Sunday, February 28, 2010
Mexican Lasagna
I got the recipe from Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry
The original recipe calls for ground chicken, but I prefer to use ground beef in this dish. I usually skip the cilantro unless I happen to have it on hand. It tastes good either way. It freezes beautifully, so I often make a double batch and freeze one for an easy meal later. You can top it with sour cream when you serve it. but honestly I almost always forget to do this and it’s still delicious. This time around when I made it, Tony had a friend over. Both Tony and his friend ate two big helpings, and the boys ate quite a bit too. I’d say it was a success!
Mexican Lasagna
Adapted from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen or canned corn
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cups your favorite tomato pasta sauce
1 cup medium salsa
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions
1 cup light sour cream (optional)
In a large non-stick skillet, cook ground beef, onions, green pepper and garlic over medium-high heat until meat is cooked through. Break up any large pieces of beef as it cooks. Add black beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Stur and cook for about 2 minutes, then add pasta sauce, salsa and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Assemble lasagna by spreading 1/3 of sauce over bottom of a 9×13″ greased casserole dish. Top with half the tortillas. Cut and overlap them if necessary to fit your dish. Top with another 1/3 of sauce, then half the cheese. Top with remaining tortillas and then the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and green onions.
Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Top with sour cream if desired.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Rancher's Pork Chops
1 onion chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp Ketchup
2 tbsp Mustard (I used dijon, but regular mustard works too)
Put onions on bottom of the crock pot. Add chops. Top with mixture of brown sugar, ketchup and mustard. Cook for four hours on high or 6 hours on low. Remove the chops. Put the juices into a saucepan add 1 tbsp of the cornstarch and ¼ cup of water and bring to a boil, then simmer for approximately a minute
Serve Pork chops and juices with Rice.
If you have more time, you can mix corn starch and water to the pork chops and juice in the crock pot and cook for another 20 minutes instead of using a saucepan
I'm just realizing as I type this out that I completely forgot to add the cornstarch at the end. It was still really good even with a thinner sauce. I usually don't like pork chops, but I like this recipe because they're super tender from being slow-cooked. The boys both ate this and especially liked the sauce. I only cooked 3 chops, so I had extra sauce which was perfect for pouring over the rice and veggies. If I were cooking 6 chops I would probably double the sauce ingredients.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Salmon Pie
1 cup cottage cheese
4 oz cream cheese
3 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 can salmon
1 avocado
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 slices whole wheat bread
In a blender, combine all ingredients except for the bread. Blend until smooth. Spray an 8" square pan with cooking spray. Place slices of bread in the bottom, cutting to fit. Pour salmon mixture over top of the bread. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until knife in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Well so much for my brilliant idea. My kids wouldn't eat it because they didn't like the way it looked. Tony wasn't too sure about it either, but he tried it and was pleasantly surprised. I'm not a big fish fan, but I liked this because of how smooth and creamy it was. Too bad the boys missed out. Oh well, more for the grown-ups!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Snack Balls
Fruity Balls
2 cups dried mixed fruit
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp lemon juice
Chocolate Nut Balls
1 cup crushed nuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup wheat germ
dry coconut flakes
Combine all the ingredients except the coconut. For mixture into balls. Place coconut on a plate and roll balls until coated.
These chocolate balls were a huge hit! I used drinking choclate mix instead of instant cocoa, and it worked great. They were still very sweet even though drinking chocolate is less sweet than instant cocoa. I'm sure you could use unsweetened cocoa powder and/or use less honey to cut down on the sugar even more. The kids ate them up and I couldn't stop eating them either. The fruity balls were nice too, but I think we all preferred the chocolate ones. We're big chocolate fans at my house, so you can rarely go wrong when chocolate is involved.
-Adapted from 'Feed Me, I'm Yours'
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Channa Masala
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 thumbsized ginger minced
1 diced onion
3 Tbsp of good curry powder mix
1/2 can of coconut milk
1/4 cup of cashew butter (almond or hazelnut butter is also good)
1 can of chickpeas
2 cups of diced butternut squash
2 cups of diced sweet potato
2 cups of vegetable stock
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
Heat up oil in dutch oven.
Cook garlic, ginger and onions for about 2 minutes.
Add curry powder and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until you can smell the curry
Add squash, sweet potato, chickpeas. Mix and cook for 1 minute
Add coconut milk, cashew butter and stock, making sure to scrape up any bits on the bottom of pan. Stir in about half of the cilantro.
Bring to boil, then simmer with lid on for 20 minutes
Spoon over bowls of rice, garnish with remaining cilantro.
