Cooking up a mental vacation...

http://www.5dollardinners.com/

For years I have been stressing over the menu planning/grocery shopping issue and struggling each and every week to come up with something.  The result is a late Sunday-night shopping trip to get us through just a couple of days, followed by rather expensive eating out the rest of the time.  It has become a vicious/expensive cycle.  We need to keep to our grocery budget - and reduce it if we can.

Today I came across the $5 Dinners website, and it is like the heavens opened up and the angels sang...  Not only does this awesome lady post recipe after frugal recipe, she creates a weekly menu AND has a handy-dandy shopping list creator - for each and every menu.  Just click the items you actually need and print.  The archive goes back for ages, and it is all for free.

I am taking a well-deserved break from the menu-planning department!  And go figure, I found the site through a recipe link from a 'Camping with Kids' Pinterest Board, linked from the Handbook of Nature Study site.  Some days I really love where a rabbit hole leads to... 

Moroccan Chicken Tangine

So, on Monday morning, while Dean was sawing lumber and building the composter (and the kids were outside "helping"), I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of the house by trying to knock off an episode or two of America's Test Kitchen from the DVR.  I have 21 in queue right now...

First up was an America's Test Kitchen version of a Moroccan dish called 'Chicken Tangine'.  I have never cooked anything remotely like this.  Ethnic foods for me have been limited to Mexican and ... well, Mexican.  I can't call spaghetti 'authentic' Italian.  I just can't.  There is very little thought process that goes into it (sorry if you are Italian and I've just offended your grandmother).  I'm talking about SPAGHETTI.  Sure, I have a rather ingredient-heavy recipe - but hey - you throw it all into a crockpot and simmer it for hours.  Where's the challenge?

With Chicken Tangine, it was a 21-step process.  And it begins with food prep.  You need six different spices just to get started.  I had all of them, but the age of two of them I couldn't vouch for.  One of the bottles had a label on the bottom with my maiden initials on it.  I put it there in 1992, when I lived with two other roommates and we just stored all of our spices together.  1992.  So that makes that bottle 20 freakin' years old.  I sniffed it.  It smelled vaguely of sawdust.  How is it, in the past 20 years, I didn't use all of my cayenne pepper?  About ten years ago I got into the habit of labeling my bottles with the month and year that I opened it.  I know that about 3/4 of my spices need to go, based on age (most lose potency even just after 6 months).  That is an expensive proposition.  But in ethnic cooking, where spices are the headliners, you can't skimp - so it was off to the store.

Since I didn't have a prep team to dice and measure everything for me, I had to go through the recipe and do it myself.  Toast some almonds.  Mince and mash lemon peel, garlic and salt together until you have a paste.  Slice onions, olives, carrots... and on and on.  Each into it's own bowl until it was all ready to go.

Here is some sage cooking advice that isn't mine, but I know it works:  Prepare all of your ingredients beforehand.  Line them up in little bowls, dishes, spoons, whatever you have on hand.  Because as you see chefs on the cooking shows emptying bowl after bowl of different ingredients into the cookpot as they go - there is a reason, and it's not to look fancy.  It is so you can pay attention to what is going on in the pot.  You don't want your back turned, madly dicing the onions, when you chicken is burning.  Do it all beforehand, so that you can pay attention to what you are doing.

This recipe required ingredients and techniques I've never done before.  Shallots.  I used to dislike onions.  A lot.  I am now reformed, but because of my dislike, I never, never tried shallots.  Oh - my goodness - I have missed the boat!  They are mildly oniony, and they soften like butter.  No kidding.  I am going to plant some.  Immediately.  My usual, pathetic, lame grocery store - soon to be former grocery story, didn't have any.  ANY.  So I pulled up some images on the internet to show Dean, and sent him after some at a different store.  He came through  - I didn't know they could grow as big as the ones he brought home, but they were very good.  So glad I finally tried them.  The other thing I have never done before, believe it or not, is cut up a chicken.  I don't like dark meat, so almost all of the chicken I cook is breast meat, or I buy a whole chicken, jamb it on a beer can and roast it in the oven, and give the drumsticks to Jordan.

I watched the cooking video three times to get down the method of cutting up a chicken.  They make it look soooo easy.  ha.  I had a weak pair of kitchen shears, and a dull chef's knife: a lethal combination.  Luckily I didn't hurt myself.  I couldn't find any of the joints that were supposedly "just right there", or cut out the back bone without hacking into the breast meat quite a ways... Uugh.  I bagged up the backbone, wings and other various bits and pieces in a Ziploc to save for a day that I will make a chicken broth.  I felt like I was left with only a fraction of the chicken that it once was...  but at least I did it.  Next time I will be prepared with a sharper knife.  And a mean pair of scissors.

Next up was to make some couscous.  I've never attempted this before, either.  I had a disaster with polenta a while back and I vowed to stay safe with rice.  And only rice.  I do thank the testers at America's Test Kitchen for finding a way to make it easy and practical - take it out of the box, but not follow the box's directions.  It turned out awesome.

So there you have it: four new things to add to my 40 Things: ethnic recipe, shallots, cutting up a chicken and making couscous.  No wonder it took me two hours to get dinner on the table!

One other piece of advice: If you are already a fan of Fly Lady, you probably already do this.  Partially fill one of your sinks with soapy water, and wash and rinse your cooking dishes as you go.  As you can see in the picture, there were a ton of dirty dishes generated in act of making this recipe.  Most of them could be cleaned with a just a swish in the soapy water and a quick rinse.  I only had two pots at the end - the chicken pot and the couscous pot that still needed washing.  I was thankful not to add anymore to my dish pile.  I still have the perpetual pile next to the sink that never.  goes.  away.

Here is the recipe, from America's Test Kitchen

Chicken Tangine

1. Make your spice blend, set aside
* 1 1/4 tsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/4 tsp (each) of ground ginger, cayenne, coriander and ground cinnamon

2. Make lemon paste, set aside
Take one long strip of lemon peel (use a peeler and make sure there is no pith), and one clove of garlic and mince both until very fine.  Sprinkle mixture with a little salt and then take the flat of the knife blade (use a nice, wide chef's knife), and wipe it back and forth, mashing the mixture.  The goal is to release the lemon oil.

3. Dice one small yellow onion and place in a bowl, and add two long sections of lemon peel on top.  Set aside.

4. Mince 4 cloves of garlic, set aside.

5. Slice 3 - 4 carrots, set aside.

6. Slice 1 cup of Greek green olives.  (I used Spanish because that is what I had on hand)

7. Pour 1 3/4 C chicken broth into measuring cup, set aside.

8. Rinse one whole chicken, remove bag of giblets and pat dry.  Cut off thigh at the hip joint and then separate thigh from the drumstick.  Remove backbone with scissors and discard or keep for broth.  Remove wings and discard or keep for broth.  Take remaining to halves of breast and divide each into half.  You should have four pieces of dark meat and four pieces of white - sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  (Using dark meat is essential to building the flavor in the dish - or so ATK says.  I may try this recipe again, and do so with all breast meat and see if that is so.)

9.  Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven on med-high heat until it is just smoking - the chicken should immediately sizzle when you add it.  Add the chicken (it will be crammed) and brown on one side.  Turn and brown on the other.

10.  Remove chicken from pot and set aside.  Drain off all of the oil except about a tablespoon's worth, and then add the sliced onions/two slices of lemon peel.  Saute until brown and softened.  If the pot gets too dry and begins to burn, you can add a Tbsp of water or two.  While you are waiting on the onions, remove the skin from all of the chicken pieces, using a paper towel. (discard the skin)

11.  Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds, then add the spice mixture.

12.  Stir the onion/garlic/spice mixture until the spices bloom and get fragrant (about 30 seconds)

13.  Pour in chicken broth (be careful - the pot is super hot!).  Scrape the bottom to release leftover chicken bits as you stir.

14.  Add 1 Tbsp honey.

15.  Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and add ONLY the dark meat.  Cook for 5 minutes.

16.  Carefully cover dark meat with the carrots, creating a platform upon which you can place the four white meat pieces.  You are essentially 'steaming' the white meat.  Cover and cook for 10 -15 minutes, until the breast meat measures 160F.

17.  Remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil.

18.  Add the olives and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

19.  Add in the lemon 'paste'

20.  Add 3 Tbsp of lemon juice

21.  Add 1/4 C chopped cilantro and bring mixture to a simmer.

22.  Return the chicken to the pot (including the juice on the plate) and simmer for five minutes until ready to serve.

Couscous:

1.  Toast 3/4 C of sliced almonds in a dry skillet, flipping them around often, until they are a nice golden brown and have a nice, nutty aroma.

2.  Melt 3 Tbsp of unsalted butter in a 2 qt. saucepan.

3. Add 2-3 shallots, sliced thin, and saute until softened.  (about 3 min).

4. Add one clove of minced garlic, cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds.

5.  Add two cups of couscous and stir and toast until couscous has a nice, nutty aroma - about 4-5 minutes.  Be careful - it can go from toasted to burnt in just a few seconds - so stir constantly!

6.  Add 1 C water, 1 C chicken broth and 1 tsp salt.  Stir well and bring to a boil.

7.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let sit for 7 minutes.

8.  Fluff with fork and then add 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 C minced parsley and the toasted almonds.  Toss gently.


Serve the chicken atop a bed of couscous.

(I personally thought the chicken breasts were a little dry and flavorless using this method.  Next time I *might* eliminate the dark meat, and cook the breast meat directly in the sauce)  Otherwise it was a hit.  Even Owen, the pickiest of the kids, had cleaned his plate before I had even finished serving Dean and myself.  I love the complicated mix of flavors and the aroma....oh, the aroma!!  (and wouldn't you know it - I forgot to get an aftershot!)

Over the hills, and through the woods...with a bread machine in tow



I am taking my bread machine with us to Oklahoma again this year.  Every family that is coming to my inlaws for Thanksgiving brings something to share, and one of my contributions is rolls.  I will also be making a spinach-artichoke dip and a spicy cranberry sauce that you eat with cream cheese and crackers (but you could also spoon a little onto your turkey). 

All of this requires some planning and packing.  I designated a large Rubbermaid plastic tub to be the food prep tub.  The bread machine goes in first, since it takes up the most room.  Inside the machine I put a small washcloth on the bottom of the bread 'bowl' to cover up the small metal post that the kneading bar attaches to.  Then I pack in the ingredients I need for the rolls.  In three separate Ziploc bags (because I will be making 3 batches), I pre-measure all of the dry ingredients I need for the rolls - flour, sugar, salt and yeast)  These rolls are fool-proof, so I never pay attention to the rule for bread machines that you have to add stuff in a certain order.  I put the all of the wet ingredients first, and then add the dry.  I only use the machine to make the dough, I bake the rolls in the oven.  Then I add my pizza cutter to the bin (I use it to cut the dough).  I also throw in my 2-cup glass measuring cup because I use it when I am making the recipe as well.  (A post about the rolls, including the recipe, will be forthcoming...)  I know from experience that I need to bring the extra tools with me and when we are in the throes of pulling a Thanksgiving meal together, it is handy to have extras - especially the tools you are accustomed to using.



I will also add my Pampered Chef Mini-baker stoneware, to use for my spinach-artichoke dip.  It is the perfect size for this recipe (forth-coming as well), and I would rather not be without it.  Wrap it up in a towel and nestle it in the bin.  I need to add a couple of ingredients for this recipe to my grocery shopping list for the trip.  I have a gripe here: Oklahoma City is a wonderful place.  It is huge.  It is vast.  It goes on and on and on.  The neighborhoods (most of them) are beautiful, and on every corner and in between there is either a restaurant or a church.  BUT, finding a decent grocery store is impossible.  I must be looking in all the wrong places (the only decent one I've found is all the way in Edmond, a 20 minute drive from my MIL's) because I have yet to find one that I can count on to find stuff other than the basics.  So I will be purchasing the marinated artichoke hearts and the fancy table crackers that I need before we leave.  I will also throw in jars of the variety of spices I need because I am not for certain what my MIL has on hand.  A list of items that will need to go into the cooler will be added to the packing list as well.  (The pre-made frozen cranberry dip, a measure of mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, soy sauce..ect)  These all seem like very basic items, but my MIL may or may not have them on hand.  I don't want to waste a lot of money on buying ingredients there, that I already have here, that I can just bring along with me.  I will also bring my bread cutting board and bread knife to cut the baguette bread to use with the spinach dip.  (Which I am praying I can find in OKC).

We are staying at my inlaw's so they are feeding us for several days as well.  I want to help ease my MIL's burden of having to all of a sudden cook for 8 instead of 2, so I plan on making a crock pot meal for all of us on Wednesday, so that we have a wonderful meal waiting for us at the end of a long, food-preparation marathon day.  Something very unThanksgiving mealish - Tenderized Round steak w/peppers on rice.   So I need to pack the crock pot and rice cooker as well.  I know that my MIL has a crock pot (maybe even two??), but I also know that they will be pressed into service on the big day, and having an extra on hand will really help.  I remember last year we needed to borrow one from Dean's sister, Stacy, to have enough for the Christmas meal.  Since I will have the bread machine with me, I will also pull together a batch of caramel-pecan cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving morning, so that we have something to sustain us while cooking. 

So, just thinking out loud here...

The bin will contain the bread machine, crock pot, rice cooker, bread board, pizza cutter, bread knife, stoneware baker, glass measuring cup, 2 extra spatulas, garlic peeler, basting brush, oregano, ginger, garlic powder, cornstarch, marinated artichoke hearts, 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves, basmati rice, stoneground wheat crackers, light Karo syrup, brown sugar, chopped pecans, cinnamon/sugar, bag of caramel roll ingredients, 3 bags of butter crescent roll ingredients, recipes for steak & peppers, spinach & artichoke dip, and caramel rolls. (butter crescents are memorized)

In the cooler: 6-7 basil leaves, frozen cranberry sauce, mayo, Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese, soy sauce, sliced bell peppers plus all in-car lunch and snack items.

When we arrive, the bin can stay in the garage, where it will be out of the way.  I can retrieve stuff as I need it, and then put it away when done, so it is out of the way.  Counterspace is at a premium, so that certainly helps.  The bin, because of it's size and stability, can be one of the first things packed into the van.  I don't have to worry about things getting crushed or spilling, because it is all safely contained.

It is also nice to have this all planned out a couple weeks ahead of time, instead of frantically trying to pull it all together the night before we leave, or just winging it when I get there.  I tried that it in the past... and it was a fantastic failure.  Uugh.

So what if you aren't traveling for the holiday?  Here is some general holiday cooking advice...

• Plan your meal out now. 
• Shop now. 
• Prepare what you can ahead of time, and freeze it. 
• Pre-measure ingredients and bag it up ahead of time.
• Chop up what you can the day ahead.
• Pull together the cookware and utensils you need a few days ahead.  Did you forget that a few months ago you dropped that favorite serving bowl and it shattered into a million pieces?
• WHERE is that favorite recipe?  Put together a Holiday recipe binder.  Put in tabs for each holiday.  Add the recipes as you think of them.  I have struggled every Christmas with trying to remember where each and every favorite cookie recipe is.  I only have about fifty billion cookbooks and Taste of Home copies to look through.... Pull your favorites, type them up or make a photocopy of them, and add them to the binder. (Scrapbook it even!)  That way, when the holiday rolls around, you've got it all in one place.  When your kids move out or get married, you can make a copy and pass it on to them - a keepsake for them and their spouse will love you for it.

So - check back soon... the recipes mentioned above (and photos) will be forthcoming!

When life gives you tomatoes...

You have to draw the line somewhere.  You can only stuff so many cherry tomatoes in your mouth in a day.  And then there are the big ones.  Only so many sandwiches, or wedges drizzled in balsamic vinaigrette or sprinkled with sugar... Why do they seem to ripen ALL at once?  What do you do? 

I developed a tomato sauce routine years ago, when I was averaging 30 plants and had just a garden to take care of - not kids.  Now I am down to a more reasonable 18 (I started with 20).  Two are cherries and the rest are an odd collection of mismatched pairs of either store-bought plants or starts my dad gave me.  I have a new favorite though - German Strawberry.  Oh.  My.  That one is good! 

I begin by doing a massive picking.  I drag out the colanders and pick every red tomato I can find.  This includes the cherries because they have an awesome flavor.  I even pick the ones that have evidence of a bug or two, splits or end rot.  You can always trim that stuff away and use the good side.  A good-sized batch is enough to fill an entire cookie sheet - mounded up in a pile.  That is where I got the name for my routine - the cookie sheet method.

You begin by assembling your stuff....

* A cookie sheet full of a mound of tomatoes. Why a cookie sheet?  Because one cookie sheet (like the one above) will be exactly enough to fill your crock pot - an inch or two from the rim.

* Crock pot, set on high for the first hour.

* slotted spoon for retrieving tomatoes from the boiling water

* A large stock pot filled halfway with water, set to boil

* another cookie sheet

* a cutting board and empty bowl for the stuff you cut away, and for the skins

* a colander in the sink

* an empty plastic bowl in the other sink

* most importantly - a fan!  It's going to get hot standing by the pot of boiling water...

