Sweet Potato side dish

This is a favorite side dish around our casa.  It is easy to make, and SUPER easy clean up.  you can make it on the grill or in the oven... along side whatever you have cookin'.

Directions:
1. Peal 2 medium sweet potatoes

2.  Thinly slice sweet potatoes- (the thinner they are the quicker they will cook)
3.  Slice up an apple
4.  Place sweet potatoes and apples on sheet of tin foil
5. Add a few slices of butter
6. Add 1 tsp of water
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon

8.  Sprinkle with a tablespoon of brown sugar, OR drizzle with a little bit of Agave juice
9.  Sprinkle with walnut pieces (optional) 
9.  Fold tin foil closed, seal up so no moisture can escape.  Sometimes, I will even add a second layer of tinfoil to make it more sturdy and sealed!
10.  Throw on grill (or in the oven at 350 degrees) until apples and sweet potatoes are soft, about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Basil Quinoa

Remember a few weeks ago I gave you the great recipe for the Spiced Quinoa.  Wondering if any of ya'll tried it?  Anyway, here is another Quinoa recipe that we make on a frequent basis...

We started by picking some basil from our garden.  The kids love helping with this task!

Then we added a little fresh lemon juice.  Lemon courtesy of our generous neighbors tree.  Sweet gal lets us pick as many as we want!  {Okay 2 amazing benefits of SoCal in May, fresh basil from our garden and fresh lemons...}

Ingredients

• 1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons minced)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions

Directions
1.  Cook Quinoa according to package directions
2.  In food processor mix all remaining ingredients.  Chop well, until smooth consistency.
3.  Once Quinoa is cooked, poor basil mixture over quinoa and mix together.
4.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Enjoy!

We served ours with grilled chicken, grilled zucchini and roasted tomatoes.

Spiced Quinoa

"Quin-WHAT?"
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is not a grain; it is actually a seed and related to the spinach family. When cooked, quinoa is light, fluffy, slightly crunchy and subtly flavored. It actually cooks and tastes like a grain, making it an excellent replacement for grains that are difficult to digest.

Some of the nutrients in quinoa include:

• Complete protein. Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body as building blocks for muscles.
  
• Magnesium helps relax your muscles and blood vessels and effects blood pressure. Quinoa contains high levels of this vital nutrient.
• Fiber. Quinoa is a wonderful way to ensure that you consume valuable fiber that eases elimination and tones your colon.
• Manganese and copper. Quinoa is a good source of these minerals that act as antioxidants in your body to get rid of dangerous cancer and disease-causing substances.

All information above is quoted directly from Body Ecology

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I know Quinoa is so healthy, but I have been struggling to find a really good Quinoa recipe.  And I finally found one!!  I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com, and then adjusted it to fit our family.   I knew our kids don't necessarily care for a lot of spice, so I cut most of the spices in half, and it turned out so tasty. (Below is the low-spice adjusted recipe)

 Spiced Quinoa, with grilled Halibut and grilled zucchini... healthy and yummy : )

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 3/4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 (14 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water and drained (optional) 
• Directions

1. Stir together the olive oil, onion, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the quinoa, curry powder, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes until the quinoa is tender.
2. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, stir in the drained garbanzo beans, toasted pine nuts, and raisins. Serve warm or cold.

Pumpkin Pancakes

This Fall I heard lots of talk about Pumpkin Pancakes... but for whatever reason I never gave them a try.  Then for some strange reason I had an insatiable craving for them this past weekend.  We re-visited our tradition of Saturday Morning Pancakes with a little twist, a sweet pumpkin twist.  I found this recipe on www.AllRecipes.com, I tweaked it a tiny bit.  They were a hit!  Even B devoured the little crumbs we put on his tray!

What you need:
1 cup flour
1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup pumpkin
2 Tbs Vegetable oil or Apple sauce (I did one of each)

What to do:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl
2. In a different bowl mix eggs, milk, pumpkin and oil
3.  Add dry ingredients to wet, mix well.  If too clumpy add 1 Tbs of water
4.  Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto greased griddle or frying pan. Cook each side until golden!

