Turkey Forentine Meatballs with Cheese Sauce

I swear I'm still trying (really hard) to keep up with posting new recipes. I've tried three new recipes in the last few weeks and they've all just been 'eh, nothin' special' recipes. Pinterest, you've failed me again!

That said, I've been making these meatballs for years now.  This is one of the first recipes I started making after Jay and I got married. They're really easy to make and since you use your hands to mix everything together, the kids can help too. The original recipe comes from Rachel Ray and can be found here. I've changed it some because the original recipe makes a TON of sauce, so I've cut it in half and it still makes plenty.

Meatballs

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry, and roughly chopped

1 pound ground turkey

1 small onion, finely chopped, set aside 1-2 Tbsp for cheese sauce

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk

1/2-3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 tsp kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Cheese Sauce

1-2 Tbsp finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
5 oz shredded cheese (I usually use a mixture of cheddar and parmesan, but you could use any mixture you like)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place turkey in a bowl and make a well in the middle of it. Add the spinach, all but 3 tablespoons of the onion, all of the garlic, 1 large egg, about 1/4 cup milk,  1/2 cup bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. If the mixture feels too wet, add more bread crumbs until you can easily form into balls. Form into 10-12 large balls. Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or non-stick foil and bake 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

While meatballs are in the oven, heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. When butter has melted, add 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion and cook 2 minutes then whisk in flour. Cook flour 1 minute, then whisk in 3/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup stock. Bring liquid up to a boil, whisking constantly. Decrease heat to medium and stir in shredded cheese a handful at a time, stir after each addition until fully melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and turn heat to the lowest setting. 

Serve meatballs with cheese sauce and garnish with chopped parsley. 

Review - There's no pleasing a 6 year old at the dinner table. I'm sure of it. I could serve up ice cream sundaes for dinner and I'm sure she would find something wrong with the temperature of the ice cream or the selection of toppings or the fluffiness of the whipped cream. Just make these meatballs and let your six year old eat veggies and fruit instead.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup, with chicken and quinoa

It's been two years since my last attempt at this cooking blog. I have no idea why I'm deciding to start back up again. All I know is that I love to cook (and eat!) and I want other people to love to cook too, or at the very least not dread it like the plague.

My kids are still pretty picky (the 6 year old especially!), but the rule is that they have to take at least one bite, which was the inspiration of my new blog title (I hated the old title!) and then if they decide they don't like it, they're allowed fruit or vegetables instead. My husband is great about trying new foods and he never, ever complains about what I make for dinner, even though he'd probably be happiest eating pizza or Mexican food every night of the week.

I still try to cook a lot of vegetarian recipes, but we do eat meat in this house a couple times a week, usually turkey or chicken. This recipe has chicken in it, but you could very easily omit the chicken, use vegetable stock, and it would be vegetarian and still really good.

I found the original recipe here, but have changed it quite a bit.


1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1-ince pieces
1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sage
1 bay leaf
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 tsp kosher salt
10 cranks of black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 - 1 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

1. Place butternut squash through black pepper in slow cooker and cook until chicken is fully cooked and squash is soft. My slow cooker runs hot, so for me, this was about 4 hours on High.

2. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Remove bay leaf and discard. Take an immersion blender and blend the squash, tomatoes and onions until desired texture is reached. I left it slightly chunky. Add chicken, quinoa, and olives to slow cooker and stir until everything is combined. Set on low or warm, depending on how hot your slow cooker runs. Nothing needs to be cooked after this point, so I set mine on warm and let it go until dinner time.

3. If soup is too thick, you can add more broth to thin it out, but we liked it thick. Ladle soup into bowls and top with chopped parsley. 

Review - Jay and I both enjoyed this thick soup. It's really filling, but there isn't any dairy in it, so you won't feel uncomfortably full afterwards. (I love dairy, but it doesn't love me) Eli (almost 4) was happily eating it until he heard his sister (6) declare that "this isn't soup" and "I'm just going to eat carrots." So both kids ate carrot sticks and milk for dinner. We're having this again tomorrow night (it makes quite a bit!), so hopefully they eat a bit more for Round 2. The olives add a really nice flavor, so definitely don't leave those out. Next time I might add a bit of the brine from the jar of olives for extra flavor.

