What I Haven’t Told You

is that I am 14 weeks pregnant.

Ever since my dear, sweet cousin lost her precious twins a little over a month ago (which I mentioned vaguely), I’ve struggled and struggled with telling anyone our news; I just didn’t have the heart or the words. 

I still don’t.

But I also know that it would be really awkward one day to start talking about a new baby right out of the (hopefully clear) blue sky. 

(And I’m also too vain to want you to have to wonder if I’ve just eaten one too many hamburgers at every meal for the last several weeks.  Which may or may not be the case anyway.)

So as you rejoice with us, please continue to lift my cousin and her hubby up in prayer.

And PS – Today is our 7th anniversary!

Parenting on Purpose

A few weeks ago Andy and I attended a short parenting conference put on by the youth of our church. (They did all the babysitting and served the lunch, accepting donations for upcoming missions trips, etc. I thought it was a great way to do fundraising and I know they blessed us parents through their work that day.)

There were three speakers; our senior pastor’s topic was “The Training and Instruction of the Lord,” one of the elders (who also happens to be our Sunday School teacher) spoke on communication, and the director of the local Christian youth network spoke on “Fueling Your Child’s Passion for Christ.”

Even though the conference was short, it was one of the highlights in my (continuing) education on how to be a godly parent. (I need to find out if any of it was recorded and get a copy, STAT.) Due to length, I’m going to have to break this into more than one post…

THE TRAINING AND INSTRUCTION OF THE LORD

Introduction: Col. 3:20-21; Eph. 6:1-4
These are the two verses that speak to children obeying their parents in the Lord. Pointed out that immediately after that directive in both verses, Paul tells fathers not to embitter or exasperate their children – this is just as important as that obedience! You can embitter or exasperate both by underdisciplining AND by overdisciplining.

I.  You are to train & instruct them by your walk

A.  Scripture teaches believers how to “walk” – (Deut. 8:6, I John 1:7; 2 John 6; 3 John 4)
B.  By your walk you teach & instruct them 24/7 – they pick up more by watching you than what you say
C.  If your walk fails consistently to line up with your talk then they will learn to disrespect and then disregard you
D.  But if your walk matches your talk, you can become your child’s hero
E.  Therefore,

1. How should you live? (Col. 3:12-17)
2. What should you do when you sin? Your children should know what confession/repentance/forgiveness looks like because they watch YOU
a. If your kids never see you repent or ask forgiveness, you are deceiving them and living a lie

II. You are to train & instruct them by your words

A. “Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me” – that’s a LIE. (Prov. 12:18; 15:1; 25:11; 4:3-5, 20-22) Words are a double-edged sword, can be used for life and health.
B. Informal training and instruction – happens all the time
C. Formal training and instruction (Deut. 6:7)
1. Teach them about men and women who had a passion for the Lord and served others in His name

III. You are to train & instruct them by your disciplining

A. Training and Instruction –
1. They should obey you without challenge, excuse, or delay
2. Remember Paul’s warning (introduction above)
3. Remember your purpose
B. A Biblical pattern of discipline
1. Spanking (Prov. 22:15; 13:24; 23:13-14; 29:15)
2. How we did it…
a. When our child deliberately disobeyed, we took them aside
b. We talked WITH (not at) them, and asked two questions:
i. Do you love me?
ii. Do you love Jesus?
iii. Disobedience IS sin.
c. We then…
i. Spanked them (Prov. 22:15; 13:24; 23:13-14)
ii. Forgave them, assured them of our love
iii. Prayed with them
iv. And then it was OVER (Like our sins are IMMEDIATELY over with God)

IV. A Few Brief Observations

A. Raising children should be a delight (Prov. 29:17)
1. The first few years are crucial
2. The teen years should be a delight (they should be well trained by then in practicing “common courtesy”
a. Discernment
b. The biggies: LYING & DISRESPECT
B. Remember: Your child’s relationship with the Lord is ultimately their responsibility

BUT WHILE THEY ARE STILL YOURS YOU CAN BE USED PROFOUNDLY BY THE LORD TO SHAPE & MOLD THEIR THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS…

AND IN THIS LIFETIME YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY, OPPORTUNITY OR PRIVILEGE

(Outline follows handout.)

Don’t forget!

Daylight Savings is tomorrow – don’t forget to Spring Forward your clocks!!!

Free Shipping at Lands’ End

I just noticed a free shipping code in our Blissdom swag bag, and the letter says to share with our readers. So here ya go!

