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Does your child burp at the dinner table, diss your home cooking, get out of her seat at mealtime, or run around at a restaurant when he should be sitting with a napkin on his lap? You’re certainly not alone if you’ve struggled to teach your children good manners and have them actually follow your urgings to “use your napkin” or “don’t chew with your mouth open!”

For a fresh, low stress, and slightly silly approach to good manners, we hope you’ll tune in to this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast because we have two special guests on the show:  Leslie McGuirk and Alex von Bidder. Leslie and Alex co-wrote the whimsically illustrated children’s book, Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant, a book about a chocolate Labrador puppy named Wiggens who learns how to mind his manners and try some delicious new foods  — escargot, okra, even frog legs — at the fancy Four Seasons restaurant.

We met Leslie and Alex during our trip to Rancho La Puerta earlier this year, and we couldn’t resist interviewing them on our nifty new portable podcasting thingamajiggy. Their advice, illustrated in the book via different “Lessons” for the adorable and often naughty Wiggens, makes a lot of sense for kids. Here are a few of our favorite eating-out-in-a-restaurant lessons (remember, they were written for a dog):

> Be quiet and polite when in a new place. Sometimes older dogs are upset by the energy and noise of puppies, so be respectful of their need for quiet.
> Be respectful of others’ tastes, though they may differ from your own, and always be willing to take a bite of something new.
> When you meet someone, shake his or her paw and look him or her in the eye when you introduce yourself (this comes in handy when a waiter/waitress comes to your table).
> Don’t forget to say “please” when you would like something, and remember, it is always fun to share.

Leslie, who has written over a dozen children’s books and Alex, an owner of the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, have generously donated two amazing giveaways to our blog readers and Facebook fans. One lucky winner (U.S. only) will become the proud owner of Wiggens Learns His Lessons at the Four Seasons Restaurant AND a free lunch or dinner for two children at the actual Four Seasons restaurant. The children, by the way, are more than welcome to bring two paying parents … or aunts and uncles! The restaurant certificate is valid through 2010, and even if you don’t live in NY, you should still enter because you never know when you might visit!

To Enter our Giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us why good manners are important to you, how you teach your children about good manners, OR your worst manners nightmare story.

We Will Enter You into the Giveaway Multiple Times if you do any or all of the following (just be sure to leave us a new comment every time you do one of these things):

> Tweet about our giveaway on Twitter or tell your Facebook friends about it with a link back to this blog post.

> Become a Facebook Fan.

> Add one of our buttons/widgets to your blog or website. They are located in the upper left sidebar of our blog. We have three to choose from: Our blog post widget, our Recipe badge, and our Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen badge.

Our giveaway ends on Friday, March 19, 2010 at noon. As always, we’ll use Random.org to choose the winner.

Casseroles often get a bad rap … and for good reason. They’re typically made with butter, cream of something-or-other soup, and lots of full-fat cheese. So when Shayna, a loyal Facebook fan, posted a recipe for a cheesy hash brown casserole with ham and asked us to give it a healthy makeover, we accepted the challenge. Shayna found the recipe on one of the many food blogs she follows, and to be perfectly honest, it looked mighty good. But when we crunched the nutrition numbers, we knew it needed some serious rehab. Given the recipe’s 1 stick of butter, 1 pound of ham, and the sour cream and cream of chicken soup, each gooey serving had 16 grams of the bad saturated fat and over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

Okay, enough complaining. The new recipe that we presented to Shayna, her husband Dave, and her teenage son, Aaron was considerably leaner than the original thanks to a few key ingredients: reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, light sour cream, and Campbell’s Healthy Request soup. The sodium was a whole lot lower too thanks to the soup and a lower sodium deli ham. And no Recipe Rescue by The Meal Makeover Moms would be complete without the addition of at least one super-nutritious ingredient, which is why we added a 10-ounce box of frozen chopped broccoli. Given all the potassium-packed potatoes in the dish, the broccoli was a nice subtle addition — plus, it added a lot of vitamin C!

Ham & Broccoli Hash Brown Casserole

Makes 8 Servings

• One 30-ounce bag frozen hash browns shredded potatoes, thawed
• 1 ½ cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (6 ounces), divided
• One 10-ounce box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
• One 10 ¾-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup (we like Campbell’s Healthy Request)
• One 8-ounce container light sour cream
• 8 ounces ham, cut into ½-inch cubes or pieces (about 2 cups) (we like Boar’s Head Lower Sodium Ham)
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove, minced

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter or coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a very large bowl, stir together the hash browns, 1 cup cheese, broccoli, soup, sour cream, ham, onion, and garlic until well combined.

