Saturday Soup!

I don't know about your area but its getting cold here. When its cold outside all I can think about is a nice warm bowl of soup. Now in my household this is no easy task. Aside from my oldest daughter the younger kids will only eat raw veggies and 2 of them wont eat beans. Most soups being either veggies, beans or both...well let is just say its enough to make you want to pull your hair out! I did however find the perfect soup everyone could enjoy. I tried several recipes online before I figured out like most recipes to just go with my gut and what I already have. I get the greatest satisfaction out of using what I already have on hand and not having to shop...

Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder
1 pound of cubed chicken breast
4-5 peeled and cubed potatoes
1 small onion diced
1 can creamed corn
3-4 cups frozen corn (I like to use the white and yellow corn mix)
1 12oz can evaporated milk
2 TBSP corn starch
1/4 cup unsalted butter
salt & pepper to taste
Water
shredded cheese

In a large pot melt your butter and cook onions and chicken. Add potatoes and enough water to cover everything and cook until your potatoes are tender. now add your evaporated milk, creamed corn & frozen corn I usually add about another cup of water now too. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl mix corn starch and a small amount of water add this to your pot and bring back to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. When in bowls sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top. This makes about enough for 2 adults and 4 small children. if you have a large stock pot you can double it.

I like to go a little Mexican with it sometimes and will add some diced red pepper when I do the onions and will serve with a dollop of sour cream, pico de gaio & tortilla chips.

After reading this...Please take a Moment of Silence to remember the Hero's & Victims of 9/11/01

Thursday Theme (Pizza)

Just ask your child what they want for dinner...is the answer almost always pizza?? We likely eat pizza 2-3 times a week in our house. And no its not delivery or Digiorno lol. Pizza is a very versatile food and its so fun to let your kids help.

Making your own dough is really easy I use my bread machine most of the time but some days I just feel like doing it the old fashion way. Making a traditional pizza with homemade dough isn't the only option. You can make pizza on English muffins, pita bread, bagels, tortillas.. even bread. Its so simple when you are not fussing with dough. When we do little pizza like this the kids get so happy knowing they each get their own little pizza and I let them do their own toppings. Even my 1 year old sprinkles her own cheese on.

When making mini pizza with the kids I give them each a pre sauced pita and place it on wax paper. I line up bowls with toppings across the table starting with the cheese, pepperoni, veggies then Parmesan at the end. They make an assembly line of sorts and pull their wax paper down the line as they pick out their toppings. We then place them on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 8-10 mins.. when you are not dealing with dough you pretty much just need to cook until the cheese is melted.

How about Mexican pizza with your taco night leftovers? We generally will do this on English muffins pretty much the same way as above I just use salsa in place of the sauce and will put out left over beef, beans, rice & cheese.. when the pizzas are cooked they can then add sour cream, pico, lettuce, etc..

My husband also makes a wonderful breakfast pizza..I will have to get the recipe from him soon.

and for extra fun..dessert pizza? This works best on regular dough.. you cook just the dough when it comes out brush the crust with butter and sprinkle on some Cinnamon sugar, then I smooth on some vanilla pudding then top with seasonal berries and drizzle the fruit with a bit of honey... YUM!

Taco Tuesday!

Taco's and pretty much anything Mexican gets lots of cool points for mom around here. Taco's are quite versatile and give kids lots of choices for their fillings. Cady (21 mts) is happy with just beef, sour cream and pico de gaio (no shell) Morgan (5 years old) pretty traditional soft taco, beef, cheese, lettuce, sour cream & taco sauce, Aria (8 yrs old) is all about hard shell with beef or chicken with cheese & sour cream. Erynn (11 yrs old) Beef, beans, cheese, lettuce & ranch. I always give lots of topping options and not always beef, ground turkey & chicken. Sometimes even Mexican rice & guacamole make it to the "Taco Table" as the kids call it. My one major gripe with tacos is the mess. Anything to avoid messes gets an A+ around here. So we came up with mini taco pizza's.

Mini Taco Pizza's (makes 12 mini pizzas)
1 Package whole wheat English muffins
1 pound ground beef (chicken or ground turkey are good as well)
1 package taco seasoning (we like simply organic)
Salsa (you can make your own or we like Newman's Own Salsa)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (we like extra sharp)
sliced black olives (I leave these off mine I am not an olive lover but all my kids adore them)
toppings of your choice such as guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, beans etc.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350, brown meat and follow directions on taco seasoning.
Split English muffins and spread about a table spoon of salsa over them, then cover with beef, then cheese & place olive slices on top. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese in well melted. Then add what ever toppings you like. By placing the cheese over the beef you cut down on pieces of greasy meat hitting your nice clean floors.

With out additional toppings added you can freeze these and you can pop them in the toaster oven for a nice afternoon snack. Or even defrost and warm up in the oven on a cookie sheet. My kids like these as is with out the extra toppings. I like to double or triple most of my recipes so that on nights when we need something quick I have a few go to favorites on hand.