Sweet Sandwich Bar--Easy Kid-Friendly Lunch!

I have four kids.  Making sandwiches is a chore.  Usually, Lukas and Keanna like peanut butter and jelly, Koda likes peanut butter and honey, April likes just honey.  Then all of a sudden Keanna doesn't want a sandwich, Koda wants just peanut butter, and April wants whatever *insert sibling name here* is having.  They eventually revert back to the usual, but I never know.  During the school year, you eat what Mom packs.  You can make requests, but there are no guarantees.  So I've been trying to mix it up this summer to make lunches more fun.

Last week I had a brilliant epiphany:  a kid-friendly sandwich bar!  I got out a variety of sandwich ingredients and let the kids decide what they wanted.  I then put the ingredients on their plates and let them construct the sandwiches themselves.  They loved it!  Lukas came back for a second sandwich and asked for a third (which I didn't let him have, but he did eat more fruit).

Lukas's plate:  peanut butter, apricot jelly, bananas, apple,
strawberries, and honey.

I put out peanut butter, strawberry preserves, apricot preserves, honey, apple slices, banana slices, strawberry slices, and pecans.  That's just what I happened to have that day, but there are many more possibilities:  raisins, dried cranberries, peach slices, cut grapes, granola, maple syrup, blueberries, raspberries, apple butter, pear slices...

Mommy's sandwich:  peanut butter, apple slice,
strawberries, and apricot jelly.  Super yummy!!

Everyone is happy.

Simple Red Beans and Rice

Yup!  Beans and rice again!  There are just so many possibilities to feed my family of six for near to nothing.  When this package of red beans and rice mix caught my eye, I just had to give it a try.  Not that I was looking for a great new go-to option, but I just couldn’t believe that a pre-packaged mix could come anywhere close to being as economical or tasty as my homemade version.

The consensus?  I was right.  Not one of us was impressed or even liked the red beans and rice from the mix.  I didn’t make the kids eat it---and that rarely happens in our house.  And the leftovers?  Most of them got tossed.

I added some leftover ham.

The following week, I made my own version of red beans and rice.  There are two ways that I make this dish.  The first, that I’m sharing today, is very simple and frugal.  The second way I make red beans and rice, isn’t as near-to-nothing because it uses some pricey meat.  I will definitely have to share that one in the future.

Ideally, I would use one red pepper and one green pepper.  When I made this to take pictures, I used two red because they were on sale.  I was also out of onions, so I just did without.

The recipe includes hot sauce as optional.  I usually don’t put any in the pot because of the kids, but Robbie and I add it to our individual bowls.  If you do not include the hot sauce, you may want to add a little more salt.

Of course, when I make red beans and rice, I end up with a ton.  We ate them for dinner, froze some for another dinner, and refrigerated some for lunch.

Simple Red Beans and Rice
2 bell peppers (any color)
1 onion
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 qts. water
2 c. brown rice
2½ c. cooked red beans
Chopped or diced cooked ham or sausage (optional)
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
4 Tbsp. chicken or vegetable bouillon
1½ heaping Tbsp. paprika
½ tsp. pepper
1½ tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
Hot sauce (optional)

Dice peppers and onion.  Heat oil in large Dutch oven or stock pot.  Add peppers and onion to oil; sauté until soft and onions are slightly translucent.  Add all remaining ingredients.  Bring to boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is done, about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When rice is done, leave at a simmer and use immersion blender or back of spoon to smash some of the beans until desired consistency is reached, adding water as necessary.

I used a spoon to smash some of the beans against the pot
because my immersion blender died.

Soup will continue to thicken a bit as it sits.  Adjust seasonings as desired.  Yield:  lots!  (probably about 4 qts.)  Total cost without meat:  less than $6.

It even just looks better than the packaged version.

Sautéed Green Beans

A few weeks ago, we went for a play date with one of the boys’ preschool friends.  When we left, they sent us with a bag of green beans from their garden!  Yay!  I love summer produce!

Out of all the ways I could have prepared them, I chose to sauté them.  I think this is the easiest and tastiest way to cook most vegetables.  In my experience with my kids and with other kids, they tend to like veggies more when they are sautéed than when they are prepared other ways.

I sauté green beans just like I sauté other vegetables, except I like to add sliced almonds.  The nutty flavor goes great with the beans, and they add great texture.

If the beans are long, I snap them each in two or three pieces to help them cook more evenly.  Try to have the beans as dry as possible before adding them to the pan to prevent spattering.

Sautéed Green Beans
Vegetable oil
Green beans, cleaned and snapped in half or thirds
Slivered almonds
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil.  When oil is hot, add green beans.

I've been using this handle thing from my Grandma--I love
it!!  Thanks, Grandma!

Sauté, tossing occasionally until almost done.  Add slivered almonds; continue to sauté until beans are done and almonds are toasted and golden.

Remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

A Summer Apology and Homemade Tortilla Chips

We'd first like to start out today's post with an apology.  We've been very flaky on posting lately.  Our usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule has been interrupted by summer.  Both of us have been busy enjoying our families with vacations, day trips, outside fun, VBS, and house projects.  We know our loyal readers look forward to new posts regularly.  Please know that we still have lots of yummy things to share with you and we will hopefully soon get back to our normal posting schedule.

I do have a new recipe today--homemade tortilla chips!!  No store-bought tortilla chip can come close to the flavor of warm, homemade chips, especially when served with homemade guacamole or pico de gallo!

