There was one more birthday celebration for our sweet four year old today: his school celebration.
Thanks to my mom's help, we made these adorable strawberry aliens as the birthday treat. You know it's a good fruit treat if only one four year old asks why there isn't cake. I'll take it.
Here's the "recipe" if you're interested in creating your own friendly strawberry aliens.
This pasta is amazing. Every time I think to make it, I'm obsessed with it. Maybe if I post it here, it'll become a more permanent part of our meal rotation.
The Arugula Leek Pasta recipe. You won't be disappointed.
I had an amazing epiphany yesterday: a hot version of one of my favorite special occasion cocktails. Enter the "Hot Russian". It's a
with steamed milk instead of cold milk (we never use cream).
It makes me beyond happy to have a delicious cold-weather cocktail to turn to when I just need a quick warm-up on a Friday night. Yay!
Here's the recipe Chris perfected last night:
1.5 oz Kaluha
1 oz vodka
Steamed milk (we used our latte maker!) to fill the cup
You won't be disappointed.
In case you can't tell, that's a pumpkin. Chris tried to convice the boys it was a ghost. Nope, definitely a pumpkin.
These are yesterday's pancakes. I had no intention of highlighting a day-late breakfast recipe, but it was just too good not to share. I have a feeling there will be a bit of catching up on blog posts this week since I'll write up quick descriptions about how I made both the boys' Halloween costumes, too. Hope that's ok!
Here's the
I found. They are super delicious with just the right amount of pumpkin flavor.
Two changes I made:
I doubled the recipe. I've got two growing boys to feed!
I left out the nutmeg. Chris isn't a fan and they definitely didn't need it to be yummy.
And I did include the brown sugar. I just didn't want to risk ruining them on
the
pumpkin holiday. Next time I'll definitely try to cut back or cut it out entirely, but I'll say something made the pancakes extra delicious...I'm not above admitting it could have been the sugar.
Another long, low key recovery day here. Unlike yesterday, though, we had a lovely evening spent with good friends and delicious chili.
Interested in the yummy recipe that Chris has been honing over the last several years? You're in luck! He is willing to share it:
Chris's Chili
1 lb ground turkey
1 large red onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 15 oz cans of tomato sauce (or two big cans)
2 10 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
1-2 cups of frozen corn
Chili powder, ground cumin, paprika to taste
Directions
Saute the onion in olive oil.
Add the turkey and minced garlic, sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook until browned.
Add the remaining ingredients and additional seasoning to taste. Simmer on low until you are ready to eat (we usually cook for about two hours).
Serve with some shredded cheddar, noodles (Chris's preference), and cornbread (everyone's preference) and you've got the perfect fall meal. Enjoy!
It was 87 degrees in the District today. Urgh. Have I mentioned how I'm so over summer? Well, I am. Where are the cooler temps and does this mean we're going to go from 90 degrees to 40 degrees without anything in between? That better not be the case.
In honor of the never-ending summer, I'll post my favorite warm-weather cocktail. We came up with this gem after having strawberry puréed baby food leftover when Robbe stopped needing purees. See? Having kids is totally worth it!
Here's the recipe for strawberry gin and tonics:
2 oz gin (use more or less depending on your taste preference)
10 oz tonic
*Two strawberry ice cubes (they dissolve while you drink it = delicious)
*To make the strawberry pureed cubes, just blend up some thawed-out frozen strawberries (we find they are actually a bit better than fresh ones) and freeze in ice cube trays. No extra ingredients, super easy.
Do you remember when
made real meals for their samples instead of just warming up one of their frozen products? I do. I miss those days.
This is one of the recipes I got during a shopping trip years ago. It's a goodie and so
so
simple.
Salsarita Pasta
1.3 lbs (approx) chicken, cut into small chunks
Italian seasoning
1 large jar of salsa (on the runnier side, I use Pace Picante)
Noodles of your choice (I use whole wheat penne)
Parmesan cheese
Directions
Coat chicken with Italian seasoning.
Sauté chicken with a little olive oil over medium heat until cooked through.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling water.
After straining the pasta, stir in the salsa.
Add the cooked chicken to the pasta and stir.
Let the pasta/chicken cool. Serve room temperature with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
It was a crowd pleaser at our house tonight: Robbe had three servings.
