January 29th, 2007 Dine Without Whine's Weekly Newsletter
An Extension of our Menu Planning Service
www.dinewithoutwhine.com Publisher ~ Christine Steendahl
Read Past Issues In Our Newsletter Archives
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This Issue:
A Personal Note
Chicken Enchiladas
Benefits of Organic Produce
A Personal Note
BRRRRR, Baby it’s cold outside! Wind and cold that makes us cold
to the bone – that pretty much summarizes our last couple of days. I needed to
go to the grocery store yesterday, and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
The thought of standing out there loading the groceries into the car scared me
away. It’s not as windy today, so I can maybe handle the 11 degree temperature,
bundle up and get the job done. It looks like it is supposed to stay pretty cold
for awhile, so I guess we better get used to it. Maybe I’ll use this cold inside
time to plan and dream about our summer vacation.
A monumental event happened in our house this week. As of this
morning I have one more load of laundry to do and I will be completely caught
up! (That never happens) I generally have 6-15 (no joke) loads sitting around
for me. Generally the kids are complaining because they can’t find socks, or
underwear, or pants or…. now they are complaining because they can’t shut their
drawers because they are so full. LOL I am sure some of you can relate, and some
of you are wondering how on earth a person could not keep up on their laundry. I
am organized in many areas, but laundry just isn’t one of them. (although, I am
going to do my best to keep up for awhile – we’ll see how it goes) My washer and
dryer have been running for three days non-stop, so I better give them a little
break this evening though.
Well, I better get on with my day – off to exercise, shower and
head to town. Have a great week!
Christine
“The Menu Mom”
www.themenumom.com
Recipe of the Week
Exerted from this week's family friendly menu plan
and convenient grocery shopping list.
Have you tried our
sample menu?
Chicken Enchiladas
Makes 6 servings
Prep: Cook Chicken ahead of time (I usually just throw it in a pot of boiling
water for awhile until it is done - You can also buy canned chicken if you
prefer.)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies (optional)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cubed boneless skinless chicken breast halves
cooked
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
6 flour tortillas 12 inch
1/4 cup milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the green
onion until tender (about 3 to 4 minutes).
3. Add the garlic powder, and then stir in the green chilies, cream of mushroom
soup and sour cream. Mix well.
4. Reserve 3/4 of this sauce and set aside.
5. To the remaining 1/4 of the sauce in the saucepan, add the chicken and 1 cup
of shredded Cheddar cheese. Stir together.
6. Fill each flour tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam
side down in the prepared baking dish.
7. In a small bowl combine the reserved 3/4 of the sauce with the milk. Spoon
this mixture over the rolled tortillas and top with the remaining 1 cup of
shredded Cheddar cheese.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
This Weeks Top Five Referring Sites
(These sites have a link
to DWW somewhere on their site and have sent the most visitors to
www.dinewithoutwhine.com this week)
http://www.snacksfortoddlers.com/
http://www.nossgalenbaby.com/twins_resources.html
http://www.catholicmom.com/main
http://www.christian-homemaking.com
http://www.hgpgal.com/links2.html
Kitchen and Cooking Tips, Articles, And Product
Reviews
Benefits of Organic Produce
Buying organic produce has become an increasingly popular trend in recent years.
Many people who buy it don’t even bother to research the benefits of these kinds
of foods. By buying organic produce you are helping your family and the
environment stay healthy and happy for years to come.
No matter what traditional producers try to convince you of, most people agree
that organic produce tastes better. Not only do organic fruits and vegetables
out perform regular produce in taste tests, they’ve also been proven
scientifically to be sweeter and more firm. Conventional producers tend to use
breeds of crops that are genetically modified to look good, but they lose flavor
in the process. Organic produce also has a better taste because they are grown
in optimum soil conditions and don’t have chemicals in them to mask the natural
flavor.
Organic produce contains more vitamins and essential nutrients then their
genetic and chemical altered counterparts. Tests have shown organic products to
have significantly more substances that promote many aspects of a healthy life
from cancer prevention to relieving the symptoms of PMS. Eating the recommended
daily amounts of organic fruits and vegetables gives you nutrients levels even a
multivitamin can’t match. This keeps your system functioning at optimum levels
and makes you feel great.
Organic fruits and vegetables are not grown using unnatural chemicals. The
obvious benefit of this is that your food has less harmful chemicals. This not
only helps protect you from chemicals that can cause cancer, heart disease, and
even promote Alzheimer’s; it also helps protect the environment from these
chemicals as well. When harmful pollutants are put into the soil, they offset
the natural balance. They can also work their way into streams, rivers, lakes,
oceans, and underground water supplies; polluting the environment and possibly
contaminating drinking water.
If you want the benefits of increased food safety, but cringe when you see the
higher price tag; you can cut the costs by only buying certain organic produce.
Different fruits and vegetables actually contain differing amount of harmful
chemicals. Produce that is more important to purchase organically includes:
winter squash, green beans, grapes, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries,
raspberries, peaches, apples, pears, and cantaloupe. Other types of produce have
lower levels and are safer to eat when grown conventionally.
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