Teacher Gifts

This past week Harrison  finished up with Pre K.  We wanted to give a little something to his music teacher, creative movement, Bible teacher, director etc without spending a lot of money. We had just made Mixed Berry Jam. Since my Son helped picked the berries and make the jam so he was proud to gives these out. 

SO we put a little Tag on the them and a small spatula that I had won a bag of of at a party last year and we were done. 

For a couple of of the teachers that that were really special to time we added a small piece of pottery from a local potter.

Blogging Friends

This week my friend and co-blogger came to visit for a few days. We had so much fun working on our Foodie blog Recipes We Love . We had Lots of fun workin on our blog and planning things for the futrue.

Harrison's First Recipe

 So today Harrison decided he wanted to write a recipe for the recipe blog. He cracks me up. So he started by writing out the recipe.

 Then he "staged" everything he needed for the treat

 Then it was time for the real work.

 And the finished Product

 He was so excited, However he was not impressed with the final outcome, he ate it but said it could be better.

Now for the video I had to do  :)

rainbow Cake

Idea from http://www.marthastewart.com/256688/rainbow-cake
I just used a cake mix since this was our first try at this and we just wanted to see how it worked out. I used 2 cake mixes and 10 inch cake pans. Smaller pans would allow you to have more layers and more colors.

Use Gel food coloring and mix the cake batter to the desired colors. After greasing and flouring your cake pan put just enough batter to cover the bottom. Mine took about 1 1/2 cups. bake for about 12 mins till a toothpick come out clean. Repeat till all your layers are done.

I had to level up a couple of my layers with a knife then layer them up with icing in between each layer I used a homemade cream cheese icing.



Put a crumb coat on and put in the fridge for a few minutes then put another good coat of icing on.

My little guy wanted to add sprinkles but that is not something you have to do.

More fun kid meals

If you want your kids to eat well you have to give them choices, make it fun, make it look good, and give in sometimes.

This was Harrison's breakfast this morning, grapes, pistachios (called green nuts at our house), bananas, bacon (broke in little pieces so he gets more than he really does, He LOVES bacon) grits, and his fruit Plus (a chewy made out of just fruits and veggies). I Have lots of fun plates and bowls for him but this muffin pan idea came from pintrest and from this blog http://www.momendeavors.com/ and I like having everything in separate sections.

 This apple and bacon sandwich was breakfast last weekend. Came from an idea from Trader Joe's website http://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=8

Rainbow Dinner

 Today Harrison had eaten fruit ALL DAY LONG.... He loves SWEETS and when I won't give in to ice cream and candy he goes to fruit for his sweet fix. So for dinner we needed some veggies. I started working on a rainbow dinner and Harrison joined in because I was putting the colors in the wrong order. He did rope me into adding cranberries for the red but the rest is veggies. Cranberries, raw shredded carrots, steamed sweet Potatoes (with a touch of honey) corn, steamed broccoli, raw red cabbage with clouds of red pepper hummus and homemade ranch dressing. He also had a piece of baked fish. Now before you say this takes too long from start to finish I spent maybe 15 mins doing this. Potatoes and broccoli was in a steamer, frozen corn in another pan with a bit of water and butter. while those cooked I cleaned and cut the rest.

 Harrison had a great time making his dinner and eating it. It always helps when you can include the kids in the making of the meals. they will always eat more. Gardening is another great way to do this. If they plant, water, and harvest, clean and prepare they will for sure eat it.

And this is the after, sure he liked some things better than others but he ate some of everything and almost his whole piece of fish.

Recipes

I have posted a few new recipes We have enjoyed over on the recipe blog

Bacon Apple and Brie Panini

Pork Chops Agrodolce

Dump Rainbow Cake

French Beef Dip Frezzer Meal

Taco Seasoning (Gluten Free)

Great Easy Waffles

Boilermaker Tailgate Chili (this one may already be on here)

French Beef Dip --- freezer cooking

I got this idea and some recipes from http://mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com/2011/04/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker.html  this is a GREAT idea. Put all ingredients for a crock pot meal in a gallon bag and freeze then just put the frozen goodies in the crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Her recipes she splits to make two meals and she has 2 adults and one child in her family. The ones I tried I did half the recipe to see if we liked it. I am not a big fan of most things frozen after they are frozen, like doing once a month cooking and putting all in the freezer, I don't like the texture. I do a few things but not a lot. So I really like this idea. I will share the other recipes I am trying if we like it.

