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Fun Friday: Spiced Chickpeas for an After School Snack

7 Jun
Everyone enjoyed this snack!

Everyone enjoyed this snack!

I forget sometimes that as much as I love sweets, that there are some people in this house who like the salty, more savory flavored foods. My three kids have a mix of tastes but my snacks are often the sweet kinds because that’s what I like best.

However, recently I found a recipe in the Stop and Shop Magazine for Spiced Chickpeas, which are roasted in the oven, and although I didn’t think I’d personally love them, I decided to try them as a snack for my family. The funny thing is, I personally loved them. Everyone loved them. In fact, I just bought two more cans of chickpeas so we can make them again since it’s been a little while since I made them last.

The recipe was simple and had very few ingredients besides the chickpeas, so it makes it tasty, easy, extremely healthy and affordable. If you’ve never tried them before, if you’re a sweet treats kind of person yourself, I encourage you to step out of your snacking comfort zone and give these a try!

SPICED CHICKPEAS

Makes four 1/2 cup servings

INGREDIENTS

1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans) about 2/3 cups

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or canola oil (we used olive)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Dash of cayenne pepper or to taste

1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

Nonstick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drain, rinse and dry chickpeas on paper towels.

Combine olive oil and spices in bowl.

Add chickpeas and toss until evenly coated.

Spread chickpeas evenly onto a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy.

Shake chickpeas around every 10 minutes or so for even crisping and to prevent sticking.

Remove baking sheet from oven and transfer chickpeas to a serving bowl. Enjoy while warm!

Per serving: 180 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 26g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 0 g sugars and 6 g protein

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So what are you doing this summer?

3 Jun
Bike riding is just one of the fun, free summer activities you can do with your kids!

Bike riding is just one of the fun, free summer activities you can do with your kids!

We are at the point of counting the number of school days until school is out (14 left after today). I can’t wait. I love summer, my whole family loves summer.

We don’t usually make any big plans for the summer, but yet somehow we do a lot and the summer always goes by much too fast.

Since I’m at the point where I’m thinking ahead to summer activities, I’m guessing that I’m not the only one. I thought that today I’d share a list of fun, free summer activities that we do. Most everything is something you can do with your kids also, no matter where you live.

But I’d like to ask you, what kinds of other fun, free things do you do over the summer with your kids? Be sure to leave a comment and add to my list!

1) Riding bikes: There are several local bike paths that we can take advantage of, and we also use a lot of the big, open school parking lots for wide open biking riding opportunities too.

2) Free bowling: AMF has free bowling EVERY DAY all summer long, two games per kid, not counting shoe rental.  You can click on the link to sign up your kids! It’s great for hot days, because it’s nice and cool inside, and it’s great for rainy days, as it gets them out of the house for a bit.

3) Free movies: Regal Cinemas has free movies all summer, as does Showcase Cinemas, once a week. Other movie theaters may be doing the same sort of thing near you too!

4) State Parks: Many state parks all over the country have free entry days or special event days that are free. Check out this link to find one near you!

5) Museums: Many museums are free on Fridays or have free events on Fridays. Check out the calendars for museums near you to see if they do Free Museum Fridays or something similar.

6) Free Summer Music Concerts: Near us, you can go to a free outdoor music concert almost every night of the week. Local bands in our area play in various cities and towns throughout our state and it’s a great night out with the family to sit outside and hear them play. They are also usually all different sorts of bands from oldies to calypso to swing. It’s great fun for the kids to hear something different and it gives them quite the repertoire of music appreciation.

7) Dinner on the beach: Many of the beaches near us are not free during the day but are free at night. Beach passes here are quite expensive, so instead, we’ll often plan a picnic on the beach and bring our dinner down there. We swim and play from early evening until sunset. There’s nothing better, in my opinion, than watching my kids play in the waves as the sun is going down. And to me, it’s often even more special and memorable than a regular day at the beach, although we enjoy that too.

8) Visit your local library: We love our local libraries. I can’t say it enough. A regular visit to the library is one way for us to spend an hour or more in a cool, calm place. But our libraries really kick it up for the summer. We can go to any of their branches to see local performers, participate in a craft, or to participate in their summer reading programs. Be sure to check out your local libraries to see what they offer for summer activities.

9) Letterboxing: My family loves letterboxing and we spend some time in the warmer months finding local letterboxes. If you have never done it before, give it a try! If you click on the link you can read one of my older posts about it.

