Hello! Have you burned off the extra calories you added last week during Thanksgiving? I have my "fat chef pants" on this week.
We are going to look at the basic process of making a meatloaf and also discuss options. Meatloaf can be a great one hour meal that allows you to make it, put it into the oven and give you time to interact with your children while it bakes. Also, a cooked meatloaf, as left overs can be easily reheated in a microwave for 3 minutes, be a part of a grilled cheese sandwich or even served cold on bread as a sandwich.
MEATLOAF
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
1 lb. 80/20 ground beef. I prefer ground chuck. The leaner the beef, the less fat.
1 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1 cup egg beaters
1 cup half & half
1/2 cup yellow onion, (about 1 small onion), diced small
1/2 cup, green bell pepper, (1 pepper), diced small
1/2 cup catsup
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP seasoning salt
2 TBSP ground black pepper
2 TBSP dried parsley flakes
2 TBSP garlic powder
2 TBSP onion powder
Preparation
Child- preheat oven to 350*F
Child- measure all the dry ingredients and place them into a large 3 qt. mixing bowl
TIP: Always measure your dry ingredients before the wet ingredients so you don't have to clean and dry the measuring cup or spoons, or get the dry product caked onto the measuring utensil because it is wet.
Parent or child over 12- wash and then dice the vegetables.
Child- place the diced vegetables into the bowl with the dry ingredients
Child- measure the wet ingredients and add them into the bowl with the veggies and seasonings
Parent or child- put on food grade plastic or latex gloves. Open the ground meat and with a butter knife cut the meat into 4 portions.
Parent or child- place the 4 portions into the mixing bowl
Parent and child taking turns- mix the meat and wet & dry ingredients with your hands to evenly blend all items together. This takes about 5 minutes. (It can be squishy fun, so relax and let it happen)
Tip: The goal is to avoid lumps of one ingredient in your meatloaf, so smooth it out, turn it over, knead it like bread or clay, just mix it the best you can. It will taste awesome no matter what.
Parent or child over 12- avoiding a cut, pull off about 14 inches of aluminum foil and place it flat on a work surface.
Child- spray the dull side of the aluminum foil with a non-stick cooking spray.
Parent: remove the meatloaf mixture from your bowl and place it on the middle of your aluminum foil sheet
Parent- form a loaf, kind of a paper towel roll shape with your meatloaf, making sure that you leave 4 inches from each end width wise from the edge of your foil. Remove gloves and throw them in the trash.
Parent- roll your meatloaf up into the foil. Again keeping 4 inches away from each end. Then you now have a cylinder or meatloaf log shape with the two ends open. Press the ends closed and fold the ends from the bottom up to the top of your log to seal off each end.
Tip: This keeps the moisture inside the loaf, doesn't let the fat out and will make it easier to clean up later.
Parent- place the aluminum foil log/loaf on/in a non-stick cooking pan or casserole dish that is longer and wider than your loaf.
Parent- place the loaf baking dish/pan into the pre-heated oven at 350*F for 50 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165*F
Child- Set the timer for 50 minutes
Parent- after 50 minutes, remove from the oven and using a sharp knife or steak knife, gently make one slice down the entire length of the foil and gently peel back the foil to reveal your baked meatloaf. Watch out for small pieces of foil that may cling to the edge where you cut, This might happen if your knife is dull or knife edge is too serrated. Then cut off slices horizontally and plate.
Serving suggestions:
1. Open a can of cream of mushroom soup and reduce the liquid in half, mix thoroughly while bringing the soup to a boil and use the thick hot soup as a gravy, to top your meatloaf.
2. Pour BBQ sauce over your meatloaf before wrapping the foil closed and after the foil is peeled away if you want a zesty flavor.
3. Heat up marinara or pizza quick type sauce and use as a gravy.
4. This meatloaf is great with a baked potato. Wash the potatoes, 1 per person, or if you have small children, they can share a potato; and place 3 fork holes into the skin of each potato and place potatoes on a sheet tray in the oven the same time as your meatloaf and they will be ready the same time.
5. Buy "Steam Fresh" style vegetables that your family likes and quickly follow the microwave instructions to steam the vegetables a few minutes before the time the meatloaf is to leave the oven.
6. A pre-mixed jarred gravy can also be used, yet it adds fat and sodium, so use this sparingly.
OPTIONS:
1. You can substitute, ground chicken, pork, bison, venison or veal for the beef.
2. At 35 minutes into baking, you can remove the loaf, slit open the foil and criss-cross fresh bacon on top of the loaf and return it uncovered to the 350*oven for the remaining 15 minutes or until the bacon has browned to a crisp.
3. You can add 1/2 cup of cubed Velvetta style cheese, buy pressing the cubes into the loaf before you roll it up in the foil, to have a "Cowboy Style" meatloaf. (This works especially if your child is into Cowboys or Cowgirls)
4. You can substitute ground turkey for the ground beef and a box of stove top turkey stuffing mix instead of the bread crumbs. Add an additional 1/2 cup of egg beaters too. This gives you a wonderful turkey loaf version with unique flavors reminiscent of Thanksgiving.
5. Are your children teens or like spicy foods? Add a small can of diced green chilies or chipotle peppers to the mixture.
6. Do your children avoid vegetables? Replace the half & half with V8 tomato juice. Dice a small carrot and small pieces of celery, a few green beans. Then add them into a food processor and blitz a few minutes to form a paste. Add the paste in with the ground meat and cook per normal instructions.
Leftovers keep 3 days in the refrigerator or if wrapped airtight in a zip type freezer bag, date and label the bag and store in the freezer for 3 weeks.
I hope you enjoy making meatloaf or a variation of the above recipe with your family. You can name the dish after a child, or by your last name. It can be your own signature dish. The loaf making process can taste different just by changing meat or a few ingredients, so it is an inexpensive way to mix up dinner flavors. Lastly as I mentioned at the top.... When the loaf is baking and you are cleaning up the prep area, it gives you time to talk positively about how your child's week was, or share homework, read together or just go out for a short walk.
It's getting near the Holiday Season. Have you and your ex discussed the Holidays? If you have younger children, will they have concern how Saint Nick will know your child is loved in two homes? Think of it from a child's perspective and do the best for your child. My first single parent Christmas, my children and I drew and cut out paper candy canes and ornaments and hung them up by using yarn. Money was tight, so I was fortunate to cheaply buy the top of a tree that a person had cut off by the guy who owned the Christmas tree lot, so the tree could fit in their home. Our little tree top, made a Charlie Brown tree look huge! Yet it was the feeling of love, safety and family that made that tree and that first Christmas bearable for me. Regardless of your faith, the Holiday Season is about hope, love, joy and family. Make your newly formed family feel the love, safety and joy please. That's my Holiday wish for each of you.
See you next week! We will look at some fun seasonal party foods. Your children might come home with a note from school and you'll be asked to provide something for the class Holiday party. You can chosse to be the napkin supplier; but we will have options for you soon.
All the best until then!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thanksgiving Stuffing
Hi! I bet you thought I was going to leave you hanging on the Turkey Stuffing! NEVER! I just wanted to let last weeks recipes sink in with you, as you were planning for your big day.
Here are some ideas for stuffing. In each case, I strongly suggest that you DO NOT stuff your turkey. I suggest that you cook/bake your stuffing separately, so you can monitor the temperature of the stuffing as is goes through the danger zone. The danger zone for growing food bacteria that can get you sick is between 40*F and 125*F. You want to have your foods go through that zone quickly up or down. When your stuffing, which has fresh eggs in it, sits inside the turkey cavity and bakes/roasts it takes longer for the stuffing to go through the danger zone, creating the chance for you to get a stomach ache or food poisoning. My goal is to prevent that, so we will discuss your options below.
Stuffing - quick n easy
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 box Stove Top Turkey Stuffing mix
1 stick unsalted butter
Preparation
Follow box directions
Tips: This is a good option because you have limited oven space due to the bird and your casserole side dishes. Plus it is very simple for you and your children to prepare together.
Options: Replace the water with chicken broth.
Old Fashioned Stuffing
Serves 6-10 people
Leftovers can be refrigerated and can keep three days.
Ingredients
1 large loaf of white bread (Or bread of your choice. About one pound of bread)
2 cups egg beaters
1/2 pint heavy cream
2 cups chicken broth
2 sticks unsalted butter or any healthy butter option
2 celery stalks, small dice
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
1 tsp celery seed
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Preparation
Child: Unpackage the bread and tear up into small uneven pieces. Place torn bread in a very large bowl
Parent: Dice the onions, celery
Parent: Place the unwrapped butter into a 12 inch saute pan on low heat (2) and melt.
Parent or child: place the diced vegetables in with the melted butter, being careful not to splash yourself or burn yourself on the hot pan!
Parent: Cook the vegetables until the onions are no longer raw. About 4 minutes.
Child: measure seasonings and sprinkle into bowl with torn bread pieces
Child: Add liquids to the torn bread, and while wearing plastic gloves, or with clean hands, mix the ingredients
Parent: Pour and spoon in the cooked vegetables and butter in with the mixed "wet" and seasoned breading. And stir to mix with a strong spoon for 4 minutes. then with glove on, and being careful of the hot vegetables, mix the stuffing completely .
Child: pre-heat oven to 325* F or wait until there are 20 minutes until the time when your turkey is ready to be carved.
Parent or child : spoon stuffing into a non-stick sprayed baking dish
Parent: Place your baking dish, uncovered in the oven at 325*F for 20 minutes
Parent: You can place the cooked stuffing baking dish covered on top of your stove on "warm" for up to 10 minutes, if you need to hold it.
TIP: You can cover each of your side dishes and place the oven safe casserole dishes on your stove heating elements on "warm" for up to 10 minutes, if you have to do so to get your meal timed, or on the table at the same time.
Options:
1. Peel, core and small dice 2 fresh apples and add to stuffing mix prior to baking.
2. Substitute Corn bread for white bread. JIFFY brand is quick and easy to make. Allow to cool before cutting into cubes, then follow stuffing directions.
3. Add 1/2 pound drained fresh oysters, small dice, to stuffing mix prior to baking for "Oyster Dressing"
4. Substitute half cinnamon apple sauce and half vegetable broth for the Chicken broth for a vegetarian stuffing
5. Crack open, chop and boil fresh chestnuts for 20 minutes in 1 cup of apple juice. Add to existing recipe, when you add the cooked vegetables, to produce chestnut dressing. If you really want to go "old school" do not boil the nuts. Chop them, toss them in olive oil, roll them up in aluminum foil tightly and bake/roast them in a 450*F oven for 20 minutes, then add them into the stuffing mix prior to baking.
There are easy and fun crafts to complete while your bird and all the trimmings are cooking. Paper can be folded like a card and the names of each guest printed on the card where they will sit at your Thanksgiving Feast. Pictures can be drawn to share with family and friends. Paper plates can be decorated as placemats. They can also be cut into feather shapes and colored, then taped or glued to make an Indian Head Dress. I like to believe what I learned in grammar school and that without the help of the Native Americans when the Mayflower landed, the Pilgrims would have been less thankful in the new land. You can also make turkeys with feathers with those same paper plates and markers or crayons.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. Make it a great day filled with photos and positive memories for you and your children. Remember that nothing is perfect. And when cooking, things can be less than perfect. You are trying your best and so are your children. See the fun in it, the experience of being together in it and enjoy what you have created together. When you follow all of these recipes, you will be 100% better off than having no direction at all and everything your family has created will be edible!
See you next week......
Here are some ideas for stuffing. In each case, I strongly suggest that you DO NOT stuff your turkey. I suggest that you cook/bake your stuffing separately, so you can monitor the temperature of the stuffing as is goes through the danger zone. The danger zone for growing food bacteria that can get you sick is between 40*F and 125*F. You want to have your foods go through that zone quickly up or down. When your stuffing, which has fresh eggs in it, sits inside the turkey cavity and bakes/roasts it takes longer for the stuffing to go through the danger zone, creating the chance for you to get a stomach ache or food poisoning. My goal is to prevent that, so we will discuss your options below.
Stuffing - quick n easy
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 box Stove Top Turkey Stuffing mix
1 stick unsalted butter
Preparation
Follow box directions
Tips: This is a good option because you have limited oven space due to the bird and your casserole side dishes. Plus it is very simple for you and your children to prepare together.
Options: Replace the water with chicken broth.
Old Fashioned Stuffing
Serves 6-10 people
Leftovers can be refrigerated and can keep three days.
Ingredients
1 large loaf of white bread (Or bread of your choice. About one pound of bread)
2 cups egg beaters
1/2 pint heavy cream
2 cups chicken broth
2 sticks unsalted butter or any healthy butter option
2 celery stalks, small dice
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
1 tsp celery seed
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Preparation
Child: Unpackage the bread and tear up into small uneven pieces. Place torn bread in a very large bowl
Parent: Dice the onions, celery
Parent: Place the unwrapped butter into a 12 inch saute pan on low heat (2) and melt.
Parent or child: place the diced vegetables in with the melted butter, being careful not to splash yourself or burn yourself on the hot pan!
Parent: Cook the vegetables until the onions are no longer raw. About 4 minutes.
Child: measure seasonings and sprinkle into bowl with torn bread pieces
Child: Add liquids to the torn bread, and while wearing plastic gloves, or with clean hands, mix the ingredients
Parent: Pour and spoon in the cooked vegetables and butter in with the mixed "wet" and seasoned breading. And stir to mix with a strong spoon for 4 minutes. then with glove on, and being careful of the hot vegetables, mix the stuffing completely .
Child: pre-heat oven to 325* F or wait until there are 20 minutes until the time when your turkey is ready to be carved.
Parent or child : spoon stuffing into a non-stick sprayed baking dish
Parent: Place your baking dish, uncovered in the oven at 325*F for 20 minutes
Parent: You can place the cooked stuffing baking dish covered on top of your stove on "warm" for up to 10 minutes, if you need to hold it.
TIP: You can cover each of your side dishes and place the oven safe casserole dishes on your stove heating elements on "warm" for up to 10 minutes, if you have to do so to get your meal timed, or on the table at the same time.
Options:
1. Peel, core and small dice 2 fresh apples and add to stuffing mix prior to baking.
2. Substitute Corn bread for white bread. JIFFY brand is quick and easy to make. Allow to cool before cutting into cubes, then follow stuffing directions.
3. Add 1/2 pound drained fresh oysters, small dice, to stuffing mix prior to baking for "Oyster Dressing"
4. Substitute half cinnamon apple sauce and half vegetable broth for the Chicken broth for a vegetarian stuffing
5. Crack open, chop and boil fresh chestnuts for 20 minutes in 1 cup of apple juice. Add to existing recipe, when you add the cooked vegetables, to produce chestnut dressing. If you really want to go "old school" do not boil the nuts. Chop them, toss them in olive oil, roll them up in aluminum foil tightly and bake/roast them in a 450*F oven for 20 minutes, then add them into the stuffing mix prior to baking.
There are easy and fun crafts to complete while your bird and all the trimmings are cooking. Paper can be folded like a card and the names of each guest printed on the card where they will sit at your Thanksgiving Feast. Pictures can be drawn to share with family and friends. Paper plates can be decorated as placemats. They can also be cut into feather shapes and colored, then taped or glued to make an Indian Head Dress. I like to believe what I learned in grammar school and that without the help of the Native Americans when the Mayflower landed, the Pilgrims would have been less thankful in the new land. You can also make turkeys with feathers with those same paper plates and markers or crayons.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. Make it a great day filled with photos and positive memories for you and your children. Remember that nothing is perfect. And when cooking, things can be less than perfect. You are trying your best and so are your children. See the fun in it, the experience of being together in it and enjoy what you have created together. When you follow all of these recipes, you will be 100% better off than having no direction at all and everything your family has created will be edible!
See you next week......
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thanksgiving
I hesitated when thinking of covering such a large project as Thanksgiving, knowing our cooking relationships are just beginning. Yet, I have confidence in you and your children. Here is a basic fun group of recipes for Thanksgiving. Next year, with an additional 12 months of sharing recipes and techniques together, I'll increase the degree of difficulty. I give thanks for the wonderful children I have, for the ability to have food, any food, on the table and a roof over our heads.
From experience, I have learned that often the Thanksgiving Holiday is an event where the children might share with each parent separately. So prior communication with your "ex" will help your children adjust and set expectations. Do you really want them to be eating two Thanksgiving Feasts the same day? And, do you really want to be known as the parent who just let the children eat desserts for Thanksgiving? Maybe you have your children for the morning half of the day, or maybe the afternoon and evening? Here are some suggestions.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tip: buy a meat thermometer for around $7.99 and use it to confirm cooking temperatures. Wipe with rubbing alcohol and a clean unused q-tip to sanitize after each time you place it inside of food.
Breakfast- Pumpkin Pancakes with Bacon
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
1 container frozen pre-mixed "Aunt Jemima" pancake batter
1 can pumpkin pie mix
1 package pre-cooked bacon strips
1 package frozen mini pie shells
1 small can dried ground cinnamon
1 can non-stick cooking spray "canola"
Preparation
Parent: Thaw the pre-made pancake batter in your refrigerator over night, or at least 12 hours.
Child: Pour the pancake batter into a 2 qt mixing bowl
Child: Spoon two tablespoons of pumpkin pie mix into the pancake mix and whisk or stir to mix evenly together.
Child or Parent: Over your sink, spray frying pan with non-stick cooking spray
Parent: Heat frying pan, electric or on the stove at medium temperature for 3 minutes
Parent or child over 12: Using a 2 ounce ladle or if you have a measuring cup with a spout, pour the mix into a measuring cup then pour about a silver dollar size (3 inch round) of batter into your heated pan. When the outer rim of the pancake begins to bubble, use a spatula to turn the pancakes over. Cook each pancake on the second side for 3 minutes or until golden brown.
