Baby Madness

The first trimester of pregnancy does not make me want to think about food.  Or eating.  Or the smell of food.  Not a good time to be writing a blog about meals.

So, to update from my last post . . .

We had guests in town at the beginning of July.  We took our family vacation in the middle of July.  We brought home a fifth child in utero.  Mommy felt sick for a long time.

And now, I'm back!  And ready to think about recipes and food and organizing and all kinds of things.

Today I made a big batch of Pumpkin Dinner Rolls, a crock pot full of northern beans to be used in White Bean Chili, and a chicken tetrazzini for tonight's dinner. 

I did modify the Pumpkin Dinner Rolls slightly because the original recipe called for 1 C. sugar.  Since we don't use any refined sugars, I substituted for 3/4 C. sucanat.  I also used all white whole wheat flour instead of the all purpose in Tammy's recipe.  Tammy has some fantastic recipes, and I am sure you will enjoy reading and trying her recipes as much as I do! 

Ah, it feels good to be back.

Eggs, eggs and more eggs

Even though there has never been a time in my life when I didn't eat eggs, I have a renewed interest in the egg as a frugal and nourishing food. Well, frugal in a sense. Where I used to be content to buy eggs for $0.99/dozen at the grocery store, I am now only willing to purchase organic eggs from pastured chickens for $4.00/dozen. Frugal is all relative when talking nourishing, whole foods. But, I am more than willing to pay that price. And I really love my egg lady :).

Eggs are what's for dinner at my house tonight. However, I find that I just don't have many "egg" recipes that my kids love. Scrambled - love 'em. Over easy - not crazy about them. Hard boiled - some like them, others just like "the white part". And . . . Wait. That's it. And, I am getting a little bored with the scrambled egg at this point.

So, without going to too much trouble to create or find new egg recipes (which I will inevitably waste 12 eggs on and have my kids pick at because they think it's weird) - I thought I would just brainstorm different ways to serve scrambled eggs (which I know my kids will eat) to trick myself into thinking they are altogether different!

Let's see if any of these will work:

Scrambled with broccoli and raw milk cheddar cheese
Scrambled with spinach and tomatoes
Served on toast with melted raw milk cheddar cheese
Scrambled with shredded baked potatoes (and perhaps some bacon)
Served with fresh salsa and raw milk cheddar cheese
Scrambled with fresh basil, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella

Hopefully this will keep me interested in the egg and keep my kids eating them. Any other ideas?

Vietnamese Fried Rice

I LOVE this recipe. LOVE it. My mom comes over every time I make it. My husband gets very happy - and heaps his plate full (more than once). The kids eats it - enough said right there.

But, the best part about it in my opinion is that not only is all of the above true, but it is simple, versatile, inexpensive and healthy. I get very excited about that combination.

Vietnamese Fried Rice
(modified from the More-with-Less cookbook by Doris Longacre)

Cook 1 1/2 c. brown rice or have 3-4 c. ready made. (yes, you could use white rice if you must)

Heat in a large skillet:

4T. cooking oil (I usually use olive oil.)

Add:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. sugar
1 1/2 T. soy sauce (I always use low sodium.)

OPTIONAL: Meat truly is optional in this recipe. I have cooked it with no meat, chicken, BBQ pork leftovers, and shrimp. All tasty. If you are adding raw meat, add about 1/4 to 1/2 lb. of meat with the above ingredients and cook along with the onions and the garlic, etc. If I am using leftover meat (which is most of the time), I throw it in after the onions are mostly cooked just to heat it up.

Stir-fry until meat is hot and/or onions are translucent.

Add:

Cooked rice. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add:

1 - 2 c. Veggies ( I add more if I am going meatless). Oh, you need something more specific? Honestly, this is never the same twice for me. I use whatever I have on hand. Occassionally I will buy fresh bean sprouts to throw in because I am really fond of them, but mostly - whatever I have. Peas, cut up green beans, corn, shredded carrot, broccoli . . . Stir into rice mixture and allow the veggies to cook to desired tenderness.

Just before serving, add:

2 eggs, beaten

Over medium heat, stir the eggs carefully through the mixture until they are cooked.

ENJOY!!

What Day IS It Anyway??