3. Place the hash brown mixture into the prepared baking dish, using a rubber spatula to spread evenly, top with the remaining cheese, and bake until heated through and golden brown on the top, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool for about 10 minutes, slice, and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 230 calories, 7g fat (4g saturated), 590mg sodium, 29g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 15g protein, 15% vitamin A, 45% vitamin C, 25% calcium

Print Recipe

Shayna and her family really liked the new recipe. In fact, when we spoke to Aaron, he said, “it tasted pretty good!” Shayna also told us that the reason the hash brown casserole first caught her attention was because she just so happened to have A LOT of hash brown potatoes in her freezer. “Dave and I saw an add on Craig’s List for 100 pounds of potatoes and 50 pounds of onions from a farmer in Idaho. So we stocked up. With the potatoes, I made hash browns. I grated, blanched, and flash froze them, and then cut them into bricks.” You should see Shayna’s freezer! She also makes her own cream of mushroom soup, a recipe she found on A Year of Slow Cooking. So suffice it to say, she had plenty of ingredients on hand for our potato casserole.

Shayna and Dave have three boys between them. Two are in college and Aaron is home, so when they’re all together they eat a lot of filling foods — things like pasta and casseroles. “I’m in a Biggest Loser competition at work and Dave has high blood pressure and cholesterol so we’re trying to pay closer attention to the foods we eat,” Shayna told us.  “We try to avoid a lot of red meat, we have one meatless meal per week, and we avoid fast food, fried food, and junk food. Recently, we’ve also changed over to brown rice and whole wheat bread and pasta.”

We certainly hope our light and nutritious hash brown potato casserole helps to keep Shayna’s family healthy and well fed in the future … and we hope you all like it too.

Today’s Cooking with the Moms radio podcast is dedicated to YOU … all of our busy mom and dad friends out there who run ragged from morning till night taking care of everyone else but themselves. Sound familiar? For the show, we spoke with Joe Sweeney, lifestyle guru at the fabulous Rancho La Puerta spa in Tecate, Mexico, and author of I Know I Should Exercise, But …. Joe teaches a class there called Taking the Ranch Home, where he offers realistic tips for fighting stress while incorporating fitness, relaxation, and good nutrition into everyday lives.

But before we share Joe’s strategies, we have to tell you about our latest giveaway. To help you eat a healthier diet packed with delicious, seasonal meals, one lucky blog reader (or podcast listener or Facebook fan) will win a copy of Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta. This beautiful cookbook was written by spa founder, Deborah Szekely, and it features a bounty of delicious-sounding recipes — Corn, Cilantro, & Arugula Salad with Yogurt Dressing, Lasagna Azteca, and Chocolate Banana Bread. We have cooked quite a few recipes from the book including Squash-Apple Soup with Thai Red Curry and Mexican Red Rice, which you’ll find further down in this post.

To enter our Cooking with the Seasons cookbook giveaway all you have to do is post a comment on this blog post or on our Facebook fan page with your best tip for how you squash stress, relax, or fit fitness and nutrition into your day. The giveaway ends on Friday, March 5 at noon.

We Will Enter You into the Giveaway Multiple Times if you do any or all of the following (just be sure to leave us a new comment every time you do one of these things):

> Tweet about our giveaway on Twitter.
> Tell your Facebook friends about it with a link back to this blog post.
> Become a Facebook Fan.

We hope many of you will enter the giveaway and listen to this week’s podcast, and we certainly hope you’ll read on for Joe Sweeney’s realistic tips … that really do work.

Address Your Stress:
> Schedule at least 10 minutes of relaxation daily.
> When you’re in stressful situations, breathe deeply to calm yourself down.
> Worry for 10 minutes every day. After 10 minutes, no more worrying permitted.
> Look for the humor in life. Begin by taking yourself more lightly.
> Exercise to relax: stretching, yoga, birdwatching, easy walking, easy bicycling.

Make Time for Exercise:
> Make exercise fun. Select activities you enjoy, and frequently vary your workouts.
> Start small and build gradually to at least 30 minutes of exercise every other day.
> Plan to move. Schedule your exercise for the upcoming week by adding it to your calendar in red ink.
> Take active vacations such as spas, walk or bike tours, raft trips, or environmental vacations.
> Make exercise a priority by committing to it for 30 days. After that, it will become a habit.

Other Tips from Joe:
> Switch your weight loss obsession to healthy habits.
> The worst thing for weight loss is to try to lose weight. Instead, focus on gaining health (we really LOVE this tip).
> Don’t give up your favorite foods. Instead, eat less of them.
> Location, location, location: Pack healthy snacks and plan ahead.
> Write down specific and realistic health goals, find a friend to do the same thing (a “goalmate” if you will), and touch base every two weeks to offer support and encouragement.

Below, are two recipes from Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta. We consider these recipes more on the adult friendly side than kid friendly (especially the soup since it’s got a bit of heat from the Thai curry paste). Let us know what you think.

Squash-Apple Soup with Thai Red Curry

Makes 6 Servings

• 2 teaspoons olive oil (we used 1 tablespoon)
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes (we used a 1 pound, pre-peeled/sliced squash)
• 1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced
• 2 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced
• 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons thai red curry paste
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, or more to taste (we used 1 teaspoon kosher salt)
• Thinly sliced chives
• Thin strips of orange zest, optional

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the squah, apple, leeks, carrot, celery, and basil and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened; do not brown (this took about 15 minutes). Add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the stock, water, brown sugar, and salt. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft.