You set up in assembly-line style.  I begin by trimming the tops and cutting away the yucky stuff (if there was any) and then dropping it into the colander in the sink next to me.  Then Rylan (having a helper is great!!) will wash the tomato and put it into the bowl in the next sink.  Rylan is currently suffering from what I call the Cinderella Complex.  She insists on wearing a princess dress while performing menial household tasks.

Take the bowl of washed tomatoes and gently tip them into the boiling water.  The water should be at a full, rolling boil.  Let them stay in the water while you trim up another batch of tomatoes, and rinse them.  That should be ample time for the skin to split on the tomatoes in the boiling water.  The trick is to keep the cycle going continuously.  When you're done washing the next batch, remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and set them on the spare cookie sheet.  Leave them there to cool as you continue the trimming, washing and boiling routine until all of the tomatoes are done. 

At this point. all of the tomatoes should be on the cooling cookie sheet.  If you can, set the tomatoes from back to front as you go, so that you won't inadvertently pick up a hot one and burn yourself.  Pick up a tomato, and squeeze it gently as you hold it over the crock pot.  It should just slip out of its skin.  You might have to give it a little pinch where it attaches on the underside of the tomato.  When you are done, the crock pot should be full.

Add some fresh basil (if you have it) and a good heaping teaspoon of dried oregano, and a teaspoon of salt.  I grew some basil for the first time this year, and it is absolute awesomeness.  It is amazing how it immediately fills the entire kitchen with a heady aroma the second I cut it.  I am lacking in the knife skills department, so I've found a pizza cutter to be a very effective tool for making long cuts like this.  I also use it to cut noodles or wedges for my crescent rolls.

Next step is to take two large serrated knives and work them in opposite directions to cut up the tomatoes until no large chunks are left.  Then cover the crock pot and switch it to low.  Let it go for about 8-10 hours (or even overnight).  Your house will smell amazing as time goes on...  When it is done, the liquid should have reduced by quite a bit and you should see the level in the crock pot drop by a good amount.  Let it cool for a couple of hours.  This time around, I started in the early afternoon.  I got up with Dean around 1 am (he was leaving to hike Long's Peak) and turned off the crock pot.  I let it sit, uncovered, until I got up again at seven, and by then it was cool enough to bag it.

Using a 4 cup liquid measuring cup, ladle out the tomato sauce until you reach 28 oz.  Why 28?  Because that is the usual size of can that is called for in recipes that use diced or crushed tomatoes (like spaghetti, chili, stew and so forth).  Pour it carefully into a quart-sized ziploc, and then seal it - make sure to push all of the air out as you go.  Then lay it flat on a cookie sheet.  Label it and then place it flat in the freezer.  If you don't have the temporary freezer space for a cookie sheet, lay the bag on top of a flat surface, like a pizza box or something.  This way, it will freeze nice and flat.  Then, once it is frozen solid, you can store it upright, or stack several of them together.  To defrost one, I recommend putting it on a plate and leaving it in your fridge over night - or your counter for several hours.   A full crock pot will yield about 6 - 7 of these bags.  This whole process took me about 45 minutes, plus the cooking and cooling time.  The taste is absolutely amazing and well worth it!

I love it best with elbow macaroni.  I just add several ladle-fulls on top of the cooked macaroni in a bowl.  Yum!  Like I said, you can use it whenever a recipe calls for diced, crushed or stewed tomatoes.  Enjoy!

40 Things I've never done before: #1 Mammogram



There's nothing quite like celebrating your impending 40th birthday by getting your boobs squished as flat as a pancake.  Twice.  Each.  Good times.  I went to the same clinic  for my mammogram that I went to for each of my pregnancies (midwives) and I still go there for my annual.  They really do have excellent care there, and the staff are fantastic.  This appt. was no exception.  I was there a total of 22 min. from start to finish.  The technician (female!) really knew how to push, pull, smooth, flatten, wedge, squish and coax things into just the right position for each scan.  I should have felt molested - but it is for a good cause.  And forget about dignity...You lose that the first time you give birth, and a whole second team of Dr.s (male) arrive to survey the scene and all of a sudden you have twelve different people looking at parts of your body you yourself haven't been able to see for at least six months.  Nice.

So, the results should arrive in about a week.  I'm not nervous, but I am glad to finally have one under my belt.  Thank goodness for the fact that so far, (knock on wood), no female family member of mine has ever been diagnosed with breast cancer.  If they found anything - anything - I would get a double mastectomy in a flash.  Are you kidding me?  The chance to get a total breast reduction - and get it covered by insurance - yes!!

