Barefoot's Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

I saw this recipe floating around on-line but I abhor mayo and overlooked the recipe forever. However, one evening I had chicken in the fridge and only a short amount of time to actually do something with it-while the baby took his evening nap. So I thought I would give this recipe a go. But as a recipe, I can never follow it exactly and have to change and twist it to fit my needs-usually more healthy, less fatty, and more flavorful. So, I twisted this recipe to make my own. 

 

Barefoot's Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breastsMontreal Seasoning1 cup Greek yogurt1 tsp spicy brown mustard1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (I don't use the pre-shredded, pre-grated stuff. I grated my own)2 tsp garlic powder (the original only calls for 1 but I like more flavor)1 tsp seasoning salt (1/2 less than the original)1 tsp ground black pepper (the original calls for 1/2)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line (and spray with Pam) a baking dish with aluminum foil for easy peasy clean up.

2. Place chicken (make sure it is dry and not slimy, yucky or the mixture will not do right) in baking dish and sprinkle with the Montreal Seasoning. 

3. In a small bowl, mix yogurt, mustard, cheese, garlic powder, seasoning salt, and black pepper.  Smear over chicken.  

4. Bake for 45-60 minutes until juices in chicken run clear.

EAT with a fork because I promise you, you will not need a knife!!!

Barefoot's Stuffed Shells

Italian Stuffed Shells

Italian Stuffed Shells before the cheese. 

·         2 cups Marinara sauce (can be homemade or from a jar, just make sure it is chunky with lots of tomatoes)

·         Pam

·         Italian sausage or my favorite ground turkey (cooked)

·         16 oz carton part-skim ricotta cheese

·         1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

·         8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese (divided 6 oz & 2 oz)

·         1 teaspoon onion powder

·         1 teaspoon dried oregano

·         1 teaspoon dried basil

·         2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

·         1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

·         Freshly chopped up mushrooms (optional)

·         1 large egg 

·         1 garlic clove, minced

·         24 jumbo pasta shells, cooked & drained

If you are like me, use portabella mushroom in place of the Italian sausage or ground turkey. You won't miss the meat. I promise. My meat loving husband didn't even suspect a thing-shhhhhh don't tell him!

Prep:

1.   Preheat oven to 350°.

2.  Spread 1/4 cup marinara over bottom of two 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. (This will give you one to bake now and one to freeze.

3. Combine all ingredients (except the shells) in a large bowl, stirring well. Spoon the filling into a Ziplock bag and cut off a corner. Then, pipe about 1 1/2 tablespoons filling into each pasta shell or until full. Arrange stuffed shells in prepared dish; spread with remaining 1 1/2 cups Marinara over top of the shells. Sprinkle with 2 oz of mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake. * Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

*At this point you can make ahead, to freeze for up to four months. Cover with plastic wrap and then cover it with foil. Write the freezer instructions on the foil (which are a slight bit different than the fresh directions) so that even your husband can cook a meal.

4, 5 & 6 Month Favorites

Korbin's personality is developing just like his preference for certain things. Being with him all the time, I can see what he loves. For his 4th, 5th, and 6th month, these things became his favorites. Since he loved them, I can't help but love them. 

Baby Einstein jumper-Korbin loves this thing! When we first purchased it back in December, his little legs couldn't reach the floor (so a shoebox served as his platform even when he had not quite figured out how to bounce yet). Since then, he has learned what all the toys do, and is entertained for hours no seriously, long enough for me to put in a load of laundry and go to the bathroom. We did our research on this product, heck what product don't I do research on? It is definitely not perfect, but it was the best choice for us.

Banana Brush-This thing rocks. It is a brush. It is a teether. It is a magical entertainer. Korbin will sit with this thing for hours. It is one of those things that goes with him every where. It is like a dog; it even sleeps in the crib with him. lol. It is the greatest toy. Seriously, this brush is better than a pacifer as a mute button. He can grip, turn it, chew it, and most recently throw launch it. It is the perfect toy-and it is a toothbrush. I mean seriously, if you had a toothbrush that could be that much fun wouldn't you love it? Around here it is called his 'NanaBrush.

