Look Mom, I'm a blackberry!

It's Hard to Tell Who is More Focused

 

Favorite Freezer Soups

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (Panera Style)

This is Nye's favorite food.  Make this for him and he will love you.  It's pretty much guaranteed   The entire time I'm cooking it, he will walk in and out of the kitchen, sniffing audibly and saying, "MMMMMMM...smells....good!!"  He has literally stopped in the middle of eating it, put his spoon down, climbed off his chair, walked over to me, and kissed my face all over to thank me for making it.  :)  That boy knows how to charm a cook!

With that said, it's not entirely healthy, but it is delicious (and doubles well).

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

2 cups cooked shredded chicken (more or less depends on you)

1 (4.5 oz) package of long grain & wild rice (or just a cup or two of brown rice)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery (finely for me)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3-8 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup flour

3 Tbps butter (original recipe calls for 5-can also use half butter, half oil)

1-2 cups milk (original recipe calls for heavy cream)

optional: 1/4 cup white wine (I've never noticed a difference adding it or not, so I usually leave it out)

-In a large pot, saute carrots and celery in 1 Tbsp of butter (better than oil!) till soft.  Add garlic and saute till done.  

-Add broth, water, and chicken to the pot.  Bring to a boil.  

-Add rice and cover.  Remove from heat (let it simmer on low for about 30-40 minutes if using brown rice).  

-In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 2-4 Tbps of butter/oil.  On low, stir in flour, salt, and pepper a little at a time to form a roux.  Let flour brown just a little.  Whisk in cream and wine (optional) a little at a time until fully incorporated and smooth.  Cook till thick about 5 minutes.  

-Stir cream into the rice pot.  Cook on medium till heated through and rice is tender (~10-15 minutes).

Parsnip Curry Soup

Lee and the kids don't care for this soup, but Mom and I could get it by the gallon-daily.  It's sweet and spicy, incredible creamy, and just plain delicious.  It really is that good, and super healthy too.  It also doubles and triples well.

1 lb parsnips, peeled and coarsely chopped (~3 large parsnips)

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (7 or 8 pieces)

2-5 cloves of garlic

3 Tbsp butter or olive oil

1/3 cup flour

3 pinches of curry powder

4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

Salt or pepper to taste

-Chop parsnips and onion coarsely.  Saute them with garlic for about 5 minutes, till onions are translucent   

-Add flour and curry.  Stir and let the flour brown a bit.

-Add broth, stirring constantly.

-Bring to a boil, simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally till parsnips are tender.  

-For a creamier soup (yes, please!), blend 1/2 to all of the mixture.

-Salt or pepper to taste.

African Kale and Yam Soup

from: the Happy Herbivore

I also made this soup last night and I LOVE it.  Spicy, sweet, thick, delicious, and healthy!  I'm not sure if it freezes well or not, but it's worth mentioning here.  It doubles well, but don't double the spices unless you really love spicy!  Here's how I tinkered with it to serve 4 adults (or just two awesome servings for me!).

1 large red onion (or whatever color you have on hand)

tiny bit of oil4 cups vegetable broth
2 sweet potatoes, diced and peeled unless organic
10 cups kale, chopped (use a really big pot, or steam in batches, it cooks down well)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp mild curry powder
1 tbsp yellow miso paste
¼ tsp cinnamon

Slice the onion into thin slices. Put a little oil in a large pot and cook onions over medium high heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add broth, sweet potatoes, 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to medium and cook until potatoes are almost fork tender, about 30 minutes. Immediately add the spices, stirring them in.  Then add the kale and cook, stirring frequently and covering, until kale is dark green and soft (wilted), about 3-5 more minutes. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, allowing flavors to merge.  Eat the whole pot by yourself savoring every bite! 

The Power of Greens

Nye was done with our hour and a half long grocery trip about 25 minutes into it.  He ran around like a crazy man, pushed all the buttons on the scales, tried putting random food into the cart, and stopped listening. 

It wasn't long before he found himself buckled into the cart.  Indignant screaming ensued briefly followed by total silence.  I didn't notice the quiet at first, but then it hit me and I began to pay very close attention to what he was doing.

Nye was eating raw kale by the handfuls, just as pleased as can be.  Truly eating it too. It was already weighed and scanned so I let him at it.  25 total minutes of happy leaf eating and peace.  O kale, I love you!

Later, after he woke up fussy from naps, he found the washed kale still sitting on the counter and worked on it for another 10 minutes or so.

My only concern?  Tomorrow's diaper...

My Little Math Nerd (How I Envy You!)

So Lizzy found a worksheet that I made for her.  I thought it was still way above her level, but she insisted on  knowing how to do it.  It was a greater than, less than, equal to sheet.  So I explained it for about two minutes, walked her through the process step-by-step for two of them, and let her try by herself.  She missed one.

Then she did them all again, perfectly, at which point I ran to get my camera because that's what shocked parents do.  This is her third time solving the worksheet.

Seriously?!  I struggled with the concept of which way the arrows went at least until 2nd or 3rd grade.  I knew the answer, but not the sign.  Lucky little girl with her daddy's brain!

After the video, she cleaned up, looked at me and asked, "Can we play school now?"

Nye makes the shot!

Nye challenged Lee to a game of basketball.

Nye: "come on dad...basket  ball...come on, come on."

Nye made the shot against a very tough defensive block and yelled, "Money Me!"  ( meaning "It's on the money! Go Me!")

Nye's tips for toddlers

How to use those ridiculously blunt knives your parents let you have:

When the food your cutting only laughs in the face of your pretend knife, take a bite out of it first without completely severing it from the food.  Then try cutting it again.  Even a stick will perform admirably using this patented method.  All the best, mates!