"MomDonalds" Dinner Date

So tonight I decided to try a fake-them-out "MomDonald's" Happy Meal. I even made up some bags to serve them it--toy prize and all! They liked the idea of it (and loved the toys) but were not going to be fooled by the food. Well darn them! It was fun to try anyway. ;o) I also used this dinner date to showcase our food of the week-berries!

(at least they had fun)

Blueberry Fontina Sliders
(serves 2 adults and 2 toddlers)

Ingredients:
1 lb. 94/6 (or 80/20) ground beef
1/2 pint of fresh blueberries
1/2 tsp. herbs de provence
3 slices of fontina cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Slider buns (Pepperidge Farms just came out with some that are HFC free!)
olive oil

1. In a blender, puree the blueberries until smooth
2. In a medium bowl combine the beef, berries, herbs de provence, salt and pepper
3. Using your hands, form slider sized patties.
4. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the burgers to the pan and cook on both sides until desired doneness (ours were med-well).
5. In the last minute of cooking top each slider with a small piece of the fontina cheese
6. Serve on the slider buns. (I also wrapped them up in parchment paper fast food style.)

These were really good. The girls weren't impressed honestly but I think that had more to do with overall disappointment at it not actually being from the 'real' golden arches. Kara and I thought they were really good. The blueberries made what could have been drier/less flavorful burgers (due to the 94/6 ground beef) juicy and flavorful. I served them with carrot and zucchini sticks cut to french fry size with some ranch dressing for dipping. Again...non-plussed.

Blackberry Mango Smoothies
(serves 2)

Ingredients:
8oz. Ceres mango juice
4oz. vanilla soymilk
1/2 pint fresh blackberries
1/2 c. frozen mango

1. Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Serve!

Here's a little video to show the reaction to this meal. You can see the initial excitement shortly followed by disappointment. Be sure to watch Abby's reaction to the smoothie and her realization that her french fries were swapped out for veggies. Priceless.

Maple Sour Cream Strawberry Pies
(serves 6)

Ingredients:
2 frozen or refrigerated pie crusts
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1 egg white

1. Roll out the crusts and cut into rectangles
2. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, sour cream and maple syrup
3. Top one half of each rectangle with a scoop of the strawberry mixture.
4. Brush egg white along the outside edge of the rectangle. Fold it in half and pinch the sides closed with a fork. Cut a couple slits in the top.
5. Brush the tops of the individual pies with more egg whites
6. Bake on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve!

These were the all around hit of the night. So easy, good ingredients and oh so yummy.

Just for fun...the toy prizes in action...

I hope you all have a nice Memorial Day!

Jen's Smoothie

Jen's Smoothie

(serves 2)

My good friend Jen has been making smoothies for her 2 kids for breakfast for a couple years now. Over the years she has been tweaking it and now she will brag (facebook status style) that she "makes a mean smoothie" and you know what? She really does. I had her send me the recipe last week and I've been making it for about 5 days now. I have done a little tweaking of my own just to suit our personal tastes but this smoothie is going to stick around this house for awhile. What I like about it:

-It is ridiculously chock full of vitamins, protein and healthy fats. What a great way to start a kids day!
-Its a way for me to get a full serving of leafy greens and 2-3 servings of fruits not only into Neko but also MYSELF!
-It really, truly, honestly tastes really delicious...promise.

Ingredients:
2/3 c. goat or cow kefir: plain or flavored
1/3 c. vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. orange juice (100% juice)
1c. frozen fruit: blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, mango, or peach are good ones to try (today I did a combo of frozen strawberries, mango and blueberries. Also this week I have used frozen Acai berry packets which are delicious and super duper good for you!)
1 Tbsp. healthy oil - I used a flax/sunflower blend but even olive oil would be good
1 heaping spoonful of almond butter
1-1/2 c. of some sort of leafy green--baby spinach, red or green kale, red or rainbow chard (I've been using red chard this week)
1/2 large banana

Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth. Add some milk or more juice if smoothie is too thick. Blend again until desired consistancy. Serve!