Sleep Sack-After having what I would call the world's worst sleeper (actually that is not true, but it seemed that way to me having to get up every 2-3 hours even when he was four months old), this thing changed things. Korbin always hated the swaddle but it helped him to sleep, which is why I guess he hated it. But when my mom picked up this sleep sack at Marshall's for $5.00 on clearance, I was like okay, lets give it a try. I have spent upteen hundred dollars, read all kinds of books, and my child still wouldn't sleep. (Silent parent fail sigh). But the first time he slept in his crib at exactly 5 months old, he was wearing this. Mommy sat next to the monitor all night, and he loved that he could touch his head and face and put his arms behind his head and low and behold he actually slept well. Since that first night at 5 months old, he sleeps in this thing, even for naps. The mod swad is a thing of the past-he hated that little pea pod. 

Crib/Mattress-At 5 months, I said what the heck. Lets try his crib. I knew I would have to return to work soon, and plus there is a certain lack of intimacy that will/can go on if your son is sleeping in the room with you. Just sayin'. My mom and dad purchased the crib and mattress for us as a gift, and we love them. They were both on my must list. I knew the type of nursery I wanted from day one and I also knew that I wanted a Jenny Lind Crib whether it was a boy or girl. I also knew, after all my research, that I couldn't let my baby sleep on anything but an organic mattress. This one was definitely pricey, but I would do it again in a heart beat because he loves it, and I love the fact that it is organic. I definitely didn't want my son to be breathing in all those off gasses and etc that comes off of certain products. This spark eventually led us to choose the bamboo mattress we have on our bed, and it rocks.

Mobile-I have to be honest here. This thing is ugly-I mean, U to G-to the LY-no abili ugly. I hate that my husband bought it. I hate that he attached it to my beautiful crib and ruined the aesthetics of my nursery. However, Korbin Bru loves it. I mean loves it. He loves it so much that his Gamma and Popa bought him one for their house for when he comes over for even just nap time. Seriously, in the grand scheme of things, it was one of the things that we stood in line for in the middle of the night on Thanksgiving at Toys R Us the night before black Friday and because he loves it so much, it was totally worth it. I will say this in favor of this monstrosity of an attachment of my son's crib, I like that I can change up the sounds to three different sounds. I also like that it can project on the ceiling later on down the road. But for aesthetics it is messing up my nursery's mojo.

Board Books-Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. He loves, loves, loves books. It is truly his favorite toy. This book was an accident. I wanted the full version. I should have opened the book before I purchased it. But this was one of my favorite rhymes so I wanted to get it for him. It turns out this is his favorite book. It is his last book in his nightly routine. He hears it every night. Which mean mommy reads it too him every night. Which means this girl knows that book by heart. Sometimes, I forget to turn the page, but I have a little boy trying to do it for me!

April

Oh, little face. You got me on the April Fools day. You were a screaming banshee. I think you knew what day it was and wanted to prank me. You were crazy. But then you smile at me like this, and I melt.

Lil' Irish

Green, Green Everywhere!
I am playing a little bit of catch up. After having my blog completely down for redesign and finding out that I had to have a biopsy and then recover from it left me a little  no a lot lax in the blogging department.

While I was healing from my biopsy, we decided to get a little festive with some items from the Target dollar bins and our chalkboard. Here are a few pictures of my lil' Irishman.

Everything goes in the mouth right now! 

Losing It! The Last 6 Months

Ignore the mess in the background!

By losing it I mean the BABY WEIGHT! I was technically considered underweight when I got pregnant with Korbin. At 5'6 111 lbs, I have a small frame. I was always a little concerned with getting pregnant in regards to what it might do to my body. Would I have stretchmarks? Would I have a muffin top? Would my stomach look different? I realize now, looking at my little boy that if I did then it would still be worth it. But fortunately, I don't. But, I have a SECRET! A secret that I would like to share with you!

First of all, I only gained 21 lbs of the 25-30 recommended by my doctor. He only fussed at me once when I didn't gain anything in one month-I still maintain that it was two different times of the day when he weighed me! Early in the morning you do weigh a little less than later in the day. When Korbin was born, he weighed 7 lbs. When I left the hospital I was only carrying about 5-8 lbs of what I had gained left.


