My PB + J

Pesto Stuffed Shells

Wow! It really has been a long time since I posted a recipe on here! I used to post 2-3 recipes a week and now it’s been almost a year! I have to admit that in the past four months I have only cooked a few meals since we have been out of our house. Miss Payton and I have been staying with my parents for over a week now as our house is in it’s finishing stages. I had a stack of recipes that I have been pinning on pinterest and have had a chance to cook a few while being up here but I wanted to whip up something on my own so I came up with these shells! Let me tell you they did not disappoint! Give them a try! This recipe has three layers, each of which is equally tasty! 
Pesto Stuffed Shells:
Bechamel Sauce:
  • 1 TB Butter
  • 2 tsp Flour 
  • 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
  • 2 tsp cream cheese 
  • salt to taste
  1. In a small sauce pan melt the butter, once melted stir in the flour. This will be lumpy, and that’s okay. Just keep stirring for a minute or two to get a golden brown color. 
  2. Pour in milk, once the milk has a soft boil add in the cream cheese and stir until melted. 
  3. Let sauce boil slightly until thickened. Turn off until ready to use. 
Marinara Sauce:
(This is not my usual recipe but you need a sauce that will not compete with the other flavors). 
  • 1/2 White Onion, diced
  • 1 TB Olive Oil 
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced. 
  • 1 can Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes
  • 1 can Tomato Paste
  • 1 tsp Italian Seasoning 
  • 1/4 tsp Salt 
  1. In a small saucepan saute onion in olive oil. Once the onion is translucent add in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add in tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
Shell Filling:
  • 1/2 container Pesto Sauce or 1/2 cup homemade
  • 1/3 cup Romano Cheese, shredded. 
  • 1 16 oz. Container Ricotta Cheese 
  • 2 Cups Spinach, finely shredded. 
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 1 Box Jumbo Shell Pasta, cooked according to package instructions. 
  1. In a bowl combine all ingredients and mix well until incorporated. 
  2. Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc bag and chill while the sauces cook. 
To Assemble:
  1. Spread bechamel sauce evenly over the bottom of a baking dish.
  2. For the shells: Cut a corner off of the Ziploc bag. Take a shell, folding back one side and squeeze filling into it until it is full. Lay shells evenly onto bechamel sauce.

3. Once all of the shells are filled spoon the marinara sauce over the middle of the shells. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the shells and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until sauce is bubbling.

Enjoy! I served this dish alongside a small feta and balsamic salad. 

{a cleft journey} Ultrasound

Yesterday afternoon my Mom and I drove from the San Bernardino mountains all the way down to San Diego to the hospital where we met with Dr. Paquiadio for an ultrasound. This ultrasound was a follow-up from when I had my amnio a few weeks back as she wanted to take a closer look at Brayden’s facial structure. During the visit the very first look she took of the face showed a small tear on the right side of the face. It was very visible even to me that the tear comes down from his right nostril to the lip. The doctor said that we have it a little better than many she has seen since as of right now the tear is measuring around 2 mm wide. She tried capturing a few additional images and when she got to the top view of the palate she could also see a tear in the hard palate that was also measuring around 2 mm wide. The tear in the palate is also on the right side so it further validates that this was mother natures mess up. Earlier today I received a phone call from Amy in genetics telling me she had even better news that my amnio results came back negative for any genetic diseases, etc. She also stated that they are still running a test on chromosome #22, which is routine for cleft babies to further rule out if the cleft is genetic or not. We should have this result in a few days. Once Amy receives that result she will be making an appointment with the cleft doctor who is down in Otay Mesa for us to meet and go over all of the preparatory details when he arrives. I have a few additional routine appointments this month along with the much anticipated glucose test in two weeks. In one month I meet with Dr. Paquiadio again for another ultrasound. We will meet a few more times before he comes just to keep checking on Brayden as he gains more fat. 
After yesterday’s appointment I feel a lot better and when I saw my baby I didn’t have any resentment towards him or myself. I know this all might change as we get closer to his arrival date but for now I am just going to take in being pregnant and all that it has to offer. I also have a better relationship with Dr. Paquiadio and Dr. Ching, they have been super understanding and reassuring so I pray that one of them is scheduled on November 1st, granted I make it to the 39th week. Because I really cannot picture delivering this little man with another doctor. 
The ultrasound pictures below are kind of confusing. For whatever reason the 4D images came out really fuzzy so I attempted darkening them a bit so you can see what in the heck I am talking about. You can probably click on them to enlarge to see in better detail. 
When she took this image I saw Payton, I actually giggled to myself because they really look a lot alike. 😀
This one was just for fun. The doctor thought it was really cute that he was giving us his pointer finger, the pose actually reminds me a lot of Jim’s signature dance move or even like he’s bobbing his head. . . 
There was another image I chose not to scan, but as Dr. Paquiadio was looking she stopped and the way the image froze he looked like a pterodactyl. I laughed at loud and said, wow! he looks like a pterodactyl and she said she was thinking the same thing. I only cracked up because ever since Payton was a newborn we have said her scream has sounded like a pterodactyl. ha! Oh, the stories I am already forming in my head. 
Until the next update my friends. . . 

a break from the heat = beach day!

