A Change In Topics-Feeling Unwelcome

I know my posts up until now have been about cooking but I felt the need to vent. For the past few weeks, we have been taking the little man to a local kids gym for a sports class on saturday mornings. He loves it. It's a small group of kids his age and each week they are introduced to a new sports skill and color and activity. It's great that after a busy week we can spend 45 minutes of uninterrupted time dedicated to him.
This gym we take him to also has "open play time" that is available all week. Today was the first opportunity i've had to take him to open play since we joined. So, super excited to spend the afternoon with my boy, I picked him up early from daycare and we were off. There was a class going on when we arrived so the gym was almost empty except for a mom and 2 little boys. The employee at the desk greated us very nicely and told us to have fun. Thats where the friendliness stopped. Little K and I entered the gym and were immediately stared at by the mom(who was playing on her cell phone btw). She actually got up and ushered her boys to the complete opposite end of the gym as soon as K started playing near them. Ok that was weird, right? But whatever, we kept playing. He was having a blast. A young female employee then came in and said hi and asked how old he was. I told her 20 months and she made a face and said "oh". And then walked away. Seriously? Ok..just keep playing mom, don't think too much of it. At this point the class let out and those kids all came into the gym. With their moms and 2 more employees who appeared to be managers or higher ups of some sort. This is where I suddenly felt the need to leave. Not one person acknowledged my presence, or my son's for that matter, not even the employees. They started pulling the kids around on wheelie things and almost knocked him over twice, no one said a word either time. They all seemed to rotate around the room away from us, making faces and staring the whole time. I know I can be hyper sensitive sometimes but this was definitely not me making it up.
Little K and I put our shoes back on and headed out, both feeling confused about why we had to leave. It had me thinking the whole ride home. I felt like such an outcast because I'm not able to be there during the week on a regular basis and these moms seemed to have formed some sort of club with exclusivity to stay at home moms. I felt like I had a giant sign over my head that screamed "working mom-please avoid me!" I just don't get it. Stay at home mom, working mom. Doesn't the word "mom" mean the same thing either way? We are all just trying to do the best we can for our little ones, right? Believe me, I wish I was fortunate enough to stay home more with my son but I work out of neccessity to support our family. It's frustrating to me that as women we are so quick to place labels and judge each other about the way we parent. We have enough battles to face in this world, shouldn't we band together and support each other instead of making one another feel lousy about the choices we make?
I know one thing for certain, I'll be sticking to K's normal Saturday class until the session's up and we won't be renewing our membership there.

One Pot Dinner=Lazy Sunday Favorite

       Friday night Coach bag bingo that lasted 16 hours(I exaggerate, but not by much) and a long Saturday at the Stringband Show of Shows makes for a very lazy Sunday in this house. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for the little man up with the sun, we wouldn't have gotten out of bed today. We only left the house to run to Target for diapers and wipes(congrats to me for making out of the store with ONLY the items on my list!). So while I normally enjoy spending a little bit of time in the kitchen on Sundays, today I didn't want to move from the couch. These are the days when I'm thankful for easy one-pot meals.

       Stuffed peppers are probably my favorite fall/winter comfort food. However, I don't like making them. Too many pots and pans to clean up. Plus, Kenny only likes the peppers when they are really soft and I don't have my dutch oven anymore to be able to make them that way.So I came up with this recipe a few months ago to solve these issues. I call it Stuffed Pepper Goulash.

 

Some ground beef/turkey, peppers, rice, diced tomatoes, sauce, and good seasons zesty italian dressing.

Start by chopping up your peppers. I used a green bell pepper and a red pepper since that's what I had in the fridge. Brown your meat and drain the fat.I used extra lean ground turkey today like I usually do to make it a healthier option. Throw in the peppers and zesty italian mix and saute for a few minutes to soften the peppers.

Then add your diced tomatoes, sauce, a little water, and rice. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until the rice is tender and some of the liquid is absorbed. You're done.

I spent about 20 minutes of my day in the kitchen and still had a fabulous, flavorful, healthy dinner with my boys.

Now I'm off to enjoy the Oscars-even though I haven't seen a single movie nominated!

 

 

 

Stuffed Pepper Goulash

 

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1 can petite diced tomatoes(do not drain)

1 can tomato sauce

1 packet good seasons zesty italian dressing mix

1-2 bell peppers, diced

1 cup water

1 cup rice

 

Brown meat and drain fat. Add peppers and dressing mix. Saute for a few minutes until peppers start to soften. Add diced tomatoes and their liquid, the sauce, the water and the rice. Stir well and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes until rice is tender. Add some grated parmesan and enjoy!





A few of my favorite things

Crockpots, Lemons, and Squash oh my!

 

 

I really don't know how I survived on my own before I discovered Crockpot cooking. I use my Crockpot at least once a week. Usually on one of my longer work days so that I can just come home and make a few final touches to dinner and spend the rest of my time with my boys. This recipe combines my favorite cooking method with my favorite flavor, lemon. I absolutely love citrus flavor in cooking.

 

 I found this recipe on Pinterest(my favorite web invention ever!) way back when I first joined but, in trying to give credit, I discovered that the link is no longer valid. Sorry to whomever created this fabulous dish. I love it and wish I could give you credit!

