Whining 'N Dining

Try This: Tangy Edamame

When it comes to picky eaters, you just never what is going to work and what is not. Why does it have to be so hard?? Ugh.

Sometimes you need a little persistence in this department. If your picky one doesn't like a vegetable this way, well, try it another way. For example, I sent picky whine 'n dine girl to school with edamame. She didn't even touch it. OK, so I'll give it to her that it was a tad plain. I boiled the Trader Joe's frozen shelled edamame that morning and added a touch of Kosher salt. Mission failed.

That night, I took my chances and decided to try the edamame a different way. She ate every single one of them. Here's what I did:

Tangy Edamame

• Prepare frozen shelled edamame according to instructions or you can use fresh edamame.
• Squeeze a little lime and drizzle with rice wine vinegar.
• Touch of Kosher salt.
• Serve cold.

So, keep at it parents! If it doesn't work one way, try, try it again another way!

Toddler Test Kitchen: Trader Joe's Grilled Chicken Strips

Oh how I love thee Trader Joe's! You always come with the greatest ideas. You must be thinking of us busy parents, too! When I thought you couldn't make me love you more, you did.

The "Just....Grilled Chicken Strips" in the freezer section have been nothing less than a godsend for this working mom of two. Healthy, grilled chicken in a flash. The girls have tested and approved. Picky whine 'n dine girl loves that she can dip her "grilled chicken fingers" in ketchup. Genius, TJ. Genius.

Labor Day Barbecue Muffins

Just in time for Labor Day....Farmhouse Barbecue Muffins. Since I'm always on the hunt for creative meat recipes for picky whine 'n dine girl, this recipe piqued my interest. Barbecue in a muffin. Genius. She can help me make these, too. Even more genius.

So I'm adding this one to our list of activities for our little girls weekend while the BBQ man of the house is away.

Recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1 tube (10 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Separate dough into 10 biscuits; flatten into 5-in. circles. Press each onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin cup; set aside.
    In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar and chili powder; stir until smooth. Add to meat and mix well.
    Divide the meat mixture among biscuit-lined muffins cups, using about 1/4 cup for each. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 10 servings.

Kid AND Adult-Friendly Chicken Tenders

  It's August now....WOW.... and that means that Summer BBQ / party season is well under way. If you need an easy recipe that will please both kids and adults, I'm all about the Baked Cornflake Chicken Tenders. Yes, you heard me, baked not fried.

And for the adult twist, you can make several different dipping sauces that will ooh and ahh your crowd. As pictured here, I've got chipolte BBQ, wasabi honey mustard and curry ketchup. Really, who doesn't love a variety of dipping sauces? They can take the ordinary to extraordinary. Or as Emeril says, "kick it up a notch."

So for your next summer pot luck, I give you....

Baked Cornflake Chicken Tenders

**A great recipe to make WITH your kids!

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken tenders

1 tsp. garlic salt

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

2-4 cups of cornflakes

¼ tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried parsley

½ cup of melted butter (I use Earth Balance butter spread)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Put garlic salt, cornflakes, Parmesan cheese, pepper, dried parsley in a gallon size Ziploc bag and mash it with a rolling pin (great for kids to do!). Wash the chicken tenders and dip in butter and then place in Ziploc bag. Shake it up! Bake for approximately 25 - 35 minutes at 350.

Dipping Sauces:

 

Chipolte BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

       1  (18-oz.) jar barbecue sauce

       3/4  cup  apple juice

       1/2  cup  honey

       3  tablespoons  chipotle hot sauce

       3  tablespoons  molasses

        

Directions: Stir together all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until thoroughly heated

 

Wasabi Honey Mustard

Ingredients:

       1/3 cup of Dijon mustard

      1/4 cup of honey

       1 Tbsp. of wasabi paste

        

Directions:

Stir together and taste and adjust wasabi per your taste.

Curry Ketchup

Ingredients:

       1 cup of ketchup

       1 tsp. of curry powder

        

Directions:

Stir together and taste and adjust curry per your taste.

 

 

Getting Fancy with a Frittata (Leek & Asparagus Frittata)

Frittata (Italian for omelet pronounced "freet-TAH-tah") sounds fancy enough,  but when you say it's a leek and asparagus it becomes a whole other level of fancy. Certainly don't let all of the fanciness prohibit you from making one. They are actually quite easy to make. We recently dished this up with a roasted cherry tomato arugula salad, grilled bread and strawberries. It may have been one of my all time favorite brunches. Also, I made this for a friend on bedrest to heat up for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Here's the recipe I discovered on Epicurious.com. Leek and Asparagus Frittata Bon Appétit | February 2008 Makes 4 servings Ingredients 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 1 cup chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only) 1 12-ounce bunch thin asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups) 1 cup sliced stemmed shiitake mushrooms 8 large omega-3 eggs 1 cup diced Fontina cheese, divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Directions Preheat broiler. Melt butter in heavy broilerproof 10-inch-diameter nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté 4 minutes. Add asparagus and shiitake mushrooms, sprinkle lightly with salt, and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Whisk eggs, 3/4 cup Fontina cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Add egg mixture to skillet; fold gently to combine. Cook until almost set. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese over. Broil until frittata is puffed and cheese begins to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. TIP: You can line your pan with foil to make for easy clean up.

Toddler Test Kitchen: Lily Pad Pancakes

Just in time for spring, we recently made these green Lily Pad Pancakes  (courtesy of The Toddler Cafe cookbook). Made with both pureed peas and whole peas, they are perfect for enticing the veggie averse kid. Plus you can dip the finished product in yogurt, which makes for a fun snack or dinner addition. My daughter helped me make them, and we both polished off every last bit.

