Kids Cook Chicken!

We have had a busy week filled with surprises. My mother in law had surgery this week. My husband called to say he was bringing home a pet rabbit. My kids earned a field trip with their Sunday School class.

All in all... we have been busy. We spent yesterday (3 hours) and today (another hour) building a rabbit hutch to house this cute furry little thing that is coming home probably on Wednesday. So today, I am too whupped to cook dinner. But my kids... now they have plenty of energy!

So they cooked dinner tonight (under adult supervision of course).

Chicken and Rice

2 Tbsp oil
1 chicken thigh per person
salt and pepper to taste
2 boxes of rice a roni (you pick the flavor, my kids chose the whole grain chicken flavor)
water (as specified on the rice a roni box minus 1/4 cup of water)
3 carrots, sliced thin

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully place the chicken thighs (skin side down) into the hot oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Allow to cook for 3 minutes over medium-high heat.
Then, flip the chicken so the skin side is up.

Cook this side for another 3-4 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Next, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside (no, it is not completely cooked yet, that will come later).

Next, follow the directions from the rice a roni (use the same pan you cooked the chicken in). Ours called to add all the water, oil (omitted because we already had some in the pan from cooking the chicken), seasonings and rice, at the same time. So the kids did just that.

Stand back and carefully pour in the water.

Then the rice.

The seasoning packets.

And stir thoroughly.

Next, add the sliced carrots and stir.

Then you add the chicken back to the pan, on top of the rice and carrots.

Then cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow the rice and chicken to cook as instructed on the package of rice a roni (ours was 26 minutes).

Remove the cover and turn off the heat.

Place on the plates, garnish as desired (we used parsley fresh from our herb garden) and serve!

Yum!

Payday.........

Once a month when the paycheck rolls in we have a special dinner. Something that everyone likes and we can customize to the varying degrees of tastes in the house...

PIZZA!

This is a tradition that I started several years ago. When payday came up, I would get pizzas. It has also been modified to adjust to the changes in income as I am now a stay-at-home-mom.

It used to be that on that one payday a month I would go and pick up some pizzas from a chain store. Whoever had the better deal, got my business.

But now I do one of 2 things, depending on my level of energy after paying all the bills and doing my monthly shopping for non-food supplies (i.e., paper towels, TP, cleaning supplies, etc.). I split my monthly shopping into 2 groups: food and non-food. Otherwise I would have no room in the shopping cart for food.

So, my options now, to save money, rather than having someone else make the pizzas given I have a perfectly capable oven, are:

1. Make our own! Pizza crust is not as hard to make as some would have you think. But if you are still worried, there are still several methods of crust available: dry mix (simply add the wet ingredients, roll and bake); pre-made shells (simply fill and bake); or refrigerator crust (usually comes in a roll like the refrigerator biscuits and sticky buns - simply unroll, shape to pan, fill and bake). My personal favorite is to make my own crust. Then the kids help spread the sauce and the cheese and the toppings of their choice. Bake and serve. YUM!

OR

2. Buy the frozen variety of pizza and just remove from the packaging, bake and serve.

Today I was helping my mom move some stuff from storage into her place. So I was very tired (my mom loves to read and many - MANY - boxes were books). I took the cheaters way out and we had previously frozen pizzas for dinner tonight.

Not that it makes a difference to the kids! They still enjoyed. And my littlest monkey (3) even helped to load the pizzas into the oven. Such a sweetie!

Upcoming Blogs...

I need a plan of action! I need to take time to sit down and blog everyday... at least get something written down. So, as usual, my super-organized self is setting the plan into motion.

Tonight I am going to scribble out some ideas to blog about. Hopefully some that don't require as many pictures as my camera is acting up. Great! Time to start looking for another camera of course I don't know when I'll have the money to actually BUY said camera. LOL

But that is my goal.

Get some ideas.

Brainstorm with my kids.

Then take the time to write everyday.

Why do I always seem to get started on something and then life gets in the way? LOL

See you all tomorrow with the highlights of my night and my chit-chat with the munchkins (I have to have their input too).

One Pot Monday! Skillet Lasagna

Because Monday nights are usually busy around here (Cub Scouts, Bible study, child care, etc), I try to fix something super easy and fast for dinner. Tonight we had a wonderful skillet lasagna that rivals those prepackaged boxes of preservatives and fillers found on the grocery shelves (you know, the ones where all you add is the ground beef). It was delicious and enough for everyone (2 adults and 3 children) to have seconds.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 cups water
3 cups uncooked egg noodles (a 1/2 and 1/2 combination of regular and whole wheat works really well for this dish)
2 cups finely chopped veggies of your choice (I used broccoli as dark green veggies are not on my kids' list of favorites - and if you've read my blog, you know that I put the veggies through the food processor so they aren't even recognizable - LOL)
1 can (26 oz) spaghetti sauce of your choice (I use the store brand as it's less expensive)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Spray a large skillet (thank you mom for my high sided 12 inch skillet!) with non stick cooking spray and then turn the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef, onion and garlic powder. Cok for about 10 minutes or until the beef has been browned.