I'm of course referring to Crockpot Lemon Chicken.

What you will need:

about 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 stick salted butter

3-4 large lemons(depending on your personal taste)

1-2 packets Good Seasons Zesty Italian dressing mix

(I always use 2 for a nice rich flavor)

2 cups white or brown rice

optional: 1 large or 2 small yellow squash(my favorite vegetable!)

 

Place the stick of butter in the bottom of the Crockpot. Place the chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle the dressing packets over the chicken. Now juice the lemons right on top. Let it go on low for 4-6 hours.

About 1/2 hour before serving time, shred up the chicken. Then cut up the squash and add to Crockpot.

Cook your rice and serve the chicken on top.

Looks yummy, right?

 

As an alternative, you can do this on the stove top. I used chicken tenderloins for this method. Dredge them in flour, saute in frying pan with 2 tablespoons of butter(used far less butter for this method!!) and then added the dressing mix, lemon juice, and squash to marinate over low heat for a few minutes. I served this over rice as well but nixed the shredding of the chicken. Tastes great this way too!

 

And since I'm talking about a few of my favorite things, can I just take a minute and share my favorite Valentine card of all time? My first one from the little man!

Made my heart melt!!!!!!

 

Hope you all have a great dinner tonight!

 



PORK...it's what's for dinner

...More specifically Barbecue Pulled Pork

 

 

 

I never was a pulled pork fan. I don't know why. When I was young, I pretty much just decided I didn't like things without trying them and then it was just stuck in my head that I wouldn't eat them. Now that I'm older, I'm much more open to trying new things so when a friend made pulled pork for a party my husband said "try it, you'll like it". And guess what? I did. Please don't tell him that I admitted he was right.

So then I started searching for a recipe to make it myself. Since its one of his favorite things to eat as far as barbecue goes, I wanted to be able to make it for him. Everyone's got their own way of doing it it seems. So this is my version that I've come up with after searching and trying different ways.

 

What you need:

2-3 lb boneless pork butt(shoulder)

 (ok ok you can use bone-in if you must but meat on the bone totally creeps me out)

1 can of soda(any kind of brown soda will do-root beer and dr pepper are the best)

Lawry's seasoned salt

1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce

 

 

Generously rub the seasoned salt all over the pork. I mean generously. This is a huge part of what gives it good flavor.

 

Then pour in the can of soda.

 

Then add the Sweet Baby Ray's. About half the bottle.



 

 Mmmm mmmm. Don't even bother trying to argue about what kind of barbecue sauce you use. This is hand's down the best around. If you use something else, please don't even tell me about it. My husband will fight with you about it until he's blue in the face. Its the best.

Let it go in the crock pot on low (low and slow is key here) for about 6-8 hours depending on the size of the butt(heehee). Then shred it up with forks. It should just start to fall apart. Add a little more barbecue sauce at this point if needed to thicken it up a little.

 

Yummmmm!

 

Enjoy!

 

Hey Hey Jalapeno

Let's talk Super Bowl.It annoys me that unless you're an official sponsor, advertisers have to refer to it as "the big game."Really, NFL? You needed to trademark the name of the game? Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl. Whatcha gonna do about it??

 

Ok, Ok I'm just being bitter because my team didn't make it.

 

 

photo source

 

Why, Clay Matthews? Why couldn't you do it this year? I love you anyway. Call me.

 

But I digress. If I can't take an interest in the teams playing, at least I can be excited about the snacks!! My most prized recipe is a fan favorite. It gets requested anytime I'm invited to a family function. My husband eats it by the bowl full. My uncle likes it super hot. I'm talking about Jalapeno Popper Dip.

Mayo, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, bacon(optional), pickled jalapenos, and a fresh jalapeno(optional).

Drain and dice the pickled jalapenos. Seed and dice the fresh jalapeno if you dare! Be careful with this step, the heat stays on your fingers forever! I suggest wearing gloves if possible.

 

Heat the bacon and crumble it up. I suggest using fully cooked, microwavable bacon. It tastes just as good and saves the mess since you only need a few slices. Mix all the ingredients together really well.

Top with some more cheddar and parmesan cheese and bake it until bubbling. I've served this dip several different ways at this point. In mini quiche shells, stuffed in crescent rolls, in the crock pot, with wheat thins and with tortilla chips. I was feeling ambitious and decided this batch would be served with homemade tortilla chips. I bought corn tortillas at the market and cut them into triangles.

 Arrange them on cookie sheet and brush with some olive oil then sprinkle with some salt. I used ground sea salt to for a nice texture. I also used this lime infused olive oil for a little extra flavor.

Purchased at The Tubby Olive in Reading Terminal Market. Seriously, check that place out. They have an amazing selection of flavored oils and balsamic vinegars that you can taste before you buy.

 

Baked at 350 for about 10 minutes.

 

Jalapeno Popper Dip Ingredients

 

1 block of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded cheddar, plus extra for topping

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping

4 ounce can sliced pickled jalapenos, drained and diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced(optional)

4-5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

 

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 until bubbling and melted (about 20 minutes)

*I usually double this recipe for parties as it tends to disappear quickly!

 

 

What's your favorite party food? Hope you all enjoy "The Big Game", I'll probably be asleep before Beyonce struts out at half time!