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kale and sausage rigatoni dinner with candles
February 15, 2021

Weekend with my Valentines

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Hi friends, I hope you had a nice weekend! What did you do for Valentine’s Day? 

No dinner out for us this year for obvious reasons, but we wanted to do something a little special so Matt made us a fun dinner. Lighting candles (and the flowers Matt got!) made it feel more special even though we had a third wheel 😉

kale and sausage rigatoni dinner with candles

I stumbled across the Date Night Rigatoni with Sausage and Kale recipe over on the blog Pinch of Yum recently and we thought it sounded super good. Valentine’s night seemed like a good time to try it! 

Matt said he used a little less heavy cream and a little more tomato paste than the recipe called for, because we love tomato-based sauces, but otherwise he followed the recipe.  

matt making dinner

It came out really yummy and Riese liked it, too! We have lots of leftovers so that will be useful for the workweek. 

Other dinners this weekend included a taco night, which we hadn’t done in way too long. Matt always makes a mean taco – check out how high all the toppings were piled!

loaded tacos

They were stuffed with ground beef, guac, tomato, cilantro, chopped spinach, and cheese. Plus some hot sauce and lime on the side! 

I’m starting to feel a little nauseous again in the evenings, which I’m not super pumped about – I remember when I was pregnant with Riese my nausea came back late in the pregnancy but not this early (I’m almost 26 weeks). Bummerrrrrr.

(If you missed it, here is the baby number 2 pregnancy announcement and first trimester recap, and here is a 23 week update. I’ll do another update soon!)

Basic meals have been sounding best, and on Friday night all I wanted was chicken tenders and fries so we pulled a bunch of stuff out of the freezer for a really easy dinner that ended up hitting the spot. 

Important question: are you team regular fry shape or team waffle fries? I like all fries, but if I have the choice I’m definitely 100% team waffle fries. They get so crispy and delicious! 

frozen chicken tenders with frozen sweet potato fries and string beans

Plus some string beans on the side to get in some veggies! Matt, Riese, and I all really enjoyed this meal. 🙂 It reminded me I need to make my homemade Gluten Free Chicken Tenders (<- recipe) again soon because those are really delicious.

But having a frozen option on hand is nice, too. These are the ones that we used – Bell & Evans brand that we got from Whole Foods – and they were great. Good flavor and nice and meaty! And not too salty either.

awesome frozen chicken tenders

We didn’t do much besides a couple walks and some chores around the house this weekend because the weather was pretty crummy. I got a lot of reading in, too. I just started “Cinderella Ate My Daughter” (FYI this and the other Amazon links that follow are affiliate links) and am finding it interesting (and disturbing…) so far. I had this on my list to read ages ago and am glad I finally picked it up.

I don’t think this book is quite as well done as “Girls & Sex” by the same author which I also just read, but it has been interesting for sure. I will have some new book round up (both non-fiction and fiction) posts coming to you soon, so stay tuned for more of a review!

cinderella ate my daughter book

I’m about to start a new fiction book (not sure what yet, recs are welcome!) to give me a break from all the non-fiction, but after that the next non-fiction book on my list is Caste and/or The Warmth of Other Suns by the same author. Have you read either?

I hope you all have a nice day – I’ll see you back here with a new recipe on Wednesday! Did any of you try my Cherry Chocolate Overnight Oats over the weekend? Or any of my other Valentine’s-related recipes? 

- anne
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7 comments
  • Ana February 15, 2021 · 12:25PM:
    Team waffle fries, for sure! And now I want a taco (or 3)!
    Reply
  • Kimberly February 15, 2021 · 2:23PM:
    Waffle fries every time. All the food in this post looks so delicious and I wish I had some of those tacos!
    Reply
  • roadrunner February 15, 2021 · 9:32PM:
    You need to rent out Chef Matt! He can sure whip up some tasty stuff, and the Valentine's Day dinner sounds terrific! Hope you make it through the icy weather safely!
    Reply
  • Amanda February 16, 2021 · 5:34AM:
    I just finished reading Shipped by Angie Hockman. A cute light read (makes me want to visit the Galapagos now)!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 16, 2021 · 12:35PM:
      Fun, will check it out - thanks!
      Reply
  • Jacki February 16, 2021 · 11:44AM:
    I read The Warmth of Other Suns and found it so informative and inspiring and it definitely taught me quite a bit. All that being said, it was long and I do think it could have been at least 200 pages shorter. It got a little repetitive in parts. But, it's still worth reading despite the length!
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 16, 2021 · 12:35PM:
      Thanks, this is helpful!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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