These are a few of my favorite things...

Now that you're singing...I thought it would be a fun wrap up to the week to share some of my favorite things...Some foodie stuff, some fitness stuff, some family stuff, some just "me" stuff.

My husband's appreciation of my cooking efforts.  Now, please note that he does not always appreciate the results, but he always appreciates the effort and is quick to offer feedback.  I love that he takes my love of cooking and my blog as seriously as I do.  He is my biggest supporter and he thinks I can cook anything.  It's a joy to cook for someone who loves what I do as much as I do.  And, while I'm at it, I love my husband.  We run together, bike together, and never get sick of spending time together.  It's amazing.  We'll be married 18 years in June and it feels like it's gone so fast I wish I could go back and relive it again. <3

[caption id="attachment_822" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Biking our first century ride together!"][/caption]

Julia Child.  I could read her words over and over again.  She is so succinct in her words and I love it.  My favorite quote that I see myself in?  “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” I love to just take a recipe and change it or throw some ingredients together and see what happens.  Flavor profiles were meant to be changed, right?  Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a disaster but it's all about enjoying myself, feeding my family and learning for the next time. I love reading her recipes and trying to recreate them and remember to always have fun in the kitchen.  Every time I try a new recipe feels like an adventure!

Waffles  We tried a new "healthier" recipe tonight for dinner.  I know, waffles for dinner??  But it's awesome and the hubby's always off schedule because of his work shift and this way we enjoy our breakfast together.

My dogs  Troop, Junie and Cally drive me insane sometimes but I love them.  I still think about my doggies Sierra and Cleo who left my side way too early and were my girls :)  They all have a special personality and they leave a mark on your heart.  It's hard to resist a wet nose nudging you with love.


My daycare kids and their families

Talk about willing to experiment with foods!  These kids will try anything, well, almost anything, at least once.  They look forward to my food as if they're dining at a 4 star restaurant.  It's a favorite question around here, "what are we having" and there's no way not to smile when cheers erupt pretty much to anything you say.  These kids are foodies in the making and not only that, they're concerned about the food, the Earth and they care what they're eating!  And they're not even in school yet.  I love them, and spending my day with them has to be one of the BEST jobs on this planet.   One of the perks is getting to know the most wonderful moms and dads out there.  I am blessed that we have a great relationship and they appreciate the thought that goes into our meals and are even taking the recipes home!

[caption id="attachment_827" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Wouldn't you want to spend your days with kids this awesome?"][/caption]

Running.  Biking.  Being outside.  Really, running has been my first love for the past four years but biking is quickly become a contender.  The feeling of being out on my bike is amazing.  Running is still my favorite but these hot summer-like days make me glad I've got a bike and hubby who loves to ride too!  And I've started joining group rides this year which has made me a better cyclist. It's a good time socializing while keeping fit and healthy.  Win-win.  Any excuse to be outdoors is a good one for me.  I'd spend all day outside if I could and love it.

[caption id="attachment_828" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Yes, I am walking barefoot across a rain swollen stream in cold weather. We're crazy like that."][/caption]

My friends and family are the best.  They love my food, tolerate my crazy ideas and are there when I need them.  What more could you ever ask for?  I've been so blessed in my life and I am thankful every day for them!  I wasn't always on the right path with my eating, my cooking or my fitness and I'm glad that as I have changed my life, some things have never changed.  Friends love whether you eat vegetables or a burger, run a race or walk a mile, pick up take out or cook them a meal.  Friends are friends.  And mine are the best.



Food...can't forget the food! I love cooking and creating and serving and tasting it.  I love it. Good food, that is whole and healthy and that tastes good!  I mean, being a foodie is no fun if you don't enjoy what you do and I do!  I started my food blog because I wanted to write and share my journey from a mostly processed take out diet to a whole foods, very little processed diet and it has become so much more than that.  It's become a community of fellow minded people that appreciate my thoughts as much as I appreciate theirs.  I've learned so much over the past year and a half of blogging.  I rarely eat without snapping a pic of it.  Just in case.  I'm sure others out there understand... Like our lunch.  Nothing special, but I still snapped a pic.

It's just a warmed tortilla shell with hummus, avocado, zucchini cooked in balsamic with some olive oil and tomatoes.  But it is delicious.  And I grabbed my camera just in case I felt like sharing it.  And I did.  So, I guess I'm not totally crazy yet.  Well, I don't think I am anyway.

I hope you've enjoyed some of my favorite things...and maybe you'll share some of yours?

Enjoy,

Sheri

Is it still ice cream if there's no cream???

These are the kinds of questions I have to ask because I'm just not sure.  How can something that starts like this...

...end up looking like this??

Surprisingly, it doesn't take much!?!

So, I was looking for an ice cream recipe and I kept stumbling across recipes for banana ice cream...but not banana ice cream in the sense that I'm used to.  This "ice cream" is made up of bananas, sliced thin, flash frozen and then put in a food processor until smooth.  Huh?  I checked back a few times over several days just not sure that this would be something anybody would eat.  And, then, I got my chance.  My frozen banana bag for smoothies was almost full and my bananas were ripening too quickly.  I thought of the ice cream, dismissed it, and thought about it again and decided to go for it.

