Healthier Twice Baked Potatoes

I made these as a side for dinner last night, and I have to say, they were just as delicious as their sour cream, bacon-filled counterpart. :)

I used:

Two medium-sized baked potatoes, cut in half lengthwise (baked at 400 degrees for an hour)

One small container (7 oz) of 2% Greek Yogurt

2 T butter

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used a cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack blend)

Salt and pepper to taste

After the potatoes have cooled, slice them in half, and scoop out the insides. Mix the insides with the yogurt, butter (it should easily melt in the hot potatoes), half of the cheese, and some salt and pepper.

Using a spoon, scoop the filling back into the potato shells, and top with the remaining cheese. Place on a baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy (and be patient so as not to burn your tongue!) :-)

Zucchini Bread

We received our weekly delivery of fresh produce yesterday, and it included a handful of medium sized zucchini. There's nothing better than the smell of something cinnamon-y baking on a cold, rainy day, so I decided to make some (healthy) zucchini bread. (I am no longer on the dairy-free diet, but this bread happens to be dairy-free.) I used the following ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis finely chopped or shredded (I used a food processor)
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup canola oil
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 T cinnamon
1 t pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg)

Mix the wet ingredients (eggs, brown sugar, oil, vanilla) together (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer). In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, flaxseed, cinnamon, pp spice). Slowly blend the wet and dry ingredients together. Finally, mix in the zucchini, but do not over mix.

Pour into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. This makes a great healthy snack for kids and adults. :)

Is It a Side or a Dessert??? Butternut Squash Casserole

I have never been a big fan of squash. Therefore, I avoid it. Now that we have fresh produce delivered weekly from local farms, I am branching out in my cooking. I am trying to make at least one new recipe a week using the produce (I realize one recipe a week doesn't sound like much, but we now have a newborn at home, along with a 21 month old; life's a little hectic!) :)

By the way, I am no longer dairy-free (thank goodness!!!), and I am slowly easing back into eating normally. Two months was long enough. Normal eating = a much happier mommy!

I surfed around on allrecipes.com to see how to prepare the butternut squash that was sitting in my kitchen. I needed a general idea on how to begin, and then I wanted to come up with something yummy to do with it. This is what I did...

Ingredients

1 butternut squash peeled, cubed, boiled, and pureed in the food processor (I used 2 cups for the casserole, and froze one cup in an ice cube tray for baby Emily's dinner once she is eating solids)


1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 T pumpkin pie spice (you can also use ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, focusing mostly on the cinnamon and nutmeg, with small amounts of the other two)
2 T whole wheat flour
1/4 stick butter

Topping
1/2 stick butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
(I also tossed in two crumbled up Trader Joe's graham crackers, but if you don't have them on hand, don't worry about it)

Prepare the squash by peeling it, removing the seeds, cubing it, and boiling the cubes for about 30 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Place the squash cubes into a food processor, and let them sit for a while to cool. I waited about an hour, but if you need them to cool faster, spread them out on a plate or cookie sheet. Puree the cubes in a food processor, or mash really well with a fork or spoon.

Blend the milk, 1/4 stick of butter (melted), squash, and sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin pie spice, flour, salt, and baking soda. Combine the two bowls into one, and mix well. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 (or similar) greased baking dish.



Mix the 1/2 stick of melted butter, the chopped pecans, and the brown sugar in a small bowl, and layer on top of the squash.

Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees.


We had it as a side with meatloaf for dinner, but Dan and I both agree it could have easily been a dessert. I think I'll be taking it to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving this year. Enjoy!

Scrumptious Chicken Salad

Unfortunately, I have had to go dairy-free due to nursing issues with my new baby. So, I am trying to make the experience as yummy as possible!

This chicken salad is pretty easy to throw together, takes advantage of leftovers, and tastes great on bread (of which I can only eat a very limited variety right now), or on it's own. In my opinion, the dill makes the chicken salad! This recipe yields about 3-4 servings.

Ingredients:

1.5-2 cups of shredded leftover rotisserie chicken

2/3 cup chopped celery

2/3 cup chopped carrots

2/3 cup quartered red grapes

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

mayonnaise to taste (I use about 2/3 cup and add more if necessary)

1 t onion salt

1/2 t garlic powder

2 t dried dill

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, blend mayo and seasonings. Add walnuts, grapes and veggies, and mix well. Add chicken last, and gently mix until evenly distributed.

Serve chilled on bread or with crackers.

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!