Who's The Boss?

What's for Dinner? Shepard's (Cottage) Pie

When Neville's parents were married, they quickly immigrated to the UK before coming to the US.  Neville and his brothers were all born in London.  There is a definite British influence in their family and their family culture.   

Shepard's Pie is a classic British dish.  It combines ground meat (lamb for Shepard's Pie; beef for Cottage Pie, or even turkey for those red-meat adverse) with a "crust" of mashed potatoes.  Because of the cheese lovers in my house, I also add a top layer of cheese - but a traditional recipe doesn't call for cheese.  That's purely an American touch. 

With the weather change to colder climates, I'm thrilled to be able to turn on my oven again.  I love me a casserole.  Any kind.  Tuna Noodle.  Chicken and Rice.  Frittata.  Quiche.  It's all yummy to me.  There is magic in the oven, I'm convinced.

I slow-cook the meat in the oven at a low temperature.  If you don't have the time, you can cook the meat on the stove while you boil the potatoes.  Another option would be to make and assemble the casserole the night before (or on a weekend), refrigerate, and then finish in the oven the night of dinner in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  I've done it that before many times and it comes out just as delish.

Shepard's Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground meat (take your pick: lamb, beef, turkey, or a combination)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• milk and butter (for your mashed potatoes)
• salt and pepper (to season to taste)
• 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  In your baking dish (I use a small 8x8 ceramic dish), add the meat, onion, carrots, celery, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of pepper. Mix the ingredients well with your hands.  Bake in the oven for 2 hours, pulling out half way through to mix up the ground meat.  Remove from oven and mix up the mixture once more.  Season to taste. Add the frozen peas. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, boil your potatoes until cooked through (a fork or pairing knife should pierce through with ease).  Drain the water.  Mash the potatoes (I use a hand mixer to make it easy).  Add milk, butter, salt, and pepper until creamy and well seasoned. 

Layer the mashed potatoes on top of the cooked meat mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven.  Bake for 15-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving (it will be piping hot). 

Enjoy! 

What's for Dinner? Hawaiian-Style Chicken and Macaroni Salad

Maybe it was because I spent the weekend planning our summer trip to Hawaii (I wasn't kidding about being an OCD planner).  Maybe it was because CityMama posted about Shoyu Chicken in her meal plan last week.  Maybe it was because I've found this cute (but literal) hole in the wall Hawaiian BBQ place in our neighborhood. 

Whatever the reason, I decided at the last minute to make Hawaiian-Style Chicken and Macaroni Salad.  By the last minute, I mean the morning of.  Because both of the Macaroni Salad takes some time to make (and then more time to set), I'd recommend making this the night before you actually plan on serving it.  The chicken worked very well in a crockpot, so you can easily do that on weeknight when things are crazy.  Best of all, I made so much chicken, that I was able to freeze enough for a future meal.  Which lately has become my cooking mantra:  cook once, eat twice!

Shoyu Chicken

I borrowed the recipe CityMama linked to about Shoyu Chicken.  Shoyu Chicken is like a simpler Teriyaki Chicken.  The original recipe is easy enough: Throw 12 chicken thighs, 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups soy sauce, 2 cups water, 1 clove of garlic, and 1/2 onion (chopped) into a pot.  You can cook on the stove top for an hour or stick in your crockpot on low for 6-8.   I shredded the chicken and served it over sticky white rice.

I modified the recipe by using 6 thighs and 6 chicken breasts because that it was was already in the freezer.  And yes, I stick frozen chicken straight into my crockpot.  I also used 1 cup of brown sugar instead of white sugar.  Why?  I just felt like it.  When I make it again, I'd stick to thighs-only because the thigh meat was so much better.  I'd also reduce the soy sauce to 1.5 cups and leave the water at 2 cups.  There was a lot of sauce that went to waste. 

Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad

I borrowed this recipe from Bowl Licker.  It was awesome.  It isn't a hard recipe to follow, but it does take a little time to complete from start to finish.  I made the recipe exactly as is and ended up with a giant bowl of macaroni salad.  We're still eating it three days later.  For a family, I'd halve the recipe.  For a potluck or a large BBQ, I'd make the full box of macaroni. 

In a twitter conversation with CityMama about my first venture into cooking Hawaiian-style food, she gave me some awesome tips and mix-ins to make an out of this world macaroni salad.  I can't wait to try these:

• Toss in cooked, cubed (and peeled) russet potatoes to make another island favorite: Potato Macaroni Salad. Seriously?  It's as if Potato and Macaroni got married and had a perfect salad baby!

OR

• For a Korean influence, add sliced persian cucumbers, grated carrot, and black olives.  Yum!

And no matter what, add an extra dollop of mayo before serving.  The recipe uses a lot of mayo.  A LOT.  Take Gina's advice and forget about the carb-fat overload and just enjoy it. 

