Trendsetting and Convenient?!?!

I was chatting with a good friend of mine the other day about our family's eating habits and my blog.  I was telling her that I am struggling to find the time to try new unprocessed recipes and while we are still trying our best to eat completely unprocessed, it has gotten much harder given our family's current situation.  And then my friend reminded me that giving up all processed foods was our 2012 resolution and this is 2013, so it's time to stop holding myself to 2012 standards and start thinking like a trendsetter and focus on 2013.  And that comment got me really excited  because I realized I could share with you a super convenient cooking sauce from Rick Bayless.

Even though this is a pre-package processed food, I was happy with the label:
INGREDIENTS: Water, roasted tomato, ancho chile, chicken base (oven roasted chicken with natural juices, salt, sugar, cornstarch, rendered chicken fat, yeast extract, natural flavors, onion powder, rice flour, maltodextrin [from corn], turmeric powder), dark brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, guajillo chile, garlic, salt, chipotle chile, sesame oil, paprika, vinegar and spices. ALL NATURAL. NO PRESERVATIVES. No gluten ingredients used.

I followed the directions on the back of the sauce, using a beef chuck roast.  

Brown all sides of the meat in a dutch oven (don't have one....had to use a skillet!)

Add sliced red onion, the sauce, and 1.5 cups of water.

Cook at 325, for about 2 hours.

Shred.

Serve on tortillas with fresh shredded Mexican cheese, fresh cilantro, sour cream and your favorite toppings (mine are avocado, tomatoes, avocado, avocado, and more avocado).

Totally delish.  Totally easy.  Totally 2013.

Chicken Nuggets and Ranch

My middle mini lost another tooth last week, which lead to the inevitable tooth fairy drama from my tiny mini.  Full out panic, complete with terror-filled screams.  So, once again, we agreed to leave the tooth outside the house, so the evil, scary, creepy tooth fairy wouldn't need to come in our home.

I also recently discovered this website, where you can get pictures like this made for your own child.

I'm considering having one made for my tiny mini.  Her therapist will get a kick out of it one day when she's an adult.

So, anyway....I was feeling all bad because my middle mini was getting totally screwed out of the whole childhood rite-of-passage of leaving your tooth under your pillow for the tooth fairy.  So I decided to make it up to him by making him his favorite dinner of all time.  Chicken nuggets with Ranch.  

Nutritionally, this meal is sort of a epic fail.  But, I paired it with homemade juice and tons of raw veggies.  Which made me feel better, so it should make you feel better too.

Ingredients 
(for dry dressing mix)

• 1/8 cup Black Pepper
• 3/4 cup Parsley Flakes 
• 1/4 cup Garlic Salt
• 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
• 1/8 cup Granulated Garlic
• 1/3 cup + 1 tsp Granulated Onion 
• 1 tbsp Dill Weed

Ingredients

(to mix with dry dressing mix)

• 1 cup of mayo
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients, store in an airtight container. 

2.  Combine your mayo, buttermilk, sour cream, and lemon juice.  Whisk until smooth.  Add ONE TABLESPOON of the dry mix and stir.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours before eating.

Get all your dry ingredients combined.

 I am storing them in a baggie in the pantry.  This mix will last me until I land in a retirement home.

Combine your wet ingredients.  Whisk until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir.

Store in the fridge.  Not sure how long this will keep.  I probably should know that.

OK, let me just say this about this dressing.  It rocks!  Heids McGhee was doing a serious happy dance when I tasted it.  And I sort of felt guilty about that because, like I said, this is not a nutritionally stellar dressing.  That's probably why it tastes so good.

I made chicken nuggets to go with my ranch.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Chicken Breast (Boneless, Skinless, Cubed)
• 1 cup Flour
• 1 1/2 cups Cracker Meal (which is crushed saltine crackers)
• 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
• 2 cups Water
• 2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
• 1 1/4 tsp Lowry's seasoning salt
• 1 1/4 tsp McCormick's Chicken Seasoning

1.  Place cool water in bowl add 1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt and 1/8 tsp chicken seasoning.  Dissolve bouillon cubes in mixture. 

2.  Place cubed chicken in water, mix, cover and place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

3.  Mix flour, cracker meal, 1 teaspoon season salt, 1 tsp chicken seasoning, and paprika in bowl. 

4.  Heat oil for deep frying.  I put about 3/4 of an inch of canola oil in a pan and made sure not to heat it up too hot.

5.  Drain chicken. Coat nuggets in flour, cracker mixture and fry until golden. 

Here is the seasonings I used.

