What do you know about meat?

I took a class yesterday called Steak 101 at a local market. The market is called Local Yocal Farm to Market. They are a butcher shop and local goods market. The shop is farmer owned by Matt Hamilton who taught the course. He talked about the different cuts of meat and the real meanings of terms like "All Natural", "Grass Fed", "Certified Angus", "Organic", etc. He explained USDA meat grading standards. It was awesome and so enlightening.

Basically, I left there wanting to buy all my beef, poultry and pork from his shop, which I guess was the point. I learned so much about what to look for when buying meat at the grocery store. Here are some key points that stood out to me:

1) The price we pay for organic meat has little to do with the actual product. EVERY step of the process from birth of a cow to the time it is packaged must be clean. In other words, a truck transporting an organic cow must be completely cleaned prior to loading if it has been used for a non-organic transport.
2) "Certified Angus" is a label placed on any cow that is at least 60% black in color. So a cow that resembles a Chick-Fil-A cow could be "Certified Angus" and it's all up to the USDA-trained inspector at the slaughterhouse to make that determination.
3) Pink slime has been almost eliminated from the market as a result of the NBC reports. Only one plant that produces it is still in business and it is suing NBC.
4) Chicken nuggets are the poultry version of pink slime minus the ammonia. The chicken parts are wrapped in edible plastic so that the breading will stick to it.
5) "Grass Fed" and "Grass Finished" are different concepts. A grass fed cow may be grass fed up, but then spend 6 months on grain, corn, etc. before it goes to market. Grass finished means that it is only ever fed grass. Grass Fed is still better than any other classification, but you should ask that question.
6) "Natural Flavorings Added" just means that what you are buying has been injected with broth and water - as much as 16%, so you are paying for water.

On a side note: This shop is so great. It serves as an incubator to vendors who have outgrown the farmer's markets, but aren't big enough for Whole Foods level sales. They sell dairy, eggs, mixes, pickles and just about anything you would find at a farmer's market. I can't wait to go back!

Dinnertime Funny

While Mimi and Pops were here, I made one of my go-to dinners, Chicken Mirabella. One of the ingredients is capers. The chicken marinates overnight, so the capers tend to blow up kind of like raisins do when they are soaked in liquid. (Do you know where I'm going with this?) Well...we were eating dinner and everyone seemed to be enjoying their meal when Ian got a look of confusion on his little face. He looked at my mom, held up a caper in his little fingers and in all seriousness said, "Mimi, it's a poopy." The three adults at the table did all we could to stifle laughter, but to no avail. I'm still laughing about it.

Mimi and Pops' Visit

Mimi and Pops came to visit for a whole week! Brian had a golf trip to Pinehurst for four days last week, so Mimi and Pops came to help out and boy did they! They cleaned the kitchen, wrangled little ones, did laundry, put furniture together (IKEA drawers are not self-explanatory!) and all the things that a family with 3 under 4 requires.  They were such a big help. On top of that, Brian ended up having to travel for work and was gone for most of the time following their stay. I don't think we would have survived without them. We did lots of fun stuff while they were here.

We visited the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth to airplanes and the history of American Airlines. It was riveting, but Clare and Ian enjoyed it and that is what counts. They played in a weather exhibit and turned into little aliens.

We went to Sealife Aquarium in Grapevine. The kids always love going to see the sharks and fish. We didn't take any pictures while we there. We had lunch at Grapevine Mills and did a little shopping, too. 

We only took one good picture the whole time Mimi and Pops were here. This one is a great shot of Mimi and our little Owl.

Our Family - September 2012

We have been trying to find a great, but reasonable photographer to take family photos for us for some time. A friend of mine has just started a photography business. Most of her photography is of newborns, but I asked her if she might consider working with us. She said Yes! So, we ventured off to a local park a few weeks ago and she worked her magic. She managed to get some fantastic photos of all of us and a few funny ones of Turtle's tears, Owl on the move and Monkey's antics. Here are a few of the great ones:

Donuts - Clare always makes a bigger mess than either of the boys!

No use crying over broken donuts.

Donuts - what donuts? I don't see any donuts.

I have rights to print all of them, so if you would like to view the whole album, email me and I'll send you the link and the password.

First Day of Preschool - 2012

We sent Clare and Ian off to preschool last Thursday. This is Clare's third year and Ian's first year. We decided to change schools this year to a more academic program that is also closer to our house. Stonebriar Preschool Pals is amazing. After only one week, I am very impressed by what Clare is doing. I'm not sure if it is just because she is 4 or if it really is her teachers, but either way I love it. Clare and Ian both have fantastic teachers that I am already so pleased with. They appear to truly love the kids and what they do.

I was worried about Ian - he is such a Mommy's Boy these days, but he is having a ball. He is the oldest in his class and I think it shows. He is the only one that doesn't cry at drop off, but is still excited to see me when I pick him up. So far he has been asleep each day when I pick him up. I love that his teachers let me come into the room and pick him up off of his nap mat each day. He's so sweet (and a little cranky) when he wakes up.

Clare is singing new songs already and truly enjoys going to school each day. She needs to work hard. She told us yesterday that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up!

A Pancake in Your Hand

I'm always looking for fun and easy breakfast ideas. I've made pancake muffins before that turned out okay, but I thought I'd give it another shot.  I found a fairly simple recipe, but made some modifications. I'm not sure whether I have an issue with my oven, but I need to extend the baking time on almost everything. (I think I just verified that my oven has an issue - add a oven thermometer to my list.) So here it is:

Mini Pancake Muffins
makes 24 mini muffins

1-1/4 c. pancake mix - I use this one*, but Bisquick will work
2/3 c. almond milk - regular milk will also work
2/3 c. syrup
1/2 banana, sliced and quartered
4-6 strawberries, diced for toddler size bites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients. Spoon the batter into a mini muffin pan**. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Supermom disclaimer: I do not make bacon and sausage on a daily basis. I do, however, attempt to give my children a little protein and fruit or vegetable with every meal. In this case, I cooked bacon and sausage earlier in the week and reheated it for this mornings breakfast.

*I've used this pancake mix recipe for over a year. I make a double batch and keep it in the pantry. The only change I've made is to use a full cup of almond milk in place of the milk. Owl and I were dairy and soy free for almost a year, so I made this substitution out of necessity. Now, I use almond milk because it tastes so good in pancakes!

**I used a small cookie scoop to spoon the batter. It helps me maintain a little consistency in the amount that I put in each muffin. I also find that stirring as I go helps distribute the fruit evenly. I also needed to cook these about 4 minutes longer than the inspiration recipe suggested.

I freeze the leftover muffins for a school day! Enjoy!