35 weeks!

Here we are at 35 weeks. Could be 3 more weeks, could be 6 more weeks. AHH, science. I'm very impatient this time around. I just want to get on with it. I thought spring was around for about 3 days, but now we have some snow on the ground again and I am back to feeling as if the sun will never come out again and this baby will never come. On top of that, Travis is getting so excited about his little sister he asks me multiple times a day when she is coming out. I just want to say "Your guess is as good as mine kid!" But, it has given me plenty of time to stick to my resolution and keep on cooking.

This past week I made Chicken Enchiladas and Meatball Soup. Both got good reviews from my judges, but the Chicken Enchiladas were by far the more popular and Don has requested that I make them often.

Recipe is as follows: 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup sweet potato puree, 1/4 cup fat free sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or mozzarella) divided, 6 whole grain tortillas, 1/2 cup spinach puree, 1/2 cup mild tomato salsa.

Preheat the oven 350*. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Warm oil in a large skillet. Sprinkle the chicken with garlic and pepper. Cook the chicken until it is cooked through. Off the heat mix the sweet potato puree, sour cream, and half the cheese in the skillet. Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Dot the tops of the enchiladas with the spinach puree. Spoon salsa over the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.

I pretty much stuck to the recipe here except I put a bit of salsa in the chicken mixture and I didn't use the spinach puree. We all loved it. I will probably make it again this week, maybe with some rice.

The Meatball Soup had a long list of ingredients that really intimidated me. I of course used Deer Meat for the meatballs this time. They held together much better than when I tried to make meatball subs. The recipe said to put them in the soup to cook, but I was afraid they would fall apart, so I cooked them in the skillet first and then dropped them in the soup.

Ingredients: 3 ounces of pasta (we used wagon wheels), 1 small onion (I used half), 2 cloves garlic, 28 ounces of whole peeled tomatoes, 1/4 cup carrot puree, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 3 cups reduced fat beef broth, 3 slices whole wheat bread cubed, 1 large egg beaten, 1/4 cup sweet potato puree, 1/4 cup non fat milk, 2 Tsp Parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 lb lean ground turkey (I used deer meat).

I pureed everything including the tomatoes. Cook the onion and garlic in oil in the soup pot you will be using. 3 to 4 minutes until onion is softened. Add the tomatoes and carrot puree along with the salt and the broth. reduce heat to low and let simmer while you are making the meatballs.

Put the bread in a large bowl. Add the egg, sweet potato puree, milk, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and paprika and let the bread soak it all up.  Stir to break up the bread and then add the meat.  Form into mini meatballs and add to the soup. Cook 12-15 minutes. Add already cooked pasta.

I have to say that I prefer the Chicken Enchiladas over the soup as well. But both are good February meals. I'm going to make Bea's meatloaf this week. I haven't decided what meals I will make out of the Seinfeld books. We'll have to see. 

If you would like more information on Jessica Seinfeld's cook books here is her website.
http://www.doitdelicious.com/