The Mom Crowd

I don’t know about you but when dinner time rolls around I usually want something quick, cheap, easy, and healthy. Oh yeah, and kid friendly. Well, sometimes what I cook is probably not considered “kid friendly” but my philosophy is to cook what is good and healthy and they can choose not to eat it. I don’t offer any other dinner choices for them but I usually try to have at least one vegetable or side I know they like. I thought I’d share a few recipes that I use regularly.

Hope it inspires you!

Easy Pesto Pasta

This is probably the EASIEST meal I ever make. And it is yummy. There is lots of room for variation too which I love. My friend Monica brought a version of this over when I had my first baby and I have adapted it a little over the years.

• 1 lb. Whole wheat pasta (whatever kind you like, spaghetti, penne, shells etc.)
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pesto (I usually use the jarred kind unless I happen to have some fresh on hand)
• Meat of some kind (Kielbasa sausage, chicken, shrimp–I just found some really delish chicken, tomato, and basil sausage from Costo that I will be using next time I make this)
• 1/2 to 1 Onion chopped (optional)
• 1 Bell Pepper chopped (optioinal)

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. Brown meat, onions, and peppers together in a little olive oil (unless cooking with Kielbasa sausage–you don’t need it then).
3. Drain pasta and add pesto to taste (I usually do 3-4 heaping spoonfuls).
4. Mix meat, peppers, and onions in with pasta.
5. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

I usually serve this meal with a nice salad.

Thai Chicken Curry

I got this recipe from Sam The Cooking Guy. He has a cooking show on cable and a lot of his recipes look really yummy. I have added this recipe and another one into our regular dinner rotations. I have adjusted this one to add more vegetables into our diet. It works great with leftover grilled or baked chicken.

• 1 Tbsp. Oil
• 1 Small onion, diced
• 1 Clove garlic, crushed (I use 2 and chop them)
• 1 Tbsp. Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne (optional–I have never added it because I don’t want to burn my kids’ mouths)
• 1 14 oz. Can coconut milk
• 2 Cups Cooked, diced chicken
• 1-2 Cups Normandy frozen vegetable mix
• 2 Tbsp. Apricot jam

Instructions:

1. Cook onion and garlic in oil until softened–but not too soft.
2. Mix flour and curry powder together, and add to onion mixture.
3. If you want it spicy, this is when you add the cayenne.
4. Stir well for a minute and begin to add about 3/4 can of coconut milk (add all if you like, it will just be a little thinner)
5. Stir in the apricot jam.
6. Add chicken and vegetables and allow to warm all the way through. Salt to taste.
7. Serve on brown rice.

Vegetable Chili STOUP with Baked Quesadillas

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but most of it is things I keep on hand. The thing I love about this is that it is very tasty, super healthy, and easy-peasy.

• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 Large red or green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 Large jalepeno pepper
• 2 Cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Small zucchini
• 1 Tbsp. Ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. Chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. Cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot Salt, to taste (Tobasco works fine and you can use less if you are concerned about heat for kids)
• 1 14 oz. Can Crushed tomatoes
• 4 Cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Can Dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 Whole wheat flour tortillas
• 2+1/2 Cups Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (one 10 oz. package)
• 2 Scallions, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400

To Make the Stoup:

1. Preheat a soup pot over medium-high.
2. Add oil, onions, carrot, bell pepper, jalepeno, garlic, and zucchini. Saute for 10 minutes.
3. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne sauce, and salt; stir.
4. Add tomatoes, stock, and beans. Bring soup to a boil. Lower heat and simmer another 10 minutes. DONE!

To Make Quesadillas:

Get out 2 cookie sheets and place 2 tortillas next to each other on each cookie sheet. Cover each tortilla with 1/2 cup of cheese and a few pieces of chopped scallions (optional), then place a tortilla on top of each. Bake 5 minutes to melt cheese and crisp tortillas. Cut quesadillas into 4 wedges each to make a total of 4 quesadilla rounds, 4 wedges per person. Use the wedges to dip in the soup.

I love new recipes and tips for making dinner time less of a hassle so please share them if you’ve got them!

My husband and I are both big-time worriers. When we bought our television, you wouldn’t believe the contraption my husband built behind my armoire to secure it so that the children couldn’t pull the television on them. My son is still in a crib at night and not climbing out, so even though I’m big on baby-proofing, I still had a list of to-do’s in his bedroom. I haven’t been urgent about these to-dos because he is rarely in his bedroom out of his crib for more than a few seconds. Well, a few seconds is too long!

A few weeks ago, my son was playing in his room while I was in my bedroom and I heard a very loud crash. I ran into his room to find his dresser on top of him. Thankfully, he was fine and was not seriously hurt. Do you know what was in his top drawer? Furniture straps that I had already purchased to secure his dresser. Securing his dresser has been on my “list” for quite some time now and it took a very potentially dangerous incident to get us to make his room safe for him. This was one of those cases where I should have nagged my husband to get it done!

I am mortified that this happened and very embarrassed. BUT, hopefully you can learn from my mistake. Please take a look at your furniture and televisions and make sure that your little one cannot pull anything on top of them. 5,000 children go to the ER every year because of furniture or televisions falling on them. I decided not to look up the number of deaths because it’s just so sad to me. Please don’t wait like I did for an accident to happen. Your accident may not have the same outcome as ours!

It’s so simple to prevent furniture from tipping and very inexpensive. Some furniture comes with anti-tip straps. My curious toddler loves to open the drawers of his dresser. With the drawers open, he has the perfect climbing opportunity. This is how I think he pulled his dresser down.

