Veggie-Filled Meatballs for Babies...and Adults too!

Me again,

I know, I know...two posts in one night is a record lately.  I have been taking tonnes of pictures as usual, but cannot find the time to post them for you.  I wanted to share this recipe that I found on Parents.com because Hudson loves these and since you'll be watching him for two nights this weekend and four nights in January, it will give you something special to make for him!

Veggie-Filled Meatballs

The key here is making the mixture ahead of time and letting it sit (in the fridge).  I tried to speed it up once and cook them right after mixing and they were too crumbly for him to pick up...he ended up just smooshing them like playdoh in his fingers!

Ingredients:
 1 egg
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c shredded carrot
1/2 c chopped spinach
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 whole wheat bread crumbs

Mix together the egg, applesauce, spinach, onions, salt and pepper. In another bowl, mix together the turkey and breadcrumbs.  Then fold the egg mixture into the turkey mixture and blend them well.  Cover the bowl and through it in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.  (Like I said, this is important to do! The breadcrumbs absorb the moisture and flavour).

When you're ready to cook them, pre-heat your oven to 450.  Take the mixture out and shape it into mini balls (1 inch is suggested...mine are prob about 2 inches!) and place them on a baking pan.  Cook them for 8-10 minutes until there is no pink inside.

You can serve these meatballs as is, with a pasta sauce or throw them on a pizza.  Hudson eats them plain, but has had them with pasta shells and sauce too and he gobbles them right up!  Rob really likes them too with his spaghetti.  I am loving that I can now cook one thing for everyone at the table! Woo hoo!

xoxo moi

Mini Holiday Banana Zucchini Loaves

Hi Mom!
Just wanted to share this pic featuring the cutest little mini loaf liners I picked up today at Homesense ($5 for 8 liners).  Then, based on what I had in the house (only 2 bananas!), I went online to AllRecipes.com and found this excellent recipe for Banana-Zucchini Bread...which only called for 2 bananas instead of the 5 it would take for banana bread.

This recipe made 8 mini loaves and 6 large muffins:

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 c of veggie oil
2/3 c of brown sugar
1 c white sugar
1 c grated zucchini
2 bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 c of flour (I used 2 c of white flour, 1 1/2 of whole wheat)
1 tbps cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips (my addition!)

Preheat oven to 325.  Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ones in another.  They suggest beating the eggs first and making sure your banana is mashed, but I just blended them altogether and it worked well.

I have to actually admit that I was also preparing Hudson's dinner at the same time so when I poured the mixture into the liners and was about to bake them, I checked the recipe to see how long they should be in for and realized...I didn't put any sugar in the mix!!!  Oopsies!  I had to scrape out each liner, re-mix it all with the white and brown sugar and then put them in the oven!

I baked them for about 40 minutes, but checked with my cake-tester after 20, then again after another 10, until about 40 minutes had passed.  Let them cool before storing them...but be sure to test a muffin while it's still warm!

Of course, I added chocolate chips and omitted the cranberries and nuts that are included in the on-line recipe.  I had a bit of leftover batter, so Rob was thrilled that I made a few extra muffins as well.  I am going to freeze the loaves and give them as gifts, wrapped in cellophane in a few weeks time.

xoxo me

Energy Bites!

Well I don't know what took me so long to discover the wonderful world of Pinterest...but I've been a busy little thing on my iPhone all summer collecting amazing recipes to try!  This one is for quick little energy bites, kind of like a sticky granola bar really...super fast to make and super delicious too.  I think you're going to love these ones mom - I'll try my best to save you at least one for your visit on Wednesday!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of oats
1/2 peanut butter (or another nut butter of your choice)
1/2 cup of flaxseed (ground or milled work)
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (or sliced almonds, or sunflower seeds, or raisins, or cranberries...you get the idea!)
1/3 cup of honey
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Just mix it all together with a fork and VOILA!  Use your hands to roll the mixture into bite-sized balls.  It made about 24 good-sized bites that I then put into individual mini cupcake liners for storage.  These bites can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!
xoxo

Whole Wheat Crepes

Happy Father's Day!  This morning was my hubby's very first one, so my little babe Hudson and I decided to trying making one of his favourites for breakfast: CREPES!  I'm not the greatest pancake maker, so I searched on Pinterest (my newest addiction) and found this fantastic and easy recipe from Allrecipes.com called "Basic Crepes."

You'll need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I substituted for WW Flour and they turned out great!)

