Zucchini Nuggets, Take Two

Waaaaay back when we started this blog, I posted zucchini nuggets. I made those all the time that fall, and then they kind of fell by the wayside. I found myself once again with some lonely, unused zucchini in my veggie drawer the other night, so I thought of those nuggets. I revamped the recipe this time around, largely because I had run out of Panko bread crumbs, also because I had more zucchini to use up. These were just as big a hit with the girls as the originals - served alongside some home-baked sweet potato fries, these made a great "fries and nuggets" dinner!

I used homemade bread crumbs for these. No one in our family really loves the crusty ends of loaves of breads (or "bread bums", as we call them), so I collect them in a bag in the freezer. When I need bread crumbs, I whirl up a few "bums" in our food processor - and voila, I have coarse, whole wheat bread crumbs!

Zucchini Nuggets, Take Two

3 small zucchini, grated
2 cups coarse bread crumbs
2 Tbsp flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup cheese (cheddar, jack, whatever you like)
canola oil for frying

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, crumbs, flour, eggs, and cheese. You want the mixture to have a meatball-like quality to it.

Heat up a small amount of canola oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Gather up scoops of the zucchini mixture, slightly smaller than a golf ball. Mush the ball in your hands a few times until the mixture is really holding together, and then flatten into a nugget shape. After all the nuggets are formed, cook them in batches.

I cooked them "low and slow" - about 4 to 5 minutes per side, over medium-low heat - to let them get nice and golden. This made about 24 nuggets.

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.

* * * * * *

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!

Crockpot Raspberry Applesauce and Apple Pickin' Pork Chops

I'm a HUGE fan of autumn which, incidentally, officially begins TODAY! That means its apple picking time again! We usually go 2-3 times each fall and that means lots of apple inspired recipes! My husband makes the world's best apple crisp. I'll have to get him to write a recipe for me so I can share it with you. It seems to be very free form though so I'm not sure he even knows any exact amounts.

Last night I opened my fridge and stared blankly at the sack of fresh picked apples...what to make? I had bought pork chops on sale yesterday and I love pork chops with applesauce so I decided to try my hand at some homemade applesauce! Upon further fridge digging I came across some raspberries that needed to be used up asap or they were on their way out so I took a chance and threw them in with the apples! Great risk...homemade raspberry applesauce is a WINNER, especially over pork chops!

Crockpot Raspberry Applesauce

(makes approx 5 cups of sauce)

Ingredients:

6 cups apples, washed, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (I used 2 large yellow delicious and 4 small macintosh)

2 cups raspberries, washed

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tsp. vanilla

2 Tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. water

3 Tbsp. agave nectar (or sweetner of your choice)

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients except agave into crockpot. (If you are using sugar or brown sugar put it in now. I use agave because it is unrefined and low glycemic however when COOKED it loses those properties so I added it at the end.)

2. Cook on LOW for 5 hours.

3. Using a potato masher, mash until applesauce is the consistancy you like.

4. Let cool. Stir in agave nectar. Serve!

Apple Pickin' Pork Chops

(forgot to take a pic...sorry!)

Ingredients:

Pork chops (thick cut)

Salt

Pepper

Raspberry Applesauce

Instructions:

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Pat porkchops dry using a paper towel.

3. Salt and pepper both sides of pork chops.

4. Put chops on broiler pan and put in broiler.

5. Cook for 8 minutes.

6. Check to see if top of chops have browned. If so, flip and cook an additional 8 minutes.

7. Test internal temperature using a meat thermometer. Temp should be 155 degrees F.

8. When temp. has been reached, remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes.

9. Top with raspberry applesauce (or serve in a small bowl on the side). Serve!

I hope to use my remaining applesauce to make some muffins tomorrow so check back soon for that recipe! Also, don't forget last year's Apple Pickin' Chicken! That should give you 4 recipes for using those fresh picked apples so get pickin'!

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!

Roasted Apricots and Potatoes

This week, Celeste and I are playing with apricots! Apricots are, theoretically, in season from May to August. I had no luck getting any fresh apricots, so I'll be playing with dried apricots this week. Maybe Celeste will have better luck! I made a side dish last night of roasted apricots and potatoes topped off with goat cheese. It was tasty, but the dried apricots were too sweet - this would be much better with fresh apricots.

Roasted Apricots and Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs small potatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size)
1/2 lb apricots, halved
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried rosemary
3-4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk together the preserves and vinegar; toss with the potatoes and apricots. Put coated potatoes and apricots in a small casserole dish. Sprinkle with dried rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 45 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese.