Raise the heat to high, add the water and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling add the egg noodles and reduce the heat to medium-high again. Stir occasionally.

While you are waiting for the noodles to cook (about 7-8 minutes), in a medium bowl, combine all the cheeses and set aside.

Once the noodles are cooked, drain the remaining water and return the skillet (with the beef and noodles) to the stove. Reduce the heat to low, add the finely chopped veggie and the spaghetti sauce. Stir well.

Divide the cheese mixture in half. Mix 1/2 of the cheeses into the noodles and beef. Take the remaining cheese and drop it by the teaspoonful over the top.
















Cover the skillet and allow to heat for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Turn off the heat and serve!

You'd never even know there was broccoli hidden in there if I hadn't told you, would you? LOL


Prep time: about 10 minutes to gather ingredients and chop the veggies
Cook time: about 15 minutes

Spring Break!

So I haven't been around this week. My husband was on Spring break from school and, as he's not home much, we chose to spend the time together as a family... which also meant neglecting my blog for a few days.

But while I might not have been blogging, I certainly was working my fingers to the bone. Between the cooking and cleaning, I managed to squeeze in some time to make my daughter a couple of little dresses. One for Easter Sunday and another little summer sundress.

She is so adorable! I love having a little girl to make all these little dresses and things for.

Here's the fabric I used for the dress...

I love all the blue, purple and green butterflies and so does she! She picked the fabric herself at the store (from a selection I chose - I was hoping she'd choose this one! LOL).

This is the Easter dress I made her. She looks so cute! But my husband had the idea to add a little more to it... a little apron and a bonnet. Well, I had gotten a pretty blue fabric to use in the dress, but the dress turned out so pretty without it, I used that blue to make the apron and bonnet.

She's such a cutie!

Then I had some other fabrics that I mixed together to make her a little sundress for the summer. When my husband saw the combination, at first he hated it. He said that he didn't like the mix of patterns, but once it was finished... he loves it! And so does she. After I took this picture, I couldn't get her out of the dress! LOL

Here's a better view of the fabric...

I love the pink and green combination and the little frogs. My daughter calls it her "Froggie" dress.

So that's what I've been up to this past week. Now I'm back to my sewing machine to make a few more of those cute little bonnets... maybe somebody, somewhere will like to buy them? I can hope!

Stuffed Manicotti

My family loves pasta. They would eat pasta every night if I would cook pasta every night. My 10 year old especially loves spaghetti. So, there are many times when we want to have pasta but we want more than spaghetti. Tonight, I made stuffed manicotti that my family gobbled down... and I even squeezed some vegetables into the mix that my kids, when they heard, thought were the best ever! Everyone knows about spinach stuffed manicotti but these were terrific and there was no spinach (I am out of spinach at the moment).

Stuffed Manicotti

1 package manicotti noodles (about 14 manicotti noodles)
1 can/jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup finely chopped broccoli (food processor)
1 cup finely chopped carrots (food processor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Cook the manicotti noodles according to the package directions (mine say 8-9 minutes, I usually only cook them for about 7 minutes because they will soften a little more in the oven while baking). When finished, carefully drain the noodles and cover with cold water (to stop the cooking process and so you can handle them).

While the noodles are cooling in the cold water, in a large bowl combine 1 and 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, the parmesan cheese, the broccoli and the carrots. Mix well.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce into the prepared baking dish. Keep the baking dish close for the manicotti.

Carefully (so as not to break the noodles while you are stuffing them)stuff the manicotti noodles with the cheese mixture and place in the baking dish.

Pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the top of the noodles. Then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the top.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Once finished baking, allow the noodles to cool on the counter for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes about 5 servings.

Prep time (including time to boil the noodles): 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

My family loved these. I am actually glad that we didn't have any spinach in the freezer because these turned out even better. And my 10 year old eve said, "I like broccoli! When it's covered in cheese and tomato sauce and noodles." Hey, it's a step in the right direction! LOL

Ahhhh! I was super busy today...

Today my kids and I went to our homeschool group meeting. We get together once a month for games. But today was a little different. We were cooking with the kids! They made pizzas and cupcakes.

So when we got home we had to catch up on our schoolwork for the day and I had to do some job-hunting. Once the boys were done, I kicked them out to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. I continued the job search.

Next thing I know, it's 5:30pm. Yikes! We usually eat around 5:30 because our youngest goes to bed at 7pm. Uh-oh...

No time to fix that chicken cacciatore that was on the menu.

Instead, I pulled out 2 boxes of four cheese rice a roni, 2 cups of frozen corn, 1 cup frozen green beans, and 1 cup of cooked chicken.

I fixed the rice according to the package directions, just threw the veggies in at the same time I threw the water in the pan. I added the chicken in the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Mix in the seasoning package and viola! Dinner is ready and all in one pan...

