Wheat-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free Pastry

I don't want to forget this recipe, so I'm posting it here. :)

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
(I use 1/2 Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour and 1/2 rice flour)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup lard
1/3 cup cold water (approx)

Blend dry ingredients. Cut in lard with pastry blender.
Add just enough cold water for the dough to hold together, stirring with a fork.
Refrigerate a couple of hours, then use as you would regular pastry.

Kids are weird

Yes, I knew that, but it's still a valid point.

Monkey-boy is a bit of a picky eater. He loves fruit and veggies (raw) but isn't that keen on meat. He'll eat a chicken strip and he'll eat hamburgers (with ketchup and pickles). That's just about it. Monkey-girl on the other hand likes fruit and some veggies (no celery mom!) and likes solid meat (not ground beef) although she does like her cheeseburgers.

Our supper rule is that they have to have a bite of everything I make for supper; I'm hoping their taste buds will learn to accept a larger variety of foods.

A week or so ago, I made "hamburger soup" - pretty simple, just saute some onions, add the veggies, browned ground beef, beef stock and simmer until done. I didn't expect either of the kids to eat more than their required one bite. When they looked skeptically at the pot and asked what it was, I said, "Um, well, I guess it's kind of a hamburger soup. And if you put cheese in it, then it would be a cheeseburger soup."

Monkey-girl had three bowls, Monkey-boy had two (although he did pick out most of the ground beef).

I was shocked. I honestly thought they would look at the soup, reluctantly eat their bite and quickly wash it down with milk.

Today, I made a slightly different version in my crock pot. Again, three bowls for Monkey-girl, two bowls for Monkey-boy.

Could getting them to eat supper really be as simple as giving it the right name?

Podcasts

Discussing how I like podcasts because I don't have time in big chunks and I like to listen to something short:

TKHubband says, "When I want to listen to something short, I just talk to you."

ba-dum-dum

Chicken/Turkey Broth

This is how I make my broth.

1. Get out my big (6L) crock pot with the removable crock
2. Turn the oven on to 375F.
3. Put poultry carcasses into the crock. (After I roast a chicken or turkey and get all the meat off, I stick the bones in a ziploc bag and throw it in the freezer. Once I have 2 or 3, I'll make a batch of stock.)
4. Add the following to the crock
- an onion or two, quartered
- a couple of carrots, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
- a couple of celery stalks, cut into 2-3 inches pieces
- a couple cloves of garlic, peeled, whole
5. Put the crock into the oven (No lid! Just the ceramic crock part.) for 45 minutes or so.
6. Take the crock out of the oven (using oven mitts of course) and stick it into the base of your crock pot. Turn the crock pot on LOW.
7. Fill up your kettle and turn it on.
8. When the water boils, carefully pour it over the stuff in the crock.
Repeat 7 and 8 until the liquid is about 1 1/2 inches from the top of the crock.
9. Put the lid on and leave it alone for 3-10 hours.

Note that I don't add any salt. I'm never sure how I will end up using the broth and I can always add salt later to whatever I'm making with the broth..

This makes the most wonderful stock. The oven roasts the bones and veggies a bit to enhance their flavour and the final colour of the stock. The crock pot cooks everything so gently that you don't get any foaming or clouding or yucky stuff happening. When you're done and the broth is strained and chilled, it will gel because of the protein.

I usually ladle the broth through a mesh strainer into a 4 cup glass measuring cup in batches, then I can take the fat off and pour the broth into appropriate containers for freezing without making a huge mess. I dump the last bit into a colander over a bowl and let it drip for a bit before straining it.

I have 2 Tupperware covered ice cube trays that I use for food only. I got these when the kids were babies for freezing baby food. Whenever I make broth, I fill them up so that I have "broth cubes". Whenever the kids have soup, I can use a broth cube to cool it down and it won't dilute the soup.

I'll try to remember to take pictures next time I make broth and add them to this post.

I'm just a crazy, updating lady!

I've uploaded some pictures to my flickr account, so you can look at those. They're all craft projects at this point.

I've also updated my projects in Ravelry. Sorry, if you aren't a member, you can't see that yet.

Next, I've got another post planned (as long as the kids play together nicely so I can get it done).

