Cooking with Kiddos - Chicken Tamale Casserole

Did you know that weight patterns and food attitudes are very difficult to alter after age 11? And by "very difficult" I mean nearly impossible. It's the difference between knowing what is healthier, but still turning to the foods you grew up with. Emotional food ties. A tough nut to crack. 

One thing I am trying to do with my kids to create a healthy relationship with food is getting them in the kitchen helping as early as possible. It started with non cooking tasks like handing out the silverware from the dishwasher and just watching. That led to stirring and whisking and dumping and holding pans still. Recently L has been very eager to help more, which I love. I just have to get used to not caring about things looking too pretty. 

We are having casserole season at our house. Lots and lots of babies being born, lots of baking being done. This is one of my favorite recipes that we recently adapted to make it more organic & real food friendly. You can link to the original Chicken Tamale Casserole from Cooking Light Magazine HERE.  Below is a breakdown of the original recipe and what we did differently. Either option is easy to make with a little helper and tastes great. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided (We use organic cheese)
1/3 cup fat-free milk (We use organic milk)
1/4 cup egg substitute (I don't believe in egg substitute. One scrambled egg = 1/4C)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn (I couldn't find organic cream style corn. Here is an easy way to make your own. One recipe = one can)
1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (if you want organic you can find it at whole foods)
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
Cooking spray (I rub the pan with an empty butter wrapper)
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (there are a few organic options, but you can also make your own. This is a little more complicated at home)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (two breasts will do it and shredding is a great job for kids too!)
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream (fat free just means more chemicals and sugar. I use full fat)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. 

L was great at this. I took the ingredients out and put them into measured cups and bowls and she poured them all into the big bowl for mixing.

This is what all of that mishmash looks like.

 3. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. L was great at this step, too. Pour enchilada sauce over top. We did this one together. 

After 15 mins in the oven

 5. Top with chicken (another great kid job!) sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. (and she loved this step, too)  Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

The finished bowl

 I also think this tastes wonderful with fresh avocado. It's very easy and very delicious. When we know Landon will be eating it we eliminate the red pepper because she sometimes will complain that the corn part is "spicy". I put spicy in quotations because she says this even when things are not spicy by definition. It means there is something extra flavorful about it. That's a good thing, right? 

The roasted cabbage rounds and roasted artichokes posted on the istagram account got a lot of great feedback. I'll post those SUPER easy recipes later this week. We are definitely finding that roasting is a very easy way to cook very delicious things. 

- RT

A Challenge: The 24 Hour Reset Button

In parenting, I have noticed there are periods of time (maybe 24 hours) when everything falls into place. Your kids stop whining and are mostly reasonable, you get enough sleep, you arrive to places on time, and you think to yourself, "I am pretty much the most amazing parent in the world. I should start advising people on parenting. This thing is a breeze." Inevitably the next morning you wake up to irrational little people who don't get that you really didn't sleep well and you do not think it's cool to see how loud you can scream. And sit down, and use your inside voice, and eat your breakfast, and don't clench your jaw while I'm helping brush your teeth. 

Real life mess. Real life childrenz.

 I get wrapped up in being tired, being stressed out, and simply getting things done. Usually I don't even realize that I'm just going through the motions until weeks later. Things I have been saying a lot lately : "I'm so tired." "We're going to be late." "It's been a long day." 

Tuesday mornings are fast and furious. S leaves for work and I have my two tiny sidekicks who need breakfast,a snack and lunch for L, teeth brushed, hair brushed and ready to go to preschool. Then I get myself ready for work and fed at the table if I am lucky. Most of the time I take a kind bar and a piece of fruit for the road. This is a normal morning five days a week for a lot of moms and dads. I do it ONCE a week and can rarely manage to get L to school on time. 

We pulled into the parking lot today after a nice, but also late, morning, and I saw the other parents straggling to get their kids to class on time. I took a moment to reflect on me. I saw parents walking at paces that tiny legs were struggling to keep up with and I saw tiny faces being rushed here and there. And I wondered how many times I had been walking two steps in front of L rushing her in or out of this place or the other. I had the moment when I realized I've been going through the motions, getting from here to there, and it is time to be more present and more purposeful. 

This is when I set my 24 hour reset button. It seems to put my life back in a better direction and helps me to realize how many small, insignificant things I am letting pull me down. Tonight I will go to bed and for the next 24 hours (or until I go to bed tomorrow) I will not complain. No talk about being tired or kids not napping or having too much to do. A day when I can reset myself and remind myself that I am in charge of what affects me. The things that affect me affect my family and my work. So this all comes back around to me again. It's an Oprah full circle moment, I promise. 

