Cookbook Review: The Family Kitchen Garden

This book is just what it sounds like--part gardening, part cookbook. As you may have heard before, if children are involved in growing fruits and vegetables, they are more likely to try them (and hopefully learn to love them)! The authors have organized this book by month and give you step-by-step instructions for planting, harvesting and preparing the foods you grow. A recipe (or more) is included for each month like Carrot & Ginger Soup (in November), Fruit Ice Pops for kids (in June) or Homemade Ketchup (in September) and are sure to appeal to just about everyone. A basic primer on gardening is included in the beginning of the book to help you figure out what supplies and tools you will need.

The last section of the book provides much more detail for both vegetables and fruits. Step-by-step strategies to start you off right. They also include tips for planting companion plants that lead you to success...for example, if you're planting onions you should also plant carrots (because the onion smell distracts the carrot flies) and parsley (to destract the onion flies). Who knew?

Adults and kids alike will find this book to be a great start to get you growing your own food, learning to love eating it and best of all, spending time together!

Check with your local Agricultural Extension Service to find out what your area's growing season is for the fruits and vegetables highlighted in this book.

A Breakfast Bacon Burrito Panini? Of course!

Ok, so you know I've posted several times about Panini Happy--one of my favorite blogs that features delicious, original panini's created by blog owner, Kathy.  So when I decided to start the Stop Boring Breakfasts Challenge, I asked Kathy if she'd be interested in creating one to help inspire MY readers to try something new and tasty too!  Enter the Bacon Egg Breakfast Burrito Panini.  Sounds good huh?  What wouldn't be good about scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes and melted cheese all squished together in a burrito?  I think that's something my family can get excited about--I hope you do too! 

Here's Kathy's guest post about her yummy creation just for us--thanks Kathy!

Bacon Breakfast Burritos
by Kathy of PaniniHappy.com

The Smurfs, soccer games and “real breakfast” defined the Saturday mornings of my childhood. I looked forward to each of these events every weekend , but especially the food. I would wake up to the inviting aromas of pancakes, French toast or bacon and eggs wafting from the kitchen. It was usually one of those three dishes, but once in a while my mom would surprise my dad, sisters and me with muffins too. It was my favorite time of the week, when life slowed down and my family could ease into the day together. Until it was time to hit the fields for soccer.

These days I enjoy making “real breakfast” on Saturday mornings for my own family. On last weekend’s menu: breakfast burritos. There’s a taqueria near us that makes excellent ones, full of scrambled eggs, potatoes and smoky bacon. When I made my own version at home I decided to sneak some cheddar cheese inside as well and grill it on the panini press to get the outside nice and crisp. With a little chipotle salsa spooned onto each bite for a kick of heat, these breakfast burritos were a wonderfully satisfying way to start our weekend.

Bacon Breakfast Burritos
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices bacon
2 cups frozen diced potatoes with peppers and onions (sometimes labeled as “Potatoes O’Brien”)*
8 eggs
Salt and pepper
4 flour tortillas, 10-inch “burrito size”
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salsa and sour cream for serving

DIRECTIONS:

Place bacon in a skillet and turn stove on to medium heat. Cook, turning often, until bacon is cooked through and crisp. Remove bacon to drain on a paper towel.

Pour off all but about 2 teaspoons of bacon drippings. Carefully add potato mixture to the skillet (especially if using frozen potatoes it may spatter). Cook about 7-8 minutes until vegetables are cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add eggs. Continue cooking and stirring until eggs are set. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the panini grill to medium heat.**

For each burrito: Place a tortilla in the microwave on High for 10 seconds to make it fold easily. Place ¼ of the egg mixture in the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top. Fold burrito by folding in the left and right sides and then rolling it up from the bottom.

Place the burrito onto the panini grill, seam side down. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes until tortilla is toasted and golden grill marks appear.

* Alternatively, you can dice your own red potatoes, red and green bell peppers and onions

** If you don’t have a panini grill, you can also bake the burritos in an oven or toaster oven at 350° until the tortillas are browned and toasted.

Menu Plan Monday!

Here's what's on the menu for this week!

Monday: Chicken Alfredo (from freeezer gold), sliced avocados (they were on sale)  By the way, we never had this a couple of weeks ago when I had it planned.
Tuesday:  All-American Chili (from freezer gold!), garden salad
Wednesday: Pork Chops and Rice, steamed veggie
Thursday: Slowcooker Minestrone (part of my New Year's Resolution to eat a vegetarian meal a week), garlic bread
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: special event--no cooking for me!
Sunday: Leftovers

Keeping up with the Pantry and Freezer Challenge here's what's getting used up!
--Chicken Alfredo sauce
--Chicken tenders
--All-American Chili
--Pork chops
--Parmesan rinds (using in the soup to add cheesy flavor!)

Stop Boring Breakfasts--It's Time for a Challenge!

I'm not sure about you but our breakfasts have hit a real slump. When school first started I was all gung-ho about making a balanced breakfast for myself and my kids each morning. I made muffins, pancakes or waffles on the weekends to put in the freezer to pull out on busy mornings. Sure I had the Breakast Meal Plan that helped us have a little variety, but as the year has gotten busier, we've gotten a lot simpler and having just a bowl of cereal morning after morning. That's ok but now the kids are starting to complain! So, it's time to kick things back into gear and I want you to join me!

So I'm starting a Breakfast Challenge for the month of March. I'll be planning a big freezer session (and walking you through it so you can do it to!), a guest post with a yummy breakfast option created just for Meal Planning Magic, a giveaway or two and more fun for this month. So if you're ready to join me, just add a comment or link your own blog below and hopefully by the end of this month we'll all have a great new variety of breakfast options for our families and we can feel good knowing we're providing a healthy, nutritious start to our family's day while saving time in the kitchen too!

I hope you'll join me today!
P.S. If you don't have a blog to link to using the form below, just add a comment to share that you want to participate!

A Little Magic in Your Water

Recently I was reading on another blog, The Skinny Fight, how important it is to drink water daily. And lots of it.  I'm sure we've all heard it but Adrienne brought up something that I hear a lot too.  Lots of people don't like the taste of water.  What?  Hmm...I thought water didn't have a taste.  My husband says he doesn't like the taste of plain water either--I've always wondered why! 

If you feel that way too I wanted to share a little tip with you on a natural way to flavor your water.  Put cut up fruits and veggies in it.  Yup, that's right.  One time I went to a local spa (yes, rare but it has happened) and in one of their "relaxation rooms" they had a pitcher of water with sliced cucumbers floating in it.  "That's kinda weird" I thought.  But being that I was thirsty at the time I decided to try it. It was delicious!  So refreshing and how simple is that?  Another time I went they had sliced strawberries and yet another time sliced melon.  Talk about yummy and the bonus?  You're not adding anything artificial to your water but you still get some flavor.  You can use just about any fruit and many vegetables.  How about pineapple or sliced apples? 

If you want to give it a try, slice up one of your favorite fruits or vegetable (firm fruits and veggies work best-bananas or tomatoes probably not so much), fill up a pitcher with water and add some ice cubes.  You can pour yourself a cup whenever you feel like it.  Or keep a pitcher ready to go each day in your fridge and pour a glass regularly.  Experiment and try it out!  If you do, let me know what you think!