Dinner the week of Oct 28

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken pesto spaghetti

Meatloaf

Warm chicken & potato salad

Pizza

Coq au vin

Steak & spinach salad

 

We had the soup last night. It did not go over well.  It was one of Safeway Select soups. We've been working our way through them. This one was too peppery and I don't just mean from a taste standpoint. I'm assuming from past experience that the boys' physical reaction to the soup was due to the chili peppers, possibly the jalepenos as well.  One spoonful & Ds1's lips were swollen to twice their size, and a minute or two later his eyes were red rimmed and he had a rash below them extending back along his cheeks. The same reaction he used to have to cinnamon and still has to strawberries. He kept crying about his mouth being all itchy until I got some milk & Benedryl in him. DS2's lips swelled up and he said his mouth hurt but that was as far as it went.  It's not as if they have never tasted spicy food before. DS2 loves pomegranate & chilpoltle sauce on his meatloaf and sesame ginger sauce on his rice. He also will eat wasabi smeared all over egg sushi. Stuff too spicy for me. So no more Asian Chicken Noodle soup for us.  I have Cheddar Broccoli and Beer & Cheddar soups in the fridge, though I think I will make curried carrot soup for this Sunday

Finally!

We at last got over our paralyzing glee (and a last minute cancellation meant we were home) and ordered delivery pizza for dinner! We also ordered a bag of cat food. The delivery guy got lost which on the one hand is rediculous because the directions are 'make a left out of store parking lot onto 607, stay on that road until it ends at a T with, 606, make a left & drive a mile'. But on the other hand is perfectly acceptable because route 607 has a couple Y type intersections where you have to go left to stay on 607 & they are not marked in advance and all seem to be slightly on the downhill side of a small rise. It's only after you are past the turn that you see the signpost showing that you are now on 640 and 607 was that way. And he forgot the cat food. But still, the pizza was good. not oh-my-god-this-is-great, but good. Perfectly good, serviceable, tasty, delivery pizza. We will be ordering again.

Dinnertime Drama

My kids are 'picky eaters'. I was a 'picky eater'. I accept their pickiness as my just reward/punishment for my own behavior. My food karma as it were. My mother never said "I hope you have a child just like you." but it happened anyway. Given my own past I know at some point my picky eaters will decide they only like the most expensive things on the menu and will only eat half of it. So I have that to look forward to.

What do you do when your kids refuse all veggies and only accept apples & grapes for fruit? You hide things in the foods they will eat. An all protein diet or an all carb diet, which is what my kids vary between. is not a good thing. I considered buying Deceptively Delicious http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com by Jessica Seinfeld recently. But in the end, did not. I already own The Sneaky Chef,which is the same premise, and don't use it much, so another book on the theme seemed a waste of money I could otherwise spend on trashy romance novels.

Apparently I (and Mrs Seinfeld) am committing a horrible crime by putting eggplant in my meatloaf in place of breadcrumbs and spinach in the pizza crust and squash in the mac & cheese. At least we are according to a bunch of people on the internet, none of whom have to feed my kids. I've been reading about it & picky eaters in general at Parent Bloggers Network http://blog.parentbloggers.com.

I'm not sure what our crime is, something willful or negligent probably. "Just serve the kids tasty veggies and they will eat it." "get them involved in the process" "Offer it at least 15 times". Lovely advice, wonderful really. And if generalities were the answer to feeding my kids, then I wouldn't need the advice in the first place.

Serve the kids tasty veggies - what makes a veggie 'tasty'? Isn't that a personal preference? DH thinks broccoli is delicious in a garlic sauce, the smell of it makes me gag.

Get them involved in the process - my oldest son absolutely loves making pumpkin pie. He loves picking out the pumpkin, scooping out the seeds, cutting up the flesh for roasting, running the blender to puree it, mixing all the ingredients. Loves it, looks forward to it eagerly every fall. We just made fresh pumpkin pie Sunday. He took one bite & won't eat any more. he does this every year. wants to make the pie, but not eat it. And this PIE for gods sake! PIE! He does the same thing with eggplant parmigiana and vegetable soup. He loves the process but won't touch the end result.

