Meal Time/Recipes Archives

11:42 am by Penelope

How Slow Cooker Freezer Meals Makes Our Dinner Less Chaotic

As a busy mom, dinner is the most stressful time of my day. What’s helped is discovering slow cooker freezer meal planning to take the guesswork out of dinner.

By dinner time, all the kids are wound up, parents are tired, and then there’s getting kids ready for 7:30pm bedtime. Here’s how it goes… 5pm begin trying to cook dinner while the kids are running around getting into everything – can you say distractions galore? Wrangle family to the dinner table. Eat dinner. Clear the table and load dishwasher. Homework. Baths. Bedtime routine. When kids are asleep, finally finish cleaning up the kitchen. It’s exhausting.

However, since I’ve discovered freezer meals, I spend half the time in the kitchen preparing dinner in the evening. This helps lower my stress level tremendously so I can spend what’s left of my energy focusing more on the kids than dinner.

Since I’ve taken the Freezer Meals 101 course, I’ve discovered how easy freezer meal planning can be. Sharla Kostylek is the blogger behind The Chaos and the Clutter, and a busy homeschool mom of seven children through birth and adoption. In the Freezer Meals 101 course, she demonstrates her tips to make freezer meal planning efficient. She gives tips on how you can turn your favorite meals into freezer meals. It just takes some planning, and this course shows you how.

But don’t worry if you don’t have time to plan everything out! In the Freezer Meals 101 course, you’ll receive:
recipes,
preparation list,
shopping list, AND
printable labels so that you can enjoy more time with your family.

I tried out the crockpot slow cooker freezer meal plan that included the following 5 meals.

BEEFY RICE CASSEROLE
When I first attempted to make this beefy rice casserole, I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of using CONVERTED long grain rice in this slow cooker recipe. (hint: regular long grain rice becomes mushy in the crockpot slow cooker) I made this dish from ground turkey because it is healthier than beef and much less expensive.

ROAST BEEF DIP
This beef pot roast recipe is absolutely delicious and makes a fabulous gravy! Because I love mushrooms, next time, I will add a can of drained mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup. We used hamburger buns to make roast beef sandwiches for the family.

TORTELLINI SOUP
This tortellini soup is a very hearty meal. I actually added a can of drained garbanzo beans to this recipe. For my particular bland taste buds, I would probably only add one teaspoon of Italian seasoning instead of two next time I make this recipe. (Lesson: I forgot to thaw the tortellini ahead of time so because I had been cooking the soup in the slow cooker on low, the tortellini took a good bit longer to heat up)

CHICKEN TACO SOUP
Chicken Taco Soup was so good! My husband raved about how much better this taco soup is than most restaurants. I added a drained can of hominy to the taco soup because this East Texas girl loves hominy. My son loves to make this dish into “Frito Pie.”

LAZY LASAGNA
Lazy Lasagna is absolutely the best way to make lasagna!!! So easy! I used to spend hours in the kitchen making homemade lasagna. This is so simple and my family loved it! However, next time I will double this recipe.

Be sure and pin it for later!

12:02 pm by Penelope

Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 Party Snack

I lost my dad to cancer 29 years ago this week. One of my favorite memories of my dad was a funny recipe he created on Dr. Seuss’ birthday so many years ago. This memory still brings a smile to my face. On March 2nd of each year, I have had my own private celebration to celebrate not only the life of Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, but to celebrate a particularly fond memory of my quirky dad.

Now, as I have children of my own, Dr. Seuss’ birthday is a special way to connect my kids to a grandfather they never met. And now, we also have the added bonus that schools celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday as National Read Across America Day with Seussibration week.

Each year for Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I create a new snack for our Dr. Seuss party menu. This year I made Rice Krispie treats to resemble Dr. Seuss’ Thing 1 and Thing 2.

I made the Rice Krispie treats recipe and sliced into thin rectangles.

To make Thing 1 & Thing 2 red pants, I melted red Wilton candy melts and spooned it over the bottom portion of the treat.

For the blue hair, I used blue cotton candy. (Note: the cotton candy disintegrates in room humidity so add the hair right before serving.)

I used these Thing 1 &Thing 2 printables here to make the Thing 1 & Thing 2 name badges.

My family loved these & my brother-in-law even remarked, “the red chocolate makes them even better.” ENJOY!!!

10:06 am by Penelope

Sweet As Pie Adoption Party

I love celebrating adoption! It’s a time to celebrate finally becoming a forever family! I’m not adopting this year, but here is an idea for a “Sweet as Pie” adoption party.

