Asianish

This dish was inspired partially by some Yakisoba my husband made for us on Saturday and then by what I had leftover in my fridge that needed used up. I was not sure it was going to turn out, but it ended up being really delicious and my kids devoured it! These amounts would feed about 3-4 adults.

1/2 lbs sage sausage (or try a different meat, that's just what I had in my fridge)

1/2 head cabbage chopped in strips

1/2 onion sliced

2 carrots peeled (then use the peeler to shave long strips off the carrot)

Sauce:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbs honey

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp corn starch

Crumble sausage and cook in a large skillet. Add vegetables and stir fry about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl combine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger. Pour over meat and vegetables, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes until vegetables are tender. Push the meat and vegetables to one side of the pan to get access to the sauce. Add cornstarch to the juice and stir in until smooth. Then stir the vegetables back in with the sauce. Serve over rice.

Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Shooters

I have this obsession with appetizers and miniaturizing foods. I make little tiny pumpkin pies in my mini muffin pan and always try to do something fun like that for parties. These were my latest idea for a birthday party for my niece and nephew this last weekend. Instead of having a dinner, my sister decided to have everybody bring an appetizer. I hate going to the grocery store more than twice a month so I wanted to come up with something to make with what I already had in the house.

I cut Pillsbury Homestyle Biscuits into fourths and tried to make the resulting triangles into circles, fried little sausage patties, cut small cheese squares, and cooked 8 eggs scrambled and as flat as I could, sort of omelet style. I cooked and prepared everything but the eggs at home and then, with the help of my sister-in-law, assembled them on location. I also made some country gravy (from a mix) for a sauce to go over them. Everyone seemed to like them, and the only problem I found was that they were a little hard to eat. They'd be fun for a brunch or baby shower.

My mom and dad made these Jalapeno Poppers.

Halved jalapeno peppers cleaned out, filled with cream cheese. Wrap bacon around and top with apricot jam. Not sure how long they baked them. They were really yummy, but super spicy for a pregnant lady! Yikes!
These are my mom's famous Rhubarb Muffins. I don't have the recipe, but will put it up as soon as I do. If you've never tried rhubarb you really should. I'm going to try and have some fun with it this summer

Perhaps an Inappropriate Joke

My baby is due in two days. My sister (who has four children) has told me that love making is the best way to help induce labor. So I really hope I go into labor tonight because then I could say that five guys sent me into labor! Well Five Guys Burgers and Fries that is! Ok, so not that funny, but that brings us to today's recipe:

Easy, Yummy Dinner

Don't prepare anything during the day for dinner. Then get home late from an event. Call your husband to see if he's eaten anything. Suggest places for dinner you know he'll be craving. And get him to pick something up so you don't have to cook!

:)

an Experiment in Banana Bread

My friend's husband just had a kidney transplant, and I want to go see how she's doing, and I always feel like I need to take something. I decided to make a loaf of banana bread, but then I remembered that my friend eats very few simple carbs and really watches her sugar intake so I modified my recipe a little bit.

Here's the original recipe:

"AJ's Stinkin' Banana Bread"

3 bananas

1 cup oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

and here's how I made it:

2 1/2 bananas

1 cup all natural applesauce

1/3 cup Agave (a natural, organic sweetener that doesn't raise your blood sugar. check it out here)

2 eggs

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

Bake at 350 degrees for 48 minutes

I think it turned out pretty well! I like the texture and density. I think it could have used a little more sweetness, but if you put a little honey on it that problem would be solved or you could up the Agave to 1/2 cup. I did grease the pan so there's a little bit of fat there. My little girl really likes it!

Daycare Drugging

So I'm sure I'm not the only mother who has been tempted to give their child Benedril or something to help get them to sleep. In fact I did give my daughter a very small amount when we were camping last summer, but I heard a story on the radio yesterday that I could hardly believe! An Ohio daycare worker was just found guilty of giving children at the daycare melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that helps control sleep and wake cycles, at nap time! She hid it in Toostie Rolls! Yikes! I wonder if they have nap time in jail?

click here to read the whole story

Beef Enchiladas

Tonight was beef enchiladas for dinner. My husband works at our business in the evenings so we take dinner to him there a lot of the time. This is my mom's easy casserole style dish that's great for transport.

Beef Enchiladas

Sauce:

Melt 1 tablespoon shortening in a sauce pan, stir in 1/4 C flour, then whisk with 2 C water.

Add to sauce:

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tablespoons chili powder

dash oregano

dash onion salt

2 cans (8oz) tomato sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

dash salt and pepper

Cook until thickened

Hold out 1 cup sauce

Brown 1 pound hamburger with 1 chopped onion, salt and pepper. Then add 1 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon oregano. Add to sauce.

Grate 2-3 cups cheddar and/or monterey jack cheese. Spread 1/2 cup of reserved sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Layer soft flour tortillas, meat, and cheese. End with a layer of tortillas and pour remaining reserved sauce over the top. Grate a little bit of cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Serve with lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.

For our little family I halved the recipe and cooked it for 20 minutes in a 7 x 11 pan.

Post the First

My name is Holli. I am the mother of a beautiful 18 month girl and my second baby (a little boy) is due any day now. I don't know what this is going to be. A separate Blog from my personal one about my experiences as a mom and a wife and and the challenges and rewards associated with those jobs is maybe what this will turn into. We'll see!

Motherhood for me is:

• Hugs and Kisses everyday
• Listening to the same music from a toy over and over
• Dancing to that music and shaking my booty
• Putting off eating the piece of candy I want right now so I don't have to fight to get it away from my child
• Napping during nap time
• Waiting impatiently for her to wake up because I'm bored without her
• Teaching her words like poo-poo and not being able to refrain from laughing too when she thinks flatulence is funny
• Astonishment that a 15 month old can figure out how to use an iphone
• Giving in and letting her watch Max and Ruby for the fifth time that day
• Eating soggy cereal every morning because i keep getting up to get things, clean up spills, kiss boo-boos, etc.
• Saying prayers, singing songs, hearing her say momma first thing when she wakes up, and loving someone so much it fills me up