Cooking Failure: Egg Pancakes

I did not actually set out to make egg pancakes, nor do I recommend trying to do so. I had been planning on making Gordie some scrambled eggs but ended up with these instead.

Egg Pancake Recipe (again, do not make these, they are not good)

2 eggs (beaten)

Instructions

Pour eggs into a small, warm frying pan. Forget you are cooking while comforting your cranky sick child. Remember you are cooking after an undetermined period of time. Your eggs should be completely cooked through, extremely thin and crispy.

These weren’t actually as bad as I suspected. But they were pretty crispy and a little rubbery. Gordie found them to be a little distressing.

Tasty Rice (Osbourne First Cookbook)

My husband suggested making “Tasty Rice” for my third recipe from The Usborne First Cookbook because “Rice can be so plain”. 
If you missed first recipe I tried -  Baked Egg Tomato Cups or the second Cheese Soufflé  make sure it check them out.

Tasty Rice Recipe
4 tomatoes
1 cup mushrooms
2 onions
1 red pepper
6 slices bacon
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 cup peas
2 Tbsp tomato puree
8 oz freshly cooked rice (I used day old brown basmati rice)

Directions
1. Chop the tomatoes (the original recipe said to peel them but I didn’t find it necessary), mushrooms, onions, peppers and bacon.
2. Heat the oil, onion and bacon in a large saucepan over a low heat. (If I was doing it again I would use bacon I cooked separately so it’s crispier). When the onions are soft, add the rest of the vegetables and the tomato puree. Cook with the lid on for 20 minutes stirring often.
3. Mix the rice into the vegetable mixture over a medium heat until hot.

So, Did They Eat It?
This turned out really well. I served it as a side while my husband’s family was over for dinner. Everyone thought it was really good. The bacon was cooked when it was finished but I prefer crispier bacon and don’t feel the need for the bacon fat so I would definitely cook them separately next time. This is one I’ll be adding to my recipe index.

Per 1/8 Rice mixture: Calories – 146, Carbs – 18g, Fat – 6g, Protein 4g, Fibre – 2g.

Talking to Your Kids About People With Special Needs

One of the many parenting challenges that can leave even the best parent at a loss is what to say to your kids when they see someone with special needs. Especially when they react in inappropriateate or insensitive manner.
My brother has special needs. He is a bilateral amputee with a rare syndrome called Cornelia de Lange syndrome. He looks different. Even the littlest kids can see that there is something different. So suffice to say I have a lot of experience in this area.
Kids react to seeing people with special needs in a lot of different ways. Some cry, some point, some laugh, and some are truly scared and some are simply curious. I promise you that no matter what you child does, it is probably not the first time and it will certainly not be the last time that it has happened to that family.
Parents have a lot of different reactions too. Some parents just tell their child to be quiet and stop staring. I understand this impulse but you do miss out on a great learning opportunity. I find it the most awkward when parents just ignore their child’s comments. But I understand that they just don’t know how to deal with it.
So, what should you do? The first thing to remember is that kids are naturally curious. They’re not usually trying to be rude. Most parents and caregivers would like you to help your kids understand that people with special needs are people too and deserving of our respect.
If they are scared, comfort them. It’s natural for kids to worry that people may be hurt or be frightened of things that they don’t understand. With my brother, kids are often worried that my brother’s arms have broken off, that he is really hurt or that it could happen to them. I usually try to reassure kids that he is not actually hurt and that some people are just born different. I also point out that even though he doesn’t have any fingers, he still has feet. Pointing out things that they do share somehow reassures a lot of kids.
If a kid is just curious, I’ll encourage my brother to say hi. This is actually what I would suggest you do with your kids too. Just say hi. For the little ones, this may be enough. Kids who are a little bit older will probably have questions. Ask if it’s okay for them to ask some questions. Not everyone will have the time or the patience, but many people will.
There was one time that even I was at a loss for words. We were at a conference for kids who are multiple amputees and we were sitting beside a boy who was about two years old. He had one finger on one hand and one and a half fingers on the other hand. He pointed at my brother and said to his Dad “That boy doesn’t have any fingers!”. I guess in his world everyone has fingers, he just hadn’t noticed that most people have 10 yet. It just goes to show that no one is exempt from having to deal with this with their kids.
R-Word - Spread the Word to End the Word

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

The best parts of my morning with my cranky, sick kid.

