Whole Roasted Chicken

Whole Roasted Chicken, page 249


A whirlwind of a weekend has come to a close. More meals were eaten in restaurants and on the go this weekend than meals around the table, but not Sunday night. I finally thawed the chicken I had frozen and we enjoyed it as a family.

The boys had a fantastic first IronKids race on Saturday. One of their teammates qualified for IronKids Nationals, another was voted best smile on the course, but ALL of them raced well and had a blast. I am not exactly sure if it is the case for all 5, but I know that for Elliott and Chas it was their first open water swim triathlon. I was so very proud of them, as I am only semi-over my fear open water swimming. It's not the swim or the green water, but the creatures which call it home...I like my fish on a plate, well seasoned eaten with a fork.

Elliott helped me make this dinner. He was my veggie man, slicing, salting, peppering, garlic-ing and stirring.I looked over at him and love seeing his TriTat number on his shoulder. So proud of him. He raced in the morning, then slept in the car for a few hours, so we could make it back for his state soccer tournament. He played well on Saturday as left forward and later as keeper, but on Sunday his performance as keeper was exceptional. It was fun to watch, but had me biting my nails. The team they played I later learned is nationally ranked and often wins games in the area, by 8 - 12 goals. Only 2 got past Elliott. They ended up loosing 2-0. There is always next year...

Back to the chicken...I followed the recipe, only changing the veggies and their amount. My chicken was a bit larger than the on in the recipe, requiring longer baking. Instead of the early dinner I hoped for, we ate at our usual soccer practice evening time.

I do not think I could have stuffed another veggie in the dish.

I have roasted many chickens, but I ordinarily do not cover them with foil to bake. This one was extra juicy. I think I'll add this to all of them I roast at home. 

Roasted.

Ready.

And boy were were thankful.

Thankful for the weekend, our health, the food we were about to enjoy, but mostly for those we were sharing the table. Some moments I overwhelmed with gratitude...this night was one. 

Kitchen Action

Lacking in Pantry: I remembered to thaw the chicken, so it was all good.
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: Change in veg, adding mushrooms, grape tomatoes, green bell pepper and sweet potatoes.
What I'll try next time: Getting started a little earlier.
How it Scored:
I forgot to ask for a score from everyone, but my guess is a round of 4.5's or 5's. Elliott asked for it in his lunch & Chas, who had already fallen asleep for the night, woke, came to the table, finished a plate and stayed. His favorite part -- the skin.

Olympic Dreams

We were honored to meet and receive a tour of the Olympic Training Center from US Triathlete, Mark Fretta. It is moments such as these, where dreams are born. What a gift we were given by our friend & boys coach Shawn who arranged for it to happen.
Mark will race on San Diego at 2pm on Saturday for 1 of 2 spots on the men's 2012 Olympic team. Go Mark!

Muesli (Mango-Mango)

Today is Elliott's birthday, he's 11. Happy Birthday to the person who made me a mom.

 I love you more than you can imagine and pray that you discover for the very purpose you were created and upon that discovery, pursue it without abandon. I pray that in the world you live, play & work, you are a leader and changer, loving God and people. I pray you achieve the goals you have set with hard work, grace and kindness. May year 11 bring great moments...I love you, kiddo. ~ momma

As we cook and eat our way through The Feed Zone, many of the recipes have become meals we prepare with regularity. Last night Elliott had 5 of his pals sleep over. Yes, it was brilliant, birthday chaos. Yes, they were wide awake playing Xbox at 2 am. Yes, they played a combo game of hide & seek and tag around 3am. No, Jonathan and I didn't sleep well. Yes, they are still sound asleep in various corners of the boys & guest room, under makeshift tents. And yes, they had Feed Zone pizza crust as the building block of make-your-own-pizza for dinner. This morning they will have Buttermilk Pancakes when they wake.

The Muesli recipe we are sharing this morning was from our lover of mangoes, Chas. Last week the boys were talking about memories they will always have with their daddy. They both said, "We will always remember eating mangoes with daddy. The ways he peels them, slices them and shares them with us." Chas, our picky eater is a huge fan of mango. Here is his Muesli recipe...

Muesli, Mango-Mango
by Chas

 oats + milk

 oats + milk + yogurt

 oats + milk + yogurt + frozen mango

 oats + milk + yogurt + frozen mango + dried mango

now STIR!


Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1/4 cup dried mango,cut into pieces

Method
Mix ingredients above, stir, refrigerate overnight, enjoy the next morning for breakfast or as a snack.

