Well, the cold has slowly but surely made it’s way around our house this past week. Hopefully, the worst is now over. I find myself having a hard time sleeping at night after catering to the kids all day, maybe I’m just too tired to sleep. I have discovered some new takes on some traditional casseroles and soups this past week. I made up a fabulous cheeseburger casserole that was a big hit with my family as well as a take on the traditional Italian wedding soup. I also made a great discovery with a sunbutter chocolate chip cookie for my family; my kids call them mookies (half muffin, half cookie). The recipe has kept great in the freezer. I was excited to find none of them turned green. I never knew, before attempting these recipes anyway, that chlorophyll could react with baking soda to turn the cookies or muffins green. I discovered it on my first attempt at the muffin aspect of the cookies. After researching the final green product, I cut the baking soda and baking powder by half and made “mookies”. My next big step is to make my first pie crust and I still want to make homemade pasta again. Homemade pasta is the only thing I miss from our days filled with gluten, I’ve tried a couple of times with the pasta dough just breaking apart. I will conquer the homemade pasta before it’s over! Right now, our family is looking forward to some warmer weather and the activities that follow. My oldest Nubian, Heidi, is due to have her babies at the end of February; something we are excited about. I miss my goat milk. I love the routine of milking in the mornings, making homemade cheese and yogurt, and my family is looking forward to the ice cream. For those of you who have never tried raw milk or goat’s milk at all; it has a great flavor. The milk is not as fatty as cow’s milk, and a lot of people whom are lactose intolerant can tolerate goat milk. The butter is actually white and very creamy. Luckily, we are not a dairy free household. I do plan to also clean up my greenhouse before January is over. I have an even larger garden planned for this year. Now more than ever, I appreciate growing our own fruits and vegetables. Not only is it much more economic but also healthier. This year will be my first attempt at growing grains; I plan on trying Quinoa. I’m not sure how it will turn out and look forward to hearing your welcome advice. For now, I thought I would pass along the cheeseburger casserole recipe. We were lucky enough to have some fresh thick cut bacon and homemade garlic pickles as additions. Let me know what your yummy additions will be. I made this recipe up on a weeknight last week. I made a HUGE batch hoping to have enough to freeze for another night, not so lucky due to everyone demanding the leftovers the very next night. Oh well, at least I have a new family favorite to add and hopefully you will, too.
Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole
Elbow macaroni
1 lb. ground beef
5 strips bacon cut-up
2 green onions chopped
6 dill pickle slices chopped
½ stick butter
4-5 tbs. potato starch
1 lb. bag shredded cheddar cheese with ½ cup reserved
2 cups milk
2 heaping tbs sour cream
2 tsp ground mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Cook beef and bacon; drain and set aside. Cook macaroni; set aside. Add potato starch to melted butter one tablespoon at a time whisking well. Add milk to melted butter, continue whisking. Add cheese; whisk until melted and starts to thicken. Add ground mustard, sour cream, salt and pepper; combining well. Combine macaroni, beef mixture, onions, and pickles. Stir to combine. Add to large baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place in preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, which is just long enough to toss a salad!
I have reached the point in this food allergy awareness lifestyle that no one else really cares. And that’s okay. I’m not going to worry about everyone else and making them aware of what is around them. I was always the coach/mom who asked if any of the kiddos had food allergies before my own child actually had them. Looking back, I realize the only reason I asked then was because of my own trials growing up. I grew up in a town even more rural than where I currently live and I had a ton of food allergies. I remember having the allergy shots everyday after school; I was always allergy aware. Now that I have a child of my own with food allergies I am even more aware and a lot more educated and up-to-date on our options. I am still currently looking to advocate within our school system for at least one allergy-friendly meal per week; perhaps vegetarian. But I am not going to be the person to rise upon my soap box preaching to the mere, unrelenting, uneducated mortals. Okay, maybe I won’t go quite that far. There are a ton of options out there for our family. We made the transition as a family, you see. I only cook for the whole family, no separate meals here. My son still has pizza rolls in the freezer and regular whole wheat bread, but my daughter has her Rudi’s sandwich bread in the freezer along with her Udi’s frozen pizza crust. I naturally pack her lunch daily for school along with her snacks for after-school activities. Her teacher notifies me of any parties or upcoming events in the classroom so that I bring her food comparable to her classmates. This way, no one feels left out. I don’t worry about how other people feel about it anymore. My daughter is now comfortable enough with her allergies that she doesn’t eat anything I did not bring her and no longer feels as if she misses out on anything. Unfortunately, she has not been invited to a birthday party all year because of the other parents’ fear. How ridiculous for them. I don’t think my daughter notices because she is luckily very busy with year-round soccer and her horses. There is actually only one parent within the class who bothers to even recognize her dietary restrictions and we are thankful to her for it. Luckily, we went to high school together and our girls are within a month apart. For the Halloween and Christmas parties this year; she brought goodie bags for the class and had stickers, necklaces, toys, etc. in my daughters’. She felt special for having a bag a little different. Thank goodness for those parents. Thank goodness for the ones who make a point to recognize their child’s friends and lifestyles. I have also tried to always be that parent who remembers “Tommy” doesn’t eat meat or “Abby” doesn’t like cake, etc. The problem at our school is that it is always the same group of us parents who do everything at the school from the book fair to field day. One parent once made the comment that a lot of parents don’t get involved because they are too busy being a kid themselves; I’ve found it sadly true.