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

First, whisk together the whole wheat flour and the eggs in a mizing bowl. Then gradually add in the milk and the water as you stir. Finally, add the salt and the melted butter and beat the mixture until it's smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. (I just sprayed it lightly with PAM). Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, using approximately a 1/4 cup of mixture for each crepe. They suggest tilting the pan with a "circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly."  I just used the spoon I scooped it into the pan with to spread it around in a thin layered circle.
The recipe says to cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown.  I found that they cooked much faster than that so you'll see when the batter looks like it's hardening, I flipped it with no problems and cooked the other side...probably only took about 2 1/2 minutes in total.

I had to use what we had on hand as filling, so we cute up some fresh Ontario strawberries (hooray, they're in season!) and bananas.  We filled the crepes with vanilla yogurt and the fruit, rolled them up, and topped it off with some local maple syrup.

A tasty treat to start the day! 

Simple Scallops and Acorn Squash

Since having our little bundle of joy and exclusively breast-feeding him, Rob and I have not been out for dinner in over four months!  Not to say we haven't eaten take-out; but when you're craving the most delicious scallops ever (cooked perfectly at Lapointes Fish Market Restaurant in Bells Corners), you just can't take that out.

SCALLOPS:

I've never tackled cooking scallops before, but I needed them last week...so I thought I'd give it a try!  I actually searched recipe upon recipe and even watched some YouTube videos (Paula Dean's was great) to see what the best methods were, and realized that for my first time, simpler would be better.

All I did to achieve an excellent result was to drain the scallops and rinse them in the colander under cool water. Then, and this is key, I patted them dry...very dry on both sides.  Next, have your skillet on high heat with some butter on the stove.  Salt and pepper both sides of the scallops and when that skillet is hot, throw them on.  Watch them carefully and let them cook on one side until they are opaque to only a quarter the thickness from the bottom (Literally 1-2 minutes).  Then flip them and cook again until opaque all the way (another 2 minutes).  The reason that you want them super dry before throwing them into the skillet is so that they develop this delectable and perfect brown crust from the butter and high heat.

Be sure to remove them from the heat and skillet right away and plate them so they do not keep cooking.  I served them up on lettuce because I had been watching the Food Network that day and thought I was very fancy!

ACORN SQUASH (in the microwave...don't judge me!):

If I had known how easy this squash was to make and how delicious it tastes on its own, I would have lived off of this in University! Cut your acorn squash in half, scoop and clean the middle and place both halves down in a glass microwaveable dish.  Microwave on high for 7 minutes.

Remove the dish and flip the squash face-up (Be careful - they are really freakin hot!).  Add a little pat of butter or marge to each half and return the dish to the microwave for another 7 minutes on high.

Remove the dish again and use a fork or spoon to separate the squash from the skin and mash it up into another bowl or right onto your plates to serve.  Add salt and pepper if you wish...but that's it!

Amazing eh?  I also served up some cooked green beans and red peppers and this was one heavenly meal!

Enjoy xoxo

Spicy Sausage Penne - Vegetarian Style!

This recipe is my go-to on busy nights because it has so much flavour but cooks fast, is easy and delicious!  Even Rob eats it (without my using "real" sausage!)

I loooooove Pampered Chef tools and this recipe comes from their "It's Good For You" healthy family recipes cookbook.

You'll need:


8 oz of uncooked penne pasta noodles
1 lb of hot italian turkey sausage (I use 4 TOFURKEY sausages as a replacement)
1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow and 1 orange bell pepper (each cut into strips)
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic (use the press for this)
1 can of diced tomatoes (I cheat even more and use the ones in italian spices)
1 8oz can of tomato sauce 
2 tsp of Italian seasoning
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.  Drain it and keep it warm.

2. While the pasta is cooking, get started on the sausage, cooking over medium heat (or medium high if using real sausage)...a few minutes for Tofurkey, or until lightly brown if real sausage.

NOTE: PC wants you to cook the sausage, then cut it into diagonal, 1 inch pieces, I actually cut the sausage first and then cook it...your choice!

3. Take the sausage out of the skillet and put in the bell peppers, onion  and garlic.  Cook over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes.  Add the sausage back into the skillet along with the tomatoes and tomato sauce and seasoning.  Cook and stir for another few minutes.

4. Place the warm pasta in a bowl and top it with the skillet sauce.  Divide among your plates and top with the fresh parmesan cheese...et VOILA!

Did I say it was simple or what?!!!  You'll see in my picture that I also add zucchini (because I love it!) to the recipe.  Just cook it at the same time as the bell peppers if you wish to do the same.

