Turkey gobbler fruit centerpiece

Yesterday at my youngest's Thanksgiving party, I saw these turkey centerpieces that a mom had created out of a cantaloupe, a small pear, a few raisins, a red pepper, grapes, and cheddar cheese chunks.  They were precious and totally edible and make a fun craft for you and your kids.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Here are the directions I found on food.com:

• 1 bosc pear (head)
• 1 cantaloupes (body) or 1 honeydew melon (body)
• 2 lbs cubed cheddar cheese (beak and tail feathers)
• 1 -2 red bell peppers (snood, feet and side feathers) or 1 -2 yellow bell pepper (snood, feet and side feathers)
• 2 raisins (eyes)
• 1 lb seedless grapes (tail feathers)
• bamboo skewer
• toothpick

1. 1Stabilize the melon body by cutting a shallow slice off the rind to form a flat base and place on serving dish or platter.
2. 2Using a section of bamboo skewer, attach a Bosc pear (head) upside-down to the upper front of the melon.
3. 3Cut a cheese triangle beak and red pepper snood. Attach both, along with raisin eyes, to the pear head with sections of toothpick.
4. 4Cut red pepper feet and set them in place. For tail feathers, skewer cheese cubes and red grapes, then insert the skewers around the back of the melon. Pin pepper side feathers in place with toothpicks.

Weekly menu

Although it seems like a no brainer, I have not always been super good about planning the week's menu in advance.  A few weeks ago, however, I made a conscious effort to be more diligent about it.  For the last two weeks it has worked superbly.  I don't do anything fancy, but at the beginning of the week I sit down and write out what we are going to eat each night.  On the back of the menu I write out my grocery list.  It is important that I choose something that everybody will eat.  Also, I have found that for Monday-Friday, I can get away with cooking only three times because I try to double up on the recipe.  Here is a sample of what we had last week:


Monday: Beef Bourguignon and salad
Tuesday: Turkey tacos with toppings and black beans for the side
Wednesday: Roast Chicken
Thursday: Leftover Beef Bourguignon with broccoli
Friday: Leftover chicken (you could make a pot pie, chicken quesadillas or anything)

The following picture is of the roast chicken we made and it was SO easy.  Just buy a whole chicken, coat w/ olive oil salt and pepper and lemon juice.  Put in foiled covered roasting pan with potatoes and carrots on the bottom (also brushed with olive oil) and cook @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes per pound.  Ours took about an hour and a half.  Although it is very easy to buy a roasted chicken at the supermarket, this tastes so much better in flavor and nothing beats a home-cooked meal.

Mealtime Monday

The posts that seem to elicit the most attention are those about food, so here goes an easy dinner idea: grilled mahi mahi, orzo pasta with parmesan, roasted asparagus and peppers.  There really isn't a recipe per se, but I just defrosted some frozen mahi filets that I had bought at Costco, marinated them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, chili powder, and lime juice, and grilled them for about 4 minutes per side.  The chili powder and lime juice are my favorite parts, so you can be generous with this.  I served with a little orzo that my kids love and threw some asparagus and cut up red peppers drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt in the oven for about 10-15 minutes on 450 degrees.  I could have thrown them on the grill, but had forgotten to do so.  Great and easy meal--I would have liked a little bit of sauce with the fish--maybe a mango salsa or something would be great with this dish.

Lunch box ideas

I recently wrote a post about an alternative to ziploc bags that could be used in lunch boxes.  After discovering this blog: anotherlunch.com, I am inspired again to try my son's Laptop lunch box.  He also agreed that he was growing a bit tired of the grilled cheese sandwiches at school.  This website has all kinds of ideas for cool lunch ideas and how to prepare them, what tools of the trade you'll need, etc.  If you do a search on amazon.com or Ebay you can find lots of options for different kinds of bento lunch boxes, fruit and vegetable cutters, etc.  The bento box originates from Japan and Wikipedia offers this description: "A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋 bentō-ya^?), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box."  One of my good friends is living in Japan now and has talked a lot on her blog (http://graceleepaik.blogspot.com/) about how the Japanese don't waste anything--her kids even have to bring their own cups to school!  I wish some of that mentality can catch on here.  Realistically I know I won't pack something this cute every day, but I am determined to try it at least once in a while.  I think my kids would especially appreciate the puzzle shaped sandwiches and the Yoda cheese!!

lunchbox by http://www.planetbox.com/

Mealtime Monday: Shrimp Creole

One of the many highlights of living in the Lowcountry is our easy access to great seafood.  I am so happy that my kids love to eat it, and they don't really have a choice anyway.  They really like their shrimp just plain boiled or fried (I don't attempt this at home--too many places around here do it much better), but sometimes I love to make shrimp creole.  The following is my favorite recipe and it comes from the Perennials cookbook (from the Gainesville, GA Junior League).  I forgot to mention that half the fun of our shrimp meals is going to get the shrimp down at the docks.  One of my son's former preschool teachers is of the Magwood shrimping dynasty, so we like to support her.

Baba's Shrimp Creole: (serves 8)

1.5 cups chopped celery

1 large green pepper, chopped

4 T bacon drippings

1 bay leaf

2 (16 oz) cans stewed tomatoes

3 T tomato paste

1 T sugar

salt and peppa' to taste

1/8 t curry powder

Creole seasoned salt (optional)

2 1/2-3 lbs shrimp, boiled and peeled

cooked rice

Slowly cook celery, onion, and pepper in bacon drippings (use olive oil if you don't have this) til light brown (about 15 min).  Add bay leaf, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and mix well.  Add other seasonings and simmer for about 30 min.  Add shrimp and heat through--but do not overcook.  Serve over rice.

