A Healthy, Hearty, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie (Great for Kids!)

While looking for a cookie to make for playgroup a few months ago, I found the following recipe on www.wholesometoddlerfood.com:

Farmland Flax Cookies - A popular cookie that everyone loves.
Butter 1 1/3 cups
Granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups
Brown sugar 1 1/2 cups
Flax seed- 1 1/2 cups
Large eggs 3
Vanilla 1 1/2 tsp
All-purpose flour 3 1/2 cups (try a mix of whole wheat flour/all purpose)
Baking soda 1 tbsp
Oatmeal 3 cups

In a bowl, cream butter and sugars; add flax seed. In another bowl, beat eggs and vanilla together. Combine with flax mixture. Sift together the flour and soda. Mix in oatmeal and combine with other ingredients. Form dough into 4 cm (1 1/2 inch) round logs. Place in freezer and chill. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Slice into .5 cm (1/4 inch) medallions. Place on baking sheet leaving about 5 cm (2 inches) between cookies.
Bake 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool Yield: 108 cookies (5 cm/2 inches)

Changes I made:

I used all whole wheat flour, only 1.5 sticks of butter, added a cup of applesauce, and added about one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (not enough to really make them super chocolatey, but enough to give them a little chocolate kick).

I made a few "logs", ended up baking one for play group, saving one for later (in the freezer), and giving two of them to friends. These were great for the kids, and for the adults as well!

Comfort Food Alert!!! Gooey, Crispy, Chunky, Baked Mac 'n' Cheese :)

Ok, so I never thought I would use Velveeta in a recipe, let alone publish a blog entry admitting to it. But, I did, and I am, and it was so worth it!

I have been craving a good baked mac 'n' cheese for a while, and finally gave in and started researching recipe basics. I combined a few ideas, added my own twists, and voila!

My dad, husband, daughter, and I all really enjoyed this dish. Next time I serve it to Audrey, I will have to wait until after she's eaten her meat and veggies (which usually isn't a problem for her; she loves meat and veggies!) But once she had a taste of this, nothing else on her high chair tray existed. :)

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (not because I was trying to be healthy, but because that's all I had, and what I mostly use; I realize the Velveeta and stick of butter negated the healthy aspect right away). :)
4 cups whole milk
16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
A few dashes of Tabasco Sauce
1 box of macaroni, cooked, and drained
1 cup chopped/cubed/shredded cheddar cheese (I used a brick of sharp cheddar, and my food processor to chop it up into coarse little pieces with the panko bread crumbs)
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Melt the butter in a large pot, then whisk in the flour. Slowly add the milk while whisking out the lumps. Let mixture sit on medium heat for about a minute, then add the Velveeta cubes a few at a time, mixing in between. Once you have a nice creamy, blended mixture, shake in a few dashes of Tabasco Sauce and stir.

Add the cooked macaroni to the pot, and stir until all noodles are coated with the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish, and set aside.

In a food processor, add a few chopped up chunks of the cheddar (about one cup's worth), along with the panko crumbs, and chop/mix until you have a coarse mixture. Sprinkle half of it over the macaroni and cheese, and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the mac 'n' cheese, sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese/crumb mixture, and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

Enjoy the soft, bubbly, slightly crunchy goodness of this delicious mac 'n' cheese! I liked it so much that I replaced my 4am pregnancy snack with a bowl of it the next day. I just won't make it a habit. ;-)

Super Quick, Healthy Side Dish

I was looking for something easy to serve as a side dish, and at the same time, wanted to use up some of my canned veggies that don't get a lot of attention. I realize summer isn't an ideal time to use canned veggies, but I was in pantry clean-out mode, so canned veggies it had to be. :)


Ingredients:

One bag of frozen organic brown rice from Trader Joe's, cooked (3 min in microwave)
One can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
One can black beans
One can sweet corn

1 t ground cumin

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper
One cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded cheese to sprinkle on top

Mix the first nine ingredients together, pour into a small baking dish (8x8 would work), and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for the last five minutes. Yields about 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

The Perfect Summer Sandwich

Now that summer is in full swing, our local Farmer's Market has become one of my favorite places to shop. This morning I picked up the ingredients to one of my absolute favorite summer dishes--the mozzarella/tomato/pesto sandwich. I bought live basil, a bunch of vine ripened tomatoes, a loaf of Italian bread, and some fresh mozzarella cheese.

