Mealtimes

Last week the kids requested top ramen in their lunches. I obliged. I sent them to school with little thermoses. Leif who usually loves top ramen, once he got to the cafeteria something else caught his eye. When I picked up the kids he told me the lasagna looked and smelled so good that he put his lunch away and got in line and bought lunch. End of story or so I thought.
At dinner last night we had roasted chicken with vegetables. The kids were in heaven. They love chicken and it had been a while since I had made it. As we were getting to the bones, Leif requested the wish bone. Then they all did. Paris reached in the pot and grabbed a bone and said, “I got a wish bone” and started waving it in a circle, flipping juice all around. A few years ago as they were fighting over the wish bone for the millionth time, Rich and I told them that all the bones were wishing ones. So there has been a bit of confusion about wishing bones. We set them straight and they seemed fine with our rational. Our conversation then moved on to school lunches. Each said that when they tried to purchase lunches on Friday the lunch lady said that their accounts were empty. I was irritated because I sent money with them to put into their accounts for 4 lunches. I asked them how many times they had bought lunch. Each said 3 times. Atlas and Emilia had bought pizza three times on Fridays. Leif said that he bought pizza, hot dog, and pizza. I looked at him and asked him about the lasagna. He gave me his funny look and said that he had never bought lasagna and that it was a hot dog he got on the top ramen day!

Meatball taste so much better homemade and so easy and of course are better fried. Here is my favorite recipe. You can substitute the spinach for a tablespoon of pesto or chopped cilanto or any other mixed fresh herbs.
• 2/3 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan
• ¾ pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
• ½ small onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup fresh bread crumbs
• ½ cup cooked, squeezed dry, and chopped spinach
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Coarse salt
Combine the ground meat, onion, bread crumbs, spinach, egg, ¾ teaspoon of the salt, and the cheese in a medium bowl. Shape into 30 meatballs, each 1 inch in diameter. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to medium-low; add the meatballs and cook, turning, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a large saucepan.
I use them in pasta, soup, sandwiches and just plain. If there are any leftovers I freeze them!
My elf daughters: