I think he can sense my fear

Last week started off pretty rough, and only for one reason- lack of sleep. I am a girl who runs on no less than 9 solid hours, and having baby suddenly regress and wake up 3-4 times is not okay. I think it was a combination of 1. snot-filled nose preventing him from sucking his own thumb (who can’t relate to that?), 2. getting various limbs stuck in the slats of his crib (happens to the best of us), and 3. peeing through his diaper and soaking his pj’s and sheet (if I had a dollar for everytime I woke up like…oh wait.)

But good news! I am a solution-focused parent (I should copyright that) and so I used this Swedish-y nose sucker that my mom had bought us. It’s pretty primitive…you put a tube up your baby’s nose and pretty much ape-style suck out the boogs. You know you come to this blog hoping that I’m not *just* going to talk about food, but also bodily secretions. Also bought a bumper- WAIT ON THE JUDGMENT- that is mesh, so he could breathe through it in a worst case scenario. Aaaaand also learned that Pampers makes a special overnight dipe.

The result of my three-pronged approach? Success. And just in time for my husband to leave for a four-day weekend. Even with better sleeping, I was still kind of nervous to be a single parent. What if he doesn’t nap? What if he is crabby and I can’t just hand him off and say “your turn!” He can totally sense this too. When he refused to take his after-dinner nap on Friday, we went and walked around the mall. I swear this kid’s first words will be “Baby GAP!”

Then Saturday late afternoon a wimpy storm came by but still managed to knock out our power. I was less worried about the darkness and more worried about the stocked fridge and freezer. Alllllll the meats and cheeses! I packed up and headed over to my parents’ house for the night.

So yeah, an easy enough weekend overall, but I still felt compelled to celebrate a little bit once my husband returned yesterday. Painting my nails my new fave navy Essie? 

Yes please! Cheesy pasta with sausage? Ok! US weekly? Done deal.

Spicy Sausage & Penne Pasta

• 5 spicy Italian turkey sausage links, either grilled or boiled (grill if you can. I got lazy and just boiled mine)
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• ½ stick butter
• ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups low sodium chicken or veggie broth
• 1 can evaporated milk (or fresh milk)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles
• 1/3-1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 box whole wheat penne pasta (I used Ronzoni “Smart Taste” ‘cause my husband thinks it’s regular white pasta)
• 4 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a medium skillet with 2 teaspoons oil. Add onion. While that heats up, slice up your cooked sausages and add to onion. Saute until onion and sausage coins are lightly browned. Remove from heat.

2. Get your pasta cooking in a large pot of boiling water. While the pasta cooks, go onto the next step.

3. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Stir constantly for a minute until it starts to slightly bubble. It will be quite thick. Whisk in garlic and pepper. Whisk in the 2 cups of broth and evaporated milk. Stir until bubbly and thickened. Turn down heat to low. Add the canned tomatoes (juice included) and green onions. Let that sit for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Drain your cooked pasta and add to Dutch oven, along with sausage/onion mixture. Stir until combined. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until bubbly.

Delish.

Makes 8 servings (so you can rock the leftovers just like we do). Per serving: 434 calories, 46 g carbs, 20g fat, 22 g protein, 670 mg sodium (about a third of your day’s allotted intake), 5 g fiber

Not the healthiest thing I’ve ever made, but whatever. Yay for fall, yay for snot suckers, and yay for my husband being home again.