Breathing life into leftovers: Asian Salad

Last weekend Hubs and I headed to the grocery store.  They had pork roast on sale for $1.99/lb so I picked up a pack with 2 in it (about 3.5 lbs).  Fast forward a few days and I found it in the fridge on the bottom shelf.  I was weary about freezing it (a few days may be an understatement) so I roasted them both in the oven with some Montreal Steak Seasoning. We had it for supper with cauliflower and another side I don’t remember.

When Hubs and I were vacationing in Shipshewana, IN we ate a small coffee shop.  I can’t find a link for it, and I can’t remember the name.  I had an Asian chicken salad, which was so fantastic I drool thinking about it.

EDIT:  I found them.  It’s called Morton Street Coffee.

So I decided to try to recreate it.

I made a sweet asian dressing which was kind of morphed between a few recipes I found

Asian Salad (serves 4)

Dressing:
3/4 cup of oil (I used vegetable because I had it on hand.  I think olive would be too strong for this recipe)
3/8 cup of rice vinegar (I used seasoned because that’s what I have)
3/8 c sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce ( I added this for that asian flavor and a lot of recipes called for salt so I thought this was a good addition)

Salad
1 head of Napa Cabbage (I cut mine into shreds)
1 cup shredded carrots (I like carrots, I only chopped mine because I was lazy)
1/4 cup of sliced almonds (or more if you like)
1/4 dried cranberries
1 cup of diced meat of your choice (I used leftover pork roast and it was fantastic.  I can’t wait to try it with grilled chicken. If you want to keep it vegetarian, skip the meat)

Topping:
1/4 cup sesame sticks

Mix dressing ingredients and whisk or shake so that everything gets emulsified.  Toss with salad ingredients.  Top with sesame sticks.

This was so good.  Hubs and I both had 2 bowls of it, but we only made half this recipe.  Next time I may try adding sunflower seeds for some more nutrition.  I’ve only tried Napa Cabbage once before, it was cooked and I didn’t like it.  But, I wanted to give it the chance to redeem itself. The checkout lady didn’t even know what it was when trying to ring it up.  I’m glad to have added a new vegetable to our repertoire and a new meal to our family’s meal plan.

Downsizing in today’s world

I read a lot of posts on the internet where people judge others for their spending habits.  Who cares if you’re “cheap”.  I know a lot of people with a lot of money who shop for clothing at Goodwill, can their own food, etc.

People seem to assume that once you have money you can start spending it.  But if we all did that, then we wouldn’t have any money.

Currently we live in a 1400 sq ft home.  It has 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.  Most people consider our home “small”.  However we have a very large living room and kitchen.  Our rooms are good sized and have large closets.  We also have a full basement.  I’ve never longed for space here.

Hubs and I put in an offer on a house yesterday.  It’s only just over 1200 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  And it has no basement. A lot of people have asked why.

Well because we WANT to downsize.  Upsizing comes with a lot of hidden costs.  A bigger home costs more to heat, cool, maintain, taxes, insurance, etc.  It costs more of my time to clean it and I don’t have that luxury right now.

We’ve been furiously sorting, packing, donating and trashing our current possessions in order to get our house on the market on Tuesday. (Yes we put an offer in on a house before ours is sold. It is a short sale/foreclosure and the bank has up to 60 days to accept, counter or reject our offer.  It could take a long time). 

I cannot believe the amount of stuff we had that was unopened from my bridal shower or that I couldn’t remember the last time we used.  We had a beautiful set of crystal candlesticks, vase and dish that was literally still in the box, never used.  We had an electric skillet that I remember using once in this house.  We’ve lived here for 3.25 years now.

With every box we donated it really felt like a weight was lifted of my chest.  It’s been easier to clean our home without so much junk in the way, and it’s been easier to find everything we need.  We’ve done 1 van-full to a local thrift store that is part of church community and 1 to the new salvation army a few miles away. 

It’s been easy to overlook all the stuff because of our basement.  A lot of things were in boxes, out of sight and out of mind.  It’s been easier to ignore it than to dive into it and clean it. But then it hit me, we have to move all this stuff!  We’ve donated clothing, unused blankets, small appliances, wedding gifts, baby clothing, school supplies, etc.  And I feel better.

I’ve talked with a lot of people who can’t believe how much we’ve gotten rid of.  And I get the same old question…what if you need it in the future?  Well, I haven’t needed it in the 5 years we’ve been married and I didn’t even remember we had it, so I doubt I’ll ever need it.  People confuse the word want and need lately.  I wanted a nice new car.  I needed a reliable car to get Bear and I to doctors appointments with good gas mileage.  I got a car that was 2 years old and had 16,000 miles on it.  Not my dream car, but it’s been terrific.  I may WANT crystal candlesticks in my future, but I certainly do not need them. 

