Its That Time Again!

I know I have lots of posts to catch up on and post, and maybe in a week or two I'll sit down and do that. In the meantime, here is what I'm currently thinking about in the food department....

School Lunch Menu 2014-2015
	Main Dish		Dairy		Other		Drink
Day 1	PBJ Sandwich		Gogurt		pretzels		capri sun
Day 2	Bean/Cheese Burrito				tortilla chips		capri sun
Day 3	Pasta		String Cheese		beef jerky		capri sun
Day 4	Meat/Cheese/Crackers				treat		capri sun
Day 5	Deli Sandwich				granola bar		capri sun
Day 6	PBJ Sandwich		Gogurt		cheese nips		capri sun
Day 7	Pizza/Pepperoni sandwich				treat		capri sun
Day 8	Wraps		Yogurt Cup		chips		capri sun
Day 9	PBJ Sandwich		String Cheese		beef jerky		capri sun
Day 10	Hot Lunch
Vegetable		Fruit
Cucumber/Ranch		Watermelon
Carrots/ranch		Apples
S Potato/Ranch		Clementines
Olives		Coconut
Celery/PB/raisins		Grapes
Peas in Pod		Berries
Cauliflower/ranch		Trail Mix
Broccoli/Ranch		Pears

We'll see how that shows up with the blog formatting... hahaha....

But in case you can't tell, this is our plan for school lunches! I pinned a few of those "collection of ideas" and we used that for inspiration, and created this menu based on what our kids like.

Each Sunday evening, we'll prep all the fruit, veggies, snacks and dairy into bins.

We thought we'd make the sandwiches, burritos and wraps and stick them in the freezer, but that didn't work very well for the deli sandwiches. Instead, we grab everything in the morning, make the main dish, and toss it all in!

Each school morning the kids choose a prepped fruit and veggie, and otherwise follow the menu! Hopefully this will make things much easier for us all this year...I'll get back to you on that for sure, haha!

Kabobs in Tin Foil!

Last night we did something just a little different...I saw an idea to skip the skewering of kabobs, and instead wrap it all in tin foil and grill it! That's about perfect for the super busy nights we've been having- I prepped it all ahead of time and my husband put the packets on the grill as soon as we got home!

It was quite a bit like a tin foil dinner, but we used our kabob ingredients instead. This night was cubed russet potatoes, our marinated chicken, thinly sliced zucchini and frozen corn!
Super easy, super tasty!

Vegetables for dinner!

While it is true we've gone a lonnng time without trying any new recipes that I cared to keep, really, I just haven't had time to blog about food. But I happen to have a little time, so here's at least this post! haha...

A long time ago, I pinned THIS on pinterest. We finally got around to trying it!!
I followed that recipe almost exactly. I used at least three tomatoes and I think two small potatoes, and filled an 8x8 pan. Yep, I layered them in a pattern and had my son photo the process...

 Here it is, ready to bake...

 And now it has melty cheese all over it- ready to eat!

I figured if we split it in fourths that was about an average dinner for each of us, along with a slice of bread. Well, it was enough food for me, but not for anyone else in my family, so I'd recommend you use it as a side dish along with some grilled chicken or something like that!
It was easy, but a little tedious to make.
Two of us liked it, one of us tolerated it and the fourth didn't like it at all.

Tin Foil Dinners

This is traditionally a camping dinner, but it works out in the oven too! We have a lot of hamburger patties, left from grilling season, so I thought I'd use up four of them! And I'm adding this meal here so I don't forget how I assembled it.

First I put out two sheets of foil, criss-crossing incase of leaks.
I sprinkled some dehydrated onion and laid down the hamburger patty.
I added a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and fresh black pepper to the patties.
I peeled and sliced 3 potatoes and split them between the 4 dinners.
Then I dolloped some cream of mushroom soup for moisture and flavor.
I peeled and cut 5 carrots and split those between the meals too!
Then I wrapped it all up and stuck it in the oven on 400* for an hour.
That was all- easy and filling!

before cooking...

 and after!

The best part was that the kids loooved it! haha!

 

*My husband noted that the hamburger patty probably didn't need the soup, but if you were to do a chicken breast instead, it would definitely need it.

