Missing a Kid

As the kids get older, Arnie and I try to relax and let them spend the night at friend's houses. Why is this so hard for us? Arnie always pretends like it is no big deal, but he will ask sublte questions before they go. "So are both of Lexie's parents going to be there?" or "How many people are in Brandon's family?" It's cute. We are super careful. I want to know the parents pretty well before I say they can stay over night anywhere. I want to know that those parents watch their kids like Arnie and I watch ours. We've only had one experience - with Robby - in which he reported that the mom of the birthday boy left the overnight party during the night to get a slurpee. 7-eleven is about 5 minutes from her house, but still, it seemed weird. They were only 8. He hasn't gone back there.

I digress. We try now to have extra fun with the kid who stays with us. When Katie stayed the night at her friend Katie's house, Arnie and I took Robby shopping in Olympia. That, of course, is the biggest meca near us. We think it is huge and amazing, when, probably, it is a modest size capitol city. No matter, for us, it is an adventure. For dinner, we decided on Outback Steakhouse. Easy, quick, and fun. Arnie and I both ordered the shrimp, lobster tail, and steak combination. Yum. Even at a chain restaurant, lobster is a treat.

All Robby wanted was cheesy fries. I made him have salad, too, but boy, he was so excited about those cheesy fries. When my lobster tail came, I asked him if he wanted to try it. He was digging in to his fries and said, "No, thanks." However, I knew our mantra "just try it, it is a good experience" was sinking in, when several minutes later, he said, "Actually, mom, can I try a bite?" So, I tore off a small bite of lobster. He bit off a smaller piece and daintily chewed. His face was thoughtful. He shook his head. He set the rest of the bite down on his plate. He simply said, "It's different." I celebrated silently. He didn't say yuck. He didn't spit it out. He didn't swear that he would never try it again. Success.

This weekend, it was Katie's turn to hang out with Mom and Dad while Robby spent the night at his friend Brandon's house. Katie is a fun and easy-going kid who makes everything we do special. She and I decided to wash the cars together, then we planted part of our garden together, and then, we made dinner together. She wanted pizza burgers - funny since that is Robby's favorite burger. Think she was missing him? I only had whole wheat dinner rolls, so we cut those in half for the buns. We actually liked them and think we will use them again. The burgers were yummy - full of tomatoey goodness and...you guessed it! Pepperoni. We also had home-made sweet potato fries seasoned with cumin and salt. Yum. I didn't even make Katie eat a green vegetable - oh, she put lettuce on her burger.

Pizza Burgers
1 lb ground hamburger
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons pizza sauce
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1 tsp italian seasoning (sage, parsley, oregano...I improvise when I don't have a bottle of seasoning)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
hamburger buns (we like this recipe with wheat buns or french rolls)
Condiments (pizza sauce, ketchup, mayo, mustard, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles...the usual)
Heat grill to high heat. Mix all ingredients - except buns and condiments! - in bowl. Form into palm size, 1 inch thick patties. Turn gas grills down to medium high; spread charcoal out under patties to lower heat. Grill patties 3 minutes per side. Burgers are ready! Everyone gets to dress their burgers. Rachael Ray has an excellent Pizza Burger recipe. This one started with hers and has morphed to fit what we usually have on hand.