Feed Your Children Well

Grilled Chicken w/Roasted Tomatoes & Onion

It was a win/win kind of evening. On our weekend visit, Daddy-O and I sat in the floor and played a board game with the granddaughters while Mommy cooked supper. I didn't lift a finger in the kitchen and Mommy got to cook without interruptions for once. A treat for all of us.

This family tries really hard to eat whole, healthy foods. They do their best to skip over things like box mac and cheese and frozen tater tots. Instead of those refrigerated "meals" labeled in yellow and aimed at kids, they get mom-made lunches, still in a box with compartments, but filled with fresh fruit, finger-sized vegetables and whole grain breads or crackers and maybe homemade chicken strips. Meals with prizes that come in bags are just an occasional treat. At home they aim for real foods. The kind that requires peeling and chopping. And they read labels carefully to choose "packaged" foods, like breads, yogurts and cereals, with the shortest list of ingredients.

When she started out in the kitchen as a new bride, about all Mommy could make quesadillas. But over the years she's developed solid cooking skills. She still needs easy recipes now—not because she lacks the skills, but she often lacks time. Like all mommies, there are a zillion things that need to be done and a half-zillion places to go every day. Thankfully she has found many delicious, easy to prepare recipes. Recipes that her family likes. It doesn't matter how "healthy" it is if they won't eat it.

Little kitchen helper.

Even with the best intentions, these little folks live in the real world, so they will encounter those "other" foods at school and birthday parties and field trips and such. They just know that those foods aren't everyday foods for them. And there are even days at home when just getting any food on the table is a miracle.

A realistic goal is the 80/20 rule. It's one I've seen others use. Aim for 80% good whole food. The other 20% you don't worry about so much. Notice I said "AIM." We all do the best we can. And like my own mother would say, "You can't do better than your best." If a box of mac and cheese is the best you can do, then go with it. I used to serve that with a hot dog cut up in it. We all have those kind of days.

Mommy called us to the table just as our board game was over. (Baby Girl won!) Supper smelled good cook as it was cooking, so we were ready to eat. This recipe is one of Mommy's best. Easy to prepare. Beautiful when it comes to the table. And totally delicious.

GRILLED CHICKEN w/ROASTED TOMATOES & ONIONS

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced (red or white onion works equally well)
4 large garlic cloves
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
salt & pepper, to taste
olive oil for coating pan
4 or 5 thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken cutlets 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, herbs de Provence and salt & pepper in a medium bowl. Stir to coat veggies. Spread onto a lightly oiled sheet pan. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until tomatoes have softened and onion is a little brown.

Meanwhile, season both sides of chicken with salt & pepper. Cook in oiled grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat until done. 

To serve, spoon vegetables over cooked chicken. Garnish with fresh basil.

Just a note about how this approach to foods can influence a child. When Little Sister (she's now in first grade) was here this summer for Mimi Camp, we were out taking flowers to friends and I asked if she would like to have lunch out. She said to me, "I'd really like a salad. Is there a place we could get salads? I'd like one with olives and chick peas." So we stopped by the large grocery store with a good salad bar and make salads to take home. Not what I had in mind, but it was a perfect choice. Mommy, you are doing a good job!

Happy Halloween!

Boneyard Shawl

Pattern:  Boneyard Shawl, by Stephen West

Yarn:  Rowan Felted Tweed, colorway Rage
Needles:  size 8

Halloween will be here soon, so it's appropriate that the shawl I finished last week is called "Boneyard Shawl." (It's free if you're on Ravelry. If you are a knitter and you're not on Ravelry, you should be.)  It is elegant in it's simplicity. As a knitter, it is fun to see how far your skills will take you and there is a tendency to choose gorgeous, intricate lace shawl patterns. But this most basic shawl—or we could just call it "plain"—is one I'll wear often. Not a bit fussy, it can be thrown on when it's a jeans kind of day. It will also work with a dress when I'm going to church. I'm always cool at church.

There is also virtue in having a simple knit on the needles. Those lovely lace patterns require focus and attention. Sometimes life doesn't allow that kind of knitting. This was always waiting for me to pick it up and work a few rows when I wanted busy hands, but not a busy mind.

I learned a new bind off for this one. When I first learned to knit a hundred years ago, there was just one bind off. So I thought. I did an edge that reminded me of taking potholders off that little red metal loom. (Take off two loops. Pull the second one you removed up through the first loop. Take off the next loop and pull up through the first loop. Repeat to end.) 

