Little Boys

Mamas of little boys never forget certain moments. The first time they kicked in utero and gave us a sense of their personality. The first time they had hiccups and it hurt every bone and organ in our bodies. The moment of their birth, with the warm little body finally making its entrance. The first time they sit or crawl or roll over, each one uniquely spectacular. And then the big one comes: they walk. A few halting steps, a few bumps, a few sudden sits, a few smiles, a few tears, and then they walk. It's just a matter of time (days, probably) until they learn to walk faster. And then life changes. Most of the big physical milestones are met and mamas now belong to an elite and demanding physical trainer who is less then 3 feet tall. Chasing, chasing, chasing. Discipline, hugs, maybe a cold or the flu will slow him down? Maybe. They are so independent but still want their mama. A hug for the owie, help finding that certain car, making a snack for that ever hungry little man. And soon they talk. I hear that most boys (like mine) choose really important first words: truck, rock, car, Dada. Mama is always there so she doesn't need a word, does she? But he comes to me to snuggle, to warm up, to cry, to complain. Recently he started calling Mama? when I was leaving his bedroom - a plea to turn around to stay. I can't help but look. Does he need me or is he delaying bedtime? Have to check. Soon he will understand emotions. I'm looking forward to the first time he says "I love you." He will probably say it to something or someone else first, but when it's my turn it will make my whole day brighter.

For Nina Dian Robbs

Dear Nina,
Sometimes when I look at you I can hardly believe that you're really here. Just one year ago I began to hope for you. Another baby, maybe even a girl? And now you're here. Flesh and blood and as cute as can be. I like to think that maybe you look like me even though we don't. But you have my hair and skin. We'll just see about the rest. There are so many things I told your brother when he was a baby and now I'll tell you the same ones. You are loved. You are wanted. God knew that your daddy & I needed a sweet little girl full of grace to be in our family. You bring joy to everyone that knows you. You are a wonderful baby. Your smile makes everyone around you smile back. You are my favorite little Nina. No one will ever be a better Nina than you are. You are so special. You already love your brother and you laugh at him all the time. When he was a baby I dubbed him my Mini Muffin - my little Mini Blueberry Muffin. And now he is bigger and isn't a mini muffin anymore, he's a big Blueberry Muffin. That makes you the new mini muffin. I wondered while I was pregnant what kind of muffin you would be. Would you be apple or currant, spice or carrot cake muffin? It turns out that you are my Mini coffee Cake Muffin. The kind of little tiny muffin that is all brown sugar and goodness with streusel topping drizzled all over for good measure. I can't wait to see how that is played out in your life. Last summer I prayed almost every night for God to give us another baby. There were tears and questions, hopes and longings. When we discovered we were pregnant with you I cried. I cried for joy. In December we found out you were a girl - our little Nina Dian. We had a boy's name for back up but we knew you were a girl already. Nina was the only name that fit you. Grace Divine. Several months later we cried and prayed for you to be born. I believe God picked the day for you to arrive, He just didn't tell me when it was. You were such a big baby and you kicked so hard! Once I think you cracked one of my ribs (well, badly bruised for sure.) I became so uncomfortable at the end but it seemed you would never come. As I put your clothes away and waited for you I would tell you about all the pretty things that were waiting for you. Shoes, hats, headbands, dresses, jammies, socks, all specially picked out just for you. Since Will came 10 days after his due date we calculated that for you. That day was Thursday, May 5, 2005. That was also the National Day of Prayer. Since Grandma & Grandpa Robbs, Auntie Manders and Daddy were all involved in that I was hoping that you would come early that morning so everyone could be there. But no, God knew it just wouldn't work the way I thought it would. Labor began early the next morning, about 3 am. You were so ready to come out & greet us, you arrive just 5 hours later. I love you. You are unique and special. You may someday think that I don't love you as much as I love Will but that is not true. God gives me a special love that is just for him and He gives me a special love just for you. They're a little different, they are expressed differently because you two are different and have different needs. You are my first daughter. You are my Gracie Girl. No one will ever be that. Even if you end up with 10 sisters, you will always be unique and loved uniquely. If you end up with 10 brothers you will know how unique you are every day! I pray now that you will always know that your daddy and I love you and that God loves you. You were a twinkle in His eye before you were a twinkle in mine. Someday soon we'll talk about that, and about so many other things. I look forward to a lifetime of being your mama.
Love,
Mama

Spicy Chicken Gumbo

Tried it again recently, see notes at bottom...
From More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre

Serves: 8
Plan 1 hour for cooking, maybe more for prep

Saute' in large, heavy kettle:
1/4 c. oil
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced

Blend in: 2 T. flour
Cook and stir over low heat until vegetables are tender.

Add:
2 1/2 c. cooked tomatoes
2 c. cooked okra (optional!)
2/3 c. tomato paste
3 c. broth or stock
1 1/2 T. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. chili powder
pinch dried basil
1 whole bay leaf

Simmer 1 hour. Start cooking rice.

1/3 c. fresh parsley, chop & set aside

Add to gumbo:
2-3 c. cooked chicken, diced

Simmer briefly. To serve, combine hot cooked rice with chopped parsley and mound rice in center of soup bowls using ice-cream scoop. Pour hot gumbo all around.

