Crock Pot Salisbury Steak

So I decided to make Salisbury steak. I totally forgot to take pictures! My husband has bought frozen tenderized steaks that I had to make something with. I cooked an onion & can of mushrooms in a pan until the onions turned clear and dumped them over 2 big steaks[they were frozen but thin enough I didn't worry about it] in the crock pot set on high. Then I heated 2.5 cups of beef broth [from a box - low sodium] in the pan whisking in enough powder of brown gravy mix. Once it began to thicken I dumped it over the steaks and popped the lid on the crock Cooked on high for an hour and then dropped to low for the last 90 minutes. Made mashed potatoes and called it dinner. I am sure we could have had another veggie but the gravy was SO amazingly awesome DH and I both has seconds of potatoes just to eat the gravy. The left over steak and gravy went to work with DH with bread for his lunch. He said it was amazing even re-heated.

It was not salty even with using the mix and the broth but you'll have to judge how your family likes their food.

My wonderful husband recently found Orrington Farms Brown Gravy Mix. It's soy free! We haven't had gravy mix in a few years since we noticed one by one the mixes we used to buy started becoming 'soy contaminated' as we say in our house. Not that I don't mind making my own gravy but sometimes you know you want that 'brown gravy' taste [think poutine - it's just not the same with something else] and I cannot seem to replicate it completely from scratch. Google them and check out their products. I know I'll be seeing what else they have to offer and will be buying this gravy mix again.


If you don't know what Poutine is or you've never had it. Try it! If you can't get cheese curd - grated mozzarella works well even if some fans might turn up their nose. Fries, cheese and gravy! Nom!!

Another level?

I love the sound of nebulizers in the morning...


Well no I don't. Right now my husband and son are sitting down having breathing treatments and watching a Christmas special from one of DS' favorite cartoons.

Last night I played Mickey's Christmas Carol. Thanksgiving is FINALLY out of the way so now the Christmas Season can begin. Weee! I love Christmas. Making memories with my children. I also can't wait for the first real snow so I can take the kids outside to play in it. Very fun.

I was actually looking forward to a food based holiday. Usually I don't because it's so much pressure for my food refuser [DS] and so difficult for me to find safe foods for Allergy Girl. A couple weeks ago DD began having feeding issues when it comes to her solids - gagging, watering eyes, clearing her throat, wheezing after meals etc. I tried to help her - with what I've learn from feeding therapy - but it didn't help. I made an appointment with the feeding team and her regular appoint with the GI is the same week. Yet that's still 3 weeks away. So I called - worried about her safety.

She was taken off solids. The child who actually likes to and wants to eat was taken off solids. Kick in the stomach. Thankfully that only lasted a day and she was allowed back on baby food - GI says semi-solid - but yeah baby food. At first she wouldn't go for it. Then she was bringing me a container of pear puree from the pantry.

We'll see how things go. We will see the ENT [to check her palate, adenoids, tonsils], feeding team and GI. They will probably order a feeding evaluation. That's when they mix this stuff into different thicknesses of food\liquids and watch on this video X-Ray -- to see how she handles it. If she's aspirating, if her food or vomit is penetrating anything it shouldn't be. I am hoping there won't be any needed surgery [adenoid\tonsil removal, palate repair] or another scope - both of which would require sedation.

She's always handled sedation really well but yeah Momma worries.

Friday Photo Feature

This past week I decided to try baking yeast bread in the crock pot. It worked. It was a little heavy but it worked and I plan on tweaking the recipe and baking method.

added level of difficulty

My husband likes to play Halo. You can turn on 'skulls' which make the game harder. Sometimes he thinks it's fun to turn on all the skulls. While some of them are for fun most of them make the game even harder and you die quicker. Apparently dying a bunch of times within seconds of re-spawning [your character coming back after it dies] is a great way to spend an hour. Funny enough before my son got mobile I used to like Halo too. Now I don't have time or something. I am also too tired after the kids go to bed anyway and no more violent video games during the day.

Well we turned on all the skulls for our lives. First my husband begins having asthma trouble, then my son starts up. I am not happy but we'll deal - fall and asthma means breathing treatments and steroids. Then I broke my toe. So I am not supposed to be on my feet much for the next ten days. Then last night DD had a hard time sleeping last night and is also needing breathing treatments! My husband will also be working a crazy schedule next week.

I am also having to get creative with food. I cooked spaghetti sauce in the crock pot for the first time. Added the cooked meat and veggies with a jar of sauce and some water. It started to burn around the edges after 2 hours on high. Turned it to low. Another 2 hours. It finished the last 4 hours on 'keep warm' because even on low it was bubbling away.

Being normal

I usually hate the word normal. I was never normal growing up. I was too tall, too skinny, didn't like what the other kids liked. I wanted Star Trek toys for Christmas and didn't get them because I was a girl. My parents claimed I would grow out of my whole Star Trek thing. Then I met a guy debating Star Trek and we several years and hundreds of Trek debates later named our daughter after a Star Trek character. My husband and I were not normal. We were weird, nerds, geeks, losers.

