A Mother's Balancing Act

Cooking Disasters!

I am fortunate to work with a great group of ladies. We all get along really well, and that makes work less like work, which is awesome. I realize that makes my situation relatively rare, especially where women are concerned, since we all know "we" can sometimes tend to be one catty group of tigresses.

One of the gals who I work with happens to be challenged in the ways of cooking. And when I say challenged, I mean seriously challenged. Like when she went to do some baking a while back and got stumped, she called another friend from work and had the following converstation:

KC: So, I'm doing some baking, and the recipe has me stumped.

DO: (who was on a girls' weekend with other friends...) OK, what's your problem? And by the way, you do realize that I'm with a carful of other women...

KC: (showing no signs of apparent embarrassment...) Yeah, well, so this recipe says to separate the egg, and then it says to take the white and do something with it...So, I know the yolk is the yellow part, but what's the white?

At this point, I should point out that DO has put KC on speaker phone. And yes, they are BFF's. :-)

KC can now hear hooting and howling from the background.

DO: Are you kidding me?

KC: No, I mean, there's the yolk, and then there's that clear looking stuff, so I'm assuming that has to be the white, but it's not white, so why would they call it that?

DO: OMG, you are so literal. What am I going to do with you?

KC: Well, seriously, I don't bake! How am I ever going to learn if there's stuff like this? Why would they call that the white? Is that what it is?

DO: Yes, KC. That's the white.

KC: Oh. OK.

And on she went but not without some more complaining about how that wasn't fair, etc. :-)

So, recently, KC was at a family gathering where a favorite aunt served up a chicken casserole that everyone was raving about. KC decided to ask for the recipe and try her hand at Aunt Virginia's dish at home. She shared the rest of the story while we were all at lunch a couple of weeks ago and had the whole table in stitches. I asked her to "guest blog" it. I give you my dear (and good-natured) friend KC's account of her kitchen encounter (names changed to protect the cooking challenged...)!

At a family reunion this past summer my Aunt made a chicken recipe she called Velveeta Chicken. It tasted good and I am always in the market for new chicken recipes as my husband loves chicken. So one day I am making up the grocery list and I look at the receipe my Aunt had written out for me and it says to put in 3/4 can milk. At the grocery store my husband comes up an aisle and asks me about the canned milk (we split up when we grocery shop; it speeds up the time and our kids like "racing" against Daddy to see who can get more items).

Anyway, back to the milk. He says there are 2 kinds of canned milk, evaporated and condensed sweetened, which one do you want. I don't know, I say. The recipe calls for canned milk. It doesn't say which kind. I tell him I think it is probably the condensed one. I prepare the Velveeta chicken that night for dinner. We sit down to eat and I take a bite. Hmmm this doesn't quite taste like my Aunt's. I take another bite. I say to my husband, I think we chose the wrong can of milk.

My husband gets up and gets the salsa out of the fridge (Salsa is the answer to every food mishap!). I continue to take some bites until I just can't anymore. I tell him that is it...I can't eat it. I look at my children who have chosen to eat their corn first and my oldest, who is 5, asks me, Mommy, do I have to take 2 bites of it? (I make them take 2 bites of all new foods.) I look at him and say no, honey, and pick up his plate and scrape off the food and then I do the same for my other son.

I then tell my husband to throw the rest out.

I then make a mental note that when my mother needs a good laugh I will have to share this story with her!!!

KC, thanks for sharing this great story with us!! Later, KC found out that the recipe called for not "canned milk" at all but 3/4 can of milk. You were supposed to fill the empty cream of chicken soup can with milk. Go figure! Her aunt had dictated the recipe over the phone. Lost in translation!

What cooking mishaps have you had in your kitchen???

Balanced Babe

Mama Mary's Pizza Recipe Contest(s)!

Since I just posted about Mama Mary's Pizza Crusts, I thought I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't do quick follow-up post to let you in on another little secret.

You could be a winner! 

That is, if you create an original recipe, send it in, and they pick you! The prizes are great! Who doesn't like to travel? Who doesn't love a free vacation?

This could be a fun project to do with kids - let them create their own recipes. This contest is somewhat unusual in that there is no age limit, and you can also enter more than once.

Have fun with this. Get creative! Dessert pizzas. Veggie pizzas. Seafood pizzas. The sky's the limit, people. Have at it! And I want to hear about it when you win!

And if you're not into making up your own stuff, there's always the recipes they've included on their site to entice you to at least try something new and different...come on, step out of your comfort zone!

