Yellow Cakes

We have preschooler food fights.

I guess I am exaggerating... there is no fight.

I loose before it even begins.

I don't like - not at all.

I'll have a peanut butter instead.

No no no - not mine.

Anytime I can get Eva to eat something new...

I celebrate.

I might even do a little dance...

in the kitchen so she can't see me.

In my effort to un-box my baking...

I made these little corn muffins.

(sorry little blue box)

They were so yummy.

Moist corn-y and cake-y at the same time.

Crispy edges and soft middle.

A keeper.

You can top them with a little cheese,

diced jalapeños or tomatoes,

a sprinkle of brown sugar.

The best news...

Eva loves these "little yellow cakes."

Her favorite...

the sugar topped ones - who would have guessed!

Cornmeal counts as a vegetable right?

Honey Cornbread Muffins

makes six-seven muffins - double for a a dozen

adapted from these

Dry Goods

1/2 C cornmeal

1/2 C flour - 1/4 C of each all purpose and wheat

1/2 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

Wet Goods

1/2 C milk

1 egg

2 T oil/butter - I like coconut oil

1/4 C honey

Optional Toppings

diced jalapenos

diced tomatoes

shredded cheddar

brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Prepare muffin tins with a little oil or paper cups.

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.

Add wet mix to dry and mix until just combined.

Divide into muffin spots.

Add toppings.

Bake 15 minutes until edges are browned and top is golden brown.

Craving Adjusted

I made these last week... 

and they were delicious.

Then I realized how similar they were to my other craving...

Ice cream, chocolate, banana, and peanut butter...
these have it all... less the ice cream.

I ate the first batch so I made them again.
A double batch this time.

I am eating one now.

They freeze well...

really well.

They have a good amount of protein

and are way better for you than the ice cream.

Oh, and because I jump ahead and don't read through...

you need to food process the batter.

I had to dump my batter out of the muffin pan into the food processor the first time.

It was really messy - just a heads up.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

adapted from Dashing Dish

Preheat oven to 350°

1-3/4 c. old fashioned oats

3 egg whites

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1 really ripe banana mashed

1/2 c. vanilla or honey light greek yogurt

1/2 c. honey (or favorite sweetener: stevia, agave nectar, sugar)

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1-1/2 t. baking powder

1-1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 c. hot water

Mix it all up...

You can soften the peanut butter in the microwave - but I didn't and it was fine.

Then it needs to go into the food processor or blender.

Mine is a small one - 4 cup size - so I have to do it it two batches.

If you have a big food processer - I would just put it there in the beginning.

Process or blend the batter until the mix is smooth and not chunky.

(Preheat oven to 350° - if you are like me and didn't)

Pour it out....

A bowl with a spout or a measuring cup works great.

I used a super large drink cup...

you know plastic ones from gas stations or baseball games.

My measuring cup was dirty and too small anyway.

Use a cooking spray on your muffin pan.

Or cute little muffin cups.

Fill each one about the same.

This batter makes 12 regular muffins and 24 of the mini's.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes...

Mine were good at 12 and I like one still hot from the oven.

The truth...

This is how I eat them.

Warm from the oven...

Or re-warmed from frozen in the microwave 30-45 seconds.

Split open with a little more peanut butter in the middle.

Hey... it's extra protein.

There are about 6 grams protein, 4 grams of fiber and about 150 calories per muffin...

with the honey...

not with the extra peanut butter.

 

New appreciation

pb&j

It is an under appreciated food.

At least it always has been for me.

Until recently.

Eva loves them...

cut into little squares.

I end up eating a few squares...

and that is how it started.

Before long I was making an entire sandwich fo myself.

Extra peanut butter and extra jelly.

Yum.

Joining: Communal Global

and Sweet Shot Tuesday

Strawberry Pie

Great Grandma's version

Makes 2 pies.

