Chicken Taco Mac

Chicken Taco Mac. This one is a winner, people! I mean it's really delicious. I made it exactly as the recipes calls for (lime chips on top and all) and I believe it will be a Nowlin household staple dish for years to come. This is yet another Family Circle recipe that I tore out of James' grandmother's magazines while visiting a few weeks ago. Definitely worth a try! Yum!

Future Soccer Player?

One More Joy of Pregnancy, Not!

You see these? These are normal feet and ankles. Not mine, but similar to mine. You know that hard to shave area on the outside and inside of the ankle? The area you always nick when shaving because it is so bony and difficult to navigate around with a razor blade? Well, you see, I don't have that problem anymore. My little bony ankle has disappeared. When I shaved last night, the razor just glazed right over that spot, smooth as silk because my ankles are swollen. I guess I could look at it as a positive, but I'm really not sure. I think I'm ready to have my bony ankles back, even if it means a little cut now and then. At least I'm still able to wear my wedding ring...at least for now.

Happy Valentine's Day! Eat Up!

Happy Valentine's Day to all my bloggie friends and to my two special Valentines! The holiday is kind of silly, but I must admit that I do love it! James and I don't do anything big. We usually exchange cards and enjoy a nice dinner out, but this year, we decided to just stay in and I cooked up a new recipe that turned out quite delicious, so I thought I'd share...


Tomato-Basil Rigatoni (From Family Circle Magazine)

• ½ cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes (about 3 ounces)
• 1 16-ounce box rigatoni pasta
• 1½ cups milk
• ¼ cup tomato-basil- flavored cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)
• 4 ounces (4 to 6 slices) provolone cheese, chopped
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Shredded Parmesan
  

1. Heat a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Carefully scoop out 1 cup and pour over sun-dried tomatoes in a small heatproof bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook rigatoni as per package directions, 14 minutes. Drain.
3. While pasta cooks, heat milk over medium heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and whisk in cream cheese, provolone and mozzarella until melted (mixture will be a little stringy). Stir in cornstarch-water mixture and return pan to heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until smooth.
4. Drain and finely chop sun-dried tomatoes. Stir into pasta, along with sauce and basil. Top with a little freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of salt, and Parmesan, if desired.

Makes: 6 servings

And I also have one more recent find to share...Balsamic Pork Cutlets with Orzo...

Balsamic Pork Cutlets Recipe (also from Family Circle Magazine). This one I made on Saturday and it did NOT disappoint. I made the chops and the orzo but paired with my own green beans instead of what was in the magazine. If you get the chance, try this one. It was quite tasty and made the house smell incredible!

Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy!

The Home Stretch

So here I am with my rapidly expanding belly at just over 30 weeks. I'm now two weeks into my third trimester already. Time has flown by. I'm starting to get really excited about meeting baby Emery!

The Boys

Please allow me to introduce you to the four teenage boys who have become a part of our lives over the past few months. Case refers to them as simply, "the boys."

From left to right: Mario, CJ, Caleb and Mickey. The two in the middle, CJ and Caleb are brothers if you can't tell by their resemblance.

So, James met these boys while volunteering at Memphis Athletic Ministries (MAM) where he coaches basketball and football. MAM is a fantastic organization that is very well run and has community centers all over Memphis. Their focus is to get kids in the community involved in sports as a way to minister to them and keep their time occupied in a positive way. They also offer after-school tutoring and academic resources of that sort.

The boys go to church with us on Sunday mornings and then spend the afternoon with us. I must admit, it cramped my Sunday afternoon style a bit at first...I could no longer just lay on the couch for an hour during Case's nap. They take over our entire living room playing James' xbox and playing basketball with Case. But, we've made some adjustments around the house to still allow me to get a little R&R. For Christmas, James got me a HDTV and DVR for our bedroom, so now I can relax in our room and watch TV on Sunday afternoons! But let me tell you...four teenage boys can really put away some food. Whew! The first few Sundays that I cooked for them I kind of underestimated how much they would eat. It takes 20 scrambled eggs, a full package of bacon and 18 biscuits to feed all of us! :)

This past Sunday evening, our class at church had planned to go bowling, so the boys came with us. They had never been before and it was a hoot!

Case mainly played on all the arcade games and rode the merry-go-round thing. I love it because at this age, you don't even have to put any money in for them to think they are really playing! Cheap entertainment!!


We had a great time and I was especially sore the next couple of days! Not sure if I'm supposed to be bowling, but I figure Case weighs a lot more than a bowling ball and I carry him around all the time!