Pi Day

Neil's family loves Pi Day (March 14th) and Neil loves pie. Normally he would celebrate with an apple pie or some such but there was no way he had time to make a pie on Monday. And he was too busy on Sunday making me roasted red pepper soup and fresh whole wheat bread. So no pie.But Sadie has been wanting quiche for dinner and Madoc's been requesting chocolate pie for the past month so I decided to oblige them. I wouldn't normally celebrate Pi Day but I supposed it was a good excuse to get my kids to quit asking for all those pies.
I use Rachael's quiche recipe and this French Silk Pie.

My kids won't eat what I cook

We are having a bit of a food battle in our house right now. I finally got tired of my children being hungry and refusing everything I offer.

The problem has many faces. Vegetables, for instance. I find it very difficult to fit veggies into breakfast and lunch and we never have enough at dinner to actually meet our daily requirements. Cute Girl doesn't really like any but will eat fresh veggies with dip. She also realizes that at dinner she should take a few bites of whatever we have just because she's supposed to. Handsome Face does not like a single vegetable and he will not eat them. Every now and then he'll randomly eat something - like the salad at dinner two nights ago or six helpings of my dad's green beans in May - but he'll never repeat it. I started making green beans just like my dad in the hopes that something green would cross his lips but it didn't work.

Snacks are also a problem. I'm tired a lot anymore and it's very annoying to have my children balk at every snack suggestion I give them. It usually means they eat too many carbs and dairy because I'm just too cranky to fight them any longer. Raw veggies require too much effort to prepare and Cute Girl requires dip so I don't offer it very often. And they often turn up their noses to fruit even when we have two or three options.

And Handsome Face has to be the most aggravating child on earth. You know the old adage, "They'll eat when they're hungry enough"? Yea, that doesn't apply to this child. If he doesn't like it, he won't eat it. Not even to get something he does like. He can go all day without eating but will make my life miserable because he pesters me about food so much. And it's really frustrating because a lot of the time he refuses foods that I KNOW he likes just because he doesn't want it right now and he wants something else more.

We try and eat really healthy. We grind our own wheat and bake our bread. Most of our food is made by us, from scratch, with whole foods. Corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils are almost nonexistent here. We buy very little processed, packaged foods opting instead to make it ourselves. So the feeling that we're doing all of this and our nutrition is still lacking is very annoying and frustrating.

In an attempt to fix the problem, we've come up with two things to work on. My idea was to work at making breakfast more nutritious. If I can make something (usually an egg dish) that has veggies in it three times a week, I will already have increased Handsome Face's weekly vegetable intake by 300%. That's encouraging! We're also trying to fit in more fruits.

The Rocket Scientist came up with the snack plate idea for Handsome Face. When I make Cute Girl's lunch in the morning, I go ahead and make up a plate of all of his snacks for the day (see picture below). Whenever he's hungry, I refer him to the fridge where his plate is waiting. On this day, he had a string cheese, goldfish and pretzels (the only snack foods we buy so that Cute Girl can have something for the snack recess at school and of course he wants some too), applesauce, grapes, and banana slices. We've done this for two days now and I LOVE it!!!! The first day there was no complaints whatsoever. Today he cried because he was hungry and he didn't want apple slices (which he loves by the way) and that's all that was left. But I got to ignore his 45 minute crying tantrum with a guilt-free conscience because he had food ready and waiting. And because I already had the plan set I didn't get too cranky about it.

Now I should write some great conclusion but I'm tired, I've got to go to Young Womens, and I just don't have one. But does anyone have great ways to get their kids to eat vegetables? My one attempt at veggie-laced breakfast burritos was a disaster. No one ate any of it. So I need lots of ways to get my kids to eat vegetables!

(We're going to try these nuggets from Cheeky Kitchen that my lovely sis-in-law Sheri posted about.)

Fondue Recipe

Ok, it's been requested too much for separate emails to suffice anymore. Here is the recipe for non-alcoholic cheese fondue for 4 people. We make this in a saucepan on the stove and then transfer it to a warm fondue pot when it's ready.

Heat to simmering:
1/3 c apple juice
2/3 c chicken bouillon/water
2 t lemon juice
2 1/2 t onion powder
2 1/2 t garlic powder

Add slowly and stir until melted:
1/2 - 3/4 lb swiss cheese
1/4 - 1/2 lb cheddar cheese

Mix separately and add to cheese mixture:
1/4 c apple juice
1 T corn starch
2 t flour
less than 1/4 t white pepper (if you got it)
2/3 t mustard powder

Ok, here's the deal with the cheese. Start with the lesser amount of each. Every time we make this it acts a little different. Sometimes it looks like we have a big mass of gooey cheese in the bottom of the pan surrounded by the juice that it just won't combine with. Don't give up. Try turning the heat up a little and things should smooth out. The lemon juice also helps to keep the cheese from clumping, so you could add more of that too if you need. If things are smooth but still too juicy, add more cheese until it looks right. Our first batch was too juicy and it still tasted way good. After a couple of times, you start to get the hang of it and it comes easier. Another important bit about cheese: the harder the better. Soft cheese melts into strings. Think 3 foot mozzarella bridge from your pizza to your face. Strings are not what you want in your fondue. Hard cheese melts smoothly and provides for a much more pleasant fondue experience. Go for sharp or medium cheddar over mild. Other cheeses work well too; gruyere cheese is super yummy. Try other cheeses too, just be sure to squeeze your cheese (triple word score for saying 'squeeze your cheese') to make sure it's hard.

Dip whatever you want in your cheese. Apples, red potatoes, and broccoli are personal favorites. Of course, no fondue at our house would be complete without baguettes (thanks, Rachael).

If you haven't saved room for chocolate fondue, shame on you. Pace yourself next time. This recipe is for more like 6-8 people, so cut it in half if you have less or stuffed yourself with the cheese.

1 1/2 c cream - heat on stove
16 oz semi-sweet choc chips, dark chocolate, or whatever - add to cream and stir til blended
1 t vanilla
2-4 T peanut butter
This recipe is way simpler than the cheese and way easier to pull off. Redeem yourself with this if you had a hard time with the cheese.

Again, dip whatever you want in it: bananas, strawberries, pound cake, marshmallows, cheesecake, fingers...you get the idea.

Dangit, now I'm hungry.

(Post courtesy of the Rocket Scientist)

Some Catch Up

I think I can officially say that no one in my family is sick anymore. We had a whole month full of at least four ear infections, a virus that hit EVERYONE, conjunctivitis in 6 eyes, and bronchitis (that was me).

Cute Girl made this train track herself. I was amazed because I have NEVER figured out how to use those funny triangle-shaped tracks.

We've been to the doctor five times since the beginning of the year. I'm soooo tired of prescriptions. And I never want to see pink blobs of amoxycillin on my counter again.

Handsome Face playing the trombone

Now for some updates. Did you know the Rocket Scientist plays the trombone? He is uber-talented. So talented that on Monday he was actually lamenting the fact that he has so many talents and doesn't have time to develop them all. Boohoo. But back to the trombone. He could only ever play around on it because he didn't have any sheet music. So for Valentine's Day I got him some John William's music. We spent all last Saturday listening to the 1984 Olympic fanfare and the Star Wars' Imperial March. The kids thought it was awesome.

My snobby kids eating fondue for lunch

Then on Saturday evening we had friends over and ate fondue until 11 o'clock that night. It was a bit late for me as that was the first day that I had felt well in over a week but it was still fun. The Rocket Scientist makes really yummy fondue. We no longer go to the Melting Pot.

And speaking of food, yesterday my friends treated me to breakfast at Mimi's Cafe for my birthday. It was so fun. I love going out to breakfast. And my kids were even reasonably well-behaved. Cute Girl was actually quite the angel. I love it when they grow out of being stinkers all the time.

