recipe: sage-infused potatoes

In still trying to keep up with posting the recipes I recently tried, here is my next one.  

SAGE-INFUSED MASHED POTATOES

1.  Choose and prepare potatoes, either redskin (cleaned and cut into medium-sized chunks) or white (peeled and cut into medium-sized chunks).

2.  Cook the potatoes in chicken stock or broth until tender.  I use the Trader Joe's free range broth in the yellow container.  Using stock/broth adds an immense amount of flavor without the fat of cream or butter.

3.  When the potatoes are done, drain off about 3/4 of the broth (reserving some of the broth in case you end up needing more).  Mash the potatoes with the remaining broth.  If the potatoes are still dry:  add more chicken stock and a few T. of butter if you are using redskin potatoes OR add more chicken stock and some half & half/heavy whipping ceam if you are using white potatoes.  The more chicken stock you use, the more healthy the potatoes will be.  (You don't neccessarily have to add any butter or cream...)

4.  To taste, add dried sage (approximately 1 t. per 3-4 helpings in the batch), sea salt, and ground pepper.  Mash the potatoes some more after adding the seasonings and taste them to see if they could use more sage, etc.

5.  The redskinned potatoes taste great without any additional gravy, etc.  The white potatoes taste fantastic with added gravy.
 

For this recipe, I ended up using red potatoes (because they are my favorite).  I didn't use a lot of butter at the end--mostly stock--and I thought they still had plenty of flavor.  Matt preferred them with a little more butter, so I added a little more when we ate them for leftovers.  I made the potatoes with some marinated chicken (just some chicken I threw in the crock pot and poured dressing over).  The leftover dressing in the crock pot we used for gravy on the potatoes.  All in all, a good, easy and healthy meal!

can you put Abbie here?

Something I hear all day from Miriam is, "can you please put Abbie here?" or "can you send Abbie this way?"  Lately, Miriam's favorite activity has been to clear a spot in our ottoman and sit in it.  So, naturally, she wanted me to put Abbie there, too.

I just love seeing them grow as sisters.

recipe: California Beef Rice Skillet Dinner

I'm posting another recipe I tried when I asked for some meal ideas.  This one was definitely my hubby's favorite!  I'll add a few notes at the end.  Also, this is my 201st post.  I guess I missed it that it was my 200th one yesterday.  So, happy 201st blog post to me!    

California Beef Rice Skillet Dinner

Brown 1 lb ground beef with one chopped onion. Drain. Stir in 2.5 cups water, 1 cup rice, 3 beef bouillon cubes, pepper to taste, and half tsp. dry mustard. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add 1 can diced tomatoes (or fresh if you have on hand) and top with cheese (we like the mexican blend or jack best). My kids are picky so I don't add much else, but you can also add green pepper with the tomatoes or even Rotel or salsa instead of the tomatoes.

We used ground turkey instead of ground beef (because I typically buy ground turkey).  I also ended up using chicken bouillon because that's what I had on hand.  And for the tomatoes, we used salsa per Jen's suggestion.  It gave it a good Mexican flair that we really liked!  We'll definitely be enjoying this one again.  Thanks Jen D!

Miriam's McDonald's thoughts...

Yesterday afternoon, I had to drive Miriam to her grandparents' house so that she could go with them to Cubbies.  Because we were running a little behind, we stopped at the McDonald's drive-thru to pick up supper on the way.  As we were driving along and eating, Miriam asked, 

"Mama, did I get a toy with my cheeseburger?"

"No, honey, we didn't get a happy meal this time.  You and Mama are just sharing a meal because it's a little easier."

"Oh."

{and then she paused for a bit}

"So does that mean this is a sad meal?"

we (almost) have a walker!

