quinoa ice pop

Yes, you read that right, this ice pop has quinoa in it.  I ended up making this a bit different from the original recipe because I didn't have enough quinoa.  Then I forgot I was cutting the recipe in 1/2 and added the full amount of blueberries.  Then I decided to only add one type of sweetener (because it was easier and I was out of coconut sugar and can't find it in the grocery store anymore.)  Anyway, this is how I made these.  The puree was really thick and tasted mostly of banana that seemed a bit green to me.  This pop was not my favorite, but I'm not the hugest fan of quinoa either.  I really think it has more to do with a not fully ripe banana than anything though.  I would give this pop a second try, but would definitely keep the full cup of blueberries.  Possibly even add another banana.  (In other words, lower the amount of quinoa.) Aaron did have one of these for breakfast, and while he didn't eat a ton, he did eat about 1/4 of it which is actually pretty good for him for any popsicle.  He's not a great popsicle eater.
Since these had to cook, I did start these first, then made the yellow pop (previous post) then came back to these.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
• 4-5 Tablespoons agave
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. In a small pot, combine quinoa and water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed
2. Put the quinoa in the blender along with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Scoop puree into molds.  Add sticks and freeze until solid.

chia jam

This is probably my favorite way to use chia so far.  But truth be told I haven't experimented much, and most of what I did was before the holidays hit, and before DH started traveling a lot.  I do remember this jam, and made it more than once.  So simple, so tasty, and so healthy.  YUM!  Oh, and I forgot to mention super quick - no slaving over the stove.  You can realistically make a batch at a time when you need it.  Again, thanks to my friend Amoreena who fiddled with this recipe and came up with correct proportions.  This is her favorite combination for strawberries.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup strawberry puree -I just thawed some frozen strawberries and pureed them in my blender or food processor, or with my immersion blender - can't remember which.
• 1/4 cup chia seed
• 2 Tablespoons agave

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a pint size jar (or other container)  
2. Let set until thickened.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or freeze.

Can it possibly get any easier?

You can use any fruit and/or sweeteners, but you need to adjust amounts to suit your tastes.  Strawberry is nice and sweet so it doesn't require much added sweetness.  

Love this on waffles, toast, pancakes, french toast, rolls, bread...

Chia

I have a group of friends through church that started a "healthy cooking" group.  Each month someone picks a topic and hosts at their home.  We've done green smoothies, quinoa, veggies, home made yogurt, and the last one was chia.  I have to say chia was very new to me, but good stuff.  I have started using it more often.  In fact.  I often make chia waffles now.  (I just wish I could remember the exact recipe I was using for the chia/chunky monkey waffles I was making back at the end of Nov/beginning of Dec.  Time for some more experimenting.  :)

Normally I don't do a post that is just information, but I love this, and don't want to lose it.  Truth be told, it is rather miraculous that I still have the paper since we did this class back in November.  That is a long time for something to hang out in my kitchen and not get spilled on, used as a grocery list, and/or thrown away.  

This class was taught by my friend Amoreena.  I'm just retyping the wonderful information she gave us.  It includes some fun historical facts as well as some great nutritional facts about chia.  If you'd like to try chia, I'd suggest ordering on Amazon.com.  At least in my area that is the easiest and most economical option.

Chia Facts

• The chia plant (salvia hispanica) sometimes referred to as the chia sage, originated in the central valley of Mexico and is a member of the mint family.
• Records indicate chia seeds were used as a food source as far back as 3500 B. C.
• It was the third most important crop of the Aztecs, who recognized it as a "superfood" and prized it so highly that it was often used as currency
• Aztec warriors and runners are believed to have sustained themselves for an entire day on just a tablespoon of chia.
• After the Spanish conquest, chia seed nearly disappeared as the Spaniards banned foods that were linked in any way to Aztec religion or tradition and virtually wiped out the complex agricultural system extablished by the Aztecs in order to grow foods that were popular in Spain instead.
• Chia seeds have more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other plant food, including flax seeds.
• Chia seeds are about 20% protein.  Most nutritious plants are incomplete proteins.  Chia however, is a complete protein like meat, but without the high levels of saturated fat.  Being a complete protein, chia has all the 9 essential amino acids in proper proportions including other nonessentials.
• Chia is hydrophilic and can absorb more than 12 times its weight in water.  This makes it helpful in maintaining body hydration, something that is especially beneficial for athletes who need to remain hydrated during races and endurance activities.
• Chia seeds when soaked in water for 30 minutes form a thick gel.  This gel also forms in the stomach when chia seeds are consumed.  Bad??  Nope, researchers believe it actually slows down the rate at which digestive enzymes turn carbs into sugar, making it especially beneficial for diabetics and others with blood sugar issues.
• Chia gel can be used to replace eggs and oil in recipes.  (see below, recipe posts to follow)
• Chia seeds are so high in antioxidants that they do not spoil easily and can be stored for long periods, unlike flax seeds.
• Chia is high in fiber.  Two tablespoons of Chia contains 2.3 grams of high-quality fiber, which is equivalent to 41% of your suggested daily fiber intake.  According to nutritionists and dietitians, the ideal ration of insoluble to soluble fiber should be about 5:1.  When compared to other good sources of fiber, Chia reigns supreme because it comes with 5.3 grams of soluble fiber and 35.0 grams of insoluble fiber.  That would be a 6:1 ration, so pretty close to perfect.
• Chia is a great source of vitamins and minerals.  Organic chia seed Has 6 times more calcium than milk, 11 times more phosphorus and 4 times more potassium than milk.  It has higher vitamin b and more niacin than soy, rice, or corn.  2 Tablespoons of chia will satisfy 22.25% of your daily calcium 32.5% of your recommended magnesium intake, 29.25% of your iron, 6% of zinc and 33.25% of phosphorus. 

