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Sun
13 ^th

Macaroni & Cheese Bites With Ham

Posted by Pinparent — 2 Comments

Being a working mom, it is hard to be away from my daughter all day. It is a struggle for me to walk out that door every morning. If I am lucky I get to see her wake before I walk out the door. Most evenings I do not return home until almost 6 pm. When I get home from work, I am so excited to see my munchkin. The last thing I want to do is spend all my time worrying about dinner & then getting into our usual battle over her not eating it. It is exhausting. I try to opt for quick kid friendly food during the work week. It is difficult with my daughter’s picky diet. It is honestly a roll of the dice as to whether she will eat or not. Even her old standby foods sometimes fail us, but still I try. I am always trying to re-introduce foods even the ones she hates in hopes that she will learn to like them. One food that she has never liked & has often puzzled me is mac & cheese. What kid doesn’t like mac & cheese? Mine apparently.

My daughter like most toddlers loves bite sized foods. For some reason it is not simply enough to cut the food into small pieces, it must be formed this way from the get go. I am not complaining though, I find the little morsels to be fun to eat as well. Our last experiment was bite sized macaroni & cheese with ham. Would this fool my little food diva into eating it? Let’s find out.

This is a quick & easy one.

Ingredients:

1 box of Velveeta shells & cheese

1 6 oz ham steak thinly diced (about a cup – 1 1/4 cup)

1 egg

Pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare the boxed mac & cheese. Mix in the diced ham, stir until ham is evenly distributed. Stir in the egg & add pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into a greased mini muffin tin filling to the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Use a spoon to slide out the bites.

Did my bite size treats impress my tough little food critic? Unfortunately this experiment failed me. She took a bite & said, “I don’t like cheese.” & then spit it out. The good news is they were a big hit with my husband. I did get Mai to eat at least an ear of corn on the cob. Back to the drawing board, but for those of you with mac & cheese lovers in your midst, they might enjoy these bites. The battle continues.

Sat
12 ^th

Granola Balls

Posted by Pinparent — 5 Comments

I have a sweet tooth problem. Like most women I know, I love chocolate. I would eat it all the time if I could, but alas, not only am I not supposed to eat a lot of sweets, it is not exactly kind on the waistline. One thing that helps me get my chocolate fix & feeds my sweet tooth is granola. I love making it. I make bars, squares or just straight up granola with chocolate in it of course. It is easy to make & my daughter loves helping me too.

But my favorite of all granola snacks that grace my lunch box are granola balls. There is just enough chocolate to keep me happy, but with no sugar added, I feel less guilty.

Ingredients:

3 cups of quick oats
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup of peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp safflower oil
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup of dark chocolate

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix in honey, oil & vanilla, stirring well. With a fork cut in the peanut butter until mixed well. Add chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Scoop a spoonful of mixture & roll with your hand into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet & bake for 15 minutes.

Sat
24 ^th

Macaroni & Cheese With Bacon Bread Crumbs

Posted by Pinparent — 13 Comments

They say “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” This could very well be true & the fastest way to get there is with a strip of bacon. I don’t know what is about guys & bacon, but I don’t think I have ever met a man yet that didn’t love it, My husband would literally put it on everything if he could. One of his favorite phrases that he mutters during dinner is “I bet this would be good with bacon on it.” Tonight’s meal is all about the hubby.

Ingredients:

1/2 of a package of bacon

1/2 cut of seasoned breadcrumbs

1 1 lb box of shells

2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 cup of margarine or butter

2 cups of milk

1 tsp worcestershire

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

Bacon bread crumbs
Prepare bacon. Cook it on the crispy side. Drain well & blot to get the excess grease off. Cool and crumble into a food processor. Pulse until all of the bacon is in crumbs. Blot more if needed. Mix with the bread crumbs & set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions & drain. Pour drained pasta into a large pot.

