Recipe Wednesday-Nana's Mac n Cheese

Nana's Mac n Cheese

Truly a family favourite. It was when I was a child and now my children also love my moms mac n cheese. Hope Nana doesn't mind I'm using her recipes, but one everyone should try. 

3 Tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp dry mustard powder 

3 cups milk

3 cups cheddar cheese

2 cups dry macaroni

In saucepan melt butter, add flour, salt, pepper.

                    Slowly mix in milk.  When thickened remove from heat and add cheese.

Cook macaroni as per box instructions drain and add to cheese sauce.

                          Transfer to casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Stuffed Squash

Stuffed Squash

Our daughter and I attend cooking classes together, she is only 8 but loves to cook and wants to be a chef when she grows up (for now).  Here is a recipe that we learned at cooking school and we love and make all the time.  We have changed it a little to what we like.

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 Tbsp EV olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic salad dressing

1 cup baby spinach

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 carrot, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup grated mozzarella

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice your squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. rub a little olive oil on each squash, place on prepared baking sheet face down, and roast for 30-40 mins, or until tender and easily pierced with a fork, set aside to cool. 

In small pan, saunte the onion, garlic, carrot and pepper in a little olive oil, until softened. Add the spinach, and when wilted toss the mixtures in the dressing and combine well. Season if necessary. 

Combine the cheeses and sprinkle a little of the cheese in each of the squash and stuff each with veg mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Tent the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Bake for 20-30 mins or until warmed through

Serve and Enjoy

You can also add cooked chicken breast to stuffing mix, for a whole meal in one.

Taking care of Mom

The end of last year I realized how important it is for me to take care of myself, my husband wasn't feeling well for months and they discovered that he had a blockage in a artery of his heart. In November he had to have 3 stents in the artery and they told us it was 99% blocked and we are lucky he didn't have a heart attack or worse.  He's only 42 so such a scary thing for us to go through.  Someone was truly watching over him.

During the months before, I really wasn't feeling well either. So I stared seeing a naturopathic doctor. She helped me realize that food was my problem. I have always been overweight and complained about it but really really like food, its truly and addiction. I also use it to help me get through tough times, I eat my blues away. Bad idea all around, then I get mad at myself for eating it and it's a vicious circle.

In September I started a life change, gluten free, less sugar and exercise. I have trouble with the me time but I'm working on it. I have tried weight watchers a number of times and have looked into all different diets, but you know what I have done this on my own. And have lost 25 pounds.  Over the winter and Christmas I have had a hard time staying away from junk and sugar , it was so yucky outside and I didn't feel like getting out. But as the days get longer I have wanted to push myself, so I haven't lost anything in 3 months but haven't gained any either.

Now I'm on a mission to go full force and get another 15-20 lbs off before summer. Not to look better (although I do like the compliments) but to feel better and be a healthy mom.

You see I have a little different situation. Both my children aren't going to go off to collage, get a career have a family and take care of me. Our son I will have to take care of for the rest of my life so I have to try to make it a long healthy life so I can do that.

My husband is better but is a diabetic as well. I'm afraid that I will be taking care of him too someday, just cause he has so much family history of heart disease and diabetes that he can try to be a healthy him too, but he has things stacked against him and I have none stacked against me except taking care of my health.

I have lost 25 lbs of bread and butter, lets see if I can lose 20 more of sugar and chocolate.
I cant take care of everyone else, until I take care of myself first........

My before and after so far. Oct 2015 top/ March 2017 bw

Recipe Wednesday-Salmon Loaf

Salmon Loaf

A family favourite.  Easy, quick and delicious. 

2 cans (213g) salmon

1 sleeve crackers (saltines)

3/4 cup milk

2 beaten eggs

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Mix all together and place in loaf pan

Bake at 350 for 1 hr

Serve hot Enjoy. 

Fixable Problems

The Winter Blues have done a number on me this year. I have wanted to stay in and be a hermit. Most of all though I have kind of been having a pity party for myself. I can usually get that way once and awhile but only for a day or two and then life goes on, but this time its been a hard hole to climb out of.  All those little things seem to have built up so much that they all seem to hit me at once.  Talking to people as I do with my job, I dont feel I'm the only one who feels this way.  You know what has gotten me so upset though, are those people who complain so much about their situation, but do nothing about it and those situations are usually very fixable.

My New Years resolution was to not worry about others and only live for the 4 people under my roof.  So I have tried to keep that up, not an easy task. People dont like it when you change and do for yourself. But as I have tried to step back I realize, those people probably mean more to me then me to them.  I dont see then texting me or stopping by, I was always doing the running or listening.

We in this house have a few non fixable issues, I have had a hard time with thinking of the future, but know I need to get things started to make the future as good as possible. As I was driving the other day, I felt I had to talk to someone, I pulled over and called the one person who would listen to me, not fix things or sweep them under the carpet, but truly listen to me while I cried and screamed, that one person who "gets it" the person that I dont always go to because I dont want to burden them with more worries, and specially not to worry about me the strong, mothering, take care of everyone person I am.  But that one person tis truly my best friend......................my husband.