With the boys still sound asleep, Jonathan enjoyed open face egg and greens sandwich, coffee and a bowl of muesli, mango-mango. I also packed a bowl for him to have as his mid-morning snack at the office.

Muesli (Vanilla, Banana)

I have zero pictures of this being made or eaten. Last night we received a phone call from my parents asking us if we could help out a person stranded person in the area. Through the magic of social media, they realized a the youth pastor, of a pastor friend, of a friend, of a co-worker of my dad's, was indeed stranded and sitting at a McDonald's 20 minutes from our house. His bike was broken and he needed to get parts in the morning. Until the shop opened he would need  a place to rest his head and my parents knew we had an extra.

With what little information I had been given, the word I heard loudest was bike? I immediately thought he must be biking across America and popped into action mode. We will put the rack on the Jeep, come to his rescue and introduce him to our cycling friends in the morning making sure the rest of his trip was smooth sailing. As I came up with this plan, my thumb* dialed his number.

"Hi, I'm 'becca and you don't know me, but because of a message on Facebook my parents read (I'm not on Facebook) and a series of connections, we got your number and are happy to have you in our home for the night. Where are you and can I fix you a meal before you arrive? Oh and what kind of bike are you on?"

The conversation was short, but I learned this, it was not a Trek or Specialized, it was a Honda and he was on his way to Oklahoma to attend a week long spiritual retreat. His trip was rudely interrupted by a nail in the rear tire and he didn't need dinner. Because he was stranded at McDonald's and had eaten dinner there.

Jonathan and our boys hopped in the car to go pick him up and I made the guest room for him, cleaned the bathroom, swept and mopped the floors, finished laundry, tried to tidy up the kitchen and in the mix of it all threw together the ingredients for the Muesli the boys wanted to try the next morning. At the very least I would be able to feed him a healthy breakfast before he left our home.

He was so kind, a beef farmer, fish and wildlife worker and youth pastor. Oh and get this, he lives with is grandmother. Not weird, but sweet. He is young and she is old and it works. He spoke so genuinely about her, so darling. He was kind of surprised, but so thankful we opened our door to a stranger. I said in return:  it's what you do. It's how we should treat others, with grace and love and kindness and yummy food like Muesli...vanilla, banana, muesli.


Recipe
Ingredients ~
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup white cows milk
splash of vanilla
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup banana chips
1 fresh banana sliced

Method ~
In the order listed above and in a bowl, mix well. Cover with a lid, refrigerate and in the morning you have breakfast.

In the morning I woke at 4:45 to make it to a 5:20 swim workout with some tri pals. I usually train alone, so it was nice to have people to push me during our main set. I returned home to kiss Jonathan on his way to work and bake 2 batches of scones before they, my boys and our guest, woke. The warm scones and the cool Muesli went well together. Muesli was new to him and he liked it. My boys thought it was fair.

I drove him around out little town and to the Honda motorbike dealership. They had the parts he needed in stock, which was an answer to prayer. He wanted to be on his way to the retreat and I couldn't blame him. We drove to the place where his bike stayed the night and would be repaired. I handed him a bag of  bike treats I packed for him: fruit, cliff bars**, scones & almonds, wished him traveling mercies and waved.

I trust he made it to his destination and for some reason our paths crossed. He said our gesture gave him reassurance that there are still good people in the world. Maybe he needed that reassurance and I need to know that the Muesli is a perfect match for someone. So far we have had more misses than hits for the @nimrodboys. I'm beginning to think they like their oats warm. We have 2 more recipes to try. Tomorrow it's Chas' turn: Muesli Mango!
Muelsi, Chocolate Chip Recipe
Muesli, Honey and Jam Recipe

*That's for you Amy.
**I know, I know. I'm currently out of rice cakes.

Muesli (Honey & Jam)

If this is your first time here, welcome. We are spending the week playing with the Muesli recipe on page 33 of The Feed Zone. Each day we are making it a new way and sharing the recipe with you. Here is a link to Muesli ~ Chocolate, Chocolate Chip which we shared yesterday.

Red, watery eyes, coughing, stuffy noses...allergies. Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? How do you treat it? With our most recent move, both of our boys have discovered whatever is blowing in the air is making them blow their noses, bummer! Saturday was opening day for at our local Farmer's Market and we were able to finally find local honey. A much better way to treat the sniffles, than Benadryl, don't you agree? That local honey is key in today's recipe.

