Holiday Bliss, Domestic Fun, Cooking, Design, Crafts

I love homemade granola - Like the kind above. Simple toasted oats drizzled with maple syrup and pecans. Instead of regular Milk I highly recommend Trader Joe’s Vanilla flavored soy milk. It’s like candy. Serioiusly - it’s sweet comfort food that can rival a brownie for breakfast.

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Well it’s that time of year, back to school.  School is starting up across the country and Mom’s all over are thinking what am I going to pack for lunches.  The rules have changed over the years on what is “allowed” in a lunch.  Please pack a healthy lunch, NO CANDY.  What’s healthy to one person may not be healthy to another.  So what to do? 

My oldest starts kindergarten and I will need to pack both a snack and a lunch.  My goal is to make it healthy but also entertaining so that she will eat it, and not just the chips or treat crackers that may be included. The hard part for me will be how much to pack  -  I will just have to play around with it until I find the right combo. 

So what is a healthy snack?  I’m thinking string cheese or other type of cheese.  Maybe some grapes or a box of raisins, or dare I say carrots?   Maybe some wheat crackers.   Then there is the creative route: Ants on a log (celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins), apple slices with cheese, or apples with peanut butter dip. 

What about a healthy lunch?  This you want to be fun so that they will eat it.  PB & J is always a winner, or PB & H (honey) again a winner. I realize we might have to forgo the peanut butter if there are peanut allergies. Thankfully my little one likes meat and cheese sandwiches too.   What makes these sandwiches over the top is when I use cookie cutters to make shapes out of the sandwiches.   Either fruit or veggies will make it into her lunch as well as a drink.  This is where I will have trouble.  I’m not thrilled with giving her the milk in a carton that has been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long.  Case in point the other day we were at a friend’s house who thought she’d try milk in a carton that didn’t need to be fridgerated.  One of the milks were spoiled, we didn’t know this and it was chocolate milk as a treat.  See my concern.  So I guess we will have to find a safe sealed thermos to pour fresh cold milk in.  If not milk she will get water (cold), or on those special days 100% juice. 

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Wandered into William Sonoma and they currently have all things pumpkin. I walked out with two items - the above being one of them - Pumpkin Curry Simmer Sauce. I love WS’s simmer sauces and early this year grew an addiction to their Green Mole Sauce. Anyhow - their Pumpkin Sauce ROCKS! My initial thought was simple, to mix the sauce in with chicken and rice - maybe throw in some raisens for good measure (or even some bigger chunks of cooked pumpkin or other squash)…Then my imagination kicked in - add it to meatloaf mix. I suggested it to the gal at the counter and she immediately nodded and agreed. Don’t let the “curry” part intimidate by the way - it’s very mild. For some too mild the gal behind the counter said her little ones eat it up and for herself and her husband she needs to add extra pepper spices. That night I added to my turkey burger mix and it was hit. Just enough flavor and comfort of other flavors that taste good during these early Autumn evenings. I imagine adding a few tablespoons to things like chili, etc. would also taste good - or using it as a sandwich spread or spread on a hot dog. May sound silly until you try it. I wish the sauces kept longer than 7-10 days because after a week I get the “ohhh hmmm you added pumpkin curry sauce to my eggs….interesting…” comments. (And YES a teaspoon in your scrambled eggs does taste great!)

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This is the FASTEST soup in history. EASY to make and really has a gourmet like flare to it. You can control the consistency (thick puree to watery soup) by how much stock you use. If you leave it thick it’s great to use as gravy like sauce on chicken and fish (over a bed of rice or even with potatoes).

1 Whole Onion diced

2lbs Zucchini sliced in circles

2 Tbls Olive Oil (for sauteing onion and zucchini)

2 - 4 cups chicken stock (stock measurements vary with your desired consistency)

1 Tblsn (plus good measure) Fresh Thyme

In a stock pan pour olive oil, saute onions and zucchini, sprinkle garlic peper to taste (and salt too if you’d like), once onions and zucchini are translucent add chicken stock bring to a boil - add Thyme…allow to boil then turn off the heat - as the soup cools - pour into a blender and blend = should result in a puree like consistency. Keeps for up to 4 days and YES you can freeze it.

I really like this soup because easy doesn’t scratch the surface - it’s a great “light” soup for summer and early fall. I like it on the thick side because I tend to re-purpose a lot through out the week. One night soup and sandwiches - another night I can pour it over a bed of rice with flounder and steamed veggies. Mix it with chicken - the options are endless.

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