I cooked for the first time in forever! We have been very fortunate to have home cooked meals by Chris' mom almost every night for the past couple of months that we have been staying with his parents. Being pregnant with twins has really worn me out and made me feel cruddy pretty much all the time, so by the time I have managed to get through a work day and keep up with Gates the last thing I can even think about is cooking. I got a bug in me after seeing a couple other bloggers post some meal ideas. It turned out I haven't completely forgotten how to turn the stove or oven on.
The two recipes I tried turned out really delicious so I thought I would share. For dinner I was inspired by
Farmer's Mexican Stew from All Things Farmer blog. I didn't have the recipe with me when I was at the store so I didn't know what to get so that is why it is a variation.
Picture from All Things Farmer
My version of this yummy Mexican Stew went something like this.
> I chopped up a large onion and browned it
> Added about 2 cups of chopped chicken let cook all the way
> Add a taco seasoning pack
> Add 4 oz can of diced green chilis
> 8 oz can of whole kernel corn
> 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
> 14oz can of black beans
>14 oz can of Kidney beans
> cayenne pepper to taste
> salt and pepper to taste
> 1 TB minced garlic
> Mexican cheese
> cilantro
After cooking this all in a big pot I put it in a baking dish and put cheese all over the top and baked it for 15 mins. This wasn't necessary, but it looked like Farmer did something like that which I am a huge fan of lots of melted cheese. And to finish it off some fresh cilantro made it taste really delicious. I will definitely make this again and again. I think I also need to try Farmer's way with the beef and sausage.
For dessert, I was inspired by Darby's chocolate chip pumpkin muffins from Fly Through Our Window.
Picture from Fly Through Our Window
I didn't change anything on this one. Just the Betty Crocker chocolate chip muffin mix that you just add water, 1/4 of the can of pumpkin, 1/4 a cup of water, splash of cinnamon and baked. I also did like Darby and made the cinnamon icing drizzle. YUM YUM! and easy.
Give these recipes a try for something quick and yummy!
We also went to visit our buddy who was the cutest lion for Halloween. They make quit a cute pair. I am counting on Mrs. Southern Belle to post some of the pictures she took.
We went trick or treating at the outdoor mall since Gates is still kinda young to be going door to door. He had a stare down with this pig.
We also celebrated my birthday this weekend. My cake, presents, and a big pot of crab legs boiling in the back ground. Doesn't get much better then that.
