Our Journey to 30 Successful Meals!

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that sometimes I just don't want to cook.  The reasons vary from time to time. Sometimes the thought of dirtying all those dishes just horrifies me.  Sometimes I just feel uninspired by my ingredients on hand.  Sometimes (and this probably happens the most often) I'm just out of energy.  So to cure me of this horrible affliction we are embarking on a journey.  I've set out to make a list of 30 successful meals that our family enjoys and that are easy for me to go to should I fall into a cooking rut.

Now in order for a meal to be "successful" the majority of the family members have to give the meal a thumbs up.  Since we are a family of 5, this is pretty easy to achieve.  The other criteria is it has to be fairly easy to make.  I'm talking about one skillet meals or meals made in under an hour (30-45 minutes preferred).  And of course there is the healthy food quota that we have to meet...

So here are the first 6 meals on our list, in no particular order:

1. Loaded Baked Potatoes
2. Baked Pork Chops
3. Chicken Fried Chicken (which is not very healthy nor is it made in under an hour, but dang is it good)
4. Tostadas
5. Homemade Pizza (with whole wheat crust)
6. Chili Frito Pie 

Now all of those are just the entrées.  We of course add things like rice or potatoes, salad or fruit to the side. These have all been tested on my kids and they approved (or the majority of them did, at least).  But this menu looks to be heavy on the meat side of things (we are still doing a high calorie, high protein diet for Isaac).  So if you are of the vegan/vegetarian persuasion, there's a menu for you as well.

1. Minestrone with Kale
2. Asian Stir-fry with Edamame
3. Loaded Baked Potatoes (I usually sauté a bunch of veggies to put on top and leave off the bacon)
4. Homemade Pizza (I don't like vegan cheese, so this one is vegetarian for us)
5. Creamy Lentil Soup (I sub the cream with coconut milk)
6. Taco Salad with Cumin Lime Cilantro dressing 

Troy tends to like to eat less meat than we do since his cholesterol runs a little high.  I usually don't cook two meals a night.  I will alternate or make a simple meal for the kids (e.g. Chili Frito Pie) that allows me time to make another meal.  

We are all pretty happy about our eats these days.  Maybe because I'm taking special care to make things that everyone will like.  I would hate to make a meal that I couldn't put on the list.  Waste of time.   That, and we are happily eating leftover wedding food at the moment.  Oh, you should have tried the Pastalaya...  The kids loved it.  Maybe I'll try to make it on my own and then put it on the list.

So what's on your Successful Meal/Go To list?  I'd love to hear about it.  My kids would probably love to eat it for dinner.  Let us know!  And if you are interested in any of the recipes for the meals above, just ask.  

Bon Appétit!

For weeks I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and finally, we have arrived.  We are officially enjoying our Thanksgiving vacation!

Last week the boys both enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at their schools.  Isaac's class had a very age appropriate feast with turkey cubes and pumpkin cupcakes.  He had a great time and brought home a feathered headband and three sweet corn sprouts that he planted at the beginning of the month.  Orry's school invited all the parents and siblings to join the students for a Thanksgiving feast provided by the cafeteria.   I wasn't too thrilled about taking the two little ones to a crowded cafeteria to eat cafeteria food, but it meant a lot to Orry that we go, so we signed up for 3 meals.

We ended up not making it to Orry's lunch.  Isaac's doctors appointment ran long and we ended up stuck in traffic due to an accident.  We did get to see Orry finishing his lunch and decided to take him home early so that we could start enjoying our vacation that much sooner.

Our baked stuffed pumpkin!

This week we are going to travel to Louisiana.  We will dine on a wonderful Thanksgiving feast cooked by my wonderful mother.  And so we have come to the topic of this blog.  Holiday foods.  Yummm...I'm salivating already.

Now, I've never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner.  So I won't be giving you any pointers on getting that done.  But I will give you a few ideas of things you can make that sure bring about that holiday feast feeling.  These are things that we've made over the past couple of weeks.  Things to bring about that holiday cheer.  The aromas that fill the air.  The familiar tastes that come once a year.  Let's get to it already.  I'm drooling.

Mulled Cider

You will need:

• 1 gallon of apple cider (filtered or unfiltered)
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• 4 Tbsp of mulling spices (Best bargain is to find this in the bulk spices, if you can.)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• cheese cloth and string (for the mulling spices)

After you tie the mulling spices in a square of cheese cloth (or use a tea ball), add everything to a large pot and boil for 20 minutes.  If you would rather do it in a crock pot you will need to make sure you use filtered apple cider and cook it on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  

Either way, it's delicious when consumed warm on a cold evening!

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

Here's the recipe that I sort of followed.  I did take some good ideas from the recipe.  They are 1) that you should bake it at 350 for 2 hours, 2) that the pumpkin should be filled to the top (don't leave any room), and 3) that the amount of liquid you use should make the mixture look moist, but not like it's swimming.  That being said, here's what I put in mine:

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage, cooked
• 3 cups rice, cooked
• dried currants
• 2 diced apples
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, oregano, salt, pepper
• 2 cups Italian cheese blend
• spinach and arugula
• enough milk to make it look moist
• note: I used a medium sized pumpkin.

The basic idea is this.  Cut the top of the pumpkin off and clean it out really well.  Generously salt and pepper the inside flesh, all around.  Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a large enough casserole dish (parchment should be used to prevent sticking).  In a large bowl, mix all your stuffing ingredients together.  Stuff that sucker.  Put the lid on and bake for 2 hours.  If at the end of two hours you notice that it looks a little too liquidy, take off the top and let it bake for another 20 minutes to bake off that excess moisture.  When you serve it, be sure to get some of that delicious pumpkin flesh in with the stuffing. 

What a treat!  Just make sure you invite guests over if you are making a medium to large pumpkin because this can sure make a lot!

Peppermint Ice Cream

*This recipe is for a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.  I'm sorry if you don't have one and still want to make this ice cream.  I can't help you.  I can however say that I've loved every minute of having my ice cream maker and consider it to be one of the best investments I've ever made.  And by investment, I mean that we spent 15 dollars on a used one that we found on craigslist.  Cha-ching!

You will need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
• 1 scant cup of crushed peppermint candies

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the cream and extract.  If you would like, you can add a few drops of green food coloring to make it look minty or a few drops of red to make it look pepperminty.  Get your machine together, turn it on, and pour it in.  After 20 minutes, add in the candies.  Let it all swirl around for another 5 minutes.  At this point you could eat it, but it would be like eating really soft serve.  We put ours into a container (32 oz yogurt container holds almost all of it) and freeze it for 2 hours.  That way it scoops nicer.  

Ours lasted almost 24 hours.  I'm sure we could have disappeared it faster than that if we tried.  

I certainly hope that you all have a great Thankgiving.  Break out the sweat pants and feast away!  And if you have time between bites, tell me all about some good holiday recipes that your family is trying this year!