I saw this recipe posted on my favourite messageboard and just had to try it. I wasn't disappointed. You can make it as spicy or mild as you like by adjusting the amount of curry. My family and I are wimps when it comes to spicy food, so I only put in about half the amount suggested above. I also used yams instead of sweet potatoes, because I like them better. Tony and I liked this meal, but the boys weren't too thrilled about it, which surprised me because both of them used to love yams and butternut squash as babies. Maybe they didn't like the spices, although there's nothing in this they haven't had before. I should really stop trying to figure out why my kids don't like things because I suspect most of the time there is no real answer. In any case, Cole was very adamant that I should eat my meal even though he wouldn't eat his. He kept telling me to eat my baseballs, which is what he called the chickpeas. He may be picky but at least he's entertaining.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Squaghetti and Meat Sauce
1 lb ground beef
1 chopped green pepper
1 jar of tomato pasta sauce
1 medium spaghetti squash
olive oil
garlic powder
Brown meat in a large non-stick skillet, drain any excess fat. Add green pepper and cook until tender. Add sauce. Cover and simmer while you prepare the squash.
Wash the squash and slice it in half. Scoop out the seeds. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder. Microwave with skin-side down on high for 15 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the pulp of the squash away from the skin and shred into strands. Put all the spaghetti pulp together in one half, leaving one half hollow. Place meat sauce in the hollow half. Let everyone help themselves to the squash and top it with the sauce. Top with parmesan cheese if desired. You'll probably have lots of sauce left over, so you can freeze it for another meal.
I thought this was a great meal. It was just as fast and easy to make as regular spaghetti, but a lot more interesting. Bennett scorfed it all down but, alas, Cole was not interested in dinner yet again. I had a glimmer of hope with the success of the Tofu Triangles that this phase of not eating dinner might be over, but no such luck.
And here are some more pics, because it just looks so darn good.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tofu Triangles (Cole ate them!!!)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tbsp parmesan
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup spinach puree
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 14oz package of extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
nonstick cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil
Slice tofu 1/2" thick, then cut the slices in half diagonally to form triangles. Place them in a ziploc bag with the teriyaki sauce, seal it and gently move the bag around until the tofu is completely covered with the sauce. Place the sealed bag in the fridge until ready to use.
In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, flax, parmesan and paprika. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix spinach puree and egg. Take out your tofu triangles and put them in the bowl with the puree and egg. Mix very gently until tofu is covered with puree.
Dip the tofu pieces into the breadcrumb mixture one at a time.
Coat a large nonstick frying pan with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil. Add tofu pieces in a single layer (be sure not to crowd the pan, this is important!) and cook until browned on one side, about 3-4 minutes. Turn and cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden.
I wanted to make sure to stress that you shouldn't crowd the pan, because I did and it made them really hard to flip over. I had made tofu sticks too but most of those did not survive the flipping, so that's why this recipe is just tofu triangles now. So you might need to cook them in 2 batches unless you have a really big pan. I served these with sweet & sour dipping sauce, and I think that was the main reason that Cole liked them so much. He really likes dipping his food, especially in something sweet, so this went over well with him. Both of them ate everything on their plate and had 2nd helpings. So now if I could just prepare all of Cole's food in nugget-form and provide dipping sauce he might actually eat more often.
-Adapted from 'Deceptively Delicious'
Friday, February 19, 2010
Healthy Date Brownies
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped dates
Place the cup of dates and juice in a small saucepan and bring to boil, then simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Mash them up (or blend with a hand mixer) until smooth. Add butter, egg and vanilla.
In a bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, flax, and baking powder.
Stir in the date mixture. Stir in the chopped dates.
Pour into a greased 8" square pan. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes
There are a lot of dates in this recipe because that's where most of the sweetness comes from, but the cocoa conceals the flavour of the dates quite well so they still taste like brownies. The dates also make them moist, so you don't need a whole lot of butter. Now don't expect these to be exactly like regular brownies. They do have a discernible 'healthy' taste to them, but I don't think it's in a bad way. My kids didn't seem to notice. Cole kept sneaking into the kitchen to grab another one when he thought I wasn't looking. Bennett kept asking for 'momie' (translation: 'more') and became incredibly irate when I finally cut him off when it was getting close to dinner. I'd say these were a success.
Cheesy Quinoa Bake
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Add olive oil to a large non-stick frying pan over mdium heat. Add celery, carrots and onion, stirring for 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cumin, cook until veggies are tender. Stir in broth, quinoa, beans, 1 cup of cheddar. Place in a greased casserole dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350F. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, until liquid is completely absorbed and cheese has melted.