I'm glad I did because it was tasty.  Not decadent like ice cream but also a LOT healthier!  I did add 1/2 c of peanut butter and some melted chocolate to it.  Also, my bananas were not getting smooth in the food processor so I did add a few drops of almond milk to loosen it up, and it helped a lot!

I gave some to the boy who we all know is the picky one around here.  He thought it was frozen yogurt.  So, pretty good.

If you find yourself with some spare bananas, time for them to freeze, give it a try!

enjoy,

Sheri

Florentine Penne Pasta

Hot days don't always lend themselves well to heavy meals, which is why pasta dishes that are this easy make me happy!  No heavy sauces and no time spent over the stove except to make the pasta.   It's a nice summer dish too because it has a brightness to it that seems to fit right in!

And it was so easy to make...my kind of dish!  A short list of ingredients too...have I talked you into making it yet?  Well, okay then, on to the recipe!

Florentine Penne Pasta

Ingredients

• 12 oz whole wheat penne pasta, cooked according to package directions


• 2 small tomatoes, cubed


• 2 c baby spinach, or regular leaf spinach washed and chopped


• 4 oz light cream cheese, softened


• 3/4 c parmigiano & romano freshly ground blend

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F


2. In large bowl toss all ingredients together


3. Put mixture into lightly greased casserole dish


4. Cover with foil or lid and bake for 45 minutes


5. Serve immediately

We loved this dinner!  I hope you will too!

Enjoy,

Sheri

Multigrain Bread Makes for a Tasty Sandwich!

Amidst all the crazy running around in a holiday weekend, I was able to carve out a little time to try a new bread recipe.  So happy that I did too, because it made my sandwich for lunch taste awesome! After a busy morning of kiddie pools, changing 5 wet preschoolers out of their bathing suits and a rush to make their lunch before they crashed asleep, I was happy to grab a few minutes and have some down time!  This was my kind of down time too.  Iced coffee is one of my most favorite parts of summer and so simple.  Leftover coffee (because I always get too busy to drink it all) mixed with ice and homemade almond milk.  Sometimes I get a little more complex than that but there's just no need because this is simple and delicious!

[caption id="attachment_802" align="aligncenter" width="424" caption="Goat Cheese and Veggie Sandwich with Iced Coffee?? This is the life!"][/caption]

The bread I made this weekend was a dense loaf, but with so much flavor!  It used a ton of grains and seeds and I really couldn't wait to try it!

[caption id="attachment_804" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Just look at that texture!"][/caption]

Multigrain Bread Recipe for Breadmaker

Ingredients

• 3/4 c warm water


• 1 T butter


• 1 t salt


• 2 T sunflower seeds


• 1 T sesame seeds


• 1 T flax seeds


• 1/4 c ground millet


• 1 T quinoa, dry


• 1 c bread flour


• 1 c wheat flour


• 1/4 c brown sugar


• 1 1/2 T yeast

Directions

1. Put water, sugar and butter in bread machine first.


2. Mix all dry ingredients, except yeast, and put in bread machine on top of water.


3. Put yeast on top of dry ingredients.


4. Use basic cycle and lightest crust setting.

Simple and fantastic results!

In case you're wondering about my sandwich...

[caption id="attachment_803" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Veggie Panini"][/caption]

I won't go into a full recipe because there's not a right or wrong way to make it. I used 2 slices of the bread from above, added goat cheese, tomato, cucumber, pea shoots, alfalfa shoots and a bit of avocado and put the whole thing in my panini press just long enough to toast the bread and warm the goat cheese.  It was just the thing I needed this morning!!

Enjoy,

Sheri

Foraging for Dinner

Sometimes in life you're lucky enough to look around and realize how many things there are to be thankful for.  Having friends that are willing to come to your house for a dinner party that they will knowingly be eating foraged foods at every course is something to be supremely thankful for.  I'm sure when I sent out the invitation there was some hesitation, but in the end, they were all gracious guests and we all had a wonderful evening.



But, our day didn't start there...first there was learning and foraging to do!

Now, strawberry picking is a pretty tame version of foraging...I mean, you drive to a farm, pick in designated spots and pay for the berries, but the hubby and I still DID the picking, err, foraging.  :)  These were delicious strawberries, and I knew they would perfect components for our meal to come later in the evening!  We picked 11 quarts!  It was nice to beat some of the heat, but the gnats...well, we didn't beat them.  They were everywhere but we did it!

Then we headed back home, and I set to work prepping the berries.  I reserved a quart out for use fresh, and flash froze the rest of them.  They will sure taste good mid-winter!!  Just when I thought I'd have a few moments to relax, my friend texted me to find out where I was.  See, I was supposed to be at a weed walk with my friends and I had the time wrong apparently.  Like 2 hours wrong.  Ugh!  Out the door I flew, headed to a local natural foods store, Sonnewald,  that sells health supplements, fresh produce, organic foods and home supplies as well as boasting one of the most awesome, temperature controlled bulk food rooms I've ever seen.  It is a weekly ritual for us to head there for those hard to find, good foods that you can't get anywhere else, as well as stocking up on all kinds of grains and nuts.  Sonnewald's owner, Grace Lefever, turned 90 this year and she was hosting the weed walk, as she has been doing for over 30 years.  It was amazing to go and listen to her talk and to see her in action at her age.  Truly inspiring.

What is a weed walk?  I know you've been wondering that since I first mentioned it...so I'll give you the points covered in a weed walk straight from the brochure.

On a "weed walk" you will:

• Stroll casually around Sonnewald, walking barefoot is encouraged!


• Learn how to identify edible and medicinal plants.


• Smell, touch and taste these plants.


• Discover ways to use these plants in your diet.


• Learn that the most nutritious foods are free.


• Taste a delicious drink made from the plants you've learned about.


• Receive educational handouts


• Fellowship with other "weed walkers"

As you can see, there were plenty of other "Weed Walkers" to fellowship with.  I wasn't too late and was able to miss just the introduction but not the plants themselves.  Whew!  Too close!!  So, along with everyone else, we visited garden beds that others would consider weeds to be removed, but that are lovingly referred to as plants and cared for by Grace and her helpers as important parts of a healthy lifestyle.

As we went along from plant to plant, Grace would put pieces of this and that into a bucket that one of her helpers carried - everything from rose petals and pansies to wild parsley and sorrel - to become the base of our promised delicious drink. It was amazing to see how these weeds all came together to be something like that!

My friends Jen, Evans and Anita were also on the weed walk, and also coming to dinner later...it was going to be a fun evening!  Jen is showing off some lemon balm here.  It tastes like a lemony mint and was destined to find it's way into our soup of the evening.

Evans is hanging out by the kiwi tree...who knew that you could get kiwi in a Pennsylvania climate.  He's just hanging out there because there was shade...it was a HOT day to be walking around.  By dinner time, we were all sporting a little pink skin here and there!

[caption id="attachment_786" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Hmmm...sage. This will be awesome in my dinner tonight..."][/caption]

So, as our weed walk came to an end, I decided that I must find some french sorrel to plant at my house, along with a few other things.  Planting weeds.  Who would have ever thought that.  But the sorrel was delicious.  It had a crisp bite to it, with a burst of lemon.  I wish I had gotten more!  My friend Jen's husband, Curvin, asked for and was given some of the seed tops so he'll be planting some.  I will have to make sure I get some of his seed tops then!

Time to get home, get cleaned up and make some dinner!  Our original menu had to be adapted a bit based on weed availability - weeds aren't as predictable as usual food sources but the menu we came up with was mouthwatering.  Every course has a foraged ingredient and I will reference in the menu each foraged component.  I wasn't able to personally forage every ingredient and some are ingredients that I purchased but are typically foraged ingredients, such as mushrooms.  I did forage at least one component of each dish personally.

Empanadas:  Lamb's Quarter, Mushroom Variety

Carrot Soup: Lemon Balm

Strawberry & Goat Cheese Salad: Strawberries, Sorrel, Red Sorrel, Pea Tendrils

Lasagna Roll Ups with Browned Butter Sauce: Walnuts, Mushrooms, Parsley, Sage

Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce: Black Raspberries

I had made the panna cotta a day ahead of time, which is perfect.  All I had to was loosen and invert them onto a serving plate and make the raspberry sauce.  When I'm doing a special dinner, I try to prep ahead of time as much as possible so that I can enjoy the company as well as provide a great meal, so I tried to have as many courses prepped and ready to go before everyone arrived as possible.

My hubby served as sous chef for me, peeling and chopping carrots and running for ingredients as needed.  It was a big help having him in the kitchen with me!

First up was the soup, set to simmer and let to cook for almost an hour.

[caption id="attachment_766" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Carrot Soup simmering"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_772" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Carrot soup and Empanada are served!"][/caption]

While the soup was cooking, I set to work on the Empanada filling.  I had decided to forego a traditional Empanada because I was worried it would be too heavy for our meal and went with a puff pastry version.  I'm still calling it Empanada though because that was the inspiration for it.

[caption id="attachment_753" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Empanada filling..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_787" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Cooked empanadas"][/caption]

Our salad was one of my favorite parts of the meal.  I love cheese...feta cheese especially.  I will not lie and say I didn't have to "taste test" a few of the crumbles once I was done dressing the salads.

[caption id="attachment_788" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Beautiful strawberry salads...full on lots of greens, foraged and grown!"][/caption]

On to the main course.  I had a major kitchen incident for the main course, but as I relayed to our guests, I was glad it happened on the prep and not the cooking because that would have been disastrous!  I had purchased fresh pasta sheets planning on making ravioli - I should have just went all the way and made the pasta dough but my last experience with that wasn't beautiful and I wanted our meal to be perfect.  When I went to seal the first set of ravioli, it wouldn't seal.  No amount of forcing would make it happen.  So, I went off to think for a moment.  I already had the filling ready to go and so I decided to just go with the pasta sheets as an individual lasagna and roll them up.  Fingers crossed!

[caption id="attachment_789" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Lasagna served!"][/caption]

Last but most certainly not least was the Panna Cotta.  I love Panna Cotta.  It has quickly become one of my most favorite desserts and I was happy to share it with my friends.  None of them had ever had it before which made it so much more special to share with them!  I was able to use raspberries that I had foraged last year from our backyard wild black raspberry bushes that were frozen to make the accent sauce.

[caption id="attachment_790" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Panna Cotta...a perfect end to a perfect dinner with friends"][/caption]

I am looking forward to looking at my weeds in a new way, and my hubby and I are headed back to Sonnewald in a few weeks to do another weed walk.  This time, I'm taking a notebook and try to gather (beg for!) some seeds if I can while I'm there to start our own "weed garden" bed just like Grace's...

[caption id="attachment_791" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="One of the weed beds"][/caption]

Life is about getting out there, experiencing new things and sharing your time with people you enjoy spending time with.  And we certainly experienced life with our day devoted to all things weedy and foraged!

[caption id="attachment_793" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Just enjoying life."][/caption]

Now that you've shared our day...time for me to share some recipes!

Puff Pastry Empanadas

Ingredients

• 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed


• 5 cups chopped spinach, lamb's quarters or other greens mixed and coarsely chopped


• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped small


• 1/4 c onion, diced


• 2 T butter, salted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F


2. Melt butter in large saute pan over medium high heat, add onions and mushrooms, cook until onions are translucent.


3. Add greens and allow to cook down.


4. Spread one sheet of puff pastry on lightly greased cooking sheet, spread greens and mushroom mixture over pastry sheet and top with remaining pastry sheet.


5. Press top of pastry to push out air from over them greens mixture and press lightly around edges to seal.  Individual empanadas can be made by cutting the dough beforehand and filling each piece and sealing.  I chose to do as a large sheet for the color of seeing the filling.


6. If desired, you can brush an egg wash over the dough before cooking.  It will give it a deeper color and get more golden when it puffs up.


7. Cook for about 30 minutes and then remove from oven and set on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before serving.

Carrot Soup

Ingredients

• 14 medium carrots


• 1 sprig of lemon balm, using leaves only unless you don't want to blend into final soup.  You could put the whole sprig in and then fish out before blending.


• 1/2 onion


• 1 T minced garlic


• 32 oz vegetable stock


• 1/4 t ginger


• 1 t salt


• 1/2 t pepper

Directions

1. Using a large stock pot, bring vegetable stock to low boil.  Add spices to stock and mix well.


2. Peel and chop carrots and onion and add to stock and spice mixture, reduce to a simmer.


3. Cook for about 45  minutes or until carrots are very soft.


4. Remove from heat and using an immersion blender, blend soup until a velvety texture.


5. Serve at any temperature.  If serving cold, sour cream or cream fraiche could be added if desired.

Strawberry and Feta Salad

Ingredients

• 1 -2 c of mixed greens per guest - I used a mixture that included sorrel, red sorrel, pea tendrils, argula, bibb lettuce, spinach, and a mesclun mix from my garden.


• 3 large strawberries per salad; washed, capped and sliced thin


• 1-2 T feta crumbles per salad

Directions

1. Layer the greens on the bottom, strawberries on top and dress with the feta crumbles.

Lasagna Rollups with Browned Butter Walnut Sauce

Lasagna Ingredients

• 5"X9" pasta sheet, 1 per guest.  I used 6


• 16 oz ricotta cheese


• 1/2 c parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano freshly shredded blend of about half and half


• 1 egg


• 1/4 c fresh parsley, lightly chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F


2. Spread ricotta on pasta sheet, roll up like a jelly roll but not to tight to push out the filling.


3. Put in a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, covered with either a lid or foil.


4. Remove from oven and serve immediately or keep in oven and turn temperature down to 200 until ready to serve.  Keep covered.

Ingredients for Sauce

• 1 stick of butter


• 1/2 c of roasted walnut pieces


• 1 cup of shitake and oyster mushrooms


• 1/4 c baby arugula


• Large sage leaf, or 1/3 t dried sage

Directions for Sauce

1. Melt butter and add sage in medium saute pan, watching carefully and letting the butter brown but not burn.  Swirl the pan occasionally to keep the butter moving and less likely to burn.


2. Once browned, remove sage leaf if used and add mushrooms and walnuts and allow to heat through, add arugula just before serving so it is wilted but not overcooked.


3. Spoon over lasagna roll up on plate.

Panna Cotta with Black Raspberry Sauce

I've actually already featured my panna cotta recipe on my site, so you can find it here... Panna Cotta Recipe

But the raspberry sauce is new, and it's the foraged star of the show, so I'll be happy to share how I made it.

Black Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup of black raspberries, fresh or frozen


• 1/2 c sugar


• 2 T sherry

Directions

1. Bring raspberries and sugar to a gentle boil, stirring frequently and simmer for about 10 minutes or until berries are soft and easily "mashable"


2. Remove from heat, blend or mash by hand, and once slightly cooled, push through cheesecloth or strainer to remove seeds.


