Feed Your Kids – Page 47 – The leading authority on basketball cupcakes and Basil-Lime martinis…

Boy, Girl and Cousin with Lilo and Stitch

I’ll upload more photos soon from our recent Disney quickie vacay, but here’s a cute one of Boy and Girl with their little 3 1/2 year old cousin. The first photo is pretty crummy, but the 2nd/3rd is good, so please flip to that one (I can’t figure out how to link directly to that … Continue reading “Boy, Girl and Cousin with Lilo and Stitch”

I’ll upload more photos soon from our recent Disney quickie vacay, but here’s a cute one of Boy and Girl with their little 3 1/2 year old cousin. The first photo is pretty crummy, but the 2nd/3rd is good, so please flip to that one (I can’t figure out how to link directly to that one). Cousin (who is ADORABLE) spent most of the trip claiming to be a hippopotamus. Apparently, hippos really like to swim. They also don’t care for green beans, but they REALLY like chocolate milk.

Tuna Salad and English Muffin Tuna Melts

These are very popular with the whole family, including Girl, who does not normally eat any kind of seafood. Tuna Salad Melts 2 cans water-packed tuna, drained *** good quality mayonnaise (Hellmann’s or homemade) to your taste/consistency preference, about 1/2 cup chopped hard-boiled egg whites, 3 or 4 very finely chopped red onion, about 1/4 … Continue reading “Tuna Salad and English Muffin Tuna Melts”

These are very popular with the whole family, including Girl, who does not normally eat any kind of seafood.

Tuna Salad Melts

2 cans water-packed tuna, drained ***
good quality mayonnaise (Hellmann’s or homemade) to your taste/consistency preference, about 1/2 cup
chopped hard-boiled egg whites, 3 or 4
very finely chopped red onion, about 1/4 cup
finely diced celery, about 1/4 cup
very finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, about 2 Tbsp.
grated or shredded carrot, about 1/4 cup
salt and pepper to taste (or Baby Bam)
a small pinch of dried thyme leaves

optional: diced, peeled apple and/or lightly toasted, slivered almonds.

Gently blend together the tuna and the mayonnaise, breaking up tuna clumps with a large fork. Stir in remaining ingredients to desired flavor. Add more mayonnaise, if necessary, to reach your desired texture.

To prepare the Tuna Melts:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Split English Muffins in half. Scoop some tuna salad on top of each half. Use a fork to flatten and spread it out, covering the muffin completely. Top each one with a slice of your favorite cheese (we like Muenster). Bake for a few minutes, until cheese is melted and muffin is warmed.

***I prefer the lighter flavor of albacore tuna better, but it does have a higher mercury content than “regular” tuna, so decide for yourself. If you are pregnant or your children are very small, I would recommend plain tuna and, even at that, it should not be consumed very frequently.

Teacher Appreciation Lunch, Version 8

The kids are out of school now, but during the last week of school, I prepared our family’s traditional “Thank You” lunch (from Bon Appetit magazine) for Boy and Girl’s teachers. I have now prepared this same meal for 8 years in a row; I think that I could make it blindfolded….but…it’s reliable, yummy and can be prepped in stages, so lots of it can be done in advance and chilled overnight in the delivery containers, so that it can be delivered in time for lunch. This is especially popular on the day of a field trip. I’ll just tell the teachers not to worry about packing their lunch for the trip and then pack it into a small sack or cooler, with some ice packs to keep it fresh until lunchtime.

Here’s a photo of the meal, as served at home (the side benefit of all of this cooking is that we end up with some leftovers at home):

PS – During the course of all of this cooking, I knocked a jar of paprika out of my cabinet. It hit the granite countertop on the way down to the floor and shattered. I stepped on a piece of glass while trying to get the broom (and my shoes) and got it deeply imbedded in my foot. I ended up having to go to the emergency room to get it removed (this was on Memorial Day). The good news, I guess, is that I now have a current tetanus shot.

