Sausage and Veggie Casserole

This is so easy, seriously, you have to try it!!

What you need:
-Potatoes (I used 9 smallish ones, they fit easily in the palm of my hand)
-Red Pepper
-Zuchinni
- Onion
-Carrots
-Farmers' Sausages (1 per person)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tsps Italian seasoning
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450F.

Cut up all the veggies into chunks. Throw into a casserole dish (I used two, we have company coming). In a bowl, mix together olive oil, chicken broth, italian spices, garlic and pepper. Pour over veggies, toss, sprinkle with coarse salt, and cover with tinfoil.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the sausages into bite-sized pieces, and brown over medium heat. Don't worry about cooking all the way through, they'll finish in the oven!

When the veggies can easily be pierced by a fork (usually around 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven), add the sausages, and sprinkle the vinegar all over. Toss, and put into the oven uncovered for another 20 minutes.

When the timer rings, toss the veggies and sauces in the yummy, yummy juices and serve!

You won't be disappointed!

Spaghetti Squash, Spinach and Onion Lasanga!

I'm big on being able to take healthy meals with me to work. Vegetarian lasagna has always been one of my go-to favourites (ahem, and the chicken I was going to use today was used last night by DH, who made an amazing Orange Chicken).

Today, I'm making my adapted version of this recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen.

Be forewarned, there are lots of steps, and it takes a while to get everything put together if you don't have some of the ingredients pre-made. From start to finish it took me almost 2.5 hours! But, it's well worth it :)

You will need:

4 cups spaghetti squash (about half a big one) cut into wedges, like you'd cut up a melon

2 big bunches of spinach, washed and dried

3 onions, thinly sliced

1 lb lasagna strips (enough for three layers)

500 g ricotta

200 g mozarella cheese, grated

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

crushed red pepper flakes

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup basil (I cut as I go with my kitchen scissors, from a sprig we keep in the fridge)

Olive oil

Butter

for the sauce:

3 cups milk

parsley (I use freeze dried when it's not in season)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

about a dozen peppercorns

a couple shakes of pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

1/3 c butter

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup grated Gruyere

Preheat the oven to 425F. While it is heating up, place the squash wedges on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 25 minutes, until the edges are darkened, and the squash is soft. Turn off the oven. (I don't have a lot of counter space. Because of this, I like to let things hang out wherever they take up the least amount of space. Squash takes 30-40 minutes to cook through, but this way the heat stays in, the thing cooks, and you don't worry about burning!)

Meanwhile, in a large pan or wok, sautee the spinach in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, with two minced garlic cloves. Cook until the spinach is completely wilted, then place in a paper towel lined colander over the sink to drain.

Now it's time for the onions. Mmmm... I love fried onions. My favourite way of cutting onions, is to cut off the top and bottom, peel away the papery bits, then slice the onion in half length wise (top to bottom). Put each half, cut side down, and slice from right to left (I'm right handed), top to bottom. It doesn't matter if some of the pieces are still connected at the top, as they cook they separate.

Preheat the pan (I use the same pan as the spinach) over medium, melt a tablespoon butter, and add a table spoon olive oil. Throw in the onions and stir.

This part takes a lot of patience, and trust me, your patience is worthwhile! Slowly cook the onions for 30-40 minutes, until they take on a gorgeous caramel colour, and your house smells soooo yummy.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Measure out the amount of lasagna noodles you'll need, by layering them in the pyrex dish or corningware dish that you'll be using. Cook the noodles according the the direction on the box, then rinse under cold water.

This recipe calls for a Bechemel sauce. I love white sauce, and it's really easy to do. You will need two saucepans, a whisk (two if you have them), and a strainer.

In one pan, over medium-high heat, bring the milk,bay leaf, peppercorns, pepper flakes, nutmeg and parsley to simmer. Make sure to stir so the milk doesn't scald.

At the same time, melt 1/3 cup butter over medium-high heat, and add 1/2 cup of flour once the butter is melted. WHISK!!! This is called making a "roux", and you need to cook the flour to remove the raw taste. It takes about a minute before the mixture, which is thick and pasty, to take on a bit of an amber hue. Don't stop whisking.

Remove from heat (I slide the pot over to an unused burner). Strain in half the milk, and be warned that it will likely bubble like crazy. Whisk, whisk, whisk, until the mixture is a smooth doughy texture. Add the rest of the milk, and stir until you get a thick, smooth sauce. Grate in some Gruyere (or whatever hard cheese you happen to have on hand). Stir, and set aside.

 Time to put it all together!

Remove the squash from the oven, peel and shred (spaghetti squash is so cool to watch come apart, just like spaghetti!)

I'm not a huge fan of lots of noodles in my lasagna. I usually max out at three layers of noodles. Line the bottom of your dish with noodles. Add a third of the Bechemel sauce, spreading it out with a wooden spoon. Add half the spinach, half the onions, half the squash, and a third of the mozzarella.

Dot with half the ricotta cheese, and top with some cut basil. Repeat for the next layer (using up all the veggies, but reserving some mozza and some sauce).
Top with the last layer of noodles, the sauce, and the cheese. Add extra grated Gruyere if you like.

Bake in the oven at 325F for 25minutes, or until bubbling.

 

Let it rest for a while, so that it firms up, and you're good to dig in! Can't wait for my lunch tomorrow!!

18 months

I can't believe Ellie is a year and a half TODAY! Where does the time go?

Hasn't been the greatest day, if I'm honest. OT came this morning, to fit her with a special stroller that offers more support. It's great, it fits her, she likes it...but, it is obviously a special needs stroller. It's ugly. It screams I AM DIFFERENT.

