Let’s be honest.  When you have a house full of kids, none of them are going to sit down for a plate of asparagus, drizzled with a delicious lemon sauce!  Maybe at a party for the Queen, but the only queen around here is my drama queen, Erica!

Since our house tends to be the gathering place, I find it helpful to have some fun foods on hand.  On typical play dates, the kids friends are only allowed to eat pretzels.  This has been our standing rule for a very long time! Otherwise, my food bill would consume me.   However, I of course make exceptions when we are babysitting, or kids are staying all day, having a late night, or spending the night.  These are my secret weapons! The things that get eaten 99% of the time we have other kids over.

GRAPES:  We had 4 kids over late on Friday night, with two of them staying all night.  These kids are great. Whatever food I put out, they eat. If I put out chips, they would eat the chips. But of course I didn’t put out chips, I put out grapes.

Within a few hours, they had eaten them all!   All $6 of them!

POPCORN: Need I say more! You can’t go wrong with popcorn!! We buy 8lbs at a time of popcorn kernels. (less than $0.20 for the entire bowl)

CHEX MIX While this may not be as popular around here as plain old popcorn, it gets eaten sometimes.  Although I have to admit, chocolate chips or M&M’s are usually the first thing to go.  I mix such things as

• popcorn
• pretzels
• dried fruit
• nuts
• chocolates
• cereal

Spread it out on a pan. Spray some butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle with cinnamon. Then bake for a few minutes, just until the cinnamon sort of melts onto the mix.

 CINNAMON CRISPS or CINNAMON CHIPS

These easy “chips” were just made with whole wheat tortillas.  Sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Baked until crispy. The neighbor kids love these. 8 crisps (one whole tortilla), approximately $0.30

Olives and cheese (one stick, $0.20 if I get the string cheese on sale.)  Or just a bowl full of olives.  Some kids like these, some don’t .  Completely unpredictable.

DRINKS: Water.  I always have plenty of cups.  We have the water dispenser on our fridge, and as long as there is cup access, they feel the comfortable enough to get their own water, anytime!  The benefit: I don’t freak out when it spills… and it ALWAYS SPILLS!

So, what snack food do you put out when there are extra kids in your home for sleepovers, hanging out, parties, etc?

I offered Four, 9 year old girls some of this Brushcetta, and all four gave it the thumbs up. They even came back for seconds!  I was worried it would be a a little too fancy for my kids (since we are as UN-Fancy as they come).  But I presented it as “It’s kind of like “toast-pizza”, and they were all over it.

My hidden reason for mixing up some of this was for the GARLIC!!  Garlic contains Allicin, which is shown to be a powerful antibacterial and antiviral agent!  And of course is Garlic vital in fending off Vampires!  Unless you don’t want to fend off certain vampires.. you know who you are.

So, the recipe:

In a small bowl combine:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• some oregeno (I used dry)
• some basil (I used fresh)
• some rosemary (I used fresh)
• and pressed garlic (I used 4 cloves)
• Salt and pepper

Then I took some toasted whole wheat toast.  Spread the olive oil mixture on top.

Topped with finely chopped tomatoes and a Parmesan/ Asiago cheese blend.  I then re-toasted in the oven for just a minute, while the cheese melted a bit.

The verdict:  Cute neighbor girl to the right of Erica said, “I want my mom to have this recipe!”  So, here you are!

MMMM.. This post made me think of this VERY OLD post, where we dipped bread in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  YUMMY!

 Boy, I sure feel like I’m doing just about anything (like blogging) to NOT write a   Biochemistry paper.   I’m struggling here.  I’ve got 650 words and it is supposed to be 1000, and I literally have nothing else to say!  And it’s due tomorrow!!

Business first: Congratulations to DramaMama! She won the beautiful book, Poem on Fruits Odes To Vegetables.  If you love your teeth, visit the giveaway page tomorrow for a new giveaway!

Anyone love Great Harvest Bread?  I’m anticipating a store opening just a few miles from my home, and I’m so excited.  In browsing their website, I came across this:

BAKERY TOURS

Calling all kids and parents! Ever wonder what it’s like to be a baker? Come take a tour of a Great Harvest Bakery! Check out our locations.

Most bakeries schedule free group tours. Just call and ask!
Eight Great Reasons to Go on a Great Harvest Tour:

1. Find out the five simple ingredients that go into our bread. One of the ingredients is actually alive…and you’ll get to see it!
2. Learn where our wheat kernels come from.
3. See how we grind wheat kernels into fresh-ground flour every day.
4. Feel how our flour is different than the flour you have at home.
5. Gaze upon the biggest mixer and mixing bowls you’ve ever seen!
6. Knead your own bread dough.
7. Peek inside our huge oven. Can you guess how many loaves it can bake at a time?
8. Eat some of our delicious bread, fresh out of the oven!

Forget about the kids… I WANT THE TOUR!!

This is the last day to enter to win this awesome book, Poems to Fruits, and Odes to Vegetables!

Pancakes and waffles are so easy to “hide” nutrient rich fruits and nuts!  On Saturday we set out to make our typical waffle recipe, but this time, puréed some banana, and ground up some walnuts for a little pizzaz!

First the dry ingredients:

Then the wet:

Blended together:

And only after the full recipe was prepared did I chop some walnuts:  (The kids like to do this with a mallet, but I wasn’t in the mood)

Pureed some bananas (Again, I preferred the food processor to actually mashing with my own energy)

Then slowly folded the nuts and banana into the waffle mixture.

And, that’s it!  This kid loves them:

However, this recipe makes a TON of waffles.  I always make them all and freeze the leftovers.  We can eat these for several more days by just popping them in the toaster.

What do you like to add to your waffles?

I feel like changing my blog to be, “How to eat healthy when you don’t have any free time!”  I’ve been running around way too much, and when I’m not, I’m watching Bio Chemistry lectures on my laptop.

My first and best idea: Get a rice cooker! I finally bought one this weekend that was an appropriate size for my family and it has worked like a CHAMP ($29 at Costco)!  I’ve made perfectly steamed broccoli in 7 minutes, perfectly tender wild rice, delicious brown rice, and more!

One of the perks of the rice cooker is that you can also cook oatmeal in it!  Although oats on the stove or in the microwave isn’t too time consuming, this is even less of a bother.  I don’t have to stir the pot, nor wait for the avalanche to occur in the microwave.  For rolled oats simply,

• Measure your oats
• Measure your water
• Add anything else you like (I put flax meal and vanilla extract)

Then I set it for “cook/steam” for 5.  This means it will cook for 5 minutes, AFTER it starts boiling.  And VOILA! Perfectly cooked oatmeal.

This is even a great idea if you are scared to cook oat groats.  I tried this as well, and they turned out good.

Another perk:  YOUR KIDS CAN DO THIS THEMSELVES!!! DON’T UNDERESTIMATE WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF.  However, if they can’t measure oats and water and press cook, you’ve got a lot of work to do!

Want to freshen up a salad… make it more kid friendly.  Look no further than your cookie cutters, and make some adorable croutons.  Erica loved participating in this adventure, and loved eating them as well.

We started with our homemade bread:

Then cut out shapes:

Be sure to eat the leftover bread

Then we brushed each crouton with olive oil, and seasoned with Italian Seasoning:

Then we broiled on high for just a couple of minutes. Maybe 4 at the most.

From yesterday:  I just noticed Macey’s (Associate Foods) has their canned black beans and Kidney beans on sale this week.   $0.48 per can!! That is a great stock up price. So, go stock up! What are you waiting for!

I have something to post tomorrow, but be sure to come back next week when I unveil My HUGEST GIVEAWAY EVER!  Seriously, this is the biggest one I’ve done to date.

Hannah (my cousin) commented that her family too used to eat all the homemade bread as soon as it would come out of the oven. But she said, Once the novelty wore off, they didn’t eat it all in one sitting.  I actually think that would work for my family.  I just need to be more consistent about making it, and the novelty will eventually wear off. 

Yesterday, I tried a recipe sent to me from Terri.  It worked out perfectly, the first time, and with 100% whole wheat!  It is super delicious.  I truly think trying different recipes till you find one that works for you is key!  So, you must try this one!  I’m eating some right now!

Mixing the dry ingredients together.

  Putting it straight into the bread pan to rise once. 

Leaving it in the COLD oven, turned the oven on, and baked for about 30 minutes.

I sliced it up and put it straight into a bread bag.  Looks just like the bag of bread I bought, and the kids don’t actually know I made some bread today. It was fast, and they were clueless.

The recipe is straight from the email. I cut it in half. I really need to go buy some more bread pans.  I figure if I really make all my bread, I will save about $10 PER WEEK! That is how much I was spending on bread.

Easiest Whole Wheat Bread #1

4(8×4-inch) Loaves

• 7c. whole wheat flour
• 2/3 c. gluten flour
• 2 1/2  T. instant yeast
• 5 c. steaming hot tap water (120-130 degrees F)
• 2 T. salt
• 2/3 c. oil
• 2/3 c. honey or 1 c. sugar
• 2 1/2 T. bottled lemon juice
• 5 c. whole wheat flour

Mix together first three ingredients in mixer with a dough hook. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl. This makes a very soft dough.

Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off. Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves, place in oiled bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches top of pan. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks.

If you do not have a mixer with a dough hook and are kneading this by hand, gradually add last cup of flour to keep dough from sticking to counter. Your will add more flour when kneading by hand than when usi

ng a mixer simply to be able to handle this moist dough. With wheat bread, always add the least amount of flour possible to keep bread moist. Knead 10 minutes before shaping dough into loaves.

Gluten is natural protein derived from wheat. It is used in bread to provide elasticity and strength, added texture and helps retain moisture in bread and doughs. It helps prevent crumbling and extends the shelf life of baked bread. If you do not want to store gluten flour, you may substitute whole wheat flour in its place.

