Finding Mommy

Monthly dinners - March

As part of my attempt to get a little more creative with Christmas gifts this past Christmas, we gave my inlaws a gift certificate for 12 meals (once a month) at our home. Each month I give them a menu of meals and dates to chose from. They loved it and it's a great way for us to get together each month. I also get to be a little more creative with meals on these days since my kiddos and husband can be a bit picky. Tonight we hosted our monthly dinner and it was yummy!  You can find a copy of the March menu here. My inlaws chose Warm Marinated Olives, Chicken and Green Chiles Enchiladas, and Irish Creme Brulee.  

Warm Marinated Olives (modified from Martha Stewart Living magazine, March 2011)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 chiles de arbol
• 1 rosemary sprig, broken into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 cup of Spanish queen olives, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 cup of kalamata olives, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:

• Heat the oil, chiles, rosemary, fennel and coriander in a saucepan over medium heat about 2 minutes.
• Add the olives and toss.  Heat until the olives are warm, about 10 minutes.

I was given a subscription to Martha Stewart Living for Christmas and I love it! The recipes I've tried so far have been great!

Chicken and Green Chiles Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 4 oz can of diced mild green chiles
• 1 8 oz brick of cream cheese, softened
• 6 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
• Combine chicken, chiles and cream cheese.
• Divide equally into tortillas and roll them up.  Place seam side down in pan.
• Cook, covered, at 350 for 20 minutes.
• Remove cover and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Return to oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
• Serve with sour cream and salsa.

These are really simple and very delicious. I boiled the chicken for about 20 minutes. If you're like me and almost always not prepared, you could place frozen chicken breasts in a crockpot with a cup of water for 8 hours. The chicken is really tender and shreds so nicely this way. I would've done that for this recipe, but my crockpot was being utilized for the refried beans :)

Irish Creme Brulee (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
• superfine sugar as needed

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300.  
• Stir together cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until very hot and sugar is dissolved.
• Whisk together egg yolks, vanilla and Irish creme until well blended.  Slowly whisk in half of the cream mixture a couple of tbsps at a time.  
• Whisk in the remaining cream mixture.
• Pour into 6 ramekins, place in a roasting pan and fill the pan with boiling water to halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake at 300 for 50-60 minutes, until set.
• Remove from pan and set on a wire rack to cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until ready to serve.
• Unwrap ramekins and sprinkle with 1 tsp superfine sugar.  Gently shake the custards to spread the sugar around.
• Broil for 5 minutes until sugar has melted and slightly browned.

This recipe was phenomenal.  I'm salivating just thinking of it.  In fact, I may make some for dessert later!  The top was nice and crisp and the custard was melt-in-your-mouth.  I'm not one who would typically order a non-chocolate dessert, but I can see myself making this over and over again!  Very simple and extremely tasty!

 

Beef stew

Princess has been super emotional lately and two days ago, told me, nearly in tears..."I want stew and you only ever made it one time."  So I complied and made beef stew today (the last time I made lamb stew).  The girls definitely like this version better.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1lb beef stew meat
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 cups of water
• 1 packet of Lipton onion soup mix
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 potatoes, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of green beans, drained

Directions:

• Mix salt and flour in a large plastic baggy.  Add stew meat and toss to coat.
• Brown the stew meat in butter in a large skillet.
• Place browned stew meat in crock pot.  Add in water, soup mix, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans.
• Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
• Serve over steamed rice.

In additon to the rice, we had homemade French bread too.  Yum!  We all really enjoyed this and I hope you do too!

Chicken tortilla soup

I made chicken tortilla soup last night and just had to share this recipe!  I loved it, even if no one else in the family appreciated it.

Modified from Allrecipes:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders (or breasts)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken stock (I used homemade)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup frozen chopped onions
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup Tostitos restaurant style salsa
• corn tortilla chips
• shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Brown chicken tenders in olive oil.
• Cut into small pieces, then mix in garlic powder and cumin.
• Combine chicken, stock, corn, onions, chili powder, and salsa in a pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
• Place a handful of chips in serving bowl, add soup and sprinkle with cheese.  I also put a dollop of sour cream in mine.

I think this is my new favorite soup.  Hope you enjoy it too!

broccoli cheese soup

Yum!  My kids and I both love broccoli cheese soup!  Our favorite is from Panera Bread.  I tried a new recipe today and it comes pretty close to the real thing.  It took about an hour of cooking and the ingredients probably cost more than what I would buy it for at Sam's Club (yes, they now carry Panera Bread broccoli cheese soup at Sam's!), but if you want to know exactly what's going into your food or they're sold out at Sam's (which they often are), you should give it a try.  You won't be disappointed!