So, for a tiny little seed, it sure packs a punch right?  Now, how do you use it?

1. Mix it with what you already eat.
1. smoothies, sauces, oatmeal, yogurt, salads...
2. Use chia gel (1 part chia, 3 parts water - mix and let set.)
1. 1 egg +1/4 cup chia gel or 1 Tbsp. chia seeds, 3 Tbsp. water
2. can replace up to 50% of the oil used in a recipe
3. can be frozen or will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks

Cheesy animal crackers

Blog, what blog.  Something made it up yesterday but only because I started adding pictures and for some reason I had only saved a draft of the recipe.  In all actuality, this recipe was typed in over a year ago when I checked this sneaky chef book out from the library.  Fast forward a year, and I checked it out again and actually made the recipe.
I've wanted to try making my own crackers and over the course of the year have seen a lot of different recipes.  I chose this recipe because it actually used real cheese, not powdered.  I worried about how that would work into a dough, but thought it would have better flavor than a powdered cheese.  I'm pretty sure I was right.  Of course I'm sure it also helped that I had some tasty Parmigiano Reggiano and not the cheaper Parmesan.
These were devoured in a very short time.  Not sure if they were worth the work for as quick as they were eaten.  However, they would be lots quicker using the method I wrote about at the end of the recipe.  I could double the batch and make them that way.

I flipped some upside down to show both sides.  You can see they
are made with actual cheese.  YUM!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup chickpea puree (exactly what it sounds like - puree a can of rinsed and drained chick peas using a Tablespoons or 2 of water if necessary. I like my immersion blender for this task.)
• 1/2 cup grated  cheddar cheese
• 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika (not sure if I used this today)
• 1/3 cup flour blend (equal parts white flour, wheat flour, and wheat germ in the book - use whatever blend you like.  I used the books blend this day, but wouldn't hesitate to make them again using a blend of any flours ie, wheat, spelt, barley, or brown rice, spelt, oat....)
• small animal shaped cookie cutters - I got some of these, but the kids wanted to make them using some cute mini Christmas shapes I also bought

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment or spray with cooking oil.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine chickpea puree with cheeses, oil, salt, onion powder, and paprika.  Add flour blend and mix until well blended.  Remove from bowl and shape into a flattened ball using hands.  If dough is too crumbly add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it holds together.
3. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 min.
4. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature and roll out onto a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin until about 1/16 inch thin.  Cut out fun shapes using cookie cutters.  Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake until golden brown on the edges, about 10-12 minutes, peeking occasionally to make sure they are not burning.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

As an easier option, just roll them directly on parchment, cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza cutter, poke a hole in the center with a tooth pick, transfer the parchment to the cookie sheet and bake.  WAY EASIER than the cookie cutter method.  However, the kids enjoyed playing with the cookie cutters.  We made it through about 1/2-2/3 of the batch cut with cookie cutters and finished the rest in just squares.  

Here are the squares.  You can tell I did them quickly and didn't pay
close attention to thickness.  The edges were a bit thinner and are a bit toasty.

High protein apple waffles/pancakes

Here is another recipe from the bean book I'm borrowing from a friend.  I don't think it was all that much different than the mix I am currently using, but it did have a higher percentage of bean flour = higher protein and fiber so more nutritious.  They also have a slightly nicer texture than the mix pancakes but I would say that is 90% due to the fact that you mix them with stiff egg whites.  How are they not going to have a nice texture?   Like the other recipe I made from the bean book, these were super filling.

