Serves: 2

Ingredients

1⁄4 cup maple syrup

1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 cups (total) baby carrots, broccoli florets and sliced zucchini rounds

1 Tbl. olive oil

2 (6- to 8-oz.) salmon fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chicken broth

1⁄2 cup uncooked couscous

1⁄4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine maple syrup and balsamic vinegar in a bowl.
2. On one side of a roasting or baking pan, drizzle carrots, broccoli and zucchini with olive oil. Place salmon fillets on the other side of the pan. Season all with salt and pepper. Brush salmon with the maple syrup mixture and bake 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In a saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Turn off heat and add couscous, walnuts, salt and pepper. Cover 5 to 7 minutes, until broth is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
4. Place a generous scoop of couscous on each plate and top with a salmon fillet. Arrange roasted vegetables on the side.

Thanks to www.thenest.com for this recipe!

Your kid will look adorable in any of the stylish duds offered, and the Boys & Girls Club will definitely appreciate your support.  What are you waiting for… get shopping!

Thanks to www.americanbaby.com for keeping me in the loop!

Natalie Portman: not married, engagement announcement came out the same day as pregnancy.

Marian Cottilard: not married.

Kate Hudson: not married.

Victoria Beckham: Whoo-hoo, she’s married!

Devon Aoki: not married, engagement announcement came out the same day as pregnancy.

Tia Mowry: Yay! She’s married.

Jane Krakowski: nope, not married… oh, but she’s engaged though.

Selma Blair: again, not married.

Jewel: married. so excited for her and hubby , Ty.

Kim Zolciak: after experiencing being a lesbian, she is now expecting with boyfriend, Kroy Bierman.

We’ll, add a guy in here… Owen Wilson: not married. Who even knew he had a girlfriend?

So there you have it, 3 out of 11 are married. Granted, I firmly believe that babies are a blessing, but come on folks. What is this teaching the younger generation? With the popularity of the MTV hit, 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, teenagers are seeing getting pregnant as the trendy thing to do. The “subjects” of that show are on covers of magazines and raking in the cash.  In her latest court appearance, Teen Mom star, Amber Portwood admitted she made $280,000 last year… all from being on that show!

Celebrities need to realize they are role models to their younger fans and start acting a little more responsible… starting with birth control.

Ingredients

1  pound frozen pizza dough, thawed

1/2  cup bottled barbecue sauce

1  shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 ounces Canadian bacon, cut into strips

1/2  mango, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Heat gas grill to medium or prepare charcoal grill with medium-hot coals.

2. Coat a 12-inch perforated pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Roll dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place on prepared pizza pan. Put on grill rack and close lid of grill. Grill for 5 minutes. Check bottom of pizza. If getting too dark lower heat to medium-low.

3. Open grill. Spread dough with barbecue sauce and sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Scatter the Canadian bacon and mango slices over the top.

4. Grill for 5 to 7 minutes more, until crust is lightly browned and cheese melted.

5. Gently slide pizza onto a cutting board.

6. Allow pizza to cool slightly before cutting into slices.

Easy Does It: You can also make pizza directly on grill rack—heat grill and grease rack. Slide rolled-out dough from pan directly onto rack; cover grill. Cook 5 minutes, flip dough, add toppings and cook, covered, 5 more minutes.

Tip: Add a little sweet onion for a little extra kick!

Recipe compliments on www.Parents.com

This post is going to be kind of like a confessional for me right now… I devote so much time to my family now, that at times I’m afraid I’ll lose all my friends. I’m on a different page… hell, a different chapter, than most of them, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care. I’m not going to be gone forever. All we gotta do is schedule something out a little bit in advance and I’ll be able to make it. Now, if that’s a couple’s thing, that’s a whole nother ballpark! With no free babysitters, aka “grandparents” around, it makes going out when you are on a tight budget, nearly impossible.

I’m not sure if any of you out there have ever had problem of feeling like you are just not being invited to things…that’s another hard one to handle! Now that I’m a mom, I never get invited to do anything… I hear a few days later about a group that got together a couple of miles from my house! Even though I might not be able to go, it makes me feel as if I’ve been forgotten about. The worst is when you see pictures on Facebook from the night before… all taken when you were sitting at home in your sweatpants!