10) Hiking: Sometimes just taking a nice afternoon hike is all you need to wind down your day. Many local trails are nice and shady, so you can keep cool while you get some exercise with the kids. You may see some wildlife along the way, and don’t forget your bug spray!

So tell me….what can you add to this list? Leave a comment and tell me what fun things you do with your family in the summertime!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: John Wayne Casserole

22 May
This was a great Mexican dish that we were able to make using many nonfat ingredients.

This was a great Mexican dish that we were able to make using many nonfat ingredients.

My family enjoys eating Mexican foods. I make a good Taco Bake, we eat quesadillas, tacos and a yummy nacho bake. We’ve had to tone down our menu to make it more fat-free or at least low fat, but it’s easy to do with most of those items by changing just a few key ingredients.

Today’s recipe is one that was sent to me by my father-in-law a couple of weeks back. The title of the email said, “Looks good.”  And indeed, it did look good.

I was able to use the recipe by making the following substitutions:

Ground turkey instead of ground beef

Nonfat sour cream instead of regular

Nonfat cheddar cheese instead of regular

Light mayo made with olive oil instead of regular

I also had to cheat a bit and use salsa instead of the fresh onion, tomato and pepper, because I thought I had a pepper here and when it came time to make dinner, I did not.  If I make this again I’d do the fresh veggies instead, but the salsa did work fine.

Of all people, Alexandra was the kid who loved this the most. She’s by far the pickiest eater. Caroline liked all but the top and Liz liked it well enough. Don and I loved it. I even ate it leftover and it was just as good.

It did make a lot, and I think the next time I’d cut it in half, and use an 11×7 dish rather than a 9×13 dish.

Don even said he’d throw the corn right in the layer with the meat. It was definitely a hearty dish and a tasty one! If your family enjoys Mexican meals too, I’d recommend this!

The recipe as my father-in-law sent it, is below.

JOHN WAYNE CASSEROLE

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained
1 (1.25-ounce) packet taco seasoning
4 ounces sour cream
4 ounces mayonnaise
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 cups biscuit mix
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 (4-ounce) can sliced jalapeno peppers

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and water, according to packet instructions; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, 4 ounces of cheddar cheese, and half of the onions; set aside.

3. Stir biscuit mix and water (directions on box) **our box said to use milk so I did and it was skim**to form soft dough. Pat dough on the bottom and one-half-inch up the sides of an 9 x 13 in. greased casserole dish.

4. Saute remaining onions and bell peppers until slightly tender.

5. On top of biscuit mix, evenly distribute ingredients in the following order: ground beef, tomato slices, green peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, sour cream mixture and end with remaining shredded cheese.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges of dough are lightly browned.

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Monday Musings: The Making of a 50 States Bedroom

20 May
Alex's project had gone viral.

Alex’s project had gone viral.

Last April we began renovations on our house that would allow each daughter to have their own bedroom for the first time ever. Choosing colors and themes and decor became the topic of many a conversation.

So the day Alexandra came out of her room and announced that when it was her turn for a new room, she wanted a 50 States Bedroom you might think we wouldn’t be shocked, but we were. For months she’d been saying she wanted purple walls and a horse-themed room. Now, she wanted ocean-blue walls and a cross-country theme. According to my mother-in-law, the two had concocted the new theme for her room over the phone one day and Alex was sold on the idea.

Once we knew this new room theme was a keeper, I told Alex I would put a request for postcards from all of the states out to my friends and family on Facebook and see what we could collect that way first. Whatever we couldn’t get, we’d find another way of getting them. The postcards would later be used as a border around her room after the blue paint went on the walls.

I put the request out in mid-March, right around her birthday, explaining the 50 States Bedroom idea. Once I did, the postcards started rolling in. The first week or so she was receiving handfuls a day. My father-in-law, on his end, put out a request to all of his friends and family around the country as well, and stated that her birthday was coming up, too. It was so much fun receiving postcards that said, “Your grandpa wanted us to wish you a Happy Birthday from North Carolina,” or whatever state the cards were coming from. In years to come, when Alex looks at the messages on the cards, she’ll read things like, “I went to high school with your daddy,” “I went to the White House with your sister,” or “Vermont has great maple syrup,” and many other fun and exciting messages from all over the country. One cousin sent us 27 postcards from a cross-country trip she’d taken years ago. Her personal collection was now Alex’s. That gesture from a cousin we had never met, meant so much to us.