The macaroni salad was great the night of but it was out-of-this world the next morning.  Yes, I had a bowl for breakfast.  Stop judging me.

What's for dinner? Potato Leek Soup

I almost missed my NaBloPoMo post for today. I'm sick. I'm in denial about being sick. It's much easier to pretend that I'm only taking care of sick kids rather than admit I'm taking care of sick kids while being sick.

With potatoes and leeks looming from our CSA bag last week, I decided today was the day for soup. It was delicious. The only thing that would have made it better was if I didn't have to be the one cooking.

Potato Leek Soup

4 medium leeks, chopped
3tbsp butter
1lb potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used red because that is what we had. I believe Yukon Gold is the typical potato in Potato Leek Soup)
1qt chicken broth
1.5 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper

In a large pot on medium-high heat, add butter, leeks, and a large pinch of salt. Sweat the leeks for 5 minutes and then lower the heat to low. Cook until leeks are tender; probably 15-20 minutes. Add potatoes and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 30-45 minutes until potatoes are tender. Turn off heat. Let rest for 10 minutes before using an emulsion blender to make smooth. Return to stove on low heat; add cream. Cook until heated through. Add Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

It was honestly delicious. Even Darius, the kid who doesn't like soup, ate a bowl full. We served it with a loaf of fresh french bread but all soup should be served that way.

Sent from my iPhone

Love, Loss, and Peanut Butter

I've been struggling to write this post all week.  Words, my typical rock, have failed me.  The words I do come up are cliche.  Or lame.  Or, as in my typical defense, totally inappropriate.

For my friends active in the blogosphere, this post comes as no surprise.  All over the country (perhaps world), bloggers are making Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey.  For my family and friends who don't participate in this online community, other than to read my own blog, may not understand this post.

 

Last Sunday, Jennifer Perillo's husband died suddenly of a heart-attack.  Gone with no warnings and no chances to say good-bye.  He's just gone.

Who's Jennifer Perillo, you ask? 

Well, she's a blogger.  She's a mother.  She's a fellow member of the Yahoo! Motherboard with me.  Jennifer  could be me.  Or you.  Maybe she is you.  Maybe she's joined your club losing someone who was too young to leave the world.  Or maybe, she's what you fear most: losing the people who are closest to you and not believing that you'd be able to breathe let alone move on with your life.

Yesterday, I made my Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey as a tribute to his life.  But it also serves as a reminder to me that people leave this Earth everyday.  And that I'm so lucky, so blessed, so taking it for granted that the people I care most about in this world are still in this world.

So I lift up my fork to Mikey.  And I thank those who have loved me despite all of my crazy.  And I tell you that I love you too. 

I love you, too.

Easy Apricot and Peach Cobbler

Yesterday was Pie Day.  I'm not sure that it's a real day, but someone said let's all make pie today and a bunch of other people thought that there was no better day for pie. 

Now, I don't know how to make pie.  I've never made a pie and I don't really want to start learning.  Pie, it seems to me, is complicated and time consuming.  And judging by the number of horrible crusts I've eaten from other people's pies, I'm guessing that it's probably easier to send a man to the moon than make a delicious pie.

So I did what an self-respecting Southern-roots gal would do.  I made COBBLER!

Cobbler is easy.  Especially this recipe from my Grandmother.  If you don't have fresh fruit available, you can use canned peaches instead (we've done it that way dozens of times).  With only a handful of ingredients always available in your pantry, this could very well become an everyday cobbler if you aren't careful.

Easy Cobbler

If using fresh fruit:

• 6 large peaches, skins & pit removed, slice into quarters
• 15 medium apricots, pit removed, sliced into halves
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

If using canned fruit:

• 3 cans of Freestone Peaches in heavy syrup (save the juice of two, but drain the third)
• 1/2 cup sugar

For the batter:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Plus:

• 1 stick butter
• Ground cinnamon
• Ice cream or heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 NOTE: I used oval ramekins to bake individual servings.  The recipe yields 8 large individual servings, but you can also use your standard 9x13 baking dish.

In a medium pot over medium heat, add your fruit filling ingredients.  Cook until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, melt a stick of butter and pour into the bottom of your baking dish (if individual, a tablespoon per dish).  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the batter.  Stir until mixed well.  Pour over the melted butter.

Spoon your fruit filling OVER the batter - including all the juice. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon (I add a lot, but add as much or as little as you like).

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the cobbler is golden brown.  Let sit for ten minutes before serving a la mode.

This is why I buy organic

Just 1.3 percent of imported fish, vegetables, fruit and other foods are inspected — yet those government inspections regularly reveal food unfit for human consumption.

1.3 percent!  That means that 98.7 of imported produce comes into our country without even a glance.  I can’t believe it.