After soaking the chicken all day, mix the dry ingredients together.  Coat each chicken piece in the dry mixture.

Fry in oil.  Be careful not to get the oil too hot or your chicken will burn.  And your minis will be angry.

 Fry until golden brown.

These chicken nuggets were a hit.  A HUGE hit.  Like, I couldn't stop eating them, and neither could Mr. McGhee and the minis.  I have to say, these will definitely be making a regular appearance in the McGhee household.  Hopefully, a more regular appearance than the dreaded tooth fairy.

Award Winning Pasta

Like everyone else in America, I am devastated.  heartbroken.  grieving.  

In the past few days, I have sat here and typed out several blog posts.  I've deleted them all.  I've decided that people read my blog for the goofy, silly anecdotes of the McGhee family and for the unprocessed recipes of Heids McGhee.  Although I am the person behind Heids McGhee, Heids McGhee is really a small part of who I am......and I will keep this blog solely the thoughts and words of Heids McGhee.  

So all Heids McGhee has to offer right now is saddness and prayer for the families involved in the Newtown shooting.  Like everyone else in America, when I heard the account of what happened last Friday, I had an overwhelming sense to grab my family and hold on tight.  Nothing else seems important any more.  And, in honor of those beautiful children and adults, I will do my best to continue live my life in this way.

My Mr. and minis are awesome.  And according to them, I'm awesome too.  In fact, the other night I earned  the "best mommy in the whole entire universe and beyond because you know mom, there may be life on other planets" award.

And I'm going to share with you how I did it.  And you're going to be really happy when you read how I did it because it's very simple and fool-proof.  Unless, of course, you can't boil water.  Then you're in trouble.

Creamy Garlic Pasta.  What's not to love.  Garlic.  Pasta.  And Cream.  I found the recipe here.

Creamy Garlic Pasta

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• ¼  tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 3 cups chicken stock
• ½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¾ cup heavy cream (I used whole milk)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1.  In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes. 

2.  Mix in the butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil. 

3.  Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box’s directions indicate. 

4.  Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley.

This is so easy.....dare I say, even the Mr. could make it!  

Olive oil, garlic, and butter.  

Add your spices and chicken stock.

Boil those noodles.

Add your cheese and milk.

Stir, add parsley, and serve.  We ate our pasta with meatballs.

I had to capture this moment.  Clean plate!!!!!

I told my minis that moms that receive the "best mommy in the whole entire universe and beyond because you know mom, there may be life on other planets" award, don't do dishes.  So I layed on the couch while my minis cleaned up and then went upstairs to bathe and tuck each other into bed.  True story.

Fah-HEE-tahs

The other day, I invited a friend over for dinner.  I won't name names, but this particular friend is gluten-free, lactose-intolerant, and vegetarian.  

Um, yeah.  If you are gluten-free, lactose-intolerant, and vegetarian and a friend offers to cook for you, then you've got yourself a true friend.  You know, not one of these friends.....

So I decided to make my friend vegetable fajitas served on corn tortillas.  You could certainly add any protein of your choice (steak, chicken, pork, seafood) to make a non-vegetarian version.  

Vegetable Fajitas (pronounced Fah-HEE-tah......I'm talking to you Dad.  No more humiliating me at Mexican restaurants)

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1-2 bell peppers sliced, use all colors
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (I used at least 2 tsp)
• 1 yellow squash, halved and sliced into strips
• 1/2 cup salsa (I used homemade green tomatillo salsa from my local market)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup shredded cheese (used pepper jack for some kick)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1.  In a 10 inch skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic; stir to coat with oil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 5 minutes. 

2.  Stir squash into vegetables. Stir in salsa, cumin, and salt. Cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

3.  Spoon vegetable mixture evenly down the centers of warm tortillas, and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Roll up tortillas, and serve.

This recipe is simple.  COok all your veggies and serve them hot with cheese and cilantro on a tortilla.

I also topped ours with sour cream and my famous Heids McGhee guac.

Simple.  Delish.  Best served with good friends and cold margaritas.

The Upside of Excess

My best friend posted this on Facebook the other day and I wanted to pass this on.  PLEASE take the time to read this.....

The Upside of Excess (from DailyWorth)

We've all heard the advice, especially this time of year: Get enough sleep, don't overdo the cocktails, or the pre-holiday sale spending sprees.

In other words, strive for balance—in your diet, life, and finances. Because then all will be well, right? You'll be happy, solvent, thin and Zen.