Remember when I mentioned
? Time to give my own top pick a shout out.
I'm a sucker for the oatmeal chocolate chip variety and think I just stumbled upon the perfect recipe. I know, I'm excited, too. They are super soft and are perfectly delicious (think texture and sweet/salty balance). You won't be disappointed, I swear!
Here's the
, but you'll find the modified recipe that I used below.
Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
*I'd like to point out that I didn't substitute applesauce for butter to be healthier (note the amount of sugar in the recipe), so don't put me in that box. I had only softened one stick of butter and didn't want to fight with a cold stick trying to get it to the same consistency. And, I think the applesauce
made
the recipe. They are so much softer and fluffier than I've been able to get any other recipe. Yay for happy accidents!
I found the inspiration for this recipe when Chase was Robbe's age and have been making it sporadically (whenever I think of it) ever since. It does take a bit of extra prep time leading up to lunch so that's the main challenge for me.
These are about the most simple chicken-less nugget imaginable. Two ingredients: tofu (I prefer the extra-firm organic variety in the square container) and whole wheat flour. Oh, and oil for the pan.
Here's the scoop:
Cut the tofu into 1/2 by 1/2 inch strips. Once you have your strips,cut those into thirds (so they're about nugget-size).
Coat the tofu with the flour on all sides (you can add some seasoning, salt and pepper, if you prefer).
Heat oil in a pan on the stove over medium heat.
Cook until browned and turn as necessary.
There you go! Let 'em cool and feed them to the kiddos. Mine gobble them up. And I'll admit, with a little ketchup they do the trick for me, too.
One of my favorite comfort food recipes is, hands-down, Virgie's Chicken. My family has been making this chicken dish for as long as I can remember. I'm excited to report that my boys (all three of them) love this dish as much as I do. Chase even eats his stuffing before he finishes his fruit. That never happens.
Virgie's Chicken
6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I prefer the thinner cutlets or smaller chicken breasts or will cut larger ones in half)
Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup (I actually use cream of mushroom because the bits of chicken creep me out)
1/2 cup of milk
1 package seasoned croutons
1 stick margarine (I use butter...never have margarine on hand)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease bottom of 9x13 baking dish
Place croutons on bottom of pan
Mix milk, soup and margarine together and pour over croutons in pan. Stir to coat croutons.
Lay chicken breasts on top of croutons and cover chicken with slices of cheese
Bake one hour, cover during first half of baking
*Bonus: this dish takes fifteen minutes to prep and you can make the dish early and delay start the oven. My favorite types of recipes.
Have you discovered the beauty of the slow cooker? I've had a long-term relationship with this small appliance but just recently started fully appreciating how perfectly magical it is to throw everything in a pot and ignore it for a few hours and then, ta-da!, dinner is ready. The best!
Interested in some of my favorite recipes at the moment? Here goes:
Sausage and Kale Stew with Mashed Potatoes
Happy slow-cooking!
When we were back in Wisconsin, just about everyone turned their nose up at the idea of me feeding Robbe lentils. Isn't it common knowledge that lentils are incredibly peppery and delicious? And that the smell of them cooking is nothing short of mouth-watering?
Give 'em a try. If I've sold two babies on the scrumptiousness of these little beans, there's a good chance you'll end up thanking me.
Need a recipe? This
is a go-to for our family. Super easy and can be made ahead of time (a definite plus with our current lifestyle).
We finally had the perfect day to get out and experience the
! program at our local recreation center. To call it intense would be a big understatement. It was Chase, Robbe, me and about 30 daycare toddlers with a handful of their caregivers. Whoa.
It took Chase a bit of time to warm up to the chaos but Robbe was right at home. He got lots of attention from the kiddos, as usual, and maneuvered the crowd shockingly well.
One of the highlights for me? Watching the kids flock to the stereo every time a
song came on (see bottom-right photo). Seriously, they paid no attention to any other Disney song but as soon as they recognized the beginning of a
Frozen
song, it was like a magnet pulling them in. They went crazy. It was more than a bit amusing.
Just because Halloween has come and gone, it doesn't mean we have to stop eating delicious pumpkin treats, right?
