Getting Creative!

Living on a little island in the South Pacific definitely has its ups and downs. While we can't ever have access to all the "wonderful" groceries available in the US, we rarely have to go without. However, this is one of those times when we're all anxiously awaiting the next ship! We've heard through the "coconut vine" that there's one supposed to be here this Thursday! Meanwhile, we're having to get creative with our meal plans. Yesterday I threw together some odds and ends and made a soup. The kids were convinced it was cheese soup! I tried to explain it didn't even remotely have anything closely resembling cheese in it, but finally decided to just let them enjoy their "cheese" soup, thinking it was whatever they wanted it to be. This morning as breakfast time loomed nearer I began racking my brain to figure out what to feed the family. There hasn't been eggs available for several weeks! Well, that ruled out any egg dish plus pancakes, french toast (oh yeah, we're out of bread too!), muffins, well, a lot of things. They were getting tired of oatmeal and cold cereal (then again, we're out of that too) as that's all we've had for breakfast the past week. Time to get creative again! Flour is one thing I did have - the last shipment I stocked up and froze it. So I mixed up a dough with whole wheat flour, warm water, yeast and a little oil and sugar. Rolled in little balls and flattened and cooked them on the griddle, then put a little butter on each "pancake" and sprinkled with a little cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg and ground cloves. I told the kids they were mini breakfast pizzas! They loved them! Even my husband loved them!

Most of you probably don't have to wait for the next ship to bring your groceries. But what are you doing to get creative in the kitchen? Are you fixing the same things over and over or relying on pre-packaged meals for your family? Try something a little different for your next meal to spice things up and see what your family thinks!


Now on to figure out lunch for today!