Promo Code: BLISSDOM
PIN: 2175
Expires Sunday, February 15 – so hurry!!

By Popular Demand

Okay, okay, okay. I will give you the recipe for these rolls I made for Thanksgiving Day breakfast. But first, a little history.

My grandmother is Swedish. She made (makes still? I don’t know) the very long and intricate original version of the recipe I’m about to give you. It’s an all-day event and very easy to mess up and ruin completely. Which, after spending all that time, effort and energy, is just depressing.

However, I’m a modern-day mama with modern conveniences at my fingertips. I do not bake bread that I’ve kneaded by hand. I spend most of my time chasing after toddlers and cleaning crayon off the walls. So I use my bread machine to mix dough for me and we get homemade goodies that way.

A few years ago I adapted my grandmother’s recipe with a cinnamon roll recipe that worked well in the bread machine. Since then I’ve only baked these buns with bread machine dough.

(Perhaps sacrilege. I don’t care. It’s this method or nothing in my current stage of life.)

So, without further ado…

Pour into the bread pan (in order): 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup melted-but-not-hot butter, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Place 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour into a bowl and wisk 3/4 – 1 tsp ground cardamom into the flour. This is very important. If you just dump the cardamom into the bread machine without mixing it into the flour first, it will be very clumpy. Trust me.

Pour flour mix into the bread machine pan on top of all the other stuff. Make a little crater with your finger in the flour and pour 1 package active dry yeast into it. (I personally use Rapid Rise. I’m patient like that.)

Plug in the machine and hit ‘dough’ setting and press ’start.’ Mine takes an hour and a half.

Once the dough is finished, you’ll grab small handfuls of dough and roll them out like snakes. Maybe 10-12 inches long, 3/4″ thick. With your non-dominant hand, pinch the middle of the dough snake and hold it up so the two ends dangle down. Grab one of the ends with the other hand and swirl them around each other so you have a twist.

Loop the entire twist around itself about two times, or until the end can be tucked underneath the roll. Pinch it into the bottom of the roll or they will unwind.

Dip the tops generously into melted butter (that you already had prepared on the stove, right? Ahem.) and then roll the buttered tops around in a cinnamon and sugar mix. I think the ratio is a cup of sugar to a teaspoon of cinnamon, mixed well.

Place sugar-side-up into a casserole pan… usually 3 to a row, 4 if they’re small. Place covered with a tea towel in a warm oven to rise again – they should double – for 30-45 minutes.

Before doubling:

(Side note. See that one in the middle, up close? The bottom didn’t get sufficiently pinched so you can see what I mean by unwinding.)

After doubling, about to bake:

Remove the tea towel (do NOT forget) and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing while still hot. (About 1 cup powdered sugar to 1 tablespoon water.)

Best eaten very warm with a pat of butter. These are probably the single most poignant food memory I have as a child… My mom made these every Christmas and every Thanksgiving.

And occasionally, even upon request.

Quick

Hopefully I’ll have a real post up later today, but in the meantime here are a couple of good things to share:

Top 10 ways to brat-proof your child by Vicki Courtney. Hat tip to Trina.

I made this Taco Soup last night for dinner and my kids scarfed it down. I’m sure all the cheese and chips mixed in didn’t hurt.

(Also, I didn’t have time for the crock pot, so I made it in a pot on the stove and it worked just as perfectly.)

And I was going to add a few others but I have GOT to get Drew ready for preschool.

Sneaking-in a Superfood (spinach)

Lately I’ve been trying to get Adelaide to eat fresh spinach and the best way I’ve found is to whip it through my food processor with some water and add it into her food. Putting it in spaghetti sauce is super easy because the spinach looks a lot like the other herbs and you can hardly taste the difference.

Cooked spinach is stringy and has a distinct flavor that is hard to sneak past children (and older babies in particular). My older kids will eat fresh spinach like lettuce, but Adelaide is slightly prone to choking on it.

I put a bunch of fresh leaves in my processor and pour in a little water and turn it on:

It looks about like this when done:

Paste it on (shown with vegetarian refried beans) and hide it under some fresh salsa or pico:

Although not vegan, sometimes we add cheese:

How I usually serve this dish, folded over and cut into a more manageable size:

(Sometimes I’ll just make a bowl of the pureed spinach/beans/salsa/cheese and just give that to Adelaide with a spoon and she LOVES it.)