My mouth is watering and there are still a few hours until lunch...not good!

xoxo

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Yikes...we did it again Mom!  I now have a four month old busy boy at home - what's your excuse?!!!  I've been taking as many pictures of food as I have of Hudson, but haven't had a chance to get them up here for you.  Sorry about that!

I'll start with this delicious gem of a recipe.  Incredibly tasty and filling and not as difficult as it may look, these quinoa stuffed bell peppers are so good for you too!  This recipe is from one of my old Vegetarian Times Magazines.


You'll need:

• 2 tbsp of olive oil 
• 1 medium onion - chop it finely
• 3 large carrots - grate these
• 1/2 cup of celery - also chopped
• 1 10oz pkg. of frozen chopped spinach (thaw it and squeeze the water out)
• 2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes (drain them but keep the liquid)
• 1 15oz can of black beans (rinse and drain these)
• ¾ cup quinoa
• 1 tbsp of ground cumin
• 2 cloves of garlic - minced (I use the pre-minced in a jar)
• 1 ½ cups of pepper jack cheese (grate it, and you can use a reduced fat version as well)
• 4 large bell peppers (I used red and yellow)

The recipe calls for you to half them right away, but I stuffed the peppers whole after cleaning them out and it worked beautifully (PLUS it looked cooler when serving on a plate with their little stem hats on!!!

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Heat the olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and the celery, and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the cumin and the garlic, and sauté for another minute. Stir in the spinach and the drained tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes (or until most of liquid has evaporated).

2. Now, stir in the black beans, the quinoa, the carrots, and add 2 cups of water. Cover the pan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer it for 20 minutes (or until the quinoa is tender). Stir in 1 cup of the cheese. Season it all with salt and pepper (if you want to...I did!).

3. Pour the liquid from your canned tomatoes into the bottom of a baking dish.

4. Fill each bell pepper with a solid heaping of the quinoa mixture, and place it in the baking dish. Cover it up with aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour. Uncover them and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tbsp of remaining cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes (or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned). Let them stand for 5 minutes before serving.  You can also serve them with some of the pan juices on top...extra tasty! 

Let me know if you make this one...I think I'm going to have to do it again next week!

Enjoy xoxo

Zucchini Banana & Flax Mmmmmuffins

So here's my latest obsession - I make a batch of these delicious and healthy muffins every week!  They are so simple to make and taste so moist and hearty too.  They go perfectly with a smoothie for breakfast or with some plain yogurt as a snack.

The recipe comes from the Septemeber 2011 issue of Everyday Food Magazine (a Martha Stewart mag):

You'll need:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup flaxseed (ground)
1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups coarsly grated zucchini (1 large zucchini)
1/3 cup mashed ripe banana (1 banana)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten 
1 tsp vanilla extract

* As usual, I tried some substitutions and they worked!  I substituted all the flour for whole wheat flour and whole milk for the same amount of unsweetened soy milk.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together the powder ingredients (flour, brown sugar, flaxseed, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon.  Next add the zucchini and banana and stir them in.  In another small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and vanilla before adding it to the flour mixture.  Combine these together but do not over mix them.


Divide the mixture among your muffin cups and bake them for about 22 minutes (depending on your oven). Use a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through. Let them cool for about 30 minutes...but eat one fresh out of the oven first!

Enjoy! xoxo

Vegetarian Yellow Split Pea Soup Recipe

Hearty Canadians know that there is nothing like a hot thick soup to help you enjoy our winter. Here is a soup that can be readily made even in the midst of a winter storm when you can't get out shopping for ingredients. It is made with what we usually have already in the refrigerator and pantry. Simple and very good!!

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 carrot, chopped
2 cups dried split yellow peas, picked over and rinsed
5 to 8 cups liquid (The amount depends on how thick you want the soup. For the liquid, you can use water or vegetable bouillon. For the one I made most recently, I used the used the water I saved from steaming potatoes the night before.)
½ tsp paprika (to taste)
½ tsp cumin (to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a big pot over medium high heat. Stir in onions and cook until the onions soften. Add carrots and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes on medium low. Add the split peas, salt and water, paprika and cumin. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for about 60 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through until the soup is textured the way you like it. If you need to thin the soup out with more liquid, add just a bit at a time. As you can see from the picture we like it pretty thick. Adjust to taste with more cumin, paprika as well as freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Serve piping hot! A great way to warm up when you in from the cold.

