My Favorite Recipe of 2010—Corn Chowder

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 10
My sister Lisa is a phenomenal cook. This is her corn chowder recipe, adapted a bit because of my husband's high cholesterol. While not much to look at (these photos do NOT do it justice in any way), this soup is absolutely delicious.

Ingredients
½ pound bacon (cut into inch size pieces, I use my kitchen scissors)

3 cans cream of chicken soup
3 cans of 1% milk

1 small sour cream

20 oz frozen corn 

12 new potatoes, peeled and diced bite size pieces

Pepper and powdered garlic to taste

Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Cook bacon in large soup pot until just about done. Open one of your soup cans and put contents in a small bowl so you have an empty soup can to drain the excess bacon grease. Add soup, 2 cans of milk, sour cream, corn and powdered garlic. Before you add the potatoes, the soup mixture looks like this:

In a separate pot, boil potatoes for about 15-20 mins (I do this while the bacon is cooking). Drain the water and add it to the soup mixture. At this point, I move the whole mixture to my slow cooker and heat it on low for about an hour, though it can stay in the crock pot longer. If you don't have a crock pot, you can simmer the mixture on the stove top on low. Be careful not to have the heat too high; the milk will burn. Stir often. If you are using the stove top method, keep the cover on but leave a little room for steam to come out. If not, it may become too watery. Simmer the mixture for about 1/2 an hour.

Notes: Add some or all of the third can of milk until your chowder is the desired thickness. The original recipe calls for whole milk and a large container of sour cream.

Blogiversary Reflection

One year ago, I set a few New Year challenges for myself: try to take a photo every day, and try to write more for pleasure (I write almost every day for my job). My vehicle for sharing was this blog. With chagrin I report that my photo challenge lasted less than a month. However, today is my blogiversary...I have lasted a year with writing routinely and sharing it publicly (50 posts in total). Given that there are so many unfinished projects around my house, I consider this a huge success.

In addition to this accomplishment, 2010 held some very nice surprises. Chief among them was our family's service trip to the Dominican Republic (which I blogged about excessively). While I was chaperoning the trip for my employer (Watkinson School), for sure the highlight of the trip was that all four Frenches got to do this together. 2010 was also the first (and potentially only) time my boys got to be teammates, with Paul as one of the coaches. For two kids who can barely get along when they are just sitting next to each other on the couch, it was a pleasure to see them work side by side, both in La Romana and on the baseball field.

2010 also signaled the end of Turner's little league career. After hundreds and hundreds of outings to the Yalesville Little League fields, it was very bittersweet to see his commitment climax with the 12-year old all-stars championship game at the Giamatti Little League Complex, with Turner on the mound, with a loss to Farmington. Ironically, the parents cried...Turner was totally fine. He was happy just to have had the chance.

2010 also included an invitation for Hayden to join the STEP program at his school. While not a big deal in and of itself, it heralded a new way of thinking for Hayden. He now pursues much more clever and adventurous projects at home (wordles, homemade ugly dolls, and as I write this is in the midst of making a sock creature).

While I have yet to set any goals for 2011 yet (as I rarely do anything the same way twice!) I have thought about the year ahead: Turner will start high school, Hayden will start middle school, Paul will turn 50. These are big milestones. I am eager for it all.

Thank You Abby Hurlburt!

Got a really sweet email from Turner's third and fourth grade teacher. She sent me the poem below and reminded me that "Turner's always been talented." What a sweet, small gift during this incredibly hectic time of year. I was deeply moved.

The First Snowfall
Silent snow drifting across the winter wonderland
Racing outside to a soft blanket of snow
Trudging uphill with my sled
Zipping down the crystal clear hills
Laughing and having fun

by Turner French, 2008

Friday in the Barrio

Dominican Republic Trip Nov. 2010—Journal Entry No. 7
Friday was our last workday and it was a bit different. We worked at Barrio Pico Piedra, the home of one of our translators, Jean Robert. While a significantly more urban setting than the bateys, it was also more spacious as we worked in a church that was three times the size of the buildings we used on our previous days. The accommodations felt luxurious in comparison. The bigger space and more crowded setting also meant we treated more patients; 115 in one day. While on previous days we did door-to-door food distribution, today we handed out food only to patients who came to the clinic, giving them a bag as they exited the building. The people also seemed a bit more well off as everyone had shoes. But alas, everything is relative! At about 11 a.m. a 16-year-old mom named Hermani came in with a 6 lb, 7-month-old baby boy named Jordan. It was the most tragic situation I have ever seen.

At the clinic, it was impossible to assess the extent of the baby’s problems. He was clearly dehydrated, and he was so severely malnourished that he looked like a skeleton with skin. Beyond that, the medical professionals couldn’t tell. All agreed that the best course of action was to take Hermani and Jordan to the Good Sam immediately. Fortunately, Kristy had her truck so that was doable without having to strand the team at the barrio. Kristy asked me to join her in order to let the hospital and the mom know that there was some semblance of financial backing for the baby’s needs. On route to the hospital, we learned that the family had no food, clothes or money. The baby hadn’t had any milk for 2 days and prior to that the frequency of access to milk was very spotty. We learned what street Hermani lives on but that her house has no number, which may make it hard for health care providers to find her and do any follow up care. A month ago, Hermani had taken Jordan to the public health hospital and had received minimal care there and was sent home….an unfathomable fact given that it would have taken months for Jordan to deteriorate to the extent he had. As we drove to the hospital, I once again had the burden of trying to determine what kind of funds our team was being asked to provide. I was silently praying that I wouldn’t have to be the one to fail this family by not having the resources they needed. I asked Kristy for a ballpark figure for what a day in the hospital would cost: $50. Then I asked for a best guesstimate for how long the baby would have to be there: at least a week. Finally I asked to a prognosis: bleak. When we got to the ER, the doctors said his veins are so collapsed that they will have to start with oral rehydration before they can put in an IV. The good news is that as of the day we departed, we learned that Juley tested negative for both HIV and Hepatitis. Plus they were able to get an IV in his heel and start hydrating him that way. The sad news is that the baby’s hemoglobin is 6; the lowest you want for a baby is 11. This means that Jordan needs a blood transfusion, which can’t happen til he’s hydrated and they can get a bigger needle in his veins, and it means he will most likely have brain damage. The most beautiful part of the story is that despite Hermani being a teenage, single mom, she adores her son. We have that in common. I got to help her prepare a bottle. I sang to Jordan while I held him so Hermani could take care of some necessary steps of the admission process. His tiny body made my palm feel huge. The rest of the afternoon at the hospital was a bit of a blur and I eventually left the doctors to their work, met up with the team and we went off to the beach.