The only problem with them is that they stuck pretty bad to the waffle iron.  Usually with my nice waffle iron, the first will stick on a recipe, but after that the rest will be fine with no cooking spray.  These had to be sprayed well for each waffle or much sticking ensued. Next time I would just make them as pancakes.  The recipe does say they can also be made into Ebelskivers which I had to google to find out what were - Danish pancakes for those not familiar with the term.  But apparently they have their own special pan, so they aren't something I'll be trying in the near future.

Be warned that this recipe does make a ton of waffles/pancakes.  If you don't plan to refrigerate or freeze for later, I would suggest cutting the recipe in half.  Also the warning is nice for choosing a bowl size.  My normal 8 cup bowl did not work.  Not a problem, I just added the ingredients to the kitchen aid bowl that had whipped the egg whites.

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup fine white bean flour (I have a mill and grind my own)
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups warm water
• 3 Tablespoons oil or applesauce (I used applesauce, but added 1 Tablespoon of oil mid way through cooking due to the sticking issues.  Next time I'll just add the oil rather than the applesauce)\
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
• 1 large grated apple (I'd probably add 2 next time - you really couldn't taste the apple even though I used applesauce too.)

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients.  Add honey, buttermilk, water, oil and egg yolks and stir until well combined.  Fold in egg whites and apple.  
2. Bake as pancakes or waffles.

crock bean soup with kale

I knew I was behind but this is ridiculous!  I just counted, and even with my only intermittent cooking lately and the use of tried and true meals and take out pizza a little too often :)  I'm still 10 recipes behind in my posting.  One more today and I must get doing other things for the day.  

I chose this one just because it was very different for me.  It is the first thing I have actually made with kale.  I have bought kale a few times before and thrown it in my green smoothies, but I have never made a meal containing kale.  This made me excited to try this and of course a little apprehensive wondering if A it would taste good to me and B my kids would eat something with green stuff in it.  It went over pretty well though.  I liked it.  I did feel it needed just a bit more flavor.  I added extra salt and pepper to mine and it was fine.  I think maybe next time I'll add additional salt at the beginning of the cooking time - maybe let some sink into the beans.  I've read a lot on adding salt before, during or after to cooking beans, but I just felt like the center of the beans were a bit bland.  The overall soup was better (again with the extra salt and pepper.)  Some of the family loved it, some hated it, and others thought it was OK.

I found this recipe in my Saving dinner book.  I added more veggies and changed the beans - originals were cannellini, but in my grocery store those were $9 something a pound.  Kidneys were $.99.  Plus I'm not as big of fan of white beans anyway so kidney it was for us.  I did do another dumb thing and try to soak these in a quart jar ---Don't do it!!!  They grew way too large and then just got stuck in the jar and I had to dig them out.  No fun.  Seriously.  Choose a larger container.   Quart jars work great for 1 cup of beans.  I have no idea what made me think 1 lb would be fine.  Probably the fact that they fit in there just fine dry - only take up a little more than 1/2 of the jar.  Silly, silly me.  

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 extra large onion, chopped 
• 4-5 carrots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 bunch kale, trimmed and sliced
• 1 pound kidney beans, soaked overnight
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (could have doubled this too I think)
• 40-50 oz chicken stock (this is approximate - I used a 32 oz box and whatever was left in my other container maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of that box -original just had 3 cans of chicken broth - it depends on how soupy you want the finished product - more like soup, or more like chili)
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce (I actually used a Tablespoon of tomato powder because for some reason I was out of tomato sauce -same thing just not reconstituted and I had used a bit extra stock so I didn't want/need any more liquid)
• salt and pepper (needed lots)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, saute onions, in butter until soft, add carrots and garlic and continue to saute until carrots soften a bit or onions get nice and golden.  Add kale and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.
2. In a slow cooker, place soaked beans, red pepper flakes and the contents of the skillet.  Cover with stock.  Cook on high 8 hours or until beans are tender.  Once beans are tender, add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

   

Cranberry Orange breakfast squares

Must. Stop. Slacking!

Ugh.  I can't believe how big of a slacker I've been in cooking, but especially in posting.  It started with couches in my kitchen - followed immediately by a broken dishwasher, but all excuses are gone.  I must get back.  I don't like it when I don't remember what I did or can't find a recipe.  Love my blog for that.

So, I'm starting with what is in the oven right now.  I'll come back and add some details.  This recipe is from a book I'm borrowing from a friend.  It is called Country Beans by Rita Bingham.  (Don't know why but my Amazon thing is not working so no picture or link of the book today.)

I only changed a little in the recipe, but as always, it is better to write it down before I make something else and forget what I did here.

