Recipes

I love food, and I love cooking food, so I am going to share some favorite recipes, and a few other tidbits.

Creamy Quinoa Primavera

1 1/2 cups rinsed uncooked quinoa
3 cups broth or water (I usually use veggie stock)
Fresh or dried herbs of your preference, I like dried dill and fresh parsley a lot
2 cloves garlic minced, or a big spoonful of the prechopped stuff in the fridge
5 cups assorted cut up veggies, I often use broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, squashes, green beans, asparagus, really whatever strikes your fancy, or needs to be used up from the fridge or freezer
A blob of reduced fat cream cheese (neufchatel) about 1/4 of a bar
1/4 to 1/2 cup cheese, depending on what you are using, parmesan or romano I don't use a lot of, but Cabot's reduced fat shredded cheddar I use more of

Place quinoa, broth, herbs, garlic and veggies in a rice cooker or large saucepan.  In rice cooker, hit the start button, in a saucepan bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes till quinoa has absorbed liquid and veggies are about tender.  Stir in cream cheese and shredded cheese of your choice.  CJ really liked the version with parmesan cheese, green beans, drained diced tomatoes, carrots and Italian seasonings, Eliza loved the cheddar, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn and dill version.  I have even used leftover roasted veggies, waiting to add them at the end.  Yummy!


I also do the same thing with quick cooking barley, and Rich really enjoys that!  I sometimes add leftover roast chicken to make a one dish dinner.

Southwest Quinoa Pilaf

Saute one onion chopped and 6 cloves of garlic minced in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil till tender.  Add 1 1/4 cups rinsed drained uncooked quinoa, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/4 cups water and 1 3/4 cup broth (1 can) or more water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 10-15 minutes till liquid is absorbed.  Uncover and stir in 1 cup frozen corn, 1 can black beans rinsed and drained, and 1 cup of your favorite mild salsa.  I often also add a bit of lime juice.  This goes great with grilled fish or chicken, or fajita seasoned steak.  I always use mild salsa since Eliza does not like hot foods, but CJ prefers it with a bit of jalapeno or some medium salsa on his.

I did a wonderful black bean and brown rice in my pressure cooker, and if anyone wants me to post it let me know.  I just don't want to waste space if no one else has a pressure cooker.

I have used cooked quinoa as a cold salad, mixing in a bunch of raw chopped veggies and vinaigrette.  I like a lemon olive oil vinaigrette with celery, carrots, green beans, thawed frozen peas, and chopped tomato.  And lots of chopped fresh parsley.  It tastes a little bit like tabbouleh. 

I mix whole wheat orzo, brown rice, chopped onion and garlic salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil to start a whole grain pilaf.  I add frozen peas and carrots to this, and Rich loves it.  Add the veggies and liquid, and cook till tender.

I also have used leftover cooked barley and quinoa mixed together with frozen broccoli to make a grain and cheese.  I warm milk whisked with flour or cornstarch to thicken and add Cabot shredded 50% light cheddar to make a cheese sauce.  I mix in leftover cooked chicken to make a whole grain healthy version of chicken divan.  You can't go wrong with cheese, and most especially Cabot's light cheese, it is our favorite. 

I also have made a baked barley and rice.  Toast barley and brown rice in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, until it starts to brown.  Use about 1/2 cup raw per person you are serving.  Place in a casserole dish and cover with hot liquid, twice the amount of grain, 1 cup grain 2 cups liquid.  I usually use some veggie or chicken stock and some water.  It is important that the liquid is hot, otherwise this takes F O R E V E R to cook.  Stir in 1 cup of chopped veggies for each person you are serving, and 1/2 cup of chopped leftover chicken, turkey or pork for each person you are serving.  Alternately, you could throw in some raw shrimp or scallops towards the end of cooking, if you would prefer a seafood version.  Bake in a 350 oven covered for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.  I like to sprinkle fat free crumbled feta on this.  If using the seafood, uncover when it still has 12-15 minutes left to cook, and place fish on top of rice mixture and recover.  I usually also add a ton of seasonings to this.  I love smoked paprika and curry powder, or Italian seasoning and a bit of parmesan cheese.  I like also using taco seasoning and some leftover ground beef.  It is a perfect recipe for adding the types of spices and veggies you prefer.  Plus it only dirties a couple of dishes, which I love.

