Easter Menu

He is Risen!!!

I love to celebrate Easter.  It is a joyful day in my life.  It is also a busy day.  Unlike Christmas where you have eight weeks to steep in the holiday message, Easter comes and goes in a flash.  Just a blur of new dresses and chocolate eggs.  I usually host a holiday meal at my home after church and if you do too you know what a strain it can be to get something special on the table after being out all morning.  Here is my super simple Easter lunch menu:

Glazed Ham - buy it high quality and fully cooked, heat it through and melt orange marmalade over it.  It's yummy at any temperature.

Green Beans with Almonds - rinse and tear off the ends of fresh green beans, boil in salted water until softened, drain and toss in hot pot with olive oil and slivered almonds.

Sliced Carrots - clean and slice into thin discs, boil in salted water until soft, drain and toss in hot pot with butter and salt and pepper.

Parsleyed New Potatoes - wash and boil whole in salted water until cooked through, drain and toss with butter, salt and fresh chopped parsley in hot pot.

Tea Biscuits - cut buttermilk biscuits out with two inch round and bake.  Top with melted butter and poppy seeds and pop back into oven for two minutes.

Lemon Squares - make night before and chill.  If scratch baking is not your thing I recommend the Krusteaz mix.

These six items on your table with white dishes and you have a pretty, colorful, quick and simple feast.  Enjoy!!

In the Bag

I'm talking snacks today.  In addition to the daily lunch I pack for Caleb, I have to come up with a snack that is portable enough for the playground and tempting enough that he will actually eat it.  Here are some of my favorites:

1.  Jonah Snack - Stauffer's Whales crackers and Cheerios for life preservers
2.  Heard it Through the Grapevine - "Scrabble" Cheez-its and raisins (my kids don't remember the California Raisins but I do so it's a little joke for me)
3. Smores - Teddy Grahams, Annie's Chocolate Bunnies and mini marshmallows
4.  Movie Munchie - a ziptop bag of popcorn with about 10 sour patch kids mixed in
5.  Gone Fishin' - thin pretzel sticks and Goldfish crackers
6. Tic Tac Toe - wheat thins and dried apricots
7.  Monkey Mix - banana chips and yogurt covered raisins
8.  Rice Krispie treats
9.  Circus Bag - animal crackers and fruit snacks
10.  Banana Man - I seriously get my sharpie and draw a funny face on a banana - he loves it.

There are some "junk" ingredients in the some of these; notably the sour patch kids and marshmallows.  The key is quantity.  If you use some fun items like those as a garnish on an otherwise healthy snack you get to put good whole grain nutrition in your kids body while still filling him up and finding the fun.  Caleb really doesn't ask me for Cheetos or Twinkies and I think it is because he looks forward to his special "snack mix".  Enjoy!!

What Happened?!!

I have been asking myself this question for a week now.  My orderly little house and dependable menus are nowhere to be found.  They have been replaced by chaos!!  Why?  I don't really know.  My husband did start a new job this week (Yay!!) and my kids did start spring ball and we have been to birthday parties for the past couple of weekends but really I think I just dropped the ball and then let it roll under the couch and haven't gone to get it.  In light of my dilemma here are my suggestions for a quick trip back to normal if you are in chaos too.

1.  Sandwiches.  Go to your store and get some fresh deli meat and cheese from the counter and stop by the bakery for good bread.  Swing by produce and get shredded lettuce, tomatoes, apples, cucumbers, carrots...whatever looks good.  Serve this at your table and count the food groups.  Also notice that there is nothing fried or frozen.  Look at your stove with no dirty dishes on it.  Sigh a little sigh of relief.

2.  Turn off the TV.  Tonight everyone can declutter one room and then get together to read a book or play a game.

3.  Pack lunches and lay out clothes because tomorrow is going to be a good day.

4.  Take a bath and go to bed early.  You've earned it.

Coming Home

A loss in our family put us in our car and on the way to Alabama recently.  My kids are so good on trips but Montgomery still feels a long way away.  We also ate lots of meals on the road and at the homes of others.  The company was wonderful and the meals together were nice.  The road food... not so great.  Now that we're back I made a back to basics menu and we're spending some time around our table together - just the four of us.  Here are some of our meals:

Old fashioned tacos with all the fixins

Roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, bread and butter and peas and carrots

Chicken noodle soup with a cheese and cracker plate

Fried chicken with rice and gravy, corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes.  Chocolate chip cookies

Spaghetti with meat sauce and green salad

Pancake breakfast with fruit smoothies

Mmm...it's good to be home.  Tracy and I both grew up on no frills food and these simple meals make life feel...well, simple.  I hope you'll make one this week and remember how great it is to eat and be at home.