2. Cool for 30 minutes, then in a blender or in the bowl of a food processor, puree until absolutely smooth.

3. Reheat and taste for seasoning, adding salt if needed. Serve very hot, with a sprinkling of chives and the orange zest, if desired.

Print Recipe

Mexican Red Rice

Makes 6 Servings

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 small white onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice, about 1/2 cup
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 small green bell pepper or anaheim chile, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (we used half a red bell pepper)
• 1/2 cup minced carrots
• 1 teaspoon ground California chili (we used chili powder)
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (we used kosher salt)
• 1 medium tomato pureed with 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup cooked green peas or cooked edamame, optional

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onions, garlic, green pepper, and carrot for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the rice, chili powder, and salt and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the tomato puree to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.

3. Remove from heat. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the peas or edamame if desired. Replace the lid and let the rice steam for 10 minutes.

Print Recipe

For all of our Rancho La Puerta photos, visit our flickr page.

Back in November, Janice’s mom, Carol, and Liz’s mother-in-law, Joy, joined us for a Cooking with the Moms radio podcast dedicated to kitchens of the past and present, and dream kitchens of the future (podcast #83). If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the show, we hope you’ll tune in. While Joy was visiting from England, the four of us recorded a second show all about Sunday dinners.  Our memories of sitting around the family dinner table on Sunday afternoons came flooding back, though Liz found Janice’s reminiscing about eating Welsh rarebit for supper later on Sundays a bit disturbing!

Joy and Josh about to dig into a delicious Sunday dinner of roasted chicken and vegetables and Yorkshire pudding.

These days, with families running in a million different directions, carving out the time for shared meals has become a challenge. Research shows, however, that when families eat together, kids consume a more nutritious diet, so we encourage everyone to make it a priority. To do that, during the podcast, we tossed out some simple tips for making family meals a reality more often — especially Sunday Dinner, and we  shared some fresh ideas for making mealtime more enjoyable for everyone:

> Happy Talk: Ask positive, open-ended questions to ignite conversation versus tempers at the table.
> Family Theme Nights: Theme nights such as Build-Your-Own-Pizza Night, Taco Fiesta Night, and Spaghetti & Meatballs Night add excitement to the meal and encourage kids to try new foods.
> Play Games: Try a spelling bee, GHOST, or Janice’s infamous button game (you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out what it is) to keep kids at the dinner table and to foster fond memories of shared meals.
> Set an Attractive Table: Bring the family’s full attention to the table by lighting candles, using colorful napkins, or placing fresh flowers in the center.
> Dinner Date: Once a month, allow each child to invite a special friend for dinner. Your child can help you plan the menu and set the table.

Liz’s newly decorated dining room. It reminds her of Joy’s blue-and-white themed dining room back in England.

What follows are two recipes Joy and Liz cooked up together. The first is for Thyme Roasted Chicken and the second for Joy’s Yorkshire pudding, a British side dish similar to a popover. We had a tough time writing up the exact ingredients for this recipe since Joy tends to cook by feel versus using precise measurements, and Liz’s equipment and appliances didn’t exactly jive with Joy’s European ones. So, to avoid any confusion, we decided to share a few links to recipes for Yorkshire pudding instead.

 Thyme Roasted Chicken
Makes 4 Servings (with enough left over for two more meals)

• 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 to 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• One 4 ½ – to 5-pound roasting chicken
• Kosher salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine the olive oil, parsley, thyme, garlic and salt in a small bowl and mix well.

3. Place the chicken on a work surface or cutting board. Loosen the skin from the chicken breast and drumsticks by inserting your fingers and gently pushing between the skin and meat. Rub the seasoning mixture under the loosened skin. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and place breast side up on a broiler or roasting pan in the center of the oven.

4. Bake until the chicken turns golden brown and an instant-read meat thermometer registers 180°F, about 1 hour and 20 minutes (18 to 20 minutes per pound). Discard the skin, slice the meat and serve, reserving leftovers for the next two nights.

Nutrition Information per Serving:  190 Calories, 6g Total Fat, 1.5g Saturated Fat, 0g Carbohydrate, 0g Fiber, 32g Protein, 220mg Sodium

Print Recipe

Yorkshire Pudding from Martha Stewart
Yorkshire Pudding with Roast from Alton Brown
Yorkshire Pudding from Tyler Florence

Do you have fond memories of Sunday dinner? What are your favorite Sunday dinner recipes? And what do you do to make family meals a priority? We’d love to hear from you.

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• Healthy Meal with Kid Appeal Award: Steamy Kitchen’s Chinese Beef Broccoli
• Podcast 96: Good Manners for Kids and a Children’s Book & Restaurant Meal Giveaway!
• Podcast 95: Recipe Rescue – Ham & Broccoli Hash Brown Casserole
• Podcast 94: Stress Busting, Health-Boosting Tips for Moms (and Dads) … and a Cookbook Giveaway
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• Podcast 93: Bring Back Sunday Dinner
• Podcast 92: Banana Brownie Waffles & Giveaway for a Cuisinart Belgian Waffle Maker
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