Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

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Main Courses Vegetarian

Crock Pot Yummy

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I have two new recipes…yay! I don’t like to post a recipe until I’ve cooked it a few times, and know that it will be a staple in my family. These two recipes come from the same cookbook, The Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes, which I give a B rating. I love to use my crock pot. It makes life so much easier when I have two little kids. But, I’ve tried several recipes from this book, and only a few so far have been too delicious not to share.

The great thing about these two is that they share some of the same ingredients. I decided to make them both in the same week, and since there is a lot of chopping involved of carrots, celery, and onion, I just chopped enough for both recipes to use in the same week. Enough babbling, here are the new recipes….enjoy!

Spiced Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup

1 Cup dry lentils
2 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. garam masala
4 cups vegetable broth

Rinse and drain lentils. In a crockpot, place lentils, squash, onion, carrot, and celery. Sprinkle garlic and garam masala over vegetables. Pour broth over all.
Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-9 hours or on high for 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

MY TWIST: Add some butter to each bowl. It is SOOOO delicious with a little butter added.
A HINT: I always buy a larger butternut than what is called for. I do not peel, as it is very hard to peel a hard squash like this. So, I simply cut off the skin, not worrying too much if I cut off a little squash too. You could make life super easy and buy frozen, already cut up butternut at places like whole foods.

The next recipe that is delicious and shares some of the same ingredients is…..

Spicy Black Beans and Rice
2 cups dry black beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 medium green bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (take out seeds for less heat)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 bay leaves (I just use dried)
2 14 oz. cans chicken broth (veggie would work too)
2 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tbsp. flour
4 cups hot cooked rice

Rinse beans; place in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour. (You could also place beans in cold water and let soak overnight to avoid this step). Drain beans.
In your crockpot, combine beans, onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cumin, coriander, thyme, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves. Pour broth over all.
Cook on low for 10-11 hours, or high for 5- 5 1/2 hours. If using low heat, turn to high when you have 30 minutes remaining, and add butter and flour together to make a paste. Pour it into crockpot. Cook 30 minutes longer. Serve with hot rice.

MY TWIST: I served this bean mixture on a quesadilla with cheddar cheese for my kids and they gobbled it up! I loved that they were eating carrots, and celery, and didn’t even know it!


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Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

The Mother Load

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Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
Grab my new book, The Mother Load, available now. 👇👇

Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

Read the rest on my Substack. Link in profile.
WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
But, then I realized, it will never be ENOUGH. 

Read the rest in my substack ❤️
New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
"I don't care" as I literally care about every sin "I don't care" as I literally care about every single thing.
I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

Yes, even for you Karen. ➡️➡️ to keep reading.
Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mea Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mean someone loves you that much to communicate them! Love this wisdom from @wittyidiot
NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a loved one. Or loss of a child. Those things are real, and they’re heart wrenching. And, this post is certainly not to compare that loss with the one I’m going to talk about.

But, the loss of yourself in motherhood is real. And It’s not talked about enough." 

Do you feel like you lost yourself in motherhood? How? I really want to know. 

Psss - I am in grad school to become a therapist, and am not ashamed to ask that you subscribe to my paid substack. I just lowered the cost to $36/year! That's like $4/month and you'll have access to all my previous posts, and some new weekly short posts to give you ideas to help with balancing motherhood and your own mental health. I'm learning a lot in school, and will only continue to do so, so subscribe and we'll support each other. ❤️
This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣 This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣
Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon
I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and a dress with spaghetti straps and a Tshirt under it while you’re telling me I’m doing it wrong? 🤣 Life is wild. Teenagers are fun.
Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s th Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s the moral of the story friends? If you think your household is always sick - it’s because they probably are. Kids make everything more germ-y
Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
Our kids love us anyway. 
We’re all going to be OK. 
You’ve got this (as much as any of us do) 😘

#momspiration #momlife #funnymoms #memtalhealth #parentinglife #parentingquotes
"By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to "By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to avoid being human." 

Do you struggle with perfectionism? Parenthood has helped me quite a bit, but It's something I've battled my whole life. I still struggle occasionally, although it's gotten better. But, let's stop trying to avoid being human and instead embrace ourselves an in turn embrace the entire human race. ❤️ I'd love to hear how you embrace being imperfect. 

#perfecționism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #imperfect #perfectpending #themotherload #thementalload
Mood. Mood.
Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I said we only need to be getting it right 30% of the time for our kids to have secure attachments. Well I wrote a bit more about the concept of being the “good enough mother” a term coined in the 50’s by a researcher and pediatrician. Check it all out in my newest post. Link in profile.
It’s true! Researchers have found that as long a It’s true! Researchers have found that as long as you’re doing the repair after mistakes the other times - then 30% is enough! Sometimes I worry I’m not doing it right but I definitely know I’m doing it right 30% of the time! 
Probably a whole lot more to be honest. I bet you are too. #momlife #encouragement #momspiration
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