Preheat oven to 400. In a saucepan over low heat melt the margarine or butter. Add the flour, salt, ground mustard & pepper. Stir well until smooth. Stir in the milk & add worcestershire sauce. Increase the heat and stir continuously until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Stir until smooth & then pour over the pasta. Mix well until shells are evenly coated & transfer to a baking dish. Top with your bread crumb mixture. I used about 3/4 of a cup. Use how ever little or a lot that you prefer. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fri
23 ^rd

Banana Rice Pudding

Posted by Pinparent — 5 Comments

Rice, rice, baby!! We love rice in our house. We love it so much that we own not one, but two rice cookers. When my mother was still alive, God rest her soul, she would buy me a fifty pound bag of rice every year along with my favorite soy sauce. When you have that much rice at your fingertips, you want to find different ways to cook it. I like it plain, fried, in risotto & it also makes a lovely rice pudding. For a smoother, creamier pudding use a smaller grain of rice. If you prefer your pudding with a bit more texture use a longer grain of rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked rice

2 ripe bananas

1 egg (beaten & at room temperature)

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 cups of water

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp margarine or butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine rice, water, margarine & salt. Bring to a boil. Cover & cook for 2o minutes. Do not stir! In a mixing bowl smash up the bananas with a fork. Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon & 1/2 cup of milk to the banana. Mix well. After rice is done cooking, pour the banana mixture over the rice & stir. Cover & simmer for an additional 20 minutes stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes remove from heat & beat in the egg. Beat for a minute & then add the other 1/2 cup of milk. Chill. Top with whipped cream & serve.

Mai really liked the rice pudding. In between every bite, she kept telling me “Thank you, Mama.” You are welcome, sweetheart.

Sun
18 ^th

Foam Play Food

Posted by Pinparent — 9 Comments

Like many children my daughter’s age, she loves being mommy’s little helper. This past week she has been very eager to help me in the kitchen. I let her measure out ingredients and stir. She plays with the food scraps & measuring spoons & loves every minute of it.
One of her favorite things to do is to make “soup”. She loves pouring liquid from container to container & she loves throwing things in the liquid as well. She has come up with some interesting combinations in some interesting places. Do not ever leave my daughter alone with her milk or juice. You never know where you might find it later.

After helping me make dinner tonight, she wanted to help with the dishes too. There were a lot of sharp items that needed washing, I needed her to stay occupied elsewhere. I gave her a few different sizes of plastic bowls, some measuring cups & spoons and some water to play with.

As usual she told me she was making soup. She started grabbing at random objects on our island to throw in her bowls. Remember those capsules that grew into little foam creatures when they got wet? She grabbed a few of those & threw them in. They turned into different fish. “I make a fish soup, Mama. I mixing it.” This gave me an idea. I grabbed a few sheets of foam from our craft bin & cut out some little foam fish for her to add to her fish soup. This was fun. She was chasing the little fish with the tablespoon and fishing them out one by one.

From there, Mai asked for tomatoes and potatoes. We ended up quickly making up a whole smorgasbord of foam food to throw in her soup; meatballs, spaghetti, broccoli, onion, etc. This added a whole new dimension to her water play. It was a quick and easy project that my daughter loved.

This kept her occupied long enough that I actually got to do something I have not done in quite a while…clean my house. With Mai deeply immersed in cooking her foam food soup, I was able to clean up after dinner and straighten up our pit of a living room a little bit. Mommy of course had to taste test it. “Mama, eat it.” Mmmmm…foam soup is delicious. Good job cooking, my sweet girl.

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Tue
13 ^th

Oven Baked “Fried” Chicken

Posted by Pinparent — 7 Comments

I love fried foods. The problem is they don’t feel the same way about me. With all my tummy issues, it is impossible for me to eat anything deep fried. I miss french fries, chicken wings & fried chicken. Luckily, all of these naughty foods can also be baked in lieu of frying.