We headed to a friends' house for dinner tonight and pumpkin bars were the perfect house warming gift. These are one of Chris's favorite desserts and are slowly making their way up to the top of Chase's list as well. Everyone got involved in the baking...even Chase and Grandma Mary. It's nice to have so much help.
You'll find the recipe below (and no, I didn't remove the sugar with these). A special thanks to my Aunt Karen for making these a special treat throughout my childhood. They are pretty amazing, but don't take my word for it...
Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin (one small can)
3/4 cup melted butter
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts (optional)
Frosting:
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
3 ounces cream cheese
Directions
Beat eggs lightly with a fork and add the sugar, butter, and pumpkin. Mix well. Add dry ingredients to this mixture.
Pour into greased jelly roll pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Beat the frosting ingredients until smooth and put on cooled bars.
Delicious pumpkin agave muffins? Yes, please!
I've been making these muffins since I first started looking for sugar-free recipes. They are AMAZING. Not exaggerating and I promise you won't miss the sugar. I'm not going to repost the whole recipe since I actually follow the original recipe pretty closely: just leave out the salt. I've also substituted applesauce for the oil in the past and ended up with good results. One tip? Fill them pretty full because they don't rise much.
Today, the lucky recipients were Chase's school friends for their Halloween party. And by "party," I mean they celebrated by having this special snack and using festive napkins. No costumes allowed (apparently some kids get overwhelmed by them?) so no big reveal yet. Stay tuned tomorrow. When I asked if Chase was going to tell his friends that I made the muffins, he said "no." Embarrassed by me already? That can't be true!
Side note: Grandma Mary comes today! We're picking her up post-nap and, as you can imagine, we're all a *little* excited. Chase has asked about her whereabouts at least 100 times in the last three days.
Our delicious family tradition recently has been enjoying whole wheat pancakes on the weekends.
I've been honing my pancake recipe for awhile now and finally stopped tweaking. My goal? Yummy whole wheat + sugar free pancakes. We serve with fruit instead of syrup. You won't miss the sugar at all!
Whole Wheat Pancakes
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 TBSP applesauce
Directions
Sift together flour, oats, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Beat together eggs, milk, orange juice, and honey in a separate bowl. (I've successfully used only one bowl by mixing these wet ingredients first and then just adding the dry ingredients one at a time. Both options work.)
Preheat skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
Serve with mixed berries.
I made this really delicious frozen dessert this week and have been waiting for a quiet day to share it with all of you.
I followed the recipe fully this time...sometimes sugar is, in fact, needed. I did add some of our fresh-picked blueberries to the strawberries. It ended up being about a cup of each.
I'm in love with the granola bar crust/crunch topping. And the frozen center is just perfect on these hot days. If you have a trusty baking assistant, it makes the dessert even tastier.
Highly recommend this one:
The sun is shining, the temperature is high and the blender was calling my name. The perfect opportunity to use our popsicle molds for the first time (they were a wedding gift eight years ago!).
.
Pretty much followed directions except I omitted the sugar and didn't substitute anything for it. I think they turned out plenty sweet so no regrets there.
The popsicles were just as yummy as they look. The yogurt was a little overpowering but still delicious. Chase appreciated the flavor (blueberry, of course) and enjoyed getting ridiculously sticky. He does have some work to do preparing his teeth for cold treats, though. He couldn't bite into the popsicle so I had to assist more than I should have!
Happy summer. :)
I've been trying out a lot of sugar-free, whole wheat recipes since being pregnant with Chase. This desire increased when I ended up with a toddler in need of healthy snacks. It has dawned on me that a lot of baked goods really don't need the added sugar especially if there's fruit in them.
It's possible that my taste preferences have changed but so far I've successfully taken sugar out of recipes for pancakes, banana bread (which Chase helped me make this weekend), pumpkin muffins, oatmeal balls, fruit muffins, and more. I'm sure I'll share all these recipes (and hopefully a few new ones) as the days go on. Hope you can start to enjoy a few more sugar-free snacks in your life.
*Sugar-free, Whole Wheat Banana Bread
2 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.
Whisk together the flour and baking soda.
Mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla.
Add flour mixture and stir until just blended. Do not overmix.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake large loaf for 40 – 50 minutes or until it comes clean with a knife.
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