I’m starting to understand what moms mean when they say they have no time.
To be totally honest I wasn’t all that great about time management prior to having Weston, but now? It’s practically nonexistent. I keep meaning to get a calendar to help me because apparently the ones I have going on my phone and Gmail accounts aren’t doing the trick. I have to actually write stuff down to actually get stuff done. I know I’m not the only one out there who needs one, but it’s just spending that dang money on it. All I’m saying is that I’m 100% open to suggestions on where to find a really great and reasonably priced planner to maybe – just maybe – get my act together.
Another little doozy that we’ve been working through lately is Wes’s decision to boycott naps. The thing is he doesn’t just play til he falls asleep, and he’ll scream-cry whether he’s surrounded by toys, laying in his crib or being rocked in my arms. Nothing seems to work yet, which also cuts into lunch time for mom.
WHICH LEADS US TO THIS delicious little number that took all of 10 minutes to throw together and was super comforting. And it packs a whopping 4 cups of spinach, which totally makes it health food. Does it get any better for a tired mom of a non-napping 8-month-old? I think not…unless it’s followed by a great big snuggle and napping session afterwards.
10-MINUTE CREAMY RICOTTA SPINACH & SHELLS
- 1/2 cup small shell pasta
- 4 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (mine was part skim)
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
- 1/4 cup marinara
- 2 Tbsp mozzarella cheese
Preheat the broiler. Cook pasta according to package directions, about 7-8 minutes. During the last minute of cook time add in the spinach to let it wilt with the pasta. Drain the pasta/spinach and immediately return to the hot pot. Stir in the ricotta cheese and milk until completely mixed. Season with the garlic powder and salt/nutmeg/pepper to taste. Pour into a ramekin and top with marinara and mozzarella. Cook under the broiler until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Serve hot!
These are the kinds of meals I like to put together – quick and good! I’m always scrambling at pretty much any time of day, time management skills not so good here. 🙂
This pasta looks delicious. I have a feeling it will happen one day soon here 🙂
Tell me about it, I need to write it down or I just worry that I’m going to forget. That’s why I love my moleskine!
I have to write stuff down too & there are lists everywhere… shopping lists, prep lists, to-do lists, and so on – sometimes I think I’d get more done if I didn’t spend so much time making lists! Having said all that, this looks like the perfect dinner for me & I love the portion control!
I’m totally with you – ever since we had two kids, I’ve been so forgetful and distracted. I use the notes app on my phone to keep track of all the things I need to do during the day, otherwise I will totally forget. I should put take a shower on there too, haha! Seems like there is never enough time to do everything anymore, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world!
I totally know where you are coming from with naps. They either go really well for us or really really bad. Depends on the day! 🙂
This dish looks so yummy. I love stuffed shells and this reminds me of them. I can’t wait to try it out.
I just happen to have all the ingredients at home, so I think I will be making this tonight!
I’m always looking for reasons to use my little cast iron personal pot things – what is the technical name!?!?
This looks amazing!!
also??? I’m dying to see your stitch fix!! you got one already, right??
hahaha you’re too cute – i call them ramekins but they could have another name!
i got my stitch fix last week but all of the blouses were too short so i didn’t do pictures of me in them! the scarf that i got is amaaaaaaaaaazing though…i’ll have a post up this week!
Good luck on the nap thing – we go through ups and downs, and i realized that at the end of the day if she doesn’t want to take a nap i don’t fight it, just let it go and she will fall asleep when she is tired. Usually then her second nap is extra long. I know all about the time management thing, not only do you have to do time management but prioritize, cause you only have so much free time now 🙂
it’s true, when he’s tired enough he does fall asleep. and thanks for the heads up on the crib standing thing – i can so see him doing the same thing!
… Wait for the second baby, you’ll see … 😀
Your dish looks yummy !
yeah, i hear that’s harder 😉
I am a graduate student, who is still determined to work out every day as well so I definitely feel the time crunch when it comes to meal time frequently. Love this.
as much as i love working out it definitely throws me off. i can’t wait for wes to start waking up at the exact same time every day…i feel like then i can plan a workout before he gets up and then have the rest of the day to be productive!
Yum! I love all things pasta and this looks great.
And yes, nap time is hard. Our 3 year old is now at that stage where he doesn’t want to take naps anymore. But, our 20 month old is still all about them. So here I am struggling with a little boy who can’t be quiet while his sister is sleeping! ugh!
i can’t imagine! we have our two dogs that i try to keep quiet when wes is asleep – i know he’ll be a handful whenever the second one comes along!
Oh boy don’t talk to me about time management. I am the worse! Still unpacking from our move but now dying to cook and bake and strangely enough, I was thinking of doing something vaguely similar to this scrumptious looking dish. I’ll have to incorporate bits of your recipe! Looks really good and anything done in 10 minutes is my kind of cooking!
I think a lot of my time management issues have been from our move too…even though it was over a month ago!
holy moly that meal looks lovely. i wish you luck in time management. i feel like it is a skill everyone has to work on constantly.
It’s so true – I used to be so type-A in college about time management and I loved it, but once I got married, got a job and then had a baby it threw me for a huge loop!