Friday, April 15, 2011

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

This week, I've been trying to cook more - for several reasons. The biggest reason is because I learned pretty quickly that not having something quick to heat up in the evenings while Danny is working is a big mistake. The first night Danny went back to work, Sophie and I were both hungry and cranky! I decided that I needed to take advantage of the time when he is home by preparing meals that I can just stick in the microwave to eat when I'm ready. This week, I made red beans and rice with sausage and buffalo chicken. Wednesday evening, one of my friends came by and we had breakfast for dinner (pancakes, eggs and sausage). I'm trying so hard not to go out to eat! I'm doing pretty well this week! I didn't have a clear plan for what to do with the buffalo chicken, but it just sounded so good! It was so easy, too!

Here's the recipe:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 jar wing sauce
1/2 pkg dry ranch dressing mix

Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkly 1/2 pkg of dry ranch dressing mix over the chicken. Cover with wing sauce. Cook on low for 4 hours (give or take). I checked it after about 3 and a half hours - the chicken was so tender! I shredded the chicken and put it back in the slow cooker to continue to soak in the flavors! We had this for dinner tonight - served on toasted hoagie rolls with provolone cheese and a little bit of ranch dressing! Yummy! The original recipe called for a few tablespoons of butter to be added in at the end of the slow cooking process. I forgot to do that and we didn't miss it. Tomorrow, I'll take what's left of the chicken and make a buffalo chicken pizza. I'm already looking forward to it!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The boredom is setting in...

I know that I shouldn't complain. I cannot put into words how very grateful I am to have this time off work with my sweet girl. However, my days and nights are filled with feeding Sophie, trying to pump to have milk for her when I go back to work, doing laundry, sterilizing breast pump parts, trying to eat enough to continue to produce enough milk for my hungry girl, watching daytime TV, etc. We haven't had as many visitors over the past few weeks either and Danny has gone back to work. That leaves me with lots of hours to fill! It's nice to be able to nap when I want to, but there's a part of me that is just getting bored! Yesterday, I took a ton of pictures of Sophie - pretending like she was my little model! I'm glad I did because I got some really good shots!










Monday, April 4, 2011

a few more pictures...

Sophie and two of her cousins


Sophie loves her Daddy!







Trip to meet Mamaw

We took Sophie on her first road trip to meet Mamaw this weekend. She did pretty well in the car, but did get fussy about 10 minutes away from Mamaw's house. I was so excited for Mamaw to finally meet Sophie! We were able to get a picture of me, Sophie, my mom and Mamaw - 4 generations!


Daddy and Sophie napping


 Mamaw getting a good look at Sophie - who apparently gave her a great big smile!



watch me grow

I am totally stealing this idea from my friend, Jackie, but I just can't resist!! Jackie took monthly pictures of her little one next to a stuffed animal to show how much she grew each month. I loved watching Lucy "grow" through pictures, so we've decided to do the same with Sophie. We bought a stuffed monkey to use. Here she is for her 1 month photo shoot with the monkey!






We'll see how much she has grown next month!

We had her one month check up today! She now weighs 9 lbs 7 oz (60th percentile) and is 21 3/4 inches long (75th percentile). Everything was perfect! She's growing and healthy - what more can we ask for!?

First Night Out!

On Friday night, I went to see Widespread Panic with my sisters. Sophie stayed at home with Danny for the first time! I had a really hard time leaving them for the evening and sent tons of text messages to check in! Sophie was a good girl and was perfectly content by the time I got home.

We had a blast at the show. Vannah came with us for her first show, and really had a great time. One of her friends was there and they danced together the whole time! It was a lot of fun!





Setlist:
‎04/01/11 Palace Theater, Louisville, KY
1: Porch Song > Blackout Blues, Flicker > Imitation Leather Shoes, This Part Of Town, Christmas Katie, Let It Rock, One Arm Steve, Makes Sense To Me
2: Goodpeople > Dark Bar > Goodpeople, Weight Of The World, Saint Ex > Driving Song > Shut Up And Drive > Driving Song > Breathing Slow > Disco, Pil...
grims > Pleas > Mr. Soul
E: Stop-Go > Knocking 'Round The Zoo