Since starting, these came out of the oven, and were quite tasty.  They got between 4 and 5 stars from everyone.  The topping was like a granola but I loved the addition of the coconut flavor to the cake.  My silly teenage boys decided it looked like it would be good with milk, so they ate their second piece in a bowl with milk.  I'm not one for soggy cake so it looked gross to me, but they assured me it was delicious that way.

Ideas for next time - make them as cupcakes to cook faster.  Make them using my regular waffle mix - I actually want to compare the recipes.  They seem to be quite close.  If they are different, I could just add more bean flour, or make a separate mix.  Either way it would make them be much quicker for breakfast.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white bean flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dry milk powder
• 1 generous Tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate (they would also be great with some added orange zest)
• 3/4 cup warm or hot water
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole, raw cranberries (I actually pulsed mine in the food processor to break them up a bit because I wanted smaller chunks)
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Topping ingredients

• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup white bean flour
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 4 Tablespoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients (first 5) in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients (next 4) in another bowl.  
2. Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Stir in nuts and cranberries.  Pour into a 9X13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Mix topping ingredients together.  Sprinkle over cake.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (mine took 25) or until cake tests done.

gnocchi with white beans

Here is our dinner from last night.  This was the first time I had tried gnocchi.  While I absolutely love to do things different and cook things different all of the time, I'm still skeptical of new menu items at times - particularly new ingredients.  However, here I was pleasantly surprised.  I really liked the gnocchi.  Liked the chewy texture, and liked the taste.  I was also a tiny bit nervous that there wouldn't be enough flavor added to this meal - I actually used way more cheese than called for - just in case ;).  However, the seasoning from the Italian style diced tomatoes was enough.  The meal was great.  Although 4yo griped about it, once he tried it, he ate it all - still didn't like the spinach part, but loved the gnocchi.  11yo, dad, and 13yo all had seconds leaving me with no left overs.  I wasn't the biggest fan of the spinach, but then again, I never am a huge fan of cooked spinach - texture thing mostly.  However, that didn't stop me from having some seconds.  Yum!
Oh, almost forgot.  This recipe is from my taste of home healthy cooking magazine - sent in by Julianne Meyers from Hinesville, Georgia.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped (I used 1/2 of a medium large)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic)
• 1 Tablespoon butter (original was olive oil, but I can't resist sauteing onions in butter)
• 1 package (16 oz.) potato gnocchi
• 1 package (6 oz.) fresh baby spinach
• 1 can (15 oz.) great northern beans (or other white bean - original was a larger white bean)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I didn't measure, but I used more like 1 cup - I like cheese)
• 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (can't say that I measured, but I used about that.)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender.  Add gnocchi;  cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown.  (Not sure mine were ever "golden brown"  they took on a brown color, but from the toasted butter/onions in the pan more than from cooking - didn't affect the dish though.)  
2. Stir in spinach;  cook until spinach is wilted.
3. Add the beans, tomatoes and pepper;  heat through.  Sprinkle with cheeses;  cover and remove from heat.  let stand for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Teriyaki pork

This is what we had for dinner this evening.  It is from my Taste of home healthy cooking magazine.  It was great.  Probably could have had a bit more flavor, but nothing at all wrong with it.  Maybe try adding a bit of citrus - lemon or orange next time?  I added a bit more meat to make it feed the whole family, but upped the servings from 4 to 6.
I really liked that there were a lot of veggies in this meal.  It was a very healthy dinner.  It also didn't take an too long to prepare -longer than the 10 min prep, 20 min cook the book said, but still not an hour or anything.  Probably more like 10 min prep - 1 hour marinade, 10 more minutes prep, 15 min cook.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1.5 lb boneless pork loin chops cut into thing strips
• 1 Tablespoon canola oil
• 2.5-3 cups broccoli florets
• 3 medium to large carrots, sliced
• 3 celery rips, chopped
• 4 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/2 a small head)
• 5 green onions, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• Hot cooked rice

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup broth, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and garlic powder.  Pour 1/3 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag.  Add the pork.  Seal the bag and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.  
2. Drain and discard marinade from the pork.  In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry pork in oil for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink.  Remove and keep warm.  (I was left with tons of liquid in the pan.  I poured it down the drain.)  
3. In the same pan, stir-fry broccoli and carrots in reserved marinade for 2 minutes.  Add celery;  stir-fry for 2 minutes.  Add cabbage and green onions; stir-fry 2-3 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender.  
4. Combine cornstarch and remaining 1/2 cup broth until smooth.  stir into vegetable mixture.  Bring to a boil;  cook and stir until thickened.  Return pork to the pan;  heat through.  Serve with rice.

Notes:  (this one is to self)  Don't forget to start the rice cooker when you start cooking the food - duh!!

