Fruits & Veggies

September is Fruit & Veggies - More Matters month. I've been doing some research in order to write an article for work spotlighting this National Health Observance. If you've never visited the CDC's website focusing on fruits and vegetables, you should! It is a very cool website. Not only does it outline many of the benefits of fruits & veggies, but it also has a fruit & vegetable of the month, information on what counts as a cup of fruits and veggies, tips, recipes, and interactive tools like "analyze my plate" to get a nutritional analysis of your meals and "recipe remix" to see how you can give your all-time favorites a healthy new twist while reducing fat, calories and sodium.

Candice, Maren, Amanda, Emma, and Mom - I think we should try and cook with the fruit & veggie of the month...starting right now with Celery & Fennel, and Cactus. You in?

Fancy Snack

My husband, Chris' birthday is coming up, and I joked that I am going to get him a membership to a cheese of the month club. (I still might.) Our goal is to become experts in the cheese field. Last week we went to my cousins' wedding reception and one of the things served was a round of brie drizzled with pesto, served with crackers. DElicious. So when I was shopping for the week at Trader Joe's, I brought home a small package of brie ($3). On the outside of the packaging, I found a recipe for these:

(Maren, this title is for you)

Multigrain Crackers with Brie, Apple slices, Walnut halves, a dash of Cinnamon, and a Honey Drizzle

Multigrain crackers
Brie
thinly sliced Apple
Walnut halves
cinnamon
honey

1. Place thin brie slice and an apple on cracker.
2. Top with walnut half.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.


Will someone please help me think of a title that doesn't list every ingredient?

Green Beans at Joe's

If you haven't tried the fried green beans at Joe's Farm Grill, now would be a good time to do so.

8-16-09 menu

Our dinner menu this week:

Sun- chicken enchiladas, spanish rice, southwestern salad, orange yogurt pops

M- homemade Cafe Rio salads, Mexican fried ice cream

T- mini hamburgers, baked zucchini sticks

W- TJs mac n cheese, steamed carrots

Th- bean & cheese burritos, green salad

F- baked potato bar

S- to be determined

Happy Day

Hey, Muth, Karen, Mandy, Shelly and Em- did you realize our blog is now one year old? Happy Birthday Hold the Onions!

Bon Apettit!

Thursday night, six of us met at the movies to see Julie and Julia. It was (in my opinion) OK. The book is probably better? However, thanks to a suggestion by a commenter on Kelli's blog, we came prepared to the theatre. Maren and I stuffed our purses (has there ever even been a rule about not bringing outside food into the movies?) with goodies from Trader Joe's. Here's what we munched on during the show:

strawberries
Belgian chocolate pudding
marcona almonds with rosemary and sea salt
gorgonzola crackers
madelines
cheddar cheese curds
English toffee
crumbly sandwich cookies


It would have been helpful to have TV trays. I wonder what the people behind us were thinking. :))

Italian Cream Sodas

Maren, Emma and I attended a baby shower for friend Sarah on Tuesday night. Sarah's mother, Shawna, is an outstanding cook and hostess. The food table was piled high with homemade salsa and chips, spinach dip, black-bottom cheesecake cupcakes, the most delicious pink frosted sugar cookies, sweet chex mix with coconut (not sure the official name of that one), and fruit and veggies with an assortment of dips. Everything there was so very good. But my favorite treat of the night was the Italian Cream Soda table. I am not usually one to order drinks at a restaurant, I'd rather eat than drink my calories. But these were so special and DELICIOUS, I happily went back for seconds. Emma requested the watermelon/passion fruit combo, which is a popular combination. I had the pina colada, and it was perfection. The bar tender :) told us that their syrups were purchased locally at Smart and Final. I also found them online here. Everything else can be purchased at the grocery store. I cannot wait to serve these at a get-together in the near future.

Italian Cream Sodas

assortment of flavored syrups
small ice cubes (I'm thinking Sonic)
club Soda
half-n-half
whipped cream

Put 1 C ice in a glass. Pour in 3 T flavored syrup, and 3 T half n half. Pour in 1 C club soda, and top with sweetened whipped cream. Serve with a straw, and stir well before drinking.

Sweet Cake's Gooey Bars

A knock-off recipe of the Sweet Cakes found at the Main Street Mesa bakery of the same name. If you are looking for a gooey, super sweet, super easy treat, look no further.