I use very mild (but fresh!) salsa, by the way. Try it out, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Works for me!!

WonderGirl on Halloween

[Originally published by WonderGirl on October 31, 2007. Reprinted here with permission.]

Hello, my name is WonderGirl, I’m a Christian, and I take my children trick or treating.

Why? CANDY! And dressing up in fun costumes. And carving pumpkins into silly faces. And scary corn mazes. Did I mention the candy?

But it’s more than that. I feel led to celebrate Halloween. I’ll explain.

I’m tempted to just link to some other people who have given such good explanations about why Christians can (and mayhaps should) celebrate Halloween. But that seems like cheating in some way, so I’ll give you the long and short of why WE celebrate, with liberal use of exerpts here and there that say it better than I can.

There are SO many misconceptions about the origins of Halloween. I won’t go into them all, because that’s been done quite a bit. You can read a good synopsis here. Suffice it to say, most of what the secular world thinks about Halloween is just out and out false historically.

Halloween is “All Hallows’ Eve”. It is the day before All Saints Day, which is November 1. Jim Jordan gives a good run down of All Saint’s Day (HT to Rich for this link): “It is the celebration of the victory of the saints in union with Christ. The observance of various celebrations of All Saints arose in the late 300s, and these were united and fixed on November 1 in the late 700s. The origin of All Saints Day and of All Saints Eve in Mediterranean Christianity had nothing to do with Celtic Druidism or the Church’s fight against Druidism (assuming there ever even was any such thing as Druidism, which is actually a myth concocted in the 19th century by neo-pagans).”

It is not “the devil’s day”. It is actually the very opposite. Satan has been thwarted, Christ has won the victory, and this is a day of celebration! We remember those saints that have gone on before us, and laugh at the defeat of our enemy. More from Jim Jordan: “This is why the custom arose of portraying Satan in a ridiculous red suit with horns and a tail. Nobody thinks the devil really looks like this; the Bible teaches that he is the fallen Arch-Cherub. Rather, the idea is to ridicule him because he has lost the battle with Jesus and he no longer has power over us.”

Halloween is a day of mockery. It reduces the power of Satan to plastic fangs and fake blood… it is a day when the ghoulish and ghastly are really nothing more than peeled grapes in a bowl, cold cooked spaghetti. It is a day when someone says, “BOO!” and we laugh.

So, we’ve got this holiday that we’ve relinquished culturally over the years. The meaning of the day is convoluted. So what to do about that? Reclaim it. Don’t be afraid of it. What have we to fear? Spooks have no power over the name of Jesus Christ! Laugh at the futile, pitiful attempts of the Fallen. Don’t cower in your house, with the lights off, warding off the evil of trick or treaters.

Brandy says it so well on her blog: “We are to be missional Christians. What kind of message does it send to the world we are supposed to be reaching, especially the kids, when they find a dark porch with no candy or a note that says “We don’t participate in this holiday.” How much better would it be if, in the midst of such a dark night, we had the brightest house on the block, decorated with tons of white lights. We could hand out the BEST candy! Full sized candy bars. And, if you have time to spare, make cool wrappers to tape around that say, “Taste and see that the Lord is good! Psalm 34:8.” That is one night that we have a unique opportunity. When kids from non-Christian families in our neighborhood come to our house year after year, hopefully they will remember the Christians as the most generous, the most joyous, the least fearful.”

I love that!

Are there elements of Halloween that we should be careful of? Well, naturally. The Bible is pretty clear on avoiding evil and embracing righteousness. But we are salt and light, as much on October 31st as any other day of the year. We shouldn’t give that day away because we are afraid. Dennis Ruport says, “While Christians should absolutely avoid pagan practices, Christian hype tends to make us overreact to benign folk elements of Halloween. We appear like zany buffoons to the world when there is no necessity for doing so. Furthermore, our groundless retreat from all elements of Halloween leaves a vacuum that wicked elements delight to fill.”

So there you have it. That’s why we celebrate Halloween.

(But mostly just the candy. Ha.)

PS: I am including our weekly pastoral letter in the extended entry for my own record keeping, and in case you are interested in reading a more detailed theological defense of Halloween. There’s definitely a reason Rich gets the paycheck! It’s great!

[Due to the length, I am not going to copy in that letter. You can find it here at her original post and scroll down.]

MUST PASS ALONG!

I got this idea/recipe from Sarah’s blog (In the Midst of It) and in case you don’t read her, I’m going to pass it along. Because this is a recipe you want, trust me.