• 1 C sugar
• 3 T cornstarch
• 3 T light corn syrup or honey 
• 1 C water
• Smidge of salt
• 1 package strawberry Jello
• 3 pints strawberries
• 
  
• 
  
• Mix first four ingredients (all but jello and berries) 
• together in small sauce pan and bring to boil.  
• Stirring, boil about one minute.  
• Off heat add jello and mix well.  
• Let cool to close to room temperature.  
• Add to washed and trimmed berries.
• (you can slice them or even leave them whole)  
• Dump on into pie shells and put in the fridge.  
• They set in about an hour... 
• or pop one in the freezer and it sets in about 15-20 minutes.
• 
  
• She made her own pie shells... 
• but I am not at that place in my cooking life where I feel confident enough to make something like that.  
• Her recipe for pie crust includes the line 
• "add flour until the dough feels right"  - ???  
• 
  
• Also, a disclaimer... 
• She gave me this recipe over the phone 
• and every measurement had the word "about" in front of it...
• 
  
• and smidge is her word... and I like it.

Linking recipe with Kristance.

Warm Pasta Salad

I really liked this recipe by Pioneer Woman for Pasta Salad.

It was 30° outside - not exactly pasta salad weather - so I bookmarked it.

At the grocery a few days later, I was still thinking about it.

So I grabbed some feta.

It snowed that day.

We were all freezing.

So I made it warm and changed the ingredients a little.

It was really, really good.

Warm Feta Pasta Salad

adapted from here

• 1 pound whole wheat pasta
• 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons olive oil - I don't measure this... so I am guessing.
• 6 ounces feta - crumbled
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese - shredded
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon dry herbs
• I used basil and parsley - fresh would be better but the dry was fine
• 4-5 cups sautéed veggies
• I used tomatoes, yellow squash, broccoli, and mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic - minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Sauté veggies with 1/2 olive oil.  

Use a largest pan that you think will work.

The goal will be to put the pasta and veggies in one pan at the end.  

If you don't have a big enough pan, a large bowl will be fine.  

I cook each veggie by itself and then add them together at the end.  

It takes a little more time to do them separately, but I like controlling how long each one cooks. 

The mushrooms only brown when they have lots of room to wiggle around.  

You can dump them all together if you want. 

Somewhere close to the end add the garlic.

You want it to cook, but only a few minutes.

Cook pasta as directed reserving about 2 cups of pasta water.  

You want the pasta to be hot, so I wouldn't cook the pasta before the veggies.

I cooked the veggies while Eva napped. 

I warmed them up while the pasta drained later that night.

Once the pasta and veggies are done, and hot combine.  

Add cheeses, herbs, remaining olive oil, and lemon juice from 1-2 lemons.  

I started with one lemon, but used 2 in the end.  

If you are like me and don't measure everything - just add a swirl of olive oil from the bottle.  

Stir it all together.  

Add the pasta water as needed to loosen everything up.

Salt and pepper.

Taste and add more salt, pepper, lemon as needed.

We had this with roasted asparagus as a vegetarian meal.

It would be great with grilled chicken or fish too.

It makes a lot.

I am guessing it would serve 6 easy.

Eva ate it up faster than we could put it on her tray.

We had it cold and hot the next day for lunch.  

It was really good warmed up and awesome cold.

When it was all gone, we were sad.

Dressing

I love salad.

I mean love salad.

My husband eats a lot of it for me...

thank you Michael.

If you love salad..

then you love salad dressing.

It is the most important part.

So I started making my own.

It is yummy.

Salad Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons citrus juice

3 teaspoons of sweetener

1/2 teaspoon of each spice

salt and pepper taste

Mix above ingredients in a small jar with a lid.

Shake it up.

Let it sit for a few 

(a day or an hour - what ever you have.)

Shake again.

Pour.

Toss with a any salad and veggies.

On a new approach to simpler foods...

I am trying to keep my ingredients in salad to be under 5.

Spinach, tomato, onion, parmesan.

Romain, carrot, brocoli, cheddar.

or

Arugula, red bell pepper, asiago, almonds.

The dressing recipe is vague, I know...

but the options are endless.

Here are some great choices

citrus juice: lime 

sweetener: honey

spice: grated garlic, dry mustard, cayenne (1/8 teaspoon)

or

citrus juice: orange 

sweetener: skip - the juice is sweet

spice: chile powder

or

citrus juice: lemon 

sweetener: sugar

spice: grated garlic, parsley, oregano

or

citrus juice: lemon 

sweetener: sugar

spice: red pepper flake, oregano, basil, grated garlic

The taste is so fresh and yummy.

You can't mess this up.

Give it a shot.

joining Tuesday Idea Share

Sunny

It is sunny... and that is reason enough.

backup not required

Have you ever tried a new recipe that made you nervous?

One where you had a back up dinner in the wings, just in case...

Well, when I was told that there was a slow cooker "roast" chicken recipe that was just as good, if not better than the oven made version... lets just say I was a skeptic.

I even put on my menu plan that we were having chicken and noodles that night... because there was absolutely no way there was going to be a tasty, browned chicken coming from a plugged in appliance  that sits on the counter while I run errands... 

no way jose... 

just too easy... right?

Wrong.

 

My husbands one and only complaint...

"the skin is so crispy - I had to eat it."

He normally goes the healthy route and goes sans skin.

I normally get his extras... not this time.

Here is where I would complain... 

if my mouth wasn't full.

**UPDATE**
I read the comments on the recipe and I made the following changes:
I used half of the salt they recommend figuring I could always add some - I didn't need to.
The chicken cooked about 5 hours on low... when it started to pull away from the bone.
My mom made it in a smaller slow cooker and it wasn't as crispy.  
She popped it under the broiler for 5 minutes and it was perfect.

Dinner Plans?

So, I mentioned that have started planning our meals.  I had some people ask some questions.  Even though I feel like the blind leading the blind, I thought I would share some of what I have learned so far.  This is pretty long,  fair warning.

Disclaimer: I am not a meal planning expert and I have a lot to learn.  

When I first started doing this in October, I made a few mistakes and consequently, learned a lot.  The first week was a mess.  Here is where I have gone wrong and what it has taught me. 

Your agenda for the next week.

I did not consider our schedules at all.  I just dove right in and planned our menu for all 7 days of the week.  There were nights my husband would be working and days that we would be visiting family instead of being at home.  Here I was with  a ton of groceries and we were going to only be eating at home 4 days.  I had to do some rearranging and some veggies ended up going bad.  Arrghh I hate wasting food (and money).

Make it flexible.

When I realized that my plan needed adjusting in a major way, I had to find flexible areas in the menu. Meals from the pantry, freezer or with ingredients that have a long shelf life were my saving grace.  I could move them to the next week with no problem.  Now when I plan our menu I make sure there are flex meals that can be pushed to the next week.

Check your fridge. (and Clean it)

Imagine my surprise when I came home form the grocery the first time.   There was no room in our fridge! Why?  Well, I already had groceries in the fridge from the week before.  None of which I looked at when planning my menu.  I even bought things I already had... there was a bell pepper behind the milk, getting wrinkly.  Now I clean my fridge, then plan the menu using what we have on hand first.   Bonus, when you get home with those bags of groceries it is a cinch to mut them away in a clean fridge.

Make complicated dishes on the weekend

Or when you have a helping hand.  Picture it: a kitchen covered with chopped this and that, 3 pans going on the stove, a hot oven, a cook and a baby monster.  A monster who has a hard time entertaining herself at 6 o'clock.  It is a combination for burned food and a headache.  Now I save complicated or labor intensive for when Michael is home or my parents are visiting to help.  

Use your freezer

I use my freezer like another pantry.  I make double batches of freezer friendly foods and put 1/2 of it away for later.  Time intensive dishes are my favorite to put in the freezer.  Make it once and eat it twice.  Lasagna, sauces,  taco meat, pizza dough, cooked rice are all great.  When I buy meat it is often in bigger packages than we would use for one meal.  I break it apart into meal size portions and freeze.  I also put marinade and seasoning in the freezer bag so that all I have to do is move out the fridge to thaw.  Once it is thawed it is already seasoned to cook.  

Keep lists

I started a list of foods we like.  Divided the list into main dishes, veggies, and starches.  Then I  went through the list and marked the ones that could be frozen.  I also keep a list on the computer of what is in our freezer.  We have a small freezer and it is packed pretty full.  The last thing I want to do is dig in there all the time looking to see what we have.  Something hard and frozen always ends up flying out and taking out a few toes.

Plan for the unplanned

The baby is sick, your out all day on errands,  a family member is in the hospital...  Anyway, you get home and it is dinnertime (or long past it).  What to do?  Put one or two pantry/freezer meals on the menu.  Something really quick and easy.   I make sure to schedule them for the end of the week. That way if a bad day happens I can move that easy meal up and not worry about it.  Just because I plan on stir fry on Wednesday, it could become grilled cheese and soup in a pinch.

