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!