7QT: What's For Dinner and Guess the Baby Day

Way back in May, I asked for some help with easy evening meal prep.  Some good Samaritans have linked up, and some have emailed me good recipes like this one and this one.

YOU can still join the One Pot Wonder Link Up.  It's not too late.  

An InLinkz Link-up

I have been using the recipes from the link-up.  Correction.  My children have been using them and will continue to do so.  There are lots of good things linked on there.

Patrick came up with this brilliant idea that our four oldest children could each take a night of the week and make dinner.  Summer Fun!

Their reactions ranged from outrage, to patient acceptance, to excited curiosity.

We even let them decide what's for dinner, within reason.  We haven't had to veto anything yet.  I just send them "shopping" in the deep freeze and remind them what we've had the last few nights.

1.

Sunday:  Patrick and I were empty nesting so we had to cook for our own selves.

He grilled pork tenderloin and Turano bread brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt (so good), I faked a tortellini salad (tortellini/halved grape tomatoes/chopped black olives/hard salami/Italian dressing) while he whipped up a garden fresh salad from our garden that only has lettuces so far.  We welcomed my Road Trip Warrior In Laws and returning childrens with a homecooked meal.

2.  Monday:  Susan made a vinaigrette and used it to marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which were then grilled by her father.  Add to that recycled bread, tortellini salad, lettuce salad with homemade vinaigrette. Bueno.

3.

Tuesday:  Patrick and Edmund made this Spinach, White Bean, and Italian Sausage Soup, because it was a yucky, cold, and rainy day.  We used kale instead of spinach.

Good thing I caught an error early on.  First, someone was inadvertently thawing Bratwurst instead of Italian Sausage.  See?  I'm still a critical part of the operation here. And that grilled bread appeared again as crostini for the soup.  Still delicious.

4.

Wednesday:  Peter made Campfire Beans from the America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2.  He also grilled the previously mentioned bratwurst, heated up sauerkraut, invited his cousin for dinner, and had her make another lettuce salad.

Delegation:  a skill all of my children are born with.

5.

Thursday:  Lucy made Spicy Shredded Chicken from Charlotte of Waltzing Matilda's link above.  She used chicken thighs and Charlotte's version and it was delicious.

6.  Friday (Today) is Lucy's birthday, and provided she is not asked to share her birthday with a new sibling, she has requested grilled shrimp and pasta.  I'm certain Patrick will provide both (he da man), or they can order pizzas should Patrick and I be elsewhere and otherwise occupied.

For Lucy's birthday dessert, she asked for the incredible yet work-intensive Summer Berry Pie, but I am phoning it in with the ever-so-simple-yet-delicious Sorbet Pie.

My mother invented Sorbet Pie when my dear sister Mary was little.   Mary was allergic to eggs and dairy, so my mother made graham cracker pie crusts with non-dairy unsalted margarine, and filled them with non-dairy fruit sorbets.  Dairy Free Ice Cream Pie!

I'm probably going to buy my graham cracker pie crusts, or make someone else make them with real butter (though I'd rather not turn on the oven these days).  We have an assortment of sorbets that were on sale at Aldi for $.99 a pint.  I have "sampled" the raspberry, and in my professional opinion, it's just as good as Haagen-Daaz. We also have lemon and mango.  Any flavor tastes good in a graham cracker crust.

7.  Less than ten days until Thornton Baby 6.0's due date!

Who wants to hazard a guess as to when the latest model will actually arrive?

Gender and weight guesses optional.  Because let's be honest, I don't really care about gender or weight at 38.6 weeks.

Here are my stats:
Peter:  4 weeks early 7lb. 4oz.
Susan:  On the Due Date 8lb. 12oz.
Lucy:  5 days early?  can't remember zactly, but she was a little early.  8lb. 13oz.
Edmund:  4 weeks early.  Shaddup.  My dates WERE correct!  9lb. 2oz.  Biggest preemie they ever saw.
Jill:  5 days early.  7lb. 12oz.

BUT!  Colleen, Dwija, and others (Hello Kathy!) who had five children early, yet delivered their sixth in a less timely fashion have put the fear of overdue-ness in me.

Leave your predictions in the combox, and may the odds be ever in your my favor.

Linking up with with Kathryn at Team Whitaker who also just had her sixth baby late!

7QT Sunday Edition

1.

One Pot Wonders Link up is still "clicking away."   Have a delicious and easy go-to recipe for a crazy family dinner?  Please share!  Old and new posts welcome.

2. I won an ebook from Haley at Carrots of Michaelmas!

It looks fun and family friendly with recipes for lots of different Catholic feasts.  What are the chances that I can get Patrick to make Pasta Pescatore on the feast of St. Maria Goretti this July 6th?  It looks sooo good.  All of the recipes do, especially the cocktails!  I want to make all of them.

You can get your own pdf of Haley and Daniel's Catholic cookbook for only $7.99, or buy a print copy for $21.99.  Bonus for all of you gluten sensitive people, all of the recipes are gluten-free or have a gluten-free version!

3. I went to a baby shower Friday night for this mama-to-be and gave these must-haves:

Chewbeads 

Where were these 18 years ago?

and the Earth Mama Angel Baby a Little Something for Baby Kit.

I got one of these after Jill was born and became totally addicted to the Earth Mama Angel Baby line of baby products.

That last ingredient is MYRRH!  Have you ever seen or smelled real myrrh?

Their Angel Baby Bottom Balm has myrrh in it.  The idea of Blessed Mother putting myrrh on 8.6 oz. Baby Jesus's diaper rash just tickles me.  That was probably not the best metaphor to use.

The Angel Baby Lotion smells like oranges and vanilla and holy innocence, as does their Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash.

