Create a.. Skillet Meal Southwest Style

I don't exactly understand why, but one of the hardest meals for me to Create myself is a skillet meal.  It isn't that I don't have the instructions in front of me, or that I don't understand the concept of it. I just don't understand how to put it all together and have it turn out to be something that I want to eat. (and that my family wants to eat)

I started with getting out a few of the ingredients that I knew I wanted to use. I figured that I would start to build around these. 

Step 1 - Choose a protein.  I choose ground beef,  It could have been enough that I using beans, but I decided to use them both.  So I browned my ground beef in the skillet.

Step 2 - Choose a starch.  I cooked some elbow macaroni and set that aside. 

Step 3 - Choose a flavor. I seasoned the meat with a little salt and pepper. I considered using an onion, but since the meat was already cooked, decided I was fine leaving it out. 

Step 4 - Choose your vegetables. I already had done that, I added my corn and my can of tomatoes and chilies.

Step 5 - Choose one liquid (as needed ) 

Step 6 - Choose a sauce. I treated these as one step since I didn't drain my tomatoes and chilis. I didn't add anything else and it turned out just fine.

Step 7 - Choose a topping. We added some shredded cheese on tops of ours because the kids like it better that way.  It was spicy enough that it would have been really good with sour cream too. 

Although it wasn't a super amazing dinner, all the kids ate it (except one - who chose to go to bed instead). So I guess I can consider it a mild success. 

Skillet meals really aren't as hard as they seem to me, I should set a goal for myself to make one at least once a week until I start to feel really comfortable making them. 

Spring has begun to Sprung

It seems the last few days as if the world around is clamouring to get outside. My backyard overlooks several other backyards and we all don't have fences, so we share a lot of backyard space. As I was sitting looking out my window on Sunday, I saw my neighbor and his grandson pruning trees. My neighbor was a little bundled up but his grandson was in short sleeves and shorts. We had several families in our neighbor get new puppies over the holidays and the kids and puppies have been outside soaking up the sunshine. I am pretty sure I watched one of my neighbors snapping peas or cracking walnuts on his back porch yesterday. All the bikes are out of storage and cluttering up my driveway and garage. Are you enjoying a little bit of sunshine too?

I love the first peek of spring when everyone is so excited for it that it doesn't really matter that it isn't warm enough for shorts and that the ground is still muddy, you just want to be outside and feel the sunshine on your face and hands and in your hair. I like to pick my kids up from school and they have that outside been-playing-in-the-sunshine smell.

It feels like such a blessing to be able to be active when the weather starts to get warm again. To go from being cooped up in your house like you have been all winter to spreading out your arms and living in your outside spaces that seem like you haven't spent time there forever. I put on flip-flops to go pick the kids up from school yesterday! My toes are in a serious need for a pedicure, but it was so nice to not have to tuck them into my fur lined boots.

Pretty soon the warm days and the sunshine will be the norm and the kids will complain that it is too hot to go outside and too boring and that there is nothing to do, but right now, just like spring, all the fun is new and fresh and exciting. My 11 and 13 yr old spend an entire hour the other day throwing sticks as far as they could into the weeds. Just throwing sticks, into the weed patch. I image they held quite an interesting conversation on sticks and perhaps even weeds, or maybe they didn't, maybe they just threw sticks.

But I just absolutely love this time of year, the first few weeks of spring, whenever everything in the world is just begging to be explored and discovered, just like for the very first time. So take a walk today, sit in your porch swing and kick your legs, get out and meet all those new puppies in the neighborhood. You're probably going to have to end up cleaning the bikes up out of the driveway anyway.

Enjoy the Sunshine!

Lemon Pasta Made a Little Lighter

I just adore lemons, I love them in everything, especially in savory applications.

One of my favorite pairings happens to be lemons and pasta. There are lots of lemon pasta dishes out there, but one of my favorites happens to be this one.  But it happens to be a little bit heavy, I decided this weekend to see if I could try and lighten it up a bit.

I exchanged the sour cream for greek yogurt and halved the butter and the olive oil. 

I added a bit more garlic and lemon zest to be sure it was really full of flavor. 

I don't have a microplane zester, so I just use my littlest grader. It seems to do the job just fine for me. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound Thin Spaghetti

• 2 Tablespoons Salted Butter

• 1 Tablespoons Olive Oil

• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced

• 1 whole Large Lemon, Juiced And Zested

• 2 cups Greek Yogurt

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste

•  Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese

•  Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped

•  Extra Lemon Juice

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.