3. Put juice back in pan and bring back to a gentle boil, adding sherry during cooking.  Let cool and serve.

I hope you enjoyed sharing our day of foraging with all of us! I was so excited to also be a 24X24 blogger by Foodbuzz for our foraged dinner!   Foodbuzz 24X24 shares a wide variety of 24 meals that are all hosted on the same day around the world and provides a stipend towards the cost.  It was truly an honor to be chosen!

Enjoy!

Sheri

[caption id="attachment_795" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="I'm usually the one taking the pictures!!"][/caption]

Black Raspberry Muffins

I looked at the breakfast menu...blueberry muffins.  Hmm.  Do I have enough blueberries to make muffins?  I don't think so.  Change of plans are in order, but what do I make????  I notice the last bag of black raspberries in the freezer from last year's picking...they are destined to be part of a spectacular dessert for a dinner for friends in a few days...so can I spare them?  I debated a bit and in the end, decided, yes, I could spare them and I'm SO glad I did because these little muffins were spectacular!

So much oozing raspberry in the muffin that it was staining little fingers long before we got the paints out for art time, but so delicious.  It wasn't my recipe, but one from the Earthbound Farms cookbook, Food to Live By.  It was a gift from one of my daycare families, and I love it.  So many healthy and fresh recipes in one place.



I did change the recipe a bit for what I had on hand and the original called for pecans which I left out.  So, it's close but not exact. :)

Raspberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 c whole wheat flour


• 1 c flour


• 3/4 c sugar


• 2 t baking powder


• 1/2 t baking soda


• 1/2 t salt


• 1 egg


• 1/2 c buttermilk


• 1/2 c mik


• 1/4 c canola oil


• 1 c frozen or fresh black raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Grease or line muffin cups


2. Mix all dry ingredients until well incorporated


3. Mix all wet ingredients well  and add to dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined


4. Add raspberries and gently fold into batter


5. Spoon batter into muffin tins to about 2/3 full


6. Sprinkle a bit of sugar on the top of the batter if desired


7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean


8. Let muffins cool for about 10 minutes and remove from pan and serve

Enjoy,

Sheri

Be sure to check out Walking on Sunshine!

Post is linked to:

Nutella Mug Cake

Sometimes it's just best to lead with a picture.  Especially when there are no words to describe the amazing discovery you're about to share.  The hubby was gracious enough to serve as a model for you to showcase this amazing dessert!  I think he was upset that I stopped him mid-bite, and be honest, you would have been too!

We were finishing up dinner and he asked, "What's for dessert?" and I didn't have a thing planned.  It was just an everyday kind of night, nothing special and I started thumbing through the food blogs, looking for some kind of inspiration.  I stopped when I saw this recipe for Nutella Mug Cake.  I am no stranger to mug cakes, I've made a twist on a classic with my Hot Chocolate Mug Muffin.  But this recipe was different.  It was made in the microwave.  Huh?  A cake in the microwave.  Not possible that it was good, but I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.  After all, it did have Nutella in it.  It couldn't be all bad.

I decided to make 2 mugs of batter at once and so I adapted the recipe a bit.  I think I have more tweaking to do but it was pretty awesome as it was.

1/2 c flour
1/3 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 c Nutella
1/3 c milk
1/4 c oil

Mix all the ingredients until smooth, and distribute evenly between 2 large or 4 small mugs.  DO NOT OVERFILL or you will have a mess on your hands.  Not speaking from experience thankfully, but these puff up quite high in the microwave and I imagine overfull mugs would overflow.  Once that's done, put them one by one into the microwave on high for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes each.

Take them out of the microwave to this vision of loveliness...



And then, just to make it a bit more decadent, you've got to go the extra mile and add some fresh whipped cream!  In our house, fresh whipped cream is just not given the respect it deserves.  We take it for granted because I do make it pretty frequently but that doesn't it mean it's not completely awesome! No recipe here, just a little fresh cream with some powdered sugar mixed in and whipped to perfection is the perfect topper for what turned out to be a pretty spectacular dessert.  A cake in a microwave that actually was perfect.  Must've been the nutella...



 

Chicken Empanadas

I am terrified of pie dough.  There, I've said it. I am not a pie baker by choice because of such things.  It's really a irrational fear because the last few times I've given it a try, it's worked.  But still the fear plagues me.  Why?  Because I'm me, I suppose.  But, anyway, moving along to these beautiful empanadas and my story of how easy this was to make and how spectacular the results were.  I love recipes like that.  You just go flying by the seat of your pants on a whim and, voila, it works!  Love it!

So, these are my little empanadas...

Aren't they beautiful and golden brown?  I'll confess, I fried these.  I didn't fry all of them because we were testing the difference between baking and fried for an upcoming dinner party but these were too pretty to not catch a shot of.  I'm hungry for them again just seeing the photo!