She's oh, so close!  Today I even counted her taking nine steps at once.  It sure won't be long before she's officially a walker!  

recipe: angel hair pasta with chicken

As promised, I thought I would post the recipe for one of my meal plan days last week.  Here goes:

Angel Hair Pasta With Chicken

       2 Tablespoons Oil (preferably Olive Oil), divided

       2 skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

       1 cup Carrots, sliced diagonally (can use more if you prefer)

       1 cup Broccoli or Asparagus (if you use broccoli, make sure that the      

       pieces are small enough to cook at an even rate with the carrots)  (you 

       can also use frozen broccoli florets, thawed)

       2 cloves Garlic or ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder

       12 ounces Angel Hair Pasta

       2/3 cup Chicken Broth

       1 teaspoon Basil

       ¼ cup grated Parmesan or Cheese

1.    Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add chicken.  Cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels set on a plate.

2.    Heat remaining oil in same skillet.  Begin heating water for pasta.  Add carrot & broccoli to skillet; cook, stirring, for approximately 4 minutes.  Add the garlic powder (and broccoli if you are using the previously frozen florets); cook, stirring, for 2 additional minutes.

3.    Cook pasta according to the package.

4.    While pasta is cooking, add chicken broth, basil, and half of the parmesan cheese to the skillet.  Stir to combine.  Return chicken to skillet.  Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked.

Drain pasta.  Place in large serving bowl.  Top with chicken & vegetable mixture.  Top with the rest of the parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.

I changed just a few things based on what I already had in my cupboards and freezer.  First of all, I actually used both frozen carrots and broccoli (since I had them).  I just let them both thaw before I started putting everything together.  And, I know the recipe does call for angel hair...but we ended up having whole wheat spaghetti (again, because I had it already).  Both changes worked great and we really liked this one!  It was pretty easy to make and contained much of the staples I already had.  Enjoy!

updates

Wow, I guess I let last week get in the way of blogging!  I'm not even sure what I was busy with, but it always seemed like every time I wanted to sit down and write a post, something else was calling my name (sometimes literally).  So, here goes...a very brief update on my week of meal planning!  I may have to continue this post later with each of the recipes and include another post with some of the wonderful recipes I have yet to try.  I already mentioned that Day 1 went well, so I will go through the rest of the week.

Monday: Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken
This was a recipe we got from my Dad's cousin Sarah (along with a ton of other recipes).  We really liked it!  It was a nice alternative to other "typical" pasta recipes.  

Tuesday: leftovers
We actually decided to take the girls to the Children's museum that afternoon, so ended up having dinner out (Culver's also had $1.00 cheese curds, so we couldn't really pass that up).  Anyway, the leftovers from Monday were used for lunch on Tuesday instead of dinner.

Wednesday: California Beef Rice Skillet Dinner
We got this recipe from Jen D and I must say, this was a two thumb's up for my hubby.  He really loved it.  It was nice and simple and we gave it a little Mexican kick.  Definitely another one we'll try!

Thursday: Marinated Chicken and Sage-infused Potatoes
Well, this recipe ended up getting put off until Friday because I went to MOPS that night (where they served dinner).  I also didn't realize that the California Beef Rice Skillet Dinner would give us enough for leftovers, so everyone else ate that again.

Friday: leftovers
As mentioned before, we ended up trying the marinated chicken and sage-infused potatoes on Friday instead of Thursday.  The marinated chicken is something I often do (I just put chicken into our crock pot and pour a dressing/marinade over it and let the crock pot do the work).  We got the sage-infused potatoes recipe from my cousin Sarah and really liked how the sage added a new twist.  These were also cooked a lot healthier than we usually do (not much butter or cream), so I definitely enjoyed that.

Saturday: Stovetop Beef 'n Pasta
Saturday we traveled to the cities to do a belated Christmas gathering with some of my relatives, so we got a nice meal there instead of me needing to cook!  Therefore, this recipe will need to go on my list of ones to do in the future (another one from Jen D).

So, thank you for all the recipes!  Like I said, I was given a lot more that I haven't even had a chance to try yet...so I definitely look forward to using those.

