1/2-baked!!!

well, baby Della is officially 20 weeks (yesterday)

and 1/2-way to her due date!

i am very excited that we have made it to the half-way point!

in all honesty, this pregnancy has gone much faster than i had anticipated 

and has been much easier than i could have imagined.

we had planned a trip to charleston this weekend to visit some friends 

and i was really looking forward to a fun weekend away to celebrate this fun milestone...

but wednesday i got a cold. 

i figured like most colds that i have had it would be gone in 2 or 3 days 

and we would still be able to get away for the weekend.

but it seems that my pregnant body takes much longer to fight off germs.

each day i have felt progressively worse.

so rather than enjoying the beach with friends this weekend, 

i was lying in bed or on the couch with a mug of decaffeinated hot tea.

i just keep reminding myself that i am building up baby girl's immune system,

but unfortunately that isn't making me feel any better in the meantime.

i have spent many, many hours on the couch in the last few days.

but i have had some of the best company in my misery.

she is always happy to snuggle. 

 she can always tell if i am not feeling well,

and i am pretty sure that she has figured out that there is something different about mommy.

i go back and forth between feeling like i am so huge that my belly is about to burst 

and then the next day feeling like i am hardly showing enough of a bump to be at the half-way point.

this picture was taken this morning before i had eaten anything or even had anything to drink, 

so it is not the best representation of my 'real' belly size

especially not by the end of the day when i am all swollen, 

but here is my little belly in all its glory

thursday afternoon we actually got to get an 'extra' ultrasound of sweet little Della.

the doctor said that the pictures that we had gotten at the 18 week ultrasound were a little grainy, 

so he wanted to have us get another ultrasound of her heart to make sure that everything was working exactly as it should.

i was very relieved that everything looked perfect.

and Della must have spent the last week and a half practicing her little performance for us,

because she showed us some very impressive contortions and movements. 

apparently i need to start looking into baby gymnastic classes for when she arrives.

we have loved every opportunity that we have gotten to see our sweet little miracle and we feel so blessed that God chose us to be her parents.

we cannot wait to meet her in 20 weeks.

last night i was feeling absolutely terrible

and the only thing that i could think of that would make me feel better was a bowl of soup.

so i did a little searching on google, 

browsed through my pinterest files,

and decided that creamy jalepeno popper chicken soup sounded like a winner...

and it was!!!!

Creamy Jalepeno Popper Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon, fried and crumbled

(set aside 1/4 cup for garish)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced 

6 jalepeno peppers, diced very finely

6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 1/2 lbs chicken, baked and shredded

(i used part of a rotisserie chicken)

2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 cups chicken broth

1 can corn, drained

1 can navy beans, drained

2 cans tomatoes with green chilis (rotel)

1, 8 oz package cream cheese, cubed

1 cup half and half

directions:

1. heat oil in large pot, add onions, peppers, and garlic.

we like a little extra heat,

so i also added one thai red pepper from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's garden

but you could also add a little cayenne pepper or some red pepper flakes for extra heat.

i can't taste much right now so i didn't want to add too much and over-do the spiciness.

 let the onion, garlic, and peppers saute for 5-7 minutes.

then add the flour

this will absorb a little of the oil and thicken the soup

(so if you are going gluten-free you could easily leave this out).

cook the flour for about 3 minutes, stirring often.

then add the cooked chicken to the pepper mix to reheat it.

let the chicken heat through for 2 or 3 minutes then add the spices.

stir well

then add the chicken broth, corn, beans, and tomatoes with chilis

let soup simmer for about 30 minutes, uncovered

then add the cubed cream cheese

heat, stirring often, until the cream cheese has melted.

(i actually ended up whisking it to make sure that all of the little pieces of cream cheese melted)

then add the bacon

and the half and half.

let heat for several minutes, but do not allow to boil again once half and half has been added

enjoy your soup with whatever toppings you like

we garnished with cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon, and cilantro.

Perfection!!!!!

jalepeno popper soup is definitely now on my top 10 list!

hope you enjoy!