The awesomeness of hashbrown casserole

OK this isn't mine, I forgot to take a pic before we scarfed it ALL down. However, ti looks just like this. :-)

A'salaamu alaiukm ya'll. Yeah, this is kinda an ode to hashbrown casserole. More specifically, the yummy one served at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores. Come on now, all my southern sisters, give them a shout out!!! :-) We actually have one up here but it's 25 minutes the wrong way down the interstate so it's really not close to us at all. Therefore, if I find myself craving the casserole, I have to get cookin'.

Alhamdulillah, 10 or so years ago I found a yummy recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. I did make a few changes, made a few tweaks, to better fit in with what I like. Even A thought this was lovely. After my addition of eggs, it even travels and serves well for a buffet or potluck. (I sent it to the kids' weekend Islamic school for a breakfast they had recently.)

Without further ado, here is my revamped Hashbrown Casserole:

*I easily doubled the recipe to serve a crowd*

2 cans condensed cream of potato soup (can use cr. of chicken if desired)
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup finely diced onions
2 lbs frozen hashbrowned potatoes (I prefer the string kind, not the cubed)
2 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 beaten eggs (can be omitted; I used it to help it hold together better)
salt and pepper to taste
chipotle pepper sauce- we like it a little spicy but it's more authentic to leave it out
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.

Combine soup, sour cream, onions, hot pepper sauce and eggs; mix well. Add potatoes and cheese and pour into a greased 13x9 casserole dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the parmesan and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until browned.

Enjoy! You could easily add chopped peppers or breakfast sausage pieces to it if you like; we just eat it this way.

A sense of accomplishment

I love the whole 50's housewife look from the lipstick to the apron. :-)

Alternate title: It doesn't take much :-))

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll and good morning! Yeah, technically it's still morning (10:22 am) but for Muslims, our day starts waaaay earlier. Say before sunrise actually. The first of our five obligatory daily prayers, Fajr, is prayed before the dawn. Masha'allah my husband stays up but after I make him some strong, milky tea (or coffee if his stomach permits!) I usually crawl back into bed.

Alhamdulillah my husband tries to implement the sunnah in his life. It is a sunnah of our beloved Prophet saws to go to bed after Isha and stay away after Fajr. Unfortunately this is one sunnah I have had trouble with. See, I like my quiet time. Alone. Completely. So I stay up til about midnight (now that Isha is closer to 10 pm) so I can have that time. Alone. Yeah. :-D

I always digress; I guess that should just be a regular feature, my introductory ramble. lol

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As most of ya'll know, I battle kidney disease. Yeah, I'm sounding dramatic today. BATTLING KIDNEY DISEASE. However, it really does impact my daily life, more now as I've gotten older, fatter, and had so many health issues in the past 1.5 years. One aspect of my life where I've let it take control is in home maintenance, cleaning, and upkeep.

Wow, that sounds so official: The Department of Home Maintenance, Cleaning, and Upkeep. Yeah, I know Upkeep and Maintenance are synonyms but to me, maintenance is mechanical issues and upkeep is the deep, sporadic cleaning. Sorry for the definitions, but just so we are all on the same page. :-D

As I was saying, the DHMC&U has suffered greatly. I wasn't able to hire an interim director and my subordinates balked and would have mutinied, had we been aboard ship. As it was, I am just met with whining and general refusal to do said chores.

However, the past couple of weeks I've had more energy than I had been experiencing and I'm trying to take advantage of it! The other day I cleaned all the applicances and wiped down the kitchen cabinets; I've been vacuuming twice daily (morning and after supper) and just in general trying t

Let's just do a list, looks more impressive that way! What I've accomplished extra (not dishes, cooking, shopping, doctor appointments, playing with Aaminah, chauffeuring kids to school and activities, etc. etc. etc.)

1. Cleaned outside of all appliances and wiped down kitchen cabinets

2. Vacuum twice daily on most days.

3. Keep Aaminah's toys in the correct bin. You know, Mrs. Potato Head's pieces in her heiney, all small toys in one bin, all pretend jewelry and purses in another, blocks separated by type. :-) I loooove to do those things!

