Hello!
Is February a busy month for anyone else? I feel like my calendar just keeps filling up more and more! It’s like everyone takes a break after Christmas, and is back into the social scene full force in February. This pregnant lady is tired. I can’t believe I have 10 weeks until this kid is due either. That’s going to fly by before I know it. Mr. Nest is working hard on the baby’s room, and my friends threw me an awesome shower the other weekend, so we have lots of baby essentials and cute clothes (for newborn – 12months too! These ladies think ahead – thank goodness!). Our good friend also gave us a quilt made of t-shirts from Mr. Nest’s fraternity (Tot will be a legacy) so I think we’re going to hang it on the wall and model the nursery decor around it. Should be fun!
The worst thing for a foodie during pregnancy, is the food you miss! Things I really miss lately:
- Steak. I seriously miss steak. I crave it, but well done steak is disgusting and not worth it. I’m not going to buy a great cut of steak and then cook the crap out of it. *sigh* I’ll enjoy a good medium-rare steak after baby arrives.
- Runny-yolk eggs. So much better over hash or in a toad-in-the-hole…or eggs in purgatory.
- Sushi. I think every pregnant lady who likes sushi misses it!
Otherwise, it’s really not too bad. I do miss the occasional glass of wine, but it’s not overwhelming.
RECIPE PLAN
Sorry I missed posting last week’s recipe plan. It ended up being more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants week because I’ve been extra tired and menu planning just wasn’t working well for me last week. Luckily, I have next week taken care of early, so here it is!
It’s a lighter week, we have a couple nights where we don’t need meal plans.
Meatball Subs w/ Onion Rings & Veggie
Basic meatballs (ground beef, bread crumbs, worcestershire, and whatever Mr. Nest feels like adding) in marinara sauce, on a hoagie topped with mozzarella – with some baked onion rings (I had a craving, so Mr. Nest bought some frozen ones) and a veggie.
Pad See Ew w/ Shrimp and Green Beans
I made this the other week…and I want it again!
Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas (using this sauce), Seasoned Black Beans & Chips w/ Salsa/Guac
This recipe sounded good – I love sweet potatoes! We’ll top it with our favorite enchilada sauce recipe (linked above), and have some seasoned black beans (canned black beans heated in a pot with some Mexican seasonings (cumin, garlic, chili powder, etc and slightly mashed with the potato masher – ridiculously easy.) Chips and salsa/guac will also probably happen too.
Eggs in Purgatory over Polenta
I might not use the linked recipe exactly, but it’s a good one to go by! Eggs poached in a tomato-ey sauce (I’ll have to break the yolks on mine so they’re not runny….this makes me very sad! :() over some polenta. I’ve got some cream cheese hanging out in the fridge, so that will probably be added to the polenta to make it cheesy & creamy.
Ribolita Soup w/ Bread
This soup caught my eye, and I decided I needed to try it! It’s a weekend soup because there’s a bit of chopping involved, but I should be able to manage that alright. It’s full of veggies and beans, and I love that it’s thickened with the starch! I’m more of a thick soup or stew person so that appeals to me. Brothy soups aren’t my favorite (though I do still enjoy them sometimes.) I’m looking forward to this one! Plus it’ll make good leftovers. 🙂
HOW I DO MY MEAL PLANNING
In case anyone is wondering how I do my meal-planning/grocery listing -here’s how it works best for us. I use a template (this week’s is copied below) and figure out what days we need dinner planned. I then plan any meals and extras (we don’t have any this week) and add to the grocery list as I go. I tend to use sites like Pinterest, Foodgawker, MyRecipes (this is the place to go for Cooking Light recipes), Serious Eats, The Kitchn and TastyKitchen quite a bit to help with this. I also follow quite a few food bloggers (The Pioneer Woman, Crepes of Wrath, How Sweet Eats, etc)
We have a good solid base of pantry staples, so it’s generally fresh stuff + a few pantry items we’re out of or don’t usually have. Then I’ll figure out anything I can make the weekend before and list out my early prep. Easy!
Meals:
Early Prep: Make enchilada sauce, make polenta.
Meatball Subs w/ Onion Rings & Veggie
Pad See Ew w/ Shrimp and Green Beans
Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas (using this sauce), Seasoned Black Beans & Chips w/ Salsa/Guac
Eggs in Purgatory over Polenta
Ribolita Soup w/ Bread
Groceries:
Produce/Deli:
- Snack Fruit
- Celery
- Garlic
- Basil
- Savoy Cabbage
- Kale
- Sweet Potato (1)
- Poblano (1)
Dry Goods:
- Rice Noodles
- Cannelloni Beans
- Sourdough Bread
- 8oz Tomato Sauce
- Tortillas
- Black Beans
- Tortilla Chips
Meat:
- Frozen Shrimp
- 1/4lb Pancetta or Bacon
- Chorizo
Dairy/Eggs:
- Parmesan
Costco:
- Milk
- Boochicken (chicken for Boo-the-dog)
- Boogurt (yogurt for B0o-the-dog)
- Bananas
- Spaghetti Sauce
Monica's Nest 