MPM--Marching Along

And here we go in to Leap Week. I used to hate February but when it's sunny and in the 50s and crocuses are blooming (and I don't have a job that makes me work 18 hours a day), meh, it's not so bad. The concussion recovery is painfully slow, though happily, fairly pain-free. But the boy is still clumsy, emotional, and unable to focus on anything (which makes it a great week for standardized testing, right? ugh). So we're limping along a little. And I have a terrible sinus infection, which is a totally new-to-me thing. My empathy meter is now off the charts for my friends who struggle with these often.

My recipes folder on Chrome is so big it stops my computer if I try to open it, so I went through and thinned the herd. Wow, I have a lot of cookie recipes I never, ever make. So this week I'm trying some things I haven't before, but nothing too taxing.

This week:

Monday: leftover Chinese food (we got Chinese food for Oscar watching), plus noodles for the picky boy.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday

Wednesday: slow cooker curry chicken (I'm on a curry kick), rice

Thursday: lemon and rosemary chicken, rice, kale salad

Friday: Boys are on their own, I am out to dinner. Cannot. Wait.

Last week on Ash Wednesday, I had some time to actually cook since Concussed Boy was not at fencing. So I made lots of veggies that were in the house (the rest of a bag of spinach, a bag of Brussels sprouts, etc.) and then tried the Martha Stewart mushroom and scallion frittata. I am not sure how I would do this differently, because I did like it, but I think I would do still more scallion (though I don't think I had as many as the recipe technically called for). It was easy and dramatic (I took a picture and if I can figure out how to upload it, you can check out the huge bubble), and while the boys were uninterested (eggs-scallions-mushrooms = 3 strikes), my husband and I enjoyed them that day and the next. I should have added some of the dill that was liquifying in the drawer; next time.

Also? Our new dishwasher was installed. Whoa. Our stuff looks much better now. Noted.

Looking for more inspiration? Try I'm an Organizing Junkie! And have a great week. I'll write more when I'm not sick.  Really.

MPM--Back in the Saddle

So, when I needed distraction last week, I got it in the form of a child with a concussion. Treatment for a concussion involves "no mental strain," which means no TV or other screens, no reading, no games, and no running, balls in the air, or activities which require a helmet. Alas, Xanax is frowned upon, leading the frantic parents to come up with their own ways of entertaining the kids without damaging their bruised brains. This is not an easy feat. So, back to something semi-easy: dinner. (By the way, a shout-out to Squidoo for the only page of "post-concussion-safe activities for kids" we found but--make rope? What? What we came up with: Legos, music/CDs of kiddo books--picture books, nothing heavy, walks to get smoothies, walks to get pizza, walks to get out of the house. Everywhere suggested cooking but alas, he is not in a sous-chef stage. So, my own plans:)

Monday: We're off our usual schedule this week, so Monday Tacos, including leftover chicken from last week (see below!) which I froze (clever me).

Tuesday: Mardi Gras! Pancake supper at church (if I get my act together on tickets) or at home (if I don't).

Wednesday: Ash Wednesday so soup for husband and me and something for the kids.

Thursday: We are joining The Bitten Word's pantry/freezer challenge this week and it is way too easy. (But I also bought eggs and veggies at the beginning of the week, and will of course get milk.) The freezer is loaded with Trader Joe's Indian foods and Italian meals. I think I'm going to make space for some other stuff by clearing them on out.

Friday: Lenten Fridays = no meat and for me, no pizza (too easy). Probably pesto quinoa for kids, TJ's fettucini alfredo for us. (I'm so excited, our BJ's sells quinoa now. Score!)

I knew Valentine's Day would be crazy--two school parties, one of which I was in charge of, with mom volunteers dropping like flies (strep! pinched disc! younger child with stomach bug!) so I tried the crockpot chicken taco recipe someone linked to on Pinterest. (Must. Not. Join. Too much computer timesuck already.) Foolish, in a way, because I thought I'd end up making the beef too. But I was thinking about Things That Are Red for Valentine's Day, and boy howdy, it was so easy: one jar + leftover salsa in the fridge, plus the packet of taco seasoning that's been hanging around. Dump. Pour. Walk away.