More updates with recipes to come!

perfection

I'm a perfectionist.  Not with everything, but with many things.  And I'm pretty sure I've been that way for awhile.  My dad tells me stories of how he and I used to sit down and draw pictures together and if my picture wasn't exactly perfect, I'd crumple it up and throw it away.  I always tried to do my school work perfect and wanted my hair to look perfect and oftentimes wanted everyone else to think I was perfect, too. Even now, the pictures on my wall need to be exactly symmetrical and I want my bed to be made so that the comforter falls over the edge the same amount on both sides.  But beyond just how my house looks, I also want to be the perfect wife and mom.  You know the kind: the kids are always wearing clothes with no stains with hair combed exactly right.  The mom has a trendy haircut that is styled even at 9:00am when she's out grocery shopping.  And then she returns to her perfectly clean house where everything has a spot and it's all in its spot.  When her husband comes home from work, dinner is ready and the table is set and they have a wonderfully perfect evening because that's what they are: perfect.  And then I get up each morning and wear pajamas until about 10:00am and try and get something put together for lunch while attempting to keep the toys at least contained within the room they came from.  If you look closely in the corners, there is sure to be dust bunnies.  There are always laundry piles (clean and dirty) somewhere in the house.  I often leave the house with no make-up.  And it's a miracle if I have something ready for dinner by the time my husband is home from work (except this week!  We're doing well on this meal planning thing so far!).  It sure doesn't sound like a perfect picture of a family, but I've learned that I just need to accept that.  I need to let some things go.  My house doesn't need to look perfect, my kids don't need to look perfect and I don't need to look perfect.  And the mom who looks perfect in every way?  Is she really?  We don't really know anything except what's on the surface.  But, of course, we're moms...and want to compare every single thing with her.  Why do we do that?  Why do I do that?  Regardless if that perfect mom is really perfect or not, God doesn't want us to live trying to be the image of her or whatever we think perfection happens to be.  He wants us to live in the image of Himself.  That's how He created us!  Lord, help me to reflect Your image and be the wife and mom You want me to be.

Meanwhile, I do believe I will  have many more years of praying that this little girl also learns that things don't need to be perfect:

She does this with her orange every time she peels it and has done it all on her own.  This is just one of many "perfectionist" traits she seems to carry on.  Lord, teach us both!

Meal Plan Day 1: Success!

Yesterday we embarked on the first meal of my week of meal plans.  We made baked mac 'n cheese, a recipe given to me by Lisa J.  All in all, we enjoyed it!  I'll share the recipe and then make a few comments on it:

Baked Mac 'n Cheese

Take a 9x13 glass pan, put the noodles in (I like the spiral noodles the best, but you can use any kind) drizzle with olive oil (or melted butter/margarine, we prefer olive oil) mix it a little to coat the pasta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add shredded cheddar cheese, about a cup? more if you like it cheesier. Pour milk in to cover the pasta. Bake uncovered at 325 for 45 minutes. SOOO easy to put together, and not a lot of mess to clean up.  The key is to use enough milk so the noodles don't get dried out.

I bought a box of rotini to use and had some shredded cheese on hand.  Instead of a 9X13 pan, I actually used my smaller glass casserole which seemed to work just fine.  I put everything together and baked it for about half the time before I checked to make sure everything was cooking right.  I decided to pull it out and add more milk (she was right--you really need to make sure you have enough milk).  In fact, it seems like it's way more than you need, but you basically just need to make sure the pasta is pretty much covered in it.  I also added a little more cheese at that point and stirred everything together so as the top noodles wouldn't get too dry.  I think I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of cheese when all was said and done.  And it was maybe about 1 1/2 cups of milk, too, for those of you who like to measure (myself included...this was definitely going out of my comfort zone to not have actual numbers!).  I also maybe ended up baking everything for about 50 minutes.  Matt, Abbie and I all loved it and Miriam was so-so on it.  I think her taste buds have started to be unsure on olive oil, so I may just use a little butter next time instead (except that I love olive oil, so we'll see).  We even have some leftovers for lunch today!

So, thanks Lisa!  We'll add this to our collection of "go-to" recipes!

brush your teeth, ch-ch, ch-ch-ch-ch

The doc says when they have teeth, they need to be brushed.  So here we are: me brushing mine and Abbie brushing the two she has.  

