Foodie thoughts...

Shhh, don't tell anyone but the kids are in their room right now playing so nicely that I can even post.  Let's not bring it to their attention, though, or they may have to resume their normal behavior to save face.  I guess this abnormal interaction may be the result of a house full of grumpy, sickies suddenly feeling better on this Monday morning with a week full of no school ahead.  Bliss...for the moment.

So, just in case anyone is interested, I have found an amazing new ingredient that I now need to buy stock in...

smoked paprika!

I use this wonderful flavoring in everything.  Not hot like hungarian paprika or bland like regular paprika but really wonderful smokey flavor.  Awesome on pork, chicken, great in curries, and takes scrambled eggs to a whole new level. 

Unless you are a vegetarian or vegan, you know how bacon makes everything taste amazing?  And I mean everything.  For example, my kids love quiche with asparagus in it, why?  Because I add bacon.  They love wilted spinach salad.  Yep, bacon again.  Now I am not saying that my husband kids only eat vegetables with bacon on it.  They are actually pretty good about eating vegetables.  They just eat so much more of them if they have bacon on them.  My point?  Smoked paprika has a similar effect without all the fat and clogged artery consequences.  Now, you can't really substitute one for the other.  Smoked paprika in broccoli salad instead of bacon?  Don't that would do the trick but it does add such a nice smokey flavor that I think you will find all kinds of reasons to use it.

Tonight, in fact, I am using it in a recipe I found on allrecpies.com for slow cooked sweet n sour pork. 

Kids love it, Matt loves it, I love it and it goes in the crock pot!  Hard for me to find all those things in one dish.  In case you want to try it, here are my modifications:

 I use smoked paprika instead of regular (obviously!). 
No green peppers.  I think they would be a great addition but they do not like me.
2 Tbls of cider vinegar - 1/4 cup is just a little too much
No sugar at all.  The pineapples are really sweet enough on their own.

If you try the recipe or smoked paprika in anything, let me know.  I would love to have more reasons to use it.  :-)

peace

Apricot Chicken Recipe

For those who have been asking:

Apricot Chicken from the Simply in Season cookbook by Mary Beth Lind & Cathleen Hockman-Wert.  Words in italics are my additions or modifications.

Serves 4

2 tsp butter or olive oil
4 ripe apricots (halved and seeded)  Since I use dried apricots, I use a lot more than 4, a handful or so? I either soakthem in water for an hour or use them as is if I am too busy.  Watch carefully because they burn easily.
Melt butter in frypan.  Place apricots in meted butter cut side down and cook over medium heat until light brown, about 5 minutes.  Turn and cook several more.  Remove to plate.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (whole or cut into strips)
salt and pepper
Roll chicken in mixture of salt and pepper. Or just sprinkle it on!  Saute in 1 Tbls olive oil on med-high hear for 3 minutes, then med-low heat for 7 more mintues or until no longer pink inside.  Remove chicken to plate with apricots.

1 tsp ginger root (peeled and minced)  could also use ground ginger 
1 green onion or 2 Tbls onion (chopped)
Combine in frypan and saute briefly.

1/2 cup dry white wine, apple juice or water  I have used both the wine and juice both are excellent
2 Tbls maple syrup or apricot preserves
1/2 tsp lime peel (grated) or lemon peel or omit
Add to frypan along with the apricots and chicken.  Simmer 10 minutes to combine flavors.  Serve alone or over brown rice or couscous.  Garnish with 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds.

One of our kids favorite dishes.  Enjoy! 

Recipe test #1

I have been looking for a yummy but nutritious but not-too-filling after school snack that my kids won't give me a hard time about eating.  I am looking for a miracle, I know.  Below is the recipe I tried from the Stonyfield Farm yogurt container.  After that is my review and revisions for next time.

Yogurt Cereal Bars

2 cups corn flakes
3/4 cup plus two Tbls all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tps cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup Vanilla yogurt
1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine cereal, 3/4 cup flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Cut in margarine until coarse crumbs form.  Press 1/2 mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased 8-inch square pan.  Mix yogurt, egg and 2 Tbls flour into another small bowl.  Spread over cereal mixture in pan; srpinkle with remaining cereal mixture.  Bake for 30 minitues or until golden brown.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.

