A decade of birthdays!!!

Today is my oldest mini's birthday!!!  Those of you that have been reading my blogs over the years know that on my oldest mini's birthday, I always like to write a little reflection about the day that I met him and first became a mom.  If you're interested in reading those reflections, you can find them here or here.

Today is an extra special birthdayday for me because it is my oldest mini's 10th birthday!  And ten years ago, when I was a new mom, I had a team of pediatric specialists sit me down and explain, in detail, all the things they had found wrong with my newborn mini.  From head to toe, they found deformities...his heart, his kidneys, his spine, his pelvis, hip, leg, knee, and foot.  We were at a large teaching hospital in a huge city, and these doctors were telling me they had never seen a baby born with such an odd mix of deformities.  They told me they didn't know what his quality of life would be, and their expectations for his physical, cognitive, and emotional development were very low.  

Today, I want to publicly thank that team of doctors.  Their words started me out on my journey as a mother with no expectations.....I had the freedom to accept my mini for who he was on that day, with no expectation for who he would become in the future.  And thank God I never held my mini to my expectations because he has far exceed anything I could have ever dreamed.  

My oldest mini has had more surgeries than I can count.  He had his first operation when he was 6 weeks old, his latest operation was 4 weeks ago.  When he was 6 years old, he endured 5 months of what has been described to us as the most excruciatingly painful process a human being can go through.  This past summer, my mini was given a gut-wrenching choice on another leg surgery he would need.  And he decided that he was done.  His leg was never going to be what he wanted it to be, and it was time to let it go.  

You could say that I didn't expected that.  

But what I really, truly would never have expected would be the sheer strength, grace, and courage in which my mini has endured these past 4 weeks.  He has not once ounce of self-pity, he has never asked, "why me?"  He graciously and lovingly accepts the body that he has been given by God and he dedicates himself to taking care of his body and pushing himself every single day.  He strives for independence, but willingly accepts help when he needs it.  He effortlessly puts everyone else at ease and he laughs.  In fact, he laughs a lot.

My oldest mini inspires me every single day.  He is the absolute rock of the McGhee family.  He keep our priorities in check and he brings more laughter to any one household than I could have ever imagined.  I am blessed to be by his side through his amazing journey.  

So, to my oldest mini.....Happy Birthday to the most amazing person I have ever met.  Everyone who knows  you is touched by your tenacity and strength.  You humble people everywhere you go.  You fill my life with tears of joy and tears of laughter.  You have been a gift that I could have never expected to receive.  And I am certain that you will fill the next 10 years with far greater things than I could ever expect.  So, I will let you write your own story...and I will happily love and cheer you on every (one-legged...for now!) step of the way.

And....because this is a cooking blog, I will share my oldest mini's favorite recipe.....baked tacos!  It is really so simple, you don't need a recipe.

• hard taco shells
• cooked taco meat (I used ground beef with our favorite taco seasoning)
• shredded cheese (I used chihuahua)
• favorite taco seasoning (lettuce, olives, peppers, onion, sour cream, guacamole, salsa)

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.

2.  Line up taco shells in a 13 x 9 pan.

3.  Fill shells with meat and then cheese.

4.  Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

5.  Top with your favorite toppings.

These are totally delish, and, for some reason, make the tacos easier and less messy to eat?!?!

We were celebrating my oldest mini's birthday, so I served my tacos with St. Patrick's Day munch.  "What is St. Patrick's Day munch?" you ask.  I am afraid to post that recipe here, for fear that I will lose readers.  St. Patrick's Day munch is a glorious mix of Lucky Charms cereal, peanuts, pretzels, and m&m's, coated with melted white chocolate.

My other side dish was rainbow jello.

OK, so maybe I'm not as proud of that birthday meal as I am of the birthday boy!

Easter Sell Out

Lately, I've been really aware of how quickly time is passing and how fast my minis are growing up.  Every day I am having moments of "when did she get so old" and "is he really big enough to be doing that" and "wow, he doesn't need me to do that for him anymore."  And it's sending me into this panic of trying to make memories.  And, why am I telling you this?

