Recipe- Baked Potato Soup

Since yesterday was a little bit of a dreary day (and even worse & colder today)- I made Baked Potato Soup last night for dinner... Mmm. I forget how good & easy it is!

Now, if you were to ask my Dad for his recipe, it would (or seems like) it takes 3 or so hours to make it.... But his recipe is delicious!!!

However, I wanted an easier recipe, and definitely found one! It took me about 1 hour from start to finish to make this. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but is any Baked Potato Soup really healthy?

Neelley's Baked Potato Soup
1 pkg Bacon- I go ahead & fry up the entire pkg to make BLT's with the soup & extra for toppings
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
7 Tbsp of All-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 cans Chicken Broth
4 large Baking Potatoes, peeled & cubed
2/3 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Milk (plus a little extra)
1 tsp Hot Pepper Sauce
Shredded Cheese


-Start by boiling water (I flavor mine with Chicken boullion cubes- about 3 to a big pot)-. Add your cubed potatoes to boiling water. Let boil for about 15 minutes- or until tender. Once your potatoes are done, drain water & let cool for a couple of minutes. Take a potato masher & mash the potatoes. They don't have to be perfectly smooth. Just break them up to where they aren't big chunks.

-While your potatoes are boiling, Fry bacon in skillet (Use a big skillet with sides to it, since you will be adding about 4 cups of Chicken broth to this later). (I always usually cook my bacon in the mircrowave, but it's important to fry in skillet for this recipe).

-After frying, pour out bacon grease, except keep about 1-2 Tbsp of Bacon grease in the bottom of your pan. Add onion & garlic to grease & cook until onion is translucent on Med-Low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper & basil. It will form a ball like dough.

-SLOWLY pour in chicken broth. As you pour it in, use a whisk (it's easier to incorporate the ingredients this way)- Make sure that all is mixed before you add more- Let boil for about 2 minutes - (Enough time to get your sour cream & milk out of the fridge & measured out, but make sure you stop & stir while doing this too)-
Turn heat down to LOW.- Add sour cream & milk. Stir to mix well. Add in your mashed potatoes. Stir to incorporate all!

ENJOY!

*NOTES:
- At some point during this process, you might want to transfer your items to a big pot. I have a large skillet with about 4" sides, so it was perfect for this recipe. However, it might be a better idea to add your sauce/soup to your mashed potatoes in your pot that you boiled them in.

- If you don't want to use Bacon grease, you can substitute for Margarine or butter.

-This recipe makes just enough for 4 full bowl servings.

-I don't know why part of this recipe shows up in blue & underlined. I'm not as blog savvy as some might think & I don't know how to undo that and such.... So, don't think that that part of the recipe is more important that the rest- It is, but it isn't. :)

Pregnancy- 16 weeks

What's going on inside:
Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double its weight and add inches to its length. Right now, Baby is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. Baby's legs are much more developed, its head is more erect than it has been, and its eyes have moved closer to the front of the head. Baby's ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of the scalp has begun, though Baby's locks aren't recognizable yet. Baby's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, Baby's heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

It's crazy to think that Baby will double in the next few weeks! Thinking that the Baby Bump really starting to get on out there! Whew!
Not much to report this week, except I've had just about what everyone else in Columbia has- a horrible Sinus infection. It's lasted about a week, and I'm ready for it to be gone! We've also discovered that Baby King does not like Apple Juice. I thought that it sounded so good one morning & John brought me a glass of it- only for it to come right back up about 20 minutes later.... Bleh!

Pink Lotus Florist

For the past couple of years, on my birthday, I have sent both of my parents flower arrangements. I read or heard this somewhere many many years ago, & thought, "What a wonderful gesture!" I include a sweet card on the flowers that say something along the lines of:

"I wouldn't be celebrating another birthday without having you as such an amazing Mother/ Father. Thank you for all that you've done, not just this past year, but for the past 27 years in shaping me into the woman I am today! I love you!"

For anyone that doesn't know me, I'm pretty particular re: my flowers. I want arrangements to look like something I would like in my home. I want the recepiant to say, "Wow! That looks like something Neelley would send!" And hopefully, it's followed by something like, "How beautiful!" (tehehehe) ;)

Well, since Dad works in Columbia, it was pretty easy deciding on a florist. Columbia has lots of florist, but one that I am constantly impressed by is "The Carriage House". I just love them! I have seen lots of flower arrangements out there from other florist & Carriage House arrangements just stand out like Cinderella amongst her ugly step sisters.