French Rice Salad

Jenna at Food with Kid Appeal posted a recipe the other day for French Rice Salad. I had a feeling it would be a hit with me and my kids, so I tried it out. It is delicious!!


I did that stupid thing where you convince yourself you have a bag of corn in the freezer so you don't need to pick any up when you're at the store - and then get home and, lo and behold, no corn. Grr. So I made the salad with peas instead, which tasted great, but doesn't look nearly as pretty as Jenna's! This salad is a definite must-try - I made a big double batch yesterday and it's already almost gone.

Orange Scented Rice

One of my 2 Valencia orange challenges for the week was to come up with a side dish showcasing the in season Valencia. Tonight we had fish, rice and a veggie planned for dinner so I thought it would be interesting to add the orange to the rice. The end result was good but not to die for good. I think with some tweaking however it could be really, really good. On a second attempt I would like to try to add some sweetness, maybe golden raisins. I think this would compliment the orange flavor well.

Orange Scented Rice

(makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 c. brown rice
2-1/4 c. water, chicken stock or veggie stock (we used chicken stock but for this particular rice I think I would use water next time)
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
1/4 c. chopped almonds
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt to taste

1. Bring water or stock and zest to a boil.
2. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 40 minutes.
3. Lightly toast almonds in a small saute pan on low heat. (Approx. 5 minutes)
4. With 10 minutes left on the rice cooking time, add the onion and garlic.
5. Stir in almonds and orange juice.
6. Salt to taste. Serve!

MoV Day 20: Greek Stuffed Mushrooms

Woohoo! My family finally finished the Month of Veggies plan! The plan was great for inspiring me to be more creative with my vegetables - both which ones I serve and how I prepare them. Unfortunately, I don't think it did a darned thing to "Get [my] picky kid to start trying (and yes, loving!) vegetables in just one month" as claimed in the article. Oh well.

These stuffed mushrooms went over like a lead balloon with Abby. Is it just her? I can't really imagine any 3-year-old going for them. My husband and I ended up eating almost all of them by ourselves, and we quite liked them. I baked up the leftover stuffing (the recipe makes way more stuffing than I could jam into the mushroom caps) and Lizzy gobbled it down. But trying to get Abby to pick up the mushroom cap and take a bite was a no-go. I'll keep these on my list for appetizers to serve to adults!

Greek Stuffed Mushrooms

12 mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and chopped
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 425F. Bake mushrooms caps, smooth side up, for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add mushroom stem pieces and garlic. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the bread crumbs, tomato, and feta.

Scoop the filling into the mushroom caps. Return to oven and bake for 8 minutes longer. Enjoy!

Citrusy Edamame

I am almost done with this darned Month of Veggies! This thing has taken two months, thanks to sickness and travel. I feel like the recipes this last week have been kind of random (the theme being "try something totally new", but how "totally new" is acorn squash to any kid? Squash is such a ubiquitous baby food). Last night's was Citrus Edamame. On the one hand - yum! I love edamame! On the other hand - is it a vegetable? Really? I mean, I guess it is, but I think of it as more of a bean/protein kind of food. So serving it on the side of Celeste's Mega Omega Fish Nuggets kind of felt like serving two proteins.

But - they were delicious! I love edamame, but have only had it in the pod and coated with salt. These edamame were light and tasty, and a great way to introduce them to Abby. She loved them! So did Lizzy! I cut the oil out of the recipe because SERIOUSLY, Parents Magazine, enough with the oil all over all of the vegetables!!

Citrus Edamame

2 cups frozen shelled edamame
1 tsp finely chopped orange peel
1 Tbsp orange juice
salt

Cook the edamame according to package directions (for me, this was microwaving them for about 2 minutes. Easy!). Toss with the peel and juice and salt to taste. So fast and easy!

Baby Dinner Date!

Dinner date was a little different this week - it was created with Lizzy in mind! When Abby was a baby, I lovingly made all sorts of meals with just her in mind. Lizzy, on the other hand, is always just fed whatever bits and pieces she can manage of what I've made for the rest of us. So this week, I created a dinner for Lizzy (and for all the babies out there who are mastering table foods but don't quite have the teeth for a lot of chewing yet). I also used the Day 18 of the Month of Veggies recipe! Multi-tasking!