In addition to these, I am also including the recipes for play dough, and finger paint in case you don't already have them.  These have become my friends in recent months!

Play Dough

1 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Optional: cinnamon, or apple pie spice blend, or food coloring, or extract, or package of crystal light or unsweetened kool aid for color and scent

Cook all ingredients together in large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, it will get stiff quickly.  Let cook till it forms a ball in the pan, and let cool enough to handle.  Knead it a bit to soften and blend it, till it is cool enough for the kids.  I find this lasts a very long time if I keep it in ziploc bags.

Homemade Finger Paint

1/3 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups cold water
food coloring

Mix cornstarch sugar and water in a saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes till thick.  Divide into several small bowls and add different food colorings to each.  Stir till blended and cool.  Store in an airtight container.  This does not store as well as the play dough, but lasts longer if stored in the fridge.

Incidentally, I use pretty much the same method to make homemade pudding, except using milk instead of water, and 1/3 cup sugar.  Whisk cornstarch, milk, and sugar till blended, then heat and whisk till thick.  After it has thickened to pudding consistency, add vanilla or whatever flavoring you like, and a bit of butter.  For butterscotch use rum flavoring brown sugar and more butter at the end, about 2 tablespoons.  For chocolate, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder with starch and sugar.  It is yummy.

Please comment, and share any opinions, questions, or other recipe ideas.  Thanks!

I want some wine with that whine!

So today started with three super cranky whiny kiddos.  I think CJ and Eliza are about to do a growth spurt, as they seem really tired no matter how much sleep they get.  I also think the weather is affecting all three of them.  So we went pretty slow and easy today but I wanted to get a few things done.  We accomplished everything I planned, albeit slowly.  I gave several breaks in between subjects for free playing, which is unusual.  We usually do a few subjects, and have maybe one or two breaks.  We read a G poem and G book from readinga-z.com.  We counted sets of seven items in the school room.  We compared gorillas to other mammals we know.  We talked more about food groups and the food pyramid.  We watched and listened to Guji Guji on storyline online, and Yellow Gorilla on storyplace.org.  We did some coloring, and lots of songs.  We even listened to Peter and the Wolf and Hansel and Gretel on CD.  (Thanks Maggie, for the tip about audiobooks!  They loved it)  We had issues with crankiness and whining all day, but I just kept my cool, and didn't let it stress me out.  Even with some tantrums and a little bit of book destruction we still had a productive day, and I am still sticking to my resolutions.  I am not letting myself get angry, and I am still choosing to be happy.  Though it was not by any means easy today.  The amazing seared steak with blue cheese butter and butternut squash risotto helped my mood.  As did the spiced red wine I had for dessert.  My first bit of butter since New Year's, and worth every calorie!  Tomorrow is a snow day, as all schools have already been cancelled, so the recipes I was going to post today will be posted tomorrow.  Hope you all enjoy the wintry wonderland!

Back to a "Normal" Schedule

Almost all of my resolutions are going swimmingly.  My house is less cluttered, and so my mind is less cluttered.  I feel less stressed, and everyone is eating better.  Today was our first day in a while where we were on what would be considered a normal schedule.  We started a new letter, number, color, shape, animal and theme.  G, 7, blue, hexagon, gorilla and nutrition.  I actually accomplished all of my lesson plans, and we played outside in the snow for almost 45 minutes!  Having everything organized and prepared is helping me stay on track and feel like I have accomplished a lot, with very little stress. 

We do the calendar and weather daily, as well as sing the alphabet and the letter sound song.  We added words to our letter poster, and made a number 7 poster and a blue poster.  We looked at the food pyramid for preschoolers (mypyramid.gov) and colored a black and white version.  I held the crayons, and for each food group they had to tell me a food that belonged before they could have the correct color crayon.  They loved it, thinking it was a game.  We learned about gorillas and their habitats, and traced and colored hexagons.  We read The Goose and the Golden Eggs, an Aesop's Fable that the kids enjoyed.  We even played Eric Carle's ABC game, though we didn't finish it.  It takes too long, and the kiddos were getting close to needing a nap.  Everyone ate a good breakfast and lunch, and helped clean up every toy they played with. 