To secure your furniture, televisions, and bookshelves, check out these items:

Safety 1st Furniture Wall Strap $4.29 (this is what we bought for our heavy furniture)

Anti Tip Furniture Strap by KidCo $3.49

Anti-slip Appliance Safety Straps $16.99 (for televisions, computers, microwaves, etc…)

What danger have you ignored with your children?

Here is Episode 4 of The Mom Crowd Show! McKenna and I filmed it right after we finished running a 5K. So you get to see us in all our sweaty glory. Thankfully you can’t smell us. I also got to innterview my friend, Kristin, who is a mom of two boys and has lost 90 pounds! Watch the video and hear how she did it!

SHOW NOTES

The Mom Crowd Show Ep #4: Running a 5K and Kristin’s 90 Pound Weight Loss Story

McKenna and Amanda complete a 5K and talk about the race. Amanda interviews Kristin about her amazing story of losing 90 pounds by getting up and running every morning. Finally, we share about our webpicks: Runnersworld.com and Mapmyrun.com.

Posts:

McKenna’s First 5K Race

Dawn’s First 5K Race

Friends:

Kristin

Web Picks:

Runner’s World

Map My Run

McKenna and I had an opportunity to meet Liza Hunter-Galvan this weekend at our local 5K race. Liza is 36, a mother of four, and will be representing New Zealand in the 2008 Olympics in the marathon.

Liza was quick to point out her kids to us while we were chatting with her. During the 5K race I saw her complete the course and then run the course backwards to cheer on her daughters. You could tell that she is very proud of her kids. What we didn’t know when we spoke with Liza is that her daughter, Amber, gives her an incredible inspiration to run. Amber was severely injured when the family was involved in a car crash and she can not remember a lot of the past. According the news story Liza is hoping that the her participation in the 2008 Olympics will trigger Amber’s memories of her competing in the 2004 Olympics.

Here is the full news story about Liza and Amber:

Here is McKenna’s interview with Liza:

I like to watch a lot of t.v. (no shock there).  Some of my favorite television shows are about families, so I get to see a lot of unique mother-child relationships play out.   And though you may think of Donna Reed or Marion Cunningham when you think “t.v. mom”, I have no Nick-at-Nite classics on my list.  Go figure.

My favorite four t.v. moms, in no particular order:

• Elyse Keaton, Family Ties (played by Meredith Baxter-Birney).  I grew up with the Keatons, and I loved Michael J. Fox as much as the next girl.  Looking back at clips of it now, I am taken aback at how simple and low-key it was – yet it still makes me laugh.  The show was consistently funny and well-made.  You just don’t see them on t.v. like this anymore.  Anyway, Elyse Keaton is a normal working mom, with wit, a sense of responsibility, and an easy relatability with all of her kids.  I like Elyse because she’s just so normal, which is refreshing in an ironic sort of way.  Here’s the first bit of the show’s pilot episode, dating all the way back to 1982.  I was six! 

•  Norma Arnold, The Wonder Years (played by Alley Mills).  Another show that I grew up with, The Wonder Years is an all-time classic.  Norma was a great, compassionate mom.  Most of the time, we saw her making dinner for the family, trying to keep the peace between Kevin & Wayne (her two sons), or between Karen & Jack (her somewhat rebellious daughter and her hardworking husband).  Every now and then, an episode would focus on her, which gave us a new perspective of who she was.   I distantly recall that she enjoyed sneaking away every now and then just to do something for herself, like take a pottery class.  We often saw the family overlook her or take her for granted.  I like Norma because she is the classic American housewife who only occasionally reveals subtle layers of wistfulness and frustration. Here’s a clip from an episode when Norma took a job as a secretary at Kevin’s school.  Lots of great stuff in this, what the show did best, in fact: highlight Kevin’s selfish tendencies and teach him important lessons about the people in his life.

• Tami Taylor, Friday Night Lights (played by Connie Britton).  I wrote about this great mom character a couple of months ago, and my opinion of her has not changed; therefore, she gets a spot on the list.  Season two added another baby to Tami’s busy world; it was refreshing to see such a realistic portrayal of a stressed-out mom.  Summer is a great time to check this show out on nbc.com; it needs more viewers!

• Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls (played by Lauren Graham).  No modern t.v. mom list would be complete without Lorelai.  The greatest thing about her is not her excellent wardrobe, her quick-wittedness, or even the way she cares for her daughter Rory.  What Lorelai’s character does best is show us that she makes mistakes.  A lot of them.  There have been lots of times I wanted to shout at Lorelai through the t.v. screen, saying, “Be honest, you fool!”  or “Stop acting like such a baby!” It’s a good thing the writers made her as flawed as she was, or she’d be a completely unrealistic mom character, in my opinion.  No mom is that pretty and cool, no matter how hard they try, but it’s probably safe to say there are plenty of immature, self-centered moms gracing our fallen world.  Despite her frequent bouts of immaturity, though, wouldn’t we all want to get some coffee with her at Luke’s?  I’d love to see if I could keep up with her in one of those quick, back & forth conversations she seems to have with everyone.  I like watching Lorelai because she’s just plain entertaining.

Wanna dig deeper?

• Test your t.v. mom knowledge with Biography.com’s quiz!
• msnbc’s 5Top: The Best TV Moms
• A list of the 10 Worst TV Moms, just for good measure

What do you think?  Do you agree with the choices on any of these lists?  Who would you add as your favorite t.v. mom?