Stoplight Veggie Snacks

My youngest son attends a special needs preschool associated with our local school district. There are 12 kids in his class and every child is responsible for bringing in a snack for the class every few weeks. In an effort to help the children branch out and try new foods each school day has a food type assigned. The last time my son was on the snack schedule his day was "veggies". Which, naturally, brought lots of sighs from both my boys. When I asked for veggie snack suggestions neither boy could come up with a single food item they would be willing to eat. What is a busy mama to do? That's right, I turned to Pinterest.

And I found this:

Awesome stop light veggie snacks! The look in my sons' eyes told me everything I needed to know- this snack might just be a hit!

I changed up the recipe slightly- I don't know about other kids, but my boys have a slight salt addiction. This may, or may not, be my fault. I know that they really like savory foods, so I replaced the plain cream cheese with vegetable cream cheese. This was just enough of a change up to really get my boys excited.

I used a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to cut the peppers, rounding them off with a sharp knife. Each boy was given a child's knife and reminded about a thousand times NOT to lick the cream cheese off their fingers. The boys spread the cheese on the celery while I cut the peppers and then all three of us worked on assembling the snacks.

This was a super fun activity with my kids and each one of them ate a bunch of these stoplights- it just may have been the first time I have seen my oldest son eat a vegetable willingly!

Word on the street is that this traffic inspired snack was also a big hit with the preschool set as well- a total win-win!



Stoplight Veggie Snacks

celery
cream cheese- plain or veggie flavored
red, green and yellow peppers (one pepper each color made approximately 12 stoplights)

cut celery into 2-3 inch pieces. spread celery with cream cheese- add enough so that the cream cheese comes to the top of the celery and use your knife you level it off so that the surface of the cream cheese is smooth. cut each pepper into small circles. (I used a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, pressing the spoon into the flesh of the pepper. I then used a sharp knife to cut around the circle so that it actually looked like a circle.)
place one red, green, and yellow pepper circle onto each celery stalk. easy peasy!

I placed two stoplights each into a snack sized plastic bag and made one bag per preschooler. We had plenty of leftovers, which I stored in the fridge in an air tight container. Everyone in the family loved them and they were gone in no time!

taco cups, won ton wrappers and lots of sour cream

It has been quite some time since I have written anything for this much neglected blog. If you read my other ramblings then you know why. If you don't, you can read it here, and catch up with the rest of the class. Between maddening   oh so fun toddler chaos and the new work from home job I just started two months ago I have been a little tied up. But during my unexpected hiatus I kept plugging away in the kitchen.

I have continued my on again off again quest to serve my family only home made, only healthy food. And I am proud to say that I am meeting that lofty goal at least 75% of the time. My husband has been experiencing some mysterious health issues and my youngest son is exhibiting signs of attention deficit or, at the very least, defiant behavior. So now my quest to change our diet has real tangible reasons attached to it. My research shows that many behavior and neurological issues stem from problems with our "gut". My sister in law has been feeding her family with this in mind for the past 8 years or so and the changes have been amazing. So stay tuned for adventures in gluten free living, as well as a shout out to my past way of life- a return to homeopathic and alternative medicine.

In the meantime, here is what I made for dinner:

don't they look yummy?

Straight from Pinterest these little yummies were, well, yummy. And super easy. And another great use of won ton wrappers.

1 pound ground beef  (I used ground turkey- shhh, don't tell my family.)
taco seasoning packet
water
shredded cheddar cheese
assorted taco topics- I used diced onions, sour cream, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce

Cook the ground beef and drain. Mix in the taco seasoning mix and the water according to the package. Spray a muffin tin with non stick spray and place one won ton wrapper in each well. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the beef mixture in each won ton. Top with cheese. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or so. If they don't look crispy enough for you then place under the broiler for a few minutes.


I also made little taco packets with a few of the won tons, figuring these would be easier for my little guys to pick up and eat. And I was right. The sharp corners on the little mini taco cups were a little tricky for my three year old. Who, by the way, totally did not understand dinner tonight. He ate all of his sour cream with his spoon, mixed a little bit of it in his yogurt, and then made a few passes at eating the little taco cup before I finally handed over the won ton packets, which he found much easier to eat. I know, I should have offered him one sooner, but he was just so darn fun to watch...

To make the taco packets I placed a teaspoon of the meat mixture and a little bit of the shredded cheese into the center of the packet, folded in each corner to the middle, wet the tips down to hold in place and cooked on a greased baking sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

I rounded out dinner with corn and pitted cherries and everyone was happy. Another healthy meal!
Plus, I am now filled with fun ideas of what else I can stuff into a won ton wrapper...

Best. Chicken. Ever.

Best. Chicken. Ever. Truly. Everyone at the dinner table agreed, and as you know, I have a five year old who could live on meatballs and chicken nuggets and a two year old who doesn't eat chicken. Even the two year old ate a little bit, which is saying a lot.


beth's yummy chicken pockets

4 chicken breasts
frozen puff pastry sheets
4 oz cream cheese (I used light cream cheese and it tasted wonderful)
bacon slices
parsley or basil (I used parsley - fresh)
1 green onion
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon and set aside. Finely chop onion and parsley or basil. Add onion, parsley or basil, pepper, and crumbled bacon to cream cheese in large bowl. Mix. At this point you could add grated cheese, red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat), really you can add in whatever flavor combinations you like.

Cut a deep slit in each piece of chicken and fill with 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture. Place the chicken on the puff pastry, cream cheese side down. If your pastry is too small link two together with a little dab of the egg. Salt and pepper the chicken. Brush egg onto the edges of the pastry and fold up over the chicken, totally covering the chicken with pastry. Brush the top of each packet with egg. Place on baking sheet and cook in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

These were great with crisp green beans. Easy to make ahead of time and just pop in the oven when ready to bake. Enjoy!

I love "pantry" and "fridge"...

You would think that because I work from home dinner would always be on the table right on time, right? Well, think again. Despite my best intentions to have home cooked, yummy, and healthy meals for my family to enjoy every night life seems to keep getting in the way. I plan. I shop. I prep. I start dinner hours before the family shows up at the table so that I can do a little at a time. I frequently cook extra and freeze for another day. And some days I pull it all off beautifully. Others, not so much.

So the other night I was slightly panicking at dinner time. I had defrosted pork chops but had no plan. And the boys, all three of them, would be home soon. As in SOON. I rummaged through pantry and fridge, (I LOVE Chopped, the TV show, so now I too have "pantry" and "fridge".) Anyways, I rummaged around, tossed a few items in a bowl, used my new favorite wisk and created my new favorite glaze.

Whisk together 3 parts apricot marmalade with 1 part soy sauce. Add in 1 teaspoon minced garlic and a dash of salet and pepper. Pour over pork chops during last 20 minutes of baking.

Amazing. Sweet and tangy with a little touch of salt. Husband LOVED it. Tiny Toddler LOVED it. Big Five Year Old tried it and said it was "good", which is HUGE coming from him.

This was so good and so easy that it has officially made my monthly dinner rotation.

Cheers to the New Year

Today is January 3rd and so far, I am doing great with my renewed desire to feed my family out of the box. Sunday my husband was out of town at a football game, which normally would mean I would feed the boys cereal or waffles or peanut butter sandwiches. But it was the start of a new year, the renewal of eating outside the box, so I made home made mac and cheese for my boys.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni - I usually just use one small box and freeze the leftovers
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese - shred it yourself to save money!
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups milk- add more if you like your mac & cheese a little saucier
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

           

Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat and stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk slowly while continuing to stir. Stir in both cheeses and cook over low heat until all the cheese is melted and sauce is slightly thick. Place cooked macaroni in large casserole dish and pour sauce over- mix well.

