Pin Reviews and the start of a kitchen table re-do

I have tried several pinterest recipes lately.

This one was for a white chicken chili, using turkey bacon and onions and celery and pepper to get it started.

Quiet lunch all to myself while Annette 'rested' in her room and Charlie napped.

Soup was delicious.

Isaac and I made these shrimp tacos together the other night after the kids went to bed. That Pioneer Woman is pretteee good. They were AMAZING.We ate them up PRONTO. Isaac said this must be added to our meal rotation. 

Another night last week, we made mini meatloaves and roasted veggies.

This was the first time I'd used this exact meatloaf recipe, and I'll tell you, we have already made this recipe again it was so yummy and easy! MY CHILDREN ATE EVERY LAST BITE OF THESE!!

Even with the chopped veggies inside. 

I used ground beef once and ground turkey the second time. They were equally as good. No lie. 

While I was mixing the loaf, Annette and Charlie broke the broccoli and cauliflower into bite size pieces. When I'm roasting veggies, I've found the smaller the better, so they are perfect for this job. 

I cut up some carrots and threw them on there too. I roast my veggies Kalyn style. I didn't use Parmesan  this time, but sometimes I do. She has such good tips for roasting. The foil keeps me from having to scrape the pan clean. And lemme tell you.... my family eats every last drop of these veggies every time we make them.  They taste so much better than steamed in our Smith opinion, although we like steamed too.

Once I'd mixed up all the meatloaf goodness, I put them in the muffin pan. Why? It only takes 20 minutes to cook these all the way through, and they are so yummy in these mini portions. Then I topped them with the bar-b-q  mixture that R. Ray recommends and popped them in the oven. I was a little doubtful about using barbecue instead of the more standard ketchup, but I'm glad I tried it. SO YUM.

While the meat muffins cooked, my kids were starting to drive me a bit nuts as it was about 5:40.

 I suggested we set the table for Daddy. We don't do this often, but the kids sure do love it. I know some of you probably have it down to a science, but it's not that often that I have supper ready when Ike walks through the door. I'm not that talented or organized. Before I had kids of my own, I was sure this would be a daily occurrence. Somehow I never factored in how cooking with a 2 and 3 year old at your feet could get tricky. Thankfully, Isaac is a very understanding man. And is happy to eat salsa or edamame as an app instead of needing a whole meal when he walks through the door.  

But on this occasion, it worked out. Annette put the tablecloth on all by herself. She helped Charlie set the table with some fancy Easter Bunny paper plates. And even wrote place cards to hang on the back of the chairs. 

Presh!! And, yes, he's naked. Can't remember why.

And when Daddy came home the kids made him hide his eyes for our big surprise. Ha! I guess you can say we don't do this often enough!! Truly though, Isaac and I prefer to eat after the kids have gone to bed on most nights, anyways. So maybe I'm off the hook a little bit ; )

And here is my next project. Since we paint, create, and do science experiments on our table so frequently, and have created quite a bumpy, sticky, mess of a table, I decided to sand it down this weekend. It's amazing how a small power sander can remove nail polish and dried on glue and paint and old grime so much faster than Fantastic and elbow grease. It might just be my new cleaning technique ;)

It's a 20 dollar find from Savers, so I feel pretty free to do with it as I please. 

Thinking I'll paint it with some new chalk paint I got at White Goat the other day. 

Until then, it's all sanded and distressed looking. Perfect for more mess making! 

We are off to a good start this week with another non-eventful library trip this morning.

Plus, we are looking forward to the circus on Thursday evening and the Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday night!!

morgan

Going bananas

Last week, we barely got to leave the house. Annette had fever on and off for several days, so we spent lots of time playing board games and swinging in the backyard. All the while, I spent even more time trying to clean up after our every mess and was constantly putting loads in and out of the washer.

I almost went bananas at certain points. No breaks or outings can make for a long week. Yet, with the extra home time and because I am queen of mess making, I decided to bake. Me. Baking. I'm not a baker. I like to break too many rules and do my own thing. But since I had several ripe bananas ready to be used, I decided to try out some new recipes from Pinterest.