Here is Here original recipe
French Beef Dip



5 pounds of rump roast or bottom round beef (cut into smaller sections, not tiny, just enough to fit into the bag, you can cut them up more after they are cooked)  I used a roast I already had in the freezer just took the plastic off and put it in the bag and cut it up once it had thawed a bit in the crock pot.

4 packages of portobello mushrooms, leave them whole. I don't like portobellos so I used large button mushrooms "stuffing size"

2 14 ounces of beef broth (add day of) red wine would have been good half and half maybe

2 onions chopped I will do less onions next time.

I also added about 1/4 cup soy sauce and 3 cloves of garlic.

Assemble all ingredients(except broth) into freezer bags. Place in freezer. Day of cooking, place in slow cooker and add broth. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4. You can shred chicken if you want, or leave in chunks. Serve with rice or cous-cous or make sandwiches. This recipe makes extra liquid, for dipping if you make sandwiches.

This is my bag from the freezer before going in the crock pot.

Fast GF meal

Harrison loves "chinese noddles". I get this package of rice noodles, small package like ramen noodles toss in some frozen peas or broccoli and a little gluten free soy sauce and he is a yummy meal that took 5 mins to make and he loves it

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Watermelon Pops

I found this recipe at family fun http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/dessert-recipes/other-desserts/frozen-treats/whatta-melon-pop-1019501/ and in stead of using sorbet we used "Naked" brand juice, 100% fruit and veggie juice with no added anything. I have already been making pops with this yummy juice so we gave these a try. Mine were not as "cute" but they were a hit with my son and a friends kiddos too.

I started with the Red "naked"juice and added a few chocolate chips, but they were not really noticeable so did not add to second batch. Put in freezer for about 15-20 mins. then added white (I put too much white), then froze for about 15-20 then added the green and the sticks.

Pimieto Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Got it from here http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pimiento-cheese-chicken-50400000109615/

Ingredients

1 slice applewood-smoked bacon

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

...2 tablespoons minced green onions

1 1/2 tablespoons diced pimientos

1 tablespoon canola mayonnaise

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice



1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used 8 chicken tenders)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil Preparation



1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cook bacon in a large ovenproof skillet until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Combine bacon, next 6 ingredients, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut a 1-inch-wide slit into the thick end of each breast half; carefully cut down to the center of chicken to form a deep pocket. Divide cheese mixture evenly among pockets. Secure with wooden picks. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

3. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to drippings. Add chicken to pan; saute 4 minutes. Turn chicken over. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes; let stand for 5 minutes.

Healty Banana Cookies

I LOVED these and my make bars next time. They are not crispy but more cake like. Just sweet enough. We used dried cranberries instead of raisins and they were great. Got this from http://groceryshrink.com/2011/08/healthy-banana-cookies.html

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup dates or raisins

2 cups rolled oats

1/3 cup oil (coconut oil would be lovely)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all and let sit for 15 minutes. Drop by spoonfulls on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

My little helper

Gluten Free Fruity Muffins

1 1/4 cup GF pancake Mix ( I use Pamela's)


1/4 cup water

1 egg

...1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup mashed bananas

1/3 cup mashed strawberry

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips



mix everything together pour in muffin cups makes about 7 large muffins. bake at 350 for 18-22 mins.

recipes

posted a couple more recipes on the recipe blog

Sweet Heart Salad with Strawberry Lemon dressing
Spaghetti Squash
Simple Pasta Salad

recipe blog

I just posted new new reicpes on the recipe blog

Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
Fast Pasta with Veggies

Vegetable Pasta Oven Omelet

More picture are on the recipe blog http://recipeswelove1.blogspot.com/2011/05/vegetable-pasta-oven-omelet.html

I made this for my dinner tonight since I knew my hubby would not care for it much and he has leftovers that he LOVES. I used this recipe http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vegetable-pasta-oven-omelet-10000000520763/%20as a idea and used what I had on hand it is AWESOME. I will put in red the changes I made. This would make a good meatless dinner or a side to some baked chicken etc.