Enjoy!!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies...

So I know, that I know, that I know that I posted this recipe on here last winter.  But it is gone, vanished, no where to be found!  How in the world does a post disappear???  The only reason I know it is gone is because every time I make these cookies, I have to look it up on my blog... and today, it is gone : (  So here goes round 2 of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Including pictures I took last winter...

Ingredients:
1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs

2 Cups flour
1 3/4 Cups ground oats (old fashioned oats in blender or food processor)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 bag of chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla.
3. Mix eggs into butter/ sugar mixture
4. In separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients

5. Mix 1/2 of dry ingredients in butter/ sugar mixture.  Mix well then add in the rest of dry ingredients.
6. Add chocolate chips

7. Spoon cookies onto cookie sheet (I really recommend using a baking stone/ pizza stone)

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes
9. Cut a paper shopping bag in half, open up and lay flat on your counter.
10. Once you pull out of the oven. Let cookies sit on stone for 1 minute.  Then place on paper bag to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Sweet Potato Yummyness

Oh my, this is our new favorite recipe!  I realized how much I loved it when I was jealous of Mr. Steady taking the leftovers to work the next day.  It is comfort food, with out the heaviness, flavor so rich you anticipate the next bite, over all delicious... so I had to share!  And it is a crock-pot meal, doesn't get any better in my book : )

What you need:
2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of pepper
dash of garlic powder
dash of curry powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. of orange zest (grated orange rind)
2 tsp. brown sugar

What to do:
1. Place sweet potatoes in bottom of  crock-pot
2. Place chicken on the sweet potatoes
3. In a separate bowl mix all remaining ingredients together.  Pour over the top of the chicken.
4. Cover.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
5.  Serve over rice or rice noodles.

Enjoy!!  I would love to know if you try this recipe... and if you do, if you like it as much as we all do!

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B even had some for his dinner...

 (For those of you that don't have a baby, don't let this picture of ground-up food ruin your appetite)
* on a side note: We are loving the food mill... It makes dinner time so much easier for B.  He really enjoys the more flavor-full regular meals over plain veggies and fruit.
** Yes, those are Mr. Steady's manly hands in the 1st picture!  What a guy, helping me prep dinner!

Making Baby Food

So as I mentioned in our last post, BB was waking up in the middle of the night again needing some chow-time.  As much as I wanted to hold off on solids until after Christmas - traveling with bibs, jars, spoons and the mess just wasn't sounding too fun - we decided that BB was ready to add solids to his daily routine.

We started out with rice ceareal (as recommended).  This is what he thought about that...

So I went back to what I did with both H and Bug... I made some sweet potatoes.  B was more of a fan of the sweet potatoes...

 

You might think that I am crazy to make baby food, but I really enjoy doing it.  I think that there are many advantages to making your own baby food...

1.  It tastes so much better

2.  It costs so much less

3.  You know exactly what is in the food... no additives or un-natural ingredients

 I bought this The Healthy Baby Meal Planner when H was a baby and have loved it.  You don't even necessarily need the book, but it great if you want a little more guidance.  Making baby food is so much easier than you might think, here is a quick tutorial of how I make sweet potatoes.

What you need:

Pan for boiling or steaming

Blender or food processor (I have used both and either one will work great)

Ice cube trays

Fruit or veggies

Peeler

...Making sweet potatoes..

