Dinner Time

 

Why is it that no matter what I cook my children don’t want to eat it? I make dinner and we sit at the table as a family every night and every night my kids turn their noses up.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  I feel like they conspire in the other room.

Noodle” OK mom made mini pizza’s and I know you like them but lets cry real hard when she puts them on the table!”  Goon “Yeah great idea, and I’m gonna throw the carrots at you when we sit down!”

 

I know that if I just made them fish sticks every night they would be thrilled but I just can’t be that irresponsible. I have invested in cookbooks full of “creative recipes for kids” yeah they hate them!  I have tried hiding veggies inside food they like and somehow they know and all of a sudden HATE that food.  I searched Pinterest for fun ideas and came up with what I thought would be a slam dunk!  Only to Foul out in the end.  Hot Dogs stuffed with Pasta what a great idea!  A little spaghetti sauce on the side for dipping and some puzzle shaped carrots a perfect meal. I mean how can I go wrong the kids ate hot dogs all summer on the deck and loved them!  Famous last words.  I told the kids they were having Octopus for dinner.  I even let them help me make them thinking that would get them excited.  It worked they were excited they loved helping me prepare the food. I am not sure what happened between the boiling water and the dinner plates but as soon as the Octopus was on the table the kids tag teamed me and revolted! What was suppose to be a successful dinner with my family turned into another night of crying, whining, making deals and threatening. Oh yeah and also resulted in my dinner being ice cold and my husband being frustrated that he couldn’t eat dinner in peace.  Yep welcome to Dinner Time!  Honestly when does this get easier?  I am so tired of hearing “I hate dinner!” every night. One of the reasons I am a stay at home mom is to make sure we have dinner as a family every night. I just wish somehow at about 5PM every night my little boys would magically sit like angels and eat everything on their plates without a complaint. Then at 5:30PM they can turn back into wild animals!  Hear me universe????

Pumpkin Pie MM MM Good

So after 3 side dish alterations I have moved on to Dessert!  When you think about Thanksgiving the first dessert most people think of is the Pumpkin Pie. Now made the traditional way it is still usually the lowest calories option at our dinner.  A few months ago we took a cruise with my husbands brothers and one of my brother in laws Joey & Jerry mentioned that last year they altered a Pumpkin Pie and brought it to Jerry’s family dinner.  So naturally they were my first call as I started my Turkey Day experiments. The response I got back was um well there really isn’t a recipe we just made a few substitutions.  So I took their substitutions and worked up a recipe.  I hope you like it.

All the fixins!

You will need the following:
1 Can 100% Pure Pumpkin (29 oz)
3/4 Cup Agave Sweetener
1 Container Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (17.6 oz)
4 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
Nutmeg (to sprinkle on top)
2 Pie Crust (I cheated and bought one)

Ready for the oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and either make 2 pie crusts or open a package and pres them into 2 shells. (I know Mom and Sunny are cringing that I used a Pillsbury crust.) In mixing bowl beat 4 Eggs, add Agave Sweetener, Salt, Cinnamon, Ginger & Cloves. Mix together. Add Pumpkin & Yogurt mix together. Scrape the sides and bottom and mix thoroughly. Split filling into 2 pie crusts and sprinkle a little nutmeg on the top.  Put into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Pie Crust Shield

I have this really handy dandy pie crust cover upper from Pampered Chef.  It is the bomb!  It protects the crust from burning if you don’t have one then put a little foil around the edges of the pie or your crust will be black! Place on cooling rack for 2 hours before scarfing it down!

Ready to eat

I will tell you this pie was actually a little sweet for me.  My first try I used a cup of the Agave so I cut it down to 3/4 cup.  It also is not as firm as a traditional Pumpkin so my knife never came out 100% clean. I think it tastes great though and it got 2 thumbs up from my stepson and my husband so that is pretty good. It’s certainly a nice little twist on the traditional pie.  It certainly is loaded with protein!!  Thanks Jerry & Joey for the idea I think I will be using this recipe for Thanksgiving as well as the Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.  What could be next? I really need to brain storm.

Mashed Potatoes with a Twist!

Cauliflower Yum

Now I was never a huge potato fan, not that I don’t like them but they were never a huge priority. I actually don’t think I knew how to cook potatoes when I met my husband.  My husband and father in law on the other hand were raised on potatoes. Every meal has to have a potato unless you are eating pasta.  Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, fried potatoes, french fries, tater tots, roasted potatoes, and I am sure I am missing more.  Not only do they love their potatoes but they are very very particular about how they are made. I rarely “do the potatoes”, usually one of them will mash them and mix them or bake them so they are perfect.  I have tried to change the potatoes by suggesting we leave on the skins CRAZY!!!  How about a sweet potato NUTS!!! So knowing that I am trying to change up Thanksgiving Dinner by altering our staples with a few healthier options my guys are terrified that I will touch their prized Idahos. Well guess what I did!!!

Cauliflower, Potatoes, Salt Pepper, Butter

Now I would love to say I substituted mashed potatoes with Cauliflower mash but there is no way my husband would go for that.  I will tell you my father in law would not even try the Mashed Potato/Cauliflower.  So here is what I did in case you wanna try it.  I steamed Cauliflower in one pan and Potatoes in another when they were both tender  I just mixed them up and blended them like I would regular mashed potatoes.  The Cauliflower is much thinner, waterier so I did not need to add milk. They really turned out yummy and my husband ate a HUGE portion like he usually does pored gravy over it and said he would be happy to eat this instead of straight potatoes!!!  Hue win for me here.  I thought for sure he would say it was OK but that he would rather have the regular. So far I have 3 regular Holiday items tweak just enough to save us some calories.  Hmmm what to do tomorrow?

Finished product!!!

Whole Wheat Apple Stuffing mm mm Good

So here we ago again with another attempt at a healthier recipe for a Holiday staple.  If your family is anything like mine than you can’t have a turkey without stuffing. My usual stuffing consists of a think sourdough bread, lots of butter, turkey stock and some veggies. Today I am trying to make the same thing with a few substitutes.  Now my family wont eat mushrooms, nuts, cranberries or anything else “Crazy” that you might like so please feel free to throw any of those into this recipe. I also have a few vegetarians at my table this year so this is 100% vegetarian.  Of course you can chop up the giblets or throw some sausage in there if you like that is always yummy too.

You will need:

1 Loaf Whole Wheat Bread (I got some fresh baked from the bakery but anything will do)

2 Yellow Onions Chopped

3 Celery Stalks Chopped

1 Large Apple Chopped

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2/3 Cup Apple Juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fresh Tyme

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Sage

Chopped apple, onion & celery

Rosemary, Sage & Tyme

First chop everything up!!!  Dice your bread and chop your celery, onions & apple. Add 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a nonstick pan and add in your celery, onions and apple. Add your fresh herbs Tyme, Rosemary, Sage and Salt & Pepper.

Yummy!

Cook your veggies until softened then mix with your diced bread. Mix well and scrap into a baking dish that you have sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Then pour 2/3 cup apple juice over the top cover and bake for 30 to 40 minutes on 350 degrees. Uncover about 1/2 way through if you like the top a bit crispy which I do!  This stuffing has a light sweet flavor from the apples and the fresh herbs really tie it in with the turkey!! I am sure you could use a granny smith for a tart crunch!!!

Sweet Potato Casserole..Yum

So if you are anything like me you love Thanksgiving Dinner. I look forward to it every year.  I usually have 15 to 20 people for dinner and I spend at least 3 days preparing all the food which takes less than an hour to eat. In my day to day food preparation I do my best to prepare healthy and nutritious food for my family. But on Holidays I somehow become Paula Deen when it comes to butter. So this year I have decided to try my best to change up some recipes so that come Thanksgiving I will not be consuming a weeks worth of calories in an hour.  My first attempt at revamping Turkey Day is the Sweet Potato Casserole. I will admit this is one of my most favorite things on the table and though I do NOT EVER use marshmallows I usually use at least a stick of butter, a cup or more of brown sugar, a bag of pecans and some heavy cream.  Don’t get me wrong it is DIVINE!!!!!  But, today I am trying a little something different. So if you care to try it too here is the recipe.