I am so crazy about the Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash that I bought the 34 oz. refill bottle for $39.95.  Three years later, I have never washed Jill with anything else and I still have a wee bit left.

4. I also gave a pair of these hand-knit mary jane type baby booties, and I'm working on another pair. Seeing as how I am currently without a complete pair, I have no photo except this one that is copyrighted by the pattern creator Brenda Green.

The ones I made/am making are soft pale grey with pearl buttons.

So that is NOT my photo.  That is Brenda's photo.  Brenda lives in New Zealand and answered my super stupid questions via email immediately because she is totally cool with knuckleheads purchasing and attempting to use her pattern.  I blame pregnancy brain.

Brenda has lots of beautiful patterns on Ravelry.  I want to make all of them.

5. This happened.

Jill says, "Peter is a high-school graduate!"

He's headed for the University of Dallas this fall as a double legacy since both of his parents are UD alumni.

6.  Tomorrow is his 18th birthday, Selective Service and all that, kind of apropos for Memorial Day.

He wants Hobo Packs for his birthday dinner.

Hobo Packs are foil packets of food that you cook on the grill.  We are going to make the kind with potatoes, green beans and andouille.

There are dozens of different recipes for hobo packs out there, and this Art of Manliness article has one for a Pineapple Upside Down Donut Cake.  I want to make all of them.

7.  Last week, this knucklehead forgot to link back to the 7 Quick Take hostess, Jen Fulwiler of Conversion Diary.  I blame pregnancy brain.  This week I remembered.

GO SEE JEN FOR MORE!

WWRW: Train robbery! Magic! Sasquatch! All in one book!

There was a moment this week, where I was franctically searching the house for my book, The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel.

"WHERE IS MY BOOK!  The one about the kid and the circus and the largest train in the world that travels through the Pacific Northwest and gets attacked by Sasquatch(es)! Where is it?"

After that nugget of a description, everyone's curiousity was piqued.  Even Patrick said, "That sounds like a great idea for a book!"

But wait...there's more!

There's a funeral car containing a dead railroad magnate and his amassed treasure. There are only two keys to the funeral car, and it's electrified to further deter thieves.

There are plenty of people with motives to rob the funeral car, but none more desperate than ringmaster, Mr. Dorian (seeking a specific painting - remember your Oscar Wilde?) and the murderous brakeman, Brogan.

Our hero, the artistic young Will and his childhood sweetheart, the escape-artist/wire-walking Maren, are charged with either assisting Mr. Dorian or falling victim to Brogan, all in an effort to save Will's father, driver of this Titanic on rails, and the keeper of one of the keys.

Don't forget! There are sasquatch!

And a treacherous muskeg that houses a hag who can hypnotize you with her eyes.

And a whole circus on board.

And the occasional avalanche.

There is one small scene that I would like to mention.  In the chapter entitled In the Saloon, Oppel writes, "Doors lead into small rooms, and Will spots a man being led into one by a woman with bare shoulders.  He catches Maren looking at him and blushes." But later in the chapter, the virtuous Mountie Sam Steele makes an appearance and announces, "Comport yourselves in an orderly manner.  Any damage to person or property will be dealt with very severely.  Also any low moral behavior."  Oppel then writes, "His eyes stray to the gallery where painted women smile down at him angelically."  After this chapter, the main players in this drama never return to the saloon car, or encounter this sort of "low moral behavior" again.

Way back in 2007, I devoured and reviewed Oppel's other epic adventure, Airborn.  I found both books, Airborn and The Boundless to be captivating and imaginative adventure stories, appropriate for middle-school and up.

An InLinkz Link-up

Please check out my other link-up, running until June 22nd:  One Pot Wonders, where you share your easiest meal ideas with a harried Housewifespice.  My family thanks you!

7QT and The One Pot Wonder Meal Link-Up

1.

What you see here is Peter's first day of high school and his last day of high school.  It would appear that he is kicking Constitutional Growth Delay all by his own self, having grown 11 inches in the last four years, and still not finished yet.  He is only about a half inch shorter than Patrick at this time.

2.  Patrick went digging through my Facebook page and commented on this oldie but precious:

3.  You may expect more photo collages and sweet sappiness next week after he actually graduates.  Lucky YOU!

4.  Sometimes homeschooling means your twenty-something uncle takes you to a matinee showing of the new Disneynature film, Bears.

We love all the Disneynature films, but African Cats and Chimpanzee are our favorites. If you haven't seen them, you are missing out.

5.  Come dinner time, my energy level is at it's lowest.  

Our meal plans have included regular rotations of Ling Ling frozen Pot Stickers from Costco (which I will never, never tire of), frozen lasagna, and meat on a bun.  

6.  Last night, we had Chuckwagon for dinner.

What is Chuckwagon?  

I should have taken a picture of the food.  Doh!

Chuckwagon is an ancient Thornton family recipe.  Rice, ground beef, canned tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, chili powder, onions, Red Hot if you're one of my kids, any bell peppers you have, and a sprinkle of Tony Cachere's.  Sort of like sloppy joes, but with rice, and no buns.

You can find similar recipes here, here, and here.

Everybody luuuuved it, including herself, after we told her that it was "Laura and Mary food."

7.  I need more One Pot Wonders like Chuckwagon and this other simple supper of Italian Sausage with Skillet Potatoes and Green Beans, because meat on a bun is getting very old.

I also need meals that I can double (or quadruple) and freeze half for post-baby days, so I am asking begging you to link up your best and brightest ideas for easy or freezy one pot wonders, new posts or old.  

Baby is due June 22nd, so Imma leave this link-up open until then.  Don't have a blog? Leave a comment or send me an email.  

Please.  Help a sister out.

An InLinkz Link-up