Recipe from cdkitchen:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar

Directions

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree. Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

I pureed only about a cup or so in the blender.  We like bigger chunks of broccoli in ours.  It's a pretty easy recipe to follow, if a little time consuming.  Enjoy!

mini pizzas

I do my best to make creative snacks for Princess when she's the snack friend at preschool.  My first idea for the Valentine's Day theme snack was to make heart-shaped banana chocolate chip muffins (a Cook Yourself Thin recipe).  This idea did not work out!  I had not yet tried the recipe so I made a trial batch before our snack day and while I liked the muffins, I decided they were not 3-year old worthy (they were a bit bland). 

So my next idea was to make heart-shaped mini pizzas.  I could not find my heart-shaped cookie cutter but did have a round one so they got round pizzas.  I bought a roll of Pillsbury pizza dough and rolled it out on a cookie sheet.  I then cut out circles with my cookie cutter - I was able to get 15 from one sheet of dough.  I first tried baking the circles on a cookie sheet but they turned out too flat for 3-year olds to add sauce too.  That would be way too messy! 

My next thought was to bake them in a muffin tin.  That worked out great!  I set the oven at 375 degrees instead of the recommended temperature on the pizza dough instructions.  

 

I made my own pizza sauce:  Heat one tsp of olive oil in pan.  Add 1 clove finely chopped garlic and saute for a few minutes.  Then add a pinch of oregano and saute for another minute.  Finally add one 15 oz can of tomato sauce and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

I took the crusts, pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella in for Princess's snack day.  The kids loved it and I thought they were pretty tasty too!

Note:  I've tried making my own pizza crust before, but have not found a recipe we like.  If anyone has a good recipe, please pass it on. 

old habits die hard

One of my goals for the new year, new me was to start eating healthier and work out.  I had been doing pretty well, in fact I've lost about 4-5 lbs.  I've tried making a few of the "Cook Yourself Thin" meals and it's helped me to really focus on what I've been eating.  I also thought I had kicked my daily-can-of-Coke habit.

Then Princess came down with a horrible cold.  Her fever is FINALLY gone (after a week) and she's feeling a bit better, but still has a dreadful cough.  I came down with the same cold starting on Wednesday.  I still feel absolutely horrible!  When I took Princess to the doctor last week I was told it was just a virus and her strep tests came back negative.  So basically we just have to let it pass.  I have now gone back to my daily-can-of-Coke habit because "it makes me feel better."  I also have been neglecting my cooking duties.

Yesterday hubby complained that we had no snacks in the house (right after we had groceries delivered).  So I decided to be a nice wife and make some oatmeal raisin cookies.  Unfortunately we were out of raisins so I had run out to get them.  I was told to also pick up some other snacks.  Here is where I fell completely off the wagon.  I was hungry, sick and tired and going to the store for "snacks."  Instead of telling me what he wanted, hubby sent me to the store without a list to "look around and find snacks."  I came home with Coke, Cheezits, cookies (yes, even though I only needed to add raisins to my already prepared dough), etc.  What a complete waste of money for food that I really don't need to be eating.  We had a ton of cheese, fruit and veggies in the fridge, but instead opted for unhealthy processed junk.  So this week I need to focus on getting back on track, getting rid of some of the junk and really eating good food.  Wish me luck!

orange and lemon cake

Today Princess and I tried the Orange and Lemon Cake recipe from "Cook Yourself Thin."  I was crazy to think that my 3-year old would enjoy grating squash, oranges and lemons.  Ha!  Both tasks were a bit too difficult for her so instead she stood over me getting into everything she shouldn't.  It made the hour spent working on the cake rather stressful!  So aside from having a little helper, the cake was SO much work!  It took forever to grate the butternut squash!  If I hadn't thought it would be more work to find my food processor and figure out how it works again, then I might have tried using that.  Although I'm not even sure that my food processor could be used for that purpose.  Oh well...next time, maybe.  Anyway, here's a picture of the cake (unfortunately I couldn't find the cord for my camera so this one is from the Lifetime website).  I made a double batch of the frosting and used it in the middle of the cake because I forgot to buy lemon curd.

