Bullet holes are super motivating but not for cooking

(don't care to read the bullet hole story....scroll down to find a recipe at the bottom of this post...I'm not offended)

Hello readers. Are there any readers of this blog left? I'm so sorry you have been so neglected. First it was because of morning sickness. I'm glad to report that I am feeling much better, although I'm still struggling with my appetite a little bit. I'm sorry to report that cooking is still the last thing on my list of things to do. Here's why:

The other night before putting my little guy to sleep I found a big hole in his wall. I knew instantly what it was (I don't know how I knew...it's not like I have any experiences with this sort of thing). It was a bullet hole. After some conversation with my (doubting) husband we called the police. Sure enough they dug a 9 mm bullet out of my son's bedroom wall (across from where I had seen the first hole). The bullet came from the neighbors apartment. The police broke in but didn't find anyone hurt or any sign that anyone had been injured (THANK GOODNESS) but they have been unsuccessful in talking to our neighbor at all to find out what in the world happened.

Sunday night my husband and I were forced awake by some loud noise. I heard a bunch of stuff going on around us but it sounded like it was coming from a different apartment or outside or something so I just went back to bed. My husband said he could swear he heard something shatter so he got up and checked the apartment for something that fell and broke or a broken window or something like that but he didn't find anything that looked crazy, Freddy was still sleeping and by this time so was I so he went back to bed as well. The next day we were gone ALL day long (not to mention we had just come back from a trip so the house was a disaster zone) and we didn't notice the larger bullet hole in his wall but when I was rushing to get him into bed that night (after a really long day) I was laying in his bed with him and right before my husband shut off his light I thought I did see a little hole above his door and wondered for an instant if it had always been there....then I started singing the bedtime songs and forgot all about it. It wasn't until I noticed the large bullet hole on the opposite wall that I remembered the tiny hole I had seen the night before and that's when I knew what it was.

We don't share a wall with these neighbors but we share a small hallway and a staircase with them and so I had my husband go into the hallway to see if he could find a hole on their side. Sure enough he found two freshly patched holes one on their side and one on ours. So someone took the time to patch up the holes but not to come over to see if we were OK. Shady? YES.

The very little information the police have given us have not made us feel any better about the situation - only A LOT WORSE. Things like, this neighbor won't cooperate and has "lawyered up". That she has had multiple run-ins with the police in the past and that she has permits for SEVERAL weapons....among other things....

The bullet was just feet from our sleeping two year old. It came through the wall at about the height of my nose so if either of us had been up checking on Freddy - which we do FREQUENTLY (me because I get up to go to the bathroom like 4 times a night and always just go in to make sure he's covered and not falling out of his bed, and my husband because it is his job to comfort crying, scared, thirsty or sick kids during the night) either one of us could have been hit easily by that bullet. TALK ABOUT SCARY.

By the way, we live in a really safe neighborhood. We live just a 5 minute walk from an elementary school, the library AND the police station. We live in one of the safest neighborhoods surrounding Philadelphia. Unfortunately, we still live really close to Philly (can you say, North Philly....Broad Street...CHESTER) and CAMDEN, NJ!!!! So I guess you can live out of the ghetto but you can't always keep the ghetto from moving in next door. We are pretty sure this neighbor moved from Camden.

So that is the story of the bullet hole. Every time I walk past my little boys room I see that bullet hole staring me down. We have had him sleeping in our bed every night and we don't even let him play in his room anymore. Yes, the likelihood of it happening again is minimal and that may be overreacting a little but next time a bullet comes screaming into your child's room let me know if you don't overreact just a little bit. We are very tired (stress + two year old kicking you and waking up all night long + fetus kicking you and waking you up all night long = NO SLEEP WHATSOEVER) but we are VERY motivated to find a new home.

Right now we are just trying to figure out where we are going to move and what we are going to do. All the stress (and 114* heat we've been having) haven't really made cooking a priority or even a thought in my mind.

But since I love you I do have one recipe I came up with that I will share....but don't be expecting anything else really soon....

Quinoa and Cheese Broccoli Casserole
(this is a healthier version of mac and cheese - but let's get honest...it's still not the healthiest thing you can eat)

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and soaked 1/2 hour
2 TBS vegan butter
2 TBS flour
2 cups milk (or milk substitute)
3 nice good cups of your choice of shredded cheese (I used colby jack), reserve 3/4 cup
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets, steamed
2 tsp sea salt
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp thyme (optional)
1 cup crushed french fried onions

1. Cook quinoa uncovered in 2 cups of salted water until all the water is absorbed. Place in a casserole dish.
2. Steam frozen or fresh broccoli, let sit for a minute and then add to the casserole dish.
3. Melt butter in a sauce pan and then add flour. Whisk together to form a bubbly rue. Slowly add milk while continuously whisking. Let this cook over medium heat until milk is thickened. Add cheese, remaining salt (just add as much as tastes good to you), pepper and thyme. Stir until cheese is melted and well combined. Add cheese sauce to the casserole dish.
4. Mix everything together really well and then top with remaining cheese and crushed french fried onions.
5. Bake at 400 until bubbly and starting to crisp up on top, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool and serve with a big salad or sauteed green beans.

My husband and son devoured this! They absolutely loved it. I don't think Freddy took one bite with out saying, "MMMHHH MMMHH!!!" I'm not sure if it really was that good or if they were just so glad to be getting a home cooked meal. You can try it and let me know what you think :)

*If I was in my right frame of mind I probably would have chopped up half an onion and sauteed that with a tiny bit of minced garlic in the butter before I added the flour to make my rue. But as you just read I am far from my right frame of mind....Hopefully we'll be moved and back to normal sooner than later. WISH ME LUCK (or sanity...either or)!!!!