And my kids didn't even mind the green beans! They all gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow. Yum!

Peach Upside Down Cake with a Twist

I am always trying to think up ways to hide more veggies in my kids food. It's even better if I can hide the veggies in something they really like. Well, what child doesn't like dessert? It's also one of the last places my children would suspect me of hiding veggies.

So this weekend I surprised my whole family with a wonderfully delicious and easy treat - Peach upside down cake. But I added my own little twist... carrots!

Here's what you need:
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 box classic yellow cake mix
1 can (15.25 oz) peaches in juice, drained but keep the juice, you will need it.
3 large carrots, finely diced (food processor is great for this)
oil (as specified on your cake mix)
eggs (as specified on your cake mix)
water + juice from canned peaches (enough to make the total listed on your cake mix)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cut the margarine into 6-8 pieces and place in the bottom of the cake pan.

Put the pan in the warming oven to melt the margarine. While the margarine is melting (only takes about 5 minutes), start cutting the peach slices in half (you can also use the peach halves, just cut them into slices as well). I have used the peaches in the slices right out of the can, but I found there weren't enough to cover the top of the cake, so I cut them in half and have great results!

Once the margarine is melted, add the brown sugar and stir and return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir again.

 

Place the cut peaches on top of the brown sugar in the cake pan. Set the pan aside.

Now it is time to make the cake. Empty the cake mix into a large bowl. Where the directions for the cake mix call for water, start with the peach juice from the canned peaches.

 

Next add enough water to come to however much your mix calls for.

 

Pour the water and peach juice combination into the bowl with the cake mix. Next add the oil and eggs as your cake mix calls for. Finally, pour the finely diced carrots into the mix.

Beat with a hand mixer on medium for 2 minutes.

 

Pour over top of the peaches in the cake pan. Careful not to pour too fast or the peaches will slide around in the pan.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Set on the counter to cool for 5 minutes.

 

Carefully turn the cake over onto a cake board or large serving dish. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting and eating.

Viola! Peach and carrot upside down cake that the whole family will enjoy!

Finding the time

I am always asked, "How do you find the time to do all of that???" It hasn't been easy, that's for sure. But my husband has been a huge help. He works and I stay at home with the kids. This has been a huge sacrifice for all of us. On my husband's part because he is away from the kids and I for such long periods of time and on our part because he's away so much and we all miss him. It has also been a sacrifice to our budget. Having that one income means we cannot replace the TV that has 1/3 of the screen covered with little white lines, and my decorating revolves around our second hand furniture that I have dubbed "Early American Salvation Army" style.

It has been a sacrifice, but one well worth it. We homseschool our children which has encouraged them in ways I couldn't even imagine when we embarked on this journey. We have a 4th grader who knows more geography and science than most college age students. We have a 2nd grader who seems to fall short in the math department, until you put him in front of a monopoly game... all of a sudden, he is the business guru and no one playing him has a chance at winning. And our little preschooler, our 3 year old, who wants to play a game of chess or checkers every time daddy is home.

But in amongst all this is the daily task of running the house. That's a job that falls completely on my shoulders. My husband is out of town 90% of every month. So I have to make sure that the bills get paid, the toilet gets fixed and the roof doesn't fall in on our heads. I also have to try and maintain a clean and healthy environment for the house, where my kids spend the majority of their time as they aren't leaving every Monday through Friday morning for school.

There is a lot of extra cleaning that I do on a daily basis that I wouldn't have to do if my children were in school. There is also extra cooking as I have to fix all three meals, plus snacks, everyday of the week for my children. The term "Supermom" is thrown out a lot when I am asked about my daily activities.

Really though, it's not super anything, except organized. With 3 kids, 1 husband, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 1 turtle, 3 bedrooms, 1 living room/reading room (we have accumulated a library's worth of books), 1 dining room, 1 kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a schoolroom... I have a lot of living creatures and house to maintain.

During the week, we keep very busy. But to dull some of the craziness that can ensue, I also have a schedule. It is not a rigid schedule, it is flexible as some days we have things that need to be done on a spur of the moment basis. There is a set time for schoolwork and lunch. Playtime and TV time are also on the schedule but subject to change depending on the speed at which the kids finish their schoolwork (I schedule 5 hours but if they are done in 4, they have an extra hour of playtime... but they have to have at least 4 hours of schoolwork a day by state law). There is a time for cooking, a time for eating and even a time for chores. And then there is family time. Something I hated having to schedule, but has actually turned out to be a great inclusion. We play games or talk or watch a show together.

But at the beginning of the month we all sit down and the kids give me their ideas for dinner meals for the month. We fill in a blank calender with their ideas, mine and my husband's. After the kids are in bed, I type it up and paste it on the refrigerator and put another copy in my household binder.