And? It was AWESOME. Spicier than we usually do but the three of us who eat actual tacos (as opposed to cheese wrapped in a tortilla) snarfed them down and came back for leftovers. And there was plenty to freeze for next week! Score! Huge hit. I never even made the beef. My beef loving son snarfed down the chicken and begged for more. Woohoo! (Alas, that, I forgot to freeze. Whoops.)

The other huge hit from somewhere on Pinterest (BooMama maybe?) was, ahem, only a hit with me because I didn't share it. That was the mozzarella-avocado-tomato salad. My husband might have liked it but we may never know. To be fair, I didn't have enough ingredients to actually make the full recipe. But next time I do--this is on the menu. So good. But really, how can you go wrong with avocado-tomato-mozzarella? Add lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper and poof--really yummy lunch.

Lastly, I'm on an omelet kick. I am intrigued by the poached-scrambled eggs recipe (also Bitten Word), enough so that I had the goat cheese, but not enough to actually do the stuff needed to make them. So they might come along on Ash Wednesday, but meanwhile, I had two great omelets this weekend, one with cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and goat cheese, and the other with spinach and cherry tomatoes and goat cheese. I didn't try the fold-over omelets, just the flip-over ones, so they were pretty easy and very good. I had some basil for the top I was using up too and that was a nice change from parsley. I wish my kids would eat eggs.

We also cleaned out the garage this weekend (wow, can we rock a holiday or what?) and I found a crate of my old Mad Magazine books. They weren't ever my favorites, but the boys are all on the sofa cracking up at them. I might regret it later but for now, it's a beautiful sight to see.

Wishing you yummy meals and beautiful sights of your own! For more inspiration, try I'm an Organizing Junkie! and have a good week!

MPM--Ah Het Valentine's Day Edition

Growing up, in our adolescent moodiness, my best friend and I would affect southern accents and pout, "Ah het Valentine's Day." It wounded our pride and made us wonder if we'd ever find The One(s).

Of course we did, eventually, but alas, I have found something Ah het more than Valentine's Day: lung nodules. My best friend, the person besides my husband who knows me best in all the world, has moved on to the third stage of her inflammatory breast cancer as it has moved in to her lungs. This is beyond not good. And I am distracted beyond measure, trying to figure out a way to stop time right here, while she is still well, while she is still here, to hold my memories and make more.

Sorry for the downer of an opening but I'm really not myself right now. She was good friends with Susan of Team WhyMommy, because they shared the same cancer, and I'm just horrified that this disease continues to rampage.

On the good side: another friend, from Lemonade & Kidneys, is having her long-awaited kidney transplant this week. I am beyond excited for her and am trying to remember: modern medicine does sometimes deliver miracles.

This week:

Monday: if they still have the Italian pork roast at the Co-op, that wins. Otherwise, pork tenderloin with creamy mustard sauce; baked potatoes; brussels sprouts.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday, of course, Valentine's Day notwithstanding. Kids will get heart shaped muffins in their lunches and that's about all the cute I can pull off this year.

Wednesday: leftovers, or if it's getting skimpy, I will make the slow cooker chicken curry.

Thursday: pizza fundraiser at Tony Rony's near us. Local peeps: if you are interested let me know and I'll send you details. Pick up, delivery, or eat-in.

Friday: we'll see. Kids have off and I might be flying to see my friend.

I apologize for the tone of the post. I will try to pull myself together for next week. I feel horrible that I'm so distracted from this that I can't even focus on the fun things: the awesome Wednesday Spaghetti that saved my bacon this week, or the gigantic party that went to the Japanese place that cooks in front of you (party of 19 + 2 high chairs...that was 8 adults and a whole mess o' kids--unbelievably fun), or the awesome friends who, out of nowhere, asked if they could take our kids to brunch on Sunday and gave us an unexpected three hour date. I do believe that God sends His angels and that sometimes, you get what you need. Wishing you what you need, and good health and joy to all you love. And for less distracted meal plans, try I'm An Organizing Junkie! where there are lots of good things going on.

