While they aren't really sushi it's a fun thing to make for the kids and I'm going to be experimenting with the different ways to make the rolls. For today I made 2 kinds: turkey and cheese, then roasted red pepper hummus and veggies! I've seen several ways to make the rolls, you can use rice, tortillas (and make little mini wraps), or bread. I choose bread for this time around but I think Spinach wraps would've been better. I rolled out my bread (crust removed) to flatten it, added my ingredients, rolled it, and cut it! Simple and my boys thought they were way cool!
I have had some requests for kid friendly food recipes. I finally had some good ideas and a decent way to execute it! Today, some friends and I had a "Kid Creative Food Picnic". I decided this would be a cool idea to make my "Kid Friendly Sushi Rolls". While they aren't really sushi it's a fun thing to make for the kids and I'm going to be experimenting with the different ways to make the rolls. For today I made 2 kinds: turkey and cheese, then roasted red pepper hummus and veggies! I've seen several ways to make the rolls, you can use rice, tortillas (and make little mini wraps), or bread. I choose bread for this time around but I think Spinach wraps would've been better. I rolled out my bread (crust removed) to flatten it, added my ingredients, rolled it, and cut it! Simple and my boys thought they were way cool! We also made fruit kabobs!! Don't have skewers? Did you know that for fruit kabobs you can use dry spaghetti noodles? That's what we did! The ones I have pictured I made at home but for our picnic we also had apples, strawberries, and cheese cubes! They were great! The kids had a blast! We also had awesome ranch oyster crackers, a banana pineapple cream pie, and assorted chips! The kiddos had a blast together and the food was a hit! Thanks to Kalyn for bringing her camera and taking these great shots of our picnic! Kalyn Collaborations!! :)
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There's how to make Christmas cookies- and there's how you actually make Christmas cookies. We will be discussing the latter. It's Christmas time and in my family we have an time honored tradition of packing even further unnecessary weight by baking ridiculous amounts of treats. This year I was excited to had K be a part of the fun. So we begin: Step 1:Begin your day with 3. 25 hours of sleep. (This is an important step). Drive to store. Run across cookie mix. Inform child that they will have dinner as soon as you are done at the store. Hear toddler fussing loudly and quickly (and without thinking that's important) grab packet of sugar cookie mix. Pay and exit store quickly. Recall you did not purchase frosting. Irritated Toddler says "Like you think we're going back in there?" in baby-squeel. Decide you'll be making frosting. Step 2.Call Mother about home-made frosting. Leave for cookie time. Run back in house for food coloring for homemade frosting. You've arrived at time and place to make cookies. Greet family and unload. Tell children: "You need to stay out of the kitchen right now." Chat with family and grab a bowl and mix ingredients. (See package, usually butter, eggs, water). Notice in fridge that mother has made homemade dough- realize your children won't love you as much as they could, but concede that your mix is going to have to do. Get teary eyed looking at the Cookie cutters you used with your Grandma. Feel excited to use them with the kids. Tell Children: "I told you to stay out of the kitchen." Step 3Poor mix into mixing bowl. Notice you have margarine not butter. Half-assedly glob margarine into 1/2 dry measuring cup. Add egg. Add a little water- say about the 1 teaspoon it requires. Mix with electric mixer. Worry about consistency and add more water. Repeat. Twice. Tell Children: "You need to stay out of the kitchen right now. You'll get a turn." Ask Mother why dough looks funny. Mother mixes further with electric mixer. Notice dough is very sticky. Notice this will not roll out. Determine this will hamper planned nostalgia with child. Mother determines more flour must be added. Tell Children: "No, stay out of there. Be careful of your brother. No, I told you to stay out of the kitchen." Get Children snack. Add indeterminable amount of flour. Mix. Dough is now thicker- and still sticky. Forgo planned nostalgia. Remember mom's (untouchable) home-made dough. Kick yourself. Step 4.Decide to improvise. K will decorate the "face" of the cookies. Locate cookie sheet. Hunt around for cooking spray. In a hurry spoon far too large portions of dough onto cookie sheet. Are completely lost regarding the principle of heat expansion. Tell Children: "That oven is hot, you stay out of the kitchen, you're time will come. Go!" Think, "huh" that was supposed to make 2 dozen. I didn't even get one." Pop cookies into oven at 350 degrees. Step 5.Wish you had some wine. Monitor cookie progress in over. Take a lesson in heat expansion. Tell Children: "I'm serious you guys, stay out of the kitchen." Decide your cookies are whimsical. Remember