Multi-Grain Bean Patties with Curried Acorn Squash

Multi-Grain Bean Patties

1 cup cooked grains (I used a mix of amaranth, quinoa, and barley)
1 can of white beans (or 1 2/3 cup prepared beans), rinsed and drained
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 clove garlic
salt & pepper

Mash all ingredients together in a bowl until a paste forms. (You may want to add some breadcrumbs if you think the mixture is too wet). Drop by small blobs onto either a skillet or an electric grill - these worked surprisingly well on my Foreman grill. Cook for about 5 minutes in the grill, or about 5 minutes per side on the skillet. Crumble up to serve to baby, or serve on a bun for big kids!

(we pretended they were burgers for the big girls!)

Curried Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, sliced into wedges
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1/2 tsp curry powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Place squash wedges with 1 Tbsp of water into a covered dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the apricot preserves and the curry powder. Brush the apricot mixture over the wedges and season with salt and pepper. Return wedges (uncovered) to the oven for 10 minutes more.

Roasted Berry "Sundaes"

2-3 cups fruit (as appropriate for your baby), diced. We had blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi.
1 Tbsp butter
nutmeg and cinnamon
plain Greek yogurt
agave nectar

Preheat oven to 350F. Spread the fruit in a baking dish. Dice the butter and scatter over the berries. Sprinkle the fruit with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake for 15 minutes; stir and let cool.

Scoop a little Greek yogurt into bowls; top with some roasted fruit and drizzle with agave nectar. Roasting the fruit should ensure that it is soft enough for a toothless baby - but beware, this will make a big mess!

* * * * *

This dinner was a big hit with Lizzy - she cleaned her plate! Since Lizzy is a little older, I like to add herbs and spices to what she eats to help her develop a palate for all sorts of foods - hence the basil, oregano, garlic, curry, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The big girls liked the dinner okay, but they were awfully busy playing to settle down and eat. Luckily, they both wolfed down dessert - and since they had just the merest drizzle of agave, their "sundaes" were a safe way to let them feel like they were having a treat!

MoV Day 17: Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

My husband hates two vegetables: cauliflower and brussel sprouts. So this has been a great two days for him! Last night was Day 17 of the Month of Veggies: Brussel Sprouts with Bacon. I was kind of bemoaning having to make these, not being a huge fan myself, when my friend Sharon mentioned that Ina Garten roasts brussel sprouts and they are fabulous. So I ditched Parents Magazine's suggestion of boiling them (but kept their suggestion of bacon!). I thought these were fabulous. And indeed, I ate almost all of them. Lizzy ate some chopped-up hearts of the brussel sprouts with gusto. Abby studiously ignored them while she ate the rest of the dinner, and not one single trick worked to get her to try a bite. Geesh. (and my husband had to mysteriously work late and grab dinner at his firm rather than at home - I guess he really wanted to avoid those brussel sprouts!)

The roasting gives the outside leaves this awesome crunch, and the bacon and kosher salt give them serious yum.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

1/2 lb brussel sprouts, rinsed and trimmed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
ground pepper
2 slices turkey bacon, chopped

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss the brussel sprouts in olive oil. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground pepper. Roast for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped bacon over the sprouts. Continue to roast for about 10 minutes, until the hearts of the sprouts are tender and the bacon is crunchy. Serve.

(and yes, this made a small portion, so adjust as needed for your crowd. But I suspected that these would not go over well, and I didn't want to be swimming in leftover brussel sprouts!)

MoV, Day 16: Roasted Cauliflower

What? Day 16? Yes, I'm totally skipping Day 15 of the Month of Veggies, Cheesy Spaghetti Squash. I checked two grocery stores and came up with zero spaghetti squash, and I'm thinking it's really the wrong season for it. See you in the fall, spaghetti squash!

Last night we moved on to Day 16, Cauliflower "Popcorn". Cute title, but it's just roasted cauliflower. I thought maybe it would come out all crunchy like popcorn, but no. False advertising! I had low hopes, as my husband (who will eat anything) hates cauliflower, so what are the odds that my kids would like it? But in fact, Abby ate about half of her serving without me having to say anything. And you know who loved it? Lizzy! I couldn't shovel it on her plate fast enough! And that is why it's great to expose babies to all sorts of tastes - they're such willing little taste-testers!

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, rinsed and chopped into florets
2 Tbsp olive oil
ground pepper
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450F. Toss the cauliflower florets in the olive oil and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with ground pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. (Roasting cauliflower will make your house stink to the high heavens. Just a warning.) Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

(see? she loved it!)

