The picture I took for this turned out just awful, so please don't be mad! ;-) This was a very tasty recipe. Adam and I both agreed that it needed more zucchini, and then maybe still served over pasta. Or leave out the zucchini, and make it into a sloppy joe. Oh, this is another recipe that I am unsure of where I found it. So please if you know, please let me know so that I may properly credit it.
4 tbp oil 2 med. zucchini, thinly sliced (I would use more next time)
1 med. onion, chopped 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp garlic, minced 4 cups pasta sauce
1 lb. ground beef 1/2 cup uncooked couscous
salt and black pepper grated Parmesan
1. Heat oven to 400. Oil a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Put 2 tbsp oil in a skillet over med-high heat. When it is hot, add the onion and garlic; cook about 5 min. Add the meat and stir, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until meat is no longer pink, 8-10 min; set aside.
3. While the meat is cooking, put the zucchini slices on a baking sheer, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until tender, 5-8 min. Remove, set aside, and reduce the oven temp to 350.
4. Put the stock and sauce in a pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover, and turn off the heat; let sit 10 min.
5. Spoon a thin layer of couscous on the bottom of the pan, top with zucchini and then some meat. Repeat until all ingredients are used; finish with couscous. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake for about 25 min.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Couscous Casserole
Elephant Appreciation Day
This is one that I can not take credit for! One of the other moms in the group I run, took this on as her own, and boy was it cute! We made this elephant craft. It was a print out, but you could make it yourself. There were two circles for the ears, a circle for the face, 2 ovals for the eyes, 2 tusks, and a long rectangle for the trunk. The kids colored all the pieces, D wanted hers a pink elephant, and then we had them glue the pieces together. Oh and what is that as the back of the elephant, none other than a old, used CD. You know you have some old ones either for computer programs, or horrible music! All of this was then glued onto a large popsicle stick so the kids could use them as puppets.
All the children were also encouraged to bring a stuffed or toy elephant. We listened to a few songs and did the elephant walk around the room with our toys. We also listened to a very nice book. The book we read was Big Little Elephant by Valeri Gorbachev.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG8VJWC6Hm8&feature=fvst
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ojV1r1XHM
Book we read:
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Little-Elephant-Valeri-Gorbachev/dp/0152051953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316656862&sr=8-1
Soups, soups, soups!
First, let me say I'm sorry these pictures are not the best, nor do I have a picture of the second soup. But the taste was fantastic! I am not sure where I found either of these recipes, so if you know, please let me know of the source so that I can properly acknowledge them. Thanks!
The first soup, pictures above, is the Creamy Beef, mushroom, and Noodle soup. Man, this was amazing!!! I will be making this again, and I will be making a double batch! The kids didn't really even try it, but Adam and I were blown away.
2 tbsp butter 1/4 cup ketchup
1 medium onion, chopped 3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp minced garlic 1/2 tsp pepper
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
6 cups beef broth 8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup dry sherry or beef broth
1 1/2 lb. boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into 2"x3/4"x1/4" cubes
1. In a Dutch oven, melt butter over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms; cook 5-6 min, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are softened.
2. Stir in beef. Cook 5-6 min, stirring frequently, until beef is no longer pink. Stir in remaining ingredients except the noodles and sour cream. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low; cover and cook for 10 min, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in noodles. Cover; cook 5-7 min, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender. Stir in sour cream, and cook 3-5 min; until well blended.
Now for soup number 2. This one is a Chunky Italian Soup. Adam and I both thought this one was a bit bland, and it needed a little bit more spice. So I have updated this recipe with my changes.
1/2 cup small pasta 2 bay leaves
1 tbsp olive oil 5 cups vegetable stock
1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, drained
2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 celery, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 tbsp oregano
1. Cook the pasta following package directions; drain and rinse under cold running water.
2. Put oil in a large saucepan and add onion and garlic. Half cover the pan and saute for 7 min, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil; then reduce the heat. Simmer, half covered, 15 min. Remove the bay leaves, and stir in pasta, cook for an additional 5 min.
Both of these soups were a fun new adventure, and I do plan on making them again. As you can see, there were no leftovers!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Pinterest Inspiration
First I want to say a big Hello to all the people coming to check me out thanks to LittleIndiana.com! Welcome!!
