Mom vs Dad - Time Differences

I stumbled across this article. Why Mom's Time Is Different From Dad's Time

It takes me 30-minutes to an hour to get Liam to sleep at night. And then sometimes 5 minutes of Dad time. Last night during bedtime Jason vacuumed. It doesn't take long to vacuum, and I really really hate doing it, but I would have rather vacuumed then nursed Liam to sleep. (And he didn't need Dad last night.) 

I find that some points of the article to be true. But not completely related to my household. While I do a lot of putting to bed (I have the boobs afterall to do it,) Jason will have helped with bathtime and/or changing him into PJs and a nighttime diapers. Then while I'm sitting in the nursery playing Candy Crush and nursing Liam, Jason will finish cleaning up the kitchen or like last night, vacuum. He's also in charge of trash so Wednesday night he'll get that ready and out the door. 

I'm on Level 425 in Candy Crush. I'm over 100 levels ahead of Jason, who used to be ahead of me (before September.) I estimate I spend over an hour a day playing Candy Crush, and another two hours or so online reading crap (really, it's crap), and looking at Facebook. I wish my FB were online as much as I am during the day. I base all these numbers on the fact that I spend around average 2.5 hours a day nursing and and 30 minutes pumping. 

I used to feel very overwhelmed because I wasn't able to accomplish anything during the day, except keeping Liam clean and fed. But now, with his longer sleep schedule and nap times, I have some time to clean up the kitchen, do laundry, and even MOP. I also have a little more time to blog and job search. 

And today's naptime was a big fail. Took an hour and a half to get him to sleep.....for an hour... and he's up. 

But he's adorable. 

Banana Blueberry Bread (Dairy Free)

I had some bananas and it took me a few tries to find a banana bread recipe that didn't have milk in it. I found this recipe and altered it. The recipe says it's very forgiving, which it is, and which is good because I made a handful of errors. The bread shouldn't have turned out at all, but it did and it's delicious! 

This makes two loaves.

Banana Blueberry Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 5-6 medium bananas. mashed
• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2-3 cups fresh/frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two loaf pans with non-stick spray. Line the pans with parchment paper (see photo). 
2. Beat sugar and oil in a bowl. Add eggs and mashed banana.
3. Sift together dry ingredients and fold into banana mixture alternately with orange juice.
4. Fold in blueberries.
5. Pour batter into loaf pans.
6. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour depending 
7. upon pan size. A toothpick inserted in the center which comes out clean is the best indicator that the loaf is fully baked.
8. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Rump Roast

We picked up our quarter of a cow from Crooked Creek Beef a few weekends ago. We received 200 pre-processed pounds of quarter-cow, it cost us just under $600 total. That means we paid $3.00/pound for everything from ground hamburger to t-bone steaks to roasts. We wound up with 38 one-pound packages of ground beef, and the rest was everything else. (Note - After processing, it's estimated we received approximately 115 pounds of beef, which amounts to approximate $5/pound. This is still a great price for the quality of beef we receive. Have your priced beef lately? And then priced hormone free beef?)

The reason I decided to go with Crooked Creek (aside from my friend Sarah using them) is because the beef is grass fed, hormone, antibiotic free beef. It's very high quality and you know where your meat comes from. When Liam is a little older, we will visit the farm and be able to see the cows we might be eating later that year. 

I'm still wrapping up using a few things from the last quarter of cow we got. I'm doing better at figureing out how to cook things I've never made before. I made the rump roast this week. And it turned out amazing! I love prime rib, and it was very similar. The quality of meat we receive tastes amazing. 

Rump Roast

The rub below is enough to use for 2.5-3.5 lb. roast (this is a good rub for any beef cut that you will roast). Remember, the spices only penetrate about 1/4 inch of the meat as it cooks. The roast should be served rare, and cut against the grain in thin, thin slices.

Before and After

Ingredients

• 1, 2.5 - 3 lb. rump roast
• 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose black pepper
• 2 good teaspoons granulated/powdered beef bouillon
• 1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon regular paprika
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• With a damp paper towel, wipe all sides of the roast.
• Leave the saddle of fat on the roast. It adds moisture and taste.
• In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Rub the olive oil into the roast and then coat with the dry rub.
• Place roast on a metal rack in a shallow metal pan/dish.
• Roast until it reaches an internal temperature of about 120-125 degrees. (Use a meat thermometer you can leave in the meat while cooking.) This will take anywhere from 50-70 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and allow to stand without cutting for 10-15 minutes. This allows the juices to stop flowing out and settle back into the meat.
• Cut against the grain when carving. 
• Remove roast to a cutting board and cut into thin slices. Sometimes a sharp serrated knife works best.

