For weeks I’ve been craving chili. Because I can only eat Turkey or Vegetarian chili, my options in the grocery store are limited and unfortunately not as healthy as I would like.  So I gave in this week and made up a big batch of chili in my Crock-Pot (slow cooker).

I have several recipes, depends on what I have on hand. But this Turkey Chili recipe is one that nearly everyone in my family of picky eaters likes. Adapted from a Tex-Mex Chili recipe found in the Hands of a Child’s Texas lapbook project pack, it’s a little spicier than my mild crew usually eats, but with sour cream and shredded cheese they really like it.

I make chili in as big of a batch as I can (doubling or tripling the recipe) and then package it up in snack and lunch sizes and keep it in the freezer for quick meals later on. (See below for some serving ideas.)  If I make a big enough batch, I’ll also freeze another meal size portion and have it on hand for those nights that I’m too busy or tired to cook.

Turkey Chili

1 pound lean ground turkey* (I use 93% fat free)
2 14 oz cans red kidney beans**

1 cup chopped celery (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper (optional)
½ cup or more of shredded or minced carrots (optional)

1 pound can of diced or pureed tomatoes
10 ounce can of tomatoes with green chilis (Mexican style or Rotel work)***
1 can of V8 vegetable juice (or another brand that is available to you) (optional)
6 ounce can of tomato paste

3 cloves minced garlic
4 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent. Then brown meat with the onions.
2.  Pour mixture into slow cooker.
3. Add all other ingredients and mix together.
4. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Serving ideas:
- Serve in a bowl with shredded cheese and sour cream available for toppings.
- Serve with corn bread
- Serve on top of baked potatoes with cheese and sour cream.
- Serve on top of steamed rice
- Use to make chili nachos with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and olives.

Substitutions:
*Instead of ground turkey, you can use 90% or better lean ground beef. Try to stay with the lean ground beef to keep the fat content down.

** I’ve also used ½ kidney beans and ½ pinto beans with success.

***If you can also use a 10 ounce can of canned tomatoes with 1 small can of chopped green chilis.

A note on optional items:
If I have these itmes on hand, I put them in, especially since they boost the nutritional value. But I have children who don’t like to recognize hunks of vegetables in their food, so I cut these as small as I can or shred them. By the time they cook down, they aren’t recognizable and my crew will eat them with no problem.  (They don’t care that the vegetables are in there, they just don’t want to see them when they are eating them – go figure)

Cost savings tips:

• Buy dried beans and make them up ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for later use in Chili and other dishes.

 

• Buy lean turkey (or beef) on sale and/or in bulk, package it in the sizes you need, and keep in freezer for later use in chili and other recipes. I’ve found by shopping around that Sam’s Club in my area has the best price on lean ground beef and lean ground turkey.  In another area we lived, we had another store that offered 10lb bulk packs of lean ground turkey for a lot less than buying it in smaller amounts.

 

• If you have fresh tomatoes in your garden, use these instead of canned tomatoes. They add wonderful flavor, especially if you mix the types of tomatoes.

 

• Buy canned products when they are on sale and, if you have them, with coupons. Then keep them on hand for when you are ready to make up a batch of chili. (If you don’t have a pantry, try storing canned goods in unused spaces, like under beds.)

 

• If you don’t have the spices on hand and don’t usually use these particular seasonings, look for them in bulk spice bins and buy only the amount you need.

 

As I write this, my kitchen is torn apart, there’s hot water leaking from the second floor through to my main floor kitchen (unrelated to the kitchen being torn apart), and my husband is in the hospital. In previous years, just the financial stress of this would have me overwhelmed. But this year is different.

First, we planned for the medical emergency and put the money away in a FSA account. So our deductible and co-insurance for the hospital stay is covered. And the good news is that I think this will meet our out of pocket maximum too.  Though it will probably deter some dental work I was hoping to have done. Oh well.

Second, God, in his infinite wisdom, provided us with some extra work a couple months ago. And we, finally, have learned (the hard way) to save a little for the unexpected.

It’s been a hard lesson in coming. Fifteen years of marriage, and we’ve maybe, finally learned that we need to be prepared for the unexpected – just as Noah prepared for the flood and Joseph prepared for the drought.  We know, now, without a shadow of a doubt, that something unexpected will happen.

Just in the last three years, we’ve had

- My brother-in-law die of cancer
- My husband have surgery (when we didn’t have insurance, another story)
- Reduced income for 3 months from the surgery recovery.
- Two households for 3 months (due to a work move)
- A move half-way across the US (due to work)
- Nine months of two house payments (due to a tenant illness and then turn-over)
- A hurricane (Ike)
- And last week, $1000 worth of repairs needed on one of our mini-vans.

