SUMMER FAVORITES

WHAT ARE YOUR SUMMER FAVORITES?
Grilling is healthy if you are not adding unhelthy things.
Salads are cold and nice to eat.
Home made ice pops are fun and traditional.
Making ICE CREAM? Why not?
What can we make from our garden?


STAY TUNED THIS WEEK FOR SOME HEALTHY IDEAS FOR SUMMER FAVORITES. IN THE MEAN TIME WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT, BUT WONDER HOW TO MAKE IT HEALTHIER? I'LL HELP. IF I DON'T KNOW I'LL FIND OUT.
LEAVE COMMENTS.

HAPPY SUMMER EATING:
MAKE THE KIDS DRINK EVERY HOUR AND YOU INCREASE IT TOO
XOXO
MEGS

HEALTHY PITA SANDWICHES AND FRUIT

Quick Story, Few Tips, Leading...eventually to the recipe.
I am all for healthy food. I'm all even more for HEALTHY FAST food that the kids love. So, it was hot out today. Hot for Pennsylvania~ It was 79 degrees and sunny with little wind.
   Anyway, on a hot day, I personally do not want to eat, but kids don't mind chowing, and need to for nutrition/growth reasons. I know when they are playing outside and they are busy, it's easier~and cleaner to make food for out there. So,I like to do a fast meal. What is faster than sandwiches? Some stuff, but my point is that making sandwiches is easy when you have more than one kid. I know my son eats Ketchup on everything, except Peanut-butter & Jelly, in which case he LOVES LOTS of the PB& a little of the J. I know each kid's likes and dislikes, as most mom's do. My kids are funny. I make them eat 100% Whole Wheat bread (plain 'whole wheat' doesn't have as much of the good nutrition as 100%), so its funny when I have their friends over. I'll get a list, like a waiter and ask what each kid wants after telling three to four options. We have white bread in the house for my mother in-law, so that option's available. My kids have grown to acquire a taste for 100% Whole Wheat bread. I give the option when friends are here, "Do you want it on white or wheat bread?" It never fails, out of fifty kids I've had over they chose white and my kids say "wheat" without thinking. It goes to show that any kid can make healthy choices (my kids are 2, 6, 9 & 10 as of today-May 9 2014). But when given a choice they make that healthy one. POINT FOR MEGS! Anyway, when it's hot out, I'd rather make sandwiches when we are all outside. I can make a list of what each person wants and take them out, use wipes on hands and let them wear themselves out some more for bedtime. I mean, let them use their creative energy. So, with my kids liking wheat bread, and us being outside today (well last evening May 8th eve), I thought how can this be less messy? Since my poor lil 2 year old guy has a cast on his left hand from a broken thumb, and he's LEFT handed, so eatin' has been messy. HMM... UH HUH! Pita Pockets. You can get them in the deli by the lunch meat, or where your local store sells bread. This is another item I buy when it's on sale and freeze until needed. I do that with lunch meat and all cheese except American(we go thru that too quickly thanks to my fiance) . ***When something your family eats is cheap, BUY IN BULK, package in thoughts of your family. I have a family of 6-8 to feed most the time, so all my meats, cheeses, and breads are prepackaged in servings for 6, 2, and 8. This will save you time and money in the end. I promise.** 
So, the wheat, whole grain, and 12 grain pitas cut in half and stuffed with meat, cheese, veggies, and ketchup are a great idea. My kids love fruit and it being hot was a nice cool treat to go with a cool sandwich and cup of ICE WATER. So, if you make a sandwich, you can make a pita sandwich. But here are some instructions to help.
Quick ideas: Sneak in veggies, allow your kiddos to help and give them a large amount of veggies to chose from, substitute pitas for bread, pizza crust, and tortilla shells. 

Pita Sandwich Ingredients: 

Package of Pita Pockets, or Pitas-CUT IN HALF to make the amount of sandwiches you need
Toppings:
Meats:Ham, turkey, chicken, pepperoni, roast beef, Peanut butter & Jelly
Cheese: American, Provolone, Swiss, Mozzarella, your family's favorites. (Processed cheeses and separately sliced and packaged cheeses are less nutritional)
Veggies/Fruits: sliced tomato, chopped lettuce, sliced or chopped onion,  thinly sliced cucumbers, grated carrots, sliced green peppers, baby spinach (I passed this off as lettuce three times then told my daughter it wasn't and she LIKED SPINACH) and any veggies your family likes.
Condiments:  mustard(this is the least fattening), Ketchup, Mayo, Salad dressing, Italian, Ranch, you know what your family likes
Fruit Salad
Watermelon, Mellon, apples, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, (I use whatever is in the fridge sometimes combining more than one fruit left over... I've even done canned)