Since then, I've discovered there are many ways to bind off your knitting. Stable bind-offs. Stretchy bind-offs. Fancy picot bind-offs. And there are variations within those categories. This is about the easiest bind-off I've tried when I want a stretchy edge. Here I am—knitting in one hand, camera in the other—working the bind-off. I searched Google for "stretchy bind off" and found this tutorial. (Her explanation is better than mine, but I wanted to try my hand at step-by-step photos.)

Knit 2 stitches together thought the back loop. 

I didn't think about making photos when I started. This photo is several inches into the bind off, but this is exactly how you start from the beginning. Just knit 2 stitches together though the back loops.

Slide this stitch back onto left needle.

This was my first time using this stretchy bind off. I've done a similar one for years, but for some reason it didn't look right this time. I did a couple of inches of that one and took it out and tried this one. Success!

Then you're ready to 'knit 2 together through back loop."

I wanted a stretchy bind off for this shawl. Before I blocked it, the top edge measured 65 inches. After a good soak and a stretch and pinning it out to dry, it measured 74 inches. A better fit for me.

Knit 2 stitches together through the back loop. Slide that stitch back on left needle.

Continue doing this until you reach the last stitch. Then pull the yarn tail though that last stitch. For the record, I knit English style, working yarn in my right hand. But here, I was holding the camera.

Bound off stitches.

Here is what the bound off stitches look like. Sleek. Stretchy. It was exactly what I needed to complete this project.  It's good to have choices of techniques. Choosing the right one can give your knitting a more polished look. And after all the time I've spent making something, I don't want to mess it up at the end,

Finished edge.

Now that I'm finished with this project, I get to decide what to make next. Socks? Hat? Sweater? Blanket? So many good options. Stay tuned to see what I choose.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ~Seneca

Knitter's note: l took this to the city last weekend and wore it every day. That's a lot of bang for my buck! (of knitting time)

Home From The City

No Bean Turkey Chili

It was a Cinderella kind of weekend. Not the part where the mean women tormented Cinderella, but the good fairy godmother part of the story. I spent the weekend in the city with Jessica. The main purpose for the trip was to shop for a dress for me to wear to her wedding. I am SO not a shopper. The thoughts of serious shopping—important shopping—did not thrill me. It was more like it filled me with dread with a touch of terror. But it turned out to be so much fun. A truly memorable morning.

I tried on dress after dress. Dresses that sparkled and glittered. Dresses that glimmered and shimmered. Dresses that were slim. Dresses that were poofy. For this blue-jean wearing grandmother, it was like finding another me that I didn't know was there. One that enjoyed dressing up. Or, maybe playing dress up. I understand a little better now why the small granddaughters love their princess dresses.

The whole weekend had a bit of magic about it. On Friday we visited one of the quaint nearby neighborhoods for a little browsing before dinner. As we strolled down the busy sidewalk, a middle school girl shouted out to me, "I love your shoes!" A clerk in a shop told me the same thing a little later. I've never been overly concerned about being fashionable. But it was fun to think that maybe for once I hit the mark.

After the shopping and lunch at the OK Cafe on Saturday, we spent the afternoon at home. Jessica worked while I knitted and watched a Craftsy class. (More about that class later.) Then she whipped up a quick supper for us to enjoy while we watched a movie. She has been doing a month of Whole 30 recipes and this was a recipe she has made before and liked.

I imagine that if I had read this recipe before making it, I would have kept looking. But this chili without beans was delicious. One that I'd make here at home. It's nice to have some healthy recipes on hand. I know. I know. All of our recipes should be healthy. But that's not always the case. We try to balance the indulgent foods with healthy foods, aiming to tip the scale toward the healthy side. Way toward that side of the scale.

The hardest part of making this chili would be peeling and dicing the sweet potato. Jessica had a container of potatoes already peeled and diced. She's used the sweet potatoes in many of her dishes lately, so stirring up this chili was a breeze. Jessica also tossed in some diced green peppers and tomatoes because there some on hand that needed to be used.

If your meals need to be gluten free, this one is. I do have friends that are very careful about avoiding gluten. Thankfully, my only requirement is that it be delicious. It is that, too.

NO-BEAN TURKEY SWEET POTATO CHILI (with Jessica's notes)

• 1 lb. ground turkey (I used 93% lean)
• kosher salt, to taste
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 10 oz. can Rotel mild tomatoes with green chilies (I used the Whole Foods organic kind)
• 8 oz can tomato sauce (I looked for the one with the lowest amount of sugar)
• ¾ cup water
• ½ tsp cumin, or to taste
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
• diced avocado, for garnish
• optional toppings: shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream, scallions

In a large skillet, brown turkey over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks into smaller pieces and season with salt and cumin. When meat is browned and cooked through, add onion and garlic; cook 3 minutes over medium heat.

