Garden Produce

Sadly, this is me.  

You know that saying "find something you love to do in life and then find a way to make money doing it?"  Somewhere between "find something you love to do in life" and "find a way to make money doing it" there is a huge stumbling block for me.  Actually, less of a stumbling block and more like a brick wall.  

But that's okay.  Because although I will never be able to financially support my family, if we ever find ourselves stranded and living under a bridge, I could plant a garden and feed us.

Because guess what.....I can garden!!!!

  

And I can honestly say there is no paycheck that could give me the self-satisfaction I get from watching my garden grow and feeding my family.  In fact the other day, my minis ate all the broccoli out of the garden.  I have never been so happy to see broccoli stuck in teeth than I was that day when they came giggling in the house to tell me what they had done!


I think the vegetable I am most excited about is the kale, which we harvested the other day for lunch.

We used the kale to make kale chips.  Now, kale is a veggie that is near and dear to my heart because kale chips are the reason I started this blog in the first place.  So even though I have shared this recipe already, I thought I would post it again for any new readers and as a reminder to those of you who aren't regularly making kale chips.  And I wanted to brag about my garden.

Heids McGhee's It-All-Stared-With-Kale-Chips

• 1 bunch of kale
• olive oil
• seasoned salt (or sea salt)

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F
2. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
3. Using a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale.   
4. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
5. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.            

Bake until dark on the edges and crisp.

Serve warm on a plate.  Or just hover around the stove and eat off the baking sheet.

I recently whipped up an easy veggie dip that I thought I would share.  These kale chips need no dip, but I find that my minis love dip with their cucumbers, carrots, and broccoli.

Heids McGhee's Veggie Dip

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1.  Mix together and enjoy with fresh cut veggies.

Trying to Inspire You All!!!!

Last night the McGhee family went to see our local minor league hockey team play.  Mr. McGhee and the boy minis love going to these games.  Myself and my tiny mini are notsomuch the fans, but occasionally we like to tag along.  On the way to the game last night, my oldest mini (the one that donates stuffed animals to hospitalized kids and writes me poems every night) says to me, "Mom, tonight I am hoping for either a bench brawl or a goalie fight.  Because that would be something special."

My mini got what he wished for.  Something special.  And as the crowd was throwing aside their hotdogs, nachos, and beers to struggle up out of their seats and scream, "fight, kill, fight" I realized hockey is a very primitive sport.

And then I went home and I set my alarm to get up early so I could participate in this event to raise awareness for organ donation.  And at the finish line, there were people dropping their bananas, oranges, and water bottles to jump up and cheer for runners as they crossed the finish line.  I realized that running is a very encouraging and inspirational sport.

Someone after the race said to me, that today is a reminder to cherish every day because you never know in life what will happen.  And I agree with that, whole-heartedly.  But, after today's race, I walked away with a different message.  I have got to take care of what I have in order to honor all these people that are so sick and would do anything to be living life in a healthy body.  And I have to keep working hard to inspire other people to do take care of themselves.  It's the least we can do, right?  Take care of yourself....do it for YOURSELF and for pete's sake, do it for all the people that love you!

I'm bringing back one of the first recipes I posted here, mainly b/c it is an absolute favorite in our house!  We are very busy today, Mr. McGhee and our oldest mini are working on making my raised garden beds and I am busy spring cleaning inside.  Since I am cleaning, that means our minis are stuck outside for the day and I am just randomly bringing them bowls of food to keep them satisfied.  So far, they have seemed the most excited about kale chips.

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch of kale
• olive oil
• seasoned salt (or sea salt)

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F
2. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
3. Using a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner.   (or buy the bag of pre-cut kale....who says all convience food is processed?)
4. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
5. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.               

And because I am obsessed I made another batch of sweet potato, kale, and cranberry quinoa.  We have been randomly snacking on that throughout the day.  I made a late breakfast of spinach, goat cheese, and peppadew omelets with toast.  So, I have done lots of cooking today...but sorry, no new recipes!  Tonight, Mr. McGhee and the boy minis are heading back to another hockey game.  I have a girls night out with my favorite girl in the world and plans to set my alarm for a run early tomorrow morning.

Shells & Cheese

The lunch lady strikes again!  What American kid doesn't love a hot bowl of shells and cheese on a chilly day?

If you can't resist the creamy goodness of Velveeta shells and cheese, reconsider giving them up because of the recent recall.  I have a recipe for smoked gouda mac and cheese that I have been dying to try, and today the mini McGhees were asking for mac and cheese.  Don't ya love it when the stars and the moon align? 

• 1 (1-ounce) slice whole wheat bread
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 5 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
• 4 cups hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 2 minutes). Add cheeses; stir until melted.
4. Add spinach and macaroni to cheese sauce, stirring until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until bubbly.

OK...here's what I did....I skipped step 1 & 2.  I followed step 3, using a yellow onion.  I didn't shred the cheeses, I cut those puppies into chunks and they melted just fine.  After I made the cheese sauce, I poured it over the cooked noodles that I had mixed the spinach with.  That's it, I didn't bake it.

**sidenote** I had about a cup of leftover cheese sauce.  I stuck it in the fridge.  There is some broccoli in my fridge screaming for smoked gouda cheese sauce.

I served the mac and cheese with kale chips and apple slices.  Delish, thumbs up from everyone.  And here you go, mac and cheese with chips....the unprocessed way!

And, yes, that is an awkward picture.  For some reason, blogspot keeps rotating it.  And, for some reason, swearing at the computer does not fix the problem.

Tonight the McGhee family is going all crazy and eating out.  The boys are heading to a hockey game, where I can promise there will be nachos, popcorn, pizza, and cotton candy consumed.  I get to take my little ballerina to her first ballet.

I am using the term "my little ballerina" loosely, as thus far, all she's managed to do is cry hysterically during ballet class while I get to sit and listen to the other moms lament about how they are so proud they are raising confident and strong girls that are brave enough to try new things and would never cry during ballet class.  And, I'm all like, keep telling yourself that mama, kharma is a b****, ya know?!?

But, anyway, tonight my little ballerina and I will be heading to see the Hansel and Gretel ballet and going out for a fabulous girlie dinner of small salads with the dressing on the side and a big ole' DQ Blizzard for dessert!