Our second trip to the beach was as glorious as the first. A more leisurely endeavor, this trip included dinner on the beach—scrumptious fried chicken packed by our hosts. I could tell that everyone was starting the process of peeling away from La Romana. Already people were starting to say sentences like, “Next year when we come…” In addition to swimming and eating, we took a team photo. All of the kids—age 10 to age 18—played a huge game of pickle. It was sweet to see the kids who had been doing the jobs of grown ups all week return to being kids.

When we returned to Casa Pastorale, our hosts had a celebration waiting for us. Musicians from the church played dance-worthy Dominican praise songs and got all of us gringos grooving like we knew how! We ended our evening with cake and a sharing time with Kristy. The women’s dorm was quiet as we all headed to bed. There was lots of practical conversation about how we were going to get the 140 lbs of coffee we bought home, where we should leave the shoes and clothes we were donating to the mission, and how much we should tip our hosts. But throughout it all, there was a tenor of sadness at the prospect of leaving. As much as I missed my extended family and friends, I wasn’t ready to give up the feelings that the work in La Romana had awakened in me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dominican Republic Trip Nov. 2011–Journal Entry No. 6
Thursday was special, no doubt. What a gift to celebrate Thanksgiving with the poor. The day provided numerous opportunities to reflect on the good gifts in our lives. Despite the fact that our hosts don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, many gave us “Happy Thanksgiving” greetings first thing in the morning. We headed out early and went to Batey Lagina. While Lagina wasn’t as dirty as Plumita, there was a similar aggressive vibe amongst the adults, especially later in the day. The medical clinic went smoothly; we treated 88 patients. This was the day where we could have used 10 times more shoes than we had with us. It was also our first day working alongside pediatric nurse practitioner Kristy Engel, a dear friend who has been working full-time at this mission for 10 years.

On a day we associate with an abundance of food in the U.S., we faced one of our hardest challenges: we ran out of food during food distribution. It was a gut wrenching moment where we had to defer to our translators on how to handle it. Emilio immediately shifted gears and started directing us to houses where the elderly and moms with many, many children were. While the team did lots of talking about this moment in the bus on the way back to the city, and the young people tried to shift the blame for the situation to our hosts for not telling us accurate numbers of residents, in the end the reasons and blame were irrelevant. The bottom line was that some got food and some didn’t and it was a really awful feeling to be connected with that hard, cold fact. We still had bags of food to distribute at Casa Pastorale and had to rest assured in the fact that Emilio and his team would return to Lagina next week with more food.

After Lagina, we toured the Good Samaritan Hospital. It was impressive yet also humbling as we were given access to every nook and cranny, including the surgery rooms. It felt like a privilege we didn’t deserve.

One of the highlights of my week came next: a visit to an orphanage in La Romana. I met three very special girls: Madeline (12), Naomi (11) and Cynthia (6). Madeline was gorgeous and very cautious. She told Turner he looked like Justin Bieber and took his baseball cap and modeled it for me. She gave me her email address and made me promise to write. She asked me questions like how often I have to cut my hair, if I had daughters, if I was a good student, and when I’d come back. Madeline was also a patient teacher. She tried diligently to teach me a very complicated hand clapping game and never gave up on me, despite the fact that it took me numerous tries amidst endless laughter to get it right. When I succeeded, she hugged me fiercely. Naomi was startlingly smart. She showed me her computer lab, took me to her locker and proudly showed me her notebook, and gave me her email address along with a note telling me she loves me. Cynthia grabbed my hand no more than 10 seconds after I entered the gate. I wonder what made her pick me out of the crowd of nearly thirty that visited that day? She was energetic, giggly, tomboyish, and endlessly loving. A gifted gymnast, she tumbled, cartwheeled, and flipped for me making me applaud and squeal with delight. She rode on my back for hours while I galloped around the compound. And she walked the entire length of their basketball court on her hands. She wrenched my heart by asking me over and over again if I’d be her mom. Little did she know that she is exactly the sort of daughter I’d want. I will remember and pray for her for a very long time.

Thursday night, we took our hosts out for pizza in the city. It was crowded and chaotic, but totally worth mentioning because dinner for about 30 cost $190.

