Pete's Burger

On Friday night, we went to a small place on 494 called Pete's Burger Place. It turned out to be a small, clean place with delicious (but not so healthy!) food. Now we have a place for steak fingers nearby!

5 months old - big Benjamin!

As of February 24, Ben was 5 months old (and about 18 lbs, 10 oz)! He is now strong enough to be in a jogging stroller!



Being a big, strong baby is tiring!



and some toys can be very frustrating...



Ben had lots of fun when Oma Glenda visited this weekend! I've never heard anything as precious as his laugh!



Ben likes making his singing elephant sing, and puts it (and anything else!) in his mouth.



Ben even likes the baby elephant!

Jumping is fun....

Just when we thought we had beat out sicknesses, they came back! We are fortunate now to have been illness-free for two weeks - and hopefully for many more to come. During the past few weeks, we just kept on telling ourselves that Benjamin's immune system was developing very well!

One night, when Ben had a fever, we were told to give him Tylenol and just keep a diaper on him. So he played with one of his toys on the ground.



A couple of days later, he was on medication for his ear infection and enjoying floor time.



Then, we had a peaceful Valentine's Day for Benjamin (his Daddy, on the other hand, had a fever and didn't feel so well).



The next day, Ben got a fever. Then, I started feeling ill too. Turns out we all got the same virus. Ben even got a rash. I had to go to Dallas on a business trip, and the rash looked way worse when I got back (it was so hard to leave). The day after I returned, Ben got a skin biospy to make sure that his rash was a viral reaction (it was). Then, we bought him a jumper - best investment ever! He enjoyed watching his daddy assemble it.



But he enjoys using it even more!





His rash eventually went away and things calmed down. My mom even came up that Sunday to help out - Josh and I got a lunch date, and she helped us with folding laundry, something I never get to! Ben really enjoyed floor time over the weekend.



Sadie even guards Ben!



He is now closer and closer to sitting up on his own - should be soon!



And if I thought he couldn't get more adorable, he proved me wrong!



He even sticks out his tongue while playing. My mom says that is just like his Opa Peter!



Ben and Sadie continue to bond, she guards him - sometimes even from Perry!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess!

When I was browsing the myrecipes website (where Cooking Light recipes reside), I came across Dr. Suess-inspired recipes. I'll have to keep these in mind for when Benjamin is older!

Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish

A few weeks ago, I made a Cooking Light recipe for Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish. Josh and I really liked it, and felt a lot better after eating than we do after consuming fried catfish! I just paired it with some cajun-spiced, cheesy baked smashed potatoes.



This weekend we didn't use an egg wash first, and it turned out pretty well - one less step!

Nachos

If you make Chicken Feta Pasta with half of a rotisserie chicken, what do you do with the other half? Well, on a lazy Friday night, I made nachos!



Nachos

"Sturdy" corn tortilla chips
Lemon pepper rotisserie chicken (1/2 of one)
Refried beans, one can
Salt
Pepper
Salsa Verde
Cayenne Pepper
Monterrey Jack Cheese
Cheddar Cheese

1. Heat the refried beans in a saucepan on low heat with salt, the pepper and cayenne pepper.
2. Chop up the chicken.
3. Mix the chicken, cayenne pepper and some salsa verde. If the chicken was cold, heat the mixture up until it is warm.
4. On a microwave safe plate, layer chips, a bit of cheese, the chicken mixture, the bean mixture and more cheese.
5. Heat in a microwave on 50% heat until the cheese is slightly melted. Enjoy!

Chicken Feta Pasta

One of our big dinner time-savers is to use rotisserie chicken. This pasta dish can be made in the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta - and an added bonus: it makes two meals worth!



Chicken Feta Pasta

whole wheat pasta, 1 box
salt
pepper
minced garlic
crushed red pepper
chicken broth, a few ounces
italian seasoning
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, preferably lemon pepper
feta cheese
sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
artichokes, chopped roughly

1. Cook whole wheat pasta per package instructions. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat a few ounces of chicken broth and season with spices and garlic.
3. Combine everything and put in the preheated oven for about 3 minutes.
4. Enjoy!