Mommy Group 3/5/14

Chicken Florentine

4-5 chicken breast
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup greated parmesan
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg - beatedn
1 quart heavy whipping cream
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots - chopped
spinach
chopped tomatoes
extra parmesan

Mix together flour, crumbs, parmesan, and pepper.  Dip chicken in egg then in crumb mixture.  Fry in a little olive oil.  (You know when it is time to turn chicken over when sides of chicken turn a little white.)  Continue cooking until almost cooked through - a little pink should show in the middle (leave in pan because it still needs to cook, you just want to get started on the other sections so that the chicken isn't over cooked by the time everything else is finished).  Saute chopped garlic and shallots in same pan as the chicken.  Be careful not to brown the garlic as it gets bitter, but make sure they are softened.  Add cream until it covers nicely up the sides of the chicken.  This really is a preference call.  If you like more sauce, add more cream.  The cream will thicken as it cooks.  When thickened, serve on a bed of cooked spinach or I like a bed of noodles and spinach mixed together.  Spoon a little extra sauce over the top of the chicken.  Then garnish with copped tomatoes and a little grated parmesan.  Also if you like a few sauted mushrooms are wonderful as well as some chopped roasted red bell pepper.  Just make sure you don't add them to the sauce because it will flavor the sauce too much - just add as a garnish.

Mommy Group 4/2/14

Malibu Chicken

This is a traditional recipe that I recieved from my mother. I'm not sure at all of the history behind it, but I love it!

Chicken patties (number basted on number of people and how hungry they are)

1 pkg of deli cut honey ham lunch meat

1 pkg of sliced Swiss cheese

Cook patties to package instructions.  Layer patties with 2-3 slices of meat and a slice of cheese.  Cook until the cheese is melted.

Dipping Sauce
Mix a scoop of mayo, a scoop of sour cream, and a large squirt of mustard.  I don't really have a recipe for this, it's just sort of a thing you do to taste.  If you like mustard, add more.  If you like the sour cream, add more.  Make it to your own special flavor.

Matt's Special Mashed Potatoes
Boil potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.  Add cream cheese, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper to taste.  Again, there isn't really a set recipe, but rather just something you do until it's the right texture and the right taste.

And then there was this AMAZING salad that was prepared by Karli.   Thanks so much for helping!

The Empty Plate

So tonight for dinner, I was making my daughter buttered noodles (her favorite!). When i told her this, she was ecstatic and jumped right up to the table ready to go. However noodles take a long time to cook in the eyes of a 19 month old. 

To appease her while she was waiting, I gave her a plate full of raspberries, which she enjoyed with sweet delight and quickly consumed. I then gave her some cereal to hold her off for the last few minutes, but those as well were gone as quickly as they had arrived. 

Finally, the noodles were done, but needed to be drained and buttered. Oh the agony! As the empty plate sat before her, she cried and whined and asked repeatedly for more. When I was finished with the noodles, I took her plate from the table over to the stove to fill it. She panicked! 

She jumped down from the table and began crying at my feet. How dare I take her plate that had held such foods thus far! "NOT DONE!" she exclaimed. I laughed to myself at the childish misunderstanding, but quickly filled her plate and turned to show her that it had been filled. All crying stopped as she took this new information in. I simply asked, "Would you like some noodles?" She nodded emphatically. "What do you say?" I said. "Peeees!" She said as she rubbed her tummy to sign the word 'please'. 

I then returned the plate to the table and told her that she would have to come to the table to get her meal. She jumped right up and began joyfully downing her feast!

In this moment, I realized how our Heavenly Father must feel when He is trying to bless His children. 

He knows that blessings appear to take a long time in our minds, so He gives us little blessings here and there to let us know that He has not forgotten to feed us. 

However, we often 'devour' these blessings so quickly and without thought that we are left every once and a while with an 'empty plate'. 