We have had lots of bumps in the road over the last 22 years, but realizing this last year that I could of lost him forever has made me a better wife, and I seem to be able to confide in him more then ever.  And when we have a fixable problem we seem to work together to fix it. The other issues,  as he always tells me will work out in the end. Maybe just maybe me walking away from others problems have made he walk back to him and our family, after all on my headstone someday it wont say,

Janelle Gatti
Helps others and takes care of everyone.

It will say................................

Janelle Gatti
Wife and Mother.

Remember to look real hard at your problems and see if they are fixable.........................

Appointments

I dont think people realize what goes into being a mom of a special needs child. Doctors appointments are a huge part of our lives. We know how long it takes to get from home to the ER, its 43 mins from our door to the ER door for us.

Doctor appointments aren't in our town, we travel to see the doctors our son needs, we go to two different cities both 45-60 mins away. It's never an in and out thing, its an all day adventure.

In the next 6 weeks we will be going to the eye doctor twice, he's having an EEG, a neurologist appointment, a orthopaedic doctor, and probably be referred to see a upper limb doc due to him repeatedly dislocating his shoulder.  He also has school, massage, dentist, respite and bowling in those 6 weeks. Oh ya and its March Break during this time. Thats just him, we do have a daughter that needs me too and who will most likely be keeping Nana company for some of those appointments.

It will be an overload of information as I'm going to get some answers with these appointments , I feel sometimes he gets shoved to the side, I hear a lot "well that comes with cerebral palsy"or "he has epilepsy", not good enough anymore I need to know exactly what's happening and get him what he needs. I'm going to one of the appointments with a lot of info, speech assessment, school report, physio and OT assessment, which has all been organized through me, so there will be no stone left unturned. I have to fight for him who else will??

Because of my husbands work schedule, I do all appointments by myself, he cant take off 6 days in 6 weeks to go with me. But by the time I get home I dont feel like talking so I feel as he misses out on all that was said. I usually call him (when he is available), my mom and sister as soon as we get out just to get it off my chest.

Many of appointments I cry all the way home, he sits in the back on his ipad so he cant see me. I just need this venting so when we get home I can be a more focused mommy to both of my children.  I dont ever book anything after our appointments because we are both exhausted. Info is exhausting, getting in and out of the car and getting to where we need to be in exhausting, driving is exhausting. You get the point.

So as we get through the 6 weeks of March and April I will be glad to see the end of it but happy to have the info I need to support and take care of what he needs at this time.

People always tell me God only gives you what you can handle, well God no more appointments for a little while please. Lol.

Enjoy your day everyone, remember to be kind to one another, you never know what others are going through!! 💕💕

The Dreaded Renos

We are going to renovate our bathroom and we have to do things a little different then most people. Ideally it would be nice to have a shower and tub but our bathroom is the size of a shoebox so that wont work.  We have looked at financial help through charities to help with a reno, but every contractor we have had wants to either start from new or add a big piece on to our house with a handicap bathroom and bigger bedrooms, which would be great but the charities wont pay for all that, and with really a one income family we dont have the means to do all that. So we will probably do what most families with special needs do, we work with what we have and do it ourselves. Do we take out the bath tub and just go with a shower?? But it needs to be for a family of 4 not just for our son. I want it so my son can be indepentant as possible but my daughter and I love our baths. So hard. The main goal is to get a bidet toilet seat, which we laugh that we will be the only house in our little town to have a bidet. Lol. I'm hoping this will help our son be independent in that area as well, cause he is getting older and who wants their mom to wipe their bum??  So here we are in the home improvement store looking at everything and WOW our budget is small, why does everything have to be so hard and expensive?  We have a handle on the tub now but its getting old, so we need another of those, tile or plastic surround around tub/shower?  I went in the store with high hopes and came out kind of deflated. But we will do what we always do slow and sure it will get done. My goal is by the end of 2017 we will have a solid functioning safe bathroom for the 4 of us. Not all the bells and whistles I would like but what we need.  I do wish it was easier for families with special needs to get what they need and not be such a long hard process, the paper work alone is exhausting, we have to fill out hordes of paperwork every time we have doctors appointments ect let alone to get funding for renos.  So we will try to get some funding for the equipment that he needs in the bathroom, my parents have helped us with some funds and my handy man aka my husband will be the contractor, he has done all of our renos and now he can add bathroom to the list. What I dont understand is, isn't a disability a disability and shouldn't everyone get what they need?? Doesn't seem right. It's so easy for some people to get whatever they need or want but the people that really need it cant. What people dont understand is that it all goes by household income not disability which it seems if you try to make a living, then your out of luck for a helping hand. So many special needs families have issues with getting financial help. So we will do what we always do and we will be prouder for knowing we did it on our own.