Keri’s Korner

Susan Orahood graduated from Ball State University with degrees in Home Economics and Library Science. She worked in the public school system for 28 years, while raising 3 children. All three of her children are married, and she is the proud grandmother of two.

Susie Seal received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Indiana State University and her master’s degree in Science from Indiana University. She will start her 31st year teaching Science this fall. Susie has 2 children and one granddaughter, all living in Chicago.

Carrie Larrison graduated from Ball State University with degrees in Business and Math Education. She taught math for 11 years prior to getting a masters degree in Counseling. She has been a school counselor for the past 11 years. Carrie has one daughter, and 3 step children.

Susan, Susie and Carrie worked together for many years at Westfield Middle School. When they heard about meal prep, they immediately loved the concept and thought it would be a great business that could help busy families like theirs.

For the longest time we’ve been trying to find the right fit for a charitable organization that we could support on a national scale. The fact of the matter is, there are so many great charities to choose from. The other challenge was finding one that meshed well with our family friendly brand and strategies. For a while there, each Supper Thyme location was doing their own thing with a number of different causes and we really needed to identify one charity, one good cause. And then, we discovered Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

The story behind ALSF is both heart wrenching and amazing. The foundation is in support of childhood pediatric cancer research. It all started with a little girl named Alex, who started a lemonade stand in her front yard in an effort to raise money for her doctors to find a cure for pediatric cancer. Alex passed away after a 4 year battle, but her legacy lives on. Her parents Liz and Jay Scott started this foundation and have successfully raised over 19 million dollars. They’ve been featured everywhere including Oprah, The Today Show, CNN, People magazine and several others. Here’s where it gets crazy. We all know I love QVC… so on Christmas they featured some pre-taped segments of the hosts and their kids.

Well, one of the hosts, my man Rick Domeier, was doing this segment with his kids making cookies and he stated that they were doing this in an effort to raise money for a pediatric cancer foundation called Alex’s Lemonade Stand. He went on to say they had a family member with pediatric cancer and showed his picture-it really grabbed my attention and moved me. So I went to my computer and found all this information about ALSF. I later approached Liz, Alex’s mother, and explained how I thought Supper Thyme might be able to help raise funds for their cause. Liz has three other children; she speaks with such compassion about this foundation. We got to talking about having kids and being busy moms etc… And she explained that Alex was in the midst of treatments during her subsequent pregnancies.

During our conversation I just kept thinking, “How does she do it?” She talks about Alex in past tense, yet explained that she is the mother of 4, (which included Alex). Liz is just an incredible woman, and what she and her husband have done for their daughter, this tribute to her legacy, is something that can’t be explained. It’s almost like, yes… Alex has passed away, but Liz is still her mother whether she’s on this earth or in heaven, she is still fighting for her daughter and her legacy is alive and strong. To me, it shows a never ending faith and unconditional love. Her faith in her child, and this organization, and the millions of dollars that have contributed towards this cause offer hope- it shows the power of positive energy. My heart goes out to Alex, and her family.

I hope that our Supper Thyme customers take the time to take a look at this charity. The website www.alexslemonadestand.org offers tons of great information about how you and your kids can host a front yard lemonade stand this summer. It doesn’t need to be anything big and elaborate, just a simple lemonade stand. It’s all about the positive power of kids and people uniting for one common cause; one cup at a time. I think this is an excellent lesson for children. I’m always looking for ways to teach my kids about the importance of volunteerism. I’m a big believer in teaching kids to be good examples and arming them with the power to believe they can create a positive change. ALSF will be hosting lemonade days June 6th, 7th ad 8th.

You can download signage from their site and host your own front yard stand. You can host a lemonade stand anytime throughout the year- so think about it, talk to you kids and please, give us your feedback so we can post it. For all you Omaha people, look for us in Millard! Supper Thyme customers can donate a dollar or more upon checkout and donations are accepted in the stores as well. I will offer updates from the blog as well.

The Supper Thyme store in Kennett Square PA is located in the middle of Mushroom Country. Folks around here are extremely proud of that fact. We made the mistake of offering canned mushrooms when we first opened. The outcry could be heard all the way in Philadelphia. This mistake was quickly remedied. My customers are very health conscience as well, and are always asking for more vegetarian meals. With these two facts in mind, we concentrated on developing meals to meet the tastes of our consumers. We didn’t want to leave out some of the family favorites we grew up with. The two recipes we chose are simple, and something the whole family would enjoy.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the following:

2 cups of beef crumbles
¼ cup of diced onions
4 Tablespoons of Worcestshire Sauce
1 teaspoon of liquid smoke
1 ½ teaspoons of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of mustard
¼ cup of water
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
½ cup of ketchup
Add salt and pepper to taste

Baking Instructions: Thaw: Place contents from bag into frying pan. Cook on medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Mix once or twice. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serving Suggestions: Potato salad and corn on the cob.

School’s almost out, summer is almost here and with that comes, - swimsuit season. Yikes. Brett and I are ready! Brett will be blogging about his weight loss journey so check back soon. So here’s the deal. The Omaha YMCA’s are hosting a program called, “Shape up Omaha”. It’s pretty cool.

