Mulligatawny Soup

I'm realllllly trying to get the girls to eat soup.  Any kind of soup.  We've been at work on this for a year, and they still groan when I serve soup.  The most success I have is with brothy soups, I think because the girls can identify the ingredients better.  I've loved this Mulligatawny Soup for years (I originally got the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, so no claims that it's "authentic"), and the girls will grudgingly pick out some of the carrots and turkey and raisins and rice.  I almost always have the ingredients on hand, and it's darned tasty.  Someday, I hope the girls will agree!

Mulligatawny Soup

4-5 cups chicken broth
2 apples, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
14 oz diced tomatoes
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup brown rice
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1 big handful of raisins
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 lb ground turkey, cooked

In a large pot, combine all ingredients aside from the ground turkey.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until rice is tender.  Add turkey.  Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Chicken Baked in Curry-Peanut Sauce

I failed to get a picture of this dish, as my camera battery had died - but it is chicken breasts baked in a beige sauce. Not that photogenic! It was, however, delicious. Both girls gobbled their chicken right up. Abby said, "Mommy, this sauce is so tasty! Thank you!" So, woo!

This recipe made about twice as much sauce as I needed for the 5 chicken breasts I was baking, so I popped half of it in the freezer for a future tasty dinner.

Chicken Baked in Curry-Peanut Sauce

1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (if you're not a big fan of ginger, use less)
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I always use reduced sodium)
1 tsp red Thai curry paste
1 1/4 cups light coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

4-6 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients (except for the chicken breasts). (Or put the ingredients in a bowl and use your immersion blender, if you have a nifty little one like I do!) Blend them until smooth.

Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 baking dish and pour sauce all over. Freeze any leftover sauce. Bake chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165F - for me, this was somewhere between 35-45 minutes.

A Bun in the Oven Dinner Date!

I first conceived of this idea a few months ago. I have been anticipating the day when I could post this. This meal was a lot of work, but it was a labor of love.

Celeste is having a baby!! I could not be more thrilled for her and her family (or for me, I can't wait to cuddle a tiny little newborn without the inconvenience of night wakings! hee hee). Celeste is an awesome mom, and she is gestating one lucky baby!

What better way to celebrate Celeste's "bun in the oven", then by baking up some literal buns in my gas-fired oven?

Steamed Chicken Buns

I love Chinese steamed pork buns (Char Siu Bao), and wanted to try something like that. I did my chicken filling in the crock pot because, well, it's so much easier than bbq'ing or slow-roasting or what have you!

Chicken Filling:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese 5-Spice
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker; cook on low for 6-8 hours, until chicken is easily shredded apart.

Buns:

1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp bread machine flour

Add ingredients to bread machine; set on "dough" setting.

When bread machine is done, remove dough (gently!) onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide dough into two pieces. With your hands, roll each piece of dough into a 2-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 12 pieces.

With your hand, flatted the pieces into small circles. Scoop some chicken filling into the middle. Pinch up the edges, forming a little packet. Let buns rest for about 30 minutes.

Set a steamer pan over a pot of briskly boiling water. Lay each bun on the steamer for about 10 minutes, covering the pot, until the bun is puffed and the dough is slightly firm to the touch. Serve.

Pain au Chocolat

These are fantastic for morning playgroups - the dough should be prepared the night before, and the rolls don't take long to roll out, fill, and bake in the morning. And then the other mommies will adore you.

2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

8 ounces chocolate (semi-sweet, dark, milk all work well - heck, even toffee bits and peanut butter chips work well!)

Place all ingredients except chocolate in the bread machine. Set on the "dough" cycle.

When dough is finished, turn the dough into a deep, greased bowl. Cover with 2 layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Turn the dough onto a work surface dusted with flour. Divide the dough into 16 portions. Roll each portion into a (rough) square. Place 1/2 ounce of chocolate in the middle. Fold up each corner to form a packet. Place seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake the buns for 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Let them cool a little, but they are best eaten warm!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So now you have some idea of what's been going on here! I have moving trucks pulling up to my house tomorrow (eep!), and Celeste is baking a baby. We are both preparing to send our first babies off to preschool in a few weeks (sob!). Once we are back in the swing, we hope to be much better about cooking new things for our kids and updating!

