Banishing the Alligator Skin

So my kids are both dry-skinned little ones. The big guy was diagnosed with eczema when he was teeny - probably two months old. The doctor prescribed him a topical steroid. She even told me, "if you apply this every day, it can thin his skin." And I still used it! (Can you believe that?!)

Eventually, at about age three, his skin softened up and we just stuck with using regular lotion on his extremities after a bath. He was fine.

Then the little one comes along, and he was a health nightmare! Among several health issues, he of course, had eczema. I didn't want to thin his skin with steroids - I was a bit more educated in natural approaches than I was both my big guy. While littlest was nursing, I eliminated meat, dairy, and peanuts from my diet to see if those were causing issues. They weren't. Dietarily, I was going about it improperly, but I didn't know that, three years ago.

When the little one turned three, his skin did not clear up. It got worse, in fact. He not only had dry skin, but it was rough, scabby, slightly discolored, and the poor guy complained that it itched  constantly. When I went to my [holistic practicing] doctor for my dry skin and allergies, she suggested eliminating dairy and gluten. Isn't that just a fad? I already buy organic, whole wheat flour, shouldn't that be enough? Pffft.

It took about four weeks for me to see any difference, but my face cleared up, my stomach deflated a bit (no, I didn't lose weight, sorry friends!), I could breathe (that was a plus), and I didn't need to scratch my legs with my driver's license every evening because they were so itchy. Mkay... fad or not, no gluten meant yes happy.

Meanwhile, I'm soaking my kid in oatmeal baths, exfoliating him with sugar scrubs, blobbing on straight Shea butter, and not using soap but twice a week on his dry, scabby skin.

Stomping Out the Man Flu

This is my secret weapon. Its what I make if I ever want to comfort someone via the belly. So my sharing this with you... makes you pretty stinkin' special.

I learned how to make chicken noodle soup when I was still crushing pretty hard on my husband, before we were officially "together." He got sick for the first time in forever, and was....well, acting like boys do when they get sick.

My granddad had given me a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for Christmas that year (what I wouldn't do to know where the heck that thing went!), and when I learned my hunk-a-burnin-love wasn't feeling well, I went home to make him some soup from my BHG cookbook... as soon as I got out of seventh hour.

Its been a favorite of his ever since, because to him, food is love. I think he realized I was head-over-heels for him when I went out of my way to make this, then ride the bus to his house with a giant pot of soup - and that feeling remains. So I could make it every week, and he just smiles and gobbles it up.

In the past year or so, I've started occasionally adding dumplings to the soup instead or rice or noodles. My mom made chicken and dumplings when I was little and I remember picking out the dumplings and scarfing them down. I could have sustained life on those things. I'm a total starch-o-holic.

I'll start by giving you my basic recipe for chicken soup. This is a very hearty soup, almost a stew. I include rice/pasta in the recipe, and the starch from the rice or pasta (since we don't rinse it) thickens the broth - it is very filling! If it's dumplings you want, the broth will be more like a broth - liquidy. I suggest omitting the rice/pasta if you're going with dumplings - there's enough starch in the dumplings, trust me!

Pay Attention to the Fluffy One

Disclaimer - if you are squeamish, I'm warning you now! There are no photos, but there is speak of gross things!

K, so I love my dog, Moose. My kids love my dog. My husband secretly loves him, as well.. but since he's a girly poodle-dog, I'm not sure he'll fully admit it. Moose is possibly the most awesome dog... maybe ever. I struggle to love people this much, sometimes ... just because humans can be so disloyal and hurtful, then you have a fluffy, mildly nappy little prancing pup at home who wants nothing more than to jump on you, snuggle you, and kiss your face. Um, yes please.

He is also possibly the lowest maintenance dog I've had. As my friend says, "Moose is a trooper, he survives solely on 12 calories a day!" He eats very little, has close to zero health problems (he does have an occasional ear infection due to his floppy ears - he has medicine for it) and has had the same toy since he was a tiny puppy and still loves it. 

I take regular care of him - he's neutered, I get flea/tick prevention for him every year (buying in bulk saves some cash), renew his microchip subscription annually, care for his teeth, get him groomed, and keep him up to date on shots like a "responsible" pet owner.

But sometimes... even with the best care available... things happen with our animals. They're called "emergencies," and I swear, veterinarians are banking on them happening. So Thursday morning, when my big boy woke me up to tell me he was bleeding from his neck, I FUH-REAKED OUT.

