For this particular post, I am sharing a photojournal as an illustrated recipe for our “Sunday Brunch Journal” (via Flickr)

Currently, this photo journal features a brunch we prepared in June 2010 with a SW style corn frittata and chocolate-filled croissants with coffee.

For the frittata recipe, you’ll see here that a seasoned egg mixture is poured over a seasoned corn-tomato mixture that has been reduced to boil off most of the liquid until just before it starts to carmelize/brown on the bottom (carmelization brings out the sweetness and aroma of the seasoned tomato mixture … delicious!). At the very end, a cheese topping is browned in the broiler for several seconds to give the frittata a beautiful finish and delicious cheesy sw taste.

Slideshow Link: Sunday Brunch Photo-Journal – Recipe for SW Style Frittata

Please click the slideshow link above to view the entire illustrated recipe.

The photos below are just a brief excerpt of this photo journal.

Childs' Plate of SW Style Tomato-Corn Frittata with Chocolate-Filled Croissant

Cheese topping of SW Style Breakfast Frittata is melted and browned. It's ready to be served.

Southwest Style Corn-Tomato Fritatta has been served -- be sure not to have heat too high to prevent it being too dark on bottom; carmelization on bottom makes the flavor awesome, but too much is not good

Haiti Still Needs Help – Donate Now – Dr. Pat Bailey-Jones is there, sponsor her missions work. If you are a compassionate mom who wants to know more about how you can still help the moms in Haiti, go to

The main key that we have found for successful family team cooking is:

PLANNING AHEAD

Though we’re not yet perfect at it, when we sit down and discuss our meals for that day (and ideally for the whole week), we always have great success with cooking our meals as a family team. We try to be sure that everyone has at least one favorite dish and that everyone has at least one job.

There are times when we can leave the kids to their own devices in the kitchen. They have truly amazed us with some good meals, and with some really bad ones, too. However, it is all part of the learning process, the good and the bad … so we welcome it all because our goal is to learn, not to be perfect.

Truthfully, each time when we’ve planned the meals out well beforehand, those have been the most fabulous meals. One of the tools that we have created and have started using is available to you for free, if you’d like it. It’s a customized “power plate” template that gives the kids space to write in what dishes they will have in their meals from each of the major food groups. We have found that it helps them to keep their meals more balanced, even if they don’t cook the food from scratch. It gives them a great visual so that, with our guidance, they can be sure to get enough balanced nutrients from each food group.

Feel free to click the below picture and click “save image as” to download this to your computer.

Template to assist families with balanced meal planning.

I have been so blessed by Sierra Club for as long as I can remember, because of the wonderful photos that they made available as art, post cards, etc, when I was a girl. Now, I’ve been even more blessed by them most recently because of their efforts with promoting urban conservation and multi-cultural diversity within the conservation world.

Today I was even more delighted when I read my newsletter and saw the link for Annie Somerville’s videos with green cooking tips. I was drawn to the following video because I have never liked beets, but have been wanting to “re-introduce” myself to them and see if I can find a way to prepare them so that our whole family would enjoy them.

This recipe features a dressing recipe that I think would make most vegetable dishes taste good — roasted, steamed or raw.

Here is Sierra Club’s video:

“Chef Annie Somerville in the Greens Restaurant’s kitchen with Sierra Club’s Orli Cotel cooking up some tasty organic beets.”

“Village Building” is important to me because I was raised to believe that our family is part of “the village”. Teamwork is important to us also because we were taught that we can get the best results when we all do our own parts and work well together.

Some of my most fond memories were in Gary, Indiana in Grandmommy Ernestine’s kitchen with her, my aunts and mommy. We would all work together to get our holiday meals ready. As my grandparents aged, the holiday parties moved to my beautiful Aunt Genevieve’s home. Truly these are some of the best and most vivid memories in my life. They make me smile.

I also remember how our “village” always came together – with neighbors sharing food, looking out for and helping one another. This was especially true as the adults in the neighborhood got older. Grandmommy would look out for her ill next door neighbor, cook for her and go and sit with her. I see the same thing now with my parents and their neighbors, as well, in Chicago and Charlotte. I am also grateful that we have good neighbors here in Atlanta who are generous and look out for us, as we do for them.

In our home, we are elated that our kids are old enough to understand the importance of teamwork and help more in the kitchen, and in the house overall now. I find myself constantly flashing back to helping out with dishes and house chores so the adults could focus on preparing some of the best food known to man. Yes, there are few on Earth who can throw down like our family does. I don’t believe this is at all biased or exaggerated, just ask my brother, Michael, and all of our cousins.

Just as my family took time to impart the kitchen basics to me, our oldest kids have also been learning their way around in there. At this point, we are able to trust them more to keep their hands clean and use hygenic and sanitary practices in the kitchen. Our oldest enjoys helping prepare the pasta and rice for many of the meals, and helping with other simple dishes, as well.

We seem to have fallen into an actual system in our kitchen. Everyone pretty much has their own chores, and generally speaking, makes the effort to contribute when we are all working together as a team. Being hungry is a good motivator for teamwork, as well. I know it was for me when I was young! LOL!

Also, now that the older kids can read pretty well, we have been teaching them more about the meal planning process – from preparing the weekly meal plan and shopping list all the way down to preparing a balanced plate.

Here are some great resources that have been helpful for our kids’ kitchen learning journey:

*the “power plate” and “food pyramid” guides posted on our refridgerator door help with understanding how to eat a balanced meal

*the older children each have a copy of a weekly meal plan form and are expected to fill it out with whatever they’d like to have for meals; then we sit and discuss it with the other family members and come to an agreement

*then we write up our shopping list on a paper turned sideways and folded into four sections; after we double-check the cabinets, we fill in the sections of the list according to how the grocery store is organized (i.e., frozen, fresh, canned, bakery, dairy, etc.)

Giving Honor to our Influencers, Past and Present

I must give thanks to God for increasing my wisdom in the kitchen daily and also must give credit to some of my most notable food influencers:

–Kid Cultivators Homeschool group

–various food and mom blogs I’ve read, some of which you can find links for under “BOOKMARKS” at wwahhmpreneur.com

–my mom, grandmommy, and daddy – all of whom were my first kitchen teachers

–my friends Marjory, Tanya, Nicki, Lexis, Alby and many other family and friends who have shared their tricks, tips and even a few secrets here and there

–last but not least, I am thankful for my encouraging, and prayerful, husband and kids who have been willing to allow me to experiment and keep growing into a better cook over these past 10+ years

Truly, all of these folks make up our “village kitchen”. Though most are not physically with us here very often, their collective influence dwells in every morsel.

Who are the influencers who have made up your “village kitchen”, both past and present? Do you use meal preparation to teach your kids about principles of teamwork? How do you use holidays and other special events and times to teach your kids about family and community?

LEAVE A COMMENT!

Here is a tool that could make family cooking time even more fun:

America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Leave a comment with a link to your food blog.

Enjoy!

BTW:

You can now access this blog feed in the “GOOD FOOD” section of our main blog at http://www.WWAHHMpreneur.com

**I love Ellie Krieger’s cooking videos because she is knowledgable about nutrition and provides clear and simple instructions.  I found many great episodes of her show on Hulu.com and have posted this one here with the help of vodpod.com.**

Ellie’s chicken pot pie recipe is wonderfully delicious and nutritious. However, it is not for those with dairy (cow-milk) food allergies, so I have listed ways to work around some of the uses of dairy products here.  Also, she didn’t really suggest many ingredient substitutes, so I have left other suggestions below that may fit other family’s preferences more.  Furthermore, there are certain methods and procedures I have suggested here to help make cooking for a family healthier, more flavorful, easier to prepare, and to help prevent/correct cooking mistakes.

Dairy-Free Modifications
*instead of milk, use the same/equivalent amount of vegetable or chicken broth in the pie filling; which will then turn out like a savory gravy, instead of creamy white sauce; in a seperate pan, make gravy by first browning about 1/2 cup of whole grain flour (do not burn it) in olive oil on medium heat, and then briskly whisking in the broth, being sure to break up the clumps of flour until your gravy is smooth; let it simmer on the lowest heat setting until it’s bubbly and thick while you are sauteing vegetables and meat in a separate pan; you will add the gravy to your pie filling just the same as is done with the creamy sauce
*butter used in the crust can be replaced with olive oil safely and will still turn out flaky, if you cut it into the flour properly, just how she instructs here; if you don’t have a food processor, then combine the ingredients using a fork, instead of a spoon
*for the buttermilk used in this dough, I can use goats milk because my child with the dairy allergy is only allergic to cows milk; the flavor is a bit more tangy than buttermilk, but that is a great flavor to have in a pot pie dinner

Other Tweaks & Tips
*use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), instead of canola oil as Ellie suggests, for sauteing, but be sure to keep your heat at medium and not medium high; on our electric stove that is at level 4 out of 10 possible levels; this will prevent the problem of smoking oil and scorched ingredients; EVOO has been proven to have many internal and external benefits for the human body because it contains natural antioxidants that are a benefit to our blood system, internal organs, skin and more; also, the flavor of EVOO, especially in savory dishes, is usually pretty pleasing, as well
*before adding anything else to the saute pan, first saute the onions, garlic and celery to help infuse those flavors into the oil and soften the celery further; keep a close eye on the pan to ensure that the garlic and onions do not burn, if you feel it’s a little too brown, it is okay to add a bit of hot water and stir up the mixture to release the carmelized juices from the bottom of the pan, but be sure to start adding the other veggies as soon as the extra moisture evaporates, but before the browning process starts again (if it is truly burnt and not just brown, this method of using hot water will not help; you will need to remove the burnt ingredients from the pan, clean the pan and start over)
*for faster preparation, buy the mixed frozen or fresh diced seasonings prepared by your local grocers/farmers which already contain onions and celery, along with sweet red, yellow and green peppers; some of these mixes even contain herbs, like parsley for added flavor, as well
*also to save time, use prepared minced garlic that you can find in a jar in the produce section
*if you’re concerned that fresh herbs will spoil before you have time to cook with them, try the herb pastes available in the produce refrigerated section; keep in the fridge and don’t break the seal on it until you are ready to cook with it; right after you cook with it, replace the cap and toss it in the freezer right away so it won’t spoil before you cook with it again
*any other harder veggies, like carrots, should be sauteed before the softer veggies are added in (during this slower step, prepare your meat; see below for more on meats)
*other suggested veggies: roasted diced tomatoes (just the fleshy outer part without seeds or juice); roasted red/yellow/orange sweet bell peppers; fresh mushrooms; zucchini (be sure to remove the seeds); okra; red kidney beans (canned, strained and rinsed) or any other vegetables or legumes/beans according to your family’s tastes; in Ellies recipe: green beans, carrots, and sweet peas
*IMPORTANT: sautee your chicken (or other meat, tofu or other meat substitute) AFTER the veggies, instead of before, as Ellie does; remove the veggies from the saute pan, but leave the veggie drippings in the pan and add about 1 Tbsp of olive oil and heat before adding in your seasoned meat; be sure to sprinkle your favorite dried seasonings onto the raw chicken (or other meat) before sauteeing (I use Mrs. Dash chipotle flavor and table blend salt-free seasoning mixes.)
*when buying chicken (or any other meat of your choice) for this dish, be sure to go with higher quality meats that are from animals who are well taken care of without added chemicals, antibiotics, growth hormones and other undesirables that are not good for your family’s health; we started purchasing Purdue brand products because of their commitment to quality in this arena, and now have found that other select meat producers are now also striving to provide the same type of quality meats at reasonable prices

In this recipe and others that I have seen Ellie prepare, I love her generous use of fresh vegetables, fresh herbs and whole grains.  To me, this alone makes her worthy of my attention because that is a true sign of someone who understands the importance of not sacrificing flavor for healthy cooking.

Any chicken pot pie recipe is a hands-down family pleaser, even for those who don’t usually like vegetables.  And with this recipe, the health conscious family members (especially many moms like me) will also be pleased.  Sauteing the vegetables is one of the keys to getting this right.  You never want to skip that step, nor rush through that step, because it infuses the flavors of the seasonings into the sauce and vegetables.  Furthermore, if you have any family members with dental challenges, like we do, you will need to be sure that your veggies become nice and soft during the saute process.

As you’ll see here when Ellie removes the pie from the oven and plates it, the ratio of starchier carbohydrates to more fibrous carbs is lower because the dough doesn’t cover the entire dish.  So, not only is this dish lower in fat and salt than some of the convenience or restaurant versions, but it is also much higher in complex carbohydrates, fiber, antioxidants, protein, and good cholesterol (LDL) — all of the things our bodies need to replenish and cleanse us for renewed health and strength.

On behalf of my whole family, I give this recipe our stamp of approval.

For more about Ellie, check out elliekrieger.com.

Our Kids' Favorite

We are so glad that we have found some great cold cereals that are healthier which our kids will actually eat.  We have also found ways to ehance them by adding in nutritious and tasty goodies.  This saves us time (and strife) on mornings when we don’t have time (or energy) to cook hot cereal.

The Kellogg’s Jumbo Krispies cereal was a big surprise because, at first, we thought that it was just larger puffs of rice.  When we realized that it’s a multi-grain product that contains 3 grams of fiber per serving, we were overjoyed!  Sliced bananas and/or berries make a great addition to this cereal as a nutrition booster, though it’s not necessary because it already tastes great.

Also, we have been enjoying some of the Kashi products, which are famous for using whole grains in their cereal and frozen breakfast products.

Mom's Favorite

Kashi Heart to Heart cold cereal is my personal favorite, to the point where I keep my own personal stash separate from the kids’ allotted one box of this same cereal.  It is high in fiber (5 grams per serving) and has just a hint of sweetness. The flavor is great by itself, but sometimes I add fresh or dried berries and seeds or nuts for an extra boost of protein and fresh vitamins.

Better than cow's milk in both taste and nutrition.

As we try to keep our home low in dairy products, we have found Silk Vanilla Soy Milk  be the tastiest and most nutritious alternative to cow’s milk.  We’ve tried several other brands of soy milk, but always come back to Silk because it just tastes so good.  We love the fact that it contains 1 gram of fiber per serving plus 270 mg of  Omega-3 antioxidants, along with no cholesterol and only a half gram of saturated fat.   In comparison, 2% milk has no fiber, 3 grams of saturated fat and 20 mg of cholesterol.

Also, Silk Soy Milk works well as an alternative to milk in recipes such as pancake batter, cornbread muffin batter and more.  For dishes that are to be more savory instead of sweet, like Alfredo sauce, we would recommend the plain unsweetened flavor of Silk.

Post #2: Healthy Eating Family: Healthy Eating Kids – Breakfast

Our children have varying specific nutritional needs based on their developmental stages, growth cycles and health statuses (i.e., allergies, dental challenges, sensitivities, etc.).  So, we have learned that it’s best for our family to have flexible breakfast recipes, and during their growing phases, to have extra healthy food and snacks on hand for extra-hungry kids.

As a homeschool family, it is so much easier to give them those extra snacks at mid-morning and mid-afternoon to supplement breakfast and lunch.  We’ve found that this also makes them mentally sharper without making them fat, as we give them healthier snacks during their most physically active time of day.

Breakfast is, hands-down, the most important meal of the day for growing children.  You may see this as kind of a cliche, but, seriously, children need to replenish and “break the fast” even more than adults because their metabolisms kick into high-gear while they are sleeping and growing, and growing and sleeping.

