Nuggets: Jesse

We have been super busy this week, I can’t believe the week is almost over already. Not to mention that we have clinic tomorrow so today is really like our Friday. We’re looking forward to catching up on a few things this weekend, one of those things being some much needed rest and relaxation time.

I hadn’t really intended to make this post be about Jesse, but as I looked through the photos I had of the last week most of them included him.

:: I made this awesome dinner casserole that was made up from all the leftovers I had in my fridge. It was packed full of veggies including a tiny piece of onion, a little green onion, a few carrots, tomatoes, yellow squash and zucchini (these were fresh), and a bowl of leftovers peas. I mixed all this together will some ground beef and a few spices. I layered half of the mixture, a little cheddar cheese, the rest of the mixture, and topped it with more cheddar cheese and baked it long enough to melt the cheese. I wasn’t really sure if Jesse would want to eat it, but he LOVED it! All those veggies… yum!

Casserole

:: Every now and then we will have dinner at the coffee table to watch a TV show while we eat. We rarely do that, but this happened to be one of those nights. I carried the hot casserole dish into the living room to set it on the table and it slipped out my hands spilling all over the table, the table decoration, and the carpet. I was so upset with myself! We later concluded that the amount of tomato juice in the bottom of the dish must have been what made it so unbalanced. I must have tilted it just enough for the inertia of the juice to cause it to spill. My table decoration was ruined, covered in sauce and cheese and had to be thrown out. At least we were still able to eat the casserole.

Empty plate

:: I was most upset because the decoration was a birthday gift this year. After a while, Jesse made me realize that it really wasn’t that big of a deal since it was something that was very easily replaced. I was able to order a replacement the next day. Oooh… as I am writing this the door bell rang with the delivery of my new “orbs.” The plate is now refilled and everything is right again in our living room.

OrbsReplacement decoration

:: We are looking forward to participating in Outrun CF again this year. Outrun CF is a virtual race/fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis. Runners can sign up and then run their own, individualized race wherever they want, for whatever distance they want. If you’re interested, it’s not too late to sign up. The shirt that comes with registration came in the mail this week. Jesse has worn it almost every day since.

Outrun CFJesse in new shirt

:: Most nights I will cook dinner while Jesse finishes up work for the night. Except for stir fry nights. Jesse is a great cook and stir fry is one of his best meals. I love having a break from cooking for stir fry night.

Jesse cooking

:: After several months of saving for a new computer, Jesse finally has his work station all set up the way he wants it. (Note: he’s wearing the orange shirt again.) He looks super geeky working over there with his three monitors and multiple keyboards. He says he can be much more efficient working that way, but it looks kinda confusing to me. I’m glad he’s happy, I love my geek!

Jesse working

Happy (day after) hump day everyone, hope your week has been great so far!

Baked Hamburgers

Baked hamburgers is a recipe that has been in Jesse’s family for years. My recipe card notes that it was originally from his great-grandma. So, I pretty much had to learn this recipe to marry into the family. I’ve come to love having baked hamburgers as much as Jesse does.

When I was first diagnosed with food allergies we went quite a while without making these since there are several ingredients in them that I can’t have. I finally decided that I needed to rework the recipe to make them allergy-safe for me. I’ve made them several times in recent months as we make up for the time we lost not having them. It’s one of those comfort food recipes that you just don’t get tired of having.

I start by finely chopping half an onion and mixing it with one pound of ground beef. Then I form the beef into patties about the size that would fit in the palm of my hand. I find that one pound makes approximately 10-12 patties, which is the perfect amount for Jesse and me to have dinner with leftovers for the next night.

Burgers

Then I make the sauce by combining 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 tbsp. water, 1 cup ketchup, and 2 tbsp. mustard. Heat the sauce in the microwave for about 30 seconds to thicken a little, stir, and heat another 30 seconds. I like to taste the sauce to make sure it has the right flavor and adjust if necessary. I often add a tad more mustard, just to make sure there is enough tangy-ness to balance out all the sugar… I don’t like the sauce too sweet.

Sauce

Finally, pour the sauce evenly over the patties and they are ready for the oven. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Extra tip: I will often split this into two dishes of five or six patties each. I bake one for that night’s dinner and stick one in the fridge to bake in the next day or so. That way it’s as easy as having leftovers, only they are freshly baked!

Ready to bake

I’ve had these pictures saved for a while because I wanted to get a picture of the final product before posting the recipe. However, every time I make them they smell so good and we are so anxious to eat them that I keep forgetting to get a final picture. So, you’ll just have to see for yourself what they look like cooked.

Also, here is the original, non-allergy version of the recipe if you’re interested:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg

Sauce:

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. mustard
2 tbsp. vinegar

Give these a try. The recipe also easily scales up to make for a larger group. Enjoy!

Blog Redesign

As you can see… we redesigned my blog!! What do you think? I love it. I’m so glad that I happen to be married to such an awesome web designer, otherwise I don’t think I could afford such a customized blog design.

The blog redesign was initially Jesse’s idea. Since my last design he has been to several design conferences and his design skills have improved greatly. He suggested that I really should think about making some changes to update the look of my blog. At first I said no because I hate change and I still liked the old design. Then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that some changes would really be an improvement.

Old blog design

Apparently, I happen to be one of Jesse’s more picky “clients.” But that’s only because I see all of the sites he has created so I know what he is capable of doing. I also know from experience that he can make my blog display just about anything that I’ve dreamed up in my head. While we were working he kept trying to tell me things couldn’t be done… but then he figured out how to do them. I’m helping him broaden his skills even more.

The main goal of the design was to create a much simpler look. We thought that there was just too much color that was drawing attention away from the actual content. Now I still have a cute, crafty, custom look that is less busy and easier to read. We’ve added a couple new features: the sidebar now has a few affiliate links and links to other sites I use and we added a shop button in the menu bar to share some of my favorite allergy-free snacks and treats!

I’m very happy with our finished product and hope you like it too! Thanks for making me a new site, Jesse!