I love to make homemade pesto for pasta, sandwiches, and spreads, and I usually make it pretty garlic-heavy. I decided to tone down the garlic a bit so I can use some of the leftovers to make Audrey some pasta tomorrow. Instead of a head of garlic, I used about 3-4 cloves. :)

Pesto

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup olive oil

3-4 cloves of garlic (I buy the large container of fresh peeled garlic from Costco, divide it up, chop, and freeze it for quick use in recipes)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

5 large basil leaves

1/2 tspn salt (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor (I used my small one since this is a small amount of pesto), and grind/chop until you reach the desired consistency. You'll need to stop and scrape the processor bowl with a spatula every few seconds.

Slice the bread in half lengthwise, and then cut each section into thirds so you end up with six halves (for three sandwiches, or two sandwiches with about 1/3 of the loaf leftover).

Spread a thin layer of pesto on each half of the bread, then top with two slices of mozzarella, and two-three slices of tomato (sliced thin and seeded).

Close the sandwiches, place on a baking sheet, and bake for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. This bread ended up being a little thick, so I sliced 1/2 of the bottom slice off of each sandwich. When I have used an Italian loaf from the store in the past, I didn't have to do this. It just depends on the thickness of your bread and your preference.

One of My Favorite Dishes~~Enchiladas!

This is a recipe I have been making for years, and every time I make it I change it up a bit. I usually use ground turkey (which I did this time), but the enchiladas are also delicious with shredded or chopped chicken, or ground beef. I also sometimes saute the veggies in butter (this time onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and black beans), but I left out the butter this time.

The best tortillas I have found at the store are the handmade ones from Trader Joe's. They have flour ones and whole wheat ones. This time I used the flour ones. They are so so good!

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

Trader Joe's Flour Tortillas

Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce

One can Trader Joe's Organic Black Beans (I often use dried beans, but they take more preparation)

One small can green chilies

One small/medium tomato, chopped (not too fine)

One small onion, chopped (not too fine)

1/2 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Brown the ground turkey. Drain if necessary.

Add the chopped onion and tomato to the ground turkey, and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the can of black beans (if using dried black beans, add them when you add the onion), and the can of green chilies. Stir for another minute while cooking on medium heat.

Stir in the Greek yogurt and salsa and continue to cook on low heat.

Fill one tortilla at a time with a large spoonfull of the mixture, about 2/3 cup, and sprinkle cheese on top of the meat mixture. Wrap the tortilla closed, and place it on one end of a greased glass baking dish. Do the same 4-5 more times, depending on how full each tortilla is and how many will fit in the dish.

Pour the bottle of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, remove the enchiladas from the oven, sprinkle the remaining cheese over them, and bake for another 7-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

I spotted a recipe for Nigel Barker's banana pancakes in a recent issue of People Magazine, and decided to try it out. Here is the list of ingredients for 10-12 pancakes:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch nutmeg

2 pinches cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 ripe bananas, mashed

sliced strawberries and bananas (optional)

I made two small changes to the recipe...I added a lot more than two pinches of cinnamon, more like 3 teaspoons (I love cinnamon, and tend to always add extra), and I used canola oil in place of the veggie oil.

Directions:

Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, veggie oil, vanilla and bananas.

Stir flour mixture into banana mixture (batter will be slightly lumpy).

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides. Top with fruit if desired. Serve hot.

**TIP**

Do not use more than 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. I used a little too much for the first few pancakes, and it was hard to tell if the pancakes were done, or if they just had banana oozing out of them. Go for the smaller pancakes and they will be easier to cook properly. :-)

As you can see, Audrey was very happy with the results. :-) I refrigerated the leftovers and have served them to her three mornings in a row.

***TIP*** To me, the strawberries and bananas were not really optional. The strawberries especially bring out the sweetness of the pancakes, and without them the pancakes are almost bland. In order to really make it a healthy breakfast, add the strawberries and skip the syrup!

Toddler Veggie Cookies (Great For Adults, Too!)

Goldfish, puffs, melts, etc, etc, etc. These toddler snacks are getting old in our house, and I really don't feel like they have much substance. I always end up cutting up some fruit to go with them(pears and strawberries are Audrey's current faves), so I was interested in making something that would be sort of an "all-in-one" healthy, substantial snack. After our dog, Wilson, ate the remains of our last loaf of banana bread, one of Audrey's favorites, I was motivated to get started on the following:

I took the following recipe from www.sheknows.com, and made quite a few changes.

ZUCCHINI AND CARROT COOKIES
Ingredients

3/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon


This is the list of ingredients I used:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini
2/3 cup shredded carrots
2/3 cup applesauce
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl.
Add egg and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.
Mix in shredded zucchini, carrots, and applesauce.

Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add these dry ingredients to the large bowl, stirring until well combined.
Drop teaspoons of dough approximately 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.
Use 2 spoons to drop the dough by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake 12 minutes.
Makes about 20 cookies.