Low-Iodine Doesn't Have to Mean Low-Taste

Okay, that was a really cheesy title to this post, but it gets my point across. To catch up on our cancer journey, here are past posts:

My Husband's Cancer
"Trust"
The Diagnosis
The Surgery
A Little Help From Our Friends
The Waiting Game. Which Is Not a Game.

Y'all. Shopping for meals that contain no or very low amounts of iodine is NOT FUN. I had to buy non-iodized salt, but that wasn't a big deal. However, the rest WAS. No dairy. No egg yolks. No processed food. No pasta. No seafood. No soy. No restaurants. I remember standing in the grocery store in tears because I couldn't find natural, no salt peanut butter (I did find some at another store, thankfully). One of the most expensive changes was the chicken we had to buy. Any recipes we have that call for beef we just substitute venison in them, so it was okay to have. We know where that meat comes from and Michael processes it himself, not adding anything to the meat, so it was safe. The chicken we had to buy, however, made up for us having our ownpaprika" It was over double what we normally pay!

Suppers weren't bad at all, once I could find the things at the store I needed to buy. In fact, we really enjoyed the recipes. I made a Pinterest board called LID where I would pin recipes I knew fell into the "acceptable" category. I found several that we've incorporated into our normal menu rotation, particularly the roasted corn (if you click that link and scroll down to the picture of the corn, you'll see how to do it...so easy!).

Michael could have any fresh vegetables, but had to limit his consumption of spinach and beans. We were graciously given home-canned tomatoes by my sweet friend Becky as well as my second mom, Margie (I hate using the term "step-mom" when it comes to her). Those tomatoes made the difference. I made chili and sloppy joes with them and almost prefer those recipes over my tried-and-true ones.

I tried new things with fresh and frozen veggies and discovered that fresh vegetables weren't much more work than canned, and they t
asted sooooo much better! My favorite way to prepare green beans now is to pan-fry fresh beans. You should try it!

I also had to make up my own seasoning mixes such as taco seasoning, chili powder, and Greek seasoning. We now use the taco seasoning exclusively...it's SO much better (and better for you!) than the store bought kind.

Speaking of homemade seasonings, here is the LID recipe for chili with homemade chili powder...we love it!

Chili

1 lb ground beef (we used ground venison)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder (homemade - recipe follows this one)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
2 cups black beans
1 large jar of homemade canned togmatoes, no salt added

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer 1 hour.

Recipe adapted from the Low-Iodine Cookbook from the Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association.

Homemade Chili Powder

1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder (check garlic powder and make sure it doesn't have salt)

Combine all ingredients. Use with any recipe calling for Chili Powder. (In the chili recipe above, use this in addition to the paprika and cayenne listed in the recipe. )

Recipe from the Low-Iodine Cookbook from the Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association.

Next time, I'll share what it was like being in the same house but feeling miles away from each other.

Slow-cooker Mexican Chicken (and the potential yumminess within)

We love Mexican food. I mean, luh-huh-huuuuuve Mexican food. So many have expressed interest in my Mexican Chicken recipe, I thought I'd go ahead and post it here. First of all, it's not mine; I got it off Pinterest, and here's the original post from Food Gawker . However, we've made some adjustments and I thought I'd share my version here.

First of all, I changed mine to Mexican Chicken, because for some reason I don't like the name "Salsa Chicken." Maybe it's because it's so much better than salsa...or maybe it's because I when I think of salsa I think of tomatoes. Bleh. Don't be hatin'. If I could like them, I would. Do you know what it's like living in the South and not liking tomatoes? I feel like a traitor. But I like grits, so that redeems me.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. Chicken. First, here's the recipe:

 Mexican Chicken

3 lb bag frozen chicken breasts (not thawed)
20 oz jar salsa 
1 pkg taco seasoning (I make my own using this recipe here)

Place chicken in slow cooker (Let me say here that I use an oval 6-qt slow cooker. If yours is smaller, you may have to adjust the amount of chicken you use), sprinkle taco seasoning all over chicken, then pour salsa over chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours until it can be shredded easily with a fork.

That's IT! How easy is that? Throw three things in the crock pot then enjoy! Ah, I'm telling you, it's my
favorite thing, EVAH.

Now, here's where you can have fun with it. We've used this chicken a number of ways, and all of them are scrumdiliumptious. We've made burritos, nachos, and quesadillas with it so far. Each batch is enough for two meals (for our family of three - and I have a 12 year old boy, so adjust to your fam's eating habits. Hopefully they are not quite as bottomless-pit-ish as my son's.), so we do one thing one night, then another thing the next. Here's how we do each one.