New things

Yesterday during Young Womens, Nichole grabbed my arm and told me to wait a minute. She then handed me a can of pineapple. And I'm thinking, "what on earth am I supposed to do with this?!" Then she rummages in her bag and hands me a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake. Apparently it was to thank me for sharing a chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's not even my own recipe so I don't know how sharing it merits such thanks but it was awfully sweet.

So I took the pineapple home and found out that my husband was really excited for this cake. Funny, because I wasn't. He doesn't like sweets for sweets sake and I can't get enough of them. But I had never tried pineapple upside-down cake. It just never appealed to me.

But I made the cake, which had three cups of sugar (plus the canned pineapple) and 1-1/2 cups of butter. Then we invited friends over so I didn't eat all that sugar and butter myself. Ohhhh, it was good. I have officially been converted to pineapple upside-down cake. I had two pieces last night and I've had two pieces this morning.

Our friends obviously didn't eat enough cake.

a cute boy and good food

We had Filipino siopao last week. The kids thought it was lots of fun. For more photos, go here.

Why I have the best husband in the world

I napped and read all afternoon yesterday while my husband made me this. From scratch alfredo sauce with sauteed mushrooms and shrimp, homemade French bread, and steamed broccoli. And then he cleaned the kitchen.

She really likes fettucine.

We listened to the Prophet's Voice

I love General Conference, don't you? I believe Elder Holland's talk was my favorite. I can't wait for the Ensign to come out.
We spent the weekend quietly. I didn't feel as well prepared as I would have liked, but we pulled it off.
We ate waffles:And "pitched our tents towards the temple":And picnicked in the park:

And gave Cute Girl her first lesson in cooking chickens:

(Like my dirty kitchen?)

We had a great time Saturday afternoon. Handsome Face slept through the entire session and Cute Girl sat through it. We played a great game with her that really kept her focus on the little tidbits she could grasp. Pictures of gospel topics like prayer, sacrament, temples, Jesus Christ, etc. surrounded the TV and every time she heard one of these words she got to take a Peanut M&M. She got LOTS of M&Ms. Especially during the prayer talk. It seemed like every other word was prayer! Next time we're using Mini M&Ms.

We also got to spend some great time with friends. The kids and I went to a potluck dinner with lots of other mommys and kids during the Priesthood Session and some neighbors came to our house for dinner Sunday night (hence the chicken lessons). It was a great time. And tonight we're going to FHE at their house. Yay for having friends live close finally!

And finally a cute Cute Girl tidbit. Saturday we grilled for lunch and our burgers were done right as the afternoon session opened. We paused to bow our heads for the opening prayer. When it was over, Cute Girl started to laugh and said, "He blessed our food! Silly prophet!"

Weekend Recap

The Rocket Scientist has Friday off every other weekend. I delight in having a three-day weekend so often, but recently we haven't been able to take advantage of it due to illness and injury. This means that all my home improvement projects and family activities have been put on hold.

This weekend we were blessed with a healthy household (relatively speaking) for the first time in a month and a half. So we took full advantage of it.
Friday was spent sanding my hutch (lucky Rocket Scientist), grocery shopping, and cleaning. I love feeling so productive and accomplishing so much, but I fear I'm the only one. So to redeem the day for the rest of my family we had a pizza picnic in the family room and watched a movie from the library. Here's Handsome Face. He saw my root beer and put his wide open mouth directly over my cup. We all got the hint.Saturday morning we spent running errands in town. I hate running errands in town for it takes all day. But we started out with a yummy crepe breakfast. They were a big hit. Especially the whipped cream. Handsome Face liked his plain and kept wanting more and more and more. I finally left him in his high chair with a pile of them so I could go shower. I didn't think he would ever stop eating!

We got home that afternoon and the kids and I took naps (I had a headache) while the Rocket Scientist pulled the weeds in the front yard. He gets all the best jobs. When we all woke up he grilled for us. I love not making dinner.