Basically it’s set up similar to the Biggest Loser program. Participants are assigned small groups of 7 or 8 people and are required to weigh in every week and compete for cash and prizes. Marty and Amy kicked off the program last night at our Downtown YMCA.

Brett is really excited. He has reached an all time big and it has really impacted his health. He needs to get healthy and this was a perfect opportunity because of his competitive spirit. I, on the other hand, am doing it on my own, so we’ll see. Wish us luck. This is a 12 week program so we’re looking at mid August. Of course we’ll be eating Fast Tracks and drinking water, all that good stuff.

Actually Brett has been eating Fast Tracks for the last few months and has already lost nearly 50 pounds. He did Weight Watchers in conjunction with the Fast Tracks because he liked weighing in every week and monitoring his success. Today is our first day of a 12 week journey. If we get really brave we’ll post before and after photos. Ready, set, go!

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I think we’ve all been inundated with so many different promotions, all the gifts for mom etc… which made me start thinking about; not only my own mom, but being a mom, and all the women I know that are moms, as well as the ones that have chosen to forgo the mommy route. Being a mom, I can’t imagine any other life. I very much believe it was my calling.

But the reality of is, there are a lot of women in my life that have chosen a different path and they are certainly very fulfilled. My one girlfriend, who shall remain nameless, is not a mom, it’s not that she dislikes children by any means, and if she had found herself pregnant at any one point in life she would have embraced it, but she’s committed to not reproducing and she’s good with it. I have a new found respect for the women of the world who’ve opted to go against the mommy route, -like Oprah?

Another gal I know has no kids of her own, but boy, what an Aunt she is! This woman has actively helped raise her nephews. We’re talkin… rides to school; pick up, drop-off, a really special part of these kids’ lives. It’s true, it takes a village. I think Mother’s Day, is really a day to celebrate women in general. Maybe they’ll change the name to Women’s Day. Here’s the thing, everyone is a child of somebody,-and sometimes it takes special skills to be “the daughter”.

My own mother is dating right now and it literally makes me feel like I have a teenager. The worry, the not coming home, the V-neck sweaters, the newly discovered passion for….. Text messaging. Being a daughter can be challenging; rewarding certainly. But, challenging. I pray I can get through this! So, whether you’re a mom, a daughter, a special aunt, a caregiver, whatever the case may be… Happy Women’s Day!

I’m married. My husband Matthew and I have 3 children, 10, 6 and 17 months; and have been married for 11 years. My background is as a sign language interpreter. That is what my degree is in. After college I worked full time as a community interpreter for 5 years, until our 2nd child was born. After that I worked very part time and stayed home with him. I’ve spent many years working with people! I was born and raised in the central Ohio area, and attended college here at Columbus State.

I’ve always loved cooking. My entire family is full of fantastic cooks, and a few professional chefs/caterers. Every family get together growing up was an opportunity to learn something new about food and cooking, and I always hung out in the kitchen watching my grand mother and my aunts, as well as my mother, cooking for the family. Everyone says I was destined to be in the food business. When I was 12, after school one day I got really bored. More often than not when this would happen I’d turn to the kitchen and make something to surprise my mom when she got home from work.

This particular day, I must have been REALLY bored, because I decided to make a stuffed leg of lamb out of the McCall’s cooking School cookbook. I called the nearby grocery store butcher shop to ask if they did in fact have a boneless leg of lamb that they could butterfly for me. The butcher assured me he did, and he would. So, I hopped on my bike, rode the 2 miles down to the bank, got $50.00 out of my savings account using the Jeanie Machine, and headed to the grocery store. I took the recipe with me, and grabbed all the ingredients. I hadn’t really thought about how I was going to get 3 big bags of stuff home on my bike…that was interesting to say the least…but I did it!! I got home and started in on the recipe.

Once I got it into the oven, I decorated our front door to look like a restaurant sign, and made a little handmade menu for my mother. She arrived home to the “Gourmet Grogg Restaurant”. I even poured her a drink and garnished her glass with a mushroom; we didn’t have any citrus fruit. I think my mom would say this was the best leg of lamb she’s ever had. She tells this story to everyone when the subject of “why is Toby in the food business?” comes up.

I discovered Supper Thyme as a customer during my 3rd pregnancy. I was balancing our 2 kids, the house, and having health issues with my pregnancy. Supper Thyme was just the answer for us!! I started getting meals here to help me out on the days when I was either too busy or too wiped out to cook. I loved the concept and the store so much that I approached my mother with the idea of investing in a franchise for ourselves! The rest, as they say is history.

I started making this meatloaf for my mom when I was about 12. It was one of those “hrmm, what can I make for dinner with what we have in the cupboards??” things. It’s been a staple in our house ever since. It’s the only meat loaf my 6 year old son will touch with a 10 foot fork.

One thing about central Ohio people do not know-We’re the fast food capital of the USA! Wendy’s corporate headquarters is around the corner from our store. It’s the single largest per-capita restaurant-hosting town; every chain has at least one location here for testing and demographic purposes. Reynoldsburg Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, is the birthplace of the tomato. And they host a HUGE tomato festival there each year. I’ve yet to attempt eating the tomato ice cream, but, I can say I’ve seen it!!