Putting the meal together

1. Cut fruit, and mix it in a large bowl. Let chill in the fridge.
2. Get paper and pen, and take orders like a waitress if it's just the kids. If you are serving a large crowd, I put a meat and cheese tray together as well as a veggie tray.
3. Cut the pitas in half.
4. Put dressing/condiment on first, place meat(some lunch meat needs cut in half) inside, followed with cheese(I sometimes use shredded because it fits easier), stuff with veggies.
5. Place fruit in small bowls, and sandwiches on small paper plates, and feed.
6. Thank God for another meal, happy healthy kids, a full belly, a great family, nice day, and for all the blessings we leave out.

How did you make your pita sandwiches? Did your children find them useful as out door food? What spins did you put on them(I like mine with chicken breast, fat free ranch dressing, shredded cheddar and hot sauce).

Enjoy an easy to clean, easy to make, healthy meal.
Xoxo,
     Megs

DELICIOUSLY CHEAP EASYCHICKEN IN THE CROCK POT

THURSDAY APRIL 17, 2014

Yesterday marked the first official day of Easter Vacation from our school district. Well, Wednesday the kids went and yesterday, Thursday, they did not. Unfortunately for me and my daughter we were not feeling quite well. On her first full day off of school!!!!! We both had headaches, stuffy noses, I had an extremely sore throat, hers was mild, I had a mild ear ache, hers was that type of severe that the whole neighborhood hears about it (and we live in the woods). She screamed and cried and would NOT try anything I said. When I became a parent I never thought that what was happening in the house would determine what was for dinner. I'm now quite familiar with this. If we are busy I make something FAST, If not, the whole family sits in the kitchen while I cook. If I'm sick or have to care for a sick child, its a crock pot meal. When we are sick, what comes to mind? Chicken noodle soup usually-huh? So I went down to the deep dark deep freezer in the deep dark dungeon basement (OK its not bad that's where my bedroom is). Anyway I grabbed some bone-in chicken legs and bone-in chicken breast. ***TIP TIP TIP***It's a great idea to look at flyers and see if you can find bone-in chicken breast, thighs, or legs on sale. I never pay more than $1.99/lb and have gotten them as cheap as $0.99/lb. Usually people looking to save money look over these deals because chances are they are packaged in 3-10 lb packages, so they look expensive and they aren't. This family of 6-8 a 5 lb pack lasts us 3-4 meals or 4-5 months. Buy big and sort them into smaller sections, date, and freeze. It saves time and money in the long run.

After grabbing the bone in legs and breast, I went and got the big crock pot. There are two ways to make this but I chose the juiciest way since I was letting it cook from frozen early morning unit 7 that evening. I took the meat, defrosted it in the sink for an hour. Once it was defrosted, I laid them out and seasoned them. I like to use fresh garden veggies, herbs, and spices because I know where they come from; who touched them (: No, I just like gardening. However, it just snowed four days ago here in Pennsylvania. So, I took some minced onion, some pepper, salt, poultry seasoning and season all. I let them sit in the fridge for a while while I did the next step. I took 4 chicken soup cubes and put them in 1 1/2 cups of water, placed in the microwave for three minutes until they were completely liquid. So, I put it in the bottom of the crock pot and placed the chicken on top of the broth and let it cook for seven hour. I re-seasoned the chicken after five hours. This point you have the option to use whole grain rice, whole grain noodles, or potatoes. Add veggies on the side if you want a full meal. Use the broth to make gravy. I'll tell you how. I'll give directions as to what I did.           

•    Grabbed Ingredients:

1. 8 Chicken legs, 5 chicken breast (bone in)
2. CROCK POT
3. 4 bullion cubes heated in 1 1/2 Cups water
4. minced onion
5. pepper and salt
6. poultry seasoning
7. Season all/ Season salt.
8. Garlic Season
9. Whole Wheat Noodles/Whole grain rice
10. I used frozen green beans~you can use what you want 
11. Flour and water for gravy
12. Butter if desired    

• Made my meal flavorful before I left kitchen:

1. Thawed Chicken; laid out chicken pieces and sprinkled with pepper, salt, poultry seasoning, and season salt. Flipped and did the same to the other side. Sat in fridge until ready to cook.
2. Placed 4 bullion cubes in 1 1/2 Cups Water, heated in microwave until it dissolved (about 3 minutes, then stirred).
3.  Put the chicken bullion in the bottom of the crock pot.
4. Added 1/4 Cup of minced onion.
5. Placed Chicken breast first, bone down in large Crock pot. Then stacked the legs on top. They will not be fully covered and that's fine.
6. About 4-5 hours into cooking on low, I upped to high heat, moved chicken peices around, and topped with salt, pepper, Season Salt, poultry season, and a small splash of garlic seasoning.  
7. I knew the chicken was cooked after 6 hours because it started falling off of the bone as I wanted it to do. That is JUICY & SOFT CHICKEN. 
8. At this point I made Whole Wheat egg noodles. You can use white noodles, rice, potatoes, whatever you're hungry for.
9. I then scooped the broth out of the crock pot, placed a small strainer over a sauce pan to catch the drippings, and scooped 2- 2 1/2 Cups of juice into sauce pan. 
10. I then took a glass cup, a cup of flour and half cup warm water and mixed it extra good leaving very small clumps~fast dinner so nothing is perfect.
11. I took frozen veggies and placed them in the microwave to be steamed as desired.
12. I then started on medium high heat the chicken stalk. Taking a whisk I slowly dropped in 2-4 TBS of flour and water at a time stirring the whole time, and adding flour/water mixture as needed. Once the gravy looked like gravy yet a little runnier than I wanted to have it, I stopped adding, stirred and turned heat off(it thickens as it sits).   
13. Drained my noodles, and added 3 TBS butter stirring the noodles. My whole family doesn't eat chicken and gravy over noodles. So, butter works not only prevent hardening and sticking but also to allow for butter noodles. 
14. For the kids, I pulled(no cutting needed on this juicy and tender chicken) the meat off the bone, placed on noodles, and added gravy.     
15. THANK GOD AND EAT, ENJOY AND MAKE AGAIN.                    

This fed 6 people and we still had chicken left. I used the extra chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches. Pull chicken off the bone. Mix 2 parts mayonnaise with 1 part Miracle Whip. And you got LUNCH THE NEXT DAY . Or, you can have chicken and gravy sandwiches.                                                                                                                                                   

Happy Kids, Full Kids, make a happy home. 

Let me know if you made alternations or decided to make something else for lunch out of left overs. Thank you.

xoxo

Megs                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

PIZZA a CURE for: food your kid won't eat, & family bonding & new traditions

I was going to share my husband's birthday cake as my first post. BUT, I can do that tomorrow. You may like it as it does not look like a traditional high-class red velvet cake. My children made the frosting BLUE-daddy's favorite color, we used three types of sprinkles and three types of candles. It's fun, and that's the best way to get kids to eat things....make it fun.
Here is my point. My six year old daughter only likes pizza with light sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. My son likes it with anything. Well we are all trying to eat healthier, and drink more water...all that stuff everyone wants to do but getting in the habit is hard. So, take it easy. This recipe and idea has not only become a family favorite, it's a money saver, and it is a great way to get kids to get their veggies, or meat, or whatever they need to eat but don't. First the reasoning then the recipe. Depending on you, the age of your children, and how picky they are, this is a good weekend meal because it takes a while until everyone gets the hang of it. My first time, it took my prep work 30-40 minutes because I cut TOO much detail. It took me, my six year old, and two year old about 20 minutes to assemble their pizzas and 10 to assemble three more for the adults. Cook time it was about two hours with clean up. NOW prep time for me is 25 minutes the night before. My kids and I can do 6 pizzas in 20 minutes, and I clean up while it cooks and still have a few minutes to read my Better Home and Gardens DIY magizine. But try it if your family likes pizza. Its GREAT.

smiley face or jack-o-lantern pizzas

                                             

PERSONAL PAN PIZZAS MADE BY THE KIDS FOR THE KIDS OR PERSONALIZED STROMBOLI. 

heart shaped heart pizzas

•  This is a GREAT way to get younger kids to help in the kitchen.
• In my experience, if you let your child make their food, or help make food, they are MUCH more likely to eat it.
• If you make pizza for a picky eater, set out different veggies, meats, and cheeses(sometimes I do a red sauce, white sauce and garlic sauce, but not always...thats work). Tell them that we are doing a contest to see who can follow the rules: 

1. you must make your dough into your favorite shape. Or face It can NOT be perfect(I made this mistake and my daughter the perfectionist got irritated that it wouldn't turn into a heart, so now if it's perfect it doesn't win).
2. You must put sauce on it(unless their is an allergy).
3. You must put a cheese on it.
4. You must put (choose a number depending on child's likes...make them TRY something though) two different veggies, one you like, one you don't think you like.
5. You must put(choose a number depending on child's likes...make them TRY something though) two meats, or a meat and a seasoned tofu(yes tofu is nasty I'll teach you to make it good cause it's healthy).
6. You must eat half of yours and try one bite of one or two other people's pizzas.