Baby Bam seasoning

I use this seasoning on absolutely EVERYTHING, so I thought it deserved its own entry. Here’s the link to Emeril’s recipe: Emeril’s Baby Bam seasoning If you go up to the top right corner of this blog and put “Baby Bam” in the search field, you’ll hit on lots of recipes where I use this … Continue reading “Baby Bam seasoning”

I use this seasoning on absolutely EVERYTHING, so I thought it deserved its own entry. Here’s the link to Emeril’s recipe:
Emeril’s Baby Bam seasoning

If you go up to the top right corner of this blog and put “Baby Bam” in the search field, you’ll hit on lots of recipes where I use this magical blend.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Wicked good…. Baked Macaroni and Cheese 3/4 lb of your favorite pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained 1 stick butter plus 3 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup flour 2 cups milk 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese a dash of Worcestershire sauce 1 cup dry bread crumbs (I use half regular and half panko) … Continue reading “Baked Macaroni and Cheese”

Wicked good….

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

3/4 lb of your favorite pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 stick butter plus 3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup dry bread crumbs (I use half regular and half panko)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

seasoning options:
dash of dry mustard
dash of Worcestershire sauce
dash of paprika
dash of Baby Bam
dash of my new favorite seasoning (Simply Organic all-purpose seasoning – salt free!)
salt and pepper (white pepper is great, if you have it on hand)
finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley? oregano?)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter over medium-low heat. Once butter is melted, whisk in the flour and cook until fully incorporated and thickened (2 – 3 minutes?). Stir in milk and continue cooking and whisking until smooth, thick and warmed through. Stir in 2 3/4 cups of the cheddar cheese to blend. Add seasonings as desired. Pour over pasta and stir to thoroughly coat. Pour into lightly greased baking pan. Melt remaining butter and blend with breadcrumbs, remaining 1/4 cup cheedar and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over pasta/cheese in the pan. Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread crumbs are toasted and cheese is golden and bubbling.

Kids will ask for seconds, guaranteed.

Boy played Stephen F. Austin in his class musical this week…

Boy (on R in suit, holding paper) The girl on the left, in brown, is playing “Sara” (Stephen’s F. Austin’s secretary). I think that she is really cute. Boy says that he thinks that she thinks that he “likes” her, but he doesn’t. He might like someone else, but he also might not like anyone. … Continue reading “Boy played Stephen F. Austin in his class musical this week…”

Boy (on R in suit, holding paper)

The girl on the left, in brown, is playing “Sara” (Stephen’s F. Austin’s secretary). I think that she is really cute. Boy says that he thinks that she thinks that he “likes” her, but he doesn’t. He might like someone else, but he also might not like anyone. Boy says that cute girl likes someone else, anyway. He also said that he would probably tell us that he didn’t like anyone, even if he did like someone. This is all very common in 4th grade, apparently.

Sweet Lemon Thyme Crisps

I recently received a hostess gift of a cute potted herb garden that contained some lemon thyme (and oregano and variegated sage). The thyme was growing particularly vigorously, so I went in search of a recipe that would make good use of it. I found this one on epicurious. These were really tasty, unique and … Continue reading “Sweet Lemon Thyme Crisps”

These were really tasty, unique and easy. I would recommend reading the epicurious reviews before you decide whether or not to make them. It seems that most people either LOVE them or HATE them. I did add more lemon zest and more lemon juice, as was recommend in the reviews. I must be honest and say that these were not a big hit with Boy and Girl. I think that they would have liked them a lot without the thyme in them, but that would sort of defeat my original purpose, yes? I liked them quite a bit, but would serve them in the future as more of a appetizer or (with a glass of chardonnay) snack, rather than as a dessert. I also must disclose that I am a sucker for ANYTHING citrus. I’ll take lemon or orange ANYTHING over chocolate any day of the week, so I may have a bit of a bias. Anyway, they were easy and the dough could be stored in the freezer for last-minute hostess needs.

Girl, dressed for her first middle school dance

Pardon my ATROCIOUS photography, and the fact that a couple of the girls are missing (there was a pre-dance “get dressed and ready together” party and some of the girls were still getting ready), but here’s a photo of Girl with some of her friends before the dance:

Some photos from the musical

Girl is the one in the brown robe with the dark blue sash.

My two “Tin Grins”

Not a great photo of either of the kids, really (Girl still had eye makeup residue on from dress rehearsal last night and Boy was being a bit goofy), but I wanted to share with you what $10,000 worth of orthodontia in progress looks like…