I am a firm believer that you can't sit around waiting for other people to make you happy. YOU have to be the one to care about your happiness. You are in charge of you. That being said, living those beliefs is exhausting and it's a lesson I have to constantly remind myself of. A world without complaints is not realistic. People get angry, sad, upset, and hurt. Sometimes you need to GET IT OUT. That's why this is a 24 hour challenge and not a life challenge. Are you up for it?

I'm not asking you to find the joy in everything, although sometimes that kind of kumbaya is necessary. I'm just proposing that you take 24 hours to not complain and see if it's a positive or a negative in your life. This will be my third no complaining reset. So as my final complaint I would like for you to know that my almost three year old is trying really hard to no longer nap. And it's EXHAUSTING even though she stays in her room. We are in power struggle mode over here. I have been on the losing end. Something tells me after tomorrow things will get better.

But I'm not complaining or anything. 

- RT

PS - We are still going strong on our VegOut Challenge! I have been posting daily pics of what is for breakfast, lunch or dinner on the Raising Texas Instagram account. Follow @RaisingTexas to follow along on my journey to show people that kids LOVE real foods! More food posts to come.

The Official Announcement: It's Open Season

Just when I think we have had our last freeze, another late front passes through and kills something else in my backyard. It's looking bad out there. Even so, I'm backing myself up this time and making it official. As a non meteorologist I would like to say that the freezes are probably over (in Houston) and it's time to get back to grilling. Perhaps you missed my original ode to the grill post. The gist is that winners like to grill, and women are winners, so women should learn how to use a grill. Give me an ingredient and I will figure out how to make it on the grill. That is how much I hate washing pots and pans. 

Women who grill. Not the same as women who grillz.

 Kid Bonus: Although the grill is hot territory for kids, there is always prep that kids can help with. L is great at snapping asparagus stalks, mixing marinades & basting sauces, and adding salt and pepper. 

This week we grilled steak, chicken and shrimp. We had tons of veggies from our Farmhouse Delivery and we launched right into them. Our bundle is pictured below. A great mix of things to roast, saute, and eat raw. Want to know what we do with a bin full of fresh, local fruits and veggies? Here we go!

We got lots of greens, so not the best veggies for the grill, but great for serving alongside grilled items. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with the bag of mixed greens: Grilled Shrimp. I skewered the shrimp and brushed it with butter and lemon and that was it. To the grill and back again. I washed the greens and then tossed them in 1/3C Olive Oil, 1/4C Aged Balsamic Vinegar, salt & pepper. I am a light dressing person, so feel free to increase quantities to taste. Here is the end result:

We made an extra skewer for Landon and she ate hers with some tomatoes and avocado. She will eat salad, but prefers specific kinds of greens.

We felt a little steak hungry this week as well. Probably because it's Grilling Season (did I mention that already?) When I got home from work on Tuesday I took 5 minutes to wash, peel, and cut the carrots & beets from our delivery. Then I cut a large onion into a few chunks. I threw them all into a bowl and tossed them with just a touch of extra virgin olive oil, some salt flakes & fresh pepper. Then on to my overused baking dish and into a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. At the 30 minute mark I usually toss the veggies around to spread some of the caramelization. After the full 40 minutes they came out looking delish.

These were done when bath time ended and everything else got put on hold while the kids got put in bed. After they were down I pulled out the mystery "braising greens" that came in our bundle, washed them and braised them. If they are called braising greens, you should braise them, right? S got home and took over the grill on this night. In no time at all, dinner was served.

I've had more artistic photos, but in the interest of showing you what we do with our bin... you get this.

Tonight we streamlined further. We grilled chicken breasts and did a big side of dinosaur kale sauteed with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and garlic. And that was it. I won't pretend that my trusty box of Amy's Organic 100% whole wheat mac n cheese wasn't mildly calling my name from the pantry, but the thought of cleaning out a pot of cheesy macaroni was enough to keep our dinner very half veg half protein. 

As far as the rest of our bundle, the grapefruits get sliced and eaten up for my breakfast or for a snack. The sugar snap peas are amazing raw and dipped in hummus. L loves avocados and she ate the one from our delivery with her lunch today. We have been using the red stem malabar spinach for lunchtime sandwiches. 

Landy's turkey, cheese, & spinach on Ezekiel Bread with hummus.