Tonight we played a new Wii game, Go Diego Go Dinosaur Rescue as part of our nighttime routine, and Daddy is reading them "The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish" by Neil Gaiman (one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE authors of all time!!!) and they seem to be enjoying it.  They loved "Wolves in the Wall" by the same author.  If you have never read it to your kids, I highly recommend borrowing it from the library, it is so much fun to read. 

My day started before 6 today, when CJ woke up with a diaper problem.  Fixed that, then went downstairs and weighed myself and exercised, cleaned up, brushed my teeth, unloaded the dishwasher, and made coffee all before Mason got here.  I am feeling so much better that I am sticking to my resolutions. 

My plans for the week include an online story, Yellow Gorilla, from storyplace.org, with a craft (Gorilla on a stick) for Wednesday.  We are using the starfall.com site, storylineonline.net, and higlightskids.com.  Rich put a PC connected to our TV and I have a wireless mouse and keyboard so anything I do shows up on the large screen, and the kids don't have to crowd around my laptop!  We are going to playgroup again Friday, provided there is no snow delay or cancellation, and we are making Granola for our G week recipe.  CJ and Eliza are excited about this since it means they get to pull out things from their cooking cabinet.  We have a food groups game I made, and we will be playing with the Melissa and Doug wooden food toys, including a food groups set.  I also have some books printed from readinga-z.com, and songs from KIDiddles.com.  I love some of the amazing resources available.  I am excited about all the activities I planned for the week, and I think that helps keep the kids interested.

My goal for next week is to get to the library, so we can choose some new books to go with our lessons.  I also want to be sure to read more books to the kids, and watch less TV.  We have been listening to Here Come the ABC's along with Here Comes Science, and now CJ wants us to get Here Come the 123's.  They adore They Might Be Giants.  If anyone has any suggestions for other educational yet fun music, please let me know.  I much prefer that to many of the "educational" preschool shows.  Thanks for tuning in for yet another installation, here's to a safe journey!

Resolution Number Three

I will choose to be happy.  I found that little things were getting me down recently.  The lack of organization was one, already been tackled.  My attitude, which is is the process of turning around.  And my lack of anything for just me.  I have made a resolution to do something this year that I have always wanted to do but was never able to.  It may be to put some streaks of blue in my hair, or learn to do something new, I haven't decided yet, but I need to find me again.  I need some creative outlet that has nothing to do with being Mommy.  My kids are my center and my joy, but I can't let them become my everything, I need to be myself in addition to being their mom.  I will find more joy every day, and hold on to those moments more than I have been.  I will take time out of all the stuff I have to do to play with and hold my children, and let them know how happy they make me.  I will cuddle with my husband on the couch even if I have laundry waiting to be folded.  I will make time for things that make me happy.  Today part of that was sitting with the kiddos and reading all about the animals we have learned about so far, and answering every question they had.  We learned what crustaceans are today, and they were very interested in learning all about them.  Instead of becoming frustrated with their over excitement, I just kept repeating things and enjoying the time together.  It is all about attitude, and I am choosing to make mine positive.  I am choosing to be happy every day.

Resolution Number Two

So, I resolve to be healthier.  I am no longer going to go on any diets.  I am going to provide nutritious delicious food to my family and to myself, and not eat fast food garbage that makes us all feel icky.  I am cooking with almost exclusively whole grains.  We are focusing on a diet of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and good for us proteins.  Does this mean we will never have rib eye again, of course not.  Am I still eating cheese, absolutely.  We are just making smarter choices.

We are having one dinner a week of beans or legumes instead of meat.  We will have seafood once a week for dinner.  We are not having real desserts but once a week or so.  The remainder of the week will be fruit for dessert, or some other healthy option as a treat.  I want to be a healthy role model for the kids. 

