This recipe makes 6 servings. 

1 large onion, minced
1 bell pepper, minced
1 lb ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 t cumin, ground
1/2 t cayenne pepper
28 oz of marinara sauce
1 can each kidney, black, and white beans, drained

Puree the following: 
1 cup cauliflower, 1/2 cup raw spinach, 1 zuccini, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/4 cup peas

Sautee onion and pepper in small amount of oil until soft.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne.  Toast for minute until you can smell the spices.  Add the ground turkey.  Break up and cook until almost all the way browned.  Add sauce, beans, and puree.  Allow chili to cook for 30 minutes. 

Serve warm if you wish to eat then.  If not, place in individual portioned containers.  Allow chili to cool in fridge loosely covered for about an hour.  After an hour, seal tightly, label, and place in freezer.  It will last in the freezer for up to 6 months.  If you want, you do not have to add the puree, though it adds lots of vitamins and minerals without all the taste. 

Enjoy

My husband loves to eat bean burritos and pizza bagels, but I can't stand watching him eat a tray of sugar-loaded bagel bites.  Not to mention the sodium found in pre-packaged burritos.  He's supposed to be watching these things because of his heart! 

So instead of spending a ton of money on sodium and high fructose corn syrup, I make my own.  Make sure that you have all your ingredients ready, since these items are mostly assembly based.  This includes the vessel that you're going to be freezing and storing your items in.  I prefer making enough room in the freezer for a flat sheet pan.  I lay out my items on the sheet pan until they are frozen enough to transfer into plastic bags.  I do this so that things have a chance to harden without creating a frost layer and sticking to the bag or each other.  Pizza sauce is hard to unstick! 

BEAN BURRITOS:  
For 8 burritos 

8 10-inch whole grain tortillas
2 cups refried beans
2 cups black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cups cheese, shredded (I use muster because it is a good melt, but you can use anything you wish)

Have all ingredients ready.  Warm tortillas.  I usually place mine in the microwave for 30 seconds or in the oven at 350F for a minute.  Spread refried beans evenly over 3/4 of a tortilla.  Spoon black beans, onion, and cheese down the middle of the tortilla parallel to the side without beans.  Starting with the side that doesn't have beans, begin to roll the burrito tightly.  Fold the outsides in and then complete roll.  Place seam down on sheet pan lined with waxed/parchment paper.  Assemble the rest of the burritos identical.  Place sheet pan in freezer and allow to freeze for 20-30 minutes.  You can then transfer burritos to a more permanent storage such as container or bag.  I like to wrap mine in plastice wrap first and then place in a sandwich-sized bag. 

When you're ready to eat, place burrito in a 350F oven until warmed all the way through.  If from frozen it may take longer than if thawed in the fridge. 

PIZZA BAGELS
For 12 pizzas

6 of your favorite flavor bagels, cut in half.  My Husband prefers the ones without holes.
Jar of your favorite pizza, marinara, or pasta sauce. I reccomend Prego Marinara because there is no added sugar.
2-3 cups of your favorite cheese, shredded.  I use a sharp cheddar and shred it myself since pre-shredded cheeses usually have added chemicals and starches.
Optional-Package of pepperoni, chopped

Spoon sauce on bagels.  I find that the bagels will absorb sauce so I spoon a small amount, let the sauce soak in, and then spoon more sauce on each bagel.  Then sprinkle desired amount of cheese over bagels.  Press the cheese onto the bagel.  Add pepperoni if desired.  Place pizzas on sheet pan lined with waxed/parchment paper.  Place sheet pan in freezer and allow to freeze for 20-30 minutes.  You can then transfer each pizza to a permanent storage.  I like to wrap them in pairs in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bags. 

When you are ready to eat, place pizzas in a 350F oven until the cheese has melted and the bagel is warmed through.  This takes about 10-15 minutes. 

HASH BROWNS
makes about 24 patties

4 cups raw potatoes, shredded using box grater
1 medium onion, shredded using box grater
1 zuccini, shredded using box grater
1 medium carrot, shredded using box grater
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded using box grater
1 can white beans of choice pureed in food processor
Optional-1 egg depending on consistancy

Mix potatoes, onion, zuccini, carrot, and cheese in bowl until throughly combined.  Add bean puree a small amount at a time until mixture comes together like hamburger.  Depending on circumstances you may need to add an egg.  I use a large cookie scoop and plastic hamburger pattie maker sprayed with cooking spray to portion and pattie my mixture.  Though it is possible to use the hands. 
Once each pattie is made, place them on a sheet pan lined with waxed/parchment paper.  Freeze them until they are no longer sticky, about 30 minutes.  Depending on demand, you may wrap each pattie in plastic wrap and put in a bag.  My husband enjoys them so much that I simply put them in a bag and place them in the freezer.  If frozen properly, then the patties won't stick together. 

