Blackberry Cobbler

2 1/2

cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blackberries (do not use blueberries)

1

cup sugar

1

cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

1

cup milk

1/2

cup butter, melted

Cream, whipped or ice cream

1 In medium bowl, stir together blackberries and sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes or until fruit syrup forms. Heat oven to 375°F.

2 In large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Stir in melted butter until blended. Spread in ungreased 8-inch square pan. Spoon blackberry mixture over batter.

3 Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until dough rises and is golden. Serve warm with cream.

Last night I had time out of the house to read and write.  Having a two-ish hour window of wide open space can be overwhelming.  Where to go, what to do.  The red bus ended up at the new Starbucks in town.  It is perfection.  The warm wooden walls and lighting make it feel cozy and perfect.

The second I walked in, I immediately spotted where I would set up camp.  Comfy chair in the corner.  But I am telling you, I could not get focused in.  I tried writing, reading my book on Kindle, reading my real book.  I kept running into brick walls.  My head was pounding because for some stupid reason I'm trying to lay off so much sugar.  I promise you the only thing I could think about in this entire world was going home to make a cobbler.

So I did the only logical thing I could.

I drove to the store for fresh blackberries and came home to whip up a cobbler.  While it baked I washed my face and got in my nightgown.  I turned on my bedroom lamps and made myself a cozy place to rest.  When the cobbler came out of the oven, I lit candles and served up bowls to the family. Then I took a sleeping pill and went to bed early.  Three cheers for summer nights!

Feasting & Fasting

I am an eater.

You will not find me skimping on the good stuff.

I eat more like a man than a woman. I like hearty food. What I'm trying to say is, I'm no flower. I'm a food-eating foodie.

Something I read in Shauna Niequest's book, Bread & Wine, made all the sense in the world to me. She talked about feasting and fasting. Some times in our life are for feasting, and we balance that by having times of "fasting." The term fasting is held loosely, but in this context, I am talking about holding back on indulgences for a season to reset.

I can turn anything into a reason to feast.  Heck, it's Tuesday, let's plan a party! OK, let me just get on with it already.  My big summer plans have come to an end.  I'm about to be in five months of not much hoorah on the ol' calendar.  That is why I've decided to start THM today.  Not a nazi THM-er, but "A Mostly THM-er."  I figure some meals are going to be straight up fun, and I'm allowing it. This just means I am laying off on so many carbs, changing them out for healthier carbs (homemade bread, Josephs Pita Wraps, sprouted bread from freezer section), going for less sugar, cooking a bit more intentional.

This has been the summer of feeling better.  So far I have been focusing on getting good rest.  I've been adding some steps to my day.  Nothing crazy, just trying to hit my Fit Bit Goals.  Even if it's only 6,000 steps.

When I decide to be healthy for a season, I usually completely derail on my menu planning.  It usually happens on an unsuspecting Saturday morning.  I grab my cookbooks, go to the table, get over-ambitious with my new healthy menu for the week, spend a gazillion bucks at the grocery store, cook all manner of weird new food for the week, and it last's approximately three days.  This time I am changing my approach.

MAKE ONE SIMPLE CHANGE

That is the plan.  Start where you are with what you have and make one simple change!

Today when I menu planned I started with Dinner.  I usually start with healthy desserts.  But I think I read something about man not being able to live on dessert alone, so whatever, I started with dinner. Here is the menu for the week.  Food in all caps can be found in this Trim Healthy Mama cookbook.

Dinner Menu:
SALISBURY STEAK, green beans, THM BREAD & butter
POTSTICKER PATTIES, lettuce shreds and ranch, FOTATO SOUP
Burgers
Taco Salads
SWEET POTATO BAR

Lunch:
CHICKEN JALAPENO POPPER SOUP
SOUTHWESTERN PAN BREAD, turkey, lettuce, tomato
canned soups
left-overs

Breakfast:
bacon & eggs
smoothies with protein powder
Triple Zero Vanilla Greek yogurt, walnuts, frozen berries

Snacks:
Nut Thins, pepperoni, mozzarella
almonds
string cheese
apples and peanut butter

Picky Eaters

My friends really came through for me with some excellent advice in regard to picky eaters.  I wrote it all down to process through everything they said, and today I'm sharing it with you.  There is bound to be something on this list that you can implement in your home if you are dealing with a picky eater.