Chicken Barley Casserole

It may sound weird, but I use my slow cooker at least as much in the summer as I do in the winter, if not more. Yes, the slow cooker produces hot, hearty meals - but it gives off very little heat, and I can get it started in the morning so we can be playing outside right up until dinnertime. No need to pull the kids back into the house at 4 p.m. so I can start making dinner when I made it at 9 a.m.! This chicken barley casserole is a favorite of ours. I've adapted it from a recipe from The Healthy Slow Cooker, my favorite slow cooker cookbook. You can spice it up as much as you want (or as much as your children can take!).

Chicken Barley Casserole

2 sausages, casings removed (you can use hot Italian, sweet Italian, or chorizo)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
28oz canned diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup pearled barley, rinsed
1 can white beans, rinsed (or black beans, or kidney beans)
2-4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, diced (to be added at the end)
1/2 tsp (or up to 2-3 tsp) chili powder
1-2 avocados, diced or sliced, for garnish

In a saucepan, heat sausage and onions over medium heat, crumbling the sausage with a wooden spoon. When the sausage is cooked through, add the garlic, cumin, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for another minute. Add tomatoes with their juices; bring to a boil.

Pour the sausage-onion-tomato mixture into your slow cooker. Add the chicken stock, barley, beans, and chicken. Stir well. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.

Add in the diced red pepper and the chili powder. Stir well, and cook on High for about 20 minutes.

Serve bowls of the casserole topped with avocado.

Summer Favorites Dinner Date

Why yes, I am still alive! Lizzy had a raging virus for most of the last week, which put a complete damper on my cooking. But I pulled it back together for dinner date last night! The original theme was going to be more centered on grilling, so naturally, it was 50 degrees and raining yesterday. Summertime in New England!

I worked with two of my favorite things to have in the summer - burgers and lemon squares. I've been making my own hamburger buns for a while now, on nights when I have the time to plan ahead, and they are such a treat - it's hard to go back to store-bought burger buns! If you have a bread machine, you have to try these. (If you don't have a bread machine, you need one!) I love lemon squares, but Abby hates how gooey and messy they are, and my traditional recipe is loaded with sugar. So I made lemon blondies - lower sugar, less messy, but still with a nice lemon flavor.

I simply must give a shout-out to LaDue & Crew's Pomegranate Sangria. Drooooool. I made a batch for the mommies last night and it was fabulous. I subbed in 2 cups of Diet Sprite for the white semi-sparkling wine both to cut down on calories and alcohol content. Celeste and I thoroughly enjoyed it - if you like sangria even a little try it out!

Zesty Turkey Burgers on Homemade Burger Buns

Zesty Turkey Burgers

I've been making these for years - there's nothing easier, and they're full of flavor

1 lb ground turkey
1-2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Mush the turkey, horseradish, and mustard together. Form into patties and grill. Easy!

Homemade Burger Buns

1 1/4 cups water
1 egg
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp instant potato flakes
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
2 Tbsp wheat bran
1 Tbsp gluten
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast (or rapid rise yeast)

Place ingredients in the pan according to your bread machine's instructions. Program for the Dough cycle.

When the cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a clean work surface. For normal-size burger or hot dog buns, divide the dough into 12 equal portions (you can subdivide some of those portions to make little slider buns for kids). Flatten a portion out into a rough circle:

(dividing and flattening)

Next, pinch the edges of the circle into the center, like so:


It will end up like this:


Place the roll pinched-seams side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all of the dough balls. You can also make hot dog rolls - make your dough ball into a long oval and tightly roll from a long end, like this:


Cover the buns with clean tea towels and let rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F; bake the buns for 15-20 minutes, until golden and lightly browned.

These buns freeze really well and are delicious with butter and jelly for breakfast, too! Mine never ever ever turn out really pretty and perfect (especially my hot dog buns, they always look uneven), but that's the charm of homemade buns :-)

Lemon Blondies

(the big girls were a little excited for dessert...)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
zest from 2 lemons
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8" square pan with aluminum foil.

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

Melt the butter in a large glass bowl - set aside to cool slightly. In a food processor, process the sugar and lemon zest together until the zest is well-chopped and the sugar smells lemony. Stir the sugar-zest into the melted butter until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the lemon juice and the egg. Stir the flour mixture in until just combined.

Spread batter in the prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the blondies are set in the center.