Review -
Overall, tasted yummy.  Yogurt and egg mixture made a tasty custard like filling that I liked and wasn't too sweet.  However, not happy with the corn flakes being so chewy instead of slightly crunchy.  Proportionally, way too much filling to crust-ness.

Changes for next time -
Use 3 or 4 cups of cereal -1-2 cups corn flakes & 2 cups granola
A bit more cinnamon and flour to keep taste a consistency the same
I used butter instead of margarine and I would not increase the amount.  There was too much for the original 2 cups of cereal. 
May consider using less yogurt next time.  The filling really rises and was almost overwhelming.  Need to experiment more with the amount.

Summary -
Tristan ate it up and I did too so definitely good enough to eat as is.  Just could use some tweaking.  Fun, easy, not time consuming recipe to make with kids.  If you try it let know about your experiments.  Enjoy!

Updated edit - This tastes much better cold than warm right out the oven.

A "family" recipe

Making this for dinner tonight gave me the motivation to do something I have been meaning to do for a while (the story of my life), post it!

This recipe is a favorite in our house. It's comfort food, warm, yummy and a good way to sneak vegetables into our daughter (one of many reasons I love soups). Perfect for a day like we are having today; snow, snow, snow. The best part, though, is the recipe itself. My dad gave me this recipe over the phone when Matt and I were first married and his description just cracks me up.

Wedding soup - Jack Russell style

-Chicken breast (cook a little by itself in water to get blood out) Dad, I am still not sure I fully understand what that means :-)
-Chop up small onion, saute in oil
-Throw in couple of cloves of garlic for 30 seconds
-Throw in 1 large can or 3 small cans of chicken broth
-Simmer
-Chop up a couple of small carrots and some celery including the leaves and some parsley and potatoes, if desired (although I usually don't include the potatoes)
-Once boiling, throw chicken and vegies in. Simmer for 45 minutes.
-Take chicken out, shred, throw back in pot (as you can see, there is lots of throwing going on in this recipe, watch out!)
-1/4-1/2 cup of acini di pepe pasta and some chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)
-Cook another 15 minutes
-Top with parmesan cheese

Enjoy! (Thanks, Dad)

peace

Cures for a case of the breakfast time blues

Anyone with small children can relate to the struggles that often arise around meal time. Breakfast is one of the hardest for me and the kids. Well, not Tristan so much, he is ready to eat anytime. But Abigail is often too excited to start her day to stop and eat a meal. So I have been experimenting in ways to make breakfast, if not fun (I am not a morning person:), at least enticing.

One that, I am sure many parents have tried, is playing restaurant. We do this all the time for all kinds of meals! I am often the waitress and Abigail (again Tristan doesn't need any prompting to eat!) gets to choose her food and drink from a verbal menu and her place at the table. She also likes to be a waitress herself and deliver food to her brother.

Lately, however, I think she is catching on to this playtime and is realizing that is it actually a parenting methos getting her to eat. So, we have also started eating breakfast with her tea set. I put juice in her tea pot and she pours it into her cup herself. She chooses which plates hold what, etc. I think having control over her meal helps her want to eat well.

Also, I often allow her to eat non-breakfast type foods if she requests them. Does it really matter if she eats mac-n-cheese or PBJ sandwich for breakfast? Not in my mind. She is eating!

Finally, our latest breakfast has been the stuffed apple. Great for preschoolers. Here are the instructions:
1 Take 1 apple and slice it in half.
2 Core it but do not quarter it.
3 Leave skin on or cut off, depending on child's perference.
4 Fill the whole left by the core with peanut butter or jelly (I know it sounds a little gross but they like it!). Nuttella may also be good although I have never tried it myself.
5 Put the two halves together (Peanut butter helps them stay together the best) and viola, a fun new breakfast with a surprise in the middle.

If you have any meal time secrets, please share them.

Happy eating!