Our Impossible Adoption Story
If you're looking for the unbelievable account of how "impossible" became "done" in 5 business days, start here.
Gingered Beef & Veggies
This is good.
Red meat makes Husband happy. Veggies make Mama happy, and there isn’t much else to it, which makes everyone happy.
You’ll need:
- 1-1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak, cut into one-inch pieces
- 4 medium carrots, cut into half-inch slices
- 1/2 C sliced scallions
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-1/2 C water
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1-1/2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 Tablespoons cold water
- 1/2 C chopped red bell pepper
- 2 C frozen sugar snap peas, thawed
You’ll do:
- Toss beef, carrots, scallions and garlic in the slow cooker.
- Combine water, soy sauce, ginger, bouillon and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the beef mixture.
- Cover and cook on Low for about eight hours (or High for probably about 4 hours).
- Turn heat to High, and combine corn starch with 3 T cold water. Stir cornstarch mixture and bell pepper into the slow cooker. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
- Stir in snap peas for a minute or two and serve. Over rice is great.
Makes six to eight servings, which is good ’cause you’ll want more for lunch tomorrow.
Yummy? Check out some of my other favorite slow cooker recipes here, or follow the ever-growing Pinterest board here.
HT: Fitness Magazine for the original recipe, which I only altered slightly.
My Baby Is A Poo Marine – Part 2
“In the air, on land, and sea” goes the Marine’s hymn.
A couple of nights after the marine ambush, the Meatball was restless … planning his next assault.
He didn’t want to go to bed when Husband and I wanted to go to bed. (No, we don’t have a set bedtime or a bedtime routine started. Worst parents ever – I know, I know.) He just wanted to eat and fuss and poop and fuss. Little did I know he was lulling me into a sleepy defenselessness.
By 3 AM, he’d done just that.
And he knew it. Read more…
My Baby Is A Poo Marine
“In the air, on land, and sea,” (That’s the Marine’s, right?)
Exhibit A: Sea
The boy likes bath time. (And I’m grateful.) We used the little infant bath seat once, and then Husband decided to get in with him to keep a better hold of him … and then it just evolved into Father/Son time and they both love it. We all love it, ’cause it gives me time to put the bed back together and get myself ready for sleep.
As much as they both enjoy it, and as helpful as it is to me, I was surprised the first few times at how quickly it ended. After two or three earnest inquiries about the status of Meatball’s diaper pre-bath, though, I figured it out.
“You’re afraid he’s going to poo in the bathtub, aren’t you?” Read more…
Two Month Outtakes
(Sorry I’ve been a little absent this week. Meatball got a bit of a cold Monday-ish, and he’s been super clingy in recovery … which I totally understand, ’cause I’m that way when I’m not feeling well too. I hate to be put down and I refuse to sleep unless I’m on someone … mmkay, maybe I’m not exactly like that.)
If you follow me on Instagram, you saw our official “Two Months” pic. I love these little photo shoots. Set up the baby, slide backwards across the dirty kitchen floor, line up my little iPhone frame, tap as many pics as possible before lunging forward to nab the slouching/tipping baby.
So there are, of course, outtakes.
I really wanted to do more of him “standing” against the back of the chair, but it made me so nervous to be more than an arm’s reach from him like that. And the last two? Yes, he really did, ironically enough, catch sight of the ceiling fan in the bedroom.
Like it? Check out:
Winter Market
Did you know there are winter farmer’s markets?
I didn’t, until last week. Sarah inspired, first, a Google, and, then, a visit to Elgin’s winter farmer’s market last Saturday.
I wish I could say I was blown away and that we had a great little afternoon out. I guess we did have a good time, but 10 minutes was all it took to peruse the dozen vendors that were set up – many of whom weren’t even pretending to be farmers.
We’ll be back, though. Husband and I share this strange whim for supporting local business whenever possible. And I like eggs that don’t come from very far away.
A few cheap iPhone pics:
This guy caught us on our way out by promising he makes the best popcorn. (He saw Husband coming.) He scooped out a couple samples, bragged that there’s no butter in his caramel, and sold Husband a bag of what they both agree is the best popcorn ever.
(Meatball wasn’t impressed with any of it.)
Honey is one of those things that is a million times better when it’s real and local. I know, technically, any food is better for you when it’s real and local, but with honey you can taste it. This guy has a honey stick for whatever you’re craving.
He also had this stuff, which he must be used to explaining, because he got up from his seat as soon as he saw us puzzling over it. It’s freeze-dried honey. Seriously. You can use it as a sugar substitue in just about anything. It’s two “magic tricks,” as he sold them, were:
- iced tea (“You know how when you put sugar in your ice tea, you stir and … it all just collects at the bottom? Not this stuff.”), and
- oatmeal (“It grabs some of that moisture and becomes honey again.”).
How do you pass up magic, freeze-dried honey? Ya. You don’t. We both licked a finger and tried it as soon as we got home. He’s right. It tastes like a sweetener … with a very light honey flavor at the end. It’s good. I’m impressed.
We also came home with a dozen local eggs. We might have come home with some elk meat, but dude forgot to get it out of the truck before his dad drove away that morning. Or so he said. Meatball and I stood there and tried to look cool while Husband and Vendor enumerated the differences between elk and bison meat.
Spits and Wiggles 