These were crazy easy!  I found this recipe for Empanada Dough online...and went right to work!  I love that the ingredients were everyday ingredients that most households should have on hand.  For the filling, I chopped about 1 cup of cooked chicken, 1/2 cup of peppers and about 1/4 cup of onion and sauteed it until the peppers and onions were cooked through.  I added a few shakes of taco seasoning to flavor it and then started to fill my empanada dough circles.

For the empanadas I fried, I heated the oil to medium-high in a saucepan and put three dough pockets in at a time.  They cook very quickly!  About 2 minutes each side and the empanadas were done.

For the baked empanadas, I put on a cookie sheet and baked in a preheated 375 F oven for about 20 minutes.

Both ways were delicious, but the fried ones were more moist inside and the hubby preferred them. I liked the baked ones a bit better because even though I don't like to make dough, I love to eat it!  I love the crust on a pie.  It's my favorite part - especially if it's flaky and these are!

Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.  They could be used as a meal with a nice salad or veggie side, or as an appetizer for a Mexican feast.  Either way, delicious!  It made about 20 small empanadas.

Enjoy,
Sheri

Blueberry Fruited Pizza

It was a delicious weekend.  Friday afternoon the hubby and I headed out for a bike ride.  Fun, but I was starving when we got back.  I didn't know what I really wanted, but then I remembered the beautiful chunk of blueberry cheddar cheese I had been waiting to try.  I know, it might sound a little strange, but it was wonderful!  I am a cheese fanatic - the more "out there" the better as far as flavor combos.  Cheese is one of the most delicious things in the world!  Well, at least as far as I know.

So, I thought about making something with the blueberry cheddar but was at a loss.  Hmmm....what do you make with a flavor combo like that?  Lightbulb!  Pizza, of course!  Not just any pizza but a fruit salad pizza.  Not fruit salad like big chunks of fruit in a bowl, but a salad topped with fruit and other yumminess.

First, a pita shell was coated with blueberries and shredded cheese and popped under the broiler for about 5 minutes.  I mean, really, doesn't this look good enough to eat right now???

I had to stop myself.  It looked amazing.  But I had other plans in mind for this little pita pizza of mine!

I topped that gooey mess of blueberries and melted cheddar with a huge helping of fresh from the garden salad and then diced some market strawberries as the topper.

Fresh, healthy and calling my name!  I shredded a bit more of the cheese on top and couldn't wait for my first bite.  It was heavenly.  I will admit to all of you that I finished this one and made another.  Don't judge.  I biked 26 miles.  It's all good.

I love spring and summer with it's beautiful fruits and salads and warm weather!  A dish like this just wouldn't taste as fresh in January! :)

Enjoy,

Sheri

Apple Cobbler Donuts

I love my donut pans!  They have quickly become one of my favorite items in the kitchen and I love creating new recipes for it.  The daycare kids are very willing subjects for tasting all of my creations...



See those anxious faces?  They can't wait for these yummy donuts to finish cooling either!  What a way to start the day!



These were pretty simple, but very delicious!  I wish I could share one, but they are all gone!  Yes, 5 children and I finished every last one of the dozen off this morning.  Well, okay, we did have two left but that became snack.  :)  Snacktime is a perk of my job.

Apple Cobbler Donuts

makes 12

Ingredients:

• 2 c flour


• 1 1/4 t baking powder


• 1 1/4 t baking soda


• 2 eggs


• 1 1/2 c plain yogurt


• 2 T oil


• 2 T honey


• 2 small apples, cored, peeled and diced


• 1 T cinnamon


• 4 T sugar


• Powdered sugar for dusting, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F


2. Spray 2 donut pans with non stick spray or grease lightly.  Put diced apples directly in cavities of pan.


3. Mix all dry ingredients except powdered sugar, set aside


4. In separate bowl mix all wet ingredients, add dry mix to wet and mix until combined, but don't overmix.


5. Pour or pipe mixture on top of apples in pan.


6. Cook for 10-12 minutes


7. Remove from heat, flip out of pan to cool for a few minutes.


8. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

I hope your morning starts off as good as ours did because of these delightful morsels!

Enjoy,

Sheri

Tropical Breakfast Cookies

Want to get kids excited for breakfast?  Tell them they're eating cookies.  Instant excitement.  Sometimes, a bit too much instant excitement, but still, excitement.  That was my morning.  Imagine how loud the excitement is when it's multiplied times 6.  Done?  And I'd still make the cookies again.  Not only were they pretty tasty (okay, yes, I got excited about cookies for breakfast too) they were filled with lots of good stuff.  Calling them healthy might be a stretch because they are, after all, still a cookie.  But they're awfully close to healthy and you might get away with that label - if only to convince yourself! I won't lie, I had 4 of them this morning without one ounce of guilt!



