Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Millie has a new favorite snack...Gluten Free Brown Rice Krispies (got 'em BOGO at Publix!) and Rice milk.  She wanted more and more, I refilled her suction cupped bowl 3 times!  Cute little thing.

Brown Sugar Salmon with a Side of Heat 'n Eat

Spotted this at Costco today.  And thought it would go well with the salmon I had thawing in the fridge for dinner tonight.  There are six-2 serving pouches inside, I nuked 2 of them at three minutes each and it easily fed the 5 of us.   

Now onto the salmon.  Rev. Hubs can cook up a mean Salmon fillet.  This is scientific, so y'all get a pen.  ;)   

1) He put the fillet in a big ziplock bag, put in some soy sauce, and a splash of orange juice.   

2) Marinated for about 30 minutes.  

3) Then he removed the fillet and put it in glass baking dish, mixed the marinade with about 1/4 c. of brown sugar and spread it over the top of the fish.  

4)Bake at 350 for anywhere from 20-30 minutes (depends on the thickness of fish.)  

I wish I had taken a pic of the finished product. It was so good!  For the littlest, I used the kitchen shears and just went to town chopping the noodles, veggies and salmon up in her bowl.  This will definitely be a do over.  

Buttermilk Pancakes with Butter Syrup

All I can say is yum.  Yum. Yum. Yum.  It's just too bad that I don't have a picture of the finished product...oh that's right, it's because we inhaled the finished product!  ;)

BEST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

via Becky Higgins, via Martha Stewart
[ Makes nine 6-inch pancakes-or 12 4-inch ones in my case ]

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 c. buttermilk

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Heat griddle to 375 degrees (on my electric cooktop lowish-medium). Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps. Heat oven to 175 degrees (for keeping the finished pancakes warm). Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess. Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

Says Martha’s people: “The key to fluffy pancakes is not to overmix the batter; it should not be beaten smooth. If serving these pancakes with bacon, reserve half a teaspoon of bacon drippings to grease the griddle instead of butter.”

And the tasty syrup (or yellow syrup as my children call it)

BUTTER SYRUP

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1 stick butter

1 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda


Melt together whipping cream, butter and sugar over low heat. Slowly increase heat until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Add vanilla & baking soda. (Be careful on this part, because the baking soda makes it foam up to almost overflowing within seconds if you don't remove from heat quickly.  I had to make a break for the sink to catch the overflow!) Turn off heat while whisking continually until ready to serve.

Reviews:
"These are the best pancakes I've ever eaten."

"Oh Mom, can you make these pancakes again and again and again?!"
*silent chewing* This is the highest compliment from our picky, squirmy little eater.

Banana Nut Winter Smoothie

(taken from the foil yogurt lid...with a few tweaks)

Ingredients:

1 banana, frozen
1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. honey (only use this if you like your smoothie extra sweet!)
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground flaxseed (I added this healthy extra, it goes well with the "nutty" flavor of this smoothie)

Directions:
Cut the frozen banana into 3 or 4 chunks. Place in blender with vanilla yogurt, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, flaxseed and optional honey. Blend on high for 2 minutes or until smooth. Pour into glass and top with a dusting of cinnamon.

*Note: When my bananas get to that extra-ripe, not-yet-rotten stage (you know when they're just a little to squishy to eat all by themselves) I peel them and wrap them individually in plastic wrap or foil in the freezer. Then they'll be all ready to toss into muffins or smoothies when it's time.

Banana Walnut Muffins

I LOVE to bake....mostly because I love to EAT baked goods! My old banana muffin recipe was always a little dry for my taste. So when I found this one, I was excited to try it and boy did it deliver! Perfect with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk...kid tested and approved! I'll post again soon with a recipe to use up that big ol' thing of buttermilk ....

(courtesy of Prevention Magazine, September 2009)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe banana (2-3 bananas-I used 3)
1 lg. egg
1/4 c. 50/50 butter blend (I used regular unsalted butter)
1/4 c. 1% buttermilk
3 Tbs. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. plus 2 Tbs. chopped walnuts, divided

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 8 cups of a standard-size muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix banana, egg, butter, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract in large bowl until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture and stir until blended. Add 1/3 cup of the walnuts and mix thoroughly.
4. Fill muffin cups three-quarters full. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbs. walnuts over tops.
5. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.

Grilled Salmon with Ginger Honey Glaze

(adapted from Woman's Day Eating Light Magazine)

This one was SO FAST, FRESH and FABULOUSLY delicious!

Total time-start to finish-2o minutes.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb. fresh salmon fillet with skin (keeps the fish in tact during grilling, but flakes away easily from skin when serving)

salt and black pepper to taste

2 T. light teriyaki sauce

1 T. honey

2 T. minced fresh ginger OR 1 t. ground ginger

2 med. zucchini sliced fairly thick (about 1/2 in.)

