Just incase you were wondering… I’m 38 weeks +2 days pregnant. It’s the only time I emphasize the +2 or +3. the rest of the weeks are just plain ol 31, 32, 33 etc… But, now, NOW it’s getting to me. 38+2 feels like.. OK, I’M OVER THIS. Every minute is uncomfortable and every sentence out of my mouth is probably a complaint. A friend of mine, a snarky mean jerk of a friend, said “suck it up you did this to yourself.” Ya, she’s right, but WAHHHHH. It shut me up for a little while, even if she was “kidding,” but now I’m back at it.
I’m exhausted. All the time. I have clothes to sort through and a 1 1/2 year old to take care of and all I can think about is when my next nap might happen. And I’m hungry. Always.Hungry. Then I get down on myself for eating, because I’m one pound away from hitting my “absolutely not going any higher than this number” weight. Then I go and get something else to eat because I know as soon as I give birth it’s back on Weight Watchers for this girl and bye bye ice cream, chocolate milk, taco bell and countless amounts of Oreos and bad decisions. I have to be wedding ready by September when my bestest friend gets married, and I refuse to walk down her aisle ashamed of what I’ve done to myself, again. lol
Then there’s this side of me that keeps creeping up that is completely and utterly terrified of having two children vying for my attention. I’ve been having mini anxiety attacks just thinking about it. Last night, as we were going to bed, I said “Eric, one week from today it’s not going to be quiet anymore.. it’s going to be WAHH WAh WAHHA wahhh Waaaahhhh.” We both laughed when I finished with “what the hell were we thinking?” I know we’ll get through the first few rough months. We’ve gotten through the worst of the worst with Kylee. But, it’s still so daunting.
My mother in law also came by last night and was holding Kylee and kissing on her and I said something like “Charlee better hope she’s as cool as Kylee, or we’re gonna have problems.” It was a sideways comment that I’ve made before. But, my MIL said “it’s hard to believe you can love someone as much as her, isn’t it? But, you can and you will.” And it got me thinking about how I am completely unaware of how it is possible for a human being to love TWO beings the same. How can a heart be large enough? How can a person’s mind be strong enough and stable enough to worry about not one, but two children at the same time? I still worry that Kylee can breathe in her crib when she turns over in a weird position while she sleeps. I still sneak in her room wait for the sound of a breath and walk out. Is this possible? I guess I’ll be able to tell you in a about 6 days. Until then I’ll keep pondering.
Anyway, I actually do have a recipe to share! I’ve been making lots of things this week. 50% of which have been ruined by me being an idiot. I burnt an almond brittle the other day and gave up on another batch of dough. Last night, though, I made some mexi-lasagna. I think I over did it on the cumin and coriander I put in the chicken, but Eric said it was good. So, we’ll just go with that. I’ve made this a few times with leftover pulled pork, this time I made it with a rotisserie chicken from Meijer. Did you know the price of pork jumped up? At least this week, it’s 2x more than usual. Eric and I were appalled and decided to skip the pork loin this week.
This particular mexi-lasagna is made with roasted veggies blended with a can of enchilada sauce. And layered with chicken, cheese, tortillas, corn and black beans. You can really use whatever you want or omit whatever you want. It’s an easy weekday meal after you roast the veggies.
Mexican Lasagna II- 
For sauce:
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce (hot or mild)
½ red onion, cut into large chunks or slices
1 Jalapeno, whole
2 roma tomatoes, whole
3-4 large cloves of garlic, left in skin
¼ cup Vegetable or canola oil
1 Tbs Kosher Salt
S/p to taste
Coat onion, jalapeno and tomatoes in oil and salt, roast at 350 for 35-40 mins or until soft and blistered, let cool. In a blender or food processer combine enchilada sauce and vegetables (de-stem jalapeno, squeeze roasted garlic from wrapper) and blend until smooth adjust flavor with salt and pepper to your taste.
For Lasagna:
3-4 cups leftover pulled pork or rotisserie chicken
3-4 cups shredded Mexican cheese
5 large flour tortillas
2 cups frozen corn
1 15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
Roasted Veggie Enchilada sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
In a greased glass baking dish (9×9, 8×8 or something around the same size, round is best) assemble lasagna in the following order:
(Coat bottom of pan with light layer of sauce) one tortilla, meat, corn, black beans, cheese, sauce, repeat until you end with the last tortilla and then top with the rest of the sauce and cover with remaining cheese.
For best results; cover with foil and let sit for a couple hours in the fridge to set. Bake for 20 mins covered and then 10 mins uncovered or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
A couple pointers on this recipe: I used up the remainder of my larger sized taco shells (I think they were 10 inch) first and then used 8 inch tortillas to finish. Either is fine. For the chicken, I pulled the meat off the carcass and shred it up into a medium sauce pan. I added a little bit of chicken stock, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper and let it simmer. You don’t have to do this, but I look to add more flavor wherever I can. It would be fine to just shred the chicken and go for it! To the sauce I also added a roasted poblano pepper that I had on hand. The sauce was more spicy than usual but still delicious. If you find your sauce to be too spicy or acidic I’ve found that it helps to add a pinch of sugar. Like I said, there are TONS of ways to make this dish, which is also why it’s called #2 (II). This just happens to be my favorite because of the roasted veggies.
Enjoy kids! :oD
And wish me luck!
Chefs with Babies 