Since I love all things tropical of course my cookies have that "island flavor" but they could easily be adapted to be any flavor combo you wanted.  I can see a cranberry pumpkin cookie in my future... :)

Tropical Breakfast Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c whole wheat flour


• 1 c flour


• 1/2 c rolled oats


• 1/4 c diced dried pineapple


• 1 large ripe banana, mashed


• 1/3 c melted coconut oil


• 2 T unsweetened shredded coconut


• 1/2 c brown sugar


• 1 t baking powder


• 1 t vanilla


• 1 egg


• 2 T vegetable oil may be necessary if mixture is too dry

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F


2. Mix all dry ingredients


3. Add remaining ingredients, except pineapple and extra oil,  to dry ingredients and mix well.  Mixture will be crumbly, but if too dry, add extra oil, 1 T at a time.


4. Add pineapple and incorporate into mixture.


5. Roll into balls and slightly smash down onto ungreased cookie sheet.  They won't spread much, so they can be about 1" apart.


6. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until set and slightly browned.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Sheri :)

 

Rainbow Hash

An idea has to rattle around in my head sometimes before it can spring to fruition...which is exactly how this dinner came to be.  I love when I can have dinner ready early and it's just a matter of finishing the cooking or reheating by popping in the oven, but all too often, I get busy and sidetracked.  Coming home after running in the evenings, I'm a hot, sweaty mess and the last thing I want to do is cook.  That used to mean a quick call for pizza, Chinese, etc but I am really making a conscious effort to not eat take out that we've not planned on.  It just becomes a habit and before we know it, the pizza boxes are starting to pile up.  As we were headed home last night from running, the mental list of ingredients was in my head of what we could have...oh, the possibilities...and finally, I thought I at least had the beginnings of something healthy, quick and not take out.  And, so, Rainbow Hash was born.

My skillet became a dumping ground for all sorts of chopped fruits and veggies...sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, onions, chard, apples all splashed with just a touch of balsamic vinegar and cranberry juice. All served and topped with an egg.  It may sound crazy, but, trust me, it was good.  Really good.

Take a look for yourself...

I hadn't planned on adding any meat into the mix, but at the last minute decided to add some ground turkey.  I can't eat many meats, but for some reason, ground turkey gets a pass for me.  It was good, but unnecessary for the dish to work.

I will do my best to recount the ingredients for you, but take as many liberties as you like.  It's that kind of recipe!

Rainbow Hash

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed


• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed


• 1/2 small onion, diced


• 3 c chard, roughly chopped


• Splash balsamic vinegar


• 1/4 c cranberry juice


• Salt & pepper to taste


• 1 c cooked ground turkey


• 1 large apple, peeled, cored & cubed


• 1 T olive oil


• 4 eggs

Directions

• Heat olive oil in large skillet, add sweet potato, russet potatoes and onion, cook until tender


• Add apples and cranberry juice, salt & pepper, cook until cranberry juice is absorbed


• Add ground turkey, stir, and then add chard.  Remove from heat and heat pan for eggs


• Cook one egg over easy for each serving of hash.  Put egg on top of hash in individual dish


• Serve and enjoy

The hubby and the boy looked very doubtful as I handed them their plates but they were more than pleasantly surprised at how deliciously it all came together.  I hope you'll give it a try.

Two Ways to a Healthy Cheesecake

Sometimes I get carried away with my love of dessert.  Running and biking can only undo so much decadence and I have to rein it in.  But I still want dessert - bad - so what do I do?  Well, first, I debate running a mile or so to undo the dessert I want, but more than often, I just think up something that fits the bill and doesn't require more exercise!

The night I made this up was just that kind of night.  I wanted cheesecake so badly and maybe even would have succumbed to the real deal if I'd had cream cheese in the house.  One plus of organic, whole food living is that there are fewer "bad" foods laying around, although whether or not that is a plus can be a point of contention at times.

Anyway, I wanted cheesecake.  But not the calories, fat or unhealthiness of it.  So, what's a girl to do?  On my third or so look into the fridge, I noticed the container of Fat free Greek Yogurt.  Hmm...this could work.  Couldn't it?  I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it.  You'll be glad I did - I know I was.

Delicious looking, isn't it???  I had originally decided on making mini fillo shells filled with cheesecake, but had a bit left over.  I didn't want to make a traditional crust, so decided that some leftover Mexican hot chocolate flavor from a local vendor, Nuts About Granola, would make a great crust!  Because it had chocolate chips in it, I opted to just put the granola on the bottom of a mini souffle container and not use any binder.  Great choice because the moistness of the cheesecake mix coupled with the chocolate chips made a great crust!

But, since the title of the post is Two Ways...here's the real star of the show...

These little cuties were the best treat!!  So few calories but tasted like they were the real thing.  How do I know?  The boy popped 3 in his mouth in the span of about 2 minutes and then he spied the granola bottom ones and was headed there in a hurry too.  And he's quite the critic of my "healthy" recipes.  Speaking of recipes...this is the best part.  4 ingredients plus whatever you're putting it on top of (or in)!!

Yogurt "Cheese"cake

Ingredients

• 1 16 oz cup greek yogurt, I used plain but vanilla would work too


• 1/2 c sugar


• 1/2 t vanilla


• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350


2. Mix all ingredients until smooth


3. If you're using fillo shells, you'll need 5 boxes to fit all of the mix.  It should take about 20 minutes to cook through and set


4. If making a crust, follow a recipe for a graham crust, or think of something out of the box like my granola.  I'd love to hear what you come up with!!