My sisters came over last night to do their laundry and so we tried these out and watched a movie. UnBELIEVEably quick and easy. And GOOOOOOD.

Homemade Donuts: Pop open a can of refrigerated biscuits. Poke a hole in the center of each biscuit (I used my Pampered Chef apple corer):

And then fry the donuts (and holes) in a few inches of oil (I use canola):

Flip over once (this takes less than a minute, make sure you don’t go far!):

Drain on paper towels:

Roll in cinnamon & sugar:

Perfect for a Saturday morning or a Sunday evening at home. Best served still warm.

(You could also glaze them with a powdered-sugar glaze or frost them with chocolate icing.)

Coffee Drinks and Other Bloggy Business

As requested, what we did to make our version of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spiced Latte is this:

Brew some non-flavored coffee. I think the key is grinding it fresh. The other night we used decaf, but this is what I normally use during the day:

Next, add some of this dreaminess:

(Here is when my sisters add several heaping teaspoons of sugar. So you can do that, if you’re so inclined.)

And then top it off with some of this:

And sprinkle with cinnamon:

And there you have it, a yummy fall treat!

Recently from my friend, Mer:

Which is my first bloggy award, so thank you, sweet friend! I’ll be passing that one along as soon as I narrow down my list-o-bloggy friends.

Also, several times over the past months I’ve wanted to respond directly to various comments but couldn’t. If you have a Google account/profile, all you need to do is check the box that says “show my email address” under Edit Profile and I, and others, will be able to respond to your comments directly via email instead of getting only the “noreply@blogger.com” nonsense.

If you don’t want your regular email available (perhaps because it lists both your first and last name), consider creating an email account specifically for your total blogging experience. :)

Gotta run, we’ve got a very full Saturday in front of us. Feel free to tell me what y’all are up to this fine day.

Great for playdates, preschool, and the church nursery

Dolly originally told me about these, and I love them enough to pass on. They are sort of like those rubber wrist bands you sometimes see loads of people wearing, but they are reusable labels meant for bottles, sippy cups, sports/water bottles, or whatever.

We both love ours, and if you need something to help keep track of cups or bottles and hate having to peel sticker labels off, we highly recommend them. They come in blue, green, pink, and purple.

(Would make a great baby gift, as well.)

They can be found here at Inchbug.com.

DW on SP

I’m typically not all that interested in politics (save for my own dear dad), but I am interested in preserving the sanctity of life and other issues that we should be concerned with as Christians. I also don’t always agree with everything Doug Wilson writes, but on this issue so far, I do. Absolutely. So I’m just going to take the easy way out and link to his recent posts on the subject at hand.

An excerpt, (also why this election is so critical) from DW: “my touchstone issue on whether or not this reversal is likely or possible has always been the abortion issue. That is the issue that we have to begin with, and it is therefore a non-negotiable. If we repent there, we can get to other issues as they arise. If we don’t repent there (with repentance measured by nothing less than overthrowing Roe), then it doesn’t really matter what we do elsewhere because it will be nothing but God’s judgment, whatever it is.

“…if the Dalai Bama is elected, we will have absolutely no chance of getting pro-life judges on the Supreme Court. And if the Republicans have the White House, we might or might not get pro-life judges. But wait . . . there’s more. McCain’s persona of deliberately irritating conservatives with that maverick schtick of his has been such that it convinced me that there was no way that he was going to be the one to topple Roe — right up to the recent reports that were circulating that he was actually considering Lieberman for his VP pick. But the bottom line has always been that if I knew that McCain was going to appoint pro-life judges to the Court, I would be more than happy to vote for him. But I — like many other conservatives — believed his various erratic and eccentric signals. “Don’t ever trust me on this one” was his message, and “okay” was my response. This choice of Palin appears to a clear signal in the right direction, a signal that goes well beyond a pie crust promise –easily made, easily broken. So, is this VP choice making me rethink this election? Yes, it is.”

And later: “Scripture gives us examples of extraordinary women who are used by God in extraordinary times. The woman’s seed was to crush the serpent’s head, and we see this prophecy of Christ typified throughout the Old Testament in striking ways (Judges 4:21; Judges 9:53). It seems to me that Sarah Palin, as a walking rejection of the pro-aborts more emotional arguments, will be in a position to give Roe a bowl of motherly milk and then put a stake through his head. If that happens, then the question for Christians will not be “how could a woman do that?” Rather, we will see that no one but a woman could have done that.” (My emphasis.)