Now on to our normally scheduled posting.... Have you checked out pinterest.com at all? What an amazingly fun site! It basically is a virtual bulletin board for all those recipes, or crafts that you find all over the web. A great place to keep all those fun ideas, plus you get to see things that other people are pinning. I have found so many fun things to make both food and craft, that I had to share two of them. Want to see what I am talking about? Follow me here: http://pinterest.com/kellyheet/
First up is a fun way to get the kids to practice their A-B-C's. If your kids are like my kids, they get bored with the same old "teaching" ways. I am always looking for fun ways to include learning. I pulled out their easel from Ikea (under $20!), and drew the alphabet on the chalkboard side. I then grabbed a small bowl of water, and a cheap paintbrush (I believe the one I grabbed was from a watercolor book the kids had). I showed them what to do, and they loved it. They each had to trace over the letter with water on the paint brush, and wash away the letter. Both kids tried it twice, and then drew the letters back on for each other. This went on for a good half hour. The original idea that I found came from here. But just think, you don't have to stop with just letters. I plan on using this for numbers, and shapes as well. And then work up to words!
Next up is a project that I found almost as soon as I started my pinterest account! Melted crayons on a canvas! Brilliant I shouted! I can do this I thought. Hmmm, where to start. I started to see it everywhere. Finally, other bloggers started to post tutorials. Many said to use a hair dryer. Well, that wouldn't work for me, never really had a need for one of those. Until, pink and green mom said to use the heat gun for scrapbooking. Now that I DO have!!! The canvas is one I have had sitting around for sometime, just looking for a project. Well tonight was the night! I got out my old big box of crayons, hot glue, canvas, and heat gun. I lined up all the colors in order (ROYGBIV) on the canvas to make sure they would all fit. I stuck to the colors in the rainbow, because they are super cool! I headed outside for all the glueing and melting. The kids loved watching from the large window, but I did let them come out to watch me melt them. What fun! And it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. This piece now hangs proudly in my living room right next to the tv. A place of honor! The original idea was found here on etsy.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Oobleck!
I picked up a Dr. Seuss collection for L at the library last week that included stories we had never read. One of those being Bartholomew and the Oobleck. I had never read this one as a kid myself but it seems to be all over the blogosphere, and I had been noticing recipes for oobleck on pinterest for sometime now. I knew my kids would love it! So we read the story on a Friday night, Saturday headed to the art supply shop and picked up a gallon of Elmer's school glue, and headed home to make it. I found the recipe here at Teach Preschool, and it really was super easy. Just a half cup glue, and a half cup liquid laundry starch. Mix, mix, knead, knead, and get nice and messy. We colored ours green with food coloring just like the story, but you really could use any color. Ours has now been sitting in a airtight container on the counter for 5 days, and it still is neat! I highly recommend doing this with your kids!!!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
First Week of School
Well we made it through the first week of school. Yep, that is right. L is in Kindergarten now. Not half day, but full day. Boy what a change! I can't believe he is that old already.
Some highlights from the week:
L got glasses the day before orientation
He found his classroom with no problem
He wants to make a play date with a boy in class so they can play "Mario"
He was bummed coming home the first full day. He lost the picture of mom and dad from his pocket, and he was not able to check out the book he wanted from the school library.
The next day was better ;-)
He really likes gym class
He was frustrated that he couldn't play games in the computer lab
He asked me to put a note in his lunch everyday
We got a fundraiser on the second day
Today was school picture day
He learned a new song in music class already
I drive him to school and pick him up every day
He came home yesterday, said he bit down on a food pick in his lunch, and now he has 2 loose teeth on the bottom.
Peach Picking
D and I went peach picking with a few friends this morning. We discovered this great little u-pick farm up in Michigan. The Springhope farm is a tiny little farm. There is a great farm stand that offers a few veggies, fruit, flowers, jams, and dried fruit. One thing to be aware of, they are cash or check only, so come prepared! I will be going back, especially for cherry season next year. D and I picked 13 1/4 pounds in about 5 min. We found some nice soft ones, and then some firmer ones, in 3 different varieties. As soon as we got home, we planned what to make. Peach applesauce, Peach spice muffins, and I am going to attempt a peach pie. The apartment smells wonderful, and I can't wait for the applesauce to cool down a bit!
applesauce (I added about 13 peaches!):
http://kellyheet.blogspot.com/2010/10/apple-recipes.html
Peach spice muffins (I substituted the pears):
http://mommytoluke2.blogspot.com/2011/08/spiced-pear-muffins.html
Peach pie:
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=5263
