Tag: Food

A Nostalgic Lunch

What to do for lunch? That question is the question I battle with almost daily. I never want to get boring or bland with the lunches I make for my little guys. I partake in Muffin Tin Mondays sometimes, which is fun. You arrange all kinds of yummy food in muffin tins, kids love it.

While trying to figure out what to make yesterday all I knew is I wanted it to be warm and comforting. I also did not want it to be too filling since it was only lunch time and we have 2 snacks times during the day. I thought chicken noodle soup sounded yummy, open the cupboard – no chicken, no noodles, no soup.

But I did come across Tomato Soup. YES! What goes perfectly with Tomato Soup? Of course, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

I loved this always as a child, so delicious, warming, comforting, the perfect combination of flavors.

Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese, Sliced Carrots & Applesauce

My kids love this meal too! Even though I almost always forget to make it. Last time they had it must have been last spring. They even decided to put their sliced carrots in the soup.

What really blew me away: my middle child. The ULTRA picky almost 5 year old had 3 servings of soup. I was shocked he even tried it, but I played it cool and he kept asking for more, success!!

February 4, 2011
Quick, Low-Cost, Yummy Dinner

Yesterday marked day 3 of being at home. We ran out of a lot of things in our kitchen. I wanted to throw something warm and comforting together. I also spent most of the afternoon reorganizing so when dinner time came let’s just say I didn’t have a lot of time or energy.

I went to the pantry and found 2 cans of cooked chicken breast (a nice item to have, quick and versatile), I also had carrots that I needed to use, chicken stock was the 3rd thing I found. I then went to allrecipes.com and did an ingredient search… The results came back and they had some excellent chicken recipes… most take some time to prepare and cook.

Back to the fridge… Pillsbury rolls… cheese. Got it… Cheesy Chicken Popovers, the quick and easy version.

I brought 2 cups of stock to a boil, then added 1/4 cp milk and 1 tbsp of corn starch, brought to a boil and then reduced the heat and added chicken and sliced carrots, added salt, pepper, seasoned salt, onion salt and garlic salt. I also added 2 tbsp of cream cheese and a 1/2 cup of marbled cheddar.

I rolled out Pillsbury biscuits and put them in my Jumbo Muffin Pan (they do not look there is much room, but this is a JUMBO pan). Baked them for 5 minutes.

this were baked for 5 minutes

I then filled them and topped each one with another rolled biscuit. Baked for 8 minutes on 350.

In the oven

with Munster on top

One Happy Diner

They were delicious. One thing I would change is the type of Pillsbury rolls, I only had Flaky Layers Biscuits, would have preferred Crescent Dough.

Kids and husband gobbled them up.

February 3, 2011
A Delicious Gift from God
What’s not to love about avocados? They might be the most delicious super-food in the world.

Healthy snacks that my kids like are sometimes hard to come up with. One thing that has proved to be a favorite is avocados. Avocados, like many fruits and vegetables, amaze me. That you can walk up to a tree, pick a fruit, cut it open and enjoy it fascinates me. Avocados are creamy, light, and delicious.

Cut Avocado

The possibilities are almost endless. Some ways we like to use them:
- Guacamole – mashed with garlic salt, chili powder, splash of lemon and salt
- Sliced on sandwiches and burgers
- Diced and served with eggs, sliced tomatoes and toast
- Served with chips or crackers
- Eaten with a spoon
Unfortunately they are expensive but sometimes we can find them for $1.00. I picked some up and we enjoyed them the good old fashioned way.

Diced in the skin, you can get the seed out with a solid tap into with your knife

diced avocado boat

Enjoying a boat

What’s your favorite avocado dish?
February 1, 2011
Homemade Almond Joy from Joy the Baker

I love Joy the Baker, she has inspired in so many ways. She comes up with such yummy, interesting recipes. A couple of weeks ago she made Homemade Almond Joy candy bars. Simple recipe, super delicious. Although they are super rich, must have coffee or milk with one. Her’s turned out looking perfect, mine did not. They were still yummy.

Freshly Toasted Almonds

Coconut with Almonds

Dab of Chocolate to hold the almond in place

Freshly dipped, this is where it gets messy!

After being chilled

I decided not to completely cover in chocolate because it is so rich, hence they do not look as pretty

Even though mine aren’t that great looking, they did taste delicious. Also, with the leftover chocolate I coated some almonds, huge hit with my boys!

On a side note: I almost didn’t post this because I don’t like the way mine looked… but then I was thinking that that is reality. I don’t want to put up any false fronts, like everything is always peachy and perfect. So here I am exposing myself… in all my chocolate messi-ness.

November 9, 2010
Homemade Chocolate Chip Muffins
Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love chocolate and I love muffins, so why have I never made chocolate chip muffins? Well now I have and I found an excellent recipe on Allrecipes.com. These turned out good, with some modifications. My kids and husband gobbled them up.

Here is the recipe in it’s original form, I improvised based on some reviews I read, I will post my changes in parenthesis.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar (+ 1/4 cup brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup milk (1 cup of milk)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- (2 tbsps of cocoa powder to the mix)
In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In a small bowl, beat egg, milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

One other change: I made mini-muffins so I adjusted time and temp.

I cooked on 375 for 15 minutes
November 4, 2010
A Fall Family Tradition

Bushel of Pueblo Mosca HOT

In my family, the Fall means more than beautiful trees, colors, apples, pumpkins and cider. It also means it is time for green chiles to come up from Southern Colorado and New Mexico.

My mom used to get to actually go pick em with her parents but we just venture down the street to a temporary produce stand. The smell… AMAZING! Have you ever had fresh roasted chiles in your car? It is quite heavenly!

This year we chose a mix of Pueblo Mosca Hot and a Hatch Medium, we had them fired and bagged together, it makes for a nice mix.

The boys really enjoyed watching the process, we got to pick our chiles out and then the lady put them in the roaster and fired them up. Then we watched her pour them into a bag, then into our car. When we got home we bagged them, about 5-6 per bag, then froze them.

nice variety!

yum!

freshly roasted

Oliver watching the roasting

I happened to be making french bread pizza that night so I took a couple of chiles, chopped them up, added garlic salt, then spread on the bread after the sauce and before the cheese……. yum!

There are so many things you can put green chiles on, the possibilities are almost endless. I will be sure to post some recipes once I start pulling them out of the freezer.

Some more shots of the produce stand – the boys got to pick out a mini-pumpkin to decorate.

Chile Stand in SW Denver

Oliver found his pumpkin

Boys with the pumpkins

October 15, 2010
A Mini Candy Buffet for Yummy Fun

skittles

As I mentioned in the previous post, my sister-in-law’s baby shower was today. I made chocolate covered pretzels and then added store bought candy to the table and made what I call a mini candy buffet. I have seen some amazing candy buffets on the web and was really wanting to try one. It is not as grand as I would have liked but it seemed to be a hit.

ALSO _ you must try to the recipe for the pretzels, sooooo many people loved them!

Here are some pics of the spread (the fuzzy little things you see are supposed to be spiders):

reese's pumpkins

chocolate covered pretzles

jolly ranchers and gum

bubble gum

jelly beans and gum

All in all, it was fun and easy. I do think that a bigger budget would make it that much more fun too! If you make one, come back and share your pics!

October 11, 2010
Salty Sweet – Chocolate Covered Pretzels
My sister-in-law is due in December, tomorrow we celebrate with a baby shower. Her sweet friends are putting the shower on and I asked if I could contribute with a “mini” candy buffet. I will take pictures and blog about the buffet later. Tonight I made chocolate covered pretzels. I looked up some recipes but the first few I found called for a double-boiler, which I do not have.

I finally came across this recipe ,it allows for microwave chocolate melting. I used butter Crisco which gave the chocolate a smooth, buttery taste. They are using the colors purple, lime green, orange and black for October so I added sprinkles I picked up at Walmart.

the ingredients

chocolate chips with crisco

on the cookie sheet

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
- 1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp shortening
- 2 dozen pretzel rods or large pretzel twists
- Assorted sprinkles or small candies (optional)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
Preparation:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.

2. Combine the chocolate chips and the shortening in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until melted, stirring after every minute.

3. If dipping pretzel rods, hold a rod by one end and dip it in the chocolate, leaving an inch or two uncovered. If you are dipping pretzel twists, drop the whole pretzel in the chocolate and submerge it slightly. Use a fork to pull the pretzel out of the chocolate. Shake the chocolate-dipped pretzels several times to remove excess chocolate, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. If you are using sprinkles or small candies, sprinkle them on when the chocolate is still wet. Repeat with remaining chocolate and pretzels.

4. Place the pretzels in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate.
October 9, 2010
Fun with Lunch – Muffin Tin Inspiration

Lunch. Lunch can become boring for kids and they become uninterested and picky. At least that is what has happened to my kiddies. While browsing blogs I came across 2 really cute blogs FULL of ideas on making fun lunches. They are:

Muffin Tin Mom and Lunch in a Box; Building a Better Bento

Inspired by other blog moms once again, I set out. I had cutters so I didn’t need to get any. I did pick up the muffin tins at the Dollar Tree and then some cupcake liners at my local grocery store. I picked up 10 packs of fruit leather (.50/each), pretzels, crackers, cheese, almonds, turkey and cookies.

Our Muffin Tin Lunch:

Cut Fruit Leather into Rectangles

use small cutters to punch out shape

Oliver helping out

fun muffin tin lunch

3-Cheese Cheese Slice, cut out with extras chopped up… Fruit Leather cutouts… Almonds, Turkey Rolls on fancy toothpicks… Goldfish and Mini Oreos

lunchtime

**In this last picture I show my 2-year old with fruit leather – MISTAKE! Do not give to toddlers, trust me**

It was fun and the kids were so excited when they came to the table, that is a first! Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

September 30, 2010
Seriously, This May be the Best Dessert Snack Ever, Really!

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Who doesn’t love a good Heath bar or Skor? Yummy toffee-nutty-ness, covered with delicious chocolate and a hint of salt. I love chocolate and salt, ever since my mom introduced me to popcorn and M&M’s – wow!

You are only 4 simple ingredients away from amazing scrumptious-ness.

I found this recipe on a MOPS forum one time and let me just tell you – It is easy, cheap to make and sooooo, sooooo very good!

Homemade Heath Bar
40 soda crackers (saltine)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
12 oz. chocolate chips

Line cake pan with aluminum foil. Place crackers over entire bottom of pan. Boil brown sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Pour over the crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the pan, wait 3 minutes and then spread the melted chips. Cut when cool.

You will LOVE IT! Enjoy!

August 16, 2010