Freezer Food for Sanity Saving

Good morning, y'all! So my little guy is going to be here soon. Like, it's about to get really real. In a few weeks three littles will be here. And Will is starting school on Monday. And when Jude gets here, he's likely to have physical therapy multiple times a week. What's all this come down to? Getting it together NOW! All moms should do this from time to time. Ladies, I'm talking freezer meals.

Lately I've been trying to revamp our family's eating habits. Researching and trying to be sneaky. Let me tell ya, they are not to be fooled. Organic, whole wheat mac and cheese - not happening. Whole wheat bagels - um, no. The three year old spit it out. Low fat? Nope. Even Rachel Ray is too gourmet. What's up with that?! Anyway, in the end I just caved and bought the Taste of Home freezer mini cookbook at the checkout line yesterday. I don't know if Taste of Home is strictly southern, so let me share if you're not familiar. Taste of Home recipes can be counted on to be eaten by all because they are delicious fat bombs with zero sophistication. Think ground beef plus cheese plus onions. It's good stuff. And I'm thinking that the family has made major concessions lately with the traveling and changes. The least I can do is feed them food they'll eat. At least for a while. The best part is that I can do this all ahead of time. I've bought a boat load of meat on sale yesterday and made my list of cheeses and disposable casserole pans and I'll be cooking next week. I'll have about a week or two with one kid while Will's in school and Jude's not here. This is my plan to prepare and stay busy. But with school starting it's a great idea for anyone. Sports and music and all that jazz are starting too.

So do you have any great make-ahead meals for us? I'm gonna need a pinboard for this...

PS. Our family of the week, the Dinsmores, have brought in $3,417 so far!!! You guys are amazing! If you donated, don't forget to throw your name into the comment section of this post to win one of new awesome tshirts! You still have all weekend too. 

Adoption Nutrition

You guys, I love a good find. How have I not found this before now? I don't know. But just in case you haven't come across this, run over to Adoption Nutrition and learn! 

I have learned about one million things since finding this site last week. You can learn about your child's birth country's eating habits, recipes, typical deficiencies and problems that you might run into. There's just too much to talk about here. So have fun, and try making some injera. 

Hill Family Derby Pie Recipe

Fancy Hats. Mint Juleps. Yep, this weekend is the Kentucky Derby! I honestly don’t know much about the Derby, but this week’s Give1 family does. The Hills were both were born and raised in Alabama but have a parent that grew up in Louisville. They have lots of memories of watching the Derby on TV and have attended this legendary event (albeit before their adoption budget).  They even have a family recipe for Derby pie, which is served not only on Derby Day, but also throughout the year!



So if you want to get festive this weekend, check out this yumminess:

Derby Pie 

• 1 cup chocolate chips


• 1 cup walnut or pecan pieces chopped


• 2 eggs beaten


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 stick butter melted and cooled


• 1/2 cup flour


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 1 unbaked pie shell

Mix sugar and flour.  Add eggs and then butter.  Add nuts, chocolate chips, and then vanilla. Pour mixture into pie shell.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 min.



As you enjoy this decadent treat, remember to donate! Every dollar helps the Hill family get one step closer to their daughter. And let me tell you, I’ve been following the Hill’s adoption blog for a while, and these people are the real deal. They are such a generous and loving family. They deserve every penny of your dollar.

Real Food.

You know, we plan on making ethnic food, food that might remind our little ones of where they came from. The funny thing is that recipes are so different. Here or there. Your chili recipe is not my chili recipe and if you eat someone else's chili it might really be a surprise. So while we navigate the recipes for their native food and preferences, let me suggest an alternate focus.

Jen Hatmaker said in her guest post last week that though she intended to make injera all the time, whole, natural foods were what he kids needed.

You are going to have good luck with whole foods. Our littles didn’t even know what processed food was. They eat like sane people in Ethiopia, meaning, well, real food. You know, that was grown. Our kids ate eggs, avocados, tropical fruit, beef, chicken, sweet potatoes, and stuff like that until I figured out how to cook some of their favorites. Your son can eat ten avocados a day for three weeks and live. Um, I’ve heard.

That makes perfect sense. Really our kids should be eating more of that anyway. So in an attempt to do revamp the grocery list around here, I found this site and used the free menu plan (week 4). It's been fantastic. First of all, my grocery bill was $148. That's unheard of for us. And it's the whole week! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. That's crazy! If I'm honest, the whole grain baking is not awesome for me yet. And I cheated a little. I know I'm supposed to make the granola myself, but I can't really see that happening. Instead I bought some natural, organic stuff that had no funky stuff in the label. So hopefully, while I wait (and wait and wait) for the latest Cupitt to debut, I can prepare the rest of us for eating stuff that comes from the actual Earth.

