Boys and food are a funny combination … especially snacks.  Why is it that snack foods reign supreme in a boys life? 

Fridays are an interesting day around here since all of the boys get home 2 hours early.  This last friday was the first time that our oldest son didn’t stay after school for football practice, so we didn’t have kids to run all over town … it was divine! 

I served popcorn for snack and they sat in the middle of the living room floor huddled around the huge Tupperware bowl we serve it in.  The second bag was slower getting out of the microwave so I let them go ahead and get camped out and I’d bring it in a minute.

As I entered the room there was only one tactic that would work to get the popcorn from the bag in my hands to the bowl surrounded by various sizes of boyhood.  Open and pour from above. 

You would have thought the popcorn was gold nuggets from the sky LOL!  They were so excited about the fresh popcorn filling their still half-full bowl. 

Boys and food … just sayin’!

As many of you know, football season for Salesman (son2) began the last week of July and it will continue through October and possibly into November. Soccer practices begin for Tater (son3) this afternoon from 4-5pm and CJ (son1) registers for Jr. High on Wednesday so I don’t know when football will begin for him.

So as of this afternoon, this is what our schedule looks like (for the moment):

Monday: Soccer practice from 4pm to 5pm … football practice (another part of town) from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
Tuesday: Football 5:30-7:30pm
Wednesday: Soccer from 4-5pm and Football from 5:30-7:30pm
Thursday: Football 5:30-7:30pm

This weekend is the football Jamboree for all of the county’s league players (ages 7 through 12). An all day scrimmage like event that kicks off the football season and is a huge deal … it’s being hosted by our town this year, should be interesting LOL!

Anyway, all of this activity makes planning and especially preparing meals extra tricky. Up ’till now hubby has been barely rolling into the driveway before one of us will hurry out the door to take Salesman to practice. So adding in soccer a full hour and a half earlier two days a week should make it almost impossible (not that I’m being negative or anything *sigh*).

I need a new crockpot. That’s all there is to it, the time and effort (and heat right now) that can be saved by using a crock pot is absolutely invaluable! So over the next few weeks I’ll share some recipes and thoughts with you on quick and easy and don’t forget healthy meal ideas for your family. I don’t frown on buying some family size (or in my case party size LOL) Stouffers meals to have on hand as backups on the days you’re really under a crunch, they are affordable, use no preservatives and are easy to prepare.

Here’s a few more thoughts for families during sports season:

~ Look for roasts and chicken for sale at the grocery store, these will come in very handy with the crock pot recipes I will share or available in your recipe books.

~ Pasta is a very fast meal starter. If you haven’t already, make sure that you purchase some whole wheat or organic pasta for your family to enjoy! Here’s a tip, make sure you don’t undercook whole wheat pasta, in fact I almost overcook it a little. If you don’t cook it long enough the texture is a little too rough and your family is less likely to enjoy it! Purchase a variety of pastas, not just spaghetti … try spiral, shell and elbow macaroni too! (Hint: one of the quickest and yummiest pasta dishes that I throw together is homemade … from scratch … macaroni and cheese - so be looking for that one!)

~ If your child is in sports try to give them a balanced meal, but nothing too heavy right before practice. Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a granola bar (watch the sugar content though) will offer them protein and energy before their workout. As inconvenient as it may sound, eating fast food while participating in sports is especially bad for a child’s system! You will also need to be a little flexible with meal times too … within reason!

~ Make sure that you purchase drinks that replenish your child’s body instead of those that take away nutrients. I personally recommend that soda not even enter the house. Keep bottled water in the trunk or storage area of your vehicle in case someone forgets to bring it or is extra thirsty. You may even want to consider keeping a small (ish) cooler in there to store it all in so that it doesn’t get quite as hot in 90 degree weather sitting in your car. If you feel that you must veer from water, go with propel water or maybe even gatorade.

I know that there is tons more information I could share with you and you are welcome to leave a comment sharing your suggestions or asking a question.

Here’s a fun recipe, I hope to start offering them more often! 

One thing that we do fairly often is have “theme” dinners.  I like to offer my kiddos diversity in their meals, and one fun way to do that is to tell them something like “Tonight we’re going to Mexico” or china, or wherever! 

So, the recipe today is for some yummy enchiladas, you can always add browned ground beef or shredded chicken to this as well if you’d like, and of course you could replace the cream cheese with sour cream if you absolutely must :) 

For a family our size (8) this recipe would simply be doubled.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions (thinly sliced)
6 flour tortillas
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa of choice

Place cream cheese in bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and onions. Mix well. Spread each tortilla with a portion of the cream cheese mixture down center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam side down, in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas until cream cheese mixture and tortillas are used up. Pour salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese over salsa and tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes or until everything is heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

* Serve with your favorite Mexican toppings and a side salad.