Jill: Pregnancy Update

Jill is now 15 weeks pregnant!!

Tuesday night's Recaps

19 Kids and Counting "Duggars in Cuffs"

• Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary by taking Jill and her fiancé and Jessa and her boyfriend on a triple date. The Duggar patriarch and matriarch have a special evening planned for the couples. "I've always got a few tricks up my sleeve," says Jim Bob.
• After leaving the house, Jim Bob starts driving recklessly and is pulled over by a police officer, who instructs everyone to step out of the vehicle and line up on the sidewalk.
• "I knew my dad was in on it," admits Jill. "But I thought: 'Because my dad's in on it, what's he going to make us do?'"
• The cop, in cahoots with Jim Bob, handcuffs each of the couples together and leaves the keys with the Duggar dad.
• To teach their daughters and future sons-in-law the importance of teamwork and communication in marriage, Jim Bob and Michelle have a series of challenges planned. Ben and Jessa have an extra set of handcuffs between them so they don't get too close together.
• The first stop is a picnic spot at a local park, where each of the couples has to prepare peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. Then they head over to the playground to go through a timed obstacle course. Jill and Derick end up winning. 
•  "That might have been a little silly, but there was a point to it," says Ben.
• Next, the group heads over to Jim Bob's friend's house to shoot a bow and arrow. By the end of the evening, Jim Bob and Michelle are feeling confident about their daughters' relationships, and the kids say they enjoyed themselves.
• "Overall, we really enjoyed the triple date," shares Derick.
• "Being handcuffed to you is rather enjoyable," Jessa tells Ben with a smile.
• In Washington D.C., Josh pulls on a pair of sport shorts and a T-shirt and prepares to run a 5K race, the equivalent of 3.1 miles. "Josh has been doing some training," says Anna. "We're not runners, surprisingly."
• Josh doesn't quite make his 30-minute goal but is satisfied with his accomplishment. Trainer Steve Conley, a former NFL linebacker, is impressed.

19 Kids and Counting "Duggar Derby"

• Michelle takes Johannah out for an afternoon of one-on-one time at a local equestrian center. At age 12, the Duggar matriarch had quite a scare when the horse she was riding took off galloping.
• "I think horseback riding was quite a pleasurable experience for Hanney," says Michelle.
• That evening, the family--including Ben, who is living in the Duggars' guest house--gathers in the boys' room for their nightly Bible Time.
• The following day, while Jim Bob and the older kids build ramps for their soap box derby cars, Jessa and Ben take the little ones to Fast Lane to eat pizza and play arcade games. Jana goes along as a chaperone, but she plans to give Jessa and Ben a taste of parenthood by letting them keep track of the little ones.
• According to Jessa, "Ben is excellent with kids" and is going to be a great dad.
• At the end of the afternoon, Johannah says Jessa and Ben are "ready for 19 kids."
• Later, the whole family meets in a parking lot to watch the soap box derby race. They hold two qualifying races to determine the fastest drivers from each of the three teams.

Qualifying Race 1:

Winner: Justin (White team)

Johannah (Red team)

Jennifer (Blue team)

Qualifying Race 2:

Winner: James (White team)

Jason (Red team)

Jackson (Blue team)

• Justin, Johannah, and Jennifer end with the best times, so they become the drivers for the final race. Grandma Duggar fires the starting pistol, and the race begins. Justin crosses the finish line first, but Johannah and Jennifer are not far behind. 

Final Race:

1st place: Justin (White team)

2nd place: Johannah (Red team)

3rd place: Jennifer (Blue team)

• The Duggars end the day with a picnic in the parking lot.  

Happy 5th Birthday Mackynzie!!

Happy 5th Birthday Kinze!!

Recap: "Duggar Girls Go Glam" and "Duggar To-Dos"

Sorry this Recap of the newest episodes is late...But here it is! :)