Lemon juice in this recipe acts as a dough enhancer which gives bread a fine, light texture.

Yesterday, I made everything on my menu!!  The chicken and rice dinner is perfect, because the kids always eat everything.  TJ always has to have his food separated….thanks to the Healthy Habits Plate

But Erica, actually eats her food mixed together.  (And last night, she actually tried to steal her brothers broccoli!)

Merry Christmas!!  I love Christmas, I love the parties, the presents, and especially the food!!

I love it when my family party assignment is salads or bread!!

This was my contribution to our weekend family party-with the Roskelley’s

• Blackberries
• Strawberries
• Feta Cheese
• Pecans
• Greens

Then my sister’s dinner last night (Christmas Eve) she asked me to bring rolls.  Here is the light version of the most delicious, Lion House Rolls!!

After preparing and rising the dough, Roll out in rectangle about 8 inches wide, and 18 inches long.

Slice into 4 X 2 inches rectangles.

Roll each rectangle and put seam side down on pan:

Then bake till slightly golden:

Yummy!!

My husband has the most amazing sisters!  Last night we had a Christmas party, and we got some gifts from a few of them.  I thought these were wonderful ideas for neighbor gifts.  And appropriately for my “Spice up Christmas” week, they have cinnamon!  (so I won’t share Beth’s crazalicious carmels, or Jennifers clever M&M’s with matching story).

The first, from Tia-  Potpouri, that she dried herself in her dehydrator.  I thought this would be a fun neighbor gift that the kids could help you assemble.  They could count out equal amounts of each thing for each bag in a small assembly line.

Tia put in:

• dried orange peel
• dried apple slices
• dried lemon peel
• dried cranberries
• ground nutmeg
• whole cloves
• cinnamon sticks

The tag says “Add contents of bag to a saucepan filled with water and simmer on the stove for a delicious aroma that will fill your home with the scent of Christmas!”

Then, Laura made everyone some of her granola!  She gave me the recipe a few months ago here.  Your kids can help by scooping granola out of a big bowl into bags.

And, my final cinnamon infused neighbor gifts are the nuts of course!!

Why do you need cinnamon?    

“Cinnamon has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice – and even more than many foods. You’ll find as many antioxidants in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon as a full cup of pomegranate juice or ½ cup of blueberries.” McCormick Spices For Health!!

I love giving neighbor gifts (although I haven’t this year… yet!)  Some people hate to do it.  But for me, its the only chance I get to meet and talk to some of my neighbors.  I get so wrapped up in our personal family life, that I hardly cultivate friendships in the neighborhood.  We are better in the summer, if we are outside.. but as soon as it turns cold, I’m kind of a hermit.

Fun activity:  For those in Utah County- my sister and I visited the Holdman’s lights (an animated light display set to music) over the weekend.  One tip- we got there early, like 5:30, and there were only three cars there. I tried to take my husband last night around 7, and there were two BLOCKS of cars… so go early!

AD: ANTI-AGING SKIN CARE

If anyone in my family had any sense of carb control, I would bake bread a lot more often.  But the truth is, if I make a loaf of homemade bread, the addicts consume every last crumb before it has a chance to cool down. 

But for the rest of you, homemade bread is a great way to save money and eat better.  You can purchase some pretty healthy and delicious bread at the store, but generally, the healthiest store bread, is often the most expensive. 

Here are a few bread making tips that have helped me get great results every time.

I use my kitchen Aid.  I’ve never been able to make good loaf by kneading it with my hands. That is truly an art I would love to have the time to perfect.  When mixing, I always leave the bowl mixing for a good 5-8 minutes.

I use half to 3/4 whole wheat flour, and the rest white flour.  I carry both in large amounts so I always have some when we need it.

I only rise once!  I place the dough, just after mixing, into the loaf pan.  I let it rise about 30 minutes, or until barely reaches the top of the loaf pan. (covered with plastic wrap)

Then, I go straight to baking.  I place the pan in the oven, then turn it on right away.  Then my baking time is usually only about 30 minutes. 

I take it out of the pan right away and place on a cooling rack, so the sides and bottom don’t start weeping with condensation.  I will sometimes cover it with a dry towel to keep it from getting stale.

Then, we don’t even have a chance to use it for sandwiches, because they eat it by the huge slice, right off of my cooling rack.

Other tips:

• I buy Saf Yeast.  Not only is it the best price, it has always produced a rising bread for me.  When I’ve used the other brands (in the envelopes), Half the time, my bread would not rise.
• I rise and bake the bread with a warm, steamy bowl of water in the oven with it.  This keeps the bread moist!
• This recipe has given me great results, every time.
• When I had a bread maker, I would always set it on the dough setting, then rise and bake it in a real bread pan.  I hated the shape of the bread maker loaves.
• If I have a problem with my bread, I usually find out what went wrong on this website: http://www.baking911.com/bread/problems.htm

Do you have any bread making tips that has helped you?