Today was such a funny day for me. We had to meet Elizabeth’s Pre-School teacher for her 3rd quarter report card. I keep thinking “It’s Pre-School!” It’s not that I don’t have expectations for Elizabeth’s learning or education but she is only in school 2.5 hours a day. But as soon as Tim and I sat with her teacher my doubts left me and I see that our little girl is at the top of her class and more than ready for Kindergarten. I knew this already but the validation from her teacher is nice to hear. Tim and I laughed when the teacher had to come up with extra projects for us and then we had to burst her bubble to tell her that we’re already working on things like addition and subtraction, penmanship and story writing and comprehension. All she could say was keep doing what we’re doing. Ahhh, a successful meeting!
I can’t wait for Kindergarten. I’ll have my camera ready. But I’m still trying to figure out what I’ll do with my extra time. At the moment I think I’ll be turning up my Tupperware sales and maybe volunteer at school. I will probably focus on earning some extra moola. It sure would be nice!
So, after my successful CrockPot pasta dinner last night I began thinking about what other kinds of recipes I can share with you. I am a stay at home mom who’s real passion is in the kitchen. Wow, saying it like that makes me sound like a real whiz. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I have all the do dads and gadgets in my kitchen but rarely use them. I think I’ve just been a tinkerer in the kitchen. Well, I think that is all about to change.
Yesterday I talked to my sister in-law and we got on the topic of food colors, dyes and preservatives that are used in so many popular products. These products are so tempting for our kids because they look enticing and are usually easy to hand out as a quick meal or snack. As it stands, I don’t use too many boxed or processed foods but I think I can do better. I’m home all day. I have no excuses. I should be able to prepare homemade meals, deserts and snacks that use fresh ingredients and much less processed garbage.
This could be a challenge. I am not a health nut but I think I’d like to be a little health nut. Maybe I could be a health nut in training. This switch is going to take time since it will take baby steps and lots of trial and error. As much as I love cooking for my family, they can really drive me crazy. Tim will tell you he’s not picky and will eat anything. That’s until you want details. Nope! He won’t look at eggplant and will only eat eggs if they are deviled. He likes sea food but not fish. What he really means is that he will only eat shell fish. I call him the pickiest non picky eater in the world. Then there is my daughter who just eats like a bird. Elizabeth is 5 and is doing a pretty good job lately experimenting with new foods. She is young so her tastes are changing all the time. But I give her props for at least trying. If I can keep ham, cheese, broccoli and croissants or rolls handy I’m good in an emergency.
So with all of this in mind I want to start thinking about making something new everyday or so, depending on our schedule. I want it has to be from scratch with no artificial colors or preservatives. I haven’t looked on labels lately but I may have to make exceptions for things like condiments. In any case, I will try to keep it to a minimum.
Also, I doubt these will be fancy meals that will win any awards. I make real uncomplicated food. No way can I search for fancy ingredients. I don’t have a Whole Foods or Wild Oats Market in my area. If I can’t find what I need at the commissary or Wal-Mart, It Ain’t In There.
I hope this will be fun for everyone. I started today with Sweet Potato Croissants. Elizabeth loves croissants and sweet potatoes so I’m going to try this and see how it goes. I did some research and found a couple of recipes on line and in one of my Taste of Home cookbooks. I compared all 3 recipes and came up with what I think should work out well.
I have created a recipes tab at the top of my blog. I am hoping that in time there will be a wide variety of recipes and the tab will make it easier to browse through them all without having to search through my blog. Feel free to make comments and any recipes you’d like me to try.
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