Family Chow Hall

Being a home schooling mother of five, I visit our local library regularly. Actually, I visit it once a week, a scheduled visit which several of my kids would sorely miss if I skipped it. One likes to research animals and their behavior, one likes to read old-fashioned children’s stories and mysteries, one likes everything from comics to science books, the littlest one likes to rent movies. I usually pick something for my husband, who is an avid reader of all types of books, and I like to borrow some fiction for myself.

Many people don’t realize that the library also lends cookbooks. Yes, there is an entire section of your library — the shelves are stuffed full of cookbooks! Not sure you want to buy it? Borrow it first and spend a couple of weeks testing some of the recipes. Or, maybe a friend you want to have over for dinner is diabetic - borrow a diabetic cookbook for the occasion. Interested in food from other cultures? My library has an entire series of short cookbooks entitled, “Cooking the _________ Way.” I can pick from South American, German, Italian, Greek, or Japanese cuisine and more. You might decide to do International Food Day (or week) at your house. Want to make your kids some really special cookies on the last day of school? Choose a cookie cookbook from the shelf.

You can learn more about wine, cheese, beer, grains, meats, grilling, pastries, old-fashioned cooking, top picks from favorite magazines…. I could go on and on.

Last week, I had these cookbooks in my kitchen… “The Best of the Best,” a selection of recipes from the 25 best cookbooks of the year. I had “Best-Kept Secrets of Healthy Cooking,” there were some really tasty recipes in that one and I’m considering buying it. One was Pumpkin Gingerbread with very little oil, whole-wheat flour, and no eggs, which surprised me by turning out very well. I also had Better Homes and Gardens’ “The New Dieter’s Cookbook,” which had an abundance of delicious low-fat recipes.

If you are curious about a particular chef, check them out by borrowing one of their books. I spotted Emeril, Rachel Ray, and others on the shelf at my library.

And with electronic catalogs, finding books at your library is easier than ever. Most now have an online catalog, so you can search the topic or author, find the book you want, and copy the decimal code for easy finding at the library. You may even be able to place a hold on the book(s) you want and your librarian will have it ready for you when you arrive.

I know this post sounds like a commercial for your public library and I guess it is. I think that our libraries are a wonderful but sadly underused resource. In our materialistic society, we often buy and then discard. Personally, I almost always preview books at the library before I ever think about buying them.

Tina from Arlington, Ohio writes…

I wanted to recommend what I cooked for lunch today. It’s called Magic Beef Stew and it’s in the Beyond Macaroni and Cheese cookbook. I’ve made it a few times before and we love the stuff. Because it cooks for 4 hours, it’s a great Sunday lunch thing. I know you and I share the same dilemma of what to feed a starving family the minute you walk through the door after church on Sunday.

This is an all-too-common problem that most folks solve by going out to eat. Many of us, however, don’t have a regular Sunday after-church trip to the restaurant in the budget. And if it’s not in the budget, in this household, it is just not happenin’. Tina’s right - we have to plan good meals that can go in the crock-pot, the oven, or be cooked quickly after church. (Yesterday we had grilled bologna, which takes like 5 whole minutes on the grill and costs a fraction of a trip to McDonald’s.)

Now, I’m not sure if I’ve ever reviewed or recommended the Macaroni and Cheese cookbook, but it sure is a good one. Click here to see the book — “Beyond Macaroni and Cheese” by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Karen J. Parks. A must for every mom of children under 10. Full of fun ideas and things kids will be willing to try, “Beyond” can be a great help to an on-the-edge I-can’t-get-my-kids-to-eat-anything mother.

Another hint they give and I will back up is this: Get your kids involved in the cooking process. They are MUCH more willing to try foods that they helped prepare. I hope these ladies don’t mind my posting their recipe, with all due credit.

Here’s the recipe Tina mentions:

Magic Beef Stew
serves 6

1 lb. stew meat (you buy this in the beef case - it is already cut up and ready to use)
2 stalks celery
1 onion
3 carrots
3 potatoes
2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. sugar
2 T. minute tapioca
1 1/2 c. tomato juice (or 1 can of V-8)

Preheat the oven to 275.

Cover the bottom of a heavy pan with meat. Cut and arrange the vegetables on top. Combine the dry ingredients and sprinkle over the vegetables. Add the tomato juice.

Cover the pan tightly with foil or a lid.

Bake for 4 hours. Do not peek or stir.

Enjoy! — Later this week I will tell you how and why my kids made themselves a Cheesy Bites Pizza.

Beyond Macaroni and Cheese is a cookbook that was given to me by my slightly older sister a few years ago as a Christmas gift. Inside this book you will find exactly what the cover boasts — Mom-tested and Kid-approved recipes.

This book truly does go beyond Macaroni and Cheese, something that is sometimes quite a challenge. It’s true that raising kids can be very limiting in the food department. There are only so many things they will eat, and only so many things that you are willing to give them regularly. The result becomes a rotation of Macaroni, Spaghetti, Hot dogs, and pizza.

No kid is going to love everything in this book, but here at least you will find a few new and varied recipes to try, and you should end up with at least a handful to add to your repertoire.

Some examples:

Monkey Bread
Mexican Layer Dip
A Different Apple Salad
Cheeseburger Soup
Crockpot Chicken Fettuccine
Chili Verde
Aggression Cookies - a good one for those days when the kids have too much energy
Hello Dolly Pie

Separated into 6 main categories, it is easy to hunt for and find recipes for dinner, breakfast, dessert, etc. while thumbing through this book. I often hand a cookbook to my kids while I am making out my grocery list so they can choose some meals, too.

If you are looking to get yourself and your kids out of a rut, this is a good cookbook to buy.