*our favorite recipe so far: pork carnitas tacos with tomatillo salsa. photo via {100 days of Real Food}* Go now! Make this! Though I will admit that I bought the tortillas. Again, can't really see making my own tortillas at this point, but we're making strides. 

My Favorite New Year's Recipe

Black Eyed Pea dip is the best thing ever! I use Pioneer Woman's recipe and it's so delicious. So without further delay, head over and get the recipe. Then hit the store before it gets too crazy. We'll be doing an early-ish New Year's Eve celebration at my sister in law's place. Fondue, baby!

And a couple of random reminders.

1. Donate to our charity of the week. You already did, right? No? Maybe you missed it. Here's the link.

2. Sign on for the Seven giveaway. The winner is being picked Saturday morning. Good luck!

Recipes for Christmas Morning

Christmas morning is almost here. And this year, I want to do something special, maybe even start a new tradition. Perhaps I’m being inspired by The Family Stone and Meredith’s Morton Family Tradition Strata. So I came up with some recipe ideas.

First, I’ve always wanted to try this Rachael Ray recipe for prosciutto and eggs cooked in muffin tins. I’ve also seen this recipe mimicked with ham slices (easier to find and cheaper than prosciutto). And you could use herbed cream cheese instead of mozzarella cheese to add some more flavor. Either way, what a clever idea!

[caption id="attachment_1141" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Source: RachaelRayMag.com"][/caption]

If your family is more of a sweet than savory breakfast crowd, perhaps you could flatten cinnamon roll dough and press them into muffin tins. For the filling, add some baked apples and cranberries (for 6 servings, sauté 4 or 5 chopped apples and a cup of cranberries in some butter, brown sugar, and a dash of vanilla). Bake the apple cinnamon cups for 10 minutes at 375 degrees or until the dough is golden.

What do you serve on Christmas morning? Share your recipes and fun traditions in the comments!

Oh, and Merry Christmas! Thank you for making this year so merry and bright for so many families and the children who need them. You have shown that giving, even just $1, really does make a difference.

Seven Layer Cookie Bars

Hey Everybody! Here's a yummy favorite holiday recipe from Katie, our mama of the week. I made these last night! Easy, quick, and tasty.

Favorite Family Recipe:

It's actually a yummy dessert that I discovered in one of my (Katie) grandma's cookbooks (after she passed away in January, my mom let me have a bunch of her cookbooks and I have enjoyed cooking/baking even more since!)  
7 layer bars

Put these layers in order in a square 9" pan

1/3 c melted butter

1 pkg graham crackers (crushed)

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup crushed pecans

1 can of sweetened condensed milk poured over the top evenly

Bake at 325 for 33 minutes.  It's absolutely amazing.

I also asked Katie how we could pray for them this week, and here's what she said...

3 ways to pray for us:

1. Pray for as smooth as a ride as possible through the adoption process.

2. Pray for us to have safe travels as we take a whirlwind tour of the midwest to see family and friends for Christmas.

3. Pray for Katie to get a permanent teaching position (instead of all this long-term subbing!).

Thanks for the recipe share, Katie! Have all of you given to the Harshmans this week? The week is coming to a close, so get the word out! Being obedient to God's call to adopt is not always easy and it takes a giant leap of faith to sign on to a $30,000 commitment when all that money is simply not there. That's where we come in. We're supposed to use the money that God has entrusted to each of us to take care of the Whole Church. Including the Harshmans. And including their new little boy. We're the hands and feet, folks. Let's really lift them up here in the final stretch!

How Do You Really Feel About Eggnog?

You know what I have found? That eggnog evokes some seriously passionate responses in people? So I'm going to ask you the same question that I asked our Mama of the Week, Kelly.

How do you really really feel about eggnog?

Eggnog. Nick feels less excited about it than me, and I don't get real excited myself. Nick said, "Gosh, what is it made out of?" I read him the list of ingredients. "If you put it in a frying pan, made an omelet out of it and served it with a side of bacon, then I'd think about it." I also wonder what other recipe could you get away with using raw eggs without having some sort of crazy FDA warning, as opposed to receiving a holiday encore. Maybe next year we'll be more brave.

Huh-larious! Do you have a favorite holiday recipe?

We would like to say that our way of preparing turkey is our favorite Christmas recipe. The first year I cooked my own turkey was a treat. Did you know there are TWO bags of turkey innards that are supposed to be pulled out prior to being put in the oven? Hmmm...I didn't. And last year? Last year Nick was so helpful when he prepared the turkey. It was unfortunate when he put it in the pan upside down and the breast meat was so mushy from being soaked in its own juices for hours that it was barely edible. On that note, would you like to come over for a holiday dinner?!