This week I am focusing on making changes to how we eat.  This is also part of the organization resolution.  I am planning all meals ahead and making it easy to make healthful choices in the kitchen.  Yesterday we made a large batch of homemade pumpkin oatmeal, with dried fruit and no sugar.  The kids and I loved it.  Rich didn't like the extra creamy texture, go figure.  Now we have a healthy delicious breakfast we can just warm up in the microwave.  Whole grain, no sugar, high protein from the milk, and full of actual fruit and veggies.  And I get to sprinkle it with roasted pumpkin seeds! 

Once a week we are having barley, once a week quinoa, once a week brown rice.  If anyone has any other suggestions as to other whole grains we can try I would love to hear it!  We are having some type of leafy green every day.  I am drinking only two cups of caffeinated coffee a day, and adding green tea daily, which I have always loved, but seem to always reach for the java.  We are trying to remove as many preservatives and fake ingredients from our everyday meals as we can.  We are paying closer attention to ingredient labels, and we are finding that we are also saving money on our grocery bills by doing this. 

Because I am making a life choice, rather than focusing on losing weight or dieting, I find that it is much easier to do.  I am not "cheating" if I have something sweet or high fat, I am simply making a poor food choice which will be counterbalanced by the healthy choices I will make the rest of the day.  It is a shift of mind, that really is setting us all up for success.  Our goal is to be a healthy and happy family, and this means focusing on nutrition, not on calorie counting or dieting. 

Next week we will add in a focus on activity and movement.  Rich and I are making sure that we are more active with them.  We played indoor soccer last night, and we all danced together the evening before.  We will just keep making little changes to our lives to keep us healthy, and to prevent our children from ever developing the weight issues we have.  I am so totally ready for these changes, and I am prepared to make it a lasting change. 

This is an important part of our homeschooling adventure, because of course children learn more by example than by words.  They are learning early how to love different foods, on trying new cuisines, and they are learning where all their food comes from.  They understand that farm animals can become food on the plate, and of course they are familiar with fresh produce growing on plants and trees.  They now have their own cabinet of cooking items, that they can reach and use whenever we are in the kitchen.  They are learning numbers and recipes, and how food is created and preserved.  Their interest and enthusiasm in cooking and food makes me very happy.  We borrowed a book from the library once called Foodie Babies, and it reminds me of the kids so much.  I have foodie babies.  They get really excited to go to farmers' markets, and we were lucky enough to find out that there are several winter farmer's markets in our area.  Having fresh local food available makes following our health resolutions easier. 

As a family we are working together to be happy and healthy.  This is such an integral part of how we live, and we are already feeling much better because of the changes we are making.  I am excited to continue trying new foods, and to teach my kiddos by example how to enjoy nutritious food.  Now if Rich and I could get more sleep, we would be, as Benjamin Franklin said, more "healthy, wealthy and wise."

Resolution Number One

So first, after identifying the parts of my life that needed a bit of an overhaul I made my first resolution to be more organized.  After Christmas we went through all the toys here and at Memere and Pepere's and culled out ones that could be donated, recycled or otherwise removed from the premises.  We reorganized and then did the same to clothes.  I undecorated the first few days after Christmas and completely cleaned the house.  I organized parts of the kitchen that kept attacking me, including, finishing yesterday, the kitchen/pantry closet.  Over the "Christmas vacation" I organized my materials and plans for what I want the kiddos to learn over the next couple of months.  I sorted, planned and otherwise made my lessons as easy as possible to do.  I found several craft projects and recipes to try with the kids, and made the learning space much easier to use.  I now know what we have, what we need, and what I want to accomplish.  I am also ready to continue this new manner of organization.  I am tired of being stressed, and unprepared.  It sucks.  So the new me will be organized and attentive and working smarter, not harder.  Part of this is to get up every morning, dress in real clothes, put on a little makeup and some jewelry as if I wasn't staying home.  It makes each day more focused on getting things accomplished.  In my mind it makes the day start earlier, and therefore it makes me get going.  It also improves my outlook, which makes it easier to accomplish more.  Strategy for successful homeschooling number one:  Set yourself up for success in anyway possible.  This means mentally preparing yourself in addition to physically preparing things.  Plan ahead, and allow for things to not go as you hope.  But also understand that staying home is hard work, like any job, and respect that job more than you would any other.  Respect yourself, your children and the life you have chosen.