Chilli. Just Chilli.

Once upon a time, we lived on a military base. There, we had a man-neighbor. He once made my family chili. I asked man-neighbor for the recipe, so he showed me a piece of paper. Listed on it was cans, packets, and jars of stuff mixed into a crock pot.

Are. you. serious.

So being the food snob that I can be, I wanted to duplicate the flavor, but eliminate the processed food items and make it from scratch.

"1 lb ground turkey."
First item of business - change ground turkey to organic, grass fed ground beef. It just makes me happier.

"1 packet McCormick chili powder."

I went to the grocery store and looked on the back of one of the packets. Minus the MSG and preservatives, I think I could combine paprika, cayenne, cumin, bay leaves, salt, and pepper all by my big-girl self.

"1 can diced tomatoes."
I have knives and a cutting board for those... What's "a can," like, a cup's-worth?

"1 can of pinto beans" + "1 can refried beans."
 So... one's just mashed pinto beans? I got this. I can do beans. Shewt, I'll even throw in some black beans for texture variation.

"1 can Contadina tomato paste."
Okay, I could probably make this, but they sell organic tomato paste at my most favoritest store in the world, so I won't get too picky. I'll give man-neighbor some credit on this one. One day I'll get the guts to make my own tomato paste. Until then, cans it is.

"1 bell pepper."
Can do. I used a sweet red pepper and it was a bigger hit with the family, so either/or, I suppose!

"1/2 onion, diced."

Psht. Why not throw the whole onion in there?

Avoiding the Actua Chill Pill

I'm gonna get a little personal on you here, for a minute.

I have a blessed/lucky/awesome life. Lets count my blessings, shall we? My husband never fails to care for our family. He loves me regardless of the emotional hell we've been through, he still laughs at my weird sense of humor, and for whatever reason, he still reminds me of how smart and beautiful he thinks I am. Crazy man.

My kids are 100% healthy, and we have a great relationship. I have a roof over my head that isn't about to cave in, running water, electricity, food in my belly, and the most awesome memory foam mattress topper... possibly ever. Any health problems that I have, we know what causes them - I don't have a mysterious incurable disease. I have 100 reasons to smile and laugh on any given day, and my crazy little caveman/warrior children and scruffy dog with an underbite make sure of it.

Given the fact that my life is surely rockin', the truth remains, I have stress issues. Anxiety (and other issues) run in my family, so naturally, I'm a wreck. I care way too much about what people think, and take most of it personally... It builds up after a while, and wanes on my energy levels. I've even had a few panic attacks in the middle of nothing. I think they call that the breaking point. I even stress myself out about trying not to stress. That makes sense.

The other night, my husband suggested I go soak in the tub. He may have been trying to wriggle out of doing dishes, but he had something, there. Huh.

So I took a quick shower, then filled the tub with the hottest water I could stand, epsom salt, and lavender essential oil. I think I laid in there for an hour, deeply breathing in the lavender.

I don't normally soak in the tub, it seemed futile up until now. But when I got out of the bath that night, I felt calm, and... for lack of a better word, content. I put some lavender skin salve all over to preserve my happy, post-soak skin. I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, and ready to take on my day. (Doesn't that seem like a bunch of BS? Its not, I promise). I was hooked. It helps so much to just spend 30 minutes taking in the silence... and thinking about nothing. 

Roasted Squash with Onions

I am quite possibly the worst when it comes to getting creative in terms of vegetables. I know how important they are to our diet, so I really do make a conscious effort to include them, but I'm so boring about it! I shy away from salads because my littlest will sit there for six hours before he ever eats a raw leaf (plus, I can't have ranch or blue cheese dressing, what's the point?!) My go-to recipes are usually just steamed carrots or a smoothie with spinach or kale. I'm glad no one ever fusses about those two things, but after it being a daily thing, it just gets old. Fortunately, as fate would have it, we figured out something new by accident.

When left to his own devices, my husband developed a love for kebabs. They were simple, filling, and pretty nutritious the way he was preparing them. He grilled them up for dinner a couple of times, but would frequently sacrifice the veggies to the gods of the charcoal, because they would overcook and fall off before the meat was cooked.

My solution: make only-meat kebabs, and just roast the veggies in the oven. 

Now aren't you lucky - I picked these honkin' zucchinis from my garden this morning, so lets use 'em up, shall we? There will be a proper recipe at the bottom of the post.