That just leaves the purple cabbage. The great thing about cabbage is it will hang tight for a while in my fridge until I decide just what I want to do with it. Love it when the bins are gone so quickly. It means we are eating really well.

Here is where we are on our Veg Out challenge:

Day 8: Mushrooms, raw w/ pita & hummus
Day 9: Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
Day 10: Carrots, both roasted & raw
Day 11: White Onion, roasted
Day 12: Sugar Snap Peas, raw w/ hummus
Day 13: Red Pepper, cooked in pasta sauce

Even though March is almost halfway done, you can still join us as we VegOut this month. Have a vegetable lasagna and you'll probably cover 7 vegetables at one meal! To register click here. 

We are on Instagram! For daily posts with quick recipes, kid food, or other random tidbits, follow @RaisingTexas. 

Coming up soon: one of my favorite fruit and veggie packed smoothies that you can make in your blender. And later, more of the same old inappropriate things you have come to know and love. I had a pull up thrown at my face 5 times last night. Evenings are really interesting in my house. 

Grilling Season is GO! 

- RT

Recipe Review: Martha Stewart's Winter Vegetable Soup

I'm a big fan of Martha Stewart, in a very nerdy way. I love to watch her cook and see how effortless she makes everything. Here's a bit of a confession: My husband doesn't really enjoy chicken soup. This is heartbreaking news not only because I LOVE chicken soup, but also because he just told me a month or so ago. We've been together 12 years. That's a lot of chicken soup. With the never ending cold snaps, I was soup hungry, but wanted something different from traditional chicken soup. I went over to MarthaStewart.com for some inspiration and found a Winter Vegetable Soup that used Kale. Lucky for me I had a decent amount of Kale already in the fridge. This is where we started.

When I find a recipe online I love to read through the comments. It helps me get a feel for the recipe and people also put great tips in there. Someone added ginger to the soup and I added that to my list. Another added Bay Leaves so I added them as well. The recipe called for grated Parmesan on top of the finished soup, meaning it was the perfect time to pull out a treasured parm rind from my fridge. This is an amazing tip and I can't remember where I first heard it, but I'm sharing it with you. When you buy a wedge of parmesan, you eventually get all the way down to the rind. It's tough and I used to just toss them. I was then told that they make the perfect addition to soup broths. Perfect doesn't even begin to describe it. It adds some real complexity to the broth of almost any soup. Highly recommended. 

When I got home from the store I realized we were out of garlic. This NEVER happens in my house. Big disappointment, but with a two year old and an 8 month old.... I was not going back to the store. I substituted two teaspoons of garlic powder. I also knew I had more kale than the recipe called for, and I wanted to use it all, so I got an extra can of beans and additional broth to make sure it would be covered. 

This soup was really fantastic and really quick. I am still eating it and the flavors continue to evolve. The great thing about putting kale in a soup is that it holds up really well and doesn't disintegrate like other soup ingredients.  5 days later and my kale is still robust and flavorful. Another bonus on this soup: ONE POT. These are the best when you have a family and you don't feel like doing a ton of dishes. It could also work well for a meatless Monday! My one complaint about this soup is acorn squash. Acorn squash tastes great, but I am highly convinced that in the depths of hell there is a special room where all you do is peel acorn squash for eternity. Those little knobs annoy me to no end. Maybe you are a person who doesn't get annoyed by squash. Good for you.

This is a great option for the VegOut Challenge. You can knock out kale, acorn squash & onions. We used two varieties of kale to clean out the fridge. Here is the original recipe. My changes and substitutions are noted in red.

Martha Stewart's Winter Vegetable Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (we used 2 tsp garlic powder instead)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks (the worst part)
• 1 bunch kale ( 3/4 pound), ribs cut away and discarded, leaves torn (I doubled this)
• 5 1/2 cups (43.5 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth (We had extra on hand to cover the extra kale)
• 1 can (14 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed (we used two cans)
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, more if you like stronger flavor
• 2 small bay leaves
• parmesan rind 
• Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Step 1 (the only step)

   In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Cook onion and garlic until fragrant, 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add squash and kale and cook until kale is wilted, about 3 minutes (I covered the dutch oven to help cook the kale down); season with salt and pepper. Add broth, beans, Parmesan rind, ginger, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash and kale are tender, about 12 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper and serve with Parmesan, if desired.
   
