A Few Tricks for Healthy & Delicious Waffles

We love waffles. It's one of the few things that everyone here eats and doesn't bother my breast-feeding infant with reflux, plus it's a quick, easy and low-cost meal. Here are a few tips that I have found to make them healthier and tastier.

• Add a heaping tablespoon of ground flax seed to the batter. It help you get your Omega-3's, some extra fiber and protein and you can't taste it. I also throw a tablespoon of wheat germ into the batter for extra Vitamin E and fiber and no one can taste that either.
• Substituting almond milk for regular milk adds a slightly nutty flavor and decreases calories.
• If you use a professional waffle iron it will improve your waffles regardless of your batter recipe. The flipping motion introduces more air into the waffle. I was surprised that they only cost about $10 more than a good quality standard waffle iron.
• Putting a couple tablespoons of applesauce on your waffle moistens them without a ton of syrup, reducing sugar without sacrificing taste. (I got this idea from a friend. When she was growing up her grandparents didn't keep sugar or syrup in the house, so they put applesauce on their waffles so they weren't dry and tasteless.)
• Recently I tried some of my homemade applesauce (it's brown from the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) with just a little bit of real maple syrup drizzled on top. It was so yummy.

Food Storage Friday: Potato Pearl Soup

Ok,  if you have potato pearls you have to try this. To quote my husband "It tastes like Thanksgiving in a bowl." And it's EASY! If you don't have potato pearls, go get some.  I found this winner in Food Storage for the Clueless by Clark and Kathryn Kidd, which a friend recommended to me. Unfortunately it is out of print and it was awhile before a copy was available for less than $40. I eventually found one and I haven't really started reading it, just trying a few recipes. This soup is fast, easy, yummy and uses mostly food storage ingredients. I can't say that it's healthy, but it tastes like comfort food and sometimes you need that...like when everyone in the house has had a cold sometime in the past two weeks. Just saying.

Potato Pearl Soup
Food Storage Ingredients:
4 & 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons dried chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
dash of garlic salt
dash of pepper
2 cups potato pearls
2 & 1/2 cups broth/stock

Fresh Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup water

1. Heat butter, onion, salt, milk and pepper until scalding. 2. Gradually stir in potato pearls. Keep cooking and stirring until smooth. 3. Gradually add the broth & water. 4. Garnish with paprika and parsley if desired.

The original recipe called for more salt and butter. I cut them down and still added the water to get it to a place where I liked the taste. I also used turkey stock that I made and froze after Thanksgiving last year. Hence the strong Thanksgiving flavor and the small bits of carrot. So yummy. The original recipe calls for chicken broth, so I'm sure that that is good too. You *could* use fresh milk for this, but when I make recipes that call for cooking more than 2 cups of milk, I mix it up from my food storage. It's cheaper, no one can taste a difference and I need to rotate the stuff anyway.

Food Storage Friday: Raspberry and Spinach Pasta Salad

I created this recipe with my extremely limiting dietary restrictions in mind using things I happened to have in my fridge and pantry. So if you aren't married to a vegetarian and you aren't breast-feeding an infant with moderately severe reflux, feel free to add some grilled chicken strips, mandarin oranges, feta cheese and/or chopped kiwi fruits. I actually can have kiwi, I'm just out.  You can serve it as a side (I had mine with grilled fish) or eat it as a light meal. Whatever floats your boat.

Raspberry and Spinach Pasta Salad
Food Storage Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons toasted almonds
2 cups cooked pasta
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette dressing (I used Private Selections from Smith's because it doesn't use soybean oil.)

Fresh Ingredients:
handful of fresh raspberries, torn in half
1 Bartlett pear, chopped
1 large handful of baby spinach

1. Coat cooked pasta with olive oil. 2. Toss all ingredients together.

I love this because a) I'm allowed to eat it, b) it's healthy, c) it's delicious and satisfying and d) it's super quick and easy to make. We have a winner! If I were in a situation where I was using only my food storage I could use reconstituted dried raspberries and canned pears and probably just forgo the spinach. The fresh is better, but I could make do without.