 

Vanilla Rooibos Scones

I love the Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte at Starbucks.  It's sweet, but has some bite to it from the spice, but not quite as spicy as Chai.  I love the smoothness of it.  Once I found the concentrate on sale at our local store, and I bought six - yes, six, containers of it.  As these things go, having it on hand whenever I wanted it quickly led to me not wanting nearly as often and four containers have been in the pantry for a few months.  Today, while I was destroying my kitchen grinding flour mixes, I noticed them sitting there.  As the day progressed, I kept thinking about them.  Knowing I wanted a latte but thinking there had to be more usefulness to them than that.  And it hit me...scones.  It's been a month or two since I've made scones and I've been craving one badly.  It seemed like the perfect marriage of ideas!  Of course, as soon as those scones hit the oven, I made an iced Vanilla Rooibos latte too.  :)  A few months apart makes for a delicious reunion!

Scones are one of those baked goods that look (and taste) like they're difficult to create but, in reality, they're a cinch.  If you can make biscuits, you can make scones.

Aren't they beautiful fresh out of the oven?  You can just tell how flaky and light it's going to be and I always have trouble waiting to glaze them. I mean, I guess I could skip glazing...wait, what?  Skip the glazing?  Sheer madness in that statement.  I'll wait.  Just very impatiently.

That's better.  All dressed up and ready to go.  Now that I've sufficiently teased you...time for a recipe, I guess!

Vanilla Rooibos Scones

Ingredients

• 1/3 c organic vegetable shortening


• 1 c all purpose flour


• 3/4 c whole wheat flour


• 2 1/2 t baking powder


• 1/4 t salt


• 1 egg, beaten


• 4 T Vanilla Rooibos concentrate, or if you don't have that, strong, steeped tea will work


• 2 T, more or less, whole milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F


2. Mix all dry ingredients and cut shortening in until mixture is small crumbs


3. Stir in egg, tea and add milk 1 T at a time until consistency is a wet, but workable dough.


4. Turn mixture out onto a floured surface and gently knead about 10 times


5. Form on a cookie sheet into a round shape and cut into wedges using a pastry scraper or sharp knife.


6. Cook for 10-12 minutes.  Place on cooling rack until no longer hot and drizzle glaze over.

Glaze is super simple.  I mixed about 1/4 c powdered sugar with a splash of milk and tea concentrate.  Mix until smooth and drizzle over warm scones.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think it's time for another tea latte with a scone on the side.  Great afternoon pick-me-up!  :)

 

 

Pineapple Tofu Fried Rice

I think I have some issues.  When I look back over my posts, it seems a large portion of them involve pineapple, peanut butter, and rice which really makes sense when you consider that this recipe is one of my absolute favorite take out foods!  Pineapple Fried Rice is something that I used to get really regularly at this little Chinese/Thai place a few miles away called Yummy Yummy.  I guess traditionally it is made with shrimp and chicken, but I always asked it to be swapped out and tofu added.  I love tofu.  I love the texture, and I love when it's fried and crispy, which is it is for this recipe.  Alas, there is a new cook at Yummy Yummy and I don't enjoy his rendition of it as well, and nobody else serves it, so I decided that I've gone long enough without it and made it myself.

It was pretty easy and the taste was pretty close to Yummy Yummy's but not as oily.  I think that does add an element, but I'd like it to be healthy too.  :)  Sacrifices!

So, here's what I did...and it was a bit on the haphazard side and I did stray a bit from the traditional, so remember, this is MY version!

Pineapple Tofu Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb extra firm organic tofu, either pre-diced, or dice into small cubes, drained and dried


• 1 c mushrooms


• 3 T peanut butter


• 3 c precooked and cooled rice


• 2 T sesame oil


• 1/4 c onions


• 2 scrambled eggs, cooked.


• 1 c pineapple chunks

Directions

1. Heat oil in wok until sizzling, add tofu.  Cook until tofu is crisp, remove from pan.


2. Add onion, mushrooms and pineapple to pan.  Cook through until onions are translucent.  Add peanut butter to pan and let melt.


3. Add rice to the vegetable/fruit mixture and toss to coat.


4. Add tofu and eggs into mixture and heat a few more minutes.


5. Serve. Feel free to add chili sauce for more heat.

 

Strawberry Muffin Goodness

What could be better on a rainy spring day than a summery Strawberry muffin?  Not too much.  The kids have been having a tough time this week being trapped inside and the rain is supposed to be worse before getting better, so I thought it was time to at least spread some baking sunshine!

I found a Strawberry Muffin recipe from AllRecipes that sounded like what I was looking for.  Simple, quick and fairly healthy looking.

I set to work getting everything all together...I didn't make any changes to the original recipe, but when I make them again I will use yogurt in place of the milk and part of the oil.  I think the yogurt gives it a nice flavor, and eliminates some of the oil needed.  But, as is, these were moist and delicious.  A big hit with the kids (and the daycare lady!)

Give them a try!