Offer it 15 times - I have offered carrots, broccoli, parsnips, sweet potatoes, zucchini, asparagus, corn and beets to name a few, to my oldest son nearly every day of his life since he was 6 months old. Allowing for a variety of veggies in a diet that child has been exposed to all those vegetables, in various forms at least 240 times each in his life. He will not touch any of them, except maybe some corn on the cob, but only at a cookout where other children are eating it.

I've tried reward, punishment, encouragment, ignoring it. I've insisted on one bite, 3 bites, no bites, eat your dinner or you go right to bed, no dessert, dessert first, downplaying it, serving the uneaten dinner for breakfast, letting them eat nothing else that night, letting them eat an apple, bagel or yogurt if they refuse dinner, making foods they like, serving them whatever I want to make kid friendly or not, giving up & letting them live on PB&J for 2 days. For the most part they just don't eat 75% of what i make for dinner & are ravenous at breakfast

They are 3 & 5 and finickyness is a part of this stage. I accept that. I continue to offer a variety of fruits and vegetables with meals. I continue to make sure they see me and DH eating a variety of them as well. I make one meal for dinner, no special meals for the kids, though I make kid friendly things for dinner (that DH & I like) several times a week (pizza, meatloaf, spaghetti with pesto) And I hide spinach in the spaghetti sauce and carrots in the pizza toppings.

And I am not seeing how I am committing a terrible sin by doing this. What is wrong with making the things my kids will eat more nutritious? No one is advocating you just hide the veggies in a brownie and never serve ratatouille again. Just make the most of what you have to work with, continue to offer variety and pray to whatever god you believe in that someday your child will say "this broccoli is delicious Mom."

Loaf of the Week - Cheddar Cheese bread

Tonight for dinner we had london broil in a garlicy marinade, spinach salad and this bread. This is a good hearty whole wheat bread with good sized chunks of cheddar melted throughout.

1.5c whitet flour
1.25c whole wheat flour
2.25 teas dry yeast
2 teas sea salt
1c & 3 tblsp warm water
2 tblsp oil
1 tbls honey
6oz cheddar in 1/2" cubes

Mix the dry goods together. Mix the wet stuff together, add to the dry & mix. Knead gently 7-10 minutes until smooth (lowest speed on stand mixer) Let rise in warm place for 1.5 hours. Knead in the cheese chunks (cheese will be busting out all over). Grease loaf pan, form dough and place in pan, let rise for an hour. Bake at 350 for 40- 45 minutes.

Mayhem was in a mood tonight & refused to eat anything, though he was eventually persuaded to eat some bread. Normally he loves this bread. I know it's just a phase but the frustration with it really starts to build after a few days.

Dinner the week of Oct 15th

Roast chicken from Food Lion (Still on special)
Homemade hot pockets
Beef barley soup & salad
lasagna
Steak & spinach salad
pork roast

It's getting cool enough to roast my own chickens, but the special runs through Nov 16th, so I'm sticking with buying them for now. Hot pockets are made with pizza dough & stuffed with chicken, pepperoni, zucchini, spinach & cheese. Lasagna because I am tired of ravioli & torellini (kids may not eat it but oh well, this is my meal) Steak & spinach salad is a standard. Pork roast was DHs idea so I have to find the crock pot. It gets tucked away in May & then gets moved around as space is needed & I never know where it is come October.

Soup is Good Food

Now that fall is really here it is time to start thinking about hearty warm meals. Soup is perfect for the chilly weather. It warms you up, is nutritious, filling and very easy to make. It can be cooked quickly or made in a crock pot and simmered all day. You can use fresh vegetables or frozen meat or noodles, or rice. You can make cream soups and clear soups and rich meaty vegetable soups. By making it yourself you can control the fat, the carbs and calories. There are as many soups as there are people; you have endless opportunities to experiment with soups.


I like soup because I am picky about vegetables. Like my toddlers I do not like to eat whole cooked veggies but am perfectly willing to eat pureed vegetables. My husband views soup as something to dunk bread into. We eat a lot of cream of assorted vegetable soup in our house. Cream of veggie soup is very easy. Fresh or frozen broccoli, some frozen spinach, a carrot (chopped or grated), a small chopped onion or a couple cloves of garlic (or both) and a can/box of chicken broth. (one small potato is optional) Simmer until everything is tender and then puree. Replace the broccoli with peas, or cauliflower or carrots for variety.

