Stop and look around. The tree's are yellow, orange and red. If you listen quietly you can hear the leaves scurry accorss the street, or geese flying in formation to the south. When I think of fall, I think of cocoa, soup, and warm home style meals. I love fall.
I try to make food that is going to be warm in my girls tummies and something they are going to look foward to eating. So I ask them every fall what they want me to make for them. Its usually a few items every year that pop into their minds. All is made with whole wheat noodles, or flour.
1. Macaroni and Cheese-whole wheat noodles with homemade cheese sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top and put under broiler until cheese crisp up.
2. Soups -of any kind. Usually chicken noodle is first kind they want. Pea soup, potatoe soup, vegetable soup, white beans with pork shank, etc. I try to use left over meat from the following day with sale produce and work with that.
3. Muffins-simple muffins with cereal is a favorite. Small chocolate chips(very small amount), scrambled eggs and bacon, oatmeal, granola, dried fruit, frozen fruit, nuts, etc. Endless possibilities. Last nights request was whole wheat muffins with chocolate chips and flax seed.
4. One pot meals. Cassaroles are a favorite. 1 lb of whole wheat noodles, meat of choice, and a vegies that goes well. Served with bread and butter and fruit.
5. Cocoa-especially on super cold days. I make my own cocoa with powdered milk. I cut down on the sugar and sometimes use cinnamon for mexican cocoa.
6. Tea-warm tea with a tid bit of milk is also a favorite for my girls. Caffine free of couse. They just love tea. Took a while for my girls to like tea. They first drank fruity kinds but now like just regular tea now.
7. Breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, or french toast. Served usually with eggs and sometimes bacon. If no bacon, they they eat fruit with it. I will give you the recipe soon. Anytime I make these, I throw in some flax seed.
8. Warm rice cereal. Anytime I make brown rice for dinner, I usually make extra and set aside 2 cups for my girls the following morning. Take 1 cup of rice with a tiny tab of butter and microwave for about 1 minute to get really hot. The butter breaks the rice into individual pieces and add's a yummy flavor. I add 1 tsp sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Add milk right on top until it covers the rice. Mix well and eat. The milk will cool down the rice and make it warm. I had this as a child, and my girls too. Maybe some day they will give this to their children.
9. Popcorn-I have a old fashion popcorn maker that I bought for only $1.50 at a garage sale. You know the kind you put 1 scoop of corn kernals, and that same scoop you put butter in on top and it melts as the corn pops? I make a big bowl of it and we sit down usually 2 nights a week and watch movies that ive recorded on our dvr. Kids channels have at least 3 movies a week each week so I dvr the ones they will like. My kids will get pillows and blankets while im making the pop corn. Super healthy and wonderful family time.
10. Fireplace. We have a gas one that we rarely use. Instead of using it, we usually will put on a sweatshirt, socks and hang out with blankets on the couch together. We keep our thermistat at 65 during the day and 60 at night. All beds have flannel sheets, 1 blanket and a comforter so were all warm. And when its cold outside and were watching our movie, we put on the fireplace. Its just fun to sit in front of it and get warm. Hopefully we get a house with a real fireplace soon.
Okay so here are some idea's for you for this fall. Try them out and spend some time with the family. Its these memories that your children will remember and carry on in their future familes.
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