          

              

       

Sometimes the Key is Realizing that You’re the One With the Problem

Putting Gordie to sleep was starting to drive me crazy. I was especially frustrated because I felt like I was doing everything right. But for some reason it was starting to take forever to put him to sleep. I was racking my brain as to what the problem was.

The first penny dropped when I realized that his three hour naps had become routine instead of being an anomaly. So even though I generally think that waking a sleeping child is not a good idea, I was figuring I'd have to start waking him up after 2 hours so he would be tired at bedtime.

Then it sunk in. He wasn't tired at bedtime. I was trying to put him to bed before he was even remotely sleepy. He in fact wasn't having a sleep problem at all. He was waking up happily at 6 in the morning, going down for his nap like a dream and was in a good mood all day. He just wasn't ready for bed when I expected him to be ready for bed.

I was the one with the problem. I was grumpily being woken up at 6, I was tired all day and I was frustrated when he wasn't falling asleep after over an hour of me trying to put him to sleep.

So instead of trying to change Gordie's sleeping patterns, I decided to change my own behavior. The first (and easiest thing) I did was start putting Gordie to bed when he was actually tired at 9. The second thing I'm still working on. Going to bed earlier. I think that might make a lot of things better.

The first day I tried the new plan it was wonderful. Gordie got some extra time with his dad in the evening and when I turned the lights out at 8:45 he was asleep 15 minutes later.

Of course though as soon as I figured this out, Gordie got a cold and was only napping for 2 hours and crashing at 8pm. Figures.

Meatless Monday: Mexican Lasagna

This recipe was inspired by a joke cookbook that my husband and I got for our wedding called Mini Mart a la Carte. The cookbook’s premise is recipes that you can make while shopping only at a convenience store. In general, the recipes are things that I (or most anyone else) would even dream of making, but the one for “Lowrider Lasagna” actually looked pretty good. I tweaked it a little and the result is below. It’s a big hit at my house and it’s something I can whip up even if I don’t have a lot of time to cook or badly need groceries.
Mexican Lasagna Recipe
1 can refried beans (I like the ones with green chiles you could also use pinto beans)
1 large can diced tomatoes drained
1 cup frozen corn (or a can of corn)
1 cup shredded cheese
6 whole wheat tortillas

Cooking with the Kids
The kids can:

• Spread the refried beans on the tortillas
  
• Sprinkle the cheese, tomatoes and corn

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 2. Rip half the tortillas into pieces so they cover the bottom of the baking dish. Any size is fine. I usually do 2 whole tortillas and then rip a third into a few pieces to fill the gaps. Spread half of the refried beans on half of the tortillas and arrange half in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom. Top evenly with half each of the corn, tomatoes and cheese. 3. Cover the rest of the tortillas with the remaining refried beans and layer  on top and cover with the rest of the corn, tomatoes and cheese 4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes longer.

Per 1/4 lasagna: Calories – 387, Carbs – 57g, Fat – 12g, Protein 18, Fibre – 12.

Spinach and Pickled Green Beans Dip

I’m starting to think that I need to go out for groceries more often because a lot of my recipes seem to be related to not having a lot of groceries. I had steak that I defrosted in the fridge but I couldn’t figure out what to serve with it. I was super low on groceries but I did have spinach so someone suggested making spinach dip and serving it on toast. I thought that was perfect and so this is what I came up with. I had spicy pickled green beans in the fridge (who doesn’t?) so that’s what I used but pickled asparagus or the more typical choice of marinated artichokes would also be great.
Spinach and Pickled Green Beans Dip Recipe
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp of butter or olive oil
1 cup hot and spicy pickled green beans chopped
1 box frozen chopped spinach defrosted
2 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp cream cheese
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper


Directions
1. Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until softened.
2. Add the green beans, spinach, mayo, cream cheese and lemon juice.
3. cook for about 5 minutes, until hot stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve over toast, with bread or your favorite chips.
Per serving (1/4 of the dip): Calories – 116, Carbs – 6g, Fat – 9g, Protein 3, Fibre – 3.