Following my pre-written 6 Week Meal Plan has been a mealtime lifesaver these past few weeks. Life has been busy. Jason and I run a business from home, and I also work as an Event Specialist for a company owned by my sis-in-law. And we homeschool. And we have 4 kids ages 5 and under. I don't think this is anymore or less than what most other moms have going, but to think that we are ALL this busy!!! It is amazing that our families even get fed.

There were two nights this week that even with a meal plan, take-out was tempting. But take-out is not in the budget. So, luckily, even thought I hadn't thought about what I had or what to make with it until the time I should have been serving it - all I had to do was check my plan and head to the kitchen. OK - problem though. It is somewhat important that I know what day it is : ). I served Thursday's dinner on Wednesday - not on purpose. Then I served Friday's dinner on Thursday - again, not on purpose. I didn't even REALIZE this until Friday afternoon when I thought, "Hey, today is Friday. I cooked Friday's dinner yesterday." Fantastic.

As luck would have it, I was also pleased to discover that I had forgotten that Jason and I were actually GOING OUT (that is not a typo) tonight and my mom is making dinner for the kids! YEAH - on so many levels!!! So, tonight's dinner was served last night and all was well.

Except for the small problem of my brain being completely screwed up for 2 1/2 days about which day it was exactly.

Pastry Chef - I am not

Today was a great family day of celebrating Daddy as he turned . . . older. Sophia and I made a cake this morning. She wanted a "tall" cake despite my reminders that my tall cakes usually fall apart in some way. Alright - we'll try again.

I was quite pleased with how things were shaping up with 8 minutes to go on the timer. Counted my chickens before the eggs hatched, for sure. I came back to peek with about 5 minutes to go to discover that BOTH circles of cake were oddly raised - really high - on one side of the pan. Dern it.

I got them out of the pans in one piece - yay. But they each had a lovely divot in them from where the ginormous air bubble used to be in the pan. When we were ready to frost this thing, I did my best to camouflage the pit by aligning the layers just so. No luck. Then I thought - aha! we'll FILL the pit!! I gave the kids two choices - chocolate chips or marshmallows (the big ones - I'm serious about the size of this crater). They went with the marshmallows. Excellent choice. Slice, stuff, frost, douse with sprinkles.

That's what the pros do, right?

Crock Pot BBQ Sauce Pork

I made this meal last night and was reminded how much I really like this recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Crock Pot BBQ Sauce Pork

1 can of cream soup (celery, chicken, or mushroom will work) or equivalent of homemade
1 C. of BBQ sauce
1 T. soy sauce
1 large onion chopped
pepper
garlic powder
pork chops

Place the pork chops in the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and a little garlic powder. Sprinkle with chopped onion. Mix the soup, BBQ sauce, and soy sauce together and pour over chops. Cook on high for 30 minutes, then turn the crock down to low for 4 1/2-5 hours.

I usually put my crock pot meals together around lunch time, but you could easily throw this together in the morning and cook it on low all day.

I served the chops with lots of sauce poured over the top, oven baked fries, and broccoli. Delicious!

Stickin' to the Plan

What a wonderous thing it is to actually stick to the meal plan that I created earlier this week. Tonight will be spaghetti, tomorrow will be tacos, Saturday will be pizza and movie night, and Sunday is soup.

OH - how freeing!! I may even have time to make that bread we've all been dreaming about around here. . .

Ironic Chili Recipe

I plan on roasting a chicken this week and then later in the week I will use the leftover chicken in this amazing White Bean Chicken Chili. Ironically, the recipe is adapted from Betty Crocker's Vegetarian Cooking, and decidedly UNvegetarian. I am not complaining though because it is definitely a family favorite.

White Bean Chicken Chili

2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c. chopped fresh or 1 t. dried basil leaves
2 15 oz. cans, or 4 c. chicken broth (you could use veggie broth to go vegetarian)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (or nice sprinkle of dried)
2 t. chili powder
1 15 oz. can Great Northern beans, undrained (2 cans if omitting the chicken)
1 medium tomato, chopped

1. Melt butter in pan with olive oil. Cook onion and garlic until onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except tomato.

2. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Serve chili topped with fresh chopped tomato.

Very easy, and can usually be made with things I have in the pantry and freezer. Make it earlier in the day, or the day before, for a night you need a quick meal but dinner time will be hectic.

Enjoy!

This Week's Plan

I am excited about this week's meals. For no particular reason. They look a lot like any other week around here. Maybe I am just excited about the impending change of season and reason to make chili more often. And bake bread. YUM. I am trying to stick to things I already have in my pantry, and just filling out the menu with a few items from the store. Here is my plan so far (always subject to change!):


DINNERS:


Classic Spaghetti, bread, green veggie

Blueberry pancakes, homemade syrup, scrambled eggs, yogurt

Tuna Melts, tomatoes, green veggie

Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob (Those foods are all the same color, which annoys me, so I'll probably have to throw in a green veggie as well.)

Tacos, fruit

Pizza, carrot sticks

White Bean Chili, bread or corn muffins


LUNCHES:

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip muffins, baked beans, cheese/yogurt, fruit

Soup, crackers, cheese/yogurt (There was a time when 2 of my kids liked to have shredded cheese IN their yogurt - so glad that phase has passed. Ew.)

PB & J, fruit, pretzel sticks

M & C, veggies

Leftovers

Granola bars, cheese/yogurt, fruit, veggies

Apples & PB, crackers, cheese/yogurt


That about does it. Stop on over at I'm An Organizing Junkie to see what other families are eating this week!

Chili - Can I Call it a Recipe?

Tonight we scrapped the usual pizza, in favor of "Chili and Movie Night." Equally great. I wanted to share my chili recipe since it is SO EASY, and people rave about it. It isn't even a recipe, so much as an opening of a few cans.

1 32 oz. can Brooks brand MILD chili beans (I go for the mild, because I like the flavor better, and there are several other ways to add heat if that's what you are looking for)
2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. ground turkey or beef
Chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Chop the onion. Cook the onions and brown the meat at the same time in a large pot. Add chili powder and ground pepper as it cooks. When the meat and onions are cooked, open up the cans of beans and tomatoes and dump them in the pot. Simmer and stir every once in awhile for about 30 - 60 minutes. Taste and add seasonings as you like.

That's it. Seriously. And every time I make it people ask me for the "recipe." ENJOY!!

We Actually Ate What I Had Planned

That seems like such a rarity lately it deserves a title all its own. I made syrup and pancakes, cooked turkey sausage, and served yogurt. I refrained from making the usual scrambled eggs because they are Jack's favorite and I wasn't sure his little system could handle it today. Is that part of the approved diet when under intestinal duress? Anyway, it was the perfect meal for the little boy who didn't feel like eating all day until dinner time. Yay.

It was also fun because the baby was able to eat what the rest of us were eating. She loved the sausage. JUST KIDDING. But, she did enjoy the pancakes and yogurt. Very fun.

We'll see - tomorrow night we may even eat Black Beans and Brown Rice. But don't hold me to it.

A Pig and Some Pizza

I really, really love pizza and movie night. Really.

I love the negotiating process the kids go through to choose the movie. I love listening to our 2 year old say "It's pizza and moofie night!" all day long. I love that my kids, who are TV deprived all week, get to be entertained for 2 hours while I make and eat pizza. I love their shrieks of excitement and giggles of laughter.

Tonight they chose "Babe". Such a good movie. I am by no means a movie critic, but I do enjoy it as much (or maybe a little more) than the kids. We all love to cheer at the end to share in Babe's triumph. Feel good, for sure.

Can't wait until next week's show!

Maple Flavored Mold

I always make our "maple" syrup from scratch. Why would someone do such a thing? When that someone realizes she would have to spend $30 a month to outfit her growing family with real maple syrup. Not going to happen. After a defeated *sigh*, I found a recipe for the homemade version. I was willing to abandon the real thing, but not willing to dive into the world of high fructose corn syrup for way too much money in the tiny bottle.

Turns out, it was extremely easy and my oldest daughter's review was stellar. So, it stuck. No pun intended. Really. But, every time I have to make another batch I *sigh* head to the cookbook feeling a little sorry for myself that I am friends with absolutely no other woman crazy enough to save pennies by making her own syrup. Perphaps I need crazier friends . . .

This evening I was so pleased to have a full jar of syrup in the fridge from the last batch I made to go with our french toast dinner. French toast toasty, sausage steamy, table set, everyone very hungry - MOLDY SYRUP!! Ugh.

Remind me, what is so wrong with that little bottle of maple flavored high fructose corn syrup?

Complimentary Pork Chops

My mom does not cook - EVER. Not because she is incapable, but because she says she did enough when I was growing up, and now it is my turn. Since her house is attached to ours she can come any time she likes. Works for me - I love to cook and bake.

The bonus is the fact that because my mom still enjoys eating, she will occasionally purchase something for us so that I can cook it for her. Free food for me, yummy meal without the effort for her. This week she sprung for pork chops.

I was planning to do a pork roast anyway, so I just did the chops instead. I laid them in the crock pot around lunch time with a sprig of fresh rosemary, sprinkled on some salt and pepper, covered them with thick onion slices, set it on high and let it work its magic. I came back hours later to yummy chops and onions with the perfect juices for gravy stewing in the bottom. Well, and the gross, glossy fat globs. Ew.

I took the chops out, put them in their serving dish and covered them with foil. Then I spooned the juice into a gravy strainer (you know the kind with the spout on the bottom so you can eliminate the aforementioned fat globs?). I poured the strained juices into a pan and added a little flour to thicken it. A little more salt and pepper to taste and it was done.

I served that up with some mashed potatoes - also requested by mom - and broccoli.

Hubby raved and everyone ate piles of meat and potatoes, which is actually very rare around here.

Meal Train Derailed

Once in awhile it feels good to not "cook" anything for dinner. Tonight was one of those nights. Big time. Here is what we ate:

Hubby - Leftover rice dish, green beans from the garden

Me - Bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with Pecans and peaches (Jewel paid me to bring 4 boxes of these home last week with the use of some great printable coupons combined with a sale - sale and cereal, both very yummy.), slices of colby jack cheese, green beans from the garden

Sophia - Bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with Pecans and peaches. This small child wolfed down two giant hot dogs for lunch at our church picnic this afternoon. She wasn't very hungry for dinner.

Jack - Leftover pizza, carrots, green beans, and cucumbers from the garden

Elise - Honey Bunches of Oats with peaches and bananas, colby jack cheese

Tessa - Squash and Cheerios

I love pouring dinner out of a box or pulling it out of the fridge in leftover form! We had a great, jam-packed weekend that has left me a little fried. Friday and Saturday garage sale ($2064 in two days!!), Saturday hubby and 2 oldest visited the Rockford Air Show, Sunday church picnic and ALL WEEKEND one really cranky teething baby. Cooking just wasn't going to happen this evening.

BUT - I've got my menu and shopping plan for tomorrow almost figured out. Stay tuned . . .

Popcorn and Cucumbers

Ok, raise your hand if you would like your garden to slow down production on cucumbers. At least we all like them AND at least I wasn't crazy enough to plant zucchini!

Dinner tonight was the popcorn, smoothies, veggies & dip that was originally planned for last night. Last night, all that veggie prep work on top of my excessive hunger would have made me a little grumpy. Tonight, it was no problem and piles of fun.

We always place the spread (bowl of popcorn, tray of veggies, cups of smoothie) on the coffee table and allow the kids to serve themselves as we play games. We actually never even made it to games this evening- we were too busy chatting and chomping I guess. My favorite part about this special family night is watching my 2 year old fill her plate. Heaps of green beans, tomato slices, cucumbers, green pepper, carrots - and she eats them ALL!! Well, with the exception of the tomato skins. For some reason we can't convince her that a slice of tomato doesn't need to be eaten like a slice of watermelon.

Tomorrow night . . . we'll see if I pull off the waffle spread I planned BEFORE I remembered that I am hosting a garage sale at my house this weekend!

Sloppy Switch

One of the best parts about having a meal plan is how it can FLEX for you. Tonight is supposed to be popcorn, smoothies, veggie & dip and game night. But that just isn't working for me right now.

I spent 3 and a half hours in the van today taking all 4 kiddos and my mom to see Grandma. It was a really wonderful visit - no one broke anything and the kids were very polite. They made me proud. And for some reason I am STARVING. Popcorn for dinner is not going to cut it for me. And I just don't feel like doing the veggie prep either. But, NO PROBLEM! I can just swap with Sloppy Joe night with no added shopping or stress required. Yay.

Now, instead of chopping veggies and not liking it, I am typing away with dinner already made and waiting for dinner time!

Jason and Tuna Melts

Jason came home from work (came up from the basement) early today, allowing me to go to work (head back down said stairs) for an hour before dinner. Meal planning saves the day once again! Since I was planning tuna melts, I knew I could sneak downstairs and leave dinner in Jason's hands without any stress or last minute planning.

He prepped, I snuck away and worked, and Jason's tuna melts with a side of green grapes worked out wonderfully!!