Not that Alec will eat this--not unless I sit on him and pry his mouth open and shove it in (then he enjoys it)--but it's delicious. It's a great way to have something sweet without feeling too guilty about it. And it tastes a lot like a snickers bar.
There are two ways to do it:
Get some Nutella spread and mix it up with some chopped up peanuts then spread it on some wholesome whole wheat bread and enjoy.
Or, spread some Nutella on one piece of bread and some chunky peanut butter on the other and slap 'em together.
It's like dessert for lunch. Mmmmmmm.....
Showing posts with label easy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easy. Show all posts
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Pizza
We make this just about every Friday, unless Zac opts out for Domino's. Mom used to make it, too - but I'm not sure of her recipe, can't be too far off from this, though. It's fun, and delicious! The kiddos love placing their toppings on it - we divvy them up into little bowls and they happily say "put one, eat one..." They're usually full by the time the pizza is ready.
1 Vented Pizza pan (haven't tried a pizza stone - if you do, let me know how it turns out)
1 Frozen Bread Loaf, thawed and risen - we get those packs of 3 or 5 from the freezer section in your local supermarket. Please feel free to be ambitious & make your own dough. I am not, however, that ambitious these days. :)
1 1/2 Tbs. Unsalted Butter
~1 Tbs. Italian seasoning - dried variety
~4 Leaves (more or less) freshly chopped basil
Handful of Shredded Parmesan
1/3 Can of Hunts No Salt Added Spaghetti Sauce - a must - it's no more than 89 cents.
3/4 bag of Italian 5 cheese blend cheese - can be generic, doesn't matter really - you can use Mozzarella if you so desire.
Various Pizza toppings - we use pepperoni, Canadian bacon, & mushrooms for the most part, but if we have Taco night on Thursdays, then I set aside a little browned ground meat before adding the Taco Seasoning. During Lent, we just use mushrooms or cheese. Knock yourself out on this one. I also like to add a little bit of artichoke or tomatoes marinated in Italian dressing if I remember.
Preheat oven to 375˚
Grease pizza pan.
(Make sure you cover your dough when you let it rise or else you'll get those nasty little dried out pieces of crusty bread.) After dough has risen, take out of container and "Atsa-mata pizza-pata" your dough into a nice, round, flat concoction that should resemble pizza dough. This technique has taken 2 years of Fridays to master. You're awesome if you can get it on the first try. Or maybe I just stink at it.
Place dough on top of pizza pan & flatten out as you go. Be careful not to make it too thin, but if you get a hole or two, it isn't the end of the world. Just mash it back together.
Melt your butter and Italian Seasonings in the microwave for about 25 - 30 seconds.
Brush butter mixture on top of dough with a pastry brush, all the way out to the crust. (The kids love this part - see holes in dough comment above)
Scatter sliced fresh basil leaves on top of that, making it as even as possible.
Sprinkle crust with a little Parmesan cheese if you have it. Use a bit of your Italian blend or Mozzarella if you don't.
Bake at 375˚ for about 10 minutes.
Take out of oven and spread your spaghetti sauce all around, leaving the crust bare.
Add toppings.
Add cheese. Don't skimp on cheese - too little is just not right.
Place back in oven & bake for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it for the last 3 - 4 minutes, all ovens act differently. Mine is gas, and we usually take it out at 19 - 20 minutes.
Slice immediately with pizza slicer & enjoy!
(You can also do the biscuit pizza alternative - just mash the dough a little more once you remove the biscuits from the tube. Very fun for kiddos - Mom used to do that with us all of the time, too.)
1 Vented Pizza pan (haven't tried a pizza stone - if you do, let me know how it turns out)
1 Frozen Bread Loaf, thawed and risen - we get those packs of 3 or 5 from the freezer section in your local supermarket. Please feel free to be ambitious & make your own dough. I am not, however, that ambitious these days. :)
1 1/2 Tbs. Unsalted Butter
~1 Tbs. Italian seasoning - dried variety
~4 Leaves (more or less) freshly chopped basil
Handful of Shredded Parmesan
1/3 Can of Hunts No Salt Added Spaghetti Sauce - a must - it's no more than 89 cents.
3/4 bag of Italian 5 cheese blend cheese - can be generic, doesn't matter really - you can use Mozzarella if you so desire.
Various Pizza toppings - we use pepperoni, Canadian bacon, & mushrooms for the most part, but if we have Taco night on Thursdays, then I set aside a little browned ground meat before adding the Taco Seasoning. During Lent, we just use mushrooms or cheese. Knock yourself out on this one. I also like to add a little bit of artichoke or tomatoes marinated in Italian dressing if I remember.
Preheat oven to 375˚
Grease pizza pan.
(Make sure you cover your dough when you let it rise or else you'll get those nasty little dried out pieces of crusty bread.) After dough has risen, take out of container and "Atsa-mata pizza-pata" your dough into a nice, round, flat concoction that should resemble pizza dough. This technique has taken 2 years of Fridays to master. You're awesome if you can get it on the first try. Or maybe I just stink at it.
Place dough on top of pizza pan & flatten out as you go. Be careful not to make it too thin, but if you get a hole or two, it isn't the end of the world. Just mash it back together.
Melt your butter and Italian Seasonings in the microwave for about 25 - 30 seconds.
Brush butter mixture on top of dough with a pastry brush, all the way out to the crust. (The kids love this part - see holes in dough comment above)
Scatter sliced fresh basil leaves on top of that, making it as even as possible.
Sprinkle crust with a little Parmesan cheese if you have it. Use a bit of your Italian blend or Mozzarella if you don't.
Bake at 375˚ for about 10 minutes.
Take out of oven and spread your spaghetti sauce all around, leaving the crust bare.
Add toppings.
Add cheese. Don't skimp on cheese - too little is just not right.
Place back in oven & bake for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it for the last 3 - 4 minutes, all ovens act differently. Mine is gas, and we usually take it out at 19 - 20 minutes.
Slice immediately with pizza slicer & enjoy!
(You can also do the biscuit pizza alternative - just mash the dough a little more once you remove the biscuits from the tube. Very fun for kiddos - Mom used to do that with us all of the time, too.)
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Crustless Spinach Quiche
Either they ate it because I put dinner off 30 minutes later than usual, or it was pretty good. Or maybe it was because "Lightning McQueen" eats it. We may never know...I thought it was delicious, and Daddy seemed to like it, too. So, I suppose we could add "Stuff Our Parents Will Eat" to this one.
Compliments of allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped (I used the frozen, chopped mix that has celery, red peppers, bell peppers, etc. - major time saver)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
5 eggs, beaten
3 cups shredded Muenster cheese (any cheese really - I used the pizza blend from Wal-Mart, the kind that has cheddar in it, plus a little bit of Parmesan that I had leftover. It wasn't quite 3 cups - so don't rush out to the store to buy Muenster, it really isn't necessary unless that's just the flavor you're after.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
(I also added a can of drained mushrooms & some bacon bits - the kind that come in a bag that are more bacon-y than bitt-y, some people recommended chopped ham, but it would be just as good without it.)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated. I put in a little salt & green tabasco here, too. Not in the recipe, but I just love that green stuff.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Add spinach mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes - possibly longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
You can mix it up beforehand and pop in the oven when you're ready. Yummy. And it's Atkins friendly! Another variation is to pour it into those mini-muffin tins, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes instead, and they're great appetizers. Freeze well, too.
Compliments of allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped (I used the frozen, chopped mix that has celery, red peppers, bell peppers, etc. - major time saver)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
5 eggs, beaten
3 cups shredded Muenster cheese (any cheese really - I used the pizza blend from Wal-Mart, the kind that has cheddar in it, plus a little bit of Parmesan that I had leftover. It wasn't quite 3 cups - so don't rush out to the store to buy Muenster, it really isn't necessary unless that's just the flavor you're after.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
(I also added a can of drained mushrooms & some bacon bits - the kind that come in a bag that are more bacon-y than bitt-y, some people recommended chopped ham, but it would be just as good without it.)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated. I put in a little salt & green tabasco here, too. Not in the recipe, but I just love that green stuff.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Add spinach mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes - possibly longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
You can mix it up beforehand and pop in the oven when you're ready. Yummy. And it's Atkins friendly! Another variation is to pour it into those mini-muffin tins, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes instead, and they're great appetizers. Freeze well, too.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Soft Tacos
Heh - it's the little, simple things that keep them fat & happy. Like soft tacos.