My household binder is my brain. It holds all of my stuff. There is a section for my calenders (daily for those really busy days, weekly where I put ALL the meals and activities for the week and monthly where I can see this month and upcoming months easily). My bills and lesson plans, emergency phone numbers and general notes are also covered in this binder. I also have a master schedule which includes the chores I need to do each day (i.e., Monday: scrub the kitchen appliances, wash a load of dark colored clothes, etc). And then there is my cooking section, by far the largest as I love my kitchen and cooking!

My kitchen section has lists of menu ideas broken down by category (beef, chicken, other, breakfast, lunch, snacks). Whenever I come across a blank day on the menu calender, I fill in with one of these. After the menu is assembled, I base my grocery list on this menu. Getting all the meat and shelf-stable items in one large trip at the beginning of the month (the meat because I can cook and then freeze it). Milk, eggs and other perishables are purchased on a weekly basis.

Really, I am no different than other moms. There's nothing "super" about me. I juggle just as much as others and sometimes, one of those little balls does drop. But I try not to panic and just keep plugging along. Some days are better than others. But if I don't get to scrub the living room floor today, it will still be there tomorrow.

Family came to visit!

Last night we had visitors. My cousin, his wife and two of their children came through town on their way home. What do you do when you suddenly have guests... at dinnertime?

Spaghetti and meatballs.

It is super fast and easy to double or tripled to accommodate the extra guests. And I haven't met a child yet that doesn't like spaghetti.

As we were going to have 5 adults (my mom was also here) and 5 children (ranging in age from 1 and a half to 10), I fixed 2 pounds of spaghetti. Along with 2 large cans of Hunt's tomato sauce (their was a sale at the store last week) and 2 bags of homemade meatballs (my kids and I had made the meatballs the other day and I split them into 2 family size servings and then stuck them in the freezer).

Of course these are no ordinary meatballs. These are my special, hide the veggie, meatballs.

Get your food processor ready!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/2 block of tofu
1 cup breadcrumbs (seasoned)
1 egg
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well with your hands to incorporate all of the ingredients together.

Form into 1 inch round balls and place on the baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, turn the meatballs and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove and drain in paper towels. Allow to cool and divide into freezer baggies. I estimate 2 meatballs for each child and 3-4 for each adult serving (and as my husband usually goes back for seconds, I plan on 8 total for him).

Stick in the freezer until ready to use. When you are ready to use the meatballs, drop them into the sauce, and heat the sauce over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Makes 30 meatballs.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

My kids love these meatballs and never know they are getting not just meat but also veggies and tofu as well.

Serve these meatballs in sauce over spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad and you have a full meal in minutes and an easy recipe to double or triple when you have guests come for a visit!

Taco Rice

Dinner tonight was a huge success. Except for the three year old who is going through the "I'm not hungry" stage. Hmmm... she seemed hungry enough when I said I had a dessert tonight. Interesting. But, as she did not eat her dinner, she did not get to enjoy the dessert that my boys gobbled down.

On to dinner...

Taco Rice

This recipe calls for very finely chopped carrots and broccoli. I highly recommend a food processor. It does not have to be one of those big ones like you see on all the cooking shows (though I would love to have one someday). I have found that the smaller and more economical 1.5 or 2 cup food processors work just fine (mine was only $15.00 and that was several years ago).

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked rice
1 Tbsp oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 large carrots, finely chopped
1 and 1/2 cups of broccoli, finely chopped
1 and 1/2 cups corn kernels (canned or frozen, if using canned, drain the liquid)
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup water
Toppings of your choice: shredded lettuce, taco sauce, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and ground beef. Brown the ground beef over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until there is no pink remaining. Drain the beef and return to the pan.

Stir in the carrots, broccoli, corn, taco seasoning and water. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Add the rice and mix well.

Put on the plates and top with the toppings of your choice (my kids love to put their own toppings on).

Makes about 6 servings.

Cook time (including time to cook the rice): 30 minutes
Prep time: about 10 minutes

As for dessert... well, I'll tell you all about that later. Suffice to say, my kids and I ate it all up!

Prepare Ahead of Time

Every month I make I big trip to the grocery store where I buy most of the food items we will need to get to the end of the month. Today was that day. I went to the store, with my list in hand, and by the time I got to the dairy section (when? When will I learn to go to the dairy section first?!?!) I was rearranging the items in my cart to make room for the milk, yogurt, cheese and eggs that were still on my list. This was after I had skipped completely over the pasta aisle (whah! The pasta was on sale too!) and the coffee aisle (java! Java! JAVA!).

My cart was simply too full to accommodate much more than what was already making the metal creak and sag. But I did manage to get most everything that I needed for the month. It just made sense to go to the checkout with what was already in my cart. Normally, this isn't much of a problem because I have extra hands at the store. My mom will usually come with me and if I need a second shopping cart, she is there to grab one and push it through the store for me. But this time my 3 year old decided to have a tumultuous three's morning and my mom watched the kids at the house for me instead. Then we could also avoid any possible screaming and tantrum throwing in the middle of the store (which would also cut a grocery trip short).

