Beet and Blueberry Smoothie

I came home a little early from work today and decided to go through the fridge to see what we had lying around. With beets arriving every week from the farm, I have run out of friends to pass them off on, therefore we have many beets. My husband does not enjoy the taste of them so I've been trying out different recipes that he will give a try.
I found a beet smoothie recipe which I modified. Here it is:

Ingredients:

* Fresh squeezed juice from 1 orange
* 1/2 cup diced beets (I used cooked/ boiled beets, but you can also use canned)
* 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
* 1 banana
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 1 Tablespoon flax seed meal
* 1/2 cup cold water
* 1 cup ice

My husband did like it, but it could have been the fact that our kids have been so sick, and we'll try anything not to get what they have (lots of antioxidants in this one). The kids took about 1 sip of the smoothie, so I poured the remaining smoothie mix into the pop molds, since they will eat anything in pop form. We'll try that for a snack tomorrow!

Sweet Gingery Tofu

I found this recipe online and altered it a little. I recommended it to a friend, Danny, and he really liked it. I finally got a chance to try it, and it was delicious. Probably the best way I've ever made tofu. I served this on top of a bed of spaghetti, as well as fresh steamed green beans.
FYI: My little guy attempted to eat this, but spit it right out! Oh well!

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1 Pound of Firm or Extra Firm Tofu, rinsed
1/4 Cup Mirin (I did not have this, so I used extra sesame oil)
1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Braggs
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Ginger, minced
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tsp Garlic, minced
Sesame Seeds, for garnish (I did not use)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wrap the tofu in a clean dish towel and weight down for 10 minutes to remove excess water.
3. Cut tofu into even 1/2 inch slices.
4. Mix the remaining ingredients in a 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
3. Mix tofu into marinade and bake for 40-45 minutes.
4. Serve.
* This sauce could also be used for baking fish or chicken. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

Roasted Beet, Onion, and Orange Salad

We received this recipe in our farm newsletter this past weekend and I thought I'd give it a try because I had a few weeks worth of beets in the fridge (not our favorite). It was a little time consuming but a good weekend project.

I thought the oranges would offset the strong beet flavor really well, and it really did. I kept the salad in the fridge for a few days and ate it along with lunch. Of course the kids didn't try it but they watched me eat it (a good thing, right?)!

Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello

Ingredients

* 1 pound beets, preferably very small ones
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 20 large pearl onions, about 1/2 pound
* 2 oranges, peeled and cut into wedges
* 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
* 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves (also known as cilantro) plus extra for garnish
* 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
* 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and peeled (I omitted)
* 1-ounce pecorino, optional, grated on medium-sized holes of box grater

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the stems and tails off the beets. Do not peel. Line the bottom of a baking pan with foil. Place the beets in the pan and toss them with half of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes.

Trim both ends off the pearl onions. Then toss them with remaining olive oil and salt and pepper. Add pearl onions to the beets and roast an additional 15 minutes, until beets and onions are tender.

Peel and remove the membranes from the oranges with a sharp paring knife. Cut the oranges in half lengthwise and then crosswise into thin slices. Seed the slices, if necessary.

Peel and quarter the beets. Lay the beets on a large platter. Top the beets with the orange pieces. Scatter the roasted onions around the beats.

In a medium bowl, combine the hazelnut oil, coriander, and orange juice. Whisk until well combined and season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing on top and sprinkle with coriander, toasted hazelnuts and grated cheese. Serve immediately.

Delicious Blueberry Cake

The kids had a great time picking blueberries at the Temecula Berry Company with friends, last week. I had to find a recipe to use them up. My daughter kept asking to make a blueberry cake, and since my husband came home from work early one night, they made this together. I'm lucky that my hubbie loves cooking as much as I do.
I found this Blueberry Cake recipe online.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif. We may have browned it a little too much but it was still delicious! The kids didn't eat it, but that just meant more for my husband and myself! Try this!

