Grill-a-holics Anonymous: Grilled Chicken Parmesan

Two Christmases ago, I bought fiancé a grill. I got a great deal at Home Depot on a Stok Tower grill (http://www.stokgrills.com/grills/tower.php). It's actually a really nice grill with a ton of inserts. He loves it! He used it a ton that winter and summer until one of our asshole neighbors stole it! Someone said they saw the guy who took it and we ended up finding him. He said he thought it was trash. Really? You thought someone's grill on their patio was trash? Well the douche broke the handle off while taking it and that was the end of grill season. . . Until now. We finally ordered the replacement handle ($9.70 for the part $12 for shipping). Just in time for the summer!

The kick off recipe? Grilled chicken parm. Simple, delicious and filling. This is definetly one we'll be trying again soon.

Grilled Chicken Parmesan

6 boneless chicken breasts

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbs basil

1 tbs oregano

1 1/2 tbs Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper as desired

Fresh minced garlic as desired*

8 oz of marinara

2 cups shredded Italian cheese

*I am saying garlic as desired because if people actually knew how much garlic I cook with, they'd be a little bit disgusted. I LOVE garlic! If you're not as crazy as I am, I'd suggest only 1 tbs. If you're about that garlic life, I used 3 tbs.

1) get your grill nice and hot. About 400 degrees

2) mix olive oil, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper. Brush over chicken and let marinate until the grill is ready

3) grill chicken 15-20 min each side

4) spoon warm marinara sauce on top

5) sprinkle with cheese and cover grill

6) cook until cheese is melted

7) serve over pasta, rice, veggies or garlic mashed potatoes

MmmmmmMmmmmMmmmm. Serve it up! Great for summer if you want to step outside of the "hot dog, hamburger, ribs" box. Hope you enjoy making this one as much as I did. Hope you enjoy eating it even more!

19 Hours of Labor Later. . .

The pressures of being a working mom are definitely tough. Working 40 hours a week, staying up all night with the baby, cooking, cleaning and having quality time for the fiancé. Phewwww! Don't even ask about how the wedding planning is going. It's not. That is low on the totem pole at the moment.

Is motherhood everything I thought it would be? It's better. After a 19 hour delivery (watched The Muppets Movie twice and Terminator 2), my sweet baby Zo Zo was born. 7 lbs, 6 oz, 20 3/4 inches long. It was an amazing experience.

I tried to have a natural birth. I made it 2 hours after my water broke. I was only one centimeter. What a pussy! That epidural made the next few hours a lot better. I was able to do my hair and make up before I actually started pushing. My body after birth? I won't lie, it was a fucking wreck. Being pregnant and huge sucked, but even worse was not being pregnant and huge. I was mildly horrified when I didn't automatically slim back down. I still looked 4 months pregnant. And I won't even talk about my poor lady bits. It was horrible. I started to get depressed about it. I wasn't interested in sex. I hated my body and there was no way humanly possibly I could have felt sexy if I tried. Then, everything just snapped back into place. I lost the rest of my weight. I started to look in the mirror and smile again. My butt even went from pancake to perky again! And I've only counted one stretch mark.

Sweet baby Zo Zo is an amazing child. She's definitely a smile whore. Having a bad day? All you have to do is say hi to her, and she'll flash you a huge grin. Her favorite songs are Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Her favorite show is Sophia the First. She loves basketball. Her favorite team is Golden State (she has a crush on Steph Curry. Don't tell her dad). Her favorite story is The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Her favorite toy is by far is her swing. She spends hours in that thing.

The hardest thing about motherhood is figuring out yourself. New mom Autumn is a completely different person. I dress more conservatively, I'm a home body and a super light weight. My brain is having a hard time realizing that I can't drink like I use to. My issue when I've been out is that I end up getting too drunk too quickly and fall asleep by 11. I've only had the opportunity to drink less than a hand full of times since I've had the baby. It's hard with her always around, plus I'm breast feeding.

As much as I went through mentally and physically with pregnancy and birth, I'd love another child. Maybe in like three years. The hard part will be convincing fiancé. He's not about that life.

For all the moms out there, I'm planning on having a Thirty One purse party. Thirty One is the absolute best in cute, giant, mom bags. So let me know if you're interested.

I'm trying to get back into blogging on a semi regular basis so be on the look out. I have lots of grill recipes I want to write about, baby product reviews and I plan on working on more craft projects now that it's trying to get warm. So make sure you come on back soon!