Ingredients that Jen includes that I left out are:
-3/8 tsp. evening primrose oil (I omitted because I'm not sure what its for. Knowing Jen its for something good but I didn't take the time to find out what.)
-3 tsp. liquid minerals
-powdered kids multivitamin...either 2-3 rainbow light packets or 1-1.5 kids Emergen-C multi
I left out vitamins/minerals because Neko takes a multi, an omega-3, an immunity booster and calcium all in gummi vitamin form.
-electrolytes

I took a video of Neko enjoying her smoothie to prove its goodness! :o)

Chili Cause its Chilly Dinner Date

Its COLD out there! To warm us up I made a crock pot of Chili. I almost did an "Immunity" dinner date highlighting foods that boost immunity but my friend Jen helped me realize how boring I was being so I scrapped that idea however I did think about immunity boosting foods when making my chili.

Chili Cause its Chilly
(makes 8 servings)

1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (beef is naturally high in zinc which is good for immunity)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 med/lg yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 orange pepper, diced (orange vegetables are immunity boosters)
1 large sweet potato, diced (again, orange)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheddar cheese (for garnish)

1. In a large saute pan brown ground beef. Drain and set aside.

2. In the same pan heat up the olive oil. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.

3. Add the ground beef back to the pan and combine with the onions and garlic. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

4. Put this mixture into a crock pot. Add the tomatoes, beans and orange pepper.

5. Cook in crock pot on low for 4 hours. Add the sweet potato and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender (about an hour and a half longer).

6. Garnish individual servings with cheese. Serve!

For some reason this ended up being too spicy for the girls. I guess I underestimated the kick to chili powder. If you are making this for your kids you might want to cut it back by half. The Mommies liked it. I actually ate the leftovers during the week and it just got better each time. Definitely a great one to have around for this cold weather! ;o)

Whole Wheat Corn Bread
(makes 8 servings)

1 cup of whole wheat flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. agave nectar (or honey)
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
4 Tbsp. melted butter (salted)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Grease a 9" square baking pan.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Add the wet to the dry and stir until just moistened.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve!

This was a nice alternative to cornbread that has refined sugar and flour. It was not as sweet as I am used to cornbread being but it was still really good, especially with the chili. The girls had theirs with a little honey drizzled on top.

Hot (Warm) Cocoa
(serves 2)

1-1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. agave nectar (or sugar)
whipped cream

1. Combine all ingredients except whipped cream in a small sauce pan. Heat over med/high heat stirring constantly until desired temperature. I made it warm and not hot to suit the girls.
2. Divide between two mugs.
3. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream. Serve (with a straw if for toddlers)!

Halloween Dinner Date!

Dinner date this week was the day before Halloween so naturally we had to have a little Halloween meal. It was as fun to make as it was for the girls to eat! :o)

Orange and Black Snacks

Carrot sticks
Black beans
Mandarin orange slices
Raisins
(could also use orange pepper slices, black olives, etc.)

This one would probably be a little too weird for anyone over toddler age but the girls were into it. I served it as an appetizer to....

Candy Corn Pizza
(Serves 4)

1 Whole Wheat Boboli pizza crust
Pizza sauce (You could use jar sauce. I made up a quick sauce with tomato sauce, Italian herbs, 1/2 cup broccoli minced very finely and salt and pepper to taste.)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar (must be orange)
2 medium yellow peppers, diced

1. Top crust with sauce.
2. Place mozzarella in a small, round circle in the center of the pizza.
3. Place the cheddar in a ring around the mozzarella.
4. Place the peppers in a ring around the cheddar.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Cut into triangles. Serve!