4. Went through Her Highness's clothing and took out TWO GARBAGE BAGS FULL of 24mo to 3T fall/winter clothing, alhamdulillah. AND found a family in need here to pass them on to, alhamdulillah!

5. Keeping the laundry to a small hill instead of a mountain. :-D

6. Washed our propane grill we bought last year. It had a layer of pollen and dust embedded in the light sheen of grease which always seems to coat these things. A pot of soapy water and a few of clean to rinse and voila! looks brand new again. :-)

7. Polished my leather sofa and love seat (and leather footstool) with lemon oil. Polished every surface except the back of the couch because it is against a wall and I didn't want to move it. ;-)

8. Took car through super-fun power washer (Aaminah loved it almost as much as I do LOL) and then vacuumed it thoroughly. It feels great to have a shiny, pretty car. :-)

Hmmm I wish I had more to pad my list but you know what? I've really lightened up on myself. When it was just me and Aaminah, with my boys at times, life was so much easier in terms of housework. Now, to keep a family of 6 fed is a chore in itself between the cooking, the shopping, the schlepping. :-D

My wish list:

1. Clean off top of my dresser.... eek! It has clothes on top along with some various and sundry junk items. Our apartment is not large, a 3BR for 6 people. It wasn't designed very efficiently and what space is here is lost in weird hallways (3 of them!) and a strange kitchen and bath.

So closet space is non-existent almost. Our walk-in closet is designed so weird you can't really store much in it. Also I get vertigo easily and I can't look up to the (too high for me to reach) rack because I get sick. :-))

2. Go through my clothes... ya Allah. What a chore that will be! I have sooo many shalwar kameez, abayaat, etc but I'm too chub for most of them right now. Some, due to my husband's preferences, I will never wear again so boo hoo. I need to find them a new home before they are so out-of-style no one wants them. :-)

3. Clean all the baseboards. Yep, pet peeve.

4. Do summer shopping for my family. I HATE THIS! Aaminah is a breeze and cheap, A is easy unless he wants some shalwar for under his qamis (thobe). Hard to source and the last ones I bought were uber-cheap material. :-( Yousef is easy but the girls.... Oh my!!!! Almost impossible to find modest affordable clothing. I think we'll be getting them abayaat from now on; we'll see how that works.

As Muslims, our first priority is to dress them modestly. We are finding it increasingly hard, especially with our budget. I simply can't pay $40 for a long skirt and another $40 or so for a tunic top. Which aren't easy to find this season anyway.

In the past, we've done dresses as shirts with a long sleeve underneath. However, the undershirts are very snug on their arms which isn't modest. The pants they wear underneath show their legs. We are commanded by Allah not to show our shape; my stepdaughters both wear hijab and are "of age" so it's not something we take lightly. We want to have a clear conscience when we stand in front of Allah.

My husband and I both would be happy dressing them in the large legged pants like you find on Shukr but we just can't swing the cost. One outfit there is $70 to $100 easily. Just not do-able. So it's off to search online for modest, affordable clothing in the correct sizes. Insha'Allah I'm successful!!! :-)

Ma salaama....

The pot calling the kettle black

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I am pretty loathe to admit this. It is absolutely horrible, hypocrital, and uncalled for. HOWEVER, it was my gut reaction and one I am sure others have shared in, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

I judged a sister for being fat.

There, I said it. Perhaps you don't really get how ridiculous this is. I am fat. (Ewww I said it. Out loud.) Anyway I am and I am (for the most part) happy with who I am. I know I have worth, I am intelligent, funny, caring, compassionate, and well.... just plain ole ME!

So here's what happened: there was a small little conversation on facebook and a sister I don't really know made a comment. Of course, I glanced at her profile pic and saw she was overweight. I instantly (and not even consciously) regarded her comment less seriously.

No, I am not joking. :-(

Anyway, I was going to comment (what she had said wasn't quite right, I felt, and I wanted to clarify an issue) but I got too busy. I logged back on later and saw this conversation again. I thought, Oh I don't think that sister is who I thought it was. So I click on her profile.