Non-US farmers can (and do!) use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and hormones that are banned in the United States.  About one-quarter of our fruit, both fresh and frozen, is imported. For tree nuts, it’s about half. And for fish and shellfish, more than two-thirds come from overseas. 

After attending an interesting discussion with Robyn O'Brien,  author of the new book The Unhealthy Truth, I'm pretty certain that most of our conventional produce in this country may not be safe for our bodies either. 

But if you can't afford to shop at Whole Foods (and honestly, that isn't my go-to grocery store), here are four simple changes that you can adopt.

1. Buy Local

Even if you can’t afford organic, buy local.  Go to your weekly Farmer’s Market (there are over 70 each week in the Bay Area).  Buying organic at the Farmer’s Market can be significantly cheaper than buying it at the grocery store.

2. Change Your Milk

Check to make sure that your milk is hormone free.  Believe me, the dairies are making it easy to find out.  There should be a RBST-free or RBGH-free sticker on there.  I don't buy organic milk (sorry, $6 a gallon is highway robbery), but I make sure that the milk I do buy is hormone-free. 

3. Eat Less Meat

If you eat less meat, then you can afford to buy better quality meats (organic, local) when you are eating meat. Our Costco carries organic chicken breasts and thighs that are roughly the same price as conventional chicken at the conventional grocery store.  We've also purchased "shares" of local, grass-fed beef in the past. You just need to make sure that you have the freezer space to handle a share.

4. Let loose 20% of the time

Stick to healthy eating 80% of the time, and then let loose 20% of the time.  No one wants you to become that mother who doesn't let her kid eat birthday cake at a birthday party.  We still go out to Chili's with friends on a Friday night.  It's not about creating a strict diet.  It's about making informed decisions about what is going into our shopping carts and, ultimately, our bellies. 

Star Wars Jedi Training Party (part 1)

 
This year we went all out for Darius's birthday party.  While "all out" for most of our friends means hiring entertainment or reserving a slot at Pump it Up, for us it means the mother of all home parties.  We've had home parties before - but then Darius was a tot and all the party needed was bubbles and mylar balloons.  This year, I wanted to do something very special for my eldest child who's spent most of the year learning how to be ignored cope with having a baby brother around.  Enter the theme of his favorite movie of all time and we were off.

I'm listing all of this here in a three part series.  I found that most of my searches on the internet for Star Wars themed ideas turned up a mish mash of unusable information. This post will focus on the planning and preparation for your Jedi Training birthday party.

Custom Party Invitations for Jedi Training

I made our own party invitations for the first time.  I bought golden rod colored paper and black invites.  On one side was an invite to the party in Star Wars lingo and the other side had the party details.  Since we invited 16 boys (did I mention this is a boy-only party!) I asked parents to drop off their kids to reduce the number of people in our house (and also making it the first drop-off party for most of our guests).  I printed the invites in gray-scale since the images I used were in color.  You can edit the invite I created or make a custom one of your own.  Download Invitation

Make Your Own Jedi Decorations

I googled dozens of Star Wars character images and printed them out on our home computer.  I glued the images to construction paper and used those for most of our decorations.  I have images for every door in the house and outside on the fence.  Our side yard will serve as Mos Eisley's Cantina with a few more characters taped up on the side of the house.  I also bought 2 books of Star Wars paper cutouts  that I'm using for placemats, confetti for the goodie bags, and a whole lot more.  Cost for the books was $12/each and the rest was inconsequential since I was using materials we already had at home.

Star Wars Themed Food

From what I understand, there is a Star Wars cookbook out there.  Rather than add an additional expense, I came up with my own easy menu for the boys.

• Light Saber-dogs (corn dogs)
• Wookie Watermelon
• C3PO-tato Chips (just your run of the mill potato chips)
• Yoda Soda (lemonade with green-colored ice cubes)

I also thought of others like Han-burgers, Jabba the Hut Pizza (a spin of Pizza Hut), and Boba Fett-ucini (plain pasta for those plain pasta lovers).

Easy to Make Light Sabers

All Jedis carry a light saber.  Instead of buying plastic ones that are expensive and can really hurt, I made my own buy using pool noodles purchased at the dollar store.  I cut the pool noodles in half and then used duct tape (also purchased at the dollar store) to cover one third for the handle.  With the napkin rings in the paper cut-out books, I finished each light saber.  Those things are truly awesome and will be used in two of our training games.  The best part was the price.  Each training light saber was about 75 cents!  The boys will all go home with their sabers, sprucing up my goodie-bag.