Cooking with Fresh Herbs

At first glance, you might wonder what a chick who blogs about balance and boasts of being a White Trash Mom is doing writing a post about cooking with fresh herbs. Here's the thing.

Whether you grow your own (cheapest option...) or buy them at the store, fresh herbs go a long way to making something incredibly simple seem a lot more gourmet and taste even better! Here's an example.

Garlic Bread. You know the kind of garlic bread you get from the store that already has the stuff smeared on it, and you just throw it in the oven to warm it up?

Problem:

• OK, for one, it's just all right, if you're really honest.
• Second, it's incredibly unhealthy. And by that, I don't just mean it's loaded with fat. Most garlic bread is going to be on the fatty side. The kind already slathered up from the store, though, is loaded with saturated fat (often coconut oil, which is terrible for you) and those evil Trans Fats. It's a veritable heart attack in a bag!

Solution:

• Even if you still take a shortcut and buy the loaf of French or Italian bread at the store, cut it in half (lengthwise) and spread it with olive oil or even your own butter. I guarantee you that you won't use as much as they did at the store.
• Sprinkle it with garlic salt.
• Now for the fun part. Chop up your favorite fresh herb. I'm partial to basil or rosemary myself, but you can also use fresh thyme leaves, cilantro, parsley or chives.

The fresh herbs make all the difference, and you have turned an unhealthy, mediocre (at best) side into a simple but delicious treat! Sprinkling with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese is optional.

Other easy ways to use your fresh herbs are in salads, atop your favorite soup out of the can, as a topping on homemade (or even frozen) pizza, in scrambled eggs or omelets, and in wraps. The options are endless. Fresh herbs make easy dishes pop!

Balanced Babe

Pizza in a Flash!

Have you tried these fabulous pizza crusts? I've tried a slew of different store-bought crusts over the years, and these are the best ever, in my ever-so-humble opinion! Now, all of you fussy moms who prefer to proof the yeast, wait for the dough to rise, and perhaps even mill your own flour (as if...) might not like them as much as my family and I do, but then again, if you do that, you probably wouldn’t have time to be reading this post, either!

The product is from Mama Mary’s, and it comes in both regular-sized round crusts (package of two for about $2.85) and individual crusts (package of 3 for roughly the same cost). I have used these on both a pizza "stone" in my oven, as well as on a regular metal pizza pan. You can also bake the pizzas direcly on your oven rack. All options work great. Look for the crusts in the refrigerated dough section of your grocery store. These come mostly baked and already formed.

Oh! And they also have regular crust or thin crust. My family prefers the thin crust, though when you load it up super heavy (like my nephew did to the one pictured with this post), it tends to get a bit "bogged down"…ah, to be 10 again! I usually top them with spaghetti sauce from the jar and/or prepared pesto for the base. Easy breezy.

I especially love doing the individual size for several reasons:

• It provides portion control (though I tend to eat just half of the individual size with a side salad)
• Everyone gets to choose the toppings that he or she really wants
• They're super "user friendly" for kids to make up themselves

Whether you're a working mom or a SAHM mom, these crusts will save you time and time again. Plus, if your kids are older, this is a great option for Yo-Yo Night! As my friend Carrie says (complete with her southern drawl, of course...), "Yo Ahwn Yo Own!" That's the night where everyone is "on their own" to fix dinner. Abbreviated, this becomes Yo-Yo Night!

I love it!

Balanced Babe

What's for Dinner? Make it Snappy!

So, last night, Big Strong Man called on his way home from work, as he often does (bless him...) to see if we needed anything from the store toward dinner. Dinner? Again? Already? Didn't we just do that? Ugh...Then, I remembered I had some hamburger in the fridge and some fresh green beans and those fabulous Roma tomatoes I had gotten at Costo.

"Nope," came my smug response. "I think I've got it under control." Just call me Donna Reed. June Cleaver. Martha Stewart. As. If. Not...So, having been home from work already for a couple of hours, I sprang into action, so it would actually look like I really did have it under control. HA! Pretending I was Rachel Ray, I reached into my fridge to begin assembling all of my ingredients in one smooth move. Done.

Deciding it would be best to get the hamburgers done up first, I ripped open the package of ground round...and immediately determined that we were not, in fact, going to be having burgers for dinner. Quickly re-wrapping the meat, I checked the date. Hmmm...yes. That would explain the disgusting odor emanating from said package. Sell by August 8th. Excellent. I am a stellar mother/meal planner/chief/cook/bottle washer extraordinaire.

