Measuring...

This is how we measure our recipes.  Remember we cook for 300+ each day.  So everything is in large bowls, large bags and of course large skillets.
The kids eat the chicken and noodles fair.  Our numbers do drop when we cook from scratch.  Kids are not use to eating like we did when we were growing up.  We can rant about it, but I have learned it doesn't change things.  Kids can be taught to eat things from scratch, that comes with having them help out more in the kitchen and repeating that dozens of times. And I do know from whence I speak....I have a very very picky daughter, and I have taught cooking classes.  Exposure to foods, cooking, and eating all work together.  But in our current society we get lost, I know I do.  I work full time, I have a family of 5, all adults now to cook for.  I have a house to clean (yeah right) and also have 35 chickens, 2 donkeys (who had escaped from their stall into the muddy back yard...it is now churned up ready for seed), 2 dogs and a lone cat.  So I know busy....but I still need to cook, clean, do laundry and run around with the kids.

I also did cooking classes and loved it.  It was extra work on my part and J.M. who  would help me.  But watching the kids chop lemon grass, fresh ginger, smash garlic cloves (the boys love that) tearing apart cilantro and making "Sizzling Beef with lemon grass and scallions" then scraf it down and ask for more was astounding. So we can teach ourselves and our kids to eat better.

Eating Better: there is a catch phrase loaded with complication.  We tend to complicate it...we tend to complicate a lot of things.  We second guess everything we do...how we have a baby, raise a baby, what we do with toddlers, what we feed them, what kind of clothes to where and so on.  We have trouble listening to our gut....our instincts that God gave us.  I remember having a 25 month old and a new born, wondering what have I done????  But I had learned to listen to my gut, instincts that God gave me in raising my children.  When ever I got my eyes off God and started to listens to man's advice that is when I grew dis-satisfied with my life.  That is a word we could use to paint our current lifestyle, dissatisfaction.

In our quest to find the perfect spot we grow so unhappy; dissatisfied with our lives.  I know I do.  When I no longer listen to my insides, that God voice, I become frustrated and start to hate my life.  What a dumb thing....
Take a deep breath and starting counting your blessings; house over your head, showers, heat in the winter, a car that runs and so forth.  It really does help.

So today we are having Cheesy Bread Sticks with Spaghetti Sauce to dip in.  The bread sticks have two ounces of cheese in them for the protein count and the kids love these!  We also serve a variety of fresh veggies and fresh fruit to keep it well balanced and yummy.

On to another issue...I am sure you have heard about the little girl who had her lunch taken away and replaced with a school lunch because hers was not deemed "healthy".  And of course I was asked about this and what did I know.  I was upset that any school would embarrass a child like this.  Her mom packed her a great sounding lunch-turkey and cheese sandwich, chips, banana and apple juice.  They replaced it with a chicken nugget meal (now sound have sounded off that the nugget was fried, it most likely was baked since most schools no longer fry, we haven't in over 5 years) with all the sides.
The person who did this was on a little power trip, I mean the child was only four....she had all her facts wrong and so does just about every other article I have read concerning this story.

First, the USDA has not given power to anyone to mess with lunches brought to the school from a parent.  Ever....If a school is in a poverty stricken area they have the ability to give a child a healthy lunch for free.
So if you are a blog writer and decided to go at this story, get your facts right.  When christian go off half cocked they simply look like idiots.  As God's children we should take the time to find out the truth.

Second, I am not an advocate for the National School Lunch Program even though we participate in it.  I do not have my head so far in the sand that I don't see what is happening.  The agenda from our government is to create a cradle to grave society.  That we need to stand against.

Okay done with the soap box.  Now back to work.  Have a great weekend all.......


Recipe for the day:

Bierock Pie

2 cans of crescent rolls
1 lb of ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 package of angle hair cabbage
2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 t. of Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
several dashes of hot sauce

Open one of the crescent rolls and keep them in their squares, there will be two of them.  Press the seams together then roll them out a bit.  Lay them in a 9x9 baking dish, half on each side and come up the sides.  Press everything together, this does not need to be perfect.
Bake this in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes.  You don't want it to brown, but you want it to cook enough that it will not get soggy when the meat mixture is baking on it.

Meanwhile fry up the hamburger till all the pink is gone, drain and return to the skillet.  Add your onions, garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add your cabbage and turn your heat off.  Keep stirring as the cabbage breaks down.  Add the salt, pepper and hot sauce.

Pour the meat mixture into the oven dish that has the pre-cooked crescent roll bottom.  Spread everything out evenly.  Top with the cheese and repeat the process with the other crescent roll package to make the top layer.

Bake the entire dish in a 350 oven for about 35-40 minutes.  You want the top crust to be a deep golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Cut into pieces and serve with sweet and sour green beans and fresh fruit.