As I woke up this morning, I looked over to my husband's side of the bed.He wasn't there. He was nowhere
in sight. He was gone. As he is most weekday mornings when my son and I wake
up. Yesterday, my two year old asked, “Where my daddy go, Mommy?” I used that
moment to explain to him how hard his Daddy works for us. I told him “Daddy had
to go to work. He goes to work every day and works really hard. When he works
hard, his bosses give him pennies (this is how he understands money). The pennies
Daddy works for pays for our house and our food and your milk and TOYS.” “Toys?”
he said, “Toys and diapers?” Last grocery day we ended the shopping trip at Wal-Mart
for swim diapers and a toy. He was playing happily in the cart with his Nemo
diapers and tractor until I told him to put them on the counter so I could pay
for them.
This morning when he woke up he asked “Daddy go to work, to
pay for my toys and diapers?” I confirmed he was correct and explained the whole thing to him again; I want him
to know that Daddy works hard for all of our good things. It is important for
children to understand how hard their father’s work for them. There is a reason
Daddy can’t stay home all day and play cars with him. Someone has to pay for
those cars.
As moms, I feel we sometimes don’t realize the importance of
our relationship with our children. I am the person my son spends all of his
time with. This gives us a special bond unlike any other; unlike the
relationship he has with his Daddy. It is my responsibility to cultivate my son’s
relationship with his father when he cannot be at home. At two years old, and
probably through the early elementary school ages, he can’t possibly understand
why Daddy isn’t home to play with him unless it is explained to him on his level. Right now,
toys are his level. He understands toys. Now he is starting to understand that no matter who
purchased his toy, Daddy “paid for it.”
This will also prepare him for another conversation one day. He
may be able to more easily understand that our Father God gives us all good things because he has seen a good example of this from his own father. Or he may understand
that our salvation is not free, someone had to pay for it. Jesus had to “pay for it,” however, he paid a
lot more than pennies.
My husband works hard for us and serves our family well!! So
how do I serve him back? I take care of our son and home. But sometimes we need
to put forth a little more effort or thoughtfulness. It is good to let our
husbands know how much we appreciate their efforts. I did this yesterday by
making his favorite food with our homemade mozzarella and ricotta cheese. And
then topped it off with one of the yummiest pies I have ever tasted!!!!
So, as promised:
Grain Free Zucchini Lasagna and Grain
Free Lemon-Whey Pie
Grain Free Zucchini
Lasagna
 |
| I forgot to snap the picture before cutting it!! |
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1lb. of Italian Sausage, preferably something all natural without monosodium glutamate (MSG).
- 1 lb. of ground hamburger
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 6 ounce cans of organic tomato paste
- 3 cups of water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of basil (use more if using fresh basil)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of oregano (use more if using fresh oregano)
- 1 tablespoon of honey
I usually I make the sauce first because it takes the
longest to cook. This sauce is completely sugar free and paleo friendly. I also make
this for spaghetti, which I use a Julian peeler to slice zucchini into noodles.
There is no need to cook the “noodles,” just add them to the sauce for the last
10 minutes of cooking time.
If your onion and green pepper are not already chopped, do so
now. I usually use my food processor to do this. (One at a time or they get mushy.)
Brown the sausage and hamburger in a large pot. Add onion, green pepper and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, water, basil, oregano and honey.
Cover and let simmer for 1 hour.
While the sauce is cooking, I usually slice the zucchini and
make the cheese mix.
Noodles:
5 medium zucchini
Slice the zucchini with a mandolin at ¼ inch thick.
Salt the zucchini and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cheese Mix
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups of parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 16 ounces of ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
I had to add ricotta to what we made yesterday. I had some from previous cheese making experiences. You can make your own ricotta without making the mozzarella if you want or you can buy some from the store. Maybe one day I’ll post about making only ricotta, but for now you can go to this website: http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Ricotta-Cheese/?ALLSTEPS
When the sauce is finished simmering, you can assemble your
lasagna.
Start with a light layer of sauce; it helps cook the zucchini
noodles cook a little better.
