Week of April 26, 2015

Well, Mr. Rutledge has been after me for quite some time to get back to writing. This blog is a lot of fun and a good stress relief for me. However, life has been pretty hectic. The Rutledges have been really busy lately… since I last blogged we have had my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary (heck of a party with lots of great food!), my college drop-out sister moved in with us (you love me, Sister) on top of generally keeping busy growing a human. 

To be honest, that’s really all I think about--growing this child. After 4 sonograms they’ve finally determined it is a boy, but I really have my doubts. It’s “their” fault I have doubts at all. I always thought couples went to the doctor and were told “It’s a BOY!” or “Yay, it’s a GIRL!” That doesn’t happen. Not here at least. We get told, “It’s a boy…wait, No! I can’t tell for sure.” Or, “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a girl, but don’t buy anything just yet.” So on our fourth go-round when the lady said, “Yep, it’s a boy” I have to admit I still have my doubts. It really doesn’t matter. All I want is a little precious one to grow and love… in 4 more months! 

So I guess we are officially preparing for Baby Boy Rutledge. I’m thinking we will just call him “B” till Kindergarten and let him pick his own name because The Lord knows we can’t agree on one! Mr. Rutledge and I are great life partners. We really do life pretty well together (and by “life” I mean less than two years, but hey- we are happy and it’s working!). The exception is naming a child. That’s a big responsibility. Rutledge is a great name, but it lends itself to a certain nickname which neither of us is fond of. 

This whole being made fun of for your name thing is rather foreign to me (Cami Trout. And I never once was made fun of for my name!) Why? Because my coolness was just too much for anyone to brave poking fun at me. I mean I wasn’t super scrawny with the nick-name “cue sticks.” I didn’t have a lazy eye. Or a patch. Or bifocals. I didn’t get cut from the 3rd string volleyball team in 7th grade. I didn’t lose 13 golf balls in my first 18 holes as a high school “athlete.” I certainly didn’t have legs 16 inches longer than my waist measured (which meant my pants always fit just right). I have fantastic posture and, I have two very supportive brothers who would never mock their adorable sister. So really, people just didn’t make fun of me. I was sort of in that untouchables category where all of you wish you’d lived in junior high. Sorry. Population: 1. 

Let’s be real. If my kid’s biggest issues is being called “Dick Butledge” he is totally winning junior high. He is at least being ridiculed for something he can 100% blame on his parents and legally change at 18. 

Ok. Ok. Enough of how I’m going to mess up my kid. This kid has made me want to eat an ungodly amount of seafood (mostly tuna salad which I’ve always found super disgusting) and pickled foods. However, Mr. Rutledge doesn’t think a giant jar of pickles, pepperocinis, 15 packets of tuna in water, cucumbers, onions, mayo, crackers and ice cream is a suitable grocery list. So I’ll share a few things we have been eating:

Gorgonzola Salad- I’m back to the world of vegetables. It’s too late for my waistline, but maybe not yours! This salad was pretty delicious. I made the dressing as written in the recipe. However, you can easily save time and calories and just give your salad a nice balsamic drizzle just before eating. You can definitely leave out the bacon (my husband would NEVER) or use grilled chicken. 

Crawfish Etienne – Mr. Rutledge finally put those beer burners and steel pots to use (He may have been brewing beer all along in them, but what do I care about that?). We had a little crawfish boil a few weeks ago and he did a fantastic job. One of us screwed up and ordered about 15 extra pounds of crawfish and the other one of us had to cook them. Then we all worked as a big happy family and peeled the crawfish abundance and saved them for this recipe. And man, o live it was yummy! This meal is NOT light, but it is a fun splurge meal. If you don’t have a ridiculous amount of crawfish, use shrimp or even chicken. 