19 Kids and Counting "Duggar Girls Go Glam"

• Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, and Joy-Anna visit Freshair Salon to experiment with hair and makeup styles for Jill's wedding. "We never really go to salons," says Jessa. "We have friends who can cut hair, and they will do that for us."
• At the salon, the four oldest girls have their hair curled and pulled partway back, while Joy requests a full up-do. On the day of the wedding, they decide to wear their hair curly and mostly down, which is Derick's favorite style.
• When asked about her relationship status, Jana replies that she is "good with just waiting right now."
• Joy-Anna says she does not plan on entering into a relationship any time soon.  "It's just a lot of work," shares the almost-17-year-old.
• After hair and makeup, the girls browse for bridesmaids dresses. They are looking for a dress that provides covering from the "neck to knee" and is practical enough to be worn for future events.
• The girls fall in love with a lacy, mint green dress. To make it fit Duggar modesty standards, Jana purchases an additional dress for extra material so she can add sleeves, raise the neckline, extend the length, and create a more vintage look. The dresses cost less than $30 each.
• Jana is the family's primary seamstress, although Jessa, Jill and Michelle are also proficient at sewing. Jana says Jinger and Joy are "working" on their sewing skills.
• In Washington D.C., Anna and the kiddos learn how to prepare healthy foods from Heather, a friend they met at the farmer's market. For a snack, they prepare meatball-grape-pineapple kabobs, which Mackynzie and Michael love. For dinner, Heather introduces fingerling potatoes cooked with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; green beans and squash; and salmon with peaches.
• Josh approves: "Anna and Heather did a great job with the meal." The kids don't care for the squash, but they enjoy the rest of it.

 19 Kids and Counting "Duggar To-Dos"

• The Duggars usually purchase shoes from thrift stores, but they decide to splurge for Jill's wedding. Michelle, Grandma Duggar, and the girls head to Famous Footwear to pick out tan heels for the bridesmaids and white sandals for the flower girls. Jill plans to go barefoot.
• "I think that every girl likes a new pair of shoes," says Jinger.
• When asked if any of her daughters have a shoe obsession, Michelle responds that a number, and perhaps all, of her girls could fit that bill.
• After their honeymoon, Jill and Derick will temporarily live in a large house that Jim Bob owns and plans to sell soon. While the ladies shop, the guys meet a flooring specialist at the house to lay carpeting. The Duggar dad's goal is for his sons to learn a new skill they can use throughout their lives.
• Some guys would find it inconvenient to constantly have their younger siblings around, especially while doing jobs that could potentially go much quicker without having to supervise little ones, but John-David says he sees it as "planning for the future."
• In D.C., Josh and Anna and the kids decide to make a (slightly unconventional) wedding gift for Jill and Derick...a Nepal-themed baby mobile.
• "For anyone else, I wouldn't get them a baby gift as a wedding gift, but for a Duggar, it's just kind of appropriate," says Anna. The reasoning behind the theme is that Nepal is where Jill and Derick's love story began.
• Does Anna hope to be pregnant again soon? "I would love to have more children, but it's just that balance of welcoming more and enjoying the three children that God has for me," says the young mom. 
• As the show wraps up, the Duggar ladies keep Jana company while she alters the bridesmaids dresses.
• "We have a lot of work to do on these dresses to make them fit right and work right, but we also have a short period of time to do it," says Jana. Just a few weeks until the wedding!

New Duggar Recipies!

Peachy Salmon

Prep Time: Max. 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of fresh salmon
• Four fresh peaches
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Dash of sea salt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350  ̊F.
• Peel and slice peaches, place in a baking dish around the salmon.
• In a separate bowl, combine rice vinegar, honey, olive oil and salt, and top salmon and peaches with sauce.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes (until the fish flakes when poked with a fork).

Sautéed Green Beans and Yellow Squash

Ingredients:

• Fresh yellow squash, 2-3, large
• Fresh string beans, 2 handfuls
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Dash of sea salt
• Garlic clove, pressed or diced

Directions:

• Wash and chop the squash and green beans.
• Add olive oil to sauce pan over medium heat. Add fresh garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Add squash and green beans and cook for 5-8 minutes until beans are bright green and squash is tender.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Potato Mashups

Ingredients:

• Fingerling potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Dash of sea salt
• Ground pepper
• Garlic, pressed or diced

Directions:

• Boil potatoes for 15 minutes.
• After potatoes are soft, place them on a baking pan and mash with a fork.
• Sprinkle potatoes with olive oil, fresh pressed garlic, salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes

Rainbow Meatball Kabobs
Prep Time: Max 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

• Skewers or toothpicks
• Frozen Chicken and Apple Meatball Bites or frozen Beef & Cheese Meatball Bites
• Grapes
• Cheddar, cut into bite-size cubes
• Pineapple, cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 C low sodium chicken broth
• Optional: cherry tomatoes, green or red pepper

Optional dipping sauces:

• Ketchup
• Barbeque
• Honey mustard
• Teriyaki

Directions:

• Prep dipping sauces and serving platter.
• Cut cheddar and veggies into bite-size cubes
• 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, heat meatballs for 60 sec. in the microwave.
• Place pieces on a toothpick or skewer to make your own kebabs.