2 med. yellow summer squash (also sliced about 1/2 in.)

2 T. olive oil in a small bowl (for veggies)

coarse salt/sea salt (for veggies)


How to make it:

1. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper.
Combine teriyaki sauce and honey and pour evenly over the salmon.
Spread ginger over the top.
Let stand about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat grill. (I used our George Foreman table grill)

3. Wash and cut veggies (I used zucchini and yellow squash, but you could use others like, portobello mushrooms, eggplant, or even asparagus)

4. Lightly spray George Foreman with non-stick cooking spray, and place salmon on grill. Close cover and grill 3-4 minutes- should flake easily with a fork when finished cooking. Remove skin before serving.

5. Either dip, or brush veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse/sea salt and place on grill. Cook veggies between 3-5 minutes (depending on how firm you like your veggies).

Reviews: The whole family enjoyed this one, pumpkin about polished off the entire filet of salmon (he'd put an alaskan grizzly bear to shame!) and even sweet pea was willing to try a bite of everything. Next time, I plan to set aside a little bit of marinade for sweetpea, she will try about anything with a side of "dip".

This recipe will provide 3-4 adult portions, and is FULL of protein and Omega-3 fats that are so good for growing brains...and big ones who are forgetful :).

Allergy-Friendly Pumkin Pie

I do love to bake...but could NOT resist this Pumpkin Pie for our "pumpkin" this Thanksgiving. Found it in the freezer section at Wh*le Fo*ds for $6.99! For the time and energy it will save, I felt the price was well-worth it!

This pie is Dairy-free, egg-free, and dare I say...pretty HEALTH-Y!

Ingredients: Pumpkin, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Water, Organic Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (palm, soybean), Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Tapioca Starch, Soy Flour, Rice Flour, Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Calcium Sulfate (thickener)

made in a facility that uses dairy products and tree nuts.

Black Beans and Rice

This is absolutely one of our favorite in-a-hurry, low budget, good for you, satisfying lunches/dinners! Believe it or not, this is one of the FEW things sweet-pea will enjoy down to the very last bite.

• first, cook some brown rice (follow the pkg. instructions)
• heat up a can of black beans (I chose store-brand organic), add finely chopped onion and minced garlic, or other spices, if desired (I usually don't)
• add favorite toppings...and you're done!

I've even served this to guests by having a variety of toppings available (chopped up bell pepper, onion, tomato) and chips and salsa.

Other great toppings are salsa, shredded cheese, and a dollup of sour cream.

Snackin' Soybeans

Found this one in the T*rg*t freezer section a few days ago...Pumpkin actually asked me if I was gonna put some "Dora peas" in his lunchbox today! Still working on sweetpea, hopefully the "Dora" gimmick will be appealing?

Soybeans are a complete protein, and a good source of essential fatty acids, they contain (among other nutrients) vitamin A, C and Iron.


They had two kinds on the shelf: Spongebob unshelled Soybeans (still in the pods) and Dora shelled soybeans. These come frozen, and I just pop one in the lunchbox-it's all thawed out by lunchtime. These can also be served warm-just steam them to your desired texture, or nuke 'em in the microwave. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

(courtesy of: Allrecipes.com)

Preparation: fairly easy, only took about 20 minutes to prep, and about 25 minutes to cook)

Serves: about 6
My review:
Sweetpea has been suffering from a really long cold/cough, so I decided to try the old chicken soup trick. She liked it, especially having the freedom to add her own little oyster crackers. Sweetpea loves rice, and noodley soup can get so messy, this was a good one for her to manage independently.

Surprisingly, Pumpkin was not too impressed. He's a texture guy and doesn't too much enjoy food of the soup/casserole variety. Likes his foods separated, thank you very much.

I really enjoyed the flavors of lemon and white cooking wine, these gave it a little kick! Not super creamy, but overall good. I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. chopped carrot
• 1/3 c. finely chopped onion
• 1/3 c. chopped celery (omitted this)
• 2 T. butter
• 1/4 c. All-purpose flour ( used unbleached)
• 2-14.5 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth (used one carton) (some varieties are gluten-free and some are not)
• 2 c. cooked long-grain (used brown) rice
• 1 c. cooked and cubed (cut to same size as chopped carrots) boneless-skinless chicken breasts (about 2)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1/8 t. garlic powder
• 1 c. 2% milk
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. white wine

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute the carrot, onion and celery in butter until tender.
2. Stir in the flour until blended (to coat veggies).
3. Gradually stir in broth.
4. Add rice, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder; bring to a boil.
5. Reduceheat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or untl vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the milk, lemon juice and wine, if desired. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until heated through.