Food Storage Friday: Stir-fried Green Beans with Rice

Sometime in the last month we got green beans in our Bountiful Basket. My husband has a tendency to turn his nose up at green beans and my kids won't try them either. One day I mentioned that we should eat them and my husband said "I can't imagine that there is anything you can do to green beans to make them delicious." I took this as a challenge. Heather has a tendency to be fairly irritated when someone tells her that she can't do something. When I was in college my department counselor laughed at me for a good 15 minutes when I told her I was thinking about graduating with University Honors. I did it and in less than four years too, so there.  So I turned to How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food  for ideas. I found a recipe for Twice-Fried Green Beans, that sounded like it had potential, except it involved deep-frying, which I am pretty aversive to. So I took all of the ingredients, stir-fried them and served them over rice. My husband loved it and admitted that green beans can taste good as long as they don't come from a can. He liked it so much that I caught him multiple times sticking his finger in the empty pan to scrape out the remains of the sauce. Mission accomplished.

Stir-fried Green Beans with Rice
Food Storage Ingredients:
rice, prepared per package directions
4 Tablespoons of oil
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
dash of salt

Fresh Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup scallions, chopped*

1. Stir-fry green beans in oil for ten minutes on medium heat. 2. Add cashews and cook until they just start to brown. 3. Add garlic, scallions, and red pepper flakes. Cook until onions turn clear. 4.  Add soy sauce and salt. 5. Sprinkle sugar evenly over vegetables. Saute until evenly coated with sauce. (It will be thick and sticky.) Serve over rice.

*The original recipe called for scallions, but I used the small red onions that I had just harvested from my garden with very satisfactory results.

Food Storage Friday: Bean Pancakes

Over a year ago I came across a recipe blog hop on Trying Our Best, (I love getting recipe ideas from other people.) which included a recipe from Sunrise on the Water for bean pancakes. I thought that I would give it a try, but of course I made several changes, shared it with my buddy Liesa who had some good suggestions and voila!- another happy food storage concoction. I love that this recipe is a good mix of fresh and food storage ingredients and in a pickle I could make it from all food storage ingredients. Plus it's healthy, easy to prepare and super cheap to make. Also if the name "bean pancakes" sounds too weird for you, try calling them bean tortillas, because really they're like a healthy tortilla, you just cook them like a pancake. You could easily fill them with eggs and green chiles or taco stuffings. Enjoy!

Bean Pancakes
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 15 oz can beans, rinsed, drained & mashed (I've done black or kidney, both are great, the pancakes pictured are made with black beans)
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
1&1/4- 1&1/3 cup wheat flour (depending on how moist your beans are)
2 Tablespoons canola oil
dash of lime pepper
a couple shots of Tabasco sauce (I prefer the green variety for this)
salsa for topping

Fresh Ingredients:
1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 egg
shredded cheese
avocado sour cream or ranch dressing

1. Mix beans, milk, wheat flour, oil, pepper, Tabasco, cilantro, garlic and egg until a pancake consistency. There will still be chunks of beans, but you want to make sure that the flour is mixed in well. 2. Make into pancakes. While you are cooking the second side of the pancakes, sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top so it melts onto the pancake. 3. Top with salsa, avocados, sour cream or whatever you please.

 I served mine with Cafe Rio style rice, peach salsa and mango smoothies, but go with what sounds good to you. If you plan on stuffing them taco stuff I would add the lesser amount of wheat so they're a little thinner and easier to fold. As I'm writing this I just had the thought that next time I should add some green chiles or other peppers to the pancake mix. I'm sure it will be delicious. I'll let you know how it goes. Also I would advise against telling small children that these are pancakes. Both of my kids were pretty upset that I made them pancakes that we were not putting syrup on.

Food Storage Friday: Shepherd's Pie

 This is Thing 1's "favorite non-sugary food". And I love that it is super easy to make. I could probably get her to make it next time, if I cook the meat first, it's that easy. This is the way that my mom made shepherd's pie growing up and I love it, but I have since learned that shepherd's pie traditionally has green beans and some sort of tomato-based sauce. I really don't think that I could get my kids to eat something like that, but this way works for us. And when I take the leftovers to work I always get comments about how great it smells.


Shepherd's Pie
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 cans corn, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
3-4 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Fresh Ingredients:
1 lb cooked extra lean ground beef, drained
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. For bottom layer mix beef, onions and soup in a casserole dish. 2. Spread canned corn over meat mixture for second layer. 3 Spread mashed potatoes over corn. 4. Sprinkle with cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.

Usually I bake this in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes, but I'm trying not to turn the oven on these days. The dish I used was small enough that I cooked this in the microwave for a few minutes without any ill effects. Once I tried using half wheatberries to half ground beef. It was not a winner. The texture was just wrong. I also swear that I took a picture of this when I made it last, but it is MIA. I'm sure that you guys can use your imaginations to conjure it up in your minds.

Food Storage Friday: Beef, Wheat and Cheese Enchiladas

When my husband was growing up, one of this favorite foods was beef and cheese enchiladas. They're pretty straight forward- enchilada sauce, cooked ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese in a tortilla, smothered in more sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted. They're all right; they're his comfort food, not mine. However, this week after he'd been in an accident, (An older gentleman possibly totaled our car, we're still waiting to hear.) I could tell that he needed some comfort food, so I made these with one significant change. I added food storage. Cooked wheat berries can be used to substitute part of the ground beef in a recipe, decreasing the saturated fat and increasing the folic acid and fiber content. I have tried just mixing wheat berries with the ground beef, however the texture just seemed wrong, but "mix it in a mincer and pretend it's beef" and it seems to work a little better. I can distinctly taste the wheat, but my husband still happily ate several. The same principle can be applied to many other recipes that call for ground beef.

Beef, Wheat and Cheese Enchiladas
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 cup cooked wheat berries
2 cups (approximately) enchilada sauce

Fresh Ingredients:
1 lb cooked ground beef (I prefer the extra lean variety)
tortillas (how many depends on the size, roughly one package of the 8" variety)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Puree 1/2 cup enchilada sauce with wheat berries. (If your family is not used to eating cooked wheat, you may want to start with less than a cup so they don't have a fiber overload.) 2. Spread wheat mixture on tortillas, top with beef and cheese. 3. Roll and smother with remaining sauce and cheese. 4. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 or until cheese is melted.

Food Storage Friday: Chili and Rice

This week I have been out of town, come down with a nasty cold and have generally felt tired, busy and achey with all that comes with pregnancy and mothering small children. So when I was trying to come up with what to eat for dinner this week I was not feeling super creative. I just wanted something quick and easy that would satisfy my family. I thought of something that my mother sometimes made when I was growing up: chili and rice. She got the idea from her friend who grew up eating chili this way in Louisiana. Considering I got the chili on sale for 17 cents per can (after coupons), I can easily feed my entire family of four for about 50 cents and have leftovers. It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, and if you add a side of fresh fruit, is a fairly well-balanced meal.

Chili and Rice
Food Storage Ingredients:
Chili of your choice (I found that one 15 oz can makes about 2 & 1/2 servings)
3/4 cup of prepared rice per person

Fresh Ingredients: (optional)
grated cheese
chopped green onions

Pretty self-explanatory, chili over rice. Add toppings if desired. If you are feeling a little more ambitious than I, make your own chili from scratch and add some cornbread on the side. Enjoy.

Food Storage Friday: Honey Mustard Chicken

I originally found this recipe in a grocery ad and added a few veggies to it. Although the recipe was for marinated chicken kabobs. I don't own a grill and I am not interested in broiling things in my oven. (Here in the desert it is already summer time.) So I threw everything in my crockpot, and I didn't bother to cut the meat up as small. I'm sure that if I had it would have looked more appealing, but I'll admit sometimes I'd just rather throw it in the crockpot and forget about it. It was still tasty.

