I don’t often write about being a military wife–at least not on this blog…
my messy eater: part 2
It can take Levi an absurdly long time to eat. The other night his dinner lasted nearly an hour. Thank goodness my mom was the one feeding him because I probably would have lost my patience!
The longer a meal takes, the messier Levi usually ends up. This is particularly true if his food has chunks of vegetables or noodles in it. I’m not sure if he doesn’t like the taste or texture of the larger pieces or if he simply thinks it’s more fun to spit them out instead.
Levi also has the tendency to sneeze right when I have the spoon in his open mouth, which means that I’m often just as messy as my kiddo.
Leave a comment if you have photos of your kids with food all over their faces, too!
PS: The second photo makes me laugh because I actually caught Levi mid-scream.
skirt steak with warm garlic veggies recipe
My husband does most of the cooking for our family, so when he’s away like he is now, I tend to not eat the most wholesome and satisfying dinners. I just don’t have the time, patience or interest to plan and prepare a meal for one every night.
But my mom’s visit to Omaha this past week motivated me to attempt a recipe I recently found in an older issue of Everday Food while I was cleaning out my stash of magazines. I’m less intimidated by cooking when I have help in the kitchen!
I slightly altered Marthan Stewart’s recipe for skirt steak with warm bean salad because I’m not a huge fan of beans. This one-pot dinner was so yummy that my mom insisted I prepare it for JB when he gets home! Here’s how I made it:
Skirt Steak with Warm Garlic Veggies
Serves 4
Adapted from Everyday Food
Ingredients
- 3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1-1/4 lb skirt steak
- coarse salt and pepper
- 3/4 lb green beans
- 2 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used 1 tsp of minced garlic instead)
- 1 carton (10 oz) grape tomatoes
- 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- Handful fresh basil leaves, torn (I forgot to buy fresh basil, so I omitted this ingredient.)
Directions
- Heat 1 tsp oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season steak with salt and pepper. Cook steak until browned, 3-5 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer steaks to a cutting board and let rest.
- Rinse out skillet and return to heat, adding 2 tsp oil. Add green beans and cook 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and tomatoes and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tomatoes begin to burst. Add vinegar and cook 2 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with basil.
- Thinly slice steak against the grain and divide among 4 plates. Serve with veggies.
Do you have any easy one-pot dinner recipes to share? Leave a comment or email me a recipe! If I try it, I’ll be sure to blog about your recipe, giving you full credit.
how many kids do you want?
Thanks to everyone who left a comment in response to yesterday’s post. It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only mom who experiences anxiety rather than pure joy each time my baby reaches a new developmental milestone.
But I have to say, I was surprised by your suggestions on how to not feel so terrible about my aforementioned anxiety! Many of you responded that the solution is to have more babies! I suppose that knowing I will likely get to “start over” with an itty bitty newborn makes watching Levi grow up a bit less difficult, but it can’t completely wipe out my conflicting emotions. He’s my first born!
So now you’ve got me thinking about how many siblings Levi might one day have. I grew up with one younger sister — that’s us above in 1983, I think. (Yes, I’m looking stylish in my Alabama t-shirt and Smurfs belt.) I’ve always wanted to have at least two kids, but sometimes I think I’d like three. If our next baby is a girl, we’ll probably stop right there, but if we have another boy…
Before you start getting any wild ideas, let me assure you that I’m not pregnant and am in no rush to have another baby! I can’t imagine being pregnant with baby #2 while caring for a baby less than one year old. Raising Levi has been physically and emotionally exhausting (in the best of ways, of course), and I don’t know how I’d be able to be as hands-on as I am if I were also pregnant. I think two to three years is a good age difference between children.
How many kids do you want? If you’re done having babies, do you wish you had more (or less!) kids?
PS: Here’s a piece I wrote for Lifetime Moms after Tori Spelling announced she was pregnant with baby #4 just months after having baby #3!
why i feel like a terrible mom
This weekend Levi grabbed the lower shelf of our coffee table, bent one leg and put his foot flat on the floor. My heart starting to pound. Was he was about to pull himself up for the first time? I suddenly felt queasy. In denial of what I was possibly about to witness, I quickly repositioned my son on his bum.
“Levi, sit down!”
Wait, what? Aren’t moms supposed to encourage their children’s developmental milestones?
God, I’m a terrible mother.
