So... like I said, Butterfly was grounded yesterday. The negotiations showed me that she was getting the idea that attitude and aggressive behaviour are NOT acceptable. She very sweetly tried to convince me all day that she had learned her lesson and so 1 day was enough. So after only seeing her for meals and snacks, she was let off this morning on good behavior (she is still 4 and my baby, and I missed her... plus I really NEED her to distract Ladybug from hanging on me :D).
Lesson learned = reward for everyone!!
So yesterday, during the girls breakfast; I started the morning by draining, rinsing and starting the beans that had soaked overnight. Thanks to my parents no longer needing big crockpots, I have 3 so I can make Kidney, Black, and Pinto for refried; all at the same time!
Butterfly went to her room and I left Ladybug in her highchair. She watched me peel onions and chop them in the processor and throw them in the pot with 4 lbs of meat. I don't know what it is, but since our switch to the grass-fed beef from a local meat market the ground beef just melts into crumbles and as long as I move it around a bit, I don't have to chop it like I always did before!
So I left that to start cooking, and started making spagetti sauce and slicing mushrooms.
By this time, Ladybug was wandering the kitchen and toy room asking for her sister and throwing fits when I told her that sister was "nite-nite"... so I started feeding her snacks of mushrooms, cheese, and anything else I could find :D
Meat drained, spices & mushrooms... I had to find my BIG pot before I could add the sauce! More fun playing with Ladybug, until she melted so I got her down for a nap.
Girls had snack time, I finished the meat sauce and put it in a bowl to cool and started lunch. While they had lunch I entertained them with more onions then mushrooms in the food processor :)
Then I started the mushroom alfredo & the divan cream sauces in the pots and sent Butterfly back to her room.
Ladybug tried to "help" me with the cream sauces and then finally she went down for another nap and I finished them. Along with shredding a lot of cheese, and making the "cheese sauce" layer for the lasagna. I was ready to assemble and had the creams off the heat and cooling by the time Ladybug woke up.
Assembling took a lot longer than planned with my lil "helper" but I got 5 done out of the planned 4, so even with eating 1 for dinner (with lunch leftovers for hubby!) I put 4 more meals in the freezer!
Plus 4 1/2 bags of mushroom alfredo for stroganoff, and 3 bags of divan sauce means after I bag and freeze the meat (chicken divan marinade today) I am closer!!
Today's Recipe - Homemade Mushroom Alfredo
1/2 an onion, minced
3 TBLS butter & 2 TBLS flour
an 8oz pack of mushrooms thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup parmesan & 1/4 cup mozzerella cheese
salt, pepper & 1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder (side note: I normally use 1 lg clove, but this much cooking = some cheating!)
Saute onions in butter until soft, add mushrooms until juicy, add flour and spices then cook 2 minutes. Slowly mix in milk (easier if warm, but I never remember) stir occasionally until thickened, remove from heat and stir in cheeses.
I usually use this with 1 1/2 lbs of beef cubes mixed with some Braggs Aminos for a Beef stroganoff. Throw beef and sauce into crockpot on low all day (8hrs+) then mix in 1/2 cup sour cream at the end, make egg noodles, and add a veggie side dish = Dinner!!
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