Also, I think you could possibly speed this along by chopping the veggies in a food processor and cooking the meat and veggies at the same time in 2 separate pans.  I started with chopping the carrots and had the carrots and broccoli ready to go in a container, then I chopped the rest of the veggies as the meat or other veggies were cooking.

"Treasure stuffed shells" -sneaky stuffed shells

kThis is what I made yesterday out of The sneaky Chef to the rescue.  I was a bit worried about it because it had a large dose of puree and the puree contained zucchini which DH does not like.  I did do some massive re-vamping to this because it looked like it was going to be extremely bland.  It had no type of seasonings in it whatsoever, just tomato sauce, cheese and puree.  Well, I knew I wouldn't like that so I spiced it up a good deal. When discussing that with DH at dinner his comment was "you spiced this up, I thought it was kind of bland.  Other than lacking a tiny bit in the flavor department, it was good.  I could make it again - everyone seemed to like them - except of course for picky 2 year old who wouldn't touch them even tough I just gave him red sauce and noodles - but the noodles didn't look like spaghetti so they were spurned.  Still not sure how that child grows.
I also doubled the recipe in the book.  That worked out perfectly for the amount of sauce I made.  Here is what I did - with some notes for next time - For the red sauce - I just used my pizza sauce recipe from my Peter Reinhart book - very basic though - I'd probably go a bit heavier on the Italian seasonings next time.

Red Sauce

• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (probably up to 1/2 next time)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• (next time add Italian seasoning - up to 1 Tablespoon)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (or 2 of either - we just like the flavor of 1 of each the best.)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt - I think I forgot this - that would definitely have helped

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl

White Puree

• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 small to medium zucchini, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Stem the cauliflower for about 10 minutes -until very tender.  Drain.
2. Meanwhile, place the zucchini in a food processor with the lemon juice and process until well chopped.
3. When cauliflower is done, add it to the food processor and puree until smooth - adding 1-2 Tablespoons of water if necessary (I didn't need it.)

Stuffed Shells Ingredients

• 1 box large pasta shells (I did not use the entire package.  Some were broken when cooked, and I stuffed a few with plain mozzarella)
• 1 cup ricotta (I used fat free)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups white puree (above)
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 6 Tablespoons wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (could probably add another teaspoon or 2 depending on what you add to the sauce)
• 1 recipe red sauce (above)
• 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I didn't measure.  Just put on a nice amount.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 10 X 15 pan with cooking spray.  
2. Cook shells according to package directions until slightly firm.  Drain and set aside. 
3. Meanwhile, mix ricotta, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the white puree, egg substitute, Italian seasoning and wheat germ in a bowl. \
4. Combine tomato sauce with remaining White Puree in another bowl.
5. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of the red sauce mixture onto the bottom of the 10 X 15.  Fill shells with about a Tablespoon of white sauce.  Place on top of red sauce in the dish.  Top shells with remaining red sauce then the mozzarella cheese.
6. Cover with foil.  Bake 20 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. 

Sneaky sliders

This week I kind of went a bit crazy at the library -ok, honestly it wasn't at the library that I went a bit crazy it was online a over the process of a week that I've been looking at books and requesting them.  There just happened to be 8 or 9 of them in this week.  (all cookbooks.)  So, I've been looking through a bunch of stuff.  This weekend I decided to choose a couple of recipes from The Sneaky Chef to the rescue.  Actually I also have The regular sneaky chef out, but I used this new one this weekend.  So if you haven't read these or used them, they use a lot of vegetable purees in regular recipes to "sneak" veggies into your kids.  I have tried the first sneaky chef a while ago, but it is a lot of work to puree veggies and "sneak" them into your kids.  Plus we just have a no thank you portion rule at our house that you get a small portion you have to try and you can say no thank you to having more, but not to trying a couple bites of something new.  However, my 2 year old is about the most stubborn guy that I know.  He won't keep anything I try to put in his mouth in his mouth, and he'd just as soon go hungry as try something new.  So, I actually worry about him getting enough to eat, and definitely enough nutrition.  So, I decided to try some new things.  Unfortunately this is the third recipe I've tried, and I don't think he has tried any of them.  I'm writing this one first because I hope not to forget what I did.  I added some spices.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup green puree (see below)
• 1 Tablespoon ketchup
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 12 small soft dinner rolls (I used some 30 minute rolls -recipe to follow)
• optional toppings - lettuce, onion, pickles, tomato, cheese, ketchup, mustard -- We topped ours with white cheddar, tomato and diced spinach today)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix green puree, ketchup, wheat germ, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.  Then add the ground beef and mix until well combined.  
2. Shape into 12 small patties.  Spray a large skilled with non stick cooking spray and heat.  Cook burgers for 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Add cheese if desired at the end.
3. Serve on rolls

Green puree

• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup frozen petite peas or sweet peas

Directions

1. Place broccoli in a steamer.  Steam for 10 minutes adding peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
2. Meanwhile, place spinach in food processor and process until finely chopped, scraping sides as necessary.  When broccoli and peas are done/tender, add to the spinach and process until smooth adding a tablespoon or 2 of water if necessary.  (I didn't find it necessary the broccoli and peas seemed to contain enough moisture from steaming.)  
3. Use or freeze in 1/4 cup portions for future use.