No, it wasn't who I thought it was. It was a sister but she was rather thin and had that look of an intense academic about her. Immediately I revised my opinion of her comment. 

Then it hit me. Whaaaaaaaaaaat? I examined what had happened, how I had went from kinda ignoring what she said to immediately reconsidering her point.

One explanation, which I am sure is part of it, is that this sister is an educated person who is qualified to hold an educated opinion. However, that wasn't how I made my original assessment. I thought she was overweight and I ranked her accordingly.

Ya Allah, you don't know how this appalls me! Not only the issue that it was over being fat while I, myself, am fat. But also because as a Muslim, as a human being, I pride myself on being open, accepting, and non-judgemental.

Yah. I do. OK laugh, I can appreciate the irony too.

I really analyzed my reaction and I think I know why I was dismissive of this sister in the beginning. I might realllly annoy some people with this but I am prepared. This is my blog, and my experiences, and my thoughts. Good or bad. This just happens to be some of the bad. :-(

Islam, alhamdulillah, was brought to some of the more ignorant and arrogant people on the face of the earth: the Arabs. Pre-Islam they were steeped in ridiculous traditions and a multitude of gods and were adamantly opposed to any type of change. Subhanallah, what Allah can make transpire!

Our religion has always spoken to the downtrodden: the mistreated slave, the unwanted baby girls, the exploited and the mis-used. Alhamdulillah again.

Even today, those who are unwanted or uninvited to other religions can find a home in the masjid.

OK I'm beating around the bush. Let me just come out with it. I've met many many women, overweight, divorced, with children, with disabilities, with little to no education,  often unemployed, etc. etc., come in and ask to learn about Islam.

After I would meet with them, the majority (90% of them) would explain how they met Mr. So and So, a Muslim, online. They got their groove on, started "dating" online, and now he's coming over from (fill in any Muslim majority country here except the Gulf, it appears). She wants to learn the basics (alhamdulillah) and find out about converting.

I would spend time with them, give them hijabs, an abaya, a Qur'an, literature; send them emails, call to check on them. Be available to answer any questions and being so willing to share the beauty of Islam and my conversion story with them. Basically accepting them as a friend even though many of the things about them personally were off-putting but I did it fi sabilallah (for the sake of Allah).

I didn't hear from most of them again. They wanted to know what any non-Muslim might want to know about Islam, to have that background information. Very few of them converted and from the few that did,  they seemed content to do no more than (possibly) pray. They rarely made any effort to gain more knowledge or dress more appropriately.

It seemed the carrot of marriage dangled in front of them by some good-lookin' muslim hottie (whom they should have sensed was out of their league) enticed them change teams. And that was the extent of their interest. Unfortunately for the few who would sporadically attend the masjid or stay in contact, the "brothers" the hooked up with invariably ended up either cheating on them, already being married (without the woman's knowledge) or just out-right leaving her.

Actually one woman went to meet a so-called brother in a different state. He was surprised she didn't bring her children with her (one of whom was a cute 14 yr old girl she had allowed him to speak with!). When she questioned how upset he was, he admitted he didn't want to marry the mom at all but had anticipated her bringing her young daughter with her. He wanted to court the DAUGHTER, not the mom. Subhanallah.

(Note: she actually let her daughter marry the man at the age of 15- no I'm not joking- and now alhamdulillah that daughter is still a muslim but the mother and younger children have went back to their previous way of life. It appears the man promised his soon-to-be MIL- who used to be his fiance!- a house and car, which never transpired.)

Sorry, back to the regularly scheduled program.

So I was happy when I realized why I had this immediate and gut reaction but still very unhappy about it. I guess I should also add that the sister's' name was very obviously that of a convert so it wasn't JUST the issue of weight but also that she was a convert. Once again, yes, the irony.

Please, I don't want or need any comments about how wrong this was. Yah, I get that. I also don't need any comments from my fellow fat sisters out there being enraged. Once again, yah, I know, it was W R O N G.  Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

I have prayed, and asked Allah swt to change my attitude and change my heart in this matter.

And the winners are...

