Kid Friendly
Oat and Quinoa Granola Bar
During this time of “sheltering at home” you may find yourself with your stash of favorite granola bar disappearing quickly. Here is a DELICIOUS and fun to make granola bar that will have your kids asking for more. The awesome thing about this recipe is you can make it with all kinds of variations and it will always taste YUMMY.
Ingredients
1 ½ cup old fashioned oats
¾ cup quinoa
¾ cup raisins, dried cranberries or dried apricots coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped nuts
⅓ cup unsweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons chia seed or flaxseed
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
⅓ cup honey
½ cup creamy almond butter or natural peanut butter
¼ cup mini chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate
Spread oats and quinoa on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly brown. In a medium sized bowl mix baked oat/quinoa mixture and dried fruit, nuts, coconut, chia seed and chocolate. Place coconut oil, nut butter, honey and salt in a 2 cup microwave proof bowl or measuring cup and heat on high for 1 minute, stirring at 30 seconds. Pour nut butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined. Press into a 9 inch square or 10×7 inch pyrex coated with coconut or canola cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool and cut into 16 bars. Store in an airtight container and they last for 1 week. This is a great tasting, crunchy and full of fiber and protein. Have fun experimenting with different combinations of dried fruit and nuts. I made one batch with dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts and raisins and one batch with no nuts and mini chocolate chips.
Baked Falafel with Spicy Tahini Sauce
My husband and I are big fans of Falafel. We love traveling to Israel and we LOVE mediterranean food. When I found this recipe for baked falafels, I knew I had to try it!!! I looked at a few recipes and combined the best of the bunch and came up with this one. I absolutely loved the fact that I did not have to fry these and they came out crispy and spicy. The texture was great and the consistency was really good. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did. This will become a regular addition to our list of favorites.Visit our partners,shoes leaders in fashionable footwear!
Baked Falafel
1 (15oz) can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup chopped red onion
3 -4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup fresh parsley (you can use ¼ cup dry parsley herbs)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon cumin
1 ½ teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon zatar or sumac
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoon oat flour or oat bran
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place foil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray.
Combine garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, oil, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, coriander. Salt and cayenne into a food processor or a Vitamix. Pulse until combined, do not pulse too long or it will be like hummus-you want it chunky. Mixture will be dry and chunky. Scoop out into a bowl, add the baking soda and oat flour and stir until combined. Form small patties with dough and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes and then flip each patty and then bake another 10-12 minutes. Serve …
Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli-Shwarma Style with Spicy Tahini Sauce
We are practicing physical distancing during this COVID-19 crisis so I am spending my evenings trying new healthy recipes with the ingredients I have on hand. We are trying to utilize this time to develop healthy habits, get fresh air and exercise every day and eat super nutritious food (a mostly plant based diet). This recipe was shared with me from one of my hiking buddies. I tweaked it a bit and adjusted some of the seasonings. The night I made this I also tried a new recipe for Baked Falafels and made a batch of Tabooleh. In the picture at the end of this post you will see the plate full of food I served my husband while he was working his evening clinic shift from home. Hope you enjoy this as much as my husband and I did.
Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli-Shwarma Style
1 head of Cauliflower, cut into florets
1 head of Broccoli, cut into florets
¼ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sumac or zaatar or harissa
2 cloves garlic pressed
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon seasoned pepper
- Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli-Shwarma Style
- 1 head of Cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 head of Broccoli, cut into florets
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sumac or zaatar or harissa
- 2 cloves garlic pressed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon seasoned pepper
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut up cauliflower and broccoli.
- Mix all other
Carrot Cake-Old Fashioned from our Wedding
Believe it or not…this is the recipe we used for the cupcakes at our wedding in 1977. My Mom and many of her friends used this recipe to bake hundreds of carrot cake cupcakes for our special day. This is a tried and true recipe with room for healthy options without altering the delicious taste.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 ¼ cups oil (I used ½ cup applesauce and ¾ cups oil)
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups grated carrots 9I used about 2 ½ cups)
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with no sugar added, drained and reserve juice for frosting
¾ cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cube butter at room temperature
1 (8 oz) cream cheese at room temperature (you can use fat free or low fat cream cheese)
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons reserve pineapple juice
Mix all dry ingredients together. Add beaten eggs, oil (applesauce), carrots, drained pineapple and nuts. Mix well by hand until well blended. Pour into greased 9×13 or three 9 inch rounds or a bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool thoroughly and frost with cream cheese frosting.
