Back into the cold depths of winter...or at least that's what it feels like when I step outside this week. The high has been hovering around 0 degrees, and the low has been dipping dangerously below 0. I'm beginning to think it is never going to warm up here! In the meantime, while I daydream of warmer days, there is nothing better than a warm meal from the slow cooker to help take off the chill.

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest, and was pleasantly surprised at not only how little work it was, but how delicious the end product turned out. Typically, I tend to avoid pork. I'm not a pork chop or Iowa chop lover by any stretch of the imagination, and I find that more often than not home-cooked pork ends up being super tough, dry, or overly seasoned. (I do however love myself some pulled pork, or pork roast in a slow cooker). Yum. Yum. Yum.

Step One: Gather the ingredients.

Step Two: Combine ingredients for the honey parmesan glaze, and pour over pork roast. Make sure to lift of the edges so that the bottom of the roast gets coated as well.

Step Three: Set slow cooker to low, and walk away for 6-7 hours!

Step Four: Remove roast to a warm plate, slice, and tent with foil. 

Step Five: Skim the fat from remaining liquid in the slow cooker, and pour the juices into a medium saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstartch and water until smooth. Gradually whisk into the juices in the saucepan. Return to a boil for 2 minutes, or until thickened, making a glaze. Spoon glaze over sliced roast, and enjoy!

Recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

SLOW COOKER HONEY PARMESAN PORK ROAST | Yield: 6-8 servings | Total Time: 6.5-7.5 hrs

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2-3 lb) boneless pork roast
2/3 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 C Honey
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 C cold water

DIRECTIONS:

Line slow cooker with plastic liner, or coat with cooking spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine parmesan cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Mix well. Pour over pork roast, be sure to lift the sides to coat bottom. Set slow cooker for 6-7 hours on low.

Remove pork roast from slow cooker to a serving platter. It will likely fall apart a little - that's OK! Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Skim fat from the juices; transfer to the saucepan. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into the saucepan. Return to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Slice the roast into thin slices, and serve with honey parmesan gravy.

Side suggestions: Salad, potato, steamed veggie.

Do you have a favorite recipe that uses pork?

Week 26

Week 26 | an update

How far along: 26 weeks

Best moment this week: I got to enjoy a couple of long walks outside this week when the temps warmed up for a couple of days all the way to 50 degrees!

Worst moment this week: Shoveling. After said warm-up, we then had a blizzard that loaded up our driveway with about 4 inches of snow. I told T that I will not be shoveling again...like ever...(meanwhile, he seems to have forgotten what a shovel looks like). The snow this time was far too heavy and icy beneath for me to consider it a safe activity. While T agreed, he still hasn't hopped on board the 'I'll shovel next time' train...

Things I miss: Warm weather. Seriously. This week is supposed to hover around 0 degrees with negative temps again for the lows. EVERY. DAY. THIS. WEEK.

Maternity clothes: Yes. Above top from Target, scarf from Kohls, leggings from Motherhood Maternity. One of my favorite outfits so far :)

Sleep: Not to bad, except for a couple nights I had serious acid reflux issues.

Movement: LOTS of movement this week. Papa T has been impressed with the strength of Baby W's kicking. 

Food Cravings: Cheeseburger. Sweets. Fruit. I think all the movement is making baby hungry, because Mama N definitely has a bigger appetite this week.

Food Aversions: Nothing this week.

Queasy or sick: Had a couple of nights with horrible acid reflux this week. Luckily, it hasn't been every night, so hoping this doesn't become an ongoing issue.

Belly button in or out: Mostly flat. A little out near the top.

Rings on or off: On. So far, any swelling I've had seems to be directly related to how much sodium has been in the foods I'm eating. This has always been an issue for me, so I typically try to avoid or limit super salty foods, and prefer to go light on the salt in my own cooking adding any additional seasoning later if it needs any.

Not looking forward to: Glucose test and getting more blood drawn at this week's OB appointment. Yuck. Last time I had blood drawn I had a giant bruise on my arm for almost 3 weeks.