Well, it was easy as pie with Carriage House. Called & told them:

1- All white arrangement (to me, flower arrangements with all the same color are just so gorgeous! For our wedding, I told our florist- All WHITE- & not a lot of greenery! Period!!)

2- Not a lot of greenery. (I'm not paying for weeds the fill in the space. I'd much rather have a small arrangement filled with flowers than a huge one filled with leaves! )

3- Put it in a low square glass vase. Coffee table arrangements are just beautiful! Plus, low arrangements are wonderful in the middle of a dining room table, because you can still see your guests across the table. You just can't go wrong with low arrangements.

4- Classic look. I'm not the trendsetter type. To me, you can't go wrong with classic. If you don't think that Ralph Lauren would like to have it in his house, I probably won't either.

Well, The Carriage House did NOT disappoint. We went over to Dad & Phyllis' house Saturday night to go out to dinner & there sat the flower arrangement on the coffee table (just where I pictured it would be! :) )- Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Just exactly what I ordered (however, John said that it would be hard not to get something exactly like that after the details I provided over the phone.... Whatever!!)- Plus it was HUGE! Filled with Lillies and beautiful white roses. And the best part about it, (it comes with living in a small town)- at the end of my ordering on the phone, I just said, "I'm driving down the road, can you just send me a bill?"
SURE! NO problem!! Gosh, I love it!

So, now on to Mom's arrangement- Since she works in Nashville, I needed to find a florist in Nashville. Called the local florist that John had used before close to our old Neighborhood, but John told me to hang up while it was ringing because he said that they were super expensive, and proceeded to tell me what some little arrangements that he had brought/sent to me while we were up there cost... Yeah, ok. No thank you.

So I get on my phone, see an advertisement for "Pink Lotus Florist"- Free local delivery. I thought, Wonderful! Got on their website, found a pretty bouquet I thought Mom would like. Ordered it & that was it!

Bouquet that I ordered for Mom:

Or was it? Since I failed to place the order before Noon, I knew that my flowers probably wouldn't be delivered until the next day. Oh well, at least she'd get flowers & they might be even prettier than the flowers in the picture. And I made special instructions for them to be delivered before 4 p.m.( telling them that she leaves then, but-really she leaves work at 5 or 5:30, and I wanted her to enjoy them while she finished up her day. )

Well, long story short- They got delivered the next day, around 4:30 or so. The delivery guy called & was SO rude & cussing up a storm with GD's, F bombs, & all words under the sun- because he was "lost". Not only did they charge me $12 delivery, but also charged my card later for a random mysterious $1.98 fee. ???

So needless to say, I wasn't a very happy camper at the end of the day re: their customer service. Then to top it off, my sister, Lauren, sends me a text that says, "Mom's flowers are pretty!" with the below picture attached:

WHAT THE HELL!!!???

When I tried to contact the company & complain, not only for the poor customer service, but the late delivery, over charge on my card, false advertising of 'Free Delivery', and horrible product delivery of what I actually ordered- All they said was, "Sorry, we compensated by putting in long stemmed roses instead of medium stemmed roses. " I don't think I said anything for about 20 seconds with my mouth on the floor! I followed with, "So, since you gave me an extra 4" of thorny stems on the end of each rose, you think that is equal to the garden lillies surrounding the roses in the picture on the internet- so you can put greenery in it's place??" No response. "Sorry Lady."

Come to find out there are MULTIPLE complaints re: Pink Lotus Florist. After doing some research on the internet, there are thousands of people out there that haven't even received their flowers yet (3 weeks after they placed the order!). Some have been charged 2 or 3 times for the same arrangement on their card, some ordered arrangements with 10 flowers in it & only received 1 flower in it filled with greenery. I was in shock! So, I contacted the Better Business Bureau on them- Hopefully someone might shut them down!

So there is my little rant. Pass it on to EVERYONE you know- Never ever ever use Pink Lotus Florist! And also, my lesson learned- Don't order anything over your iphone from a company that you haven't heard of without doing a little research first.