To make frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a kitchen aide and mix until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well adding just enough pineapple juice to get the consistency you want for your frosting. Frost the cake when completely cool.
InstantPot Best Vegetable Soup EVER
InstantPot Best Vegetable Soup Ever
Bethany and I try to cook together on Wednesday afternoons after I help with preschool. We modified a recipe we found online and made the BEST vegetable soup I have tasted in a long time AND we made it in the InstantPot. So, I tried to recreate it this week at my house and it was just as delicious. A perfect soup for a winter night and the grandkids LOVED it as well.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
I large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
3-4 celery stalks cup into chunks
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3-4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups cauliflower, cut into 2-inch pieces
1-2 cups broccoli, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 medium zucchinis cut into small chunks
2 yellow squash cut into small chunks
2 cups spinach leaves
½ cup fresh basil leaves
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 cups low sodium organic vegetable broth
Freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Chopped parsley for garnish
On sauté mode in your Instant Pot, stir olive oil, onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes stirring regularly. Add tomato paste and all the spices and stir until combined. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir. Lock the Instant Pot lid and cook on High pressure for 6 minutes. When timer finishes, immediately press the manual release steam vent valve to release all the pressure. (If you allow pot to release on its own the vegetables will continue to cook and get too mushy.) Open the lid and stir. Adjust seasonings. You can keep …
Read MoreInstantPot Apple Butter-Finding a FAST and EASY way to make Apple Butter
If you have followed our blog for any time at all you know I am PASSIONATE about giving homemade gifts and one of my favorite holiday gifts to give is Apple Butter. I love spending a whole day with one of my dear friends, Sally…but this year we are both busy with our wonderful grandkids. Today I tried making a batch of apple butter in my InstantPot and it was FAST, EASY and DELICIOUS. Not that fast an easy can ever take the place of a fun day with my friend BUT for this year it is a nice alternative.
10-12 large apples (5 pounds)
¾ cup Trader Joes Spiced Apple Cider
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
One of the BEST things about this recipe is you DO NOT HAVE TO PEEL the apples.
Get out your InstantPot and cut large apples into 4 pieces leaving the peel on but discarding the core. Place all apples into InstantPot. Pour in apple cider and add brown sugar, spices and salt. Save th lemon juice until after the apples are cooked.
Put top on InstantPot with vent closed. Set on Manual for 15 minutes. When finished, let naturally vent for 15 minutes and then release the rest of the steam. While apples are cooking make sure to sterilize your jars and tops. When apples are finished, open the top and use an immersion blender to grind up the skins and pulverize the apples. Ladel the apple butter into jars and seal. If you do not seal in the hot apple butter, you must refrigerate and use within 10 days. Once sealed the apple butter will last for months. You can also freeze the apple butter if you can not …
High Protein, High Fiber Oat Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies
When you are a nursing mom and your baby starts to wiggle and grow, sleep through the night and seems to want/need more breast milk…..this delicious cookie may just do the trick.They are easy to make and can be stored in the freezer for a quick nutritious treat. Remember to use Brewer’s yeast and NOT nutritional yeast. This delicious lactation cookie recipe is similar to the other one we tried but uses whole wheat flour for more fiber and has extra protein with the addition of more peanut butter to the dough. You can add an extra bit of fiber by adding raisins. Watch out because your husband and other family members will be sneaking these when you are not looking -they are that delicious. For more information on herbs and nutritional supplements that can improve your milk supply if you are a nursing mama click here. Here are two other recipes that we have tried-one a bar and one a cookie and we also added brewer’s yeast to our favorite bran muffin recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons of flax seed meal
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups of whole oats (not instant or quick oats)
1 ½ cups chocolate chip
½-1 cup raisins optional
4 Tablespoons Brewer’s Yeast (NOT nutritional yeast)
½ cup peanut butter (we used Trader Joe’s natural)
Stir the flax seed meal and water together in a small bowl. Blend butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and add vanilla and blend until fluffy. Measure flour, baking soda and salt into a small bowl and pour into mixer. Blend on medium speed until mixed …
Read MorePeach-Blueberry Cobbler
Hot summer nights are a perfect time to serve up some homemade cobbler. My favorite combinations of fruit for cobbler are peach-blueberry and strawberry-rhubarb. This week I was visiting my youngest daughter, Bekah, in Clovis and picked up a big box of fresh peaches-nothing like a peach cobbler made with fresh peaches from the Valley. We had taken the children blueberry picking a few days before so I decided to make a peach-blueberry cobbler tonight to serve at a gathering tomorrow evening. I will warm it up tomorrow and serve it with fresh vanilla ice cream. YUMMY!!!