The key to golden crisp chips is the oil temperature.  I never actually check the temperature; I just adjust according to how the chips are coming out of the oil.  If they are getting too dark, turn the oil down.  If they aren't crispy, turn the oil up.  Super oily chips are the result of the cooking oil not being hot enough.  Considering this, you want to avoid adding too many tortillas to the oil at once.

I like to drain the cooked chips on my cooling.  I usually turn it upside down and place it on a brown paper bag to wick away the oil (an Alton Brown trick).  If I don't have a paper bag on hand, I place the rack upright over a cookie sheet.

In order to get the salt to stick to the chips, they must be salted immediately after they are removed from the oil.

Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips
Vegetable oil for frying
Corn tortillas (I prefer white)
Salt

Heat 1-2 inches of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, cut tortillas into wedges.

When oil is hot, add wedges in single layer.  If they don't start sizzling right away, the oil isn't hot enough.  Fry until golden brown, turning once during cooking.

Remove from oil onto cooling rack.  Immediately add salt.

How else can you serve your homemade tortilla chips?  Here are a few ideas (click on the captions to find the recipes):

Bapa's New Year's bean dip

Chicken chili

Corn and black bean salad as a salsa

Southwest refried bean soup

Sweet tortilla soup

Taco salad

Taco soup

Tangy chicken tortilla soup

Robbie's Favorite Cornbread

You know those dishes that just have to be made like mom makes them?  For me it’s chicken with the white sauce—I’ll have to post that one sometime.  But for Robbie, it’s cornbread.

When Robbie was a boy, his little brother was allergic to milk, so their mom would use orange juice instead of milk in her cornbread.  The result is a super sweet cornbread that has turned Robbie into a picky cornbread eater.

When we first got married, I started making cornbread with her alterations to my old go-to recipe—orange juice instead of milk and a little vanilla.  It always tasted amazing, but the texture was never quite right.  I figured it was because the OJ throws off the acid/base balance.  A little tinkering, and I’ve finally perfected it!

One key to any cornbread is to not over mix it.  There is a huge temptation to mix the wet and dry ingredients together until the batter is smooth—DON’T DO IT!!  The batter should still have lumps in it when it goes in the pan.  This concept may deserve a separate post.

To make this completely dairy-free, I' sure you could replace the butter with melted shortening or vegetable oil (though I've never tried it).

Robbie’s Favorite Cornbread

1½ c. flour

⅔ c. sugar

½ c. cornmeal

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

1½ c. orange juice

⅓ c. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1½ tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease 8- or 9-inch square baking pan; set aside.  In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, beat eggs to break up.  Stir in orange juice, vegetable oil, butter, and vanilla.

Be sure to break your eggs up thoroughly so
you don't end up with chunks of egg in your cornbread.
"Yeah, that's gross."  --Robbie

The only precaution here is don't add the butter directly to
the eggs if it is still hot from being melted.

Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended.

Do not over mix—there will still be lumps.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake about 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cornbread muffins:  Grease or paper-line muffin cups.  Fill ⅔-full; bake 18-20 minutes.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing.

It's so good, you may not even want butter.  I
usually eat mine plain.

As a bonus, you’ll notice that all my pics are of a funky 9”X13”-turned-into-a-9”X9” pan.  I used this technique twice in the same week so I thought it was worth sharing.  If you don’t have the right size pan, simply use a larger pan and make a foil dam to get the proper size.  Heavy duty foil is best, but regular will suffice (that's what I used).  Be sure to fill the empty part with some water to avoid overheating and burning that side (like filling the unused spaces in a cupcake pan).  Just be sure not to puncture the foil or let it spill over--no soggy cornbread!

Sorry, foil doesn't photograph well.  Be sure the dam
is as high as the pan walls.

Cherry Pie

A couple weeks ago, a friend of ours stopped by with a ton of cherries from her cherry tree.  I never buy cherries because they are always over $2 per pound so it was a treat!  They were delicious just for eating, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bake something delicious.  I ended up with some mini cherry pies and a cherry crumble!  Yum!

Aren't they pretty?

I opted to make three little pies rather than one big pie to conserve the cherries and have fun with different top crusts.  The recipe is for a regular 9-inch pie.  And the best part?  You don’t have to cook the filling first!!

Keep in mind that the amount of sugar will vary depending on the type of cherries you are using.  I’m not sure what type of cherries I had.  They were sweet enough to eat, but not super sweet.  If using sour cherries, you’ll want more sugar; if using super sweet cherries, back off on the sugar.

For the pie crust, I used my tender and flaky pie crust recipe.

Tender and flaky pie crust with strawberry filling.

Cherry Pie

3 lb. pitted cherries

2 c. sugar (more or less depending on type of cherries)

4-4½ Tbsp. cornstarch

3 Tbsp. water

1½ Tbsp. lemon juice

½ Tbsp. almond extract

⅜ tsp. salt

1 batch tender and flaky pie crust
3 Tbsp. butter, diced

In large bowl, combine all ingredients except crust; stir to combine.  Let sit about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Notice the graininess of the sugar on the cherries.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°.  Roll out bottom crust and place in pie plate.  Pour filling into crust; dot with butter.

The graininess goes away as they sit and even
more as the pie bakes.

Roll out top crust and seal over filling.  Cut steam vents in crust.  Place pie plate in oven on a piece of foil to catch any drippings; bake 30 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350° and continue to bake 25-35 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling bubbles out.  If crust browns too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of foil until filling is done.  Cool on wire rack.

This is why you need the foil---that goo would have
been burned to the bottom of my oven.

So delicious!

Be sure to check back next week for cherry crumbles!!