Make sure they have healthy snacks.  This is the first place to cut out the junk.

Try to serve a veggie or fruit they like at every meal.

Ease in.  Don't serve an entire new menu in one setting and expect them to like it.

Have them cook with you.  Sometimes it's not the food, but the way we fix it.

Eat or don't eat, but this is all you get until breakfast.

Teach them this message, "Be thankful God chose to let you eat today."

Communicate mealtime and table expectations before you sit down.  Think through what your family rules are, and then communicate them clearly before mealtime.  They may need gentle reminders during the actual meal itself, but train them in a setting before the table. 

You may need to stop all snacks until they learn to eat at mealtime.

Take a bite of everything.

Eat what is served.

Offer a "no thank you" helping that scales to the size of the eater.  Once that is finished they can have more servings of the other choices.

They will eat if they are hungry!

I am not a short order cook, so eat or don't eat, but this is all I am making tonight.

It takes up to 15 times to develop a new taste for some foods.  Keep serving and keep trying.

Missing a meal or two will not hurt them.

Make the meal I want to make and have at least one item the picky one(s) like.  Put the things they don't like on their plates, they will come around and develop a taste for those foods.

Implement Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding:

The parent is responsible for what, when, where.

The child is responsible for how much and whether.

Parent's Feeding Jobs:

• Choose and prepare the food.
• Provide regular meals and snacks.
• Make eating times pleasant.
• Step-by-step, show children by example how to behave at family mealtime.
• Be considerate of children's lack of food experience without catering to likes and dislikes.
• Do not let children have food or beverages (except for water) between meal and snack times.
• Let children grow up to get bodies that are right for them.

Children's Eating Jobs:

• Children will eat.
• They will eat the amount they need.
• They will learn to eat the food their parents eat.
• They will grow predictably.
• They will learn to behave well at mealtime.

Step by step through their growing up years, they build on their natural ability and become eating competent.

©2016 by Ellyn Satter published at www.EllynSatterInstitute.org

Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility material was taken from this site.  It is a great article with useful information that is easy to apply and understand.

Love me, Feed me by Katja Rowell, was recommended as a book resource if you are looking for further encouragement.

Thank you to all of my friends who took the time to offer words of encouragement on this subject.  I think your wisdom is going to help other mama's who are struggling in this department!  Three cheers for Blue Bell broccoli!

Cinco de Mayo

For a long time Cinco de Mayo was one of my favorite holidays because it was the only foreign language phrase I could speak fluently.

The smell of barbecue filling the air on Memorial Day and the way we close out the Fourth of July every year with watermelon and margaritas and chairs lining the lawn as we watch the sky light up are good holidays too, but there is something special about Cinco de Mayo.  A guaranteed day every year that we'll eat Mexican.  It's a pretty special thing.

Let's be honest.  I don't need a holiday to have a reason to celebrate with Mexican.  You should've seen the boys faces light up when I served up this lunch on a Tuesday which they assumed was another day of the same ol' same ol'. 

You can never go wrong with a plate of cheese Doritos topped with taco meat, freshly grated cheddar and crisp romaine. 

One of my favorite dinners is a layered dish in a 9x13 pan.  Layer in this order: bag of cheese Doritos, one pound of seasoned taco meat, warmed ranch style beans, bag of shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar, chopped tomato, diced onion.  Mix.  Serve with a wedge of lime?  I don't see why not.  Oh so good and oh so easy!

Happy Cinco de Mayo to you and yours.

