My Kitchen and the Cobwebs

Wow - I've been a slacker here lately. Both blog-wise and kitchen-wise. It was one of those crazy busy weekends. You know the ones - as they are happening I look forward with much anticipation to the fact that my Minis are going to sleep like STONES (or stoners or like they are stoned) at the end of it. What I forget is that keeping THEM busy keeps MAMMA busy. And I have NOT the stamina and energy that they have. Why is that? Shouldn't the Mamma be given an infusion of energy when she procreates to keep up with the procreatee? (Is that a word? Pro-create-ee... hmmm, doesn't work with an extra "e" either). Google it.

At any rate, littlest Mini has a new phrase that might give you some insight into my kitchen as of late...
"Moobie?"  "Peet-za??" (for those who don't speak baby Japanese - that's pizza and a movie.)

That's about the size of it. And tonight I think we're looking at my version of hamburger (the venison version) helper-ish. Tomorrow back to life as we know it. Except, let's face it, movies, pizza, and deerburger helper IS life as WE know it.

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Is There Any Mommy Out There?: Fall from grace

Ok, so this is definitely sacrilegious. But HILARIOUS. It's okay to laugh. Really. (As I pick myself up off the floor from laughing.)

Is There Any Mommy Out There?: Fall from grace

My Baby is TWO Today!

How did this even happen? I can remember with amazing clarity waking up at 2:30 in the morning wondering if these were contractions, or just indigestion. I remember heaving myself out of bed and coming downstairs to try and figure it out. I remember deciding it was "the real thing" and realizing I had to do some laundry, and dishes, and cleaning, and mopping, etc. I remember waking my husband up at 4:30 to let him know and telling him we had plenty of time (Mini #1 took her sweet time with 30+ hours of hard labor) and to go back to sleep. (Thank goodness he wasn't able to fall back to sleep.) I remember taking a shower to relax (a little too relaxing maybe) and calling my parents back again to tell them maybe there WAS a rush after all for them to come get Mini #1. Of course, how could I forget frantically packing the suitcase, which Pappa D promptly left at home, and the 90+mph trip to the hospital. I remember skipping the registration process and realizing the dreaded truth - too late for an epidural. No matter since Mini #2 arrived within minutes of making it into the delivery room, but still...

A couple of days later, we joyfully brought home our new family addition - a few hours after that we headed tearfully back to check her in for jaundice treatment. After that release we were home for good, thank God. I can hardly believe it has been two full years. Time surely does fly.





So today in my kitchen are all things toddler and celebratory. Breakfast was out with Grandma and Grandpa. Lunch was cotton candy at Summer Extravaganza Bonanza - gotta love Family Video for a timely celebration. (I know, BAD Mamma! but when was the last time you had FRESH cotton candy?)

Image via Wikipedia

Dinner will be Pappa D grilling out skinless cheddar wieners from a local meat market. I'm also going to do some baked beans, so I'll let you know how those turn out. Yum! Grandma to the rescue with store bought mini bug birthday cakes (so cute! I'll take pics when they get here!!)

Overall, it's for the most part a day when Bizy Mamma gets the day OFF from her kitchen. If you ask me, that's fitting, since I had to do the hard work on this day two years ago.

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A J.A.M. and a Barbie Q

Last night was my final July J.A.M. and it was a hoot! Thanks so much to my girls Jen, Rae, and Linda for coming (and Jaz for recruiting Jen to double up on her meal-making so Jaz could get some, too, despite not being able to join us). We did GREAT conquering the kitchen and loaded their freezers up with Beef Stroganoff, Orange BBQ Chicken, Chicken Tacos, Cheesy Roasted Chicken, Cilantro Citrus Pineapple Chicken, and Hawaiian Pork. YUM. I'm already hungry as I'm writing this - I may have to take a break and eat something before I finish!

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So we had a blast and we actually got something accomplished besides. It was great to listen to the kids raise the roof upstairs, too. All this and everyone was done in time for dinner.

I had some ground venison thawed, so I decided (at Pappa D's request) to make some sloppy joes. He asked me to pick up a mix (since he planned to do it himself) but I declined since I have a FABULOUS recipe that I'm going to share with you instead. This recipe is a sweet version of sloppy joes that we usually call Barbie Q (can you tell I have all girls?)