Without the extra buggy I had to cut my trip short, but I still got what I needed. That was this morning. This evening I will go back to the store (while my adorable children are at church for the kids' program) and pick up the 4-5 items still left on my list.

This afternoon, I will cook.

I used to do once a month cooking. Where you prepare a month's worth of meals and stick them in the freezer and just pull out what you need everyday. I loved it! It was so simple to just go to the freezer and pull out dinner in the morning and stick it in the oven in the evening. It saved so much time!

The downside was there were 2 days at the beginning of each month where I was simply too exhausted to do anything else like schoolwork with the kids or cleaning up the house. My shopping day and my cooking day.

Not to mention I actually missed getting in my kitchen and chopping veggies and marinating meat on a regular basis.

So I modified my once a month cooking plan to something that fits better with our life and my need, desire, yearning to be in the kitchen. I shop once a month (minus the perishables that I have to buy weekly) and still have a cooking day, but a toned down cooking day. Mostly, I cook up the ground beef or make meatballs or meatloaf, etc. I also chop some of the fresh veggies that wouldn't last a month in my freezer. I then use my wonderful new kitchen "toy." My Christmas present from my husband. My vacuum sealer!

I can keep beef and chicken and veggies for SOOOOOOOO much longer in the freezer and refrigerator now! It is great! Say good-bye to wasted money and freezer burn. "Good bye!"

So this afternoon I will fix up the ground beef into taco meat, meatballs, and plain browned ground. I will chop up fresh veggies and seal them in baggies and stock them in the freezer.

Chicken for some of my dishes will be baked or boiled. Bones will be removed, the chicken will be cut into bite size pieces, and then divided up into recipe size portions and frozen as well.

Whenever I can, I like to prepare some parts of meals ahead of time (like precooking the chicken or ground beef). That way I still save some time in the kitchen but keep my daily dose of cooking dinner fun.

Now that I have written this and had a chance to rest from my shopping trip this morning, I am off to cut some veggies and cook up some beef and chicken!

Dinner Menu for March

Today is menu-planning day... again. Boy, the month went by so quickly! I'll do my monthly shopping trip tomorrow and try to cram everything on my list into one shopping cart.

Speaking of lists, as my children get older, my list is getting longer. It is nearly impossible to type up the list without going down to some teeny-tiny font. 10 point font was last month's shopping list. I was having a hard time reading it... and I have 20/20 vision!

My two boys are only 10 and 8 but they are already eating like teenagers. I hear my friends talking about how much their teenage sons eat and I think, "Wow, my boys are eating that and more already. What are they going to eat like when they really ARE teenagers???"

As for the kids, they added their standard ideas to the menu this month: pancakes, pizza, spaghetti, sloppy joes, and some variation of lasagna (I'm making stuffed manicotti instead). My husband even got to put his 2 cents in as he's going to be home a little more this month: Indian tacos, steak and baked potato, and fried chicken. Of course my choices for the month do not matter as much to the kids and to my arteries, my choices not only save on cholesterol but also on the budget and are, usually, vegetarian: vegetable chow mein, super quick rice, and lentil loaf.

The end result is a month of menus for dinner (I do breakfasts and lunches by the week rather than the month).

I start out with my list of main courses divided into categories:

Six beef recipes:
1. Taco rice
2. Layered beef casserole
3. Indian tacos
4. Steak and baked potato
5. Sloppy joes
6. Beef and broccoli

Eight chicken recipes:
1. Baked chicken
2. Chicken and broccoli alfredo
3. Spicy chicken bake
4. Fried chicken
5. Chicken cacciatore
6. Honey-lemon chicken
7. Chicken divan
8. Bacon wrapped chicken with cheese

Eight vegetable or vegetarian recipes:
1. Veggie chow mein
2. Lentil loaf
3. Cheese quesadillas
4. Broccoli and pasta
5. Potato soup
6. Black-eyed peas
7. Super quick rice
8. Stuffed manicotti

Four one-pot meals (for One-pot Mondays):
1. Stove-top casserole
2. Skillet lasagna
3. Quick and easy chili
4. Chicken and dumplings

and last...

Four "other" recipes:
1. Biscuits and gravy (and pancakes)
2. Pizza
3. Spaghetti
4. Potato and veggie bake

Now to go and sort all this out and fill in my as yet blank monthly menu calendar. It works out that each week we have: 2 chicken recipes, 1 beef recipe, 2 vegetarian recipes, 1 one-pot recipe and 1 "other" recipe. Then we aren't overloaded with too much beef one week or chicken the next.

Fun times!

One Pot Mondays - Potatoes with meat and veggies

With a hectic schedule I do not like to spend a lot of time cleaning pots and pans and dishes. Nor do I want to spend a lot of time mixing and fixing an entree, and side dishes. Especially on Mondays when my boys go to scouts in the evening.