We received over 14 feet of postcards from all over the world to be used in Alex's new room.

We received over 14 feet of postcards from all over the world to be used in Alex’s new room.

Before we knew it, we had received over 150 postcards literally from all over the world. Postcards came in from the east coast, west coast, London, Canada, St. Maarten and Alaska. It was amazing. We all looked forward to the arrival of the mail each and every day. I did my best to go on Facebook often and thank those who sent or requested postcards, and I’d give an update of what we had gotten so far and what we were still missing. By April vacation week we were down to just nine states left and we were ready to empty out, clean out and paint the room over the week. Alex and her daddy went to the store and she picked out the color of paint that she wanted, and the process began.

I had forgotten that underneath the "little kid" border was the baby border we'd hand stamped on the walls before Caroline was born.

I had forgotten that underneath the “little kid” border was the baby border we’d hand stamped on the walls before Caroline was born.

It was a little sad, I must say, when Don began scraping away at the border we put up in 2005, only to discover the border of Snoopy and Woodstock that we had hand-stamped in 1999 as we prepared for the birth of our first baby. When all of the wallpaper border was down, and the stamped art remained, there was a small lump in my throat, and a part of me wanted to say, “No! Let’s just keep this! Let’s go back.”

But I know, you can’t ever go back.

So the new paint color went on the walls over the nursery yellow and the pink and blue border, over years of picture holes and sticky tape marks, making the room look fresh and new with the great color that Alex had picked out. In two days’ time Don had transformed the room to a big girl room, and we moved the furniture back in, setting it up in a new layout.

As the postcard mail began to trickle down and we had just a few states left, I took the whole lot of them to our local learning store, Lakeshore Learning Store, to be laminated. We also laminated some maps that she wanted in her room as well. We had a Rhode Island map which has hung in our basement for years, that she wanted on her wall. She particularly likes the fact that it has the dates 2006-2007 on it and she points it out to whoever comes into the room. We had a world map in one of the kids’ rooms that was not being used, and I ordered a special US map from the Highlights Magazine “Which Way USA” club, that we had now enrolled her in. The laminated postcards stretched from our sliding glass door in our dining room to the coffee table in our living room, about 14 feet in length and about two feet across.

I found this cool project in Family Fun magazine, that I just had to replicate for Alex's walls.

I found this cool project in FamilyFun magazine, that I just had to replicate for Alex’s walls.

I went to Hobby Lobby one afternoon and found huge letters that were on sale for half off: N, S, E, W in pink and blue sparkly colors and Don put them up on her walls, using a compass so that they were really placed accurately pointing North, South, East and West. I found a cool project in FamilyFun Magazine while sitting in the doctor’s waiting room one day, and I had to replicate it on her wall. I knew the perfect spot. Alex noticed a blanket in the trunk my car that I’d made for the kids years ago, a 50 States blanket with a map of the country on it. We washed it and brought it up to her room and placed it at the bottom of her bed, which was still awaiting a back-ordered, horse-themed “bed in a bag” set. She found a globe at the book store, and used some gift money to purchase it. The room was coming together in our minds, and on the walls, piece by piece.

Finally, it was time. I took the huge roll of postcards and began cutting them apart. I filled an entire wicker basket with them. I found some double sided foam tape at Walmart, specifically designed to keep the paint on the walls in tact, and Caroline and I placed little pieces in the center of each laminated card, being careful not to cover the messages on the cards if at all possible. And then, on Mother’s Day afternoon, I began placing each one on the wall.

As I did this, I was struck by the awesomeness of this whole project, from the idea itself to the connections it has given Alex to our family, our friends, our past and our present. The postcards have special stamps on them, special postmarks, and special messages. They are priceless and yet the cost of them was so minimal.

My version of the Family Fun project, with postcards to match.

Adjacent to the North Wall is my version of the FamilyFun project, with postcards to match.

Alex has decided that the South Wall over her bed will show maps of two "featured states" as she receives them from the "Which Way USA" program through Highlights Magazine.

Alex has decided that the South Wall over her bed will show maps of two “featured states” as she receives them from the “Which Way USA” program through Highlights Magazine.