This recipe is from Lone Star Eats cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 lb crawfish tails

1/4c unsalted butter

1 small bunch green onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2c minced parsley

1/2c unsalted butter

3T flour

2c half and half

3T sherry

Salt, cayenne, black pepper, Tabasco to taste

16 ounces fettuccine, cooked al dente and drained

Directions: Saute the unrinsed crawfish tails in 1/4 cup butter in a skillet until cooked through. In another skillet, sauté the green onions, garlic, and parsley in 1/4 cup butter until tender. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the half and half gradually, stirring constantly. Stir in the sherry and crawfish tails. Season to taste with salt, cayenne, black pepper and Tabasco. Cook just until thickened. Serve immediately.

Honey Lime Chicken with Roasted Green Beans and Cilantro Rice – This chicken recipe is new for us and we love it. As for the green beans, my good friend Terrie Jo swears by these. And if there is one thing I know about Terrie- she always knows what she’s talking about. Ask her husband Mike. ;) We followed this recipe for the chicken and it paired awesomely with Terrie's green beans.

To make green beans, trim the ends of your fresh green beans. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast at 450 for about 10-15 minutes. Once the green beans are roasted, transfer them to a serving bowl and too with a little crushed red pepper, cilantro, green onions and fresh lemon juice. Toss, serve and fall in love! 

Salted Caramel Ice Cream- I’ve always had a passion for ice cream. It might have flourished last Fall when the Schwann’sman first came by our house. Mr. Rutledge claims I slightly over-purchased on their frozen novelties. There may even be a few tasteless pomegranate-blueberry bars still buried in our garage freezer. BUT that does not mean I’m not devastated by the Blue Bell recall. I will be making weekly ice cream until Mr. Rutledge lifts the Braums/Schwann ban of 2015. Last week we made Key Lime Pie ice cream. I ate it, but didn’t love it. So we will try this recipe this week! 

Week of March 8, 2015

Well hello! This week we did in fact get sleet/snow again and Mr. Rutledge was not coerced into grilling the chicken. That salad will just have to wait. We are headed to Ruidoso, New Mexico for spring break, so it’ll be nice to have everything we need for a quick supper when we get back from skiing (sleeping, hiking, reading). Baby Rutledge and I will obviously not be skiing, but my little sister is going to make sure Mr. Rutledge does not check out how beneficial his medical insurance is.

I’m thinking we will want some warm, cozy cabin foods this week. I know it’ll be 60 degrees or so, but that mountain air always makes things seem cooler. I don’t know if we will really follow this menu since I’ll be outnumbered with votes between husband and sister!

My lunch buddies (Ahem, Kathy!) think it is fun to discuss my growing waistline while I’m trying to eat. So, I’ll push for some lighter meals when we aren’t on the road.

 

Slow cooker butternut squash and roasted chickpeas – Mr. Rutledge loves a butternut squash soup we have shared before, but I’m not in love with it. So we are trying a new one this week! Doesn’t it sound delicious? Plus, this recipe goes in the crock-pot and we all know I have a special place in my heart for it! It’s vegetarian, SHHHH! Don’t tell Mr. Rutledge!

Polenta with green chili and corn – I have to be honest, I’ve never cooked with polenta before. However, when I think of New Mexico, I always think green chilies. And like a stilly country song, when I think of green chilies I think about corn. So here’s this recipe. I’m praying I can talk my family into trying this with me! This is a side so I’d consider grilling some pork chops or chicken while this bakes.

Spicy shrimp sandwich with chipotle avocado mayo – Carbs are still my favorite food group. Sorry. Just can’t help it. This baby already wants to eat like his/her daddy! This sandwich will not be light (thanks to the carbs and mayo), but shrimp is super low calorie so that makes up for it. Plus, I don’t have to eat lunch this week with the ladies who have decided my waistline is their favorite topic.

Spicy cornmeal chicken with peach barbecue – Again, my attempt to stay away from Chick-fil-a. This sounds so delicious to me. It might be a great food to have in my memory bank come this summer. The recipe also says it doesn’t have to be spicy, so Brooks family you can STILL try it!

Breakfast quinoa with blueberry and almonds- Mr. Rutledge and I had a long talk about whether this would be a good breakfast option. I think it’ll be delicious. My mom used to make rice with milk, sugar and butter for breakfast and I loved it. I think this will be a healthier more filling option. Mr. Rutledge says quinoa is made to be savory. He is wrong a lot. Promise. Give this a try!

