Chicken and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya

Life as a parent is joyful and crazy exhausting. I have never seen the clock flash the obscene numbers it has in the past few weeks. Being this had been the case for many weeks (Max, in the past week, has been sleeping between 9-11 hours straight) and my sleep was very limited I decided to seek different recipes on the web and magazines. I had a few requirements for my recipes, you know the usual: easy to make, not too time consuming, flavorful, filling (Anthony can eat for 4) and semi-healthy. It was challenging, but I managed to get my hands on a few (really great) recipes. This recipe, by far, is Anthony's favorite and I cannot blame him. I made some changes from the original recipe to make it healthier and easier. 

1 Rotisserie chicken (pick one up on the way home)
1lb andouille chicken sausage, about 7 links (much healthier than regular smoked sausage)
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 (10 oz) cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles (do not drain)
1 cup of water
1 (14-1/2 oz) can of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning
2 cups of uncooked rice (I have also made it with quinoa)

1. Since I decided to use the rotisserie chicken I had to pull the chicken off the bone and shred it into bite size pieces. Set aside.

2. Cut the sausage into 1/4 inch slices. Cook for 5 minutes in a dutch oven on medium heat. Add the chopped green peppers and onions. Cook until the peppers and onions are tender.

3. Stir in the next five ingredients; bring to boil, stir occasionally. Once boiling, add the rice and chicken. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

 I love this recipe. You can add a little bit of cilantro to add flavor or as simple garnish.

Enjoy,

Kay C.

Savannah's Six Pence Pub

It is late at night and I cannot seem to close my eyes! Instead I was laying in bed thinking of this getting away with Anthony and Max to a cute little city like Savannah. The last, and only, time I went to Savannah, I fell in love with it's sweet southern charm, but can you blame me? A must see and a must dine in Savannah is this cute little Irish Pub located in the heart of the city: Six Pence Pub. You may recognize the name, as it was the setting of the movie "Something to Talk About" with Julia Robert and Dennis Quaid. If I remember correctly this is where Julia finds Dennis cheating on her with another woman: I never said it was romantic. Kind of sad, but trust me the food was not! I am craving a delicious sandwich and a hard cider..oh and the potato salad is worthy of its million calories! Great, now I am hungry. Off to find a snack!

Refreshing :)

My handsome hubs.

Yes, that's me!

The best sandwich ever! Reuben, of course.

Now this is a good potato salad.

Holy delicious chocolate-peanut-butter cupcake (all those words together caused a party in my mouth.) From Goose Feathers Cafe and Bakery!

Life as parents :)

I must admit, I feel bad about not updating on Max for a month and a 1/2, but truth is we have been enjoying family time. Anthony and I have been on cloud nine, but can you blame us? Look at his sweet face. Every feature is perfect. His round almond shaped eyes which glisten with a hint of green when the sunshine finds them. And those eye lashes, lashes grown women pay top dollar so they can bat their eyes to handsome men. His lips are little mounds, which makes for the sweetest pouty face...don't trip on your lip honey :). His nose is as cute as a button, but my favorite, which I will miss the most, is his sweet toothless smile.

In the past month and a half, Max has learned SO much. When you say "yay Max" he claps away (this boy thrives from words of affirmation.) He shakes his head every time we say no; it is cute, but a bit frustrating when I say "no" to something and he thinks it is funny and shakes his head. We have to get creative when we are trying to say no. For example, instead of saying no we have to say stop, don't, enough and any other way to convey a "no." I think it is a good thing, it leads me to think creatively and stay away from the negative "no." Max has just recently (3 days ago) started rolling over from belly to back and is now trying to roll from back to belly, but usually gets stuck laying on his side. We are teaching him to wave and play peek-a-boo. I just love this sweet picture below.

Parenthood is great. In the past week, we have been able to sleep through the night. He goes to sleep at 8:30 p.m. and wakes up at 7:30 a.m. we are praying it continues. But he has been teething, a girl can dream, but fear this sleeping through the night will soon cease and we will be waking up often through the night. This past Friday was our very first time going on a date since May (thank you Bloom's). And on Saturday Max went to his first birthday party (happy birthday sweet Maddie) and at night we went to The Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant here in Orlando. It was a great time with great friends. Max tried injera and he loved it even the spice, but then he rubbed his mouth and got some of the spice in his eyes and he was not a happy camper. 

Max first birthday party :) 

First time sitting in a high chair. His face is priceless.

Beef fir fir and Chicken Doro wat.

Shital, Anthony and Jude getting ready to eat delicious Ethiopian food.

Auntie Kimberly with Max.

The sweet birthday girl, Grace, loving on Max.

First time meeting Ms. Amanda.

I will do my best to keep everyone in the loop more often than every month and a half. We love you all and thanks for reading! :)

Avocado Pesto, Mozzarella and Tomato on French Bread!

I love this sandwich! It is easy (especially if you use store bought pesto). This sandwich is the perfect honey-I-don't-want-to-cook-so-lets-throw-this-together.

Yum!

All you need is:

1 Tomato (roma or steak tomatoes)

1 Publix French Bread

1 fresh mozzarella ball (cut into 1/4 inch slices)

1 bottle of pesto (I make my own and a smother the sandwich) 

*Recipe for my pesto sauce 

(1 ripe avocado, 1/2 cup fresh basil- tightly packed, 1 & 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon), 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste)

Enjoy!