Wednesday: Hump Day

Dominican Republic Trip Nov. 2010, Journal Entry No. 5
Wednesday, our third work day, was when I expected team dynamics to break down a bit. I am thrilled to report that moment never came. We spent our day on Batey Plumita where we treated 72 patients. Unlike the first two we visited, Plumita was absolutely filthy and very crowded. Our hosts’ explanation for this is that there is a large voodoo element on this batey, an element that introduces crime, fear, aggressiveness, drugs, and likely much more. There was lots of pushing and shoving in line to enter the clinic. And the general vibe was less welcoming. However, we had a magical moment: an impromptu 50-person circle of Gato, Gato, Gato, Pero (the equivalent of American duck, duck, goose). With no instructions having been given, a Haitian child would naturally pick an American child and vice versa. Squeals of delight were ringing off the buildings of the batey!

Turner recorded weights at the door of the clinic on this day and he stayed focused until someone broke out the wiffle ball and bat, then he went and played ball and had a blast. Hayden worked at the de-worming station, marking the hands of patients who had received their parasite meds (a necessary precaution because people would get in line twice because it tastes so good, which would likely lead to nausea/vomiting). Paul was the “traffic” person, leading patients from station to station in the clinic. After all the play time, the kids settled down and many held our hands while we were distributing food. In the middle of the workday, a mom came in with a 12-pound, one-year-old boy named Luigi (shown in the bottom photo in the arms of my colleague Sandy). Our team’s lead translator, Emilio, tried diligently to get a straight story from the mom on why the baby was so skinny and what medical care the boy had received; she seemed very confused. Was he just malnourished? Was anemia a factor? Did he have an infection? In the end, Emilio and one of the Dominican doctor’s advocated that the best course of action was to bring the baby on the bus to be treated at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Emilio asked if our team would provide the necessary funds to make that happen. I paused to try to find a diplomatic and inoffensive way to ask exactly what that meant. I didn’t want to make a commitment with team funds that couldn’t be honored. Saying (in Spanglish), "What's it gonna cost me?" about another persons health care just felt icky. I don’t remember exactly what I asked to solicit the info that I needed, but I do remember the answer: $13. I am happy to report that as of the day we left, Luigi is doing very well.

After picking up the water filter team at the hospital, we made our first trip to the beach. Literally, all 23 of us walked onto the beach, plopped down our bags, walked into the ocean and stayed in the water for the next 90 minutes. We walked out of the water, toweled off, and left! It was awesome!

Wednesday night we did more food packing, assessed our med clinic supplies (we ran out of vitamins, eye drops, and lotrimin), and had a presentation from Andrea and Estella (two ladies who lead aspects of the mission involving education, family planning and services to retired workers). This was our opportunity for team members to ask numerous questions about the La Romana, the sugar cane industry, the government, the mission, and more. I was very proud of the students in the group; their questions were thoughtful and intelligent.

Tuesday at Guazabal

Dominican Republic Nov. 2010—Journal Entry #4
Tuesday the team divided into two groups—6 members headed to the hospital to build water filters and the rest of us went to Batey Guazabal for our second medical clinic. Our second day was significantly less chaotic since we all had a much better sense of the process, how to organize the space, and communicate essential phrases in Spanish (here—aquí, there—allá, I’m sorry—lo siento). One of my most special moments at Guazabal came when I looked out the window and I saw Hayden playing wiffle ball and frisbee in the rain with the boys from the batey. He was loving every minute of it. He made a special friend and they played for much of the rest of the day. The curious moment of the day came when I found a boy without shoes. I knew we had a bag of shoes with us so I went to find where they were stashed. They were tucked under a bench in the pharmacy area of the clinic. When I asked one of our hosts to pass me a pair of shoes for the boy in question, I was told that the ones that we had were too big and they wouldn’t give me shoes. I didn’t understand it, but didn’t dare challenge them. I didn’t want to be rude or too aggressive. I have regretted that choice ever since. It was a very smooth day; we treated 64 patients and distributed about 90 food kits. The residents were sweet and very hospitable to us. On the way back to Casa Pastoral, we picked up the water filter team that included Paul and Turner. They had a good day; Turner particularly enjoyed working alongside the Dominican men (T particularly enjoyed Benjamin) who work on water filters year round.

Tuesday night we went to a Toros baseball game. While it was fun, and very good baseball, I found my mind wandering to the work that was ahead for the next day and what preparations I needed to make. My leadership responsibilities kept me from fully enjoying the experience. Probably the most notable moments of this outing were not on the field: we got mobbed by vendors when we got off the bus and no one was prepared for that, and there was a 30 piece percussion section that was a pep squad that played incessantly and at deafening decibels.

Monday: Our First Work Day

D.R. Trip Nov. 2010—Journal Entry No. 3

Monday morning, we set out to work on Batey 50, likely the poorest batey in the La Romana region. It was the only day that the full team went to the same place. We were joined by Josh, John, and their film crew (Taylor and another John). Our goals for the day were to run a medical clinic (we saw 67 patients), distribute food to families and install several water filters. While we probably had more people than we needed for the work we set out to do, team members quickly adapted. Many simply went outside to play with the kids on this batey, some of the most loving kids we met all week. Four noteworthy moments from this day: first, this was when I realized that I would be in a facilitating or managing role for the week, doing very little direct work. Secondly,

Turner’s immediate response was that he wasn’t cut out for this place, yet in hindsight this was his favorite day—partly because he was so happy to be there with his cousin and uncle, but also because his job for the day was toy distribution (he gave out comfort dolls knit through his grandmother’s ministry). Third, the end of our day included a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law, who has volunteered with this mission for two decades, including a clown, games, and a cake. The kids of the batey went crazy! It was one of the most joyful moments I have ever been part of. Lastly, this day had two intense emotional moments for me, one when I was completely alone walking down the main road overcome by God’s blessings to work out all the details of this trip juxtaposed by the extent of the problems on Batey 50, the

other when my big boy came to hug me at the end of the day and I held his very healthy body in my arms and I literally felt the full extent of my blessings.