The Program for Today

We're making donuts today. I love donuts. Especially when they're hot and fresh and made from scratch. We only do this on special occasions as the process takes so much time. But Abby saw pictures from Christmas of our donuts and she wanted some so I said I'd make them.
That's the good part of today. The bad part is that Handsome Face is on his third day of fever, Cute Girl slept horribly and wet the bed because now she's coughing and started feeling awful (she wouldn't stop shivering after I cleaned her up and put her back in bed), I'm coughing, and the Rocket Scientist has a bum shoulder again and can't do anything. Oh, what a day.

Thanksgiving, a week late

First of all I have the most beautiful children in the world.

While in Utah we had some family photos taken here.On our way home from the photo shoot in Nunn's Park, Handsome Face checked out. We drove all the night before and didn't get in until 4:30 in the morning. Then he woke up at 7am. Way too early. Luckily he came into bed with me and slept for awhile longer.Our next stop, lunch at Cafe Rio with Grandma and Grandpa Crapo and assorted aunts/uncles. My kids were hungry. While waiting in line Handsome Face kept trying to escape to other tables so he could steal other people's chips. So we ordered him his own chips, a quesedilla, and gave him some of our enchiladas and burritos. He only ate the chips.

After lunch we went back to Katie and Ryan's apartment where we were staying. They were very kind to let four people overrun their tiny apartment. Handsome Face and I crashed for most of the afternoon. I think Cute Girl fell asleep with her Dad on the couch. I got up when the Rocket Scientist told me that we were going to see the new James Bond movie. My mother-in-law graciously stayed behind to watch the kids.

Dinner that night was at Red Robin. I tried to keep the french fires away from our end of the table but Handsome Face saw them anyway. All he would eat was fries. Notice a pattern developing here? Oh, and I didn't sit in my own chair to eat dinner at a restaurant the entire trip. I was almost always standing, as the chip/fry eating boy always managed to usurp my chair.
Wednesday we went to the temple which was lovely. Then it was back to the apartments for dinner and Thanksgiving prep. Dinner on Thursday was delicious. Although my children didn't think so. At this point, all Handsome Face would eat was pie. Preferably pumpkin pie. And rolls if he really couldn't get to the pie.

Friday morning my sisters-in-law and I went to Jo-Anns to buy some fabric. It didn't even occur to us that the place would be mobbed because of Black Friday. The wait for cutting fabric was close to 200 people I think. Luckily, a woman was deserting as we arrived and she gave us her number. We got great deals on all the fabric we needed though, and I stayed to wait out the line while everyone else moved on to the next stop. All told I think I was at that one store for close to three hours. When we got home everyone needed naps after that harrowing morning. Cute Girl soundly refused however. But later I found this:

Evidently her cartoons weren't fascinating enough.

We left Saturday morning. It took almost 18 hours to get home because we had a blow out in the middle of the desert and AAA was none too helpful. They sent us on a wild goose chase to find 24-hour tire shops that didn't exist.

My life has become crazy busy. Strange, as I stay at home with my children and have no car. But about a month ago a mother's group was organized in the neighborhood. It's been so fun. We have playdates at one of the neighborhood playgrounds almost daily. And every other Wednesday we have a picnic. The kids and I have loved it. The kids have friends and Cute Girl is really coming out of her shell. They're also getting tons of exercise. Speaking of, I am too. Half the moms go running/walking in the morning and even though we don't plan it, we run into each other most of the time and then we end up spending the whole morning together. But it eats up all my free time. Hence I don't ever blog anymore. Maybe I'll get better. We'll see.

But here are some pictures from the past few weeks.The Rocket Scientist's Apple Pie

How he puts shoes onStealing Dad's Cheerios because his aren't good enough

Play Day

After having nothing planned for the day yesterday morning, I decided the kids and I would do all the fun things that I'm normally too busy to do. So we did this:



Pretty Purple Toenails Who doesn't like an elephant?

