Mom! What's for lunch? Ideas for home and your little one's lunchbox!

 

Maybe you are on spring break this week. Maybe your child is 100% learning remotely or has always been home schooled. Whatever your circumstance - your child needs lunch! The key to being able to prepare a lunch your child will love is not the need for fantastical and whimsical, artfully arranged food that looks as though a professional stylist created a next level masterpiece. Simply have a few well loved ingredients and food items on hand to put together a lunch they will WANT to eat (and never trade)!

Categories

Think in terms of categories - 

proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, and treats. 

Pairings

Just as we like to eat certain food combinations, your child likely has developed a taste for certain foods together and whether you might never consider traying peanut butter and banana, if that is a combo your child loves - go with it!

Flexibility 

When introducing a new food(s), remember not every swing is a homerun, and have an alternative in mind. It's best to introduce something for the first time when your child is home so they can have another choice. 

Keep in mind the need to substitute ingredients based on allergies as well as preferences.

Try not to focus on strict adherence to nutritional guidelines per meal but rather in making sure your child gets what they need throughout the course of a day.

Menu Ideas

Use classic lunch menus (including those inside prepacked commercial lunch products) as a starting point. The reason manufacturers and marketers make selections like ham and swiss or veggies with humus, is because they have been proven to be purchased and enjoyed. A way to bring these pairings to life is in the presentation - cut meats and cheeses into bite sized cubes, or even fun geometric shapes or package veggies and dips in easy to open, decorative containers.

Veggie Nuggets

Make some veggie nuggets and include their favorite sauce or dip.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup each boiled or steamed tender carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, cooled 
• 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs for filling, plus extra for dipping formed nuggets 
• 1 large egg 
• Salt and pepper, to taste 
• Vegetable oil for frying 

Steps: 

1. Combine vegetables, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. 
2. Use a tablespoon or small cookie scoop to portion out veggie mixture into a ball, then flatten into a nugget shape. 
3. Coat nuggets with more breadcrumbs. 
4. Fry nuggets until golden brown or use an air fryer. 
5. Drain and cool. 
6. Nuggets can also be baked in a traditional oven at 400° F for about 15 minutes. 

For more lunch ideas and recipes, check out this post!

Enjoy this time with the children in your life. As many of us already know, the days may seem long, but the years pass quickly - make sure they (and you) are Fed Well!

Chicken Cutlet Perfection - 4 Ingredients

 

Chicken Cutlet 101

A perfectly, golden brown, crispy yet tender and juicy, chicken cutlet is one of the culinary world's greatest offerings. Over the years, I thought I was doing a pretty great job, selecting organic chicken, slicing it into cutlets, pounding it out underneath a layer of plastic wrap, gently heating the oil in a large skillet then dipping the chicken in egg wash before covering it in bread crumbs and frying.

No, that's not a typo. That's how I did it. 

I always thought the flour was an unnecessary, extra step, what-good-does-it do, bit of nonsense. Plus, I thought most of the flour would wash off in the egg mixture. My cutlets were great.

I believed.

Until, one night, my younger son, armed with enthusiasm and a thermometer, took over the cutlet task for me.

He checked the temperature of the oil.

What? 

He dredged the cutlet in flour before the egg wash then finished with panko.

I don't think I have to really tell you - the cutlets were not only beautiful, but that crispness - I can still hear it - ah, perfect.

On a salad. Or next to pasta. Or with vegetables on the side. It doesn't matter. I am not too proud to tell you, he took a good thing and built on it by using the proper technique. THAT does matter.

By the way, he will likely be the cooker of the cutlets from now on because he did such an amazing job. Just like in the workplace, when you show you are good at something, you get to do it more.

Looking forward to the next serving of perfect chicken cutlets and feeling Fed Well!

Sunday Dinner - Burgers and Babies (and a recipe for potato salad)

 

Sunday Dinner.