Oven baked wild rice pancake with berries

I have made way too many new breakfasts this week.  This one got made today because I made wild and brown rice last night to go with our potstickers.  Of course I made the wild and brown rice so I could make this dish.  It has been on my things I want to try page for a while but I've just been waiting until I made the rice. So, here it is.  I'm typing as it cooks.  Hoping it turns out well.  It kind of started to remind me a little of some sort of rice pudding with the cinnamon smell.  I also have a rice pudding recipe with brown rice and lemon, so I'm looking forward to trying this new dish.  I found the recipe on Sparkrecipes.  I actually have no idea how I came across it.  Maybe looking at breakfasts on my iphone ap?  It isn't a rated recipe over there or anything, and I would not have gone searching for it, so who knows.  I'm happy to try it though because it is different and looks pretty good and nutritious.  I didn't change much.  Just left out 1 Tablespoon of oil because I had a medium banana instead of a large.  I also used skim milk rather than soy because that is what I have on hand.
The flavor was good.  A little tangy with the lemon, but not too bad.  I may sweeten the bottom a tiny bit more, but not much.  Cooking time was ridiculous this way though, I would want to fiddle with this recipe to get it to work out better.  (see ideas below.)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups wild and brown rice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 1 cup milk (I used skim)

Fruit mix ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons flax seed
• 3 cups blueberries and raspberries (I used 1 1/2 cup each.  They were frozen)
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 lemon, zest and juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Mix fruit mix ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. Mix rice, flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon in another bowl.  Add milk, egg yolks and banana and stir until well combined.  In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold egg yolks into rice mixture.
3. Spray a 9X9 in pan with cooking spray (Mine was 8 X 8)  Pour berry mix in the bottom of the pan.  Pour rice mixture over the berries.  Bake for 30 minutes or until pancake has puffed and knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  (I ended up baking this for 65 or 75 minutes - I lost track.  I did 5 more, 5 more, 10 more, then some more 5 mores.  My knife still wasn't totally clean, but it was fine.  I'm sure it took longer because of a lot of reasons - different size pan, skim milk not soy, and frozen berries to name a few.)

Notes for next time - 
Try upping the recipe 

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour -go with 1-1.25 cup
• 2 cups wild and brown rice - 3 cups
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon - maybe a bit more, but not much
• 2 Tablespoons sugar - make 2.5 of brown sugar
• 2 eggs, separated -possible 3
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 1 cup milk (I used skim) still 1 cup?

Fruit mix ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons flax seed
• 3 cups blueberries and raspberries (I used 1 1/2 cup each.  They were frozen) - use 4
• 1/8 cup sugar - + 1/8 cup splenda
• 1 lemon, zest and juice -same

Use a 9X13 pan - do that and partially thaw the berries to see if it will help decrease cooking time.

Orange Barley chicken

This is the final recipe from my cooking day on Thursday.  Luckily, the bread I made was my very favorite bread recipe from our blog, so no writing it down.  I love that stuff.
This recipe originally worried me to try because it used 2 things I don't use a lot of - barley and parsnips.  I don't think I have ever used parsnips.  Honestly I was a bit afraid of them.  I thought they were going to be like a turnip or something, and in my head are like radishes.  Anyway, parsnips are just like a strong carrot.  Not bad at all.  Barley I have used in vegetable beef soup, and I have some barley that I have ground and used as barley flour and rolled and used in oatmeal, but I haven't done a meal where the barley was used more like a rice.  The recipe called for pearl barley but when I got mine out, it looked like it could have had weevil or something because it was all powdery.  (I have had it for 2-3 years at least. - shows how much I use barley.)  So, I scrapped the pearl barley and used  my other barley.  I was afraid since mine was not pearled that it would take longer to cook, so I rolled it.  Then I was afraid it would cook too fast so I added it after 20 minutes.  The chicken was already done at that time, and the barley only took about 8-10 minutes to cook (maybe even less, but that is when I checked on it.)  It turned out great.  I liked the flavors.  Loved the orange juice, and even liked the parsnips.  Again it was another healthy recipe from Healthy cooking magazine.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 boiler/fryer chicken (3-4 lbs.) cut up and skin removed (I used 3-4 lbs of chicken legs, skinned)
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I diced)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups orange juice
• 2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups medium pearl barley (I used rolled - see above)
• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups fresh baby carrots
• 2 bay leaves