Yet it breaks a mother's heart when you realize that the other kids don't see your child as normal. One boy tells my son he's allergic to him. My son is a strong advocate for himself at school. I am so amazed how he asks if there is soy. Yet when he tells me this other boy doesn't like him and says he's allergic to him. It breaks my heart. Just a whole big bunch. He's a sweet, amazingly smart, funny even if slightly annoying sometimes kid.

I know not everyone can like my kid. Not everyone likes me. That's life. Still. I won't admit to wanting to smack this kid I don't know. How dare you not like my baby. He's awesome.

What is awesome is my son says it's okay because he's got his friends and he names the friends he has who like him. That warms my heart.

Back to what made me think normal today.

My two year old is stilling on the floor in the front room happily enjoying a bag of animal crackers. What is more normal than that? Owls. Penguins. Elephants. She's making the animal noises and eating away. I find a bunny and tell her he's going to get into mischief. She smiles and eats him. Yep. Just like Mr. Rabbit who ended up in a pie. <3

Adventures in feeding

My daughter has had quite a journey with feeding. At birth she refused to nurse. Her brother latched on 7 hours after he was born and nursed like a champ for two years. I never expected a child who simply wouldn't suck even if she did eventually hold my nipple in her mouth. We suspect although we can't prove it at some point she had some issues with her soft palate that eventually worked themselves out. Aspiration pneumonia, Upper GIs, feeding evaluations, teaching her to use her tongue, different bottles and cups to support safe feeding.

So how far we've come is remarkable. The hours and hours of physical therapy [DD had low muscle tone in her trunk\core and legs] and feeding therapy and hundreds of Momma hours.

This week DD has been eating an entire apple for lunch. Raw. Biting off pieces, chewing them up, swallowing without gagging. It's been amazing. Tonight for dinner she had baked brown rice - another favorite of hers and simply amazing to see her feed herself.

We tried a cup which had an indented lid with little holes. To work her towards coffee style cup. It didn't work out. She had fun but wheezed and coughed during and wheezed for hours afterwards. Pretty good bet she had airway penetration if not outright aspiration. We'll try again in a month and see what happens.

Friday Photo Feature

This is a picture of my kids running to the playground. This was Halloween night. After refusing to wear their costumes I turned them into Farmers. Rubber boots, bib overalls, plaid shirts...my son had a rake and would shout out "Stop thief!" because Mr. McGregor did.I had to explain to people my son's love for Peter Rabbit but I didn't think they'd get an 19th Century English farmer. I was wishing I'd had a stuffed rabbit - I'd have tied it from his belt...since Mr. Rabbit ended up in a pie. LOL We went to the park between Truck or Treats as we had some time to kill between the two. The kids had fun. We had fun.

Halloween

I think overall we have a fun Halloween. My tip my hat to my husband. After being up for like 26 hours [he didn't take a nap to spend more time with the kids Saturday knowing he worked overnight] he came home from work Sunday morning. Slept for only 4 hours got up because he wanted us to go to Trick or Treat through History out at the museum. It was a lot of fun. My son had trouble understanding he couldn't sit on the 200 year old sofa and was shocked to learn little boys wore dresses in the 1850s as babies and toddlers. Each room had a period appropriate Halloween thing for the kids and Mom and Dad got to look around at the cool exhibits. Being in Illinois we got to meet Abe Lincoln of course. My daughter was scared of him - being just turned two she still didn't really get it but she loved walking around and was willing to drag us along to go quicker.
We came home to a beautifully roasted chicken I'd put in the crock pot six hours before. It was perfect. $4 for a 5lb whole chicken - we'll get another meal or 2 out of it. I can't decide because hot chicken sandwiches or chicken salad or soup. I saved the broth I didn't use for gravy...it was amazing!! I put some have looked better carrots on the bottom to act like a roasting wrack so the chicken didn't stick to the bottom of the crock and burn. Roasting in chicken juice sure did give those carrots a second life.
Monday my son went to school in the morning. I went to see the end of the day. He had fun. After lunch we got ready. Another truck or treat, a trip to the park and then this HUGE trunk or Treat to end the night. It got cold on the end. The kids didn't like their costumes so I dressed them up as Farmers with overalls, plaid shirts and my son carried a bucket instead of a pumpkin. They had music and games. Not many people where we went even the other side of town had their lights on. Good thing we planned to go to other events instead of door-to-door.
Then Daddy got to come home and help with bedtime and go to work. Daddy sure was tired when he got home. He rocked it out though. Awesome Dad.

Dear Halloween Candy companies,

Why write "this is not packaged for individual sale" when you know people will be giving them away. Food allergies can be deadly. We have to avoid so much, don't ruin a fun day with unlabeled candy. Put your ingredient list and warnings on EVERY product you sell. It's good for everyone. Parents of children with food allergies will support you, as in buy your products and recommend your products to fellow parents of allergy kids.

Dear some stupid parents,

Painting your kid to really look dead is creepy. It's not fun. Maybe I am a stick in the mud but I have no desire to know what my baby looks like dead. Letting your 10 year old dress up like a "zombie hooker" makes parents like me want to SMACK you. Protect your child's innocence as long as you can. It's short lived as it is.