Easy Sugar Cookies

Oh look- a post I forgot about.... Oh well, you could do it for St Patricks's Day or Easter instead! haha...
~~~~~
Today we needed a quick treat that could be shared. It would also be good if it was something that could be fun for the kids. I thought a cake mix sugar cookie would be fun and used THIS recipe to get it started.

Since Valentines is this week, and I had a cherry chip cake mix, I thought that was perfect! Then we just whipped up some pink frosting, and added some candies and sprinkles!

evening light stinks...sorry!

We kept some to eat, and we shared the rest with a family who needed their day brightened. Yeay for quick, yummy treats!

Pineapple Green Smoothie: plus tips!

Probably more green in color than in actual nutrition, but this is my current favorite. Very, very favorite.

This particular smoothie is this list, and measurements are approximate!

• chunked fresh pineapple (3/4 cup)
• spinach (1 cup)
• avocado (1 Tbsp)
• fresh ginger (very thin slice)
• coconut oil (1 Tbsp)
• ground almonds (1 Tbsp)
• vanilla yogurt (1/4 cup)
• orange juice concentrate (1/4 cup)
• milk (3/4 cup)

When I first put the smoothie kits together, I started by eyeballing what looked "right" in the blender itself, then dumping all that into a baggie. But now I'm just shoving handfuls into the bags and calling it good. We've learned a few tips since THIS POST.
So I do most of grocery shopping on (or as close as possible) to pay day. I write out a dinner menu, I know what we need for lunches (we're very boring lunch people) and breakfasts usually take care of themselves. Right now, for our smoothies, I'm buying the big container of baby spinach from Costco, and this bag of berries shown below, which is also from Costco. I've been getting a fresh pineapple from wherever it's cheapest, and a couple avocados too. I get a knob of fresh ginger root, which we peel and slice very thinly. We also still have frozen strawberries and peaches. The number of kits I make depends on how far the spinach goes- when I'm out of spinach, I'm done making kits!

We were putting 6-8 whole almonds in the kits, but grinding up the almonds first, in a little food processor or food chopper helps them come out completely smooth. My husband drinks his with a straw and doesn't like the 1/3 whole almond getting stuck... and drinking is easier than chewing, lol... So now I just add a heaping tablespoon of ground up almonds to each kit!

Putting a spoonful of coconut oil in between the spinach leaves guarantees it makes it into each smoothie. I forgot about it often enough that this just makes it easier.

The avocados have been chopped up and I put maybe a tablespoon, maybe more, into each smoothie kit. There is NO avocado taste, it just makes them all a little greener in color and a little creamier. YUM.

I buy either plain or vanilla yogurt for these smoothies. My original recipe was for an Orange Julius, which called for vanilla extract. Sometimes I'll go that route, but I've learned that I do better if I have protein with my breakfast. My morning protein of choice is either peanut butter on toast, or sausage, so I've decided that yogurt is the healthiest route, haha.

The ginger root we peel with a potato peeler, and then slice as thinly as possible. It gives each smoothie a bit of brightness. Its not overpowering at all, but when we leave it out they seem rather plain. Which is funny to me... And any left over ginger is grated or cut up and put into my water for the next few days! Apparently it has a slimming effect- I just like that it flavors my water naturally and that encourages me to drink it!

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

Last Sunday's dinner came from here.
My husband (and son!) made buns using the same bread recipe as you find here but this time split into 4oz balls, which made 11 buns, that were about 4 inches in diameter.

Then, he followed the recipe for the meat, other than adding about a Tbsp of red wine vinegar and a Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce.

We ate while the buns were still warm, piling on the meat, a slice of provolone cheese and a side dish of cooked mixed vegetables! It was a yummy meal!

The only changes we would make is let the buns cool, and probably toast them so the meat au jus didn't soak thru quite so quickly.

Harvey Family Bread Recipe

Plain Old Eatin Bread
Makes two medium sized loaves (3"x7" or 5"x9" loaf pans)

3 Cups White Bread Flour
2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (stone ground from the store is good, home ground in your own wheat grinder or Blendtec blender is better. Home ground is also WAY cheaper than buying stone ground whole wheat flour from the store)
2 Cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 tbsp. yeast (instant dry)
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil)
3 tbsp. powered milk
1 tbsp. dough enhancer
1/4 cup gluten
4 tbsp. honey

Start by getting the water into a 4 cup measuring cup. Add the sugar and yeast and whisk to combine. Set a timer for 10 mins and let the yeast get bubbly/foamy. If using a bread maker, put all of the rest of ingredient into the bread maker and set it to the dough only setting. When the timer goes off, add the water to the breadmaker and let it go though it's mixing and kneading cycle. At the end of the mixing/kneading cycle, spray the top of the dough ball with oil so it won't dry out as it goes though the rise cycle.