Start a rotation of zucchini, cheese mix and sauce. Repeat. I
made two layers. If your sauce or zucchini is thinner than mine, you may get
three layers.
Top with your mozzarella and bake for 1 hour.
An FYI about Homemade mozzarella, it doesn’t really melt into the ewey gooey cheese you are used to. It was more of a cheesy crispy layer on top.
An FYI about Homemade mozzarella, it doesn’t really melt into the ewey gooey cheese you are used to. It was more of a cheesy crispy layer on top.
This recipe serves 6 to 8 people.
And my husband and two year old loved it!!
And my husband and two year old loved it!!
Grain Free Lemon-Whey
Pie
This is a recipe I got from prairiehomestead.com. It calls
for a pre-made crust, but I have adapted it to give you a wonderful grain free
crust for the gluten intolerant. I really recommend the grain free crust, even
if you aren’t gluten intolerant because the flavors blend incredibly well with this pie. It was
truly delicious!!
Crust Ingredients:
- ¾ cup of butter
- 1/3 cup of Organic coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 cup of blanched almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of bourbon vanilla
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of cold water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9inch pie dish. Beat
together, or put in a food processor, butter, sugar, almond flour, vanilla and
water. I used bourbon vanilla because I like the flavor, regular pure vanilla
can be used. If you cannot find bourbon vanilla, it can be hard to find, I got
mine for a reasonable price at Trader Joe's.
Press dough into pie dish.
A little trick to gluten-free baking; press into dish with wet hands. The water keeps the dough from sticking to your fingers.
A little trick to gluten-free baking; press into dish with wet hands. The water keeps the dough from sticking to your fingers.
Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool.
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups of whey divided into 1 cup and ½ cup (it must be fresh whey, powdered whey will not work.)
- 1 cup organic sugar
- 3 ½ tablespoons of arrowroot powder or organic cornstarch
- 3 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
- 1 ½ tablespoon of butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ cup of lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, if it is not already done.
Bring 1 cup of
whey to a boil in a medium saucepan.
In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar arrowroot powder and the
remaining ½ cup of cold whey until smooth.
Add mixture into the hot whey,
stirring constantly until it thickens.
In another small bowl, beat the egg yolks and combine with
butter, salt and lemon juice.
Pour a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolk
mixture and stir. This is called “tempering” and it ensures that you don’t end
up with scrambled eggs in your lemon whey.
Add the tempered mixture back into the saucepan. Cook for an
additional two minutes stirring constantly.
Pour the filling into your pre-baked pie shell. Set aside
while you prepare the meringue.
Meringue Topping Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons of organic sugar
Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar,
salt and vanilla extract in a bowl until foamy, but not yet starting to
thicken. Add one tablespoon of sugar and beat thoroughly. Repeat with the other
5 tablespoons, one tablespoon at a time. You want the sugar to dissolve
completely.
Once all the sugar is added, continue to beat the mixture at
medium high speed until it forms stiff, sharp peaks when you lift the mixer
from the bowl. Spoon the meringue around the edges of the pie and use the back of your spoon to gently “seal” it to the crust. This should keep it from shrinking. Once you have a ring of meringue around the outside, dump the remaining meringue to the center of the pie and smooth it out evenly.
You can use the back of your spoon or a spatula to lift it
and give it a spiky appearance.
Carefully move it to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Let it cool fully on the counter.
If using the grain free crust, be sure to let the pie cool
completely and scrape between the pie and the dish with a knife, or it will fall apart when trying to serve. However, if it falls
apart, it will still taste delightful!!
Here are a couple of examples of how I try and let my husband know I appreciate him. What would make your husband feel noticed and appreciated? Do your children fully understand how hard their Daddies works for their family?
Thank you for reading my post. I hope you enjoyed it and
found something useful. Tomorrow I’m going to show you how to make Greek yogurt
in a crock pot. I will also give you a wonderful Greek yogurt Ranch Dressing
Recipe. Stay tuned!!
May Your Joy be Full,
Rachel
May Your Joy be Full,
Rachel
You shall teach them diligently to
your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you
walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy
6:7 (ESV)
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