Stuffing in July

When I think of Stuffing, I feel I need to also think about those things I am most thankful for. . .

• a loving, forgiving, understanding, sweet husband
• one beautiful, precious, caring, vivacious, little girl
• one adorable, eatable, squeezable, happy baby boy
• two giving, thoughtful, accepting, best-est parents
• multiple caring family and friends
• a gospel and Father in Heaven to turn to even in the hardest of times
• and so many more endless, gifts, blessings, perks, talents, bonuses, etc. 

For about a month now I have been thinking about stuffing. Why is it that it is only something most of us only think about in November? I am aware of its association to the Thanksgiving tradition, but I say, "why not stuffing in July?" So for the last month, I have been saving my breads that I know Paul and I wouldn't be eating. Some of which included homemade white & wheat bread, artisan bread, sourdough bread, pitas, and more. YUM..

With my little helper, we broke all of the bread. Some of the pieces turned into ity bity crumbs, but she was so happy to help. I couldn't resist that little face, so I dealt with the misshapen bread that brought more love and character to our finished product. We broke it all up and let it sit for a few hours to dry out a bit.

Having only ever been a helper to my Mom with making this dish, I was kinda at a lost as to what to do after step 1. Luckily, my parents took me and the kids out to lunch, so I was able to pick at my Mom brain before I worked on it anymore. Most of my Mom's recipes are in her head and she just adjusts amounts as she is cooking. Not very helpful to me though..

So according to her, this is everything else to know about stuffing:

• cook some sausage (in my case I used half sausage, half ground turkey cause I had it)
• when sausage is semi cooked, add cut onion and celery (I used leeks..mmmm)

Then mix those into the bread. Sprinkle with:

• sage 
• poultry seasoning (I didn't want to buy it, so I looked at the ingredients at the store and just added basil, thyme, marjoram, salt, and maybe something else, can't remember)

Taste and add more spice if needed (that is the tricky part). Add some:

• concentrated chicken stock/broth/boullion (2 cubes/1 cup water)
• nuts/cranberries/apples, whatever you want that sounds good

Don't make it too soggy, or too dry. This go around it was a bit dry, but as leftovers it's a cinch to fix, just add liquid and cook 15 to 20 min in oven.

Then cook, depending on how deep the pan is, maybe an hour on 350 degrees with tin foil. Last 15 - 20 minutes remove foil. It turned out...okay. Today I had the left-overs and helped them with the dryness which greatly improved them. I am guessing it will take many attempts to get it just like my Mom's delish dressing. But I figure if I am only practicing once a year at Thanksgiving, it will take YEARS! So attempt one in July, I'm off to a better start than had I waited this Fall.

baby carrots for my baby boy

It is day 7 and my cold is barely letting up. I am tired of being stuck in my house and being completely unproductive. But I know if I push it too hard I am going to make it that much harder on myself to get better. So it's a perfect day for making baby food! Not too difficult but I will feel completely accomplished. Hooray! Plus I already have a Costco bag of baby carrots so I am set. Stew loooves his carrots...

Easy as that! Carrots, pressure cooker, processor, tiny jars, and a cutie little mouth to feed! I was so tempted to spoil my little guy and throw some butter, salt and pepper in the mix, but I resisted :)

Sick Remedy Recipes

After four days with no relief, I am now convinced that being sick and having momma responsibilities is one of the hardest combinations ever! This cold is vicious and not letting up for one second. I am completely exhausted and I know my body is angry at me for not giving it the rest it needs to fight off this yucky bug. The past three days I have tried keeping up my normal routine, cleaning, cooking, running errands, but now I am done. I have to take a break to get healthy. Only one problem - how am I supposed to take a break with a baby and a toddler running around? It's next to impossible. Which is why I take any chance I get to lay on the couch and kick up the feet.

Baby asleep - check

Couch, remotes, water bottle, & blankets in place - check

Lily in position for movie time - check

All my cold remedy goodies (thanks to Paul's early morning run to the store) out and ready when needed - check

And that is my recipe for a restful morning. Of course it only lasted about 1 1/2 hours but it was amazing!

I am not going to lie, the images below were nagging at the back of my mind but I was determined to make the most of my 1 1/2 hours. And I am proud to say that my kitchen and bedroom looked like that throughout the whole movie.

Another recipe I tried today, I am not 100% sure about. Even after having 2 big glasses full, I don't know if the jar of Pero was worth $10. Dan told me about it and warned me that it is an acquired taste. He said that he hated it at first but now drinks it all the time, in fact he was drinking it as I was getting his secrets about it. I first followed the instructions on the back by adding hot water and a little Pero powder. Disgusting! Blah I couldn't choke it down even if a hot drink was all my aching throat was looking for. So I called Dan again to get some help. That or tell him he was crazy for drinking that stuff willingly. He gave me his little concoction that made a huge difference...Mix 1 TB sugar & 1 heaping TB Pero w/ 1/2 cup hot waterAdd 1 cup milk and microwave til desired hotness.It may just be a sore throat soothing drink but for this cold it is great.