Recipe- Party Punch

I didn't get a chance to post my recipe yesterday- Well, I didn't get a chance to do much of anything yesterday. Woke up with a horribly sore throat, John got me some apple juice which didn't stay in my stomach long (It's official, Baby King hates Apple Juice. This is the 2nd time I've drank it while pregnant, & both times I've gotten sick. Uhh)- Felt a little better after getting sick then around 11ish, I started feeling horribly uncomfortable back pain. The kind that feels as if someone has just beaten my back with a baseball bat. Couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did, except walking around made it feel a little better, however, my head still feeling like it was a fishbowl, so no matter what I did- it was a rough day.
I avoid the Dr at all cost... I loathe going. I feel like sometimes just sitting in that waiting room can make you feel more sick than you really are (or even get you more sick with all the other people there!)- So, going against my mother's advice, I waited until this morning to go to the Doctor. Woke up feeling better, called his office, they advised me to come on in. He checked on everything & it was wonderful. He said that I probably just have a sinus infection & my horrible back pain is to be expected with a growing baby. My uterus is growing growing growing (in a normal, non-pregnant woman, her uterus is the size of a lemon. Mine, being almost 4 months pregnant, is the size of large cantelope or bigger.... WOW! As Baby is growing, my uterus is pushing things around inside to make room, as well as my belly growing outward.... So, that's what's been happening this week!

This week's recipe is from such a precious friend, here in Columbia, Liz. The two of us, along with a couple of other girls, hosted a baby shower for our friend, Courtney. Liz served this drink at the shower & I think I could have drank the entire pitcher- It was so good! I asked her for the recipe & she happily passed it on! She said her family calls it "Party Punch"- It's so easy & DELISH!!!


Liz's Party Punch

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup lemonade (powdered)
1/2 cup instant tea with lemon (powdered) (I usually use decaf)
1 cup white grape juice

Put all ingredients in a gallon jug. Fill with water. Shake to mix. Enjoy!

Pregnancy: 15 weeks

We are just 1 week shy of the 4 month mark! Hard to believe! I am feeling so much better and the 2nd trimester is such a different experience than the 1st. Much more energy, no weird cravings, etc, etc....
I have, however, discovered that I don't think Baby King enjoys much spicy things. I never have been much of a heat person when it comes to food, but lately, I have found myself feeling uncomfortable as I eat spicy foods. After church yesterday, John & I made a quick lunch stop at Zaxbys. Since they have quit carrying my "Zensation Salad" which was so good, I decided to just get a small chicken tender meal with buffalo sauce. As I was eating it, my stomach started to feel tight & give me that "rumbling goldfish in a bowl" kind of feeling. I was trying to explain it to John, but it was hard to describe. Almost that feeling when you are really really hungry & your stomach just feels empty & hurts- that's the feeling I get when I'm eating spicy foods. Weird, I know!

This week, Baby is measuring 4 inches (from the top of the head to the end of it's little booty). It's about the size of an apple. Baby's legs are longer than the arms now & all the joints & limbs are moving. Although Baby's eyelids are still fused shut, baby can sense light. If you were to shine a flashlight at my belly, it would likely move away from the beam. If we were to have an Ultrasound this week, it could be possible to tell whether Baby is a boy or a girl.

We've got less than 3 weeks before we make the big Reveal of what we are having. We won't find out until a day or so before our party... so it's SUPER exciting! John & I were talking about how anxious we are to know what we are having, however, it's been such a blessing to not know right now. It definitely allows us to slow down & just enjoy the pregnancy without my planning, planning, planning.... In the past month, I have been invited to lots of children's clothing shows & parties, and that anxious feeling definitely comes at a higher rate during those emails & catalog showings, since I'm in a "holding period" to buy anything since we don't know which sex to buy for! John & I get asked very often of what we think we are going to have- and I can honestly say, "We have no idea!" There are some days that we feel as if we are having a boy, and other days we feel as if it's a girl. We LOVE hearing what other people predict! So fun!!

So our question to everyone, what do you think we are having???? We have added a poll to the left side of our blog. Please submit your answer, but make sure you only do it once for your own vote. But if you have more than one in your household & you both feel the same or different, feel free to cast their vote too!

Recipe- Asian Slaw

A couple of weeks ago, John & I went over to some of our dearest friends, Mark & Emily's house, for dinner. Emily's a great cook! She had made this Italian style Pot Roast for sandwiches which she served on kaiser type rolls with melted Mozzarella on top. SO YUMMY! She served this Asian slaw next to it, & I found myself, as well as just about everyone else, going back for seconds. It was perfect with the dinner she served. I was also thinking that it would be wonderful with BBQ, or burgers, or pretty much anything!!!!
It's very light tasting & is perfect the weather we've been having lately!

Emily's Asian Slaw

2 packages beef flavor Ramen noodles (save packets for dressing)
1 16 oz. package cole slaw lettuce
1 cup sliced almonds (toasted if you want to)
1 cup sunflower kernels
2 green onions (tops, green part only) sliced

Break up the ramen noodles and layer all of the above, in a large bowl, in order.

