Category Archives: Feeding the Crew

Weekly Meal Plans

Posted on by
16

022413_0459 blog

This week’s dinners:

Tacos and refried beans.

I make my refried beans by soaking kidney beans (or pinto) overnight. In the morning I add onions, beef soup base and garlic, then turn the Crockpot onto high. Once the beans are cooked, I add garlic salt, taco seasoning and hot sauce to flavor. Sometimes I add salsa. I think use my submersible blender until the beans have a re-fried bean like texture, but are still chunky.

Chinese Orange Chicken, Lo Mein and rice.

For a variety of reasons the Chinese Orange Chicken never got made last week, so it is being carried over to this week.

The Lo Mein is a first for me. I order it when we go to our local Chinese restaurant, so decided to give it a try at home. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Chicken Gravy over Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

For the chicken gravy I will cook a whole chicken in the crockpot, then debone it and make a gravy out of the drippings.

For the garlic mashed potatoes I will saute’ the garlic and caramelize the onions, then proceed to make mashed potatoes. My kids go *crazy* for these.

Homemade  chili, cornbread and rice.

Homemade Pizza.

What are you eating?

Cooking for Kiwis

Posted on by
1

You probably remember that Adalia spent summer 2011 in Honduras with Teen Missions International. One of her teen members, Ben, and his brother, Aaron, are visiting the US from New Zealand. They are due to arrive here at our house on September 17 (yes, the same day Chuck and I will be in Seattle with Apollo getting his new mic-key). Aaron will be here only a few days, but Ben will be with us for almost  two weeks. In preparation for Apollo’s procedure and their arrival, we have been filling the freezer.

{You can read about Adalia’s adventures in Honduras on Blogging by the Dozen: Honduras Part I and Honduras Part II}

So far we have made:

4 batches of Chicken Curry

Chicken Gumbo

2 pans of lasagna

3 pans of Chicken Enchiladas

{By the way, I’ve finished  transferring most of my recipes to the main page here. If you click on Large Family Recipes you should be able to just click on the recipe you want to view. I plan to do the same for themed parties we’ve had and Adoption Stories. Please bear with me while I try to make this site as user friendly as possible}

 

Homemade Chicken Fingers

Posted on by
11

Step One: Grab the cutest six and seven-year olds you can find.

Step Two: Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into slices.

Step Three: Dip chicken strips into beaten egg, then into a mixture of breadcrumbs, garlic salt and pepper.

Step Four: lay them out on a cookie sheet.

Step Five: Place in oven preheated to 400 and cook for 15-20 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. 

These homemade chicken fingers are a hit in our house. They are nutritious and easy to make. Go ahead, I dare you to try them.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Posted on by
6

Meet the breakfast crew: Tilly (13) and  Tucker (6). They get up and fix the morning meal for our family while I sip coffee and direct traffic.

Making breakfast is officially Tilly’s job, but she has taken it upon herself to train Tucker as her apprentice. This works out beautifully. Not only is Tucker learning to cook and bake, but it keeps my very rambunctious, loud six-year-old busy in the morning. A blessing to the whole house.

Busy, productive hands are staying out of trouble hands.

And just in case you’re wondering, I’ll share the recipe.

Baking Powder Biscuits for a Baker’s Dozen

Preheat oven to 425

Mix together:

8 cups of flour

4 Tablespoons of baking powder

2 teaspoons of salt

Cut in:

1 cup of butter

Add all at once, stirring until soft ball is formed:

3 cups milk

Turn dough onto to floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick and cut into circles with glass or biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

Filling the Freezer Pre-Surgery {Large Family Cooking}

Posted on by
34

I’ve been trying to think of ways to make life a little easier during and after Apollo’s surgery. There is only so much I can do. I can’t be in Seattle with Apollo and here at home at the same time. Things will inevitably be somewhat chaotic. I will be more tired than ever when I return home I’m sure. But one thing I can do is make meals ahead.

As soon as breakfast was over this morning I put my team of pint-sized kitchen helpers to work chopping vegetables.

And got my big kids started on school.

We’re just sitting down to eat lunch and I already have: 3 pans of lasagna, 4 trays of chicken enchiladas and two big tubs of chicken gumbo in my freezer. I also cooked two batches of  ground beef to have on hand and have chicken breasts cooking in the crock pot to make chicken curry this afternoon.

The chicken enchiladas are a family favorite. I’d share the recipe but I don’t really have one. I can tell you how I make them though. First I cook chicken breasts in the crock pot. Once they are done, I shred them and add cheddar and mozzarella, olives, salt and pepper. Sometimes I add rice (which I did this time).

Next I lightly fry corn tortillas (to make them flexible). I fill each tortilla with plenty of filling and line them in  the pan. Next comes the best part…

Homemade cheese sauce!

First I make a white sauce (from scratch) then add tons of cheddar cheese, green chiles, salsa and some Frank’s Hot Sauce. I pour this over top of the enchiladas, and voila’ ready  be baked or frozen.

Now I’m trying to think of more ideas to do another batch cook next week. What are your favorite freezer meals?

{The cardiologist was presenting Apollo’s case to the surgeons this morning at 7 am. I am really hoping to hear about a possible surgery date this week}