I'm not gonna lie, my kids didn't like this meal one bit! Even Bennett, who will usually eat anything, ended up tossing most of this on the floor. I don't understand it because it tasted great to me! I think they're just not used to it yet. Maybe they'd like quinoa better in dessert form, I'll give that a try next time.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Savoury Stuffed Pancakes
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup milk (if the batter is too thick, add more milk)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 dash cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil cooking spray
1 clove crushed garlic
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 bag of fresh baby spinach
Sliced back bacon or ham
Crumbled feta cheese
Blend oats, flour, baking powder, cottage cheese, milk, eggs, and spices in a blender until smooth.
Spray a large frying pad with oil. Add garlic, mushrooms and spinach. Cook until soft. Set aside. Fry ham in the same pan, then set aside with the mushrooms and spinach.
Heat grill, spray with oil. Once hot, pour pancake batter to form large pancakes. Cook until bubbles form on top of batter, then flip. Cook until golden brown.
Place meat slices on top of the pancake, then mushrooms and spinach, then sprinkle with feta. Fold the pancake in half.
Place the finished pancakes in a covered dish in the oven on low to keep them warm until you're ready to eat.
It tires me out just writing that! These were way too much work for me. I like meals where you can cook everything together at once. I'm usually busy trying to keep an eye on the kids while I'm making dinner, so I don't like when there are meals with too many separate items that you have to put together at the very end. It's too stressful for me. Bennett was scattering my plastic containers all over the floor, Cole was whining for a snack, and I was about ready to snap. Eventually I got it made, but I didn't bother cooking the back bacon first, I figured the other hot ingredients would warm it up when I put them together. It tasted great and we all enjoyed it (until Cole got something caught in his throat and threw it all up but I won't get into that in any great detail). Then as I'm clearing the table I notice that the back bacon package says 'cook thoroughly before eating' on the back. Aaah! I just figured it was smoked and precooked so I wouldn't have to do that. So then the whole evening I was worried I had poisoned everyone. Luckily we made it through with no incidents (other than Cole gagging at the table but I'm sure that was unrelated). That'll teach me to read labels carefully before consuming something.
Now I don't mean to scare you off of trying this dish. It was really good, just not a good thing to make when you have to watch kids at the same time. Make it when you have lots of time and nothing else to distract you. Then I'm sure it would be a much better experience for you than it was for me.
Peanut-butter and Jelly Roll-ups
Take a slice of whole wheat bread, cut off the crusts, roll it flat with a rolling pin. Spread on peanut-butter (or any nut-butter, we like almond butter) and your favourite fruit jelly. Roll it up like a jelly-roll.
Cole wants to eat peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches practically every day, and I was getting a little tired of making them the same old way every time. This is a fun way to make a sandwich more interested. You don't have to limit yourself to peanut-butter and jelly; try using any of your favourite sandwich fillings. You can even cut the roll up into sushi-like pieces. Cole is always asking for roll-ups for lunch now, he loves them.
-Idea from 'Feed me, I'm Yours'
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Pad Thai
Recipe from
Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! Great-tasting Food That Won't Go From Your Lips to Your Hips!
3 tbsp each lime juice and fish sauce
2 tbsp each ketchup and brown sugar
1 tbsp each grated ginger and soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
8 oz rice stick noodles
2 tsp peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onions
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium diced red bell pepper
8 oz uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup diced extra-firm tofu
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
Gather all the ingredients and get them ready. To prepare sauce, whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Place rice noodels in a large bowl and pour boiling water over top. Let soak 7 minutes. Drain.
While noodles are soaking, heat oil in large non-stick wok. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until onions are tender, about 2 minutes. Add red pepper and cook 2 more minutes, stirring often. Add shrimp and tofu. Cook and stir until shrimp turn pink, aout 3 minutes. Add reserved sauce, noodles, bean sproutsm green onion and cilantro. Toss and cook until mixture is hot, about 1 minute. Add peanuts and toss again. Serve immediately.
When I told Tony I was doing Pad Thai for dinner, he said "oh yeah, I know him." Haha, very funny. This is the first time I've made this recipe so I didn't alter it much, except I left out the red pepper flakes and peanuts, to make it more 'kid-friendly.' I put in a spoonful of peanut-butter instead to give it a nutty flavour. It was such a great meal, I really enjoyed it and so did Tony. The kids, while they didn't seem to like the meal much as a whole, each found something they liked about it. Cole ate all his shrimp, and Bennett ate all his tofu. I really thought they would go for the noodles but they weren't that interested. I guess this was a little too 'different' for them. Oh well, it's good for them to try new things. I hadn't given Cole shrimp for over a year because they last time I did he got ill and I thought it was maybe allergic because there is a shrimp allergy in our family. I'm happy to report he did not get sick this time. Now that I know he can eat shrimp I'll be cooking with it more often.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Apple Date Bars
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 1/2 cups shredded apple (leave peels on for more fibre)
1/4 cup quick oats
In a small saucepan, combine dates and apple juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Use a masher to mash up the dates.