 
Fun Jedi Training Tunics

The hardest part of any party is the drop off and pick up.  Some kids are exactly right on time and other parents forget that fashionably late only applies to adult parties.  To bridge the gap, we are having the boys make their own Jedi tunics.  Using brown paper bags, I cut the sides off and made a v-neck opening on the bottom of the bag.  Darius had an old Star Wars coloring book that we removed pages and I bought a bunch of Star Wars themed stickers.  The boys colored a page and glued it to the back of their tunic.  Then they wrote their name on the front and decorated it with stickers.  Once finished, we tied some rope (purchased at the dollar store) around their waists.  The boys wore their Jedi training tunic for the duration of the party and, if it didn't get destroyed in the training (it was made of paper after all), they could take it home.

Tip: If you don't paper bags but want a training robe, buy XL men's t-shirts in brown.  Using pinking shears, you can cut it up the front to make a robe.  You can still use the rope as a belt. 

Simple Goodie Bags

Since the boys are already keeping their light sabers and Jedi Training Tunic, I didn't feel like we needed to go all out on the goodie bags.  I glued picture of a Star Wars character to a brown paper lunch bag.  Inside went a Pez of a Star Wars character, three Star Wars silly bands, and Star Wars confetti,  I also made my own certificate that I rolled up and put into the good bag.  The certificate was for completing the Jedi Training and becoming a real Jedi.  Download Certificate

Star Wars Pancakes

Remember those funky shaped Mickey ears our moms made when we were kids?

These are a million times cooler.

May the Force be with our breakfast!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

10 Reasons why parties at Chuck E' Cheese are a BAD idea

10. Finding parking here is worse than going to a Giants game at AT&T park.  At least there you can ride BART.  At Chuck E Cheese, the only thing riding was my hefty 3 year-old on my hip.

9. Can we say bad pizza?  I love me some pizza.  But come on.  I’ve tasted frozen stuff that was better than that. What can you expect from a place whose spokesperson is a big rat?

8. More kids here than on “Kid Nation.”  It’s like Cancun for the four year old set.  I’ve never seen more wild children drunk on fruit punch.

7.  Every other game will eat one of your tokens.

6. There is only one employee who could fix the machines and refund you the token.  And when you have a three year old who can’t wait, that means you’ve just paid Chuck E Cheese for a whole lotta nothing.

5. A hundred tickets will buy you plastic key chain or a tootsie roll.  Seriously.  I spent 3 bucks on tokens for a tootsie roll.

4. Trying to find the table for your party amongst the 42 million tables in the place is enough stress.  Finding the holy grail would be easier than navigating in that place.

3. The noise level is so frickin LOUD that your head will be buzzing from blinking lights and arcade music for the rest of the night.  You will realize that you are officially old because you not only noticed the noise level but commented on it to three other parents.

2. The “helper” was totally stingy with the plates and forks.  Apparently cake and ice cream is best eaten with your hands and a napkin.

1. Your kid will get lost approximately 1.7 times in a 90 minute period.  And for the rest of the day will talk about how he wants his birthday party there next year too. 

Originally published in November 2007 at the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog

I finally beat him at something

If you've been reading here a while or know me in real life, then you know I have the world's greatest dad.  Seriously.  I bought him a trinket in the second grade holiday fair that says so.  My dad is Mr. Martha Stewart.  Only more clever, more creative, and never went to jail for insider trading.  I've spent my whole life looking up to my dad... And finding ways to channel his creative energy to benefit me. 

The country project in the sixth grade?  My dad carved Buckingham Palace out of styrofoam and used my Barbies to represent Princess Di and Prince Charles. 

The board game project in seventh grade?  My dad used his graphic design programs (did I mention that my father was once the Artistic Director of a magazine?) to make the game for me. 

He's made nearly every one of Darius' birthday cakes, designed his Captain Hook costume, and not only did he paint nearly every room in our house (the remaining ones will get painted by this summer) he also created superhero mural for Darius. 

See what I mean?  He deserves his own HGTV show.  And perhaps a World's Greatest Dad coffee mug.

There is very little that I can do better than my father.  Honestly, there is very little that any of us could do better than my father.  But a few years ago,  I found one talent my father doesn't possess.

Fried Pies.

My Grandmother's fried pries are the best.  THE BEST.  There are none better than her pies, except maybe her mother's pies godresthersoul.  My father has tried to make my Grandmother's fried pies on more than one occasion.  My father's pies were always a colossal failure.  His filling was mediocre and his crust was either too oily or totally burnt.  Shocking for those of us who know my dad, since the man usually makes everything perfect and then finds a way to perfect that perfection by taking it to a whole new level.

When we visited my Grandmother  in Arkansas in 2009, I was on a mission to learn how to make the delicious treats.  I made pies under my Grandmother's supervision every night for a week.  Each night, my Grandmother would offer another little tip on how to make my pies better.  On my last night, she complimented my work and told me that I could now teach my father how to make the fried pies.

To which I quickly replied, "NO WAY!"

If the man wants fried pies, he's gonna have to get them from me. 