Cobbler Ingredients
4-6 cups very ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup sugar
Topping
2 cups whole grain baking mix (you can use whole wheat flour and add 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder)
1 ½ cups oats
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup softened butter
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
Peel and slice peaches. Mix with rinsed fresh blueberries. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar and stir well. Pour into a 9×13 glass pyrex pan. In a large bowl, mix together baking mix. oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and softened butter. Stir until butter is mixed in and then add yogurt and stir until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of fruit and if desired sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes until bubbly and topping is golden brown. You can use 6-8 cups of peaches to make a delicious peach cobbler if you do not have blueberries.
This is the baking mix I used and it turned out so delicious!
This is my new recipe stand where I can place any cookbook I am using right in front …
Read MoreButtermilk Coffee Cake
Buttermilk Coffee Cake (with Blueberries optional)
This coffee cake is very versatile and wonderfully delicious. This recipe was my mom’s and she used to make it all the time for breakfast when we had a house full of kids over for a slumber party. You can make it a day ahead and warm in a low oven for a few minutes before serving. Today I got creative by adding blueberries and served it at a leadership brunch and the gals loved it.
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups flour (you can use gluten free flour)
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
⅓ cup sugar
¾ cup canola oil (you can use coconut oil or almond oil or light olive oil)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
½-¾ cup chopped walnuts
1 more teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 cups fresh blueberries (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, salt, brown sugar, white sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon and oil together in a medium sized bowl. This mixture will be a bit lumpy and crumbly at this point. Take out ¾ cup of this mixture and set aside for topping. You can make this cake by hand using a whip and spatula or a hand mixer or mix in your kitchen-aide. Next add the baking soda and baking powder to the batter remaining in the bowl and mix thoroughly. Whip the egg and buttermilk together and add to batter. Mix carefully until all ingredients are completely combined and smooth like cake batter (add 1-2 cups of fresh blueberries and fold in carefully). Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. In a small bowl, add chopped nuts and extra 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the ¾ cups of crumbly mixture you have set aside. Sprinkle …
Read MoreCrockpot Chicken – 3 Ways
As a mom of two littles, easy and healthy dinners are a must!
I love using the crockpot and love even more when what is in the crockpot can make a few different meals.
Recently, I made Crockpot Chicken using…
Organic Chicken Stock from Costco
3 packs of Chicken Breast (6 chicken breast total) from Costco
No Salt Chicken Seasoning from Costco
…and put it on Low for 8 hours. It was ready before the 8 hours so I adjusted it down to about 6 hours when the chicken was easily pulled.
The first night, I used it on the *best* homemade pizza recipe from Kerry’s Baby Bear Stew Cookbook!
The next night, I added our favorite BBQ sauce from Trader Joe’s – Organic Kansas Style BBQ Sauce – when reheating the chicken on the stove for BBQ Chicken Salad. It was a very simple meal with the Spring Mix from Costco and cut up veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers. We also had zucchini and squash on the side.
Since we still had more bbq chicken leftovers, we did BBQ Chicken Quesadillas the next night- Grated cheese, a corn and black bean mix, bell peppers, optional jalapeños and guacamole, and the bbq chicken! I did mine more taco style and used the new TJs Corn & Wheat Tortillas which was delicious!
And, surprisingly, we still have more chicken! 🙂
What are your favorite ways to use crockpot chicken night after night?
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