Apricot ( But Mostly Peach) Chicken and Rice

Apricot (But Mostly Peach) Chicken and Rice
(serves 4)

So I'm having the same problem that Kara is having. Where are all these "in season" apricots?? I tried 3 stores with no luck. I had this idea for apricot chicken and to improvise (with no apricots) I decided to try canned apricots. Well guess what? The store only had canned apricots with Splenda. Bleh. I decided to get peaches canned in juice and call it a day. There IS apricot juice in the recipe so the fruit IS being utilized to some degree. ;o)

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat and cut into chunks
olive oil
1 c. apricot nectar
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. turbanino (or brown) sugar
2 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/2 c. warm water
1 can of peaches in juice (or 2 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced.
2 c. chicken stock
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. brown rice
1/2 c. wild rice

1. In a medium saucepan combine the rices, stock and butter. Bring to a boil. Stir once and then reduce the temp. to low. Cover and cook for 50 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil (a couple dashes) over med-high heat. Saute until cooked through.
3. In a small saucepan combine the juice, vinegar, sugar and mustard. Cook on medium heat until the sauce begins to bubble. Reduce the temp. slightly and cook for another 5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
4. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water. Stir this mixture into the apricot sauce. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken.
5. Add the sauce to the chicken in the large skillet. Gently stir in the peaches.
6. Serve the chicken and peaches over the rice and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Serve!

This was a good blend of sweet and savory. Definitely a toddler pleaser!

Peanut Butter Chicken Fingers

Abby loves chicken nuggets, so it's not exactly a triumph that she polished off her entire plate of these. They were tasty and had a nice accent of peanut butter flavor.

Peanut Butter Chicken Fingers

Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 15-20 minutes

2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup milk
2-3 cups fresh bread crumbs (for extra wow, make your bread crumbs from Peanut Butter Bread)
salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a wire rack with non-stick spray and set over a cookie sheet.

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch-thick strips. In a shallow bowl, microwave the peanut butter and milk together for about 20 seconds, then whisk together. Add more milk as needed (you want the mixture to have a pudding-like consistency). Pour the bread crumbs into another shallow bowl and toss with a few dashes of salt.

Dredge chicken strips through the peanut butter mixture, and then pat in the crumbs to coat. Set strips on the wire rack and bake for 15-20 minutes, until completely cooked through.

I attempted to make a dip to go with them, but Abby and I didn't like it. She had hers with ketchup; I had mine plain. I should have made the peanut sauce from Celeste's Tofu Skewers with Peanut Sauce - that would have been perfect!

Guest Post at Kid Appeal!

Abby and I made turkey-rosemary meatballs in white whole wheat pitas and blogged about it for Kid Appeal. The sandwiches were tasty, but my main focus was finding ways to have Abby help me with every step of the dinner prep - even with the meatballs!

Kid Appeal is a great blog of recipes, ideas on getting kids eating, and tons of great information! If you're in the Houston, TX area, check out the information on Jenna's "Kid's Nutrition Class"!

Chinese Dinner Date

We had a Chinese dinner date for the girls! Now, don't worry, I'm not delusional - I know this is a completely Americanized version of already Americanized Chinese restaurant food. But the girls loved it, so who cares! My attempt to make peanut butter fortune cookies was pretty much an epic fail, so we're going to pretend those didn't happen.

Crab Rangoon

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can crab meat, drained (I used white crab meat, no need to get fancy!)
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ginger
Won ton wrappers
oil for frying

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, crab meat, soy sauce, and ginger. Spoon about half a tablespoon of filling into the center of the won ton wrappers. Moisten the edges of the wrappers and fold into triangles or rectangles (rectangles were much easier with my NaSoya wrappers, which were slightly oddly shaped!), sealing the edges well.

Heat a few inches of oil in a pot (I used canola oil). Drop in the rangoons, a few at a time, and fry for about a minute. Flip them over and fry for about 30 seconds more, until they are golden on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels before serving.

This made a big batch, so I froze some of them after they cooled. They only needed a few minutes in a 375F oven to be crispy and yummy again!

Sweet and Sour Chicken Casserole

3 cups cooked rice
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (or equivalent amount of leftover cooked chicken)
20 oz can pineapple, drained and juice reserved
2 Tbsp corn starch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion

In a 2-qt casserole dish, layer the cooked rice, chopped chicken, and pineapple.