Last week for Darius's multicultural potluck, I made fried pies.  After I dropped off three dozen at his school, I drove over to my dad's school and surprised him with a dozen of his own.  You know, to show my dad how much I love and appreciate him... and maybe just to rub it in a little...

 

Mombloggers have their panties in a bunch (again)

 
If you want to be a mommy-blogger, you better develop a thick skin pronto. 

Just as in baseball, there is no crying in blogging.

Unless you are crying wolf.

Once again the momosphere is all riled up.  This time about blogger outreach on the very controversial topic of High Fructose Corn Syrup.

In the past it's been about Motrin, Disney, Nestle, Pampers, Johnson and Johnson just to name a few.  And then there are the forever controversial topics like vaccinations, home schooling, breast vs formula feeding, and whether autism is linked to genetics, mercury, or other factors in our environment.  I'm starting to think that this blogging niche is running out of authentic things to say so we've got to get on some soapbox or another to prove a point about something that's really inconsequential at the end of the day.

Whoa, I can see the mob swarming about me saying that HFCS is inconsequential. That's not what I mean.

I mean that the way we rally around a topic for a day or a week.  Then we forget about it because there is some other hot-button topic that pops up for everyone to get all nasty about.  Am I the only one that sees this cycle?  Am I the only one sick of the twitter storms and blogging fervor that passes like a flash fire in a pan?

I don't think there is anything wrong with participating in a blog tour about HFCS.  In fact, I wish more haters skeptics of HFCS had participated so that we had balanced coverage.  If we as bloggers say that we are only going to write positive reviews, only going to write about with campaigns that align with our personal beliefs, or only going to write about a topic/company/issue when we get something in return... well then we've just given up a tremendous amount of our collective power.

If HFCS is an issue that is important to you, then write about it.  Write about alternative fruit roll-ups for kids.  Write about your journey on giving up soda.  Review books on the topic.  Research and inform your readers.  Maybe even attend that blog tour sponsored by the Corn Refiners Association and then ask tough questions.  But don't pop up on some A-list blog's comments about how you've campaigned against HFCS for 15 years but don't have a single blog post or tweet ever mentioning that hatred.  You just look like someone who's jumped on the bandwagon in hopes of a few click-backs over to your own blog.

I am consistently bothered by these trendy-topic shitstorms. If we want to talk about it, let's talk about it.  But let's avoid lambasting bloggers as "dumb and irresponsible." There's a bigger conversation here.

Let's starting talking.

Photo credit: Lee, Russell. Corn near Muskogee, Oklahoma stored at the Library of Congress

celebrating Earth Day in our own backyard

Last year, we planted three fruit trees in our backyard. Along with the orange tree that was original to the house, we're hoping to have to depend less on big grocery and become more sustainable on our own.  I'll admit too that my inner-cheapskate was excited about never having to pay for $3/lb organic peaches again.  As our tiny peaches grow, I realize that what I'm teaching to my child about food, like how long it takes to grow and the work involved in getting delicious fruit, far outweighs any cost saving we'll recoup from buying a $30 tree.

When my brother was around three (I'm not even sure I was born yet), he asked our mom to buy him something at the store.  My mother simply told Ryan that "she didn't have enough money" and she continued on her way.  My brother then ran up to her and shouted "I know. CHARGE it!" My mom realized in that moment that, even though Ryan was still very young, she was already influencing his spending habits. 

I feel the same way about food.  If I don't teach Darius where food comes from, then I am failing in one aspect of parenting: getting my child to have life-long healthy eating habits. 

Food Challenge: Eat-in More

Apparently last week was National Eat-In week.  I must have missed it from all my cooking.  I recently purchased the first ever (in the US at least) Parsi cook book.  My MIL and I have been pouring over the pages, she reminiscing about her own childhood in India and me, wondering how foods cooked with practically the same ingredients could taste so different from dish to dish. 

There are many reasons why we don't eat out much.  First of all, it's expensive.  Personally, I'd rather use my extra income to pay for a housekeeper than to eat at a restaurant a couple nights a week.  Second, it's much healthier to eat at home.  You control the portions, the fat, the salt.  In California, it is now law for restaurants to disclose the number of calories and fat in every dish.  It's scary that a BBQ Chopped Salad at CPK has more than my entire day's allotment of calories.  Lastly, it is faster to cook at home than it ever is to eat out.  Making meals from scratch doesn't mean you have to be a slave in your kitchen.  Most nights, dinner is on the table in 45 minutes or less.  There's no way that you can get your brood in the car, drive to your favorite restaurant, decide what to order, and get your meal in that time. 