Honey Mustard Chicken
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 tsp steak sauce
4 Tablespoons of mayonaise
2/3 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups prepared rice

Fresh Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken, cut into chunks
1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks

1. Mix first four ingredients. (If you are making kabobs, use half to marinate chicken and half to dip chicken in after it's cooked.) 2. Throw all ingredients (except rice, salt and pepper) into a crockpot. 3. Cook on low for 6 hours. 4. Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.

This was a total crock pot meal. I cooked the brown rice in my small crock pot, the chicken and sauce in my medium and baked the sweet potatoes in my large. 20 minutes of preparation, a whole bunch of leftovers and I didn't have to heat up my kitchen.

Food Storage Friday: Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

My husband originally made this when we had numerous red peppers from one Bountiful Basket and it became a favorite for Meatless Mondays. He can't remember where he found the recipe and we tend to wing it every time. It's fairly simple and delicious.

Red Pepper Pesto Pasta
Food Storage Ingredients:
1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Italian spices to taste (rosemary, sweet basil, Italian parsley)
1 7oz can of mushrooms, drained
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz of pasta, cooked according to directions

Fresh Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
1 clove garlic
freshly grated Parmesan

1. Broil red peppers until blistered on a pan covered in foil. (Similar to peppers for chile relleno) When thoroughly blistered, remove from oven and wrap in foil from pan. Allow to sweat for 10-15 minutes. 2. Toast almonds in oven. (In the same pan if you wish.) 3. Remove peels, seeds and stems from peppers and put remaining pepper pieces in a small blender. 4. Add olive oil, almonds, garlic and spices and puree. 5. Top each plate of pasta with half of canned mushrooms, red pepper pesto and freshly grated Parmesan.

I served it with some toasted Rosemary sourdough bread from Costco.

Sour Cream and Cheddar Potatoes

Here's a recipe that I made up Saturday night after work (equals quick and easy). It was so yummy that I made it again. This and a green salad makes a very satisfying meal. So if you were wondering 'What in the world should I do with these little yellow potatoes from my Bountiful Basket?', give this a try. It kind of reminds me of a dutch oven breakfast that my leaders often made when I went to girl's camp as a teenager.

Sour Cream and Cheddar Potatoes
2 lbs butter gold baby potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters, (leave the peels on, they're good for you)
1 14 oz can of chicken broth
3 Tablespoons of butter
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
6 slices of Canadian Bacon, coarsely chopped

1. Put potato quarters in a small pot with chicken broth. Boil covered for 15 minutes. (The broth won't totally cover the potatoes, that's ok, the steam will cook them. And don't stir them, just leave them be for 15 min.) 2. Pull the lid back to let some of the steam escape. When you have a 1/4" of liquid or less, turn down the heat to medium low. 3. Add butter and stir. 4. After butter is melted, add remaining ingredients. Stir until cheeses are melted.

I imagine that you could experiment with other kinds of potatoes, but it would change the cooking time. And I'm sure that some good spiral ham instead of Canadian Bacon would taste great, or you could easily leave out the meat entirely.

Food Storage Friday: Chicken Alfredo

There are two ways of doing this. And I have tried both. I store Classico Alfredo sauce in a jar, canned mushrooms, add cooked chicken and serve over cooked pasta. Most often I put slightly more effort into it. Not as much effort as say a traditional chicken alfredo recipe, because that just takes too long to make on a regular basis.

Chicken Alfredo
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary (optional)
16 oz dried pasta (I usually use bow-tie or penne)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 4 oz can mushrooms
1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 Tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes (optional)


Fresh Ingredients:
1-2 cups cooked and seasoned chicken
1 Tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 oz neufchatel (low-fat cream cheese)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. 2. Simmer evaporated milk and neufchatel. After cheese softens whisk into milk until smooth. 3. Whisk in Parmesan. 4. Stir in remaining ingredients. Serve over pasta.

We made roasted eggplant and baked zucchini with caramelized tomatoes and mozzarella to go on the side. The roasted eggplant was AMAZING. The next time we get eggplant in our Bountiful Basket I'll have to write a post about it with pictures. Wow, I wish I had one right now. It's so good.