The list could go on…

But this isn’t a complaint, for God has seen us through each of these, and provided for our needs. Often in ways we did not anticipate. But they have lessons in preparing for the unexpected. 

Whether it be a natural disaster, a fire (which we’ve also had in our past), a job loss (again have had two of those too), a medical emergency, car repairs, whatever, I’ve finally learned that they are going to happen. But we can control how devastating these emergencies are, by 1) trusting in the Lord and his perfect timing and provision and 2) in being prepared mentally and financially to the best of our ability.

Today as I look around my house, with the kitchen spread out across three rooms, water dripping from the ceiling, and my husband away in the hospital, part of me feels a little overwhelmed. But, I can also see all the blessings. My kitchen will be put back together. The plumber will fix the water leak. And my husband will heal.  The children are healthy and life is good otherwise.  It will all work out, it always does.

An additional note:

Whereever you are, and whatever you may be going through, or about to go through, know that a little preparation (mental and financial) and a lot of prayer will see you through. This I’ve learned to be fact.  It’s not always fun; but God’s timing and plan is perfect. He always provides for our needs, not always in our preferred timing or the way we expect, but in his perfect plan. Hang in there, keep in prayer, and know it will work out.

…Shannon

Dining out is our biggest budget buster, so I keep an arsenal of really easy and fast recipes (and their ingredients) around. Here’s one that is great on nights I just don’t want to cook. It goes together quickly and comes out yummy.  Serves well with rice and salad. And, all four kids like it (amazing!).

Italian Chicken

3 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, de-fatted and cut in half (to make six
pieces)

½ jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese to taste

Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven 425 degrees F

2.  In a 9×13 glass baking dish, pour a small amount of the pasta
sauce, just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan

3.  Place the six chicken breast pieces in the baking dish

4.  Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken so each piece is covered
with sauce.

5.  Sprinkle a little mozzarella and parmesan cheese on each breast. (a
little goes a long ways)

6.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 35 to 45 minutes.
Note: I usually keep already de-fatted and cut up chicken breasts in the freezer, and that works wonderfully. No need to defrost, just use the frozen chicken breasts and increase the baking time to 1 hour.

Q: You mentioned that you are using the McGuffey Readers. Can you tell me more about how you are using them?

A: Before I can really answer this well, let me start with how I came to using them and why. 

We started with the McGuffey Readers – the second reader actually – at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year and are now about 3/4 the way through the second reader.  I had heard of them before but at that time wasn’t interested in using any type of reader, much less one that was over a 100 years old.

But each child is different and my investigation into using public domain materials, stemming from my research into the Robinson Curriculum and then subsequently into the Accelerated Achievement (aka A-squared) and Old Fashioned Education curriculums, was enough for me to give it a try with my 9 year old.

Right now I’m only using the McGuffey Readers with my 9 year old, though my 11 year old has asked to do readings from the 2nd reader and I’m considering having her do some reading from the 3rd  reader next year or over the summer.  

I started teaching my son to read later than most, having learned a hard lesson with my oldest.  We waited until he was asking to learn to read, until he showed that he was ready.  When he was 7 ½, we started with the “at” family and the first couple Bob Books. When he proved that he was indeed ready developmentally to learn to read, we progressed with Reading Reflex.

He went from nothing to a strong 2nd grade reading level in less than a year. And now at 9 ½, two years after he started learning to read, he is reading 4th and 5th grade reading level books with no problem at all.

BUT…since most of his personal reading and assigned reading is to his self, I wanted to know for certain that he was understanding what he was reading and not just skipping over words he didn’t know or filling in his own versions.  So, this past year, part of his reading has been to read aloud to me from the McGuffey Reader.

So, to answer the real question, how am I using the McGuffey Readers…
 
As with anything I use, I decided to just start with it and see how it works out, knowing that I could always scrap it if it wasn’t going to work. But it really surprised me.  My son likes the stories – they appeal to him and his sense of justice and right and wrong. 

Each story is only a page or two long, with new vocabulary listed at the beginning of the story. We don’t use the vocabulary section. Instead, as we run across words that he doesn’t know (like “foe”) or have changed over time (like “gay”), I ask him what he thinks they mean or clarify the meaning for him.  This actually has been a bonus, as we’ve been able to talk about different words and how they might fall in or out of fashion over the years and how language may change.

We keep the reading light. Sometimes he’ll want to re-read a story he has read before, and that’s okay as long as he reads a new story as well. Sometimes, he’ll struggle with the pacing of a story or poem, so we’ll read it once and then maybe I’ll read it to give him an idea of how the pacing should sound, but then we’ll put it away and read it again on another day.