Looking forward to: Possibly getting to meet Baby N someday very soon!!! My sister-in-law H has been dealing with some blood pressure issues, and we are all patiently waiting super excited about the possibility of meeting baby N sooner than expected if her doctor decides to induce early. Non baby-related...new couch and chairs show up tomorrow!! Yeaaaaa!

Week 25

Week 25 | an update

How far along: 25 weeks...T & I realized last night that we've now entered month 7! Baby W will be here before we know it!

Best moment this week: T's parents surprised us with the very first gift for Baby W. It is the most adorable super soft little lamb blanket/playmat, similar to one that T & I had been eyeing the last time we found ourselves perusing baby items. In other great moments, T surprised me with flowers for Valentine's Day, and my parent's surprised us with a visit over the weekend to help us clean out our garage and rid it of an insane amount of cardboard boxes, styrofoam, and plastic packaging that were beginning to make it look unrecognizable. Yippee for some early spring cleaning!

Worst moment this week: I had a slight touch of the flu bug over the weekend, and it pretty much knocked me out for a solid 24 hours. Luckily, I'm now on the mend, and pretty much back to my normal self.

Things I miss: Air. I've been feeling out of breath quite a lot lately as Baby W continues to grow and take up more of the space previously dedicated to helping with breathing.

Maternity clothes: Yes. Really looking forward to warmer weather to get out some maxi dresses that aren't so restraining.

Sleep: Lots of tossing and turning this week, but I think that was because I wasn't feeling well. Haven't really had to get up much in the night yet, which is great.

Movement: Baby W has been very active the last couple of days when I wasn't feeling the best. Probably mad that I wasn't eating. T finally got to feel some good kicks this week, and I just loved the look of wonder it brought to his face.

Food Cravings: Smoothies and soup.

Food Aversions: Anything with too intense of a flavor profile.

Queasy or sick: Yes, but likely just from being under the weather rather than pregnancy related.

Belly button in or out: Still pretty flat, but the top is starting to head out.

Rings on or off: On.

Looking forward to: We ordered a new couch for our main living space, and it's supposed to arrive this week! Very exciting.

Mama J's Sugar Cookies

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day weekend. While I know this is not everyone's most favorite holiday, I tend to enjoy something nice like LOVE to celebrate when winter has been dragging on with apparently no end in sight (yes, we got more snow last night...sigh).

Today, I thought I'd share with you the delicious little Valentine cookies I made to celebrate the day. This recipe comes straight from my mom's kitchen, so it is sure to delight :)

Step One: Gather the ingredients.

Step Two: Mix the wet and dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.

Step Three: Roll out cookie dough to desired thickness, and cut out cookies. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 6 minutes, or until slightly golden. Remove to a wire cooling rack.

Step Four: While cookies are cooling, mix up the frosting.

Step Five: Decorate to your heart's content. Enlist some helpers if you choose. I kept my decorations pretty basic (in an race to be able to devour these delightful cookies sooner) but you can get as fancy as you like with the decorating.

ON A SIDE NOTE: These cookies are excellent in any shape, so don't let my Valentine's version stop you from cutting some out for say the upcoming Easter holiday...Easter eggs and bunny cookies perhaps?

MAMA J'S SUGAR COOKIES | Yield: 3-4 Dozen | Total Time: About 3 hours give or take

INGREDIENTS:

COOKIES:
1 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 C flour
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda

FROSTING:
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Powdered sugar - you'll need almost an entire bag depending on how much frosting you like
Milk, tsp at a time
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

COOKIES:
Combine butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a paddle attachment to mix together. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Cover bowl, and chill dough in the fridge for at least 1.5hrs (I chilled my dough overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove cookie dough from fridge, and roll out on a well-floured surface to desired thickness. (My cookies were a little under 1/4" thick.) Cut out shapes using your favorite cookie cutter. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake for 6 minutes, or until slightly golden. Remove to a wire cooling rack.

FROSTING:
In a medium, microwave safe bowl, melt 1 Tbsp butter. Add a small amount of powdered sugar, and mix to combine. Add 1 tsp vanilla, and a little more powdered sugar until combined. Alternate adding 1 tsp milk at a time, with additional powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add a few drops of food coloring at the end.

Frost cooled cookies, and decorate with sprinkles if you choose.

Happy Valentine's Day!