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, celery salt pepper.  Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.
2. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil in batches.  (I had to use more that 2 teaspoons.  I started with about that, eyeballed amount, but after the first batch, too much flour was sticking so I added another teaspoon or so.)  Remove and keep warm.  In the same pan, saute onion in butter until tender.  Add broth, orange juice, parsnips, barley (I added this later) mushrooms, carrots, bay leaves and chicken.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and cook for 45-50 minutes or until barley is tender, turning chicken occasionally.  (I boiled for 20 minutes, added the barley, the chicken was done at this point, so I just boiled for 8-10 more until the barley was done and it was ready lots quicker.)
3. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes.  Discard bay leaves.

healthy granola

OK, I lied when I said in the last post that my cooking had started with cookies.  I had forgotten that in the morning I had been out of milk, and I hadn't felt like much of the options I could come up with, but I had a recipe for granola I wanted to try, and I had yogurt, so I decided to try the new recipe.
I really liked how healthy it was.  So often with granola, there is a lot of added oil, or there are a lot of nuts or raisins, or sweeteners, and they can be quite calorie packed.  This one was mild on the calories.  Of course that is probably because it came from my healthy cooking magazine.  It wasn't very sweet.  I thought it was fine for yogurt because yogurt added some sweetness.  Not sure how it is with milk because I haven't tried it yet.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (I used fresh rolled oats)
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I used light)
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted (I didn't use toasted -more on that later.)
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds and coconut. (The original recipe had you add the coconut at the end.  I just didn't toast it at the beginning and added it here.  Much easier in my opinion, and I think it stays put in the granola better if added before the sauce.)  In a small saucepan, combine the apple juice, syrup, oil, cinnamon and salt.  Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until heated through.  (It boiled way before 3 minutes, and since it said until heated through, I just took it off when it boiled.)  Remove from heat.  Pour over oat mixture; stir to coat.
2. Transfer to a 15 X 10 inch cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 or until crisp, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool completely.  Stir in raising.  Store in an airtight container.  (I just put mine in a ziplock.)  

broccoli cheese soup

This is a super simple hungry girl soup.  I only changed the fact that I used milk rather than soymilk because I have vanilla soymilk at home right now and I didn't think it would go very well in soup.  :)  I served this with some pizza quesadillas for dinner.

breakfast cookies

Today has been a crazy cooking day.  I didn't want to cook as much as I did, and I didn't plan on cooking all day when I got up this morning, but one thing led to another, and I ended up cooking a lot.  It started with these breakfast cookies.  We were going to go pick peaches and blackberries so we were headed out early.  I decided it would be easier to make a portable breakfast and let the boys sleep a little longer, so I finally tried this hungry girl recipe.  It was OK.  Although I was told they weren't any good, both of the big boys ate 2.  They were fine.  Nothing spectacular, but not bad or anything.  I think they were great for a breakfast, but if you are really thinking cookie, then they would be disappointing.  They are the first breakfast "cookie" that I have made that was truly healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup fiber one bran cereal
• 1/2 cup Splenda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 4 teaspoons Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
• 2/3 cup peaches baby food (Like Gerber or Beechnut- it is almost 2 full jars)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup fat free egg substitute
• 2 Tablespoons raisins
• 2 Tablespoons craisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In food processor or blender, grind fiber one to breadcrumb consistency.
3. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (oats, flour, fiber one, splenda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.)  
4. In another bowl, dissolve the powdered creamer in the hot water.  Add other wet ingredients (peaches, pumpkin, and egg substitute) and stir until mixed well.
5. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredient sand stir until completely blended.  Stir in raisins and craisins. 
6. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Spoon batter into 8 evenly spaced cookies.  Spread out a bit with rubber spatula.  
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until tops are slightly crispy.  Allow to cool slightly on the sheet.

Blueberry muffins

I made some hungry girl blueberry muffins this morning for breakfast.  DH had brought home glazed donuts and I actually behaved myself and made something healthy.  (Wish I could say the same about the pineapple upside down cake DH made this evening.  Good thing I'm running in the morning.)  I thought the muffins had quite the interesting list of ingredients.  I really liked that I could have 2 and they were only 274 calories for both.  That and 1/2 a glass of milk made a great breakfast.  I used my flower pot muffin pans, thinking these muffins would be bigger than they were.  I usually have no trouble with food sticking in those, but these stuck.  However, it wasn't as bad for the ones that cooled longer in the pot, and those that had less blueberries.