If using a regular mixer with a dough hook, put in all of the dry ingredient first, mix to combine for a little bit until they are all incorporated together, then add the oil, honey, and yeast/water last. Turn on the mixer and let it go until the dough forms a smooth ball. It should look like a smooth ball that is only slightly sticky after about 10 to 15 minutes of kneading on the medium speed. Once the kneading is done, put the dough in a really good size glass or plastic punch bowl. Put in a about 2 tbsp. of oil and turn the dough ball over in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in a 200 degree oven to rise. When you put the bowl in turn off the heat and leave the door closed. Let the dough rise til doubled in size. Should take about 40 to 60 minutes.

Near the end of the rise cycle, take out two loaf pans and spray with oil. When the dough is done rising, punch down and remove from breadmaker or bowl and knead gently on a clean work surface to redistribute the bubbles in the dough. You can flour the work surface if you like, but I have found it unnecessary. Turn on your oven on (or back on) to 200 degrees and get 4 cups of water boiling in microwave safe container in your microwave. Put an empty 8 x 11 casserole dish in the oven on the lowest rack and let it heat up with the oven.

Divide the dough in half. If you have a kitchen scale, each half of the dough should weigh about 12 to 16 ounces each. Form each half of the dough in a loaf looking log and put into each of the oiled loaf pans. If the oven is at temp, put both pans on the middle rack of the oven and pour the boiling water into the empty casserole dish. Close the oven door, TURN OFF THE OVEN, and let the bread proof for 20 minutes for 3x7 loaf pans or 45 minutes for 5x9 loaf pans. (Note: Don't spray the loaves with oil. The crust forms much better if the top of the bread dries out a bit)

At the end of the proofing time, pull the bread out, set on the counter, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for another 20 minutes on the counter covered with a clean dish towel. Feel free to slash the top of the bread. I like to do three diagonal slashes across the top or one long slash down the middle. You don't have to slash, but if you do, be sure that your cut is no more than 1/2 inch deep.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees for non convection or the equivalent for convection. Leave the pan of water in the oven and let it heat up too. After the final 20 minute rise is done, put the bread in the oven for 12 minutes, turn and cook for another 13 minutes. The crust should be a dark caramel brown when it is done and smell amazing. At the end of the second cook time, take the bread out of the oven and remove from the bread pans immediately. Place them on cooling racks and let cool for about 60 to 90 minutes. Each loaf on the top will seem very hard, but the crust will soften as the bread cools and is bagged up. Bag up and put in the freezer (they freeze fantastically) or keep on the counter. I wouldn't recommended putting them in the fridge as it will dry the loaves out and make them go stale faster. I would also recommend not slicing them until you are ready to eat them. Each loaf should make about 13 1/2 inch slices.

One final note. I have noticed that while a lot of store bought bread will mold if left on the counter too long, I have not had any bread made from this recipe mold ever. It will also take a couple of weeks as least before the bread actually starts to go stale. In our house, it doesn't of course last that long.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Dream Bars

I think I found this recipe on Pinterest and have been looking forward to trying it out! Trouble with baking and babysitting is that you overlook steps...like the bake time for the filling.... lol. Oh well- it still turned out very tasty! 

You can find the recipe HERE.
I did not use dark brown sugar, and I used regular oats. Also, I don't have a ton of experience with sweetened condensed milk, but I was surprised to note that it just kept thickening the longer it sat there mixed with the pb. And it was difficult to spread so I just put dollops of it on the crust to get it everywhere. :)
I only had dark choc chips in the house, and couldn't find king size Reese PB Cups so I just chopped up 6 of the regular sized ones like this:

I think next time I might possibly cut the salt in half. And the author is right- chill them first. Don't get me wrong- the gooey mess IS dreamy good, but really messy, haha!

Fried pizza egg rolls!

This post is to let the new readers know the real me, and that health food is not 110% normal around here...giggle...

The other night for dinner we had deep fried pizza, haha! (sort of)

The "recipe" (instructions, really) was found HERE.
It really is just a string cheese, with a few pieces of pepperoni, rolled up in egg roll wrappers!

This time they were fried for 3 minutes each. The cheese was not melty like we hoped, so my husband decided that he would fry them less, and then put them in the oven under high heat to better melt the cheese.
He whipped up some pizza sauce, based on our spaghetti sauce recipe HERE, but with a bit of Worcestershire sauce and maybe a few other changes. He and I dipped our pizza sticks and the kids preferred it without the sauce. Also, with the salads, 3 sticks filled up my husband and I, and the kids could only finish 2 each.
Then we had salads and carrot sticks on the side to help round it out a bit, haha!

ETA: Fried 2 minutes, put in a 300* oven as they come out of the fryer, serve about 10 minutes after the last batch goes in the oven.

Hummus!