Notes: So for this batch of Alfredo sauce I sauteed 3/4 cup of fresh mushrooms in a dash of olive oil with some garlic. It was delicious, but most often I just use the canned variety. I also added in some fresh rosemary and a tiny bit of parsley because I had it from our Italian pack. I have used canned chicken in this recipe before. It's still pretty good, but not as good as fresh grilled and it doesn't reheat as well. I found a version of this recipe in a book that I once read on a very slow night shift years ago. I can't remember the name of it, something about tips for raising a family without losing your sanity. I've tried finding the book, but since I can't remember the author or actual title. I did photocopy a couple recipes that I combined into this one. Both of the them called for a cube of butter, 8 oz cream cheese, heavy cream and a great deal more salt. So although this is not my healthiest of recipes, it's delicious and significantly more healthy than what I started with.

Food Storage Friday: Chicken Enchiladas

Growing up whenever I requested a meal, it was chicken enchiladas. Since we've been married they have also become a favorite of my husband's. In addition to being delicious, they are super easy to make. (I have a distinct memory of explaining how to make them to my bus driver when I was six.) However, the recipe that I grew up on does not incorporate much in the way of food storage. So I experimented several times. They were ok, but not fantastic. Then I finally arrived at this one that really works for me and my family. Enjoy.

Chicken Enchiladas
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 10.75 oz can of cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 4 oz can of diced green chiles
1/2 cup white beans, cooked and pureed

Fresh Ingredients:
6 burrito sized tortillas
2 cups cooked, diced chicken breasts
1/2 cup sour cream
shredded cheese (about 2 cups)
peppers and onions as desired (see note)

1. Mix sour cream, mushroom soup, green chiles and beans. 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 3. Take a large spoonful of mix and spread on a tortilla. Sprinkle with chicken, cheese, and diced peppers/onions. Repeat with remaining tortillas. 4. Spread remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. 5. Bake for twenty minutes.

Notes: The original recipe is just mushroom soup, 1 cup sour cream, green chiles, chicken cheese and tortillas. I found that if you half pureed white beans for half the sour cream, you can barely taste a difference, plus its healthier and more filling. I've done it with all beans instead of sour cream. My family could eat it in a bind, but it lost some of its "comfort food taste". After reading Twilight, I tried adding sauteed peppers and onions. It's good, but I'm usually not that ambitious. Adding fresh onions and peppers is much easier and almost as good. This time I used one green onion and one red pepper in the enchiladas and one green onion on top. I basically use whatever combination is convenient. I've also made these with turkey (a popular use for Thanksgiving leftovers) and canned chicken. I'll be honest, canned chicken just isn't as good as fresh, but it's more palatable when you use half canned to half fresh cooked. (I do this sometimes when I am making a double batch.) This makes great leftovers and freezes well.

Food Storage Friday: Taco Soup

This week's food storage tip is try to pick recipes that you already have the ingredients for. For example, taco soup. (Mexican food and soup together, love it!) There is not an ingredient in there that I don't normally stock for other meals also. It makes it easier to purchase cases of them and have them available. Using your food storage doesn't have to be super elaborate, it just has to work for you and your family.

Taco Soup

Food Storage Ingredients
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can corn
1 can of olives, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles
1 can cooked chicken
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp chicken bullion + 1 cup water or 1 cup chicken broth

Fresh Ingredients
sour cream
shredded cheese
tortilla chips
1 tsp lime juice

Optional Ingredients
avocados, chopped for garnish

1. Dump all ingredients into a pot. Stir and heat until cooked through. (About ten minutes.)

Usually I used canned tomatoes because it's easy, but this time I used a couple fresh because I had them. It made the soup a little more watery and foamy, but still good.

I have tried at least a dozen versions of taco soup. This is the one that I always go back to because I like the way it tastes and it's so blasted easy. I've tried it with grilled chicken, beef, pork, ground beef, and ground turkey. (And it wouldn't be hard to make it meatless.) Canned chicken trumps because it is the easiest. When I was pregnant with #2 and working full-time nights I made this almost once a week. I can make it in my sleep. (And considering that I was working nights I probably did make it in my sleep at some point.) Enjoy!