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice, the cornstarch/water mixture, brown sugar, vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and ketchup. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Add the carrots and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Pour the sauce over the casserole. The casserole can now be baked or refrigerated until you are ready to bake. When you are ready to eat, bake in a 350F oven until heated through (about 20 minutes for a casserole that was in the fridge).

Abby's Favorites Dinner Date

Abby will turn 3 in just a few days (sniff! my baby!), so tonight's dinner date was composed from some of her favorite foods. Abby has a handful of what I call my "go-to" foods for her - things that I know she'll eat and that I keep on hand for nights when my husband and I are having too-spicy chili or sushi. So for tonight's dinner date, I tried to mix up the favorites in new ways, to hopefully create new favorites!

Cheerio Chicken Nuggets and Green Pea Hummus

Cheerio Chicken Nuggets
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes

1 1/2 cups Cheerios
salt, pepper
1 tsp honey
1 lb ground chicken

Shake the Cheerios into a plastic bag (a freezer bag works well) and crush them up with your hands. Have your kids help - it's fun! Add a bit of salt and pepper to the crushed Cheerios, and pour them into a bowl. Add about 1 tsp honey and mix all together with your fingers.

In a separate bowl, mix the ground chicken with your hands until it is all nice and mushy. Pinch off heaping tablespoonfuls of the chicken and form it into nuggets. Press each side of each nugget into the Cheerios to coat.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the nuggets on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, until nuggets are completely cooked through.

Green Pea Hummus
Prep time: 5 minutes

1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
14.5 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, adding a few tablespoonfuls of water to achieve desired consistency. Serve with veggies or crackers.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Ice Cream

Prep time: 5 minutes, plus freezing time
Yields about 1 quart of ice cream

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups skim milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup carrot puree (use jarred baby food to save time!)
1/2 cup pear puree (use jarred baby food to save time!)

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, extract, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the purees. Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and freeze according to machine directions.

* * * * *

This dinner was an absolute success. Abby wolfed everything down - something that is rare for her, so I guess she liked seeing her favorite foods in new ways! She also had the green pea hummus spread on crackers for a snack earlier in the day. The ice cream was amazing. It had a beautiful orange color, but otherwise you really can't tell that it is chock full of carrots and pears - it tasted mostly like vanilla ice cream and was very rich and creamy.

Thanksgiving Dinner Date!

Thanksgiving is full of wonderful flavors - but tons of work! I wanted to create a dinner date last night that would give Thanksgiving yumminess, but on a weekday dinner time frame.

Thanksgiving Nuggets with Cranberry Ketchup

1 cup cranberries
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg
1-2 Tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh savory, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 cup plain bread crumbs
salt & pepper

To make the ketchup: In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries with enough water to cover; bring to a boil, and simmer until berries are soft and breaking down (about 10 minutes). Drain the cranberries and put in a food processor; add tomato paste, sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Puree until smooth. Set aside to chill.

To make the nuggets: Preheat the oven to 425F. Mix the turkey, egg, and herbs (and salt and pepper to taste) with your hands until well combined. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Gather 1-2 Tbsp of meat mixture in your hands, shape into nugget shapes, and roll in the bread crumbs to coat.

Set the nuggets on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until no pink remains in the center of a nugget. Serve with cranberry ketchup.

Stuffing Muffins

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup chicken stock

In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt, thyme, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the canola oil, eggs, and chicken stock. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Gently stir in the vegetables. Divide between 12 muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Maple Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
sugars for decorating

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough onto a clean surface and knead with your hands to form a dough ball. Divide in two and shape each half into a disk; cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove one disk from its plastic wrap and knead lightly on a floured surface to soften. Roll it out to about 1/8" thick.

Trace your child's hand on some parchment paper and cut it out to create a hand-print turkey shape. Use a sharp knife to cut out handprints from the dough:

Transfer the "turkeys" to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with egg white and sprinkle on sugar to decorate. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown.

* * * * * *

I was happy with this dinner date. The girls had a great time decorating their hand print turkeys. I used both Abby's and Lizzy's hands for our shapes, and I must say - if you have a chubby little 5-month-old on hand, their hands make adorable "turkeys"! The cookies themselves had a very nice, but not overpowering, maple flavor.

