Yum.

Have you ever eaten at Abuelo's?  Not your grandparents' house, but the restaurant.  It's delicious.  That's an understatement, even. 

A few years ago, I received one of those squishy stress balls shaped like an apple for Teacher Appreciation day.  Stamped on that stress ball was the Abuelo's logo and the statement "Free Queso for Life".  And it wasn't a joke.  The queso ball is currently with my in-laws for safe keeping, since they live near an Abuelo's location.  I made it clear to them, however, that it was not a gift; they are baby sitting my free queso for life. 

There is one Abuelo's restaurant in the entire state of Arkansas, 3 and a half hours away on the Missouri border, and I've been suffering withdrawals... but guess what I just found out?  Some of their signature recipes are posted on their Facebook!!  Yum.

As a side item at Abuelo's, you can order traditional Mexican rice, or a less common, but quite authentic, potato casserole.  Papas con chile.  Ahhhh-mazing. 

Here's the link to the recipe: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abuelos/236632570621?sk=app_113833005389890#!/note.php?note_id=293585714944

There's also a new recipe for a Mexican Bread Pudding that cannot, by the laws of physics, be anything but wonderful. 


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abuelos/236632570621?sk=app_113833005389890#!/note.php?note_id=414859274944

Abuelo's also has a bacon-wrapped shrimp dish -- Shrimp Alambre.  The Mexican influence comes from a sliver of jalapeno pepper and Cheddar-Jack cheese stuffed into the butterflied shrimp.  They are absolutely divine. 

The recipe and preparation are here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abuelos/236632570621?sk=app_113833005389890#!/note.php?note_id=360281609944

For a while, this should get me through.  But the next time I'm back in Texas, I'll be eating at Abuelo's -- and not just my Nana's house!  Do yourself a favor, and make these recipes as soon as possible.  You won't be disappointed! 

Holiday Season

Jimmy just referred to himself as a stud.  Let me tell you, he's wearing a yellow t-shirt, blue gym shorts, and dark brown, gold-toe dress socks.  I love him.

He is a stud, though.  He puts up with my craziness and rarely gives me grief for it.  Like when I said: "Let's have your whole family over for Thanksgiving", he didn't say "don't you realize you'll be 5 and a half months pregnant?"  No, he realized that my mind was made up, so he only offered to fry the turkey. 

An what a wonderful turkey it turned out to be!  We loved having our family -- both current and future -- and friends share the holiday with us.  We hosted my mother and father in-law, Hope and Jim, my brother-in-law and his fiance, Joey and Cody, Cody's parents, Faye and Jeff, and our friends, Kim and Doug.  It was a full table, and I wouldn't have it any other way on Thanksgiving.  If I'm the one you ask, then the food was incredible, and the company was even better.

This is only a part of the food -- and the rest was equally delicious.  The next day, I had absolutely NOTHING to do with Black Friday shopping.  Well, almost nothing.  After lunch, Jim and Hope took us to buy a recliner for the nursery!  Aren't they great?  I can not wait for it to arrive.  On Saturday, with our company on their way back home, Jimmy and I had a couch day.  We only left the sofa to eat, I think.  I must admit, I was exhausted after days of cleaning, prepping, cooking, and entertaining.  But it was all worth it.

And now, we've moved on.  It's Christmastime!  There are wrapped presents under the newly-trimmed tree, and the stockings are hung.  It still look a bit like elves threw up all over the place, but that's the mark of a happy holiday house. 

I do so love this time of year.  Today it's rainy and cold, and I can only imagine what that will do to the roads and the morale of the locals, but I can't wait for it to feel like winter.  For one, I'm carrying around 4 pounds of extra blood, and I get hot easily because of that.  Now that I'm smack-in-the-middle of 26 and 27 weeks, I'm quite ready for a change in the weather!

The exciting baby news this week is that Tiny Dancer's routine movements are so strong that they're easily visible through placenta, skin, and clothing.  Jimmy became a first-hand witness to this phenomena, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.  Tiny Dancer can hear that, so she started dancing around even more, and the cycle would continue that way for a few minutes. 

So what lies ahead?  Christmas!  Shopping, baking, caroling (not at your doorstep, don't worry -- just to my self and my unborn fetus), cider drinking, cookie eating, and merry being.  Not necessarily in that order.  Are you in for any of the same? 

Why it works

This week, Jimmy and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary.  That's a long time, you know?  It means that we started dating five and a half years ago.  Five and three-quarters years ago, really, but who's keeping track?  It also means that we have put up with each other's shenanigans longer than anyone else probably would have, and that's enough reason to stick it out for another four years.  Or, heck, another 40 years.  ;)

I tried to think of concrete reasons that this thing, this marriage we have, works as well as it does, but it's a tough list to compile.  Anyone who's been there knows it's as much about what you can define as what you can't.  But, here's a sampling of reasons (from just this past week) about why it works:

It works because:  He builds me things, like the pergola, complete with furniture now.  I mean, I love this!  I'm so glad there's a fall season here and we'll be able to enjoy it a few weeks longer. 

It works because:  He buys me flowers, even when I tell him not to, because he knows I really still want them. 

It works because:  I like to cook, and we like to eat.  He is always more than willing to help in the kitchen, because the end result is yummy food in his belly.  (Usually it's yummy.  Sometimes I strike out.)  Tonight's dinner was a perfect example -- chicken tacos.  And yes, they're fried. 

It works because:  Our families love and support us.  And they get our goofiness.  We got lots of phone calls and cards for our anniversary, and it means the world that we were remembered.  These two cards came from my Nana (left) and my Uncle Jack and Aunt Evelyn (right).  Notice anything similar?  No, this wasn't planned.  They just have the same level of goofiness to send us cards that have dogs (because we are serious dog lovers) and bulldogs at that (because their smooshed faces are so adorable).  How random is it that, when choosing cards to mail, Jack and Evelyn and Nana chose such similar cards?  They totally get us. 

 

It works because:  He still thinks I'm cute as a button, even when I feel like an old cardboard box that's been overstuffed.  And I'm tired and I eat seven times a day.  Exhibit A:

(If you watch closely, the picture will grow along with me.  Or maybe that's just in my head?)

But mostly, it works because we... well, I don't know.  That must be one of those indefinable things. 

Homesick Texan

So happy that this has happened:

Lisa Fain, the Homesick Texan, has released a cookbook as of today!  I can commiserate with her plight -- she's a Texas girl, displaced to the Northeast, who cooks to remember her home.  I have personally tried and tested many of her recipes from her blog, and have never been disappointed.  (On a pregnancy note, I think I need to wait until the fetus arrives before I try her Carne Guisada again.  It was delightfully delicious and you should cook it as soon as you can, but I don't currently have the stomach for it.) 

I'll add this to my bookshelf just as soon as it arrives.  Nana, your cookbook is next, right? ;)

Find the Homesick Texan blog at www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com for recipes, narratives, and more. 

PS -- Not that it probably matters, but the Homesick Texan has never heard of me.  Ever.