Every family has their own way of making burritos, and well, this is how it's made in my house! By smothering the burritos in delicious red sauce and cheese and baking them, it makes the burritos so gooey and delicious. It's definitely a fork-and-knife meal, but so worth it. Make sure to top your burrito with your favorite toppings! I never serve this meal without plenty of sour cream (or even better, crema), shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and lots of ripe avocado.
In Athens, Georgia, there use to be a great little barbecue restaurant called Jot Em Downs. Its most famous offering was the Cabbage Casserole; and it was so in demand that it was sold out 90% of the time. It was seriously that good! I've been trying to replicate the dish for years, and have yet to nail it down (I'm convinced their trick was using the pork drippings to make a rich gravy/broth to add to the roux), but I think I've finally gotten as close as I can get to the recipe using regular kitchen staples. However, if you happen to have pork shoulder drippings around, I totally recommend adding it to the recipe to replace the chicken broth! Regardless, Cabbage Casserole is a fantastic dish to bring to holiday gatherings; I guarantee that no one else will bring the same dish. I'll be taking it to my family's Thanksgiving this year!
Update: I have the ACTUAL Cabbage Casserole Recipe from Jot Em Downs now. I've made the changes below. Enjoy!
When I reached the end of my pregnancy, I made a ton of freezer meals, so that I would have easy dinner fixings after the baby arrived. One of my favorites was a dish I created by thinking of a few of my favorite things: Blue Cheese Chicken & Broccoli Casserole. This is a rich and decadent casserole; it's definitely not low calorie, but it is for sure high comfort food! I wanted something that would be soothing and delicious, and more importantly, something my picky toddler would eat without a fight. It did all those things!
I am obsessed with this Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal right now! It's so warm and comforting on these cool Fall mornings, and it fills me up all the way until lunch. This is saying a lot, considering I'm currently nursing a 6 week old baby, and generally constantly starving. Speaking of which, they say oats are great for your breastmilk supply, so this is the perfect meal for my fellow breastfeeding mamas. To make it easier on my exhausted self, I make a full batch on Sunday evenings, and then just doling out individual portions in the morning all week to microwave. It tastes just as good reheated as it does when freshly made! However, if you want less, simply half the ingredients.
The other day, I was halfway through a recipe when I discovered that I was missing a few key ingredients. Rather than stop what I was doing and make a grocery store run, I decided to get creative and make my own recipe. What I ended up creating was a Chicken Enchilada Casserole with a Creamy Green Chile Sauce. It was super easy to put together, and turned out gooey, flavorful, and delicious. It's also under 500 calories and low carb, though it seriously doesn't taste like it should be either! I love it when a potential kitchen conflict turns into something beautiful.
So I'm happy to announce that I had my baby boy a few weeks ago! He was born on September 26th, at 6 lbs 6 oz, when I was exactly 38 weeks along.
Interestingly enough, my 3 year old daughter was also born in September, about 2 weeks early, at 6 lbs 7 oz. Their hospital newborn pictures look almost identical; they both have such similar features and coloring at birth. My daughter is now blonde and blue-eyed and looks absolutely nothing like she did as a newborn, so I'm curious to see how much Stinker (yup, his nickname is Stinker...and sometimes Stink-Stink) will change in this next year. He, however, was born with brown eyes, so I'm betting he keeps his darker coloring.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I over prepared for everything: birthing classes, breastfeeding books, baby supplies, etc. However, there was one area where I completely dropped the ball: I didn't make any food ahead of time. I didn't realize how hard tasks like cooking dinner and running to the grocery store would be with a baby. Instead we spent the first few months of my daughter's life ordering take-out and eating overly processed boxed foods. This time, I planned ahead. I made a month's worth of freezer dinners, snacks, desserts, and breakfasts. One of my favorite items I made was Pumpkin Bread. It was so easy and quick to make, and tasted so moist and delicious. I was originally going to keep it pure with no add-ins, but my daughter convinced me to make it with chocolate chips. I definitely think she made the right choice! Feel free to mix in your own personal favorite add-ins. This recipe makes two loaves, and freezes beautifully...if you can wait that long to eat it.