Heres the super short version of the recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup splenda
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I just added a dash)
• 1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk
• 1/4 cups sugar-free pancake syrup
• 1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
• 2 Tablespoons light buttery spread
• 2 Tablespoons no-sugar added applesauce (I used blueberry applesauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I may have forgotten this.  It doesn't seem familiar-the recipe has the ingredients all mixed up in order.  I listed them how you add them.)
• 1 cup blueberries

Directions

Mix the dry ingredients (1st 5 ingredients) in a bowl.  

Mix the wet ingredients (The next 6 ingredients - or the rest except blueberries)  in another bowl.

Combine the dry and wet and mix until completely blended.  Fold in blueberries.  

Line 6 muffin cups with baking liners and/or spray with non-stick spray.  Pour batter in the 6 cups.  Bake for 22 minutes (Mine took 24-25) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

chocolate oatmeal pancakes

Going to try to get a couple of recipes typed up today.  I'm getting behind.  I still have lots of pictures to add too.
I tried Hungry Girl's oat-rageous chocolate chip pancake minis this week for breakfast.  The first time I made them, I followed the recipe exactly.  I wanted to try them, and I wanted to get a feel for the size of the mini pancake when I only had to divide my batter into 5 portions.   I found them to be very eggy and not sweet enough for me.  I adjusted the recipe and decided to make them a chocolate/chocolate chip recipe and was much happier with the result.  They made a pancake that was still high in egg substitute (protein) but the flavor was masked by the chocolate, added vanilla and a bit more splenda.  I also tripled or quadrupled the recipe.   Duncan liked Hungry Girl's version.  It is on page 30 of this book.  This is my version.  The rest of us preferred this version.  The big picture are the chocolate ones.  The little picture ar the eggy ones.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup oats
• 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 3 Tablespoons splenda
• 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Place all ingredients except chips into a medium bowl.  Stir until thoroughly mixed.  Fold in chocolate chips.
2. Pour batter into 2 1/2 - 3 inch mini pancakes.  Bake on a hot skillet or griddle 1 minute per side or until golden brown.  

I ate them plain like this, but they would be tasty with some lite ready whip and a cherry.  

beso mi queso

This recipe is from the Hungry Girl Website. I really wanted to just put a link there, but I actually changed a few things, so I'm writing it out. Aarg. I should stop with the changing things business. Small changes here - omitted some chili powder, changed soymilk to regular milk (wasn't buying soymilk just for this recipe) and she had you add 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon cumin, to the meat then vice versa for the cheese. I thought it was just easier to do 1/2, and 1/2 then 1/4 and 1/4.

This was ok. I was sadly disappointed by my family not leaving any tortilla chips. Look at the picture to see what they left in the bottom of the bag in the cupboard. I ended up dipping carrots in my cheese, then I dipped a breadstick in them (now that I'm thinking about it I still need to post about that.) It was pretty good with the breadstick. Definitely better that whatever else it was that used soy crumbles.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles (like the kind by Boca or Morningstar Farms)
3/4 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix, divided
3/4 tsp. ground cumin, divided
1/3 cup skim milk
2/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
2 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
1 1/2 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature


Directions:
Heat a small frying pan sprayed with nonstick spray on medium-high heat. Add frozen crumbles and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning and 1/2 tsp. cumin. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thawed and hot. Remove from pan and set aside. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.

Add milk, all three cheeses, remaining 1/4 tsp. taco seasoning, and cumin to the pan. Add 1/4 cup water to the pan and return to medium-low heat. Heat, stirring continuously until cheeses have melted and mixture has a smooth, sauce-like consistency. (It was a bit funny consistency at first, I thought because I used milk instead of soymilk, but as it cooked, it smoothed out pretty well.)

Add seasoned crumbles to the pot, and continue to cook and stir until hot. Serve with chips (unless your family ate them all. :)

Turkey bean burgers

x

The original of this recipe is from taste of home's simple and delicious magazine.  I changed things around to make more than 4 burgers.  They were tasty, but they fell apart when cooked.  That is probably totally my fault because the original recipe called for an egg white and I subbed out egg substitute.  Next time I'd use 1 egg for this amount to see if that helped the staying together problem.)  I liked that they had hidden veggies in them.  DH even said he would have never known they had zucchini in them had he not read the recipe and watched me make the burgers.  That is saying something because he doesn't like zucchini.

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 cup finely chopped sweet pepper (I think I used orange)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1.25 lb. ground turkey (lean)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, coarsely mash beans.  Add the egg, zucchini, red pepper, and spices and turkey.  Mix together and form into 6 patties.
2. Grill on the barbecue for 4-5 minutes on each side or until internal temp. of 165.  Serve on buns with lettuce and onion.