TIP: Use the pancake spatula and go halfway under the cooking pancake after the second side has cooked 3 minutes and gently lift the pancake and peek under it to see if it is golden brown. If not, put the half back down to cook another minute. Using a timer with your child can be fun here too!
Child: While pancakes are cooking, place your pre-cooked bacon on a double thickness of paper towel
Child: Place the bacon and paper towel on a microwave safe plate, into your microwave
Child or parent: Top that bacon plate with a single sheet of paper towel
Child: Microwave on high for 15 seconds just to heat it through
Parent: Remove heated bacon from microwave. Remove from paper toweling. Serve with cooked pancakes.
All: Garnish with your favorite syrup, jelly, peanut butter or powdered sugar.
Left over pumpkin pie filling options:
Parent: Remove the frozen mini pie crust shells from the freezer
Parent or child over 12: Pre-heat oven 350*F
Child: Spoon the remaining pumpkin pie filling evenly into as many mini pie shells as you can. Leave about 1/8 inch from the top of the pie's crust to allow for expansion.
Child: Sprinkle each pie top lightly with cinnamon
Child: Place pie shells in their tins, on a non-stick cooking sprayed cookie sheet
Parent or child over 12: Place the cookie sheet with pies into the 350*F oven for 20 minutes
Child: Set timer for 20 minutes
Parent: Remove pies and allow to cool. These can be placed inside a box or cup cake tin/ carrier or on a heavy paper plate, then covered with foil or clear wrap. Suggest that your children bring them to family, friends or neighbors to show thanks. If you child is leaving you after breakfast to head to another location, they can bring the mini pies that they baked to the next location and get recognition and praise by others.
Tip: You only cook the portion of bacon you know you will eat. Wrap the remaining un-used bacon in a zip lock type package and freeze it or refrigerate it. It keeps a week in the refrigerator if air tight. You can freeze cooked pancakes and drop them into a toaster from the frozen state and toast for 3 minutes to re-heat.
Lunch- Turkey Beanie Weinie
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
1 package turkey hot dogs
1 can baked beans
1 tbsp catsup
1 tbsp yellow or brown mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup, agave or honey
Preparation
Child: Cut each hot dog using a butter knife, into nickel shaped rounds, as evenly as possible, yet perfection is not important.
Parent or child over 12: Open can of beans and pour into a 3 qt sauce pan
Child: Place cut hot dog rounds into sauce pan with the beans
Child: Measure the remaining ingredients and add each to the sauce pan
Parent: Place the sauce pan on the stove over medium heat (#4 setting) and stir.
Parent: Allow to cook 15-18 minutes, stirring in a figure 8 every 5 minutes to prevent burning. When the pot of ingredients is bubbling around the edges, it is done.
Parent: Serve in a bowl, or over a slice of your favorite bread
TIP: Ask what your child/ren have learned about Thanksgiving in school and what they think about Thanksgiving. There are no wrong answers. Just learn what your kids know and are thinking about. Let them know you are thankful that you get to be their parent.
Dinner- Basic Thanksgiving Meal
Serves 4-12 people
Ingredients
Turkey:
1- 12 pound frozen turkey- (place in refrigerator in a large baking dish, 4 days prior to Thanksgiving morning. It takes 24 hours per every 4 pounds of frozen turkey to thaw safely in your refrigerator.)
1 pound healthy butter substitute, or unsalted butter if you must
1 carrot, washed, large dice
1 large onion, peeled, large dice
1 bunch of celery,washed, 4 stalks large dice, save rest for snacks
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup canola or olive oil
2 tbsp dried poultry seasoning
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 roll aluminum foil- you'll need enough to cover your bird at the end, about 24 inches
2 large aluminum foil turkey roasting pans that are larger in length and width than your bird
1 turkey baster (buy one if you do not have one)
Preparation:
Parent and child: using your thermometer, stick it inside the thickest part of the turkey breast to make certain the meat is not colder than 34*F
Parent: Remove one oven rack or adjust rack so the height of the turkey, while seated on the bottom rack will not touch the roof of your oven.
Child: Pre-heat the oven to 325*F
Parent: Place your turkey in the sink
Child: Turn on the cold water and help your parent rinse the turkey inside and out side
Parent: Remove both the neck package and giblet/heart package from inside the turkey. You do this by putting your hand up each open end of the turkey and pulling them out.
Parent: Unwrap the neck and giblet/heart packages and toss out the package and place the meat products into a double thick aluminum foil disposable turkey pan. Wash your hands with hot soapy water every time you finish touching or working on your Turkey. Also wash and sanitize all cooking surfaces and the sink once you have placed the Turkey into the oven.
Tip: You are placing one roasting pan inside the other to double the strength. This reduces the chance of the pan bending when you lift the turkey in and out of the oven. It's possibly your first time handling a turkey this size, so I'm being more careful with you.
Parent or child over 12: Cut the vegetables per instructions and scatter around the outside of the turkey in the pan bottom AND place some vegetables inside the vacant turkey cavity, stuffing from top and up from the bottom.
Parent, then child: with a butter knife, cut 3 sticks of butter into about 10 slices per stick
Parent: Place one stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl, covered with a paper towel, microwave on high for 40 seconds, stir and repeat to melt the butter.
Parent, then child: With your fingers, slowly and gently lift up areas of the turkey skin and with a gentle rubbing motion, move your hand deeper into the bird trying to lift gently the skin away from the meat. You can do this in some areas, yet not for example, the wings. This will not be perfect, yet what the goal is, will be to separate the skin from meat for the next step.
Parent, then child: With those same gentle fingers, pick up a slice of butter and slip one slice of butter into an area of the bird between the skin and meat. The goal is to place as many of the butter slices as possible between the skin and meat to add moisture and flavor to your turkey.
Parent: Allow microwaved butter to cool 2 minutes, then brush inside of the turkey cavity, the best you can with the melted butter, or just rub the inside all around, vegetables too, with your gloved hand and the melted butter. This too adds flavor and moisture.
Child and parent: wearing disposable latex or plastic cooking gloves, take turns rubbing the entire exterior of your turkey with canola or olive oil. This promotes even browning and seals the skin to retain moisture.
Child: Sprinkle the exterior of the turkey with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning as evenly as possible
Parent: Fill in "bald" areas your child may have missed to get an even coating of seasonings.
Parent: Open oven, standing to the side to avoid getting your face scorched, and place your turkey that is in the aluminum roasting pan on the lowest rack of your oven.
Parent or child over 12: Open one can of chicken broth and pour it into the bottom of the roasting pan
Parent: Close the oven door
Child: set time for 3 hours 30 minutes
Parent: Every 30 minutes, you are to open the oven, safely, by standing aside to allow the heat to escape and not burn you or your children. You are to squeeze the turkey baster with your fingers to remove the air and while holding the baster squeezed, place the baster in the bottom of the roasting pan and open your hand, or un-squeeze the baster. It will fill up with liquid from the pan. Place the baster over the middle top part of the turkey and re-squeeze gently, to let the juice flow slowly out and over the bird to baste it. Repeat, each time covering a different part of the bird to get the wings, legs, breast and thighs basted every 30 minutes. Add a second can of broth or cup of water if the liquid is not enough to get into your baster.
Parent: With 1 hour remaining to cook the turkey, tear off a sheet of aluminum foil that is as long as your turkey roasting pan. Fold a crease in the foil length wise like a tent top.
Parent: Open the oven, pull the bottom rack out slowly half way and place the aluminum foil tent top over your turkey. This is called "tenting" the turkey. It prevents the top skin from continuing to brown/reduces burn, while holding in the juices of the turkey.
Parent: When the 3 1/2 hours of cooking has ended, stick your meat thermometer inside the thickest part of your turkey breast and count to 15 with your child. Then pull the thermometer out and read the temperature. It MUST be 180*F or you have to cook the bird an additional 30 minutes and check again. Repeat until 180*F. ( Some ovens are not equal, so times vary.) Another hint is to look at the liquid that comes from the bird when you pull the thermometer out. If those juices are red or pink, you need more cooking. If juices are white or yellowish, chances are your bird is 180*F.
Child : Place two clean dish towels under a large cutting board on a flat surface
Parent: When the bird is 180*F, remove from oven.
Parent: Using one long handled spoon in each hand or strong tongs, insert a spoon or tong up each end of the turkey and lift it out of the pan and onto the cutting board to rest for 15 minutes, before carving.
Parent: On a stove top in a 12 inch sautee pan, melt one stick of butter
Parent: Pour the remaining hot liquid and cooked vegetables and giblets from the roasting pan into a food processor or blender. Do not blend or process the neck. Eat it or discard it!
Parent: Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour to the butter and stir to mix. This is making a "roux".
Parent: Add Roux to the blender and cover the blender leaving 1/8 inch open facing away from you or your children. Cover the opening with another dish towel to avoid splashing, yet to let the steam escape. Turn the blender on high and mix for 2 minutes Add chicken broth if the gravy is too thick, adding liquid 2 tbsp at a time.
Parent: Return the gravy to the sautee pan on low heat and stir. There should be a nice thickness, like wall paint or syrup. If it is too runny like water, stir in 1 tbsp of flour, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps and allow to cook 2 minutes to thicken up. Still loose? Repeat, one tbsp at a time.
Candied Yams:
1 large can of yams
1 bag marshmallows
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 TBSP Orange marmalade
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Preparation
Parent or Child over 12: Open the can of yams and drain half the liquid out.
Child: Place the yams into an oven proof casserole dish
Parent or child over 12: Open the can of crushed pineapples.Pour the liquid into a small mixing bowl. Place the crushed pineapple into the casserole dish.
Parent or Child: Mix the marmalade with the pineapple juice using a whisk or spoon, to mix/blend thoroughly.
Parent or Child: measure the nutmeg and cinnamon and add to the marmalade mixture
Parent or Child: Pour marmalade mixture on top of yams and add nuts
Parent: With 30 minutes remaining for your Turkey, place the yam casserole into the oven on the top rack, covered. Bake your casserole for 20 minutes at 325*F, then remove cover and place large marshmallows around the top of the casserole dish and return to the oven for 10 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown.
Green Bean Casserole:
1 pack frozen cut green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup half and half or milk
1 can French's dried onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Preparation
Parent or Child over 12: open can of soup and spoon into a large mixing bowl
Child: add the milk or half&half to the empty soup can and stir to get the remaining bits of soup out of the can. Then pour the soupy milk into an oven proof casserole dish.
Child: open frozen cut green beans and scatter evenly around the casserole dish into the soup
Child: measure seasonings and sprinkle over the casserole
Parent or child over 12: open the can of dried onions, being careful not to cut yourself on the lid.
Child: sprinkle the onion pieces evenly over your casserole
Parent: With 30 minutes remaining for your turkey, place the casserole dish uncovered into the oven on the top rack next to your yams and bake 325*F for 30 minutes.
TIP: If your oven is small, no worries! You can remove the turkey to "rest" and wet a dish towel with warm water and place it on top of the resting turkey foil. Then bake your casserole dishes in the empty oven. So your turkey will rest 30 minutes instead of only 15, to allow time for your casseroles to cook.
LEFTOVER TIP: Remove as much of the turkey meat as possible and dispose of the turkey carcass. Portion the turkey meat into usable portions. You can place turkey in a zip lock type bag and store in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can double zip lock bag (one bag inside the other to prevent freezer burn) the turkey, mark the date on the outside of one bag with a sharpie marker and store in the freezer for up to 30 days.
I wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving together. I'll have some suggestions for Turkey left overs, next time. Happy Thanksgiving!
From experience, I have learned that often the Thanksgiving Holiday is an event where the children might share with each parent separately. So prior communication with your "ex" will help your children adjust and set expectations. Do you really want them to be eating two Thanksgiving Feasts the same day? And, do you really want to be known as the parent who just let the children eat desserts for Thanksgiving? Maybe you have your children for the morning half of the day, or maybe the afternoon and evening? Here are some suggestions.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tip: buy a meat thermometer for around $7.99 and use it to confirm cooking temperatures. Wipe with rubbing alcohol and a clean unused q-tip to sanitize after each time you place it inside of food.
Breakfast- Pumpkin Pancakes with Bacon
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
1 container frozen pre-mixed "Aunt Jemima" pancake batter
1 can pumpkin pie mix
1 package pre-cooked bacon strips
1 package frozen mini pie shells
1 small can dried ground cinnamon
1 can non-stick cooking spray "canola"
Preparation
Parent: Thaw the pre-made pancake batter in your refrigerator over night, or at least 12 hours.
Child: Pour the pancake batter into a 2 qt mixing bowl
Child: Spoon two tablespoons of pumpkin pie mix into the pancake mix and whisk or stir to mix evenly together.
Child or Parent: Over your sink, spray frying pan with non-stick cooking spray
Parent: Heat frying pan, electric or on the stove at medium temperature for 3 minutes
Parent or child over 12: Using a 2 ounce ladle or if you have a measuring cup with a spout, pour the mix into a measuring cup then pour about a silver dollar size (3 inch round) of batter into your heated pan. When the outer rim of the pancake begins to bubble, use a spatula to turn the pancakes over. Cook each pancake on the second side for 3 minutes or until golden brown.
TIP: Use the pancake spatula and go halfway under the cooking pancake after the second side has cooked 3 minutes and gently lift the pancake and peek under it to see if it is golden brown. If not, put the half back down to cook another minute. Using a timer with your child can be fun here too!
Child: While pancakes are cooking, place your pre-cooked bacon on a double thickness of paper towel
Child: Place the bacon and paper towel on a microwave safe plate, into your microwave
Child or parent: Top that bacon plate with a single sheet of paper towel
Child: Microwave on high for 15 seconds just to heat it through
Parent: Remove heated bacon from microwave. Remove from paper toweling. Serve with cooked pancakes.
All: Garnish with your favorite syrup, jelly, peanut butter or powdered sugar.
Left over pumpkin pie filling options:
Parent: Remove the frozen mini pie crust shells from the freezer
Parent or child over 12: Pre-heat oven 350*F
Child: Spoon the remaining pumpkin pie filling evenly into as many mini pie shells as you can. Leave about 1/8 inch from the top of the pie's crust to allow for expansion.
Child: Sprinkle each pie top lightly with cinnamon
Child: Place pie shells in their tins, on a non-stick cooking sprayed cookie sheet
Parent or child over 12: Place the cookie sheet with pies into the 350*F oven for 20 minutes
Child: Set timer for 20 minutes
Parent: Remove pies and allow to cool. These can be placed inside a box or cup cake tin/ carrier or on a heavy paper plate, then covered with foil or clear wrap. Suggest that your children bring them to family, friends or neighbors to show thanks. If you child is leaving you after breakfast to head to another location, they can bring the mini pies that they baked to the next location and get recognition and praise by others.
Tip: You only cook the portion of bacon you know you will eat. Wrap the remaining un-used bacon in a zip lock type package and freeze it or refrigerate it. It keeps a week in the refrigerator if air tight. You can freeze cooked pancakes and drop them into a toaster from the frozen state and toast for 3 minutes to re-heat.
Lunch- Turkey Beanie Weinie
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
1 package turkey hot dogs
1 can baked beans
1 tbsp catsup
1 tbsp yellow or brown mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup, agave or honey
Preparation
Child: Cut each hot dog using a butter knife, into nickel shaped rounds, as evenly as possible, yet perfection is not important.
Parent or child over 12: Open can of beans and pour into a 3 qt sauce pan
Child: Place cut hot dog rounds into sauce pan with the beans
Child: Measure the remaining ingredients and add each to the sauce pan
Parent: Place the sauce pan on the stove over medium heat (#4 setting) and stir.
Parent: Allow to cook 15-18 minutes, stirring in a figure 8 every 5 minutes to prevent burning. When the pot of ingredients is bubbling around the edges, it is done.
Parent: Serve in a bowl, or over a slice of your favorite bread
TIP: Ask what your child/ren have learned about Thanksgiving in school and what they think about Thanksgiving. There are no wrong answers. Just learn what your kids know and are thinking about. Let them know you are thankful that you get to be their parent.
Dinner- Basic Thanksgiving Meal
Serves 4-12 people
Ingredients
Turkey:
1- 12 pound frozen turkey- (place in refrigerator in a large baking dish, 4 days prior to Thanksgiving morning. It takes 24 hours per every 4 pounds of frozen turkey to thaw safely in your refrigerator.)
1 pound healthy butter substitute, or unsalted butter if you must
1 carrot, washed, large dice
1 large onion, peeled, large dice
1 bunch of celery,washed, 4 stalks large dice, save rest for snacks
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup canola or olive oil
2 tbsp dried poultry seasoning
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 roll aluminum foil- you'll need enough to cover your bird at the end, about 24 inches
2 large aluminum foil turkey roasting pans that are larger in length and width than your bird
1 turkey baster (buy one if you do not have one)
Preparation:
Parent and child: using your thermometer, stick it inside the thickest part of the turkey breast to make certain the meat is not colder than 34*F
Parent: Remove one oven rack or adjust rack so the height of the turkey, while seated on the bottom rack will not touch the roof of your oven.
Child: Pre-heat the oven to 325*F
Parent: Place your turkey in the sink
Child: Turn on the cold water and help your parent rinse the turkey inside and out side
Parent: Remove both the neck package and giblet/heart package from inside the turkey. You do this by putting your hand up each open end of the turkey and pulling them out.
Parent: Unwrap the neck and giblet/heart packages and toss out the package and place the meat products into a double thick aluminum foil disposable turkey pan. Wash your hands with hot soapy water every time you finish touching or working on your Turkey. Also wash and sanitize all cooking surfaces and the sink once you have placed the Turkey into the oven.