Herbed Goat Cheese and Veggie Paninis

Oh boy these sandwiches were good! A friend shared the original recipe with me (thank you again Danielle). I tweaked it a little only because I couldn't find herbed goat cheese, only plain. So I made my own. 

Herbed Goat Cheese

3 oz fresh goat cheese
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 green onions, chopped
1 TB chopped fresh parsley
1 TB fresh chopped basil
1 large clove of garlic, crushed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Whisk together goat cheese and yogurt until combined.  Stir in remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Sandwiches

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 cups baby spinach

1 clove of garlic

Salt and pepper

8 1/2-inch thick slices artisan bread

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 large tomato, sliced

1. In a food processor, combine mayo, 1 cup of spinach, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.

2. Brush outside of bread with olive oil. Top with goat cheese spread, followed by spinach, tomato and squash. Spread spinach/mayo mixture on top slice of bread. Place on top of sandwich, spread side down. Brush outside of bread with olive oil. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

3. Cook sandwiches over medium-high heat in a large skillet or griddle. Turning (carefully) once. You could also use a countertop grill (George Foreman).

Review - YUM! I loved these sandwiches. Jay did too. We each ate one and a half. I ate the leftover sandwich for breakfast the next morning. Nothing like a little garlic to start your day. I didn't even attempt to feed these to the kids. They have a hard time with the toasted/chewy bread. They had mac and cheese.

Cajun Shrimp

This is one of my go-to recipes for a quick and easy dinner. The only time consuming part is the cooking of the brown rice. I usually cook it early in the day and toss it in the fridge until I'm ready to cook dinner. 

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 - 4 cloves garlic minced

1 small onion, diced
2 Tsp Cajun seasoning
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off
Kosher salt and pepper 

2 medium tomatoes, chopped or a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cups cooked brown rice
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and onions. Saute until onions are translucent. Add Cajun seasoning and shrimp. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Stir in rice and 1/4 cup of water. Cook for 3 minutes. Top with chopped parsley.

Review - Super easy and everyone loves it. There's nothing crazy in this dish, so the kids willingly eat it. That's always a plus. Now you could make white rice to speed up the cooking time. I'll leave that decision up to you.  I usually serve this dish with a salad.

Greek Salad Pitas

Have I mentioned that it's hot here in Texas? Ugh. It's been over 100 degrees for the last week or so and it's not supposed to drop until October. I don't even bother looking at the weather forecast anymore. It's hot. It's humid. Everyday. The point of this whinefest is to point out that this recipe is excellent for the hot weather. You don't have to turn on the oven. Score! 

Thank you Danielle for sharing. 

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

3 cups lettuce or spinach, torn into small pieces

2 medium tomatoes, chopped or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped

2 ounces feta, crumbled

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

Whole wheat pita pockets

1. In a food processor, blend chickpeas, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices until smooth. 

2. In a large bowl combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and olives. I added a splash of the juice from the olives. Toss to combine. 

3. Spread chickpea mixture inside of pita. Fill with salad. Enjoy!

Even though my stomach hurts from eating too much at dinner, looking at this picture makes me want to go into the fridge, drag out the leftovers and eat another one.

Review - I ate too much and am uncomfortably full after this dinner. They were really good and so, so easy! Jay and I each ate two pitas. I gave the kids pitas cut into wedges and then let them dip the wedges into the chickpea spread, with salad on the side. They mostly just ate the pitas and spread. I actually doubled the spread but had a ton left over, which is fine because it would make a great sandwich spread or dip for carrots. It's only a couple ingredients different than hummus, but the texture was really creamy from the yogurt. If you wanted to spice it up even more you could add some diced red onion to the salad. We'll definitely be making these again!