 

So, a recipe we actually do have success with (and is one of our favorites) is something rather simple, actually (apparently, simple is better for people like us without the "cooking gene"). It's Shaker corn pudding. My mom used to take my brother and I to Shaker Village of Pleasant Ridge in Kentucky when we were little and I remember how special it was to eat the authentic Shaker food. We had a cookbook from Shaker Village and I can always remember having this dish at all holiday meals.

 

Shaker Corn Pudding
Ingredients

3 Tablespoons butter, softened

2  Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 whole eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups frozen corn  (I usually use more)

1 3/4 cups milk

 

Directions

1. In a large bowl, blend the butter, sugar, flour and salt

2. Add the eggs, and beat well with a rotary beater or mixer on low

3. Stir in the corn and milk (if using frozen corn, chop it up a little first to release the milky juices)

4. Pour the ingredients into a buttered flat 10x16 casserole and bake at 325 for 45 minutes, stirring once halfway through the baking period

5. When done, the pudding will be golden brown on top and a knife inserted in the middle will come out clean.

6. This mixture can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. Stir well, then pour into a baking dish and bake as directed.

 

You guys, I made this last night and I have NO photo! That's how fast my six year old ate it. I have had so much fun getting to know the Mortellite family and you guys have been an amazing blessing to their family. Thank you thank you thank you for your donations, prayers, and for telling your friends about this site. We've done something cool this week. I'm out for the weekend. Lindsay's posting tomorrow about how to encourage your children to be givers. She's so wise. I'll check ya next week with our next family, the Harshmans. Oh, and by the way, how do YOU feel about eggnog???

~ Beth

A Leos Family Recipe

Hey Everybody! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your house is smelling delicious right now. Mine does. I'm making pumpkin creme pies to take to our little family celebrations. I asked Rachel, our Mama of the Week, if she had a favorite Thanksgiving recipe.



Thanksgiving recipe, this one is actually hard. I am not a huge Thanksgiving food fan, I know, I am super weird. I do just about everything to get out of eating turkey and dressing. And if we eat it at Thanksgiving, we definitely don't eat it at Christmas - we have been doing Mexican the past few Christmases with homemade tortillas, enchiladas, and rice and beans. but for a favorite recipe that we start making at Thanksgiving, it would have to be these cookies. We start making them at Thanksgiving and make several batches through Christmas. 

Cranberry-Pistachio Shortbread

2 1/3 cups  all purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt (add more salt if using unsalted pistachios)
2 sticks unsalted butter , at room temperature
2/3 cup  granulated white sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup  salted or unsalted pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries

I used salted pistachios and Craisens; I loved the sweet and salty combination. I would recommend buying pre-shelled pistachios, it is worth the extra money. We bought the shelled kind when I made them last year and it was a huge pain! Also, I did not chop my pistachios or cranberries. When we sliced the cookies to bake, the knife cut right through the ingredients and this turned out perfectly.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract, then gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. (Add a couple tablespoons of milk if it seems dry) Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries, and make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Divide the dough into two equal portions. Place each half on the center of a 14 inch (35 cm) length of parchment or wax paper. Smooth the dough into an evenly shaped rectangle that is about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Wrap the shaped logs tightly in wax paper, twist the ends to seal, and refrigerate for at least two hours, or up to three days. Dough can also be frozen for up to two months. If freezing, it is best to defrost the logs in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into ¼ inch thick cookies, and place the cookies on the prepared sheets, (I placed the cookies very close together as I was out of parchment paper, they didn’t expand so this was fine). Bake on the center rack for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe makes about 45 cookies and they taste great with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee in the morning!

You guys, I made them and they were so yummy and Christmasy looking. They're all red and green. And super easy. I'll be making these again. Thanks for sharing, guys! So, speaking of the Leos family, they have had an awesome week on Give1 Save1. You guys must be feeling extra generous with the holidays and everything. The week is coming to a close, so if you haven't made a donation to help bring those babies home (for some tasty cookies), then go ahead and do it now. Before you spend all your money on Black Friday craziness! ;) You guys have an awesome weekend. I'm outta here. Lindsay's kicking off Christmas tomorrow. You remember Lindsay, right? Well, she's a Give1 blogger now. She's actually already done a few posts on family updates. So give a warm welcome to Lindsay, who'll be sharing some fun Christmas pins tomorrow!!! See ya next week.

Lots of Love,

Beth