8 lbs 1 oz, 20 inches

This post is  a little late but we’ve been enjoying the last few weeks being parents and snuggling our little one.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged on theSheenBean.  We’ve had a lot going on the past few months.  Tony started a new job in September in Pennsylvania.  We moved at the end of August and are now living in a suburb just outside of Pittsburgh.

Speaking of changes, our family is also growing!

That’s right, we are expecting our first child on February 9, 2013!  I’m 25 weeks along and feeling pretty well. No, B doesn’t stand for Boy.  We aren’t finding out the sex until we meet our little one.

Now that I have a new kitchen to cook in, I hope to share more recipes with you.  I really enjoy blogging and hope to get back on track with a few posts each week.  See you in a few days with some of the recipes that I’ve tried lately!

I ran my first race yesterday, the Flying Pig Toyota 10K!!!!!!!

This was the first event of the Flying Pig Marathon weekend here in Cincinnati.

For the last 11 weeks, Tony & I have been training with a goal of finishing the 10K.  Through running and walking intervals, we were able to finish the race!  It was an awesome experience and I can’t wait to run another race.

It all started downtown bright and early yesterday morning.  We had a little rain just before the race started but made it through most of the race with only a few drizzles.

Thankfully it wasn’t hot out like today, but because of the rain, the humidity was high!  That left me a sweaty mess by the end of 6.2 miles.  Every drip of sweat was worth it though.

We ran in 3 different cities, 2 states and across 3 bridges. The course started downtown next to Great American Ball Park. It then headed over the Taylor Southgate Bridge into Newport, Kentucky. From Newport, we headed across the Licking River into Covington, Kentucky.  From Covington, we ran back across the Ohio River on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.

We hit mile 4 just as we came back into Ohio.  From here we ran near Paul Brown Stadium, back to the start line and a little up and back into downtown before heading toward the finish line.

The finish line was just outside of US Bank Arena.  This is the same finish that the marathoners crossed today!

There was no way that I would have made it 6.2 miles without walking breaks.  Tony stuck with me the whole time and we crossed the finish “swine” together!  The Flying Pig was named because of the pork industry history in Cincinnati.  The race theme this year played off of the upcoming elections.

No shirt is complete without a cute little pig tail on the back!

This was a fantastic first race for me.  I could have taken an easier route and ran the 5K but I wanted to really push myself and do a 10K as my first race.  I’m not sure what race is next for me, but one thing I can guarantee is that this definitely won’t be my last race!

This week I modified the Minestrone Soup Recipe from SkinnyTaste.

Served along side of a delicious grilled cheese, the perfect sandwich to go with soup.

As long as you have all of the ingredients, you can throw this soup together in about 20 minutes.  Set your crock pot on low and come back 6 hours later to a delicious vegetable soup.

Italian Vegetable Soup

Serves 6, 1 ¾ Cup Per Serving

• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced (about 20 baby ones)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 small yellow squash, diced
• 2 (14 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup ditalini pasta (or similar small pasta)
• Parmesan cheese for garnish

Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick spray.

Add in the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, frozen spinach, bay leaves, Italian seasoning and 3 cups of the chicken broth.

You can add the rest of the broth and beans at this point or you can blend the beans up with the remaining cup of broth and then add to the soup.  I blended mine and it helped thicken the broth.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

30-45 minutes before you are ready to serve, add in the dry pasta and remove the bay leaves.

Continue cooking for 30-45 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Garnish with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

A year ago today theSheenBean.com was brought to life. I started blogging at thesheenbean.wordpress.com in November of 2010 but moved to theSheenBean.com 1 year ago!

The past year has been full of lots of adventures.  Thank you for sticking with me through all of them.  I hope to continue to provide you with delicious recipes as well as some of the fun adventures we have!

I thought I would share some of my favorite posts from the last 14 months.  Enjoy!

From the beginning…pumpkin cookies

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Just like Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

Fries & Slaw on My Sandwich

Crosby the Goalie

Grandma’s Easter Eggs

Welcome to Ohio

Watermelon Tofu Feta Salad

Mini Hummus BLTs

Oktoberfest Weekend

Pumpkin Chili and a Baby Shower

Sweet Potato Cupcake Deliciousness

Chicken Fajita Salads

Red Velvet Brownie Truffles

Thank you for such a great year.

….Here’s to many more!