Monday night we tried to go to Altos de Chavon. It didn’t work out for us to visit, so we opted for a trip to Jumbo and the team was introduced to the heaven that is known as a Magnum Bar. If you’ve never had one, you might want to travel to La Romana just for that!

My Sunday in La Romana

DR Trip Nov. 2010—Journal Entry #2
Our first trip on Sunday morning was out to Batey 205 to visit Pillar and Francisco, an elderly couple who live alone out in the middle of miles and miles of sugar cane. Their batey was displaced and they remained where they are because they have a cement house that will withstand hurricanes, has a door, and has a roof that doesn’t leak. Having met Pillar a year ago, I couldn’t wait for my friends from Watkinson and my family to meet her. If Pillar were born in the U.S in an earlier era, I can see her being a grand dame, or a matriarch. She is smart, incredibly emotionally generous, and profoundly faithful. While all 23 of us were welcomed into her home to visit, she chatted away en Espanol, while numerous members of the team snapped photos of her house, its surroundings, and most especially of her. With the benefit of our translator, we were able to communicate very effectively. Pillar found the youngest in the room, held their faces in her hands, and made a point of telling them how beautiful they are. Francisco was very quiet, mostly shooing away their very curious dog, until it was time for us to go and then he wanted to pray for us. The heart of his prayer was that despite the fact that the government has forgotten the poor, he was thanking God that the people in the room had not. Many were moved to tears.

Sunday afternoon was spent packing meds, nearly 2 hours of us meticulously counting, bagging, and labeling pain relievers, vitamins, blood pressure pills, and Tums. After which, some took a walk around the area, but I opted for a siesta. I was excited for the evening ahead. After dinner, we traveled to Kilometer 6, one of several very poor barrios (suburbs) around the city. Our destination was Beraca Baptist Church, a Haitian church led by Elsa Phanord, the widow of the mission’s founder. Despite the fact that the service was two-and-a-half hours long and in Créole, the faith of the very poor congregation was evident. The 40-person-strong choir was excellent, singing complex harmonies and complicated arrangements (quite frankly, the choir director blew away anything I’ve seen in the U.S. in quite some time). While numerous children came to join us in the pews, the highlights for me were getting to address the congregation on behalf of our group (what a privilege!) and watching as Hayden amassed a collection of about 7 boys who were practically sitting on top of each other to be able to sit with him and point and giggle silently together as the church service went on. Hayden handled it all with eagerness and charm. I was proud. After the offering was collected, people went crazy, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. I couldn’t help but think about how churches in the U.S might be transformed if we learned to give so enthusiastically…doubly remarkable when they have so little, and we so much.

406. 450. 30.

DR Trip Nov. 2010—Journal Entry #1
This past week I had the pleasure of co-chaperoning a group of 23 travelers from Watkinson School who spent one week in La Romana, Dominican Republic. My first trip to this area was in February of 1990 with a group of 11. My second trip was a four-day jaunt with my nephew (Josh), brother-in-law (John) and my brother-in-law’s brother (Todd). Despite having been there twice before, this week was a new adventure for me in several ways.

First, I was traveling with my husband and two sons. What a joy to see my boys leaning into the work they did and friendships they made this week; but more on that in a subsequent post. Second, I have never been in La Romana with a group this large. In one week we were able to treat 406 patients, distribute 450 food kits, and make 30 water filters. Third, I was managing the work and schedule for the team. I am a doer, and my focus on managing was a huge shift away from my natural tendencies.

After having arrived at dinnertime on Saturday evening (and being greeted by Josh and John who were there working on another project), our team settled into Casa Pastoral (dorms and a dining hall, part of the mission of the Maranatha Baptist Church). After a scrumptious meal, team members relaxed and realized our hosts were going to take very good care of us this week. Our living accommodations were very comfortable (though spare) and we even had wifi in spots to be able to blog and post photos to facebook. After dinner the team had its first taste of working together, bagging almost 200 food kits using food purchased in bulk with team funds that were sent to the mission prior to our arrival. A food kit consisted of about 20 oz of rice, 20 oz of beans, a 12 oz bottle of oil, a pound of spaghetti, a 10 oz package of corn meal, a 5 oz can of hot dogs, and a 6 oz can of sardines.

We had a problem-free travel day, and easy pass through customs, and team dynamics were excellent. All in all, a great first day.

The Nature of Hope

What is it that you hope for? I know my youngest son is hoping for a kindle for Christmas. Paul hopes that we will be able to afford college for our kids. Well...I guess that's not really a hope. Affording college is somewhere between a prayer and something you plan for. You can't plan for a hope. When your hopes are met, it is usually from an unforeseen source, and in a manner you can't control.

As we head off for our week of service work in the Dominican Republic, I am almost giddy with hope. My brother-in-law often says that the poor Haitians who live in the sugar cane work camps, called bateys, know that when the big yellow school bus filled with one of the work teams hosted by the Maranatha Baptist Church rolls in, their hopes are about to be fulfilled. Their prayers are being answered.

What an awesome privilege: to be and to bring what someone hopes for. My hope is to meet and succeed the expectation of their hopes by bringing joy, full hearts, and compassion along with the food and medical supplies we bring. I am humbled to even have the chance.

My deepest thanks to all my friends, family, neighbors, church family, extended church family, etc., who have prayed for and contributed to the Frenches having this adventure in any way. I am deeply grateful. We covet your prayers for good health this week. And we are eager to share stories with you all when we return.

To God be the glory for the week that's ahead.