Burritos: 
You will need flour tortillas, cooked rice, Mexican melting cheese (NOT QUESO FRESCO!!! Don't ask me how I know this. Just trust the all caps and exclamation marks.) or Pancho's white cheese dip (do other areas of the country have Pancho's dip besides around Memphis?),  and any other fixin's like extra salsa and/or sour cream. We fix regular white rice, and when it's almost done, we put some of the juice from the crock pot and let it cook in to give the rice a not-so-white flavor. Then we throw everything on a tortilla and slather it with more white cheese. MMMmmmm.

Nachos: You will need the same as burritos, minus the rice and tortillas. Oh, and add lettuce. This is the easiest thing to fix. Just throw some tortilla chips on a plate with some chicken, top with your melted cheese and other stuff (maybe not quite so much sour cream...I think this was Kiddo's plate), and enjoy.



It was the second meal after last night's quesadillas. The quesadillas were something new we hadn't tried yet, but I got the idea after craving sautèd onions and bell peppers. So, I asked Sound Man what he thought about buttering some tortillas, slapping them in a skillet, and putting chicken, the craved bell peppers and onions, and some cheese (again, the Mexican melty kind) in them. He thought it sounded righteous.

In a word - yummalicious. I mean, this picture is from my husband's phone because we couldn't be bothered with getting the camera before stuffing our faces with this awesomeness. They were heavenly.

So, do yourself and your family a favor and make this chicken. Don't just do what I did here, make up your own take on it! I'd love to hear what you come up with...'cause I'm sure I'll be stealing it from you.

Happy eating!

Italian Chicken Pasta Toss

This is a reposted recipe from way back in 2008. I can't believe it's been that long. We had it again a couple of days ago and it was just as good then as it was the first time we tried it. Lots of fresh veggies and pasta...yum! So, without further ado, here you go...

I am always open to new recipes. If I think something looks good, I'll want to try it out on my family. My family...well, they are not always as open to new things. So when I told my husband about the new recipe I was trying tonight, he said "I'll try it...I'm not too optimistic, but I'll try it." My 8 year old son was about the same..."What does it have that I don't like raw?" Raw? It's not raw, it's cooked, and I told him that. "I know, but what does it have that I don't like raw?" Okay, whatever, I told him a few things and he rolled his eyes. Sigh...oh, why didn't I just fix roast and potatoes and forget this "Let's eat healthier!" thing? Oh, well.

So anyway, I chopped and sliced and diced and stirred and cooked and shredded my little heart out. And let me say, it was a hit. My sweet, new-recipe-wary husband loved it. I believe his exact words were "This one's a keeper." Okay, my 8-year old didn't quite love it that much because all of the vegetables in it he absolutely detests except one. He did like it, though, and I'm confident he won't complain the next time I make it. As long as I go easy on the zucchini and bell pepper on his plate.

Now, to the nutritional value...I looked (after the fact) at the calorie content, and it's only 190 calories per serving, and it makes 6 servings. We ate plenty and had enough for leftovers (I can't WAIT for lunch tomorrow!) and sweet husband and I were completely satisfied. Kiddo, of course, would love to chow down into a Sonic milkshake right about now, but the two grown-ups are good.

Okay, on to the recipe (and I'm sorry I don't have a picture. I wasn't sure we'd like it and I was so busy cutting and all that jazz if I'd tried to take pictures I am absolutely sure I would have cut a finger off. Buy the cookbook listed at the end and you'll see it in all it's colorfulness. Is that even a word?). Edited to add: Here's a picture. It's actually a picture of a picture. It was the best I could do, seeing as how I forgot to take a picture of the actual food.

Italian Chicken Pasta Toss

6 oz uncooked bow tie pasta (about 3 cups)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
2 tsp. olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, pressed (minced)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
grated Parmesan cheese (optional) (not really)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm. Dice tomatoes, slice zucchini, chop onion, cut bell pepper, and cut chicken into 1-inch strips. (I made it more interesting looking by cutting my zucchini with my Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter.)

Heat oil in stir fry pan (or nonstick skillet) over medium high heat until hot. Press garlic into skillet. Add chicken and stir fry 5 min. or until chicken is no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, seasonings and salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, and stir-fry for another 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring gently.

Remove from heat. Stir in warm pasta. Grate Parmesan cheese over pasta mix. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 190; Total fat 3 g; Saturated fat 0 g; Cholesterol 20 mg; Carbohydrates 27 g; Protein 14 g; Sodium 430 mg; Fiber 3 g.