Oven Baked “Fried” Chicken

Ingredients:

A family size package of drumsticks (about 12 drumsticks)

2 cups of Panko bread crumbs

1 cup of parmesan cheese

1 cup of flour

2 eggs beaten

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp paprika

Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, oregano, garlic salt, paprika & pepper in a large bowl. Pat the chicken dry. Dip the chicken in flour & then dip into the egg. Put a 1/4 of the breadcrumb mixture into a large Ziplock bag. Put 3 chicken legs in the bag & shake until well coated. Dispose of the leftover contents of the Ziplock bag. Do this 3 more times until you have coated all of the chicken legs and have used all of the breaded mixture. Place the breaded drumsticks on a foil lined baking sheet & bake for 45 minutes.

Related Topics:

http://realisticcookingideas.com/2014/05/12/braised-balsamic-chicken-with-shallots/

http://morriseatstheworld.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/sweet-chilli-chicken-goujons-with-tescos-herby-potatoes/

http://myhoustonmajic.com/3139690/quick-meal-monday-chicken-francaise-recipe/

Tue
06 ^th

Maple & Swiss Turkey Meatballs

Posted by Pinparent — 10 Comments

As you all well know, my daughter is a picky eater. There are very few things that I put in front of her that she will eat. We have our old standbys that usually work. For breakfast french toast balls or nanna’s pancakes are a sure fire hit. For lunch a basic cheese sandwich with ranch dressing will usually do the trick and for supper meatballs or meatloaf are a safe bet. As of the past month our daughter has begun commenting that her food is “too spicy”. This is a strange comment as mommy never makes spicy food. She has developed a fear of her old favorite the meatball over the “too spicy” concern, Mommy thought she would squash this fear by making her some sweet meatballs & since one of her favorite things to eat is maple syrup it was the perfect combination.

Maple and Swiss Meatballs

Ingredients:
20oz of ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup of wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup of real maple syrup
1 cup of shredded swiss cheese
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Combine all the ingredients except the cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add the cheese and mix in with your hands evenly distributing the cheese throughout. Shape mixture into small balls about 1″ round. Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil & spray with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked fully through. Cook times may vary.

In a stroke of pure genius from my husband, he made cocktail meatballs by sticking pretzel sticks in the middle of them. What a great idea instead of a toothpick. I will be trying this at our next party.

Mai has been practicing with her chopsticks and getting pretty good at it. She gobbled up her meatballs and they were not too spicy.

Related Topics:

http://trialanderrorkitchen.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/turkey-meatballs/

http://ktoonkooks.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/succulent-spaghetti-meatballs/

http://meggoesnomnom.com/2014/05/01/gingery-pork-meatballs-with-noodles/

Mon
28 ^th

Barbecue Ham Fried Rice

Posted by Pinparent — 7 Comments

Being Vietnamese, I grew up eating rice. I ate a lot of rice. As an adult not much has changed. It is one of my favorite side dishes to a meal, but rice doesn’t only have to be a side dish. Sometimes it can be the main course.

Ingredients:

Day old rice – 2 cups measured before cooking.

2 ham steaks, cubed

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1/2 cup of thinly chopped or shredded carrot

1/2 cup of chopped baby corn

1 can of chopped water chestnuts

1 cup of frozen peas

2 eggs

2 tbsp of olive oil

Sauce

1/4 cup of raspberry jam

1/4 cup of bbq sauce

1/2 tsp of minced garlic

2 tbsp of seasoned soy sauce ( Green mountain or Maggi are my favorites,) They have a completely different taste than Kikkoman or La Choy.

Pepper to taste 1 tbsp of water

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir well.

Directions:

Cook 2 cups of white rice. Refrigerate overnight. This is important. Fresh rice will make for mushy fried rice.

Cut the skin of the outside of the ham steaks & cube into 1/4 inch chunks. Chop and set aside all vegetables except the peas.

Scramble the eggs with a splash of water. Water makes for fluffier eggs. Spray a large frying pan or electric skillet with cooking spray. Turn the stove or skillet to medium- low heat. Add the egg. When the bottom of the egg firms, flip it quickly. Let cook briefly. You want them just firm and fluffy. Transfer to a bowl and set side.

Turn up the heat to medium – high heat. Add a tbsp of olive oil. Add the ham & stir, cooking until the edges brown slightly. Add all the vegetables. Stir until the peas have thawed and onions have tendered. Pour the sauce mixture over the vegetables. Stir until evenly coated. Pour vegetables into a bowl and set aside.