So, Mondays are One-pot meal nights! Rarely is there much prep work or time involved in making these meals, but they taste great and do not mess up 400 pots and pans!

Tonight we have...

Potatoes with meat and veggies

Ingredients:
1 box of scalloped or au gratin potatoes (with the seasoning packet)
2 cups veggie of your choice (I use a combination of corn, peas and carrots)
2 cups cooked and diced meat of your choice (ham or chicken both work great in this meal)
1 and 1/4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar (also really good with Mexican blend or taco blend)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Spray an 8 inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In the casserole dish combine all the ingredients (including the potatoes and seasoning packet from the potatoes box). Mix well.

Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Quick, easy, delicious!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Snacks the kids can make!

Again, I apologize for my lack of blogs lately. It has been super CRAZY around here! I barely have time to think, let alone type. But I feel things are slowing back down to a pace I can handle again.

So, I've been trying to think of things to write about, staying on the topic of kids in the kitchen. It came to my head that I rarely have to fix snacks anymore. That's because the kids will fix their own snacks many days. Not only are these yummy, they are healthy as well.

Some adult supervision in necessary. I help myself out a little by doing the chopping and cutting ahead of time and simply putting the cut up food in little snack size zip top baggies and store them in the refrigerator.

Super simple snacks:

1. Fruit of any kind
2. Vanilla yogurt - made even better by adding a drop or two of food coloring - the kids love to mix the colors in
3. Cheese crackers - I buy a block of cheese and cut it into slices, then package the slices into zip top baggies
4. Cottage cheese - easily dished out by the little ones - add food coloring and let the kids mix it in for another fun colored snack
5. Easy baked apples - peel, core and chop an apple, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds
6. Peanut butter crackers - let the kids spread the peanut butter on the crackers with a non-sharp spatula
7. Bugs on a log - cut celery into 3-4 inch sticks and have the kids spread the peanut butter into the celery, top with some raisins
8. Veggies with peanut butter or dressing (my kids love ranch and honey mustard for dipping the veggies) - some great veggie choices are raw carrot or celery sticks or fresh broccoli.
9. Cheese cubes - another block of medium cheddar, cut into chunks - the kids think these are best if they can spear the cheese with toothpicks
10. Popcorn - help the kids learn to pop a bag of microwave popcorn

There are some super easy snack ideas. And the best part, they are all healthy and kid friendly!

Pizza and Salad

It has been a hectic few days! Cleaning the house, getting organized, decorating for the birthday party, hosting the birthday party, cleaning up from the birthday party, homeschooling, kids' activities, my activities... I feel like I have lost my head this week!

Yesterday was tough. My husband left out at 4:00am to get back to school by noon (when he had a class). Of course once he's on the road, I can't sleep. So I was up at 4am as well, after being VERY rudely awakened by a scam phone call on the land line at 2:30am (then we had 2 more scam phone calls at 3:45am and 3:46am - one on each of our cell phones).

Even after my husband got back to school (and called to let me know he was safe), I couldn't get any sleep... not with my 3 kids hanging around. We did schoolwork and picked up but by the time dinner rolled around, I had very little energy (and motivation) left to cook.

Time to take out the frozen pizza I keep stashed in the freezer for just such times. Pizza and salad for dinner last night. Something all of my kids actually enjoy and gobble down like it was a Thanksgiving day feast. It is also something they can fix themselves.

My older children help preheat the oven and place the frozen pizza in the oven. I take the pizza out. Then they can assemble their own salads with whatever toppings they like (usually shredded cheese, cottage cheese, bacon bits, dressing, chopped tomatoes, shredded carrots, and chopped up hard boiled eggs if I have them).

After the super-long day I had yesterday, it was nice to have a meal that my kids could really help with and enjoy at the same time.

It's Time to PARTY!

So my son turned 10. He's my first-born. My big kid. And now... he's a tween. Stuck between being a little kid and a teenager... he's now at THAT age. The age where the hormones are getting ready to kick into high gear and there is no "pause" button between the brain and the mouth. If he thinks it, he says it.

But I'm trying not to dwell on the times ahead. Instead, I am going to focus on getting ready for the party tomorrow (rescheduled from the end of January due to snow).

So, my husband and I, sorry everyone (please don't abandon my blog because of this!), both graduated from the University of Tennessee. Thus, we are HUGE UT Vols fans. Every Saturday, during football season, we have to sit and watch every single game (even when the team is not doing so great).

Our oldest has picked up on this and, besides deciding, at 10, that he is going to attend UT when he gets to college, he has also picked up our fanaticism for the games.

When it came time to pick a theme for his birthday party he chose a.....

Football party!

Well, you can't have a football party without a football field birthday cake, right? So I got out my pans and bowls and mixed him up a little something special (he hasn't seen the finished product yet, ha ha ha ha ha!).

He now has a half strawberry (his favorite type of cake) and half vanilla birthday cake that looks like this....

I think that looks pretty close to Neyland stadium.