Zucchini Parmesan with Garlic Polenta

I think I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things in the kitchen. The Texas heat sure doesn't inspire me to cook though. It inspires me to order a pizza or go out for tacos and a beer. I just need to get creative and limit my time spent hovering over a hot stove. I don't particularly like sweating.

A friend shared this blog with me a few months ago and I've finally gotten around to trying one of her recipes. I love the author's logic. Eat 80% healthy and 20% good. I think the last few days I have been more like 60/40.

Onto the recipe.

3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt

Pepper

Italian seasoning

Jarred marinara sauce (I used Muir Glen Roasted Garlic)

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups vegetable stock

3/4 cup polenta

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 450. Grease a large, rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

2. Toss sliced zucchini with olive oil until well coated. In a shallow baking dish, mix together bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. If you use seasoned bread crumbs you can omit the extra seasonings. Dip each slice of zucchini into the bread crumb mixture to thoroughly coat. Lay each piece in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

3. While zucchini is baking, heat marinara over low heat in a sauce pan. In a separate saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute minced garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable stock. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Whisk in polenta slowly making sure to break up any clumps. Turn heat down to low and continue stirring while polenta simmers. Cook for 20-25 minutes.* Stir in grated Parmesan.

4. Spoon some polenta onto a plate, top with zucchini slices and a couple tablespoons of marinara. Enjoy.

*For some reason when I cook polenta it never takes as long as the recipe says it's going to take. The original recipe said to cook for 35-40 minutes. Mine was done in half that time. I suppose it's possible that I'm doing something very wrong and my polenta would be way better if I cooked it longer, but I kind of doubt it. 

Right out of the oven.

Please excuse the color of my polenta. I used a really dark vegetable stock which turned my polenta an unappetizing brown mustard color.

Review - EXCELLENT! We all really loved this. Eli inhaled two bowls full. I couldn't believe it. I made the mistake of telling Josie I would make caramel corn after dinner so she needed a little help focusing on eating, but in the end she ate almost all of it. Jay and I both cleaned our plates. I'll definitely make this again. Hopefully next time I'll be able to use zucchini from my garden.

Ultimate Breakfast Cookie

It's not "Cookies for breakfast?" 

It's "COOKIES for breakfast!"

It's hot here in Texas, imagine that. Too hot to take the kids on our normal 10 o'clock walk to the park. I need to get out of the house earlier. I've contemplated waking them while it's still dark out, but Boy Child still doesn't sleep through the night, so I refuse to get out of bed before seven. In order to get out of the house quickly I need to feed these two munchkins breakfast in the stroller. I realize I could have purchased some sort of pre-packaged, foil-wrapped stuff but if you know me, you know that's not my style.


I found this recipe and tweaked it up to my (and the kids') liking.


3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup unsweetened, natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup high-fiber, high-protein cereal, crunched up a bit (I used Kashi Go Lean)
1/3 cup raisins


1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.


2. Whisk together flours, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.


3. With a wooden spoon mix butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter until well blended. Add egg and vanilla mix well. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in oats, cereal and raisins. 


4. With hands roll about 2-3 tablespoons of dough into a ball. Flatten on prepared baking sheet. Cookies won't spread a lot so make sure you flatten them well. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.


Yield: 12 cookies

Review - Well I thought they tasted ok. Josie said, "Not yummy mama.  I don't like the raisins." Then she hid it in the refrigerator of her play kitchen. Eli took one bite and said "Tsee" and shook his head. The cookies turned out a little dry.  I think 1/4 cup of applesauce would help. The flavor was good, the texture was just off a little. I'll keep trying.

Tomato Basil Panini

Keeping up with a blog is a lot of work I'm finding. I don't know how these people find the time to blog multiple times every day or even once a day or even once a week. My biggest problem is that I haven't had any WOW recipes lately, everything has just been 'eh.' I don't want to share 'eh' recipes with ya'll. I want WOW!

These sandwiches are pretty WOW.  I only made one change from the original recipe and that was to add a layer of pesto. Everything's better with pesto. 