Muesli ~ Honey & Jam
by Elliott with help from Chas

 ingredients.

 They'd been playing outside all afternoon and his hands were filthy. Teaching good food prep manners, wash your hands boys!

 First in...oats.

 Ahhhhh, liquid silver....honey. (Come on, liquid gold is coffee, but honey runs a close second.)

 Look at the grin in Chas' face. He most certainly scooped in more than the 2 tablespoons our recipe has listed below.

 As I snapped this picture, Chas was digging in the drawer for the perfect wooden spoon with which to stir.

He found it.
We used an all fruit strawberry jam, which is sweetened with fruit juice and as you have already read, local honey.

Muesli, Honey and Jam
Recipe 
Ingredients ~
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup plain cow's milk
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons honey, at least
2 tablespoons of your favorite jam

Method ~
Combine all of the ingredients above and mix thoroughly. Place a cover over the bowl and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, enjoy. You may want to add a bit more honey and jam to taste.

Muesli (chocolate, chocolate chip)

Chef Biju sent the athletes of TTR a request: @SkratchLabs @rebeccanimrod @TTRCoach , lets get the young cooks to try some variations on our Muesli, with lots of pics please :) 

Well, Chef Biju, on Saturday afternoon, Elliott and I made wrote down the 5 ways he wanted to fix Muesli, then we made a grocery list. I tried to get him to grocery shop with me, but was not successful. They had already been to opening day of the farmer's market this morning after swim practice, I was pushing my luck with the grocery. 

This week will look a bit different here. I'll be posting more pictures and a recipe at the end. It will be a Nimrod boys variation to Biju's Muesli recipe on page 33. Elliott and Chas  love to have feed back, so if you like what you see or decided to give it a try yourself, please take the time to comment below. 

Muesli ~ Chocolate, Chocolate Chip

by Elliott

Hello there, it's me, Elliott. 

I need 1 cup, that's half of this measuring cup.

Adding the yogurt, after adding the milk. 

Ahhhh yeah, chocolate chips.

Oops, some are stuck. 

Thumbs up!

 Stir. Dance. Stir. Dance. Sing. Dance. Stir...You get the picture. Our kitchen is a happy place.

In the fridge and waiting for breakfast tomorrow.


Recipe:
Ingredients ~
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate almond milk
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method ~
In the order which they are listed above, add the ingredients to a bowl. Stir. Dance. Stir. Dance. Sing. Stir. Cover with a lid and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning, enjoy!

French Toast

French Toast, page 79

Weekends in the spring, summer and autumn are spent on the soccer field or at races, this weekend is no exception. Both boys had 8 am soccer games and we were on the field at 7:20 warming up. I try to get there a little early and go thought our running warm ups prior to the boys typical soccer warm ups. In our triathlon training with T3 and TTR we have been taught the value and importance of proper warm ups and have been applying it to other sports. This morning Elliott's soccer coach asked him to lead his soccer team in his run drills & warm up from TTR.

Both boys and their teams payed fantastic & won their first game today. Way to go Lightning! Thankful we live 15 minutes from the fields, I brought home my boys plus 3 others to eat, rest, and try to beat Batman on Xbox during the break in-between games. I asked them what they wanted for breakfast and it was unanimous: FRENCH TOAST!

I have never used the blender to mix the eggs, milk and spices. The recipe suggested this, so I gave it a try. It was pretty frothy, but worked. I let it sit a little before I dipped the bread in it, allowing the bubbles to settle.



Kitchen Action

Lacking in Pantry:
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes:
I used buttermilk & Texas toast, added sprinkles of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves in exchange for pumpkin pie spice.The boys didn't want orange syrup, although I thought it sounded delicious. They wanted to top it with peanut butter and powdered sugar.
What I'll try next time:
I'll make sure I have GF bread, so I can enjoy it and I'll make the orange syrup.
How it Scored:
Jonathan, Elliott, Chas and pals: Five, Five, Five, Five, Five, Five 

Elliott and some of his soccer pals

Angel Hair with Bacon and Sweet Corn

Angel Hair with Bacon and Sweet Corn, page 141

During the week of Spring Break our boys got to spend some time with two of their favorite gal pals. When they get together movie making is high on the list of activities they enjoy. They decided on this meal to fix for lunch and I was behind the iPod recording. (Remember the untechsavvyness I've mentioned, well it shines brightly in my filming abilities. I turned the camera iPod, thinking it would automatically turn with me, but nooooo. So enjoy the little movie sorta sideways. Sorry.)