Add the can of Rotel tomatoes, sweet potato, tomato sauce, water, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and bay leaf. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until potatoes are soft and cooked through, about 25 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Add ¼ cup more water if needed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

You can served this with extra toppings, like shredded cheese, scallions, and sour cream. I added a spoonful of sour cream to my bowl and loved the extra richness. Now that cooler weather is here—well, the weatherman has PROMISED it will be cool tomorrow—I'm happy to have a new chili recipe to enjoy. Thanks, Jessica! Thanks for the recipe. Thanks for your hospitality. Thanks for a fun mother-daughter weekend.

If you have a few minutes, take a look at Jessica's blog, which right now contains many of the recipes she's been using lately. She's an excellent cook and as an artist, her food photos are always better than mine, too.

PS....Yes. I did find a dress!

How Can This Easy Be This Good?

It has been a while since I tried a new recipe. (Did you think I had stopped cooking? Daddy-O was beginning to wonder.) I bought a Boston butt roast—also known as pork shoulder blade roast—a couple of days ago thinking this would be an easy dinner. But for reasons I can't explain, I didn't want to do the usual method that involves bottled barbecue sauce. It's really good that way. I mean like "really good." I still wanted to use the slow cooker, but this time I didn't want it sweet and coated with sauce. There's a lot of Whole 30 talk going on in our family at the moment. I guess I'm more sugar conscious right now.

Nearly every recipe I saw online was a variation of the pulled pork BBQ that I usually make, with onions on the bottom and a bottle of sauce poured over the cooked meat after it's shredded. I've done that a zillion times. Surely there was another way. So I kept looking. Persistence pays off. I came across an even easier recipe.

Two ingredients, in addition to the pork roast. No measuring. No extra liquid. That's it. Not one other thing needed. 

For the record, I also put a chuck roast in the larger crockpot yesterday. It's the 3-Packet Pot Roast that we all like. I'm headed to the big city this weekend to do wedding things with Jessica. So I'm making sure that Daddy-O won't starve while I'm gone.

Last night when I came in from handbell practice about 7:00 PM, I was in a hurry to get supper on the table and I totally forgot to make a photo of the cooked pork. Trust me. It was beautiful. It was falling apart tender. It was moist inside. And it was just as tasty as can be. Most of it was bagged, along with a little cooking liquid, to go into the freezer. (We tasted the pork, but ate the beef roast for supper.) 

I poured the cooking liquid into a measuring cup designed to separate the fat from the broth—the fat rises to the top and the spout pours from the bottom. Remember, liquid added to the bag helps keep the meat moist when frozen,

Delicious. Simple. Oh, happy day! What else could I ask for? 

SLOW COOKED PORK ROAST

Boston butt pork roast 

Worcestershire sauce

McCormick Grill Mates Barbecue dry rub (or dry rub of your choice)

Pat the roast dry. Pour a little Worcestershire sauce all over the roast. Pat the dry rub into the meat, coating all sides. Place in slow cooker. (No liquid needed.) Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours, until roast is fork tender.

That's it. I used a small bone-in roast, about 2-1/2 lbs.  That fit nicely into my 3-1/2 qt. slow cooker. The grocery store also had a nice selection of larger roasts that were about 5 lbs. Those would go in a 5 or 6 qt. cooker. 

Late this afternoon I'll get together in town with my knitter friends for a couple of hours to find out what's happened since last week. To hear about what books they've read. To see if anyone has finished a knitting project. To spend time with ladies who have become dear friends. And I'll be one happy knitter when I walk in the door just before supper time because there is beef roast and pork roast, both ready to be heated. No big cooking required tonight. We love leftovers around here. How 'bout you?


PS...These directions are for a Boston butt, which is not as lean as a pork loin or tenderloin. If you use a lean cut of pork like the tenderloin, you might need a little liquid and a shorter cooking time.

Let's Celebrate!

This past weekend was just lovely. Jessica and her soon-to-be mother-in-law came to the farm on Friday so that on Saturday we could all attend a luncheon given to honor Jessica.

I have such good friends. Friends who know how to entertain in style. Most of the ladies attending had known Jessica since she was a child. It was fun for them to spend time with the "grownup Jessica." It was just the happiest afternoon.

As the guests arrived, they were welcomed with a cranberry spritzer and the most delicious cheese wafers with cranberries and pecans. (I'll track down the recipe and share later.) 

There were beautifully set tables were in several rooms of this most welcoming home. It was so special. I totally understand why people often entertain in restaurants now. All celebrations are worthy. But it was nice to be invited into someone's home.