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 1/2 starch, 1 meat (1 1/2 carb)

And, let me just say, when that garlic hit that hot olive oil, mmmmm-MMMM! Man, it was smellin' good. It was very pretty and like I said before, very satisfying.

This recipe is from The Pampered Chef(r) Casual Cooking: Easy Recipes for Indoors and Out. You know how I lurve Pampered Chef. This is a great cookbook. It also has one of our favorite salads in it: Strawberry Spinach Salad. And as low calorie as this recipe is, the page before it is Monte Cristo Sandwiches, which have 430 calories and 17 grams of fat per serving. Yeah. We love that one, too. What can I say?

Out of this World Candy

Last year I posted this recipe on Facebook and thought I posted it here. Evidently I did not, or else Blogger ate it. Get it? Recipe? Ate it? Nevermind.

My step-mom, Margie, usually fixes this candy, appropriately named Out of This World Candy, at Christmas and gives me a tin to share (or not) with the fam. It is my fave-o-rite candy ever. I thought I'd try it this year. As if my rear end isn't big enough.

It's a simple recipe, but boy howdy you better be prepared to stir. When I was mixing the butter and powdered sugar I thought I was going to pull a muscle. I should have used a bigger mixing bowl and it would have been easier. Make sure your bowl is bigger than 8 cups. You could use a mixer, but I'm not sure how a hand mixer would handle the load.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

2 boxes sifted powdered sugar (or 2 lb. bag from Aldi)
2 sticks melted butter
1 small can sweetened condensed milk (I never said this was low-calorie)
1 tsp vanilla
1 or 2 cups chopped nuts (optional, but not really)
16 oz chocolate or vanilla almond bark for coating (chocolate is best...vanilla makes them almost too rich to finish one! And I'd probably make that 24 oz or so of almond bark...just to make sure you have enough).

Mix first 5 ingredients together and place in refrigerator until firm. Roll into 1 to 2 inch balls (I used my cookie scoop). Melt almond bark in microwave, stirring after 30 second increments. Dip balls using toothpick into coating and place on wax paper until coating is hardened (I just dipped them into the coating with tongs...we were out of toothpicks...go figure).

I promise, you WILL hear the Hallelujah Chorus when you eat one of these.Or maybe that's just the sugar buzz.

Haystacks and Memories

I have been in the mood to make candy this Christmas. My neighbor across the street, Mrs. Betty, always brings us a goody bag (or bucket, or dish) full of yummy things at Christmas and I wanted to return the favor this year, not just to her, but to my other neighbors who were so sweet to our family when Momma passed away.

Tonight, I decided it was time to make some Haystacks. I have a couple of recipes in my recipe folder, but neither of them sounded like the one I wanted. So, of course I Swagbucked it (I mean, if I'm gonna search, I might as well get something out of it, right?) and found one that was exactly like the one my cousin, Karen, made when I was younger.

When I first told Kiddo I was going to make them he was all over me until I finally did. He was in the shower when I mixed them up and when he came out I was already dropping them out on the foil (you're really supposed to use wax paper, but I didn't have any, so I used the non-shiny side of the aluminum foil and hope it works). He was talking non-stop and I finally shooed him out of the kitchen, then realized he was one of the reasons I was making them.

I called him back in the kitchen to help me drop the last few. After he finished, he stood there with peanut butter/butterscotch on his face, licking the wooden spoon, talking about Spider-man 3. Between licks he was comparing the storyline in the movie to our spiritual lives, and what lessons we can learn from it. My eleven-year-old...what a young man he's become. I knew right then I wanted to remember tonight forever.

In case you'd like a forever memory, here's the recipe. At least for the Haystacks. : )

Haystacks

• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 2 cups chow mein noodles

Microwave the butterscotch chips and peanut butter on 50 percent power for 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend to coat noodles thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.

I doubled this recipe because I knew we'd want plenty for ourselves, too. If you make these differently, let me know. I'd like to see variations of it.

Have a great Christmas Week!

Kimba's French Toast

When Kimba posted about the best French toast ever, I knew I was going to have to try it. I didn't realize it would be this soon, but as I was planning my menu, tonight just seemed to be the night. So, at suppertime this is what we sat down to:Well, not exactly, seeing as how this is Kimba's picture. I hope she doesn't mind I stole it, seeing as how I am about to expound on the wonderfulness that is her French toast. But we did have bacon. Oh, and fruit. Which is not on this plate. Seeing as how it's not mine.

Okay, so on with the expounding. Since the only French toast I'd ever made was the way my Mimmie taught me (little bit eggs, little bit milk, bread), I thought I'd try it out since Kimba said it was so good. MMMMMmmmmmmmm......and how. It's lightly cinnamon-y, lightly vanilla-y, and heavily yumm-y. It went so well with the salty bacon and sweet/tartness of the fruit. I won't tell you how many pieces I ate (it rhymes with "for"). It was that good, and I didn't even have all the sugar mixed in. I went to pour the extra egg/milk mixture out and found about half the sugar had dropped to the bottom of the bowl. I'll have to ask her how to remedy that.

As Kiddo and Sound Man were shoveling bites in, I asked them how they liked it. I finally got a decipherable, "It's REALLY good!" and "Definite do-over." So, in case you'd like to make it yourself, head over to A Soft Place to Land for the recipe. You will be glad you did.

Sloppy Joes

Lately around our house, if it's not easy, it doesn't get fixed for supper. I have more on me now than I've had in long, long time. So, my slow cooker has become my best friend. And when a recipe can be either slow cooker or fast cooked and still taste the same? That makes me happier than a "tornado in a trailer park." Name that movie.

Anyway, my friend Lisa found a recipe for Sloppy Joes that will, as Tim Hawkins says, "make you wanna slap yer momma!" (Speaking of Tim Hawkins, Kristen from We are THAT Family is giving away an autographed copy of Tim's new DVD, I'm No Rockstar. If you haven't heard of Tim Hawkins, good grief, go to YouTube and search his name. NOW. He will make you laugh so hard you can't breathe.)

Sorry...I digress. This recipe for Sloppy Joes is the best one I've ever tasted. SO much better than store bought. You can throw it together in the slow cooker and have it ready for when you want it, or you can zip it up and have it ready in less than thirty minutes.

Here you go:

Simple Sloppy Joes

2 pounds ground beef (I used one pound ground deer and 1 pound ground beef)
1 large onion, finely chopped (I used half of a medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used one)
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
1 cup ketchup
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons soy sauce
hamburger buns

In a large skillet cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat
is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, ketchup, brown
sugar and soy sauce; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and
simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture onto individual hamburger buns.

This serves a TON. The sauce in this recipe is actually doubled from the original recipe, so if you don't want as much, just halve the stuff after the garlic. But we like lots o' sauce. The meat, onions, and garlic stayed the same, but the liquid stuff and brown sugar is doubled. MMMMmmm....I served 6 last night, had enough leftover for 5 tonight, and put probably enough for 4 more in the freezer. Did I say a TON? It's also CHEAP. Less than $.75 per serving. If you can get ground beef on sale or if you have ground deer (no one will be able to tell it's deer meat), even cheaper. If you can splurge a bit or if you have a coupon, I LOVE to serve this on the larger Sister Schubert's dinner rolls. Oh. My. Word. "It's like eating a baby angel." There you go, Kat.

Linking to Jen's Tasty Tuesday!

Homemade Pizza Night!

Last Saturday night every single member of my little family was in my little kitchen. That includes two adult humans, one tween human, and three canines who think they're humans. It was a feat, let me say. But the smells that were emanating from that one room were enough to keep us all in there for a while, at least.

Kiddo and I go to classes at our church on Tuesdays. I usually go to a Bible study class, and he goes to classes designed for homeschoolers. We really enjoy it and it gives both of us a break from each other. However, this term I am helping with one of the homeschool classes taught by my friend Lisa. Kiddo is, of course, in one of the classes (we split them into 4-5 grades and 6-8 grades). The book we're using, The Science Chef, is really a neat book if you want your kids to get interested in cooking.

Each week Lisa gives the kids experiments and recipes that correspond with that week's lesson. Last week we talked about why bread rises and what role yeast plays in bread, etc, etc. One of the recipes was for pizza dough, and since we already had planned on having homemade pizza Saturday night it was perfect timing for us.

We were each in charge of one element of the meal. Sound Man was in charge of toppings, sauteing onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms as well as cooking sausage; I was in charge of the pizza sauce (recipe coming in a minute); Kiddo was in charge of the crust. Homemade crust at that.He did great, even kneading it the way Lisa had shown the kids, even if it wasn't exactly the way I do it. I kept telling myself "Don't get in the way, don't get in the way...let him do it his way!" He measured, stirred, kneaded, and then pressed the finished product into our stoneware baker. LOVE that thing!Can you tell I love Pampered Chef products? The bowl, the spoon, the baker, the roller, they all came from P.C! (And NO, I wasn't compensated by P.C. I just honestly love their products! Plus, I was a consultant for three years when Kiddo was tee-niney.)

