Okay, this is going to be more of a monthly recap than weekly, because I haven't done one for a while. So don't think I did nothing but cook and read this week. ;)
What I'm Cooking
Oven "fried" pork chops. Isaac doesn't love pork, so I don't make it often, but periodically I get tired of chicken and beef and want something different. I actually ended up making this three times this month, because once I've bought a family pack of pork chops and a box of cornflakes, I might as well use them up!
Skillet lasagna. I make a few changes to this, to keep it simple with pantry items I usually have. I use ground beef seasoned with sausage seasoning, skip the fresh parsely altogether, swap cottage cheese in for the ricotta (it's cheaper, and my kids will eat the leftovers), and stir the cottage cheese right into the skillet instead of dolloping on top. This is one of Owen's favorite meals.
Creamy green chili beef. I make this any time I have leftover sour cream in the fridge. I use more like 1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream, much less than the recipe calls for, and serve over rice with peas. My kids don't love it, but I do.
Chicken parmesan casserole. This was better than I thought it was going to be, actually. Don't skip the toasted bread crumbs.
Chicken bacon lasagna . . . only I made it in manicotti shells instead. I used exactly one box of manicotti shells for the recipe as written.
Roasted chicken and veggies (sweet potatoes, red potatoes, carrots, red onion). I'm never satisfied with the veggies when I roast it all together. This time I added the onion about halfway through cooking time, and for once it didn't all burn to a crisp. I think next time I'll start the chicken and potatoes first, then add the sweet potatoes (which also burnt this time) and onion later. I'm not giving up on the recipe, though -- the chicken turns out perfectly every time.
No-bake chocolate cake (really more of a sliceable truffle). I left out the optional ingredients, added just a splash of orange extract, and served with raspberries and freshly whipped cream. This, preceded by the roasted chicken and veggies, makes a fairly simple and thoroughly satisfactory meal when you're entertaining gluten-free friends!
Quick cinnamon biscuits. These aren't fancy, but I like them. Very easy to whip up in the evening and pop in the oven the next morning. So much faster than cinnamon rolls!
Crepes. It's been a while since I made them last, and the kids have been asking. It's a Friday morning treat for us, the only day of the week when we're all home for a leisurely breakfast together. I'm making 1-1/2 times the recipe now: Isaac and I generally eat two crepes each, but the boys have been known to down four in one sitting. At least they're healthy (before the chocolate chips and whipped cream, anyway)!
What We're Reading
Me
Matilda. I understand the purpose -- creating larger-than-life, memorable characters -- but I wish Roald Dahl would tone down his angry adults just a little. I think Levi would enjoy this story, but I'm not crazy about him reading the word "idiot" (and others like it) over and over just yet. Maybe I'm still being too conservative on this . . .
The Jungle Book. This is maybe only the second or third time I've ever given up on a book before finishing it. It's hard reading: hard vocabulary, hard poetry, hard sequencing (random flashbacks), and, quite frankly, I'm just not enjoying it all that much.
Heidi. Sweet, simple (if a little lengthy) classic. We'll have to watch the Shirley Temple movie after Levi reads it.
Smart but Scattered. The title says it all. Doing a little research on my second son (and learning a bit about my first son's brain in the process, too). ;)
Levi
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates. I don't remember ever having read this, but I generally assume classics like this are safe reading for him. He seemed to enjoy the storyline.
Jason's Miracle: A Hanukkah Story. We studied the origin of Hanukkah in history this week, and this was suggested extra reading from the curriculum.
Owen
Imagination Station. We spotted one at the library last week, about David and Goliath, and the boys are hooked. Owen claims to hate reading, so when I suggested maybe he should read this one, he protested that he was only going to read one chapter a day . . . and then he finished it in one sitting. There was a lot of spontaneous David-and-Goliath play in our house this week, including this battlefield set-up:
What I'm Cooking
Oven "fried" pork chops. Isaac doesn't love pork, so I don't make it often, but periodically I get tired of chicken and beef and want something different. I actually ended up making this three times this month, because once I've bought a family pack of pork chops and a box of cornflakes, I might as well use them up!