The goal posts are made of straws that I cut to the right size and then hot glued into the shape of the posts. I think it came out great! And I can't wait to see the look on his face tomorrow when that cake is put in front of him. All decked out like his favorite team's football field.

Chicken with Rice and Broccoli

I am in full-swing... preparing for my 10 year old's birthday party (the one that was rescheduled). It is tomorrow. Today I have to bake the cake, decorate the cake and clean up the house. Not too much work considering I have de-cluttered a good 80% of my house (not counting the attic and a closet here and there). I also got a jump start on the cleaning by taking care of my living room, reading room and dining room yesterday. Not to mention some other cleaning I have been doing throughout the week. So my lack of posts is understandable due tobeing super busy right now.

But last night, I wanted a good dinner. I also wanted something fast, totally in contradiction to my menu plans for last night. So we deviated from the menu. Instead of the planned meal, I fixed up a super easy, healthy, fast, and good dinner of chicken and rice with some broccoli.

Ingredients:
chicken breast tenders (enough for your family - I used 10 chicken breast tenders for myself and the 3 kiddos)
1 Tbsp oil (for cooking)
2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups minute rice
2 cups water
salt to taste

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil is ready, add the chicken to the pan. You are only going for some color, you don't want to fry the chicken all the way. About 2-3 minutes on each side should be good.

Drain off the oil and return the pan to the stove. Add the broccoli, onion, 1/4 cup water and margarine or butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to your taste. Bring the water to a boil.

Cover the pan (mine did not come with a lid and is very large, so I use a pizza pan to cover it), reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the minute rice. Normally, I would use regular rice or brown rice but as I wanted something fast and easy, I used minute rice. Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add the minute rice, stir, put a lid on the pot and turn off the heat. The rice should be ready to go by the time the chicken is finished cooking.

Place the cooked rice on the plate and put the chicken and broccoli on top. We like to add a little bit of soy sauce to give some extra flavor.

Prep time: about 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Super Simple Applesauce Cookies

So a few days ago, I made some really easy cookies with my oldest. It was wonderful to have that little bit of time with him where he could talk without being interrupted by his baby brother or sister. And this recipe is so easy, even a child can do it!

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (we used almonds but you can use walnuts or pecans)
1 box of spice cake mix

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray (or use parchment paper). Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.

Mix well.

Drop by the teaspoonful onto the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (as oven temperatures vary). Remove from oven.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet, then allow to cool on a wire rack.

You can either put frosting on these or leave them plain (my kids preferred them plain).

Makes 72 cookies.

Of course the cookies also didn't last long enough in my house to get a picture of the finished product. I thought only Girl Scout cookies disappeared that fast!

The Confession

So my husband made a confession to me about 2 days ago. I am appalled, I am horrified, I am upset.

His big confession...

He doesn't read my blog most days!

How awful is that?!?!?!?!?

Really though, I can't blame him. Who wants to read about chicken fried steak and Indian tacos and cookies and such when you are subsisting on ramen, macaroni and cheese, and chow mein meals?

See, my husband is in school in another state. And with teaching and studying and papers to write... he doesn't have much time to cook. I keep saying it would be a great boost to my blog of he, a man who can cook eggs and ramen, would try out my recipes and give me feedback on how well I gave the instructions. But, I guess that's hard too when I am the grocery shopper for us and him as well (I buy the groceries for him, stick them in the pantry and wait for him to come home, then I drop the groceries in his car). Usually, the most he has to buy are eggs and milk (lucky man!).

I did make him up a ton of homemade meals to stick in the freezer at his apartment. That lasted a whole semester. Then his roommates took off with the microwave dishes (I think that was in protest to him taking up so much space in the freezer, LOL).

I need to work on a compromise. Some homemade meals for the freezer (to shove between the frozen pizzas and microwave burritos) and some shelf-stable stuff like the ramen and chow mein meals. At least then he wouldn't take up all of the freezer space, but he'd still have homemade meals to remind him what he is missing out on.

So, I'll forgive my husband (this time) for not reading my blog. I really don't blame him. He can keep on writing his paper while munching down a bowl of blue box mac and cheese. I'll keep cooking up great meals for my kids and blogging about it.

Chicken Fried Steak

I am a huge fan of one-pot meals. Less fuss, less clean-up... that is perfect for me.

However, there are still many times when I just want something more.

On tonight's menu... Chicken fried steak.

 

(Chicken Fried Steak with gravy, butter peas, mashed potatoes with gravy)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pounds of beef (I use whatever is on sale, even the cheap cuts of meat)
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten with 2Tbsp milk
1 and 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
enough oil for frying (I have a large frying pan and need to use a little more than 1/2 cup)

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Set aside. Put the egg and milk mixture in another shallow dish. And in a final bowl, put the seasoned bread crumbs.

Cut the beef into 1 inch thick slices. Each individual "steak" should be about the size of the palm of your hand and 1 inch thick.

