A 9 Year Old's "Train of Thought"

While I was cleaning out my clutter bin and trying to organize for our move I came upon this assignment that Joe wrote earlier in the year. It was his "Train of Thought" assignment, basically he had to write a paragraph, and they use pictures of a train to help them see where different sentences should go in a paragraph. Here it is:

My Family:
My Family is very important to me. First, I would like to tell you about my parents. They are both good cooks. They both play basketball well (he should have written that mom's jump shot rocks, and dad has the leaping skills of a gazelle, but I will forgive him on this one). Second I want to tell you about my pet. My dog, Jeter, likes to play fetch and barks a lot. Third, I'd like to tell you about my brother and sisters, Sam, Danielle, and David (he left out Abby). They are sometimes mean and gross. In conclusion, my family is awesome.

A barking dog and mean and gross siblings make for an awesome family. Glad he likes us.

One Key to Easy Meals - A Prep Day

I have had a couple of friends ask me how I have so much time to make good dinners when I have lots of distractions from kiddos. First of all, I LOVE to cook and eat, so that is motivation right there. I rarely plan a menu, because then I end up spending more money buying extra ingredients that I don't have on hand. One of the best things I learned to do is to have at least one prep day a month. This is especially helpful when you know you have really busy times coming up.

I cook maybe 15 to 20 pounds of meat, roast veggies, cook beans, and then make sure I have on hand anything else I may need to make our family favs. It is a serious time saver, and then I am set for almost a month. This prep time I bought a ton of meat on sale.

I got 10 pounds each of chicken and 90% lean ground beef, and a very large pork loin roast. I slow cooked half of the pork and chicken in the oven (season meat, double wrapped in foil and cooked at 225 for 6 to 8 hours until VERY tender. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, shred it, and bag it after it is cooled). I froze the other half of the chicken and pork for grilling. I made my red pepper salsa, put it in baggies and froze it. I cooked 5 pounds of ground beef, bagged it for tacos or pizza joes, or other beef favs, and then made burgers out of the rest of it (I got about 30 burgers, froze in 3 different bags.) I also cooked 2 pounds of black beans. Above is the picture of what I did in two days (imagine 3 more freezer bags of meat there). We are closing on a house in a week and I am having a baby in 3 weeks, so I wanted to have the freezer stocked with whatever I may need to make a quick meal. This is the "Cook once, serve 20 times" method.

I also often utilize my crock pot for this day as well. It is a lot to do in 2 days, but slow cooking the chicken and pork is SUPER easy, and everything else just takes a little time, but then you have everything you need cooked for meals already. I always keep lots of canned tomatoes, taco shells, tortillas, pasta, cheese, onions, eggs - the essentials on hand so that I can just throw things together. This month I even bought rolls and froze them so I don't have to go to the store when I have burgers. It will save me a ton of time, and money - I won't be making the frequent drive thru that I did last time we moved.

"See, Mom..." Part 2 of "The Bat"

To see part one of "See, Mom..." click here.

The saga continues. Yes, my son was right about the bat, again. His coach even said that he should use it (in spite of the fact that it clearly says it is a SOFTBALL bat, not BASEBALL).

After striking out the first at bat, Joe came to the plate again with determination in his swing. The pitches flowed and after a couple, CRACK, he hit a double to right field. He was so excited, it was the first time he had gotten on base in a long time. When he come in from running the bases, out it came again..."SEE, MOM, I TOLD YOU that I could hit with that bat."

Okay, I am still trying to figure out how he is hitting with this bat that is definitely too short for him and the barrel of it is smaller than a baseball bat. It would make a great physics problem, maybe I should have paid attention more in Mrs. Manic's class. I have no idea how to figure it out.

Oh well, I guess it is okay for him to be right. I am just glad he is hitting the ball. I am sure there will be many, many, many more times when I hear that horrible phrase that is like finger nails on a chalk board, "See, Mom..." I am glad I NEVER said that to my mom, yeah right. She is such a good sport.

Asparagus and Bacon Pasta

Again, super easy pasta recipe that is REALLY good. I can make the sauce in the time it takes to boil the water for and cook the pasta. You can use whole wheat pasta and give this dish more fiber.

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon, cooked (I usually cut mine in small chunks with a pizza cutter, then cook them in the pan. Drain and leave a little grease in the pan)
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 14 or 15 oz cans of Italian flavored tomatoes, un-drained and pureed in blender
1 cup of evaporated milk
1 bag of frozen cut up asparagus
1 pound of your favorite pasta, cooked
Mozz or Parm cheese to top
Fresh chopped tomatoes (optional)

Cook bacon, drain. Leave a little grease in pan. Add EVOO and heat. Add garlic, stir for about a minute. Add pureed tomatoes tomatoes. Mix in well. Add evaporated milk. Let mixture heat through. Cook asparagus according to package directions. Add to sauce. Add pasta to sauce and toss to coat. Top with fresh tomatoes and cheese.

"See, Mom..."

I loved saying this to my mom when I was younger, and it still gives me some pleasure today. "See, Mom..." and then telling her some how that what she had said was wrong, or a theory disproved. Well, I have had a few of those moments where my children really are right, in humility I admit. However, I was not expecting this to be one of them.

My 9 year old is playing baseball this year. He has not had a lot of luck hitting and decided that this purple softball bat with pink writing on it that he found in our garage was now his lucky bat. I bought this bat 3 years ago for my daughter to use during t-ball, it is definitely TOO SHORT for him. He insisted on taking it to the game. (Now, I have to admit, in all humility, that I do know my stuff when it comes to softball/baseball. I played, was pretty good, on 2 State Championship All-Star teams. So, I know what I am talking about here.)

I thought, "Surely, his coach will see this bat and realize it is NOT a baseball bat and IS WAY TOO SHORT." It is Joe's turn to bat and I see him swinging this bat around. I quickly waddle up to the backstop and tell him, in front of his friends and coaches, "Joe, that bat is way too short and it is a softball bat, you need to pick another bat." He refuses and his coach says, "He was hitting with it during practice, just let him try it." So, whose team is HE on anyway? Doesn't he know I am the BOSS???

Joe is in the batter's box and I am praying he hits the ball, just because it has been so long since he connected. And...he hits a grounder, right up the first base line. Unfortunately he was out. But as he trotted back to the bench, just glad to have hit the ball it came out. "See, Mom, I told you that was my lucky bat." I congratulated him and then waddled back to my seat trying not to look too embarrassed. Seriously, that bat is so short I do not know HOW ON EARTH he hit that ball. His next at bat, he used a different bat and struck out. I didn't make a scene that he had to use a different bat this time, because of my embarrassment last time. He has vowed to use the purple bat with the pink writing every time now.

Okay, so that was the one time this month that he is allowed to be right, I am sure there will be many, many, many more times.

Pizza Joes

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We have been so busy lately, it has been hard to find time to blog. But I have a few moments and wanted to post this recipe. We have had baseball or softball 4 nights a week, so I have been making very easy meals and will post them when I get a chance. This one was super easy, and EVERYONE ate it. I call it "Pizza Joes" instead of the traditional "Sloppy Joes". This is a great recipe to get "Deceptively Delicious" with and add pureed beans and veggies.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds of lean ground beef, chuck, or sirloin
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Enough buns to make the number of sandwiches you need
Extra toppings if you so desire (pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives)

Cook meat, drain, and rinse (this washes away extra fat). Add pasta sauce, mix well. Spoon onto rolls (I like to toast the rolls int he oven for a few minutes), add cheese ASAP so that it melts like on a pizza. Add extra toppings if you like.