Frozen meal anyone?

Our new addition is coming in May. I know I have pleanty of time to think about this but I want to be prepared. When we had G I had no idea how consumed with her I would be. I was unable to do much more than the essential in life inbetween nursing, changing, soothing. When J came things were a little better. I knew what to expect and we had a lot of sweet folks from our church bring us meals and it was a huge blessing. However, I am thinking ahead this time. I want to make lots of frozen meals ahead of time. I figure I will make them in my last trimester and freeze them for those first weeks of craziness. I have never done this before so I am lacking in the "frozen meal" recipe department. So if any of you have some Yummy, Kid friendly, Freezable meals you would like to share, I would love to have them. I found this one and am going to try it out this week.

Egg FrEE, Milk FrEE, Nut FrEE YummEE

Here is what I made for my Egg Free Milk Free Nut Free dessert. Fruity Pebble Snacks. They are the same recipe as Rice Crispy Snacks just substituting the Rice Crispies for Fruity Pebbles. My kids helped me and enjoyed making this dessert for their friends. We had a great time in fellowship and enjoyed a wonderful lunch on Sunday. The kids seem to enjoy the treat because seconds were had by all. There are quite a few members of our church whose children have food allergies and I am always looking for something good to make to make sure they aren't left out.

Berries!

I love when fresh berries are in season. Our wonderful neighbors bring us blueberries from their bushes and my son eats them by the bucket full. G thinks that picking them is a sport she is really good at. You have to convince her that we have enough. I am looking forward to the yummy harvest this summer but I found This Cake and it looks amazing! A friend baked a blackberry cake for my hubby on his birthday and it was wonderful. She suggested a serving method of heating it up a little and pouring milk over it. YUM! I am going to try this one out soon.

I want to try these!

While browsing the blogs I like to follow I came across these. I must say I don't get the "mom of the year award" in the early morning. I am just not ready to get up the very moment my kids do. They are very early risers. So I don't always have a huge healthy breakfast spread for them in the morning. Most days they get their sippy's full of soy chocolate milk and a honey bun that they get from the cabinet themselves. I can hear your gasps now. However, when I have had my coffee and the sun comes up I do cook for them. But these homemade pop tarts looked yummy and maybe the kids would like to exchange one sugar rush for another.

Bruschetta

Not sure if you have seen the movie "Julie and Julia", but it was great. I went with a bunch of ladies from the church and we really enjoyed ourselves. There are a couple of choice words but other than that it is pretty clean, not to mention mouth watering! There is one scene early on in the movie where Julie Powell's husband is eating Bruschetta and you just want to jump into the movie and eat it too! It looks so yummy I had to try it. I did a google search for the recipe from the movie and found these 2 options. Since Tomatoes are not in season I couldn't find the multicolored heirlooms so I am trying option number two. It is What's for Dinner Tonight and I will let you know if it is as mouthwatering as it looks on the big screen.


1. Bruschetta alla Julie and Julia – Recipe

4 slices rough textured bread, such as focaccia, or from a crusty baguette, cut lengthwise
16 oz. assorted heirloom type tomatoes (I used President’s Choice Rainbow heirloom cherry tomatoes) chopped and seeded if the seeds look sketchy
extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
sea salt
chopped fresh basil

1. Toss tomatoes with 1 T. olive oil and about 1 tsp. sea salt.
2. Fry bread in 2-3 T. olive oil in skillet, browning on each side, and adding 1 more T. oil if necessary.
3. Rub cut half of garlic over 1 side of fried bread.
4. Spoon tomatoes (with oil and accumulated juices) over bread. Top with chopped basil and more sea salt to taste.
5. Eat with plenty of napkins on hand.

Serves 2.


2. Bruschetta
* 1 loaf(s) (8 ounces) Italian bread
* 1 clove(s) (large) garlic, cut in half
* 1 1/4 pound(s) (8 medium) ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoon(s) fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
* 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, slice bread diagonally into scant 1/2-inch-thick slices; reserve ends for making bread crumbs another day. Place bread slices on 2 cookie sheets.
2. Toast bread on 2 oven racks 15 minutes or until crusty and dry, turning slices over once and rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking. Transfer bread to wire racks to cool slightly. When bread is cool enough to handle, rub 1 side of each toast slice with cut side of garlic. Discard garlic.
3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, gently toss tomatoes, basil, oil, salt, and pepper until combined.
4. To serve, spoon 1 heaping tablespoon tomato mixture on garlic-rubbed side of each toast slice

Road kill?

What’s for Dinner Tonight? Something from Mindy's cookbook.

Porcupine Meatballs

1t. Parsley
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg (2 if needed)
1 lb ground beef
½ t. onion powder
2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup Ketchup
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl except the ketchup and water.
Form mixture into balls (smaller is better)
Brown meatballs in skillet and drain
Combine ketchup and water in a bowl
Pour ketchup mixture over the meatballs
Transfer to a baking dish and cover
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes

These are so cute to see all the little rice popping out to look like little porcupine's. My kids won't eat them but my hubby and I enjoyed them.