Dressing:
Mix well in a small bowl: (Make sure you mix it until the sugar is dissolved)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil (Canola or Olive Oil)
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 soup packets from Ramen noodles

Pour over mixture and cover. DO NOT MIX until the next morning.

Makes me want to put my fingers up to my lips, kiss them, say "DELISH!" then give Emily a big kiss on the cheek for introducing me to this recipe!

Pregnancy- 14 weeks

Late.... again.... with my blogpost.

These past 2 weeks have been absolutely crazy filled with cake orders, and lots of them for weddings! (Which I'm not complaining about at all!)- I have just about every weekend booked with a wedding cake(s) to do from now until Mid-July. Which is when I scheduled to not take any orders past that, since it will be getting close to my due date.... YAY!

This week we are at the 14 week mark. Well, actually, tomorrow, we will be at the 15 week mark, but I will do better next week & post that update on time....well, hopefully!

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck its thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, its facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. The kidneys are producing urine, which it releases into the amniotic fluid around the baby — a process baby will keep up until birth. Baby can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch it sucking its thumb.
Baby is now about the size of a large lemon this week!

I am definitely feeling more like my old self, once again. Everyone told me that it would happen once the 2nd trimester came, and boy were they right! It's amazing! Still getting tired every now & then, but mostly just powering on through with work & social stuff throughout the day!
My appetite is back & everything sounds good! I've especially been loving some soups & salads! Mmmmm. John & I went to Stoney River last night & I ordered a cup of their Lobster Bisque, & I thought I was seriously going to lick that bowl!! SO good!!!

We are definitely enjoying our time of 'not knowing' what we are having. We haven't bought anything for our baby yet, except an adorable pair of cream colored cashmere mittens for Baby to wear this winter. So precious!! We find out in 3 weeks what we are having & plan on having a Gender Revealing party with our family & very close friends. So we are excited!!

This week also brought a fun filled day yesterday, since it was my Birthday. John took the day off & we spent the entire day together, which is my favorite thing to do. I love spending time with him, but I especially love to be out & about with him all to myself, where I don't have to share him with anyone else. We started off the day with getting massages, then headed over to Franklin to get some yummy lunch at J. Alexanders. I just love their crabcakes! They are made with the lump crab meat & pretty much no fillers. They are some of the best crabcakes I have found around our area, without having to drive to the beach.... :)
Then we did a little shopping, went to go see "Just Go with It" with Adam Sandler & Jennifer Anniston (which by the way is HILARIOUS!!). We laughed the entire way through the movie! Then headed to Stoney River for dinner. Such a fun birthday, especially when celebrating it all day long! :) John asked me how old I was yesterday afternoon, (just to see if I would say the new number)- and it's funny how I had to sit there & think.... "Ok, I was born in '84, so that would make me.... Hmmmm- Ewww, 27!" It's amazing how, I feel like, once you hit 21, all birthdays from there are just downhill.... Of course, you instantly know it's your 22nd birthday, because all you can think about is the horrible hangover you had at this exact time last year... 25 hit kinda a sore spot, because you are officially, "mid- twenties". Now I'm edging on up there into my "late twenties" & that just makes me sit there with the "Elvis lip kinda going on with the look of 'whatcha gonna do- oh well! shrug"---- We were talking about how this was our last birthday celebration between the two of us before Baby comes! Crazy to think! John will turn 29 about 3 weeks after Baby is due...

But we are excited!!!!!!!

Pregnancy- 13 weeks

Well, hello there Baby Bump!!

This weekend, the baby bump has officially bumped on out there. I had people tell me, "Oh yes, you will just wake up one day & look down, & say, "Hey! What is this??" Well, it definitely happened! I was in the shower & looked down and was in shock! I think I stared at it for 5 whole minutes. I just couldn't believe it! It's kinda freaking me out.

John & I got ready to go on a morning walk yesterday, and I put on one of my old sorority t-shirts & there was no denying my bump. Of course, I have to kinda push my shirt down right above the bump & it there!

We had some of our great friends, Liz & Chaz and Courtney & Alex, over last night for the Superbowl. I told the girls, "Ummm, look at this??!" They were both stunned to see it since when we went to lunch on Tuesday, I didn't really have much to show. Liz has a sweet little girl, Marley, who is 7 1/2 months old, and Courtney is 8 months pregnant. So they both definitely knew what that was all about. It's fun to hear & compare stories!

So this week we are 13 weeks. So many websites contridict each other. Some say that this is the beginning on the 2nd trimester. Some say that at the end of this week will be the beginning... Oh well- All we know, is we are getting closer to Baby!