Except for these few photos that were quickly and discreetly made, cameras and phones were put away. And people visited. And lingered. Conversation. Laughter. Hugs. Smiles. It was the kind of afternoon that you tuck away in your memory to be enjoyed again and again.

Yes, people. Southern hospitality is real. It was good for the new mother-in-law to see where Jessica grew up and to meet the people who knew her then. She's Southern, too. In the South, we want to know "where you're from."

So. What did we eat? That would be what I'd want to know if I were a blog reader. First course was a green salad with sugared pecans and cranberries with a ginger dressing. Next came a shrimp-wild rice dish, spiced pears, broccoli and homemade rolls. Yes, homemade. And the dessert? Oh. My. Goodness. It was the best chocolate pie ever. The ladies who put this all together are famous in our town for their cooking and their hospitality. I am so happy they are my friends. 

Dinner In An Instant—Instant Pot, That Is

I have been "missing in action" in the kitchen lately. We have tried the couple of new restaurants in town. We've eaten sandwiches because it was easy. Two nights ago it was pizza from town. By yesterday I felt a little guilty. I didn't want to drive to the grocery store, so I wanted a supper that I could make from what was here. I had a pack of chicken breasts thawing (without a plan for cooking) in the refrigerator. It was 4:00 PM when the wave of guilt hit me, so I searched the web for Instant Pot chicken recipes. I usually keep frozen broccoli on hand, which isn't as good as fresh, but it's better than no vegetable. Brown rice—the cook-in-the-bag-kind—is another good pantry staple. That was enough to make a dinner.

Before I was ready to cook, I put the chicken under cool running water for a few minutes. After that, it was about half thawed. I have read that one advantage of using an Instant Pot is that you can use frozen chicken. So I didn't bother to thaw it any more. Yep. It worked fine.

If I understand it correctly, you do not have to add more cooking time to a recipe when cooking from frozen. It will just take longer for the pot to come up to pressure. That's where the extra cooking takes place. BUT should you decide your chicken or meat needs to be cooked longer after it's "done," then put the lid back on and cook it more This whole Instant Pot thing is not an exact science. Use your common sense cooking skills. I think if you had large pieces of frozen chicken or your three pieces were frozen together in a lump, then you might need extra minutes added to the pressure time. It's a judgement call and that gets better with practice. I'm still learning.

Just so you know...it took longer to write this blog post than it did to get supper on the table. The meal was really quick. Here is the recipe for chicken teriyaki that I found on my search. I made some minor adjustments. Here's what I did:

GINGER TERIYAKI CHICKEN

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise (package was 1.36 lbs)  
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup rice vinegar (mine was seasoned rice vinegar)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used the kind from a jar)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

In a cup, whisk together honey, vinegar, ginger, garlic, black pepper and olive oil. Add chicken to Instant Pot. Put onion on top of chicken. Pour the honey/vinegar mix over chicken.

Place lid on pot and seal valve. Set to Manual for 5 minutes. Use a Quick Release. (Chicken should have reached temp of 165º.) Using two forks, shred chicken in the pot. Mix cornstarch and water and pour into chicken mixture. Cook on Sauté setting until sauce has thickened a little.


Delicious! I served it over brown rice with broccoli on the side. I only had one issue. It wasn't with the recipe. It was with my chicken. It was a tough old bird! It was truly done after 5 minutes of cooking, but it was not easy to shred. I put the lid back on and set it to cook 1 minute under pressure. And it still wasn't as tender as usual. I really think it was the chicken. Nothing to do with how I cooked it.

This was the easiest and the fastest of the Instant Pot recipes I've made. I mixed the sauce ingredients up before I was ready to cook. That took less than 5 minutes. And then when it was close to dinner time, I chopped the onion and split the chicken. Put it all in the pot and set it for 5 minutes. Actual time, from coming to pressure and doing a quick release, was less than 20 minutes, I think. I forgot to time it. During that hands-off cooking time, I made the rice and the broccoli and stuck all the dirty utensils in the dishwasher.

I'm still not going to say the Instant Pot has "changed my life." (Yes, I read that all the time from other IP users.) And I don't feel the need to cook in it every day. Nor do I want to cook every kind of food in it. But this recipe that makes me happy I have an Instant Pot.

Is It Enough Or Too Much?

Pattern:  Rune, by Helen Stewart (Curious Handmade)
Yarn: Lollipop Yarn Sweetpea Sock MCN, in Dirty Pewter & Wild Hare
Needle: size 6

I'll never catch up. Just as I was coming to the end of this knitting project, Helen Stewart released another shawl design I'd love to make. There are so many—too many—wonderful designs that I want to make. I need to figure out a way to sort them out and decide what I can realistically make. Life does require other activities besides knitting. But somehow in my mind, if I own the yarn and print out the pattern, I think the shawl or scarf will magically appear in my wardrobe. Nope. Doesn't work that way.