Tribute

I had the best Mother-in-law in the world! She passed away from bone cancer metastasized from breast cancer in May of 2008 and I miss her dearly. I can't relate to all the horror stories about MIL's because I was truly blessed to be loved by mine. One thing among many, that she was GREAT at was cooking. She loved to watch cooking shows, and she was a collector of recipes. I was a witness to her large collection shortly after she passed. I had decided to put together a cookbook of her families favorites. She had a box that had thousands of clippings from magazines or notes she had written down and countless cookbooks. However, she had one book compiled with all the oldies and goodies. So I made a scrapbook out of them inserting family pictures and little stories that went with a family favorite. Here are a few pics of the finished product. I had 3 goals in making this book.
1. Not to put any part of myself into it (not my handwriting or my own thoughts). Only Mindy's.
2. Put stories and pictures of happy times to make us think of Mindy whole and happy.
3. Put recipes into the book that would make the tasters of the food think of the times that Mindy cooked it for them. There is something very strong about food memories. You feel closer to your loved one somehow by eating what reminds you of them.

Every time I cook something out to the book for my hubby I feel the joy that it brings him. I know he appreciates me bringing back a piece of his mom and filling his tummy with her yummy food.

Messes!

I made these for a Valentine Party the kids are going to tomorrow. Late for a Valentines party yes, but we had to reschedule because we had 2 blizzards in one week! No Joke. I have made Oreo truffles before however never in the shape of a kiss. I didn't think it would be that hard just a little pinch at the tip and your good to go. The shaping part was a cinch however, the dipping in chocolate was a disaster for me. I started dipping them and it was very awkward to get the bottom of the kiss coated so I started wiping them on the back of the spoon, yuck! Chocolate Everywhere! Then my chocolate was thickening up so I heated up again and then it was lumpy, so I added milk. MISTAKE!! It totally changed the consistency of the chocolate and it became more like frosting. I had to dump that batch of chocolate and start again. They are done, they look OK. I didn't have enough chocolate in the end to do the whole batch. I guess I inherited my mothers baking gene or lack there of. I am sure the kids are not going to care that they are not picture perfect, but I will know better next time.

Meatloaf Muffins

My grandmother always made her meatloaf with Corn flakes, so I thought I should give this a try. I usually use bread that I tear into little pieces but I find that the bread sometimes doesn’t get torn small enough, and you get soggy bites. So here was my attempt. I have to say they were pretty good and I don’t think I will ever go back to my old ways!

Meatloaf Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 c. crushed Corn Flakes Cereal
1/4 c. ketchup
2 T. Mustard
2 eggs
2 T. grape jelly
1 C. finely shredded carrots (Great way to get in an extra veggie serving and the kids will never know)
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste




Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well in a large bowl. Roll into round balls the size that you can cup it between your two hands. Put into your muffin pan. Put in oven and bake for 40 minutes or until center is done.
Tip: About half way though you will want to drain off the fat. And to keep it from dripping all over your oven put a cookie sheep under to catch the mess.

I had lots of leftovers so the next day we made meatloaf sandwiches. Toast bread, spread mayo and ketchup on, add meatloaf muffin, and enjoy! They are even better the second day in my opinion.

Tomato Gravy and Rice

What's for Dinner tonight? Tomato Gravy and Rice, it is a true poor mans meal that is so filling and pretty good for you too. This was one of the first meals I made my hubby while we were dating. He didn't like it then but now it is one of his favorites. He used to be a pretty picky eater but since we have been married his palate has expanded. Lets just say when he was younger he couldn't stand spaghetti and now he likes sushi.

Tomato Gravy and Rice

Serves about 4

1 28 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1 package turkey smoked sausage
1 small onion chopped
1 Tbs bacon fat
Salt and Pepper to taste
Prepare your favorite rice.

Slice the sausage in half inch slices
Brown the onion and sausage in the bacon fat in medium pan
Add tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Simmer about 15 minutes
Serve over rice

Eating this makes me think of being a kid and picking out all of the chunks of tomato. My Daddy still like me to cook this for him when I go home to visit.

Hawaiian Coleslaw

While in FL in January I encountered a yummy treat, Hawaiian Coleslaw. I am not a big Coleslaw fan but this one has a twist...Pineapple! I am a fan of pretty much anything containing pineapple. I don't have the exact recipe that I had in FL but this one is pretty close.
Enjoy! Maybe it will make these long hard days of winter a little less dreary. Maybe even if you close your eyes while you eat it, you can picture yourself somewhere tropical instead of snowed in, with a blizzard outside.

Hawaiian Coleslaw
1 head green cabbage chopped thinly (or 1 bag if you like semi-homemade)
1 Large Carrot shredded
1 15 oz can crushed pineapple drained
1/4 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pistachios (optional)
1 cup mayo
1 teaspoon salt

Mix it all together, chill, and serve! yum!