Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

This weekend ended up being a bit of a bummer, as my husband came down with a gnarly cold.  Me and EB did some Easter Bunny shopping on Saturday and then spent most of Sunday over at my parents' house, sitting outside enjoying the Spring weather.  Thankfully K is starting to feel better!  

I made this Chicken Cordon Bleu pasta on Sunday night for dinner.  Saturday mornings I can usually catch some of the Pioneer Woman while EB naps, and that is where I initially saw the recipe. I'm sure we will have leftover Easter ham in a few weeks and I plan to make this again then.

I made some changes to the initial recipe, so I thought I would share it below.  

Ingredients

1 cup cubed ham

2 cups cubed chicken breast

3 cups cooked pasta

2  cups cooked peas

3 cups shredded swiss cheese

2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth

4 tablespoons butter

flour

breadcrumbs

cayenne pepper

The only real cooking involved is making your cheese sauce, which starts with making a roux with 3 tablespoons butter and flour.  From there you add the milk and chicken broth, bring to a light boil, and add in 2 cups of the swiss cheese and a dash or two of cayenne.  

Once the cheese sauce is prepared you simply combine it with the ham, chicken, pasta, and peas.

Put it in a greased 13x9 casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining swiss.

Melt the last tablespoon of butter and mix with enough breadcrumbs to sprinkle over the whole dish.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

 Enjoy!

Friday Highfive

I hope y'all had a good week, Here's a highfive for making it to FRIDAY!

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{1}

Nacho Night!

We did these for dinner on Wednesday and they were great.

After layering and baking the ingredients below, we topped with sour cream/avocado/salsa/squeeze of lime.

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 {2}

Baby Besties

Kristina sent me this picture of our daughters playing at the Little Gym.  

TOO CUTE.

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{3}

New glasses!

Awkward selfie aside, I am excited to get my new frames in.  I went with a simple, economical pair.  Trying on glasses is always tough because it seems the more you try on, the less you know what you want.  

 

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{4}

Yard Work

Spring is here and we are getting to work on our backyard.  It was the lowest priority last Summer when we moved in, but I've got a few projects lined up over the next couple of weekends.  Just recently I hung our lanterns on the patio, LOVE!

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{5} 

Soaking up the sun with my sweetheart.

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Have a great weekend!

xLaura

Our Weekend

Wow, what a great weekend in Charleston!
It was a brisk, busy one for us.  Here are some snaps.

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On Friday morning I was up and out the door to head down to the St. Patrick's Day Parade on King Street.  It was such a fun and festive morning with family.

Wearing my great grandfather's (Goat LeaMond's) green velvet fedora. 

We had a big group lunch at the Baystreet Biergarten...I love this spot.

My mom took EB for the afternoon and I stayed around and enjoyed a few rounds out on the patio.  Perfect afternoon.  

I wanted to share where I found EB's darling dress!  I think this could be super cute at Christmastime with a red bow.  It's from this Etsy shop.  Good quality and great price.  She is local to Charleston so I saved on shipping.

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Saturday was grocery shopping and then dinner out!  When my in laws suggested they could watch the babe while K and I grabbed dinner, we wholeheartedly agreed.  We went to the Basil in Mt. P.  They have Happy Hour 7 days a week. 

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On Sunday we had a fashion show to attend!  Kidding... My sister in law had a pop-up shop party at her house so EB and I got dressed up for the day.  This sweater has been a postpartum favorite:

Wearing another one of my outfits.  

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And that's a wrap.  It was a jam packed weekend, definitely taking it easy this week and getting back into our routine.  I hope y'all had a great one!

xLaura

Our Weekend

Some snaps from the weekend.

:)

Friday night we ended up at Mellow Mushroom.  It is one of our favorite baby friendly spots, along with Hometeam BBQ, in West Ashley. The calzones are my favorite and are enough for 2 meals.  I get sundried tomato, fresh basil, and pep.  They also have a good deal with their Craft beer of the month at $3 a pint.

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Saturday I did the grocery shopping...Majorly underestimated my list and ended up with a cart FULL and a cranky babe.  Terrible combo.  It was the first time I have actually said "yes" to someone helping me out to my car.  

Later, we had my parents over for dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday and we did a little evening fire while the porkloin was grilling. 

Dinner was so good!  I wanted to take a sec to revisit my Parmesan Plum tomatoes recipe with an update.

First, roasting the tomatoes in a muffin tin is genius.  This tip came from my brother.  The tomatoes cook better, they come out juicer.  Second, I have switched to topping with smoked gouda (instead of parm) which is another suggestion from bro, and it.is.so.good.  These are full-proof delicious and end up as a side/app whenever we have company.

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I was doing cartwheels once I felt the chill Sunday morning.  FINALLY, a winter day!

I wore a hat!  It was glorious.

EB got all cozied up as well... in the jacket that I wore my first winter.

We ended up at the SC Aquarium.  I had initially thought that, considering it would be too cold to spend any real time outside, the aquarium would be the perfect indoor activity.  Now, it had been a while since I visited and I completely forgot how a solid majority of the exhibits are open air.  So, we didn't really get to see everything but EB's mind was BLOWN by the Ocean tank.   

