The Saturday 7ish

1. I have another recipe for you this week. We've had three babies in the family this year, and I always bring the same meal. I'm not much of a cook, and it makes me anxious to provide meals for other people, but this Shepherd's Pie is the best. I like to bring it for a meal because it's a one-stop shop. Meat? Check. Potatoes? Check. Vegetables? Check. The secret is onion soup mix. It gives it such great flavor. Full disclosure: I 100% stole this recipe from Pinterest. I am not a good enough cook to make up my own recipes. Lol. (https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/skillet-shepherds-pie/)

For Meat Mixture
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 lb ground beef lean
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
1 large onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1.9 oz onion soup mix I used Knorr, 55g pkg
1 cup beef broth low sodium
2 cups frozen veggies I used mix of peas, carrots, green beans and corn
For Mashed Potatoes
6 large potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
4 tbsp butter softened
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp white pepper or to taste
1 tbsp parsley fresh, for garnish
Instructions
Boil the potatoes: Start by first cooking the potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until fork tender. While the potatoes are cooking, you can prepare the meat mixture.
Prepare the meat mixture: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef to the skillet, season it with the salt and pepper and cook it for abut 5 minutes or until it's no longer pink, breaking it up as you go along.
Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 more minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Add the pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, onion soup mix, beef broth and stir. Stir in the frozen veggies and cook for a couple more minutes. Set aside.
Preheat the oven 350 F degrees.
Prepare the mashed potatoes: Drain the potatoes then add them to a large bowl. Add in the butter and using a potato masher, mash until smooth. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, salt pepper and mash a bit a more until smooth.
Finish assembling the shepherd's pie: Spread the potatoes over the meat and smooth with a spoon. Take a fork and rough up the top a bit and garnish with a bit of parsley.
Bake: Place the skillet on a baking sheet, then place it in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown on top. [Note from Sadie: I don't have an oven-safe skillet, so I just layer it in a 9x13 pan and bake it for the same time.]
Garnish with more parsley and pepper and serve warm.

2. We were so excited to make that meal and bring it to Ty and Rieley so we could go see baby Thea!! She's such a tiny little peanut with big eyes, and we already love her so much.

She was so alert, and seemed to study everyone who held her so intently. I don't know if she can actually see our faces, but it was fun to pretend. Haha.

Levi was not interested in holding the baby, but he loved playing with the dog and giving her treats. Haha.

3. Lena started gymnastics again this week after a two year break. She signed up with her friend Aubrey, and has been sooooo excited for weeks. The day before, she started talking about how nervous she was, but I didn't think much of it. She was nervous as we drove there, but I figured she'd shake it off by the time she saw the gym. I should've known better. She totally lost it - wailing and begging me to take her home and crying, "I don't want to do it!!" I let her sit with me and watch while she slowly calmed down. Finally, I convinced her to go join the warm-up. And by the time they started their first rotations, she was fine. She volunteered to show the skills, raised her hand to answer questions, and did everything without blinking an eyelash. She looked back to make sure I was still there every few minutes, but enjoyed it once she got going. It's typical anxiety. She can't even tell me what she's scared of. It's illogical, but she can't control it, and I totally understand that. Ugh. Poor kid.

4. I'm on the VBS committee again this year. We're doing something a little different, but I'm excited! And I kind of fell into creating the curriculum. Haha. Mostly, I'm creating an outline and other people will fill in the details. I am, however, doing the preschool curriculum on my own. My brain is a strange place. I've actually decided the most appropriate analogy is that of a rock polisher. Unrefined ideas pop into my head, or I find a jumping-off point on Pinterest. I start jotting down things as they roll around in my brain like a bunch of unpolished rocks. And they just keep on rolling . . . while I'm doing dishes, while I'm scrolling through Pinterest, and especially while I'm lying in bed. And eventually, something will click in my brain and I'll go, "Oh! That's perfect!" until each of those raw ideas is polished into a gleaming gem. I may be overstating my abilities. Haha. Honestly, though, the credit goes to God who turns the rocks around in my brain. #rockhead

5. So I've been having this pain in my shoulder for months. I used to sleep with my arms above my head, but I've noticed that I can't do it with my right arm anymore, because it hurts my shoulder so much. And it's gotten worse in the past few months because it hurts throughout the day instead of just when I try to put it up over my head. It hurts more as the day goes on, and eventually moves down into my elbow/hand/fingers. It's not debilitating, but it's annoying. On Tuesday I started to have these jolts of pain in my shoulder that came out of nowhere. It was almost always when I was sitting still, not using my shoulder/arm/hand. And they were sharp and painful. Also, of note, I have perma-tightness in that shoulder/the right side of my neck, and when I get migraines, they're almost always behind my right eyebrow and spread down through my face, neck, shoulder, and the right side of my upper back. After some research, I decided I probably have a pinched nerve. But then I also ran across this: