Snack Time Simplified

If you are like me (always short on time, in a hurry and generally overwhelmed), it is very helpful to have an ace up your sleeve between meals and when hunger pangs hit. Here are a few ideas to get you and the kids snacking:

Super-Quick Snacks
Ants on a Log - spread peanut butter on celery and top with raisin "ants".
Cheese and Crackers
Yogurt with Cereal or Granola Clusters
Graham Crackers with Cream Cheese
Raw Veggies and Dip (hummus, bean dip, soft cheese)
Fresh Fruit
Apple (or Pear Slices) - serve with peanut butter, sugar free caramel dip or yogurt
String Cheese or Cheddar Sticks
Sugar-free Pudding Cups
Baked Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Applesauce
Dried Fruit
Granola Bars
Rice Cakes
Toast "Sticks" with Peanut Butter


Make-Ahead Snacks:
Pinwheels - tortilla or other flat bread spread with cream cheese, topped with deli meat/veggies, rolled and sliced
Homemade Trail Mix - combine whole grain cereal with raisins /other dried fruit
Frozen Fruit Juice Popsicles or Grapes
Cucumber Slices
Fruit Salad
Mini-muffins


Leftovers Anyone?
Tuna or Chicken Salad on Crackers
Meat Loaf "Bites" with Melted Cheddar
Diced Ham and Pineapple
Cold Pizza (I prefer homemade)
Roasted Vegetables
Pasta Dishes
Soups and Stews

Okay. Now I'm hungry (again).

Harvest Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 small potato, finely cubed
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tbsp. butter
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups chicken broth*
1 tsp dried parsley (or 2 tsp fresh)
1/2 tsp thyme
2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream
Chives for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a 1-quart sauce pan over medium heat, saute the onion, potato and sugar in the butter until onion is transparent and slightly caramelized (about 8 minutes). Add the pumpkin puree, chicken broth*, parsley, thyme and bacon. Stir to combine well, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm or serve immediately. Before serving, season with salt and pepper, to taste and garnish with a tablespoon or more of the heavy cream spooned onto each individual serving. Garnish with chives (optional).

*More or less broth can be used to adjust the thickness of the soup. The soup can be pureed in a blender or food processor before garnishing for a smoother texture.

Comfy Cozy

Ahhhhh, yes. My favorite time of year is finally here. Autumn has arrived, chock-full of holidays and activities that are near and dear to my heart. My personal favorite is Fall Wardrobe Day. I rummage around the closets looking for where I stashed the dozen or so sweaters I own. They're nothing special, really. Most were acquired either at a discount retailer or thrift store (I am one who needn't worry about potential moth infestations). Out come the hats, scarves, footsie pajamas and jackets for the little ones and warm blankies are stowed in the car. Oh, and yes--I actually do keep gloves in my glove compartment. Isn't that what it's for?

And then there's the food. Comfort foods like meat loaf and mashed potatoes are a favorite at my house. Soups and stews are relatively easy one-pot meals that can be prepared with little fat and lots of vegetables. Aside from all the usual Autumn fare, there's a myriad of recipes that call for pumpkin puree that I'm just dying to experiment with. I gotta get those veggies down their little hatches any way I can! Cooler weather calls for hot cocoa with marshmallows, herbal tea, vanilla lattes, and warm milk spiked with cinnamon and a teeny bit of sugar (if you've never had it, you really ought to give it a try).

Fall is a great season to encourage kids to use their creativity with food decor. They can help frost spooky ghost cookies, construct a haunted gingerbread house, or decorate sugar cookies with candy corn before they are baked. Sure, it's likely to create a huge mess, but it's very entertaining for little ones. Mmmmmm...Don't for get the Candy Apples. One can argue that these candy-coated delights are actually kind of healthy, right? Every year, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, my mom creates a centerpiece using a whole pineapple decorated to resemble a turkey. She fashions a turkey head cut from red felt stuffed with cotton which she then attaches with pins to the fruit. It may sound unusual but it's really awfully cute! Why a pineapple you ask? That's a very good question...

Here is a great recipe just passed on to me by a friend. I have yet to cook it myself, as I just acquired this week and would need to borrow a larger crock pot but ingredients don't lie--it's chock-full of yummy stuff. I can't wait to try it! It is as follows:

Dawn's Potato Soup
In a large crock pot set to "low" add the following, combining well:
6 potatoes, cubed
2 leeks, sliced
2 onions, chopped/sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 4 cups of water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 tbsp parsley (fresh or dried)
2 tbsp butter

Cook for four hours on the lowest setting. One hour before serving add one can of evaporated milk
and garnish with chives.
Optional garnishes: bacon bits or minced garlic, chopped ham, whatever is on hand.

Gobble, gobble, gobble...

Try It...You Might Like it!

Kid: I don't like cauliflower
Me: You know my dinner rule. You don't have to like it, but you have to try it.
Kid: [groans]
Me: Just eat it
Kid: But I hate cauliflower!
Me: How could you know this if you've never actually put the cauliflower in your mouth and chewed it?
Kid: But I have tried it before. Remember?
Me: Wha--? When?
Kid: ...'member that one time at Grandma's house?
Me: No...and since I don't "member" you have to eat it anyway.
Kid: It's not my fault if you forgot!
Me: Ok. New rule: If I can't recall that you've tried it before, you have to eat it again. Would you like some ketchup with that?

My daughter, bless her heart, is an adult now but we both have many fond memories of our battles at the dinner table. Did I mention that I won this one?

Photo courtesy of About.com