Melt small amount of butter in saucepan and add breadcrumbs. Cook until brown. Spread over the casserole. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for at least 30 minutes.

oh my goodness so yummy!

 

 

 

The boys loved it and there was enough left over the freeze for school/daycare lunches.  And as always, I used fat free milk and lower calorie margarine, and it tasted just fine.  Yesterday we enjoyed home made sloppy joes, complete with veggies hidden inside so all of my boys, including my husband, were none the wiser.

We got a little off track last year with our eating. Who am I kidding- we got WAY off track. Spending each day fighting through adoption and bonding issues leaves little time or energy for planning, shopping, and cooking healthy. But those issues are all worked out, the family is back on a schedule and stronger than ever, and my commitment to feed myself and my boys outside the box has been renewed. I am totally psyched for this new year- bring it on!

 

Thankful for Corn on the Cob Cookies!

Thanksgiving brought beautiful sunny weather to Ohio and another foodie challenge to my kitchen- corn on the cob cookies. I made these beautiful creations for my son's preschool class and they were such a hit that I made them again for my husband's family Thanksgiving celebration, where there are lots of kids and cookie eating adults. Again, they were a huge hit at the family gathering as well, so score!

I used a basic sugar cookie recipe, true to my desire to cook outside the box. This recipe calls for a corn cob shaped sugar cookie as the base, so any type of sugar cookie dough would work. If you need to speed up the process or just don't like to bake then I would think that pre-made dough would work just fine. Just make sure the dough is cold enough to roll out. Because I don't own a corn cob shaped cookie cutter I used a sharp knife to cut out my cobs free hand style- they were each a little different in size but they looked just fine.

After baking and allowing the cookies to cool I frosted them very lightly with chocolate frosting and then covered each cob with fall colored M&M's, pushing them into each other so that they sat on the cookie like little kernels of corn. I then used green and yellow fruit leather to create the stalks, attaching the leather to the cookie with a tiny dab of frosting. Honestly, finding green and yellow fruit leather was the hardest part of the whole process! I ended up buying a bunch of boxes of mixed fruit leathers, which made my preschooler VERY happy, as he was able to then snack on the blue and red ones.

This cookie was easy to make, looked great, was fun for the little ones, and tasted great- total win! This is one I will definitely make again!

the invisible pop show down

My attempt at making the Invisible Pops from Martha Stewart resulted in a fair number of usable lollipops, a possibly ruined pot and measuring cup, and one small stove fire. Just a small one. I found the recipe to be easy to follow and even without any added flavoring they actually taste pretty good. I made two batches and followed the directions exactly and my pops still turned out slightly yellow, instead of the way cool clear of Martha's. (When I put on my Fall apron I like to pretend we are on a first name basis.)

Martha's

Mine

I found that the candy hardened quickly, especially to the inside of the saucepan. Happily, I had read the reviews of others who had attempted these lollipops and so I used an old pan. Catastrophe avoided. 

I chose to use lollipop molds instead of pouring free form onto paper. I should have just poured away. I found the molds difficult to use because the candy mixture kept overflowing the small pop cups. I did try a few free form ones at the end and they turned out OK, so if I make these again I will keep the molds in the cupboard.

The next step was adding the candy corn to the pop. This was not so easy. I pushed each piece down as far as I could, which resulted in a few burns on the tip of my left index finger. They were not completely encased in the hot candy, so I figured they would sink as the lollipop cooled. This did not happen. So each pop has the candy corn sticking up a little.

OK, so all in all they didn't turn out so bad. They are not nearly as beautiful as the photo shopped image from Martha Stewart. (That's right, I don't know if it's my burned fingers or the sugar high I'm on but I am currently not on speaking terms with Martha. This has happened before. Like always, it will blow over.) But they are cute. And maybe it's just because I am surrounded by monster trucks and sticky boys in my world over here but I'm thinking that little bugs would look great "trapped" inside these pops. Now I just have to figure out how to make edible bugs...