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients:
2 Large Sweet Potatoes or Yams
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Chopped Pecans

Steamed Sweet Potatoes

Topping

First you want to peel and dice up your Sweet Potatoes and steam them until they are soft.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a separate bowl mix your Brown Sugar and Pecans this will be your topping.

Ready to Mix!

Baking Dish

Once your potatoes are soft mix in Egg, Honey, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice and Salt. Mix with a hand blender until smooth and creamy!! Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread your mixture evenly!  Now it’s time to add your toppings!!!  Sprinkle evenly across the top and put it in a 350 degree oven uncovered for 45 minutes.

All Done and super Yummy!

I have got to admit this is way way simpler than what I usually do.  I usually bake the sweet potatoes the day before then scrape them into a bowl. Mix in a bag of nuts, butter, brown sugar and cream then spread it into a baking dish and add more brown sugar and nuts on top and then bake in the oven. Although it is amazing it is a cardiac arrest in a dish.  Right now my house smells amazing the cinnamon and nutmeg wafting through makes it smell like the Holidays and although I was a little bit skeptical that I would be happy with a substitute I am happy to say that this tastes absolutely amazing!!!!!  I will absolutely be making this recipe come Thanksgiving!  Alright so I have one healthier option on the table hmm what can I come with tomorrow?

You can teach an old dog…..

UPDATE!!!!!

I am excited to tell you that my 4 year old Noodle has woken up every day for almost a week without crying. This is HUGE!!!! I guess my little talk about how the way we act affects everyone around us really worked! I can not even tell you how the atmosphere in my house has changed just from the lack of screaming in the morning. He has actually followed directions. he gets up out of bed and walks quietly to my room and says “Mom I am up!” Oh happy day!!!!! He has also eaten all of his dinner without complaint for 4 nights in a row! I honestly feel like this is a miracle. Maybe I just had to throw it out there how frustrated I was and somehow the universe heard me and zapped him. No matter how it happened I am thankful it did!!!

My 2 year old Goon on the other hand is still struggling with the terrible twos and he still wont eat anything for dinner but hey 1 kid out of 2 is a HUGE improvement! I have a feeling that the fact he east breakfast 3 times before 10am and then a good lunch and then a snack when he wakes up from his nap might have something to do with it. But for now I am going to try not to stress about it.

Honestly if Noodle eating and not crying wasn’t enough my biggest kid, my husband, is actually putting the butter away in the morning after toast! I know I know don’t fall over and don’t tell him I said that!!!

Gotta be happy for the little wins!!!!!

The Battle known as Dinner Time

6PM at my house is a dreaded hour. Actually from 4PM to 6PM I would like Calgon to Take me as far away as possible. At 4Pm my children turn into wild animals. They go from sweet loving little knuckle heads into insane crazy people. They wrestle and jump off the furniture. They run through the house as if they were on fire and they find anything that can remotely resembles a weapon and then attack each other with it. I find myself struggling to keep my cool daily. I sound like a broken record;

STOP THAT!
GET OFF OF THERE!
GO DOWNSTAIRS TO THE PLAYROOM!
THAT’S ENOUGH!
YOU’RE GOING TO TIME OUT!

and the last stray! WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER GET’S HOME!

Now usually at this time I am also prepping dinner and trying to get the house in order before my husband get’s home from work. So 2 crazy kids screaming and running wild do not help the atmosphere of CALM I am trying to create for his homecoming. Usually by the time he arrives I am so exasperated I am ready to throw my hands up and be done with them. Not a pretty picture! I am pretty sure that the look on my face when he walks in the door isn’t “welcome home honey I missed you” it’s more like YOU DEAL WITH THEM I AM DONE.

I usually get dinner on the able between 5:30 and 6Pm every night and I am starting to wonder why I bother. Our usual pattern is that the boys sit at the table take one look at their plates and tell me how much they HATE what I have cooked and that they will NOT be eating it. GREAT! We then spend a half our negotiating and threatening and then end up throwing 1/2 if not all of their dinner in the garbage. First I truly believe it’s important that we all eat together. I have friends that feed their kids first so they can have a nice dinner with their husbands and trust me that looks really good to me. But I am holding out that eventually they wont be little jerks and they will eat dinner and we can have great family time. I also know that if I just gave them fish sticks and chicken fingers every night I would not have such a fight on my hand. But again I think it’s important that they try all foods and I don’t want to set a precedent of making more than 1 meal a night. One meal is more than enough work for me!