MPM--Hits and Misses

We're getting eager for pitchers and catchers to report (have you seen isitspringtrainingyet.com?) but there were lots of new things this week, including a 3 star broccoli. Read on...

Monday: Deferred stir-fry from last week. (I forgot to get a protein for it so we had quinoa instead.) But, my one little guy had a tummy bug this weekend so a stir fry may not work...gentle chicken of some kind, let's put it that way.

Tuesday: Lego build! Out to dinner with boys. Them: Chik-Fil-A. Me: Saladworks. Dad: on his own.

Wednesday: Taco Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday: Thursday Wednesday Spaghetti

Friday: Pizza at school fundraiser Bingo Night. Woohoo!

Last Monday, I thought I was so clever, pre-prepping everything for dinner so we could eat early. Thank goodness I did, because the boys' activities let out 30 minutes late so it was still a mewly scramble to dinner. I made the chicken in white wine and garlic-mushroom sauce and alas, it was not a hit. Neither boy at the chicken at all. I thought I got the same kind of chicken but perhaps not, or maybe I had it in the oven too long. But the leek-sundried tomato version from MLK Day was much better.

Another disappointing miss: I made the boys the Trader Joe's falafel they adored two weeks ago. Both of them looked repulsed that I would even ask them to be in the same room with it. It was a hungry night for the boys. I don't get how they love it one week and gag at it the next. Sigh.

However, I finally did make the crack broccoli. Boy howdy--I think I could quintuple that recipe and not have extra. There is shrinkage, but it's also just that good. I had it with and without lemon juice and it is equally excellent both ways. Three out of four of us adored it and--well, Mr. Picky tried it, which is light years ahead of usual. I think watching the other three of us gobble from the bowl convinced him. And he was his usual self in the evaluation: "Well, at first, I liked the flavor on my tongue. Then it started really tasting like broccoli and I didn't like it again." Fair enough. But it was a big week for him: he also tried a dried beef dip, and loved it, and taco meat, which he said he will try again next week, when I make it without the onion, which really skeeved him. But he actually ate some beef in his taco! This is serious progress.

On one of my at-home days, I felt like a light lunch and made Heidi Swanson's herb cream cheese scrambled eggs. This is not a ground-breaking, can't find it anywhere else recipe, but it's a good one and it works. I used an ounce of cream cheese and two eggs, because that's what I had, and dill, parsley, and scallions, because that's what I had. And it was perfect for what I needed on a chilly morning that turned in to a winterspring day.

In the egg mode, I tried the bacon and apple quiche from the New York Times. I have to just stop. These things sound so awesome but I do not have the touch with quiche. The dough dies on me, so I use the frozen ones. Then it's clear that if I use all the filling it calls for, there is no room for the eggs and cream, so I use two, but then there's not enough eggs and cream. Plus, how do you tell when blue cheese has gone bad? Fear not, you can tell. That's why it's not called "slimy cheese." I salvaged enough. But then the cookie sheet warped in the oven...and that's all I'll say about that. Whining aside: they were delicious. But they grouched me out, so they are off the rotation.

Finally, I also made Anjali's "Giving In" soup but with modifications...I used canned beans, which I don't think helped. We are also not a tofu/tempeh family so I skipped that...I think I will add some of the beans I made to thicken up the rest a bit, but it was still a nice option on a chilly night at home.

Have a great week, all, and remember to check out the options at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Oh...and speaking of that Organizing Junkie...I am taking inspiration from her 29 days of Organizing...I love that she picks the short month, it seems less intimidating! It's beyond time to move our son from his "nursery" (ahem, 8 years later) in to his big-kid (and straight through) bedroom, but the holdup is the room that will be his is currently the office. Or was. It's really just a disaster storage area now. If I get the nerve to share photos I will. But I will probably do photos at the end.