Tip: You are placing one roasting pan inside the other to double the strength. This reduces the chance of the pan bending when you lift the turkey in and out of the oven. It's possibly your first time handling a turkey this size, so I'm being more careful with you.
Parent or child over 12: Cut the vegetables per instructions and scatter around the outside of the turkey in the pan bottom AND place some vegetables inside the vacant turkey cavity, stuffing from top and up from the bottom.
Parent, then child: with a butter knife, cut 3 sticks of butter into about 10 slices per stick
Parent: Place one stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl, covered with a paper towel, microwave on high for 40 seconds, stir and repeat to melt the butter.
Parent, then child: With your fingers, slowly and gently lift up areas of the turkey skin and with a gentle rubbing motion, move your hand deeper into the bird trying to lift gently the skin away from the meat. You can do this in some areas, yet not for example, the wings. This will not be perfect, yet what the goal is, will be to separate the skin from meat for the next step.
Parent, then child: With those same gentle fingers, pick up a slice of butter and slip one slice of butter into an area of the bird between the skin and meat. The goal is to place as many of the butter slices as possible between the skin and meat to add moisture and flavor to your turkey.
Parent: Allow microwaved butter to cool 2 minutes, then brush inside of the turkey cavity, the best you can with the melted butter, or just rub the inside all around, vegetables too, with your gloved hand and the melted butter. This too adds flavor and moisture.
Child and parent: wearing disposable latex or plastic cooking gloves, take turns rubbing the entire exterior of your turkey with canola or olive oil. This promotes even browning and seals the skin to retain moisture.
Child: Sprinkle the exterior of the turkey with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning as evenly as possible
Parent: Fill in "bald" areas your child may have missed to get an even coating of seasonings.
Parent: Open oven, standing to the side to avoid getting your face scorched, and place your turkey that is in the aluminum roasting pan on the lowest rack of your oven.
Parent or child over 12: Open one can of chicken broth and pour it into the bottom of the roasting pan
Parent: Close the oven door
Child: set time for 3 hours 30 minutes
Parent: Every 30 minutes, you are to open the oven, safely, by standing aside to allow the heat to escape and not burn you or your children. You are to squeeze the turkey baster with your fingers to remove the air and while holding the baster squeezed, place the baster in the bottom of the roasting pan and open your hand, or un-squeeze the baster. It will fill up with liquid from the pan. Place the baster over the middle top part of the turkey and re-squeeze gently, to let the juice flow slowly out and over the bird to baste it. Repeat, each time covering a different part of the bird to get the wings, legs, breast and thighs basted every 30 minutes. Add a second can of broth or cup of water if the liquid is not enough to get into your baster.
Parent: With 1 hour remaining to cook the turkey, tear off a sheet of aluminum foil that is as long as your turkey roasting pan. Fold a crease in the foil length wise like a tent top.
Parent: Open the oven, pull the bottom rack out slowly half way and place the aluminum foil tent top over your turkey. This is called "tenting" the turkey. It prevents the top skin from continuing to brown/reduces burn, while holding in the juices of the turkey.
Parent: When the 3 1/2 hours of cooking has ended, stick your meat thermometer inside the thickest part of your turkey breast and count to 15 with your child. Then pull the thermometer out and read the temperature. It MUST be 180*F or you have to cook the bird an additional 30 minutes and check again. Repeat until 180*F. ( Some ovens are not equal, so times vary.) Another hint is to look at the liquid that comes from the bird when you pull the thermometer out. If those juices are red or pink, you need more cooking. If juices are white or yellowish, chances are your bird is 180*F.
Child : Place two clean dish towels under a large cutting board on a flat surface
Parent: When the bird is 180*F, remove from oven.
Parent: Using one long handled spoon in each hand or strong tongs, insert a spoon or tong up each end of the turkey and lift it out of the pan and onto the cutting board to rest for 15 minutes, before carving.
Parent: On a stove top in a 12 inch sautee pan, melt one stick of butter
Parent: Pour the remaining hot liquid and cooked vegetables and giblets from the roasting pan into a food processor or blender. Do not blend or process the neck. Eat it or discard it!
Parent: Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour to the butter and stir to mix. This is making a "roux".
Parent: Add Roux to the blender and cover the blender leaving 1/8 inch open facing away from you or your children. Cover the opening with another dish towel to avoid splashing, yet to let the steam escape. Turn the blender on high and mix for 2 minutes Add chicken broth if the gravy is too thick, adding liquid 2 tbsp at a time.
Parent: Return the gravy to the sautee pan on low heat and stir. There should be a nice thickness, like wall paint or syrup. If it is too runny like water, stir in 1 tbsp of flour, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps and allow to cook 2 minutes to thicken up. Still loose? Repeat, one tbsp at a time.
Candied Yams:
1 large can of yams
1 bag marshmallows
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 TBSP Orange marmalade
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Preparation
Parent or Child over 12: Open the can of yams and drain half the liquid out.
Child: Place the yams into an oven proof casserole dish
Parent or child over 12: Open the can of crushed pineapples.Pour the liquid into a small mixing bowl. Place the crushed pineapple into the casserole dish.
Parent or Child: Mix the marmalade with the pineapple juice using a whisk or spoon, to mix/blend thoroughly.
Parent or Child: measure the nutmeg and cinnamon and add to the marmalade mixture
Parent or Child: Pour marmalade mixture on top of yams and add nuts
Parent: With 30 minutes remaining for your Turkey, place the yam casserole into the oven on the top rack, covered. Bake your casserole for 20 minutes at 325*F, then remove cover and place large marshmallows around the top of the casserole dish and return to the oven for 10 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown.
Green Bean Casserole:
1 pack frozen cut green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup half and half or milk
1 can French's dried onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Preparation
Parent or Child over 12: open can of soup and spoon into a large mixing bowl
Child: add the milk or half&half to the empty soup can and stir to get the remaining bits of soup out of the can. Then pour the soupy milk into an oven proof casserole dish.
Child: open frozen cut green beans and scatter evenly around the casserole dish into the soup
Child: measure seasonings and sprinkle over the casserole
Parent or child over 12: open the can of dried onions, being careful not to cut yourself on the lid.
Child: sprinkle the onion pieces evenly over your casserole
Parent: With 30 minutes remaining for your turkey, place the casserole dish uncovered into the oven on the top rack next to your yams and bake 325*F for 30 minutes.
TIP: If your oven is small, no worries! You can remove the turkey to "rest" and wet a dish towel with warm water and place it on top of the resting turkey foil. Then bake your casserole dishes in the empty oven. So your turkey will rest 30 minutes instead of only 15, to allow time for your casseroles to cook.
LEFTOVER TIP: Remove as much of the turkey meat as possible and dispose of the turkey carcass. Portion the turkey meat into usable portions. You can place turkey in a zip lock type bag and store in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can double zip lock bag (one bag inside the other to prevent freezer burn) the turkey, mark the date on the outside of one bag with a sharpie marker and store in the freezer for up to 30 days.
I wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving together. I'll have some suggestions for Turkey left overs, next time. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
More "Crockery" Ideas
WOW! My Happy Chili was perfect last week and I even had some left over for the next day when the outside temperature dipped to 34* F here! Was I lucky!
I figured since you had the dust off of your crock pot ( I found mine dusty and in its original wedding gift box, in the attic while cleaning up after my divorce), that you might want another couple recipes for your family to try.
Meatballs in Gravy
Serves 4
Can be refrigerated and consumed within 3 days after the initial cooking
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat ( lean beef, chicken or turkey)
1 small onion diced small and chopped fine
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup egg beaters
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp olive or canola oil
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp 3 sprigs, fresh parsley or dry
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 jar 32 ounces of jarred sauce or gravy (Your choice of sauce, tomato,pizza, marinara, meat, Alfredo. Your choice of gravy, beef, turkey, chicken, mushroom)
1 small can or 1 cup vegetable broth, low sodium
1 eight ounces of your favorite pasta or if making meatballs with a gravy, substitute no-yolk egg noodles
Preparation
Parent or Child over age 12 : open jars and cans of the vegetable stock and sauce or gravy. Place a long handled spoon inside your crock pot and slowly pour your liquid against the spoon face into your pot. Stir liquid and leave spoon inside for now.
Parent: Plug in crock pot and set to high
Parent: Dice your onion to a small dice. Then watching out for your non-knife hand, and focusing on the onion, begin to chop the small diced pieces into smaller pieces. Hold the knife and from the wrist, as if you were hammering a nail, chop the onions. Put the knife down, then move the onions back into a pile. Resume chopping. Repeat this safe process three times more. This should yield safely chopped onions. The smaller the onions get, the less will be clumped inside your meatballs. :)
Child: measure and slowly pour the olive oil into a bowl that is large enough for you and your parent to place their hand inside. Keep this oil on the side until later. DO NOT add this to your meatball mix or sauce/gravy.
Child: measure all your ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl. Wash hands with soapy warm water after handling meat.
Child and Parent, taking turns: wearing gloves or using a spoon, mix the ingredients thoroughly and completely. The goal is not to have one section of product in your bowl being all pepper and another section being clumps of bread crumbs. Your goal is to mix all ingredients around alot, and squeeze the product through your fingers and rip pieces up and then smoosh them back together so all the flavors mix and blend. The final product will be the consistency of modeling clay or "Play-doh".
Parent: Remove and throw away gloves. Wash spoon with warm soapy water and rinse before placing to be washed in a dishwasher or by hand at the end of food preparation.
Child: Get a cooking sheet pan and over your sink, spray the cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray
Parent: Pre-heat oven to 350*F
Parent: Help your child place their hands into the olive oil to coat their hands, then coat yours also.
Parent and Child/Children: Reach into the bowl of meatball mixture and gather up a small amount of mixture, the size of an egg ( or use a 2 ounce ice cream scoop). Roll the mixture between the palms of your hands in an attempt to make a round meat ball. REMEMBER!!! Perfection is not important, the fun and memories are. Plus you are building self confidence in this step.
Parent and Child: Place your round meatballs, about a 1/4 inch apart from each other on your cookie sheet and continue to make the rest of your meat mixture into meatballs. You might have to re-dip your hands into the olive oil to reduce the amount of meat that might stick to your hands.
TIP: You can use plastic or latex gloves when fashioning meatballs, but still use the olive oil dip method so the meat doesn't stick to the gloves.
Parent or Child over 12: Place the cookie sheet with meatballs into your oven on the center rack.
Child: Set timer for 20 minutes
Parent: When 20 minutes cooking time has ended. Turn off the oven. Open the oven and place the hot pan on a heat resistant kitchen counter surface.
TIP: If you are cooking beef or mushroom gravy and adding beef meatballs, you can add 4 ounces of sour cream with chives to the crock pot now and stir to mix. This will provide you with a Swedish meatballs style dinner upon completion.
Parent or Child over 12: Using a fork, stab each meatball and then let it roll off the fork onto the spoon inside your crock pot, slowly to prevent splashing. Once all the meatballs are inside the crock pot, remove spoon and cover. The goal is to have all meatballs submerged into the crock pot liquid without the meatballs breaking apart. No worries! If a few break apart the meal will still be awesome and sooo much better than fast food or a frozen TV dinner!
Child: Set timer for 1 hour.
Parent: Turn off the crock pot and unplug it after the hour of crock pot cooking.
Child: In your sink, filling half way, pour water into a 5 qt. stock pot
Parent: Place the stock pot of water on the stove
Child: Pour the rest of the unused oil and sprinkle salt into the water
Parent: Turn the stove top under the water pot on high and cover. Bring to a boil.
Parent or child over 12: Add the correct amount of pasta or noodles into boiling water from a high distance as not to burn your hands or arms on the top of the pot of water.
Parent or child over 12: Stir the boiling water in the figure 8 method, to prevent starch from sticking pasta or noodles together. Cook per package instructions, less 2 minutes.
Child: Place a colander in your clean kitchen sink
Parent: Wearing hot gloves of protective covers on your hands to prevent burning or scalding, pour the pasta or noodles into your colander. Wearing gloves, gently swirl colander around and lift up the colander to allow hot water to escape through the colander holes.
Parent: Open crock pot lid and stir meatballs. Then pour the cooked pasta or noodles into the crock pot.
Child: Gently stir the pasta or noodles in the crock pot to try to cover all noodles with sauce/gravy
Child: Cover crock pot and help your parent to set the table for dinner
Parent: Serve into bowls or plates using a pasta spork or tongs. Pasta/noodles first, then meatballs on the top.
Remove leftover product from crock pot into a refrigerator safe seal-able container. Allow to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes(set the timer). Then place, covered into the refrigerator. You can also freeze this product covered for 2 weeks, yet must be eaten within 15 days of freezing it, so mark your calendar.
BONUS: One last quick recipe. One that was made by accident, that my kids and I loved! I was shopping before picking up my children from their mom's house and saw a Boston Butt on sale for around 60 cents per pound! CHEAP! I was so proud of my deal that I finshed shopping and continued on to pick up my children. The next morning I realized I didn't have a recipe for the pork. I found rice and a couple cans of red chili sauce and an onion and half of a green bell pepper. So I tossed all of it inside the crock pot and with the kids, headed off to church. By dinner time it was a surprise hit!
Mexican Pork
Serves 4-6 portions
Refrigerate leftovers. Can be kept refrigerated for 4 days.
Ingredients
2 pounds Pork, "Boston butt" or boneless pork shoulder
32 ounces "medium heat/spice" canned red chili sauce (Las Palmas, found in the International Food Aisle)
1 medium onion, diced medium
1 sweet green pepper, diced medium
1 sweet red pepper, diced medium
1 cup uncooked brown or whole grain rice
4 flour tortillas, optional
Preparation
Parent: Plug crock pot into wall outlet and set on low heat
Parent: Remove your pork from the retail packaging and cut into four equal sized chunks to allow for even cooking.
Parent or child: Place the four pork sections into the crock pot.
Parent: Wash knife, cutting surface and hands or people who touched the raw port with hot soapy water and rinse.
Child over 12: Open cans of red chili sauce
Child: Place a long handled spoon inside the crock pot, spoon face down, then pour in chili sauce slowly.
Parent or child over 12: Cut the vegetables
Child: Add cut vegetables to crock pot. Stir with long handled spoon, then remove spoon and cover crock pot.
Child: Set timer for 4 hours
Parent: At the end of 4 hours, remove lid from crock pot and add rice. Stir and recover. Cook for an additional 45 minutes.
Parent or child over 12: Remove crock pot lid and with tongs, "fish" out the 4 pork sections and place on a cutting board. Cut into small cubes. This should be easy and the pork might even "shred" with a fork.
Child or parent: Stir rice in the crock pot in a figure 8 two times.
Parent: Add cut up pork back into crock pot, stir once then serve.
TIP: Garnish with fresh slices of tomato, tortilllas or corn chips, or low fat shredded cheese
Things you have learned:
How to dice a vegetable, then reduce it to chopped form
The knife technique, like a "hammer" to work your knife in a chopping motion
How to properly make a meat mixture
Setting a timer, helps keep you on schedule and reduces the chance of burning foods
How to coat your hands with food oil to avoid food stickiness
Cleaning up during food prep, especially with chicken or pork is critical to prevent cross contamination
Five recipes and variations to use the same cooking method, a crock pot, while keeping the flavors different
I hope this weekend with your children will be a blast! Please take time to plan ahead so you don't have any stress. Have a terrific time preparing meals, talking and building your relationship. Keep things positive and I'll check back with you next week. I think you are ready for some Thanksgiving Recipes! Don't sweat it, you will be a superstar!
I figured since you had the dust off of your crock pot ( I found mine dusty and in its original wedding gift box, in the attic while cleaning up after my divorce), that you might want another couple recipes for your family to try.
Meatballs in Gravy
Serves 4
Can be refrigerated and consumed within 3 days after the initial cooking
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat ( lean beef, chicken or turkey)
1 small onion diced small and chopped fine
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup egg beaters
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp olive or canola oil
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp 3 sprigs, fresh parsley or dry
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 jar 32 ounces of jarred sauce or gravy (Your choice of sauce, tomato,pizza, marinara, meat, Alfredo. Your choice of gravy, beef, turkey, chicken, mushroom)
1 small can or 1 cup vegetable broth, low sodium
1 eight ounces of your favorite pasta or if making meatballs with a gravy, substitute no-yolk egg noodles
Preparation
Parent or Child over age 12 : open jars and cans of the vegetable stock and sauce or gravy. Place a long handled spoon inside your crock pot and slowly pour your liquid against the spoon face into your pot. Stir liquid and leave spoon inside for now.
Parent: Plug in crock pot and set to high
Parent: Dice your onion to a small dice. Then watching out for your non-knife hand, and focusing on the onion, begin to chop the small diced pieces into smaller pieces. Hold the knife and from the wrist, as if you were hammering a nail, chop the onions. Put the knife down, then move the onions back into a pile. Resume chopping. Repeat this safe process three times more. This should yield safely chopped onions. The smaller the onions get, the less will be clumped inside your meatballs. :)
Child: measure and slowly pour the olive oil into a bowl that is large enough for you and your parent to place their hand inside. Keep this oil on the side until later. DO NOT add this to your meatball mix or sauce/gravy.
Child: measure all your ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl. Wash hands with soapy warm water after handling meat.
Child and Parent, taking turns: wearing gloves or using a spoon, mix the ingredients thoroughly and completely. The goal is not to have one section of product in your bowl being all pepper and another section being clumps of bread crumbs. Your goal is to mix all ingredients around alot, and squeeze the product through your fingers and rip pieces up and then smoosh them back together so all the flavors mix and blend. The final product will be the consistency of modeling clay or "Play-doh".