First step Happens in the pre-pregnancy stage. Make sure you are in your best shape! I know that I wasn't exactly where I wanted to be. I wish that I had more muscle tone at the time, but I wasn't too shabby.

Second step happens during pregnancy.

Number one-Eat right. Now is not the time to go out and eat whatever you want. I hate when people would always say to me that I don't eat enough,and that I needed to eat for two. I would always counter with "I eat healthy, and I am not eating for two. I only need an extra 300 calories or so to be were I need to be to make sure my baby gets the proper nutrition." So, I could add in an extra boiled egg in my salad, have a pear or apple, and munch on some whole almonds and easily pick up the extra calories that I needed. I wanted them to be healthy calories, not sugary or full of fat. I knew what a lot of people (most of who are saying eat more or eat for two) might not think about. I am feeding my baby with the choices that I make. 

If I don't want my baby to be drowning in oil laddened foods or tons of chocolate then I didn't put it in my body. I didn't need that doughnut because my baby didn't need that doughnut. Reminding myself that I was not only feeding myself but also my baby made it so much easier to eat the way that I wanted to. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I did have some splurges. I did have 2 or 3 doughnuts during my pregnancy. I had a couple of fries or onion rings. I went to Margaritaville and had a big burger (with most of the bun picked off because that was just too much). I had an ice cream on occasion. But I really ate by the 80/20 rule. I ate great 80 percent of the time and the other 20, I used for splurge. Mine though was probably more like 90/10 though because I love a good crisp salad, greek yogurt and fresh fruit, and just naturally eat small meals throughout the day.

Number 2- Take care of your skin. Mama Mio Tummy Rub Oil was applied every night during my pregnancy. That was a chore for my husband, but he did it lovingly every night while doing prayers with the little guy growing in my belly.

Number 3-MOVE IT. Don't sit around all the time. I was running on the Treadclimber 3-5 miles at least 4-5 times a week up until the last 2-3 weeks of my pregnancy.


Step 3:
The final step happens after pregnancy. Immediately after they let me get up and take a shower, I put on my BELLY BANDIT! This is the greatest thing. I had always heard about binding after a pregnancy. Then, I read about this little miracle worker right here. You will not be disappointed if you buy this product, I promise.(and no this is not a sponsored post-I purchased this product on my own)!

 Then, came in the Mama Mio Belly Bootcamp. I purchased this about a 1 and a half after Korbin was born. I love the lotions and the 2 exercises are so easy that you can do them anywhere. It is quick and simple and I feel it deep in my core when done correctly. This product was almost 100 dollars but I would buy it again in a heart beat.


So this has been my bounce back routine. I have not really been exercising except trecking up and down the stairs to change little man, doing a little bit of exercises while playing with Korbin like planks or crunches or leg lift type things. Add an 18 pound baby and you have weight lifting lol. I have been doing at least 1 mile on the treadclimber.

Unfortunately, I don't get to eat like I know that I should all the time. This was especially true during the first four months. Homemade freezer meals have been a God send for us. Unless Jeff is home, little man gave me little time to make scrambled eggs let alone cook a whole meal in those first few months. Lately though, I will spread out a play area beside the kitchen to were he can see me, and I can still interact with him while I am cooking. My meals have consisted of mostly Shredded Wheat, hard boiled eggs, Yogurts, soups, salads, which are not unhealthy eating mind you, just small whatever I can grab in the moment type of things. Even when big meals are presented, I find myself not being able to stuff myself silly because I have to feed little man or go change a diaper. Trust, cold or luke warm meals will not be appealing. I'd rather not eat it, lol. Weight loss 101.

Finally, do something that is good for you and the baby. Feed that baby! Mommy's milk is so great for a growing baby and so good for a shrinking waist line!

 Of course, you can still see that darn line, but it isn't too bad. I do need to tone it up. My belly button looks a little funny in the postpartum picture but oh well. I'll chalk it up to battle scars.

11 weeks pregnant

4 weeks Postpartum

4 months postpartum