"The Last Time" by Danniel J. Lennax

From the moment you hold your baby in your arms you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
When you had freedom and time,
And nothing in particular to worry about.
You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,
And days will run into days that are exactly the same,
Full of feedings and burpings,
Nappy changes and crying,
Whining and fighting,
Naps or lack of naps.
It might seem like a never-ending cycle.

But don't forget...
There is a last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.
One day you will carry them on your hip then set him down,
And never pick them up that way again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
Then never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
And it will be the last time you eve wake to this.
One afternoon you will sing "the wheels on the bus" and do all the actions,
Then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.

The thing is you won't even know it's the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realize.

So while you are living in these times, remember there are only so many of them
And when they're gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.

Danniel J. Lennax

Chef Salad

Anything is optional:

Greens (organic iceberg, spring greens, baby spinach, kale, endive, etc.)
Hard boiled eggs, sliced
Ham, cubed
Beets, cooked and sliced or shredded
Olives, diced or sliced
Cucumbers, halved and sliced
Carrots, shredded or sliced
Tomatoes, diced
Onion, finely sliced (red, yellow, green)
Cheese, shredded or crumbled (cheddar, Gorgonzola, blue, Parmesan, etc.)
Organic baby peas
Sunflower seeds, hulled
Salt & pepper

Add a dressing of your choice...viola...eat as a main dish or as a side!

Slow Cooker Asian Glazed Chicken

10 minutes prep/6-8 hours to cook

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

½ c. soy sauce

4 t. honey

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ t. ground ginger

1 T. Sriracha hot sauce

½ c. water

2 T. arrowroot powder

1 T. water

2 T. green onions, finely chopped

1 t. sesame seeds

Grease crockpot.  Place chicken in crockpot.

Combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, hot sauce, and ½ c. water in a bowl and pour over chicken.  Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours.

Once done cooking, pull chicken out and place on a large plate.  Mix arrowroot powder and 1 T. water in a small bowl and pour into remaining liquid in the slow cooker.  Turn heat to high and cook another 15 minutes.

Shred chicken and add back to slow cooker.

Serve over rice or steamed broccoli, topped with green onions and sesame seeds.

Pizza

24 hour soak/20 minutes prep/ 25 min to cook

2 cups yellow lentils
1 1/2 cups water (plus water for soaking and rinsing)
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried herbs of your choice (such as oregano or basil)
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder (optional)

Frozen spaghetti sauce

Desired toppings: SUPREME: sliced salami, crumbled sausage, shredded cheese (we omit the cheese and it's still delicious), sliced onions, olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, fresh diced tomatoes (added after it's cooked) HAWAIIAN: deli ham (we use a nitrate free, preservative free deli ham), fresh pineapple chunks TACO: ground beef cooked with taco seasoning, added taco seasoning to the spaghetti sauce, shredded lettuce, salsa, green onions, olives


Wash lentils (removing any stones or other impurities) and soak overnight. Drain and finely grind in food processor.  Add 1 ½ cups water, oil, salt, and herbs and blend until mixed completely. (If you have a high powered blender like a BlendTec or Vitamix you can skip grinding the soaked lentils in the food processor and just blend all the ingredients with the soaked lentil in the blender until a smooth batter.

The consistancy is a very thick batter, not a doughy bread.  Spread onto greased cookie sheet or pie pan. I like to use ground flax seed to sprinkle the greased cookie sheet with prior to pouring the pizza batter on it.  It seems to pull away from the sheet better after it's cooked.

Preheat oven to 400 °F.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

For best results if using for pizza, bake first, then add toppings and heat until cheese melts and toppings are heated (approximately 10 more minutes).

The pizza is easily removed from the pan if it is allowed to cool for about 15 minutes. If you like your pizza hot, it's still delicious and holds together, just the very bottom layer of the pizza dough might remain on the pan.

We like our pizza served with a green salad!

Seasoned Chicken

15 minutes prep/ 10-15 minutes to cook

2 full chicken breasts or 8 chicken thighs

¼ c. butter or other cooking fat, melted

2 T. Organic No-Salt Seasoning (Kirkland brand found only at Costco...it has dried carrots, basil, celery seed, oregano, , onion, garlic, and so much more.  It's a delicious blend and I use it for seasoning my veggies too.  If you don't have access to this particular blend you can make your own by combining any of the herbs listed above and expanding to others like rosemary and thyme, and just use approximately 2 T. of your own blend)

¼ t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

Mix last four ingredients in a bowl.  Baste chicken with HALF the seasoning mixture.  Grill at medium to low heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until chicken is done, while basting frequently until all of the butter mixture is gone.

This seasoned chicken goes with almost any side dish.  We love it with any kind of potatoes (baked, diced and seasoned, fries, potato salad, etc.), any kind of vegetable, or even rice.  It's flavors

Spaghetti

20 minutes prep/ 45 min to cook

1 spaghetti squash (or 1 lb. brown rice spaghetti noodles)

1 lb. ground beef

Spaghetti Sauce:

4 T. cooking fat or oil

2 large onions, chopped (2 c.)

2 small green bell pepper, chopped (1 c.)

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 qt tomatoes or 2 each 30 oz. tomatoes, undrained

2 each 16 oz. tomato sauce

4 T. chopped fresh or 4 t. dried basil leaves

2 T. chopped fresh or 2 t. dried oregano leaves

1 t. salt

½  t. pepper

For spaghetti squash: Slice the spaghetti squash lengthwise.  Remove seeds and pulp.  Place  cut side up in a baking dish with about 1” of water.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the squash easily shreds and is tender.

For brown rice noodles:  Bring 6 cups water + 1 Tablespoon salt to a boil.  Add noodles.  Cook, stirring constantly for 13 minutes.  Rinse immediately with cold water for best texture.

Brown ground beef; drain. 

Spaghetti Sauce: Heat cooking fat or oil over medium heat in a 6 quart saucepan.  Cook onion, bell pepper, and garlic in oil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in remainder of sauce ingredients, breaking up tomatoes with a fork.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 45 minutes. 

RESERVE ½ OF THE SPAGHETTI SAUCE FOR PIZZA:  Combine HALF of cooked sauce with the noodles or squash and ground beef for tonight’s meal.  Divide remaining sauce into 2 quart size bags for pizzas later this month.

Combine cooked squash or noodles, ground beef, and spaghetti sauce.

We love this served with a side of green salad and organic baby peas.

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

HAWAIIAN GRILLED CHICKEN

Jeff Tibbitts

8-24 hours marinade/15 minutes prep/ 15 minutes to cook

3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 c. soy sauce

2 c. water

1 ½ c. honey

1 bunch of green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

¼ c. white onion, chopped

½ t. minced garlic

1 t. sesame oil

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk


Mix the soy sauce, water, honey, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl.  Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavors infuse.

Grill chicken for 5-7 minutes per side, or until done, at a low heat so that the marinade doesn’t burn.

We love this with a side of Garlic Butter Broccoli. YUM!