Because I am a sell out.  And I am blaming it on my current sentiment.  I already told you about the jelly beans.  And several of you were gracious enough to send me links to all natural jelly beans, even after I asked you not too.  So, thanks!  Unfortunately, you can't order something on Good Friday and have it delivered by Easter, so my minis are stuck with these toxic mixtures of food color and high fructose corn syrup.  I thought I couldn't stoop any lower, and then my tiny mini flipped her Katniss Everdeen braid and batted her blue eyes and said, "mama, pwease make me rainbow jello on Easter."  And I realized, it's only a matter of years before she's asking for a skimpy rainbow bedazzled bikini for Easter, so I said yes.

And my "go big or go go home" attitude kicked in found this recipe on pinterest.  I went to the store and came home with these.  I didn't read the ingredients, but I am pretty certain it reads INGREDIENTS: food coloring and unmentionable animal parts.

And this is the reaction that I got.

She was thrilled.  I was thrilled.  We literally spent hours together in the kitchen and I taught my 3 year old mini all about ROY G BIV.  Success despite all the toxicity.

Rainbow Jello

• small packages of Jell-O, any colors
• plain yogurt (I was REALLY bad and bought vanilla-flavored yogurt to make it really sweet and creamy)

1.  Mix one package of Jell-O with 1 cup boiling water, stirring to dissolve completely. 

2.  Pour 2/3 cup of the jello into an 8″x8″ pan that has been rubbed lightly with vegetable oil. 

3.  Refrigerate until set. 

4.  While it is chilling, stir enough 1/3 cup of yogurt into the remaining Jell-O.

5.  Once jello layer has set,  pour jello-yogurt layer over the chilled first layer.

6.  Continue in the same manner to make clear and opaque layers and chilling each before adding the next. Once finished, cover and chill for a few hours, then cut into squares with a sharp knife.

First layer is purple jello.

Here you can see purple jello layer, purple jello/yogurt layer, blue jello layer, blue jello/yogurt layer, green jello layer, and green jello/yogurt layer.

Here you can see me pouring the orange jello layer onto the purple/blue/green layers.  MAKE SURE YOU CHILL AND SET BETWEEN EACH LAYER!!!!  And yes, I realize, I made a ROY G BIV error and put orange orange on before yellow.  And yes, I considered throwing this out and starting all over again.  But, I didn't, so I will be forced to eat RYO G BIV jello tomorrow.  I consider that punishment enough.

Here's the orange jello/yogurt layer.

Finished product.  So. Much.Fun.

So, I apologize for selling out.  It was worth it because my mini told me I was the best mama ever and she had an I-can't-stop-hugging-you moment.  But, if you are disappointed, I will try to make it up to you with a couple more recipes.

Tomorrow is Easter.  To me, Easter means two things....Jesus and deviled eggs.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

• 12 Hard boiled eggs
• 4 slices Bacon (cooked & crumbled)
• 2 tablespoons Cheese, finely shredded
• 1 Green Onion (finely chopped)
• 1 cup Mayonnaise (make your own, it's so easy!)
• 1 tablespoon Mustard
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook bacon {we like to cook bacon in the oven}
2. Slice hard boiled eggs length-wise and scoop out yolks, place yolks in a mixing bowl.
3. Mash yolks and mix in the bacon,green onion,mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper.
4. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites.
5. Refrigerate until serving.

I forgot to take pictures of the finished products, but they were delish!!!!  

I am also bringing this dip tomorrow to Easter brunch.  You can eat this dip with pita chips or veggies.  I prefer veggies, especially cucumber slices.

7-Layer Greek Dip

• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
• 1 tsp. dill weed or Greek seasoning (salt free–go for a mix that just has herbs)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c. hummus
• 1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
• 1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
• 1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
• 1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

1.  With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice until light and fluffy. 

2.  Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. 

3.  Then spread a layer of hummus. 

4.  In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley. 

5.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, and/or flatbread.  

I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me for selling out.  I would like to point out that tomorrow is Easter, and Easter is the season of forgiveness.  So, have a blessed day and come back and visit me soon!