Still No Baby...

Since becoming pregnant oh, so many moons ago...I can remember hearing lots about this "nesting instinct" that is supposed to kick in at the end. Recently, lots of people have been asking if I have started this at all (along with about a million other questions!)  Honestly, I think I am ALWAYS nesting.  I am one of those people who will vacuum every day and wipe the dog-nose prints off of the storm door repeatedly, knowing full well the marks will just be back in a matter of minutes.

After looking back at my photo log for the week though, I am thinking that maybe I have kicked it into high gear lately.  Maybe it's just summer vay-cay...but I've been cooking and cleaning up a storm around here!

First of all, THESE.

These, right here.  Probably the easiest butter cookies I have ever made and absolutely the most delicious!!! They are so light and fluffy and just adorable.  I found the recipe here and wound up following all of this nice lady's Pinterest boards. The only tweak I made was to roll the dough balls completely in powdered sugar.  It gave them a sweet and slightly crispy crust.

Dan asked what the "secret ingredient" was here.  I told him it had to have been the cake mix.  It kept these so pillowy soft.  The blog that I link to for the recipe shows that the possibilities with these are absolutely endless. I can't wait to make them a million different ways!!

Next, I tried something a little more savory:

These are caramelized onion bagels that I saw on Kelsey's Essentials on Food Network.  I never made bagels before!! They sound like a lot of work...but it really wasn't.  The dough could not have been more simple and the rest fell together no prob.  My tweaks here are that I used turkey bacon (not a pork eater!) and I skipped out on the recommended cream cheese chive drizzle (for the simple reason my 39 week pregnant body was ready for a break). 

The flavors here were perfection.  The smoky gouda with the sweet, slightly chewy onions was to die
for. 

Now that I know how EASY bagel dough is I can totally see myself getting real experimental!

Last was tonight's din~

I Panini (yes, Panini can be a verb) on the regular. Being preggo, you're really not supposed to eat lunch meats, unless they are heated to a temperature that causes them to be steaming.  So, Panini.  This one has just one little extra that makes it special.  Here's what's on the inside:

-cracked pepper turkey breast
-butter lettuce
-avocado
-tomato
-mayo
-gouda (that I had left over from the bagels, of course.  Let no cheese go unused. Ever.)
-fried egg

This was pretty much how the assembly went. No biggie. But it was what I did to the outside that made these over the top.

I had out my trusty griddle and 2 slices of bread (buttered on one side each) at the ready.  Then, I took a handful of grated parmesan and piled it on the hot griddle surface.  I added the slice of bread (butter side down) and let the slice fry up underneath as I stacked on the rest of the ingredients on top.  I did the same thing with the topper piece of bread.  Flipping such a massive creation was tricky but, as they say, it's all in the wrist.
I was left with this crispy, crunchy, golden crust that just really made the sam stand out.  It was kind of like an inside out grilled cheese sandwich.  It was kind of amazing.  It left me wondering... Will I ever make a Panini without this outer cheese crust again? I have to imagine the answer is no.

And now, it is back to "nesting." I am 5 days away from my due date and moving all the more slowly with each passing hour.
C'mon baby!