Pretty Table

The boys assured me they did not need to be reminded how to set the table, and that they already knew how.  Turns out, they were right.  This table makes me so happy.  It is nothing fancy, but it is simple and pretty.  Yesterday I mentioned how we like to use candles at the table.  The Dollar Tree sells a 2 pack for a buck.  It is a simple touch that adds a lot to the atmosphere of the dinner table.

Yesterday when I went into the kitchen to begin preparing the meal the house was so loud and chaotic.  I've got one boy laid up on crutches with a sprained ankle, one on the sick bed couch recovering from a sickness, the baby was exploring everywhere and dad was late getting home.

 

We had a chicken salad dish for dinner that I made up this past fall.  We all love this dinner and the kids actually request it.  One day last fall the weather was exceptionally pretty and so we made an impromptu decision to spend the afternoon at the river.  Normally I would plan the details for a trip like this, but there was no time to plan.  I threw apples, cheddar, a cutting board and knife, bottled waters and a package of Oreos into the cooler and off we went for a day of reading and fishing down by the river.

 

That evening when we came home we were all really hungry and so I just started pulling stuff from the fridge and freezer.  This dinner comes together in a snap.  I put 4-5 frozen chicken breasts on a plate and defrost them in the microwave.  After cubing them, I sauté them in extra virgin olive oil until nicely browned and season them really well.  Last night I used creole seasoning. 

 

I add mixed greens to a really big bowl and lightly toss it with just a tiny bit of ranch dressing.  Then I add diced apples, cheddar cheese, bacon bits if I have them, and the diced chicken.  The whole salad gets tossed together and topped with plenty of salt and pepper.  I'm not sure why we love this salad so much.  Maybe it is because we had it on a night when we had spent a super fun day together outside as a family.  Maybe because it is just really that good.  I like it because it is fast to throw together and I have a standard rule that a salad supper like this should always be followed by bowls of ice cream for good measure.

 

Pinto Beans

You may have heard me speak of my bean phobia.  I've attempted cooking them twice in my cooking career of nearly 15 years and both batches were so awful that we tossed them.

Sometimes my ideas to do something just come out of nowhere.  Like when I was at Kroger last week and tossed another bag into my buggy which I assumed would sit in my pantry until Thanksgiving when I attempted some gosh awful hard Martha Stewart pie recipe that called for pie weights.

But oh no.  Last night, out of nowhere, I got up from the couch and marched straight toward the pantry to pull the beans out.  Then the fear set in again which led me to watching about 30 minutes of You Tube videos on how to soak a cotton picking bean overnight.

I was so stressed about it.  In the end, I rinsed the beans and put them in a cheap old plastic bowl.  I covered the beans with water and went to bed.

This morning when I got up I drained off the soaking water and put the beans in a pot and covered them with water.  I let them simmer all morning and I gave them an occasional stir when I passed through the kitchen.

I was feeling like the Christian Wife Woman Of The Year when they started looking right!

After 2 hours, I added 2 teaspoons of garlic powder and 2-3 teaspoons of salt and let them simmer a bit more. 

Would you look at that?  It is like bean magic.  With the good amount of seasoning I added (just the garlic and salt) these bad boys tasted so good.

I put some in a bowl topped with a little grated cheddar for lunch.  Tonight I'm going to serve these with fajitas.

In the old days, women would make beans on Monday which was laundry day.  It was an easy dinner to throw on and just give a quick stir every time you passed through the kitchen.

The good amount of seasoning is what made these a winner in my book.

Our Delicious Luncheon

Today we had a Heidi inspired lunch together.  Toasted cheese and milk.

We buttered thick slices of freshly cut French bread, topped each piece with mounds of sharp cheddar, and toasted it until the cheese was all golden brown.

We served it up with milk just like they did in the book.

You wanna talk about a little slice of heaven.  There was barely any talking around the table as we enjoyed the heck out of our delicious little luncheon.