Yesterday we hit the sand and surf for a day of cooler temps, despite the lobster red legs I now have. Thank you pregnancy! P has been to the beach a ton but we have never let her get down and dirty in the sand and water. She was so much fun, I couldn’t get her out of the water which made for a tired mama! If she would have had it her way she would have been thirty feet out doing her own thang! But instead we had a nice routine where she and I would go out and with each incoming wave we would both scream and laugh, even when one big wave almost took us both over. Then we would go back on the beach where she built sand castles or rather destroyed her cousins perfect tower, ate a few pop chips (and a few million pieces of sand) and then headed back out for some more screaming. As of now this child has zero fear and if she does get scared she puts one hand to her face and does an “oh my!” and then starts to shake. She’s hilarious. Overall, it was a great day with my baby and my sisters family. . . cannot wait for the next time!!

what’s that? 

don’t ya love her expression? I know we will be seeing a lot of that look. 

filling the bucket up over and over for about thirty minutes. 

yum! sand ma-ma!
the laughing didn’t end even when we got in the car. her cousin kept laughing at her talking about poop. kids, i tell ya!

life update & 22 Weeks

The time is flying by, like seriously?! It is crazy to me that I am over halfway done and that in less than 17 weeks I will be a mama to two babies. I believe that the time is flying by because we haven’t been in our house so I cannot obsess about little things like not starting on a nursery or the fact that we have barely anything for this second child. I look at purchasing items but then place things back because we are starting to look like we are hoarding in a hotel room. ha ha. Not really. For good news on this 22nd week our plumbing has been finished and the drywall is being repaired today, ceilings patched and the entire house is being re-textured and painted. We are waiting on a bid to have our back door and windows taken out to be replaced with a slider, which excites me very much. We are moving out of the hotel this Saturday, after we drop Daddy off at the airport for his week long business trip in New Orleans Miss P and I are headed off to Grandma and Papa’s for a two-week getaway. At the end of that stay we will hopefully (fingers, toes & legs crossed) be moving back in after four months away from our house. yippee! Then the real fun begins! We have a lot of work to do with the front and back of our house since our water has been turned off for almost two months. We are also planning a mega garage sale to hopefully make some money for new baby stuff.  One step at a time, right? Back to the baby, poor second child getting robbed already.
    I had my 22-week appointment this morning and everything is measuring and sounding perfectly. We got our preliminary amnio results last week and they came back 100% so this rules out any possibility of downs, trisomy 13 or 18 and spina bifida. We should have the full chromosome report by the 12th when I see a different doctor for a 4D ultrasound to look only at his face to see what we’re dealing with. Then from there it’s just normal doctor visits, I have one visit left with my midwife and then there all with Dr. Ching, who I love and will ultimately be the one who will deliver this baby boy of mine. We will know his birthday once the schedules come out in September, I am praying she is working on 11/1/11 because that is the date I want. Even though this past week I have been having a gut feeling he will be coming around 37 weeks so we will see…On another happy note I am no longer working. I was placed on disability last Monday by my employer who did not agree with Dr. Ching’s orders of five hour max work days so this mama is free and can finally enjoy this pregnancy and stop STRESSING out. It is really exciting knowing that I do not need to worry about working until the first of the year. Okay, I am done, I leave you with the silly weekly questionnaire:

  • How many Weeks: 22 weeks 2 days
  • Weight Gain: 10 pounds. 
  • How big is baby?: the size of a spaghetti squash, just over a pound! 
  • Maternity clothes?: yep and I am one comfy mama!
  • Stretch marks?: a few that have revisited from Payton.  
  • Sleep?: I wake up a lot but that is because I am being kicked in the head, stomach and back by a certain 18-month-old. 
  • Movement?: a ton! he is moving more than his sister and hurting more. he is one active bean!
  • Food cravings?: no. I have less of an appetite this time around, thank you little man! 
  • Labor signs?: pre-term contractions have placed me on disability. 
  • Belly button in or out?: just chillin’ like a crater. 
  • What I miss: a good cold margie on a hot summers day! 
  • What I’m looking forward to: my 4D to check his little face out. 
  • Milestone: over the halfway mark! woo-hoo!
  • Big Sister: loving on her baby doll. she is obsessed with babies and is so gentle with them. Cannot wait to see her with her brother.