MPM--Happy New (New) Year!

For some reason, the Chinese New Year really caught our attention this year. Maybe it's our older son's interest in stretching his palate. Maybe it's the emphasis on the Year of the Dragon. Maybe it's just winter and fun to have something else happy to focus on. Either way, we enjoyed our own versions of Chinese food last week (Pacific Rim Pork) and hope to keep going with it this week (stir fry).

Monday: chicken and mushrooms, rice, crack broccoli (seriously, it's happening this time. I kept putting it with other things that needed the oven)

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday

Wednesday: leftovers from Monday and the weekend (lasagne, slow cooker honey beans and spinach)

Thursday: stir fry (frozen veggies from Trader Joe's, some meat that looks good); or maybe I'll lo mein it like Anjali.

Friday: Moms' Night Out--woohoo! Boys, you are on your own.

I think I can actually stick with this this week. I have realized that with the kids' activities and my schedule, I'm really out of cooking mojo by Wednesday. Well--I could cook on Wed. but we don't get home until 5:30 so it has to be something superfast and with no real kitchen time because I'm also trying to corral homework, etc. So something like the sausage bake works, but anything that needs babysitting at the stove? Forget it. I think I can pull off stir fry though.

Something new I tried last week was beans in my crockpot. I used a few different places for info. I had two bags of cannellini beans, and soaked them for what turned out to be about 30 hours (whoops). I am perhaps not the brightest bulb in the shed but I truly did not realize how much water they would absorb! I was glad I "only" made two bags because more would not have fit in my crockpot (6 quart). Some of the sites' authors were saying how they always make a couple of bags at a time, but either they meant literally a couple, or they have giant crock pots! My other surprise shows just how uneducated I am on beans. I read over and over again how it's probably best to just buy canned kidney beans, because dry ones can harbor a toxin that is killed by boiling but only encouraged to grow by barely-sub-boiling temperatures. I felt very smug with my little white beans in the crock pot, only to read somewhere that cannelini beans are also known as... you guessed it... white kidney beans. So, I dug in my drawer, found a thermometer, and measured carefully until the temp was up to an actual 100 Celsius for 10 minutes and then felt a little better about the whole thing.

When they were done, they were good. I had some out of the pot, and I'm not sure I had ever done that before...they were very creamy and filling and enjoyable in a small portion with salt and pepper. I bagged four bags of the equivalent of a can of beans, made a bean hummus with some and kept playing with them for lunches and other things through the week. So far, so good with the toxin (or lack thereof), so live and learn, I guess.

Still working on better eating mentality, though. I had a dermatologist appointment last week, because I had this thing on my leg for forever (it looked like a mosquito bite, but it didn't itch and never went away), and suddenly it started changing so I did what you are supposed to do and got it checked out. It wasn't anything scary yet, but they wanted to remove it anyway, so two needles, one slice, and two stitches later, I was done. But I was still feeling jittery, and while I want to be one of those people who writes, So I came home and prepared myself a nourishing meal of apples and spinach to promote healing, the actual story is: I was still a little freaked out so I came home and had a Mexican (sugar) coke and some goldfish to make myself feel better. This is not optimal. At least I am aware of it (and did get myself the apple, once I thought of it, and consoled myself that standing and cooking with the stitches was probably not optimal either). Forty-three years of conditioning are hard to overcome.

In better nutritional news, I also made the honey beans and spinach recipe in the crock pot; next time I will skip the cream cheese, which "broke" (is that what they call it when it doesn't go bad but breaks in to clumps?); I didn't see where it affected the taste all that much. Without it, it's vegan, sort of somewhere between curry and Mexican in flavor, and my husband and I both really enjoyed it. We made it over rice, and the boys ate the rice at least.

Wishing you a great week! For lots more menus, try I'm an Organizing Junkie!