Father, knowing our hunger and our need, proceeds to present us with the trial of taking away empty plate. We, in our childish thoughts, do not understand why and are sometimes angry that the Lord would take from us all that we have. We suddenly realize the blessing of the food we have already eaten and implore Him at His feet that we were 'not done' yet, pleading with Him for even just our empty plate back. 

In this moment, I can just see Him smiling down at us and whispering, "oh, my child, do you not see the bountiful bowl before you? Do you not remember the promise that I gave you before it all began? I told you there would be better blessings for you in time. I will never leave you hungry."

In this moment, we feel humbled and cease our whining. Instead, we meekly and cheerfully 'say please'. Then, our most loving and patient Father, places our blessings where we can obtain them, as long as we are willing to work to climb back up to the table. 

How grateful I am for the many blessings that He has given me and my family. May we ever be thankful for the blessings we have and patient for the ones still to come. Thank you, Father, for taking away my empty plate. 

Actual Baby Clothes Sizes

I have had plenty of moms-to-be and new mommies as about clothing sizes. Each baby is a different size and a different shape. For this, there are many clothing brands. For example, gerber clothes tend to be shorter and wider while carter clothes tend to be longer and skinnier. Because of this, however, it can be really confusing when you have a 3 month old outfit that fits a 6 month old or a 9 month old outfit that your baby grew out of before they were old enough to even consider trying it on. What a waste, right?

I recently found this wonderful post that really lays out the "actual" size each brand of baby clothes!  Check it out! 

http://www.allforgiggles.com/2013/03/baby-clothes-size-charts.html

Mommy Group 2/26/14

Pizza Cobbler

(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture this week.)
View the original pin  here.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 8-10 oz can sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup sliced black olives
2/3 cup sliced pepperoni
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can refrigerated biscuits, separated and cut into quarters

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet, combine the oil, onion and garlic and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the tomato sauce and olives and bring to a simmer.

Spread the sauce mixture in a greased 2-quart baking dish.  Arrange the pepperoni in a single layer on top and sprinkle with the cheese.  Top with the biscuit pieces.  Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the biscuits are browned, about 15 minutes.  Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Mommy Group 2/19/14

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1.5 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded

1 can enchilada sauce

1 can corn

1 can black beans, rinsed

1/2 onion, chopped

4-6 tortillas (I like it with more bread)

Shredded cheese

Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on bottom of dish. 

Place 2 tortillas on sauce and cover with an additional thin layer of sauce. 

Mix together chicken, corn, beans, and onion (I also add seasonings - cumin, garlic salt, etc.). Spread a layer in dish. Sprinkle with cheese. 

Repeat staring at tortillas. 

Top with sprinkled cheese. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Just Had To Share It

Okay, so I know it doesn't really make up for the times that I've missed on wisdoms or other posts, but this is a link I just had to share. 

For all my mommies who have ever been in the "Mom Funk", here are some helpful ideas to get you out of it. 

Http://www.dirtandboogers.com/2014/02/overwhelmed-mom-mom-funk/#_a5y_p=1285847

If you have any ideas of your own that help you to get out of the funk, please feel free to share then with us! We always love input because we learn best from each other!

Mommy Group 1/22/14

Sorry about missing last week. I was out in Cali with family. :)

Easy Mushroom Chicken

4-6 chicken legs and thighs (I just used 4 chicken breasts)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 10 oz can of cream of mushroom soup

1 4 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

Sprinkle salt an pepper on each piece of chicken. Place chicken in crock pot. 

In a small bowl, mix broth an soup together. Pour over chicken. 

Soon mushrooms over top. 

Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. 

Variation: add 1 clove of garlic and 1/4 tsp rosemary to broth and soup to spice it up a little. (I did this)

Lessons in Learning

This month I asked my mommies to send me their favorite tips, tricks, and resources that they use for teaching their children. Here is what we came up with. 

**Learning can be super fun! Remember this when you're teaching.**

First and foremost, my mommies were in love with Montessori. 

For those who don't know what this is, here is the Wikipedia definition:

"Montessori education is an educational approach...characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child's natural psychological, physical, and social development."

