January 15th, 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
Scalloped Potato and Ham Recipe
Easy Kids Meals
A Personal Note
Hello! I hope you are doing well. Perhaps you even have the day
off of work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day? I am writing this Sunday night and
they say we MAY get a little snow overnight. We really haven’t had much except a
few flakes here and there all winter, so that would be fun – especially since
the kids don’t have school. Here we moved to the Midwest from Seattle and we
brought our Seattle weather with us – it has been 50’s and rainy most of the
winter. Unfortunately, my husband is leaving in the morning to go to WI (an 8+
hour drive) for a pastor’s conference, so for his sake I’m hoping it doesn’t
snow. I guess only time will tell.
This week we are potty training here at the Steendahl household.
We are on day 4. Dane is doing really well – as long as he is naked. The minute
I put a pull-up or underwear on he seems to think he is welcome to use that
instead of the potty. We’ll get there and amazingly so far all three of my boys
have been fairly easy to train. I’m grateful for that! (Of course we’re not over
the hump yet with this one… so I better go knock on some wood.)
This week doesn’t have anything too major in store. Matt will be
gone for the week, so the kids and I will be doing our best to make do without
him. I’m sure we’ll be fine! I hope you have a great week as well.
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?
Scalloped Potato and Ham Recipe
Makes
6 servings
Prep: SLOW COOKER - Start in the morning or early afternoon
6-8 slices ham
8-10 medium potatoes thinly sliced
1 onion thinly sliced (optional)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or American Cheese)
1 10 3/4-ounce can cream of celery soup
Paprika
1. Put half of ham, potatoes, and onions in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt,
pepper, and cheese. Repeat Layers
2. Spoon soup over top. Sprinkle with Paprika
3. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours, or high 4 hours.
*If you like a lot of creamy sauce with your ham and potatoes, stir 3/4 soup can
of milk into the soup before pouring it over the layers.
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.catholicmom.com
http://nossgalenbaby.com/twins_resources.html
http://www.hgpgal.com/links2.html
http://www.christian-homemaking.com
Kitchen and Cooking Tips, Articles, And Product
Reviews
Easy Kids Meals
With dance practice, basketball, the science project that's due
tomorrow and tae kwon do, who has time to cook a nourishing meal for the kids in
the evening? You do! You will have time if you prepare an easy to cook kids'
meal.
We all know it's effortless to throw a hotdog in the microwave or place a
tortilla in a pan on top of the range, add some cheddar cheese and ninety
seconds later have a simple quesadilla, but what's the thrill in that? Instead
experiment with Casseroles or one-pot dishes which in most cases go over well
with the kids; and are easy to put together.
Taste this easy recipe:
1 – lb. ground beef
1 - 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 - cup water
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 - cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Set beef in a 3-qrt glass casserole and microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until beef
is no longer pink. Stir and turn halfway through cooking time. Drain Beef. Mix
in sauce, water and macaroni. Microwave another 12 minutes, stirring halfway
through. Crumble mozzarella on top and let stand covered approximately 7 minutes
before eating. Serves a couple hungry kids.
There are numerous meals you can create with ground beef. Any recipe that calls
for ground beef will work just perfect replaced with ground turkey, chicken or
venison instead. The simple recipe below uses ground meat. It takes almost an
hour to bake but merely a blink to prepare.
Combine together:
2 lbs. ground meat
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can condensed mushroom soup
One bag of Crinkle Cut French Fries
Brown hamburger and strain the grease. Add both
soups to strained hamburger and place in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Top with
cut French fries and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until fries are
golden brown.
Taco salads are very quick and easy to make. Start with lettuce.
Add onion, tomato and cheese (if your kids will tolerate it.) Prepare some meat
and add in a packet of taco seasoning – or just include some taco sauce to the
meat. Next add crumbled tortilla chips or Fritos. Top off with salsa or Ranch
dressing. Don't forget the sour cream and guacamole too! Kids love this meal!
For a simple, on the go, nutritious, cold meal try:
Large lettuce leaves (not pre-cut lettuce in a bag)
Turkey or roast beef deli meat
Sliced cheese
Condiments
Step 1: Remove a large lettuce leaf.
Step 2: Layer meat, cheese, and condiments.
Step 3: Roll up and stick a toothpick in the middle.
Step 4: Eat.
Step 5: Wipe your mouth, there's a bit of mustard on your chin.
How about an interesting twist to the standard mac 'n cheese kids recipe?
1 (16 ounce) box macaroni (elbow, seashell, bowtie –
doesn't matter, just not spaghetti)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1. Prepare macaroni according to package
instructions.
2. Combine cottage cheese, sugar, and cinnamon with drained macaroni.
3. Taste and add more sugar/cinnamon, if necessary.
4. Serve immediately. Delicious!
Incorporate a little creativity to incorporate a
twist on a standard recipe and even with the crazy evening activities you will
muster up time to cook a delicious meal for your kids supper.
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