A'salaamu alaikum. It's been a (hectic) week since I announced the first-ever "Ummi of Aami" blog contest.

A whoppin' TWO people responded. LOL Yep, you read it right, two! So I've decided to be oh-so-generous and give prizes to both of my readers.

I take it that either a) the prizes I offered were too cheap or b) no one could understand the rules. Anyway if you are one of the winners please contact me with your choice of prize and your mailing address. You may send me a comment here, which I will NOT post or you may send a message to me via my blogger profile.

Thanks for reading ya'll!!!!

My two cents on the past few days...

Cover of Time magazine's special edition due this week

*** Fact: Time magazine has only done 4 such covers; 3 of those pictured are Muslims. Really, no one else deserved this? How about Slobodan Milosevic, who was responsible for the deaths of 146,000 Muslims during the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia/Herzegovnia? This number is from a CIA memo btw. I am sick of media promoting Islamophobia.

Or... how about showing the US Flag, along with President Bush's photo. The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan since the start of "Operation Enduring Freedom" in 2001 numbers over  20,000 CIVILIANS, woman and children included, were killed by Allied forces.

8 of these were schoolchildren. Inna ilayhi wa inni lillahi rajioon.

How can anyone read this and NOT be sickened by it? Because one man decided to carry out his vendetta against the US for their foreign policies, it gave a right to the US to kills THOUSANDS of innocent civilians??? These numbers are verifiable and easy to find online.

Also easy to find is how much cover-up went on. For example, a pregnant woman (among others) was killed in a botched raid. Only innocent noncombatants were in the house. The soldiers pulled the bullets out of the bodies and stated all were dead when they got there. Later, they admitted to killing them and covering up their crime.***

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I've noticed the Muslim blogging world (my little corner of it, anyway) has been pretty quiet on the recent events which have transpired. What, you-who-lives-under-a-rock, asks? I am referring to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Just like my post about islamic_rage_boy's picture, I am over it, finished, stick-a-fork-in-me done. However, just to clarify, here is my stance:

The man responsible for planning the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US is dead. I don't believe most of the hype surrounding this story and let me tell you, I am not a conspiracy theory kinda gal. However, the perfect timing of the event (re-election, the whole "birther" debate, etc) the lack of a body, the media frenzy, all of it... well it just looks awfully convenient. Allahu alim.

I disagree with how they said they treated his body. Contrary to their statement, they did NOT follow proper Islamic protocol. Even child molesters and rapists are buried in a respectable manner, according to their religious beliefs. I cannot imagine no country would have taken his body but I can imagine many reasons why the US didn't try very hard to find a place. Once again, Allah alim.

I am disgusted by the behavior of many of my fellow Americans. Unless you actually lost a loved one on 9/11 why the heck are you looking for revenge? It didn't happen to you personally, get over it.

I believe everyone is entitled to a trial and if the US's intent was to capture him but things went awry, well ok so what. But if their intent was to assassinate him I believe that is wrong. I don't think our democratic ideals should only apply to a select few. That's a slippery slope.

I believe Osama bin Laden was misguided; I believe what he did was wrong. Muslims do NOT take the lives of innocent non-combatants. He has to answer to Allah for his sins. That said, the US and its allies should also observe the Geneva Conventions and uphold UN resolutions and stop thinking they are the police, judge and jury for the entire world.

I hated seeing the demonstrations in the streets, celebrating his death. I hate seeing the demonstrations in the Middle East or Afghanistan or wherever, celebrating the death of an American solider. It isn't civlized and it isn't good Islamic manners.

Are you all aware that in the battle of Badr the Prophet Muhammad saws insisted the Muslimeen bury all of the kaffiroon who died? Who died in hand-to-hand battle with the muslimeen? And yet, they buried them, digging 80+ graves in the burning sun. They buried them respectfully and at great physical cost to themselves; battle-worn and weary.

I think that is the least the US could have done for his body. Now let's see if they will get out of Afghanistan and leave those people alone. Their country cannot take much more American "assistance" that's for sure.

A give-away!!!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. So I wanted to do a contest; I think most people do them to generate hits so they can get more "traffic" and thus be able to advertise on their blog. Most, but I'm sure not all.