In plain English, it's a child-directed, sensory-based teaching style. Children have senses so that they can learn and develop and therefore are geared and ready for learning. 

Here is what Abby had to say about Montessori:

"Montessori is great for teaching toddlers because it really focuses on seeing the world from your child's point of view and adapting your house the best you can to suit your child's needs. It suggests that parents let toddlers do things that other places might not. Em has been successfully drinking from a glass-and I mean GLASS- since 15 months. She can feel sure of her abilities as I allow her to try things. Also, it gives parents influence for kid's learning by choosing resources/toys to play with and have set out and gives child freedom to choose what they want to play/do."

Here are some links to our favorite Montessori resources:

Fav book: 

http://www.amazon.com/How-Raise-Amazing-Child-Montessori/dp/075662505X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390354892&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+raise+an+amazing+child+the+montessori+way

Montessori websites:

http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/2010/04/all-things-montessori.html

http://www.naturalbeachliving.com/

http://everystarisdifferent.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-unit-week-1-nutcracker.html

http://www.shop.montessoriprintshop.com/Toddler_c72.htm?page=all

http://livingmontessorinow.com/

http://liveandlearnfarm.com/free-montessori-materials-around-the-web/

Montessori Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqOyLBAzyFs

Well, there you have the most general and agreed upon method. Here are some other tips and tricks of advice from our mommies:

-Water is cheep. There are so many things you can do with it and it's great sensory learning. Add other things too it like oils and food coloring for different kinds of learning. 

-Schedule and routine are surprisingly necessary for leaning. Make sure that it can be regular and expected, but not the same and boring. 

-Get learning supplies at the dollar store. They're just as good, and only coat a buck. 

-When teaching kids letter, numbers, and shapes, we often lump in colors as well. However, most of these are nouns, but the colors are adjectives. So, when we teach them "the blue ball" they wait for the noun to give the answer instead. Change the phrasing to "the ball is blue" to focus on the adjective.

-Take advantage of Internet resources such as google and Pinterest. Search for toddler or preschool lesson plans. 

-Learn with sensory activities. Play with the gross and the goo. They wash off and the kids will learn more. 

Music is marvelous. However, it will be even better if you give them something to move with. Ribbon, shaker/noise maker, scarves, etc. 

-Keep your activities child directed, open ended, and fun. 

Here are some awesomely fun activities for toddlers:

- marbles in tunnels

- magnet playing toys

- mega Legos!

- walks to the park

- animal sounds

- body parts

- colored water in the summer in Tupperware

- dry beans and plates and beackers

- picture drawing

- finger paint

- etible play dough (call for recipe)

-SONGS! Lots of songs to help them learn

- streamers

- bubbles for shapes

- animals

- books! Lots of books

-zippers latches, and locks

-coloring

And finally, here are some other links for great resources:

http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/totschool.html

http://activity-mom.com/2013/08/09/6-quick-summer-activities-for-your/

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/

What do you do that helps your child learn? Feel free to share with us in the comments section. 

Mommy Group 1/1/14

Again, silly me was too wrapped up in the event to take a picture. I will try to do better next time. 

Crockpot Lasagna

Recipe from My Mommy. :)

1 lb. hamburger

I med. onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

16 oz. can of whole tomatoes (I prefer them diced, but whole is still yummy)

15 oz. tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. oregano

2 cups cottage cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated

4 eggs beaten

9-10 uncooked lasagna noodles

2 cups mozzarella cheese grated

Extra Parmesan cheese if desire for topping

Cook and stir hamburger, onion, and garlic until meat is browned. Drain. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, basil, sugar, salt, and oregano. Set aside. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and eggs. Layer in crockpot or 9x13 pan as follows:

Meat sauce

Noodles

Cottage cheese mixture

Mozzarella cheese

Repeat about 3 times

Sprinkle Parmesan on top. 

Crockpot: cook on low about 4-6 hours

Oven:  cover with foil and let sit in fridge for a couple of hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until bubbly. Uncover the last 15 minutes.

Let set for 15 minutes before cutting.