When ready to eat, pan fry each pattie on the stove until potatoes are soft and the pattie is crispy.  If cooking from frozen it will take about 5 minutes a side.  Make sure to grease the pan with oil, butter, or cooking spray to avoid stickage.


I hope that you all enjoy these recipes!!  Keep in mind they are all easily multipled to accomedate demand. 

So, I will be 31 weeks this Friday.  My crib is in the mail and will be here this week, I am almost done shopping for all the baby gear I anticipate needing, and I am getting the house to myself for five days while the in-laws are in Jamaca at a wedding.  That means I will create lots of trouble in the kitchen.  So... I will be posting some of my favorite recipes for freezing.  I usually place everything in individual portions in ziplock containers and just reheat them in the microwave or pop them in the oven.  

Enjoy!!

Well, it is the beginning of the new year.  I am almost 30 weeks, which is the end of the seventh month.  I can't believe how much time has passed.  I am almost ready to have this baby. 

My crib is in the mail.  I am looking at the boxes of my stroller and highchair.  My shower is on Saturday and I am sure there are lots of beautiful gifts coming my way.  Though, I am unsure about the people who will be attending.

In the last month I have accepted that I cannot manage the cycling on my moods any longer.  I have been very lucky thus far to have avoided medication through all the important growth phases of my son.  I will, however; be on medication up to two weeks before my due date and then will be back on the medication for an unknown period of time... perhaps even for the rest of my life. 

I've found it extremely hard to deal with my bipolar, even though I am considered on the high-functioning spectrum of the disease.  People don't seem to understand something that happens on a neurological level.  I think this may be so because people cannot always grasp the non-physical.  If you get hives when you eat peanut butter, that's understandable.  If you get tired when you run too far too fast, that's understandable.  But bipolar... that's just weird.  Who cannot control their moods?  Who feels sad one minute and then happy the next?  Who is bothered by something for no reason at all one day... but next week it does not matter anymore?  

It's hard explaining these things to people.  In all honesty, I don't think many people have the capacity to understand something they don't have to deal with on a daily basis.  

On another note, Zachary is doing really well.  He is very active and gives me little rest.  I believe he will be an active, trouble seeking little boy.  He's growing great.  He was almost 3lbs at my last ultrasound, which puts him in the 85-percentile for his gestational age.  Though, at this point, ultrasounds are becoming less and less accurate. 

I have felt him drop already.  Everyone is telling me he has dropped.  So I am hoping that he is getting ready to come.  I want him to be ready at 35 weeks... though, if he is not I don't want him to rush.  I am just hoping that his lungs are fully developed early and he can join the world in February.  

I am falling asleep as I am typing, so I am going to go.

So it's Friday early morning, though I haven't gone to bed yet.  I am passively watching Star Wars Ep. V with Jason. 

Right now I am at 22 weeks!  I am more than halfway through this pregnancy.  It's quite exciting.  I did not know if I would start to feel motherly at all, but as of late I've been really hunkering down in that department.  I am moving at the end of the month and will soon start collecting baby things, though I have picked them all out.  

I gave up on finding a job recently since I was told several times I would not receive even a part-time seasonal job because I am pregnant.  So I am just going to suck up the fact that I will most likely be bored with no work or extra money to spend on the baby for a little while.  Jason is going to try to find something part-time in hopes of saving a little extra before the baby is born, but the economy has really taken a turn for the worst as of late.  I am afraid that there are not many jobs in the area, and what little there are tend to be unwilling to make flexible hours.  

So my complaints thus far have been relatively minor.  I guess here's a list:
It's cold... then it's really hot for no reason.
I am very tired.
I am always hungry, despite my attempts of regulating my calorie to nutriet ratio. 
My feet and hands randomly fall asleep if I get too comfy or am not lying down.
I cannot find comfortable pants that are not sweat pants.  

Other than those relatively trivial things, I am pretty good.  I think I am pretty lucky considering many women are miserable at this point.

So to continue on the baby front....
I found out recently that I am expecting a baby boy.  I believe that unless something goes horribly wrong, he will be named Zachary.  Something on the lines of he just does not look like a Zachary or the name is ruined for me in the next four months. 

At my last ultrasound he was doing pretty good.  He was 10.5 ounces!  I am sure he'll be up to a pound pretty soon. 
I am growing pretty quickly as well.  I am up to 152lbs.  My bra has jumped up to a full C.  That puts me at a total weight gain so far of 7lbs, which is pretty good.  I was shooting to gain about 20lbs... which leaves 13 more to gain over the next four months.  I don't know if I can gain just that.  I might hit 30lb weight gain overall, but hopefully nothing more than that!