you did not purchase frosting. Step 6.Ask Mother how to make home-made frosting. Children hear frosting and come running. Remind them to stay out of the kitchen. "Add a little powdered sugar and some milk. Mix it together. Make it thin but not milk thin." Scoop indeterminable amount of powdered sugar and add a bit of milk. Mix. Readjust MANY times until desired consistency is reached. Add food coloring. Remember that there are cookies in the oven. Recall the heat expansion thing. Try not to let Mother see. Realize that's inevitable. Tell Children: "Go play and get out of the kitchen. Where is your Dad?" Step 7.Pull shameful cookies from oven. Let them cool. Get Children another snack and ask they stay out of the kitchen. Go sit next to husband and feel a brief moment of peace. Children immediately begin crying. Step 8.It's finally time to decorate! Tell Children: "Come on, I thought you wanted to be in the kitchen?" Have K wash hands. Pull up chair and show him how to finger paint the frosting on the cookies. Paint one yourself. Hear: Can I eat one now, several times. Snap a few quick pictures for social media. Allow kids to eat ONE cookie. Clean up everything! (including trail of chips left by cranky sick toddler). Load up all the stuff. Drive home. Collapse. Everyone naps, because sometimes you win. Does your holiday ever happen like this? Usually I'm a better baker but not on 3 hours of sleep. :) There are a couple cool things here though!
We had a great time. The cookies didn't taste too bad. The neat thing about the frosting is it works like water colors, it will be cool for a different "painting" activity in the future I'm sure. Skeeter Bronson: [to his sister] I don't know anything about plants except that *you* make cakes out of them! - "Bedtime stories"I really want to make positive eating changes in the diets of my family, however it's not an easy adjustment. Not only does it mean budgeting more carefully, it means more consideration into meal planning. Another thing that must be considered is that I have two young children (and a husband) who are also less willingly to make adjustments as well. So how does it work? Slowly. I've found that adjusting our diet is like putting a new fish in a fish tank. You can't drop it all in at once, you have to let the bag sit in the water a while. the devil isn't walking tacos!so, we had to start small. I try to menu plan as much as possible, it maximizes my grocery budget. (Below is a blank menu document I use to meal plan! You're welcome to try it!) What I have found is working best in our family are these little changes. Here they are: *Fresh Locally Grown Foods! *Meat Market-meats *Twice a month Gluten Free *Once a week Vegetarian * Avoiding Dyes and MSG *Checking ingredients at the store! Just these little changes! It's already making a difference. Soon I'll post a menu and receipt from the store. I understand a draw back of healthy eating is the expense- as well as the time it can take to prepare. In future blogs I'll be addressing this! Personally, I don't think strict limitation especially with children is the best option. We try to promote healthy eating habits as they grow but give way for treats and easy meals as well. The Devil isn't Walking Tacos- however promoting a healthy lifestyle is still very important! I'm excited to have you grow with my family as we take the journey to a better all over diet! Some other sources on nutrition! http://www.buzzfeed.com/ashleyperez/8-foods-we-eat-in-the-us-that-are-banned-in-other-countries http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/23-ways-eat-clean-natural-foods/1-apples http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gluten-free-diet/my01140 http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/harmful-effects-of-monosodium-glutamate-msg/ Below is the previously mentioned blank menu! If you would like this in Excel form- feel free to contact me and I can send it via email! Hear that a lot too? Chicken is an easy pleaser but it gets boring after a while. This chicken bake is great, and it's quick and easy!!!! I started with frozen chicken and boiled it. I didn't boil them totally cooked, it made them soft and workable- I just hate raw chicken. So, Then I put it in my caserole dish and make a slit in the middle of the chicken breast. Then I put mild cheddar cheese in the middle and topped it with parmesan. On top of that i put in a breading of italian bread crumbs, with Nature's own seasoning, Greek Seasoning, Garlic powder, Paprika, onion powder, and some pepper. Then I place this on top and bake it at 350 degrees. When it's done it should come out of the oven looking like this. I'm one of those terrible cooks who doesn't time things. I know it's done by how it smells. I served this with a lovely green salad and mac and cheese. Which we're going to talk about in a minute. Can we talk about mac and cheese for a moment. There is a right way and wrong way to do mac and cheese. If you do it wrong- honestly, you're family doesn't love you as much as they could...