Ingredients
8 ounces (about 1.5 cups) of frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbsp. water
1 egg
3 Tbsp. flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. baking powder
Vegetable oil (or olive oil), as needed
Plain yogurt for serving

Directions
1. Set aside 1/3 cup of peas.
2. Add rest of peas to blender with water and egg; blend until smooth
3. Pour mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the  flour, salt and baking powder and gradually mix with a fork or whisk.
4. Stir in the reserved 1/3 cup of peas and let batter rest.
5. Place about 2 Tbsp. oil in a saute pan and warm over medium heat until shimmering.
6. Drop 1 Tbsp. of batter into the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until you see bubbles forming around the edges. Then, flip and cook the second side until lightly browned.
7. Repeat 6 until batter is gone.
8. Serve warm with yogurt. (you can add a touch of curry powder to the yogurt for a little kick)

Happy Cooking and Happy Spring!

Muffin Tin Monday

Let's face it....Mondays can be somewhat of a "blah." So I love any idea to make Monday a little more fun.

Fellow blogging mama at Her Cup Overfloweth initiated the "Muffin Tin Mondays" idea. She takes a muffin tin and fills it with healthy foods based on a theme / story / frame of mind / whatever. Like her "springtime" muffin tin (see left photo from Her Cup Overfloweth). {clockwise from top left: Blood Oranges (Flower Petals), Toast with Jam (butterfly wing), Yogurt (With a sad little flower on it!), Apple with Butterscotch chips (Ladybug), Toast with Jam (butterfly wing), Sliced Banana (Bunny Ears)}

If you follow the above link to her site, Michelle features several photos from other mamas' Muffin Tin Monday fun. You can join in, too, if you submit a photo to her Flickr stream and then leave a comment on her blog to let her know.

I'm going to give it a try myself to see how my whine 'n dine girl likes it. Since she's really into stories, I just might create some storybook themed muffin tins. We'll see.....

What's for Easter Dinner?? Roasted Rack of Lamb

Planning your Easter menu? Um....wait...Easter this coming weekend?? Oh right, better get on that one! IF you are celebrating Easter with family this weekend, you might consider a classic rack of lamb for your Easter feast.

You might be thinking that's too complex. Trust me, I know! That's exactly what I thought before I tried to make it. It's a lot easier than you think. That's why I'm including a basic roasted rack of lamb recipe below. It's plain easy to do. It's delicious. And it's perfect for Easter.

Oh and did I mention you can buy your meat at Costco? BONUS!

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
•  
• 1 (7 bone) rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Move oven rack to the center position.
2. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil to moisten mixture. Set aside.
3. Season the rack all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy oven proof skillet over high heat. Sear rack of lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes. Brush rack of lamb with the mustard. Roll in the bread crumb mixture until evenly coated. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent charring.
4. Arrange the rack bone side down in the skillet. Roast the lamb in preheated oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the degree of doneness you want. With a meat thermometer, take a reading in the center of the meat after 10 to 12 minutes and remove the meat, or let it cook longer, to your taste. Let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes, loosely covered, before carving between the ribs.

FOOTNOTE Allow internal temperature to be 5 to 10 degrees less than you like because the meat will continue to cook while it sits. Bloody rare: 115 to 125 degrees F Rare: 125 to 130 degrees F Medium rare: 130 to 140 degrees F Medium: 140 to 150 degrees F

Recipe: Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Still too complex?? Trader Joe's sells rack of lamb in the freezer section that you can pop in your oven!

Toddler Test Kitchen: Five-Spice Roast Chicken

My daughter recently had a friend over for dinner. The conversation with her friend went like this.....

Me: How about some chicken for dinner? Do you like chicken?

Friend: I like chicken nuggets.

Me: Well, I don't have any chicken nuggets tonight. I've got some really yummy chicken that I think you'll like.

Friend: But I like chicken nuggets.

Me: We're having yummy chicken instead of chicken nuggets. Will you try it if I promise it is yummy??

Friend: OK

So both girls loved this yummy chicken. Even chicken nugget-loving friend. I made the Five-Spice Roast Chicken recipe from the April issue of Bon Appetit. It's super easy and fast, too. Here's the recipe....

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder*
• 1 cut-up chicken (8 pieces; about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 1 large onion, peeled, cut into 16 wedges

• *A spice blend that usually contains ground fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves; available in the spice section of most supermarkets. This recipe is so good that it is worth buying the five-spice powder to make this again and again.
  

Directions

• Combine garlic, salt, olive oil, and Chinese five-spice powder in large bowl. Add chicken pieces; turn to coat. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange onion wedges in 13x9x2-inch roasting pan. Arrange chicken, skin side up, atop onions. Roast until chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 50 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Arrange chicken and onions on platter and serve.

Toddler Test Kitchen: Meditteranean Quesadilla

We have a new favorite in the quesadilla department...a Meditteranean-style quesadilla. I made it for myself one day and then somebody cozied up to me jonesing for a bite.

Ingredients:

2 Whole wheat flour tortillas

White Bean Hummus (Trader Joe's or any hummus will do)

Handful of fresh spinach

Canned red peppers

1/8 cup of Feta cheese

1/4 cup of mozarella cheese

Directions:

1. Spread one tortilla with White Bean Hummus.

2. Sprinkle with feta, mozarella, layer a few red pepper slices, top with handful of fresh spinach and other tortilla.

3. Heat skillet and spray with oil or use a little butter (I use Earth Balance spread - found at Trader Joe's).

4. Place quesadilla in pan and cook until cheese melts (be sure to flip a few times).