MPM--Winding through Winter

I am not complaining, because we did get one little nuisance snow. This is the kind of winter I can deal with. Some cold, but not much freezing precipitation. I can live with cold and dry or cold and snowy, but the ice scares me. But wow, there's been plenty of wind--a huge branch fell on our porch in one windstorm, and we realized it came from one yard over. With the size of that branch--that was quite a windstorm. But, it beats an ice storm any day, so I'm hoping this mild pattern sticks around and we got all our snow out of the way at Halloween.

Monday: Pacific Rim pork (see sidebar), rice (my nod to Chinese New Year)

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday. I am riding this pony as far as I can.

Wednesday: salmon, broccoli, rice

Thursday: chicken and mushrooms in garlic wine sauce, salad

Friday: oh, I hope we go out. But if not, we'll try the Bittman semi-vegan chickpeas and spinach recipe. (The boys will have quinoa pesto.)


I made the chicken with leeks and sundried tomatoes last Monday. (My husband walked in and said, Are you seriously frying chicken on MLK Day? Hadn't thought of it that way, but I suppose I did.) It was terrific and my better-eater actually enjoyed the leeks on the side as well. (No surprise, he likes onions in any form, including chopped and raw, but still--heartening.) It was my first foray into the SkinnyTaste website and it was a hit. I will add salt & pepper to the flour next time but I like to follow the recipe as written the first time. I used Italian-style cutlets and it was great. I also liked using my cast-iron skillet for this and am getting better with it. It was a big enough hit that I will add the ur-recipe (according to the blog author), chicken in white wine and mushrooms, to the lineup this week. (I will not make it on Monday, though--too much time with the kiddo activities this day.)

Side note: please know, I do not call my children "Mr. Picky" or "Better Eater" in real life. It is blog nomenclature only. We do compliment the adventuresome eater and encourage both to try things, and Mr. Picky is getting better about taking tastes. It's a huge step and I'm very glad. But he would still prefer the all-beige diet, given his druthers.

We also made more pretzel hugs this week for a party at school. We just used regular M&Ms this time, and only one per hug, and they were adorable and very festive. I love that the boys love to do the unwrapping, which seriously makes me think about doing just about anything else in the world. And they are much better now about actual accuracy (you do have to get the hug on the pretzel, not just kind of on the pretzel) than speed, so they are almost to the point of doing it themselves, which is pretty thrilling.

And in a fun little twist, there is so much bacon obsession online (and elsewhere) these days, I gave a try to the baking-bacon-in-the-oven-on-a-wire-rack technique. It was good, though a little overdone (and I love crispy bacon); next time, I will put it in a not-warm-yet-but-heating oven at 350, 15 minutes, flip the bacon, and cook another 8 minutes. I'm always happy to experiment with bacon. Yum.

For other awesomely planned menus, check out I'm An Organizing Junkie! and have a great week!

MPM--Resolute

So, any longtime readers know that I am not a fan of self-flagellating new year's resolutions. I remember reading someone years ago, saying, Why be so mean to yourself in the darkest days of the year? Make resolutions that are nice to yourself, and not fake nice, like "I'm going to lose 50 lbs if it kills me for my own health and well-being." So the best resolution-keeping I've ever done is the year my husband and I resolved to try one new restaurant a month. (This was pre-kids, clearly. Not that others can't pull it off with kids on the scene, but it's only really become remotely possible in the last year for us.) This year, the resolution is kind of in between: my husband has been reading Mark Bittman and is intrigued by the semi-vegan life. This is a little tricky for a man who wants turkey sandwiches and yogurt with his lunch, but it's easy to get around it by making more dinners vegan. (Bittman suggests "vegan until dinner," we do "vegan at dinner once a week, maybe." Close enough.) Clearly, we are still committed carnivores (see: last week) but I'm trying to introduce more vegan recipes to our lives. I wish the kids would eat soups; that would help! But alas--still no luck on that front.

This week:

Monday: Holiday! I will try again to make the leek and sundried tomato chicken.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday's triumphant return! With spinach and mushroom quesadillas for parents.