Moving on, we are practicing with scissors this week.  Each day we are doing cutting practice with safety scissors.  We cut out a letter and glue it next to the picture that begins with that letter.  Mason is pretty good with holding the scissors, as is Eliza, but CJ is the best at using them once I get his hands positioned correctly.  Today he sped through his, and he glues so neatly.  We also today, did a shape book.  They trace and color and identify a shape, on the next page count them and color the number it says to.  CJ went right through it, tracing carefully, coloring really well, counting, and never making a mistake.  It totally blew my mind.  He is so ready for more.  Mason got really tired, and wasn't really into it, and Eliza needed a lot of attention and reminders to finish, not to mention she really was not ready to trace even remotely neatly.  CJ also was able to identify shapes that did not belong in a group by counting sides of the shapes.  He even identified octagons that did not look like stop signs.  He understands that the number of sides tells you what the shape is.  He also was able to explain to me why a shape didn't belong very succinctly.  Eliza was able to identify what didn't belong, but didn't have the vocabulary to explain it.  Mason had a difficult time with it, since there were some shapes he didn't know, like trapezoid and pentagon, so he and I spent some time just identifying and recognizing shapes using a puzzle, and our posters, and some books I have on shapes.  We will try it again tomorrow and review what we did. 

Back to the resolution on organization.  I know I am flip flopping topics, but my brain is a bit in overdrive today.  I have been getting morning clothes ready the night before, as well as breakfast dishes etc.  I do dishes as I dirty them, always start the day with an empty dishwasher, and try to keep up with the laundry.  I am planning all meals ahead, so that there is no scrambling, and saying what on earth are we going to eat?  As I am blogging, my chicken is smoking in my stovetop smoker, barley pilaf is simmering in the rice cooker, veggies are roasting in the oven, and I made the salad when the kiddos were napping.  I feel like supermom, simply because I am not overwhelmed with what needs to be done.  Today when we went to play outside, I made sure drinks were ready for when we came in, and while we were out there we all got some good exercise, and we cleaned up the yard.  When we came in we did our "lessons" and read some books.  The kids had some play time inside, and then Mason napped.  As he wakes earlier than my two he is often down for a nap earlier.  While Mason slept CJ and Eliza helped me make lunch and we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in Wonderland.  We listened to Here Come the ABC's while we ate, as we have been for many breakfast and lunch times over the past several days.  We had lunch, CJ and Eliza went down for a nap with no complaint, and they promptly went to sleep. 

We had been having trouble at night, where we are all tired, and the kids get crazy.  It was driving Rich nuts, so we instituted a game time each evening, where we all play a board game, puzzle, card game or one of the kids' video games.  Last  night was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Yahtzee.  Night before was Hungry Hungry Hippos.  Night before that was the Goodnight Moon puzzle.  After nighttime milk or juice, we do bath, brush teeth, use potty, read a story, play a game, sing a song, then sleep.  This has removed all the stress time from before bed, and has made Rich and I much happier at night.  It is all about attitude.  I have decided to look positively at things more, and so things bother me less.  Including the nighttime craziness.  Organization resolution has helped a ton here. 

So tomorrow I will tell you all about my next resolution, so stay tuned . . .

Welcome to the New Year!

I resolve to be a healthier and happier person.  I am ready for a change, ready to be more healthy, more happy and more fun.  I will be more organized and spend less time harried and angry.  I will focus on educating my children well.  I will choose to do this.  I will choose to be happy. I will spend less time worrying about things that don't matter and more time being me.  I will enjoy my children and my life, and make choices so that I will be able to spend more time on this earth with them.  I will choose to be myself at all times, and not be concerned about how others see me.  I will choose to be the best role model I can for my children.  Let me say it again:

I 
     WILL 
             CHOOSE 
                              TO 
                                    BE

  HAPPY!!!  

This is my resolution - to be healthier, happier, less stressed, more organized and more ME!

Oh yeah, and to eat less butter . . .