Tonight I made Asian style ground beef and green beans. The recipe was previously posted here. Before I talk about making the dish, I have to share my frustration with trying to prep dinner with a 21-month-old in the house. Katie just will not play by herself when I am doing something in the kitchen. She constantly yells "up" at me. I calmly explain, over and over again, that I am getting dinner ready and can't hold her at the same time. She doesn't care. "UP" she yells. Well, today I was trying to get all of the ingredients measured out and chopped up so that I could quickly make dinner when Ben got home. After yelling at me didn't work, Katie decided to try to put herself between me and the counter section I was cutting beans on. Her little shoes really hurt my sandal feet when she steps on them. I tried to reason with her. I tried to explain how it hurts when she steps on my feet. I moved her away. I sent her on errands to get things from other parts of the house. My efforts failed. She interpreted my actions as a game. So then, she did her best to step on my feet with purpose. That was the last straw. I told her she was going into a time-out in her high chair for a minute.
After 30 seconds in her high chair, I looked over to see her yanking large amounts of hair out of her head. This isn't the first time this has happened. Last weekend she did it while we were driving home from taking a run on Alki. We've read about it online, and we have concluded that she is doing it for attention. Regardless of the reason, it makes me sick to my stomach. I mean, every mom wants her little girl to have an adorable hairstyle. I don't want to see her like this. Yes, I could stop what I am doing and give her my full attention, but then dinner would never be ready. I hope that she moves past this phase quickly!
OK, enough with sharing my frustrations--back to tonight's meal. In the past, I have not used the proportions of beef and beans the recipe called for. I usually go heavy on the beef and light on the beans. As a result, there hasn't been enough sauce for the dish. Tonight, I followed the recipe exactly and the meal turned out great! It was actually my first time making the dish from start to finish myself. I usually have Ben make it, because he can flip the beans in the skillet. Well, tonight, for the first time, I flipped the beans myself! Also, Ben took Katie upstairs while he changed his clothes after work. That allowed me to cook uninterrupted for a while:)
During dinner, Katie was an absolute angel for her daddy. She giggled, made silly faces, and was a joy to be with. She ate a little macaroni and cheese with peas in it. I'm glad I got to see cute, smiley Katie and not the mean, foot stomping Katie before she went to bed:)
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