{Please disregard the disheveled hair and lack of make-up.  I just woke up.}

success! a meal plan!

Thanks everyone!  I have a meal plan for next week along with some great recipes to use in the future.  I bought just a few groceries tonight of some things I needed to make those meals possible for the upcoming week.  Here's my plan:

Sunday: Baked Mac 'n Cheese and veggies on the side
Monday: Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: California Beef Rice Skillet Dinner
Thursday: Marinated Chicken and Sage-infused Potatoes
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Stovetop Beef 'n Pasta

We'll see how this goes!  These are all new recipes for me, but they seem pretty simple and delicious.  After the week is up, I will post how it all went and what we thought of our new dinners.  Please feel free to continue passing along any recipes my way as you find some good ones for your family.  I'm sure my family will appreciate it!

easy meal ideas? help please!

Okay, so I know I mentioned in my last post that I wasn't really into the "goal-setting" part of the new year.  However, one thing I would like to do more of this year is meal-planning.  I used to be really good at this: when I had just one child and a little more time on my hands.  Now with both kiddos and the lack of desire to go anywhere in frigid weather with both of those kiddos, my grocery shopping trips are extremely limited or consist of sending Matt to the store for one quick thing so I can attempt to throw a meal together. Hamburger helper, spaghetti, lasagna and chili have been used all too much this winter.  Now I know there are a billion recipes at my fingertips online, but I just don't really have the time to sit around searching for a recipe that is relatively easy, healthy and includes ingredients that I actually have.  So, help?  Please?  Anyone have any good and easy (maybe crock pot or quick meals to put together) recipes that use mainly "staple" ingredients?  I guess that's my other main problem...my lack of staples.  I do have a ton of canned tomatoes, cream of chicken soups, pasta, chicken broth and a spice cabinet that's exploding at the seams.  I also have ground turkey and chicken on hand.  Other than that, I'm pretty limited.  Anyone with recipes that include those items or maybe just one or two more things would be great!  Or, if you have a fantastic recipe that you often use with your family that you think would help me out, please share!  Do help this busy mom who doesn't want to venture out too often.  Then maybe if I get motivated, I can put together a post with all the recipes I got so that you can use them, too!

new year thoughts and Christmas recap

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but we were away for Christmas and I am just now starting to feel the routine of normal life again.  We've also all been fighting sickness, so much of my "break" was spent lounging and resting (as much as possible with a 3-year-old and 9-month-old).  With that, I'm going to start my first post of 2011 with a list of highlights/events from Christmas and also some thoughts going into this new year.

Christmastime for our family included:

~five church services

~five days at my parents' house

~four Christmas celebrations

~three Christmas dinners (one being pizza)

~three presents for each of our daughters (because Jesus received three gifts)

~one wonderful afternoon/evening spent with some of my favorite Minnesota people

~one visit with two great high school friends

~many days to have my beloved husband around (something I missed throughout December)

~one morning spent singing and playing instruments at a nursing home

~many lovely memories of one of my favorite times of year

We really did enjoy a bit of a break from the busy December we had.  We spent a few days at my parents' house and then a few days at our house catching up on things, relaxing and trying to get well again (and still working on that last one).  

And now for the new year...I never have been much with making goals as a new year rolls around.  Sometimes I think about a few things I'd like to do or change about myself, but nothing really concrete.  I always enter the new year wanting to grow more in my faith and continue to be the wife and mom God wants me to be, so I guess that's my main "goal" for this year.  I pray that I would fall more in love with my Savior first and foremost and then continue to become more selfless in my relationship with my husband and more patient in my role as a mom.  I have so far to go, but am so thankful I am loved and accepted by God in my imperfect ways.

This year, our church is also being challenged to read through the entire Bible.  I would love to say that on December 31, 2011, I accomplished just that.  I have tried in years past to complete the whole Bible in a year, but usually get behind by the middle of the year and don't seem to catch up.  Please pray with me that I stick with my daily reading and that God would use his Word to teach me and show me Himself in new ways.

Happy 2011!