Best ever marinade for chicken

Here's my top secret super-easy, super-yummy marinade for chicken.

soy sauce
worcestershire sauce
louisiana hot sauce

That's it.

I don't measure. I kind of glug glug the soy sauce, squirt-squirt-squirt-squirt-squirt the worcestershire and squirt-squirt-squirt the hot sauce.
It has to be on the chicken at least a 1/2 hour and sometimes I've left it on overnight. I use boneless. skinless thighs or breasts.
I also use this to marinade chicken for stir-fries which is TKHubband's favorite.

No list for today

I've already managed to get both kids to school, dressed, with lunches, without yelling my head off at them. (I'm not saying I was the picture of calm, but I don't think I actually yelled today. yet)

I also washed dishes (some big things that don't fit in the dishwasher).
I went to the dentist for a cleaning.
I picked up the Indiana Jones Lego game that we had on pre-order. I got a free T-shirt with it too! I'll have to try to make it small enough to fit monkey-boy. Man's large will not fit an almost-6-year-old.
I also posted to my blog!!!! My friends are going to think aliens have taken me away and replaced me with one of them.

Even though I'd like to continue sitting here chatting (to my 1? maybe 2 readers?) I need to get off my butt and get working on those things I didn't finish yesterday.

To-Do Today ** Updated

1. Write about a bazillion e-mails to get this month sorted out (and start on the summer planning)
2. About 50 loads of laundry (well, maybe not 50...)
3. Get niece's parcel together so she'll get her birthday present on her birthday for once ...maybe.
4. Box up one box of our old books from monkey-boy's room and put it in the garage. (If I do one box a day, by the end of the week, his room will only have his stuff in it...maybe.)
5. Fill out a form for school so I can drop it off when I...
6. Pick up monkey-girl from school.
7. Make sure monkey-boy does his piano practice and monkey-girl practices for her dance recital in two weeks. (Ack!)
8. Make supper.
9. Finish mom's socks (I hope)

Oh, this looks bad. But maybe I should make it an even 10...oh! I know!

10. Plan suppers for the week so I don't have to decide what to cook when I'm tired.

Oh yeah, and I also have to

11. Take pictures of my projects and flowers and other stuff so my posts aren't as boring.

And maybe

12. Write a couple more blog posts and save them as draft so that I can post them as soon as I have pictures.


Perhaps I am over-optimistic on what I can get done in a day...


Update:
So, how did I do? Not too bad actually.

1. Check!
2. Check!
3. Ummm, nope. Didn't get this done. Planning to right after school today, though...it might still make it by Friday...maybe.
4. Nope. Bad me. That was just laziness. I guess I should force myself to do 2 boxes today, then. :P
5. Check!
6. Check!
7. I think I scored 50% on this one. Monkey-boy did 2/3 of his practice and then just had a meltdown because "There's just too many songs, Mommy! (sob, gasp, sob) There's just too many!" Monkey-girl flipped out because her room isn't big enough to practice her routine in and it's "too hard all by myself!!!" (sigh) So, monkey-boy had a snack and when he was all calm again I sat with him for the last four songs. Monkey-girl danced around in her room to her "Star Steps" CD.
8. Yup. Sauteed chorizo sausage in olive oil with fresh tomatoes and green onions over rice. MMmmmmm tasty!
9. Done!!!!!
10. Well, I planned yesterday's and today's....
11. Nope. No pictures yet!
12. Check!

So, my score is 7.5-8 out of 12. Hey, I passed! Yay!

Where was I at 8 o'clock this morning?

Why, at Wal-Mart. There are some things I don't like about Wal-Mart, but their hours are amazing. They are the only store that is open when I want to shop. They opened at 7 this morning! 7! If I had known that, I would have been there by 7:30.

What did I get?
1. A squirrel-proof feeder (because the squirrels kept eating all the seed in my old one - that deserves it's own post, with video.)
2. More sunflower seeds for the feeder.
3. Bathing suits for the kiddos.
4. Milk
5. Lego for monkey-boy's birthday present. (Yes, he has tons of lego, but he really enjoys playing with it. They had the battle packs on for $4.95 so I grabbed one of each. He almost didn't notice too - except the check-out lady was a bit too slow in getting them in the bag.)

Am I the only one

Who puts a stuffy in a Ziploc bag, so her kid can take it outside to play in the snow?