Monster Milkshakes
(serves 2 toddlers and leaves enough for 2 Mommies to have a taste) ;o)

1 pint of vanilla Tofutti
3/4 c. milk or soymilk
1 tsp. mint extract
green food coloring
1/2 c. crushed chocolate cookies (I used an organic version of Oreos)
Clear plastic cups
Black permanent marker
1 drinking straw

1. Draw monster faces on the outside of the cups with Sharpie.
2. Blend the first 3 ingredients in a blender until smooth.
3. Add a little green food coloring (a couple drops). Blend. Continue to add color and blend until desired color is reached.
4. Pour milkshakes into cups and top with equal amounts of the crushed cookie.
5. Cut straw in half and put one half in each cup. Serve!

These were completely and totally delicious. If you haven't tried Tofutti 'ice cream' and are assuming its gross, I challenge you to make this milk shake. I am confident you will love it. The girls definitely did and the Mommies both wished there was more!

Breakfast for Dinner - Dinner Date!

Thank goodness for Wednesdays! Both Neko and I are really getting used to and looking forward to our weekly dinner with Abby and Lizzy and their Mommy! Its so nice for the girls to have some one on one play time and even more nice for the Mommies to enjoy a nice glass of wine and some good conversation (even if it has to be shouted over toddlers banging on toy metal pots with rubber spatula handles).
Tonight's meal was such a winner. (Not to toot my own horn or anything.) I hope you will make it for your family soon. You won't be disappointed. Again, I would never make such a claim if it wasn't true. ;o)

Potato Skin Waffles
yup, you heard me right

(serves 4-6)

1c. whole wheat flour
3/4c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4c. canola oil
2 eggs
2c. milk
4 strips thick cut bacon, fried to crispy and chopped
1 med. russet potato, washed, peeled and shredded
1/2c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2c. sour cream
1/2 c. applesauce

1. Preheat waffle iron
2. Combine flours, salt and baking soda in a med. mixing bowl
3.. In a separate bowl combine oil and eggs
4. Stir oil and egg mixture into dry ingredients (batter will be lumpy)
5. Add milk to mixture and whisk until most of the lumps are gone
6. Stir in bacon, shredded potato and cheese
7. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray. (I used Pam Olive Oil.)
8. Spoon about 1/2c. of batter onto hot waffle iron. Waffle is done when waffle iron almost stops steaming.
9. Make sure to re-spray the waffle iron between waffles. Continue until you are out of batter. Serve with sour cream and applesauce on the side for dipping!

Oh heaven! These were so yummy...I mean...how could they not be?! You really can't go wrong putting bacon, potato and cheese in just about anything. There were leftover waffles and after wolfing down a chunk of the stack my husband asked me to throw them in the trash and "please, throw something gross on top of them so I'm not tempted to fish them out." Haha! I'll take that as "compliments to the chef!" The sour cream and applesauce on the side were perfect dipping sides but these would actually be really good with maple syrup as well. Think of it as a (sort of) healthier version of the McGriddle. Sort of.

Banana Smoothies
(serves 2-4)

1 banana
1/2c. pineapple tidbits, frozen
2/3c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. milk
1 single serve container vanilla yogurt
2 ice cubes

1. Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Serve!

This was such a yummy pairing with the waffles but would be a great breakfast or snack on its own. Creamy, sweet and delicious! Both girls were silent at the table until those smoothies were gone. Always a good sign!

Mini Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish
(serves 6)

1c. frozen blueberries
1 Tbsp. REAL maple syrup (I don't believe in anything else!)
4 sheets phyllo dough
6 tsp. cream cheese
Pam for baking
1/2c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1. Combine blueberries and maple syrup in a microwave safe bowl. Cook for 1 minute on high.
2. Lay out a sheet of the phyllo and spray with Pam. Lay another sheet on top of the first. Spray. Repeat until all sheets are stacked.
4. Cut the phyllo stack into 6 equal sized squares.
5. Spoon about 2 Tbsp. of the blueberry mixture in the center of each square.
6. Spoon a tsp. of cream cheese in the center of each square.
7. Roll each square like a burrito (tucking in the sides).
8. Arrange on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Spray the tops with a little more.
9. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until light brown and crispy.
10. In a small bowl combine the sugar and lemon juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle a little of the glaze over each "danish". Serve!

Yum. Yum. Yum and oh so easy!