Using a meat mallet, tenderize the meat. Pound each steak until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Once you have pounded all the steaks, dip each in the flour mixture. Next dip each steak into the egg mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs. Make sure to coat each steak completely with flour, egg and finally bread crumbs. Set the steak aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium.

Carefully place as many steaks as will fit into your frying pan. Brown the first side (5 minutes). Turn and brown the second side (about 5 more minutes) for a steak that is slightly more than medium-rare (a small sliver of pink through the middle of the steak). If you want a more well done steak, cook each side about 7 minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Gravy for the Steaks

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp of the cooking oil you used to fry the steaks
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat (I use the same pan I cooked the steaks in, just drain off all but 3 Tbsp of the oil). Stir in the flour and mix well with a wire whisk until the flour is absorbed. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring with the wire whisk constantly. Add the milk and stir some more. Once the gravy has thickened, add 1/2 of the broth. Continue stirring to prevent lumps from developing. Once the gravy has thickened again, add the remaining broth and stir with the whisk to combine. Add the salt and pepper and remove the gravy from the heat once it has thickened slightly again. Serve over top of the steaks.

A Short Diversion from the Kitchen

My husband, as some know, is in school in Alabama (working on his PhD). It was more financially beneficial for myself and the kids to stay at our home in Tennessee and simply rent him a room in Alabama, than to try and pay for 2 places large enough to hold our family.

So, with that part out of the way (because I am always asked, "why didn't you all go?"), onto the real reason for my post.

As my husband is gone so far, he only gets to come home about once a month. This time he is coming home for our oldest son's rescheduled birthday party on the 20th. It makes no sense (physically or financially) for him to come home this weekend, for Valentine's Day, when he'd just have to turn right back around next weekend for the birthday party.

So it is just myself and the kids this Valentine's Day.

BUT, I did send him a present (loaded with lots of Valentine's made by the kids). And he sent me one as well.

I was so excited when I stepped out my door to get the mail and instead practically trip over my present waiting for me on the doorstep.

I open it up and pass out the cards (he's so great, he got a card for each of the kids!). Then I take a look at what he sent for me. My gift of a coffee pot (which he asked for) pales in comparison to what emptied onto my lap as I opened the box.

He sent me a huge box of chocolates (love that, I am a chocoholic and I make no claims to be anything but, LOL) and a card. But better than the chocolates and card, he sent me a beautiful necklace with a pendant inscribed with the passage from Joshua 1:9b. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." And, if that wasn't enough already, he also sent a Bible paraphrase - The Message. Something I have been looking at for months, but wouldn't buy for myself.

So, I am taking this break from the kitchen (and from cleaning my house as Friday is my deep cleaning day), to sent out a huge THANK YOU to my spectacular husband who never fails to surprise me.

I love you my wonderful husband!

Giving the kids a break from cooking

After fixing breakfast, lunch, and cookies (all at their request), I am giving the kids a break and I am cooking dinner tonight.

Chicken Lasagna

First, we need to make some Alfredo sauce (or you can use 2 jars of Alfredo sauce from the pasta aisle at the grocery store).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 tsp parsley (dried is fine)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated (or shredded) parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pot, melt the margarine over medium heat. Once melted add the cream cheese, breaking the cream cheese apart with a wooden spoon. Once the cream cheese starts to melt, use a wire whisk to combine the cheese and the melted margarine together.

Add the parsley, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and whisk well to combine.

Slowly pour in 1 cup of the milk. Whisk constantly and allow to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, add the remaining cup of milk and the parmesan cheese. Continue to whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened (you may need to turn the temperature up to medium-high to get it to thicken a little faster).

Viola! Alfredo sauce is complete. Set aside to use in the lasagna.

Ingredients:

1 pound of chicken, cut into bite size pieces and cooked (you can either boil or fry the pieces, just so they are cooked through)
1 package of no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
2 cups broccoli (barely heated in the microwave and chopped fine using a food processor)
2 cups carrots (chopped fine using a food processor)
3 cups Alfredo sauce (Recipe above or 2 jars of Alfredo sauce from the grocery store)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1 and 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, the broccoli and the carrots. Mix well. Set aside.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the Alfredo sauce into the prepared baking dish. Place a layer of the lasagna noodles in the pan. Then drop 1/3 of the cheese and veggie mixture onto the lasagna noodles. Next spread 1/3 of the chicken pieces on top. Pour 1/4 of the sauce over top of the chicken and cheese.

 

(The first layer)

Continue this layering (noodles, cheese mixture, chicken and sauce) until your top layer of noodles. You should only have a little sauce and the reserved 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese left.

 

(After the 3rd layer)

Pour the remaining sauce over the top layer of noodles. Sprinkle with the last of the mozzarella cheese.

 

(Before baking, all layers complete and sprinkled with the reserved mozzarella cheese)

Cover loosely with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Serve and enjoy!

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Make 18 servings.