Meat Sauce

Another recipe from The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network. 

Here's what I did. It was DELICIOUS. I actually hope to make it again soon to keep a healthy stock in the freezer. 

Ingredients

3 pounds ground beef (I will use 2 pounds next time)

2 pounds sausage

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large yellow onions, diced (about 1.5 pounds)

3-4 bell peppers, seeded and diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine or stock (your choice)

Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes

Two 24-ounce jar good store-bought marinara sauce (or a 44-ounce jar)

Two 15-ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes, drained

One 6-ounce can tomato paste

"Spice Mixture"

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

4 bay leaves

3 tablespoons parsley flakes

Directions

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and sausage until totally browned. I added some Italian seasoning and garlic. Pour meat & liquid into strainer. Set meat aside.

Discard any grease in the pot, but do not clean the pot. (You can skip this step as I did below.) Drizzle in the olive oil. When it is heated, throw in the garlic, onions, and bell peppers. Stir and cook for ~5 minutes. Add the wine or stock and allow to boil/bubble and let reduce, another ~5 minutes. 

Add the crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine, and then add the "Spice Mixture". Stir, and then add the cooked meat. Mix well. Place the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 1 hour+, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Notes: 

• Add a little water or some low-sodium broth if it needs more liquid.
• I was impatient on waiting for the meat to cook. Cooking five pounds of meat can take a while. The Pioneer Woman fools you during her half hour show and spending 10 minutes on the sauce. So while I started the meat I also started the rest of it in another pot. You could precook the meat the day before or hours before. 
• Prep everything before hand! I cut all the onions and peppers, and then mixed together the "Spice Mixture" in a little bowl. I had all the cans ready to go, and a paper bag ready to put the cans for recycling. 
• I like the Pioneer Woman because she does use shortcuts. I don't want to cook and crush my own tomatoes. Adding an extra jar of sauce is helpful, and cost effective!

COST

I want to take into account the cost to make this. The Pioneer Woman says she gets 12 servings from it. I got approximately 15 servings. We used some for dinner tonight, I put some in a Tupperware for dinner later this week, and then filled 3 one-gallon freezer bags full (around 3 servings each) for freezing and use later. 

The meat came from my Crooked Creek Cow and I bought some extra pork from Williams Brothers. You can get pork for around $2-4/pound. It just depends on what you purchase. I estimated the meat to be $15. I prefer name brand canned goods, you could make this cheaper by using off brands. 

The other ingredients (minus the staples you should have, like EVEO, garlic, and the Spice Mixture), total almost $15. So $30 for 15 servings, or around $6/meal. Which is pretty good. I got worried at one point with the meat and all the canned goods this would add up and not be reasonable. I think it is reasonable, and can be made cheaper. Next time I'm going to use 2 pounds of ground beef instead of 3 pounds. The sauce was almost too meaty for me. My dad would love it. He likes a little sauce with his meat.

Use what have (AKA, The Freezer Cleanout)

The next quarter of a cow from Crooked Creek Beef is ready.

Big thanks to whoever is also using them! I earned a referral bonus on my quarter and got $35 off. Since I blog about it and FB, I'm not sure who it is, but thanks!

So Saturday we pick up like 150 pounds of meat. And um.... I'm not exactly sure where it's going!

Remember, we have *two* deep freezes! In the beginning of September our stand up freezer looked like this.

<----

And four months later it looks like this ---->

We really need to have two cleaned off shelves for the meat we will receive. 

We still have a ways to go! But not really. Our (Andy's) 5 cu ft freezer is around half full. It was also full before having the baby. 

(NOTE - The rest of the post is mostly for me..... I'm going to keep an online list of what is in my freezer.) 

Our current stash includes: 

2 Tater Tot Casseroles

2 Mom's Lasagnas

2 Red Enchiladas

1 Green Enchiladas

Turkey Chili and Black Bean Soup (Those are the small containers in the door, and filling up the top drawer.)

2 lbs Bacon

5 lbs of Ground Turkey

6 lbs chicken (2-2 lbs cut for crockpot fajitas, 2 lbs cut for grilling)

Brats & Hot Dogs, Hamburger patties, and a few pounds of Ground Beef

T-Bone Steaks

Sirloin Steaks

NY Strip Steaks

Cube Steaks

Rump Roast

Shoulder Roast (defrosting actually, just had Beef Stroganoff and I want it again!)