In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.

Add greek yogurt and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.

Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)

When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.

Menu Planning & a Happy Late Birthday Blog

It seems like every year when Presidents day rolls around I am at the end of my winter limit. Too many holidays, too much winter, too much time "off", and the snow days are killing me!

Last year we were in the exact same boat. It was fun reading the blog post from a year ago and thinking how strange that I felt the exact same way this year.  The more things change, the more they stay the same, isn't that true.

It has me thinking about all the changes that we have had happen in the last year. And changes that I want to make in the coming year. Good changes, changes that are going to improve the life of my family.

I need to get back to being a better menu planner, it all seems to start there for me. Strange that something so simple seems to make or break my week. It all hinges on whether I have a plan for dinner or not. It can be so simple and so easy, but it is also an easy habit to fall out of.

If you need help starting a menu plan this is a great place to go. And Food $ense has some amazing classes that you can take online. They are a great place to start, but any start is a good start. All you need is a piece of paper and something to write with. Jot down the days of the week and what you would like to make for dinner on those nights, enlist the help of your family if you run out of ideas. They are always hungry and full of good ideas of stuff they want to eat.

I really believe in this program. I really believe in Food $ense. I believe that it changes lives. It is changing mine.

Whether it is changing people little bits at a time, a class here and there, or changing people's lives through continuous education and certification / graduation, people's lives are being made better, healthier and happier through the Food $ense program.

If you have been waiting to start, there is no better time to take the plunge  than right now! There are so many ways to start taking control of your life.

One of the easiest ways to learn more about the Food $ense program and to learn simple ways to start taking control of the way food affects your life is to explore the website.

You can start with menu planning or family meal time. The changes that you can start to make can be as simple as one family dinner together a week, or adding a salad to your dinner menu.

Making little changes, even seemingly insignificant ones can end up making a huge difference in your lives. I know that the success I felt making the little changes has inspired me to keep making more changes and to feel like not giving up when I have had times that have not been as successful.

There are all kinds of amazing classes available for you to attend in person if that is more your thing. Just contact your local extension for free classes on food, family, and nutrition.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Ginger and Root Vegetables

We are under siege here at our house. We have gotten the flu and it is slowly making its way through ever member of the family. We are some sick people here, from top to bottom. The only living creature in this house that isn't miserable is the cat and she is loving all these immobile bodies to sleep next to. 

I made a soup a few years ago that was a thai chicken noodle soup, it had ginger in it and I fell in love with it. Not only was it incredibly delicious, but I thought to myself, this would be really super healthy for someone when they are sick.  I was laying on the couch yesterday wishing death to take me away and I remembered that soup.  Today I gathered up all my strength and made it, Luckily it is a Very easy soup to make. 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 3 tablespoons ginger grated fresh ginger

• 2 32-ounce containers low-sodium chicken broth

• 2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

• 1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped (1 1/2 cups)

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1 2- to 2 1/2-pound rotisserie chicken

• 1/2 cup frozen peas

• 4 scallions, sliced

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

1. Add the broth. Stir in the parsnips, carrots, celery, turnip, and ½ teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

1. Meanwhile, using a fork or your fingers, shred the chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones.

1. Add the chicken, peas, and scallions to the saucepan and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Directions

I added noodles to mine and left out the peas (because I didn't have any).  Hopefully this will have everyone in my family feeling better really soon. 

Salisbury Steak - S.O.S Style

Salisbury Steak

Ingredients
 2/3 cup SOS Mix
 2 1/2 cups cold water
 1 lb bottom round steak
 1/3 cup SOS Mix (for breading)
  1/4 cup oil
 1 (8 oz) can mushrooms, drained, use liquid as part of water
5 servings

Directions

 Whisk 2/3 cup SOS Mix with water until well blended. Cook and stir on stove top or microwave until thickened.

Pound both sides of steak with a mallet to tenderize.

Bread both sides of steak with 1/3 cup SOS Mix. Cut into serving pieces or leave whole. If left whole, cut edges to prevent curling.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in large skillet. Sear steak on both sides. Place meat in 9” x 13” baking pan. Pour mushrooms and sauce over top.

Cover with foil. Bake at 300°F for 2–3 hours.

Yield 5