First- boil it with milk and water. Second- add a fair amount of butter or butter subsitute. Third- and this really the most important part- add shredded cheese. Simple and wonderful- extra cheese. I love stir fry! I just do, I've always loved vegetables and this is one of the first meals I ever learned to cook. I learned this dish when I was about 10. I've put differnt spins on it but this is a tried and true favorite! Start with your meat, here I used turkey keilbasa, I think it has the best flavor. I've used sausage, chicken, and shrimp too.
This you can just throw right in, other meats need to brown or boil first. Then I pop in packages of frozen vegetables. Yes, fresh is always better but I don't always have the time to chop and cook all my fresh stuff. I add a tablespoon of oil and cover- stirring continually. You'll know it's down your larger veggies are softer (not mushy, you still want them firm.) Then you need a carb or starch. I do either rice or pasta. Today I boiled pasta. Once my pasta was cooked I added a touch of olive oil and garlic to the noddled. Then put my veggies over it! Spices I add: this is the crucial part. I like garlic zeesty stir fry, not orientail stir fry. I use garlic, basil, oregano, morton's all purpose, and Greek seasoning. Italian seasoning is another good one to add and if I want it to kick, I add cajun when i brown my meat. (Sometimes I'll do this over rice. When over rice I start by boiling chicken (or browning saucage both work for this) and then sauteing it with shrimp in butter garlic and cajun makes this super awesome!!! Then I stir fry the veggies in and put it all together. Tons of flavor. This version is milder. Personally, I don't like packaged noodle mixes. They're high in salt and not the best quality. However, sometimes, you need to use them. SO, here's house I cut out the salt content, boost the flavor and make them something quick and tastey. Here's what we start with, packaged Fettuccine alfredo (yes, it's a blashphemy but sometimes the budget calls for it), frozen shrimp, and some Parmesan. All these brands are Aldi brand foods. I make this to feed about 6 to 7 people. So I take 4 packages of the blasphemy, with extra water and bring to a boil with Garlic, Oregano, Parsley, and no-salt greek seasoning, lemon and pepper is good too. Thaw shrimp in water and remove tails. The pasta should cook quickly- I add the excess water becaue it dilutes the satl content. Once my pasta is tender, I take the excess water and add it to my saute pan. Once Pasta is about tender, add a package of frozen peasand parmesan cheese (I add a decent amount- it does raise the fat content) and put on simmer . It should look a little something like this. Next step is the shrimp: You've placed your excess water in your Saute pan. Now place your thawed shrimp in with 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter (because I always add too much butter. Saute your shrimp in your sauce and butter, adding some further garlic, oregano, (or Italian seasoning), parsley, and no-salt greek. Your shrimp will curl tight as they cook. Using a slotted spoon like this: take shrimp and place into alfredo and peas. You can add some of the butter-sauce- but too much will make your dish soupy. Like this!!! Once you've put all your shrimp it (or you can save to put on top- i like to mix mine in)- stir together and serve!! You can add a little parsley and ground black pepper to garnish!