So what is 40 Things?  I saw a post  (go right now and read it... I'll wait) and I thought that sounded like a great idea!  Don't you love that cake tower?  I am going to make that for my 40th birthday cake.  Unfortunately we don't have many coconut fans in the family, but I don't care.  It is beautiful, I love chocolate and coconut, so I am going to make it.  I guess that can be one of my 40 things because I have never made lamingtons before.  I am going to spread the challenge across the year - because some of the things on my list are pretty ambitious.  I've only got seven things on my list (okay, now it's eight... the cake!), so I need to get some more ideas.  I suppose that it is a good thing I am having a hard time coming up with stuff - I've been a busy gal for the past 40 years!  I've experienced a lot, I've traveled a lot - but I know there are several places to go yet, and lots of things to do.  I've also got to keep the list realistic and doable.  "Go on a cruise" isn't going to work...  But I have already done that, so never mind.  I was also four months old and don't remember a thing about it.

So I am going to go back to this cake post for a second.  It is crazy where Internet searches lead you to.  I was initially looking for a recipe for Bavarian cream.  A cake this blogger made, featured in another post of hers, was filled with Bavarian cream, so it came up when I googled it.  It was maybe tenth on the list?   But what a food blog!!  She is amazing.  I can't pronounce anything, but she is amazing anyway.

The Rabbit Hole...

This is an 'off' week (a week we don't "do school"), so I have been spending an obscene amount of time catching up with my favorite blogs.  In doing so, I added 15  (**15!!**) more blogs to my favorites list.  Geez.  No wonder I never get anything done.  Anyway... I got a lot of great ideas...

Muffin Tin Monday

Ever heard of this??  I had seen/heard of using a muffin tin to serve lunch to toddlers.  You filled all of the cups (using very small portion sizes) with foods from all of the different food groups, and then let your child 'graze' over the tin, sampling here and there.  The idea was that they ended up eating more than they likely would otherwise, and it would end up being a pretty balance meal.  Intriguing theory... 

Well, the over-achieving, too-much-time-on-their-hands Bento Box crowd got wind of this and just went nuts!  Now there are entire blogs DEVOTED to this little foodie art form.  Yeah for voyeurs like me who have run out of ideas on what to serve their kids.  Just take a look....  Muffin Tin Mom has the most amazing and creative ideas - and touts the creation of the idea, so this is where the credit is due.  I don't know if I can copy any of her pictures, so go take a look.  Now.  I'll wait!  Wow - see what I mean?  I feel so inadequate.  Sugary Flower has the prettiest web page I have ever seen!  Her ideas are amazing as well - and all of her other baked goods just make you swoon.  Bonus that she is an Aussie.

So here is my feeble attempt that I made on Monday...



Clockwise: Cinnamon applesauce, corn, dinosaur nuggets, grape jelly sandwiches, yellow bell pepper, ketchup

This is Owen's 'before' shot.  I picked up the silicone baking cups (6 yellow and 6 pink) at Hobby Lobby earlier in the morning.  They were on clearance for $3.99.  woo-hoo!

'After' shot.  Notice that they are in a stack.  As Owen finished with each cup (one at a time - he eats just like me!!), he added to the stack.  OCD I tell you....

Rylan's 'before'...

And her 'after'.  She had three helpings... which was kind of a pain because I had to keep refilling the cups, but she ate more than she ever typically does at lunch time, which is a very good thing.

The upside: the kids eat!!!  I don't waste any of the "extras" when I use the tiny cutters - Colin just gets the scraps, cut into smaller pieces.
The downside: add another half-hour to meal-prep time, and raise the expectation that we need to eat EVERY meal this way!  I think just doing it 2-3 times a week is fine with me!

Review Box

We use All About Spelling in these here parts.  Part of the system is the review box.  This homeschooling mom had an excellent alternative/extended use for this system.





Ohhh... this has my wheels turning... just think of the possibilities.  I wish I could make a beeline to Office Max right now.  The organizer in me says, "Yes!  Yes!"  The reality maven says 'What are you kidding me???  Review??  Why don't you actually COMPLETE a lesson and then we'll talk".  Sigh.

Just putting this post together and going through and linking everything took an additional hour of time (because I found even more stuff to look at) I don't really have.  See what I mean about a Rabbit Hole??  Happy wandering!