I’ve only had the excitement of adopting boys, so, I like to dream up ideas for adoption parties for sweet baby girls. (If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that we have a baby girl and her mommy with us now – so I’m getting my baby girl fix.)

Sweet as Pie Adoption Party

First and foremost, a sweet as pie party theme, must be all about the pie. These small individual mini pies by Mr Kipling stay looking great on display and are easy to serve for any shower, party or celebration.

To decorate the refreshment table for your Sweet as Pie adoption party, begin with cute baby clothes, baby toys, and/or baby supplies. For an easy but cute DIY fruit centerpiece to go with your pies, write individual letters to the word “SWEET” on apples by pushing whole cloves into the apples into the shape of the letters.

And of course, serve pie!

You can get these premium, quality pies from Mr Kipling for a short time at Texas Walmarts. Mr Kipling makes their fruit pies (apple, cherry, fruit) with real fruit pieces, and all Mr Kipling pies contain no trans fat.

And don’t worry, chocoholics, Mr Kipling makes this incredible Mississippi Mud pie and “exceedingly good” as it states on the box is an understatement. So delicious!

Mr Kipling pies will be available in Walmart stores in Texas only for a limited about of time – once they are sold out, they are all gone!

But even though Mr Kipling pies won’t be around long, FAMILY IS FOREVER! Congratulations to all the forever families created this year through the miracle of adoption!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.
All opinions are mine alone. #TryThePie #CollectiveBias

9:42 am by Penelope

How Adoption Made Our Family + Easy Cheesecake Recipe

On Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at around 3pm, I received a call from CPS for an 8-month-old baby boy that needed a foster home. “Foster only”, she repeated twice. “Sure!” was my quick response. {I was so excited to get to care for a baby – even if for just a little while.}

My husband & I had plans to attend our precinct convention that election night; however, that one phone call changed our plans from that night forward. When that gorgeous baby boy with matted, sickly eyes arrived on our doorstep that Tuesday evening, our lives changed forever.

We adopted our “foster only” son 526 days later. Adoption changed our lives!

We adopted our foster baby when he was 2 years old!

According to the 2010 U.S. census, more than 1.5 million American families have been touched by adoption too, and fortunately the number of adoptive families has been steadily increasing each year! The American family is changing, and brands, such as Honey Maid, support these changes.

Like the American family, Honey Maid has continued to evolve across its 90 year heritage. From classic grahams to Teddy Grahams, Honey Maid’s wholesome products are made with whole grains and real honey, without high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors, and are wholesome snacks for my boys to take to school. {The teachers lectured the boys when they took Halloween candy to school for snack}

JD with his brother making Teddy Graham snacks for school.

JD with his brother, LilBit, packing Honey Maid Teddy Graham snacks for school.

LilBit can make his own s’mores with Honey Maid graham crackers, marshmallow cream, and chocolate spread.

Easy No-Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Here is a super easy no-bake cheesecake that can be made in just 5 minutes using Honey Maid graham cracker pie crust. Great dessert recipe for busy moms.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

10:30 am by Penelope

How a Backpack Can Give Hope to a Hungry Child

On that Monday morning, the tiny Kindergartner was anxiously anticipating as my mother served him a breakfast meal in the cafeteria line at school. He grabbed his tray, quickly ran to a table, sat down and began devouring his meal. He wolfed down the sausage-on-a-stick — but then something shocking happened when he finished eating the sausage — he began eating the stick!

This isn’t an isolated event — 16 million kids in America aren’t getting the food they need!

In the Texas county where I live (McLennan County), 27.1% of the children in MY local community experience hunger and food insecurity, meaning that over 16,000 children in MY community don’t know where their next meal is coming from!

See this interactive map on the “Hunger in America” tab to find the hunger statistics for your county. Be prepared! You will be shocked. {Leave a comment below with a statistic from your county}

Fortunately, there are easy ways for families to get involved and make a difference in their own community.

In my community of Waco, Texas, the nonprofit organization, Pack of Hope, works with local school districts to identify these hungry children. (The children on free lunches that devour all the food on their tray and even those of their classmates.) Pack of Hope provides these hungry children with a package of food on Friday afternoons so that they don’t have to experience hunger on the weekends.

Each Wednesday morning during the school year, volunteers for Pack of Hope work together to fill 1,000 packages of food for the local school children experiencing hunger and food insecurity.

