Well, it's been about 100 years since I blogged.  Or at least it feels like it.  In the last post I made, Emma's hair was super short and she was still drinking out of a bottle.  That was definitely 100 years ago!

I have had a lot of people ask for my recipes, so I thought I would post them on here. 
Sometimes I make things off of Pinterest, sometimes I use it as an inspiration to create my own, and sometimes it's just on a whim....whatever my craving for the day happens to be. 

I will give a bit of a disclaimer to those of you who are looking for my uber-healthy meals.....this pregnant girl is taking full advantage of the last time in her life where she can eat anything she wants.  So, I have been using *gasp* cheese and butter and dressings, oh my!  Everything is still pretty "healthy" but not nearly as clean as I ate before.  You won't see the 6 pack from these meals, but I will tell you what I would have done before...if you want to make it more clean.  I'm sure I will go back to the other lifestyle....so stay tuned in 20+ weeks....but for now, it's healthy-ish, but prego-yummy!


Grilled Shrimp Salad - this is my own creation

Can you get more summer than this?  It screams "Eat me on the deck with a chilled glass of wine (or water, if you're pg....which was so blah!)"  And it takes about 15 minutes from start to finish to make it!

Ingredients - serves 2 (cause my kids don't really do salads yet)
-raw baby spinach - 6 cups (or about the size of a small bag)
-frozen corn (thawed), or fresh if you have it - 1/2 cup
-red pepper, chopped (whole pepper)
-green pepper, chopped (whole pepper)
-cucumber, chopped (whole cucumber)
-grape tomatoes, cut in half (half of the pint)
-avocado, chopped (whole avocado)
-raw shrimp, 1 lb (any size you want, I recommend paying extra for shelled and de-veined)
-olive oil
-Old Bay
-dressing of choice, I used a store-bought light Champagne vinaigrette

Plate the spinach (3 cups per plate), top with half of the corn, red pepper, green pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, and avocado.  Heat a grill pan over medium heat.  Lightly spray the cold pan with olive oil or rub it on with a paper towel. Key here is only use enough to keep the shrimp from sticking.  De-tail your shrimp if need be and press them between a paper towel to remove any excess moisture....you want to grill the shrimp, not steam them.  Lay the shrimp onto the hot grill pan carefully.  Sprinkle Old Bay onto the shrimp.  When the part of the shrimp that touches the grill turns pink, flip them all individually.  Sprinkle the other side with Old Bay.  Cook until the shrimp are totally pink.  It's going to depend on your stove and pan, but it's about 3-4 minutes per side.  WATCH IT!  Do not over cook the shrimp!  You want them to be light and juicy....not tough and dry!  Put half the shrimp on each plate.  Top with 1-2 TBSP of dressing.

Here's a little tip....most people need a little fat with their salad to make it the complete "dish" they are looking for.  That fat can come from lots of places....bacon, cheese, dressing....but if you are trying to eat clean or lose weight, those are off limits.  Using the avocado will add the "creamy" and the "fat" taste that you crave to make the salad an appetizing meal, even if you skip the dressing.

Pre-preggo girl would have nixed the corn and the dressing and only used half the avocado and shrimp....but added about 1 cup more of spinach.

If you make the salad the way I did, it's about 575 calories/serving.  The serving is super filling though.  I couldn't finish mine and Matt was not hungry at all after he finished.  Pre-preggo girl calorie count - about 330 calories/serving.

Enjoy!