And that was that...

So i think it's over... my first cycle of TTC. It was a pretty short cycle being only 28 days. Well i can only move forward right? Well luckily i've learned all kinds of interesting things... 1. I will be temping... looking at my chart and when i most likely ovulated, we missed out on sex that day and the day before... SO PROBLEM... can't have a baby without Sex... i KNEW i should be jumping on him AT LEAST every other day.

2. I'm going to start drinking Green Tea. Yeah so many people drink this to loose weight (that's cool if that happens too) BUT i was told it also helps you produce Egg White Cervical Mucus... or as the Get Pregnant Board calls it EWCM. I didn't have this... i thought i did but i think i was just hopeful~ So Green Tea it is! Oh and 3. More sex... OBVIOUSLY!

okay and on we go!

I'm no longer a virgin

A pee on a stick (POAS) virgin that is... i mean while TRYING to get pregnant. Yeah and i failed the test! I kinda KNEW i would but i still had to try! I kept thinking how awesome it would be if it was positive before the weekend, and the people we would get to tell. I was mapping my route home so i could buy all of the babys breath possible to tell chris with.... but alas my body decided not to cooperate! I mean i'm not out of the game yet... i did test kind of early (IF i'm even "on time")... so here to hoping we're down but not out!

Spicy Tilapia with a Pinapple-pepper Relish

So this weekend i did some spring cleaning. After cleaning out my freezer i saw which meats i had (that were still good) and planned my meals around them for the week(rather then buying more meat). Plus since i dusted off my cooking light cookbook i thought this was the perfect opportunity to try something new, healthy, and yummy!
This is what i found for my Tilapia...now Chris wasn't a huge fan of the Relish... to "different" for him but I LOVE IT! I was eatting spoonfuls of the stuff... but i also felt the peppers baking my insides for the rest of the night but it was still SOOOO good! It was fresh, spicy, and filling!
Yield
Ingredients
4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet, about 1/2 cup relish, and 1 lime wedge)
Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons canola oil (i didn't have any so i used EVOO)
* 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
* 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple chunks
* 1/3 cup chopped onion
* 1/3 cup chopped plum tomato
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
* 4 lime wedges

Preparation

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle fish evenly with spice mixture. Add fish to pan, and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Combine pineapple and next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a large bowl, stirring gently. Serve pineapple mixture with fish. Garnish with lime wedges.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 228 (22% from fat)Fat: 5.5g (sat 1.2g,mono 2.2g,poly 1.4g) Protein:34.9g Carbohydrate:11.2g Fiber:1.5g Cholesterol:85mg Iron:1.2mg Sodium:328mg Calcium:29mg

Everyone needs an audience!

This is my Sadie Ladie! my cute "little" lab! She's like velcro to me and gets frustrated when i'm in the kitchen for long periods of time (notice the chew marks on the rails)! Love my pups!

Pioneer Woman Chicken

Now i'm sure if you're a food blogger you know about the Pioneer woman and her amazingness but WOW... this is the first recipe of hers i've made (knowing it was hers) and it was amazing! I made it with my Mother-in-law on Friday night before we went off to my scrapbook world. It is such an amazingly tasty AND colorful dish! It just LOOKS so pretty! Chris LOVED it... not he didn't eat all of his peppers but he loved the flavor they added! I can't wait to make this dish for a dinner party!
Ingredients:

3 chicken legs
3 garlic cloves
3 tomatoes
2 bell peppers
1 large onion
3 tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil

Optional: chili pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F (175C).

Wash and slice 2 bell peppers (color is completely irrelevant) into medium-sized strips. But color is ALWAY more fun!

Cut an onion in half and slice it up…

Until you end up with a big pile of these.

Slice a medium to large chili pepper. Don’t worry; this is not going to make things overly spicy. It’ll only add a little zing. (i honestly don't remember doing this step... i could have... but maybe i didn't... it was still good!)

Wash and dice 3 juicy red tomatoes.

Grate or finely mince 3 garlic cloves. Mine were medium-sized.

Grab yourself a bowl and put the garlic in there.

Pour 3 tbsp olive oil in there as well. Use a mild olive oil, if you have any (i didn't and it was fine).