First, I tried these peanut butter banana oatmeal squares.

http://gingerbreadbagels.com/2011/03/22/peanut-butter-banana-oatmeal-squares/

I loved them, and ate 2 or 3 squares each morning for breakfast. However, my kids did not like them. I was surprised because they aren't that picky, really. I think it must have been the texture. My kids aren't used to the oatmeal texture.

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While I baked, they pretended to cook with playdough.

Another day, we tried a banana bread recipe and I'm SO glad we did.

http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/10/chocolate-banana-bread-recipe.html

I did change up a couple of things. I couln't bring myself to use an entire stick of butter, so I used about half a stick. And I didn't want to put an entire cup of sugar in there either, so I just put in half a cup. I know, I know. Such a rule breaker. I was cruisin' for a bruisin' as my childhood neigbhor used to say. Now you can see why I don't bake that often. Most recipes aren't forgiving enough to account for my rule bending.

Guess what though. It turned out AMAZING!!!! Even with me halving the butter and sugar. 

Annette is my mixer helper. Can't wait til she can be my mixer cleaner helper :)

Oh. My. Goodness.

This was so good I couldn't stop eating it. 

My kids liked it, of course. Warm bread out of the oven.... yummmm.

Bananas + Chocolate+ Carbs galore = Deliciousness.

Doesn't chocolate make everything better though?

Annette is finally feeling better. Thankfully.

 How I thank you, Lord, for healthy children.

Iron Chefs and Plastic Eggs

Isaac and I eat after the kids go to bed. Usually.

Last night, I wanted to make a new recipe that was sort of a bruschetta without the bread. He wasn't real excited about that idea. So, I suggested we split our raw chicken and we could each make our own meal using it. Our own Smith vs. Smith Iron Chef.

Isaac likes to cook, and sometimes I like cooking too. That is, if I am craving something specific or if I am trying to complete some type of morgan-induced-challenge. What type of challenge would that be? If I don't want to go to the store (again) or have to spend one more $ out of my budget, I'm forced to get creative with what we have on hand. This is the kind of challenge I kind of like. It's also why I buy ingredients that I have figured out how to use several different ways in the same week. Examples: Cabbage. I can roast it one night, make a slaw one night, and throw the leftovers in a salad another night. Spinach. I use it in omelettes or egg muffins for breakfast, put it in a salad for lunch, and saute it for dinner. Sliced turkey. I use it in omelettes, egg muffins, sandwhiches, and even for wrapping chicken and stuffing it with cheese. Cheese. for salads, snacking, omelettes, sandwhiches, baked dishes, etc. You get the idea.

Groceries are in the same budget as clothes for me and my family. So, I am pretty money-conscience when it comes to what I put in my grocery cart : )

So, here are the two dishes we each came up with.

I marinated mine in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Next time I'll add some minced garlic in there.

Isaac browned his chicken in a pan and then removed the chicken for a bit. He used the drippings from browning as a base to create a yummy sauce.  He added garlic, mushrooms, and onions to the sauce.

I cooked my chicken in some olive oil until it felt done to the touch.

While the chicken was cooking, I put some cherry tomatoes in the oven to broil for just a few minutes.

Then, I added a chunk of mozzarella on top of the warm chicken once it was cooked through. And then some fresh basil from the basil plant I am trying so hard not to kill. (I have kept it alive for about 2 weeks now, which is the best I've ever done.) And topped that off with the broiled tomatoes. 

 I also heated the basil up in the pan before I put them on the meat.

Such pretty colors, right?? I told Isaac I won the points for best presentation.

Isaac would have to tell you exactly what he did to his dish. But, I think I can give you the gist. While the mushrooms, garlic, onions were cooking down in the chicken juices, he added a bit of milk to thicken it up. Then, he added just a bit of butter. He added some salt and pepper, too.  Then he put the chicken back in to  finish cooking it all the way through. At the end, he 'garnished' it with some fresh $.70 parsley. Which I think makes the world of difference. I need to start growing some of that once I figure out how NOT to kill my herbs.