1 loaf crusty bread, not the $.99 squishy French bread

3 Roma tomatoes

1 package fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup basil leaves

pesto (optional)

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat your countertop grill or panini press. Slice bread, tomatoes and mozzarella. Brush outside of bread with olive oil. Spread a thin layer of pesto on inside of one slice of bread. Layer mozzarella and tomatoes and top with basil leaves. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle balsamic over the inside of the other slice of bread. Place on top of sandwich. Grill for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining ingredients. I ended up with 5 sandwiches. 

Review - Jay and I really liked these. I made a modified version for the kids with only tomatoes and mozzarella. The both picked apart the sandwich and ate the insides.  I think they have a hard time with the texture of the crunchy/chewy bread. I will definitely make these again.  I can't wait to try them with my own tomatoes from my garden. You could tweak the ingredients to your liking. Splurge on the fresh mozzarella though. It's worth it.

Black Bean Burger

I love black bean burgers. I love trying new recipes. I love trying new recipes for black bean burgers. These burgers have a ton of flavor and are super easy to prepare.

The original recipe makes a ton. Luckily you can shape the patties and freeze them. Toss them on a hot griddle directly from the freezer when you're ready to eat them.

4 cups black beans (2 cans, drained and rinsed)

1/4 medium red onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 bunch of fresh parsley

1 Tbsp. sriracha

1 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs or Panko

1. Add the beans to a food processor along with everything except the salt, egg and bread crumbs Process until everything is combined and the mixture looks pasty with a few chunks.

2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt. Adjust other seasonings at this time as well. Make the mixture slightly stronger in flavor and saltiness than you want the burgers to be because once the bread crumbs and egg are added, the flavor will be diluted.

3. Whisk an egg and stir it into the mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs a little at a time. The resulting mixture should be moist chunks and crumbs. The mixture should stick together if squeezed in your hand. Form into patties.

4. Coat a skillet with a little oil and cook the patties for 7-8 minutes on each side. The patties should be brown and crisp on the outside and slightly firm to the touch. Be delicate when handling the patties, they are not as cohesive as meat patties but should hold their shape while cooking. Top with cheese if desired. Serve on buns.

Sorry this is a lousy picture.

Review - Excellent! We all loved these. Be careful not to add too much sriracha if your kiddos don't like spice. I added the full tablespoon and it wasn't too spicy for my monkeys. I froze the extra patties on a baking sheet and once they were frozen stored them in a plastic container.

Lentil-Bulgar Salad

I've been a bit of a slacker lately in the blogging department. I have kept up with my one new recipe a week goal, I just haven't gotten around to sharing those recipes with my little group of readers. I'm very sorry. 

This salad came from Moosewood. It's perfect for a hot summer day. You can whip it up in the morning and let it chill all day. The flavors intensify the longer it chills. The leftovers were great the next day too. 

1 cup dry lentils

2 cups water

1 cup dry bulgar wheat

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. oregano

2 Tbsp. freshly minced mint (or 2 tsp. dried)

2-3 Tbsp. freshly minced dill (or 2-3 tsp dried)

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1 small bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1 medium tomato, diced or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Place lentils in a medium saucepan, cover with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and partially cover and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until tender, but not mushy. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl. 

2. While the lentils are cooking, place the bulgar in a bowl and add boiling water. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

3. Add everything to the lentils and mix thoroughly. Serve with pita chips and fresh fruit.

My little helper (or monkey)

Review - I really liked this salad. The fresh herbs added a lot of flavor. I think this would also be good stuffed inside a pita pocket. I honestly don't remember if the kids liked this or not. It's been a few weeks since I made it. I'm pretty sure they didn't hate it, didn't love it.

Easy Roasted Asparagus

You'll never guess where I found this recipe.....Budget Bytes. I think I'm slightly addicted to that blog. It's Spring time, at least it supposed to be Spring, it's almost 100 degrees here today (bleh, Texas), and that means asparagus area in season. Jay and I love asparagus. The kids seem to be hit or miss. I tweaked this recipe a little and omitted the lemon zest. I didn't want an overpowering lemon flavor. I served them alongside salmon and a spinach salad.

