Baby Polenta Pizzas

I wanted to do something simple with the prepared polenta roll I had in the fridge. I found a similar idea online for making little pizzas, and thought they were just perfect kid-sized portions.

Ingredients:

1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce (I use Trader Joes Marinara that already has spices, for a quick meal)

1 roll (1 pound) prepared polenta

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella

1 cup fresh spinach, onion, or any other vege topping you like to put on pizza (optional)

Cooking spray (depending on your cookie sheets)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the polenta roll in 1/4 inch slices (these will be the pizza crusts) and place on cookie sheets. Spoon on tomato sauce, sprinkle each with cheese and put a small amount of veges on each. My kids loved making these.
Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, until cheese is melted. Cool for a few minutes before serving as they stay together better after they're slightly cooler.

My husband and I thought these were delicious and thought they'd be an easy appetizer for an adult wine party. My kids however, did not even try them. But then again, they hardly try anything these days! I will make them again because I hear kids need over a dozen exposures to try something new!

Peach Strawberry Smoothie

A friend of mine gave me a bunch of peaches from her tree, and they were very ripe and had to be used asap. I looked up a few peach smoothie recipes, but modified because I had other fruit that also had to be used up. These smoothies were delicious- and the kids also enjoyed!

Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup frozen strawberries (I've been freezing them on my own since we have so many these days)
1 banana
5-10 peaches and their juices (as many as you have on hand- peeled)
1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
Handful of kale, or any other green

Blend until smooth and serve. Enjoy!!

Citrus marinated grilled chicken with grapefruit relish

Over the last few weeks we have received many grapefruits from the farm, so I searched for a citrus marinade to for our Memorial Day BBQ. I combined a few recipes but this tasted really great. Keep in mind that grapefruits are a really great antioxidant!

We made it for about 1 lb of chicken breast.
Marinade for a few hours.
Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons grapefruit juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Grapefruit relish (to top chicken after grilling)
2 cups grapefruit sections (yes, lots of cutting and scooping)
1 small red onion (or any other type onion)
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 Tablespoon honey
Ground pepper to taste

We paired the chicken with corn-on-the-cob, greens salad, pasta salad, and potato salad. The grapefruit relish was a really tasty treat with the chicken. The kids love grapefruit so they picked on both.

Mango Strawberry Carrot Smoothie

This smoothie required a little more preparation than my usual smoothies, but it was worth it. I mix-matched a few recipes to come up with this one because of the ingredients I had available- and I really wanted to use up carrots, since we have so many from our farm.
Here it is:
1 apple, peeled and sliced
1 cup frozen strawberries
3/4 cup mango juice (because I had it in the house)
1 cup cooked carrots (peeled and steamed)
1 cup milk or yogurt
handful of ice
1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal

Put all these ingredients together in a blender, and blend. Easy and delicious!

The kids enjoyed sipping on these smoothies, but I also used the leftover to make more ice-pops for tomorrow. They love anything in ice pop form! : )

Sauteed Garlic Scapes and Zucchini over Chicken breast

I found this garlic scape recipe on A Good Appetite, as we received garlic scapes in our CSA box this week and I had no idea what to do with them.

Directions:
Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch slices. Cut the garlic scapes (bunch) into bite-sized pieces. Melt a good amount of butter (I used the healthy butter + about 2 Tablespoons olive oil) in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add in the garlic scapes & generously season with kosher salt. Let sauté for about 6 minutes. The garlic scapes will begin to soften & brown a little. Add the zucchini & cook for another 2 minutes until they begin to just brown.

I thought this would go well over chicken breast and brown rice. After the vegetables were done, I put them in a bowl for later, and added chicken breast pieces to the hot pan until they were cooked through, turning once.
I cooked the rice as suggested on the package.
I scooped rice on the plate first, chicken, then the garlic zucchini on top to serve. It was very tasty.
My kids picked on the chicken (I was pleasantly surprised), and just tasted the zucchini. It was an easy and delicious meal!

Salmon Fish

I'm not a huge salmon fan but since I had it in the house, I thought I'd try something a little different but familiar, especially for the kiddies.
I baked it as usual with a little olive oil brushed on both sides, on 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Before putting it in the oven, I also squeezed 1/2 grapefruit juice on the fish (citrus helps get the fishy-flavor out). After taking it out of the oven, I flaked it into a bowl and added mayonnaise and 1 cup frozen peas. I added lots of fresh cilantro and made up pita bread sandwiches for my husband and myself. The kids did not eat any of it. I really thought my daughter would, since she will eat canned tuna with mayo, with no problem (on a good day). I can't blame the kids though, because it wasn't my favorite thing to eat.