The most requested meal here at our Supper Thyme? It’s hard to nail that down. Our pot pies sell faster than we can make them out of the TO-GO case, people ask for the Spiced Apple Pot Roast all the time and the Black and Blue Tilapia gets special requests monthly.

1. Spray a 9 x 13 pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the following and mix well:

2 lbs Ground Beef (from below)
¾ cup healthy request cream of mushroom soup
½ cup diced onion
½ cup sliced mushrooms, chopped
1 egg
¾ cup Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup French Onion Soup Mix
1 teaspoon beef base

3. Form mixture into 2 loaves and place in pan.

4. In a small ziploc baggie combine:

¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon beef base
¼ cup healthy request cream of mushroom soup

Seal and massage baggie to mix well.

5. Place sauce bag in pan next to loaves.

6 Cover pan label and take home!

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Thaw. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove bag of sauce. Bake meatloaves for 40 minutes. Spoon sauce over loaves and return to oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 160. Slice and serve with mashed potatoes and the green vegetable of your choice!

I found Supper Thyme after a long search. I wanted a food related business in which I could still enjoy my family life. When I read about meal prep, I knew it was for me. Then I found that Supper Thyme and their family friendly menus and family focus business model was perfect for me. I have two young children and an extremely busy husband. I remember thinking; what a great idea, great hours, fun guests, and food…what a combo! Now that I am here, it’s like throwing a party every day, it’s perfect. One of my favorite hobbies is collecting cookbooks, so now I get to do that AND write it off my taxes (ha, ha). It’s going to be a great life!

I was born in Michigan and moved to Florida when I was a year old. Other than constantly getting in trouble in elementary school for being too “social” (which just means I talk too much) I was a great student. I always loved food, but I didn’t learn to cook until after I got married. One of my mom’s favorite stories about my childhood is food related and really proves my lack of kitchen abilities from that time.

Once when I was in high school, my parents were out for the night, and I invited my boyfriend over for pizza. I ordered the pizza and it arrived too early, he wasn’t there yet. I wanted to keep the pizza warm, so I read the directions on the side of the box: Place in oven at 425 degrees to reheat. So, being the highly intelligent honor student that I was, I figured out how to heat the oven and placed the pizza in to keep it warm. Then I went in to the living room to watch TV. Not too long later, I smelled smoke, so of course I went into the kitchen. To my horror, there were flames leaking out of the stove!!! I grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed the oven. It worked, the fire was out, but WOW what a mess, and the house was filled with thick smoke. I had to get that cleaned up before my parents got home. I ran around opening all the doors and windows, turned on all the fans, and air conditioner. It was at this point when my boyfriend arrived. He is now my husband, and I still haven’t lived it down. We spent the rest of the night scrubing and cleaning and fanning. Later in college, I told my mom the truth and we laughed about how for months she kept finding mysterious white flakes all over the kitchen and could never figure out what it was from.

Now I find it ironic that I am in the food field. It took me awhile to find my love of cooking, but I am glad I am here!

Description:
Be ready to wish you had more of this dish. We combine rich beef broth with the zing of green pepper and sweet onion to make the most addictive rice you have ever tasted. The juicy pork chops and rice are a perfect combination for a happy family.

I grew up in a house where the kitchen was literally and figuratively the center of the home. From anywhere in the house you could see and smell the great things happening in that kitchen. I spent most of life sitting on the counter watching my mom create all my favorite dishes, especially this one. Of course, when I was little, I picked out all the veggies, but couldn’t get enough of the rice itself, especially the crispy corners. Now I’m a big girl and really enjoy the bits of peppers and especially the sweet onion. I remember sitting at the table finishing what was on my plate and then we would all continue to stay at the table and talk as we finished off the rummy rice eating right from the pan. Now I have passed my love of this dish on to my husband and children who request this dish regularly.

Ingredients:

6 5 oz bone in pork chops
6 rings green pepper
1 cup sweet onion slices (like Vidalia, Florida, or other brand of sweet onion)
3 cups of beef broth
1 cup of water
Salt
Pepper

Assembly Directions:

Spray a 9X13 pan. Place 1 ½ cups rice in the bottom of the pan . On top of rice, place 6 rings of green pepper and 1 cup of thick sliced sweet onion. Place six pork chops on top of rice and veggies. Season tops of pork chops with salt and pepper. In a ziplock baggie, place broth and water and lay baggie on top of pork chops. Put lid on pan, label, and take home.

Baking directions:

Thaw. Remove lid and take baggie of broth and pork chops out of pan. Pour broth over rice and veggies. (optional: for nicely browned chops, brown pork chops in a pan on the stove before placing back in pan) Replace pork chops on top of rice. Cover with tin foil Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes. Check to make sure rice is cooked thoroughly. If rice seems too dry during baking, add small amounts of water until pork chops are done.

Serving suggestion: serve with green salad and warm crusty rolls.