I also like it because it is a good use of the leftover chicken or ground beef from dinner the night before. Bake an extra breast when you make chicken for dinner one night. The next day you can shred it up and add it, some grated carrot and spaghetti broken into small pieces to some chicken broth and you have homemade chicken noodle soup. Use precooked ground beef (Brown extra when making tacos or chop up a leftover hamburger), a bag of mixed frozen veggies and beef stock and you have beef vegetable soup.


One of my favorite soups comes entirely out of cans. A can of black beans, a can of crushed tomatoes and a can of chicken broth (I like roasted garlic flavor because then I don’t have to worry about having garlic or onions in the house to add flavor), also a can of water or additional can of chicken broth. Pour it all in a pot and let simmer for about 30 minutes. You can eat it as is, puree some of it for a nice mix of smooth and chunky or puree the whole thing. Just buy a couple cans of each ingredient and you are always ready to make a hot, fast, nutritious meal at the last minute. You can also make this with 2 cups of dried black beans instead of canned and let it simmer all day in a crock pot or on the back of the stove.


Soup alone is a filling meal. It also pairs well with a salad and bread. Soup and sandwiches are an excellent dinner. Try some soup this week!



Black Bean Soup #1 – serves 4-6 people

15oz can black beans

28oz can crushed tomatoes

2 - 12oz cans chicken broth (or half water)

2 cloves garlic smashed

and/or one small onion chopped fine

Drain & rinse the beans. Add everything to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Puree all or part of the soup as desired. Optionally, if pureeing all the soup add some yogurt or sour cream as you are pureeing to add creaminess and additional flavor.



Black Bean Soup #2 – serves 4-6 people

2 cups dried black beans

28oz can crushed tomatoes

2 - 12oz cans chicken broth (or half water)

2 cloves garlic smashed

and/or one small onion chopped fine

2 small potatoes cut into small pieces

Soak dried beans in cold water to cover for an hour & drain them. Add them and the other ingredients to the pot. Cover the pot, bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 5 hours. Alternatively put it all in a crock pot and let simmer for 7-8 hour (low) or 5-6 hours (high). . Puree all or part of the soup as desired. Optionally, if pureeing all the soup add some yogurt or sour cream as you are pureeing to add creaminess and additional flavor.



This is a base vegetable soup recipe using broccoli. It can be varied for cauliflower, peas, frozen spinach or any root vegetable

Creamy Broccoli Soup – serves 4-6 people

1 head of broccoli – chopped small (a couple of cups approx) fresh or frozen

2 cups water

2 cups chicken

1 small onion and/or 1-2 cloves garlic crushed

1 medium potato cut in small pieces


Add all to pot, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for one hour. Puree, salt & pepper to taste and serve.


Variations – add some half and half when pureeing for extra creaminess. Leave out the potato to reduce the carbs (if you do this you may need to pour off some broth before pureeing to increase the thickness of the soup).


Baked Potato Soup – serves 4-6

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion (or large leek, white part only)

4 large potatoes peeled & diced

5 cups of water

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in soup pot, add onions & sauté until soft, stir occationally over low heat (about 2 minutes). Add potatoes and continue stirring for another minute until lightly browned. Add water and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Add milk & cheese and bring soup to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Mash as you would for mashed potatoes or serve as is. Salt & pepper to taste

In Praise of Pizza

(I wrote this for our Mom's Group newsletter)

We love pizza at our house & we eat it several times a month. We get Papa John’s take out occasionally and sometimes I’ll buy a frozen cheese one and top it myself, but most of the pizza we eat in my house is homemade. Pizza is EASY. Really easy. I wouldn’t make it otherwise. It will take you about 15 minutes work to make the dough the first time you do it, but once you get used to the process it will take less than 10. Most of the time involved is spent waiting for it to rise & while you are waiting you can read a book, play with the kids, whatever you want.

Pizza is a great use for leftovers, especially chicken and steak. It is incredibly versatile. You can use the leftover seasoned beef from tacos and mexi cheese mix to top the dough and have taco pizza. You can spread the dough with BBQ sauce, top with cheddar and leftover shredded baked chicken for BBQ pizza, you can layer fresh sliced peaches on it, sprinkle with some cinnamon & sugar and have dessert pizza, and you can use tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni for traditional pizza. Our house favorite uses pesto sauce (mixed with a little alfredo sauce & chopped cooked frozen spinach ), baked chopped chicken, diced pepperoni, chopped artichokes (canned) and mozzarella cheese. Only your pantry limits you.

