End of the Year

The days may technically be getting longer, but we are knee deep in darkness here, and it’ll be a while before that changes. I took my youngest out to the mall to do a return tonight around 4:30, of course the rest of Western Washington was also there so it was not the best idea I’ve had today, but we were able to get in and out fairly quickly although we probably bumped into more people that a ball does in a pin machine. When we were headed home, just shortly after 5:, the sky was pitch black, the rain was coming down hard, and the traffic was way too close and definitely not filled with Christmas cheer. Over the sound of the beating rain and honking horns my son wanted me to explain how rain falls. Twice. Again. It was so nice to get home and eat hot refried beans and rice and draw a warm bath for my inquisitive little one who asked for candles and bubbles~ he must have been feeling happy to be home and warm too. All this winter-y-ness has made me want to bake a casserole lately. I’ve looked at recipes and it seems there is good news and bad news. The good is that most recipes can easily be made wheat free. The bad news is they are generally ripe with meat. I suppose I can substitute tofu, or just look for vegetarian recipes, but the truth is my husband and oldest son would probably eat more of a meat filled casserole than one more suited to my more beany tastes. Maybe I’ll just pick a recipe and split it into two, one with meat and the other without. And my youngest can eat crackers and bananas, as per usual. Actually, I could probably make a casserole out of that~ grahams with bananas, almond butter and granola anyone? That reminds me, I got Kinnikinnick’s gluten free graham crackers and they taste absolutely like the real thing! My youngest actually liked them~ and they have a recipe on the back of the box for a yummy butter, brown sugar and almond concoction to top them off which I just might try in an effort to get him to eat some kind of nut. (What kid doesn’t like peanut butter…?! Mine.) Although he does love nut thins but those don’t have a ton of protein in them. They are my favorite snack too though, especially with a bit of cheese.