I didn’t take any pictures from dinner but let me tell you, it was fantastic!  I enjoyed the filet and Tony had angel hair pasta with scallops and bacon dressing.  They were both great but I have to say that mine was a little better!  After dinner we came back to our house and changed into jeans.  We headed to Oakley square which is only a 10 minute walk from our house to see the ball drop!

There was a street party that included a fire breather….

a band….

….and ice sculpture carving!

It was chilly out so we were all bundled up!

10 seconds before midnight, the ball started to fall!

Happy New Year!!!!

(Thanks Kate for your pictures that I took from facebook!)

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Where did you spend the last few minutes of 2011??

Tony & I were lucky enough to have lots of Christmas celebrations this year.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family in PA and then came back to Cincy and had his family at our house for a few days.   Here are a few pictures of all of the fun we had over Christmas.

Christmas Eve at Grandma’s.

Our beautifully presented turkey and side dishes.

Opening gifts at PapPap & DoDo’s house.  My dad and his dad, PapPap.

Christmas morning, Santa spoiled us once again!

My brother Phil opening gifts.

My other brother Brent enjoying his new kayak!

Crosby enjoyed his Christmas presents.

Every Christmas night ends with birthday cake.

My brother celebrated his golden birthday this year, 25 on the 25th!  Happy Birthday Phil!

I didn’t get any pictures of the rest of our celebrations but they were just as much fun.

I’ll be back later this week to share our NYE pictures with you!

]]> http://thesheenbean.com/2011/12/merry-christmas/feed/ 0 http://thesheenbean.com/2011/12/merry-christmas/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Thesheenbean/~3/maK-b2JQHuo/ http://thesheenbean.com/2011/12/christmas-baking-part-2/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:00:10 +0000 Sheena http://thesheenbean.com/?p=1782 …..Continued from Part 1

Crock Pot Candy

How Sweet It Is Grown Up Hot Chocolate and Homemade Baileys Marshmallows

If you serve the vodka on the side, the hot chocolate is kid friendly.

The Girl Who Are Everything Cake Batter Truffles

I dipped mine in milk chocolate instead of white.

and finally Red Velvet Brownie Truffles!

These recipes can all be made throughout the year, not just at Christmas!

Enjoy the sweets and Merry Christmas!

I finished these tonight and they are pretty simple. I made the brownies last night and the assembled the truffles tonight.  Before I give you the recipe, I have to show you these cute boxes of cookies I put together for my boss, secretary and our neighbors.

I’ve never made little boxes of cookies to give out.  I typically just take my cookies to parties to share.

I’m excited to deliver these cookies tomorrow!

I made a tray of cookies for Tony to take and share with his coworkers at the hospital tomorrow.  I put two of each of these cookies in the Chinese takeout boxes that we are going to deliver.  Most of the recipes can be found in my first Christmas Baking Part 1 and the rest will be posted tomorrow in Part 2!

Back to the truffles……

Mix the cooked brownies with a container of cream cheese frosting.

Roll the “dough” into 1″ balls and freeze.

Dip in white chocolate and decorate!

Red Velvet Brownie Truffles

• 1 batch Red Velvet Brownies
• 16 oz Cream Cheese Frosting
• 2 lbs. White Chocolate Bark (16 squares)
• Sprinkles

I used the Red Velvet Brownie Recipe from How Sweet it is (using mini chocolate chips).  This is one of my favorite brownie recipes and I knew it would be perfect in truffle form!  I don’t have a square cake pan so I always make a recipe and a half.  It fits perfectly in my 9×13 pan.  Once the brownie has cooled, break it up into small pieces and add to the bowl of your mixer.  Add 16 oz of cream cheese frosting and mix until completely blended.  Roll the mixture into small balls, approximately 1” in size.  Place them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Freeze them for 20-30 minutes until they are frozen.  While they are chilling, melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments.  Once the brownie balls have chilled, dip each one into the chocolate and place back onto the lined cookie sheet.  Use a fork to get the brownie completely covered in chocolate.  Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess chocolate.  Add sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.  You may have to reheat the chocolate in 30 second intervals a few times so that it stays thin and evenly coats the brownie.  Once you cover all of the brownies, place the sheet int the refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened.  Store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

If you don’t get a chance to make these for Christmas, they are also perfect for Valentine’s Day!

What is your favorite type of brownie?