New recipes

I usually only try one new recipe a week.  New recipes take longer to make because I am having to read instructions. They sometimes mean using ingredient that I don't normally use, so that means a bigger shopping list and grocery bill.  If a new recipe becomes a keeper - it goes on our keeper list.

I also was asked for some recipes.  Here are some links to recipes I have posted before.

(FF = freezer friendly)

Meat marinade - FF

Ground turkey & spinach - FF (w/o pasta) - pictured above

I just tried PW's Thai Honey Peanut Chicken and these Lettuce Wraps. They are both yummy! Bonus: the meat portions of both of these are great for the freezer.  Just thaw and add rice or a head of lettuce.  Dinner done!

My weekly menu can be found here or at the top of my blog under "make plans."  If I am using a recipe I will try to link to it.  I have noted if I have found it good for doubling and freezing.

and here is a promise to post more - if you like this.

Cabbage...

... is not one of the items I would purchase from the grocery.

I have never bought cabbage.

When I saw the pretty purple veggie in our veggie box, I was excited...

and a little scared.

A few google searches, and the "use what you have in the pantry and fridge" mentality lead to my version of Asian cole slaw.  

There could be many changes to this ingredient list.  

You just want to have some sweet (sugar, sweetener, honey, agave nectar), some sour (any vinegar, citrus) and some oil.  Add any other seasonings or flavorings that you wish.  It could be as simple as salt and pepper.  

Asian Cole Slaw

1/2 head of red cabbage shredded

1 carrot peeled and shredded

1/2 onion finely diced

1/2 green bell pepper diced

Dressing:

juice of one lemon

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp hot chili sauce - sriracha

3 tbsp sugar/sweetener

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp ground ginger

salt and pepper

Whisk dressing until smooth.  Pour over veggies and mix well.  Let everything come together in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.  Mix again before serving.

We had this with grilled veggie burgers and baked sweet potato fries.  Yum.

Now... I still have the other half of that cabbage...

Linking with Heidi at Me As A Mother.

On my front door...

When Eva and I returned from our walk yesterday, this was waiting on us...

Recommended by a friend, Local Yokel Foods delivers fresh produce, bread, meats and other goodies to your front door. 

You just order online and then there are presents waiting for you on delivery day.

Everything is locally grown, made, produced.  The meats are also free range and grass fed (beef).

Here is the bottom layer of my box...

On top were a bunch of carrots and some type of greens.

I am excited...

there were veggies in here that I never buy...

cabbage?  greens?

There will be some new recipes to be had here!

If you are from the Columbus area, take a look...

If not - try here or here.

Fresh, local and yummy... without having to take the monster to the grocery - awesome.

The monster hates the check-out lane.. hates it.

Tomato Soup

Michael loves tomato soup from the can - the condensed Campbell's classic.

I  have never been a fan...

so I turned these...

into this...

using this recipe.  

It was garlicy, yummy, and so flavorful.

I loved it...

Michael ate it...

but confessed he would still rather have his old canned standby.

Anyone know a good tomato soup recipe that is close to the canned version (but better)?

Next spring, after all the leftovers of this soup are used, up I will try again.

Yes, I made that much soup... I really thought it would be a winner.

I guess it was...

it converted a non-tomato-soup-eater into one... 

just didn't bring along the guy I made it for... 

I will eventually prevail over this canned concoction. 

Dinner

We had guests for dinner last night...

... guests that love food and love to cook.

Cooking for people who love to cook makes me excited...

and very nervous.

I tried a new recipe, and it was fabulous!

I wanted a garlic and herb marinated chicken - without using a pre-made marinade.  

(I was a pre-made junkie back in the day... I am trying to get away from packaged foods.)

I liked this recipe, but needed to make a lot of tweaks...  I wanted mixed herbs and I wanted lemon... so I came up with this...

Lemon, Garlic and Herb Marinade

for about 2-3 pounds of meat

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves crushed

1/2 onion grated

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp oregano 

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp marjoram

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp rosemary

Mix and coat chicken (or pork) and let soak in the fridge for 2 hours at least.  

I started ours at at 8:00 am for about a 8 hour soak.

We grilled the chicken with the veggies above.

I made some quinoa and spiked it with pesto.

I bought jarred pesto... it was good.

The chicken was outstanding.  Lick your fingers good.