It's what's for dinner

Since moving to Alaska I have increased the number of dinner dishes I make.  Actually, scratch that.  I have dinner dishes now that I make. In Washington, I made Stouffers Lasgna, and sometimes spaghetti.  And by made, I mean, I heated them up.

(milk chocolate chips cookies)

I have always had a knack for baking. Or at least the desire to eat the goods I baked.  Cookies, brownies, muffins and eventually bread were pretty easy for me to make.

(a gift from Martha- fresh canned alaska king salmon)

(Bread crumbs, egg, salt & pepper = awesome salmon patties!)

(golden brown & delicious!)

 But meals, especially with meat, have been a bit of a struggle.  Just one year into my rural adventure, and I have gotten far more confident in the kitchen.  I put on my {adorable} apron and get to work!

(moose chili in the crockpot with homemade cornbread on the side)

Dinners we enjoy include:

• Moose pot roast (crockpot!) with potatoes and carrots
• Moose chili (crockpot!) with corn bread made from scratch
• homemade lasagna with sauce made from scratch
• enchiladas with homemade tortillas
• chicken, rice & brocolli
• Bachelor porkchops
• Golden mushroom soup patties
• Swedish meatballs
• Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy
• Tacos
• Spaghetti with sausage
• Omelets
• chocolate chip pancakes
• Alaska King Salmon patties
• Lemon/mayonnaise Salmon

(pizza night)

Josh's specialties include:

• homemade pizza
• homemade tortillas
• Moose burgers
• french toast with homemade bread
• homemade macaroni & cheese and ham

Baked goods I have recently learned to make/tried my hand at include:

• Milk chocolate chip cookies
• Maple bars
• Fudge
• Hello Dolly's
• Cinnamon rolls
• caramel apples
• Special K bars

(chicken & dumplings, complete with homemade gravy!)

For lunch around here, we keep it simple:

• hot dogs
• chicken nuggets 
• cheese or chicken & cheese quesadillas
• Box mac n cheese
• corn dogs
• Ravioli
• Tuna melts
• Salami, pepperoni & cheese sandwiches

Some people asked about milk.  We use powdered milk.  We order it in huge boxes from Amazon and make 4 quarts every two or three days.  We tried shelf milk, which is pasteurized in a way that allows it to be stored in the pantry until it is opened, but we found the flavor and cost didn't fit our family.  The boys don't mind the powdered milk at all.  The only thing that bothers me is that the calcium is less than regular milk offers.  This is what inspired me to breastfeed Wyatt as long as I did.  We try to make sure the boys get lots of calcium from other things, mostly cheese, that we have on hand.  They also take multi-vitamins with extra calcium to be sure they are getting enough for strong bones.

We miss dairy probably the most.  Whip cream, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt, eggs, cream and coffee creamer.  The boys miss ice cream.  Occasionally these items will show up at the co-op, but it's hit and miss.

Someone else asked about growing an indoor garden or indoor herbs.  A fellow teacher last year grew herbs in her house, but I haven't heard of anyone growing anything else indoors.  I don't know much about gardening at all, so I am not sure what all that would entail.  But if I could grow tomatoes, I would be one happy girl!

~

I am very excited with how far I've come.  Between figuring out grocery shopping, collecting recipes and trying my hand at new foods, I am a new woman in the kitchen! I can't wait to make some of my new dishes for my family and friends when I'm home this summer!