Mac-n-Cheese, Plain and Simple

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 9

I have tried a zillion mac-n-cheese recipes. Some with bread crumbs on top, some with two, three, four or more kinds of cheese, and so on. In the end, I have come to the conclusion that less is more. This is just straight up, unadulterated mac-n-cheese.

Ingredients
1 (12 ounce) package macaroni
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking dish.
Boil the macaroni for about 5 minutes until half-cooked.
Mix the egg and milk together. Add the butter and cheese to the egg/milk mixture and stir everything together really well. Put the partly cooked macaroni in the greased baking dish. Pour the egg/cheese liquid over the macaroni, add your desired amount of salt and pepper, and stir it all together. Using a spatula or a large flat spoon, press the mixture evenly down into the baking dish. Bake covered for 15 mins, and then cook uncovered for another 15-25 mins or until the top is as crispy as you want.

School Communication

I know it is not surprising that I would have strong opinions about school communication, since a) I have been a director of communication for a school for the last 10 years, b) I'm a mom to two kids in school, and c) I'm generally known to have very strong opinions.

Last week, my youngest was bullied in the bathroom at school. I am talking full on: verbal abuse, hitting, kicking... the works. And you know how I found out about it? Not from the school. Not from my son. I found out from my neighbor's son who hollared, "I heard H got beat up in the bathroom," as he was running across the lawn between his house and ours.

I can totally appreciate and respect H's desire to not be known as the kid who got beat up in the bathroom. He just didn't want to talk about it. But what possible reason is there for the school to not communicate proactively with parents in this instance? I just don't get it.

Coincidentally, I am in the midst of writing grades and comments for the students I teach at Watkinson School. I took great care to write deliberately and specifically to each of the students I was grading. As I was doing this, I considered how H's situation would have been handled by the Dean of Students at Watkinson. There is no way our dean would have let H come home and not have communicated with us first.

I am so disappointed in the system that educates our children in Wallingford. Since I complain so much, I decided to join the PTAC at my eldest's middle school. PTAC is a process and structure that really appears to work well. When I participate in these conversations, I get cautiously optimistic that positive change is afoot. Then my youngest gets knocked around in the boys' bathroom and no one communicates with me, and I am instantly back in that frustrating and frustrated place.

Do not undervalue proactive, transparent communication...I implore you to expect it from your child's teachers and administrators.

The Cheapest Meal Ever

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 8
Homemade Potato Leek Soup

This story actually starts last spring. You see, that's when I planted the leeks that I grew in my garden with the express purpose of making potato leek soup....I know, I'm a bit of a planner! So here's what I pulled out of the ground today!

It was a joy, and also super easy, to clean them up and get organized for making soup! I made soup and rolls, which could be paired with fruit or salad. Total cooking time for the rolls was one hour, and the soup about 30 minutes.


Soup Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
4 leeks, washed and sliced
1/8 teaspoon chile powder (or a bit more if your family likes spicy food)
6 cups water
4 largish russet potatoes
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

1. Start by slicing the leeks in preparation of cooking them in the butter. Cut thin slices; I cut about 4-5 inches up the leeks I grew, which were very long and thin. Melt the butter in a soup pot or dutch oven on medium low. Add the leeks and stirring pretty frequently cook them for about 5 minutes, till they fade in color and soften. While the leeks were cooking, I peeled the potatoes and cut them into cubes.


2. Add the chile pepper (photo above has chile pepper mixed in, that's why the mixture is tinted brown) and stir for a few seconds and then add the water and cubed potatoes. Cover and simmer. Depending on how large your potato cubes are, it could take anywhere from 15-30 minutes for your potatoes to soften.

3. Once they are soft, use an immersion blender and puree the mixture. Season the finished product to taste with salt and fresh ground paper.

I added a touch of shredded cheese for garnish. My eldest, who is the finickiest eater evaaaaah, said it was good!

And just because I had a bit of time on my hand, I made fresh rolls. Pampered Chef's pizza dough makes pretty tasty dinner rolls when you are in a pinch.

So, for the price of a few potatoes and some dough mix, I got complete and total deliciousness. Eat on my friends.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 7

I was going to post my "baked potato night" plan for Day 7, but it is such a cold and raw day that I had to post a soup recipe...despite the fact that the early portion of this series has been very chicken-tastic.

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
6 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups of veggies...you choose the ones your family likes: carrots, onions, celery, corn, tomato are my family's favorites.
1.5-2 cups of fine egg noodles
salt and pepper to taste

1. Soften your bouillon cubes in a small bowl of warm water.
2. Lay frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. I put all the onions and carrots in a food processor to dice them really small...then my kids eat them! If I am pressed for time, I skip the celery. I put the tomatoes in whole after I skin them as they will fall apart on their own in the slow cooker. The easiest way I know to skin a tomato is to put it in boiling water for 1 minute and then the skin comes off easily. Put all the diced veggies on top of the chicken in the slow cooker. (If you decide to add frozen corn, add that later.)
4. Put 9 cups of water into the slow cooker and then add the bowl of water and softened bouillon cubes.
5. Put the slow cooker on low and go do whatever you need to.
6. 8-9 hours later, shred the chicken with the edge of a spatula. And add the corn and noodles.
7. Eat half an hour later!

Add salt and pepper to taste! File this recipe under "easy, peeezy, lemon-squeezy."

Taco Pasta

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 6

Yesterday was National Taco Day. In celebration, I share my family's favorite comfort food recipe. We call it Taco Pasta.

Ingredients
1 lb gemelli pasta
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning (choose your own level of spiciness, my kids like mild)
8 slices american cheese
1.5-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Put your pasta water on to boil
2. Put your turkey in a skillet on the stovetop on medium to brown,
3. Just as the water comes to a boil and you add your pasta to the pot, your turkey meat should be just about browned. Drain any excess fat off your turkey meat, add the taco seasoning and about 1/8 cup water to the taco meat. Using a spatula, or I use my PC Mix and Chop, chop the turkey meat into small bits. To keep it moist, you can add a bit more water and/or reduce the heat while your pasta finished cooking. You just don't want the turkey meat to get dried out. At this point, you want to preheat your oven to 300.
4. Once the pasta is done, mix the cooked and seasoned turkey meat with the cooked pasta in the pasta pot, letting the taco-seasoned juices coat the pasta.
5. Dump half this mixture in a baking dish. Cover this first layer with the american cheese. Then dump the other half of the pasta mixture on top. Cover with the shredded cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and put in the oven for 20 mins covered and then uncover for the last 10.

Easiest Family Meal Ever—Crock Pot Fajitas

Family Friendly Meal Series, Day 5

With my leftover grilled chicken from Day 1, I planned to make my White Bean Chicken Chili. Alas, the recipe I had honed after many batches in the slow cooker was on my old laptop, the files from which are on my backup drive that I just haven't had two seconds to find, plug in, or wade through. Anywhoooo, time for Plan B.

Whenever I am absolutely at a loss about what to make for dinner, out comes my universally-loved Crock Pot Fajitas!

Ingredients (for a family of four)
• four boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cups salsa
• 1.5 cups frozen corn
• flour tortillas
• shredded cheddar cheese

1. Place chicken breasts (frozen or thawed) in the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer.
2. Put the salsa on top of the breasts, roughly half a cup spread on top of each breast.
3. Turn slow cooker on low and go do whatever the heck you want for 6 hours if the breasts are raw and 9 hours if the breasts are frozen.
4. Return after the amount of time in step 3, and put your frozen corn in the microwave for 1.5-2 mins with 2T of Water in a covered microwavable dish.
5. While the corn is cooking, take a spatula and shred the chicken breasts in the slow cooker so it looks like the picture.
6. When the corn is done, dump it into the slow cooker and mix it all together.
7, Put 4 tortillas on a microwavable plate and cover with a dampened paper towel and heat on 1 minute at half power.
8. Using a slotted spoon and spatula to squeeze out all the liquid, put the fajita mixture into tortillas, and add some shredded cheese to taste.

I have served these in the summer with watermelon, the winter with acorn squash, and most often with a tossed salad. Sometimes, when our family is heading out to a baseball game, I wrap each filled tortilla individually in tin foil and off we go...dinner on the run.

Chicken Tortellini

Family Friendly Meals Series Day 4

Ingredients
• Package of chicken tortellini, I get the family-sized one sold in the deli case at Stop & Shop (they're fresh, not frozen)
• one sweet yellow onion
• four medium sized apples, I used gala
• butter
• honey
• fresh ground black pepper

Step by Step Instructions
• Preheat oven to 400 and put a pot of water on the stove to boil the tortellini in and set the burner on high.
• Chop up the onion and two of the apples. Spread them on a baking sheet.
• Melt a half a stick of butter and add 3-4 tbsp honey (to your level of sweetness).
• Using a basting brush, baste the onion and apple with the honey butter.
• Put this in the oven and roast for 25 mins.
• Put the tortellini in the boiling water so that it will be done just as the apple/onion mixture is coming out of the oven.
• While the pasta is boiling, slice up the remaining apples for the kids.
• After draining the tortellini, set some aside for the kids and just top those with butter and salt. Top the remaining pasta with the onion/apple mixture and season with fresh ground pepper.

Enjoy!

My Eldest Had Seconds!

Family Friendly Meals Series Day 3

If I've said this already, then forgive me, but it bears repeating. I follow RealSimple on Twitter and they launched a 30=day recipe blog series. It included things like lamb and salmon that no typical 10-year-old would eat. The seemingly complete lack of respect for the day-to-day challenge of cranking out meals that children will eat, and that I can enjoy myself, annoyed me. And simultaneously inspired me.

Anywhoooo, I trudge on with another post, the third in my series: a healthy, affordable staple in my house. In fact, tonight my finicky 13-year old had seconds. Victory, my friends.

Ingredients
• a lb of lean ground turkey
• 8 oz of frozen corn
• 1.5 tbsp seasoned salt (I like Lawry's)
• 2 cups minute brown rice (no, that's not a typo...my kids happily eat brown rice!)
• plus whatever you want to have for a side dish (see last paragraph)

Put a pot of water on to boil, following the recipe for stove top cooking on the minute rice box. The rice will take a total of about 10 minutes and so will the turkey. So at the same time, start to brown the turkey meat on medium in a frying pan. Because I use very lean ground turkey, it is important to cook the turkey slowly and not dry it out. The other secret to my success is that I chop the turkey up very finely using my pampered chef mix-n-chop, though you can do it with a good spatula too. When the turkey is almost done cooking, add the seasoning salt and a couple tbsp water. While the rice and turkey are cooking, I also put the corn in the microwave to warm. Put the corn and a couple tablespoons water in the microwave in a safe and coverable dish and heat on high for 2.5 minutes and repeat. Once the corn is heated, add it to the meat in the frying pan.

On the side: For the kids, I sliced apples as a side dish and for me and Paul I put greens, chopped apple, toasted almonds and a bit of gorgonzola cheese in a salad and tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Autumn

This post is by guest blogger Turner French, written Sept. 9, 2010.