London Broil

Chuck Steak

And a plastic container full of frozen bags of breast milk. 

In the 5-cu ft deep freeze.

2 Frozen Pizzas

2 Loafs of Bread

4-ounce salmon packs (Bag from Sams' Club)

Mozzarella Cheese & Pepperoni

Various Shredded Cheeses

Eggos

Toasted Ravioli

Fresh Ravioli (from Sam's Club)

Bertolli Meal - I dress it up with more veggies and chicken when I make it. 

5-lb bag of frozen mixed veggies (to make more Tater Tot casseroles)

16 Twice Baked Potatoes

8 Potatoes Au Gratin

Homemade Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche

Our upstairs fridge-freezer has Tater Tots, Eggos, Pizza Rolls, Meatballs, Tortillas, Egg Rolls & General Tso's Chicken;  you know, the important things! 

And I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things. Seriously. We won't be eating out for awhile!

I hope to make this Spaghetti Meat Sauce and get a bunch frozen. We would have had ravioli recently, but I have no sauce in the house! I was surprised too! 

Menu for this week includes:

Beef Stroganoff

Chinese food

Ravioli

We'll start there.

Beef Sandwiches

Have I mentioned how much I love watching The Pioneer Woman on Sunday mornings? And last Sunday was no exception! I need to start recording her show. I could go through her recipes online, but watching her show helps me better visual if I can actually make it. 

After Christmas, Jason and I went to the Lake of the Ozarks with my parents. Hell froze over and I got to control the remote control a few times! So Sunday morning, we all watched my favorite show. My mom even liked how she makes her spaghetti sauce. (I did too, I might try it sometime.) 

Searing the chuck roast in oil & butter

Since I still have meat from Crooked Creek Beef that I am trying to get through before my next cow is ready (like in a week or so...), I've been keeping my eye out for good recipes to use what I have left. 

We watched her make Drip Beef Sandwiches. They looked delicious! And since I had a chuck roast, I figured I'd give it a try! I varied it a bit to make it in the crock pot. The following instructions are Crock Pot - while she made it all in a Dutch Oven and same day. Next time I will probably just make it same day in the crock pot. 

Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients

One 3-4-pound chuck roast

Salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 cups beef broth (One 14.5 ounce can)

1 cup of water

1 jar pepperoncinis, juice and all

1 yellow onion, sliced

3 tablespoons butter

garlic powder, salt & pepper, Italian seasoning

Buns of your choice (Sams Club has these 12-inch hoggies that work well.
Swiss Cheese Slices

Directions

Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and pepper.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and the canola oil in a skillet over high heat. Sear both sides of the chuck roast until very browned, about 5 minutes in all. Move chuck roast into the crock pot. Pour in the beef broth and 1 cup water. Then pour in the jar of pepperoncini with their juices. Cook until the meat is tender and falling apart, 4 to 5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

Note - You can eat this that night or save it for the next day. I followed TPW's lead. 

Separate the meat and pepperoncinis from the juice. Place in two separate containers. 

The Following Day

The next day, remove the solidified fat from the "juice container." Shred the meat and place the juice, meat, and pepperoncinis in a stock pot on the stove. Simmer on low for an hour. 

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and spices, and saute until light golden brown. Set aside.

To serve, slice bread in half and slightly toast. Heap a generous portion of meat on each roll, and then spoon some of the cooking liquid over the meat. Top with a few peppers from the pot and plenty of caramelized onions. Top with Swiss Cheese. I then placed mine in the toaster oven to melt the cheese.

2013 In Review

In the car the other day I noted that the three best things to happen us this year was that both our cars were in accidents and we had Liam.

Why is being in an accident a good thing? Jason drove a 2000 2-door Blazer. At our budget meeting before the year started, we discussed needing to replace it by the time Liam was born and saving extra for the down payment of something 4-door. And then on Jan 2 he was rear-ended. We thought for sure it would be totaled (it was worth maybe $2k) and we'd have to start car shopping. In the end Geico gave him $1,200. We still started car shopping because we weren't able to open up the back hatch. In mid-February he decided on a Chrysler 300 and we found an amazing deal on a used 2012 one. And then the dealer gave him $1,700 for his broken blazer! He never would have gotten $2,900 for it in non-broken condition, so total win.