1 bunch of asparagus, thoroughly washed and trimmed

Olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Salt

Pepper

Lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Place cleaned, trimmed asparagus on foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Add crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and the 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Toss to coat. Place asparagus in a single layer.

3. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip with spatula and cook for another 10 minutes or until tender.

Review - Fast, easy, delicious. What more could you ask for?

Scheherazade Casserole

Um, yeah I couldn't pronounce it either, so I looked it up. My Google U degree tells me this:

1. Scheherazade - pronounced shuh-her-uh-zah-duh

2. The fictional wife of a sultan and the narrator of the tales in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

What that has to do with this dish I have absolutely no idea. I found the recipe in my Moosewood cookbook. It's excellent! Everyone liked it a lot. I think Jay tolerates a lot of my meatless mains, but he really liked this dish. Eli ate two bowls full. Josie ate it, but she would have done better if the bell peppers were invisible. I've modified the original recipe because I wasn't able to find dried raw soybeans. I substituted canned chickpeas. I read a couple other versions of this dish online and some used white beans, but I think that would be too mushy. The texture of the bulgur and the chickpeas was nice. This was also my first time cooking bulgur. I'd heard of it before, but had no idea what it was. I'll hopefully stumble across another recipe for bulgur because I have a box full of it now. 

1 cup raw bulgar

1 cup boiling water

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups minced onion

3-5 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large bell pepper, diced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup finely minced parsley

1 1/2 cups feta, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish.

2. Place the bulgar in a small bowl. Add boiling water, cover with a plate and let stand for 15 minutes.

3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Saute onion, garlic and seasonings for 5-8 minutes. Add bell pepper and saute about 5 minutes more.

4. Place chickpeas in a food processor. Pulse until beans resemble coarse crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the bulgar and sauteed vegetables. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Add 1 cup of the feta and the parsley. Mix well.

5. Spread mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining feta on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more. 

Review - Excellent!!! This dish really shocked me. I've had a string of so-so dishes lately, you know the kind of dish that's good and everyone eats it, but you don't really have any motivation to make it again or type up the recipe and post it to your blog (ahem). Between the fish sticks and this casserole I feel like I'm back on track. Go me!

Tilapia Fish Sticks

If you haven't discovered Budget Bytes  yet you're seriously missing out. These fish sticks were a hit with the whole family. They were easy to make and the best part is that there are only six ingredients and you can pronounce them all (at least I hope you can pronounce them all), which isn't the case of the ingredient list on a box of frozen fish sticks. 

1 lb. tilapia fillets

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. cajun seasoning

2-3 eggs, whisked (I ended up needing three)

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Slice each filet length-wise into two or three pieces (depending on width) and then horizontally to yield 4-6 sticks.

2. Prepare the breading station by collecting three bowls. In the first bowl combine the flour and cajun seasoning (or salt, pepper, any other seasonings). In the second bowl add the whisked eggs. In the third bowl place the panko bread crumbs.

3. Bread the tilapia sticks by first coating in seasoned flour then dipping in egg and finally coating in panko crumbs. Place the breaded sticks on a plate until all of the sticks have been breaded.
4. Heat a large skillet with vegetable oil over medium/high heat. When the pan is very hot it is ready for the fish (a drop of water will sizzle furiously when dropped in the skillet) . Place half of the sticks in the pan and cook on each side until golden brown in color. Drain the fish sticks on a plate covered with paper towel.  Cook the second half of the fish sticks the same way. Serve with tartar sauce. 

Sorry, no picture. We were hungry.

Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 chopped dill pickle

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dill

Mix everything together in a bowl. Cover and chill.

Review - I was kind of shocked at how good these were. I was also shocked that both kids ate them. I usually  have to coerce them to eat fish. I'm pretty sure Josie thought it was chicken, even though I repeatedly told her they were fish sticks. I wasn't totally sold on the tartar sauce recipe. It was good, but it could be better. You can be the judge. The fish sticks were awesome and I'll definitely be making them again.

