23 Weeks and Counting!

My 2nd trimester has been a breeze. I've had my energy and appetite back (despite the lack of recipes, truly, I have). I felt baby girl move for the first time at 18 weeks and love feeling her kicks throughout the day.

Valentine's Day- 18 weeks

I'm definitely on the small end (yay!) and haven't gained very much weight. AlthoughI to me, the weight I have gained is HUGE and we laugh at the size of my bulging belly. Really, it may not look like it in the pictures, but I definitely have a baby bump!

22 weeks

My clothes are starting to get a little tight- the dress in this picture barely had room for me to breathe. Maternity clothes are not all that flattering and I'm trying to find things with elastic waists or flowing tops so I don't have to venture into the maternity department. 

23 weeks

Pregnancy is definitely the reason for my lack of new recipes. It's harder to menu plan when I don't know what I'll be in the mood for. I've had a massive sweet tooth lately, which you'd think would provide me with more blog content, but before I can snap a picture most of what I've made is gone! And pregnancy brain really does exist. I forget to take pictures if I've made something new all the time now.

We are so excited to meet baby girl!

Bacon Mushroom Honey Dijon Chicken

Bacon and I have recently become BFF's.

BLT's are a huge pregnancy craving of mine. So much so that I ran home during my break one day to make a one and ate it back at work for lunch. I'm throwing bacon into salads, or rather, huge cobb salads that I'm also having a fling with. Bacon is in pasta. Bacon is in any wrap or sandwich I make. I heart bacon!

What I'm sharing with you today is by far my favorite thing that I've made with bacon. It tastes like something you'd get at a steakhouse, all smothered with cheese, mushrooms, bacon...with a slight hint of bbq sauce (even though no bbq sauce is used in this recipe). I'm obsessed with it and could eat it regularly if I allowed myself. It's quick enough to have on a weeknight, as long as you've marinated your chicken that morning or the night before. Make this, you won't be disappointed! As it cooks you can slice your mushrooms and fry up your bacon. I did make one change- my chicken was fully cooked before I topped it with everything. I let it hang out in the covered skillet so that the cheese could melt, heat on low.

Source: Mommy I'm Hungry
Serving:  2-4

1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
4-1/2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash paprika
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
8 bacon strips, cut and cooked
2 tbls sliced green onions

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, honey, 1-1/2 teaspoons oil and lemon juice. Pour into a large resealable plastic bag; add the chicken. Seal the bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours.

Drain and discard marinade from chicken. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in remaining oil on all sides. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Remove and set aside.

In the same skillet, saute mushrooms with cooked bacon until tender. Remove to set aside. Add chicken breasts to skillet, top with mushroom and bacon then cheeses and green onions.
Cook over low heat, covered for 15-20 minutes until juices run clear.