Monday, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day!



In honor of Memorial Day and the unofficial kick-off to summer, I want to share one of my favorite summer-time staple recipes, "Mis'sippi Caviar"! I first had "Tippah County Caviar" at Newk's a few years ago and really liked this side dish. So I googled to find a recipe and like I always do I find two or three that catch my eye and I combine them to make my own. Keeping, deleting and adding items to make it unique to me and my taste.

So today's recipe goes like this:

"Mis'sippi Caviar"

Ingredients:

* 1 large tomato, diced
* 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
* 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
* 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped green onions
* 1 loose cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil
* 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained

Directions:

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Toss all together and let marinate for at up to 8 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Hope you enjoy this yummy recipe that you can make all summer long! Happy Memorial Day!! And a BIG thanks to all the troops that have fought for this country! :))

Thursday, May 12, 2011

"How Did Your Mother Ever Survive?!"

So I can't believe I'm coming up on my 27th week of pregnancy which means, "Hello third trimester!" Wow!! Can you believe it?! Monday I go back to the doctor for my 5th visit, including the dreaded glucose test, and it makes me think back to January 21st when I went for the ground-breaking first visit...it is one I will always remember..

Since it was the very first baby doctor visit, Jonathan wanted to come along. He is going to be such a great daddy! We get there at like 8 a.m. for an appointment at 8:30, that way I have plenty of time to fill out all the fun paperwork. Then it's on to a consultation with the insurance specialist. Thank God I had Jonathan with me because all this is like Japanese to me, say what?? He's actually a licensed insurance agent and he even got a little confused. After that conversation we headed to the lab for the usual...urine test, weight and blood pressure, yadda yadda yadda. Then soon after we were seen into the exam room where we were told the doctor would be in shortly. Riiiigghhtt. You see, it must have been the day for deliveries because that waiting room was packed out and I swear the doctor didn't show up to the exam room until maybe 10:30 if not later. Now, for those of you who don't know my husband, let me explain what I went through for the next couple of hours.

Not 10 minutes after we get into that exam room he is opening drawers and cabinets, snooping through the tools and supplies and making me a nervous wreck!! Never in my life would I EVER get off the chair or exam table to snoop through the doctor's office stock!? What was I thinking bringing him along??! Then he proceeds to pull a latex glove from the box and begin blowing it up like it's a balloon!! I was apprehensive at first, but I admit I did play along for a few minutes, hitting the glove balloon back and forth with him. It was fun, but we had to stop before she walked in on it! I would have been so embarrassed had she seen that. After I ended that episode he got restless again and I exclaimed, "How did your mother ever survive?!" In which he responded, "She had snacks! Do you have snacks?" Considering I was only 11 weeks pregnant and had the appetite of a hippo, I in fact DID have snacks in my purse. Praise the Lord! Those kept him occupied until the doctor FINALLY showed up.

We talked with her for a while and then she left so we could head to the ultrasound room. But she didn't leave without telling Jonathan to not forget his souvenir (the glove balloon). Geez. So we headed to yet another waiting room where again he gets restless. Tapping his foot, speaking what I think is too loud for a doctor's office waiting room, bored out of his mind. I'm thinking, Dear God, please let this child take after me in the form of patience and rest. To my relief, and his, the nurse calls my name for the ultrasound! Yes!

Not only am I excited that we're about to meet our baby for the first time, but this gives him something to do! As soon as that image came up on the screen, we see our baby. It is just a kicking, squirming, wiggling and even sucking it's thumb! I instantly started tearing up. It was the sweetest moment I had ever experienced, especially hearing the little heartbeat for the first time. Now to my astonishment though, for the next 15 minutes, or however long the ultrasound took, I didn't hear one peep from Jonathan!! Who would've known.... I swear he passed out he was so quiet. I guess he was just in shock.

Nevertheless, I survived that first appointment with whom I thought was my husband and not an overgrown child. But considering the whole appointment took 3.5 hours, I'm glad I had some sort of entertainment! ;)