• If your picky child got all six points then reward them with something-choosing tomorrow's dinner, stay up a little later, chose desert, chose a movie for the family etc..
• A lot of time kids don't eat enough veggies, suggest they put on a veggie they like one they don't. My middle daughter went thru a stage where she didn't like meat, I'd do shaped pepperoni, and have her chose ham, sausage, seasoned tofu(look forward to that tofu recipe, its great for kids and you can chop it in eggs, cheese, sprinkle on pizza, tacos and they never know).
• Its important that depending on the age you make sure their shape isn't perfect is a rule or they'll get discouraged. Here's my cheap way to buy the supplies and I always have them on hand.

Things to have on hand for anytime pizzas or Stromboli

 ~Frozen bread dough for the crust. OR make your own. OR use English muffins or bagels
~Pepperoni. I buy it on sale from the deli because its big and easy to cut, plus you can buy 2-3LBS cheap and only use 1/2 to 1 LB each time
~Cheese. I ALWAYS buy shredded Mozzarella in bulk, or buy it from the deli sliced if it's on sale.
~Meats...Sausage, Ham, Bacon, shredded steak.
~I RARELY buy pizza sauce because it's expensive and goes to waste. I use my usual spaghetti sauce, or melt butter and garlic on low in sauce pan and offer that as well.
~VEGGIES. My house always has a garden in summer, so in the winter/spring we buy red, yellow, and green peppers since they aren't spicy, tomatoes, baby tomatoes are a big hit even  when kids HATE tomatoes, onions, broccoli, I even let kids use shredded carrots, or spinach if they want. ANYTHING WITH NUTRITION THEY WONT EAT OTHER WISE.

That's what I have on hand because most all those ingredients can be used for something else if you don't use it all. Another reason, they make more than one meal, and kids love this meal we have it twice a month.
Here's how I do it. (Get ready the night before by chopping veggies, thawing dough, cooking meat)

1. Take frozen dough out a day early. I wrap it tight in foil or saran wrap so it doesn't rise. One loaf makes a medium pizza, Two small Stromboli, or 4 small pizzas.
2. Cook bacon or sausage if you wish to use that, drain meat, put on plate, add ham place in the refrigerator until ready.
3. Get a LARGE plate for the chopped veggies. cut small, cover and place in refrigerator until ready.
4. Cut the pepperoni into hearts, stars, squares, triangles, OR smiles, noses and eyes etc. for each kid. Place on a plate or in a zip lock until ready.
5. Get one to four types of cheese in small dishes.
6. When ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Set each kid at a lightly floured spot on table or stools at counter, and place allotted dough.
8. Give the rules of the pizza eating and making game.
9. Place all the ingredients in front of children explaining what each plate has on it.
10. Don't forget to make your own!!!
11. Compliment on how well they look...cuz they will. :)
12. BAKE FOR 15-25 MINUTES DEPENDING ON STOVE, AND THICK OR THINNESS OF PIZZA. FOR STROMBOLI, BAKE FOR 20-30 MINUTES (I always put on cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed LIGHTLY with cook spray).
13. Everyone eats at least half...or more, and tries someone else's. I bet that ONE kid will like something they didn't before.

Let me know what unique and clever things you did, added, and how it worked out. I use the Stromboli and add little things inside the cheese or sauce that my kids never notice....like broccoli, I chop off TINY little pieces and mix in sauce so it looks like seasoning. There is always someway to make your kid healthy. Who thought this "Junk food" could be healthy.

I like to make our own baked potato chips, tortilla chips or veggie chips to go with this meal. I'll post that soon. It's my first day.

Keep me posted on your likes or dislikes of this meal. Share with us ideas to use on our own kids.
Thanks for reading.
Bless You and Good Eats,
xoxoxo,
Megs

WELCOME: About me and my cooking ideas.

Believe it or not, I have a boyfriend and four kids. My current life's circumstances include my mother in law who works non stop a full time job, a part time job, and does OCD (not being mean but she is in a good way) RIGHT when she walks in the door. It also includes my boyfriend's 85 year old grandfather who is set in his ways of not making his own dinner and being served like he's at a restaurant. I love this family and so I being a stay at home mom right now, have learned to cook. ALL things. Breakfast, dinner, lunch, snacks etc. My boyfriend DOES make the evening snacks so little does he know he'll be blogging that. :).

If you haven't followed my other blog, MAD CRAFTING MOTHER OF FOUR feel free to check it out. We will be posting all of our current crafts this weekend throughout the week. So, if you aren't familliar with it, I am 29, my husband/boyfriend is 30-TODAY, and my children are Autumn, who is 10, Hannah who is 9 (they dont live with me full time). Then our live in children, Aerieannah, who is 6, almost 7 (on June 5, 2014), and our little kid our parents warned us about, Chris Junior, who is 2. By the kid our parents warned us about.... "I hope you have a kid that is just like you or worse." NO he is NOT a BAD kid. He's just the most curious, most independent, determined to do what he wants when he wants boy I've ever met. Not to mention he's stronger than me.He's two and weighs 53 pounds and his 6 year old sister weighs 60.

I'm busy with life as we all are. When a parent is busy and the kids are hungry I know we all- or 95% of us have made life easier a few times here and there by handing over a not so healthy snack, microwavable food, chips, or ran thru a fast food restaurant passing up a side salad for a cheeseburger(no ketchup or onions extra pickle). So I wanted to make a blog of our family's food. We do not always eat right BUT, I found some ways to add whole grains, calcium, and veggies by sneaking them in a recipe the kids already LOVE, and passing them off as something else. I've passed tofu(for extra iron) off as cheese because I flavored it and mixed it in with mozzerella and sprinkled it on the pizza. No body knew except me and I couldn't even taste it. There are ways to feed junk food-like pizza with extra special nutrients on it so it's no longer considered JUNK FOOD. Right now is the perfect time to start.
Though NOT healthy it's my boyfriend's 30th birthday and he loves RED VELVET cake. WE are far from rich so we usually wouldn't make it since we had to buy an over abundance of red dye as well as buttermilk we won't use again until its expired to throw away. SO this may be one of the most extravagant foods i make that is not cheap. And it's a shame I'm thinking of featuring it as my first food....maybe I'll sneak something else in, but I'm NOT perfect(nor would I claim to be), and its a birthday.

I hope that my ideas will help you save money and help you find easy ways I've developed or found thanks to other frugal healthy bloggers, various sneaky ways I've found myself, and raising 2-4 children, and feeding an 85 year old set in his ways(garlic and onion should be on EVERYTHING in LARGE amounts in his eyes) I even find ways to make him happy. So, help yourself and help your family enjoy a fast, cheap, DELICIOUS meal. I'll share some of the old things I've made that were a hit. I'll share the food I made that was a hit throughout the week. I hope you like. Next post may be the birthday hubbie's cake. (NOT AT ALL HEALTHY BUT SUPER GOOD). We all know when we crave "junk food" then it's best to have a small amount of that then deprive yourself or you will be off any diet or healthy eating plan that you were trying to do. If you crave chocolate, find a recipe for healthy chocolate oatmeal cookies or make a cup of hot cocoa.
 Here it goes. WELCOME TO MY FOOD BLOG. I am overweight. Though I eat healthy I blame the soda. I went a week with no mountain dew and lost 9 pounds in 6 days. I am too busy running around taking care of kids and family sweating my butt off to exercise conventionally...but running a house is exercising.

Check back if you are busy as I like to make meals in under 30 minutes. Check back if you love Crockpots as I love on a summer day when we are busy throwing stuff in the crock pot and having a delicious family meal. Check back if you love veggies and salad because I DO TOO! Check back if you have a sweet tooth because I love to bake. Check back if you have a picky eater, because I have five or six. No matter what I manage to make everyone happy. Hope I'm helpful.
Here comes the cake baking. Red Velvet from scratch. CAN NOT BEAT IT. I don't care for red velvet but it's the hubbies favorite and I used a family recipe.

HOPE TO SEE YOU BACK. ANY QUESTIONS, TOPICS ON FOOD, FOOD QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUNG PICKY EATERS......ASK. Chances are in my life as a mother, being in a mixed family, and in and out of foster care as a child, I'm sure I got a trick Idea or answer up my sleeve. If not, we can get together share tips and feel free to share similar recipes and I love constructive criticism. If you try something don't like it TELL ME. It only helps me.
Peace Love and Happy family Eating.
xoxo,
Megs