 

Week of March 1, 2015

Well, Mr. Rutledge and I ended up snowed in for a few days around our house. Luckily, the Mister had already been to the grocery store and stocked our fridge. Let’s be clear about what it means to be “snowed in” in my neck of the woods. There was a half inch of ice and the world dang near came to an end. Through our brilliance and resilience, we survived like champs. We cleaned out old files which led me to take a walk down memory lane and discard Mr. Rutledge’s W-2. That form isn’t necessary for anything is it?

On another note, grilling out those flank steaks worked wonderfully. My darling husband was thrilled to be grilling in the freezing rain. I was not quick enough to snap a picture. Though perhaps photographing the event would have been detrimental to my dinner. I don’t think we will be grilling again until he is certain the temperatures will remain above 65 degrees!

*Please note “grilled” salmon recipe below. Oops! We can always bake the salmon if it does in fact remain too cold for Mr. Rutledge to be coaxed into grilling.

We had a small victory at our house this week: we skipped mac’n’cheese! Also, every vegetable I purchased was consumed (I helped with 0% of zucchini consumption as it is still banned from my mouth). However, I may or may not have had to ask the local Brookshire’s stocker where in heck they keep the corn dogs. One step forward and one step backward, I guess. Should I be proud of the fact I didn’t know the location of the corn dogs beforehand, or should I be depressed that my desire to eat a stinkin’ corn dog outweighed the embarrassment of asking? My best friend says I need to see a dietitian. She was kindly reminded that I frown on unsolicited recommendations.  Just kidding. Except she did tell me I should see a dietitian. Those of you who are dietitians and health nuts and are judging me, take note that I chose 100% beef with no by-products. No, that doesn’t make it a healthy choice.

   Seth's gumbo 

   Brussels sprouts/bacon pasta

Buffalo chicken baked taquitos/lettuce wraps – Buffalo/wing sauce is one of my favorite flavors ever. I really would like to go to chick-fil-a and get one of those platters of chicken nugget goodness and a tub of buffalo sauce. Instead, I’ll try this. Mr. Rutledge generally doesn’t like much in the crockpot, so I can’t make any promises this will go well. Also, I don’t like bleu cheese, so this house will be having some ranch. Try mixing that ranch packet in plain low fat Greek yogurt instead of mayo/buttermilk. Shred some carrots and celery and put them in a lettuce wrap!

Grilled salmon with avocado salsa (Pinterest)- Mr. Rutledge’s Aunt Daria made a grilled salmon at Christmas and it was fantastic. I think we will try our hand at a grilled salmon this week. This recipe looks easy and super-fast. Plus, Mr. Rutledge loves guacamole! Round out this meal with some steamed vegetables.

Cranberry avocado salad with chicken and orange poppy seed dressing – I love a good salad and fresh vegetables are my best chance right now at actually consuming a vegetable. I’ve never tried this recipe, but it sounds delicious. Also, I’m trying to be better about not going through a drive-through window when I’m out seeing patients. These leftovers will double as a great on-the-go lunch for me!

Salt Lick Peach Cobbler – several weeks ago my mom brought us some frozen peaches she’d put away. I offered to make some peach cobbler for Mr. Rutledge then promptly realized I didn’t know my Nanny Harvey’s peach cobbler recipes. Memaw didn’t answer her phone. For a woman who talks to more people than anyone I know, she sure is hard to get to answer the phone when you want her to! (Mr. Rutledge says that this is true of all Trouts, but he’s wrong a lot.) Anyway… I tried this recipe. It’s super easy and delicious. It doesn’t hold up that well in the fridge, so I suggest even if there are just two of you to eat the whole thing in one sitting while it’s still warm.  

Party of three.

Well, the day we published our last blog Mr. Rutledge and I found out there was a baby Rutledge on the way! In August, we will be pulling up another chair to our beloved dining room table- yes, I realize our little one probably won’t sit at a table until it is 3 to 15 years old. We are so incredibly excited, scared, nervous, proud, overjoyed, ecstatic and afraid to become parents. We have had so many emotions about this little baby coming our way that one of us has sworn off vegetables in an effort to calm our (my) emotions (nausea).