I’ll go ahead and link to the posts from Doug Wilson so far on Sarah Palin for those that are interested and don’t read his blog (admittedly, I don’t that often myself) because they are very well written. And don’t worry, they’re also not too long:

Post 1: Kinda Spooky When You Think About It.

Post 2: Cons and Pros on Palin.

Post 3: And Another Thing…

Post 4: John Knox and Sarah Palin.

I know it’s late

But I just got home from having coffee (okay, I really just had water) with two of my dear friends, hopped on the internet for a quick check around and saw a headline under my ads for another in-network post, got curious and clicked over to read it.

It’s a must-read that I just had to pass on: Mommy Life’s Memo to Jennie Chancey on Sarah Palin.

Amen.

My first attempt at vegan baking

I tried an experiment today. Drew loves muffins and begged me to make some this morning. I’ve had this box of milled flax seed in my pantry and according to the side, you can use a tablespoon of it mixed with 3 tablespoons of water in place of an egg.

Which is perfect for vegan living. (I mean flexitarian living.)

They turned out perfectly yummy. You’d never know they were egg and dairy free.

Vegan Banana-Walnut Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup regular flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon milled flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup rice milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (veggie)
3/4 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

What we’re eatin’

I’ve recently been asked (several times, actually) “so what are you eating?!” As if the only other dietary option besides meat and cheese is a grain of enriched white rice.

Well, let me enlighten you.

One night last week we had baked potatoes (with an olive oil spread that’s just as tasty as butter), broccoli (with the same spread and garlic and some salt n’ pepper), and some yummy nutty bread with apple butter. I’m sure we had fresh fruit, too, but can’t remember what specifically.

Sunday, for lunch with guests after church, I made whole grain pasta, and topped it with olive oil and herbs/spices. I sautéed an onion, a yellow summer squash, a zucchini, and a red pepper and mixed it all in with the pasta. It turned out tasty and I really should have taken a picture because it was colorful and pretty (as far as pasta goes). I also served a tossed salad and a loaf of Ciabatta bread. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert. I don’t think anyone went away hungry.

Tonight we had our favorite stir-fry over rice. Before I would have put in chunks of chicken – but with the onion, garlic, broccoli, celery, pineapple, and cashews, no one seemed to notice the omission. I used (reduced-sodium) soy sauce and honey for the stir-fry sauce. And then I also baked us some biscuits and we had spreadable fruit and the aforementioned apple butter with them.

Basically my rule of thumb has been to think of former veggie ‘side dishes’ more as main dishes and make the portions bigger. We are eating a lot of whole grain breads, potatoes, brown rice, corn, pastas, tons of vegetables and fruits, nuts, lots of oatmeal, etc.

And, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve had my fair share of guacamole and corn chips lately. I’ve also been buying fresh salsa by the boatload and we’ve pretty much been inhaling it.

The other famous question is “how do you get your protein?” as if protein doesn’t occur in nature. (And, I don’t think I need to add that most Americans eat way too much protein.) Beans, nuts, even a lot of grains, fruits, and veggies have protein – more than enough to live on. I’m sure I could personally live on peanut butter. Kidding.

Here’s a handy-dandy Protein Chart for easy reference.

Speaking of protein, an “easy way to calculate your own daily protein requirement according to the U.S. RDA is to multiply 0.36 (grams) by your body weight. That translates to about 44 grams for a 120-pound woman.” (From the Vegetarians in Paradise site.)

So, trust me, we’re far from starving. But we may be aspiring artists.

Here’s the Why

I’m not going to turn this into my new blog platform or anything, don’t worry. But I do think we need to be more aware. So, here’s another good link on the effects of cow’s milk: www.milksucks.com.

The short explanation:

“In one study, funded by the National Dairy Council, a group of postmenopausal women were given three 8-ounce glasses of skim milk every day for two years, and their bones were compared to those of a control group of women not given the milk. The dairy group consumed 1,400 mg of calcium per day and lost bone at twice the rate of the control group. According to the researchers, “this may have been due to the average 30 percent increase in protein intake during milk supplementation. … The adverse effect of increases in protein intake on calcium balance has been reported from several laboratories, including our own” (they then cite 10 other studies). Says McDougall, “Needless to say, this finding did not reach the six o’clock news.” This is one study that the dairy industry won’t be repeating any time soon.

