How cute and convenient is this idea!  …And so easy to make!  Mini, muffin-sized crustless quiches were a hit in my house.  I served them for breakfast.  I packed some for my brother-in-law’s eight hour plane flight.  Put some in my kids lunch boxes and sent some with my husband for work. I also gave some to the family that I am a personal chef for.  Everyone loved them.
I can’t take credit for the idea.  I found it online from Cooking Light… but I did not follow the Cooking Light recipe of course since I don’t believe in cooking light.  I believe in cooking delicious!

Here’s how you make these Mini Crustless Quiches:

• Scramble 8 eggs (cooking light suggested 5 eggs and 3 egg whites)

• Add heavy cream.  I used half of an egg shell and filled it 8 times.

• Mix in Cheddar cheese or any cheese you like.

• Saute anything you want inside of them.  I sauted onion, garlic and mushrooms then later added crisp bacon and freshly chopped chard.

• Pour egg mixture into a dozen count muffin tin.

• Add sauted veggies.

• Add freshly chopped chard.

• Top with crisp previously cooked bacon (or sausage)

• Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, until toothpick comes out clean.

• Cool slightly before eating.

Voila!  Gourmet on the Go!

Enjoy!

Your Sensible Girlfriend

Proud Little Gardeners Sprout Wheat Grass Hats

Kids love getting their hands dirty. So I knew my kids would have fun when we planted wheat berry seeds with our playgroup friends.

Our Friend's Pots With Freshly Planted Wheat Berry Seeds

I wanted the children to see how plants grow, to give them an idea of what Springtime is about. What I didn’t expect was the excitement and the awe that my boys had witnessing the magic of a plant coming to life.

Each day, they would water the plants with me and comment on each friend’s plant.

Tiny Shoots Appear After 3 Days

They couldn’t wait to see how much each plant had grown every morning.

Taller Shoots After 4 days of Growth

A week after planting the wheat berry seeds, our playgroup friends came back to see their fully grown wheat grass plants.

Full Grown Wheat Grass Plants

The children looked at the plants with awe.  I said to them, “this is what you grew with your own hands”.  I could see that idea sinking in as they stared at their own potted plant.

It was beautiful to see each of them glowing with pride.

Boys Giddy About Wheat Grass Plants

My boys loved to carry their potted plants around, sporting a sense of ownership.

Because it was their own, they felt free to taste the grass without looking for acceptance or approval.

Yummy Wheat Grass!

Chomp, Chomp! Wheat Grass Yum!

They ran around with the plants, even put them on their heads.  These were their creation, their babies.

Boys Run Around With Their Plants

They were celebrating the life they brought to be.

Here’s How To Grow Your Own Wheat Grass Plant:

• Buy Wheat Berry Seeds (At your local health food store)

• Soak the seeds in water over night.

• Plant them in potting soil at least 1/4 deep into the soil.  Make sure there is a drainage hole in the bottom of your planter or pot.

• Water once a day.  If the soil becomes dry, water it a second time.

• Make sure your plant gets lots of direct sunlight.

• You should see the first signs of growth in three days.

• In a week, your Wheat Grass Plant will be ready to fully admire or eat or juice into Wheat Grass Juice!

Enjoy!

Your Sensible Girlfriend

2 Year-Old Rear-Facing, 3 & 3/4 Year-Old Front Facing in Car Seat

I thought I was the only mom who continued to keep her children in the rear-facing position in the car seat after they turned one year old. I thought I was the only mom who would get strange looks and comments from others when they would see my toddlers still “rear-facing”.  And I thought I must be the only one who has experienced a serious car crash and knows that even in low speed crashes, whiplash is extremely violent to the neck and spinal cord.  But it turns out that I am not the only one.

Boys Having Fun In Car

I talked to a mom online who feels the same as I do– from the comments and strange looks to her gut feeling telling her to keep her children rear-facing.  She sent me some information that confirmed that listening to that gut feeling has been keeping our children safe.  It turns out that mothers in Sweden keep their children rear-facing until they are four years old.  Research shows that only 9 children within 5 years died in Sweden due to car crashes.  Compare that to the fact that the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. after they are one year old (once they are turned around forward facing) is from car crashes. This woman told me that it was hard to get her friends to realize the seriousness of this until she found this sobering information put out by a group called Car Safety 4 Kids.

Most parents I know turn their kids forward facing once they turn one year old because there has been information out there from pediatricians and others credible agencies that recommended doing so.  But many parents don’t realize that since April 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated their recommendation to keep children rear-facing until at least two years old. In addition, they say that if your car seat allows your child to sit rear-facing beyond two years old, then they recommend you keep your child rear-facing until they are beyond the age or weight limits of the car seat in the rear-facing position.

Luckily my husband agrees with me on keeping the children rear-facing.  He met an emergency room nurse that told him to please keep your kids rear-facing until at least 35 pounds. She said that she sees so many horrific accidents that could have been greatly minimized by keeping the children rear-facing.  My oldest child is now 40 pounds, three and three quarters years old.  I just turned his car seat around to front facing because his legs were falling asleep being scrunched up.  I am glad that I kept him rear-facing for these past few years.  Now his spinal cord and neck are much stronger, so that in the event of an accident, he won’t be as vulnerable to serious or fatal injury.  (The younger the child, the more likely his or her thin spinal cord could stretch and break from whiplash; that is the same affect as decapitation!!!) Having been in some serious auto accidents myself, I know how violent and long-lasting whiplash can be.   That’s why the Swedish take this seriously to keep millions of children from dying.  If only more Americans would realize it is a matter of life and death, we could save millions of American children’s lives.

Your Sensible Girlfriend