Monday meal: Crescent Chicken

This is an easy recipe I found on one of my favorite blogs, Whatever.  The mom who writes this blog has five kids, so she is always looking for simple meals.  It is so easy and delicious!  You will need: two or three chicken breasts cooked and chopped finely, about a cup of grated cheddar, one can of cream of chicken soup, one can of milk, and two cans of crescent rolls.  It is a no brainer: boil chicken, chop, add cheddar, roll little bits into the crescent rolls.  Whisk together can of soup and milk and pour over top.  Cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until browned.  My kids didn't like the sauce, but I did--so if they are picky you can leave the sauce off.  Serve with a green veggie, some fruit, and voila--an easy crowd pleaser.

 

  

  

 

Monday meal: California Italian Wedding Soup

This recipe is super easy and delicious.  What you'll need:

1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 pork or chicken, one egg, about 2 boxes of chicken broth, Italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, one lemon, orzo pasta, bag of spinich.

Make the meatballs out of approx 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground pork or chicken mixed with one egg, some Italian breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese (sorry I never measure this).  After mixing the above together form little meatballs about 1/2 inch in diameter.  Spray a baking dish with Pam and cook meatballs in the oven at 425 for 12 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a soup pot cook some chopped carrots and onion (maybe about a cup of each) in about 6 cups of chicken broth.  When they are a little softened, add some orzo pasta (not too much--a little goes a long way (maybe about 1/2 cup dry) and cook at a boil for about 10 minutes or whatever it says on the box.  Then add the meatballs to the soup mixture and don't forget the most important thing--the zest of one lemon!!  Just before serving, wilt some fresh baby spinach in the soup.  Serve in bowls and grate parmesan cheese on the top!  Don't let it sit for long at all before serving because the pasta soaks up the broth.   You may want to have some extra chicken broth on hand.  Enjoy!

Meal share recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying my meal exchange lately.  It is really such a treat to have a meal brought to you once a week and so easy just to double your recipe on another night.  Here is my recipe for the week: Chicken Tortilla Soup.
2 t olive oil, 1 medium chopped onion, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 jalapeno pepper chopped and seeds removed if you don't want too much spice, 1/2 medium green pepper chopped, 3-4 small chicken breasts, 1 can of corn, 1/2 cup white wine, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 4 14 oz cans of chicken broth, 2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, 2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce, 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained.
Saute onion, garlic, jalapeno, and green pepper in large pot until soft.  Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil.  After 15 minutes, remove chicken breasts and shred.  Return shredded chicken to pot and simmer and additional 45 minutes.  Serve topped w/ cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, and juice of lime.

Meal Exchange

My neighbor and I have been exchanging meals once a week for about a year and a half.  I have heard of people doing this with a larger group of people so that they only have to cook one night a week, but we have found that our small scale meal exchange works for us and means that we get off at least one night a week from cooking and it is much easier to just double a recipe than to triple or quadruple it.  It is so nice to have a meal brought to you at least one night a week.  We have found some recipes that work for both our families as we try to focus on healthy and kid-friendly.  I will be sharing some of our tried and true recipes here on this blog.  I have also found that doing this helps me do better in planning meals for the week as well as giving me something to look forward to.  Today's recipe is Daube provencale, which is basically a fancy or French name for beef stew.  The past time in making it I felt like Rachel Ray because it really did take less than thirty minutes to prepare, but the cooking time is longer.  You can follow the recipe and cook it in a dutch oven in the over for about 2-3 hours, or I like putting mine in the crock pot for a good part of the day.  This makes the beef extra tender.
2 t olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
2 lbs stew meat cut into pieces
1 1/2 t salt, divided
fresh ground pepper
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups chopped carrot
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup beef broth
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
3 cups hot cooked egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked)

Preheat oven to 300. Heat olive oil in dutch oven, add crushed garlic (not minced!, just take garlic clove and smash them with butcher knife) and cook til fragrant.  Remove w/ slotted spoon; set aside.  Increase heat and add beef to pan, sprinkle with 1/2 t salt and pepper.  Cook 5 min til browned.  Remove from pan.  Add cup of wine to pan and bring to boil, loosen browned bits.  Add garlic, beef, remaining one teaspoon salt, pepper, carrot and rest of ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and bake in oven for 2 1/2 hrs or until beef is tender.  OR--transfer to a crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours.  Before serving over egg noodles, remove bay leaf.  (I also remove the whole garlic cloves if I can find them).  Garnish with fresh chopped thyme or parsley. (Recipe by Lia Huber, from Cooking Light).  It is great served with a green vegetable or salad.  I lucked out last week when my neighbor made fresh bread!!

Steel cut oats

I have taken a summer-long hiatus from blogging and now that the school year has gotten off to its start, I have decided to try to make it part of my routine to blog again about home organizing and decorating. OK--so we all know how hard the morning routine can be. It is very new to me that my son has to be at the bus stop at 7am. Consequently, I have found that I must have everything ready the night before--lunches made, papers signed, book bag set out, and breakfast practically on the table. Here's a great idea given to me by one of my friends--steel cut oats made in the crockpot. There's hardly any mess, it takes less than a few minutes to prepare, and your kids can go to school with a stomach full of healthiness that will last them until lunchtime. So, here it goes: place a glass bowl that fits down into your crock pot. The glass bowl must leave a little room on the sides. In this glass bowl mix 1 cup of steel cut oats with four cups of water. Pour a little water around the edges of the glass bowl in the crock pot, put the top on the crock pot, turn on low before you go to bed. In the morning you will have enough oatmeal for four people or more. When I serve it, I like to mix it with a little bit of milk and brown sugar and whatever else I have--walnuts, fruit, apples, etc. It also very good mixed with about a tablespoon of apple butter. So good!