Polar Bear Cupcakes

I am just tickled pink that "Lost" is back tonight (even though, with my husband's schedule, we may not get to actually watch it until this weekend - sob!), so the girls and I made up some polar bear cupcakes today as a tribute!

When I bake cakes or cupcakes for birthdays or actual celebrations, I keep it basic with white sugar, all-purpose flour. But when I'm baking cupcakes on a Tuesday because my favorite show is back on, I like to go a little healthier. I find you can basically make a muffin, with flax and whole wheat and blah blah - because once the frosting is on, it's just as yummy as a true cupcake!

Polar Bear Cupcakes

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup milled flax seed
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp maple extract
1 egg
3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 10 muffin cups with liners.

In a bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter, flax, sugar, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Beat in the egg. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beating until combined.

Divide batter evenly between 10 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes (I started checking at 15 minutes; I took them out of the oven at 18 minutes). Let cool


Frosting - I use the Cook's Illustrated buttercream frosting, although it's been a while since I actually looked at it! Here are my rough proportions:

1 stick unsalted butter
2-3 Tbsp half and half (or cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
2-3 cups confectioner's sugar

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter, half and half, vanilla, and salt. Add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and beat on high speed for several minutes. Add more sugar as desired to reach frosting consistency, but be sure to beat on high speed for several minutes after additions - you want it to get really nice and fluffy!

We decorated with shredded coconut, chocolate chips... and animal cracker bits for the ears. That's what happens when you don't keep mini marshmallows on hand and decide to make cupcakes with no prior planning! ;-)

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One of these already leaped into my mouth and forced it's way into my stomach... yummmmm. Abby hates cake and has already said that she won't be trying one after dinner, but we'll see if her tune changes. I feel fairly sure, based on her enthusiasm for licking the frosting beaters, that Lizzy will be more than happy to have dessert tonight! Perhaps these cupcakes will give me the sugar rush I need to stay up until 11 p.m...

Halloween 2009 Dinner Date!

It's time to start thinking about what to serve to your little ghouls and goblins on Halloween night! We gave the girls a little "trick" with some spaghetti n' eyeballs for dinner, and a "treat" with a fall-flavored cake for dessert.

Spaghetti and Eyeballs

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 handful canned black olives, chopped
20 or so large pimento-stuffed green olives

spaghetti and marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 425F.
In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, and chopped black olives. Do not add any salt - the olives make these salty enough! Grab one or two tablespoons of the beef mixture and flatten it into a circle. Place a green olive in the center, sideways, and wrap the beef all around. Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining meat and green olives.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the meat is well-done. Use a serrated knife to slice each meatball in half to reveal the "eyes"! Serve over some cooked spaghetti that has been well-bloodied with marinara sauce :-)

Maple Cake with Cinnamon-Chocolate Frosting

Cake
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp maple extract

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter for about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in the two eggs.

Whisk together the milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Add the milk mixture and the flour mixture to the sugar-butter mixture, alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients. Beat until well combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon, and beat on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until very fluffy. Add the pinch of salt, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 more minutes.

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Looking for more Halloween ideas? Check out Celeste's Halloween Dinner Date from last year, with Candy Corn Pizza and Monster Milkshakes!

Boston Dinner Date!

The idea for this dinner date was born (pun intended) out of an intense pregnancy craving for a giant bowl of New England clam chowder. I was hesitant at first to make it for the girls because clam chowder doesn't scream 'toddler food' but after some thought I decided that kids in New England have probably been warming themselves up with hearty bowls of chowder during chilly autumn months as long as New England clam chowder has been around. I'm a firm believer that the earlier a kid is exposed to a food the more likely they are to appreciate it in adulthood. I ate sardines and pickled herring with my Grandpa when I was very young and will happily eat either today.

I poked around at a couple chowder recipes for reference and quickly learned just how RICH (to put it nicely) it actually is. I considered (for a quick minute) trimming the fat and replacing some of the cream with milk, omitting the bacon fat (yes bacon fat), etc. but here's the thing...I really, really wanted GOOD, restaurant good, clam chowder. I'll justify my final ingredient choices by saying that its fall, winter is right around the corner and our little girls are truly little girls who could stand a little winter insulation. ;o) Plus, I'm pregnant...so there.

Million Dollar (read: RICH) New England Clam Chowder
(aka "Cracker Soup")
(serves 8)

Ingredients:
8 slices of bacon (I have learned that this is the essential KEY to the best of the best clam chowder. If you make this recipe you will understand why its so important.)
8 small to medium potatoes (I used russet), peeled and cut into small chunks
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 8oz bottles clam juice
1/2 c. butter
4 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 c. half and half
1 c. heavy cream
3 cans minced clams
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. In a large saute pan fry the bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Remove bacon (I'm saving mine for a bread I'm trying later in the week).
2. Add potatoes and onions to the bacon drippings and cook over medium heat until onions begin to become translucent.
3. Add the clam juice and cook over medium high heat until potatoes are tender.
4. In a large stockpot melt the butter over medium heat.
5. Gradually add the flour to the butter, whisking constantly, to form a roux. I like my chowder soupy but I think most people like it thick. 4 Tbsp. of flour will make a more soup-like chowder so if you like it thicker adjust with flour at this step.
6. Gradually whisk in the half and half and heavy cream.
7. Stir in the potato and onion mixture.
8. Drain one of the cans of clams and stir into chowder. Add the remaining two cans (juice and all).
9. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium low heat until desired temperature is reached. Serve with some oyster crackers on top!

My original plan was to make homemade sourdough bread bowls to serve the soup in and I started gathering ingredients for the bread and learned that the starter you need to make for sourdough bread takes about 4 DAYS to make! Whoops. I made the starter anyway and am dreaming up a concoction for the weekend. (Hint: It involves the bacon I saved...and some maple syrup....)

This was stellar chowder...no joke. It might be the best chowder I've had and I'm not kidding. Neko ate it and showed absolutely no aversion to it. Abby took one big bite and said "Mmmmm,..mmmmm" but then refused to eat it and said it wasn't good. However, I started calling it "Cracker Soup" and that seemed to pique her interest a little. We cleared the table after we thought they were done and when she realized her bowl was gone she got very upset. I'm taking it as a good sign.

So every good fattening dinner needs a fattening dessert to go with it right? In further celebration of Boston I created:

Two Bite Boston Cream Cupcakes
(The picture makes it look giant but it really was 2 bites worth...We cut this one in half and Kara ate her half in a bite and I ate mine in a bite.) ;o)

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes-I just used a box vanilla organic cake mix I found at Whole Foods and prepared according to package directions (baked in a mini muffin tin for about 10 minutes)
For the filling:
2c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. corn starch
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. butter
For the topping:
1c. heavy whipping cream (plain heavy cream works too)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tsp. vanilla extract

Trader Joe's Chocolate Syrup (no yucky ingredients)

Instructions:

Filling:
1. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to appear around the edges (not boiling)
2. Gradually whisk in the corn starch and sugar.
3. Cook until filling begins to thicken and coats the back of a metal spoon. (I didn't cook it quite long enough so it was a little runny for what I wanted so I would shoot for slightly thicker than runny in the pan (it will firm up a bit more in the fridge).
4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Transfer to a glass bowl, cover with saran wrap and cool completely in fridge (at least 1 hour).

Topping:
1. Beat the cream on high speed, gradually adding the sugar and cocoa powder. Beat until peaks form (slightly thicker than whipped cream consistency works best.)

Assemble the cupcakes:
1. Slice a cupcake in half.
2. Top the bottom half with a dollop of the filling. Put the top of the cupcake back on.
3. Frost the top layer with the chocolate whipped cream.
4. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Enjoy! 1. Chomp...2. Chomp...mmmmm

Needless to say the girls devoured these without any nudging. (The Mommies did too.)

Oktoberfest Dinner Date

October is here, and I knew I just had to do an Oktoberfest dinner date! My husband and I went to Germany a few years ago, and on our last night in the Bavarian Alps we had the most amazing dinner. Just thinking of it now can send us both into fits of drool. My Oktoberfest dinner date was an attempt to recreate that dinner (though on a slightly smaller and less sausage-intensive scale!). The wienerschnitzel nuggets and savory green beans were a huge hit with the kids!

Wienerschnitzel Nuggets

1 pork tenderloin (1-1.25 lbs)
4 cups fresh bread crumbs (not dried, and white bread works fantastically)
salt & pepper
3 eggs
olive oil for pan frying

Slice the pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Toss the bread crumbs with some salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Beat the eggs with a fork in a separate shallow bowl. Dip the pork tenderloin slices into the egg and coat with the bread crumbs.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Fry breaded pork slices for 3-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has formed and the nugget is cooked through.

Savory Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
3 slices bacon, chopped small
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp canola oil
salt & pepper

In a large pan, fry bacon and shallot together over medium heat, until bacon is starting to crisp and shallot is translucent and tender. Add 1/4 cup water and the green beans. Cook, stirring, until water is evaporated and beans are crisp-tender.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar. Add salt & pepper to taste. Pour over the green beans, tossing to mix.

Black Forest Cupcakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup dried cherries

1 pint heavy cream

fresh or frozen cherries, pitted, for decorating the tops

Prepare enough muffin tins for about 24 cupcakes (either grease or line with cupcake liners). Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for one minute. Add sugar; beat well till combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each (scraping the bowl if necessary). Beat in the chocolate and the vanilla. Alternate adding the dry flour mixture and the water, beating after each addition. Stir in the dried cherries.

Fill each muffin cup 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.

When the cupcakes are cool, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until peaks form. Top each cupcake with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry.

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Now of course, we all know what Oktoberfest means....

But, if you're pregnant like Celeste, or under 21 like the girls, or just generally not a drinker, I cannot recommend this Virgil's root beer highly enough! I found it at Trader Joe's, so it doesn't have all the icky artificial stuff. And it was GOOD.

The girls hated it, but Celeste and I don't allow them to have carbonated drinks as a rule, so they were appalled by the fizz. But Celeste and I thought it was tasty!

French Dinner Date! Ooh la la!

Summer is over and autumn is here (almost officially). The lazy days of summer had Kara and I feeling lazy (I was lazy...Kara was moving) with our blogging but with fall and return to the routine we are feeling a renewed excitement about getting back to it. I find when I'm consistantly blogging for IBB it usually means my family is also eating healthier and more creatively. This is motivation enough to get back to it! Hopefully we haven't lost you forever in our hiatus!

There was a two part inspiration for this dinner date.

1) The French food episode of Top Chef from a couple weeks ago...all that French food had my pregnant brain longing for some French flavors. I also realized that I haven't really cooked many truly French foods so I thought it would be fun to channel my inner Top Chef and see what I could come up with!

2) I came across this recipe in a recent copy of Women's Day magazine that came to my house. I felt it NECESSARY to recreate a version of it asap. In the end I came up with something decadant but felt like it didn't really fit the 'for toddlers' bill so I made it for Kara and I and opted for a more tot friendly treat for the girls. Win/win!

Ratatouille over Quinoa

(serves 6)

Ratatouille seemed like an obvious choice when looking through class French main courses. Its a very "fall-like" meal and any toddler who has seen the movie Ratatouille would have some frame of reference (and hopefully excitement) about the dish.

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, peeled and cubed
2 zucchini, cubed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tsp. Herbes de Provence (or a similar herb combo)
1 bay leaf
salt (I prefer kosher salt because I am very Top Chef) ;o)
1-1/2c. quinoa
3c. chicken stock
3/4 c. parmesan cheese flakes (shredded would work too)

Instructions:
1. Place a large colander over a dinner sized plate. Add the eggplant and zucchini. Toss with a few generous pinches of salt. Let sit for about 20 minutes to draw some of the moisture out of the veggies.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Add the olive oil to a large saute pan. Heat over med-high heat.
4. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
6. Add the eggplant, zucchini, herbs de provence, bay leaf, balsamic vinegar and another pinch of salt. Toss everything together until well combined. Remove from heat.
7. Add the mixture to a roasting pan. I used a glass 9x13 pan. Bake in preheated oven for at least 1 hour. I did an hour at 350 and another half hour at 250 to get a good roasted veggie flavor.
8. With 15 minutes left in the ratatouille baking time, rinse the quinoa, combine with the chicken stock in a med. saucepan and bring to a boil on the stove. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
9. Serve the ratatouille (make sure you took out the bay leaf) over a scoop of the quinoa and top with Parmesan cheese. (I totally forgot to add the parm when I served the food...grrr!)

I tried to be very fancy and chef-like by scooping a little of the quinoa into a heart shaped cookie cutter and topping it with the ratatouille. It actually worked and looked very cute!

Mini French Loaves (using a bread machine)
(makes approx. 12 loaves)

Ingredients:
1c. warm water

1-1/2 tsp. salt
3c. bread flour
3 tsp. bread machine yeast
cornmeal
1/2 c. cold water
1 tsp. corn starch

Instructions:
1. Combine the warm water, salt, bread flour and yeast in your bread machine. Set machine to dough cycle and run. (On my machine this took an hour and 45 minutes.)
2. When the dough is done, turn out onto a lightly oiled surface (I sprayed Pam on my counter top). Cover with a tea towel or saran wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Tear off small balls of dough (about the size of an apricot). Flatten the ball into a flat circle.
4. Fold up the bottom half and fold down the top half.
5. Using the edge of your hand make a crease down the center...
6. Bring the edges together and pinch the seam closed.
7. Dust a cookie sheet with cornmeal.
8. Slice 3 diagonal lines across the top of each loaf using a sharp knife.
9. Arrange the loaves about 2" apart on cookie sheet. Cover with towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
10. While the loaves are rising, combine the cold water and cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, whisking constantly. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
11. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
12. When the loaves are done rising, put them in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Open oven and brush each loaf with the cornstarch mixture. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool. Serve! These were crusty on the outside and chewy (in the best way possible) on the inside. Yum!

Langues de Chat (or Langues de Gato) aka "Cat Tongue" cookies
(makes about 18 cookies)

While in search of a more child-friendly French dessert for the girls I Googled "French cookies". These came up a lot in the search and I found many variations...plain, with chocolate, orange flavored, lemon flavored, etc. I didn't have and citrus fruits on hand so while digging around in my spice cabinet I came across coconut extract. I knew I also had actual coconut so I decided to give this chocolate/coconut version a whirl. They came out great!

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar (I realized I was out of powdered sugar so I cleaned out my coffee grinder and added some granulated sugar, gave it a good grind and voila! powdered sugar!)
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1/8 tsp. salt
2 ROOM TEMPERATURE egg whites (or, as I learned, your butter will reharden)
1/2c. flour
1c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1c. flaked coconut

Instructions:
1. Beat the butter, sugar, coconut extract and salt on medium high for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the egg whites one at a time.
3. FOLD in the flour.
4. Refrigerate mixture for an hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
7. Fill a pastry bag or (what I used) my beloved Pamperd Chef Easy Accent Decorator with the dough. I used a star tip.
8. Pipe 3" tubes of dough onto the lined cookie sheet about 2" apart (you might need 2 cookie sheets)
9. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
11. Microwave chocolate chips in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on high(100%) power for 1 minute; stir. Chips may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10 to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. I got these chocolate chip melting instructions from the Nestle site. I just winged mine in the microwave and the chocolate got a pasty consistency that would have been impossible to dip anything in so I ended up spreading my chocolate on the cookies. I think dipping would be better.
12. Dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate. Place on a sheet of wax paper, sprinkle coconut on the chocolate part. Let cookie rest until the chocolate hardens. Serve!

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding (for the grown ups!)
Boo! Hiss! We gobbled this up so fast I forgot to take a picture!
(serves 5)

I liked the concept of the Woman's Day recipe but not the actual ingredients so I crafted my own version.

Ingredients:
3 day old croissants (the giant ones)
1c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4c. sugar
1-1/3c. half and half
2 Tbsp. cold butter, diced
Whipped cream

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium casserole dish or 5 individual baking dishes, tear small pieces off 1-1/2 croissants and place in bottom of dish(es)
3. Sprinkle chocolate chips over layer of croissant. Top with the remaining croissants (also torn into small pieces).
4. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar and half and half. Pour evenly over croissant/chocolate layers.
5. Top with diced butter.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (or until the custard mixture firms up).
7. Top with whipped cream and serve!! Yum! Yum!

Neko's Birthday Dinner Date!!

Amazingly my little girl (who seemed to be 2 FOREVER) has turned 3!! In honor of the special occasion I planned a dinner date that was sure to make her happy.

Even though Neko will happily eat things like sushi, calamari, tofu, sardine nuggets and spinach smoothies (honest to god she will) she is still a kid and if I ask her "What would you like for dinner?" almost always her response is "macaroni and cheese". I've tried many different variations of mac and cheese and thankfully there are even hundreds more I haven't tried. This help keep this kid favorite fresh.

I decided to try a version featured on Kara's friend Ana's blog: Our Veggie Family because it looked so yummy. It was super easy to make and WAS very yummy indeed! The butternut squash blended right into the cheesy goodness and the dish tasted like mac and cheese should.
I also served steamed and buttered green beans which I don't have a picture of or a recipe for since they are pretty self explanatory. The only thing I will add is that I let Neko and Abby snap off the ends of the beans before I cooked them which they both really loved doing. Kara said she had not previously gotten Abby to eat green beans but she scarfed them all down at dinner date. I'm guessing she liked them better after having had a part in making them. :o)

We have too many birthdays in July/August in our house and we are caked out (which I didn't think was possible). So for dessert I decided to do build-your-own-sundaes instead! For toppings we had: sundrops, blueberries, sliced strawberries, Funky Monkey Bananamon chips, whipped cream and homemade agave butterscotch.
Agave Butterscotch

Ingredients:
1/2 c. agave nectar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
1. In a med. saucepan combine agave, brown sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil and cook for another minute.
2. Remove from heat and stir in cream and vanilla.
3. Serve warm or keep in fridge until ready to serve. Yum!

Happy Birthday Neko!!

Semi-Homemade Dinner Date

Why no, I didn't fall off the face of the earth! We put our house on the market about 2 weeks ago, accepted an offer after the open house, and are now busily house-hunting. Frankly, worrying about getting my kids to try new things has fallen to the bottom of my to-do list... bad mommy!

I came back from an afternoon of house-hunting last week and had to prep for dinner date. Good thing I had decided to do a little Semi-Homemade Theme! I used to love to watch Sandra Lee and her table-scapes, but never made much of what she did. I felt like every dessert involved a store-bought pound cake or angel food cake. For my semi-homemade, I hit up Trader Joe's for some mixes that I like to keep in the house, and worked from there. This dinner date certainly came together a lot faster than I'm used to!

Polenta Griddlecakes

1 package prepared polenta (it comes in a tube)
ground cumin
ground coriander
paprika
Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

This could not be easier, but the mommies loved it. Once Abby got past the initial texture shock (my bad... I told her it was a cracker) she loved it, too!

Preheat a griddle pan or an indoor electric grill. Slice polenta into rounds. Sprinkle each round with spices and cheese to taste. Grill for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Zesty Mac and Cheese Casserole

2 packages macaroni and cheese, prepared according to package directions
1 lb ground beef
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
10-16 oz package of frozen veggie (I used broccoli spears, which the kids completely avoided)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare the mac and cheese. Set aside in a big bowl.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. When cooked through, drain out the fat and add the spices. Cook for one minute more, coating the beef. Add the beef to the mac and cheese. Add the veggies. Stir all together.

Divide between two 1-qt casserole dishes (and freeze one for later!). Sprinkle cheese all over the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Lemon Cake on Brownie Crust

The brownie crust eliminates any need for frosting...

1 package of brownie mix, mixed according to package directions
1 package of vanilla cake mix, mixed according to package directions
zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to the temp called for on your cake mix box. Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans.

Divide the brownie batter between the two pans. Stir the lemon zest into the cake batter. Divide the cake batter between the two pans, carefully spreading it over the brownie batter.

Cook for the lowest time in the cake mix's time range; if a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the cake is done.

"What We Ate On Summer Vacation" Dinner Date!

We recently got back from a 2 week vacation to Minnesota and Ontario. We had a lovely time and ate a lot of yummy regional foods! We even had walleye (caught by my husband) for breakfast our last day in Ontario! Yum! I planned to make Wisconsin cheese soup for the main course of this dinner. We had a layover in Wisconsin where we enjoyed some fabulous soup for dinner. Unfortunately, I had an appointment that ran way over right before dinner date so I didn't have time to make the soup. Boo! I ended up making grilled cheese sandwiches with the Wisconsin cheese that I had bought for the soup. They WERE very delicious grilled cheese sandwiches I must say. ;o) With them I served:

Wild Rice Salad
(serves 6)

I got the wild rice in Canada and it was of the highest quality. You just can't find wild rice this good anywhere where I live. Check out how long the grains are:

Ingredients:

2c. wild rice, cooked and cooled

1c. seedless red grapes, sliced in half

½ c. celery, diced

½ c. slivered almonds

2/3c. mayonnaise

Instructions:

1. Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Chill for at least one hour. Serve! Easy!

Rhubarb Delight

(serves 6)

On Canada Day one of my Aunts made this dessert. Normally it has a yummy crust on the bottom but to cut down on the sugar I decided to leave it out. Admittedly when I made this the rhubarb layer was NOT sweet enough so in the recipe here I have added some agave to sweeten it up.

Ingredients:

2-1/2 c. rhubarb, diced

½ c. orange juice

3 egg yolks

1c. heavy cream

1/2 c. agave nectar

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

3 egg whites

6 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the rhubarb, juice, egg yolks, heavy cream, agave nectar and flour. Divide mixture into 4 individual sized, greased ramekins or baking dishes.

2. Put all baking dishes on a cookie sheet and bake in a 325 degree oven for 40 minutes.

3. Add the egg whites to a mixer bowl and mix on high. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla and mix until stiff peaks form.

4. Divide the meringue evenly over the rhubarb mixture in each ramekin.

5. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Add the desserts and bake until meringue browns. This happens quickly so keep a close eye on it.

6. Cool and serve!

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

Ingredients:
Peach Kefir
Frozen peaches
(I didn't include amounts because it really depends on how many you are making. In this case I made two popsicles which was about 1c. kefir and 1/2 c. peaches)

Instructions:
1. Combine kefir and peaches in a blender. Blend until peaches are in small chunks.
2. Pour into popsicle mold and freeze for at least 3 hours. Serve!

I brought these to the park for Neko and Abby. They were a huge hit!

Berry Cheesecake Brownies

I wanted a little something to celebrate the 4th of July, and when it comes to holidays, I don't mess around with desserts. There's not much that's healthy about this dessert, aside from the fresh berries - but it is fantastic!

(and no, I'm not clueless, and I know my flag is way off... but it's made from blueberries and cherries, I couldn't exactly go for exact accuracy!)

Berry Cheesecake Brownies

brownie layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

cheesecake layer:
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
berries (or cherries) for scattering on top

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8x8" baking pan with aluminum foil.

2. Make the brownie layer: melt the butter and chocolate together (in the microwave or on a double boiler). Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

4. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour until just combined. Spread in the prepared pan.

5. Make the cheesecake layer: Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat (with an electric mixer) until very smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth (scrape down the sides once or twice). Stir in the salt and flour.

6. Drop the cream cheese mixture in globs on the brownie layer, and carefully smooth with a spatula to create an even layer. Scatter berries on top (or create a cute little flag!)

7. Bake the brownies until they are set around the edges and a little wobbly in the center, about 45 minutes (I've had these take anywhere from 40-55 minutes, depending on the oven). Let cool completely before serving.


Looking for more 4th of July ideas? Life as Mom is hosting an ultimate recipe swap of Fourth of July recipes! Check it out!

Apricot-Strawberry Cobbler

I have just spent the last two weeks gorging myself on cake for Lizzy's various birthday parties... I am practically bleeding buttercream frosting. Now it's time for me to start making some real food and blogging about it again! Celeste is on vacation for a few weeks, so bear with me as I fly solo!

After an onslaught of naughty desserts, it's time for us to have some healthier treats in the house again. I'm digging apricots right now, so I made up these little cobblers!

Apricot-Strawberry Cobblers

Filling:
8 apricots, pitted and chopped
1-2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
1/4 cup pomegranate juice (or, water)
2 Tbsp agave nectar
2 tsp corn starch

Topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp demerera sugar (like Sugar in the Raw)
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup plain fat-free (or low-fat) yogurt (tip: the yogurt part of a fruit on the bottom yogurt cup should be just about 1/3 cup!)
2 egg whites


Preheat oven to 400F. In a large saucepan, whisk together the pom juice, agave nectar, and cornstarch. Add the fruit, stirring to coat. Cook over low-medium heat for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and bubbly and the fruit is softened. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flours, baking powder, sugar, and flax meal. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Stir in the yogurt and egg whites until just moistened.

Divide the hot fruit between 6 ramekins. Divide the topping between the 6 ramekins. Bake on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit topping comes out clean. Best served with a scoop of ice cream!