I was standing on the pitcher's mound, the highest point in the field. I can feel the breeze whooshing, wanting to blow my hat off. In the background, I can see trees—some with leaves, some without. The air is cool and crisp. It makes a shiver run down my spine. As I'm in my windup, the slow, cool breeze at my back urges the ball to go harder and farther. As it reaches the plate, I can see it's right down the middle. I can hear the umpire shout, "Steeeriiiike three!" As I walk off the field, I smell that smell that only fall can create.

Leftover Grilled Chicken Idea #1

Family Friendly Meals Series Day 2

Since you grilled 3 lbs of chicken on Day 1, there's bound to be a few leftovers.

Here is your first great idea to try.

For the kids, make chicken and cheese paninis.

Ingredients: leftover cooked chicken breasts, american cheese and hot dog buns.

Take a couple of the halved and cooked chicken breasts and cut thin slices with a sharp knife. I picked up a mini George Foreman grill at a tag sale for about $2 and it is the best panini maker ever. Put the thinly sliced chicken in the hot dog but with some american cheese and voila: kid-friendly paninis.

For the adults, we are having zesty chicken salad.

Ingredients: 3-4 leftover halved and cooked chicken breasts, 1.5-2 cups of halved seedless red grapes, 1 cup chopped and salted walnuts, mayo, spicy brown mustard, and fresh ground pepper. A fuji apple is optional. Plus your choice of crusty bread or your favorite lettuces.

Cut the leftover breasts into half-inch cubes with your kitchen scissors. Put them into a mixing bowl. Add the halved grapes and chopped walnuts. If you choose to add the fuji apple, core and chop into 1/4 inch pieces. I leave the skins on for the crunch factor. Adding the apple means you will add less condiments, lowering the calorie count. Moisten the mixture with mayo (I prefer light mayo). Depending on the amount of chicken breasts you use it will be about 4-5 T. Once you have added the mayo, the mixture should not be soupy...just slightly moist throughout. Then add a long psssshhhhhht of spicy mustard. Mix it all up and taste it. If it is too spicy, add a bit more mayo. If not spicy enough, then a little more mustard. Top with fresh ground pepper and then decide if you are having chicken salad sandwiches on crusty bread or your atop your favorite greens.

Day 3 in my Family Friendly Meals Series will be another option for the leftover chicken.

Put It All On the Grill

Family Friendly Meals Series Day I

One of the easiest meals I cook is when I grill chicken, vegetables and potatoes all at the same time. And my family thinks I am a gourmet chef when I do. Here are some of the keys to my success and step by step by instructions for those who aren't confident in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
3 lb family pack of chicken breasts
1 bottle Wishbone Robusto Italian dressing
two peppers and one onion (my oldest boy prefers the onion, but you can grill whatever veggies you want)
15-20 baby red or white potatoes
Olive Oil
fresh fruit

Total prep and cooking time: about 30 minutes.

1. Start by prepping the chicken. Trim everything off the chicken that a kid might find "icky"...get a great pair of food scissors for this and the task is a snap.

2. Marinate your chicken. The marinade that my family all likes is Wishbone Robusto Italian dressing. I also cut all my chicken breasts in half so they marinate quickly and evenly. I usually do this in the morning before I go to work.

3. Thirty minutes before you are ready to eat, turn your grill on to heat up (med heat), and put the potatoes on the top rack. Be sure to prick the potatoes with a fork before you do. Close the grill. Set the timer for 10 minutes.

4. Cut up the peppers and onions and place them in a grill basket. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the pampered chef grill basket. I am obsessively in love with mine <3. If you have a Misto or spray bottle for you Olive Oil, mist the vegetables with Olive Oil and season with salt. If you don't have a spray bottle, baste lightly with Olive Oil.

5. When the timer goes off, the potatoes have been on the grill for about 10 mins, now it is time to turn them. Close the grill again. Now set the timer for 5 minutes.

6. Next I wash or cut up some fresh fruit for the kids.

7. When the timer goes off again, it is time to put the prepped chicken and vegetables on the grill. Give the potatoes another turn. Close the grill when through. Set 7 minutes on the timer. (Note: because I cut all my chicken breasts in half, they cook quickly.)


8. Head back in and put the drinks and fruit on the table. Wash all utensils used so far and the marinating dish, and clear your working space!

9. After the timer dings again, the chicken, potatoes, and vegetables need to be turned. Set the timer for another 7 minutes.

10. Tell the kids to wash their hands. Then pull out and put on the table whatever toppings you want for your potatoes: butter/smart balance, salt, etc. Pull out a large platter. I use one that belonged to Paul's mom's nana, we we always end up talking about the generations of Frenches who have eaten dinner off that platter when I serve this meal.

11. When the timer dings, it is time to serve.

When dinner is over, the clean up is minimal because all the cooking was done on the grill and you did a "clean as you go" in the midst of the cooking process.

On my next post, I will share what I do with the leftovers!

Skinny Jeans and Fairness

If you have met my eldest, you know why we call him Big T. He has grown 6.5 inches in the last year. From afar, he looks like a double stick popsicle with a head. Skinny jeans are all the rage with the youngins these days. For T, they are a fashion necessity. If he wears normal jeans, they look like bozo pants.

In anticipation of returning to school, we cleaned out T's closet to see what still fit from last year. The answer: nothing. Skinny jeans go for about $50 full price at Kohls or Zumiez. I was bumming.

The Scottish in me took over, however. I found one pair of skinny jeans for $19 at Marshalls, and another pair on sale at Kohls (for which I also used a 30% coupon) so I paid only $25. Now I felt victorious.

