Election Day!

After this month long experiment, it was time for the family to cast its votes. To meat or not to meat? That is the question.

I'm very proud of the family, all things considered. Washington could take a page out of the Caldwell playbook. There were no deals being made in smoky rooms. There was no- you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours conversations levied.

It was a simple, albeit somewhat somber vote.
As I cleared the plates from the Spinach Pie dinner, I said the fated words, "Well, it's the last day of the month. Let's everyone put our heads down on the table and raise our hands if we want to stay veggie."

Joseph (a no-nonsense man) said, "Oh come on. We all know you're going to vote veggie, so is I. Alex?

Alex got up from the table and walked down stairs saying "Veggie".
Poor Liam.
Defeated by a majority vote said, "NO!"
"Oh come on, Pal," I said "You can eat meat, still. I'm just not gonna cook it. And plus you love my food. Tostadas? Homemade Pizza? Chili?"

"Okay," he said. It's just not fair.
"Well, life isn't always fair." I said. "But think of how blessed you are to choose your food each day. 3 meals! AND snacks and things to drink and MEAT at school and friends houses and restaurants..."

"The meat at school moves on your plate," he said.
"Liam..." said Joseph.
"You're right," said Liam with a big blue eyed *sigh*

I am absolutely certain that this is the best choice for our family and I'll share some of the reasons WHY in the next blog.

Dinner Day 28: Spinich Feta Pie

As a (mostly) Arabic Mama, this dinner was a yummy taste of home for me. It's really a lot easier than most folks think.
All you need is an onion, a box of frozen spinach, a package of feta cheese and some filo dough.

Now-working with filo can be tedious and time consuming, but the way I do it (which btw my mother would STRONGLY object to) is to use cooking spray rather than melted butter between the layers.

If I were making baklava or another owey-goowey delight-I'd bust out the butter, but today is not that day. Today is a spray day and it works just fine, thank you very much. ;)

This meal took about 25 minutes from the time I hit the kitchen to the time it was on the table and I felt like a rock star.

The Consensus:
Alex: Oh, I love this, Mom. Please please make it all the time.
Liam: Good.
Joseph: Man, I'm so glad I married an Arab woman.
Me: Yes, Joseph. Yes, Alex. Yes, Liam. Yes, LORD!

The Cost:
$7 for a family of four.
$1.75/person

Dinner Day 27: Spaghetti with "Meat Sauce"

I realized that I was nearing the end of the month and had not yet pulled out one the veg. staples in my recipe box-good old fashion spaghetti.
Now everyone's mama taught them to make this meal. It's usually meat, sauce and spaghetti noodles. Same here, only instead of ground beef, I used a veggie substitute called "Light Living" meat crumbles. This stuff is great and the dish is the perfect place to hide the fake meat. The sauce soaks right in and you cannot tell the difference- promise.

The "meat" is FULL of protein (12 grams/serving) with NO fat or carbs. The only downside is the price. It's about $4/box. So, as far as the cost is concerned-you break even with it's "dissected" counterpart.

Everyone chowed this down and it took almost no time to make, which help me on a work day.
I served it with garlic bread and a side salad.

The Consensus:
Alex: Love this dish.
Liam: It was GREAT!
Joseph: This is good, honey.
Me: Happy family, happy mom. (especially since I totally cheated and used sauce from a jar)

The Cost:
$5.50 for a family of four.
$1.40/person

ABSOLUTE, OUGHT TO DO IT ONCE A WEEK, WIN-NER!

Dinner Day 26: OH, NO SHE DIDN'T (yes she did)-Goulash

My family's on a budget like everyone else’s.
No one said it was always gonna be pretty.
Buckle Up, Baby.

What exactly Goulash it IS, is based 100% on what she has left over in the fridge.
It IS exactly left-overs disguised as a new meal and cleverly hidden in melted cheese.

Things have been crazy busy this week. Our basement flooded and other treats. :)

I've not really been able to "bust out the puff pastry" lately.

Look-it was dinner time and I had to make something.

We had left over chili, mac and cheese and Indian curried cauliflower with rice.
So Mama mixed it up and slapped some cheese on that mess.

It tasted like something that started with the sound "Goo" but it was nutritious, warm, free and on the table at dinner time.
No one even gave it the honor of being eaten at the table, however. It was a t.v. dinner. alas.
It was, however, a blessing from our father in heaven to have food to eat and that, my friend is that.

