Okay, so I cheated. I started with chicken strips, just plain unbreaded strips, and I cut them into chunks and breaded them. I needed "bread" crumbs for my meatloaf too, so here is how I made the breading for both.
I pulled out my handy-dandy $3 mini-food chopper that I got at Wal-mart on Black Friday. I put a hand full of corn tortilla chips into it, and let my 2 year old chop away. He loves pushing the button and making the whirrring sound. I did this several times.
Once I had what looked like enough chips, I added a bit of Parmesan cheese and mixed it up.
I took my bits of chickens and coated them in the chip/cheese breading.. threw them into the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes.. and.. wala! Chicken nuggets.
Now, the chip breading doesn't taste quite like flour breading (because it's corn).. so in my opinion, they need some type of dipping sauce.. but overall, they're not too bad.
Do you have a favorite gluten/egg free recipe?
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Traditions
What Christmas traditions do you have?
We are working on building traditions with our family and looking at the Christmas season, and ahead to Easter!
I remember as a kid that we had a few Christmas traditions, we saw Santa, we cut down a tree, we went caroling (do people still do that?), we read Luke 2 on Christmas Eve, we made a nativity scene out of toys, we had lots of family activity with the extended family. Great times in the Christmas season.
My sister found a blog the other day about a family that wraps books related to Christmas and winter at the beginning of the month and uses them as a daily bit of Advent. Each day the family opens another book (the same books every year) and it is their book of the day. Maybe a silly tradition, but I think it sounds fun, and a great way to learn about Christmas, snow, whatever. Tonight I wrapped 12 books, to get us the rest of the way through the month, until Christmas.
We saw the Thrift Store Santa yesterday. We did not plan it, it just sort of happened. That was fun. Our kids have no idea what Santa is about. When they're a bit older we will tell them about this history of Saint Nikolas, and they will know that the fat man in the red suit is something that some people celebrate at Christmas time. (by the way, I think "Thrift Store Santa" would be a great name for a ska song).
We are working on building traditions with our family and looking at the Christmas season, and ahead to Easter!
I remember as a kid that we had a few Christmas traditions, we saw Santa, we cut down a tree, we went caroling (do people still do that?), we read Luke 2 on Christmas Eve, we made a nativity scene out of toys, we had lots of family activity with the extended family. Great times in the Christmas season.
My sister found a blog the other day about a family that wraps books related to Christmas and winter at the beginning of the month and uses them as a daily bit of Advent. Each day the family opens another book (the same books every year) and it is their book of the day. Maybe a silly tradition, but I think it sounds fun, and a great way to learn about Christmas, snow, whatever. Tonight I wrapped 12 books, to get us the rest of the way through the month, until Christmas.
We saw the Thrift Store Santa yesterday. We did not plan it, it just sort of happened. That was fun. Our kids have no idea what Santa is about. When they're a bit older we will tell them about this history of Saint Nikolas, and they will know that the fat man in the red suit is something that some people celebrate at Christmas time. (by the way, I think "Thrift Store Santa" would be a great name for a ska song).
We also want to build a tradition around exploring the nativity as a family. Randy found a book at the store that talked about each of the 7 pieces of the nativity and used 1 each night as a devotional time for family. We hope to begin that (in about 5 days).
Randy was talking tonight about singing at the end of dinner, maybe a Christmas carol to finish up. Silly? maybe, but fun and family time.
So anyway, back to the question: What are your Christmas traditions?
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Noggin, Growls, and Sweet Kisses
What a way to start the weekend. I love that Manasseh likes to snuggle up in our bed. I just wish it did not happen in the middle of the night, almost every night. In spite of the crowdedness (is that a word?), it issweet to have his little warm head on my arm while he snoozes.
Like so many good 2 year olds, this boy has learned to growl! He loves growling, for any reason. This morning, as we woke, he gave sweet smooches to mama and daddy. Then leaned over us and growled for a while. When he had finished growling, he gave us both some "noggin" (this is where you bump foreheads together). More smooches, and finally, he was ready to get out of bed.
What a fun waking ceremony it was. Rich with 2 year old style love!
Thank yo Nas for a good wake-up!
Like so many good 2 year olds, this boy has learned to growl! He loves growling, for any reason. This morning, as we woke, he gave sweet smooches to mama and daddy. Then leaned over us and growled for a while. When he had finished growling, he gave us both some "noggin" (this is where you bump foreheads together). More smooches, and finally, he was ready to get out of bed.
What a fun waking ceremony it was. Rich with 2 year old style love!
Thank yo Nas for a good wake-up!
Responsibilities
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| Manasseh loves "helping" |
I have a 2 year old an a 1 year old (almost). I have 2 cats, 1 dog, and a husband. My house is NEVER clean, at least, not up to my standards. We are working on that though. With the help of my sister's introduction to Motivated Mom's, and my toddler's love of helping, we are getting things together.
We decided a few months ago to start giving Manasseh some simple responsibilities. To start with he was putting his shoes on the shelf at the end of the day, and his dirty clothes in the hamper. He was meticulous about putting his shoes in exactly the right order, straight on the shelf, lined up... perfect. Oi, definitely a perfectionist.
When we got our puppy, we decided that he should feed her once a day. We have still not started that, but we will, soon, I'm sure.
This week, in a desperate attempt to get Manasseh to stop whining about wanting to eat, I had him help set the table. He ate this up. For 2 days in a row now, Manasseh has helped set the table. He loves walking back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room to get "more" from Mama, in order to set the table. It keeps him busy while I make the final preparations for dinner, and helps me out! I LOVE that he enjoys taking on this responsibility!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
It was a good day, and then...