Parent: Remove and throw away gloves. Wash spoon with warm soapy water and rinse before placing to be washed in a dishwasher or by hand at the end of food preparation.
Child: Get a cooking sheet pan and over your sink, spray the cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray
Parent: Pre-heat oven to 350*F
Parent: Help your child place their hands into the olive oil to coat their hands, then coat yours also.
Parent and Child/Children: Reach into the bowl of meatball mixture and gather up a small amount of mixture, the size of an egg ( or use a 2 ounce ice cream scoop). Roll the mixture between the palms of your hands in an attempt to make a round meat ball. REMEMBER!!! Perfection is not important, the fun and memories are. Plus you are building self confidence in this step.
Parent and Child: Place your round meatballs, about a 1/4 inch apart from each other on your cookie sheet and continue to make the rest of your meat mixture into meatballs. You might have to re-dip your hands into the olive oil to reduce the amount of meat that might stick to your hands.
TIP: You can use plastic or latex gloves when fashioning meatballs, but still use the olive oil dip method so the meat doesn't stick to the gloves.
Parent or Child over 12: Place the cookie sheet with meatballs into your oven on the center rack.
Child: Set timer for 20 minutes
Parent: When 20 minutes cooking time has ended. Turn off the oven. Open the oven and place the hot pan on a heat resistant kitchen counter surface.
TIP: If you are cooking beef or mushroom gravy and adding beef meatballs, you can add 4 ounces of sour cream with chives to the crock pot now and stir to mix. This will provide you with a Swedish meatballs style dinner upon completion.
Parent or Child over 12: Using a fork, stab each meatball and then let it roll off the fork onto the spoon inside your crock pot, slowly to prevent splashing. Once all the meatballs are inside the crock pot, remove spoon and cover. The goal is to have all meatballs submerged into the crock pot liquid without the meatballs breaking apart. No worries! If a few break apart the meal will still be awesome and sooo much better than fast food or a frozen TV dinner!
Child: Set timer for 1 hour.
Parent: Turn off the crock pot and unplug it after the hour of crock pot cooking.
Child: In your sink, filling half way, pour water into a 5 qt. stock pot
Parent: Place the stock pot of water on the stove
Child: Pour the rest of the unused oil and sprinkle salt into the water
Parent: Turn the stove top under the water pot on high and cover. Bring to a boil.
Parent or child over 12: Add the correct amount of pasta or noodles into boiling water from a high distance as not to burn your hands or arms on the top of the pot of water.
Parent or child over 12: Stir the boiling water in the figure 8 method, to prevent starch from sticking pasta or noodles together. Cook per package instructions, less 2 minutes.
Child: Place a colander in your clean kitchen sink
Parent: Wearing hot gloves of protective covers on your hands to prevent burning or scalding, pour the pasta or noodles into your colander. Wearing gloves, gently swirl colander around and lift up the colander to allow hot water to escape through the colander holes.
Parent: Open crock pot lid and stir meatballs. Then pour the cooked pasta or noodles into the crock pot.
Child: Gently stir the pasta or noodles in the crock pot to try to cover all noodles with sauce/gravy
Child: Cover crock pot and help your parent to set the table for dinner
Parent: Serve into bowls or plates using a pasta spork or tongs. Pasta/noodles first, then meatballs on the top.
Remove leftover product from crock pot into a refrigerator safe seal-able container. Allow to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes(set the timer). Then place, covered into the refrigerator. You can also freeze this product covered for 2 weeks, yet must be eaten within 15 days of freezing it, so mark your calendar.
BONUS: One last quick recipe. One that was made by accident, that my kids and I loved! I was shopping before picking up my children from their mom's house and saw a Boston Butt on sale for around 60 cents per pound! CHEAP! I was so proud of my deal that I finshed shopping and continued on to pick up my children. The next morning I realized I didn't have a recipe for the pork. I found rice and a couple cans of red chili sauce and an onion and half of a green bell pepper. So I tossed all of it inside the crock pot and with the kids, headed off to church. By dinner time it was a surprise hit!
Mexican Pork
Serves 4-6 portions
Refrigerate leftovers. Can be kept refrigerated for 4 days.
Ingredients
2 pounds Pork, "Boston butt" or boneless pork shoulder
32 ounces "medium heat/spice" canned red chili sauce (Las Palmas, found in the International Food Aisle)
1 medium onion, diced medium
1 sweet green pepper, diced medium
1 sweet red pepper, diced medium
1 cup uncooked brown or whole grain rice
4 flour tortillas, optional
Preparation
Parent: Plug crock pot into wall outlet and set on low heat
Parent: Remove your pork from the retail packaging and cut into four equal sized chunks to allow for even cooking.
Parent or child: Place the four pork sections into the crock pot.
Parent: Wash knife, cutting surface and hands or people who touched the raw port with hot soapy water and rinse.
Child over 12: Open cans of red chili sauce
Child: Place a long handled spoon inside the crock pot, spoon face down, then pour in chili sauce slowly.
Parent or child over 12: Cut the vegetables
Child: Add cut vegetables to crock pot. Stir with long handled spoon, then remove spoon and cover crock pot.
Child: Set timer for 4 hours
Parent: At the end of 4 hours, remove lid from crock pot and add rice. Stir and recover. Cook for an additional 45 minutes.
Parent or child over 12: Remove crock pot lid and with tongs, "fish" out the 4 pork sections and place on a cutting board. Cut into small cubes. This should be easy and the pork might even "shred" with a fork.
Child or parent: Stir rice in the crock pot in a figure 8 two times.
Parent: Add cut up pork back into crock pot, stir once then serve.
TIP: Garnish with fresh slices of tomato, tortilllas or corn chips, or low fat shredded cheese
Things you have learned:
How to dice a vegetable, then reduce it to chopped form
The knife technique, like a "hammer" to work your knife in a chopping motion
How to properly make a meat mixture
Setting a timer, helps keep you on schedule and reduces the chance of burning foods
How to coat your hands with food oil to avoid food stickiness
Cleaning up during food prep, especially with chicken or pork is critical to prevent cross contamination
Five recipes and variations to use the same cooking method, a crock pot, while keeping the flavors different
I hope this weekend with your children will be a blast! Please take time to plan ahead so you don't have any stress. Have a terrific time preparing meals, talking and building your relationship. Keep things positive and I'll check back with you next week. I think you are ready for some Thanksgiving Recipes! Don't sweat it, you will be a superstar!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Happy Chili con Carne
Happy Friday! I hope your week was as action packed as mine was. It's a cold rainy day here today, so I plugged in the crock pot and have a pot of Chili cooking. This is a meal you can start together in the morning after breakfast and allow the crock pot to cook on low for 6 to 8 hours covered. Turn off and unplug it about 15 minutes before dinner time, stir and serve!
Don't worry if you don't have a crock pot yet. You can cook this on low temperature on your stove top in a 5 quart pot. It slow cooks for 2 hours. You just have to uncover it and stir it every 15 minutes in a figure eight from the bottom of the pot upwards to reduce burning. I hope you and your family have a super weekend!
HAPPY CHILI CON CARNE
Serves 4-6 portions
Leftover Chili can remain in your refrigerator 3 days
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef, bison, soy ground meat substitute, your family's choice)
1 medium onion small dice
1 stalk celery, small dice (save the rest of the celery stalk for snacks. Smear peanut butter or cheese spread on them)
1 green bell pepper, seeded, julienne stripped, then diced small
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and small diced (OPTIONAL, if you and your family like it spicy)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can black beans(frijole negroes), rinsed
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
1 can pinto beans, rinsed
3 TBSP chili powder
2 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP Kosher or Sea Salt
1 tsp. ground red chili pepper
1 tsp canola oil
Preparation
Child: Measure, then place your canola oil in a 12 inch skillet/fry pan
Parent: Place pan over high heat for 2 minutes
Parent or child over 12: Move the skillet around slowly to allow the oil to run and cover most of the inside of your pan.
Child: open ground meat package, and with a butter knife, cut the product into 4 squares. Then wash hands with warm soapy water.
Parent or child over 12: Place one at a time, each of the four squares into the hot pan. Be careful not to get splattered from hot oil.
Parent: With a wooden or heat resistant plastic cooking spoon, press and break up the squares. You are now trying to brown the outside of each square, while breaking the meat into the smallest of pieces. You want NO PINK color to show. All meat is to be browned, yet not burnt. About 6 minutes.
Parent: Over a sink with warm water running to the side, not on the meat, pour the cooked meat into your colander, (Spaghetti strainer) to strain out the fat. If you used soy protein, turkey, chicken or 90-10 or 92-8 lean beef, this step can be omitted.
Child: With measuring spoons, seated at a table, measure each dry spice ingredient and dump each spice into one bowl.
Parent of child over 12: Empty the bowl of spices in with your cooking meat and stir gently to mix the spices evenly around the meat.
Parent: Plug in your crock pot and turn it to its lowest setting. If you do not have a crock pot, place a 5 quart stock pot on your stove top on the lowest setting (warm) or #2.
Parent or child over 12: Place your seasoned cooked meat into the crock pot or 5 qt. pot
Child: Carefully place a long handled heat resistant spoon inside the pot and rest the handle against one side of the inside of the pot.
Child: One at a time, open each can and pour each can of ingredients, tomatoes, beans, etc. slowly against the spoon head that is inside the pot. This reduces splatter.
Parent or child over 12, or children with adult supervision: Cut your vegetables and place in the big empty bowl you used for the seasonings.
If handling a jalapeno, I advise that you wear disposable latex or plastic gloves and NEVER touch yourself while working with a jalapeno. Discard gloves in the trash and wash hands with warm soapy water after cutting the jalapeno.
Child: Slowly dump your bowl of diced vegetables into the pot, again trying to have your vegetables hit the spoon, to reduce splatter.
Parent or child with supervision: Pick up the spoon handle and stir your pot in a figure 8 from the bottom of the pot upwards, four times. Do this as if the number 8 is positioned on a clock face at 12 O'clock. Then imagine the number 8 is now at 3 O'clock and stir another 4 times. Remove spoon.
Parent or child: Place the lid on the crock pot and wash all your cooking utensils and work area. The crock pot does all the work Be ready to eat in 6 to 8 hours.
If you are cooking on a stove top, save the spoon to the side and set your timer for 15 minutes. Stir in a figure 8 as above, every 15 minutes. Cook on low for 2 hours.
Serving Suggestions:
1. Buy a bag or two of 90 second microwave long grain wild rice, or a rice you all like. I samll bag yeilds about 2 adult servings of rice. Microwave the rice, place evenly in a bowl and spoon chili over the rice.
2. Buy a 2 cup bag of shredded cheddar cheese and serve chili in a bowl and sprinkle cheese on top of your chili. (cheese, cuts the spicy heat)
3. Buy low fat sour cream. Place a TBSP of sour cream on top of your chili. (This too, cuts the spicy heat)
4. Save some of your fresh diced onion and consider topping your chili with fresh onion.
5. Does your local supermarket or bakery make 8 inch round small individual crust breads? You can cut the round about a half inch from the top, then scoop out some of the soft interior bread, leaving the crust wall with about an inch of bread against the wall. Fill the "bread bowl" with chili! The bread interior you scooped out is fun to snack on while you are making the chili. An edible bowl is fun to eat.
6. You can always place a hot scoop of chili on top of a tossed salad for a healthier alternative.Use taco sauce or salsa as your salad dressing.
Leftover Suggestions:
1. Remember the frozen pie shell from your chicken pot pie? Remove the pie shell from the freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Fork the pie shell around the sides and bottom, just as you did last week. Pour the refrigerated chili into a large mixing bowl. Add your leftover shredded cheddar cheese, about 1 cup, any leftover rice?, mix that in also. Any diced onion left over?, Yep, add it all in and stir. Then place the chili mixture inside of your pie shell. Leave about 1/4 inch from top. Bake at 350*F for 25 minutes. Do you have any Doritos or nacho style chips in the house? Place 20 of them in a plastic zip type bag and have your child crush them, by whacking them with the palm of their hand. Open the bag and sprinkle the chips on top of the chili pie and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve!
2. Do you have soft flour tortilla shells? Place a cup of chili in the center of the tortilla and spread it down the middle like 12 O'clock to 6 O'clock. Add shredded cheese and roll up like a burrito. Place on a non-stick sprayed cookie tray, seamed side down and bake each burrito for 15 minutes at 350*F.
What you learned:
A Crock pot can be a great helper in the kitchen and save you all the stirring required when cooking on a stove.
You can cook many types of ground meat now, and make various types of chili. Including vegetarian chili!
To stir in a figure 8 from the bottom up to reduce the chance of burning your food
To practice small dice and julienne cutting
The ratio of fat to meat, such as 90% meat to 10% fat is lean red meat and can become dry. A higher fat content means a lower price, yet the fat and water gets strained out.
To have your children measure seasonings
Placing a long handled spoon inside a pot and pouring liquid against that spoon will reduce splatter
Chili can be served many ways the first and second time around and will never get boring!
Thanks again for taking the time to learn another new recipe! I wish you a terrific weekend with your children. Do me a favor. If you are the praying kind, when you sit down to eat your Happy Chili Con Carne, take the time to mention one positive thing you are thankful for. Say it out loud in front of your family. Then ask your child/children to each, one at a time, say one positive thing they are thankful for. No matter what they say, praise them for mentioning it. Close the prayer by saying you are thankful for your great child/children.This builds self esteem during a time when children might think they were the cause for your divorce. Praise and positive words are like fertilizer. You fertilize your lawn right? Why not your kids?
Enjoy your meal together. See you next week!
Don't worry if you don't have a crock pot yet. You can cook this on low temperature on your stove top in a 5 quart pot. It slow cooks for 2 hours. You just have to uncover it and stir it every 15 minutes in a figure eight from the bottom of the pot upwards to reduce burning. I hope you and your family have a super weekend!
HAPPY CHILI CON CARNE
Serves 4-6 portions
Leftover Chili can remain in your refrigerator 3 days
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef, bison, soy ground meat substitute, your family's choice)
1 medium onion small dice
1 stalk celery, small dice (save the rest of the celery stalk for snacks. Smear peanut butter or cheese spread on them)
1 green bell pepper, seeded, julienne stripped, then diced small
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and small diced (OPTIONAL, if you and your family like it spicy)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can black beans(frijole negroes), rinsed
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
1 can pinto beans, rinsed
3 TBSP chili powder
2 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP Kosher or Sea Salt
1 tsp. ground red chili pepper
1 tsp canola oil
Preparation
Child: Measure, then place your canola oil in a 12 inch skillet/fry pan
Parent: Place pan over high heat for 2 minutes
Parent or child over 12: Move the skillet around slowly to allow the oil to run and cover most of the inside of your pan.
Child: open ground meat package, and with a butter knife, cut the product into 4 squares. Then wash hands with warm soapy water.
Parent or child over 12: Place one at a time, each of the four squares into the hot pan. Be careful not to get splattered from hot oil.
Parent: With a wooden or heat resistant plastic cooking spoon, press and break up the squares. You are now trying to brown the outside of each square, while breaking the meat into the smallest of pieces. You want NO PINK color to show. All meat is to be browned, yet not burnt. About 6 minutes.
Parent: Over a sink with warm water running to the side, not on the meat, pour the cooked meat into your colander, (Spaghetti strainer) to strain out the fat. If you used soy protein, turkey, chicken or 90-10 or 92-8 lean beef, this step can be omitted.
Child: With measuring spoons, seated at a table, measure each dry spice ingredient and dump each spice into one bowl.
Parent of child over 12: Empty the bowl of spices in with your cooking meat and stir gently to mix the spices evenly around the meat.
Parent: Plug in your crock pot and turn it to its lowest setting. If you do not have a crock pot, place a 5 quart stock pot on your stove top on the lowest setting (warm) or #2.
Parent or child over 12: Place your seasoned cooked meat into the crock pot or 5 qt. pot
Child: Carefully place a long handled heat resistant spoon inside the pot and rest the handle against one side of the inside of the pot.
Child: One at a time, open each can and pour each can of ingredients, tomatoes, beans, etc. slowly against the spoon head that is inside the pot. This reduces splatter.
Parent or child over 12, or children with adult supervision: Cut your vegetables and place in the big empty bowl you used for the seasonings.
If handling a jalapeno, I advise that you wear disposable latex or plastic gloves and NEVER touch yourself while working with a jalapeno. Discard gloves in the trash and wash hands with warm soapy water after cutting the jalapeno.
Child: Slowly dump your bowl of diced vegetables into the pot, again trying to have your vegetables hit the spoon, to reduce splatter.
Parent or child with supervision: Pick up the spoon handle and stir your pot in a figure 8 from the bottom of the pot upwards, four times. Do this as if the number 8 is positioned on a clock face at 12 O'clock. Then imagine the number 8 is now at 3 O'clock and stir another 4 times. Remove spoon.
Parent or child: Place the lid on the crock pot and wash all your cooking utensils and work area. The crock pot does all the work Be ready to eat in 6 to 8 hours.
If you are cooking on a stove top, save the spoon to the side and set your timer for 15 minutes. Stir in a figure 8 as above, every 15 minutes. Cook on low for 2 hours.
Serving Suggestions:
1. Buy a bag or two of 90 second microwave long grain wild rice, or a rice you all like. I samll bag yeilds about 2 adult servings of rice. Microwave the rice, place evenly in a bowl and spoon chili over the rice.
2. Buy a 2 cup bag of shredded cheddar cheese and serve chili in a bowl and sprinkle cheese on top of your chili. (cheese, cuts the spicy heat)
3. Buy low fat sour cream. Place a TBSP of sour cream on top of your chili. (This too, cuts the spicy heat)
4. Save some of your fresh diced onion and consider topping your chili with fresh onion.
5. Does your local supermarket or bakery make 8 inch round small individual crust breads? You can cut the round about a half inch from the top, then scoop out some of the soft interior bread, leaving the crust wall with about an inch of bread against the wall. Fill the "bread bowl" with chili! The bread interior you scooped out is fun to snack on while you are making the chili. An edible bowl is fun to eat.