Or not. How many busy, creative, passionate women do you know who 

have figured out the perfect equation of work, rest and fun? Who never stay up too late, have one too many glasses of wine, plow through a pint of ice cream in a single sitting, or buy a pair of cute shoes they don't need?

OK, maybe you know one woman like that, but she's probably kind of boring. Or you hate her. What’s crazy is that living a balanced life is supposed to make us all feel less stressed, so we strive for it—then get stressed out when we fail.

Let yourself off the hook about the balance thing. Right now. Sometimes, you've just got to have those shoes. Or ice cream. Or a whole day without the kids. Or you need to spend 14 hours passionately absorbed in a work project.

Or you wake up feeling so aimless that you spend an entire Saturday morning on Facebook instead of going to the gym.

You slip up. You fall down. You live a little too hard, have a little too much fun, get a little too intense sometimes. It’s okay. In fact, the unbalanced life is sometimes just what you need.

I don't know about you, but I LOVE this and need to read it every day.  Let's face it....striving for balance in life sounds nauseatingly boring to me!  Striving for perfection?  Puh-lease!  Strive for creativity, passion, FUN....strive for authenticity in your life!  Be you because the people in your life that love you, love you for all your non-perfections, non-moderation quirks!

Since this is a post all about celebrating one another, I figured what better food to celebrate over than pot roast!  (OK, that was a very weak segue, but I really wanted to share this recipe!)

• 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 whole Onions
• 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste
• 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
• 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
• 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

1.  First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

2.  Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

3.  Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

4.  Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

5.  If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

6.  With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

7.  When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

8.  Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

I peeled my carrots with a little help from Lola....

....and my tiny mini.

Brown your onions, enjoy the amazing aroma.

Brown your carrots.

Set aside your onions and carrots.

Sear your roast.  Searing helps to lock the juices into the roast.

 Deglaze your pan.  The recipe says you can use wine or broth.  I always opt for wine when given an option in a recipe.  It's a great excuse to open a bottle that, of course, will need to be finished.

Scrape as much as you can when deglazing.

Put your roast back into the pan.  Add beef broth, onions, carrots, rosemary, and thyme.  Bake at 275 for several hours.

The aroma of this roast is so incredible, you may be tempted to lounge and wait by the oven until it is done.

Normal?

Is this normal?  Because lately I am starting to think that things don't happen in our house like they do in others.

My middle mini lost a tooth last night.  I am certain that losing a tooth is normal for a 7 year old.  But this is how the whole thing unfolded....

Mr. McGhee and the boy minis were snuggled up in my bed reading a book before bedtime.  My middle mini was laying there, listening, and playing with his loose tooth.  Apparently this book is so hilarious, that at one point, my middle mini laughed so hard, he lost his tooth!

Upon hearing that her brother had lost his tooth, my tiny mini went into full-on panic mode, screaming in terror because the tooth fairy was going to be coming that night.   So, I started consoling her and was doing my best to calm her down, wavering between losing my patience with her and understanding her fears.....because, I agree, the whole fairy coming into your room while you're sleeping thing is sort of freaky.

At this point, the boy minis were laughing hysterically at the flying tooth AND their hysterical sister.  I finally calmed her down and convinced her she is safe because we will leave the tooth on the back deck OUTSIDE of the house with a note on the door that says this......

Normal?

So, now I have this shaggy-looking adorable mini that despite missing 3 front teeth still needs to bed fed.

The first thought I had was grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I shared this tomato soup recipe back in January, but it is definitely worth a re-share.  I got this recipe from Our Best Bites, which I can honestly say I love every recipe from them that I have tried!

Creamy Tomato Soup (makes about 3-4 cups)

• 1 T reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes, or olive oil
• 1 C chopped onion
• ¾ C shredded carrot
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbs dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2/3 C sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 14 oz chicken broth
• 3 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• optional: 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Optional: Parmesan cheese and fresh basil for garnish (not optional in my opinion...but this is the way recipe was written). 

1. Place oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring often.

2. Add sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil.(If you’re adding red pepper flakes, add them now)

3. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover pan and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Place soup in a blender (do this in 2 batches if necessary). Add cream cheese. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape, but place a paper towel over opening in blender lid to avoid spills. Process for a few minutes until smooth. You could also add cream cheese directly to the pot and use an immersion blender to combine.

 

5. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and then divide soup among bowls. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese and a fresh basil leaf if desired.

Here's my soup simmering away.  