We had a great morning. The boys slept in until 8 (I hate admitting that 8am is sleeping in). They had fantastic fruit and yogurt for breakfast and played all morning. Mama got some cleaning done. Manasseh watched about the first 5 minutes of the movie Cars. Then it was lunch time. These guys loved their lunch today (so did mama).
After lunch is always nap. For the record, the 11 month old and the 29 month old in my house are both suddenly quite opposed to napping. They fought, but were asleep within an hour. Then they woke up, 2 hours later - an hour earlier than usual. No problem, that gave mama more motivation to clean. I decided that I would let them have a bath this afternoon, always a fun time. They love baths! So I started some water on the stove while I did dishes. Yes, water on the stove, no, our hot water does not work... still. That's another story. I dumped the first pot of water in the tub, closed the door to keep the boys out, and went back to the stove with the next pot. When it was ready, I went to open the bathroom door ( because it's not a good idea to open doors while holding hot water ). It was locked. LOCKED.
Our bathroom has a little slide lock, it's not the kind of lock that you can pick with a screwdriver or a hanger, not even a hair barrette! It opens in, so the hinges were on the opposite side of the door from me. I could not find a flat screwdriver anywhere (there is one in the bathroom medicine cabinet). I eventually found a baby spoon with a small flat end and used it to unscrew the tiny screws in the door knob that connect it to the door... and THEN I discovered the third screw, on the side of the knob. The side that faces the door jam... the door jam that is against a wall and I can't get to it to unscrew.
So, 3 hours before Randy gets home from work, I have to go to the bathroom, and Manasseh has pooped in his underwear.. YUCK. I changed Manasseh, which was an ordeal in itself (my floors won't be the same). I found a screwdriver bit and decided to try using that on this third screw (to no avail). Manasseh sat on my lap and used the spoon as a "key" (trying to help me). I don't know what happened, but somehow as I continued to wiggle the door and the knob, it popped loose... it did not unlock, but it opened.
Day saved!
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| Manasseh's lunch - cheese quesedillas, salsa, frozen veggies, black beans |
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| Manasseh was especially excited about the black beans |
After lunch is always nap. For the record, the 11 month old and the 29 month old in my house are both suddenly quite opposed to napping. They fought, but were asleep within an hour. Then they woke up, 2 hours later - an hour earlier than usual. No problem, that gave mama more motivation to clean. I decided that I would let them have a bath this afternoon, always a fun time. They love baths! So I started some water on the stove while I did dishes. Yes, water on the stove, no, our hot water does not work... still. That's another story. I dumped the first pot of water in the tub, closed the door to keep the boys out, and went back to the stove with the next pot. When it was ready, I went to open the bathroom door ( because it's not a good idea to open doors while holding hot water ). It was locked. LOCKED.
Our bathroom has a little slide lock, it's not the kind of lock that you can pick with a screwdriver or a hanger, not even a hair barrette! It opens in, so the hinges were on the opposite side of the door from me. I could not find a flat screwdriver anywhere (there is one in the bathroom medicine cabinet). I eventually found a baby spoon with a small flat end and used it to unscrew the tiny screws in the door knob that connect it to the door... and THEN I discovered the third screw, on the side of the knob. The side that faces the door jam... the door jam that is against a wall and I can't get to it to unscrew.
So, 3 hours before Randy gets home from work, I have to go to the bathroom, and Manasseh has pooped in his underwear.. YUCK. I changed Manasseh, which was an ordeal in itself (my floors won't be the same). I found a screwdriver bit and decided to try using that on this third screw (to no avail). Manasseh sat on my lap and used the spoon as a "key" (trying to help me). I don't know what happened, but somehow as I continued to wiggle the door and the knob, it popped loose... it did not unlock, but it opened.
Day saved!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Arthritis?
Okay, so Manasseh has had these bizarre swellings on his fingers and toes. He's had them every winter and spring of his life. They seem to be totally random swellings and I can't find a common theme - food, weather, soaps, etc...
The doctors were puzzled by this, in fact, the pediatrician called his colleague in to look at Manasseh's fingers too, both men were puzzled. They ordered x-rays and blood tests, found what they thought looked like it might possibly be arthritis, then sent him to Riley for further blood testing with the rheumatology department in order to confirm rheumatoid arthritis. Riley Hospital Rheumatology decided that he does not have JRA and wanted to refer him to the dermatologist.
So today we went to the new doctor and I made sure to address his swollen fingers, currently his right hand, ring finger is swollen like a coke bottle. She listened to my story and glanced through his charts which stated that he had a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Crazy?! So anyway, now we're on an adventure to find out what Riley says and what the treatment will be with this boy.
The doctors were puzzled by this, in fact, the pediatrician called his colleague in to look at Manasseh's fingers too, both men were puzzled. They ordered x-rays and blood tests, found what they thought looked like it might possibly be arthritis, then sent him to Riley for further blood testing with the rheumatology department in order to confirm rheumatoid arthritis. Riley Hospital Rheumatology decided that he does not have JRA and wanted to refer him to the dermatologist.
So today we went to the new doctor and I made sure to address his swollen fingers, currently his right hand, ring finger is swollen like a coke bottle. She listened to my story and glanced through his charts which stated that he had a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Crazy?! So anyway, now we're on an adventure to find out what Riley says and what the treatment will be with this boy.
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