And they both tasted amazing. We did not have even one bite left. I almost took a picture of our licked-clean plates.

So we decided there was not a clear winner. Or maybe we both won. Or maybe we should take a vote based off pictures and descriptions ;)

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To document what we are doing to prepare for Easter, I had to share this idea I found on Pinterest, which I think is a great version for my 3 year old Annette. She so enjoyed it last night, and is already begging to open the next one. Plus, it only has 6 eggs, which meant it wasn't too late for me to start yesterday! :)

Last night, the first egg had bread in it. We read the story about the Last Supper and how Jesus shared the bread with his friends. We ate the bread together and talked. So simple, but so good to talk with her about the story of Jesus.

Here they are this morning, eager to open the number 2 egg. I'm making them wait until the evenings and they have pjs on and are settling down for bed. Seems like that's when they are the best listeners : )

zucchini pizza

I've had them pinned for awhile, but I finally made them the other night. Zucchini Pizzas. So yummy, I've already cooked them again. Isaac and I loved them, but the kids weren't fans. I think next time I'll just put their toppings on either a tortilla or an english muffin in the future.

I couldn't find the ball type zucchini Kalyn used in her pictures, but cutting this kind into flat pieces seemed to  work just fine.

I'm always on the look out for recipes using more veggies and less carbs. We've made stuffed zucchini before, and liked it, so I was pretty sure we would like this recipe. Glad to have another healthy dinner option. It takes more than 3 steps, so this mom would consider it only mildly easy. Not that it's an any way hard, but it does require me to use both hands and takes some time to construct and has more than 3 steps. For me to label something Easy, it needs to be more pour and bake style. Or throw in and simmer style. However, I like the end result enough that I will be making it many more times.

Kalyn used her grill, but grilling is not my thing, so I broiled mine per her other suggestion. I put my sliced zucchini on a grill pan.  I brushed them with olive oil before putting them in. They sat under the broiler for about 6 minutes. (a bit brown on top)  And then I flipped them and browned them a bit more.

I skipped this step the second time I made them, and they were not nearly as yummy. I'll never skip flipping them under the broiler again.

Once they were a bit browned, I topped them with this Ragu  pizza sauce I found at Kroger. It only has 3 or 4 grams of sugar, which I love.

Then, I added mushrooms, cheese, turkey pepperoni, and some chopped peppers onto them.
These turkey pepperonis were on the frozen pizza aisle on a little stand. I had to ask where to find them.

Then, I added some more cheese.

Then, I broiled them for another 5 or 6 minutes.

Like I said, we loved them and have made them another time already. Another bonus... they are CHEAP to make.

Thank you Pinterest and Kalyn for your inspiration. You're helping me get ready for our upcoming summer season and our trip to Vegas in May.

Egg Muffins

I love Kalyn's Kitchen. It's my favorite cooking blog. My friend Mandy introduced me to it a while back.

This morning I decided to finally try some of her breakfast egg muffins. I've had them pinned for months, and was grateful for a slow morning which allowed us the time to make them together.  They were the best thing I've made in a long time. Probably since I discovered how to make Bok Choy Shrimp.

I followed Kalyn's recipe almost exaclty, using spinach as our veggie and sliced turkey as our meat. Both of which we had on hand and usually put in our omelettes. She strongly suggested using green onions, and I'm so glad we had some in the fridge. Delish!!!!

I don't have Spike seasoning like she suggested, so I just used Lawry's seasoned salt, and it worked really well. 

The kids helped me fill up the muffin liners by tearing up pieces of spinach and turkey. (Recipe says to spray the liners first, which I found was a helpful step.) I left a few of the muffins without onions and with just a few hidden leaves of spinach in case the kids got picky about the green stuff. To my happy surprise, they ate all of them, regardless of green. We sprinkled some reduced fat cheese on top, too.

Then, I poured in the egg and baked for 25 mins. 

They were super-duper good. We only had 4 left. Next time I'll make a double batch. Or maybe a triple, so we can eat these on busy mornings, too.