And here's how you blend it using a blender.  Make sure you take the top off of the lid and cover with a papertowel.  If you don't, the pressure will build up from the steam from the hot soup and pop the lid off while you are blending.  

And here it is all blended.  Delish.

We will eat our tomato soup with grilled cheese.  The minis will probably have plain grilled cheese on Great Harvest honey wheat bread with muenster and cheddar cheese.  Mr. McGhee and I will probably get all fancy and add pesto and avocado to ours.

And hopefully all of our teeth will stay put where they belong for the evening, so we can get back to "normal".

Puppy School Drop-out

I love my dog.  Not in a weird, socially-uncomfortable sort of way, but I do love her to pieces.  She's my little companion during the days that all 3 minis are in school, so she spends her days happily following me around the house.  That is, until I get the vacuum out.  Then she shoots me her look and heads outside.

I decided to sign my sweet Lola up for puppy obedience school.  She is a really mellow and well-behaved dog at home, so I am toying with the idea of doing a therapy dog training.  When my oldest mini was in the hospital several years ago, he had a dog come visit him and he still talks about how much he loved that experience!

And since we regularly visit children's hospitals, I thought it would be neat to take our dog with us.  So this was the reasoning behind my brilliant idea to enroll Lola into obedience school.

To put it mildly, Lola was the "wild woman" of puppy school.  And by "wild woman," I mean it took 3 instructors plus myself to get her under control.  And a special collar that they swore doesn't hurt her.  However, they didn't volunteer to put it on when I asked if I could try it out on them first.  You know, just to prove to myself that it wouldn't hurt her.

We finally got her settled down enough to take her into the arena where all the other puppies were.  We were about 30 seconds into training "heel" which basically means walking your dog in a circle and keeping them on the left side of your body, when I realized people were talking trash about my dog.  Seriously.  Dog owners were gossiping about my dog to their dog.  "Mac, stay away from the chocolate over there.  Those chocolates are the wild ones."  "Charlie, look at that chocolate.  Don't you ever behave like that."

And that's when I realized that puppy owners were about as supportive and encouraging as first time moms in a playgroup.  "Morgan, stay away from that baby, he can't even crawl yet."  "Benjamin would never need to feed in the middle of the night now that he is 6 months old."  "My baby is 18 months old and is reading.  Your baby is 18 months old and is eating all the books."  blah blah blah.

I was the mom of the kid that hit all his first year milestones about 6 months late.  And then I was the mom of the biter.  And then I was the mom of the kid that screamed whenever anyone that wasn't her mom tried to talk to her.

Needless to say I left both playgroups and obedience school feeling a little discouraged.

When I got home, I was sharing the experience with Mr. McGhee and the minis overheard the conversation. And, let me just tell you, my minis were fired up.  These guys right here were ready for a throw down.  

And then my girl mini burst into tears because it "hurts my feelings that people are mean to my Lola-girl."

And then Mr. McGhee was all fired up because not only had someone talked trash about his dog, his wife was upset, his boy minis were wound up, and his girl mini was in tears.

And then I made the comment that I found those perfectly well-behaved dogs nauseatingly boring.  Just like I find perfect children and perfect adults a tad boring as well.  I like some spunk, to keep things interesting.  We all had a good chuckled and I said that I would work with Lola this week before our next class, so hopefully things will run a bit smoother.  My middle mini insisted that he didn't want me to work Lola too hard and risk de-spunking her!

And since we all felt like our spirits had been darkened a bit, I decided to make something for dinner that would cheer us all up.  And for those of you that are faithful blog readers, you all know that my minis favorite food is asparagus. So I decided to whip up this pasta recipe.

Penne with Roasted Asparagus

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 pound penne
• 1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1. Heat the oven to 400°. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
3. Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt. Serve with additional Parmesan.

Cut up your asparagus.

Cover it with oil and put in on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Cook your vinegar until there is only 3 tbsp left.  This is called a reduction.

Your reduction will be thick....you can see the line I made with my spatula.

Asparagus, when it is done roasting.

Add butter and your balsamic sauce to your cooked pasta.

Mix in your cheese.

This recipe is good.  It's not an oh, my totally delish recipe.  But it definitely is an easy, quick, and tasty dinner.  I served mine with this salad, and it was the perfect dinner for a crabby family.  

Stay tuned for puppy obedience school updates.  And, if you can, please send a little prayer up that my sweet Lola girl doesn't poop in the middle of the arena while all the other dogs are marching around and heeling.  Because that little incident was a little too much "spunk" for me!