Tag Archives: kids

Corn and Bacon Bowls

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This fantastic weeknight dinner has been our number one go-to for the past year or so. And not just for reasons of desperation and because we want something quick and known to fall back on, but because we actually love it. It tastes friggin’ good, and requires (at this point) zero thought power to throw together.

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It only requires one skillet (and a rice cooker), so minimal dishes.

And it tastes much better than your shirt.

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Really, Alice. Bacon and corn versus some kind of tiered ruffly concotion? The choice is clear.

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What?

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You try to deny me my taste of shirt and I’ll . . . I’ll . . .

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WaaaaAAAAHHHH!

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Okay, okay–no one’s denying you anything, little one.

(Well, except for knives and pointy things, small things that you could choke on, papers that you could slobber on or tear up and eat, proximity to anything hot, proximity to any kind of stairway or precipice, foods you can’t chew due to your lack of teeth, your dad’s Club Soda, your dad’s can of beer, your mom’s glass of wine, your mom’s hot cup of coffee, the car keys since you bit the panic button and set off the car alarm, anything in the bathroom including soap, make up products and faucets; my hair, earrings, necklaces, and other pullable parts of my outfit, your dad’s glasses, the guitar, dishes and breakable items, anything you might destroy with your saliva, and anything that might destroy you with its saliva . . . wait, what? Anyway, other than these things it’s all yours, kid.)

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That’s more like it. You better remember who’s in charge here.

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Anyway, matters of household authority and the very persuasive “WaaaAAAH” power-play aside, welcome to our humble creation, Corn and Bacon Bowls.

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Ingredients

1 lb bacon, diced
2 cans sweet corn, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bunch green onions, diced
Cooked rice, to serve

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Fry diced bacon in a 12’ skillet over medium high heat, until browned. Remove most of the grease from the skillet (carefully!). Add the corn to the bacon and continue to cook over medium high heat until corn is browned, stirring only occasionally (so that it has a chance to brown) and adding the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as it cooks. Taste and readjust seasoning if needed.Turn off the heat and stir in the green onions. Serve over rice!

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Click here for printer-friendly version: Corn and Bacon Bowls

Loving yourself: smiles in the mirror

One of my favorite things to do with Alice is to hold her up in front of a mirror. As soon as she locks eyes with her reflection, her face lights up in the biggest smile you can imagine.

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“Look at that baby!” I croon. “Who’s that baby? Isn’t she the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen?”

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Yes! Alice’s expression says. That’s some baby, alright!

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On one hand it’s a fun game to play . . .

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. . . but it’s always struck me that there’s something deeper going on. At this age, Alice loves herself. She loves how she looks. She has no complaints to issue God-wards about the shape of her nose or her ears or the size of her cheeks. In her eyes, it’s all praiseworthy.

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And she’s right.

God says in Isaiah, “Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”? or “Your work has no handles”?”

I have to confess I have said that. I’ve said “God, what did you make? Why can’t I be curvier? Why did you give me freckles? What were you thinking?” From about age 11 to my early 20’s, I had massive insecurities. My freckles were too freckly. My thighs were too huge. My feet were too big. For an entire year of my life I felt the need to wear oversized shirts that covered my butt, because certainly the shape of my butt wasn’t fit to be seen. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t praise God for what I saw. I didn’t rejoice in his creation like he wants me to.

Thank God I’ve gotten beyond a lot of that, and to a place where I do praise him for his work in me and his craftsmanship in forming my body. I do smile when I look in the mirror. He created me beautiful and unique, and I know he smiles on his creation.

Alice will probably go through periods of insecurity, doubting her beauty as all us women do at some time or another, and wondering why God didn’t make her differently.

But right now, she is utterly happy with what she sees.

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And every time I see that pleased smile blossom on her face, I pray that she will always love herself. That she will recognize the beautiful work of the Master Potter when she looks in the mirror, and say in her heart “Good job, God. I’m beautiful!”

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