In any case, I am now completely exhausted. 

I don't have any good pictures to share as of late, but I will be posting some as soon as I do get them.  I should probably take a good belly picture.  I am hoping to get a really good shot of my son at the next ultrasound. 

Well.... night I guess.

Blessed Be,
HB87

Sick.

That's what I am. 

No updates until I am over this cold.  Whatever it is I have.  

Tonight I made the most delicious potato leek soup.  Below is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2 T butter
2 T flour
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 lb chicken breast, cubed
2 large leeks, chopped and cleaned
4 medium sized potatoes (about 1 lb worth), chopped bite-sized
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
4 C stock
1 C heavy cream
6 oz VT sharp cheddar cheese

Cheese cloth ball full of 6 T Italian seasoning.  I do this because I don't like my herbs pureed into my soup.  It becomes very dark and herb-y if you leave them in to puree.

PREPARE:
Melt butter over medium heat.
Sautee Chicken until flesh is white.  Add onion and garlic, sweat for 1 minute until onion is clear.  Add leeks and sweat for 1 minute. 
Add flour and stir until all the butter is soaked up by the flour. 
Add stock, potatoes, carrots, and pepper.
Bring to boil, reduce heat, and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Turn off heat, take out about half of the potatoes and chicken out, and place in a cup on the side.
Puree the rest of the soup either with a stick blender or with a blender.
Stir in heavy cream and cheese.
Turn heat back on and bring to simmer until the soup thickens.

Serve with bread!!

ENJOY!

<3 HB

I love the tote bags. They're fun, fashionable, and very eco-friendly. I've been working on trying to find a design that I like, since there aren't many purchasable ones I like. Plus I am on a cash-only thing, so ordering from the internet is nearly impossible.

I have a pattern that I've been perfecting on. I will be making a tutorial about this lovely tote bag soon! Look forward to an easy personalized tote. Lol. Or maybe I will sell them to some of you.

I must get going. I am picking up batting for my quilt!

HB

The other night I decided to make some delicious chicken taquitos for dinner.  My husband liked them so much that I've decided to post the recipe in this blog.

Ingredients:
1 lb cubed chicken,
1/4 cup taco sauce
1/2 cup water
1 can re-fried beans
1 package tortilla (I use the biggest one, but you can use any size.  The smaller may require extra beans)

Prep:
Saute 1 lb of cubed chicken in a pan.  When halfway cooked than add 1/4 cup of taco sauce and 1/2 cup of water.  Let simmer until chicken is fully cooked. 

Smooth heated re-fried beans over tortilla and line middle with chicken.  Roll tortilla into round. 

To crisp up skin either, bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, fry in 350 degree oil for 2-4 minutes, or pan fry in small amount of oil for 2-4 minutes. 

Enjoy!

I usually serve with a side of rice, peas, and the extra beans (if any)

<3HB

The weather has been getting colder.  The night's have a crisper feel than they did a month ago.  Already the trees are changing colour.  It makes me happy to know that Autumn is coming closer and closer.   Mabon, or rather the Autumnal Equinox, is right around the corner. 

I am personally glad for the coming of winter.  I am not made for the summer months.  I am always too warm and almost always far too itchy. 

I have a few photos buzzing around in my brain.  I will have to get together my equipment and do some sort of shooting before the week is out. 

I am also working hard on a new novel.  The outline is finished and I have already begun the main writing.  It is still in the first draft stages, but perhaps I will post some of my favorite passages to keep my buzz going.  It is fairly complicated at the moment to describe, there are many things swirling around in my brain.  Many ideas, plot lines, and characters to keep track of.  I will, however; go over my hard drive and post a short story to keep the lips wet. 

So expect both some photos and a short story by the week's end, if not sooner. 

I am also working feverishly on a small quilt and matching pillow set.  I am placing borders on the piece some time soon, then I will make a special trip to the store this weekend for batting and backing.  I will perhaps even getting edging if it is in my budget.  Once I complete these I will be in search of a new project to use up many scraps I have lying around the apartment.  I am not sure what I will work on next though.  It is a royal shame that the Renaissance Fair in a reasonable driving radius were canceled for the season.  I will keep an eye out for next season, though, in hopes to wear the beauty I had created for this season.  There is still work to be done, so perhaps I will focus some attention on that.

At week 20 I will begin to think about baby clothes and other things of the like.  Hopefully everything will be going well at that point. 

My knees have already begun to swell and give me problems.  I have also noticed my cravings for sleep have intensified.  Only time will tell if I grow out of this new lust for sleep.  It is very troublesome.  I am also worried about the cyst that has developed on my ovary, though the doctors say it is nothing to worry about and completely normal.  Again, only time will tell. 

Blessed Be, HB