Visit www.childhungerendshere.com or this inspiring Pinterest board to learn more and for inspirational project ideas for your area.

One easy way YOU can get involved is to look for the red pushpin and locate the code found on specially marked ConAgra Foods products. For each 8-digit code entered at www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com from March-August 2015, ConAgra Foods will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal to Feeding America, up to 3 million meals!

Solving child hunger isn’t something we can do alone! How will you help?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. ConAgra Foods generously provided 500 bottles of water for Pack of Hope, enough to fill half the weekly food packages. For more than 20 years, ConAgra Foods and the ConAgra Foods Foundation have been committed to fighting child hunger in America, donating food and investing in partnerships to find solutions that are within reach.

11:10 am by Penelope

Easy Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Recipe

After searching for Dr. Seuss food ideas, I finally found the easiest Dr. Seuss green eggs and ham recipe!

You see Dr. Seuss’ birthday of March 2nd touches a special memory in my heart of the grandfather my children never met. Every year, I celebrate with my kids with a special edible Dr. Seuss food menu…because of their grandfather’s epic recipe fail of green chicken…

Making the green eggs was easy – white chocolate with green M&Ms – but I couldn’t think of any easy way to make the green ham. And then! Perusing the candy aisle at H-E-B I found the perfect green ham!!

The new Peeps Minis in Sour Watermelon flavor!

Just cut off the head & turn upside down!

Here’s my Dr. Seuss Green Eggs & Ham Recipe! (Note: the larger Mega M&Ms would probably look even better)

1:10 pm by Penelope

It’s Chili Season in Texas

My 21-year-old son, Bubba, works the oddest hours and eats at weird times. And he doesn’t eat much, many times just one meal a day. At 120 pounds, his 5’10” frame needs more food. We began buying 6-packs of Wolf Brand Chili at Sam’s Club (for only $5.98), and Bubba eats it up! He just opens a can and heats it in the microwave. Easy, Peasy! The bonus is that Wolf Brand Chili has 32 grams of protein per can for Bubba.

Wolf Brand Chili is a Texas tradition – Texas football just isn’t right for me without Frito Pie, straight out of the bag! YUM! (Disclaimer: I am a born & bred Texan — so a Coke is a soft drink, not a particular brand and Fritos are corn chips of any brand)

And with cooler fall weather, chili is just the perfect comfort food. You can eat chili straight up – or add a variety of toppings! I like Cheddar cheese and Fritos.

Check out these cute printables for a chili bar by Amy Locurto.

Texas Chili Dinner Giveaway! (ended)

One reader will win a Wolf Brand Chili prize pack, valued at $100: The pack includes:

Three varieties of Wolf Brand Chili (Wolf Brand Chili No Beans, Wolf Brand Chili Mild No Beans, and Wolf Brand Chili Hot No Beans)
Texas shaped bamboo cutting board
Texas apron {{very cute}}
4 chili bowls
Set of coasters featuring the Wolf Brand Chili logo

To enter: Just leave a comment below telling me how you like to eat chili! (Facebook comments don’t count)
A winner will be randomly chosen.

Wolf Brand Chili is now thicker and heartier than ever, just the way that Texans like it! The new, thicker and heartier recipe can also be found every day on the shelves of your local grocery store. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Wolf Brand Chili. For more information, visit the Wolf Brand Chili website or Wolf Brand Chili’s Facebook page.

10:51 am by Penelope

Easy Gluten-Free Diet Menu Plan

Today Jax of The Roller Coaster Life of a Forever Family is sharing how easy a gluten-free diet can be to help with gluten-sensitive kids’ behavior.

I had heard about gluten free diets for behavior issues but had never put my son, Christopher, on one only because I didn’t think it was something I could manage as a single, working mom. I can honestly say, living a gluten free lifestyle is actually pretty easy. There are tons of easy, quick and healthy options available for even the pickiest of finicky eaters (like my son).

Easy Gluten-Free Rotisserie Chicken Meal Plan

For example, just go to your local grocery store and pick up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. My local Stop and Shop has two for one Fridays so make sure to look out for your own local bargains.

A rotisserie chicken could last for several days and be turned into several different meals, based on your family size. A few options appear below:

Day 1: Gluten-Free Baked Chicken with Mixed Vegetables

Simply heat up the rotisserie chicken in the oven, microwave some mixed vegetables with a little butter and you have a quick, tasty, healthy meal.

