I didn’t really think of how “kid friendly” everything was when I was planning today’s meals, but everything on the list made my boys pretty excited!
Thursday, January 31
Simple sourdough biscuits, fruit
Homemade corn dogs, baby carrots, fruit
Popcorn chicken, homemade fries, peas
Probably the only thing that would have made them happier was if I would have made gravy to go with the biscuits. :)
I didn’t make very many biscuits this morning, but they were big and filling. I served the last of our California oranges. {sniff} Mmm, those were good!
It was super cold today, and I was having a hard time warming up, so I decided to make Hot Cocoa to go with our breakfast. It was perfect with the biscuits!
To make our Homemade Corn Dogs at lunchtime, I pulled out Elias’ Snacks on a Stick Maker like I had used on Monday for our pancakes. This time though, I went “stickless”. It was easier and quicker that way. And since we ended up making 40 corndogs (20 hotdogs cut in half), that saved a lot of sticks! (We’ve been reusing them, but still.)
Matt and the boys got me an Oster Deep Fryer for Christmas, which we used at dinner tonight. We are LOVING it!! Our french fries and chicken nuggets are soooo yummy. And we eat them guilt free. How about that? Fried food that is not bad for you! I use Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil, which doesn’t go rancid at high temperatures and is a very healthy oil.
While we love this sort of meal, it is a little “higher maintenence”. I made several rounds of chicken, several rounds of fries, and one pan of peas. Everyone just ate fries and chicken as it came out of the frier.
I do not even want to tell you how many potatoes my family ate tonight. Or chickens. I will admit to eating dozens of peas though. :)
It was fun to treat the kids to so many of their favorites today. (It was also very fun to put them to work scrubbing potatoes – a job they don’t mind doing when they know there are french fries coming!) I love making family-friendly meals in a healthy way. No need to deprive your family of their favorites – just make them with healthy ingredients!
What foods did you make today? Did you follow a meal plan? I have to admit – blogging our menu this week has really kept me on track with following our plan. So thanks!! My kids especially thank you for the fries. :)
Rachel E. says
I got a deep fryer for Christmas also. However, I haven’t used it because I have no oil for it. Seems everything I find is not a liquid at room temperature – or – it is GMO.
I read in my manual not to use any oil that is solid at room temperature. Is that true for you? I was just wondering if perhaps you don’t have a problem with it. I was considering just getting a large container of peanut oil for the fryer.
OH, it’s all so confusing. Not sure what to do. I bought sunflower oil for it a few weeks back. Ends up the oil was from the cosmetic company. I was so surprised to find it written on the bottle not for internal use. Ugh! I wrote them and they told me it was perfectly safe because they purchased it as a food grade, but have to sell it as a cosmetic grade. Hmmm. I’ll think on that before using it for frying. :)
Laura says
I use expeller pressed coconut oil or palm oil in mine, both of which are a solid when cooled. (Guess I’m not following the rules!) Here’s why I’m pretty sure they put that in the instructions – and why if you do use an oil like this, you need to be careful:
As the oil heats up and “melts” it can pop up and out of the fryer. I learned the hard way (although my oil was not hot enough to hurt me, thankfully) that once I turn it on to begin heating and melting NOT to open the lid. Oil pops up!! I was SOO thankful the oil was not hot yet, just warm!
So, I will continue to use these oils since they are healthy, but I sure won’t open the lid until the green light comes on, telling me it is safe to open it and put in the food! :)
Laurie Plath says
We also got a deep fryer for Christmas. We use palm oil in it and also don’t feel guilty for eating fried food now. Although we don’t do it real often. French fries, from potatoes from my garden, are the biggie for us.
Laura says
Oh, I miss potatoes from the garden. They are the best!
Holly says
My plan of chili from the freezer and corn spoon bread went out the window when I fell sick this week. (Reheating chili would’ve been super easy but the spoon bread required a bit more effort). No energy, so hubby graciously offered to pick up LeeAnn Chin Chinese takeout on the way home. Kids were thrilled!
Laura says
Hope you feel better soon!
Yemi Brown says
I have a quick question about frying with coconut oil or any oil at that. When you are done frying, do you leave the oil in the fryer till your next use? Do you filter the oil after several uses? What do you do with the oil when it is used up and is dark and gunky, how do you properly dispose ofthe oil?
I did say it was “a question” right! :0
Laura says
Yes, I just leave the oil there and reuse over and over. I haven’t had mine long enough to have cleaned it out and started with fresh oil, but I would imagine I will just throw it in the trash when we get to that point. :)
Rachel says
I have been so modivated by your daily picture posts!
Thank you so much for continuing to inspire me!
Rachel
Jen says
Your food looks so yummy! I have a deep fryer on my wish list… maybe for Mother’s Day. You can buy “popsicle sticks” at Dollar Tree, and probably other dollar stores. That’s what I use for anything on a stick.
jennifer says
Silly question. Do you have some kind of French fry potato slicer? Where might I find one? I just cut my potatoes with a knife.
Laura says
I just got one last week with some free credit I had online! It’s super nice compared to cutting them with a knife. This is the one I got: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017T0TVS?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0017T0TVS&linkCode=xm2&tag=wwwheavenlyho-20