I'm working on a little something.  This morning as I was working on our menu for the week I got to thinking...every week I reinvent the wheel.  I basically cook the same things over and over and yet every week I stare at my blank shopping list having to wrack my brain to decide what should be placed on the menu for the week.

Still not sure what I'm going to do about this, but I am starting with a plain list of our favorite dishes.  It makes all the sense in the world that I'd put together some master lists so that planning doesn't take me so long.

I know.  Sometimes I'm even blown away at the sheer genius.

Chicken Noodle Soup-Crockpot Style

I'm hesistant to show you my unedited shoddy looking pictures snapped from my camera phone, but I promise you this dinner was a huge hit all around.

Yesterday after we got the lunch dishes cleaned up I started thinking about what we should have for dinner.  After assessing what I had on hand, I decided to try making a chicken noodle soup in the crockpot.

After spraying the crockpot with Pam, I tossed in 4 frozen chicken breasts.  I diced celery and carrot and dumped it on top of the chicken.  If I would've had an onion, I would have diced that as well.  I used onion powder to give it the flavor instead.  I sprinkled salt, pepper and onion powder, threw in some bay leaves and filled to the top of the mixture with chicken broth (about 8 cups).

About 30 minutes before we were ready to eat I pulled out the chicken and removed the bay leaves.  I had thin spaghetti noodles on hand, so I broke the noodles into small pieces and tossed them into the soup.  Any kind of noodle would work.  I think egg noodles or bowtie pasta would be amazing.  Using two forks I shredded the chicken and returned it to the crockpot.  Then I poured a little heavy whipping cream into the soup to thicken the sauce a bit.  So wrong yet so right.

These boys tore this up.  All you could hear was the sound of spoons clanking against bowls.  This is a successful dinner that is making its way into our family cookbook.  It was super quick and easy to throw together and was big on flavor!

A Little Planning

If I counted it up right, we've celebrated in one way or the other the last eight evenings.  That is a lot of partying.  Today we are staying in our jammies and I am curled up in my chair with my calendar, cookbooks, and grocery store list.

For me, a big part of traditions are the tastes and smells that you come to expect each year.  Some things we are still tweaking and figuring out and some winners are already established and part of our family culture.

I make notes and add them to my recipes so I remember the small details.

One thing I do during Christmas is buy good coffee from a kitchen store in town.  They grind it in house and it is such a treat on these Christmasy mornings.  Our special coffee usually lasts from Christmas through New Year's.

So this morning I've been browsing my cookbooks and making my grocery lists.  I will end up having three grocery lists for between now and New Year's Eve (a Christmas Eve and Day trip, one in between for fresh bread and veggies, and a New Year's trip).

One thing I'm always sure to add in is extra special treats for the evenings.  Things like hot cocoa, chocolate melt bars, apple dumplin's, snickerdoodles, oyster crackers, ranch dip/fresh veggies/wheat thins, and a cheese ball.  Some of our best memories are snuggling into the living room in the evenings and watching Christmas shows while something good bakes in the oven.

This is probably one of my biggest holiday tips.  Spend some time writing down some menus including fun treats.  Make your shopping lists and go ahead and do your shopping.  Having these things planned makes it easier to settle in for movies, games, and fun around the Christmas tree.  It just takes a small amount of effort and thinking through things like this, but it is so worth it!  Think about who you want to spend time with and create some good memories this year.

 

 

(no sticks of butter or jugs of heavy cream were harmed in the publishing of this post)

Coconut Chicken Curry Stew

I've purchased coconutty product before.  I usually go to this section to get my coco goods.  Somehow as I reached for the cream of coconut I felt like maybe this was not exactly what my recipe was asking me for.

Next I found myself meandering through the organic area feeling like everyone shopping on those rows knew I did not belong.  It was starting to feel stressful.  These boxes say coconut milk but they also say beverage on them.  It doesn't seem like this is what my recipe would be asking for but heck if I know what I'm looking for.  Since when do I have instinctive feelings on coconut milk varieties?  Who am I?