Sweet Potato Stir-fry

My good friend Erin shared this recipe with me. I was definitely intrigued. I'll admit I'm not really familiar with Asian cuisine. I like to eat it though, so that's something. The original recipe called for Thai chilies, which I omitted. I'm not sure if Thai chilies are hot or not, but I'm pretty sure if Josie (3) had seen me bring the chilies into the house she would have refused to eat dinner for a week. The kid hates spice. 

4 Tbsp. peanut oil 

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and grated (I used the shredding attachment on my Cuisinart)

1/2 cup sliced green onion

2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Splash of rice wine vinegar

3 cups cooked brown rice

1. Heat oil in frying pan or wok over medium-high. Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add sweet potato and green onions. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Cook 5-10 minutes more or until sweet potatoes start to brown a little. Add a splash of rice wine vinegar. Serve over brown rice. 

Baby tested.

Baby approved. Oh and for the record, I served him dinner in a little bowl. He just didn't waste any time dumping it out and spreading his food all over the table. We're casual but we're not THAT casual.

Review - I'm actually surprised that the kids ate this because it turned out spicier than I thought it was going to be. It was really good though. We all enjoyed it. I'd like to add some more vegetables next time. Maybe only use two sweet potatoes and then bulk it up with other veggies (snow peas, broccoli, bell peppers). Or maybe I should just leave it alone as it was pretty darn good just the way it is.

Pasta Puttanesca

This is an easy weeknight pasta dish. It's a nice change from boring jarred pasta sauce and it doesn't take long to prepare at all. You can have all your chopping done by the time your water is boiling.

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted chopped Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can diced or crushed tomatoes

1 large handful of fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to directions. 

2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add parsley through red pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer 5-10 minutes. Stir in spinach and allow greens to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Toss cooked pasta with the sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Review - Easy, delicious, everyone loved it. Really though, how can you go wrong with spaghetti? Adults love it. Kids love it. Serve with a green salad and you've got yourself a healthy meal.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

I don't think I like ricotta. Or maybe I didn't buy a good brand. I don't know, but this dish was bland. Had I followed the original recipe it would have been even more tasteless. I added a couple large cloves of crushed garlic and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and it still didn't have enough flavor. Jay suggested adding fresh basil, which would have helped. It definitely needed something extra.

8 oz. pasta, any shape

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

15 oz. ricotta

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 lemon

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt and Pepper

1. Boil water for pasta. 

2. Grate the zest of the lemon and squeeze out all of the juice. Add both juice and zest to medium mixing bowl. Add to it the ricotta, butter, garlic and Parmesan.

3. Cook pasta. When pasta is almost finished throw in the peas. Ladle out about 1/3 cup of hot pasta water and pour into ricotta mixture. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Strain pasta and peas. Pour back into saucepan. Pour ricotta sauce over the top. Stir until pasta and peas are coated. 

Review - This wasn't horrible, but I don't think I'll make it again, unless I change up the recipe. A lot. We all ate it, but it was just an 'eh' recipe.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

I've discovered my new goal in life, ok maybe not life, maybe just this month. Perfect. These. Cookies. They are inches away from mind-blowing. I'm not exaggerating. Part of it is the fact that you can whip these up in a matter of minutes and you probably have the 5 main ingredients in your pantry right now. 

I just baked my second batch of these in three days. They were only half batches, don't judge. I had to shove a stick of gum in my mouth so that I'd stop eating them. That's how good they are. 

The first time I made these I used walnuts, like the original recipe calls for, and they were good, but I knew they could be better. Today I decided to try almonds. I had a bag of almonds, dried cherries and dark chocolate covered almonds from Back to Nature (love that brand), so I decided to chop everything up and throw it in the batter. I usually don't like fruit and chocolate together in my cookies, but the zing from the cherries was nice. The almonds were a little chewy, so think I need to toss them into the food processor next time and pulse them to get a finer result.