Does it make you imagine something like this:

I came across this family photo from my husband's family recently and just love it. Three generations. Dressed up for the occasion and knowing it is special enough to have a group photo. I'm assuming Christmas or Christmas Eve based on the tree in the left-hand corner, but just look at them. Joy. Celebration. Family. Together.

I've been missing gathering. And while the current pandemic climate can make gathering tricky, I can feel the change coming and soon I will make it a point to make sure we can all safely enjoy each other's company as well as a wonderful meal in my home again.

A section of my family was able to enjoy Sunday dinner this past week. Burgers from the grill. Yes, on a cold blustery Northeastern March evening, we enjoyed grilled goodness with potato salad, tossed salad, and a selection of simple frozen vegetables. Know what? It was delicious - the Mr. grilled, and I assembled the rest with help from everyone. I was able to hold my new granddaughter and give her a bottle.

AND, she met her great grandmother (my Mommy) for the first time.

Three generations became four just about 18 months ago, but as the family grows, we welcome each new member with celebration. How lucky we are...

Want to know about the potato salad?

• I boiled one pound of small red potatoes with the skins on, cut into chunks, in salted water.
• In a large mixing bowl, I combined some diced onion, two minced stalks of celery, a bit of salt and pepper with a splash of mustard and some mayonnaise. (Sorry, I don't really measure).
• Then, I drained the potatoes really well. Stirred them into the mixing bowl and made sure everything was well coated before sprinkling some paprika on top. Transferred the potato salad to a serving bowl, covered, and chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours.

It was a hit!

So were the burgers.

And the baby.

We are planning a larger gathering for Easter. Nothing too grand. But, I can tell you I am excited and looking forward to sharing food, stories, and create wonderful memories along with feeling Fed Well. 

Crockpot Recipes and Ideas

 

Some folks use their slow cooker all year and for very specific purposes. This small kitchen appliance is a life saver for those who can load it up with ingredients, head off to work, and come home at the end of the day to a ready made meal.

Want to know a secret?

Anyone can use it.

Want to know something else?

You don't have to make stew!

Yes, the whole idea of low and slow cooking means you are able to take otherwise tough cuts of meat and turn them into tender bites you can break apart with ease.

But a slow cooker or crockpot can be used for more modern recipes as well as some of Grandma and Grandpa's favorites. AND, you do not have to put it in storage with your winter coats - it can be a great tool all year.

Looking for an easy way to prep pork before you turn it into crave-able carnitas? 

Want to enjoy a jazzy jambalaya without hanging around in the kitchen?

Wondering how you can work more vegetables in your life? Try sneaking some butternut squash into your mac 'n cheese.

Click here for all the details and full recipes for the dishes above as published on the Zulily The Find blog.

Let me know what else you cook in your crockpot and how you are creating new dishes to leave you and your friends and family feeling Fed Well!

What's for lunch? Kid friendly Airfryer ideas and recipes!

 

What's for lunch?

What time is it when you child first asks this question? I know I start thinking about lunch right after I notice my coffee cup is empty.

Whether you have toddlers or teens, are home-schooling, or home for the day, at some point you are thinking about what to make for lunch. 

Tired of the pb&j, left-overs, mac & cheese? Want to make something warm and satisfying?

How about home-made veggie nuggets? Looks and feels like a chicken nugget but filled with veggie goodness and you are in control of the ingredients as well as the cooking.

Here's what you need:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup each boiled or steamed tender carrots, broccoli,       cauliflower - cooled
• ¼ cup of breadcrumbs for filling, extra for dipping formed nuggets in before cooking
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat Air Fryer to 400 F.
2. Combine vegetables, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.
3. Use a tablespoon or small cookie scoop to portion out veggie mixture into a ball then flatten into a nugget shape.
4. Coat nugget with additional breadcrumbs.

After lunch, head outside for recess and some fun. Grab some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, old containers for mud pies, or maybe it's kite season. Just get out there! Make some memories and have some laughs to help round out the feeling of being Fed Well!

For more quick and kid friendly Airfryer ideas, click here for my full blog on Zulily.

