Can We Say DELICIOUS?!

In summer, I do not like cooking. We do not have a grill, so that's not an option. I grew up in Arizona where it was HOT and grilling was not really an option, unless you wanted full on heat stroke from making yourself twice as hot! We often had "meals" of fruit salad and veggie trays and for me, it was great, since I have never been much of a Summer eater anyway. However, with three teen boys and a growing [she thinks she's a teen] daughter, that does not satisfy their growling tummies. 

Checking in the freezer, I saw some ground turkey and decided to turn it into meatball subs! But... I had no bread items to make sandwiches. So, I decided to make rice in the cooker, but did not want Italian-style meatballs over rice. One of my boys men wanted Asian meat balls (he loves all Asian food) and I agreed. Now, to grab the soy sauce... or not. We were out of that, too. What was I going to do? I looked in the cupboards for a few minutes (yes, I am off track with my menu planning) and suddenly had an idea. 

I made up a double batch of creamy chicken soup from this cookbook and got that cooking for the sauce. To it, I added an Asian 5-Spice for a bit more flavor. To the (1 lb.) ground turkey, I added (approximately) 1 cup of oats, 1/2 cup coconut, 1 egg, 1 tsp. minced garlic, and more Asian spice. Mixing it with my hands, I formed the meatballs and placed them into the sauce. Covering the pot with a lid, I cooked them on a medium heat for about 20 minutes. 

The result: The meatballs fell apart slightly when we scooped them out and the sauce was not quite saucy enough. I think I needed to add more water to the sauce and maybe a bit of soy (if I had it) to the meat. They were not dry at all, just fell apart. We put the meatballs sauce over the rice and YUM!! a fabulous main dish to enjoy in my tummy. My daughter who does not like coconut reminded me she does not like it, then proceeded to eat her entire dish. The rest of us went back for seconds. This dish brought joy to our taste buds and smiles to their faces. I will definitely make this again!

Eating with Joy-

Mama Dragon

Joyfully Living.... Guilt Free

This morning, I was in a lengthy phone conversation with a dear friend. During our visit, I felt compelled to write about several items we were discussing. She told me to write them down. I did not. When I got off the phone, my sick daughter (who is missing school today) tells me that I was on the phone all morning. Yep! I told her I had been talking to that friend for one hour and 30 minutes. I shut out the world, although I answered children's questions when they asked, but for the most part, made it about my friend and I. It was a motivating and uplifting conversation and just what I needed at the end of a difficult week. Within minutes of hanging up, I had forgotten I was supposed to write those items down, of course. Ha! 

There was a time in my years of motherhood that taking this time to talk on the phone would have brought forward an emotion of guilt: guilt that I was taking time for me, guilt that I was not ministering to my children, guilt that I was not cleaning, or cooking, or mending something, guilt for...anything. I would have spent the rest of the day beating myself up for not being more productive with my time. I would have apologized the moment my husband walked in the door after work for not having done something better. That would have happened.... once upon a time. 

It has taken me many years to understand something about myself. In fact, this discovery is only in the past year as I have gone through a serious emotional transformation. The something that I have learned is: I am worth that time! I am enough! (I will talk more on the idea of"enough" another day.) There is nothing to be guilty for! In fact, we, as mothers, need that time on the phone! We need that break! It is how we keep our sanity! 

There is a beloved pioneer woman that I have come to know and love through studying her life. Years ago, I learned that as a mother raising several young children, she often had a mother's helper (aka nanny, or hired help) to keep her home going. What an idea! Why is it that we, as women as a whole, beat ourselves up to be perfect? Why is it that we do not allow ourselves to go without makeup, wear comfy clothes instead of fancy ones, or have a messy (aka: lived in) home? We do not have to follow the handful of women in Pinterest that seem to "have it together"? If you need extra hands, seek them out! There is nothing wrong with asking for some help. If you do not sew your curtains or make your vintage wall hangings, then don't! Find other ways to let your light shine! We do not all have to be the same. 

Let me ask you- when you decorate your home, or clean it, or bake cookies... are you doing it because you love to, want to, or feel like you have to "just in case" someone stops by? Be honest. You should be doing it for you, not to impress them! I make curtains and pillows because I love to! I make bread because I enjoy it (and it saves me money). I organize the way I do because it is what works for me. We do not have to follow all that we see on social media. When all is said and done, do what you can, the best you can (not the best they can) and it IS enough! No guilt! Just joy! 

Joyfully living- 

Mama Dragon