The tv-version of this recipe varied slightly.  Instead of 1/2 cup of sugar in the cake, the tv-version used 1 cup of sugar.  Also 1 cup of confectioner's sugar was used in the frosting instead of 3/4 cup.  As for my own changes, I tried using all-purpose flour instead of grated almonds in the cake mix.  My cake turned out a bit dense and slightly dry, but the flavor was really nice.  If anyone has suggestions for substitutions for the almonds, they would be greatly appreciated!  I couldn't find any nut-free suggestions on the internet.  My frosting was a little thick as well so I'm thinking the 3/4 cup of confectioner's sugar in the frosting would work better.  I used more than the 2 tsp of orange juice suggested to get the consistency I wanted but gave up a little early.  Princess was poking the cake with toothpicks and Mouse was screaming while I was trying to finish up, so it is what it is.  Overall, Princess and hubby really liked the cake and I thought it was pretty good.  I was a little disappointed that it wasn't perfect after I had put so much effort into it.  I'm not sure if I would make this again since it took so long to make, but it sounds like that would be the case with a lot of the desserts from "Cook Yourself Thin."  They all seem to have some sort of grated veggie in them.

On a more positive note, I made the Eggs Benedict with Garlic Aioli for breakfast and LOVED it!  Princess and hubby had the eggs without the sauce but it was their loss.  It was delicious and pretty easy to make!  Yay!

cook yourself thin

I happened upon this show "Cook Yourself Thin" the other day.  I was quite intrigued by some of the recipes they've come up with and wondered if they're any good.  Tonight I attempted my first meal from one of their shows.  I made the turkey mini meatloaves and roasted root veggies.  You can find the original recipe here and below is a picture from the Lifetime website.

Next time I'll be sure to take a picture of my finished product.  There were some differences between the recipe featured on the show and the one posted on the website.  Here's the recipe I used (the tv-version):

For the meatloaves

1 slice whole-wheat bread

1/2 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

5-ounce bag baby spinach leaves

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For the glaze
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot sauce

For the roasted root veggies

3 large carrots, cut on the bias

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut on the bias

1/2 cup asparagus (about 8 stalks)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange oven racks to accommodate two dishes being cooked simultaneously.

2. Tear bread into small pieces and place in bowl with turkey. Pour in milk.  Add cheese, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg and combine.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, and stir until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl meat mixture and combine.

4. Pack 1 cup of the mixture into a 1-cup dry measuring cup. Invert the cup onto a rimmed baking sheet, gently shaking the cup to release the mixture. Gently pat the mound to smooth its shape. Repeat three times with remaining mixture.

5. Make the glaze: In a small bowl combine the ketchup, brown sugar and hot sauce. Brush over meatloaves.  Bake mini meatloaves until cooked through and golden, about 40 minutes.

6. To make the roasted root vegetables: On a baking sheet, toss all the vegetables in the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Add to the oven along with the meatloaves and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring midway through baking.

The meatloaf was pretty simple to put together and my family really liked it (even with the spinach!).  Princess made "mmmmm" noises the entire time she was eating it!  Unfortunately my veggies did not turn out as nice as the picture.  They were pretty wilted.  I cut the pieces a bit small because I was worried they wouldn't be cooked through...I've never roasted veggies before.  Oh well!  Overall I was really happy with the recipe and will make it again.  I did forget to add the Parmesan cheese and used a little less spinach but it still turned out yummy!  The meal took about 20-30 minutes to prepare (I also had to wash some dishes as I went and had a 3-year old helping) and cooked for 40 minutes.  Not the quickest meal I've made, but not bad.

The three experts on the show, Harry Eastwood, Allison Fishman, and Candice Kumai have come up with clever ways of using veggies that I typically wouldn't buy or eat.  The downside is that some of the recipes seem to have a lot of steps and could be quite time consuming.  I have the worst sweet tooth and live for dessert.  Harry shows you how to use veggies to replace some of the fat and calories in your favorite desserts.  Butternut squash or beets in cakes and cupcakes...who would've guessed!  I plan to try many more recipes from their website and will let you know how they work out for us.  Next up, orange and lemon cake.

food for thought

I've seriously tried writing a post about a documentary I watched recently about a dozen times.  I'm just having trouble getting my head around it.  I've done a ton of research and have so much to say about this topic - food.  After much urging from my cousin Renee, I finally sat down and watched Food, Inc.  Upon finishing the movie, I informed my husband that I would never again eat a fast food hamburger.  But what about everything else we eat? 

We typically buy many of the brands featured in this movie.  The way these companies treat the animals that are later processed into our meat is disgusting.  Quite frankly, I'm not interested in eating beef that came from a cow covered in it's own feces and that of the other cows it was cramped into tiny living quarters with.  Gross!  I also do not feel that cleansing our beef with ammonia is an acceptable way to remove E. coli and salmonella as done by Beef Products, Inc.  In the movie Food, Inc. Eldon Roth from BPI stated that the ammonia treated meat was used in 70% of fast food hamburgers across the nation. 