Here is the recipe:

Meyer Lemon Blueberry Cake
Serves 8

Note: Meyer lemons are sweeter than regular lemons. If you are using regular lemons, you may need to adjust the sugar in this recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup, plus 1 tsp. all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- zest of 2 Meyer lemons
- juice of 1.5 Meyer lemons, separated
- 2 large eggs
- two 1/2 pints blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add all of the lemon zest and the juice of one of the lemons and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. At this point, the batter may look a bit curdled from the lemon juice — don’t worry!
4. Reduce the speed of the mixer and gradually add the flour mixture. Beat together until the batter is smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
5. In medium bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tsp. flour and the juice from 1/2 a lemon. Sprinkle the berry mixture over the top of the cake.
6. Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese + hidden squash/zucchini

My kids give me such trouble about eating anything. They have been known, however, to eat an entire box of mac and cheese. Of course this was discovered during one of my mom's (nonna) visits. Believe me, I don't subject the kids to eating steamed broccoli and spinach every night, I just am trying to expose them to more eating variety than I see many kids today. It's just one of my pet-peeves.
Anyway, about once a week I treat them to a box of mac and cheese, and hide about a half-cup of steamed and pureed squash or zucchini, along with the powdered cheese packet (yuk). I add the milk and butter (healthy butter)as usual.
The funny thing is that they love it more with the squash than without. The texture is much more creamy, too. Try it!

Zucchini-Apple Pancakes

My daughter loves to eat pancakes, especially on weekend mornings. I have to capitalize on this, and since we received many zucchinis from the farm this week, I decided to put some steamed and pureed in the mix. I thought that an apple would also sweeten it up.
This recipe was a big hit, and I was so excited to start the day off with a helping of veges.

Ingredients:
1 zucchini or squash (peeled, sliced and steamed)
1 apple (peeled, sliced and steamed)
Pancake mix (I use Fresh and Easy, Multigrain)

After steaming the zucchini and apple, puree together until smooth. Next, make pancake mix according to box directions, except, do not add the oil. You will use the squash-zucchini mixture as its substitute. I made servings for 4. FYI: I've found the best pancake mixes are the ones that use eggs and milk, not the "just add water" kind.
These pancakes were delicious! I will definitely make them again.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili and pasta

We been having unseasonably cool weather here in S. Cali, which calls for a Crock-Pot meal!
We received many squash from the farm this week so I decided to use a few in this chili.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 (32 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Italian squash (long green), peeled and diced
1/2 cup onion, chopped (any)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp cayenne powder
salt
pepper


Brown the ground turkey in olive oil, and add to slow cooker. Add tomatoes, beans, squash, onion, garlic and spices to cooker. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. About 10 minutes before serving, cook up elbow macaroni. Serve pasta topped with chili.

My husband and I enjoyed this but the kids, not so much. They are just not big meat fans. I can't blame them as we don't make meat, other than chicken, all that often... but I have to try, right?

Broccoli Mac & Cheese

In an attempt to surprise my kids with "the best mac and cheese ever", I did some research to come up with this recipe. Pretty easy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 cup milk
8 oz (1 1/2 cup) low fat cheddar cheese
1 cup steamed broccoli, chopped
salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste

Boil water for pasta. As pasta is cooking, heat milk slowly in saucepan. Throw in the cheese, and keep stirring until melted together. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. When pasta is al dente, drain. Pour cheese mixture and broccoli on top of pasta. Stir together.

I never knew that homemade mac and cheese was so easy! I'm not saying it was all that healthy, but I guess compared to a box of mac n cheese, this had a little more health value. We received broccoli from the farm this week so i was excited to try to get it into something my kids would eat.
Well, the kids didn't eat any of it! I was so surprised. My husband and myself enjoyed it, for mac and cheese. Next time!

Amazing Carrot Cake

I found this carrot cake recipe through online searching because I was looking for a way to use the many carrots we received from the farm this week. It uses 3 cups of shreaded carrots, so it sounded a little healthy at least.
I don't consider myself a baker, so I was amazed with the results of this recipe! It was sooooooo good! My husband loves carrot cake and thought this was one of the best things I've ever made. My daughter didn't try it, but my son loved it. I'll definitely make this again!

Here is the link for the recipe, but I have it also copied below:
All recipes
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3 cups grated carrots
* 1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
Frosting:
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 4 cups confectioners' sugar (I only used 2 cups)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)

Enjoy this one!!