After looking at 34 published studies in 16 countries, researchers at Yale University found that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis—including the United States, Sweden, and Finland—were those in which people consumed the most meat, milk, and other animal foods. This study also showed that African-Americans, who consume, on average, more than 1,000 mg of calcium per day, are nine times more likely to experience hip fractures than are South African blacks, whose daily calcium intake is only about 196 mg. Says McDougall, “On a nation-by-nation basis, people who consume the most calcium have the weakest bones and the highest rates of osteoporosis. … Only in those places where calcium and protein are eaten in relatively high quantities does a deficiency of bone calcium exist, due to an excess of animal protein.”

Harvard University’s landmark Nurses Health Study, which followed 78,000 women over a 12-year period, found that the women who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. Summarizing this study, the Lunar Osteoporosis Update (November 1997) explained: “This increased risk of hip fracture was associated with dairy calcium. … If this were any agent other than milk, which has been so aggressively marketed by dairy interests, it undoubtedly would be considered a major risk factor.” (And it goes on…)

The short version of how this happens is:

“But what is the mechanism for this process? As food is digested acids are released into the blood, and the body attempts to neutralise the acid by drawing calcium from the bones. This calcium is then excreted in the urine (the calciuric response). Animal protein from cow’s milk and dairy products as well as meat, fish and eggs has a particularly bad effect because of the greater amount of sulphur-containing amino acids it contains compared to plant protein. As the sulphur content of the diet increases so does the level of calcium in the urine. Studies reveal that an animal protein diet (with the same total quantity of protein as a vegetarian diet) confers an increased risk for uric acid stones (Breslau et al., 1988). Furthermore the animal-protein induced calciuric response may be a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis. The traditional Inuit (or Eskimo) diet is made up almost entirely of animal protein. Inuits potentially have one of the highest calcium intakes in the world (up to 2,500 milligrams per day) depending on whether they eat whole fish, including the bones, or not. They also have a high rate of osteoporosis, even higher than white Americans (Mazess et al., 1974; Mazess et al., 1975; Pratt et al., 2001).” (Taken from the VVF website.)

Boning Up on Calcium, is another good resource.

Meat n’ Potatoes

*I really posted this last week, coincidentally also on Wednesday. Mer suggested linking it to WFMW and, well, I aim to please. So here ya go!

One of my friends (from way back in high school!) recently asked if I would pass on some of my favorite recipes to her. I’m sure I’ve posted this on Let’s Eat! but since I made the recipe for this concoction up, I decided it’d be easier for her to visualize my directions.

And, lucky for me, this is what we ate for dinner last night.

So, here is my go-to meal when I realize it’s 5 o’clock and I have about as many brain cells left.

Brown a pound and a half or so of ground beef (or turkey, based on your preference). Drain the fat. Add in frozen hash browns, like so:

(I’ve also used the shredded kind.) Cover and let the potatoes cook; they should be fork-soft and slightly browned.

On a side note, here’s a kitchen tip. My college housemates and I used to buy huge packages of meat and then section off dinner portions into ziplock baggies, smash them flat, and stack ‘em in the freezer. It’s SUCH a time and money saver. And if you need meat for a recipe such as this one, just pop one in the microwave for about a minute or so. The portions are already flat so the meat doesn’t take long to thaw once it’s in a frying pan.

Oh yes, a visual:

Once the potatoes are done, stir in a can of celery soup and about 1/3 cup of half n’ half.

Don’t judge me because I use cream of celery soup. The store brand, even.

Sprinkle generously with Lowry’s Garlic Salt. (Not seasoned salt; this is the one with the green cap. Another of my kitchen staples.)

Add in grated sharp cheddar cheese, like so:

Stir it in and let it melt.

Now, you could stop there. But I like to sneak vegetables into my kids’ food.

So while the potatoes are getting soft, I usually throw some frozen veggies (in water) in the microwave. This bowl of green beans cooked in about 7 minutes, on high. If the beans aren’t soft when you try to spear ‘em with a fork, try another minute or two.

Get it all mixed in good. (So your kids won’t notice the green beans, obviously.)

The finished (and very yummy) product:

Even Adelaide gobbled this up.

Getting the word out

If you have kids older than mine, click here.

I remember this being trendy when I was in middle school. I asked Andy about it today and he said “oh yeah, I knew kids that used to do that all the time…” So I think it’s probably a lot more common than parents might think.