Waffles with H

I spent the 2nd half of last week traveling for work, so we haven't spent much time in the kitchen the last few days, however H was itching to make breakfast this morning! He opted for the Boonta Classic Waffles from his new Star Wars Cookbook II: Darth Malt and more Galactic Recipes :)

Cooking with kids tip: Find fun kitchen utensils and cook books that make cooking/baking fun and when the recipes are tailored for kids you'll be able to be a little more hands off.

Before we go into H's creation I have to show off this fun one from last night. L & K came to spend the evening with us and while the big kids were playing Minecraft L and I made pretzels! OMG; I love this!

L painting the pretzels with the soda water:)

Back to this morning:
     Here are H's waffles, they tasted great so I can definitely recommend the recipe! J licked his plate, literally licked it, so I guess that means he gave it a stamp of approval too. The pictures are angry with me, but quite self explanatory. Enjoy!!

Recipe: Boonta Classic Waffles
Chef H

Final plated waffles, topped with Berry Butter
& chopped nuts 

 

"Mom! Help me get these off please!"

Welcome to "hi, I'm in my 9 year old super awkward phase."

Taco Monday?

The James' LOVE taco night and during my quick meal plan this weekend I opted to put them on for Tuesday, because Taco Tuesday's are superior to other Tuesday's. However, I had forgotten that we received free tickets to the Round Rock Express game for tomorrow night & tacos got moved to Monday. Taco Monday just doesn't work as well, but at least they tasted good.

We are a busy family and I love that this meal is cooked, eaten and cleaned up in 90 minutes or less. It's the perfect weeknight meal; enjoy!

Disclaimer: This meal is made primarily from pre-packaged items, that is the key to how quick it can get onto the table.


Kid lesson 1: fundamentals are key. Get your child (and yourself!) comfortable using knives so they can help with prep work and cutting tomatoes. Give them an onion, see if they are part of the population that tears up! For the record little J practically sobs, H just eats more of the raw onion than he cuts, I'm not affected and I don't think big J has ever touched a raw onion.

Helpful hint 2: if your kids aren't interested in what's happening in the kitchen have them start by helping prepare something they like to eat. The sense of ownership & accomplishment of eating something you prepared is that will likely peek their interest.


Recipe: Tacos
Chef: little J

1 lb. hamburger
Taco seasoning
1 cup white rice (I used instant)
1 can rotel
Sprinkle of Mexican Oregano
1 cup water
Beans (we prefer retried, but black or pinto would totally work)
Avocado
Garlic salt
Cheese
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Tortillas (boys like flour, I prefer corn)

This one is pretty self explanatory, but here it is:
Taco meat:
     Brown meat; add taco seasoning as the package states.
Easy taco rice:
     Cook the rice in the water, once it's done add the rotel & oregano
Beans:
     Dump in a bowl & heat up.
Guacamole:
     Mash the avocado, add garlic salt to taste (I also like to add spoonful of salsa for extra spice & flavor, but J was in charge and he didn't want any spice today)

Cut tomatoes, lettuce, onions, olives or whatever you like on your taco, assemble and put lots of cheese on top. (Note: DONT FORGET TO HEAT YOUR TORTILLAS!!!!!! I'm talking to you Midwest friends. Tacos are 800 times better with warmed tortillas)

Here is J making the guac & his final creation!

Final note: you may have heard Texas is flooding big time right now, we are safe & dry and shoving nachos in our mouths alongside these tacos. Total at our house, since Friday, is 4-4.5 inches.

We're back!

Over the past few months the boys and I have been exploring our kitchen, so this blog will be the place I post our pictures, kid-friendly recipes and some of the meals I make too.

General disclaimers:
     1. I am not a professional chef or photographer. Be prepared for basic pictures & recipes that use normal ingredients!
     2. I work for a living, so I will use shortcuts like canned broth and beans. Seriously, who plans ahead enough to soak beans overnight?
     3. We are a family of very picky eaters. We range from mostly carnivore to non-meat eater. Meals in this house often have several varieties but all within the same category (I.e. Fried catfish for H & big J, fried chicken for little J & fried tofu for me!)
     4. I am a vegetarian but not hard core to the point where meat can't touch my cutting board one. I often enjoy veggies cooked with meat (think roast with carrots & potatoes) which makes me a fraud in the true vegetarian world;)

I believe the kitchen is the best room in the house and hope someone will be able to use these lessons, recipes and ideas in their own home too.