Even before breakfast, they also need to drink a good amount of fresh water when they first wake-up, to detoxify and get their bodies ready to handle whatever challenges/stresses that their day may hold. {If it’s a big challenge, just add fresh half slice of a clean lemon and a piece of ice to the water cup. Little kids love the taste, smell and feel of both.}

The kinds of breakfast foods that we give to our children include whole grains, seeds and nuts, dairy and soy products, along with fresh fruit.  We work hard to ensure that daily meals are lower in fat and sugar, and higher in complex carbohydrates and protein. {If you’re not sure of the proper balance of nutrients in your family meals, see MyPyramid.gov.}

Also, especially for the younger children, it’s very important to include natural seeds (with no added sugar, salt or fat) because the natural Omega 3 and 6 fats help with brain development.  One way that I do this is by adding flax seed meal to some of my hot cereal recipes. {With our fruity oatmeal recipe, you would add about 1/3 cup of flax meal to dry oatmeal and mix well before cooking. Makes it taste a bit lighter, less dense/more airy and a little nutty flavored}.  You can also add a bit of flax oil into uncooked or cooled meals, however, be sure to do this only just before eating {or add it into vinaigrette dressing along with your other oil}, so as to preserve the nutrients and keep them from degrading with a higher temperature.

Once or twice a week, we may have a larger breakfast meal with eggs and meat included, but we don’t do those higher fat meals every day.  We also try to incorporate fresh veggies into the larger breakfast by making omelets or frittatas.

I love the fact that organic products are becoming more mainstream because I can always find my favorite, higher quality types of eggs at the regular grocer or Wal-mart for reasonable prices.  One type that I like to buy says on the package that it is higher in the Omega fats that are good for you.  If you’ve never tried these more expensive eggs, try it just one time and taste the difference.  Even my husband can tell the difference now and has finally stopped buying the cheaper eggs.

In regards to breakfast meats, we have come to love real deli meat from across the deli counter, as it is fresher and tastes like real meat.  Oscar Meyer has gotten wise to this, as well, and has started selling packaged real deli products that are slightly less expensive than the counter deli items.  If you are patient, you can also get very good deals on deli items that the grocer is trying to move a bit quicker across the counter and by packaging the items in-store.  We also like Hormel’s brand of nitrite-free, or uncured, deli meats.  Unfortunately, Hormel’s uncured products don’t stay fresh as long as their counterparts, so be sure to eat them up within two or three days of opening the package {or freeze them right after opening}.  For all of these products, be sure to check the expiration date before adding it to your cart.  At the deli yesterday, I asked if they have low-salt meats, and they did.  Of course, they’re pricier and don’t go on sale as often, but keep your eyes out for some good sales in the future.

I have really been enjoying writing about what works for our family because I’ve gotten some good feedback on these posts and recipes.  I’d love to hear from you, as well, so be sure to leave a comment if you’d like to share a recipe or give feedback.

As far back as I can remember, birthday cake has never been the highlight of my birthday celebrations. If we even have cake it’s usually store bought or from a boxed mix.

However, this year, we had something different for my son’s sixth birthday, as well as for mine, and I am so glad that we did.

Our friends, Mari and Candace Sawyer, own a well-known bakery called Mari’s Sweets. I had been wanting to try their goods, and finally had the opportunity.

So, we had a dairy-free carrot cake bundt cake for my son’s birthday, as he is allergic to dairy. It only lasted us about 3 days, as grandpa and myself polished off the leftovers rather quickly while he visited with us for the our son’s birthday and the July 4th Independence Day holiday.

This cake was so good as breakfast the next day. I was totally amazed at how moist it was, including having juicy raisins inside. Even on the last day of eating it, every bit was still moist. I don’t know what she did to this cake to keep it moist like this, but I definitely want to get one of these for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Mari's Sweets -- Dairy-Free (left) and Orange Cream Cheese Frosted; Super-Moist & Yummy! Truly a great surprise and highlight of my birthday.

Also, for my birthday this past week, my husband surprised me with Mari’s Sweets’ carrot cake muffins that had the orange cream cheese frosting. The frosting is like heaven! I already love cream cheese frosting and orange flavor by themselves, let alone combined. Again, the leftover muffins were breakfast for the days following my day. Yummy!

Thank you to Mari and Candace for your excellence in your craft! You really made our July holidays special.

If you’d like to see their menu or other testimonials, click the following links to connect with Mari’s Sweets on their website and on facebook.