Here they are at the table eating round one. I believe they all went back for seconds. I believe it was agreed that when you take the time in the kitchen cooking the meal, it tastes better when you sit to eat.

Kitchen Action
Lacking in the Pantry:
Sweet Corn. I forgot the corn the first trip to the grocery. I went back, had to have it.
Additions, Subtractions or Method changes:
They didn't add the tomatoes, but kept them on the side. Only 1 out of the 4 are tomato fans. They didn't add the squeeze of lemon.
What I'll try next time:
I believe it was perfect the way they made it, but Elliott has mentioned that next time he will squeeze the lemon on top.

How it scored:

They made sure to save a little bit for their parents to taste. I didn't get numbers, but they all agreed it was delicious.

Way to go kids!

Buttermilk Pancakes

 Buttermilk Pancakes, page 70

After the breakfast for dinner which was more of a flop than a success for my kids, I had to skip ahead to this recipe. Stuffed peppers, waffles, stuffed french toast, in the mean time will have to wait to be shared.

Chas was in the kitchen this morning. Here in pictures and with his words are how it went:

I am reading the recipe, trying to figure out what one of the words says.

I'm trying to scratch my back.

I was figuring out if it was baking soda or baking powder and how much I needed.

Here I am stirring everything together in the bowl.

I am flipping the pancakes. I kinda missed with one, but it was OK.

When I look at these pictures I feel proud of myself. I cooked for my family. I cooked for me and my brother, Elliott. It was fun and tasted waaay better than the rice pancakes. I wanna make these again.
~ Chas


Kitchen Action:
Lacking in Pantry:
Not-a-thing. I even had buttermilk in the fridge.
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes:
The milk was warmed and the wet ingredients were mixed together before folding into the dry.
What I'll try next time:
I'd like to see how the batter holds up in the fridge for a day. When it's fresh vs reheated, fresh most always wins. Unless it's chili.

How it scored:

Chas: Perfect

Elliott: 4

DandyDog: He begged, but did not receive. 

One thing I have discovered, as I am sure many parents have, is how the involvement of your kids in the kitchen can revolutionizes what happens around the table. Not only the food they eat, but the conversations they share. We have many teaching moments at the counter and many heart moments at the table. As the momma of active boys and many crazy days these moments shape who we are as a family. 

This morning I taught him a method of scooping and measuring the powder and soda out of the canister. If he tilted it a little and scraped it along the metal lid, he was able to get the exact amount needed and necessary to make the pancakes fluffy. Although when it came to the cinnamon, I shared that you could shake until it looked like enough or remove the hole-y lid and use the teaspoon to measure. When it came to spices, at times you can improvise according to taste. We also talked about what we will do later in the day and about his soccer game tonight. And we talked about clams. 

Here is one reason I love this kid:

After whisking the dry ingredients in the bowl he looked up at me and asked. "Momma, do clams really give you pearls?"

"Yes, clams really do give you pearls, kiddo. Isn't it cool how creative God is? That something like a grain of sand can turn into a pearl when stuck inside a shell." I hope today in some way, a clam, rough & bumpy, not so pretty on the outside, gives you a luster-y pearl. And when it does happen, I'd love to hear about it. 

Sleepover Food: Pizza

Pizza Dough, Page 275

On weekends we often have extra boys in our home, which I love. Sometimes we swap and I'll take the bigs while another mom takes the littles or the other way around. Friday night I had the littles. When we host a sleepover many things have become routine: Dance Parties, complete with a disco ball and glow sticks; a trip to the grocery for treats & a Redbox (and make you own pizza.

The boys checked out the recipes for pizza in The Feed Zone, but decided that they'd rather not have potatoes or eggs. They stuck to the basics: red sauce, cheese and pepperoni. The crust we made was from the book. I'm always trying new pizza crust recipes, because I never seem to write down the one I find online when it's time to make the crust. No more looking...I've found it! (And it's typed and bound and in my new favorite cookbook.)

Kitchen Action:
Lacking in Pantry:
Notta thing.
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes:
I used 2/3 white flour and 1/3 wheat flour.
I mixed it with a dough hook in a KitchenAid stand mixer and it worked great.
What I'll try next time:
I'd like to add in some fresh herbs.

How it scored:
Both boys gave it a 5
I gave it a 5 for ease & also how well it reheated. I used wheat flours, but I'm sure it's delicious!