I hate that every night we leave the dinner table with one or more kids crying and one or more parents annoyed. There has to be a better way! I know my brother never liked anything at dinner but he never yelled or threw his food! He just sat there for hours till it was gone. Yeah my mom was pissed but they never had an argument there were never any tantrums. Clearly I am doing something wrong. Maybe I just need my mother to come over every night for dinner and make them eat! Of course she will hate that I said that but the truth is when I was a kid I was scared of her. Not like she was gonna hit me or anything but a healthy fear. I knew I would be in trouble if I didn’t follow the rules and one of the rules was eat dinner. I guess the answer is that I need to be a lot tougher with my kids. Hmm, and here I thought I was already doing that. Crap!

Lights on the Lake

Here in Upstate New York we like to find new an exciting things to get us through the winter. One of those things is called Lights on the Lake. It is a 2 mile stretch of lake front that has been transformed into a Christmas Light wonderland. I don’t know how long it has been around I would say at least 20 years maybe longer, I have never seen it live. I remember when it opened I thought it was ridiculous. What was the point of paying to sit in my car and look at Christmas lights? I mean didn’t we just do that for free every year driving around our neighborhood? As the years went by I found myself wishing every year that I would get a chance to go, as if someone was stopping me from driving up and paying my $8. But even though it was open every night from November to January I somehow never made it through.

Last year I decided that this was my year. I had a 3 year old little boy I knew would love it and we were going to see the lights. Unfortunately, my Mother in law beat me to it. Crushing my dream of seeing the lights with my son for the first time. I know I could have loaded him in the car and gone anyway, he would have enjoyed them a second time. But it wasn’t the same, my excitement was gone.

Last night as we sat at the dinner table I looked at my little family eating their ham and mashed potatoes. Without any discussion with my husband or my father in law I announced….”After dinner we are going somewhere special so eat up!” My husband looked at me and said “What?” I smiled sweetly and mouthed “Let’s go to Lights on the Lake!” Now I know my husband had less than ZERO excitement for this idea but he went along with it cause he loves me. After dinner as I got the boys in their pajamas I told them where we were going. My 4 year old was jumping up and down because he knew what I was talking about and my 2 year old was jumping up and down because his brother was. We loaded the car, the boys had on P.J.s and sweatshirts. They each had a blanket on and thought it was so silly they didn’t have on shoes. My husband sat in the way back of the van with my 4 year old and my father in law sat in the middle with the Goon. We stopped and picked up our cousin Caitlyn and headed to the lake.

The whole way the Goon kept asking when would we get to the Lake and the Noodle kept saying how funny it was he was in socks and PJs. We finally got there and I put on the Christmas music channel. There were guys dressed up in character suits. A Penguin and a Santa Mouse, the kids thought that was great. We paid our $6 (we had a coupon), turned off our headlights and let the kids out of their car seats. We had arrived at the Lights on the Lake it was 2 miles of magical tackiness and I loved it. Every 1/4 of a mile or so there would be an arch we drove under announcing a new section of lights. “Under the Sea”, “Victorian Christmas”, “The Land of Oz”, you get the idea. There were lots of Elves and Reindeer. Even dragons and Disney Princesses. There was something for everyone.

The entire drive though took maybe 20 or 25 minutes, well worth the $6. I am not sure what the kids liked more the lights or being out of their car seats while I was moving. As the road came to an end the boys got back in their seats and buckled up. I drove under the last arch and the Goon said “Mama I want to go to Lights on the lake!” I said um “That was Lights on the lake honey.” “NO MAMA I want to go to Lights on the Lake!” Thankfully at that moment we turned under the bridge to the main road and there were several light displays saying goodbye and advertising local businesses. My father in law yelled “There ya go Lights on the Lake!” and the Goon smiled and said “Oh Thanks Papa!” We looked at each other and laughed!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Decorating on a budget…decorating on a dime….