Menu 3/14 - 3/19

I have been away for a few days visiting family in Atlanta and now it is time to get back on track with our meals.  We all ate out quite a bit and while it was a nice treat, I think we will all benefit from a week of meals at home.  Here is my plan:

Monday - Cereal and milk, banana
                 Spaghetti and meat sauce, salad

Tuesday -  Blueberry muffins and milk
                 Pot roast, carrots, red potatoes, biscuits

Wednesday - Eggs and biscuits
                      Dinner at Church

Thursday - Cereal and Milk
                  Chili Mac
                 Roast beef sandwiches, fruit salad and pickles

Friday - Fruit Smoothies and turkey bacon
              Beef tacos with veggies and beans and rice

Saturday - Pancakes
                  Chicken kabobs on the grill, grilled veggies and rice

Muffins for Lunch

I was soooo grateful to have lunch muffins in the freezer this morning!!  I didn't get a good night's sleep last night so my wonderful husband let me sleep in.  He woke me up at 7:32 so that I could get Caleb dressed, pack his lunch and check his homework folder by 7:45.  Ooops.  Now, if I were the SuperMom I always thought I would be this would not have been a problem.  SuperMoms always have the lunch packed and clothes, clean and pressed, laid out the night before and the folder is updated and notes to teacher written on the day it arrives home.  I am not SuperMom.  I jumped out of bed, ran to the dryer and said a little prayer of thanks that there were socks and pants in there.  I then shook them out instead of ironing and dressed my son at top speed.  Dad had fed the kids their breakfast before waking me so after the teeth brushing, face washing and hair combing I had a full 2.5 minutes to pack lunch.  I tossed into Caleb's box a bottle of water, an apple, a yogurt, a rice krispy treat and... corndog muffins.  Done.  Here's the recipe:

Corndog Muffins

2 C self-rising corn meal mix
1/3 C sugar
1 1/2 C milk
1 egg
1/4 C vegetable oil or melted butter
3 hot dogs, sliced lengthwise and then cut into thin half circles

1.  line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and heat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  mix milk, egg and oil together with whisk and then add all at once to corn meal mix and sugar.  Stir until just moistened.  Add hot dog slices and stir to distribute.
3.  fill muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.
4.  remove from pan and cool completely.  Place two by two into ziptop bags and toss in freezer.

Know what kind of self rising cornmeal you have.  Some call for the addition of flour and some already have the flour in them.  Just follow your package directions.  Also, don't substitute a complete mix.  The "just add water" varieties have powdered and sometimes chemically altered milk and egg substitutes.  You don't want to eat that.  Know your hot dog.  For the kids stuff I use a kosher, all beef, low fat variety.  You might want to try Hebrew National.  You of course can use an all natural chicken or turkey frank if you prefer it to beef.

To thaw my muffins I toss the ziptop bag with two muffins in it into the microwave for 20 seconds at full power and then toss the bag into the lunch box.  By lunch the muffins are completely thawed and have no hot spots.

Corn bread also makes a good base for a muffin with breakfast sausage and maple syrup, zucchini and cheddar cheese, or chili.  Adding a protein source makes a muffin a great lunch box main course.  Enjoy!!

The Month That Flies By

So, apparently in my world March is the month that flies by.  I barely knew it had arrived before I was a week in.  The only reason I know I'm a week in is that my husband's birthday is the 7th.  We went out to eat last night to celebrate but Saturday we did cake and presents so that the kids would have time to be in on the fun.  Tracy loves chocolate cake and here is my recipe for the very best one.

Tracy's Chocolate Cake

2C sugar
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t instant coffee
2 eggs
1/2 C oil
2 t vanilla
1 C boiling water

1.  heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pans.  I like to line mine with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
2.  whisk together dry ingredients in large bowl. I use the bowl to my stand mixer.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3.  Stir in boiling water and scrape sides.  Mix for another minute.  Pour into pans - your batter will be thin.
4.  bake 30-35 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pans, then cool completely.

If you are using one square or rectangular pan instead of two rounds you will need to bake an additional 10 minutes.  Use a toothpick to test doneness a little before you think it should be ready.

You should also know that you do not need to add mayonnaise or sour cream or egg whites or pudding mix or any other wacky formulas or ingredients to get a moist and delicious cake.  This one will be perfect every time - just don't overcook it and cover it well.  I recommend...

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 C butter
2/3 C cocoa
3 C powdered sugar
1/3 C heavy cream
1 t vanilla

1.  melt butter and combine with cocoa.  stir until smooth.
2.  alternately add sugar and cream, beating on medium speed until spreading consistency.
3.  stir in vanilla.

You really do need a stand mixture or high end hand mixer to make good frosting.  My little hand held was never quite up to the task.  I could smell the motor burning every time I tried to mix it up because good frosting is so thick.  If you do not usually have cream on hand you can use milk.  You also should feel free to add more powdered sugar or cream to get the consistency just the way you want it.  Please make your frosting from scratch at least one time.  I promise you won't be disappointed.  It is so much better - and pretty easy, too.

Happy Birthday Tracy!!