And she is different. I am just sad at the reality check.

After that appointment, we drove into the city for her audiology follow-up. I expected huge changes since our June appointment. I was so sure that she was hearing WAY better. Nope. Exactly the same as in June. Exactly. She's just learned to compensate, and has caught up developmentally, so she can communicate better.

Ellie-bean has mild-moderate hearing loss (her range was 35-50 dB)

• Mild hearing loss (26-40 dB): Mild hearing loss may cause inattention, difficulty suppressing background noise, and increased listening efforts. Patients with this degree of loss may not hear soft speech. Children may be fatigued after listening for long periods.

• Moderate hearing loss (41-55 dB): Moderate hearing loss may affect language development, syntax and articulation, interaction with peers, and self-esteem. Patients with this degree of loss have trouble hearing some conversational speech. 

Sigh. Her ear canals are much bigger than they were in June, although they`re still very small. We have an ENT appointment next week, to look at her ears. The audiologist said that it`s unlikely that wax is the issue, and it`s very likely it`s a fluid issue. But, because her canals are so small, it might not be possible to put tubes in until she`s older. Only the ENT will be able to decide that, so I am anxious about next week.

If he decides to try, there are risks to putting tubes in, it`s surgery for one, and she will need to be anesthetized.  Another option would be to wait until she's bigger to put tubes in, and use hearing aids in the meantime.

Hearing aids. 

The possibility of hearing aids, and a specialised stroller. Lovely.

Stay tuned for a week of cooking!

This is a week for trying new recipes/making things up as I go.
We did a big shop today, and so I have plans for pork chops, meatloaf, ground turkey, chicken breasts and a roast. 5 meats, 5 dinners! I have a lot of fresh veggies, and a bunch of ideas.
Lucky for me, the kids (who are currently snoring in tandem) and I have been invited both night this weekend to my parents', so my cooking adventures can wait until the week starts.

I also have plans for a cinnamon coffee cake (the chocolate bundt lasted until yesterday!).

Love having kitchen plans, it makes me happy.

Oh! Today I discovered something cool. We ran out of dishwasher soap, and I forgot to pick some up while we were out. So, thanks to the internet, I discovered that a tablespoon of borax, mixed with a tablespoon of baking soda, and a couple DROPS of dish soap combine to make a very effective detergent! This I like, especially since I was quite freaked out by the formaldehyde smell leftover after using a popular commercial brand of detergent.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!
Xo

Fall is here...

I know that autumn is here, because my fuzzy monster toe socks are back into rotation.

Jakob is moderately afraid of these socks. He thinks I have actual monster feet!

We all layer up in the morning to keep the chill out (Jakob has on two occasions even insisted on wearing dual pairs of underwear - "to keep my bum warm!").
We have throw blankets around the house, on practically every chair and couch, and the table runners have been switched to warmer colours.

The roses out back are blooming.

The bugs have slowed enough for us to catch in Jakob's little bug house.

I'm sitting in my rocker by the back door, with a home made magic bean bag draped over my shoulders. I refuse to turn on the heat.
The kitchen is warm, and I'm glad it has a door to separate it from the rest of the house. During the day, while I'm cooking, or running the laundry or dishwasher, I keep it shut. In the evening, when we all head upstairs, I open it up, and the warm air makes its way up to our rooms. We've switched the comforters on our beds to heavier versions, and we're using our fleece sheet sets.
It really is my favourite time of year. Everything is so crisp, the colours are beautiful. There's nothing quite like curling up in a comfortable chair, under the warmth of a blanket, to read a book while the rain muffles all the sounds from outdoors.
Jakob is happily watching super-retro cartoons on Netflix, and I don't feel guilty about letting him watch television. I can't wait for all the crafting we'll do on rainy days, and all the fun we will have.

One Million Dollars

Today One Small Step for Prader-Willi Syndrome surpassed its one million dollar goal!! I am in awe, absolutely speechless!

One million dollars towards research, with events STILL happening!!!!!

https://onesmallstep.fpwr.org/dw/walking

Eggless Chocolate Bundt Cake!

Jakob and I decided to spend the afternoon baking. He is dying for a treat, despite the fact that there is a chocolate bundt cake presently baking in the oven. You couldn't believe the things he's saying to try to convince me to give him a lilI think Ellie is battling some kind of bug, or else she's teething, either way she's not herself, and is exceptionally emotional today. She has cried off and on all day long. Poor love bug!

I love baking with Jakob. It's a lesson in tolerance for me, to let him make a mess of my kitchen. It's great for him to see how everything comes together. And, at the end of it all, when we've put the kitchen back in order, we have a nice treat to reward ourselves with.

We're eggless today, the kids finished off the last of the eggs at breakfast, so I had to improvise. I found a bundt recipe at bakingbites.com/2006/01/cooking-school-eggless-chocolate-bundt/ 

I followed everything for the cake to a T. For the glaze, I did half milk chocolate, half super dark, because that's all I had left! We are still working on our chocolates from Easter, if that tells you anything about our chocolate eating habits!

 

Jakob just dropped a bowl, which crashed and made a loud noise, which made Ellie start crying. This is what he started singing, a la Clementine.

"Oh my Ellie, oh my belly, don't you worry stinker-belle, I will make you feel better, we'll eat cake and you'll be well."

Hahahaha. Ah, if only he were that cute all the time, and not presently in the middle of a colossal meltdown because I won't give him the bowl back. Not cute at all...

Ooh... it's ready!

*drool*

Impossible to keep him still for a photo!

Skinny legs loved her cake

Unbelievably delicious!