Mommage

Spaghetti!

I have nothing to talk about so I thought I would share my Spaghetti recipe!  This recipe always wins me rave reviews!

You can use either jar sauce (I use Prego traditional or Prego with meat) or make it fresh (like anyone has time for that)!

1 Large jar of Spaghetti Sauce (whatever brand you prefer)

1 lb of ground beef or ground turkey

1 large pack (the bubble pack) of Hormel Pepperoni (you can use the Turkey Pepperoni but I don't think it tastes as good).

1 package of Sweet Italian Sausage

1 package of your favorite spaghetti or your favorite pasta product

I like to cook this sauce in the crock pot, but you don't have to

Brown ground beef/turkey then add to the sauce

Next brown Italian Sausage

Then toss the pepperoni in the frying pan for just a minute

Mix all the ingredients together in the sauce and then let simmer until you are ready.

Cook up your favorite pasta top with the sauce and enjoy!

A great salad and garlic bread goes great with this meal!

--Contributed by Renee

A Boy's First Cooking Experience

Today is Autism Awareness day.  Our guest blogger today is 14-year old Bobby who has Asperger's Syndrom ~ a form of high functioning autism.  Mommage welcomes Bobby to our blog and appreciates his insight into autism, as well as his recipe!

My name is Bobby and I am enrolled in a four week program with the Virginia Cooperative Extention Nutrition/Education Program.  I am 14 years old and I have Asperger's Syndrome.  This means I have trouble making friends with the kids at school and I don't understand other people's moods or expressions the same way you do.  This causes me to say things that aren't always appropriate.  I often blurt things out.  I feel bad when I hurt other people's feelings and I don't mean to, but it sometimes it just comes out.

Last Friday I made dinner for my Mom and Grandma.  This was my first time making dinner for them and I am very proud of my achievements.

Easy Christmas Yummies

Besides cookies, another thing I made for my friends this holiday season was peppermint bark.  One of my friends yesterday called it "addictive" ~ and he's right. It's been a huge hit in my household and it is absolutely the simplest thing to make.  Ever.  And the best thing about it is that it brings all my family together (my son especially likes being able to crush the candy canes...with a hammer, of course).  So from my kitchen to yours:

Peppermint Bark:

Take 1 package of white chocolate melts (you can find these at Michael's or Joanne Fabrics or even Wal-Mart) and melt in the microwave.  Mix in 2 ounces of crushed peppermints (you can buy it crushed or you can crush candy canes yourself).  Spread thinly over a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle about 2 ounces more crushed peppermints on top.  Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  Break apart.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Enjoy!

--Contributed by Deb

Breastfeeding and Food Allergies

There is a "another" new study out regarding breastfeeding.  This one talks about the link between the breastfed baby and the chance of food allergies later in life.  I have also read recently that breast fed babies are less likely to be obese as adults.  Why does society seem to shove the breast feeding thing down our throats? 

I breast fed both my children, that was MY choice.  My daughter unfortunately had trouble latching on, so I wound up pumping breast milk for her and feeding her breast milk from the bottle.  The problem was this caused my milk to dry up quickly (about 3 months).  My routine would be feed baby pumped breast milk, baby goes to sleep, me pumping some more so that my breasts would not get engorged (OUCH), repeat every 2 hours.  As you can imagine I was exhausted, but I wanted to give my baby the best start.  When I was no longer able to breast feed, I was very hard on myself, but I also felt like I was being judged by others for not breast feeding.  My son thankfully took to the breast like a natural, the biggest problem I had with him was weening him :).

Let's not be so quick to believe every study, or give in to the pressure.  Breast feeding is an individual choice that is not the right thing for everyone.

--Contributed by Renee

On Being Covered In Flour

Finally I get to sit down.... whew, it's been an incredibly busy, emotional week.  Today is the first day of December which means it's almost time for Christmas carols, cards and cookies.  This year has been really rough on me, financially.  I've been out of work, voluntarily, for the last 10 months.  However, I'm getting ready to start a new job in January and boy am I am excited about it!

It means, however, that this Christmas is going to be rather lean.  Given that my passion can be found in the kitchen, this free time has given me a unique opportunity ~ I have decided to share my baking with my loved ones this holiday.  Some don't even know they're on my "list".