This year we have opted for a pared down Christmas. I have tried to remove some of the stress from my holiday. Since I refuse to pay for Christmas on credit I usually take a retail job to make up the extra money we need for gifts. This year I did not do that. I just could not add one more thing into my schedule. So instead we just looked at our list and said do we really need to get all of these things to make a good Christmas?

Last year Christmas day we had about 20 people over for a big dinner, that was the first thing we cut. We also decided to start a new tradition for Christmas Eve. Instead of loading everyone in the car and visiting several relatives we will be having a quite dinner at home that my Mom will be cooking. So she gets to make all the food she loves on the holiday and we get to chill out and get the kids to bed at their regular time. She will spend the night with us and then we will enjoy a relaxing Christmas Day with no where to go and no one coming over.

My kids are very blessed they have more than they NEED but of course they still WANT everything. Whenever a commercial comes on the chorus of “Oh Mom can I have that? Can we get that? I really like that?” start. This is the first year that this has happened. I was actually not very prepared for that. I know how silly of me. At first I was a little anxious and then I just took a breath and said well we will have to see what Santa brings. I set a dollar limit for each kid and have stuck to it, surprisingly. My husband and I each got 1 gift which we already have LOL. I desperately needed a new phone which he surprised me with a few weeks ago and he wanted an update to an online game who’s name I will not mention as not to embarrass him. The hardest part of this has been not buying gifts for extended family that I usually go overboard on. I have been baking up a storm and cookies will have to be a good enough substitute. I know I am really the only one that is concerned about this.

I think that is the lesson that I am learning about this pared down holiday. I was the only one that wanted the big dinner and the bags of gifts. That I was the one who wanted the special wrapping paper, tags and ribbons. That I wanted to go overboard when really I didn’t need to. I am perfectly happy with our tree and our decorations. I am content with the amount of presents that will be under my tree. I have an abundance of cookies in my kitchen that my father in law doesn’t want me to give away.

My kids are so excited for Christmas that they are bursting. They remove a construction paper link from their Christmas chains every night and count the days left till Santa. They point out Christmas lights and inflatable Santa’s whenever we pass them on the street. They sing Rudolph and Jingle Bells every day. They get excited when they see the Christmas tree at the gym and at church. They have visited the mall Santa 4 times. Jack will hug him each time so tight the Santa laughs and laughs. The threat of coal in their stockings is staving off tantrums and the promise of a cookie if you eat your dinner is working. What could be better than that?

The Waiting Room Moms

Yesterday I took Joseph to dance class and as I sat in the waiting room with the other 2 moms I got pulled into the “Waiting Room Moms ” conversations. Now I know we have all been there: the doctor’s office, dance class, gymnastics, karate, school functions and even sporting events. All of a sudden you are surrounded by all the moms of your child’s new friends. Women you have nothing in common with except children the same age who happen to be in a joint activity. Now what? Well if you are like me , anti social, you smile nicely without making eye contact and sit as far away as possible, bring a book and catch up on texting.

Now I am not saying there is anything wrong with the Waiting Room Moms. You can learn a lot from talking or listening to other moms. You can learn that your kid is right on track for his age. That other moms have the same struggles and challenges you do, that you are not alone. These things I love to hear and even talk about on occasion. The things I could live without are how great their kid, life, job, husband, house, dog, new shoes are. I am not looking for a spitting match and I don’t need to prove I am a good mom or that I have a great kid. So I usually am deep into my book during these conversations.

Yesterday, waiting for our 4 year-old’s to finish their dance class we got on the subject of making dinner. Now the fact that I am constantly looking for something new to cook made me hesitate in pulling my book out of my purse. Even though I stayed across the room I participated in the Waiting Room Moms conversation. It was actually great to know that I am not the only one to stand in front of a full refrigerator and pantry and say “We have nothing to eat!” or “I have no idea what to make!”
I did get some really great ideas that I am excited to try! I also got some reassurance that my 4 Rachael Ray cookbooks full of 30 minutes meals sitting unused in my cupboard really can’t be made in 30 minutes!

At the end of Joseph’s 45 minute class I was not only armed with new ideas for dinner but the phone number to a local pizza place that had $5.99 pizza specials on Wednesday nights. Hmmm I guess you know what we had for dinner huh?