Menu plan (yes, that really is my menu this week)

If you sit down for 15 minutes on a Sunday to figure out what you are going to make for dinner each night of the week, then you can be smarter about how you grocery shop.  No more throwing away the bag of zucchini that never made it to a meal.  You know exactly what you need and when to use it. For those of you who say you want flexibility, I rarely actually cook the dinner I planned on the night that I planned it.  My weekly menu moves around.  So the spaghetti and meatballs on Tuesday may actually be made and eaten on Friday.  By having all the ingredients for the entire week, I know that I can change it up and move stuff around as our schedule requires.

Double-Up

Whenever you are going to make something that takes extra time, double (or triple) the recipes. 

Pickles

I swear my visit to my Grandmother's house in Arkansas last July has sparked my innner Southern woman.  On that trip I learned how to make fried pies, a real Southern treat.  I also listened to my Grandmother's stories of how Mama (her mom) canned everything.  Grandmother said that they were definitely poor during the Depression but they never went hungry.  If California suddenly had a natural disaster, my family would have to live off the 27 jars of pickles I canned this weekend.  I can't wait for them to fully cure in 6 weeks time so that I can proudly ship a jar (or twelve) to my dear Grandmother.

There's no Halloween Fairy in this house

When I was a kid, my brother and I would Trick or Treat on Halloween for hours.  I can’t ever remember my parents setting a curfew – they must’ve known that we couldn’t stay out much past 9pm.  We'd go in a little tribe of neighborhood children, often unsupervised, to canvas the streets for the best Halloween candy.  My parents only had two rules: never go inside someone’s house and don’t eat any candy that is unwrapped. 

I was a picky eater so many of the chocolate covered candy bars would go into my reject-pile, much to the delight of my chocolate-loving parents.  My parents let us eat to our heart’s desire on Halloween night.  For the rest of the week, my mom would pack a candy or two in our school lunches. And then one day when we came from home from school asking if we could eat another piece of candy, my mother would simply reply “There’s none left; you ate it all.”

I can’t remember if we ever questioned our mom about the mysterious and sudden disappearance of the candy bag.  All I know for sure is that there was no more candy.  Where it went, I’ll never know.

The WAT-AAH Summer Challenge

Darius is a juice junkie.  Whenever you ask him what he wants to drink, he'll always respond with juice.  Or lemonade.  Or juice-box.  Or something along those lines.  We don't keep much juice in the house.  When Darius was in preschool, I knew that the school served apple juice at snack times.  Sure, they watered it down just like we do at home.  But knowing that Darius could have as much juice as he wanted twice a day was enough to practically ban it from our house. 

When the kiddo graduated from preschool this June, he started to go through juice with-drawls.  Tack on a trip to Arkansas where he had his fair share of juice and what felt like gallons of Sweet Tea, we had an official juice addict on our hands. 

4 more meals under $10

Everyday, I see dozens of people finding this little blog by searching on google for cheap and easy recipes.  So I thought I'd do another round of meals that cost less than ten dollars to put together.  For a family of four, that's just $2.50 a serving (cheaper than any fast food). 

1. Any of Trader Joe's Simmer Sauces

If you live by a Trader Joe's and you haven't been inside, then you are a fool.  It's even worth a drive.  TJ's has awesome food at awesome prices.  But their best deal by far is their ethnic simmer sauces.  All you have to do is add a couple of chicken breasts or meat and serve over white rice.  Most of the sauces are in the $2 to $3.50 range (and on the scale of spicy-ness are pretty mild).  I thinly slice two chicken breasts and add to the sauce and almost always water mine down with a little chicken stock.  If you want to make it extra special, slice up a sweet red bell pepper too or throw in some baby red potatoes. Total meal cost: less than $8.00

2. Chicken Enchiladas

Sick of egg salad? Try a spicy egg curry

I don't know if you are suffering through the seemingly endless amount of dyed Easter eggs like we are.  We've had eggs for breakfast, deviled eggs for afternoon snacks, and more egg-white salad (I finally had to limit the number of yolks we were eating).  We are down to our last dozen or so eggs and I've decided to go back to my spouse's roots to finish the last of the eggs. 

Egg curry is one of my mother-in-law's favorite dishes.  It's easy, especially if you make it with some store-bought ingredients like I do.  The toughest part of the recipe is browning the onion so even if you are a novice cook I promise it will turn out just fine.

Ingredients:

• 6-10 hard boiled eggs (I do two per adult and 1 per child)

diy: home-made granola

 

Now that working from home is grown on me and I've gotten out of my unproductive slump, I've started taking on new challenges at home.  I've started making more meals from scratch.  You can save a ton of money by using your sale advertisement and shopping smartly.  Working from home means that I have more time to spend in the kitchen, a place that where I love to be. 