My notes:
So after trying this again after a couple years it turned out really good. Good enough that David said we could have this all the time - and that's quite a complement! I used 2 huge chicken breasts and cooked them in the morning, cut up & put in the fridge. I was trying for a half recipe but made enough chicken for a whole.
Used one diced tomato instead of cooked tomatoes, 1 can of tom. paste (was too much), 1 can of chicken broth and had to add water later. Did NOT have ground cloves or fresh parsley or whole bay leaf. Chopped dry bay leaf seemed to be ok. Oh yeah, and I didn't measure most of the seasonings beside Worc. sauce. :)

Chinese Noodle Slaw

Another cabbage recipe... a lot like the other one....

Serves: 4-6
Prep: 10-15 min
Cool: 20 min +

1 head cabbage, chopped
5 green onions
2 pkg uncooked noodles (Ramen noodles best)
1/2 c. butter
1 T. sesame seeds
1/2 c. slivered almonds

1/2 c. oil
1 t. soy sauce
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. vinegar (white or cider, it doesn't matter)

Directions: chop cabbage and onions, toss together in a large bowl. Saute' noodles in melted butter, add nuts & seeds until lightly browned, drain. Mix dressing ingredients in plastic container, close with lid and shake well to mix. Toss everything together, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Refrigerate if longer than 20 minutes. Really good the next day!

Main dish: Lemon Pepper Barbecued Chicken
Other side: Rolls, rice, or fruit

Chicken Cabbage Salad

Serves 2-4
Prep: 10 min
Chill: 30 min +

1 fried chicken breast, cut into chunks
1/2 c. almonds (optional)
1/2 head cabbage, chopped and shredded
2 T. sesame seeds
1 pkg. Chicken Ramen noodles

2 T. sugar
1/2 c. oil
3 T. white vinegar
1 seasoning packet from Ramen
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. cilantro (optional, fresh is best)

Directions: Cut raw chicken breast into bite size pieces and brown in frying pan. I usually sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper while they're cooking. Chop or shred cabbage, it may look like a lot but it will shrink with the dressing. Brown seed and almonds in oven for 10-15 min at 400. For sauce toss ingredients in a plastic container with lid, seal and shake until well mixed. Drizzle over cabbage, nuts, seeds and crushed Ramen noodles. Toss, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Place cooked chicken in dressing container, cool in fridge. To serve toss chicken with everything else.

Side Dish: Kaiser rolls, sourdough bread, Rice a Roni

My Notes: I used a whole head of lettuce and 3 chicken breasts to feed 4 people and had 2 portions of leftovers. But there did seem to be way more lettuce than we wanted. Maybe next time I'll use 3/4 of a head with 3 chicken breasts. Also, my husband doesn't usually like cabbage but he likes this one.

Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells

(from Very Best Baby booklet)

Prep: 20 min (ha!)
Bake: 40 min
Makes 2 8x8 (2 qt.) pans (ha!)

16 jumbo dried pasta shells, prepared according to package; rinsed and drained
1 lb extra-lean ground beef
1 pkg (3 T) taco seasoning mix
1 c. water
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese (reserve 3/4 c.)
1 jar (16 oz) salsa (reserve 1/2 c.)
1/4 c. sliced green onions
Sour Cream (optional)

Directions:
Cook noodles as directed on package (may take 15 min.)
Brown & drain beef in lg skillet. Add taco seasoning mix and water, cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add beans and 3/4 c. cheese. OR add beans and split in half, adding cheese to one. Mix well.
Spread 1/4 c. salsa over bottom of both 8x8 baking dishes.
Note: perhaps up to 1/3 c.
Fill cooled pasta shells with meat mixture; place 8 shells in each dish filled side up.
Note: I used 24 shells to fill my two 2 qt. shells, and still had meat leftover. Perhaps a larger pasta shell is needed.
Spoon remaining salsa over shells.
>>>Stop here if freezing<<<<
If baking immediately - Preheat oven to 350. Cover baking dish w/ foil. Bake 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining (3 1/4 c.) cheese. Obviously, if you've just stuffed the shells w/ hot meat, this won't take as long.
If freezing - cover baking dish wish plastic wrap, then foil. Label and freeze for up to 2 months.

To bake frozen shells: Thaw dish in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 375. Remove plastic wrap then recover w/ foil. Bake for 45-50 min or until heated through. Sprinkle w/ green onions and cheese.

Nutrition facts per serving: 347 cal, 13 g total fat, 32 g total carb, 5 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 21 g protein.

Some other notes: Supposedly each dish feeds 4 people. That's only 2 shells per person by their calculations which makes me think they must be using much larger shells, although I bought the biggest ones I could find. Since I don't eat dairy but everyone else does, I pointed my non-dairy shells toward the handles and then marked the foil with that note so I would remember. The rest of the shells were filled with the cheese & meat mixture & faced the opposite direction. No one wanted the sour cream topping, so that was easy to avoid. Kind of spicy for me even with mild salsa. But everyone else loved it so it's a keeper!

Niks Piks 1

New Recipe!

I found & tried a new recipe last night - Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells. It turned out good but I am making some adjustments to the recipe. I'll post it later.