1.  Wash veggies

2.  Peel off skin (H helped with the peeling process, he really wanted to be a part of making B's food)

 

3.  Cut potatoes into cubes between 1/2" to 1" 

 4.  Boil or steam until soft, check with fork.  About 20 minutes (I usually steam, but I was making such a large amount it wouldn't fit in my steamer)

 5.  Scoop out of pan and put in food processor or blender, do not discard water.  Add water from the pan to cover bottom 1/3 of potatoes
6.  Blend.  If too thick add more water from pan.
7.  Spoon out puree into ice cube tray

8.  Let cool to room temperature then cover with plastic wrap. 
9.  Put tray of food in the freezer.  You can either pop out a cube each time you feed your baby.  Or after the food is fully frozen, I pop out all of the cubes and store in a freezer bag.  Label the bag, cause sweet potatoes, carrots and squash all look the same: )

Enjoy!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Crockpot season is upon us... well more like, crockpot season is upon some of you... it was high 80's in Socal today, so didn't quite feel like crockpot weather.  Regardless of your current weather situation, here is a great and easy meal to make.

BBQ Pulled Pork

Directions:
1.  Buy 1 package of McCormick Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork

2. The recipe on the back calls for

• 3 lbs. boneless pork (I use the tenderloin from Costco)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar

3.  Follow direction on the package

• Place pork in slow cooker
• mix seasoning, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar, pour over pork, cover
• cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.  Remove pork from slow cooker
• shred pork, using 2 forks, return to slow cooker, mix and heat with sauce
• serve on baguette or rolls
• I usually serve sweet potato fries with ours

Oh, and it goes great with a Diet Coke too : )

Italian Meatloaf

Supper tasty meatloaf even the kids will love!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Boiling Water
1/2 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes (dried ones)
1/2 Cup Marinara for meat loaf
1 Cup breadcrumbs
3/4 Cup Chopped fresh Basil
1/2 Cup Quattro Formaggio cheese (grated)
2 Large eggs beaten
1 lbs. ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 Cup grated Zucchini (optional, or add more for more veggies)

Directions:

• Combine boiling water and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl; let stand 30 minutes until soft.  Drain and finely chop tomatoes.
•  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine remaining ingredients, mix well in a bowl.
• Spray baking dish or cookie sheet with cooking spray (Pam).
• Shape meat into a 9"x5" loaf
• Spread 1/3 Cup Marinara on top
• Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour
• Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing
• Serve with Pasta

This meal was a hit for all of us!  The fresh basil and sun-dried tomatoes give this so much flavor!

On a little side note, my sweet buddy H has never been much of a meat eater.  He even went through a stage that he could be labeled a true vegetarian.  H is very sensitive to texture; we have been working on slowly introducing meat over the last few years.  This was the first time he voluntarily ate ground beef.  I think the reason is 2 fold:
1. I had him help me make dinner.  He was in charge of getting the basil off of the plant, and he also helped grate the zucchini and mix all of the ingredients together (before I added the egg and ground beef).  Not only is it fun with our little ones to have them help in the kitchen, I think it also makes a meal more enticing to try if they were a part of making it.  He was so proud to tell Daddy that he had helped!
2.  This is just a tasty meal, that he kept having more bites.

Either way, I am just thankful that H enjoyed dinner!

Thai Sauce

Here is a yummy Thai peanut sauce.  Tonight we had it over salmon.  It is also really good on chicken and veggies.  I even use it as a dipping sauce for raw veggies.

Love me some peanut sauce : )


Ingredients:
1/2 C. Peanut Butter
1/2 C. Italian Dressing
4 T. Soy Sauce
4 T. Honey
1/2 tsp. Chyanne Pepper
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Mix it all together!  

Thai Salmon:
Put salmon filets on a tin boat
Mix up sauce
Pour sauce over salmon
Grill until salmon is fully cooked

Serve with veggies, and rice or rice noodles.
Sorry, no pics of the salmon cooked.  We were scrambling to get it on the table while it was still hot : )

Wholesome Oat Muffins

Here is a recipe for yummy muffins!  My husband and kids all love these; so much so that I double the recipe and then freeze about 1/2 of them.  They taste great even once thawed, especially with a little bit of jam or fruit spread!

This is an adapted recipe from the South Beach Diet cookbook.  I don't really care for sugar substitutes, especially if it is something my kids are going to be eating.  So, my version of this recipe uses real brown sugar instead. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons oats
1 cup buttermilk
(if you do not have buttermilk, measure one Tablespoon of White Vinegar into a 1-Cup measuring cup, then fill to the top with milk)
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour or whole grain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a small bowl, combine 3⁄4 cup of the oats and the buttermilk. Let soak for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts.