Soup is on baby!

Food Storage Friday: Taco Salad

The point of eating your food storage is not self-deprivation. You should incorporate food storage in your diet on a regular basis, so if you do have to live off your food storage, you are familiar enough with it that it's not a shock. And I'm not just talking about bowel upset. If you use food storage on a regular basis you will feel comfortable experimenting with it and making adjustments so you can make it work for you and your family. For example, today's recipe is Taco Salad. If I were in a pinch I could forgo the fresh meat and veggies, add some canned tomatoes and meat and some more rice and have Mexican Haystacks. Yes, I'd rather have the lettuce, but if we had to I feel confident that we could make do.

Taco Salad
Food Storage Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (kidney also work)
1 can corn, drained
salsa
ranch dressing
taco seasoning

Fresh Ingredients
iceberg lettuce
fresh tomatoes
1 lb ground turkey, cooked and drained (or meat of your choice)
tortilla chips
dash of lime juice
shredded cheese

Optional Ingredients
canned olives, drained and sliced
avocados
cilantro
guacamole
sour cream

1. Prepare meat according to taco seasoning instructions. 2. Assemble as desired.
A head of lettuce, a few tomatoes, 2 cups of rice and the other listed ingredients makes approximately 6 servings.

After I started eating this I realized I forgot the cheese. Oops!

Food Storage Friday: Hawaiian Haystacks

Food storage can make your life easier. One way to start out is to pick a recipe that your family enjoys that incorporates food storage and buy enough ingredients to make that meal 3 times. Once you have 30 recipes, multiplied by three, you will have a 3 month supply of food. Keep these ingredients where you will use them. Case in point: My family loves Hawaiian Haystacks so I purchased all the ingredients to make at least 3 meals worth (It's one of the few meals that everyone is willing to eat, anytime). One Sunday when I was at work my husband decided to make dinner and looked in the pantry. 'Ah-hah! Everything to make Hawaiian Haystacks in plain view.'  I came home to the pleasant surprise of finding not only that dinner was on the table, but that my husband had used food storage to make it. And this works not only for coaxing husbands to cook, but for helping you on those evenings when you're feeling uninspired in the kitchen. If you have a recipe that you're familiar with and you keep the ingredients on hand, you can get dinner on the table quickly without resorting to fast or instant food.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Food storage ingredients minus coconut

Food Storage Ingredients
3 cups of prepared rice
canned pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained
chicken gravy, prepared as directed
slivered almonds
chow mien noodles
shredded coconut
canned mandarin oranges,drained

Fresh Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (canned chicken can be substituted in a pinch)
shredded cheddar
1 green onion, sliced

Optional Ingredients
golden raisins
sliced water chestnuts
shredded carrots
diced bell peppers

1. Prepare ingredients (gravy, chicken, etc.) 2. Assemble as desired.

For me, this is comfort food.

For my family, 2 cups of chicken & 3 cups of rice is sufficient for the four of us and even yields some leftovers. One package each of chow mien noodles, almonds and coconut is more than enough for three meals, but we always use an entire can each of the fruit.

Book Review: Family Funbook

I came across this book when browsing on Amazon and bought it because I remember my mother enjoying several books written by this author when I was growing up. Family Funbook: More than 400 Amazing, Amusing and All-Around Awesome Activities for the Entire Family! by Joni Hilton is full of fun and creative ideas to do with your kids. I love this book (even though I probably wouldn't pick it up if I were basing my purchase just on the cover). I am definitely going to refer to this book the next time my kids are bored and I need a new idea. This book has many, many inexpensive ways to keep the kids entertained and learning year round.  Some of them I have heard of before, but there are many that I haven't and had never occurred to me. I highly recommend it. Here are some of my favorites:

• Take a week long trip at home. Pick a destination and have an activity each day that relates to that place. Some suggestions she gives are Asia, Africa, South America and Polynesia. Each day do something related to your destination. Find books related to your vacation spot. Make crafts related to the area.Try foods and activities that are typical of the region. Her book offers dozens of ideas. There is a lot of fun and learning that could be had here.
• Make an alphabet video. Have your child point to things that start with each letter of the alphabet or make letters out of sticks or stones. Then have them pose in the shape of each letter at the end as a review. Your child will love to watch it when you're done and s/he will love that they are the star.
• Go on a nature walk. Find different kinds of spider webs. Make up stories about animals that you might find. Have a scavenger hunt. Bring crayons and paper to make rubbings.
• Play hose soccer. Give each team a hose and have them try to spray and kick a beach ball the opposing side of a given line. Good summer time fun.
• Watch falling stars- Mid-August is a good time for this.
• Record the things the funny things that your children say- I do this on my personal blog and it's the grandparents favorite part. It also reveals more of their personalities than photographs often do.
• Have a treasure hunt- Have one child hide a treasure and make a map for the others to find it. This can be repeated many times with a variety of "treasures".
• Make a sundial. Teach your children about time using a stick and 12 stones
• Ice cream muffins- Easiest muffin recipe ever. Equal parts softened ice cream and self-rising flour. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. (Give or take depending on how many muffins you make.) These were perfect. Quick, easy, delicious and my picky children even loved them.We made peach ice cream muffins and topped them with raspberry jam. 2 cups of ice cream & 2 cups of flour made nine muffins
• Draw with your toes.- See if you are right-footed or left-footed.
• Declare a Whipped Cream War- Have everyone dress in their swimsuits and equip them with a can of whipped cream.
• Ease Separation Anxiety- School is starting and to make it a little easier for you child, laminate a family picture and tape it to the inside of their lunch box to remind them that they are loved when they are away.

Book Review: 101 Things to Do With Yogurt

101 Things Things to Do With Yogurt by Geneva Stringham is another fun book that I snagged a deal on recently. I honestly had no idea that there were so many things that you could do with yogurt. This book also teaches you how to make your own yogurt, if you're feeling ambitious. I would say this is a new favorite and I will be using it again. Eating yogurt on a regular basis improves your digestive health and helps to prevent illness. It has a fish taco recipe that doesn't involve frying, so I thought I would give it a try. I had family visiting a few weeks ago and served it to them. It was such a big hit that we made it again the next weekend when the other side of the family came to visit. Even some family members who don't like fish, liked these tacos. And they're so easy to make! (Another helpful hint I've discovered that frozen tilapia fillets are normally cheaper at Smith's than at Costco, and right now they're on sale, so it's an even better deal.)

Fish Tacos Baja Style
Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

Tacos:
1 pound mahimahi or tilapia
lime pepper
12 fresh corn tortillas
1 ripe avocado, chopped
lime wedges
grated Mexican blend cheese
fresh salsa (mango-peach works particularly well)

Combine sauce ingredients and refrigerate. Sprinkle each side of fish fillets with lime pepper and grill until thoroughly cooked. Wrap tortillas in a clean dish towel and steam for 30 seconds in the microwave. For each taco spread a teaspoon of yogurt sauce in a tortilla, add several bite-size pieces of grilled fish and remaining taco toppings as desired. Serves 6

I served this with Baked Chile Relleno and Cafe Rio Style Cilantro Lime Rice.

Book Review: 101 Things to Do With Chicken

Recently when I was looking for a gift for my dad I came across several of the "101Things" books at 60% off. I have a few of them and have been pleased thus far, so I bought four more. This weekend I read through all of them and I'm so excited to try several of the recipes. 101 Things to Do With Chicken by Donna Kelly and Stephanie Ashcraft had several recipes that look really great, but there were also some that made me think "You don't really need a recipe for that. There are also a few that are repeats from other books in the series. Having said that I still think that it was worth it. At the beginning of the book is a list of helpful hints which I'll share, plus my version of the recipe that I tried yesterday.