While the dates are simmering, combine oats, flour, cinnamon, flax, walnuts, salt. In another bowl combine juice and apple. Add in oat mixture and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Pour oat mixture into a greased square 8" pan. Spread evenly on the bottom of the pan. Spread date mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of oats.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
I am so happy with how these turned out. They're a wonderful healthy alternative to the store-bought granola bars that are full of sugar. They only have the natural sweetness of the dates and apples, and trust me, they're plenty sweet! My kids devoured them and so did the adults.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
12 oz uncooked fettucine
2 tbsp butter
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 tbsps flour
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 or 2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked
Cook pasta according to package directions. While it's cooking, prepare sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sautie for 1 minute. Mix milk and flour together until smooth. Add to garlic. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook and stir until mixture is bubbly and thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in parmesan cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 more minutes. Stir in chicken and sour cream. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Pour sauce over fettucine and toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve wtih extra parmesan cheese and black pepper if desired.
This was very tasty, it's hard to believe it's low in fat. Sometimes I add peas directly into the sauce, but this time I had peas on the side, along with a caesar salar. I didn't have any fresh parsley but it still tasted good without it. I think it's mostly for looks.
We all enjoyed this one, except for Cole (as usual these days). He only ate the lettuce. Actually I think he just sucked the dressing off the lettuce. I really don't know how he even survives on what he eats lately. I'm not giving up though, I will find something he likes to eat. Although for now my quest continues.
-Adapted from 'Looney Spoons'
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Chili
1lb of ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 of a 14 oz can of water
1 19 oz can of kidney beans
1 14 oz can of sliced mushrooms
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Brown ground beef in large skillet, drain off any excess fat. Add onions, cook until softened. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. That's all!
See? Super easy. I know this one by heart. All the ingredients are staples in my kitchen, so I can usually make it without having to make a trip to the grocery store for anything. You can add more vegetables to it if you have anything on hand (like corn, green peppers, carrots, or chili peppers for example). I usually serve it on a bed of rice, or with corn bread. My family is a big fan of this meal, I never have any complaints (except for once when I added way too much vinegar by mistake but we don't talk about that).
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Strawberry Crater Muffins
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups unsweetened pureed strawberries*
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
Strawberry jam
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin tin or use paper muffin cups. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda in large mixing bowl. In a 2nd bowl mix the puree with milk, sugar, oil and egg. Add the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Pout batter into muffin cups. Drop a dollop of strawberry jam on top of each muffin and gently push it into the batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
*To make the puree, I take a bunch of fresh or frozen strawberries and puree them in a blender with a 1/4 cup or so of fruit juice
I love these muffins, they're very moist and fruity. Tony and the boys enjoyed them too. The boys especially like the jam part. If you want to hide the jam inside, just fill the muffin cups half-way, then put the jam in, then top with the rest of the batter. I like putting it on top though because I think it's neat how it forms a crater full of jam in the top of the muffin (hence the name).
Harira
1 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 tsp each of ground cumin
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp pepper
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 each large bunch of fresh coriander and parsley
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup green or brown lentils
1 19 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cups lemon juice
Garnish:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon,thinly sliced
12 pitted dates, halved
Chop onion, carrots and celery. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry vegetables until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, ginger, turmeric and pepper. Fry, stirring, for 1 minute. Scrape into crockpot. Pour 1 cup of broth into skillet, bring to boil, crape into crockpot.
Chop up 1/4 cup each of coriander and parsley, set aside. Tie together remaining coriander, parsley, and cinnamon stick. Add to crockpot along with remaining broth, lentils, chickpeas and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. Discard herb bundle. Stir in lemon juice and reserved chopped herbs. Serve with cinnamon, lemon slices and dates.
I made this soup the day we went to the Olympic torch relay. We came home to this exotic and fragrant soup ready to warm us up after our afternoon outdoors. I served it with whole wheat pita bread and the garnishes suggested. Cole had a lot of fun putting lemon slices and dates in everyone's bowls, athough he didn't actually eat much of it.
The rest of us enjoyed it. I had it for lunch the next day without the garnishes and I actually liked it better. So if you don't happen to have (or like) dates or lemons on hand, don't worry about it too much.