I planned to drive my highlander into the ground. It was paid for, in good condition, and we had discussed getting it "painted" to repair a few cosmetic issues it had. I figured in 3-4 more years I would upgrade to a larger SUV. I might not have quite the down payment, but I would have something toward a new one, and by then we'd be debt free and have a nice savings for a new one. But the world doesn't work like that, so mine got totaled and we bought a larger SUV.

And now Jason and I both drive brand new cars, with car loans. Totally not Dave Ramsey-isk. We actually hope to pay off one of these vehicles this year, we still have some savings to apply. We did pay off another loan and are down to two car loans and two student loans. Our car loans actually have lower interest rates than the student loans! Once I'm employed again we'll be able to tackle these few remaining debts and knock them out! 

So to look back at my 2013 Resolutions... I should fess up and say that when I wrote them, I knew I was pregnant.

1) Pay off car ($980 to go!!)
2) Lose Weight
3) Gain Weight
4) Have a baby
5) Stay childless
6) Don't start smoking
7) Drink
8) Work
9) Work Out
10) Sleep

1. I did pay off my Highlander (and 11 months later it was totaled.) 
2. I lost weight! After I had the baby. 
3. I gained weight, since I was pregnant. 
4. I had a baby!
5. I didn't stay childless. 
6. I didn't start smoking. 
7. I drank, water, and lots of water. And more water. I have had 3 glasses of wine (so far) this entire year. 
8. I worked. And worked. And now I work as a stay at home mom. And I work on job searching so I can get back out in the work force. 
9. I worked out. I continued to work out from January until the first week of August. I haven't done much of anything since then. 
10. And I slept. A lot more in the beginning of the year than the end of the year. 

I've been thinking a lot about my 2014 and what I want to happen. I'll post more about that later, but looking back at the half-ass resolutions I made and how big of year it was, makes me want to have another big year, even if I don't set a resolution. 

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

Having a baby makes it hard to cook. We've been eating through our freezer but sometimes I want to try something new. And on the weekends (or holidays), I can usually find a little time to cook while Jason is on baby duty. (And sometimes he sleeps and Jason can help in the kitchen!) 

I have seen this recipe floating around Pinterest for a while and wanted to make it. So. I. Did. :) 

Most of the pins I found didn't have a recipe attached, it was a pin of a pin of a pin. That got annoying so I turned to The Google. 

The only deviation I made from the recipe was I added two extra tablespoons of Dijon Mustard. The mixture you pour ontop is very similar to my Chicken Divan mixture and as my husband stated, it tastes similar to chicken divan, except instead of brocolli there is cheese. I have to warn you too - somehow my dish came out a little extra salty. I only added the tsp of salt, and I'm not sure if it's just the salt in the ham and cheese and maybe I need to somehow choose less salty meat. 

Even though I used the recipe as is, I'm going to copy it below (with a few small edits) word for word because I really hate having to constantly scroll through pictures and instructions. 

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

Ingredients

1 large rotisserie chicken, meat removed and pulled (about 5-6 C)

1/2 pound sliced deli-style black forest ham, chopped

1/2 pound sliced swiss cheese

Sauce:

4 Tb butter

4 Tb flour

3 C milk

1 Tb lemon juice

2 Tb dijion mustard (Substitute ground mustard if needed.)

1  tsp salt

1 Tsp of Garlic 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

Crumb Topping:

4 Tb melted butter

1 1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Layer the chicken in the bottom of the dish followed by the ham and finally the Swiss/Havarti cheese.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, whisking to keep clumps from forming.
4. Turn the heat to high and cook until the sauce thickens and boils completely, whisking often.
5. Remove from the heat and add the remaining sauce ingredients.
6. Pour the finished sauce over the base layer already in the dish.
7. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed over the crumbs.
8. Sprinkle over the top of the dish and bake for 45 minutes.
9. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving so the sauce will thicken just a bit.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

My inspiration for this comes from The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond). She has one of my favorite food network shows and everything she makes looks really delicious. It's also hearty since she is serving her ranch hand family. 

Her recipe calls for a few more peppers, twice the potatoes, and doesn't incorporate sausage since it's a "side dish". I wanted to make this a breakfast casserole. 

I also like this because it's a two-dish casserole. One large skillet on the stove and one 9x13 glass casserole dish. (Unless you have to grate the cheese with your food processor... then there's an extra clean up item.)

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 red pepper

2 poblano chilies (for more heat, add more chilies or pick a hotter one.)