And yarn! There is so much gorgeous yarn. I know I've bought too much. (Much of the excess was bought several years ago when I first discovered the "good yarn." Newbie excitement.) There was a plan in my mind (most of the time) for how to use it when I made a purchase. But then, as it waits its turn in line, I forget why I bought the yarn. I forget what I wanted to knit. I forget why I liked the pattern I chose. So the yarn accumulates.

I'm making an effort to do better. This shawl is made with yarn I bought at the Carolina Fiber Frolic last November. And here I've used the yarn before that retreat happens again in several weeks. Good for me! That's how it should work. Use up the yarn before you go back to the place you bought it. I don't always follow my own advice. But I'm trying.

Detail on center of the Rune Shawl

"Knit down the stash." "Stash diving." These are the phrases that knitters use to talk about this issue. Some knitters even talk about SABLE. That's "Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy." Assuming I live to be as old as my grandmother, and assuming I keep knitting at my current rate, I don't have that much yarn. That's a lot of assuming.

So as I wrestle with curbing my yarn/pattern wishes, these boxes arrived in my mail yesterday. Before you judge me, let me say I won this yarn in a give away! It's a gift from KnitCrate, a monthly yarn subscription. I won a box for me and a box for Jessica. The yarn just comes to me now. Maybe I'm fighting a lost cause in working down my stash. Maybe I'm supposed to have extra yarn around the house. I can think of worse problems. 😊

Keeping It Easy

Lemon Grilled Chicken

This week has been a "recovery" week for me. Recovery from a very busy September. Recovery from driving by myself on two long trips last week. Recovery from sinus problems. Recovery from watching too much news, It's times like these that I don't particularly want to cook. But our eating out options are limited.

We do have one very good barbecue restaurant in the closest town. We popped in there for lunch last Saturday after I got home from my trip. In addition to eating there, I brought home some of their smoky chicken salad and their Brunswick stew for us to enjoy later. That's one way for us to "eat out" without driving back into town.

But I've searched through the recipes here (check out the Recipe Index at the top of this post) for easy recipes I may have forgotten about. This lemon marinated chicken is super quick and always a hit.

The chicken does not need to be marinated all day. The original recipe said not to leave it in the lemon marinade for longer than an hour or the chicken will get mushy, but this time things happened and it was an hour and a half before it hit the grill. It was fine. Now that gives me even more flexibility. I put the extra grilled cutlets in the freezer* for later. They are great sliced on a salad. Or, chopped up and added to soup. The lemon flavor is not overwhelming. It just makes flavorful chicken.

LEMON GRILLED CHICKEN

1 cup lemon juice (I used bottled juice for ease)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 boneless skinless chicken cutlets 

Whisk marinade ingredients together. Put chicken in a gallon ziplock bag. Pour marinade over chicken and let it marinate for 1 to 1-1/2 hour  in the refrigerator. (Not longer.) Remove chicken from marinade. Grill until chicken is done. Outdoor grill or grill pan—they both work.


The last time I posted this recipe, I wrote about using chicken breasts—which is fine—and pounding them to make them thinner. Using the cutlets just eliminates that step. That's my choice when I can find them. Right now I'm all about making things easier.


*Meats frozen "dry," without a sauce or gravy or broth, will not keep as long as those protected by lots of liquid in the bag with the meat. Note to self: Use this sooner rather than later.

What Do We Say? What Do We Do?

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

We used to turn on the television news first thing when we got up. But lately we have not done that every day. Because I had not watched in several days, I decided I should see what was going on this morning. I flipped on the TV while I was making coffee. You can imagine my horror and sorrow at what I saw before 7:00 AM. Breaking news coverage of the shooting in Las Vegas.

It was hard to stop watching the tragedy unfold. Then I realized I needed to turn it off and go find something else to do. Do laundry. Clean. Pull weeds. Do something. Do anything. But not stay glued to the news.

This afternoon I read these words from a pastor friend. She offers a positive, helpful way to deal with a horrific situation. I thank her for these words that are both positive and practical:

Some thoughts for today: 

• Watch only enough media to be informed.
• Pray for the living and the dead, first responders, medical teams, and caregivers.
• Reach out in a way that brings peace to someone you come in contact with today.
• Ask (and answer) the question, "How can I help build bridges of hope?"
• Find a moment of beauty and thank God for that gift.