"Catching a Rainbow" Dinner Date

Back when the 5-a-Day program was still in vogue, one of its themes was to "Catch a Rainbow Every Day". So cute! A few weeks ago, I bought an erasable whiteboard and a rainbow of dry erase markers, and now every day Abby and I draw our fruits and vegetables as we eat them. I tell Abby that we want to try to eat a rainbow every day to help us be big and strong. The motivation to draw works really well, and Abby has eaten a rainbow most days since!

Now, I'm not too picky about having both a blue and a purple, and I'll let yellow slide if we have plenty of orange, but we always aim for a red, an orange, a green, a blue or purple, and a white. Here's how the board looks at the end of a typical day (clearly, I let Abby draw her own foods on this!) (and if you're laughing at my random red-green blob... it's supposed to be a mango.)

I found some other cute ideas on encouraging children to "eat a rainbow" at Preschoolrock.com. They have a lot of other fun stuff in their nutrition section, so poke around! And of course, the 5-a-Day program is outdated now, but the Fruits and Veggies Matter site has some useful information and tips, too.

Hidden Rainbow Pizza

(this is probably the worst "food" picture I've ever taken. It tasted way better than this looks)

Super-Easy Pizza Dough (I made a double batch and then froze half of the pizzas for future yum!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup baby carrots, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
oregano, salt, and pepper
1-2 handfuls of baby spinach
1 jar of your favorite marinara (or 2-3 cups of homemade marinara)
Cheddar cheese

Prepare the pizza dough. Prepare the sauce during the second rise (when the dough balls are resting for 30 minutes):

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add all vegetables and garlic to the pan. Season with dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes - until the carrots and onions are tender, but before the zucchini and yellow squash get too squishy. Remove from heat and stir in the baby spinach.


Dump vegetables into a blender. Add about 2 cups of marinara sauce and blend until smooth, adding more marinara as needed to achieve a smooth texture.

Preheat oven to 450F. Form the dough balls into pizza rounds. Top each round with some sauce and ample cheddar cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the pizza crust is golden and the cheese is melted.


This pizza is all about the hidden vegetables - I am a fan of hiding vegetables for a picky eater, but alongside the pizza, we also served some cut-up, colorful, raw veggies. Abby only ate the carrots, and Neko stuck to just the carrots and tomatoes, but at least the veggies were offered!

Fruity Brownie Pizza

I could eat this entire thing by myself. And I almost did.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 oz white chocolate
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 banana
1/2 packet of acai pulp (available in the freezer section - leave it out if you can't find it, but I wanted a purple!)
a rainbow of chopped up fruit (we used cherries, strawberries, mango, and blueberries - I wish I had bought some kiwi or green grapes!)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously coat a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, combine butter and white chocolate. Microwave in 30 second intervals, whisking well in between, until melted. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate-butter mixture. With a spoon, stir in the flour until just combined.

Smooth the batter into the cake pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, until set in the center. Let cool.

When cool, mash the banana well with a fork. Stir in the acai pulp (only as much as you need to make it smooth and not too runny). Spread the banana-acai mixture on as the "sauce". Top with chopped fruit. If you're feeling nice, serve it to your family. Otherwise, go hide in a closet with a fork and the brownie cake!

Here's the board for the girls' dinners - a whole rainbow, tucked in their tummies!


... and I have no idea what an acai berry looks like.

Toddler Gourmet Dinner Date!!

After my MomDonalds flop my ego needed a dinner that was CERTAIN to produce "Mmmms" and "Yummy!'s" I decided to take some classic toddler favorites-mac and cheese, peas and jello and fancy them up a bit. Everything DID go over well but honestly I got the same sort of "Mmmms" and "Yummy!'s" than mac and cheese normally produce so...whatever... ;o)

4 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes
(serves many...honestly maybe 10...great leftovers though!)

Ingredients:
1 package whole wheat elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2c. milk
1c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2c. mozzarella, shredded
1/2c. gruyere, shredded
1c. italian bread crumbs
3/4 c. parmesan cheese, shredded
cupcake liners (I only had Halloween ones)

Instructions:
1. Prepare macaroni according to package directions. Rinse and drain.
2. In a large saute pan melt the butter over med. heat.
3. When melted, add flour, stirring constantly for about 1 minute creating a roux.
4. Whisk in milk, cook for 3 minutes (stirring constantly).
5. Add the cheeses and stir until smooth.
6. Add the macaroni and gently stir until the pasta is well coated with the cheese.
7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
8. Line a muffin pan with the cupcake liners. Spray the liners with a non-stick cooking spray.
9. Fill each liner 3/4 full with macaroni and cheese.
10. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs and pamesan cheese.
11. Top each "cupcake" with the bread crumb/cheese mixture.
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Serve!