Last summer I had planned to check out the local farmers' market to start supporting our local food sources.  Unfortunately, the thought of navigating a new place with two little ones was overwhelming.  It's just more convenient to visit the local grocery store or order groceries online.  The information brought to light in Food, Inc. has definitely encouraged me to put in a bit of effort to learn more about the food I'm buying.  Where it comes from, what's in it, how the animals are raised, etc.  These are all very important questions.

I've found some very useful sights if you're interested in finding locally grown/raised produce and meats.  LocalHarvest provides lists of farms, farmers' markets and other sources where you can purchase organic produce, grass-fed meats and other products in your area.  Eatwild is a site dedicated to grass-fed food.  You can also check craigslist for listings from farmers in your locale.  My cousin also directed me to a blog that is devoted to eating healthy sustainably farmed foods - Eating with Integrity.  From the looks of things, her food journey began about the same time and in the same way mine has.  You will definitely be hearing more from me on this topic! 

bento boxes

Apparently there is a whole bento craze and I'm just now catching on.  I decided to look up lunch ideas for Princess and me because I'm getting tired of the same old stuff.  Plus after spending a fortune eating out over the weekend, since our cupboards were bare, I decided we need to be eating at home as much as possible.  On top of that, it's healthier (and maybe it will help a little more of this baby weight to disappear).  So I googled "lunch ideas for a 3-year old" and came across some sights about bentos. 

A little background for those of you who are also new to this:  Bento is the Japanese word for a meal served in a box.  The traditional bento consists of 4 parts rice or other carb, 2 parts protein, and 1 part other ingredients such as vegetables.  You can really pack it to meet any dietary need.  One thing I found interesting is that if you pack a tight Japanese-style bento, the calories of the meal will be about the number of millileters that the bento box holds.  I then did a search for bento boxes and there are a ton of sites!  Okay, so it's basically packing a lunch box, but the ideas I've found are so creative and different then the school lunches I used to take. 

 

TomoTomo Collection from Ichicban Kan website

The first site I found was bentolunch.  The author of the blog has 2 kiddos and posts pictures of their daily lunches.  The lunches are really cute and this is what started me on the search for other bento sites.  Another site - justbento - has a ton of bento information on it...recipes, how to pack a bento, how to choose a bento box, freezing food, etc.  That site has pretty much anything you want to know about bento boxes.  I'm really excited to get started.  I've decided to hold off on purchasing bento boxes until I know I'll follow through with it.  Instead I picked up some plastic storage containers at Target and figure I'll try that for a while.  If it doesn't work out, well, you can always use plastic containers!  I have to admit that after looking at some of the bento boxes and the creative things some of these people do with their food, it's taking a lot of restraint on my part not to go crazy purchasing stuff! 

I've already started on freezing some foods.  After watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 (with Emeril Lagasse) the other night, I decided to try out the chili mac recipe he made.  I used ground turkey, instead of ground beef, like Emeril did on the show.  I also added a cup of chopped mushrooms (so the family wouldn't notice them) and a cup of frozen peas.  Chopping onions is the worst, so I always use frozen chopped onions to save on time (and tears).  The recipe turned out really good, but I think next time I'll use a little less oregano. 

I also made my own chicken nuggets (although the fam loved it so much there wasn't a ton left to freeze).  I cut chicken breasts into pieces, dipped them in egg, and then rolled them in bread crumbs.  Bake at 375 until done and voila - tasty and easy!  In addition, I boiled some chicken breasts (to freeze as shredded chicken) and eggs together as suggested on lunchinabox.  Finally I made some mini chocolate chip cookies.  Unfortunately those were gobbled up too quickly to freeze.  But here's a picture...I think they turned out pretty well and are pretty cute!

It's been a busy cooking week for me and hopefully I'll continue to feel motivated and inspired in that department!  Here are some other blogs about bentos I've found that I really enjoy reading: 
*Lunch in a Box - another fantastic site with information on bentos with recipes, how to's, etc.
*Adventures of a Flake - information on Muffin Tin Mondays and other preschooler activites
*Preschool Playbook - also participates in Muffin Tin Mondays and includes preschool activities (I'm really enjoying the posts on learning centers).
*Her Cup Overfloweth - creator of Muffin Tin Mondays

I hope you enjoy checking out those sites too and I plan on getting started on our packed lunches after returning from next week's vacation!  Oh, if you want to know where to buy bento supplies, I liked these two sites best - Daiso Japan and Ichiban Kan.