Anyone else feel this way or had this happen to them? I’m lucky I have a husband that wants me to get out and do things, now the problem seems to be finding things to do.

So, all you moms out there… have you found it harder to spend time with friends now that you have children?

Ingredients

1 papaya, peeled, seeded, and cubed

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

1 red onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 2 limes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Asiago cheese

Preparation

Combine the papaya, avocado, onion, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lay 1 tortilla in the pan and add a generous sprinkle of cheese. Top with another tortilla and cook, turning once or twice, until the tortilla is crisp and cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the tortilla to a cutting board and cut into 4 triangles. Keep warm in a low oven while cooking the remaining quesadillas. Serve on a warmed platter, with the papaya-avocado salsa in the center or alongside.

From the book, 50 Great Appetizers, by Pamela Sheldon Johns

On the show, Gwyneth Paltrow played a Spanish teacher whose classroom lesson included the following: “Lindsay Lohan is totally crazy, right?” And, Gwyneth quizzed the class in Spanish, “How many times has Lindsay Lohan been to rehab?”

WATCH IT HERE!

Sources say Lohan’s family thought it was tasteless.

Mommy Dina Lohan said, “Our lawyers are sending a letter to ‘Glee.’”  Of course you are…

Source: TMZ.com

Now, I of all people can’t judge an engagement after such a short period of time… I was engaged to my hubby after 3 ½ months. But, a few major differences stick out. One, neither of us had ever been married. Two, I was not jumping from relationship to relationship, proclaiming to everyone that this one was “the one”. Three, my significant other was not separated (hadn’t even filed for divorce) at the time we met.

According to US Weekly, a source close to Ms. Simpson says many of her friends don’t trust Johnson. He “was never that successful in the NFL, but he’s always wanted the celebrity-lifestyle,” they said. “I believe that Jessica is his way to get famous. He’s using her.” Adds a second insider, “Eric doesn’t have a job, he just follows her around. Her friends do not trust him.”

Jessica seems to be brushing off other people’s opinions of her new fiancé, gushing “He definitely makes me happy and makes me very comfortable being who I am,” she said. “It’s nice to be with somebody who praises you for all the right reasons.”

Her family has publically stated “how happy she is” and that “Eric is a great guy that makes her happy.” I’m pretty sure Papa Joe is just excited to see his girl getting a little more press as of late. Wonder how much he’ll try to sell the wedding pics for? One thing is for sure, I’m sure dear ol’ dad will make Eric sign a pre-nup!

As for the rings, let’s just say I’m digging Vanessa’s 4-carat asscher cut bauble quite a bit more than the ruby and diamond ring Jessica has been sporting. I’m quite surprised Jess’s isn’t a little larger… considering she probably had to buy it!

Wonder who the first one will be to hear the pitter-patter of little feet?

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Wash the potatoes, poke a few holes in them, and rub them with the oil. Bake for 1 hour, or until tender. Let them cool for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onions are soft. Set aside. Slice the top off the potatoes and scoop out the pulp into a medium bowl. Set the skins aside. With a potato masher, crush the potato pulp. Add the onion mixture, cream, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the cheese and fold gently until mixed well. Spoon the potato mixture back into the shells. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet and return to the oven for 15 minutes, or until hot.

Recipe taken from The NFL Gameday Cookbook

Everything was going well until (somehow) it was brought up that I have a nine month-old son. I know I am not in Human Resources, but I do know flat-out asking a question like that is illegal. I’m pretty sure the interviewer knew that as well, and that’s how he just gradually dropped it into the conversation. All of a sudden, our nice conversation about golfing with our significant others turned into “how was I supposed to travel for this position when I had a young child?”  “Who was going to drop off and pick up my son from daycare?”

Needless to say, I was a little baffled.  Last time I checked, it was 2010 and a man was allowed to do daycare duty and hold down the house for a few days if the woman of the house was out.  In fact, it’s becoming the norm as more and more women are working outside the home and becoming the breadwinners of the family. This guy made it sound like I had to be home every night to cook dinner and change diapers. 

In a matter of minutes, the job that I had such a good feeling about felt like it had been pulled away because this guy couldn’t fathom having a mom with a young child in the position. So, my question to all of you today is: Have any of you felt like you were passed up on a job or a promotion because you are a mom?