First up: Orange poppy seed scones
Made by: H

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 t. Baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 T sugar
1 t poppy seeds
2 T orange zest
1/3 cup cold butter
1/2 c buttermilk
1 T. Milk
1 egg

Combine everything and squish that butter in! Once everything has been incorporated, shape it however youd like, place on a greased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes at 425. Once cooled glaze them with an oj glaze (1 cup powdered sugar and 1 T. Orange juice)

Second: Grilled Cheese with homemade ramen
Made By: me

It is raining cats & dogs, outside is a cool 63 degrees, allergies are knocking the boys down and therefore soup & grilled cheese made the dinner menu. H wanted ramen, but I HATE feeding them the 17 cent variety because of the incredibly high sodium content and overall low nutritional value of it, so I made my own! Only downfall was that I only had Asain rice noodle, so the final soup had a "rice noodle slimy" texture. I thought it was fine because the flavor was spot on, but the boys said they would have given 2 thumbs up if the noodles had been the right variety.

Ingredients:
2 T oil
2 T soy sauce
3 T minced garlic
1 shallot diced
3 t ginger (I used ground, if you have fresh use much less than that!)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup water
1-2 cups mushroom
1 cup chopped carrots
Handful of greens (kale, spinach, etc)
2 cups Ramen noodles, or use rice noodles & omit soy sauce for a gluten free dish

1. Sauté garlic, ginger & shallots in the oil & soy sauce
2. Add broth & veggies
3. Simmer 15 minutes
4. Add noodles and simmer until they are cooked

Serve hot with sliced hard boiled egg (if desired) and browned bread crumbs (add butter & bread crumbs to a fry pan & brown them).

pictures from grandpa/grandma's visit

Mom and Dad came down for a visit last week and here are a few pictures from our time together. We didnt do much, just played outside at various parks, went to 4 tball games, fished, swam, played games and read books. No grand adventures to one of the theme parks, but simple adventures around Round Rock. Enjoy :)

H and I on his 5th birthday! 

Me and Judah :)

Cutest cub ever. 

playing catcher! he tagged each person who came across home plate...but never had the ball. whoops :)

Painting pottery with G &G! The "artists" refused to look away from their masterpieces.

H sure does love his grandpa.

throwing rocks into the creek at old settlers!

my baby boy melts my heart. 

H showing off his rocks.

Bluebonnets :) 

oh boy.

love this.

Judah hasnt quite mastered the tongue roll yet.

he too melts my heart....wrapped around his tiny little finger. 

time with grandpa=lots of shoulder rides and  LOTS of giggles.

Mount Bonnell! 

Me and my men. 

this man  still melts my heart too. 

h was feeling photogenic at mt bonell

and this is why he gets what ever he wants...because he gives me that look.

climbing around above lake austin.

fishing at lake pflugerville!

H's first fish!

Justin showing Hunter how to remove the fish from the hook,

time to cast again!

J is a master caster

Grandpa caught a fish too :)

Justin and Judah getting grandma's fish off the line.

His expressions are priceless. this is quintessential  judah caught on  "film"

H, J, Mom and I walked the rest of the way (2.5 miles) around the lake to swim :) oh yes, we swim in open water on April 2nd.

h LOVES the water.

my sweet baby boy. 

2 seconds later H jumps up and bonks judah's seat and they proceed to laugh for 10 minutes. LOVE THEM. 

I loved having mom and dad here and loved watching them interact with the boys. H and J are so fortunate to have 2 sets of such incredible grandparents. We are so blessed.

an almost perfect evening

The only thing that would have made this evening better would have been for Justin to have been with us...other than that it was pretty spectacular.

I worked remotely today-mostly from the cozy chair of a local coffee shop-in an attempt to knock out a good portion of my staff performance evaluations. This task=successful. 12 out of 18 mostly done.

I picked the boys up, we ran home to pick up the dogs and load bikes in my saturn (yes, be impressed that it was 2 bikes, 2 boys, 2 dogs and me all loaded in my car) and hurried off to old settlers park for a bike ride/blue bonnet photo op. Enjoy the pics :)

significance of this photo-A CREEK FULL OF RUSHING WATER. so thankful for the recent rain !!!

Biking at old settlers-judah is up around the corner

I tell the boys to smile and this is what they give me. 

to which i reply-what are you doing?!? smile for real...and then they give these equally fake smiles

and then hunter becomes an angry squirrel. Justin has a picture that looks a lot like this...he looks more and more like his daddy every day.

I cannot resist that smile. 

Or that giggle. where has time gone? my baby has turned into a 5 year old ! (ok, well he will be 5 in  31 hours.)

His baby blues make me melt.

this is quintessential judah-love this. love this. love this.

me: judah dont pick the bluebonnets.
judah: you mean like this one? 

sneaky little buggers. i turn around to make sure the dogs are still there and they both picked one. now they owe the state of texas 50 cents.

they love each other and laugh constantly...they only stop laughing to argue.

cant you just hear him laughing?!

love them to pieces.

Love the beautiful fields of texas blue bonnets.