Baby, it's cold outside!

Carlye made dinner again tonight, and she was so proud! It was about 11 degrees outside last night, so soup and warm home made bread sounded yummy. Carlye made Sweet Potato and Ham Chowder (recipe listed below). We all sat down to eat, and Noah was willing to eat soup that his sister made - even if he won't eat it when Mommy makes it! It was Nathanael's special day, and we ran into the same problem that we had the night before, only reversed. This time Noah couldn't think of anything nice to say about Nathanael. After some thought he finally admitted that brother will let him get in bed with him at night when he's scared. We talked about the cold and school, and the proverbial glass of milk was spilled all over the table and chairs. Noah was corrected for constantly kicking Daddy while we ate, and a fight erupted over who ate the most bread and how that wasn't fair.

So, it wasn't the most peaceful meal. But we were together, as a family, and that's what counts.

Carlye's Supper

Tonight, my daughter made dinner. Carlye wanted to make Mrs. Martha's chicken again (recipe can be found below). Since it's a fairly easy recipe, and since my family is completely sick of trying new things, I let her. She did a GREAT job! All the way from defrosting the chicken to preparing the pasta. We all sat down to eat as a family. Since my middle child has the flu he sat on the far end of the table. In our family we have a special plate called "The Special Day Plate." Original, isn't it? Every night someone different is given the plate, and you are NEVER allowed to give it to yourself. Before he was even sitting down my youngest noticed that it was in his spot.

"Everyone say something special about me!" he announced as he hopped in his chair. We all went around the table saying special things about Noah. It seemed to be going pretty well, until it was Nathanael's turn. I would like to blame it on the flu, but, sadly, I cannot as he wasn't actually running a fever at the time. "I don't have anything to say, " he said, "you've all said everything."

With a lot of encouragement, and finally the threat of being exiled to his bed for the rest of the evening he FINALLY came up with something to say. "He's nice, kind and loving. There that's it."

Unfortunately for him, in our house that doesn't work. You have to give actual examples, of which he claimed he had none until he realized that he really did want to finish his meal. Thankfully, he came up with some nice things that Noah has done for him since he got sick.

We ended the meal with their wish list for my grocery shopping trip tomorrow morning. With such healthy suggestions as pancakes on a stick, chicken pot pie, cake, cereal and macaroni and cheese I know my family will be thrilled with whatever I come home with tomorrow.

So how was your dinner?

New Purpose

Okay, I've been re-thinking this blog a little bit. My family already has a recipe blog where we share all of our family recipes, and it is wonderful. So I don't really want this to be a recipe blog, which is what it's turning into. I want this to be about dinner time. About our family, our discussions, and our fight to preserve those precious moments around the table - and yes, we'll share what we are eating, too. Sooooo, I am going to re-direct the blog a bit. Hopefully, this will be what I was envisioning when I began this. And I will start all of this tomorrow......

Ms. Martha's Chicken

This is literally my family's favorite meal. Everyone asks for this one. The original version is not healthy at ALL. This adapted version is a little healthier, but CHECK YOUR LABELS!!! When certain things are low fat, fat free, etc, sometimes they will add other things that aren't good for you or your kids.

Ms. Martha's Chicken

4 to 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Several pats of butter
1 pint fat free sour cream
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms or 1 can sliced mushrooms
Brown rice or whole grain pasta

Pre heat your oven to 350*. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper and paprika and place in a casserole dish. Place several pats of butter on chicken breasts. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from casserole dish and mix sour cream, mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup with drippings in casserole dish. Replace the chicken and bake until mixture is bubbly. Serve over brown rice or whole grain pasta.

I hope your family enjoys this one as much as mine does!

Chicken Casserole Bake

My family really enjoyed this meal. Carl had two complaints - it confused his mouth to have so many flavors (which is why I liked it) and he doesn't like cilantro (again, one of the reasons that I liked it!).

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
6 chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless breasts)
2 yellow peppers, sliced
1 onion, sliced (Carl prefers that I leave this part out)
One bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 green chilies, sliced
3 tsp ground coriander
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 cup rice
Juice from 1 large lemon
2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 375* with casserole dish inside. Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides, remove from skillet. Increase heat to med-high or high and add peppers and onion to skillet. After a few minutes add all of the rest of the ingredients. When it is boiling transfer the contents of the skillet into the warm casserole dish. Place chicken on top and bake for 30 minutes.

Carlye also suggested that next time we add cheese. An entire meal in one dish. This one is fun to prepare as a family because everyone can help chop, slice, dice or squeeze something. And don't forget to clean up together!

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

Tonight we had pork chops for dinner. Normally, my husband does NOT like pork chops, but he will eat them this way. My daughter helped me out by making the fruit salad - although I was slightly concerned when she asked me what would happen if she cut off her finger while slicing the banana's. Especially since she was using a butter knife! Here's the recipe

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops:

4 boneless pork chops with fat trimmed off
Pork Chop Seasoning (or your favorite season all; or salt, pepper, garlic, onion and white pepper - can add ginger or cayenne as well)
Sea salt
Black Pepper
2 T Olive Oil
2/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp sugar

Heat pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil, heat one minute more, and then add seasoned pork chops. Cook over medium high heat until browned on both sides and cooked through (about 5 minutes). Remove pork chops from pan and place on a plate. Add vinegar and sugar and cook over medium low heat for 2 minutes. Place pork chops back into pan and cook for 4 minutes more, flipping them every minute to coat them thoroughly. Remove pork chops from stove, and pour sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

The end result (we served it with steamed brown rice, fruit salad and lima beans):


The Verdict:
My husband doesn't like lima beans, so the thumbs down was for them! Everyone else loved the entire meal, though - and believe it or not, lima beans are my 6 year olds FAVORITE vegetable (and no, we don't soak them in butter). Let me know if you try it, or have a different variation. Sorry that I don't have a calorie count on this one, but it shouldn't be too complicated to calculate. Happy family dinner time!

Sweet Potato and Ham Chowder

This is a variation of my little sister's Ham Chowder recipe. Sadly, we devoured it before I thought to take a picture, but I will try to remember to do so tomorrow. I loved this and so did my husband! My youngest son, Noah, declared his disgust upon seeing it, but then devoured the entire contents of his bowl (save a few sweet potatoes that he smashed just for the fun of it). My other two children and my niece really enjoyed it as well. I served it with crescent rolls which were a big hit. I absolutely do not count calories for my children (teaching them to make healthy choices and eat in moderation have better results) - but for those of us who are watching our own I included them here.

Sweet potatoes are healthier and have more nutritional value than white potatoes, and the color is so pretty in the soup. My children can help me prepare this, which makes it a huge bonus. Occasionally we will cut our knuckles while peeling the potatoes, but practice makes perfect! Plus, kids tend to eat food they've helped cook - even if it is orange!

Sweet Potato and Ham Chowder

Ingredients:

6 cups of Chicken broth (fat free, low sodium) (60 calories)
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (350 calories)
2 cups diced ham (560 calories)
1/4 to 1/2 cup whipping cream (200 to 400 calories)

Bring Chicken broth to a boil. Stir in sweet potatoes and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add ham and cream and heat thoroughly. Serve.

Total calories 1,170 for entire pot of soup, at 6 to 8 servings it is about 195 calories a serving.

And don't forget, you can have great family time while cleaning up as well. Many hands make a light load, and even two year olds can carry plates to the counter (ours are melamine), wipe down tables and push in chairs.