I really like hummus, but the cheapest way to get it is at Costco and I get tired of the one flavor over and over. I was excited when I saw this link on pinterest to try making our own! So here's our journey...

After trying 4 local stores, I couldn't find tahini anywhere, but we did finally find a bottle of sesame seeds...and my husband checked google and learned that tahini is just sesame seeds and olive oil!! We used our Blendtec to make it smooth and tada- that step was done!

fresh tahini!

If I can get it frozen or whole, I try not to buy canned foods, believe it or not. So I bought a bag of dry chickpeas for this. Chickpeas soaked for 13 hours, simmered on the stove about an hour, until tender. (can I just say how amusing it was to find myself sorting dry beans, late at night, to soak in my grandmother's pot...when she's the reason I remember sorting dry beans ever)
And then the mixing began! He used the food processor to make the different hummus blends.

Classic Hummus

First my husband made the CLASSIC variety on that link-
16 oz chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 scoop minced garlic
 It came out really thick, so he just drizzled more olive oil while it mixed til it was smooth. Then he still added more lemon and some salt and pepper. Pretty good- but the tahini was really strong, so next time we'll use less. Maybe because it was fresh?

Guaca-Hummus

Next up- the GUACA-HUMMUS!
16 oz chickpeas
1 avocado
1 jalapeno
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tbsp. lime juice
salt
pepper
ok, I absolutely love guac, and this was UH-mazing!! It was like a lighter, clean guac, if that makes any sense at all... it is SO good with tortilla chips or pita chips! YUM!

Southwestern Hummus

Then, he was going to make the tapenade variety, but I was raving about the guaca-hummus so much that he said he could just make that again. Since I only bought one jalapeno, he swapped out that for the roasted red peppers (shown below). So here's a different SOUTHWESTERN HUMMUS and um, it might be the winner!!!
1 avocado
2 cups chickpeas
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 bottle roasted red peppers (about 6oz)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp. lime juice
drizzled olive oil to make it a smooth paste
 It has a kick, but it's a good one!

 

Classic, Southwestern & Guaca-Hummus, ready to be enjoyed!

and incase you have as much "fun" looking for the roasted red peppers as I did- they're by the pickles, (not the vegetables, nor the Mexican, nor the Italian) and this is the bottle I grabbed.

*Hummus, as far as I know, is used in two basic ways- as a dip or as a sandwich spread. I'm allergic to the fresh vegetables I've heard of dipping into it, so I usually eat it with Keebler Townhouse Flatbread crisps, or Keebler Pita crackers. The Bagel Chips are really good with it too, and I am absolutely going to use tortilla chips with the other flavors we made tonight! I'm also considering sandwichy ideas to use it in!

Let me know if you make your own hummus and what you think! :) I am looking forward to meals this week!

**Edited:
1/27: Tonight he made the Tapenade variety in the same link. We were very low on parsley so he threw in some dried oregano, and some onion powder and it too is fantastic! Have you tried these yet??

Shakes for 2014

I haven't posted here in a long time! But actually I have a dozen or so draft posts (41 actually...!), haha, that I should really get back to! We'll see how it goes...

In the meantime, we got a Blendtec blender for Christmas from my parents which means that all smoothies now come out smooth. This makes breakfast easy so we bought a bunch of fresh produce to combine with frozen produce and put together some baggies inspired by this link HERE that keeps showing up on facebook. Once we got it done, I posted this pic on facebook and got some questions, so here's the place to answer them!

What's that? Oh, just 16 bags ready to be thrown into smoothies! Spinach, pomegranate, apple, banana, pineapple, peach, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, ginger just waiting for oj, yogurt, coconut oil and milk! Yeay breakfast!

So! What's our plan?
On a {recent} typical day, I throw in:
- some frozen berries,
- a couple handfuls of spinach,
- two spoonfuls of yogurt (plain or vanilla),
- a tbsp. of coconut oil,
- half a chocolate instant breakfast packet (kills any bitterness or hint of spinach taste),
- pour on some milk and tada- breakfast!

We had frozen strawberries and peaches, and then we bought fresh spinach, a pineapple, a pomegranate, bananas, some gingerroot and some apples, and then more frozen berries (blackberries, blueberries and raspberries). We peeled and chopped and otherwise prepped things, and then just started tossing them into baggies! Every bag got some spinach and a slice of ginger. I made some pineapple/pomegranate bags for the Orange Shake, and some bags were just berry mixes.

Today, for example, I had the updated Orange Shake. I threw in my bag of pineapple, pomegranate and ginger, 1/3 cup frozen oj concentrate and the milk and there it was!
I plan to throw in the yogurt and milk every day and on berry days add the instant breakfast. And yes, I've also been putting about a tbsp. of coconut oil into my smoothies because that's supposed to help with thyroid issues and apparently I need that. With the Blendtec, at least, it comes out totally smooth, and I was concerned about that- I don't want a chunk of oil while I'm sipping my fruit, lol!

Happy healthy mornings to you!