Going for a Grand Slam

I have been on target with food for the kiddos these last 24 hours--three meals have been great successes. Mainly, because I've stayed away from beans. They have all been new meals so I'm very excited to have added something to my repetoire.

First, dinner last night was Garlic Pork Roast (we use chops). This is basically pork chops with sweet potatoes (which oddly aren't mentioned in the title). And onions. I added lots of extra onions. DS liked it so much that he woke up this morning asking for pork chops and onions.

Secondly, for our playgroup picnic at the park, we made cake--Applesauce Raisin Cake. It was a Namaste bag mix (spice cake, I think) to which I added extra cinnamon. And we used the leftover applesauce from a few weeks ago (that freezes beautifully!) as topping, kind of a "right-side up" cake. DS still insisted it was "upside down," which is his all-time favorite (he's unfortunately off pineapple right now, hence the applesauce substitution). And then, as we were stirring the mix, DD suggested raisins. Wow--color me impressed. So I fetched the raisins, they threw in handfuls, and then they proceeded to dunk whole hands in the batter (not to worry--no real eggs, just No Egg replacer) fishing out the raisins to eat. Baking with toddlers is always entertaining. It took a little extra time to bake but was mightily successful.

Finally, dinner--Wild Chicken Rice Soup. I was iffy that they would like this and had yesterday's pork on deck but that was unncecessary. They loved it. Especially the celery and--you guessed it--onions. But they ate the chicken and even some of the wild rice. And DD kept picking out the carrots to eat first, her favorite.

So, I've got bases loaded, which is a nice change after so many rejected legumes. And since DP is staying late for a work function tonight--I kid you not, there's a visiting swami--I'm going to peruse some magazines for some other ideas. I have back issues of Living Without to go through and I think Eating Well this month had a vegan banana rice pudding. And of course, I have Food TV on . . . root for me, I want to bring this home.

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Garlic Pork Roast

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (2 pound) boneless pork roast salt and pepper to taste (we use pork chops)
4 sweet potatoes, quartered
1 onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

Heat oil in large heavy skillet. Season meatwith salt and pepper, and brown in oil. In a slow cooker, layer sweet potatoes, onion andgarlic. Place browned roast on top of vegetables, andpour in chicken broth. Cover, and cook on low setting for 6 hours.

Allrecipes.com


Wild Rice Chicken Soup

4 quarts nonfat chicken broth
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 lbs. chicken breast tenderloins, cut into 1/2” cubes
½ cup uncooked wild rice
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (actually, I used 2 bay leaves and some seasoned salt instead)

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine allingredients in slow cooker and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours.

Jyl Steinback, The Busy Mom’s Slow Cooker Cookbook