Sorry, random thought. Anyway, after the crust was rolled out, I spooned the sauce on, then Sound Man did his magic with the toppings, finishing it off with pepperoni and Italian blend cheese. Can I tell you this pizza was sooooooooooo good?I'm so glad it turned out well. I think if it hadn't Kiddo's interest in the kitchen would have gone downhill. Hopefully it will just grow as the class goes on.Alrighty, here are the recipes for both the pizza dough and sauce. Super, super easy for both.

Basic Pizza Dough
(Makes enough for one 12 inch pizza or eight slices)

1 cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees F)
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp oil
2 to 3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour

In a large bowl add yeast to water and stir. Add sugar, salt and oil to water and stir well. Add flour to bowl in small amounts and stir after each addition. Add just enough flour so the dough is not sticking in clumps to your hands or the bowl.

Knead dough 2-3 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Let dough rest 5-10 minutes before rolling out on pizza stone or pan, or press into baker for deep dish pizza.

Pizza Sauce

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 tomato, seeded and coarsely pureed (actually what I did was just chop it to smithereens with my Pampered Chef food chopper. It was as good as pureed!)
1 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, minced (again, I just used my Pampered Chef garlic press...LOVE that thing!)
1/4 tsp paprika
scant 1/4 tsp salt

Blend together and spread over pizza crust. YUMMY!

Hope you like it as much as we did!

Linked up at Jen's Tasty Tuesday post this week!

Shalupies

I bet you're wondering how in the world to pronounce that, aren't you? ShahLOOpeez. There you go. don't know what shalupies are? Well, I'll tell you, but you have to promise you'll still think I'm sane. My husband does not.

First, you take your basic taco salad...

Looks good, huh?

Then, you add the Smith family secret ingredient. All of my cousins do this. My Mimmie did this. I didn't know you didn't do this in other homes. It's just what we did. You add...

English peas. The big ones, not the little baby ones. And you don't warm them. You open the can, drain them, plop them in a bowl, and serve them on the table with the cheese and salsa.

Have I lost you yet? Well, how about now?

And that, my uninitiated bloggy friends, is how you eat Shalupies.

You're welcome.

Okay, I bet your family has a weird way to eat something. Please tell me that my family wasn't crazy. Sound Man, you have no say so.

Homemade Manicotti

I haven't posted a recipe in a long time. I guess because I've read too much Pioneer Woman I think I have to have pictures with each step in the process. Which is good, because sometimes I start jabbering on and on and by the time I'm finished, I don't even know what I've said.

I was looking through my blog pic folder to see if I could find blog fodder in between projects we've got going on here at the Sound-Man-Heathahlee-Kiddo homestead. And I found just the thing. Homemade Manicotti.

This is one of my fam's favorite recipe, right up there with Pasta Carbonara. I always get cheers when I announce we're having either one of those entrees. Now, just like The Nester says, "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful," this recipe doesn't have to be perfect to taste wonderful. It certainly isn't restaurant looking, but oh, how it tastes! Here's the step by step process of how I make Manicotti. I will have an actual recipe you can copy and print at the bottom.

The first step is to make your "pasta." They are actually crepes (pronounced kreps) that you cook like pancakes. Mix flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. It will be a thin batter:

While you're mixing that, let a non-stick skillet heat up and spray it with cooking spray:

It should be pretty hot, but don't burn the spray. Pour about two tablespoons of batter into hot pan (I use a scoop for this...it's so easy and the exact amount I need):

Now, you need to work fairly quickly or your crepe will set just like this, and it's too thick right here. Take a spatula and start to draw the circle out a little bit at a time:

Just lightly drag the spatula in a circular motion and you'll get the shape you want. Remember, this is not perfect...just a generally round shape is what we're wanting.

See how it's already starting to set? This has only been in the skillet for a few seconds. The more you draw the batter away from the center the thinner the crepe is, and the quicker it cooks. I know I'm making this sound harder than it is, but it's really easy!

Keep spreading...

And fill in any holes you may have. Here's what the completely set crepe will look like on top:

Flip it over just to make sure the top gets done. For literally, like, two seconds. This is what the bottom will look like when you flip it:

Now, set aside all these little sweeties (and resist putting powdered sugar on them and eating them. Resist, I tell you!) on a plate for a second to get the rest of the stuff done.