Then, lo and behold, I stumbled upon it.  The Asian aisle.  I had no. idea. we had an Asian food aisle.  And looky there.  Cans of coconut milk lining the shelf just waiting to find their way into my soup pot.

This soup right here is a big time keeper.  It was so packed with flavor.  It almost had the feel of a good, homemade chicken noodle soup.  I made this with the full intention that I'd be the only one in my house to eat it.  It turned out that the other two that tried it really enjoyed it. 

My advice for this recipe?  Use the fresh ginger and freshly pressed garlic.  And season with salt until it starts tasting really flavorful.  I think those are the reasons that this simple stew packed such a tasty punch.  Oh, and in case you don't know like we didn't know, fresh ginger is spicy.  Ouchy Mama!  I took the Mr.'s word for it.  He saw me grating it and took a tiny bite to try and meeee-maw meeee-maw it set his mouth on fire.  I kept asking if he was messing with me and he insisted he was serious.  I took his word for it.

Coconut Chicken Curry Stew

3 chicken breast, cubed (I used 4)
1 T ghee, butter or coconut oil
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 T grated ginger
2 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 T curry powder
6 garlic cloves, minced (I used 4)
1/4 cup cilantro.
salt to taste

Saute' chicken in butter in a large saucepan.  When the outside of the chicken has turned white, add in the coconut milk and broth and mix well.  Add in carrot, celery, tomato, ginger and curry powder.

Cook on medium heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in garlic, cilantro and salt.  Cook 5 more minutes.

* I did not use cilantro, just because I didn't have any.  I used an entire 13.5 oz can of coconut milk and the entire can of chicken broth.  I just have problems 'saving' that last bit because it always gets thrown away.  My stew turned out delish!

** This was my first rodeo with buying fresh ginger.  Talk about stressful.  The label at the grocery store said ginger root.  Is that what I need?  After much angst, I settled on a yes on the ginger root.  I got the cutest little piece since I only needed one tablespoon.  Then I was so darn excited to check out because I wanted to see if the checker knew what in the heck it was.  She had no idea.  I was all, "Um, that is fresh ginger."  I think she could tell I love Jesus since I was buying stuff like fresh ginger, you know that I'm sayin?

*** I feel like I added my garlic at the beginning of the simmering process when I added the veggies and spices.  Man.  I can't imagine using 6 cloves.  I only used 4 and mine was really garlicky. 

COZY DINNERS AND A RECIPE

It's weird. Even though I adore a sunny house with the windows open, I love cozy winter nights and rainy days.  There is something about these early evenings that make everything feel so warm inside the house.  Even heating up left-overs for dinner seems a little more festive.

I'm big into candle light dinners this time of year.  Even, especially, on left-over night.  We fill the table with our favorite drinking glasses and usually a bowl of whatever soup I've made that week and I just love it.  It is simple and beautiful.

Even though most of our dinners are nothing fancy, the candles always make it a little extra special.  This week I am super excited about making my chicken and dumplings.  I'll re-share the recipe with you.  This recipe is the darndest thing.  It looks so simple when you read the ingredients but I'm telling you we adore it around here.  It smells divine cooking away all day in the crock-pot and we all love it.  It is the perfect easy winter night meal.  I even pull my chicken straight from the bag in the freezer and toss it in FROZEN.  Have you ever?  I mean, really.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplins
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 6)
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of celery
2 cans chicken broth
2 T butter
seasoned salt & pepper
2 10oz cans refrigerator biscuits

Spray crock pot with Pam.  (I'm assuming your Mama taught you this but just in case here is your friendly reminder).

Put in frozen chicken.  Cover with soups, broth, butter, salt and pepper.  Liquid should cover all the chicken so add water if needed.  Cook on low 8 hours.  About an hour before you are ready to eat shred the chicken.  (I took the lid off and just used two forks to shred the chicken right in the crock pot).

Pinch off the biscuits and add them to the crockpot.  Cook until dumplins are not doughy, an hour or so.