Day 2: Gluten-Free Chicken Tacos

Corn tortilla shells are gluten free so warm a few up in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Then fill the shells with shredded chicken, lettuce and tomato. Feel free to top them with guacamole, sour cream and salsa according to taste. One caveat: make sure to check the ingredients of the salsa because some are thickened using gluten, believe it or not!

Day 3: Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup

My son loves Ancient Harvest Quinoa spaghetti. Please note that quinoa spaghetti does need to be cooked for at least 15 minutes to have the same consistency as regular spaghetti. While heating the spaghetti, on a separate burner you’ll heat up three cups of organic chicken broth. When cooked add the quinoa spaghetti to the broth along with some mixed vegetables from your freezer and the left-over chicken. You can season with salt, pepper and some Italian seasoning then let the pot simmer for five minutes. Soon you will have a tasty, hearty soup.

Gluten-Free Dessert Recipe

Dessert: Popsicles

We make our own popsicles using some rocket-shaped Popsicle molds that are BPA-free. I fill them with organic, all-natural lemonade and freeze them for several hours. They turn out great!

What tips do you have for eating a gluten-free diet?

7:31 am by Penelope

Have You Tried Gluten-Free With Your Kids?

Do you have a child that’s difficult to parent? Are your children cranky, aggressive, or hyperactive? Has your child been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)? {Read The Out-of-Sync Child for more on SPD}

Have you tried a gluten-free diet for your child with Sensory Processing Disorder?

I haven’t yet, but here’s what I’ve been reading about a gluten-free diet for SPD…

Beth Allen says this in her post, Jumping on the Gluten-Free Bandwagon for Our Son with Sensory Processing Disorder:

My second son Asher, 18 months at the time, was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. SPD is a neurological condition in which the person has difficulties organizing the sensations coming from the body and the environment. One of the first things I read about SPD recommended removing both Gluten (protein found in wheat) and Casein (protein found in dairy) from his diet. I decided I’d give it 3 weeks, and then go back to life as usual, because it surely wasn’t going to change anything.

Well I’m here to shout from the rooftops, because it’s turned out to be life-changing for us!….

I was about to dive in to Occupational Therapy after Asher was assessed, but I decided to try this GFCF (Gluten-Free/ Casein-Free) diet for 3 weeks “just to rule it out.” Ha!

The GFCF lifestyle has been a Godsend! And still to this day, 5 months in to this journey, I am blown away by what we’ve witnessed. Our estimation is that 75% of Asher’s symptoms were COMPLETELY GONE within 1-2 weeks of going GFCF.

Jenny has a son with autism and SPD and says this on the SPD Blogger Network about a gluten-free, dairy-free diet:

Back in October, you may remember that my son started the GFCF diet (gluten free and casein aka dairy free). Within weeks, his eye contact and engagement improved, his verbal ability approved, and he began to sleep through the night for the first time ever. That was life changing for this exhausted mommy, and I was ecstatic that Bud seemed happier himself.

To be honest, I haven’t tried a gluten-free diet with my son because, frankly, I thought it would be just too hard. But check out this group of ebooks!

Check out these five ebooks on grain- and gluten-free cooking! In these books are numerous tips for a gluten-free kitchen as well as almost 200 recipes for every meal of the day. This book bundle is useful whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been gluten-free for years.

Grain-Free Meal Plans: Summer {2 Weeks} by Cara Faus
Cara’s known for her grain-free meal plans, and this collection includes recipes for 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for two full weeks plus grocery lists, prep instructions, indexes, and more to take the headache out of meal planning for your family. {$~~16.00~~}

Awaken: 30+ Egg Free and Grain Free Breakfasts by Karen Sorenson
In Awaken: 30+ Egg Free and Grain Free Breakfasts, Karen offers 30 delicious breakfast recipes that are egg- and grain-free with step-by-step instructions and photos as well as tips for stocking a gluten-free pantry, egg and sweetener substitution charts, and nutritional information estimates.

Baking with Coconut Flour by Starlene Stewart
Baking with Coconut Flour is not a recipe book but an instructional guide that will answer your questions about baking with coconut flour. Starlene shows you how to successfully reproduce other people’s recipes, how to work with coconut flour, how to adapt your favorite family recipes, how to troubleshoot your flops, where to find coconut flour and more. She even includes a handy worksheet to help you convert recipes!

Check out Beyond Grain and Dairy Cookbook
And the recipes in Gluten-Free Snack Cookbook look so yummy!

I have already ordered and can’t wait to read the Grain-Free Meal Plans book (with grocery list)!!! I’ll let you know how it goes.