Primarily, when he’s reading, I’m listening for:

Is he really reading the words on the page?
I try to catch when he guesses at a word, or fills a word  in based on what he thinks it is going to say. I’m also listening for when he changes words with another word with a like meaning (he has the tendency to do this when he is reading ahead silently.) (

Is he reading quickly just to get through it, or reading for the benefit of others?
I’m not tolerating reading just to read it fast and get it done.  He needs to read for the benefit of sharing the story with others, so they can enjoy while they are listening to him read it.  So we work on pacing and inflection.

We talk about using punctuation as clues for “taking a breath”, reading with inflection, enunciating, and projecting his voice. 

Are there articulation issues we need to deal with?
My son (actually both of them) needed speech therapy. And so I’m also listening for articulation errors, where he might be getting lazy and that affects the ability for the listener (me) to understand the words he is saying.  Recently, it became evident that he needed to work on the “th” sound again; and we identified it through these reading aloud sessions.

Does he understand/comprehend what he is reading?
There’s no use in reading if he doesn’t understand what he is reading. And so, periodically, especially on the poetry or sentences he struggles with, I’ll ask him what it means. And then I’ll share what I think it means. Again, this is really low key, not coming across as a test, but as a discussion of the literature and the use of words.

Could I use other readers? Probably. But the McGuffey Readers are free for download from Project Gutenberg. Or in my case, the version I’m using (1879 edition) came with my copy of the Robinson Curriculum.  We just print it out and 3 hole punch it and keep it in a binder. No big deal.  

I really like the values projected in the edition of the McGuffey readers we’re using. The stories in the 2nd reader relate to interactions between children and their parents, their friends, birds, and the natural world.  And do so in a way that promotes courage, bravery, honesty, and caring for others. There’s two stories that are my 9 year old’s favorites that I think talk to this point well:

Henry, the Bootblack
This is a  brief story about an impoverished boy, who wanted to help his mother and little sister. One day he was rewarded with his honesty with $1, which he used to buy the equipment he needed to shine boots. The story tells how he captured customer with his politeness, and how he helped his family by working during the day shining boots and went to school at night.

In course of the story we have been able to talk about how much $1 would have been at the time, what a bootblack boy was, and how even though he was helping his family, he still went to school.  The story talks about the choice the boy made, to be honest and how he was rewarded for that honesty. Values I want enforced.

The Kingbird
This is a quick little story about the Kingbird and why it is named the Kingbird. It tells of how it uses cunning and quickness to protect the nest from much larger birds.  Not only is this a science lesson, and talks about birds, which my son loves, but it also appeals to his desire to protect those he cares about and talks to the warrior within him.

At this point I’m planning to continue with the McGuffey Readers, for my 9 year old and for the others when they are ready – at least as long as I find value in using them.

If you are considering them, know that, like with all books, there are differences between editions. And I suggest reading a little about those differences to see if matters to you.  Again I’m using the 1879 version that comes with the Robinson Curriculum, but others are available.  Free versions are available online through Project Gutenberg and other public domain repositories.

If you don’t want to print out your own versions, you can also buy them used or new, they often come as a boxed set but can be purchased individually as well. Again, watch for what version it might be (if that matters to you).  Amazon.com carries a couple different sets.  HSTreasures carries the 1879 version as does Mcguffeyreaders.com and a few other sources online.

Also use the McGuffey Readers? Please share your experiences!

Looking for a fun way to teach your children about UV light? Especially during the spring and summer months when they need to be wearing sunglasses and sunscreen, or in my kids cases, swim shirts as well.

In her comment earlier this week, Laurel reminded me of solar beads (aka UV Beads or Energy Beads). These are a great tool for teaching your kids about UV light and have some fun as well.

At first appearances, solar beads look like just little white plastic beads, like you would use for a kid’s beading project. But these are special in that when they are exposed to UV light they turn colors and then turn white again once out of the UV light.

We were first introduced to these last year and the kids loved them. The olders each made their own bracelets and had great fun showing them off to others. It was a novelty to see how much the beads would change color (if at all) under different types of light.

Personally I love Laurel’s idea of using the beads as a reminder to the kids to put on sunscreen. But in addition to that, the beads can be used in various experiments on how effective sunglasses and/or different levels of SPF sunscreen are in blocking out UV light, as well as how we are exposed to UV light under different light and weather conditions.

You can buy solar beads from a variety of sources online, just search for “solar beads”, “UV beads”, or “Energy Beads”. Amazon.com has several sets of a variety of quantities. And, Laurel recommended Steve Spangler Science, and I have to say a few minutes on that website and I am hooked.

Not only do they sell different quantities of solar beads, but also have written instructions for experiments with solar beads and and an explanation on how the solar beads work (look at the bottom of the solar bead experiment page). The site also contains lots of free science experiment videos, including this one on solar beads. Lots of fun to watch and get ideas from.

Enjoy!