• 1 lb of ground beef (or venison, pork, chicken, turkey, etc)
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped (I don't always have onion on hand, but I DO always add a scoop (Tbsp) of Grandma's Sunday Roast Seasoning and then the onion is actually superfluous)
• 8 oz ketchup
• 1 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 c water
• 1/2 tsp salt (which is not really necessary when you add the Sunday Roast Seasoning - maybe a dash at most)
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp paprika

Once you have your meat browned (and onion along with it if you got that route), add everything else and just let it simmer on low for a bit to get the flavors all nice and infused. You can serve it on bread, buns, or just eat it with a spoon.

Enjoy! And feel free to share your version! Off to eat my leftover Barbie Q...

Let's Fill Our Freezers!

I LOVE J.A.M. weekend! What? You don't know what a J.A.M. is? Well, I'll be happy to tell you.

I've mentioned in other posts that I like to use the zippered freezer bag method to get meals in my freezer for ease of preparation on days that I have too much to do (in other words, every day!) So here's how we do things at my house (and how I share that with others).

First of all, I definitely stock up when things are on sale - that seems fairly simple, right? Well, as long as you pay attention I guess. I find that meat is sometimes hard to find at a good price - and I guess when I say meat I'm talking about "protein" in general....so chicken, pork, beef, etc. We have a freezer full of venison, so that helps (except if you take into consideration the ACTUAL price per pound of that deer having to factor in all the hunting expenses... yikes... yet again, I digress!) But we can't, or rather, I don't want to, serve venison every single night. So I do have to keep my eyes open for other deals on chicken and pork especially. Another way to do it is try to buy in bulk from discount clubs, etc. Or maybe you are lucky enough to get in on purchasing a whole cow or something like that. Whatever the case, get your meat at the best deal possible.

Then, for me it's a matter of implementing the 4 Meals in 4 Minutes system that I found when I started using Homemade Gourmet products. I used the products for quite a few years first, and then just over a year ago became a consultant. That story is likely a post for another day. Today I want to focus on the freezer meal part of this.

So here's the deal-i-o. You need freezer storage bags, meat, seasoning, and other canned goods, etc. to get started. For me, it's sort of like getting your pantry and your freezer to work nicely together, rather than get on your nerves by arguing all day like a 2 year old and 5 year old. Oh wait... I think I'm getting sidetracked - maybe because I'm getting climbed all over.

FOCUS....
Start with your zippered freezer bag - make sure it's one that won't leak! I always test mine before my J.A.M.ers come over with my own meal. Can you imagine if I sent everyone home with a slew of leaky meat juice and condensed soup bags? Yuck. No more J.A.M. attendees either I bet! My personal favorite is definitely Ziploc brand freezer bags.

The great part is, it's SO EASY to get a bunch of meals quickly, efficiently, and (most important) cheaply into your freezer.

1. Label your bag with the name of your meal, date, and cooking options. A Sharpie black permanent marker works great for the labeling. When my J.A.M. attendees come over, I have pre-printed on 2x4 inch the meal options for them to just slap onto their bag. But when I do my own personal meals at home, I use a Sharpie.
2. Into your bag goes whatever the recipe calls for - for example, if you're doing Hawaiian Chicken (or pork if you prefer)...3-4 Tbsp of BLT Dip Seasoning, a 15 oz can of pineapple tidbits (or chunks, since I can only see BARELY a difference between the two), a Tbsp of low-sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of honey, and 3 pounds of your choice of boneless, skinless chicken breast or pork chops
3. (The Minis' favorite part) SMOOSH it all together.
4. Throw (or gently set, your choice) it in the freezer. VOILA!

When you're ready to use your meal, you can thaw and bake, thaw and grill, or thaw just enough to slide it out of the bag (or if you're me, you simply cut the meal out of the bag) and put it into your crock pot. LOVE that. LOVE to stick one of my meals in the crock pot in the morning, head off to work, and come home to dinner. Done. Ready. Smellin' nummy.

Back to where we started, what is J.A.M.? Just. Add. Meat. Come on over, pick your meals, put them together in your Ziploc Gallon-size freezer bag. Then go home, and just add meat. Get it?

That's kinda the gist of it. Get to work!

I'd love to hear what YOU do to make life easier in the kitchen. And as always, if you have questions because (gasp) I didn't explain this in a way that makes sense to you, please feel free to ask away!