1 white onion

2 pounds diced frozen hash brown potatoes (1 bag)

Salt & Pepper

1/2 pound grated sharp cheddar

1/2 pound grated Monterrey jack 

8 slices of bacon, fried & chopped

1 pound sausage

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. 
2. Cook the sausage & bacon (separately), and set aside. Drain sausage/pat dry bacon. Chop bacon.
3. Dice the onion, red pepper, and chilies.
4. Melt the butter in the large skillet and saute the onion, red pepper, and chilies until onion is clear and pepper & chilies are almost blackened. (I also added garlic, parsley, and cilantro frozen cubes at this point. - See below for more info.) 
5. Add the cooked sausage and the frozen hashbrowns, salt & pepper, and mix together. Let cook about 15 - 20 minutes. (Or however long it takes to shred your cheese.)
6. Pour half the potato mixture into a greased 9x13 glass dish. Cover with a thin layer of cheese, pour the remaining half of hte potato mixture over the cheese layer. Spread the rest of the cheese over the casserole, top with bacon.
7. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 30-40 minutes. 

Notes:

• You can change the peppers to make it hotter or milder. I think it had the perfect spice for breakfast
• You can make this the day before (I did) and I took it out about an hour before putting in the oven so it would come to room temperature. 
• If you haven't discovered the frozen cubes of spices at Trader Joes, or now at Wal-Mart, you must! I keep the garlic, cilantro, and parsley on hand to flavor my dishes. As much as I love having fresh cilantro as a garnish, it's a pain to keep on hand. 
• Since this has sausage in it, you don't really need another protein, but it would go good with a side of scrambled eggs. 
• If anyone ever finds shredded Monterrey jack please, please call me ASAP. I love the flavor of MJ cheese, but am tired of always shredding it. My food processor does wonders, but then I have to clean that! 

Get up and do something

On Thursday November 14 the world lost a hero. 

Grandpa Bill passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family. I have a lot of mixed emotions and am not grieving the way a normal person grieves. It's hard to grieve when you have the most adorable 10 week old laughing at you while you cry. After so much loss throughout my life, I bury my emotions and it's easier to deal with them later. 

Grandpa has been sick for many years. And constant "This might be it" trips to visit him in the hospital. It happens a few times each year. It wasn't a surprise. He was airlifted on Sunday to Barnes. He had a great day, a surge, on Monday. But then Monday night took a turn and didn't recover. 

My father gave a great eulogy.  Grandpa was in WWII and when he landed on the beach  near Zamboanga in the Philippines, he had two choices. Lay there and get killed or get up and do something about it.

He received three Bronze stars, two for valor and bravery in combat. And one of those reads “for organizing and leading Philippine infantry in attacking and overcoming three Japanese machine gun positions.

So my father challenges all of us to Get Up and Do Something.

Grandpa's obituary:

William E. “Bill” Reed, 87, of Red Bud, Illinois, formerly of Belleville, IL,born Thursday, August 19, 1926, in Saint Louis, MO, died Thursday, November 14, 2013 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Bill was retired from CBS/Viacom, having worked at Channel 4 television station for 35 years. He was a member of Saint Matthew United Methodist Church in Belleville Illinois. He was a volunteer for the Violence Prevention Center, Meals on Wheels, former Boy Scout and Cub Scout leader, Khoury League coach, a member of IBEW Local 4. He was a decorated combat veteran of WWII, having served in the Philippines and Japan with the 41st Infantry Division.

He was preceded in death by:

• Father:  Henry Clay Reed 
• Mother and Step-father:  Frances nee Domagolla and Charles Dougharty
• Mother and Father-in-law:  Jesse and Pearl nee Rhine Fox
• Brother and Sister-in-Law:  Bob and Beryl Reed
• Nephew:  Larry Lee

Surviving:

• Wife:  Wilma “Jean” nee Fox Reed of Red Bud, IL 
• Son and Daughter-in-Law:  William Michael and Terri Reed of Red Bud, IL 
• Grandchildren:
  • Melissa Reed of Red Bud, IL 
  • Meghan (Jason) Guilford of Maryland Heights 
  • William J. (Kelci) Reed of Godfrey, IL 
• Great-Grandson:  William P. Guilford
• Niece:  Sandra (Dan) Malan of St. Louis, MO
• Cousin:  Reed (Carol) James of St. Joseph, MO
• Great Nieces and Nephews
• Special Cousins of the Rhine and Fox families

Memorials: Memorials may be made to the St. Matthew United Methodist Church, St. Peter United Church of Christ in Red Bud, Monroe County Humane Society or St. Louis Honor Flight