This is what the baby looks like inside:


Or if we were to have an ultrasound tomorrow at our monthly appointment, this is what Baby King might look like on the screen:

By this week, our baby has it's own set of fingerprints. Veins & organs are clearly visible through their still-thin skin. Baby is 3" long & weighs nearly an ounce. Uterus, which is usually the size of a woman's fist is now bigger than a grapefruit.... (which is why the bump, I'm assuming)

Symptoms:

-Only needing naps every once in awhile

-Emotional/ mood swings- Crying more easily, getting irritated quicker, then the next minute be completely ok with everything in the world....

-Food cravings/ adversions starting to taper off

We are filled with excitement. Especially to find out what we are having! We have big plans for the reveal of the gender. The countdown begins!!!

Pregnancy- 12 weeks & recipe

Well, by the time I post this, we are actually 12 1/2 weeks along.

These past 1 1/2 weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of busyness. (Is that even a word?)

I can tell that my symptoms of the 1st trimester are starting to decrease (Thank the LORD!), but I have my days & waves of the symptoms still.

-Constant headaches

-Huge waves of sleepiness (think of your after lunch sleepies x's 10!)

-Stomach cramps- They say that this is my stomach & all the lady parts streaching as our baby is growing & needing more room, so I look at this as a good but sometimes painful side effect

On the flip side, positive things are:

-My appetite is coming back to normal. Soon after we found out I was pregnant, I just didn't have much of an appetite. And when I was hungry, I found that I was FULL after eating only 1/2 of what I used to be able to eat in 1 sitting. My appetite still isn't fully there, but it's getting better.

-I've gotten compliments on my "glow". Which I'll say, before pregnancy, I just thought it was bunch of crap when someone told a pregnant woman she was glowing. I thought, "Yeah, she is, but probably because she's hot & tired of carrying all of that around!" (Kinda like when someone tells you that it's good luck if it rains on your wedding day, {which it did ours}- My response to one of my bridesmaids that said that to me while we were getting our hair done was, "That's just a bullsh*t line they tell brides so they don't freak out on their wedding day"- Needless, to say, it got some laughs & got me some more champagne brought to me! Hmmmm, I likey!")

-I am still able to wear a couple of pairs of my regular jeans... Nevermind if sometimes in the middle of a car ride I have to unbutton them- the point is, they are still buttoning while I'm standing up, which I think it a plus!

-Bump- Yep! John definitely thinks this is a huge plus! I've got a little bump. John asks to look at it about 10 times a day, (which is cute but can be annoying & makes me want to give him a bump on the side of his head, when he asks to see it 20 minutes later as I'm in the middle of dinner (as if!!!) ) It's something that I'm actually wanting to see grow a little more quickly. I'm in that gross "I just look like I left an all you can eat buffet & yes, I filled up my plate 4 times". If someone didn't know that I was pregnant, I swear I think that they would think I've lost my mind, or just enjoy a couple too many keg parties on the weekends. Anywho, people tell me that it's so cute- but what are they really going to say to a hormonal woman who can't drink the painful comments she might receive away???- Oh well!

The books say that in the past 3 weeks, Baby King has more than doubled in size. And is about the size of a large fresh plum. Its digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements, so our baby will be able to eat), the bone marrow is making white blood cells (so the baby will be able to fight off germs passed around in playgroup), & the pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormones (so our baby will one day be able to make babies of their own)- {{SO weird to already be thinking of a that! Oh goodness!}}

Since I didn't post anything last week for a recipe, I'm going to do something simple that I actually made for a side for dinner tonight- SO easy & we love them!!

Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato/ person (I had smaller sweet potatoes, but if you get a Big Mama one, I'm sure one would suffice for 2 people ;) )

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Ziplock Bag

-Wash sweet potatoes & dry. (sometimes I just stick them in the oven for a couple of minutes.)- Cut potatoes into 1/4" strips. I find that it's easiest when just you just cut it in half long ways, then again longways, etc, etc...

Once I have my strips, I usually cut them in half to make them about the length of a finger.

Put in a ziplock bag. Drizzle olive oil in the bag (about 1 Tbsp or so / potato- use your own judgement. It will go further than you think)- Then I sprinkle about 1 tsp of salt & about 1/2 tsp of pepper. (Sometimes if you want it spice it up, sprinkle 1 or 2 shakes of Cayenne pepper (GENTLY because that packs some HEAT!)- )

Zip bag, & toss around to evenly coat fries.

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spread fries out evenly on cookie sheet in 1 layer.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!