Once we started boxing things up we stored them in the kitchen (we have this weird corner which would be great for a china hutch, but we never got one) for two weeks.  If in those two weeks I needed something out of those boxes then I could retrieve it and all would be well.  Shortly after stacking them in the kitchen, I realized I wouldn’t need anything in them because to be honest, I couldn’t even really remember what we packed in them.

The only time I had a hard time parting with anything was our baby girl clothes.  We didn’t find out Bear’s sex before he was born and we had been given a few girl clothes.  I held on to them incase this baby was a girl.  It was very hard to get rid of them knowing that we won’t have anymore children after this Baby Boy (even though I desperately want them).  But I know in my heart, that someone else can use them and it can help me move through my grief over this diagnosis.

Hello, out there.

Life has been viciously keeping me busy and occupied.  A lot has happened since I last wrote here.

Bear has begun crawling!  I literally cried when he got up on all four’s and crawled out of the living room.  He also hasn’t had a fever in 2 months and unfortunately one popped up on Monday.

The Botox has been a miracle drug here.   Unfortunately, it was far from the cheap aspect of our lives and we’ve been struggling with our medical debt.

This past Monday we were hit hard.  With a stomach virus.  I don’t think I’ve ever been that sick in my LIFE.  I ended up in the ER two times (IN THE SAME DAY) for fluids and anti-nausea meds so that I could keep something down.

Hubs came down with it Tuesday night just in time for our big ultrasound.

Speaking of our big ultrasound, our little baby showed off the goods in about 3 seconds.

IT’S A BOY! 

I don’t know how to feel.  I yelled at Hubs the other night when he was saying “Well God surely won’t make us have another special needs baby.”.  I had to yell at him.  We’ve been saying the same thing for years and miraculously it’s never worked.  Surely he would give us a break and Bear would be fine, nope he has a genetic mutation that causes all of his issues.  Surely I won’t be a carrier.  Nope, I’m a carrier.  Surely this baby will be a girl so we can have a break from worry.  Nope, it’s a boy.

I can’t do it anymore. 

I can honestly say I’m 100% thrilled to have another boy.  I love boy stuff, I love blue and tan and trucks and planes.  But, I’m not 100% thrilled that I get to spend the next 4.5 months worrying about this baby.  If it was a girl, I would be almost free of this worry.  She wouldn’t have a 50/50 chance of being affected like Bear.  But this baby does.  I may be incubating another special needs child.  I may be bringing into this world another child that is going to struggle on a daily basis, is going to work harder than most people ever will just to still be behind. 

I’m going to be honest.  I’m petrified.  I’m petrified to love this little guy because I’m so scared of getting my heart broken.  I’m petrified of having a typical son, that I won’t know what to do, or I won’t be enough.  I’m petrified of Bear becoming second best having a typical brother.  I’m scared of people judging me if I have two special needs sons so close in age.  I’m scared of the day when everyone starts asking about Bear as his little brother because of his size and lack of skills. 

I’m not so sure how to swallow this news.  It is what it is, I can’t make him be a girl and I can’t erase these founded fears. 

Our other big news is, we’re selling our home.  Our home is a ranch. However, it’s not on a flat lot so our garage is in the basement and our stairs are very narrow and steep.  The hallways are narrow and have lots of turns.  This will not work for Bear in the long term.  We hope to be able to assist him in becoming mobile but the reality is that he will always need some sort of assisting equipment.  While Bear is still young and small (meaning we can carry him up and down stairs and in and out of the car) we are going to move into a rental.

Our hope is to get all our medical bills paid off and some money back in our savings so we’re not so strapped for cash when surprise bills roll in.  We’ll probably rent somewhere local for a year and then decide on our next move.

Hubs’ work is changing.  They’re making him work a different shift.  While this is okay for now and will probably work out well when we have a new baby, it’s not ideal for the long term.

Our family is in limbo right now just cleaning and decluttering our home getting ready to sell.

On the move!

Bear has done it!

He is army crawling forward!

He figured out backwards crawling a while ago, but with his tone and associated movement forwards just wasn’t happening.  He can get up on all fours, wiggle a little, and just not understand.

Last Thursday (not yesterday) at therapy he army crawled about a food on a mat for a  toy.  He did the same thing a few days later at home on the carpet.

Today, he has been all over the living room getting every toy (and off-limits thing) he wants!

It’s amazing!  We (PT, Physiatrist, Neurology, Hubs and me) all thought crawling just wouldn’t happen.  It takes a lot of work to coordinate all 4 limbs, while fighting gravity and there isn’t any equipment to assist him (like a gait trainer assists walking-more on that in the next post).

But my little boy is proving us all wrong!

Oh happy day!

The third piece….