6. You can always place a hot scoop of chili on top of a tossed salad for a healthier alternative.Use taco sauce or salsa as your salad dressing.
Leftover Suggestions:
1. Remember the frozen pie shell from your chicken pot pie? Remove the pie shell from the freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Fork the pie shell around the sides and bottom, just as you did last week. Pour the refrigerated chili into a large mixing bowl. Add your leftover shredded cheddar cheese, about 1 cup, any leftover rice?, mix that in also. Any diced onion left over?, Yep, add it all in and stir. Then place the chili mixture inside of your pie shell. Leave about 1/4 inch from top. Bake at 350*F for 25 minutes. Do you have any Doritos or nacho style chips in the house? Place 20 of them in a plastic zip type bag and have your child crush them, by whacking them with the palm of their hand. Open the bag and sprinkle the chips on top of the chili pie and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve!
2. Do you have soft flour tortilla shells? Place a cup of chili in the center of the tortilla and spread it down the middle like 12 O'clock to 6 O'clock. Add shredded cheese and roll up like a burrito. Place on a non-stick sprayed cookie tray, seamed side down and bake each burrito for 15 minutes at 350*F.
What you learned:
A Crock pot can be a great helper in the kitchen and save you all the stirring required when cooking on a stove.
You can cook many types of ground meat now, and make various types of chili. Including vegetarian chili!
To stir in a figure 8 from the bottom up to reduce the chance of burning your food
To practice small dice and julienne cutting
The ratio of fat to meat, such as 90% meat to 10% fat is lean red meat and can become dry. A higher fat content means a lower price, yet the fat and water gets strained out.
To have your children measure seasonings
Placing a long handled spoon inside a pot and pouring liquid against that spoon will reduce splatter
Chili can be served many ways the first and second time around and will never get boring!
Thanks again for taking the time to learn another new recipe! I wish you a terrific weekend with your children. Do me a favor. If you are the praying kind, when you sit down to eat your Happy Chili Con Carne, take the time to mention one positive thing you are thankful for. Say it out loud in front of your family. Then ask your child/children to each, one at a time, say one positive thing they are thankful for. No matter what they say, praise them for mentioning it. Close the prayer by saying you are thankful for your great child/children.This builds self esteem during a time when children might think they were the cause for your divorce. Praise and positive words are like fertilizer. You fertilize your lawn right? Why not your kids?
Enjoy your meal together. See you next week!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Chicken Pot Pie O-Lantern
Hi! And thanks again for stopping by. As the temperature cools down and Halloween lurks around the corner, I thought of a nice warming meal you and your children can prepare before heading outside to Trick or Treat.
CHICKEN POT PIE-O-LANTERN
Serves 4-6
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 33 minutes
Refrigerated leftovers can keep 2 days. Reheat in an oven 350*F covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
1- eight ounce skinless boneless chicken breast
1- nine inch deep dish frozen pie crust shell
1- can Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup- NO WATER
1- can Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup- NO WATER
1- twelve ounce bag of frozen mixed vegetables (any assortment that you and your children decide to try)
1- tsp garlic salt
1- tsp ground black pepper
1- tsp dried tarragon leaves
1- tsp seasoning salt
1- half tsp sugar (optional)
1-TBSP dried parsley flakes
4- Pilsbury Grands, refrigerated biscuits
Preparation
Child- Turn on oven 350*F to pre-heat
Child- Mix all dry ingredient seasonings in a bowl and stir with a spoon to mix together well
Parent or Child- Remove chicken from packaging, rinse with cold water, dry on double thickness of paper towels.
Parent or Child- Spray a cookie sheet pan with a non-stick cooking spray. (Remember the tip is to spray over the sink, so the spray is contained to an easy to clean location)
Parent or Child- Place the chicken breast on the center of the sheet tray. Discard paper towels.
WASH HANDS WITH HOT SOAPY WATER IF YOU TOUCHED THE CHICKEN
Child- Sprinkle half of the seasoning gently and evenly over the top of the chicken breast. Save the other half of the seasoning to add to the soup mix in a later step.
Parent or Child over 12- Place your sheet tray with the chicken breast into the center of your 350*F oven for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165*F.
Child- remove the frozen mixed vegetables from its packaging and place in a colander and run under warm water until all vegetables have no ice and are room temperature. (About 4 minutes if you use your hands to move the vegetable around inside the colander, to help the thawing process) Allow to drain all water out.
Parent or Child over 12- open both cans of soup and using a spoon, remove the soup base from each can, into a large mixing bowl, and stir in remaining seasonings. The goal is to have one color soup mix with the seasoning evenly mixed throughout.
Parent or Child- Remove your frozen pie shell crust from its packaging. With a dinner fork, please jab the fork into the pie crust gently and slowly in 4 different locations in the bottom of the pie shell and 4 different locations in the side of the pie shell. (Imagine a clock face for the bottom of the pie shell and make a fork insert at 12-3-6-and 9 O'clock. For the side of the crust, imagine the same clock face and holding the shell at 12 O'clock, jab the outer shell crust at 2-4-8 and 10 O'clock.) You do not want to jab through the crust AND the aluminum plate, just lightly pierce the crust. Wrap second pie crust with clear plastic wrap and freeze for another recipe. Write teh date on teh outer plastic wrap using a "Sharpie" marker.
Parent or Child over 12- Remove chicken breast from the oven, leaving the oven on.
Parent- using a knife and fork, cut the chicken breast into small cubes. It should not be pink inside. Consider cutting the breast down the middle lengthwise, then one half in half again and then make 4 cuts width wise to make your cubes of one half of the breast. Repeat for the other half.
Parent- pour any chicken liquid and any seasonings from the cookie sheet into your soup mixture and stir again.
Child- add the drained and thawed mixed vegetables to your soup mixture and stir to mix thoroughly.
Parent or Child- add the cooked chicken cubes to your soup and veggie mixture, stirring thoroughly again.
Parent or Child- spoon your mix into the pie shell making the pie full and even, so the chicken is not all in one spot within your pie.
Child- quickly, with warm soapy water, scrub and dry the cookie sheet and re-spray with a non-stick cooking spray
Parent or child over 12- place the filled pie crust in its aluminum pan on the cookie sheet, filling side up. (no duh?)
Parent- Place into your 350*F oven, on the center rack.
Child- set oven timer to 15 minutes
Parent or Child- open the "Grands" biscuit roll and separate four biscuits. Place them on a cutting board or surface you can cut upon.
Parent or Child- using a normal dinner knife, like a dinner butter knife, nothing sharp, cut one of the un- cooked round biscuit dough portions into a triangle and cut one of the four round biscuit dough portions in half. Tae the scrap pieces remainng from the triangle and roll like a tube. Place tubes on the sprayed cookie tray along side your pot pie.
Parent- after 15 minutes, using a pot holder, open your oven and slowly slide your cookie tray rack and pan out.
WARNING: keep Children away from the oven door as steam can burn you and them!
Parent or Child over 12- Assuming your half cooked pie is a face, place two round biscuit dough portions on the face, as if they were eyes. Place the triangle portion in the middle for a nose and place each half where a smile would appear on your face.
Child- set oven timer for 19 minutes.
Parent- replace the pie into the oven and increase the temperature to 400*F. Bake an additional 18 minutes or until the biscuit face is golden brown. I suggest that if your oven has an interior light, look through the window to watch your biscuits bake. The more you open the door to look, the lower the temperature gets and your biscuit dough may not rise as much.
Parent- remove cookie sheet with pot pie from the oven. Turn off oven.
Allow the pot pie to rest/cool for 5 minutes before cutting. You can cut the pie into 4 sections, or six sections. It will be messy and gooey. That's ok. Also, if you have more than one Child sharing this meal, flip a coin to see who gets the eye(s), or the piece of mouth or nose. This avoids a battle before dinner. The extra two rolled pieces of cooked dough can be used by you or your children to sop up the liquid pie filling gravy.
Serving suggestion- You can pick up a few different types of fresh apples from your grocery store. You and your children can peel and core the apples. You can cut the apples into cubes, using your newly acquired technique that you mastered with your chicken. You can place the apple cubes into a blender with 8 ounces of cold fresh water and a tsp of ground cinnamon and blitz until smooth. Serve this fresh apple cider over ice cubes or warm in a microwave oven on high for 45 seconds. Stir and serve with your Chicken Pot Pie Face.
Did you know that a tsp of cinnamon equals the antioxidents you would get from eating a half pint of fresh blueberries? Yep!
What you have learned-
1. A method for "cubing" a solid food item
2. You practiced again, safe handling of chicken/poultry
3. A method for getting vegetables and fruits into yourself and Children
4. Making a jack-o-lantern face on anything can inspire a child to try a food that might be new to them.
5. That eating a warm hearty meal before walking around your neighborhood to trick or treat is healthy.
6. That filling up on a healthy meal can reduce the desire to eat every piece of candy collect on Halloween night.
7. That flipping a coin in advance, can avoid confrontation
8. How to make a fast apple cider
9. Having children set the timer and slowly get used to using the oven will build confidence in many other life tasks.
Thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your weekend pre-planning. I hope that each week becomes less of a challenge and more focused on creating fun memorable meals as a family. Enjoy your Halloween! Take photos and mark them with the dates so when you are old like me, you can still know what year your child/children wore that costume. Until next week...Lead your family in a positive direction. I always say that my children are loved in two households. Its a positive way to express the change each of you are experiencing and allows your children to hear something positive about the confusion of change.
CHICKEN POT PIE-O-LANTERN
Serves 4-6
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 33 minutes
Refrigerated leftovers can keep 2 days. Reheat in an oven 350*F covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
1- eight ounce skinless boneless chicken breast
1- nine inch deep dish frozen pie crust shell
1- can Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup- NO WATER
1- can Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup- NO WATER
1- twelve ounce bag of frozen mixed vegetables (any assortment that you and your children decide to try)
1- tsp garlic salt
1- tsp ground black pepper
1- tsp dried tarragon leaves
1- tsp seasoning salt
1- half tsp sugar (optional)
1-TBSP dried parsley flakes
4- Pilsbury Grands, refrigerated biscuits
Preparation
Child- Turn on oven 350*F to pre-heat
Child- Mix all dry ingredient seasonings in a bowl and stir with a spoon to mix together well
Parent or Child- Remove chicken from packaging, rinse with cold water, dry on double thickness of paper towels.
Parent or Child- Spray a cookie sheet pan with a non-stick cooking spray. (Remember the tip is to spray over the sink, so the spray is contained to an easy to clean location)
Parent or Child- Place the chicken breast on the center of the sheet tray. Discard paper towels.
WASH HANDS WITH HOT SOAPY WATER IF YOU TOUCHED THE CHICKEN
Child- Sprinkle half of the seasoning gently and evenly over the top of the chicken breast. Save the other half of the seasoning to add to the soup mix in a later step.
Parent or Child over 12- Place your sheet tray with the chicken breast into the center of your 350*F oven for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165*F.
Child- remove the frozen mixed vegetables from its packaging and place in a colander and run under warm water until all vegetables have no ice and are room temperature. (About 4 minutes if you use your hands to move the vegetable around inside the colander, to help the thawing process) Allow to drain all water out.
Parent or Child over 12- open both cans of soup and using a spoon, remove the soup base from each can, into a large mixing bowl, and stir in remaining seasonings. The goal is to have one color soup mix with the seasoning evenly mixed throughout.
Parent or Child- Remove your frozen pie shell crust from its packaging. With a dinner fork, please jab the fork into the pie crust gently and slowly in 4 different locations in the bottom of the pie shell and 4 different locations in the side of the pie shell. (Imagine a clock face for the bottom of the pie shell and make a fork insert at 12-3-6-and 9 O'clock. For the side of the crust, imagine the same clock face and holding the shell at 12 O'clock, jab the outer shell crust at 2-4-8 and 10 O'clock.) You do not want to jab through the crust AND the aluminum plate, just lightly pierce the crust. Wrap second pie crust with clear plastic wrap and freeze for another recipe. Write teh date on teh outer plastic wrap using a "Sharpie" marker.
Parent or Child over 12- Remove chicken breast from the oven, leaving the oven on.
Parent- using a knife and fork, cut the chicken breast into small cubes. It should not be pink inside. Consider cutting the breast down the middle lengthwise, then one half in half again and then make 4 cuts width wise to make your cubes of one half of the breast. Repeat for the other half.
Parent- pour any chicken liquid and any seasonings from the cookie sheet into your soup mixture and stir again.
Child- add the drained and thawed mixed vegetables to your soup mixture and stir to mix thoroughly.
Parent or Child- add the cooked chicken cubes to your soup and veggie mixture, stirring thoroughly again.
Parent or Child- spoon your mix into the pie shell making the pie full and even, so the chicken is not all in one spot within your pie.
Child- quickly, with warm soapy water, scrub and dry the cookie sheet and re-spray with a non-stick cooking spray
Parent or child over 12- place the filled pie crust in its aluminum pan on the cookie sheet, filling side up. (no duh?)
Parent- Place into your 350*F oven, on the center rack.
Child- set oven timer to 15 minutes
Parent or Child- open the "Grands" biscuit roll and separate four biscuits. Place them on a cutting board or surface you can cut upon.
Parent or Child- using a normal dinner knife, like a dinner butter knife, nothing sharp, cut one of the un- cooked round biscuit dough portions into a triangle and cut one of the four round biscuit dough portions in half. Tae the scrap pieces remainng from the triangle and roll like a tube. Place tubes on the sprayed cookie tray along side your pot pie.
Parent- after 15 minutes, using a pot holder, open your oven and slowly slide your cookie tray rack and pan out.
WARNING: keep Children away from the oven door as steam can burn you and them!
Parent or Child over 12- Assuming your half cooked pie is a face, place two round biscuit dough portions on the face, as if they were eyes. Place the triangle portion in the middle for a nose and place each half where a smile would appear on your face.
Child- set oven timer for 19 minutes.
Parent- replace the pie into the oven and increase the temperature to 400*F. Bake an additional 18 minutes or until the biscuit face is golden brown. I suggest that if your oven has an interior light, look through the window to watch your biscuits bake. The more you open the door to look, the lower the temperature gets and your biscuit dough may not rise as much.
Parent- remove cookie sheet with pot pie from the oven. Turn off oven.
Allow the pot pie to rest/cool for 5 minutes before cutting. You can cut the pie into 4 sections, or six sections. It will be messy and gooey. That's ok. Also, if you have more than one Child sharing this meal, flip a coin to see who gets the eye(s), or the piece of mouth or nose. This avoids a battle before dinner. The extra two rolled pieces of cooked dough can be used by you or your children to sop up the liquid pie filling gravy.
Serving suggestion- You can pick up a few different types of fresh apples from your grocery store. You and your children can peel and core the apples. You can cut the apples into cubes, using your newly acquired technique that you mastered with your chicken. You can place the apple cubes into a blender with 8 ounces of cold fresh water and a tsp of ground cinnamon and blitz until smooth. Serve this fresh apple cider over ice cubes or warm in a microwave oven on high for 45 seconds. Stir and serve with your Chicken Pot Pie Face.
Did you know that a tsp of cinnamon equals the antioxidents you would get from eating a half pint of fresh blueberries? Yep!
What you have learned-
1. A method for "cubing" a solid food item
2. You practiced again, safe handling of chicken/poultry
3. A method for getting vegetables and fruits into yourself and Children
4. Making a jack-o-lantern face on anything can inspire a child to try a food that might be new to them.
5. That eating a warm hearty meal before walking around your neighborhood to trick or treat is healthy.
6. That filling up on a healthy meal can reduce the desire to eat every piece of candy collect on Halloween night.
7. That flipping a coin in advance, can avoid confrontation
8. How to make a fast apple cider
9. Having children set the timer and slowly get used to using the oven will build confidence in many other life tasks.
Thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your weekend pre-planning. I hope that each week becomes less of a challenge and more focused on creating fun memorable meals as a family. Enjoy your Halloween! Take photos and mark them with the dates so when you are old like me, you can still know what year your child/children wore that costume. Until next week...Lead your family in a positive direction. I always say that my children are loved in two households. Its a positive way to express the change each of you are experiencing and allows your children to hear something positive about the confusion of change.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
An Autumn Soup & Sandwich Combo
Hello! Thanks for checking in and for also referring my Blog to other people who might be looking for meal solutions for themselves and their children. I hope your week is rolling along well and that you are enjoying the Autumn Chill in the air. This week we will cover a healthy fast classic combo that involves your family. I named this soup after my daughter. It is a quick Minestrone Soup, yet when we made it together it was always called her soup. Funny how this made her want to cook it more often and how she always ate it.
If your children are younger, consider a walk outside this weekend to collect leaves that are turning colors. Cut an oval shape from a paper grocery bag or a piece of colored construction paper and glue the leaves to the paper to create your own place mat for dinner tonight. You can also add a lesson to the craft by trying to identify the leaves you have. Are they Oak leaves?, maybe Maple?
It's mid October....Want to decorate a mini pumpkin? (Cheaper than a big one and you do not cut a small pumpkin, which is safer for you and the children) Decorate the pumpkin with colored markers. I suggest you buy a box of disposable plastic gloves, so when you cook or decorate using permanent markers, that the ink stays mostly on the gloves and not your child's hands.
Consider taking photos of your craft and cooking time and begin to make an album either online or in print.