Sweet Cake's Gooey Bars

1 yellow cake mix
3/4 C. chopped walnuts
1 stick butter
1 box of powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg

Mix together cake mix, walnuts and butter---press into a greased 9x13 pan. Mix powdered sugar, egg and cream cheese. Blend thoroughly and spread over bottom layer
Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 or until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

8-9-09 Menu

Sun- chicken, zucch and biscuit kabobs w/ honey butter dipping sauce, watermelon, green tossed salad, sweet cakes

M- ABC pasta w/ meat sauce (first day of kindergarten!), steamed carrots

T- caprese sammies

W- chicken club pizza

Th- BBQ chicken salad

F- chinese chicken salad

Sat- dunno


We had a first day of school party for breakfast this morning- and I decided upon the nutella center for our ebelskiver. HOLY cannolli, they were amazing. I decided to make it a first day of school breakfast tradition. I am so looking forward to expanding my ebelskiver repetoire. Next up- lemon marscapone. Mmmm.

Ebelskiver (and a menu)

This Williams-Sonoma filled pancake (ebelskiver) pan has been on my wishlist for ages. Kelli and Maren gifted me one for my birthday- and I am giving it a try this week. SO excited! My firstborn will be starting kingergarten in ONE week, and we'll be enjoying a first day of school breakfast. The only difficulty is trying to choose a filling... lemon curd, nutella, berry jam... I guess all of them.

Here's what we're eating for din this week:

Sun- Hawaiian chicken, fruit salad, coleslaw, coconut cupcakes

M- fajitas

T- LGO pizza and gelato

W- chicken enchiladas blancas and a green salad

Th- summer corn chowder

F- Girls night out at BJs

Sat- caprese sandwiches

And The Winner Is.....

Comment #10- Carmen! Please send your address to marenann3@yahoo.com and I'll mail it right away. Thank you all for the nice comments- we LOVE it!

Garden Zucchini and Italian Sausage Penne

(sorry for the shadows...I think someone was hovering over the dish in anticipation, and cast a dark shadow upon the dish)

I found this recipe on Stephanie's Kitchen awhile back, but just barely got around to trying it. It was easy and delish!

Garden Zucchini and Italian Sausage Penne

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta of your choice, cooked to al dente

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 pound Italian sausage

2 cups zucchini, chopped

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Brown the Italian sausage in a large skillet.
2. Add zucchini and cook until soft.
3. Pour pasta sauce over the sausage. Cook until sauce comes to a low boil.
4. Add cooked pasta to the skillet and mix well.
5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
6. Eat.

Baked Ziti and a Giveaway

I'm not sure how this hasn't gotten on the blog until now, but it's one of the best recipes EVER! It's from The Best 30 Minute Recipe (aka- our favorite cookbook). I made this easy recipe even easier by adding a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of making it. And since we think more people need this cookbook in their lives, we're giving one away, along with 2 of the cutest potholders from Urban Outfitters. Leave a comment by this Friday at 12:00 noon and we'll randomly select a winner after that. Good luck!

Skillet Baked Ziti

1 T. olive oil
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 jar spaghetti sauce
3 cups water
12 ounces ziti- 3 3/4 cups (I used penne)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella

1. Heat Oven: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees.
2. Simmer Ziti: Combine oil and red pepper flakes in 12 inch ovensafe nonstick skillet and saute over medium high heat about 30 seconds. Add spaghetti sauce, water, and ziti. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
3. Add Cheese and Bake: Stir in cream, parmesan and basil. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven (or if your skillet isn't ovenproof, transfer to a baking dish) and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes.

July 26 menu

I feel like I've been MIA in the meal-planning dept the past few weeks, and I'm ready to get back in the kitchen. Here's what we're eating for dinner this week:

Sun- filet mignon with goat cheese and balsamic glaze, steamed carrots, Kelli's mashed taters and hot buns, BLT salad, and Maren's homemade chocolate almond ice cream and homemade strawberry ice cream. WOW.

Mon- Green Pizza

T- teriyaki chicken with steamed zucchs, carrots, and rice

W- fajitas

Th- linguini with spring vegetables

F- chicken club salad

Sat- breakfast for dinner

Stew Over Mashed Potatoes

A friend made this a few years ago, and I HAD to have the recipe. It's been a family favorite ever since! For the best mashed potato recipe, go here.

Stew Over Mashed Potatoes

1 package beef stew meat
2 cans beef consumme (next to the beef broth)
4 or 5 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 packets brown gravy mix

Flour stew meat, then place in large skillet over medium heat. Add beef consumme and cook for about 2 hours until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and cook about 30 minutes or until carrots are soft. Mix gravy packets with 2 cups water, then add to skillet and stir until sauce thickens. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Product Review

I've been in the market for crackers that I can keep on hand at work for snacking. For awhile I was getting the reduced fat wheat thins, and while they are pretty good, they aren't all that nutritious. About all they have going for them is that they are low in fat. So I decided to try out a couple of different brands to try and find a cracker that was still low in fat, but higher in fiber and lower in salt. And of course it still had to taste good. Here's what I found...