We tried these before with little success, but I figured out the secret...let them build their own. We line up their little chairs in the kitchen amidst a vast selection of cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, pico (only in the summer - we use our garden's cilantro, tomatoes, diced onions, salt, & lime), and taco meat. They just love making their own little tacos. I have to emphasize soft tacos, not hard. They're still picky about that.
Get yourself a taco dinner kit or go all out & use the following taco seasoning mix from allrecipes.com. It makes a bunch, so you can save it in a jar for future use. (2 very heaping tablespoons equals about one seasoning packet.)
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (less if preferred)
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper (or cayenne)
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.
Turn on some salsa music & dance while the meat is cooking & veggies are getting chopped. They love it! Joe's quite the little dancer lately, too! He was able to pick up a few steps on his first shot - amazing!
I really need to invest in some sombreros...
We tried these before with little success, but I figured out the secret...let them build their own. We line up their little chairs in the kitchen amidst a vast selection of cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, pico (only in the summer - we use our garden's cilantro, tomatoes, diced onions, salt, & lime), and taco meat. They just love making their own little tacos. I have to emphasize soft tacos, not hard. They're still picky about that.
Get yourself a taco dinner kit or go all out & use the following taco seasoning mix from allrecipes.com. It makes a bunch, so you can save it in a jar for future use. (2 very heaping tablespoons equals about one seasoning packet.)
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (less if preferred)
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper (or cayenne)
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.
Turn on some salsa music & dance while the meat is cooking & veggies are getting chopped. They love it! Joe's quite the little dancer lately, too! He was able to pick up a few steps on his first shot - amazing!
I really need to invest in some sombreros...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Pasta Dish
This one is from a friend of mine named Andrea - she said they make it all of the time, and I think the ingredients will be on my next grocery list. Sounds great!
Quoted Text from Andrea:
Use the Barilla Plus a multi grain angle hair pasta - in the yellow box-Wal-Mart has it...( really great- taste like reg noodles- but good for you) cook them as normal ... with a little salt
At same time ...In a skillet combine Saturnine ( white) cooking wine with garlic and lemon juice as much as you like of each.
If you want some butter- throw that in too... Add some black pepper..
Add some fresh basil leaves (take them out before giving to the kids cuz they are green!!!!)
Stir it together add the cooked angle hair pasta and throw in some sliced roma tomatoes- all done in about 10 minutes! We LOVE THIS!!! Its really good! And good for you!
If you add cheese any kind it's good and cheesier
And another trick if you want it creamy just add a little pet milk- hummm very good.
We do eat this a lot!
If you've never tried the multi grain pasta here's the link-
http://www.barillaus.com/Home/pages/Barilla_Plus.aspx
We've tried wheat pasta its not so great- but this looks like reg pasta and tastes even better- even my dad will eat it...
End quote.
Thanks, Andrea!
Quoted Text from Andrea:
Use the Barilla Plus a multi grain angle hair pasta - in the yellow box-Wal-Mart has it...( really great- taste like reg noodles- but good for you) cook them as normal ... with a little salt
At same time ...In a skillet combine Saturnine ( white) cooking wine with garlic and lemon juice as much as you like of each.
If you want some butter- throw that in too... Add some black pepper..
Add some fresh basil leaves (take them out before giving to the kids cuz they are green!!!!)
Stir it together add the cooked angle hair pasta and throw in some sliced roma tomatoes- all done in about 10 minutes! We LOVE THIS!!! Its really good! And good for you!
If you add cheese any kind it's good and cheesier
And another trick if you want it creamy just add a little pet milk- hummm very good.
We do eat this a lot!
If you've never tried the multi grain pasta here's the link-
http://www.barillaus.com/Home/pages/Barilla_Plus.aspx
We've tried wheat pasta its not so great- but this looks like reg pasta and tastes even better- even my dad will eat it...
End quote.
Thanks, Andrea!
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