YIELD: Makes 8 servings

COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES

COURSE: Breakfast/Brunch, Main Dishes, Side Dishes/Vegetables

Ingredients

3 dried tomatoes in oil (I put a can of diced drained tomatos in the oven at 400 for aobut 20 mins before using them since I didn ot have dried tomatoes)

1 small onion, chopped (I used one large leek)

1/2 red bell pepper, diced (I used green bell since I had it frozen in the frezzer about 3/4 cup)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small zucchini, diced (I used about 1 1/3 cup of diced broccoli)

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

7 ounces vermicelli, cooked

6 large eggs (I just used 4 since I used a bit more cheese)

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (I used a mix of baby brie, swiss, and cheddar and used about 1 1/2 cups)

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

I also added about a cup of frozen corn

1/3 pasta water when I added the cheese

1-2 cups of chopped mushrooms

Preparation

Drain tomatoes well, pressing between layers of paper towels; chop.

Sauté onion, bell pepper, and garlic in hot oil in a nonstick 12-inch ovenproof skillet 5 minutes or until tender; add tomato and zucchini, and sauté 3 minutes. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Add pasta; toss to coat.

Whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and next 3 ingredients. Pour over pasta mixture in skillet.


Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.





Southern Living

NOVEMBER 1999

Rice Krispie Treats (Kinda)

 1 package of  large marshmellows
3/4 stick of butter
6 cups of rice krispies (or another cereal, I normally use the twice rice cereal which is gluten free, but today we did not have enough we added some rice chex)

Melt marshmellows and butter then add the cereal. and once mixed put in a baking dish. Today we added added a few M&Ms which are also Gluten Free.

Crockpot Potatoes

Made this up today and really liked it



5 pounds of potatoes, cut in six or 8 large pices per potato

1/2 stick of butter

1 TBS olive oil

1 large oninon cut in same size pieces.

Salt, peppe, and Garlic to taste

1 lemon cut in half



Put all in crockpot expect the lemon stir to coat the potatoesv s, then lay the lemon on top and cook on low for about 6 hours.



This made for a simple supper when I put porkchops and BBQ sauce in another crock pot.

Meal Plan

There is a New Week Meal plan up over on the Recipe Blog. http://recipeswelove1.blogspot.com/2011/04/meal-plan-6.html  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Crispy Potato Roast

I got this recipe from http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/04/crispy-potato-roast/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+smittenkitchen+%28smitten+kitchen%29  and it is a KEEPER so yummy, pretty and easy. This would be GREAT for company put it in the oven and forget about it for 2 hours and it is pretty and stays warm for a while once out of the oven.

Crispy Potato Roast


Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled (smaller diameter potatoes are great, if you can find them)

4 shallots, peeled ( I used regular onions)

8 sprigs thyme (I used parsley instead since I had it in the garden)

Garnishes (optional): Bits of goat cheese, crumbles of bacon and/or bits of crisped pancetta



Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. With a sharp knife or manoline, slice potatoes crosswise very thinly. Figure out what baking dish you’d like to use [see Note above]; Martha suggests a 9-inch round baking dish (a deep dish pie pan would fit this bill) though I think you could go an inch bigger, an oval 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish might also be pretty.

Once you’ve picked the dish that seems the best fit for your slices, pour a tablespoon or so of the butter/oil mixture in the bottom and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the oil mixture with a few pinches of coarse salt and red pepper flakes, if using; this will allow you to season both the top and underside of the potatoes. Arrange your potato slices vertically in the dish.

Thinly slice shallots with your mandoline and slide shallot slivers between potato wedges, distributing them as evenly as possible. Brush with remaining oil/butter mixture. Generously season your dish with salt; go easier on the red pepper flakes, if using. Bake 1 1/4 hours, then arrange thyme sprigs on top and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisped top, about 35 minutes more. If casserole seems to brown too fast, cover it with foil to slow it down. Add any garnishes, if using, and serve immediately.

Served tonight with baked fish that Harrison caught last week with Grandpa