Mothers and Fathers

Every parent knows they cannot raise their children with out help.  Acutely aware of my own failings and weaknesses, I am grateful for family mealtime because of the opportunity it affords.  Today I am grateful for another excuse to pray.  As we offered thanks for our food, I petitioned God's intervention and aid in behalf of my children.  Three meals a day give me three more chances to approach the only Being who will be able to make a lasting difference.  Thank goodness for meal times.

The HOW:

Today I taught the children that rice triples its volume.  One third cup raw rice yields 1 cup cooked.  We cooked three batches of differing amounts but the same ratio 1 part rice 3 parts water.   The rice boiled, the girls stirred periodically.  When the water had all disappeared we turned off the stove and covered the pans.
We served the rice as 1)the starch under hamburger gravy, 2) rice pudding for breakfast the next morning, 3)  Spanish Rice for the next Dinner and 3)leftovers for Breakfast the next morning.
Then on Thursday evening we made a stew out of the leftover hamburger gravy.   The week flowed smoothly with food prepared ahead that everyone loved.

Rice is a food storage basic.  Twenty five pounds lasted the whole 11 weeks when combined with our normal diet this summer.  It is a grain of choice for people suffering from allergies and costs less that $.03 per serving.  Cooking rice is a basic skill everyone should feel comfortable doing.

Spanish Rice:

Rice
hamburger
onion. chopped
onion powder
cumin
salt
chili powder
chopped celery
tomatoes (sauce, diced or fresh diced)

Ratios are about 3 cups rice (already cooked)
1 pound browned ground beef
1 small onion
1 tsp onion powder
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup dice celery

Methods: Brown the ground beef in a little oil, add onion, celery, green peppers until meat is down and onions are clear. Add tomatoes and spices.  Stir on stove top of put in casserole pan and heat through.  This dish freezes well.  If starting with raw rice add three cups water with one cup raw rice then add browned meat and spices.

Other possible flavorings:  bacon, green peppers, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar