Quick notes on pregnancy and recipes..(cookies and meatloaf)

I'm sitting here blogging while I eat one of my delicious no-bake cookies. Yum! These things are so good that a pregnant woman should not be allowed to eat these things! I really shouldn't, but I've been craving them for about 2 days. I get a little worried that if I eat too many sweets I'll have such a big baby that I'll have another c-section. I had one of those with my third, and for anyone who thinks this is the way to go(and I've spoken to some who do think this), let me tell you it's not! And I know, because I've had four the normal way and recuperation is a lot better the normal way. (Besides, I get queasy, just thinking about a cut across my lower abdomen.)

Want to know how much my other babies weighed? Probably not, but I'll tell you anyway.

1. 6 lbs 12 oz. (2 weeks early)
2. 8 lbs. 8oz.
3. 9 lbs 8oz.
4. 8 lbs. 12oz.
5. 9 lbs. 2 oz.
6. ?

I have friends who have bigger babies, like 10 lbs+!

I'm short, FYI, and there's only one place for this baby to go. Thankfully, I've lost all my weight with all the babies. But since I have no stomach muscles to talk about (or they've become so flexible that they just keep on stretching) my belly seems to just keep going while I'm pregnant.

Here's a quick meatloaf recipe. I've never been able to make a meatloaf that I was sincerely impressed with, but this one is a worthy kind. It gets its merits from the glaze and the fact that it cooks in about 17 minutes!

Carrot Meatloaf

2 cups shredded carrots

1 green pepper cut up in small pieces(optional)

1 cup dry bread crumbs or quick oatmeal

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 envelope dry onion soup mix or about 2Tbsp of beef bouillons, 1Tbsp onion powder, 2tsp. salt

2 lbs lean ground beef

1/2lb. ground pork (optional)

Glaze: 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tsp. prepared mustard

In a bowl, combine carrots, green pepper, crumbs, eggs, milk and soup mix. Add meat, and mix well. On microwave-safe platter, shape mixture into a circle with a 9 in. diameter; form a 3 in. hole in the center. Cover with wax paper and microwave on high for about 16-18 minutes, or until no pink remains. Make sure it is rotating every 3 min. Drain. Let stand for 5 min.

Meanwhile, in a cup mix glaze ingredients. Spread half of glaze over meatloaf. Microwave on med. for 1 minute. Remove. Warm left over glaze to serve.

Yields: 10 servings. Recipe halves easily.

No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

1 stick margarine

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup milk

Use a big saucepan to heat on med/high. Let ingredients boil for 1 1/2 to 2 min. (No more than 2 min.)

Add quickly 1 cup peanut butter and 3 cups of quick oatmeal

Stir and scoop onto wax paper to cool. Makes about 2 doz. cookies

Hope you enjoy these two recipes. The meatloaf comes in handy when you need to make a quick meal. The cookies...well you can't just have one.