1. Always make sure that chicken is thoroughly cooked. Juices should run clear and there shouldn't be any pink present. Chicken thighs should reach 175 degrees. Chicken and eggs are frequent carriers of salmonella.
2. Chicken stored in the fridge should be used within 1-2 days.
3. A whole chicken takes 36 hours to defrost. Chicken pieces usually take 12-24 hours to defrost.
4. All cut chicken on a non-pourus plastic or glass cutting board. And never cross-contaminate by using the knife you used to cut chicken to cut something else.
5. Bringing chicken to room temperature before cookin will help it to remain moist and cook evenly.
6. Soaking in brine with add moistness and flavor to baked or roasted chicken. Add 1/4 cup salt to 1 quart water. Place chicken and brine in ziplock bag. For a carmelized flavor, also add 1/4 cup sugar to brine. Soak chicken in brine for at least an hour per pound or overnight. Drain before cooking.
7. For crispy skin on roasted or fried chicken,  leave chicken uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before cooking.
8. When roasting or grilling a chicken, allow to set at room temperature for ten minutes before slicing so that the juices can be reabsorbed into the meat.
9. 1 lb bonless skinless chicken yields about 3 cups of cubed or sliced chicken.

Tangy Strawberry Chicken Bites
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders or breasts cut into small chunks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup strawberry preserves
1 cup chili sauce
1 can (20oz) pineapple chunks, drained
2 large carrots, sliced
1 red bell pepper cut into small chunks
3 cups of prepared brown rice

1. Cook chicken in oil over medium heat until browned on all sides. Meanwhile steam carrot slices in microwave with 1/8 cup water for 3 minutes. 2. Drain carrots and add to chicken with preserves, pepper and chili sauce. Cook and stir until preserves are melted. 4. Add pineapple chunks, simmer for one minute and serve over rice.

The Verdict: This recipe was actually in the appetizer section, but I decided to increase the pineapple, add some veggies and serve it over rice to make it a meal. I liked this, my husband loved it, my son who isn't feeling well wouldn't try it and neither would my daughter. I thought perhaps if I served it with toothpicks they might be willing to try it. No such luck. I apologize that there isn't picture, the batteries in my camera died, again. :S

Feeding Your Family Healthy Meals When You're Out of Energy

When I come home after being at work for 13 hours (sometimes longer), I generally do not have the energy to make a healthy balanced meal that my family is also interested in eating. Unfortunately when I get home from work is when my family is hungry and they've gotten to the point where they're impatient and irritable. If I don't act fast they'll have popsicles and popcorn for dinner, or worse, fast food. Here's some things that I do to prevent this, and I would really love to hear what everyone else does for those evenings when you're rushed.

• Have a plan. I know that at least a few nights a week I'll be working or otherwise rushed, so I try to plan something when I do my grocery shopping.
• Make a few freezer meals. You can just make a double batch of a family favorite and freeze half.
• Breakfast for dinner. This is what we had last night. Waffles with fresh fruit. Another one I like to do is "omelets". Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, peppers, onions, cheese and chopped bits of whatever meat I have in the fridge. Quick, easy and relatively healthy.
• Salads! (Of course my kids won't eat these.) Lettuce, cottage cheese, dressing, chopped cooked meat, a few chopped veggies, and croutons can make for a fairly quick and a very satisfying meal.
• Have a few meals that you always have all of the ingredients for. For my family, it's Hawaiian Haystacks. I cook and freeze brown rice ahead of time so that dinner can be made in the time it takes me to open a few cans and make some chicken gravy from a mix. (Using food storage really can make your life easier.)
• Soup and sandwiches
• Burritos- Refried beans, cheese, tortillas and enchilada sauce (This one is pretty much a staple at my in-laws.)
• Here are a few more recipes that I use that can be prepared double quick if you have all of the ingredients ready: Hippie Tacos, Spicy Pasta with Broccoli, Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Thai Chicken Spinach Wraps
• Here's a few that I haven't tried, but look like they will make my life easier when I do: Strawberry Poppyseed Salad, Chipotle Chicken Salad Sandwich and Potato Leek soup

What do you do?