Fabulous Dinner: Too Long To Make a Title

There is some irony in the fact that a pregnant woman can't drink wine when it's really the only thing that would make her aches and pains go away. I am a red-wine drinker, and giving it up the first time was not as big of a deal as it is now that I've got a child. I think about how a glass or two would make my entire day at least a few times a week. It's only fair I get to indulge with my food. And tonight, indulge I did. Lookie here.

Warm Leek and Cannellini Bean Salad

I used a bunch of random ideas and recipes to come up with this fantastic meal. Nothing that I made was complicated at all, but because I decided to make so much food at once, it ended up being a bit more time-consuming than I had hoped, even though the preparation was minimal.

In addition to the leek and cannelli bean salad (I followed the recipe almost exactly, and my husband moaned upon tasting it), I made roasted beets, oven roasted goat-cheese salmon, and caramelized brussel sprouts. The prep for most of the dishes was really simple. I did it in about 10 minutes while my son sat on the counter and snacked on goat cheese, baba ganoush, and lettuce. I really have no room to complain about his picky eating because his taste is really kind of amazing for being only 20-months-old.

To roast the beets, I simply washed them, and placed them on a piece of foil on a baking sheet. I drizzled grape-seed oil on them, and covered them with another piece of foil to create a bag. For the salmon, I put it on foil as well, and put fresh rosemary, butter, salt, pepper and crumbled goat cheese on top. I covered it with another piece of foil and closed it to make a the bag, and stuck it in the fridge to put in the oven for when I came back from teaching Body Attack. Done and done.

I roasted the beets at 350 for 60 minutes and stuck the salmon in there at the 30-minute-mark so they would be done together. I had a tough time getting the salmon to cook through, so afterwards I stuck it back in the oven without the foil top for five more minutes. After the beets were done roasting, I peeled off the skin with the back of a knife, then cut them up into 1-inch cubes. I topped the beets and salmon with more goat cheese while they were warm.

The caramelized brussel sprouts were the most indulgent thing I could have eaten tonight. The recipe I used is actually one for some sort of brussel-sprout-mac-and-cheese dish that is so over the top, and I will likely be making it as I approach my third trimester. I'll post the recipe below.

Today was a better day in the land of motherhood as my son napped for an entire 80 minutes. Whahoo! I didn't feel great though, and spent most of the day dragging myself around as though I had mono, which is basically how I've felt since June. I'm a naturally very energetic person and during both pregnancies it feels like I'm constantly dragging my feet to do almost everything. It really frustrated me when I was pregnant with number one, but I learned that your body does go back to normal after pregnancy and I'm not destined to be exhausted forever. I'm trying to stay positive and not everyday is awful. I had a great workout last night taking Step even though I felt pretty tired the whole time and I was able to push myself to work despite being tired. Today I taught Body Attack, and I wasn't able to break through that wall, and that's OK. I'm going to have good days and bad days. I really hope that Saturday is a good day since I'm running a 7-mile leg for the Baltimore Running Festival Marathon Relay. I wasn't able to run more than four miles by this point the first time. Hopefully the minimal training I've done will not only allow to me to do well, but to feel great! I've already resolved I will probably stop to pee two or more times. Let's be honest though; I'm going to be 23-weeks pregnant and by no means am I winning this race!

At least I won at making dinner! :)

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts (WARNING: These are probably not healthy)

Slightly Adapted from Grilled Cheese Social

Ingredients

4-5 cups of brussel sprouts

1-2 cups of chopped onion

2 tablespoons of salted butter, divided

Butter Seasoning (I used Kernel Season's)

2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar

Steam the brussel sprouts until they are just tender but still crunchy. Set aside to cool.  In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the butter up on medium heat and add the onion. Saute it until it's translucent and soft. Back to the sprouts: Cut off the bottoms and halve the sprouts, saving any leaves that fall off. Add the other tablespoon of butter to the skillet and turn the heat up to medium high. Once the butter melts, add the brussel sprouts. When the brussel sprouts begin to brown, add the butter seasoning and sugar. Continue to saute until the outer portion of the sprouts are almost completely browned. Don't be mistaken and think they are burned. That's carmel that's formed.

Good luck with portion control on this one. I may not have had my wine tonight, but my baby is definitely drunk off of this meal, as he has been hiccuping inside of me for the past hour!