 

So as we left off (1st piece, 2nd piece) I had my blood drawn.  After a gruesome wait that ended up being 4 weeks instead of 2, we received a phone call as we were about to drive 7 hours to a wedding without Bear.

I am a carrier of this rare genetic mutation. 

I only have a 50% chance of making healthy babies.  Add to that my rare genetic bone disorder (which is autosomal dominant and a 50/50 chance) I basically have 0% chance of making healthy babies.

We’re so grateful we are pregnant because had we not been and received all this information we would never have another child.  This baby is a gift from God.  He had plans for our family.

With that said, this is our last baby.  I cannot do this gamble again. 

I’m angry.  I’m sad.  I feel like a disappointment to my husband.  I was never ready to be done at 2.  I’m destroyed that this family planning choice has been taken away from me. 

Most likely international adoption is out because mine and Bear’s disabilities.  I don’t think we can afford domestic adoption.  We’re left with foster to adopt.  I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do it.  To get attached and fall in love and possibly have to give them back.

This is a hard time for our family.  Hence the lack of blog posts. 

I’m struggling with morning sickness, afternoon sickness, evening sickness (call it whatever you want, it stinks) exhaustion, a Bear that doesn’t sleep, and caring for a special needs toddler.

I’m tired.

Menu Plan Monday

I plan on buying a turkey for $0.69/lb to put in the freezer and we’re doing a full pantry challenge!

We need to get the freezer emptied for when Baby #2 comes so that we can start restocking it. For now, it’s pretty full.  I won’t specify a veggie in these lists because we have tons of canned or frozen corn, peas, green beans, pumpkin and squash.  I’ll let Hubs pick which he wants that day

This weeks meals

Monday:

Salisbury Steak/Hamburgers, White Rice, Easy Béarnaise Sauce, and a veggie.  My Easy Béarnaise sauce is not super frugal (or low calorie) but it’s a great treat and much cheaper than going to a restaurant.  Because of the calorie factor we only have it a few times a year.

Tuesday:

Roasted Chicken with refrigerated mashed potatoes (I bought these to test them out for when Baby #2 comes because my frozen ones were awful.  Then I realized they can’t be frozen so we just have to eat them.  Oops), carrots and veggie.  I will turn the chicken into broth for soup or pot pie later.

Wednesday:

Bratwurst with collard greens and onions. I saw this recipe in Everyday Food and we have a LOT of Bratwurst I found on sale for $1.50/lb.  It sounded interesting and collard greens are really affordable so I’m excited to try it.  It would be nice to have something other than just brats and French fries for dinner.

Thursday:

Hot Dogs and Ore Ida frozen French fries.  Hey, I need a night off every now and then.

Friday:

Hebrew National Knockwurst (I scored on sale for $0.69) and sauerkraut and potatoes.  I’m craving sauerkraut so I will spend the $0.99 and purchase this.

Saturday:

Chili.  I scored canned beans for about $0.29/can during our local stock up sales and I have a LOT to use.  I’ll probably make my homemade cornbread too.  Yum!

 

Not the most creative, I know Hot Dogs, Brats and Knockwurst, but I’m pregnant and caring for a special needs toddler all day.  Some days I need a break.  Also, I’m suffering major food aversion so whatever sounds good is what I eat.

The second piece…

September 29, 2011

2 days after my birthday, 1 day after my pregnancy test.

It’s about 2PM and I’m getting Bear up from his nap and we’re playing.  Around 3 I check my phone to make sure Hubs hasn’t called to say he’s leaving.  I have a voicemail and a missed call from an area code where all of Bear’s specialists are. 

I listen to my message and it’s the geneticist.  She was apologizing for not getting back to us sooner and was just all about rambling.  I was getting really annoyed.  We had called her about 2 weeks prior because Bear keeps getting fevers about every 2 weeks and she never called us back.  When all of sudden, she ends the voicemail that they have the test results and are pretty sure they have a diagnosis.

WHAT?! A DIAGNOSIS? YES, A DIAGNOSIS!

I call Hubs.  Yes, I’m crazy.  I had to call and tell him about the voicemail BEFORE I called the geneticist to tell him what the geneticist said.  Then I had to hang up and call the geneticist and ask her what is going on.

He has a mutation on his X-Chromosome.  This is called an X-Linked Intellectual Disability.  My son will be mentally retarded, have hypertonia, microcephaly and is at risk for seizures, vision loss and hearing loss.  I call Hubs and relay the message, he calls the geneticist too.  Now the question is, is it hereditary?  We got an order for my blood work and we went right up to a satellite branch and had my blood taken.

I am now looking at my beautiful son with his X-chromosome issues while holding my belly praying that I’m not a carrier and we don’t have the same worry for Baby #2.

This isn’t the end of the story, just wait for the third piece.