Minestrone Soup with an Open faced Sandwich
Serves 4 portions
Can be refrigerated and held 3 days or can be frozen and held for 20 days
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Soup Ingredients
1 - 32 ounces of low sodium vegetable broth
1 - 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 - 14 ounce can white beans (your protein source)
1 - half cup of Pastina style pasta or small pasta stars, like Acini D peppe (small, cooks faster)
1 - medium sweet onion, medium dice (as you learned to do last week)
1 TBSP Olive Oil or Canola Oil
1 - pound bag of mixed vegetables (corn, cut green beans, lima beans, peas, carrots blend is ok)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground garlic powder
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning
Soup Preparation
Child: In a 4 qt. stock pot, place your TBSP of olive oil and turn heat to medium.
Parent: When you can see small waves in your oil and before it smokes or pops, you add your diced onions.
Parent or Child age 12: Stir onion pieces around with a log handled metal or wooden spoon. Cook until the onion is slightly brown in color.
Parent or Child: Add in the frozen mixed vegetables and stir gently about 5 turns from the bottom up. You stir and gently lift the vegetables up from the bottom to prevent sticking.
Parent: Turn off stove top heat.
Parent or Child: Take turns measuring the seasonings and adding them to your onions.
CAUTION: The pot is hot, so have the child's arms and hands sprinkle the tsp. of each dry seasoning ingredients from high above the soup pot.
Parent: Place your long handled spoon inside of the soup pot with the handle resting against the side, so it does not fall inside. Add the vegetable broth slowly, by pouring it slowly against the lower handle and round part of the spoon head. This reduces splatter from the hot surface of the soup pot.
Child: Stir the broth , seasonings and cooked onions. (This process is called, de-glazing the pan. You are removing the flavored bits of onion and cooked seasonings from the inside of your pan to get the flavors moving around in your broth.)
Child or Parent: Add the can of beans using the same no-splatter spoon technique to reduce splashing
Child or Parent: Add the can of tomatoes using the same technique.
Parent or Child age 12: Turn the stove top heat source under your soup pot to "medium-low" for 20 minutes or until it has a gentle boil. (Dial setting 4 is good) STIRRING 4 stirs, every 4 minutes again from the bottom up, to prevent burning or sticking.
Child: Slowly pour your half cup of uncooked pasta into the boiling soup and stir 4 times.
Parent: Please cover the soup pot and allow to continue to cook on "low" (Dial setting 2) for 10 more minutes.
Parent: Turn heat off under your soup, leaving covered until you serve it with your sandwiches. I encourage you to serve the soup in a bowl and only fill the bowl half to 3/4 full so your child has room to spoon and not have to worry about spilling. Doing so builds confidence, as they will spill less often.
Parent: Who is setting the table tonight? Why should we set the table? Can we eat hot soup with our hands? Will we get burned? Is getting our fingers burned ok? Why not? Oh, so we should probably set the table together. I'll get the spoons. Will you please get the napkins and plates? Thanks! You are such a great helper! I love it when you help out.
WHILE THE PASTA IS COOKING IN YOUR SOUP............
Sandwich Ingredients
4- of your choice of bread, pita , half of a roll, or one tortilla (whatever you have at home or that you know your children will eat)
8- one ounce slices of low salt, low fat turkey slices rolled
2- ounces of bottled marinade or BBQ sauce un-used from last week's meal.
4- one ounce slices of low fat provolone cheese
Sandwich Preparation- 10 minutes
Parent: Turn on your oven and Pre-heat oven to 400*F
Child: Spray a cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray
Child: Place 4 pieces of your favorite bread item"half" on the sprayed cookie sheet
Parent: Place about 1 tsp. of the marinade on each slice of bread item half by using a circular motion, smear the marinade to cover as much of the bread as possible.
Child: Place 2 rolls of turkey on each bread item
Child: Place one slice of provolone on top of your turkey rolls
Parent: Place the cookie sheet in the middle rack of your oven and bake open faced sandwiches for 10 minutes.
Parent: Turn oven off and remove cooked sandwiches from the oven. With a spatula, or commonly known as " the hamburger flipper thingy" in some single parent's homes I have visited... and place the sandwiches, one on each plate. Serve with the bowl of soup.
TIP: by serving one sandwich per plate, per person and one bowl of soup per person, you are managing portion control as well as preventing an older child from taking more portions that you want them to have, usually so the younger sibling has no food to eat. (I was the younger sibling...smile)
What we have learned:
1. Adding a craft and learning experience fills your time up with a positive vibe and builds memories and also expresses creativity. Also learning and doing things together allows for casual conversation time. As your children get older, they will come to you for conversation because you've built that behavior up with them now.
2. How to make a healthy and quick soup
3. How to "de-glaze" a pan using a liquid
4. How to re-enforce your dicing skills
5. An open faced sandwich technique, plus.... less bread, less calories
6. A positive teaching method called " The Socratic Method", of asking questions to get agreement and the result you want. (setting the table)
7. A way to use up some marinade you had left over
8. Techniques on soup bowl filling to reduce spills, burns
9. Portion control
10. Pouring technique into a pot to avoid splatter
11. Stirring from the bottom up, prevent sticking and burning
OPTIONS:
Soup: Want to make chicken vegetable or beef vegetable soup instead? Take one pound of cleaned, cut, fresh chicken tenders, like the casserole recipe tenders and add them at the same time you added the onions. Like beef? Buy 1 pound of fresh thawed stew meat, small pre-cut portions of cubed beef. Season with salt and pepper, roll lightly in all purpose flour and add them at the same time you added the onions.
Sandwich: Substitute Turkey slices for chicken breast slices, or lean roast beef or low salt ham slices. You can also drain a can of albacore tuna fish, drain/dry it on a few paper towels and place the tuna on the bread slice half, top with marinade and cheese. Cook time stays the same even if you substitute the proteins above.
Take every recipe, every time together as a family, step by step and relax. Be the best person you can be and you will get through the cooking part and the single parent part. I hope that your time together this weekend as a family is filled with smiles.
If your children are younger, consider a walk outside this weekend to collect leaves that are turning colors. Cut an oval shape from a paper grocery bag or a piece of colored construction paper and glue the leaves to the paper to create your own place mat for dinner tonight. You can also add a lesson to the craft by trying to identify the leaves you have. Are they Oak leaves?, maybe Maple?
It's mid October....Want to decorate a mini pumpkin? (Cheaper than a big one and you do not cut a small pumpkin, which is safer for you and the children) Decorate the pumpkin with colored markers. I suggest you buy a box of disposable plastic gloves, so when you cook or decorate using permanent markers, that the ink stays mostly on the gloves and not your child's hands.
Consider taking photos of your craft and cooking time and begin to make an album either online or in print.
Minestrone Soup with an Open faced Sandwich
Serves 4 portions
Can be refrigerated and held 3 days or can be frozen and held for 20 days
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Soup Ingredients
1 - 32 ounces of low sodium vegetable broth
1 - 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 - 14 ounce can white beans (your protein source)
1 - half cup of Pastina style pasta or small pasta stars, like Acini D peppe (small, cooks faster)
1 - medium sweet onion, medium dice (as you learned to do last week)
1 TBSP Olive Oil or Canola Oil
1 - pound bag of mixed vegetables (corn, cut green beans, lima beans, peas, carrots blend is ok)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground garlic powder
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning
Soup Preparation
Child: In a 4 qt. stock pot, place your TBSP of olive oil and turn heat to medium.
Parent: When you can see small waves in your oil and before it smokes or pops, you add your diced onions.
Parent or Child age 12: Stir onion pieces around with a log handled metal or wooden spoon. Cook until the onion is slightly brown in color.
Parent or Child: Add in the frozen mixed vegetables and stir gently about 5 turns from the bottom up. You stir and gently lift the vegetables up from the bottom to prevent sticking.
Parent: Turn off stove top heat.
Parent or Child: Take turns measuring the seasonings and adding them to your onions.
CAUTION: The pot is hot, so have the child's arms and hands sprinkle the tsp. of each dry seasoning ingredients from high above the soup pot.
Parent: Place your long handled spoon inside of the soup pot with the handle resting against the side, so it does not fall inside. Add the vegetable broth slowly, by pouring it slowly against the lower handle and round part of the spoon head. This reduces splatter from the hot surface of the soup pot.
Child: Stir the broth , seasonings and cooked onions. (This process is called, de-glazing the pan. You are removing the flavored bits of onion and cooked seasonings from the inside of your pan to get the flavors moving around in your broth.)
Child or Parent: Add the can of beans using the same no-splatter spoon technique to reduce splashing
Child or Parent: Add the can of tomatoes using the same technique.
Parent or Child age 12: Turn the stove top heat source under your soup pot to "medium-low" for 20 minutes or until it has a gentle boil. (Dial setting 4 is good) STIRRING 4 stirs, every 4 minutes again from the bottom up, to prevent burning or sticking.
Child: Slowly pour your half cup of uncooked pasta into the boiling soup and stir 4 times.
Parent: Please cover the soup pot and allow to continue to cook on "low" (Dial setting 2) for 10 more minutes.
Parent: Turn heat off under your soup, leaving covered until you serve it with your sandwiches. I encourage you to serve the soup in a bowl and only fill the bowl half to 3/4 full so your child has room to spoon and not have to worry about spilling. Doing so builds confidence, as they will spill less often.
Parent: Who is setting the table tonight? Why should we set the table? Can we eat hot soup with our hands? Will we get burned? Is getting our fingers burned ok? Why not? Oh, so we should probably set the table together. I'll get the spoons. Will you please get the napkins and plates? Thanks! You are such a great helper! I love it when you help out.
WHILE THE PASTA IS COOKING IN YOUR SOUP............
Sandwich Ingredients
4- of your choice of bread, pita , half of a roll, or one tortilla (whatever you have at home or that you know your children will eat)
8- one ounce slices of low salt, low fat turkey slices rolled
2- ounces of bottled marinade or BBQ sauce un-used from last week's meal.
4- one ounce slices of low fat provolone cheese
Sandwich Preparation- 10 minutes
Parent: Turn on your oven and Pre-heat oven to 400*F
Child: Spray a cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray
Child: Place 4 pieces of your favorite bread item"half" on the sprayed cookie sheet
Parent: Place about 1 tsp. of the marinade on each slice of bread item half by using a circular motion, smear the marinade to cover as much of the bread as possible.
Child: Place 2 rolls of turkey on each bread item
Child: Place one slice of provolone on top of your turkey rolls
Parent: Place the cookie sheet in the middle rack of your oven and bake open faced sandwiches for 10 minutes.
Parent: Turn oven off and remove cooked sandwiches from the oven. With a spatula, or commonly known as " the hamburger flipper thingy" in some single parent's homes I have visited... and place the sandwiches, one on each plate. Serve with the bowl of soup.
TIP: by serving one sandwich per plate, per person and one bowl of soup per person, you are managing portion control as well as preventing an older child from taking more portions that you want them to have, usually so the younger sibling has no food to eat. (I was the younger sibling...smile)
What we have learned:
1. Adding a craft and learning experience fills your time up with a positive vibe and builds memories and also expresses creativity. Also learning and doing things together allows for casual conversation time. As your children get older, they will come to you for conversation because you've built that behavior up with them now.
2. How to make a healthy and quick soup
3. How to "de-glaze" a pan using a liquid
4. How to re-enforce your dicing skills
5. An open faced sandwich technique, plus.... less bread, less calories
6. A positive teaching method called " The Socratic Method", of asking questions to get agreement and the result you want. (setting the table)
7. A way to use up some marinade you had left over
8. Techniques on soup bowl filling to reduce spills, burns
9. Portion control
10. Pouring technique into a pot to avoid splatter
11. Stirring from the bottom up, prevent sticking and burning
OPTIONS:
Soup: Want to make chicken vegetable or beef vegetable soup instead? Take one pound of cleaned, cut, fresh chicken tenders, like the casserole recipe tenders and add them at the same time you added the onions. Like beef? Buy 1 pound of fresh thawed stew meat, small pre-cut portions of cubed beef. Season with salt and pepper, roll lightly in all purpose flour and add them at the same time you added the onions.
Sandwich: Substitute Turkey slices for chicken breast slices, or lean roast beef or low salt ham slices. You can also drain a can of albacore tuna fish, drain/dry it on a few paper towels and place the tuna on the bread slice half, top with marinade and cheese. Cook time stays the same even if you substitute the proteins above.
Take every recipe, every time together as a family, step by step and relax. Be the best person you can be and you will get through the cooking part and the single parent part. I hope that your time together this weekend as a family is filled with smiles.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Cheap Chicken
When thinking about this week's recipe, I remembered my vacations at the NJ Shore. I would always order the cheapest menu item, usually chicken, so I hoped my parents would have enough money to pay for the amusement rides on the Boardwalk. Money was really not a concern, although I didn't know that then. I was just a kid who wanted to eat and also ride some amusement rides on the Boardwalk.
I hope you had a great week and that you enjoy preparing this recipe with your family. Maybe your child/children will pull the cheap chicken trick on you one day and you will smile and enjoy the moment.
Cheap Chicken with Potatoes & Veg
Serves 4 people
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
4- Six ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts with or without tenders
6 ounces of your favorite marinade/sauce (BBQ sauce, Chipotle lime, Teriyaki, Bourbon Peppercorn, etc) Just make sure you do not purchase a bottled marinade that adds too much sodium or calories.
Ask your children/child what flavor they want to try and make it a mutual experiment. That way you have, "buy in" from your child/children and they should try your cooking.
2 Large "baker" type potatoes, about the size of your adult hand
1 Bunch fresh asparagus, cut 1 inch off of each bottom OR try fresh cleaned Broccolini
3 TBSP olive or canola oil
1 sprinkle of garlic powder, salt and pepper
Preparation
Parent: Pre-heat a BBQ grill or cast iron stove top grill to high heat. If you do not have either, a George Foreman electric grill or a fry pan will work.
Parent or Child: Wash your potatoes under cold water and rub with a paper towel to remove the grit.
Child: With a dinner fork, fork each potato twice to allow the steam to escape.
Child: Place each forked potato in the middle of your microwave oven.
Microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Parent: Remove the chicken from the package and rinse with fresh cold water for a few seconds to remove chicken blood.
Parent: Place chicken on a few paper towels on top of a plate to drain.
Child: Rub both sides of your chicken breast lightly with olive oil.
Child: Sprinkle seasoning in top of your chicken breasts.
Turn breasts over and season the other side.
Parent or Child over 12: Turn your potatoes over and microwave an additional 4 minutes.
Throw out the soiled paper towels and wash your hands with warm soap and water to remove any bacteria. Do what you learned last time and wash all surfaces that the chicken touched with hot soapy water to eliminate the chance of cross contamination.
Child: Pre-heat oven to 350* F
If you will be cooking your chicken inside your home, make sure a window is open and/or you have a stove exhaust fan on high to remove smoke.
Parent: Place the chicken breasts, bottom side down on your hot cooking surface for 5 minutes.
Parent: Turn your chicken over so the top side is down now and cook another 5 minutes.
Child or Parent: Spray a cookie sheet pan with a non-stick cooking spray
Child: Place fresh asparagus, or broccolini on the cookie sheet
Child: Then place your partially cooked chicken breasts on top of the vegetable you chose
Parent: Cut your partially microwaved cooked potatoes into 4 equal portions.
Child or Parent: Place the sliced potatoes on the cookie sheet also.
Child: Slowly and gently pour 1 ounce of your favorite marinade or BBQ sauce on the middle of each chicken breast. ( Messy is ok, do not worry, It will taste great!)
Parent or Child: With the bottom of a spoon, slowly rub the sauce or marinade around the top of each chicken breast, to cover each top.
( Don't worry if you drip some sauce on the cookie sheet. You sprayed it with cooking spray, so the clean up will be ok.)
Parent or Child over 12: Place your cookie sheet with the "sauced" chicken, vegetables and sliced potatoes in your pre-heated oven for 35 minutes at 350*F, or until the internal temperature of your chicken is at least 165*F.
Parent: Serve by placing the broccolini, potato and chicken on your plates.
Enjoy!
What you have learned:
1. That asking your child/children to help you select a sauce or marinate, will assist you in getting them to taste your cooking
2. That you use a non stick spray so clean up is easier
3. To place a vegetable underneath a soon to be cooked protein will allow the juices of that protein to cook and add flavor to it while it cooks.
4. That children have their own thoughts and ideas and that they may be trying to eat less to save you money, or have money to do things they really want to do with you.
5. That you have as many recipes as there are marinades that you and your family can agree upon, so you can make many meals together.
I hope that this week is your best week ever and that you continue to attempt to cook healthy fun foods with your family.
I hope you had a great week and that you enjoy preparing this recipe with your family. Maybe your child/children will pull the cheap chicken trick on you one day and you will smile and enjoy the moment.
Cheap Chicken with Potatoes & Veg
Serves 4 people
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
4- Six ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts with or without tenders
6 ounces of your favorite marinade/sauce (BBQ sauce, Chipotle lime, Teriyaki, Bourbon Peppercorn, etc) Just make sure you do not purchase a bottled marinade that adds too much sodium or calories.
Ask your children/child what flavor they want to try and make it a mutual experiment. That way you have, "buy in" from your child/children and they should try your cooking.
2 Large "baker" type potatoes, about the size of your adult hand
1 Bunch fresh asparagus, cut 1 inch off of each bottom OR try fresh cleaned Broccolini
3 TBSP olive or canola oil
1 sprinkle of garlic powder, salt and pepper
Preparation
Parent: Pre-heat a BBQ grill or cast iron stove top grill to high heat. If you do not have either, a George Foreman electric grill or a fry pan will work.
Parent or Child: Wash your potatoes under cold water and rub with a paper towel to remove the grit.