Carrot-Applesauce Pancakes

This morning I made pancakes, a weekend treat. We had so many carrots in our CSA box this week, that I decided to shread one, using a hand grater and put it into the pancake mix (this morning I used Fresh & Easy Multigrain). It came to about 1/4 cup shredded carrot, although I will put 1/2 cup next time since the kids didn't even notice the tiny orange bits.
As usual, I substituted 1/4 cup apple sauce for the oil or butter that the mix calls for, and added a tablespoon of flaxseed meal (omega 3).
The kids loved them and I have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow. I love starting the morning off with two full bellies!

Basil pesto pasta

Although I have tried a few pesto recipes, I have found this classic recipe from Sunset Magazine, to be the best. My kids love pesto pasta and since it has olive oil, it has those omega-3s that I love to include. Since we receive basil from our farm often, I make this recipe every other week, at least.

Here is the very simple recipe:
Prep time: about 10 minutes

Put all these ingredients into the blender and blend until creamy:
1/2 cup basil leaves, 4 large medium peeled garlic cloves, 1/3 cup shredded romano cheese, 3 tbsp pine nuts (optional- I don't put these in), 2 tbsp minced parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/3 cup olive oil


Prepare favorite pasta and pour pesto mixture on top right away, mix and serve.

Mother's Day Strawberry Shortcakes

Mother's Day was a beautiful day, celebrated with all the best mother's in my life. I wanted to make a homemade but low sugar dessert to enjoy, and since strawberries are still in season, I thought I'd try this recipe I found online, for the "original strawberry shortcake" from the early 1900's. It's got to be good... and this was as easy as making a boxed cake!

Ingredients:
* 2 cups flour
* 3/4 cup milk
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 6 tablespoons butter (I used the "healthy butter" and it was great)

* 1 quart fresh strawberries
* 1/3 cup sugar (although I used less... surprise, surprise)
* 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
* 2 baking tins and paper baking cups

Strawberries:
Prepare strawberries an hour or two before serving. Rinse the strawberries under cold water; drain well. Slice the strawberries in halves; place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar; cover and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Whip the cream until it holds a soft peak. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Shortcake:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Set rack at center level.

Use a large bowl to combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Cut butter into small pieces and work in with fingertips.

Make a well in the center. Stir in milk. Mix just until dough is moist. Let dough stand for a minute.

Spoon into baking cups, makes 12. Although the cups will be only half-filled.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until risen and tops are golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream topped with the strawberries.

Everyone enjoyed these, including the kids!

Soprano's Shrimp Scampi with linguine

This Shrimp Scampi recipe comes directly out of the Soprano's cookbook, go figure!

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I use the healthy stuff)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
16 large shrimp, shelled and deveined (I used the frozen from TJs)
Pinch of Salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
lemon wedges
box of linguine pasta (or spaghetti)

In large skillet, melt the butter with olive oil over medium-low heat. When the butter foam subsides, stir in the garlic. Cook, stirring ocassionally, until the garlic is lightly golden, about 7 min. Do not let the garlic brown.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the shrimp and salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning the shrimp once, until they are just pink. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice and cook 1 minute more.
In the meantime, cook the linguine al dente (slightly firm).
Serve shrimp over pasta with lemon wedges.

My husband and I love this recipe. The kids eat the pasta, minus the shrimp. It works. We tried to give our son a taste of shrimp but he wouldn't have it. Next time! Enjoy!

Pasta with Tomato-Squash sauce

I do try to add different veges into tomato sauce, when possible, because it seems the kids will eat pasta with virtually anything on top (most days). Today I had some yellow squash in the fridge, so I tried it.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 yellow squash, peeled and diced
Optional: 1 egg (yolk only)

In saucepan, put 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, and cook onions until soft. Put in can of diced tomato and its juice, along with the diced squash, and cook until squash are soft. Pour mixture into blender and blend until smooth. Return to saucepan and boil, adding the egg yolk. Serve over pasta when ready.

The kids did okay with this dish. They did eat the leftovers the next day, however.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Nope, my kids don't eat peanut butter... not even with tons of jelly! I thought I'd try out these Peanut Butter and Jelly muffins, courtesy of Cooking Light,
I did modify the recipe based on what I had available, and added the flax seed meal, as always.
Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (use 1/2 whole wheat flour for extra fiber)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flax seed meal (omega 3)
1/4 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (through vanilla); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups, coated with cooking spray (paper baking cups easier to use). Fill each cup half full with batter. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into each cup. Spoon remaining batter on top to cover jam. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

My daughter really enjoyed making and eating these, and ate two for lunch the next day. They are delicious... definitely worth the trouble... but very easy. Great to pack for school lunches. I'll have to remember this one!