ENJOY! Everyone has a couple meals thay are complete comfort foods. This is one of mine. This isn't a quick meal but it's a favorite. Meatloaf, cheesy mashed potatoes, green beans, and melon. It's a yummy in my tummy meals that's always a favorite. Let's start with the meatloaf. You will need.
2lbs 85% lean ground beef. 1 to 1.5 cups italian Bread crumbs (or crushed croutons) 2 Large Eggs 1/4 cup brown sugar Garlic Powder 3 Teaspoons Onion Powder 3 Teaspoons Cavendars Greek Seasoning 5 Teaspoons Mortons Nature's Own Seasoning Optional 2 Teaspoons Ketchup (Or tomatoe sauce but I think ketchup tastes richer) Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce Worcestershire Sauce Mix meat, eggs, bread crumbs, and spices in large bowl- consistency should be as stuck together not crumbly. Place into caserole dish- size depending on desired thickness. Over meat then put on Worcestershire sauces first, then Ketchup and BBQ sauce. Mix and layer over top evenly. Enough to evenly cover top. Bake 375-400 for 45 mins or longer depending on pan size *For another tastey twist, I like to chop green bell pepper and fresh onion into my meatloaf, just make sure your meatloaf is bound well so it won't fall apart around the vegetables. Cheese Potatoes: Russet Potatoes (I usually do 1 medium potato per person) 1/2 to 1 stick of butter 1 large table spoon Sour cream 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese (add more if you like it really cheesey) Wash, Peel and Boil Potatoes melt in butter and sour cream then add shredded cheese and mix. I like to add some greek and mortons' seasoning to this too and freshly ground black pepper. COST: MeatLoaf: (Feeding 8 people) 2lbs 85% lean ground beef –(HyVee Grocery) 2.48 per pound (sale item) Italian bread crumbs- Progresso Brand- (Walmart ) 1.78 1 dozen eggs- prices vary- (Walmart) Aprox. 2.00 Domino Brown Sugar- (Walmart) 1.39 Heinz Tomato Ketchup (Walmart) 2.48 Kraft BBQ Sauce- (Walmart) 2.47 Lee and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce- (Walmart) 3.36 Cavender’s Greek Seasoning 4.95 =20.91 Expensive, yes. (Aldi stores have comparable items to all ingredients save the Greek Seasoning-lowering cost. Also note, if you have these already in your fridge, or budget them into your grocery budget, this meal cost goes way down. Secondly, all ingredients save your ground beef can be used in other meals. Splitting the cost of this meal, by whatever other meals you make). Cheesy Potatoes: (Feeding 8 people) 10 lbs bag Russet Potatoes: (AldI) Approx. 4.00 1 container Sour Cream- (Walmart) 1.78 1lbs butter: (Walmart) Aprox. 3.50 1 bag 4 cups Mild cheddar Shredded cheese (Walmart) Approx 5.00 =14.28 Expensive, yes. Once again, you can use these ingredients for other meals as well. I aldo had a bag of green beans (1.25) and some fruit to complete my meal. How does your family eat?
We live on a budget, a tight one. I feed my family, on less than 400 a month for food. This means finding more than just a weekly sale. Costs vary upon region as well as the markets and stores. We live in the rural Midwest. We shop for the majority of our foods at ALDI stores. Our ALDI is clean and incredible affordable. Yes, you bag your own groceries and need a quarter for a cart, but the bang for your buck makes it worthwhile. It’s more than just finding the cheap store however. Meal planning, knowing your needs, staples, and luxuries, keeps food cost low. We don’t waste a lot (and we don’t eat a lot of leftovers either). Bi-weekly I plan the meals for the next two weeks and then I plan our shopping list accordingly. I take into account what we already have along with what we love to eat. I price items and fit the total cost according to the allotted budget for that trip. Surprisingly, this takes very little time. I’m a list-maker; I take a shopping list for every trip. A little planning ahead goes a long way to saving money. As this blog expands, I’ll share the total cost for each meal. I’ve fed my family dinner on less than ten dollars. |
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