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

I love hot oatmeal for breakfast. Until I found this recipe, I had been using the more common version of quick oats in the microwave. It was quick and gave me what I needed for that meal. While I knew it was better for me than some breakfast cereals, I also knew that a less processed version of oatmeal would be even better. It seems that the steel cut oats are much better. Because they have not been processed, they have more nutrients and also take longer to digest, meaning that a bowl should keep you pretty satisfied all morning without having to snack before lunch. However, unlike the immediate convenience of the quick oats, this requires advance planning and preparation. The good news is that the advance preparation gives you many servings and so it actually is easier for the rest of the week. You can find a number of recipes on line for slow cooker steel cut oats. I looked at a few to help me put together the recipe below. I was particularly interested in using a recipe that asked for apples as my freezer is full of sliced apples from a very abundant harvest from our two Cortland apples trees this past fall.

This recipe makes 5 one cup servings,

Ingredients
• 2 apples, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2-1/2 to 3 cups)
• 1-1/2 cups fat-free milk
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine (adds to the texture)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

You can also add other ingredients before cooking, such as 2 teaspoons ground flax seed, bran or try experimenting with other ingredients

Optional garnishes: chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup, additional milk.

Directions
Very lightly coat inside your slow cooker with cooking spray or other ingredient to keep it from sticking (I take a little bit of margarine on a piece of wax paper to coat the inside). Add all ingredients, except for the optional topping to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours. It comes out pretty thick. Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add optional toppings, if desired. Because this recipe makes 5 cups, it is enough for the week. I store the leftover in the refrigerator and and reheat about a 3/4 cup at a time in the microwave and add some milk and topping before eating. It also freezes well.

If you want to double the recipe, use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Increase cooking time 1 hour.

Mushroom & Leek Gratin

How can anything with the title "Gratin" be a bad thing?  I have been devouring Portobello mushrooms lately and decided I needed a switch from roasting or barbecuing them with garlic and balsamic vinegar, so I came across this delicious-looking recipe for "Mushroom and Leek Gratin" in my December 2011 edition of Food Everyday magazine.

Ingredients:
6-8 Portobello mushrooms (stemmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick)
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts sliced in 1/4 inch thick half-moons)
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream *
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 finely grated Parmesan cheese
* I can't stomach heavy cream too well, but instead substituted 1/2 cup of soy milk and 1/4 cup of light cream cheese.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet and toss in mushrooms.  Cook until they're softened (about 10 mins) and transfer them to a paper towel lined dish.  In the same skillet, add another 2 tbps oil and toss the leeks about with salt and pepper for about 8 mins.  To the leeks, add the wine until it is almost evaporated.  Next, add the cream (or my substituted mixture), the lemon juice and thyme leaves.  Mix together and transfer this mixture into a baking dish.  Top the mixture with the cooked mushroom slices, overlapping them a little.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake the dish for about 20 minutes (or until it begins bubbling).

I made this as a main dish served with baguette, as we were only two eating it, but it could easily be a side dish for more guests.  It yields about 8 small servings (or 3-4 dinner sized servings).  I re-heated some the next day and served some to my brother and it was just as delicious as the previous night.

Looking forward to making this one again!

Mmmmmuffins!!!

Wow - mom we've really dropped the ball on posting anything since the summer!  Can you tell we were both working from home at that point?!  I know we've both been busy trying lots of new recipes, so let's get back to posting as many as possible.  I'm still waiting for your steel oats recipe and butternut squash soup too.

Today, I was craving mixed nuts and was browsing around Kardish Foods in their bulk bins.  After filling about ten bags of different nuts (and some chocolate-covered cranberries) I came across a new-to-me line of pre-made mixes.  I decided to give this one a shot, since I am out of GF flour mixes at home.  The brand is called "Judy's Magic Mixes" and comes from our East-end in Cumberland, Ontario (which makes me happy to know I'm supporting local, home-based business).
                                  
This particular mix is called "Add Your Own Magic Muffin Mix."  Looking at what was needed on the back of the bag, I knew I could go home and make them right away.

The recipe calls for you to add:
1/2 cup of oil
3/4 cup of mashed banana
1/2 cup of hot water
to their bag of mix, which is a blend of gluten-free (GF) flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt and ground vanilla beans.

Instead of oil, I used applesauce and the results were still fantastic.  You could easily add other dried fruit or chocolate chips (as I did...come on I'm days away from giving birth here!)  These muffins even got the seal of approval from Rob too, even after I told him they were "gluten-free," which normally scares him away.

I would definitely make these again.  It yielded about 16 muffins (although the package says 12, they're quite large even at 16).  A great mid-afternoon snack.

Enjoy!