Cookies are a tradition in my family; one I am delighted to be able to share.  But when you have 7 friends for whom to bake cookies - I'm estimating a dozen cookies of each of the 6 varieties - plus 20 others who are getting "cookies in jar" this year, it gets a little tiring.

The Pecan Pie Debacle

Let me begin by telling you that it is REALLY okay to laugh at my expense.  Goodness knows I've been doing it all morning.  My Thanksgiving pecan pie is in the oven after a rather rocky start.  (Forty-three minutes to cook.... and wow does it smell yummy already.)

My 13 year old son helped me make it.  In addition to being very handy with tools, he's got some good cooking chops.  He chopped the pecans and we mixed up a batter of eggs, butter, brown sugar, dark corn syrup, and vanilla.  Finally the "batter" was all put together and I sent him to the computer to check the recipe and he essentially turned off the computer.  I was fiddling with it to bring it back to life (he logged in as the wrong user, then it powered it off, blah blah blah). 

So I was distracted.  Which is what might prove to be the downfall of this pecan pie.

Mom's Sick. Who Takes Care of Her?

We all know that most moms are excellent caregivers, especially when their kids are sick, but what happens when MOM gets the bug?

I had the misfortune of finding out. I caught a horrible cold and was sick all week. I'm just now beginning to feel better. It's just me and my teenaged son at home, and you'd have thought the world had stopped because I wasn't able to do all of the things that he's used to, like be the maid.

He had to cook for himself, do his own laundry and *gasp* find friends to haul him to all of his social activities that he engages in. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that he remained fairly polite toward me and even asked if I needed help with anything, but the underlying panic and aggrivation was present. 

It's just another factor of being a single mom that reminds me how very different my life is now. My ex-husband couldn't be counted on for much, but he would have at least stepped up if I couldn't do it, albeit grudgingly.

I sure miss the days where I was the kid and mom had to take care of me.

~Contributed by Tracy

What's Your Take on "Sagging"???

   No, ladies. This isn't a complaint blog about our various 'parts' gradually migrating south as we age! Although, I'm kind of on the fence on which type of 'sagging' I despise more.

The sagging I'm referring to is the seemingly never-ending trend of teen and 20-something men to wear their pants belted under their butt's and with boxers pulled up and visible to the world. I seem to recall this same trend being made fun of in the movie "Clueless", which debuted in 1994. Entirely TOO long for a fad to hang around, especially one that involves being forced to view people's underwear without my consent!

This article is a humorous story and captures the frustration that many of us feel with this phenomenon that won't seem to die. 

~Contributed by Tracy

All Fired Up Over A Cupcake

Time to pack up the goodies and ship 'em with the kids to school for partes.  Halloween parties, birthday parties ~ the list goes on and on.

My dear friend (and former Mommage Mom) Nichole has a little bit of a problem with these parties, namely that two sons are allergic to chocolate.  She filled out this information on her sons' registration papers and took the extra step of speaking to her sons' teachers ~ informing them of the allergy.  The children in the class use chocolate chips as "counters" and Nichole informed the teacher of the allergy the first day of school.

Sounds like she covered all her bases right?  Then why did her 4 year old, Zack, have such trouble when he refused to eat the chocolate cupccake served at a birthday party yesterday?  Why did the teacher tell him to "be quiet and eat his snack" when the child protested?

Outsourcing to India: Wombs

Well, I knew the foreign job outsourcing issue was becoming an epidemic, but I read something today that completely floored me.

According to a recent article in Marie Claire, desperate parents in the US have resorted to 'renting' the wombs of women in India to carry their children. While surrogacy here in the United states runs upward of $70,000, the cost in India is around a mere $12,000.

I have been blessed with two healthy children, so I can not in any way relate to the pain that infertile couples feel, except to have deep sympathy for their situation. But, I can't help but be concerned about the health and welfare of both the surrogate mothers and the unborn children that are being 'harvested' in this type of environment. The laws and rights in India are draconian compared to ours in the United States. What if one of the mothers decided to keep the child? Or worse, decided to hold out for more money after the child is born? Would our laws protect them?

~Contributed by Tracy