The three contenders -

All Bran Multi Grain Crackers

Wheat Thins Reduced Fat Crackers

Special K Multi-Grain Baked Crackers

(* indicates the winner in the category)

Calories
All Bran: 130
Wheat Thins: 130
*Special K: 120

Fat
All Bran: 6g
Wheat Thins: 3.5g
*Special K: 3g

Sodium
All Bran: 270mg
*Wheat Thins: 260mg
*Special K: 260mg

Fiber
*All Bran: 5g
Wheat Thins: 1g
Special K: 2g

Sugar
*All Bran: 4g
*Wheat Thins: 4g
Special K: 6g

Taste
*All Bran: Delish
Wheat Thins: Pretty good
Special K: Barf x 10

Overall

All Bran: Won 3 categories, but in my opinion taste counts extra, so this is my pick for the overall winner. Sure, they're a bit higher in fat, but they're also significantly higher in fiber, which is pretty good in my book. And they actually taste good! (Most likely because of the fat.)

Wheat Thins: Won 2 categories; while they're not that impressive nutritionally, they are still pretty delicious crackers.

Special K: Won 3 categories, and probably wins the overall nutrition contest (besides being low in fiber), but they taste awful. Seriously terrible. There is a bit of an onion-y flavor that I absolutely detest. It probably didn't help that I tried this box after the delicious higher fat All Bran crackers, but still, they are nasty. Please, I beg of you, do not waste your money or torture your taste buds with these crackers.

Anyone have any suggestions for me on a healthy cracker that still tastes good?

Peanut Butter Balls

A couple weeks back, we had some neighbor kids over and had a Mom-n-Tot cooking class. When all the kids had their tiny aprons tied and hands washed, we mixed up some peanut butter balls and chowed down. The crushing and rolling makes this a perfect recipe for the kids to help with. It was lots of fun, I want to do it another couple times before summer is over. Maren has made a version of these with even healthier ingredients such as flax seed and wheat germ. A friend of ours keeps a batch in her freezer and tells her kids they are cookie dough. :)

Peanut Butter Balls

1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup quick or old fashioned oats
3/4 cup crisp rice cereal (save 1/2 cup to crush)

In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, honey, dry milk, oats and 1/4 cup of the rice cereal. Shape into 1-inch balls. Put the remaining 1/2 cup rice cereal in a large zip-type bag and crush with hands. Place balls in bag and shake until balls are covered with cereal. Freeze for at least 30 minutes before eating.

Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Cups

I've had some Teriyaki sauce from Costco that I'd been wanting to try, so I was searching recipes for Teriyaki Chicken and came across this one from Rachael Ray. I had all the ingredients and it was super simple. My kids were hesitant to try it at first, but after one bite they were hooked! So, so good.

Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Cups

• 1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, remove each leaf carefully to create cups
• 4 carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 4 zucchini, cut into matchsticks

In a large skillet with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, brown the chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Add the teriyaki sauce and brown sugar, and cook until the sauce is reduced and the chicken is cooked through, about another 2 minutes.

Serve the chicken in the iceberg lettuce cups garnished with carrots and zucchini sticks.

Wishin' and Hopin'

We've started our Christmas wish lists, and have more than a few kitchen gadgets in mind. Here are just a few of them:

Individual cupcake stands



A Cuisinart Ice Cream maker (OK, Maren couldn't wait til December and just bought this)



A Cuisipro Stack-N-Scoop (at least, we did want one until we read the less than positive reviews on Amazon... there was one titled "Pooper Scooper)



Lastly, all Kelli wants for Christmas is a Ketchup Charlie Spread Head.

It doesn't take much to make us happy.

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with Buttermilk Syrup

This French Toast recipe is from Williams-Sonoma and it's always been my favorite. It calls for a baguette, but I had a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread to use and it was delicious! The buttermilk syrup is a new recipe that a friend introduced me to and now no other syrup is good enough- it's the best EVER.

French Toast

Ingredients:

1 day-old baguette, cut diagonally into slices
3/4 inch thick (or a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread)

6 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups half-and-half (or you can substitute milk)

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar

Unsalted butter for cooking

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Blackberries or other berries for garnishing
(optional)

Buttermilk syrup for serving

Directions:

In a shallow baking dish, arrange the bread slices in a single layer. In a bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar and whisk until blended. Pour the mixture over the bread, then turn the slices over and let the bread absorb the remaining liquid.

Preheat a griddle according to the manufacturer's instructions and coat generously with butter. When the griddle is hot, cook the bread in batches (do not overcrowd) until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Transfer the French toast to a warmed platter, dust with confectioners' sugar and garnish with berries. Serve immediately with buttermilk syrup alongside. Serves 4.


Buttermilk Syrup

1 stick butter
1/2 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add buttermilk and sugar; bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Serve warm, and restrain yourself from drinking the entire pan. You WILL want to.