upside Down Pizza - I bookmarked this recipe on my friend Lara's website, Recipe Shoebox, a few weeks ago.  I can't wait to try this out!  I'm going to skip the ground turkey since I"m using it for the other two recipes above.  Instead I'll use turkey pepperoni slices that are in my fridge right now instead.  I'm also going to add in some veggies to this.  I'll post any modifications I make to the recipe at a later time.

5. Apple Dump Cake - I'm going to make this on Sunday and bring it into work for my boss' early birthday cake.  He revealed he loves apples and this looks easy, plus I have all the ingredients!

Well, that's all I have on my meal planning agenda for now!  I hope I can accomplish it all and do some cleaning around the house too.


Happy weekend and Happy Cookin' to you all!  I'll be back on Sunday to share my meal plan for the upcoming week. 

Weekend Cookin' and Prepwork- July 9 and 10, 2011

Hi everyone!  Or hello to the three of you who may still be reading this!  :-)  I know it's been awhile since my last post.  I took a vacation and went completely unplugged.  It was so nice not checking email, looking at my phone or being on facebook or blogger.  I needed that break.

Now that I've had it and I'm back home in the routine again, I feel re-energized about cooking and preparing meals again.  As I was sitting here at my computer desk thinking about what I want to do this weekend in the kitchen, I realized that I haven't really shared my meal plans that I compose for weekend cooking.  I often will do the prepwork for 3 to 5 meals on a Saturday and Sunday.  Then I freeze half or most of the recipes for a later time.  It saves me stress and worry about what to cook later on.  This helps me feel more balanced. 



Therefore, I wanted to gain a jump start on this weekend.  So I just stuck my head in the freezer and cupboards to take inventory of my supplies. I look for what vegetables that I need to use up and any meats I have on hand too.  I look at my ingredients and think.... "What am I in the mood for?"  I try to think of one chicken dish, one meat dish, one vegetarian dish (if I can).  I think of a meal with rice or perhaps one with pasta or both.  I think of a breakfast item that I can make - i.e., muffins, pancakes or make-ahead burritos, etc.  I think of an Italian-style, Mexican-style and Cajun style dish.  I will often think of a dessert or snack item that I can prepare as well, based on what I have on my shelves. 

This is how my mind works anway.  Yours may be different but I'm a regular creative cook when it comes to using up what I have these days.  I have cut back greatly on my weekly grocery trips and just make monthly or even ever other month bulk buying trips to the store (at places like Sam's Club, etc).

So with all that above being said, here's what I am hoping to accomplish, cook or make this weekend.  See my below list. It's ambitious but I think I can do it~!  I've done it before in the past, after all.  :-) 

I have a ton of carrots and potatoes to use up so I let those veggies inspire me for this below prep list.  I thought to myself.... what can I make with potoatoes?  What can I make and do with an abundance of carrots?  Feed Bugs Bunny?  No!  Then it hit me.... I knew just what to do....

Weekend Cookin' and Prepwork for July 9 and 10, 2011:  

1. Better for you Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs - This makes a ton so I portion this out and freeze them in small containers for my daughter's lunches and for us to enjoy at future dinners.

2. Puree three pounds of carrots using my awesome new food processor - Yes, you heard that right!  I'll be pureeing a lot of carrots.  I portion them out into 1/2 cup and 1 cup sizes and place them in plastic storage freezer-safe bags, like in this photo.   The timing is perfect because I will use them in the above spaghetti and meatballs recipe and in the carrot cake pancakes below!  :-)

2. Carrot "cake" pancakes - Thanks Kate for this recipe!  Your post comes at a great time as I intend to puree all those carrots and replenish our breakfast meals in the freezer.  Pancakes are one of the easiest things you can make and freeze for later.  Microwave them for a minute and you've got a quick, delicious and healthy (if made right) meal for busy days or lazy weekends.

3. Fiesta Style Shepherds Pie - My mom's neighbor gave her a bunch of fresh potatoes from his garden.  She gave some to me.  So I couldn't wait to come up with something to use them in.  I remembered this great recipe of mine.  I haven't made it since the falltime so it's time to enjoy this one again!  I'm going to freeze most of it for later. 

4.  Low-fat Potato Salad - To use up the rest of the potatoes I've been given, I'm going to make my famous, delicious and light potato salad to go with a barbecue we'll enjoy on Sunday.  I will cut this recipe in half or maybe even 1/3 since my original one makes a ton! 

5.  Crockpot Jambalaya - I remembered seeing this on Alison's website awhile back.  I have some leftover smoked chicken in my freezer now along with some turkey sausage so I know this is a great way to not waste those wonderful ingredients.  I'm trying to use my slow cooker more often.  The great thing about a machine like this is that it requires minimal work and no supervision normally.  So it's an easy choice to cook something in it while you're busy cooking something else or doing yardwork or whatever else.  That way, you've automatically prepared two meals at once and can save time later on.  I'm going to do this one and freeze most of it for later too! 

6.  No-Bake Granola Bars - I developed a craving for these over the weekend and thankfully I already have the ingredients on hand for them.  I love this lighter, lower in fat version of granola bars compared to others I see out there.  I love using Kashi cereal in these too.  I try to keep one box of it around at all times. 


Well, that's all I have on my meal planning agenda for now!  Now, I must be honest, I don't cook like this every weekend but at least once per month, I make the time to do bulk preparation.  It takes anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of my weekend but it's well worth the trouble when I'm well stocked for weeks to come!   Whenever I do this type of preparation in the future, I'll be sure to share what I'm making and how I do it right here with you....


Happy weekend and Happy Cookin' to you all!  I'll be back on Sunday to share my meal plan for the upcoming week.  I also have a great gluten-free dessert recipe and a yummy dip appetizer that I'll be sharing in a few days too! 

I hope you had a great Fourth of July!  I also hope you're having a fabulous summer.  I know I am!