Merry Christmas

Our nephew Dexter was enjoying one of his Christmas presents, and listening to Baby B's heart beat.

33 Weeks

Back in September I remember thinking "I wonder what I will feel like come Christmas". Happy to report I am still feeling pretty good, there are some things I could live without - not being able to stay awake past 9:00pm, finding a comfortable sleeping position, the backaches, and at some point I would like my bladder to come back (I really miss you).

We are heading to our families' houses to spend Christmas. While we are excited for this Christmas, I keep thinking about next year being Baby B's first Christmas. 49 days to go.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Chocolate Peanut Squares

These are seriously good, so good I have to keep them in my highest kitchen cabinet so they are not within arms reach. They are easy to make, you just have to be patient while each layer sets in the refrigerator.


Chocolate Peanut Squares

Layer 1: base
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup semi- sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Layer 2: Filling
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups marshmallow creme
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups chopped salted peanuts

Layer 3: Caramel layer
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Layer 4: Icing:
1 cup cup of semi- sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:
Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil; butter the foil with 2 teaspoons butter and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine base layer ingredients (chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter); stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set.

For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar and milk; bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the marshmallow creme, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts. Spread over first layer. Refrigerate until set.

For caramel layer, in a small heavy saucepan, combine the caramels and cream; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cook and stir 4 minutes longer. Spread over the filling. Refrigerate until set.

For icing, in another saucepan, combine chips and peanut butter; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Pour over the caramel layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cutting. Remove from pan and cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container.

This recipe is from Taste of Home, the original recipe calls for milk chocolate, I use semi-sweet.

Peanut Tree

Over the weekend Julie and her Mom put up the tree for the baby's room, here is a brief video I put together of the process.

Chicken Tamale Cassrole

The is a recipe from Cooking Light, a super easy Mexican casserole. Cory made this for his work Christmas Party.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Ingredients:
1 cup (4 ounces) pre-shredded, Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
Fat-free or light sour cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chilies) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese*. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Top each serving with sour cream.

*I like cheese so I typically use more than what the recipe calls for.

32 Weeks

We had a very busy baby weekend. Earlier this week Cory assembled the wardrobe from Ikea and we moved out the old bedroom furniture in the baby's room. On Saturday we spent the full day at child birthing class and were pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed the class. Our favorite piece of the day was when the nurse compared the pain of childbirth to passing a kidney stone, the only difference being a baby is more fun to hold than a kidney stone.

After that we get to pick up our crib and dresser!! Today my mom came down to help me put up the vinyl wall decal we got for her room. Thankfully mom is a pro at putting things like this up. Below is a picture of the decal, ours will be slightly different colors to match the bedding. We will post pictures this week of our progress.

Veggie Squares

Sharing some of our favorite recipes for the holiday season. I made these for my office Christmas Party, they are super simple and always devoured within minutes.


Veggie Squares

INGREDIENTS:
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 cups total of veggies:
¾ cup broccoli florets, finely chopped
¾ cup sweet red pepper, finely chopped
¾ cup black olives finely diced
¾ cup red onion, finely chopped
McCormick Salad Supreme (you’ll find it in the spice section)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Unroll crescent rolls onto a baking sheet, and press together the seams to form a single sheet of dough. Bake according to the directions on the package and let cool.
2. Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and basil together and spread the mixture onto the top of the cooled crescent rolls.
3. Sprinkle veggies on top of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Sprinkle McCormick Salad Supreme all over the top of the veggies. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and with your hands gently press the veggies in to the cream cheese mixture; it will help them stick. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Cut into squares to serve.

31 Weeks

We spent the weekend in Pittsburgh doing some shopping for the nursery at Ikea. Baby B is need of more closet space, just like her mom :)


Still feeling good except occasionally she likes to rest on my sciatic nerve, which is not too pleasant. She is moving a ton, its so crazy to see the shape of her hand or foot pushing through as she moves from side to side.

View from the top, I miss seeing my feet and being able to pull up my chair to my work desk.


Christmas is coming soon!

Hey Mom & Dad, where is the house?

My parents sent me photos of their house after last week's snowstorm that hit the southtowns of Buffalo. I probably shouldn't tell them that I can still see my grass.

30 Weeks

We tackled some major nesting projects this weekend; well really I did some Christmas shopping and when I got home 3 hours later Cory had transformed the basement into an organized storage space. All the baby stuff in the house is so exciting; less than 10 weeks until her arrival.

My doctor's appointment on Tuesday went well, she is growing right on target and my iron levels are returning to normal.