This recipe yielded 12 cookies. I wouldn't trust myself with 24 of these chocolate pieces of heaven, but go right on ahead and double it up if you dare.

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used a combination of dark cocoa and regular cocoa)

pinch of salt (omit if you're using salted nuts)

1 cup nuts, dried fruit, chopped

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 320.

2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. Do not skip either of these steps.

3. Whisk together sugar, cocoa, salt and nuts. Pour in egg whites and vanilla. Mix with wooden spoon until blended. Batter should be wet, but not runny. Let batter sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. I'm not sure what this does, but it gave me a thicker cookie that didn't spread as much.

4. Spoon onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 14-16 minutes. Cookies should be glossy and slightly cracked. Transfer cookies, still on the parchment paper, onto wire rack. Cool completely. Enjoy.

I like this picture because it looks like a light from above is shining down on this cookie. It's fitting.

Pasta with broccoli, peppers, and Kalamata olives

Apparently I have no clue what a sauce is. This is another recipe from the "Sauces and Dips" chapter of Moosewood. The original recipe is called "Broccoli Sauce." I don't know how this qualifies as a sauce. There's nothing saucy about it, at all. It was really good though so I don't care what they want to call it. I'm changing the name though because "Broccoli Sauce" is misleading and I don't want ya'll to be disappointed when there's no lovely sauce to ladle over your pasta.

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

4-5 large garlic cloves, minced

1-1.5 lb. broccoli, cut into florets and then roughly chopped, about 4 cups

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 small red or yellow bell pepper, diced

2 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp. flour

1/4 cup water

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

1/2 - 3/4 lb. pasta (I had a hodgepodge mix of whole wheat macaroni and rotini)

Parmesan and black pepper

1. Boil water for pasta. 

2. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add the broccoli and salt and continue to cook another 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Add the bell pepper and saute 5 minutes longer.

3. Add broth and turn up heat until it boils. In small bowl, whisk flour and water together until flour is dissolved and there are no clumps. Pour into boiling broccoli mixture, stirring constantly. Sauce will thicken. Turn heat down and add tomatoes and olives. Keep on low while pasta cooks.

4. Cook pasta. Drain and add too broccoli mixture. Top with grated parmesan and freshly ground pepper. 

Do you see any sauce in this picture? No? Neither do I.

Sauce or no sauce it was pretty tasty.

Review - The kids couldn't get enough of this pasta. Just the pasta. I couldn't get either of them to try the peppers or the tomatoes. Josie could not be convinced that the tomatoes were in fact tomatoes and not bell peppers. I really liked this dish. It was good cold the next day too.

Veggie Egg Casserole

Breakfast for dinner, yay! This was a super simple recipe. You could easily change up the veggies to your liking if you're not into spinach and tomatoes. I served this dish with whole wheat toast and apple slices.


1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, diced
4-5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeeze out water
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
10 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2-4 slices bread, torn into small pieces
1/3 cup grated parmesan


Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside. 


Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add spinach.


Crack eggs into bowl. Whisk slightly. Stir in milk. 

Spread bread pieces in prepared baking dish. Spread spinach mixture on top of bread. Sprinkle half the cheddar on top. Pour egg mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheeses (cheddar and parm) on top. Bake for 35 minutes or until top is slightly brown. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream and salsa.

Review - I really liked this dish. I'm hoping it reheats well tomorrow for breakfast because I have half a pan left. The kids both ate a few bites, but they were more interested in the toast and apple slices. Husband is on swing shift so I haven't heard his opinion yet, but he took a big piece so apparently he thought it was going to be good. You could add any extra veggies you want or substitute for the spinach and tomatoes if those don't float your boat. Sauteed peppers and mushrooms would be a nice addition.

Update - Leftovers tasted great. I actually preferred it cold the next morning. I'm kind of weird though. I don't like reheated leftovers. I think it stems back to my college days of eating cold pizza for breakfast after a long night of, um, studying.