However, I really just wanna do a fun giveaway. Nothing big, mind you (especially as the chance of it being shipped internationally is quite high!) just something to say "thanks for reading!" I've had over 20,000 hits now (since I started keeping track) and I wanted to celebrate. I write cause ya'll read and I'm always hoping I can say one thing to make somebody think or open their minds to a new way of viewing the world. :-)

I was trying to decide what to give away and came up with winner's choice of the following:

1. Animal print black and pink compact mirror- really cute little mirror. :-)

2. Lanyard for holding work i.d.  Great for nurses or those in security sensitive places. Suitable for sisters only, FYI.

Says "give peace a chance" :-)

3. 2 small, handmade sarubobo (from yours truly) or a small cross-stitched picture, either your name or flowers in colors you choose. :-) I don't know if the cross-stitch would be framed or not; don't want any disappointed viewers out there.

Not mine; I give away all my projects but it would be something petite like this. :-)

Hello, it's me, cute sarubobo!

OK I think that's about it. Rules for entering:

*You must be a follower of my blog. Hey, I gotta get SOMETHING out of it.

*Anyone is allowed. Um well not brothers/men (sorry for any men who might read this) because well... you should know why. :-)

*You don't have to be a Muslim to enter. Probably self-evident but just wanted to be sure you knew. ;-) We are equal-opportunity here.

*Please be patient; if you choose the hand-made option it could take up to 2 weeks before I ship it out. :-)

How to enter:

Please leave a comment below; I would love to know what type of posts you like best or if you have a favorite post of all time. :-) No constructive criticism, please. lol 

Contest ends in one week. This is just in case some of my dear readers are out of town, sick, or just tired of being chained to a computer. Fair 'nough? Yep, I thought so.

I'll let the winner know with a post on here and then you will know to contact me. If you have a blog or blogger id I'll also try to get a hold of you that way ok?

Alrighty, let the fun begin!

Finally, a cute sarubobo :-)

See? Brave enough to enlarge this photo. :-)

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. So I made another one; I couldn't wait, the last one was just sooo... Oh I don't know, like the fat girl who doesn't get invited to the dance, or the stupid cousin you'd like to erase from your family tree. :-)) I felt after TWO craftin' failures in a row, I really had to get back my street cred.

Such as it were. Ahem.

Anyhoo... sorry I'm a little annoyed now. Just got a call from Yousef's school saying we needed to meet with the principal and his teacher because the teacher apparently had been trying to get in contact with A and could not. Wait a minute, WTHeck? I spoke with this teacher at the beginning of the year and he offered to send home a daily report (Yousef, my stepson, has some behavior issues) which would detail his behavior plus his homework.

IT NEVER CAME. Can you do the math? That was in September, now it's almost May. It never ever ever came. I even spoke with the Asst. Principal about it a few weeks ago. So now suddenly THEY have been trying to contact us? Hmmmm. Don't think so.

This is gonna lead me to another little rant. I hate hate hate hate despise when people assume because we are practicing Muslims (read: beard and abaya sportin', they know nothing about our ibadah) that we are ignorant. It makes me want to get a PhD in ass-y-ness (as this principal apparently has!!) just so I can saunter in and say, "No, actually, its' DOCTOR Umm Aaminah." LOL

They always, always act surprised when a) I speak correct english, b) understand what they are saying and c) actually have some original and pertinent thoughts of my own. Gasp!

OK sorry for that. I usually am pretty upbeat, give others the benefit of the doubt, but I really dislike this school system here. I never faced these issues in Tennessee. Well I mean my friends never faced these issues; everyone got along and there was a minimum of ass-y-ness to deal with. Anyway sorry I had to share all that but she just called and interrupted my happy happy post about my sarubobo skillz.

So back to that:  To recap, I first made this:

"Dur-de-dur-dur-dur!!!!"

And then I managed to create this:

"Oh look at me, la-dee-dee! I'm so cute and petite!" lol

 Alright, really all I wanted to say; the rest is just gravy. :-)

Ma salaama ya'll!