Take a picture of your shoulda-picked-it-two-days-ago zucchinis. Then set your oven to bake at 425 degrees.

Slice 'er up.

Dice 'er up.

Roughly (do you see this picture? I'm serious when I say "roughly") hack up some onions.

Mix it all together with butter (or oil of your choice), garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

(I had some yellow squash in the fridge that needed to be used, so I threw some of that in there, too).

Potato Preservation Venture.

Hi, I'm Meg, and I have an addiction. ("Hiiii, Meg....")

I love Costco. When I buy food or... anything really, I always compare prices. Usually, Costco has the best price per unit. If it is a PENNY less per unit, I would rather buy it. It's a penny! A hundred of those and you have a buck! That's a Toothfairy stuff, right there!

So the last time I went to Costco, I noticed the price of my favorite little red potatoes, and nabbed a bag.
I prefer these vs. Russets
because:

- When I make baked potatoes, the boys have a perfect little serving size, and they eat the whole thing. Skins included.
- I'm convinced the color in the skin = higher vitamin level.
- They hold together better (vs. Russets) when I fry potatoes for breakfast or make french fries.

Basically, I don't buy Russets. So I got a huge bag of red potatoes. Moving along....

They sat in my pantry juuuust fine for a while, then one started to smell. Have you ever smelled a rotting potato? Holy hot dogs, Batman! I'd change a thousand breastfed-baby-converting-to-solids diapers before I ever preferred smelling a rotting potato. I couldn't let my money go to waste - my solution? Freeze them.

Here's what I did:

1. Clean out the sink. Plug the sink. Put all your still-good potatoes in the sink. Fill the sink with water.

2. Pour about a cup of vinegar in the water. Let potatoes soak for about 10 minutes. Shove your hand in the sink and agitate the potatoes, kinda like a washing machine. 

3. Drain the sink. Assure no potatoes went down into the garbage disposal. 

4. Gently scrub each potato, then set in your cutting area.

5. Cut the potatoes. Dice them, slice them, cut 'em into french fries. However you choose. I chose to dice them all, since I can use them diced in country potatoes, morning scrambles, soup, and roast them in the oven with squash in onions. It was the most versatile cut for me! 

6. Rinse out the sink. Plug the sink back up. Fill it up with clean water. Dump all of your newly sliced potatoes into the clean water, and let them soak for about 10 minutes. 

7. Lay a towel on the counter (I had two towels). Drain the sink and put all of your soaked, cut up potatoes on the towel and spread them into a single layer so they can dry for about 30 minutes.

Spicy Meatballs

... not really. Its only spicy if you put a ton of red pepper flakes in it... which I do... 'cause my husband likes it spicy. Rawr.

I make a ton of these at once because they're perfect for lunches (which I pack four of on a daily basis!), and a quick addition to dinners on tee ball or basketball nights. These make me happy because there's no gluten involved - so my little one doesn't have the alligator arms two days later.

They have a distinct, smoky flavor, so they don't need a sauce or gravy. I suggest serving them on their own alongside other things, rather than smothered in a sauce or mixed into something.

Meg's Meatball Recipe:

*2 lbs ground beef (or 1 lb beef, 1 lb pork)
*2 large eggs
*1/2 C Worcestershire sauce
*1/2 C rice flour (take dry rice and put it in the blender. Bam: rice flour)
*1 Tbsp salt
*1 Tbsp black pepper
*1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
*1 Tbsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika with a tbsp of liquid smoke)
*3 Tbsp minced onion
*3 Tbsp granulated garlic
*1 Tbsp turmeric - yes, I know. Just do it.



1. Throw all ingredients in a huge mixing bowl. Now stick your hands in the bowl and mash everything up with your bare hands until it is all incorporated (mix it really well, there's nothing worse than biting into a hunk of salt!).

2. Roll meatballs that are about an inch in diameter. I get something like 40 meatballs, give or take.

3. Put a thin layer of cooking oil of your choice in a large pan, and heat slowly on low (about 3 for those of us with numbers on the stove dials). Put the meatballs in the pan, searing each side. One pan-full of meatballs usually takes me about ten minutes, but stoves, pans, and meats (more or less fat content) will vary that time, so just cook slightly longer than you would a hamburger patty.

4. Place cooked meatballs on a cookie rack to drain excess cooking oil.

Your meatballs aren't going to be perfectly round, but they'll be perfectly delicious. Lemme know how yours turn out!