There was a fun Lego exhibit going on, look at my tiny scuba girl.

Okay, so speaking of exhibits, we decided to purchase an annual membership!  It makes so much financial sense...we opted for the Individual plus option: I am the cardholder and can bring a guest at no charge each visit, and of course EB gets in free until she turns two.  The membership will pay for itself with just one more visit of me and a guest, and I can't wait to check out the different exhibits and events listed on the calendar- all free for members!   One that I think sounds so fun:  Aquarium After Dark.

 

Sunday night was leftovers and adjusting to the time change.  EB did pretty good, but there were definitely some hiccups.

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I hope y'all had a good one!

xLaura

Friday Highfive

TGIF!

Do y'all have any fun plans for the weekend?

We are heading out to Hometeam tonight and then celebrating my dad's birthday with a massive porkloin on the grill tomorrow night.  Sunday will be some yardwork and hopefully a visit to EB's great grandfather. Looking forward to it all.

Here is a highfive for getting through the week!

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{1}

St. Patrick's Day 

St. Paddys was HUGE for my grandparents and in light of my grandmother's recent passing, the family has decided to pay tribute by going all out this year.  So far the plans are to watch the parade downtown and have a nice lunch afterwards.  EB's grammy will be taking her for the afternoon and this momma may just stay for a couple green beers OR go home and do laundry/dishes/vacuuming/SLEEP.  We will see.  I ordered a dress for EB that I am so excited to arrive!   

Sidenote: That is pollen covering our clover patch in the front yard.  POLLEN EVERYWHERE.

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{2}

Baby Brezza

I am loving my Brezza and would recommend it for all expectant mothers.

It could not be easier, and I feel so great knowing my girl is eating all natural, organic, made-by-moi snacks.

Chop the produce.  Set the timer.  Done.

So far we have done pears and sweet potato.  This weekend I will be trying carrots and avocado.

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{3}

At Home Manicures

I found these blush almond shaped nails at Walmart the other day.  Looking forward to wearing them!  I think press-on nails are so fun, and consider them to be an accessory like jewelry.  Now that I'm not working in a professional environment, I am having more fun with different colors and designs.  

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{4}

Costco wild caught salmon

We eat seafood at least once a week and I can't think of a fish I don't love...but salmon is definitely my all time fave.  K's cedar plank salmon is a top 5 meal for me, but these were pretty dang good for pulling straight from the freezer.  The box is $15 and you get 6 fillets, which is 3 dinners for us.

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{5}

 Home video

I have to share this quick 10 second video of my sweetheart laughing.  We have gotten lots of short chuckles but she was having a real giggle fit and I was able to catch the tail end of it on film.  So far the things she finds funniest are Alfie and Eskimo kisses.

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See y'all next week.
xLaura

Our Weekend

Hey y'all, hope you had a nice weekend and that your Tuesday is going well so far.  Today I'm sharing some snaps from the haps of our weekend.

On Friday evening we popped down the street into Craft Conundrum.  After ordering our beer we noticed a band setting up, so it ended up being a short lived escape.  Definitely something new to consider now that we are getting out and about with the babe.  

Stir Crazy:

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Saturday night K grilled filets from Costco.  Delish.  We were given these as a treat shortly after EB was born and they are some of the best steaks I've tasted.  They come in packs of 4 so we eat 2, freeze 2.

Costco also has a good deal on Whispering Angel, much cheaper than in grocery stores.  In St. Barth's all french rose costs much less than in the US, and we took full advantage.  It will always remind me of our trip.

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On Sunday we went to Zia for lunch...best salsa/tacos in town!  

Tummy time on Daddy after lunch:

 We ended the weekend with a Sunday family dinner.  My girl fell asleep in Mommy's arms.  

Heaven=

 

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Hope y'all are having a good week.

xLaura

Friday Highfive

Hello on this chilly Friday morning!

We have a laid back weekend ahead, no plans but Sunday family dinner.  Cheers to that!  

Here's a highfive for getting through the week!

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{1}

Happy Birthday to my bestie, Kroo!  

We celebrated earlier in the week with a fun lunch out with our girls.

<3

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{2}

Sneak Peek of the Guest Room.  Full post coming, hopefully, next week!

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{3}

I was browsing the NZ section of HT's wine aisle (Marlborough Sauv Blancs are my thang)and came across this one.  I didn't purchase but find it majorly intriguing...anyone tried?  The back label says that the grapes were harvested early therefore they have less sugar (and less cals).  It was a bit pricey ($20) but I will check for it next time I'm at Total Wine, they are always a good 30% cheaper.

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{4}

I purchased this dress with an upcoming baby shower in mind.  It is an Anthropologie item, first time I've seen that at TJMaxx!  

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{5}

Saving number five to say that today we have a 5 MONTH OLD!!!

EBN, you are our JOY!

5 month photoshoot went downhill quick! ;)

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I hope y'all have a great weekend!

xLaura