Southwestern Salad Bar

Couldn't really think of anything to blog about these days. I would like to have posted some pictures of my shower in Raleigh, but alas, I forgot my camera. Then I forgot to borrow my dad's. Sweet Mrs. Pike, who helped throw the shower, said she would send a CD of hers though. I had a wonderful time seeing friends and family. Thanks to Mrs. Pike, Mrs. Fisher and Courtney for throwing it!

I always enjoyed it when friends posted recipes, so I decided to follow suit. This is a salad bar that I put together for the Atlanta group that came down a few weekends ago. It worked well for a few reasons: 1) people could choose their toppings, so it fits a variety of taste preferences 2) I had everything prepped beforehand and just moved everything out to serve 3) healthy. Even the guys liked it because as Jonathan claims that salads are good for meals if there is meat on them.

I didn't do the green onions and radishes at the end. I would suggest also putting some jarred salsa out for those who like it. I used fresh mango instead of bottled, and it was a yummy addition. You'll need more salad dressing and cheese than this lists if you're really going to serve 8 people. You can get this recipe off myrecipes.com (which is a fantastic place for recipes. You get access to all of Cooking Light, Southern Living and Real Simple recipes, which are probably my three favorite magazines).

Southwestern Salad Bar
Ingredients
1 tablespoon fajita seasoning
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
5 teaspoons fresh lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
2/3 cup chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
3/4 cup light ranch dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
12 cups packaged chopped romaine lettuce
3 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups unsalted baked tortilla chips, crumbled (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 cup bottled sliced peeled mango, chopped
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes

Preparation
Cook the seasoning in a large saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently. Combine fajita seasoning, corn, 1 tablespoon juice, and cilantro in a medium serving bowl.
Combine onion, garlic, beans, and bell pepper in a medium serving bowl. Combine avocado and 2 teaspoons juice in a small serving bowl, tossing gently to coat. Combine dressing and chipotle in a small serving bowl.

Place lettuce in a large serving bowl. Place chicken in a medium serving bowl. Place cheese, chips, mango, green onions, and radishes in individual serving bowls. Arrange the bowls, buffet-style, beginning with lettuce and ending with dressing.

Fun Baby Presents

Here is a few catch-up posts on some of the fun baby gifts we've received.
Mom and Dad Page came down and bought us our crib (on the left). On the right is the rocker that Grandmother and Granddaddy Moseley passed along. Both Jonathan and Jonathan's dad have been rocked in it, so it has a sweet heritage.


Mom and Dad Moseley and Anna came down last week. They gave us our pack 'n' play, a mattress for the crib and the gift of helping us paint the nursery.

Here they are assembling the pack 'n' play (practicing for when it comes to their house to visit!). Sorry for the blurry pic!

Here is Jonathan with the mobile for the playard that he really didn't like. It's not very colorful or eye-catching for a baby, so he refused to register for it until he confirmed that it detached.

We found this great storage piece and the changing table for a steal at Baby Depot. On display are a few of the gifts we've already received for Baby Mo. I'm planning on getting some baskets for the shelves instead of just stacking things there.


When Parker and Rachel were down, they brought us their gift: another rocking chair. Even though we already had the one from the Moseleys, this was also such a sweet and precious gift that we'll get to use to start another family heritage with. Do I look like a mom yet?

I "helped" Parker put the chair together.

We now have furniture and a painted room - this baby thing is starting to become more and more real! The color is a sage green, and the Moseleys did a wonderful job with painting - it only took one coat.

Hopefully we'll pick up some more decorations soon with the safari animal theme we're going with. It's come a long way since we moved in. I feel better knowing our little one has a place to sleep, but even better knowing how loved he is already by so many people.

Georgia Visitors

My brother Parker, sister-in-law Rachel, cousin Ryan, and friend/cousin-in-law Susan came up from Atlanta for a day trip today. We had a great time exploring Birmingham and just hanging out. Jonathan, sadly, had to work all day, but we did swing by the hospital to visit. Everyone was very disappointed though because Jonathan came down without his lab coat or wearing a stethoscope or anything fun and doctor-ish (except his pager).





















We didn't get to do that much sightseeing because it was raining, but we did get to go see the Vulcan. Here is Parker posing like Vulcan (yes, I made him do it, but as his older sister, I retain the right to make him do silly things like this. Not that he really puts up that much of a fight).

The Vulcan is sort of the symbol of Birmingham. He overlooks the city from the top of Red Mountain, and being the Roman god of fire and forge, he symbolizes the city's steel-mining heritage. It's also the large cast-iron sculpture in the world, and it had a good view of the city from the top.

I don't think it's a good thing that the symbol of Birmingham is a pagan god, but golden calf or not, they should have at least put a loin cloth on his backside or something. I mean how does that side of Birmingham feel about constantly being mooned by this guy?

Baby Story

Sheesh.
I've never been much of a crier. Though marriage and growing up have gradually made me more of one (in a good way), I'm still not an emotional, watch-a-sappy-movie crier.
But watching TLC's A Baby Story just kills me. I used to watch Wedding Story pretty often in high school/college, but never cared much for the baby show...until recently. I watched one episode pretty early on in pregnancy, probably around 8 weeks or so. I was on the treadmill in my parents' basement and totally shocked myself. When the baby came out on the show, I just uncontrollably lost it. I didn't even feel it coming on...all of a sudden I gasped and bawled - just for a minute.

Well, I just watched my second episode and thought by now I would be more emotionally prepared. Nope, lost it again. Totally uncontrollable. Jonathan and I have discussed how we don't even know what our emotions are going to be like or how much we're going to love this little one until he gets here. I mean, can anyone really be prepared for that moment? But my primal reaction to seeing someone else's child for the first time is giving me a little hint of how I'm going to feel. We'll see how much I lose it after delivery.

Bird Hangout

We stopped hanging our bird feeder up at our home in Chapel Hill because it was mostly squirrels getting at it, but we decided to put it up again here. Apparently Alabama birds are a lot less skiddish or our feeding location feels safer because birds just come and hangout here. In Chapel Hill, they would land quickly, nibble and fly away fast. But ours just hangout here - lots of birds - and they eat a lot. We got through at least a tube of birds seed a week if not more.

32 Weeks

Here is a requested belly shot at just over 32 weeks (which by the way Jonathan would like to correct my previous post saying that this is 8 months; It's a little deceptive, true). Apparently I'm showing enough now that strangers have the boldness to ask me when I'm due. I feel like I'm ballooning each day, and I'm definitely significantly bigger than when I arrived in Birmingham.