-Adapted from 'Canadian Living: Slow Cooker Collection'
Friday, February 12, 2010
Jello Hearts
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups water
1 package (6 ounce) or 2 packages (3 ounce) Jello
Dissolve gelatin in 1 cup cold water. Set aside. I saucepan, bring 1 cup water to boil and add jell-o. Bring to a boil again, then remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture. Stir and add 1/2 cup cold water. Pour into lightly greased pan and refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours). Cut with a heart cookie-cutter.
**note: you can use fruit-juice instead of jello. Combine 3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin with a 12-ounce can of frozen juice concentrate and 12 ounces of water. Soften the gelatin in the thawed juice and bring water to boil. Add the juice-and-gelatin mixture to boiling water and stir until gelatin disolves. If the juice needs extra sweetening, add it here. Follow directions for chilling as above.
My kids couldn't get enough of these things! I made them for Cole's preschool party and he liked them so much he asked if I could make more to bring to daycare too. He was so excited carrying them into daycare this morning. He just kept shouting 'jello!' to everyone. I used jello packages for a treat but I'm going to have to try the juice ones for a snack sometime soon. You can just cut these into squares if it's not a special occasion. Finger jello is fun anytime!
-Recipe from 'Feed me, I'm Yours'
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Bread Machine Pizza
Here's the bread-machine pizza dough recipe I use:
1-1/2 cups of water
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsps butter/margarine
4-1/4 cups white flour
2 tsp yeast
Pizza topping Ingredients
Measure first 6 ingredients in order listed into bread machine baking pan. Use dough setting. Once complete, remove from pan and place on lightly floured surface. If necessary knead in enough flour to make the dough easy to handle. Roll out dough and place in 3 greased 12" pizza pans (or just use one big cookie sheet like I do). Top with desired pizza toppings. Bake at 425F for 15-25 minutes, or until done. Pizza is done when edges of crust are golden and cheese is bubbly.
I really like this recipe. I'm sure I could have used less dough for a thinner crust but I love big thick crust on my pizza so that's how I made it. Tony seemed very impressed with my pizza-making abilities. He really appreciated having homemade pizza instead of the frozen stuff I usually buy. I cut it into little cubes for Bennett and he gobbled it up. Cole wanted a really big piece, but then got upset when he couldn't eat it. He didn't want me to cut it though. So it was just a big source of frustration for him. Oh well, 3 out of 4 Newtons enjoyed this meal- that's not too shabby!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Valentine's Cookies
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 or 4 drops of red food colouring
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
Mix eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and food colouring in a large bowl. Combine flour and baking powder in another bowl, then add to wet ingredients. Mix dough with your hands and form into a large ball. Chill in the fridge for an hour or two (you can skip this step but the dough is easier to work with if you chill it). Work on a well-floured surface. Roll out and cut with heart-shaped cookie-cutter. Bake at 350 on a greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.
Once cookies are cooled, microwave a cup of chocolate chips (white or semi-sweet) on medium power for 2 minutes. Spread melted chocolate onto cookies with a butter-knife. Top with sprinkles if desired.
This was lots of fun to make with Cole. He especially loved cutting the cookies. He couldn't stick with just hearts though. He pulled out all our other cookie cutters and went to town. So we had lots of pink snowmen, santas and stars along with our hearts. And yes, we even had pink dinosaurs. They all tasted really yummy, no matter what shape they were. Only one problem: I don't think they're going to last until Valentine's Day.
Friday, February 5, 2010
New Mexico Style Chili Chicken Casserole
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 garlic clove, minced
20 (6 inch) corn (or flour) tortillas
4 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
2 cups finely shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. In a large pan, combine broth, chilies, onion, sour cream, salt, cumin, pepper, soup and garlic; mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Spread 1 cup mixture in the dish. Arrange 6 tortillas over soup mixture (breaking to fit dish) and top with 1 cup chicken and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Note: If you prepare dish a day ahead, cover with nonstick foil and refrigerate, then when ready to serve, bake 1 hour, uncover and bake 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Everyone ate this and seemed to like it, but I felt like it was missing something. I'd like to try this one again but add veggies and maybe beans too. This meal has lots of potential! Tony asked me where I got the chicken. I said, 'um, from the store? It's just chicken breast that I cooked and shredded with a fork.' I think I lost him after I said 'breast'.
-Recipe from Recipeezaar.com
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ricotta and Spinach Gnocchi
1 14oz container of ricotta cheese
dash of nutmeg
My kids like to whine, especially when it comes to the food they eat, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to make tasty and healthy meals for them. Follow along as I share family-friendly recipes and reviews from my picky family members, who I lovingly call “The Whine Critics.” 
