Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Daily Update, a Picture, and a Recipe!

I was awoken around 3:30 this morning from Alice coughing. She sounded really congested. I listened to her for awhile, and decided that since she was still asleep I wasn't going to do anything. Well, the coughing kept up and her breathing sounded worse. So I got up and grabbed the Vapo Rub and Dimetapp. We woke her up and got her to take some Dimetapp, and then I unzipped her sleeper a bit and rubbed more Vapo Rub on her chest. After a few minutes, her coughing settled down and she sounded like she was breathing better.

Now I know you are probably thinking, "You aren't supposed to give Dimetapp (or other cold stuff) to babies and toddlers!" On the contrary, you can. The reason all infant/toddler cough and cold medicines were pulled was because parents were overdosing their children. For a child Alice's size you can give her 1/2 tsp every 4-6 hours. I give her 1/4 tsp once (maybe twice) a day. It works a lot better than Benadryl at stopping her running nose and relieving her congestion. I did not buy the cough and cold formula. I just got the regular Dimetapp. So if your child is miserable and you have tried everything, maybe think about a little Dimetapp. The humidifier and Vapo Rub just were not cutting it.

Okay, now the recipe. I mentioned quite awhile ago about making pierogi lasagna. Danifred expressed an interest in the recipe, so without making her wait any longer (I'm sure you thought I completely forgot!). I love pierogis but I don't have the time or energy to make them from scratch*. So one day, I decided to make a "lasagna" to fill my desire. Now, I must admit that actual pierogis are probably better, but if you don't want to make them (or can't find them frozen) this is a nice substitute. Plus it is really easy to make!

What you need:
Lasagna noodles (I use the Barilla no boil ones-really makes life simple!)
Mashed potatoes (homemade or whatever you prefer. I've used both)
Medium-Large onion (white or yellow) chopped (more if you like onion!)
Butter or margarine
Cheddar cheese (optional)

Notice I didn't say how many noodles or how much mashed potatoes to use/make. You can decide for yourself. I made a 13x9 pan and used 12 noodles (I think) and two or three of the Bob Evans mashed potatoes (I don't remember how many potatoes I used when I made them from scratch).

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a skillet and add onion. Cook until translucent. Now you can do one of two things. You can mix the onion mixture with the mashed potatoes (recommended if you make homemade potatoes because they are warm and you can add more butter. Note that you don't have to layer them as they are already mixed), or layer them separately.

Spray your pan before adding the mixture. Put some potatoes on the bottom of pan and spread to just cover. Add some onions on top. Place lasagna noodles on top (I.e 3 across if using a 13x9 pan). Continue layering potatoes on top of noodles, then onion, then noodles. Adding extra butter if wanted or needed. Keep going until you are done. Make sure to have potatoes left for the topping (think lasagna here- potatoes=sauce). If you like, you can top with shredded cheese. You can also mix the cheese in while layering if you want. Cover with foil and bake 45-50 minutes (read noodle instructions because they may need to cook longer or shorter). Remove foil and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes, if you do cheese on top.

Let set for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Sorry I dont have any pictures of assembly or finished product. They are on my old (now dead) phone.

*I have a friend from high school that just finished up culinary school, and she gave me a recipe for pierogi dough. I will try it sometime and let you know what I think. If it isn't too much of a hassle, I'll recommend it to you!

And while I'm thinking about it, Jen requested a picture of Alice with all of her obsessions. I took this after nap time today. She has quit carrying them all at once (Thank the Lord!) and will carry a few at a time, which is still hilarious!




In case you need help identifying everything that she is carrying around with her today:
Mama's wolf blanket, penguin pillow pet, bear with heartbeat, Marty 1, Piggy, Marty 2, Baby, frog blankie, and pink blankie! Oh...and Alice!

2 comments:

HereWeGoAJen said...

That is an adorable picture.

Danifred said...

That recipe sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing, I'm always looking for something new.