Staying on Schedule.

We are definitely getting back into the groove of things.  One week into the new school year and we are back to being the average busy family.  Our oldest started middle school with lots of tears (mine), and with that we have gained an ever-increasing social calendar.  Our youngest is in 4th grade (the grade of homework), and is going full-force with her travel soccer team (Go Revolution!).  These in addition to Work, Homework, Our Farm, Extended Family (my new nephew), Church, and not to mention my husband and I; yep, it's busy.  I am now the proud owner of a Mom-Friendly Master Calendar that I have placed front and center on our refrigerator.  It is wonderful with stickers and enough space to put all of our schedules.  My husband no longer has any excuse of "not remembering".  What is even better about the calendar is that I can see in plenty of time, the days that I need to have dinner practically ready when we get home.  Often, we only have an hour or so before we have to leave again for activities.  For the average american family it calls for a night of fast food, for the food allergy family it calls for planning.  I am loving the make-ahead pasta dinners I blogged about before as well as my crock-pot.  My family only eats free-range, organic chicken either from our farm or the grocery.  It is a lot more expensive than the cheap stuff but it is so not worth the health risks.  A way of cutting the costs of chicken is by buying a whole chicken, it is cheaper because you gotta do the work.  An easy way for me is to cook the whole chicken, shred it, and use what I want when I want it.  I've included my recipe for an asian-style chicken.  I'll let it cook overnight, on a weekend, or whenever; the most tedious part is pulling all of the meat off (tip: let that baby cool down, don't burn those fingers).

Crock-Pot Asian Chicken

1 whole chicken; thawed and patted dry

8 cloves of garlic; crushed.

1 ½ - 2 inch fresh ginger crushed..

1 lemon

½ cup soy-free soy sauce

1 tbs crushed red pepper

1 ½ tbs sesame oil

½ cup water

Place chicken in crock-pot.  To bowl combine lemon juice, soy-free soy sauce, crushed red pepper, sesame oil, and water.  To crock pot add garlic, ginger, and lemon halves.  Pour bowl mixture over the top of chicken.  Turn on low and walk away.

 

Getting Ready for Back-to-School in the Kitchen

What a summer it has been!  I fell into a routine with my daughters' food allergies and started a catering business on the side.  I, unfortunately, have to now begin the routine of back to school within the next week.  But I am doing so with a well-prepared freezer.  I have been making a number of make-ahead meals, snacks, and goodies to help make our days easier.  We, like so many, have school, work, sports, homework, and family time on a daily basis.  To assist our days I prepared a few freezer meals in the form of baked pastas.  I prepare my pasta according to package instructions and set aside.  I then can open an allergy-friendly bottle of marinara bought or homemade, add sliced pepperoni, and toss with pasta. Place in aluminum pan, top with cheese, and place in freezer for a quick dinner.  Another version is that I combine leftover Sloppy Joe mixture from a different dinner and toss with pasta.  Place in another aluminum pan and top with monterey jack cheese and freeze for the future.  The sloppy joe pasta bake is my son's fave.  For those fast-upon us breakfasts; make a ton of waffles and freeze, toss in toaster and you're set.  I also buy and prepare a huge box of sausage links and place in freezer bag, microwave for 15 seconds and you've got a great, healthy side for your waffles.  Something new for me are my mini-omelets.  They are so cute and were super easy to make.  I save my egg whites from all the ice cream I've been making.  To my mini muffin tin; I butter the bottom of my tin and add whatever fillings I want such as cheese, veggies, ham, etc.  I whip the egg whites with a little bit of milk and seasoning, fill my muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees until done (usually 20-25 minutes).  I throw these into freezer bags as well; they go great as a side, on a sandwich, or as a snack. I never look forward to my kiddos starting back to school because I miss them so much, but I am blessed that they love school as much as they do.  It makes it a little easier knowing that they look forward to their new routine, and I know I'm doing myself a favor getting all their goodies ready ahead of time.  This way, I have more time to hang out with them.  If you're new to all of these ideas, don't get overwhelmed.  Pick something and just spend a morning preparing it for your freezer.  As you get more acclimated you will be able to handle more meals, desserts, whatever.  Good luck to you all!

Those Great Summer Salads!

The best part of summer is the food!!  For those on an allergy-friendly diet, it's a lot easier and much more common to chow down on the fresh fruits and veggies.  It's a common farm-to-table menu for most households and restaurants, which makes it much easier for most of us to dine-out.  Salads for everyone!  You can do so much with salads; grilled, roasted over a campfire, raw, dressed or undressed, etc.  The list goes on and on..  What's even better is that a salad doesn't have to be over greens necessarily.  What about those favorite potato, bean, pasta, corn, fruit, and even veggie salads?  I love, love potato salads; pierce their skins with a fork and place in microwave on the baked potato command.  Set aside and let cool and then slice and finish on the grill to get that great char flavor.  The fun part is that you can add anything you want to it from there.  You can go greek with capers, red onions, a little feta, with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  You can go traditional with chopped cooked bacon, shredded cheese, green onions, some fresh dill, salt, pepper, and a little sour cream-mayo combo.  I, personally, love to fix a corn and tomato salad; it's a southern thing.  Chopped fresh tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Super simple with tons of flavor and especially good on those summer days.  Speaking of hot summer days; why not try a melon salad.  Your favorite melon such as watermelon (my fave) chopped into bite size pieces or scooped with a melon baller for those pretty presentations.  Add some fresh mint, lemon zest, and a very light amount of extra virgin olive oil; talk about a summertime treat.  Who wants to cook on these lazy days of summer?  I would much rather be outside with my kids playing, swimming, or reading a great book.  You know what makes these even better?  The fact that you can't get much healthier than these!  These salads, some great sandwiches, and homemade ice cream.  I am truly loving an allergy-friendly summer!