Thoughts on current physical limitations

I came to a conclusion today regarding my energy levels for the duration (26 Weeks to go!) I can:

Cook and Clean

OR

I can chase kids

I don't have the energy nor physical ability to do both.

In between my last two pregnancies, Joe managed to semi-dislocate my left hip in what has got to be one of the silliest sex injuries ever. When I was pregnant with the girls, the strained ligaments from that injury said "You are not allowed to walk on me." By the time I hit 20 weeks, it was extremely painful to stand, walk, or put any pressure on that hip. It was so bad I got a temporary handicapped placard in my car so I wouldn't have to walk much. I used the power scooters for shopping (Those are fun!). And almost immediately after having the girls, I got better.

Lucky me, that injury is starting to raise its ugly head again. So I'm resting as much as I can, I've lightened up my workout, and I'm trying not to walk extreme distances without sufficient rest, and I sit instead of standing as much as possible. I've also decided to set up weekly chiropractor appts to keep my hip where it belongs and fix compensation hurts.

I've really developed a fear of falling this pregnancy, mostly because I already have (easy fall, slipped on a toy, didn't really get hurt, but my knee was NOT happy with me). One of the compensation hurts of this injury is weakness in the opposite hip. There's a deep muscle in my right butt cheek, that likes to collapse randomly while walking. Most of the time I catch myself. Last night at the mall* I nearly fell. After that I kept a strong grip on Joe's arm.

I need to remember to be nice to myself. I'll be better when my passenger shows up.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I made this a couple of weeks back and it was freaking wonderful. Best batch I've ever made, and even though the recipe sounds complicated, it really wasn't. I wanted to save it for future reference. Swiped and adapted from recipes on Recipeaaar.com (Recipe # 18176 and 25587) I liked the sauce recipe on one, and liked the chicken prep on the other. So I combined them.

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1 lb chicken
• 1-1 1/2 Cup whole milk, plain yogurt
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 2 teaspoon turmeric

Sauce

• 1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced into quarter rounds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 ounces chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Cilantro leaves for garnish (chopped if you like)

Recipe originally called for the chicken to be marinated in yogurt and tikka paste. I have no idea what that is, so I seasoned the yogurt with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and enough turmeric to make it a pretty yellow/orange. I cut the chicken up into largeish, bite sized pieces. I did it large because the chicken will be tossed onto the grill. So it needs to be cut large enough to not fall between the spaces of the grill. The chicken should marinate for several hours.

For the sauce.
I ran the ginger, garlic, and some salt through a small chopper until it was almost a paste. Assemble the spices in a small bowl, set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pan over med-high heat, toss in the sliced onions, cook until soft. Add garlic/ginger paste cook until fragrant. Add the spice mix and fry lightly. Add chicken broth, stir. Add cream, stir. This makes a VERY thick sauce. If you like it thinner (like I do) add some milk until the thickness desired. (can use all milk if no cream, if not thick enough, use cornstarch) Turn off heat and set sauce aside.

Heat the grill, remove chicken from marinade and cook on grill until chicken is cooked throughly. Remove from grill, return low heat to the sauce, add chicken to sauce, heat through, garnish and serve over rice.
I served this to our Pastor with Aloo gobi for the veggie. She loved it! So did the kids.