Was it a hit?
No.
Will I do it again?
You better believe it.

Dinner Day 25: Mom's Famous Veggie Chili

My family has always loved my chili. I'm confident in it. In fact, in years past-I've even gone as far as to organize a Chili Cook-Off on my block. We are a chili lovin' family. My tried and true, good home cookin' chili is a turkey chili and I must confess I've been sort of mourning the loss of this go-to recipe.
But-the Lord did not give me a spirit of fear, but of POWER, LOVE, and STRONG MIND and in this case AWESOME VEG CHILI!

I used the same spices I normally use:
Cumin
Red Pepper
Chili Powder
Curry (my secret ingredient)
Onion
Garlic

Instead of the meat, I used a ton of canned beans.
Black beans
Garbanzos
Great Northern
Kidney beans
and
A two cans of diced tomatoes

Fresh Cilantro and Diced avocado to garnish.

It's so quick and so easy and SO YUM-MY! I served it on a bed of Mac and Cheese.
But...did it pass the family's test? Did they love it like they LOVE "mom's chili"?

yes
they
certainly
DID!

The Consensus:
Alex: It smells so good. Man! I love your chili, mom.
Alex's friend: Have seconds and said "Who know vegetarian food could be so good?"
Liam: Ummmm....
Joseph: Good...
Me: Hurray. Cheer! and YUMMMM....

The cost:
$6.50 for five people (with left-overs for lunch tomorrow)
Less than $1.30/person

WIN!

Dinner Day 24:Indian Stewed Cauliflower and Garbonzos

I had a lot of cauliflower in the fridge.
It was on sale crazy cheep and where we live, it usually a pricey.
So cauliflower it is.

Alex and Liam both had friends over for dinner and to spend the night, so I let then decide HOW I would prepare the dish. (so as to all the comments from the peanut gallery about what a wierd cook I am.)

I gave them two choices. I could prepare it baked with cheddar cheese and bread crumbs, or I could make Indian "like at the restaurant downtown".

Kids never cease to amaze me.
Indian it is. (Happy Mommy)

I got the recipe out of a cookbook called The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas. That book is just beautiful. Bravo, Anna!

I served the dish with rice, naan, and a homemade Cardamom Ice Cream.
Note: a lot of my church lady sisters can bust out things like French silk pie and fresh baked bread with their eyes closed. It inspires and intimates me at the same time. As I stirred the milk on the stove-I felt "ahhh...this is who God made me to be." When the ice cream came out of the freezer, I felt "WHAT? WENT? WRONG???" :(

The Consensus:
Alex: This is good, Mom.
Alex's Friend: Had seconds.
Liam: Mmm...Not bad.
Liam's friend: Had a couple bite of the main dish, but ate mostly rice.
Me: I could eat like this every day and I'm going to use the ice cream in my coffee.

The cost:
$5 for 5 people
$1/person with plenty of left over’s and when my hubby gets home I know this will be a total win with him.

So, ladies and gentlemen, we have a WINNER!
(But I have to call my girls to figure out how I messed up on the ice cream. I was so excited to try it. *sigh*)

Dinner Day 23: Bagel Sandwiches with Fruit

See this?
This is Mama being a wee-bit lazy.
In honesty, I was up to my elbows in housework.
(my house smells amazing right now)
The kids we reading and playing a computer game and Joseph was out of town for work.
Part of me thought: "Fend for yourselves, kiddos."
Part of me thought: "Why aren't you kids helping me clean?"
Part of me thought: "I want to have the heart of Christ. A servants heart."

So, I chose number three and he's how it played out:
Pause
Pray
Feel His peace which comes with a simple idea:
"Alex, will you come up and vacuum?
Liam, make your bed!"
and I got cracking-literally. A quick and simple pan omelet inside the bagels our church gives out on Sundays ON PAPER PLATES. :)
(Hey-I didn't need ANOTHER thing to clean)

The consensus:
Liam: MMMMM...These are the best sandwiches you've ever made. Why don't you always make these sandwiches?
Alex: I don't like egg (grabs the bagel)
Me: (to Alex) You need protein. (She grabs sliced cheese as well).
Momma: I just at the omelet and fruit and it was EGG-cellent (sorry)

The Cost:
$2.50 for three people
$.75 per person

Slam Dunk Winner