Add another tbsp of oil & add to the pan or skillet. Add the rice. The rice will be hard and need to be broken apart as you stir. Spread out in a flat layer & and fry until the edges brown slightly. Pour the vegetable and sauce mixture over the top and stir until the rice, vegetables and sauce are evenly distributed. Remove from the heat & toss in the egg. Serve hot.

I love to eat with chopsticks when I can.

Mai wanted to learn too.

This was a huge hit. My husband ate 3 full plates worth. That is all the applause I need.

Related Topics:

http://aimslicious.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/chicken-biryani/ http://angeladelight.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/risotto-broccoli-gruyere/

Wed
19 ^th

Pasta La Carbonara

Posted by Pinparent — 12 Comments

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. Not only was it the anniversary of my mother’s passing, but I received a phone call at work from my brother-in-law letting me know that my husband had been in a car accident while on duty. Luckily, my husband left the accident with only a few aches and pains and a dented cruiser. I was very happy to have my injured hubby home in one piece. It was definitely an occasion for comfort food & comfort for my husband start with bacon.

Pasta La Carbonara

While this is a fairly simple recipe to make, timing is very important in preparing this dish. The egg is added to the dish at the very end & is cooked by the heat of the pasta. It is very important that the past is hot, so the bacon must be ready before or at the same time as the pasta. Also, be sure to have your egg mixture ready before you finish your pasta.

Ingredients:

1/2 package of extra thick cut bacon (chopped into 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces)

1 lb of pasta

3 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup of parmesan

1/2 tbsp of minced garlic

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tbsp of garlic salt

Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet add olive oil & bacon. Cook over medium heat. Cook the bacon halfway through & add the minced garlic. Cook until just under crispy. Drain excess grease, leaving a little in the skillet to toss the pasta in & flavor. Cover & set aside until the pasta is ready. Make sure that the bacon is finished before the pasta. You need the pasta to be hot.

In a mixing bowl beat the egg. Add the parmesan, garlic salt & pepper. *Prepare this before the pasta is finished cooking. It must be added to the pasta while still hot as the heat of the pasta is what cooks the egg.*

While the bacon is cooking, cook the pasta. Drain the pasta & immediately add to the skillet & toss with the bacon. Remove from the heat and add the egg mixture and toss together. The egg will cook as you toss it & form a creamy sauce. Enjoy!

My husband may have been in pain, but he had a happy belly & even had room for seconds.

Related Topics:

http://inmamastephskitchen.com/2014/03/18/dinner-in-10-one-pan-spicy-tomato-pasta/

http://cookingandmyfamily.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/ragu-and-pasta/

http://yourperfectburn.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/shrimp-curry-with-cream-sauce/

Sun
02 ^nd

Peanut Butter Apple Crisp

Posted by Pinparent — 14 Comments

Peanut butter is one of those thing that I think that you can couple with just about anything. I have always loved peanut butter… peanut butter & jelly, peanut butter on celery, peanut butter with bananas & one of my all time favorites peanut butter & apples. If you have never tried it, it may sound strange, but it is a wonderful combination.
My daughter in one of her unusual requests, asked for an apple pie & watermelon this morning for breakfast. It got a chuckle out of me & then got me thinking, an apple pie did sound good. I decided on an apple crisp instead & while in the midst of making it, started thinking about my favorite snack. This resulted in a fruity peanut buttery treat.

Peanut Butter Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

5 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of quick oats

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of melted butter or margarine

3 Tbsp of creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp of salt

Ice cream or whipped cream for an optional topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add the peanut butter & melted butter. Mix well using a fork to smash the ingredients together. Do this until the mixture is crumbly & well blended.

Peel, core & slice the apples & place slices in a 9 1/2 inch round baking dish. Add the peanut butter crumble over the apples evenly. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly & serve warm topped with ice cream or cream. Enjoy!

Related Topics:

http://prettylittlepastimes.com/2014/03/02/national-peanut-butter-lovers-day/

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