On Being Our Own Weekend Guests
I don’t know about you, but when I have weekend guests over, I enjoy planning something special for breakfast. Unlike our usual breakfasts that are grab and go items such as cereal and fruit, breakfast becomes a more leisurely meal with food to savor and long conversations. When we visited my sister-in-law a few weeks ago, we didn’t eat breakfast until later in the morning because the bacon needed frying and the pancakes had to be cooked. We had a delicious, sunny time together lingering over the food, our conversation, and the coffee.
Over this weekend I was inspired one morning to make waffles from scratch and use up the fresh berries in the refrigerator. As Joe washed my car, I took my time preparing a breakfast as I might for weekend guests. When we finally gathered at the breakfast table, it almost felt like we were our own weekend guests.
How often do you enjoy leisurely breakfasts with your family?
Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens
Like most parents I know, when my spouse is away I don’t make very complicated dinners. Some parents will grab something from the drive-through to make life easy. But driving to get takeout is more trouble than it’s worth to me.
Since Joe wasn’t going to be home for dinner last night, I made grilled chicken and cheese quesadillas with a side of broccoli. First I tossed chicken strips into a spicy salt blend from Penzey’s, and sauteed it in a fry pan. I grated a piece of colby jack cheese, topped a tortilla with the cheese and chicken, covered with another tortilla and grilled it. I served the quesadilla triangles with salsa and sour cream. Microwave-steamed broccoli with olive oil and salt was our vegetable.
What are your “go to” dinners when you’re looking for an easy home cooked meal?
I May Never Have to Cook Again
It has finally happened. Annie and Louisa worked together to cook a complete dinner for us, 95% on their own. I suppose all it took was the right motivation, and maybe a little experience. You see, as About.com Guide to Entertaining I’m sent a lot of cookbooks to review, enough that you can often hear Joe walking around mumbling things about needing another bookcase. The most recent book sent for review was “Love at First Bite, the Unofficial Twilight Cook Book”. With the serious Twihards we have in this house, there was a lot of excitement over its arrival. First Louisa cooked the Rocky Road Brownie recipe, easy for her. Then Annie decided she wanted to cook dinner from it, and Louisa wasn’t about to be outdone. So I suggested they plan a menu to cook together (crafty, aren’t I?)
It was a joy on Tuesday night to sit and listen to the two of them cooperating busily in the kitchen as they prepared our dinner. They even cleaned up after themselves! The main dish was lasagna, I only helped with boiling and draining the noodles. They accompanied that with the non-alcoholic Eclipse punch which was a combination of fruit juice and soft drinks. Finally, they baked a chocolate cake for dessert. The only part I assisted with was making the frosting since it was a cooked frosting, and I didn’t want them to get burned with the boiled sugar part of the recipe. The cake layers turned out beautifully and the dinner was delicious.
On a serious note, I think the real key to getting kids to cook — is to let them. If you worry about them making a mess and always shoo them away, they’ll lose interest and never gain confidence in the kitchen. I’ve tolerated many flour and water experiments gumming up the countertops, strange drink concoctions, and almond and pickle sandwiches. But apparently it was worth it.