Double Ugh.

OK, Molly. Re-group. I had a couple of pizza crusts in the fridge, but my younger daughter and I had pizza for dinner the day before with friends. Girl 1 turned up her nose at the pork tenderloin recipe I suggested, and it was going to take too long to prepare anyway...and who has the energy? Digging through the freezer...aha! Frozen lasagna from Costco.

Have you tried this? It's really pretty good.

• The noodles are even al dente
• There's plenty of sauce
• It's got meat and Italian sausage (but not so much that picky Girl 1 turns her often upturned nose at it!)
• It's waaaay more than enough for my family of four (I think the package says 6 servings, and that's about right, even with Big Strong Man at the table)
• You can start it in the microwave, for about half the stated microwave cooking time, and finish it in the oven to save time for a true Desperation Dinner

Dinner saved, once more. I even snapped the fresh beans while the "nya nya" (what my girls called it when they were little) was cooking. Pop them in a Pyrex dish with about a tablespoon of water and a little butter, cover, and microwave on high for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Leave them there until the lasagna comes out of the "real" oven. Drain beans, add a tablespoon or two of dried cranberries and zap for another minute or so. Sprinkle with toasted, sliced almonds (if available!). Yum-oh!

Slice three Roma tomatoes thickly on plate. Top with ribbons of fresh basil (I have fresh herbs in pots on my patio. If you don't, a little garlic powder will do.), shredded parmesan, salt and cracked pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

If you have some bread, all the better. If not, don't sweat it. The "nya nya" will suffice. Really. :-)

Delish. Enjoy.

Balanced Babe

Desperation Dinners

Ever have those days when you just don't feel like cooking?

HA! Let's try that again.

Ever have those days wehn you can't stand the thought of animal-shaped mystery meat from the drive-thru...again? (eeee-oooow...)

Or you're really craving some home cooking but don't have the time or energy to make it happen (and you mom's not home!)?

Ever feel like going out for a chick night but don't feel like you can justify it?

No, this is not an advertisement. No, I am not getting anything in return for this endorsement. I just happen to love Dream Dinners. About three years ago, I found about a "then-new" company in town where you could go, enjoy a glass or two of wine with your girlfriends (or hubby!), prepare between 6 and 12 entrees for your family, and still make it home in time to kiss the kids goodnight!

What a deal! Too good to be true, you say? Must cost a fortune, you say? The food must not be very good, you say? It couldn't be that fast, you say?

Say I:

• All true
• Reasonably priced (way cheaper than eating out - and far healthier)
• The food is excellent
• You can prepare up to 12 meals in about 3 hours or less

Some of my family's favorites have been:

• Rosemary Chicken with Penne Pasta:
• Thai Peanut Beef Skewers
• Chicken Risotto
• Chicken Mirabella

You might have noticed an absence of fish on the list above. That's not because they don't offer any. That's just because our family is picky (well, my daughter and I are picky...). Also, I should note that each month, they even have a few sides from which to choose, as well as a dessert or two to tempt your tastebuds. On top of all that, Dream Dinners makes every effort to help you cook as healthy as possible. That is to say, if they can cut a corner without sacrificing flavor, they will...but they won't sacrifice the flavor. Believe me!

You can get the lowdown on Dream Dinner's website (including what's on the current menu and what they'll be dishing up next month). For now, though, here's a brief synopsis of how the program works. You select a time from their calendar of dates/times available to cook. You choose in advance which dishes you would like to prepare. You also choose the whether you'd like to prepare the 3 serving size or the 6 serving size. You'll find that their serving sizes are on the generous side, especially if your kids are still young.

When you go to prepare your dishes, it's a good idea to bring a large cooler to transport your food back home with you. You'll go home with dishes that are ready to finish preparing at home, so you'll freeze the dishes until you are ready to use them. You'll defrost them a day or two before you are ready to use them. Depending on the dish, in some cases, you can defrost them in a sink full of water.

If you give Dream Dinners your contact information online, don't worry. They will not SPAM you, and they will never sell your information to a third party. At least, that's never been my experience. I have never had anything but wonderful experiences with the location in Overland Park, KS (a suburb of Kansas City). (Click here to view the August monthly menu.)

So, why not give Dream Dinners a try? Bet you'll be glad you did!

Balanced Babe