Dippin' Dinner Date

Like many toddlers, Abby loves to dip her food. So when Neko came over last night, I created a dinner date devoted to dippable food. It was a big hit with these kids! Toddler smiles all around!

Chicken Parmesan Nuggets with Oven Root Fries and V-8 "Ketchup"

Chicken Parmesan Nuggets
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes

1 lb ground chicken
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
8 oz fresh mozzarella (1 3/4 oz bocconcini balls will work best)

Preheat the oven to 425F. Generously spray a wire rack with non-stick spray and set it over a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil.

In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, egg, egg white, Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup of the seasoned bread crumbs together until well mixed. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Gather up golf-ball-sized blobs of ground chicken mix with your hands; drop the blob into the bread crumbs and press it into nugget size (think the size and shape of a McNugget). Coat both sides of the nugget with bread crumbs; set the nugget on the wire rack and repeat with remaining meat.

Slice the mozzarella into 1/4-1/2 inch-thick rounds; top each nugget with a round of cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly and nuggets are cooked through. Serve with marinara sauce, ketchup, or the V-8 ketchup below!


Oven Root Fries
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes

1 sweet potato, scrubbed and peeled
1 baking potato, scrubbed and peeled
2 parsnips, scrubbed and peeled
1 cup baby carrots
4 Tbsp olive oil
coarse salt & pepper

Cut all the vegetables into equal-size "fries" (I aimed for the size and shape of a typical fast food fry). Set them in a bowl of very hot tap water. Preheat the oven to 450F. When the oven is heated, drain and rinse the vegetables. Pat them dry with a paper towel, and then toss them with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Line a rimmed sheet with foil. Spread the foil with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and generously coat with coarse salt. Spread the vegetables on the foil in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes total, stirring and turning the vegetables about every 5 minutes, until vegetables are crisping on the outside.

V-8 "Ketchup"
Prep time: 10 minutes

8 oz V-8
1 Tbsp tomato pasta
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp onion powder

Whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Set aside to cool, placing some plastic wrap directly on top of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.

Chocolate-Yogurt Dip

Prep time: 5 minutes

6 oz of plain or vanilla yogurt
2 Tbsp agave nectar (or sweetener of choice)
3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Whisk all ingredients together. Plain yogurt will yield a dip with tang; if you want sweeter, use vanilla yogurt. Serve with fruit and/or Whole Wheat Angel Bites!

Apple Pickin' Chicken

Its that time of year! If you've been celebrating fall with some apple picking then you have a big ol' bowl of apples and are looking for ways to use them. This recipe is sweet, succulent and superb! I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true.

Apple Pickin' Chicken

(serves 2)

2 chicken breasts
1 med. Vidalia onion, sliced
2 apples, sliced (your choice although slightly tart/bold apples work best - Macintosh, granny smith, etc.)
1 cup of apple cider
1 cup of chicken stock
Salt and pepper
olive oil
Cinnamon and nutmeg

1. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on each side of the chicken breasts. In a large pan, heat a little bit of oil and then brown the chicken on both sides. Remove the chicken and set aside.
2. Add a touch more oil to the pan and then lightly saute the onions. Add the stock, apple cider and apples, then return the chicken breast to the pan.
3. Spoon some of the stock/apple/cider mixture over the chicken, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Double check the chicken to make sure it's cooked all the way through then slice and place on a plate. Spoon some apples and onions over the top then sprinkle some cinnamon and nutmeg for flavor. Serve!

For those with additional time, brining the chicken for a couple of hours with some all-spice, cinnamon sticks, etc. would add a ton of flavor.

Turkey-Apple Balls

This is a great flavor combination for fall! I've seen some savory poultry-apple meatball recipes around, but wanted to give mine a slightly sweeter profile by adding cinnamon and nutmeg.

Turkey-Apple Balls

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 10 minutes

1 lb ground turkey (ground chicken would be tasty, too)
3/4 of a green apple, peeled and finely grated
1 egg
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix very well. Scoop up tablespoonfuls and shape into balls. (The shaped balls can be refrigerated until you are ready for dinner - I love to prep food during nap time while the kitchen is quiet!) Place on a greased, rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve with pasta or rice.

Abby and my husband had these with some of the spinach-alfredo sauce over pasta leftover from yesterday; I had mine over brown rice. These were tasty, but they need a sauce... I'm just not sure what kind! Any ideas?