However, now that I am back at work, laundry isn't being done with the frequency it has been over the summer. So after many squabbles and seemingly endless bickering, I was back at Kohls with another 30% off coupon.

This was the end for Hayden (who only got one pair of skinny jeans). His invisible, proverbial cork popped and out came, "Mom, that's not fair."

At this point, you might be thinking, "Why is Jenni bothering to blog this story?"

The events of the last 24 hours have been extraordinary. My husband and my puppy were attacked by a German Shepherd. My hubby is fine...went to the doc, was given a prescription and, other than a little soreness, he's recovering fine.

My puppy Brutus, on the other hand, hasn't fared so well. He is a twelve pound yorkie-dachsund, and cuter than that renowned bug's ear. The attack has left him with a 10-12" cut across his entire back. The vet described the injury as "what it would look like if you tried to pull a stuffed animal apart not by the seams." It is absolutely tragic.

I have really been struggling with my anger and grief over the situation. I am an admitted dog freak. And have been since I was about 8 years old. Brutus is an innocent creature. He has never harmed anyone or anything. He didn't deserve what happened yesterday.

That's when it hit me. Fairness is a man made concept. It is an ideal, not reality. If it were real, then my friends on Batey 50 in La Romana (photos above) would have a house as nice as mine and as much food to eat as I do. My friend Samantha wouldn't have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but rather two healthy knees like my boys. Little Macey King wouldn't have battled cancer (and won, by the way) numerous times before she turned 10, while I sit here at 45 still chugging along as healthy as an ox. There is no question, life isn't fair.

What dawned on me is that fairness isn't a God-given gift, but I do believe that justice is. Justice is eternal and not of this world. I am hanging on for that.

Funny Story

Just as I am about to serve dinner, my children come bursting into the kitchen and say that they want to go to do parkour, their latest hobby and a fantastic workout, at the local middle school with their buddies who live next door. It is completely irrelevant to them that I have worked for the last hour and a half to make home made turkey/lentil/barley soup, corn bread and salad. They just want to go play. And while I could have said no, I had said no the previous two nights and after all it is Friday.

As I watched them pull away I was venting my frustrations to my hubby Paul, saying things like, "This has to stop. Why don't they (a 13 and 10 year old) understand my feelings?" And many other equally absurd things. The very last thing I said to Paul was, "You know what Paulie? I think I might finally be developing a temper." Heretofore I have been known for having a very long fuse. Anywhooooo....

I decide to turn the corner on my evening by opening a bottle of merlot. I reach down to the wine rack and grabbed a bottle. Now it is time to look closely at the image I posted with this blog. It is the label for the wine I chose. Are you noticing the name?

There is a bitter irony here. Cosmic forces at work? Yes, I think so.

Sidenote: It was quite tasty. Spicy and zippy without having a bite. Paul and I both liked it very much. And it retails for only $10 a bottle. Plus, the vintner is a chic...so I say, "You go girl."

Back to School Musings by Paul

This post is by my guest blogger, who also happens to be my husband, Paul. 

Today always reminds me of this old Staples commercial. Classic! And funny because it rings true (at least a little bit) with every parent I know.

Anyone with children has experienced it: Toward the end of the summer, our kids begin to sit in front of the TV a little longer … they bicker a little more frequently … they miss their friends from school.  It’s time to go back. We all know it in our gut.

And yet, there’s a sadness to the first day of school. It signals the end of the relatively carefree days of summer. ANOTHER summer gone. We’re 8 months through another year. Where does the time go? Our kids are growing up way too fast! Is it possible that next year I’ll have one in Middle School and one in High School!? It just doesn’t seem possible.

This snowball of a thought process is why this time of year also puts me in mind of eternity. Call me weird … it’s just how my mind works. To borrow from another commercial: Life comes at you fast. I find it scary to think about just how fast life moves. It’s like that line in the song “Fireflies”: “I’d like to make myself believe, that planet Earth turns slowly.” But it doesn’t. It moves fast. Really fast. And so, I lapse into this momentary sadness and it threatens to envelope me. But then something else takes over. It’s a kind of excitement. In fact, it’s why I don’t hate going through this whole thought process every September.

You see, the first day of school – in the midst of the separation anxiety I’m feeling from missing my kids – also reminds me to take stock in what’s important in life. For me, it becomes another opportunity to stop and appreciate my family and friends and, more importantly, to re-energize my faith. To thank God for His many blessings and to think about how, in return, I can bless others in His name. This is why I’m here … why I exist. And, so, in a way not intended by Staples … I do indeed count this as the most wonderful time of year. 

The Faces of H

Today, Hayden let me photograph him for about 20 minutes straight. He was funny, awkward, belligerent, adorable, serious, and directable; these are but a few of the results.

If you have the time, you might want to try this endeavor. It proved to be a bonding time and also yielded some photos that I, and Hayden's future wife, will treasure.

Crafty Lady

Say it isn't so.

i just finished my first, and perhaps my last, scrapbook. Does this mean I am officially and squarely in the "crafty" camp?

I have numerous ideas as to how to celebrate the end of Turner's commitment with Little League. He has had seven glorious years and I want to celebrate it in ways he will treasure. I intend to frame one of his all star jerseys and make a quilt out of all his uniform t-shirts. I also made a scrapbook to commemorate his 12-year-old year.

And today I finished it. I feel very accomplished.

Sunday's Creation

Starting to make some new creations in preparation for the show on Nov. 13 at my church. This one is part lasso, part necklace! It can be worn short or long. All proceeds will be used to support my family's upcoming service trip to the Dominican Republic. If you need a one of a kind hostess, teacher, or thank you gift, I am also happy to give you a private show at my house!