Family that Cooks Together: Empanadas

EMPANADAS

Guess what? Until fairly recently, I had never had an empanada. For those who are not familiar, they are a corn dough filled pocket of goodness that is deep fried and a cousin of all the other hand-held pocket pies like pierogi, ravioli, and even dumplings. While some of the specifics may be different, the basic idea is quite similar.

For those who want to recreate the savory, meat and potato filled empanada at home - I am going to list a basic outline of what we did, as a family, but I have zero exact measurements. This is also another example of mixing and adding things until they look right, taste right, or feel right.

What you will need:

Ingredients

• 2-pound chuck or rump roast
• Garlic
• Onion
• Green onion
• Beef bouillon
• Salt
• 4 - 5 potatoes
• 1 fresh, diced tomato
• Goya Sazón
• Corn meal for the dough
• Vegetable oil
• Water

Tools

• Large pot or deep fryer
• Cookie sheet
• Spider or slotted spoon
• Thermometer for the oil
• Cooling rack
• Large mixing bowls
• Sandwich bag cut open or large piece of plastic wrap
• Small skillet

The steps

1. Cook the meat in a large pot on the stove in water with garlic, onion, green onion, beef bouillon, "a lot" of salt.
2. Remove meat and set aside.
3. Boil potatoes in the same water until soft.
4. Shred the beef.
5. Prepare hogao (sort of like sofrito) of diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, and some Goya Sazón in a small skillet. Once translucent and fragrant, transfer to the pot with the drained, soft potatoes, and add the meat back in.
6. Prepare the dough by mixing pre-cooked corn meal with some Goya Sazón, salt, vegetable oil, and water (this is where you need an expert who can look at it and decide if it needs to be wetter).
7. Set up battle stations for assembly line style. Press out dough into small circles, place 2 large tablespoons of filling, fold over and pinch to seal then create pretty scallop edge with the side of your thumb.
8. Fry in oil brought to 350 degrees until the dough feels firm and crisp.
9. Allow empanadas to drain on rack over cookie sheet.
10. Enjoy.

As you might imagine, the process takes time and is not something that can be rushed.

The four of us working together were able to make more than 70 crispy pockets of deliciousness. Some were given as thank you gifts to friends and others were simply gifted to appreciative family.

We created a memory together, created good food together, and in the end, were all Fed Well.

Beef Stew - Oven, Crock Pot, or Other?

 

Beef Stew

One of my earliest food memories and one of very few memories of my paternal grandmother are of beef stew. 

I was sitting at the kitchen table as my grandmother was transferring her beef stew from a large pot into a bowl or other container to store it in the refrigerator. I was coloring and looked up at the wet, suction sound the gravy made as it had become sort of a pudding like consistency. To four/five year old me, the sound was negative and a bit gross.

"Ew," I said.

"Oh, no," said my grandmother, "It's not ew at all. It's delicious."

And the memory fades like a wisp of smoke.

Beef Stew is a classic with as many variations as our grandmothers had for tomato sauce. Not just in ingredients, but in the cooking method as well.

For me, it's all about a ceramic lined cast iron dutch oven placed in the oven with the lid on for hours - slow and low.

I like to coat beef with flour and brown on the stove, then add onions, carrots, potatoes and celery. Season generously with salt and pepper. Then - here is another area of great variability - deglaze the pan and add the cooking liquid. Sometimes beef broth, with and without a generous scoop of tomato sauce, or a bit of red wine in addition to the beef broth. Yesterday, I tried a better than bouillon product with corresponding amount of water. 

Sometimes I leave the potatoes out and serve over mashed potatoes. Sometimes I serve over egg noodles.

Yesterday, I had my 18 month old grandson help me assemble the ingredients to create a beef stew. I thought of my grandmother and how luck I am to be able to see my grandchildren regularly. I felt a surge of memories, thankfulness, and that Fed Well vibe I love. It's not just about the food, is it? That's what I've been trying to say.

What's your beef stew story?