Wednesday: Noodle night, for those who partake. I had a Wegman's visit this week so I'll be doing the sheep's-milk yogurt and caramelized onion version again, with regular versions for the less adventuresome.

Thursday: slow cooker honey beans and spinach, and probably Trader Joe's buffalo chicken meatballs for the boys.

Friday: Leftovers, augmented by the freezer.

Last week, the brisket was a hit with everyone but me, and took the other three through three dinners. I can live with that. And I cannot figure out how to keep a meat together in the slow cooker. They all fall apart and can't be sliced, only shredded. Not a big deal, but an annoyance nonetheless.

The big hit of the week: after an exasperating white-flour-only based day for Mr. Picky, his brilliant father announce we'd be making smoothies for dessert in my spiffy new blender. The boys were thrilled and poured in an entire bag of frozen blueberries, and some raspberries and mango from the freezer too. (My older son kept "stealing" pieces of frozen mango and slurping them down. Yay.) We added a banana, the last of the strawberries, and some pineapple from the fridge, and a little OJ to keep it all together, and wow. They ate it over vanilla ice cream and begged for more smoothie, then had more for breakfast the next day (minus the ice cream of course). (It's a big blender.) It was a huge hit and a great redeemer of a nutritionally bankrupt day.

My kids may not eat soups, but they will eat dips. I tried this one, light on the hot sauce, this week:

Edamame Ginger Dip (from Eating Well 2009)  

6 servings, about 1/4 cup each | Active Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 1/4 hours

Ingredients
8 ounces frozen shelled edamame
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt
Hot pepper sauce to taste
Preparation

Direction:
Cook edamame according to package directions. Puree the cooked edamame, water, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, tahini, garlic, salt and hot sauce in a food processor until smooth. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Per serving : 70 Calories; 3 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 1 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 6 g Carbohydrates; 5 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 196 mg Sodium; 31 mg Potassium

Tips & Notes:
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. 


Another thing the kids liked last week was a stir-fry their dad made. He sliced some chicken breasts, a big clove of garlic, and sauteed them in some olive oil and chianti. The boys were thrilled, and even the picky one said, "Dad! Can you make chicken like this every time???" I vote yes.

In the wake of that stir-fry success, I tried this one from Dinner: A Love Story. I went with ground pork instead (I have that touching-raw-meat aversion) and it was good. (And cheaper. And I only used 3/4 lb and it was plenty.) Alas--I was out of soy sauce but happily I found ponzu (what in the world did I buy that for?) and it was a good substitute. The final product was good, but I wanted to add something to it, like spinach (like my ground pork recipe on the sidebar) or cabbage or broccoli or even cashews, something to add some crunch. But it is a solid base for a fried rice dish, and next time I feel like having Chinese, I will try this first. Plus, the "use frozen Trader Joe's rice" trick is a great one; we almost never have "leftover" rice, which is what is usually needed for good fried rice.

And back to Bittman: we did try one of his "semi-vegan life" recipes, for sweet potato stew. I served it with vegan rice (made with olive oil instead of butter). I used too much coconut milk (thank goodness it was light); next time I'll use half a can and more water or broth. I'll also use yams instead of actual sweet potatoes; it came out very yellow, and the picture of the orange one was much more appealing. Neither boy tried it but my husband and I enjoyed it very much. It's a keeper. I will be trying a similar variation next week in the slow cooker; we'll see how that one goes.

My husband and I have some different palates these days; he loved the ponzu since it wasn't as salty; I actually wanted to salt the stir fry in its absence. After the Wegman's shop, I bought Goya sodas for a fun "side" on taco night; I liked the pineapple but was kind of grossed out by the coconut soda--and I love coconut. But maybe that was the problem--my husband loves pineapple but was disappointed in the carbonated version and preferred the coconut. Happily, we are grownups and can work around this most of the time.

And now I'm rambling. Thanks for reading this far. Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie! for a great collection of menu plans!