Homemade Baby Food

You know how some afternoons you just decide you are going to go for it and try your hand at making homemade baby food for the very first time ever?  Yeah, that was me yesterday.

I didn't have a book or anything.  Just some fresh produce and a blender.  Have you ever seen Fresh Produce clothing?  Oh my gosh it is so cute.  And comfortable.  And probably healthy for you to wear.

I added a small amount of water to make my dish blendable and it really worked!

I liked being able to control what went into my baby food.  I did not peel the apples and tossed them in with the seeds.  It was so pretty to see red flecks of apple peel in the food.

After freezing them in the ice tray, I popped them into a freezer bag labeled:

 

September 2014

spinach, apple, banana

So how did the baby like her homemade baby food?

She was all smiles and told me she could not wait to try the Beef Bourguignon.

I'll never forget watching Anna Duggar make homemade green beans for her precious baby.  Boy did I ever think she was a rock-star mama who loved her baby a little more than I loved mine.  I mean, she was feeding her baby real green beans while I was feeding mine Vegetable Turkey Dinner made by some lady named Gerber.

 

I am thankful that I don't have to make my own stuff every single time, but it does bring me joy to serve good things to the people I love.

 

It feels so good to feed the people we love good things doesn't it?

 



Tonight the rest of us are having Pioneer Woman's Calzones for dinner with a spinach salad.  Mwah!

The Market

We have a new grocery store in town called the Neighborhood Market.  It took me a few times to decide if I liked it or not.  At first, I really did not want to try it.  I hate going to the Super Center.  Like, really, really, really despise having to go inside.  The people are rude, it is busy, it is generally just an unpleasant experience every single time.  When our nice Kroger opened I began shopping there.  It is also busy but the people are so much more friendly which is worth it for me, especially when I am shopping with babies in tow.

I am ready to make an official statement regarding the Market.

I love shopping at this store!

It is so nice.  Here is what I love about it.

It is small.  Small means there is not every imaginable organic option available.  It is less overwhelming for me.  I can get in and out in a jiffy.  The aisles seem shorter than the big Kroger and the Super Center.  I just whip up and down the aisles grabbing what I need.  There have been several times when I was in and out in 23 minutes flat having spent less than $100 for groceries that would last about 5 days.

It is cute inside.  There is a nice and warm feel inside the store.  Some call it new.  It is new but it also has a charming feel.

It is super clean.  I mean, it is immaculate.  And the shelves are always perfectly stocked and lined in neat little perfect rows.  For my fellow OCD friends you will find this aspect of the Market therapeutic. 

They sell Wal-Martish things.  You know what I'm saying?  Toothpaste, shampoo, baby wipes, Benadryl, etc...this means I can have the smaller grocery store experience, the lower prices, and get the things I usually had to go to the Super Center for, all in the convenience of this one stop.

Did I already tell you it is waaaayyyy less crowded than the big grocery stores?  I really am enjoying this factor and have noticed how it takes stress off of me when it is more calm inside the store.

The only cons I have found are regarding the meat situation.  There is no deli at The Market, so it is Oscar Meyer or bust.  I also have a thing with Wal-Mart meat.  As in I don't buy it.  Here is how this is playing out.

I'm going to the Market once a week for the main grocery trip run.  This includes breakfast and lunch fixin's as well the other ingredients for the recipes I'll be making that week.  After about 5 days I go to Kroger for meat, more produce, more milk and bread.  This week we are having left-over Italian Beef Sandwiches, Pioneer Woman Calzone's, Train Wreck, and we're grilling burgers one night.

Here is a picture of my Market trip yesterday.  If you haven't tried it you may want to give it a few shots.  If you are like me it may take a trip or two to really decide how you feel about the Market.  It has officially become my main grocery store and I just absolutely love shopping there!

And to address the elephant in the room-No I do not go get a shake at Chick-fil-A when I am done shopping and sit in an air conditioned van reading a book before I go home.