Neville absolutely loves granola.  He'll eat it with yogurt, milk, or by the palm-full.  One rainy day in February when I was out of my mind at the house, I decided I'd try to make my own granola.  I flipped through my favorite cookbook (America's Test Kitchen), wrote down my grocery list, headed to Whole Foods (for the bulk items) and made the recipe.  It was okay.  Not fantastic.  So I changed some things around and tried again.

4 Meals Under $10

You all know I love to cook.  I'm never gonna be on Top Chef.  I'm no glamorous cook.  My speciality is cooking comfort food for my family and friends.  With the economy continuing to spiral out of control, I've been more mindful of how much we spend on just about everything.  I've never been one to clip coupons, by only the generic brand, or really pay attention to how much I'm spending on groceries. 

Just by taking a look at the sale ad from my local grocery chain (no coupon clipping required), I was able to save 50% on my grocery bill last week.  That's right -- half of what I would normally pay.  I stocked up on meat ($4 for a mega pack of drumsticks that will translate into 3 meals for my family), breads for $1, eggs, and much more. 

So I bring you my new favorite meals under $10 (for my family of four, that's $2.25 a serving for each person.  That even beats fast food).

Be Mine or Die

 

This is what happens when you cross Friday the 13th with Valentines Day.  Instead of being sweet valentine cookies, these look like scary demands written in blood.  Be Mine or else...

Giveaway: Welch's AquaJuice

Congrats to DemMom for winning the AquaJuice giveaway.  Please email me your shipping address at whosthebossblogATgmailDOTcom to receive your free bottle.

We are a juice family.  Darius is a juice kid.  He's a milk kid too.  But juice - especially apple juice - is one of his staples. 

I've always been one of those moms who waters down the juice.  I don't like to give him a full cup of the straight stuff - especially knowing that he is going to drink it all and ask for more.  So I've been stealthily adding a little extra H2O to his sippy cup for years.

When I heard that Welch's had a new juice called AquaJuice, I was determined to get my hands on bottle.  It has no high fructose corn syrup, less calories, and no artificial sweeteners.  It's "less juice" than regular juice without compromising on the flavor or quality of the juice.  Come on, we all know that when we water down the juice on our own we end up watering down the flavor too. 

Dear Baskin Robbins,

Dear Baskin Robbins (an un-love letter),

Last night we made the trek to our local ice cream shop, Baskin Robbins.  The whole family walked over to enjoy a nice cold treat on a hot day.  When we arrived the place was packed.  It felt like our entire community had the same thought as us at the same time.  So we patiently awaited our turn for an employee who is probably closer to my son’s age than to mine scoop up our favorite flavors. 

My son was so excited about getting his kid-scoop of Chocolate. Once we ordered and paid for our summer treats, we looked for a place to sit.  The store was highly air-conditioned and it felt great.  And everyone who was in line before us took advantage of that cool air too.  Not a single table or chair was to be had.  But that was ok.  We figured we would just sit outside and forget about the heat while we licked away our cones. 

Our local BR doesn’t have outside seating.  So we sat in tables at the sandwich shop two doors down.  Not a mere five minutes from paying for our treats, sitting down and enjoying them, my son accidentally dropped his chocolate kid scoop on the ground.

Being a long-time Baskin Robbins customer, I figured dropping of the cone would be NO BIG DEAL.  After all, hasn’t every kid dropped an ice cream cone before?  Accidents happen.  I scooped up the dirty ice cream, scooped my son up into my arms, and said “That’s ok.  I’m sure we can just get you another one.”

Apparently I was dead wrong.

When I went back into the store and politely explained to the pimply-faced teenager that my son had accidentally dropped his cone on the ground and we had just bought and was it possible to get a replacement scoop, the gruff teen explained that BR’s policy is that you only get a replacement scoop if you are physically in the store when the accident happens. Once you leave the store, apparently you forfeit your right to a replacement scoop.   

I explained that while I understood the policy and we would have loved to stay in the store but there were not any tables available in the store at the time of our purchase.  And so we walked a mere 15 feet away and my four year old has a little accident.  Couldn't BR can’t show a little sympathy and give the kid a replacement scoop?

The teen was adamant that this was their policy and that if I wanted another scoop I'd have to fork over the cash for another one. 

Give the kid a break!  The whole family got scoops of ice cream.  It’s not like there is a conspiracy here.  We didn’t gobble down the scoop and then claim it fell on the ground to get another one for free.  It’s a little kid.  How much can that extra scoop cost?  And if you are willing to give it if we are in the store, then really why can’t we get it after the leaving the store for five frickin’ minutes?  It just doesn’t make sense to me. 

I was this close to digging our dirty scoop out of the trash and dumping it on the floor of the store.  But I decided against it.  I certainly don’t hold the teen accountable for the stupid policy.  But I don’t agree with it.  The great thing about blogging is that we get to share our great experiences and our not-so-great ones with the internet community. 