In a large bowl, stir together the oil, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the oat mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly among the 10-12 prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tablespoons oats over the muffins. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Remove to the rack to cool completely.

 Enjoy this healthy breakfast treat! 

Green Smoothies

In an effort to enjoy more fruits and veggies for the whole family, we have been making a lot of "green smoothies."  Not all of the smoothies look green once blended, but all are packed with spinach!

Start with a blender full of Spinach

Add 1 Cup of orange juice

Blend until spinach is finely chopped and mixed with OJ

Add a banana

And your choice of frozen fruit.

Blend well and if it seems too thick to drink from a straw, add more liquid, either water, milk or more juice.

Enjoy!

Finnish Pancakes

Yummy!!!  Seriously, such a scrumptious breakfast that I am so excited to share with all of you : )

Finnish Pancakes, or as my dutch friend Kathy calls them "Dutch Babies."  Call them whatever you want... I just hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 Cup milk
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 Cup butter

Directions:
Turn oven on to 400 degrees
Place butter in 9" pie plate, put in oven until butter is completely melted
Place all ingredients (except butter) in blender.  Blend.
Pour batter over melted butter in pie plate.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and firm.

I like mine best with either a fruity topping or powdered sugar.  Mr. Steady and H love a little bit of syrup on theirs and Bug scarfs them down just plain.  For our little family, I actually double the recipe and end up with a quarter of a pie plate left, which I put in a container and then into the fridge. The leftovers heat nicely in the microwave and are just as delicious the next morning... okay, I will be honest... it usually won't last that long in my house.  I have it as an afternoon snack when the kids are napping... that way I don't have to share any : )

Tips on the recipe...
1.  If I know the morning is going to be hectic... The night before I put all of the dry ingredients in the blender and have the milk and eggs mixed in a container in the fridge.
2.  You probably could cut out a little of the butter.  I haven't yet, but every time I make it I think that I should not put in the full amount.  Truth be told, we love butter in our house. 
3.  I have substituted whole wheat flour for 1/2 of what is called for, and it still tasted great.
4.  Optional ingredients: (Both of these ingredients are on my recipe card, but I have never had either of these around, so I haven't used them.  I bet it would add more flavor and would be great!)
1/2 tsp. grated fresh lemon (zest)
1/2 tsp. ground cardamon

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Slow Cooker: Creamy Italiano Chicken

This has been one of our favorite meal for a few years now.  It was actually the very first meal that I was able to get H-man to eat some chicken (he was a little vegetarian).  This is also my usual go-to meal for bringing new mom's a meal.  I haven't met a kid or an adult that doesn't like it... not saying that everyone will, we are all so different.  But thus far it has been a huge success.

And did I mention it is SOOOO easy!

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I put my in frozen)
1 envelop dry Italian salad dressing mix

1/4 cup of water
8-oz package of cream cheese
1- 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup

Directions:
1.  Place chicken in slow cooker (like I said, for simplicity sake, I put the breasts in frozen)

2.  Mix together salad dressing mix and water.  Pour over chicken.

3.  Cover.  Cook on Low for 4 hours (if frozen) 3 hours if thawed
4.  Pull out chicken and shred (I just use 2 forks to shred)

5.  Put chicken back in and mix in the liquid that is in the slow cooker.
6.  30- 60 minutes prior to serving, mix in cream cheese and soup.  Cover and continue cooking.

7.  Serve over whole-grain penne pasta.
8.  Sprinkle with parmigiana cheese (optional)

I usually serve ours with steamed broccoli, since that is a veggie my kids are guaranteed to eat : ).  Makes great leftovers as well.

Enjoy!

Original recipe found in "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook"  I slightly varied it to fit our taste.  Awesome cookbook if you have a crock-pot/ slow cooker and need some recipes!