Child: With a dinner fork, fork each potato twice to allow the steam to escape.
Child: Place each forked potato in the middle of your microwave oven.
Microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Parent: Remove the chicken from the package and rinse with fresh cold water for a few seconds to remove chicken blood.
Parent: Place chicken on a few paper towels on top of a plate to drain.
Child: Rub both sides of your chicken breast lightly with olive oil.
Child: Sprinkle seasoning in top of your chicken breasts.
Turn breasts over and season the other side.
Parent or Child over 12: Turn your potatoes over and microwave an additional 4 minutes.
Throw out the soiled paper towels and wash your hands with warm soap and water to remove any bacteria. Do what you learned last time and wash all surfaces that the chicken touched with hot soapy water to eliminate the chance of cross contamination.
Child: Pre-heat oven to 350* F
If you will be cooking your chicken inside your home, make sure a window is open and/or you have a stove exhaust fan on high to remove smoke.
Parent: Place the chicken breasts, bottom side down on your hot cooking surface for 5 minutes.
Parent: Turn your chicken over so the top side is down now and cook another 5 minutes.
Child or Parent: Spray a cookie sheet pan with a non-stick cooking spray
Child: Place fresh asparagus, or broccolini on the cookie sheet
Child: Then place your partially cooked chicken breasts on top of the vegetable you chose
Parent: Cut your partially microwaved cooked potatoes into 4 equal portions.
Child or Parent: Place the sliced potatoes on the cookie sheet also.
Child: Slowly and gently pour 1 ounce of your favorite marinade or BBQ sauce on the middle of each chicken breast. ( Messy is ok, do not worry, It will taste great!)
Parent or Child: With the bottom of a spoon, slowly rub the sauce or marinade around the top of each chicken breast, to cover each top.
( Don't worry if you drip some sauce on the cookie sheet. You sprayed it with cooking spray, so the clean up will be ok.)
Parent or Child over 12: Place your cookie sheet with the "sauced" chicken, vegetables and sliced potatoes in your pre-heated oven for 35 minutes at 350*F, or until the internal temperature of your chicken is at least 165*F.
Parent: Serve by placing the broccolini, potato and chicken on your plates.
Enjoy!
What you have learned:
1. That asking your child/children to help you select a sauce or marinate, will assist you in getting them to taste your cooking
2. That you use a non stick spray so clean up is easier
3. To place a vegetable underneath a soon to be cooked protein will allow the juices of that protein to cook and add flavor to it while it cooks.
4. That children have their own thoughts and ideas and that they may be trying to eat less to save you money, or have money to do things they really want to do with you.
5. That you have as many recipes as there are marinades that you and your family can agree upon, so you can make many meals together.
I hope that this week is your best week ever and that you continue to attempt to cook healthy fun foods with your family.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Family Casserole with a learning element
Hello! I hope your week is going well and you are looking forward to the next time you and your children can gather in the kitchen to create a memorable meal. We are going to make an easy enchilada recipe that has many options that will allow you to gear the recipe to the tastes of your family. I also am asking that you take a minute before you pick up your children to GOOGLE "Mexico". Wikapedia has good information too. Pick out 3 or 4 interesting tidbits of information about Mexico. Examples.... What bodies of water surround Mexico? Are those waters hotter or colder than the Atlantic Ocean? What is the national sport? What fruits and vegetables are grown there? How are tortillas made in Mexico? Do you want to print off a flag or flags and have your children cut them out and glue them on a plastic straw or paper plate to decorate your dinner table? All food comes from somewhere, not just your refrigerator, the grocery store or a drive thru window. Help to build an understanding of where food comes from and the culture it came from. This creates a fun learning experience.
Chicken Enchiladas with Options
Prep time 45 minutes
Bake time 30 minutes
Serves 4-6 portions
Ingredients
1 lb, boneless , skinless chicken breast tenders
1 Ten pack soft tortillas (Flour, corn , wheat, multi grain, you decide)
1 Eight oz. bag Mexican shredded cheese mix
1 can chicken tortilla soup
1 small yellow or white onion, peeled and diced
1 green pepper, washed, seeded and diced
1 Fourteen oz jar of picante sauce (You select spice level, mild, medium or hot)
Preparation
CHILD: Remove chicken from package and rinse in cold water and dry on a couple paper towels. Wash your hands with soap and water.
PARENT: With clean scissors, cut the tender or plastic straw looking cartilage off of each chicken tender. You do not have to be precise, just get as much off as you can.
CHILD: Place chicken on a plate and sprinkle with garlic salt & black pepper. (sprinkle chili powder if you like spice) Wash your hands with soap and water.
CHILD Over your sink, spray a 9X12x2 casserole dish with non-stick spray to make clean up easier.
PARENT: Open can of soup into a 2 QT mixing bowl
CHILD: Add 3/4 can of water to the can of soup in the mixing bowl and stir/ whisk to mix thoroughly.
PARENT: Pour the soup into the sprayed casserole dish.
PARENT & CHILD TAKE TURNS: On a separate cutting board or flat surface, take a tortilla flat and place 2 chicken tenders and a half hand full of cheese in the middle and roll the tortilla up.
PARENT & CHILD TAKE TURNS: Place rolled enchilada into the casserole dish, kind of sinking them in the soup mixture and repeat until all enchiladas are in your casserole dish.(It is ok if you squeeze the rolled enchiladas closely together. It is also ok if cheese falls out or they are not rolled tightly like cigarettes. It will always taste great!) Wash your hands with soap and water.
PARENT OR CHILD OVER AGE 12: Dice your vegetables. Grocery stores and specialty gourmet food equipment stores sell a mesh glove that is a cut protector glove. Consider buying one in your size and that of your child/ren.
( To dice onions, you place the onion on a flat surface cutting board so that the stem side is up. Cut the onion in half, so you have divided the stem side into two pieces. With your thumb, push the onion skin away from the shiny surface of the onion. Sometimes you will take the first row of shiny skin off too. Do not worry, it happens. Then place the flat surface of your onion half on the cutting board. You will look at the shiny skin and see lines. Run your knife down every other line to make a series of cuts down to the cutting board. About 6 or 8 slices per half of onion. Keep the onion together and place your hand on top of the crown of the onion behind your knife blade to prevent cutting yourself. Turn the sliced onion half 180*, so the cut stripes are now horizontal to your knife hand and proceed to cut 6 to 8 slices perpendicular to your previous cuts. This gives you a medium dice. As you have more practice with knives and onions, you can make the dice smaller by cutting more lines in the shiny surface, say 12 to 14 and the same number on the perpendicular cuts, always keeping you hand behind the cutting edge and allowing the blade to pull the onion away from your hand.)
( To dice a pepper, cut the stem off. Place the cut side down on your cutting board and cut the pepper in half. Pull out the seeds and any internal loose flesh. With the shiny side down, cut thin strips vertically down the inside of the pepper. This is called making "Julienne" strips. Then cut each julienne strip into 6 to each pieces. This is the safe way to cut peppers into smaller pieces.
The result should be that your onion and peppers pieces should be closely the same size so they cook at the same length of time. Do not worry if the sizes vary, they will still cook and be terrific! )
PARENT OR CHILD: Turn on your oven and pre-heat your oven to 350*F
CHILD: Sprinkle the diced green peppers and onions over the casserole. The goal is to try to evenly spread out the vegetables, so each serving of enchilada will include an equal amount of enchilada, soup sauce and vegetables. Wash your hands with soap and water.
PARENT: Open your jar of picante sauce and pour in evenly over the enchiladas, again trying to have an equal amount over the entire surface of the casserole. You can use a spoon or spatula to spread the sauce around. (Picante jar difficult to open? With lid secure, turn upside down and hold tightly with one hand and with the palm of your other hand, spank or pop hard and fast on the bottom of the jar. This moves the air up to the top against the jar lid seal and usually loosens the seal. Turn jar up and unscrew. Repeat if lid didn't come loose.)
CHILD: Open the bag of cheese and also sprinkle/spread it evenly over the surface of your casserole.
PARENT: Wash the cutting board with warm soapy water, rinse and place in dish washer. OR wash by hand in HOT soapy water, all items that made contact with chicken, including kitchen counter areas.
PARENT or CHILD OVER AGE 12: Place a cookie tray in the oven on the middle rack if possible.
PARENT: Place your casserole dish on top of the cookie sheet to catch possible bubble over.
CHILD: Set timer and Bake for 30 minutes.
PARENT: Remove from the oven and allow to sit and rest 5 minutes before serving. The goal to serving is to scoop out 2 or 3 enchiladas per portion. It will be a nice cheesy gooey mess, so please do not worry if your enchiladas break when served.
*** This meal works well with another one of your "tossed" salads you made last week, only this time you can use up the Ranch dressing of use 2 ounces of the low calorie Italian dressing you have left over. An appropriate beverage to serve with this or any meal would be 100% fruit juice with a low sugar content, plain green tea, hot or cold over ice, low fat milk or ice water with a squeeze or slice of fresh lemon or lime in it. Try not to drink your calories!
OPTIONS!!
1. You can set the timer for 20 minutes and then after 20 minutes top your casserole with any or all of the following.... crushed tortilla chips, fritos, thin slices of tomato, drained chopped black olives, avocado slices, or jalapeno slices. Again, this depends on your tastes and whether you want to add healthy vegetables or less healthy crunch. Replace the casserole into the oven and bake the remaining 10 minutes.
2. You can substitute the fresh or thawed chicken tenders, with previously fried breaded chicken fingers that you buy frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator over night or for 8 hours. ( Less healthy, plus your children don't get to learn how to remove the tendon from the chicken fillet tender.)
3. You can substitute using cooked ground turkey or ground chicken, ground meat soy substitute, (healthy), chorizo or beef (less healthy). Cook any ground meat you select in a 12 inch saute pan over medium high heat and stir the ground meat with a plastic or wooden spoon until there is no pink color or to the temperature of 160*F. Then drain cooked ground meat in a spaghetti colander strainer and use drained cooked ground meat in your recipe in place of the chicken tenders.
4. You can substitute the Mexican soup for canned red chili sauce, or green chili sauce.
5. You can substitute the Mexican soup for canned cream of mushroom or broccoli cheese soup. To the soup in your casserole dish, add a small bag (8 oz.) of frozen chopped broccoli, that you thaw and drain. Thaw in a microwave covered on the defrost cycle for 2 minutes. Check temperature, then repeat if necessary. Drain out the water. Use 2% milk or any white milk, instead of water with the soup and omit the picante sauce. Substitute the Mexican cheese for shredded sharp cheddar cheese. With 10 minutes left on baking, top your casserole with a can of French's canned crisp onion rings.
Leftovers can be microwaved, covered for 3 minutes on high or baked covered in the oven 350*F for 15 minutes.
WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
1. A little more about Mexico
2. How to make another memory
3. How to make a casserole"process" that can actually become multiple meals based upon the options your family selects.
4. That you wash your hands thoroughly and often when handling chicken to reduce the chance of bacteria transfer or cross contamination.
5. That you are responsible to clean and sanitize all equipment and areas that chicken touchs, to reduce cross contamination.
6. A technique for julienne slicing and for dicing.
7. That gloves are available to protect against cuts.
8. How to open a difficult jar.
9. How to cook and what color and temperature you should cook ground meat
10. How to thaw a frozen vegetable product you intend to add to a recipe that will bake that thawed vegetable product.
I hope you have a super time together, filled with joy, learning and laughter. Education doesn't stop in school. With you, your children will do homework, create projects, read books, research things on the Internet and cook. You will see their confidence grow! Cooking together builds and reinforces that self confidence for both you and your children.
Seize the day! Make the time together with your children the best positive experience that you can. Stop by next week for some more ideas............
Chicken Enchiladas with Options
Prep time 45 minutes
Bake time 30 minutes
Serves 4-6 portions
Ingredients
1 lb, boneless , skinless chicken breast tenders
1 Ten pack soft tortillas (Flour, corn , wheat, multi grain, you decide)
1 Eight oz. bag Mexican shredded cheese mix
1 can chicken tortilla soup
1 small yellow or white onion, peeled and diced
1 green pepper, washed, seeded and diced
1 Fourteen oz jar of picante sauce (You select spice level, mild, medium or hot)
Preparation
CHILD: Remove chicken from package and rinse in cold water and dry on a couple paper towels. Wash your hands with soap and water.
PARENT: With clean scissors, cut the tender or plastic straw looking cartilage off of each chicken tender. You do not have to be precise, just get as much off as you can.
CHILD: Place chicken on a plate and sprinkle with garlic salt & black pepper. (sprinkle chili powder if you like spice) Wash your hands with soap and water.
CHILD Over your sink, spray a 9X12x2 casserole dish with non-stick spray to make clean up easier.
PARENT: Open can of soup into a 2 QT mixing bowl
CHILD: Add 3/4 can of water to the can of soup in the mixing bowl and stir/ whisk to mix thoroughly.
PARENT: Pour the soup into the sprayed casserole dish.
PARENT & CHILD TAKE TURNS: On a separate cutting board or flat surface, take a tortilla flat and place 2 chicken tenders and a half hand full of cheese in the middle and roll the tortilla up.
PARENT & CHILD TAKE TURNS: Place rolled enchilada into the casserole dish, kind of sinking them in the soup mixture and repeat until all enchiladas are in your casserole dish.(It is ok if you squeeze the rolled enchiladas closely together. It is also ok if cheese falls out or they are not rolled tightly like cigarettes. It will always taste great!) Wash your hands with soap and water.
PARENT OR CHILD OVER AGE 12: Dice your vegetables. Grocery stores and specialty gourmet food equipment stores sell a mesh glove that is a cut protector glove. Consider buying one in your size and that of your child/ren.
( To dice onions, you place the onion on a flat surface cutting board so that the stem side is up. Cut the onion in half, so you have divided the stem side into two pieces. With your thumb, push the onion skin away from the shiny surface of the onion. Sometimes you will take the first row of shiny skin off too. Do not worry, it happens. Then place the flat surface of your onion half on the cutting board. You will look at the shiny skin and see lines. Run your knife down every other line to make a series of cuts down to the cutting board. About 6 or 8 slices per half of onion. Keep the onion together and place your hand on top of the crown of the onion behind your knife blade to prevent cutting yourself. Turn the sliced onion half 180*, so the cut stripes are now horizontal to your knife hand and proceed to cut 6 to 8 slices perpendicular to your previous cuts. This gives you a medium dice. As you have more practice with knives and onions, you can make the dice smaller by cutting more lines in the shiny surface, say 12 to 14 and the same number on the perpendicular cuts, always keeping you hand behind the cutting edge and allowing the blade to pull the onion away from your hand.)
( To dice a pepper, cut the stem off. Place the cut side down on your cutting board and cut the pepper in half. Pull out the seeds and any internal loose flesh. With the shiny side down, cut thin strips vertically down the inside of the pepper. This is called making "Julienne" strips. Then cut each julienne strip into 6 to each pieces. This is the safe way to cut peppers into smaller pieces.
The result should be that your onion and peppers pieces should be closely the same size so they cook at the same length of time. Do not worry if the sizes vary, they will still cook and be terrific! )
PARENT OR CHILD: Turn on your oven and pre-heat your oven to 350*F
CHILD: Sprinkle the diced green peppers and onions over the casserole. The goal is to try to evenly spread out the vegetables, so each serving of enchilada will include an equal amount of enchilada, soup sauce and vegetables. Wash your hands with soap and water.
PARENT: Open your jar of picante sauce and pour in evenly over the enchiladas, again trying to have an equal amount over the entire surface of the casserole. You can use a spoon or spatula to spread the sauce around. (Picante jar difficult to open? With lid secure, turn upside down and hold tightly with one hand and with the palm of your other hand, spank or pop hard and fast on the bottom of the jar. This moves the air up to the top against the jar lid seal and usually loosens the seal. Turn jar up and unscrew. Repeat if lid didn't come loose.)
CHILD: Open the bag of cheese and also sprinkle/spread it evenly over the surface of your casserole.
PARENT: Wash the cutting board with warm soapy water, rinse and place in dish washer. OR wash by hand in HOT soapy water, all items that made contact with chicken, including kitchen counter areas.
PARENT or CHILD OVER AGE 12: Place a cookie tray in the oven on the middle rack if possible.
PARENT: Place your casserole dish on top of the cookie sheet to catch possible bubble over.
CHILD: Set timer and Bake for 30 minutes.
PARENT: Remove from the oven and allow to sit and rest 5 minutes before serving. The goal to serving is to scoop out 2 or 3 enchiladas per portion. It will be a nice cheesy gooey mess, so please do not worry if your enchiladas break when served.
*** This meal works well with another one of your "tossed" salads you made last week, only this time you can use up the Ranch dressing of use 2 ounces of the low calorie Italian dressing you have left over. An appropriate beverage to serve with this or any meal would be 100% fruit juice with a low sugar content, plain green tea, hot or cold over ice, low fat milk or ice water with a squeeze or slice of fresh lemon or lime in it. Try not to drink your calories!
OPTIONS!!
1. You can set the timer for 20 minutes and then after 20 minutes top your casserole with any or all of the following.... crushed tortilla chips, fritos, thin slices of tomato, drained chopped black olives, avocado slices, or jalapeno slices. Again, this depends on your tastes and whether you want to add healthy vegetables or less healthy crunch. Replace the casserole into the oven and bake the remaining 10 minutes.
2. You can substitute the fresh or thawed chicken tenders, with previously fried breaded chicken fingers that you buy frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator over night or for 8 hours. ( Less healthy, plus your children don't get to learn how to remove the tendon from the chicken fillet tender.)
3. You can substitute using cooked ground turkey or ground chicken, ground meat soy substitute, (healthy), chorizo or beef (less healthy). Cook any ground meat you select in a 12 inch saute pan over medium high heat and stir the ground meat with a plastic or wooden spoon until there is no pink color or to the temperature of 160*F. Then drain cooked ground meat in a spaghetti colander strainer and use drained cooked ground meat in your recipe in place of the chicken tenders.
4. You can substitute the Mexican soup for canned red chili sauce, or green chili sauce.
5. You can substitute the Mexican soup for canned cream of mushroom or broccoli cheese soup. To the soup in your casserole dish, add a small bag (8 oz.) of frozen chopped broccoli, that you thaw and drain. Thaw in a microwave covered on the defrost cycle for 2 minutes. Check temperature, then repeat if necessary. Drain out the water. Use 2% milk or any white milk, instead of water with the soup and omit the picante sauce. Substitute the Mexican cheese for shredded sharp cheddar cheese. With 10 minutes left on baking, top your casserole with a can of French's canned crisp onion rings.
Leftovers can be microwaved, covered for 3 minutes on high or baked covered in the oven 350*F for 15 minutes.
WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
1. A little more about Mexico
2. How to make another memory
3. How to make a casserole"process" that can actually become multiple meals based upon the options your family selects.
4. That you wash your hands thoroughly and often when handling chicken to reduce the chance of bacteria transfer or cross contamination.
5. That you are responsible to clean and sanitize all equipment and areas that chicken touchs, to reduce cross contamination.
6. A technique for julienne slicing and for dicing.
7. That gloves are available to protect against cuts.
8. How to open a difficult jar.
9. How to cook and what color and temperature you should cook ground meat
10. How to thaw a frozen vegetable product you intend to add to a recipe that will bake that thawed vegetable product.
I hope you have a super time together, filled with joy, learning and laughter. Education doesn't stop in school. With you, your children will do homework, create projects, read books, research things on the Internet and cook. You will see their confidence grow! Cooking together builds and reinforces that self confidence for both you and your children.
Seize the day! Make the time together with your children the best positive experience that you can. Stop by next week for some more ideas............
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Magic of Low-Cal Italian Dressing
Today's Menu features low calorie Italian dressing. I'll assume that you are not into making your own yet. We can get to that later....... It also uses some of your ingredients from the parmesan crusted cod recipe from last time, so you don't waste food or money.
Get the kids, as this will be fun!
SHOPPING LIST
1 head Iceburg Lettuce
1 cucumber
1 small box, a pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 small bag, plain roasted almond slices, 4 ounces
1 small bottle low calorie Italian salad dressing
1 whole chicken cut up into pieces (you can buy it pre-cut)
1 box gallon zip closure style plastic bags
3 medium sized russet potatoes (any potatoe really that will fit in the palm of your hand)
1 non-stick cooking spray
Preperation
Wash the hands of all participants!!
Pre-heat your oven to 375* F
Wash potatoes in cold water rubbing the outside with a wet paper towel to get the dirt off. Children can do this job, or you can. The adult, or child over age 12 , then places the washed potatoes on a cutting board. (Place a dish towel under the cutting board to prevent it from sliding when you will cut anything on the surface of the cutting board.) The potatoes will naturally rest on their flatest side. Cut each potatoe in half length wise. Place the halves, cut side down and then cut each half again once length wise, then 3 times width wise. You now have potatoes wedges all about the same size. This uniformity helps them to cook at the same amount of time. Have a child or you, place the potatoe cubes in a 2 quart mixing bowl. Same person or different child if you have multiples, Add 1/2 cup of the creamy ranch dressing from last recipe in with the potatoes. Add 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese also. Then stir the potatoes around inside the bowl to coat them with the cheesy dressing. Over your kitchen sink, you or a child spray a cookie sheet with a non stick cooking spray or cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and also spray it. ( I love making clean up easy, yet am mindful of creating too big a carbon footprint) Place the coated potatoes on the cookie sheet, so each potatoe is seperated from another to cook evenly. Set aside for now to let the flavors get into the potatoes.
Remove chicken pieces, 2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs and rinse in cold water. Shake off excess water or pat dry with paper toweling. Place chicken inside a gallon plastic zip lock type bag. Add 1 cup of low calorie Italian dressing to the chicken parts inside of the plastic bag. Close the plastic bag securely and gently move and massage the chicken around inside the bag to coat each piece evenly with dressing. Using a fork or tongs, remove each chicken piece from the plastic bag and place on a tray that has at least a 1/2 inch side on it, or a Pyrex 9X 12 X 2 baking dish that you have sprayed with a non stick oven spray. Throw the plastic bag with the dressing away and wash your hands thoroughly with hot soapy water.
Place your chicken in the oven at 375*F for 15 minutes. Set a timer!! Then when the timer goes off, reduce the oven temperature to 350*F and put the potatoes in the oven on the rack above your chicken and bake both items for another 30 minutes. You will know the chicken is finished when the internal temperature is 170*F or when you stick a fork in the fattest part of the chicken breast and pull it out, the juice that runs from the chicken is clear and not cloudy or bloody.
While the chicken and potatoes are cooking...........
Let's make a "tossed salad"! Lettuce, pop the knob off the bottom by banging it on your kitchen countertop, then pulling it out. Have a child tear the lettuce into small pieces, about as long as their thumb, and place in a colander. Run under cold water to clean lettuce. ( you can mix in fresh spinach, fresh basil leaves, or bib, romaine or endive lettuce if you want) I am sticking with iceburg because most kids will at least try it. You can also buy bagged lettuce yet it is pricey and takes a job away from a child. Wash lettuce either type you choose, then shake the colander over your kitchen sink to remove water. Place lettuce inside the gallon zip lock plastic bag.
Cucumber, wash exterior in cold water. If you have a plastic fork, have a child run the plastic fork down the
length of the exterior of the cucumber to make lines, every so gently. They hold the cucmber in one hand at the top and only stripe the middle part and down, then flip the cucumber around and stripe the top part. Repeat. If the child is 7 or older, they can use a non plastic fork. Roll the cucumber and repeat until the exterior is striped. Then if the child is old enough and has been taught how to use a sharp knife, have the cucumber cut into thin slices like silver dollar thickness. If not, you as the adult, slice the cucumbers. Remember that nothing has to be perfect, it is art in action and fun to share time together. Place cucumber slices into the plastic bag with the lettuce.
Have a child count the number of cherry or grape tomatoes you decide as a family to have in your salad today. You or your child (children) wash those tomoatoes in cold water and then add them also to the plastic bag filled with lettuce.
Open the bag of almonds and place 1/2 of the almonds, about 2 ounces into the plastic bag with salad ingredients.
Open your ranch dressing left over from last week that you stored in your refrigerator and slowly pour 4 tablespoons of salad dressing, one spoonful at a time into a tablespoon and then dump the level tablespoon into the plastic salad bag mixture. I want you to do this measuring because it might be late at night one day and your child needs exactly one tablespoon of medicine, so you practice now on inexpensive salad dressing so you can be ready!
Tightly close the zip lock type plastic bag. Make certain it is zipped close. Place this inside a second zip type bag, zip the second one closed and then pass the bag back and forth between you and your child or children. Pass it to each other a few time like a gentle football or underhand baseball. You have a "tossed" salad, plus you have all participated in making a meal memory. Unzip the outer bag and save it. Unlock the salad contained bag and plate it into bowls when it is meal time. This can hold in a refrigerator for 2 hours prior to eating. Do not keep over night. throw out any leftovers.
Who is going to set the table? Are we going to use utensils or pretend we are noble Knights of the Roundtable and eat with our hands tonight and we only need napkins? If we are civilized tonight, then the napkin, salad fork and dinner fork are placd on the left hand side of the dinner plate and the knife and teaspoon( if you want to have one) are placed on the right hand side. Flatware/ eating utensils are never handled by the eating end. Hold the flatware by the handle and place it on the table. I share this because maybe one day your child will need to get a job as a waiter or have to bus tables. Knowing this sanitary way to handle utensils now, helps.
Children wash up for dinner as the parent removes the hot food from the oven and plates the potatoes and chicken and the children bring the bowls of salad over to the table.
Leftover chicken can be refrigerated and eaten cold within 24 hours. After that it has to be cooked/heated to 165*F if eaten. Microwave covered with a paper towel for 3 minutes on high usually does the trick. Potatoes can be heated the same way. A good rule of thumb is not to hold leftovers in your refrigerator more than 3 days.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have prepared meal number two!
This is what you learned......
1. Meal making can be a team sport and a tossed salad can get fussy children eating veggies
2. Low Cal Italian dressing can be a marinade! In fact, you can repeat the process for boneless center cut pork chops. Follow the same method and timing and final internal temperature will be 160*F.
3. Use leftovers, like parmesan cheese and Ranch dressing to save money. It just takes a plan. The potatoe recipe process can also be repeated on fresh clean green beans, or washed brocollini. Coat the green beans or brocollini with the cheese and dressing, add 1/8 cup of water or chicken broth and bake covered for 15 minutes at 350*F.
4. Washing hands after touching chicken is critical to keeping healthy. Also, never re-use a marinade unless it has been boiled. Personally, I NEVER re-use a marinade.
5. Using a non-stick cooking spray reduces clean up time.
6. Setting a table or having a Knights of the Roundtable Feast can be fun.
7. Securing a cutting board with a towel is a safety measure
BONUS: Low Cal Italian Dressing can marinate a london broil, tri-tip or flat iron cut steak! Place the steak in a zip lock type bag with 1 cup of dressing and refrigerate at least 1 hour and no longer than 24 hours. Remove steak and throw away marinade. Heat BBQ grill on high for 10 minutes. Place steak on grill for 6 minutes each side for a one inch thick cut of beef, turning steak over only once to retain moisture. Remove from BBQ and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes. Slice on a diagonal and serve! If you wish your steak to be cooked more than mid-rare, then place on the grill for a longer time. Closing the grill retains heat and helps food achieve more "done-ness" in the same amount of time.
I wish you and your loved ones a great meal. I'll have more next week. Until then, keep being the best person you can be. Your children deserve the best!
Get the kids, as this will be fun!
SHOPPING LIST
1 head Iceburg Lettuce
1 cucumber
1 small box, a pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 small bag, plain roasted almond slices, 4 ounces
1 small bottle low calorie Italian salad dressing
1 whole chicken cut up into pieces (you can buy it pre-cut)
1 box gallon zip closure style plastic bags
3 medium sized russet potatoes (any potatoe really that will fit in the palm of your hand)
1 non-stick cooking spray
Preperation
Wash the hands of all participants!!
Pre-heat your oven to 375* F
Wash potatoes in cold water rubbing the outside with a wet paper towel to get the dirt off. Children can do this job, or you can. The adult, or child over age 12 , then places the washed potatoes on a cutting board. (Place a dish towel under the cutting board to prevent it from sliding when you will cut anything on the surface of the cutting board.) The potatoes will naturally rest on their flatest side. Cut each potatoe in half length wise. Place the halves, cut side down and then cut each half again once length wise, then 3 times width wise. You now have potatoes wedges all about the same size. This uniformity helps them to cook at the same amount of time. Have a child or you, place the potatoe cubes in a 2 quart mixing bowl. Same person or different child if you have multiples, Add 1/2 cup of the creamy ranch dressing from last recipe in with the potatoes. Add 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese also. Then stir the potatoes around inside the bowl to coat them with the cheesy dressing. Over your kitchen sink, you or a child spray a cookie sheet with a non stick cooking spray or cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and also spray it. ( I love making clean up easy, yet am mindful of creating too big a carbon footprint) Place the coated potatoes on the cookie sheet, so each potatoe is seperated from another to cook evenly. Set aside for now to let the flavors get into the potatoes.
Remove chicken pieces, 2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs and rinse in cold water. Shake off excess water or pat dry with paper toweling. Place chicken inside a gallon plastic zip lock type bag. Add 1 cup of low calorie Italian dressing to the chicken parts inside of the plastic bag. Close the plastic bag securely and gently move and massage the chicken around inside the bag to coat each piece evenly with dressing. Using a fork or tongs, remove each chicken piece from the plastic bag and place on a tray that has at least a 1/2 inch side on it, or a Pyrex 9X 12 X 2 baking dish that you have sprayed with a non stick oven spray. Throw the plastic bag with the dressing away and wash your hands thoroughly with hot soapy water.
Place your chicken in the oven at 375*F for 15 minutes. Set a timer!! Then when the timer goes off, reduce the oven temperature to 350*F and put the potatoes in the oven on the rack above your chicken and bake both items for another 30 minutes. You will know the chicken is finished when the internal temperature is 170*F or when you stick a fork in the fattest part of the chicken breast and pull it out, the juice that runs from the chicken is clear and not cloudy or bloody.
While the chicken and potatoes are cooking...........
Let's make a "tossed salad"! Lettuce, pop the knob off the bottom by banging it on your kitchen countertop, then pulling it out. Have a child tear the lettuce into small pieces, about as long as their thumb, and place in a colander. Run under cold water to clean lettuce. ( you can mix in fresh spinach, fresh basil leaves, or bib, romaine or endive lettuce if you want) I am sticking with iceburg because most kids will at least try it. You can also buy bagged lettuce yet it is pricey and takes a job away from a child. Wash lettuce either type you choose, then shake the colander over your kitchen sink to remove water. Place lettuce inside the gallon zip lock plastic bag.
Cucumber, wash exterior in cold water. If you have a plastic fork, have a child run the plastic fork down the
length of the exterior of the cucumber to make lines, every so gently. They hold the cucmber in one hand at the top and only stripe the middle part and down, then flip the cucumber around and stripe the top part. Repeat. If the child is 7 or older, they can use a non plastic fork. Roll the cucumber and repeat until the exterior is striped. Then if the child is old enough and has been taught how to use a sharp knife, have the cucumber cut into thin slices like silver dollar thickness. If not, you as the adult, slice the cucumbers. Remember that nothing has to be perfect, it is art in action and fun to share time together. Place cucumber slices into the plastic bag with the lettuce.
Have a child count the number of cherry or grape tomatoes you decide as a family to have in your salad today. You or your child (children) wash those tomoatoes in cold water and then add them also to the plastic bag filled with lettuce.
Open the bag of almonds and place 1/2 of the almonds, about 2 ounces into the plastic bag with salad ingredients.
Open your ranch dressing left over from last week that you stored in your refrigerator and slowly pour 4 tablespoons of salad dressing, one spoonful at a time into a tablespoon and then dump the level tablespoon into the plastic salad bag mixture. I want you to do this measuring because it might be late at night one day and your child needs exactly one tablespoon of medicine, so you practice now on inexpensive salad dressing so you can be ready!
Tightly close the zip lock type plastic bag. Make certain it is zipped close. Place this inside a second zip type bag, zip the second one closed and then pass the bag back and forth between you and your child or children. Pass it to each other a few time like a gentle football or underhand baseball. You have a "tossed" salad, plus you have all participated in making a meal memory. Unzip the outer bag and save it. Unlock the salad contained bag and plate it into bowls when it is meal time. This can hold in a refrigerator for 2 hours prior to eating. Do not keep over night. throw out any leftovers.
Who is going to set the table? Are we going to use utensils or pretend we are noble Knights of the Roundtable and eat with our hands tonight and we only need napkins? If we are civilized tonight, then the napkin, salad fork and dinner fork are placd on the left hand side of the dinner plate and the knife and teaspoon( if you want to have one) are placed on the right hand side. Flatware/ eating utensils are never handled by the eating end. Hold the flatware by the handle and place it on the table. I share this because maybe one day your child will need to get a job as a waiter or have to bus tables. Knowing this sanitary way to handle utensils now, helps.
Children wash up for dinner as the parent removes the hot food from the oven and plates the potatoes and chicken and the children bring the bowls of salad over to the table.
Leftover chicken can be refrigerated and eaten cold within 24 hours. After that it has to be cooked/heated to 165*F if eaten. Microwave covered with a paper towel for 3 minutes on high usually does the trick. Potatoes can be heated the same way. A good rule of thumb is not to hold leftovers in your refrigerator more than 3 days.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have prepared meal number two!
This is what you learned......
1. Meal making can be a team sport and a tossed salad can get fussy children eating veggies
2. Low Cal Italian dressing can be a marinade! In fact, you can repeat the process for boneless center cut pork chops. Follow the same method and timing and final internal temperature will be 160*F.
3. Use leftovers, like parmesan cheese and Ranch dressing to save money. It just takes a plan. The potatoe recipe process can also be repeated on fresh clean green beans, or washed brocollini. Coat the green beans or brocollini with the cheese and dressing, add 1/8 cup of water or chicken broth and bake covered for 15 minutes at 350*F.
4. Washing hands after touching chicken is critical to keeping healthy. Also, never re-use a marinade unless it has been boiled. Personally, I NEVER re-use a marinade.
5. Using a non-stick cooking spray reduces clean up time.
6. Setting a table or having a Knights of the Roundtable Feast can be fun.
7. Securing a cutting board with a towel is a safety measure
BONUS: Low Cal Italian Dressing can marinate a london broil, tri-tip or flat iron cut steak! Place the steak in a zip lock type bag with 1 cup of dressing and refrigerate at least 1 hour and no longer than 24 hours. Remove steak and throw away marinade. Heat BBQ grill on high for 10 minutes. Place steak on grill for 6 minutes each side for a one inch thick cut of beef, turning steak over only once to retain moisture. Remove from BBQ and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes. Slice on a diagonal and serve! If you wish your steak to be cooked more than mid-rare, then place on the grill for a longer time. Closing the grill retains heat and helps food achieve more "done-ness" in the same amount of time.
I wish you and your loved ones a great meal. I'll have more next week. Until then, keep being the best person you can be. Your children deserve the best!
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