These past few weeks have been challenging for me. My ulcerative colitis flare up has not yet calmed itself which has caused a variety of challenges in my life, from loss of appetite to the random appearance of severe joint pain. This has, in turn, left me on an emotional roller coaster of frustration, anxiety, and irritation.
The presence of this flare up has brought two personal, issues to light for me. The first, I am a very active person, and sitting on the couch for longer than the duration of one TV show is a challenge. So, when my ability to live my life at a normal rate is affected by something I have little control over, I do not take it well. Second, after spending the first part of my life as a cynical/slightly surly child and teenager, I have finally re-trained myself towards positivity. This is wonderful, accept in times like these, where in an attempt to keep myself in a positive mindset I brush off the reality of my problems to others and say that I am fine. I am not saying that complaining and wallowing are the answer, but I realized this week as I struggled to eat dinner, let alone cook it, that honesty really is the best policy. Personal honesty, and honesty towards others.
I say all of this, not because any of you care about my personal psychiatric evaluation, but because I’ve noticed that a lot of my readers are finding me through research on ulcerative colitis and I feel that there is support in numbers when it comes to giving yourself permission to relax.
That is all well and good, you may be saying to yourself, but what does this have to do with hamburgers? Well I will tell you, on a whim of energy while making my store list last week I decided that I would make homemade hamburgers and sweet potato fries for dinner one night. This was great until that night arrived and in a blur of discomfort and exhaustion I went to make the hamburgers and realized that I had never thawed the ground beef. Enter, asking for help. My husband stepped in and patiently ran the ground beef underwater for well over a half-hour until it was finally de-frosted enough to mix. After I added the rest of the ingredients, he then proceeded to form the patties and cook them up. He even surprised me by stuffing the burgers with cheese which he called a “Juicy Lucy”… why, I have no idea. The burgers were delicious, but the best part was that I got to enjoy them without pushing myself too hard. Definitely a good principle to remember on days when you just aren’t quite up to snuff. Here is our simple hamburger recipe… enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of ground beef
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1 onion finely chopped
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1 egg
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1 TSP of
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Worcestershire sauce
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1 TBS of Lowry’s Seasoning Salt
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Cheese (Optional)
Directions:
in a large bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Then, using your hands, form patties to your desired size. If you want to try putting cheese inside, cut a small slice of cheese and put between two patties, pinching the sides together. Then fry in pan, covered, on medium heat, until thoroughly done. Add condiments, and possibly some bacon, and enjoy 🙂