MoV Day 14: Honey Glazed Carrots

We're back from vacation, which means it's time to get chomping down our vegetables again! I'm not sure Abby ate a single vegetable while we were gone. Maybe a carrot or two. We were so busy being spoiled by family!

So for Day 14 of the Month of Veggies, we had Honey Glazed Carrots. This was a relatively easy sell, as Abby loves raw carrots and Lizzy loves baked soft carrots. Abby's not usually big on cooked carrots, and I must admit I don't force it - since she loves raw carrots, why try to force her to eat carrots that are glazed with honey and butter? But if you have a kid who needs convincing to eat their carrots, this would be a great way. I love cooked carrots, and these were right up my alley.

Honey Glazed Carrots

1 lb baby carrots
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground ginger
dash salt

Boil the baby carrots to desired softness (I did mine pretty soft for Lizzy to be able to manage). Drain. In pot, melt butter and honey together. Add ginger and salt and stir for 2-3 minutes. Toss in carrots; serve.

Celeste has done something very similar to this dish in the past: Honey and Ginger Glazed Carrots (scroll down; they are part of the dinner date).

MoV Day 13: Fruity Salad

Last night was an easy victory - it was Day 13 of the Month of Veggies: Butterfly Salad. Abby adores romaine lettuce, grapes, and toast - and the "white dip" I made on the side was just the icing on her salad cake!

The only hard part? My homemade wheat bread kept falling apart when I tried to cut it into "butterfly" shapes. So we just broke it into croutons instead and scrapped the whole "butterfly" motif.

In other news - I received my brand-new crinkle cutter in the mail yesterday!! After all the comments about other people loving theirs, you know I just had to order one. So watch out, world, I'm going to be a crinkle-cutting fiend now!

Fruity Salad

Washed and torn romaine lettuce (Abby likes the rinds the best for their crunchy texture)
Red and green grapes, washed and cut into half or quarters
Whole wheat bread, toasted
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash curry powder
dash cinnamon

Arrange a salad of lettuce and grapes. Cut the toasted bread into croutons and arrange on top.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, orange juice, ginger, curry, and cinnamon. Drizzle over the top of the salad, or serve on the side for dipping.

MoV Day 12: Teriyaki Green Beans

Last night we tried Day 12 of the Month of Veggies: Teriyaki Green Beans. Abby has always been kind of "meh" on green beans, but last night she cleaned her plate! Score!

The original recipe called for bottled teriyaki sauce, but we have recently eradicated all high-fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes from Abby's diet. So I made one up from scratch. The sauce made a lot more than I needed for the recipe, but I'll be brushing the rest of it over some baked chicken breast tonight. The sauce came together really fast, in the 5 minutes it took to microwave the green beans!

Teriyaki Green Beans

24 oz frozen green beans
1 cup + 1/4 cup water, divided
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Prepare green beans according to package directions.

Combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, molasses, and honey in a small sauce pan. Begin heating over medium. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/4 cup water. Stir the cornstarch into the sauce. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Toss cooked green beans with about 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce. Serve.

MoV Day 11: Breaded Asparagus

I wanted to serve asparagus with our Easter dinner last night, so it was a great time to try out Month of Veggies Day 11: Breaded Asparagus!

This is also the start of week 3 of the Month of Veggies plan: serve up a tasty sauce or dip. This should be a good week for us, as Abby looooves to dip stuff. She wants "dip dip" served alongside pretty much everything she eats. She had one and a half bites of asparagus, but then refused to eat anymore. Oh well. To look at the silver lining - she tried a bite!

Were I just making asparagus for adults who already like asparagus, I wouldn't bother with breading it. But I think this is a great way to make it look a little more fun and appealing for the younger set.

Breaded Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus, washed, trimmed, and patted dry
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it with non-stick spray. Shake the asparagus and flour together in a zipper bag to coat. Make an assembly line of the asparagus, the eggs in one bowl, and the Panko and Parmesan combined in another bowl:

Dredge each stalk of asparagus in the egg, and then lightly coat with breadcrumbs. Bake on the foil-lined tray for about 15 minutes (more time for thicker spears, but the really thin asparagus would probably take more like 10 minutes).

I made a simple honey mustard to serve with this (2 Tbsp Dijon mustard to 1 tsp honey), but Abby didn't care for that and used ketchup instead. For her one and a half bites. Yup.