Mr. Rutledge has been harassing me to get back to blogging, but I’ve really only wanted to talk about the baby, the nursery, cheese and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. However, we are successfully through the first trimester and it’s time to start writing and eating more than chips and queso. I cannot and will not pretend that a cheese and simple carb meal will not make its way to our table because it will and it might be the only night I eat.

Another thing I’d like to be incredibly honest about: I’m going to be playing with the format of this blog. Mr. Rutledge feels consistency in writing is most important so we’ve agreed to continue with a goal of weekly posts. However, I think I’ll be playing around with the number of recipes and the overall focus. So what am I really saying? This blog will pretty accurately reflect the realities of our situation: one, I want to eat healthy, two due to forces entirely out of my control the things I can stand to eat are becoming fewer in number and much more random! (I blame Mr. Rutledge for our baby being such a finicky eater!), nausea is a terrible thing for a food/nutrition blogger to have (imagine riding the Texas Giant backwards during a hurricane). So bear with me. We will be sharing some yummy goodness I really, really, REALLY want to eat and also some healthy foods I’m going to try my best to eat in the week. Sound fair enough? Good. Glad we agree.

White Cheddar & Chive Potato Soup  – If Mr. Rutledge gets his way, we will be having Chicken and Dumplings one more time before we start warming up for Spring. However, I’ve already shared that recipe with you guys so I think if you want a bowl to warm up with this week, you should give this recipe a try.

Pasta with Bacon, Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Lemon Zest – We have had macaroni and cheese with bacon every week since I found out we were expecting. Don’t judge me! Mr. Rutledge claimed that our dependence on Velveeta Shells and Cheese reminds him of college. I told him I’m just glad that he can remember any of that decade! This week, I’m going to try hard to eat a healthier version. This is another Cooking Light recipe (Thank you, Memaw, for renewing our subscription)!
***UPDATE: We tried this and really liked it, but it did finish a little dry. Consider adding a little vegetable broth and/or white wine and deglazing the pan. Also, we topped our's with a smidge of parmesan cheese!***

Gumbo – one of Mr. Rutledge’s co-workers gave him a boxed Gumbo she swears by. Since she is from Louisiana, we will give it a try, but I don’t know how to tell you to make it. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. We will probably add either shrimp or some lean venison sausage we already have on hand.

Grilled Flank Steak and Fiesta Salad – The only non-starchy vegetables I plan to attempt to eat this week are in this salad. I’ve shared it before, but it really cannot be beat! Mr. Rutledge is anxious to get out to the backyard and do some grilling, so this is our compromise. For the flank steak, we will use a quick McCormick’s marinade (I think they have a lime mojito one). You can always throw this grilled steak on some corn tortillas and top with a little queso fresco, as well.

Ingredients:
1 each: orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2-3 jalapenos, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 package of frozen corn
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Directions: Mix all but three ingredients in a large bowl. Combine last three ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once sugar is dissolved, cool and pour over vegetables. Stir well. Then, marinate in the fridge until ready to be served.

Monster Cookies – several weeks ago, my Memaw, sister, best friend, her little boy and I went to visit my great-great-Aunt Nell. Being the smart alec that I am, I assured Aunt Nell I wasn’t coming to visit unless she had something sweet for this preggo to snack on. She just laughed and told Carli (my little sister) to bake me these cookies. She swears they are the best cookies she has ever made. She is right. They’re fantastic. Really the only whole grain (please note the oatmeal) I want to eat! Ha! This recipe makes 6 dozen. If you need our mailing address for your surplus, just let me know!

Carli & Anson making cookies!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon corn syrup

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

4 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups plain M&Ms

Directions: Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing between each addition, and the vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda and peanut butter. Mix well until smooth. Add the oats and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Then add the M&Ms and mix well. Drop the dough by the tablespoon (I like them a little bigger so please remember this for my dozen ;) ) 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet about 3 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.