I know you are thinking “I could have Papa John’s here in less time than it takes for the dough to finish rising.” Yes you can. But you have far more control and freedom with homemade pizza. You can determine the fat & calories by controlling the amount & variety of cheese. You can add additional fiber & protein to the crust by varying the type of flour; you can add herbs and spices. You can make several individual pizzas instead of one 15 inch one and let everyone top their own, no more wondering, “Which half has the onions?” Homemade pizza is cheaper too.

The dough can also be sprinkled with a little garlic & rosemary, drizzled with a little olive oil and baked for 15 minutes for focaccia. It can be formed into small balls, baked for 10-12 minutes for dinner rolls. You can roll it out really thin, sprinkle it with kosher salt, bake it for 10 minutes and have homemade crackers. The possibilities of a ball of pizza dough are nearly endless!


Standard Pizza Dough

1 packet of yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons
¾ cup warm water – a little warmer than body temperature
2 to 2 ¼ cups of white flour – you can substitute ¼ cup with wheat germ or up to ½ cup with whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar.
Large greased bowl
Non-insulated baking pan or pizza stone

1. Stir water, yeast & sugar together & let sit for a few minutes until it looks a bit bubbly
2. Stir this mixture slowly into 2 cups of flour. It will get sticky fast & you’ll end up using your hands. A mixer with a dough hook makes this easier. You may not need the extra ¼ cup of flour unless the mix seems very sticky. Turn it out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth (fold the dough in half, push it forward and flat with the base of your hand, turn it 90 degrees and repeat). This will take 5-7 minutes. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, let it to the kneading for about 5 minutes, then dump the dough out and knead it about 10 times yourself.
3. Place the dough in the greased bowl and let rise until it appears about 25% larger & if you poke it the indentation remains.
4. Preheat the oven to 500, place baking stone in the oven to preheat if using.
5. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the dough out, on a floured surface, into a circle or square about 12 inches wide. Place on baking sheet or on the preheated baking stone (I find using 2 spatulas, or another edgeless baking pan helps if you don’t own a pizza peel)
6. Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and add your sauce & favorite toppings. Return to oven and bake for another 8 minutes.

A time saving tip is to make a double or triple batch of dough and freeze the extra in individual freezer bags after the rise period. It will keep for a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator & let come to room temperature (about a half hour) and then proceed with baking.

Add a little additional flavor to the dough by kneading in up to 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary, basil or Parmesan cheese.

dinner score

menu - 2
laziness - 4

We went out 3 times. Wednesday we had scotch eggs. Thursday was date night. DH & I went to Bavarian Chef,the boys had PB&J. Friday the boys had fishsticks & spinich salad. I had spinich salad (still full from the previous night). Saturday we went to Waffle House and tonight we had KFC because my allergies gave me a screaming headache. This is not good. Tomorrow night DH won't be home for dinner, so I'm going to do the squash mac & cheese (DH is not a mac & cheese fan). Tuesday I will make the turkey roll ups I was going to make today before the allergies made me cry. The rest of the week is open but we have gove over & above the dining out budget so we MUST stick to the menu.

Why are the cookies flat again?

My husband makes chocolate chip cookies every Thursday night. He takes half the batch into his office on Friday so he doesn't end up eating them all (at least he doesn't eat them all at home. I have no idea if he then eats them all at the office). He's been making a batch of chocolate chip cookies every Thursday night for about 3 years now. There was a time when he also made them on Mondays. So he has had lots of practice. He's tweeked the flour weight, the softness of the butter, the amount of time spent creaming, the time & speed of the mixing, the timing of the baking, the right sized scoop. The past few months he has made excellent cookies - soft, yet crisp, with a decent rise & nice consistancy. But the last 3 batches have all been flat - spread out puddles of dough, with chips sticking up at random. Why? The flour is no more or less humid than it usually is and he weighs it. Its the same local organic butter we always use, same sugar, same brand of eggs. What could be making the cookies flatten out all of the sudden?