A tale of two dinners

I've heard of lots of different families doing dinner lots of different ways. Some of the things we've tried.....


Option 1: The eat as soon as dad walks in plan.

Pro- We get to eat as a family, or try to keep everyone happy while sitting at the table.
Con- I need to time dinner pretty perfectly and have to do the majority of the work before dad gets home. We wouldn't eat until 6:15ish and my kids are starving and cranky by then. My meals sometimes suffer because of having to multi-task and to make them kid-friendly.

Option 2: Give the kids a late snack to hold them off until a later dinner with the whole family.

Pros- We get to have dinner as a family, kids are less cranky, I can start dinner when dad arrives to help watch kids
Cons- I have to make sure the snack is a healthy snack, which means it might as well be called dinner in my opinion. Isaac and I don't get alone time until later in the evening.

Option 3: The eat out plan

Pros- too many to type:)
Cons- expensive, less healthy, constricted to kid-friendly places

Option 4: Feed kids an early dinner, cook and eat when kids go to bed plan

Pros- much less work for mom during the day=more time to play with the kids, one parent mans the kids  (walk, bath, read, bedtime) while other parent cooks, or we team cook which fills my huge need for quality time, and we get to eat dinner as a couple at the quiet table, plus, it usually means a better menu
Cons- we have to eat a late-ish dinner, I need to have something easy and healthy for kids to eat around 5:30.




Obviously, I am so not an expert on this 'mom' or 'wife' thing, but this is what we have decided works at our house: Now that our kids go to bed at about the same time, option 4 is the sure winner for us. I have found ways to pretty much overcome the cons of this option. I usually eat a snack when the kids are eating to hold me over til a yummy dinner:) and I have thought of some pretty easy ways to feed the kids at 5:30.


For example....
Yesterday, with Annettes help, I made vegetable soup that will be great for lunches or for the kid's early dinner. It will even freeze well if we don't go through it all in the next couple of days. And have I mentioned that my kids LOVE vegetable soup. I just use ground beef, beef stock, tomato paste, and a bunch of canned veggies.  The only tough part is finding time to brown the beef. But that only takes a few minutes and I got that done while kids played.

They don't seem to mind eating the same thing a few times a week the way Isaac and I do:) Isaac would never consider vegetable soup a meal, which is another huge reason 'separate dinners' work for us. He wants a real meal, with meat and sides and such. So, when Isaac got home, he took kids on a walk while I made this new dish. Some moms would rather not cook, and sometimes that's me. But, after a day full of kid-playing, I'm usually happy to do something that does not involve someone crying at my legs. That was last night. If I am sick of being on my feet, and want to give the kids a bath, Isaac will cook.

I forgot to take a picture of it before we gobbled it down. Isaac loved this as much as I did, which is not always the case with 'healthier' dinners:)

http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/jumbo-shrimp-bok-choy-recipe-clv0511

Some moms would rather not cook, and sometimes that's me. But, after a day full of kid-playing, I'm usually happy to do something that does not involve someone crying at my legs. That was last night. However, if I am sick of being on my feet, I'll give the kids a long playful bath, and let Isaac cook.

And I got to eat the leftovers for lunch. That's another perk to this system. The adult leftovers make great adult or kid lunches, and are also easy to reheat for early kid dinners on the following night.




my half eaten leftovers  
A lot of nights, Isaac will want to grill something like flank steak or salmon, while kids play outside on the patio with him. I am fortunate that he likes to cook. And that  Isaac will pretty much let me pick which nights I want to cook and which nights he gets to cook.

Call us crazy, but I love this set up. I know I am basically cooking two meals some nights. BUT, having something fun to look forward to every night.., adult conversation and a good healthy meal... it works for us.  And, it keeps us from eating with the kids and then going through the bedtime routine and then cleaning up and then being pooped and wanting to just watch TV and do computer stuff.  We actually talk during dinner.... and then have some media time. LOVE both parts:)

I realize this isn't a good plan for lots of  families for different reasons, but it works really well for us in this current parenting phase with Isaac's working hours. At least most nights of the week:)



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