Prosciutto Peas
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 package frozen peas
2 slices prosciutto

Instructions:
1. Prepare peas according to package directions.
2. In a med. saute pan cook the prosciutto over med-high heat until crispy.
3. Remove the prosciutto from the pan and cut into small pieces.
4. Return the prosciutto to the pan (leave the drippings in) and add the peas. Gently toss to get the prosciutto goodness all over the peas. Serve! Mmmm.

Juice Box Jello
(serves 4)

I only called this "juice box" jello because I didn't but enough juice to make it and had to use juice box juice instead!

Ingredients:
2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1/2c. room temperature fruit juice

3c. hot fruit juice (I used Acai berry and apple/pear)
1c. diced fruit (I used bananas, strawberries and blueberries)
1/2c. mini marshmallows (Whole Foods sells a non-HFC variety and they are GOOD)

Instructions:
1. In a medium sized mixing bowl sprinkle the gelatin over the room temperature juice. Let rest for 10 minutes.
2. Add the hot fruit juice and stir until the gelatin crystals are well dissolved.
3. Refridgerate for 45 minutes and then add the fruit and marshmallows.
4. Refridgerate for an additional hour and a half. Serve!

Homemade Food Dyes

In two weeks, my baby will turn one year old (sniff!). We already have three (maybe four) different little parties planned for her - meaning three (maybe four) different cakes for me to make. This presents a small problem for me: my aesthetic desire to make cute cakes for my daughter is bumping against my vehement refusal to use any artificial dyes.

We cut artificial dyes out of our diet a few months ago, to see if it would help with Abby's behavior. The difference has been dramatic - she still has her moods and her tantrums (she is 3 1/2, after all!), but the tantrums are not endless, she can find her way out of them, and she engages more with other people. Frankly, I even notice a difference in myself - the last time I had something with dye in it, I was so irritable and crabby the rest of the day and could not get out of my funk. It took me until that night to make the connection - I threw out the rest of the dyed stuff in the house that day.

So with two weeks to go, I decided to try out some natural alternatives today. I've bought the India Tree dyes, but dang, they are expensive - $19 for three small bottles of dye! Sometimes they will be necessary, but I wanted to try a home-brewed alternative. I was fairly pleased with the result:


Clockwise from the top, the food I used to dye was: turmeric + beet juice, turmeric, pomegranate juice, paprika, blueberry juice, beet juice, and avocado in the middle.

I made a big batch of my favorite buttercream frosting (the Cook's Illustrated recipe - 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, 2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, 2 Tbsp of heavy cream, a splash of vanilla, and a pinch of salt) and added some dyes. My thoughts:

The spices (turmeric, paprika) added the most easily, but leave a hint of their flavor behind. Not as badly as I thought they would, and I would definitely not hesitate to make yellow or light orange this way.

The juices (blueberry juice, beet juice, pomegranate juice) yield the best tasting frosting, but their sheer liquidity is a problem. I had to stir in a lot of extra sugar to compensate for the liquid, and they are still separating a little. For a "real" cake, I would probably try my hand blender to really emulsify the liquid in.

The avocado actually works well, but tastes avocado-y. I should have pureed the avocado better before adding it in. It is a nice green, and I would probably just stick to using it for accents, like flower petals, rather than trying a whole green cake/cupcake.

No blue - I thought the blueberry juice would be closer to blue or purple, but it's really just magenta. I Googled and found some people use red cabbage or onion skins, but... ew. I can't imagine frosting my cake with water that cabbage was boiled in. If I'm desperate to make something blue, I'll use my India Tree dye.

Forewarned is forearmed, and now I have some better ideas for cakes for Lizzy - clearly, nothing bright red is going to happen, but I think some beautiful sunflowers (piped around chocolate cookies) may be in our future.

(Interested in the controversy around red dye #40? Red Dye Free has a great list of links along the side bar. If you suspect your child may react to dye, try cutting it out. It's made a big difference for us.)