Pour half a jar of spaghetti sauce, whatever kind you like...just make sure it's about 28 ounces...in a 9 x 13 baking pan:

And please make sure your counter is as cluttered as mine when you do this. Thank you.

Next, mix your filling. An egg, ricotta cheese, Romano or Parmesan cheese (grated), and parsley.

This is what it will look like:

Now you're ready to roll up your crepes. Take one crepe, and scoop about three tablespoons of filling in the center of it:

You can put as much or as little cheese mixture as you want. I like mine cheesy, so I put a honkin' big spoonful in mine. Then, roll the crepe, covering the mixture all cozy in it's crepe blanket:

Don't bother tucking the ends or anything. When you finish rolling it, lay it and all its friends in the baking pan:

Just shove 'em all in there 'til the pan is full. Then, pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the rolls, covering them evenly. I don't have a picture of this step because I'm a ditz.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F degrees for 20 minutes. Take aluminum off and bake for another 20 minutes:

When you take it out of the oven, grate Romano or Parmesan cheese over the top and let its melty goodness melt all over the top. Oh, and I've since replaced my broken Pampered Chef cheese grater with another one. That I got at a garage sale for $5. Considering a new one was going to cost me over $20, I did a happy dance when I saw it. Garage sales ROCK! How's that for covering two subjects in one post, Jen?

Back to the subject at hand. It will look just like this, right before your family devours it:

I may have sprinkled mozzarella over this one. I can't remember. You can if you want to, but the Parmesan is really enough.

Trust me...this is one that is worth the trouble. It's not hard, it just takes a little time. Your family will thank you! Here's the recipe all written out:

Homemade Manicotti

Crepe Noodles:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese (I use two 15 ounce containers)
1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 jar (28 ounces) spaghetti sauce
Shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

Place flour in a mixing bowl; whisk in milk, eggs, and salt until smooth. Pour about 2 tablespoons onto a hot greased 8-inch skillet; spread to a 5 inch circle. Cook over medium heat until set; flip for a few seconds, then set aside. For filling, combine cheeses, egg and parsley. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons down the center of each crepe; roll up. Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Place crepes, seam side down, over sauce; pour remaining sauce over top. Cover and bake at 350 F degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Sprinkle additional cheese over top and let melt.

YUMMMMMY!

I totally forgot where I was going with this...I linked up to Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday post...there are SOOOO many other recipes to drool over, and Jen herself has some hilarious and fun ideas for pizza for Dad. Head on over!

So, what did you do on Memorial Day?

While I have some surprises up my sleeve for later in the week, I wanted to "unwrap" what our family did yesterday.

Nothing.

Blessed, relaxing, absolutely...nothing.

We haven't done that in a loooooooong time. No where to go, nothing to have to do. Sigh....it really was nice.

I won't tell you the ungodly hour we slept until, but suffice it to say that Kiddo beat us up by a while. Long enough for him to concoct a plan for the day. He came in our room and announced that he was in charge of breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day, and informed us of what we'd be eating. And while we had to burst his bubble about dinner (we had planned on hamburgers on the grill, after all), we moved some stuff around and enjoyed his plans for the most part.

For breakfast, cinnamon rolls and a banana, with a glass of milk on the side. For dinner (I'll get to lunch in a sec), to go along with our burgers, cheese fries a la Outback, with fries, cheese, and bacon bits piled on top. He had a great idea that Sound Man and I would probably never have thought of!

And now, for lunch, I give you...Kiddo's Gourmet Sandwiches: (sorry I didn't take any pictures)

(btw, this is directly from my Kiddo's instructions, written the way he wrote them)

Ingredients
2 pc. Whole Wheat bread
(about) 1 TBSP.Mayonnaise
3 slices lunch meat
1/2 cup Parmesan, Colby, Monterey Jack, and cheddar mixed cheeses
Lettuce (optional)
Toast bread.
Put all ingredients
together in
between
slices
of
bread.

So there you go. A nine-year old's version of a gourmet sandwich. And let me say, they were really good! Especially since Momma didn't have to make lunch!

He made us so proud yesterday, wanting to serve his parents. I hope he gets those ideas more often, not just because I want him to serve me, but because I want him to learn to serve others. To feel the joy that comes from giving to someone else just because. As an only child, it's hard for him to "get it" because we have no other children he has to share with. So, when he wakes us up with these kinds of surprises, he delights his parents in more ways than one!

See what others are unwrapping at Emily's blog, Chatting at the Sky.