Skillet lasagna. I make a few changes to this, to keep it simple with pantry items I usually have. I use ground beef seasoned with sausage seasoning, skip the fresh parsely altogether, swap cottage cheese in for the ricotta (it's cheaper, and my kids will eat the leftovers), and stir the cottage cheese right into the skillet instead of dolloping on top. This is one of Owen's favorite meals.
Creamy green chili beef. I make this any time I have leftover sour cream in the fridge. I use more like 1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream, much less than the recipe calls for, and serve over rice with peas. My kids don't love it, but I do.
Chicken parmesan casserole. This was better than I thought it was going to be, actually. Don't skip the toasted bread crumbs.
Chicken bacon lasagna . . . only I made it in manicotti shells instead. I used exactly one box of manicotti shells for the recipe as written.
Roasted chicken and veggies (sweet potatoes, red potatoes, carrots, red onion). I'm never satisfied with the veggies when I roast it all together. This time I added the onion about halfway through cooking time, and for once it didn't all burn to a crisp. I think next time I'll start the chicken and potatoes first, then add the sweet potatoes (which also burnt this time) and onion later. I'm not giving up on the recipe, though -- the chicken turns out perfectly every time.
No-bake chocolate cake (really more of a sliceable truffle). I left out the optional ingredients, added just a splash of orange extract, and served with raspberries and freshly whipped cream. This, preceded by the roasted chicken and veggies, makes a fairly simple and thoroughly satisfactory meal when you're entertaining gluten-free friends!
Quick cinnamon biscuits. These aren't fancy, but I like them. Very easy to whip up in the evening and pop in the oven the next morning. So much faster than cinnamon rolls!
Crepes. It's been a while since I made them last, and the kids have been asking. It's a Friday morning treat for us, the only day of the week when we're all home for a leisurely breakfast together. I'm making 1-1/2 times the recipe now: Isaac and I generally eat two crepes each, but the boys have been known to down four in one sitting. At least they're healthy (before the chocolate chips and whipped cream, anyway)!
What We're Reading
Me
Matilda. I understand the purpose -- creating larger-than-life, memorable characters -- but I wish Roald Dahl would tone down his angry adults just a little. I think Levi would enjoy this story, but I'm not crazy about him reading the word "idiot" (and others like it) over and over just yet. Maybe I'm still being too conservative on this . . .
The Jungle Book. This is maybe only the second or third time I've ever given up on a book before finishing it. It's hard reading: hard vocabulary, hard poetry, hard sequencing (random flashbacks), and, quite frankly, I'm just not enjoying it all that much.
Heidi. Sweet, simple (if a little lengthy) classic. We'll have to watch the Shirley Temple movie after Levi reads it.
Smart but Scattered. The title says it all. Doing a little research on my second son (and learning a bit about my first son's brain in the process, too). ;)
Levi
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates. I don't remember ever having read this, but I generally assume classics like this are safe reading for him. He seemed to enjoy the storyline.
Jason's Miracle: A Hanukkah Story. We studied the origin of Hanukkah in history this week, and this was suggested extra reading from the curriculum.
Bible on one leg, Jason's Miracle on the other
Imagination Station. We spotted one at the library last week, about David and Goliath, and the boys are hooked. Owen claims to hate reading, so when I suggested maybe he should read this one, he protested that he was only going to read one chapter a day . . . and then he finished it in one sitting. There was a lot of spontaneous David-and-Goliath play in our house this week, including this battlefield set-up:
I'm told that the bean bags (dark blue) are tents. The line of Kapla blocks across the center is dividing the Israelites from the Philistines. There are various groups of Duplo soldiers, hard to see in the busy solar system rug.
Silas and Toby
Toot and Puddle books. Not my favorite, but the boys love them.
Four Stories for Four Seasons. This one cycles around in our house: we don't always read it, but when we do, we read it multiple times a day for days on end. Can't go wrong with Tomie dePaola, really.
Also resurfacing as favorites in the past few weeks:
Honey Honey Lion (love Jan Brett!)
Ms. Frizzle's Imperial China (yes, really)
We do more than eat and read around here, but I think it's safe to say we eat and read more than anything else we do! Not a bad way of life, in my opinion. :D
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