   
   
   
   
   This is what Landon's portion looked like. She loved it too! This recipe is a keeper for us. Here is where we are on our VegOut Challenge:
   
   
   Day 5: Acorn Squash, in a soup
   Day 6: Spinach, fresh in an omlette
   Day 7: Sweet Potato, roasted
   
   
   Knocking out all of our regular veggies... things are about to get interesting. 
   
   
   Have a great weekend! 
   
   
   -RT
   
   
   
   

Roasted Vegetables & Catch Up Salad

It's day four of our VegOut challenge and to be honest, it's been really fun. So far we aren't doing much differently than what we normally do, but we are talking more about what we are eating. I am getting more feedback on the way our family cooks things and we are simplifying life in the kitchen and at the table. Something that makes me feel like we are almost cheating is the Farmhouse Delivery that gets dropped on our doorstep every two weeks. We are expecting ours this Saturday. This past weekend we were at my parent's house when theirs arrived and I wanted a chance to show you what could be done with this amazing barrel of goodies! 

 

I love opening these boxes up. Even though you have some idea of what to expect, it's still a little like vegetable Christmas. Everything is always so beautiful and there is something I love about getting root vegetables that still have a bit of the earth they grew in stuck to the skin. Pictured above: lacinto (or dinosaur) kale, a bag of mixed greens, green onions, brussels sprouts, oranges, tomatoes, broccoli, beets and a sweet potato. How beautiful are these tomatoes?

 

My mother keeps an organic garden and had some cauliflower that was ready to be plucked. We grabbed that and some carrots from a previous delivery. We washed the sweet potato and cauliflower, peeled the carrots and beets, broke them into pieces and preheated the oven to 425. 

Forty five minutes later, this is what came out:

I love roasting vegetables. The browning on a cauliflower might be enough of a reason. Mostly though, I love roasting vegetables because I'm busy. I've got two young kids and even though I love to cook, I also love reading, and having a life outside of the kitchen. Roasting vegetables on Sunday night can get you all set for the week if you do it well enough. We have roasted vegetables and then run to the store for some items to throw on the grill. Dinner is done. Also, roasted vegetables are easy for the whole family. We sauteed the kale, my mom made chicken and dumplings & some meatball lasagna. Here is our almost three year old daughter's dinner plate:

Clockwise from the top: Chicken and Dumplings, Cauliflower, Carrots, Meatballs & Kale

 For our 8 month old, we diced up some of the carrots and sweet potatoes. If you wanted to adapt for a younger baby, take the carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or beets and chop them. Then toss them into a blender or food processor with some water, breast milk or formula. I usually use water and some seasoning from our spice rack. Process them until they are the desired consistency. You just roasted your own baby food. For less dishes to clean, you can use a hand blender to puree the veggies.

When we got home we continued our roasting with some sweet potato and beet rounds. Our whole family ate salmon with beets & sweet potatoes for dinner.

 

 Roasting comes pretty easily after you have been doing it a while, and again it's a great way to cook lots of vegetables and store them up for a week's worth of meals. You can start with them simply washed, season them with olive oil, salt, pepper, or spices. You can make it your own. For an even easier veggie prep, you could just go raw.

Raw is easy, raw is good.

Here is where we are in our challenge:
Day 1 - Kale, braised
Day 2 - Avocado, fresh
Day 3 - Cabbage, smothered
Day 4 - Beets, roasted

The great thing about VegOut is that you can still register and start. Even though we are only highlighting one veggie a day, all you need to do is eat 30 different vegetables in 30 days. I always thought that I was teaching my kids to love cooking by just the act of cooking. This challenge has made me realize how many ways I can involve them and get them interested in the kitchen. You can register HERE and to help you out, here is a fresh salad that will make up for missing the first four days.

Catch Up Salad (serves 1)

Ingredients:

1C Arugula

1C Spinach

1/2C Grape Tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 an avocado, cubed

Fresh Feta to crumble on top

Dressing:

1/4C Grapeseed Oil (you can sub Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 Tbsp lime

1 tsp honey

Pinch of salt

Fresh Pepper to Taste 

Mix all of your dressing ingredients well with a fork or whisk. 

Washy and dry your greens and tomatoes. Slice the grape tomatoes in half, cut the avocado into cubes, and toss everything together with the dressing. Add feta on top or before tossing. 

See, now you're all caught up! 

Coming up next - I've got a great soup recipe that will knock out kale, onion, and acorn squash. 

Side note: Posting about vegetables on Fat Tuesday is only ok if you had pancakes for dinner.

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!

- RT