Viking appliances are FINALLY in!

The week before Thanksgiving our Viking appliances were finally delivered.  I was so happy to be getting them in time for all of Chris' family to come into town.  I didn't realize that the installation was going to be such a hassle or I probably would have waited until after Thanksgiving!  I had a lot of cooking to do, and on Tuesday of last week, I still did not have a fully functioning kitchen.  Needless to say, I was freaking out.  Thankfully things were at least working by Wednesday, and I was able to cook everything.  The installation has caused even more projects to get started, but we aren't on a timeline for those so it won't be nearly as stressful!

The countertops had to be removed and cut...they were unfortunately cut wrong.  Now we get to do some work to fix that...

Everything in place...FINALLY.

Tonight I decided to try a new dessert:  Hot Fudge Pie. (Click for the recipe.)  Once again I am making Chris break from his diet to try something sweet.  It's really good and easy.  It wasn't so easy to scoop it out into pretty slices...

Here I am at 24 weeks...not much growth from the last couple of weeks, but I'm sure it's coming soon.

21 Weeks

I am 21 weeks along now, and I don't feel like I've changed much from last week.  We went to the doctor last week and listened to his heartbeat.  Everything is good so far!

I have been cooking most of the day today.  We are having a few people over for dinner, so lasagna seemed like the obvious choice!  It doesn't hurt that it's Chris' favorite meal.  The lasagna does take a while to prepare, and I usually like to start the day before but the morning of works, too!  

Lasagna

1 lb Mild Italian Sausage

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1/2 c. onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 c. water

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Lasagna Noodles

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 lb Mozzarella, sliced (I'm trying it with shredded Mozzarella today, so we'll see how that goes.)

3/4 c. Parmesan cheese

For the red sauce:

Cook sausage, beef, onions, and garlic in a large dutch oven.  When browned, add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water.  Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Ricotta cheese mixture:

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta with egg, 2 tablespoons of parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water (unless using the no cook noodles, which taste just as good and are much easier).

Assembling the lasagna:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Arrange 6 noodles over sauce.  Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.  Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Spread another 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over the mozzarella.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Repeat layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil (to prevent sticking, spray with cooking spray).  

Cook covered for 25 minutes.  Remove foil; continue cooking 25 minutes.  Let sit 15 minutes before serving.

I forgot to take a picture of the big lasagna (which looked a lot better than the small pan)!

The aftermath of a few boys coming over for dinner...

Recipe adapted from World's Best Lasagna

I also made Brown Sugar Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting.  They are delicious!  They are super soft (almost cake-like), and the frosting reminds me of pralines.  Chris will definitely have to break from his diet to try just one!

Brown Sugar Cookies w/ Brown Butter Frosting

2/3 c. butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend butter and brown sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla.  In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream to the brown sugar mixture; mix well.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto nonstick or lightly greased baking sheet.  Cook for 8 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown.  (Watch this carefully!!)  Remove from heat; add sugar and milk to make a spreading consistency (may take a little more/less milk).
Frost cooled cookies.

Recipe from Brown Sugar Cookies

Dinner tonight...

For dinner tonight, we had Chicken Saltimbocca, Fettucini Alfredo, and broccoli.  I have made the Chicken Saltimbocca a few times, and while it has always been very good, it is not always very good looking.  I am finally figuring out how to make things look a little better (although the pictures do not do it justice)!

Chicken Saltimbocca w/ Gravy

6-8 thin cut slices of chicken (most stores should carry thin sliced chicken, if not, you can get thicker slices and pound them out)

6-8 slices of mozzarella (I usually buy the chunks of mozzarella and slice it myself.  It will usually take 2 pieces to cover one piece of chicken.)

6-8 slices prosciutto

Fresh sage leaves

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1/2 c white wine

1/2 c chicken stock

Salt & Pepper

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Lay mozzarella, followed by 2 sage leaves, and prosciutto on top of chicken.  Weave a skewer through the chicken, mozzarella, sage, and prosciutto to hold it all together.  Heat oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a pan.  When bubbling, add chicken, prosciutto side down first.  Let cook a couple of minutes, then flip.  If the chicken in very thin, it does not take very long to cook.  When all chicken is cooked, turn heat to low and add flour to pan.  Cook until tan.  Add wine and chicken stock, and reduce by half.  When reduced, remove from heat and whisk in butter.

Fettucini Alfredo

1 1/2 c heavy cream (room temperature)

6 tbsp butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

Salt

1 lb fresh fettucini

Boil salted water for pasta.  In a sauce pan, heat cream to a simmer.  Add butter and cheese.  Stir to combine.  Turn heat off.  Add cooked pasta; toss to coat.

I also made rice crispy treats tonight.  Chris is apparently going on a diet that involves no desserts, so I guess I have to eat them all by myself.  It's really unfortunate.  

Chicken Saltimbocca (like I said, it's not pretty but it tastes very good)

 A lot going on on top of the stove...

The rice crispy treats that Chris is forcing me to eat on my own...

Halfway there...

I am officially halfway through my pregnancy, and I can no longer hide my belly.  We went to the doctor today and everything is looking good.  Can't wait until March!

20 weeks

Baby Kirk is the size of a small cantaloupe.