And this was all done by 9:30 in the morning!







We went to the park for a picnic lunch/kite-flying session. Unfortunately there wasn't enough wind to keep the kite up. But Handsome Face did like playing with the kite string.

Bubble-blowing while brother tries to sleep.

Baths after we give up on brother's afternoon nap. I showed Cute Girl the bath picture after I took it and she said, "That's soooo embarrassing!"

Cube Steak

For my next recipe, I'd like to introduce you to a lil' Midwestern cooking. I love Indiana food, and this is quintessential.

To start off with, any good Hoosier household has an electric skillet. If you don't, you need not fret. Any ol' frying pan will do. Start out heating up your skillet to 350 and throw in several tablespoons of shortening. You could also use lard if you lean that way. No cheating though. This is a high fat high calorie food and no substitutions may be made.

While that's heating up, take your cube steak and salt and pepper each side. Then coat in flour. A mix of white and wheat works real nice.Here's a nice example of cube steak. It's a piece of beef that's been tenderized. When we were first married, I asked the Rocket Scientist if he liked cube steak and he had no idea what I was talking about. I quickly educated him. If you're like him, just look in the meat case and the package will say 'cube steak.' Pretty straight forward.

Then plop them down in the heated skillet and cover. Check them after 3 or 4 minutes. You want a nice brown color on either side. Once the color is there flip'em over. They'll cook a little longer on the first side to make sure they're cooked all the way through.

If you like, you can then add a little water to the pan (just enough to cover the bottom completely) and steam them for 5 or 10 minutes. This will make them a little softer. I didn't bother this particular time. I just didn't feel like it.

Here's one of our side dishes. We have this all the time and it's 100% healthy. Zucchini or squash or both with mushrooms and onion, sauteed in olive oil. I throw in some pepper and garlic salt for flavor. Cook until it reaches the tenderness of choice. I like mine real soft. My husband likes it firmer. To each his own.

And here's the finished meal. I decided at the last minute that I wanted mashed potatoes (another traditional Midwestern staple) so I threw them into the pressure cooker. LOVE the pressure cooker. Get your potatoes up to a boil and five minutes later they're done. It's a beautiful thing.

P.S. To truly be a Hoosier, cube steak MUST be eaten with ketchup. It's the only way.

Tortilla-Black Bean Casserole

Here's Recipe #2 of the week. It's a nice lil' recipe we found in my BHG Cookbook. We originally tried it out because we were looking for new ways to use the beans in our food storage. As an added bonus, it's a vegetarian dish and I try to throw one or two of those into our weekly menus. I also have a ground beef version called Mexican lasagna which I based off a recipe found inThe Dinner Doctor. It's more flavorful (beef, duh) but it's got more fat (hence the flavor) and it's a bit more labor intensive. So we'll stick with this for today.

I'll list the ingredients and quantities as they are in the original recipe, but I never follow those. I often cut everything in half or thirds to make smaller dishes or just because I don't want to chop up that many vegetables.

In a large skillet, we'll combine:

2 c chopped onion (I did one), 1 1/2 c chopped green pepper (I did one, and there's no pic),
1 14.5 oz can of tomatoes, undrained,
3/4 c picante sauce (I used regular salsa and did 1/2 cup),

2 cloves of garlic, minced,(and here is my beautiful, Williams & Sonoma garlic press. Love it!)And 2 teaspoons cumin (or one like me - I don't like cumin much).Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in 2 15 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (or just one).

Now comes the assembly, and it's easy. Layer 1/3 of the bean stuff on the bottom of a 3-quart dish. Top with corn tortillas. Then layer 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I used cheddar). Repeat bean, tortilla, and another bean layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover with 1 cup of cheese and let stand 1o minutes. (I actually do more cheese layers in the dish itself and skip the cheese at the end.)

Serve with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, onions, olives, or sour cream.