Add 1 tsp sweet paprika powder, 1 tsp curry powder, a heaping 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cumin and 1/4 tsp salt. (i'm finding out more and more that cinnamon is a good thing in things other then dessert! Use it, Love it!)

Whisk until you have a fragrant marinade.

Generously season them with salt and black pepper.

Heat 1 or 2 tbsp oil and quickly brown the chicken legs.

Transfer the chicken to an oven dish.

Brush them with half of the marinade. BAM! Instant color! Kind of like a spray tan for the chicken!

Spread the bell pepper strips, onion slices and chili pepper around the chicken. Also place a few slices underneath and on top of the chicken.

Lightly and haphazardly dab the vegetables with the other half of the marinade.

Add the diced tomatoes. Try to distribute them evenly.

Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Pour it down the side of the oven dish— you don’t want to rinse the flavor off of the chicken and vegetables.

Pop the dish in a preheated oven and bake for 1 hour at 350F (175C).

After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, flip over the vegetables and pour some of the juices all over the chicken.

Put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Thanks Pioneer woman this was amazing and GREAT still for leftovers!!

Dark and white chocolate strawberry layer cake!

We were going over to a friends house for dinner and i said that i would bring a dessert and OOOOH MAN i couldn't wait to make this so i thought PERFECT! Strawberries just went on sale i HAVE to make it! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this cake was! EVERYONE loved it. My friend even asked if she could keep a big ole chunk so they could have it the next day (now when have people EVER ASKED for you to leave leftovers with them??)! This has such a nice blend of flavors but without being heavy and overly sweet. The best way i can explain the taste is a Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake!
Now i would LOVE to give credit to someone for this cake (because i didn't come up with it) but i can't remember whose blog it came from, so if it's your cake let me know!

Dark and White Chocolate Layer Cake
Ingredients:
For the dark chocolate cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the white chocolate whipped cream:
6 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

For the whipped cream frosting:
1 cup cold heavy cream
4 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh strawberries, for filling and garnishing

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the sides of two 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; mix at medium-low speed until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in the boiling water (batter will be thin).

Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake, remove the cakes from the pans, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When the cake has cooled, cut each in half horizontally to create four cake layers.

To make the white chocolate whipped cream, place the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Melt, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is almost melted, bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a boil. Once the chocolate is fully melted, transfer the bowl to a counter, pour in the hot cream and let it sit for one minute. Then stir gently with a spatula until the chocolate is smooth. Let the chocolate sit until it reaches room temperature - the chocolate can’t be the least bit warm when it is added to the whipped cream.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the remaining 1 cup cream only until it holds the softest peaks. With the mixer on high speed, add the white chocolate all at once and continue to beat just until the mixture holds firm peaks. Transfer the cream to a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap gently against the surface and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To make the whipped cream frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat the cream, sugar and vanilla together just until the cream starts to thicken. Start on a slower speed and increase the speed as the cream gains texture. Continue to beat until the cream holds stiff peaks. Be very careful not to overbeat.

To assemble the cake, transfer one of the cake layers to a 10-inch cardboard circle, cut surface up. Spread a thick layer of white chocolate whipped cream on top of the cake. Layer with fresh strawberry slices. Lay another cake layer on top of the cream and berries, and press down gently. Top as before with white chocolate whipped cream and berries. Repeat once more with another cake layer and topping. Place the final cake layer on top, cut side down, and press down gently. Frost the cake with whipped cream frosting and garnish with fresh berries as desired.

Pineapple Salmon

Tired of the same old Salmon and don't feel like putting a lot of effort into dinner BUT you still want something tasty and healthy?? Look no further! This was a very simple recipe but beware you have to like the taste of actual salmon to enjoy it (i tend to douse my fish in seasonings so you taste that more then the fish, not the case here).
Pour some melted butter over the top of the salmon (i just spread I can't believe it's not butter light). Sprinkle brown sugar so that a nice thin layer is there. Now bake in the oven on 400ish until almost done. Now take your pineapple chunks and spread over the top and bake for about 5 more minutes or so, keeping an eye not to burn the pineapples.
Enjoy! This makes a GREAT summer recipe too! I can't wait to try it on the grill!