Patrons of Baskin Robbins can consider yourselves warned:  If you are going to drop your ice cream, make sure you do inside the walls of store.

For a company that has been in business for over 60 years, it doesn’t seem to me to be a good business practice to piss off your customers.  Especially when its a mommy-blogger.

Originally posted at the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog

And we wonder why America is fat?

"Home of the Healthiest Donuts"

Dealing with a Picky Toddler - PART 2

Our nightly dinner special is whatever I cook for N and me.  Well, let’s be honest - it’s what I want to eat.  Hey, I’m the chef so I get the decision, right?  Yet I feel very challenged to create something nice for the adults that I could also serve to my very picky kid.  I don't want to cook a separate meal but I also don’t want to deal with melt-down.

When we were eating dinner out a restaurant with some friends, it suddenly hit me.  Light bulb moment.  I would create my own menu-like attitude during meal time.  Since meal-time battles were often about control, I would surrender to my picky kid.  Well, surrender with a few limits.  I won't worry about whether or not D will eat my “daily special.”  D gets his own "menu" to select from. 

Once I know what I’m making for the adults, I can figure out what D will like, what he’ll refuse to touch, and where I can supplement. I decide what the choices are and D gets to make the decision. I always first offer our full meal, but make sure that I have an option for each item that may be questionable for D.

Waiter (that would be me): Welcome to Chez Robyn.  On the menu tonight we have savory chicken tikka masala served on a bed of jasmine rice.  Our vegetable is steamed asparagus.  Would you like to order that for dinner, sir?

Picky kid: No.  Yucky.

Waiter: No problem-o.  I can ask the chef to hold the tikka masala and have plain rice.

Picky kid: Plain rice.  Yeah

Waiter: Would you like the chicken rinsed (did I mention that he also is on an "Anything with a sauce" strike) or would you like cheese instead?

Picky kid:  Washed chicken.  No.  I want cheese.  No.  I want chicken.  No.  CHEESE.  NO NO NO.  I want both.  Can I have both, please?

Waiter: Sure. Chicken and a side of string cheese coming right up.  Lastly, we have asparagus.  Is that acceptable, sir?  Or would you like to exchange those for carrots?

Picky kid: Carrots!!

Waiter:  Great.  That’ll be plain rice with chicken, carrots, and a side of cheese.

Sometimes I feel like I’m reliving the Meg Ryan and the When Harry Met Sally scene of wanting everything “on the side.”  After 18 months of my toddler being on an "Anything that looks remotely like a green vegetable" strike, he ate a piece of broccoli last night!!  He picked it from the menu and ate it all. 

Now, on to making my "menu" for tonight.

Our nightly dinner special is whatever I cook for N and me.  Well, let’s be honest - it’s what I want to eat.  Hey, I’m the chef so I get the decision, right?  Yet I feel very challenged to create something nice for the adults that I could also serve to my very picky kid.  I don't want to cook a separate meal but I also don’t want to deal with melt-down.

When we were eating dinner out a restaurant with some friends, it suddenly hit me.  Light bulb moment.  I would create my own menu-like attitude during meal time.  Since meal-time battles were often about control, I would surrender to my picky kid.  Well, surrender with a few limits.  I won't worry about whether or not D will eat my “daily special.”  D gets his own "menu" to select from. 

Once I know what I’m making for the adults, I can figure out what D will like, what he’ll refuse to touch, and where I can supplement. I decide what the choices are and D gets to make the decision. I always first offer our full meal, but make sure that I have an option for each item that may be questionable for D.

Waiter (that would be me): Welcome to Chez Robyn.  On the menu tonight we have savory chicken tikka masala served on a bed of jasmine rice.  Our vegetable is steamed asparagus.  Would you like to order that for dinner, sir?

Picky kid: No.  Yucky.

Waiter: No problem-o.  I can ask the chef to hold the tikka masala and have plain rice.

Picky kid: Plain rice.  Yeah

Waiter: Would you like the chicken rinsed (did I mention that he also is on an "Anything with a sauce" strike) or would you like cheese instead?

Picky kid:  Washed chicken.  No.  I want cheese.  No.  I want chicken.  No.  CHEESE.  NO NO NO.  I want both.  Can I have both, please?

Waiter: Sure. Chicken and a side of string cheese coming right up.  Lastly, we have asparagus.  Is that acceptable, sir?  Or would you like to exchange those for carrots?

Picky kid: Carrots!!

Waiter:  Great.  That’ll be plain rice with chicken, carrots, and a side of cheese.

Sometimes I feel like I’m reliving the Meg Ryan and the When Harry Met Sally scene of wanting everything “on the side.”  After 18 months of my toddler being on an "Anything that looks remotely like a green vegetable" strike, he ate a piece of broccoli last night!!  He picked it from the menu and ate it all. 

Now, on to making my "menu" for tonight.