MoV Day 9: Fiesta Corn

Fiesta Corn was on the menu last night for Day 9 of our Month of Veggies project. I rarely serve corn, so this was all unfamiliar (or oft-rejected) territory for Abby. In fact, dinner started out like this:

But since ignoring it didn't make it go away, we pressed on. I resorted to bribery - not my favorite tactic by any means, and not something I do often. Every once in a while, I just get tired of Abby refusing to try new things and will tempt her with a treat if she will eat up her vegetables (or whatever it is). I know it's not the best plan, but I'm also not perfect - and when my other tactics fail (taking turns, asking her to take two bites before saying "no thank you", letting her feed some to me), I will sometimes try it. I just want her to try new things - she often ends up liking them and eating them willingly the next time it's offered. Last night, it worked - she cleaned her plate and declared the corn "deeee-licious"!

This corn was indeed delicious. I added in some lime juice to the recipe, because I watch a lot of Top Chef, and Chef Colicchio is always on the contestants' cases if they don't add acid to their dish. I thought it added a nice bright flavor!

Fiesta Corn

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add diced peppers and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender - about 3 minutes. Add in frozen corn. Saute until heated through. Stir in lime juice, chili powder, salt, and coriander. Cook for 1 minute more.

MoV Day 8: Sweet Potato-Parsnip Mash

Day 8 of the Month of Veggies called for a Sweet Potato-Parsnip Mash. Yum! I love mashed sweet potatoes, and the parsnip was a great addition! Abby tried a few bites (which is HUGE - she doesn't usually try anything mashed. Abby is picky, if I haven't made that clear by now...) and Lizzy gobbled hers down (with her hands!).

Sweet Potato-Parsnip Mash

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into chunks
3-4 large parsnips (aiming to have about half as much parsnip as sweet potato), peeled and diced into chunks
1/3 cup apple juice (or cider, when in season)
salt & pepper

Fill a large pot with about 1 inch of water. Add in diced sweet potatoes and parsnips. Bring water to a boil, and then simmer the vegetables for about 15 minutes, until very tender. Drain the vegetables and return to the pot. Add the apple juice and mash well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

MoV Day 7: Roasted Veggie Medley

We moved on to day 7 of the Month of Veggies last night: Roasted Veggie Medley. I LOVE roasted potatoes. I ate pounds and pounds of roasted potatoes while pregnant with Lizzy. Abby has always been iffy on them - one night she'll like them, the next night she won't - so I wasn't sure how this would go over. I thought the Parents recipe was going to make too small an amount, so I made a more generous portion to satisfy this potato-lovin' mama.

As it turned out, Abby tried one potato, and then gagged on a bite of butternut squash (and wouldn't touch a red bell pepper). Lizzy gobbled up everything - this is definitely a great dish to make for little ones who are learning to feed themselves. I had a great big bowlful and was in heaven! I have never roasted vegetables with balsamic vinegar before (I usually just do olive oil) and I loved the addition of that flavor!

Roasted Veggie Medley

2 large baking potatoes, diced into 1-inch chunks
1/2 butternut squash, diced into 1-inch chunks
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper
1 large red bell pepper, diced small

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dried thyme, and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss the potatoes and squash in the dressing. Spread vegetables on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.

Scatter red bell pepper pieces over the vegetables. Continue baking for 15-20 minutes more, until vegetables are tender.

MoV Day 6: Zucchini-Beet Pancakes

We moved onto "week 2" of the Month of Veggies last night. The theme of week 2 is "mix a vegetable your kid likes with something different" and first up was these mini vegetable cakes. Now, I'm not sure which is supposed to be the veggie your kid likes and which is something different - zucchini or beets? They both seem a little out there. The original recipe called for, basically, just jazzing up a boxed corn muffin mix. I decided to start out from scratch!

Zucchini-Beet Pancakes

8.25 oz can of beets, drained and rinsed (or, 1 small roasted beet)
1 small zucchini
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal
2 Tbsp milled flax seed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp honey

Grate or chop the zucchini and beet together in a food processor (I wanted Lizzy to be able to handle these, so I basically ground the veggies together).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, corn meal, flax, baking powder, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir in the grated vegetables.

Drop by 1/4-cupfuls onto hot frying pan or griddle. Cook on each side about 1-2 minutes, until browned and cooked through. We liked our pancakes served with applesauce.


I quite liked these and will finish the leftovers for lunch today. I wouldn't say Abby hated them - she ate almost a whole pancake - but they definitely weren't something she'll be clamoring for. I thought their pink color would appeal more to her princess-loving self than it did! Lizzy, as usual, gobbled everything down with gusto.

If I want Abby to try zucchini again, I'll probably just stick with zucchini nuggets!