Too many things at once

That's kind of the refrain of my existence right now. Besides being a single mom (Trey is deployed to Iraq), of an infant (Charlotte is 8 months old and just starting solid foods), I also work full time as a program manager (meaning I have several government people and close to 40 contractors responsible to me on a daily basis), and I'm becoming more and more anal retentive as I get older and wanting the house clean and organized. Add to that the extra 5kilos I'm still carrying from being pregnant that I'm trying to lose....... and you get way too many things at once.

So, instead of cutting down, I'm trying to work smarter. Sundays are my cooking days where I'm trying to cook everything I will need for the week. I made a butternut squash soup yesterday, but I wasn't wild about it, so I turned it into butternut squash risotto. Better, but for some reason I'm just not feeling the sweetness of the butternut squash. Maybe because it reminds me of summer and there are about 5cm of snow on the ground. Maybe it just needs more cheese :) Of course I could put cheese on anything.

Since I had the rice out, I figured I'd use up the milk that was still good but going to get sour before I could drink it all. So I made rice pudding for Charlotte. She liked it last night, but wasn't so crazy about it this morning. I'll try again later to see if she likes it with pears.

I'm thinking about making mushroom turnovers. I'm finding I really need bread. And if I don't eat bread at a meal I end of gorging on it later. So I'm trying to make soups and things that will help me lose weight, but I have to have just enough carbs in there that I don't binge later. I'm hoping mushroom turn-over and potato fennel soup will be hearty enough that I won't binge later.

I did find that black bean patties are an excellent dinner for me. I'm not a fan of black beans, or any beans for that matter, whole in soups or salads. But for some reason I love them when they are mashed up. Things like hummus, patties, or creamy soups with beans are great. I know, I should be better about soups, but at least I'm starting to eat healthy. I need to really eat healthy by the time Charlotte is eating adult food. I can't expect her to eat healthy if I don't. Well, here's to trying to eat like an adult.

Black Bean Patties

1 Can Black Beans, drained

1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, small dice

1/2 Sweet Red Pepper, small dice

4 Cloves Garlic (I like a lot of garlic, adjust down if you don't love garlic as much)

1t Cumin

1/2t Chipotle Pepper (or chili pepper, but chipotle has a nice smokey taste)

1/2C Bread Crumbs

1T Oil

Mash black beans in a bowl with a big spoon. I find a large wooden spoon works well, the kind that Mom used to spank us with when we were little..... Anyway, mash the beans, then stir in onions, pepper, garlic, cumin, and chipotle. Add a couple tablespoons of bread crumbs if the bean mixture is too wet.

Heat oil in frying pan. Roll bean mixture into balls, roll balls in bread crumbs, and flatten to patties. Fry patties in the oil until crispy on each side, about 4min a side.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, cheese, lettuce, tortillas, sour cream, or any other Mexican condiment you like. I prefer just guac and salsa. The cool vs. warm is a nice contrast.