And so, as I finish up this blog post and I show you the photos of the finished walls, I want to say thank you to everyone. Thanks for sending Alex her postcards, for spreading the word to your families and friends all over the country and the world, and thank you for taking the time to make a little girl’s day, every day. On the night that the walls were finished, she walked into her room, looked up at the walls, and she slowly turned around and around. The look of amazement on her face was one I will never forget.

And I more than appreciate it.

Thank You.

The East wall houses her Rhode Island map and its coordinating RI postcards.

The East Wall houses her Rhode Island map and its coordinating RI postcards.

The West Wall is over the back of her door and over her closet. The wall over the door houses her Texas postcards and her Cowgirl sign.

The West Wall is over the back of her door and over her closet. The wall over the door houses her Texas postcards and her Cowgirl sign.

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Monday Musings: Apraxia Awareness Day

13 May
Tuesday is Apraxia Awareness Day

Tuesday is Apraxia Awareness Day

Tomorrow is Apraxia Awareness Day.

I thought I’d use my post today to do just that: make you aware of Apraxia of Speech, because this cause is something that means a lot to me.

If you have not heard of Apraxia of Speech before, it is defined on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s website as:

“a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words.”

Although my daughters do not have Apraxia themselves, we have two members of our extended family-one on each side- who do. Therefore, we do have some experience with the disorder. Additionally, two out of three of my girls needed speech and language therapy from age three through early elementary school age. And so, the speech and language disorder arena is one which we are pretty familiar with.

As a parent, I remember the frustration both of my daughters would experience as they tried to communicate their thoughts to us, with speech that couldn’t do the job they wanted it to do. I can clearly see the look on people’s faces when they’d ask one of them a question but not understand the answer that came out. I can remember trying to “translate” for them and not always being correct in guessing what it was they were trying to say. I remember the many weeks, days and hours spent bringing them to speech therapy twice a week and working with them at home on their “homework,” working in front of a mirror, playing “games,” listening to them practice their sounds, helping them to reinforce what they were learning in therapy, for years and years.It was a long road for them, but I am happy now when I hear them chattering away.

Apraxia kids experience frustration as well, as they try to get what they want to say, from their brain and out. They too, have hours and hours of therapy to help them.  For many Apraxia kids, the disorder is a life-long struggle. For others, they may see better success with treatment. Every child is different.

Awareness of Apraxia helps you to understand children who may have the disorder, but it may also help you identify it in someone you know, whether you are a parent, a teacher, or a relative. Early intervention is critical and evaluation followed by treatment is essential to helping these children find their speech.

If you are wondering what some of the signs and symptoms of Apraxia of Speech are, here’s the list I’ve copied and pasted from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s website, but keep in mind that every child is an individual and no two children’s cases of Apraxia are exactly the same:

A Very Young Child

  • Does not coo or babble as an infant
  • First words are late, and they may be missing sounds
  • Only a few different consonant and vowel sounds
  • Problems combining sounds; may show long pauses between sounds
  • Simplifies words by replacing difficult sounds with easier ones or by deleting difficult sounds (although all children do this, the child with apraxia of speech does so more often)
  • May have problems eating

An Older Child

  • Makes inconsistent sound errors that are not the result of immaturity
  • Can understand language much better than he or she can talk
  • Has difficulty imitating speech, but imitated speech is more clear than spontaneous speech
  • May appear to be groping when attempting to produce sounds or to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw for purposeful movement
  • Has more difficulty saying longer words or phrases clearly than shorter ones
  • Appears to have more difficulty when he or she is anxious
  • Is hard to understand, especially for an unfamiliar listener
  • Sounds choppy, monotonous, or stresses the wrong syllable or word

Potential Other Problems

  • Delayed language development
  • Other expressive language problems like word order confusions and word recall
  • Difficulties with fine motor movement/coordination
  • Over sensitive (hypersensitive) or under sensitive (hyposensitive) in their mouths (e.g., may not like toothbrushing or crunchy foods, may not be able to identify an object in their mouth through touch)
  • Children with CAS or other speech problems may have problems when learning to read, spell, and write

For more information on Apraxia, visit:

American Speech-Language Hearing Association

CASANA The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America

You can also find information on Pinterest

Follow CASANA on Facebook

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Bonus Post: Remembering the mothers of Newtown

12 May
We will never forget.

We will never forget.

As we celebrate this Mother’s Day, let’s take a moment to remember those who are grieving on this day. Specifically, let’s take a moment today to send strength to those mothers in Newtown, Connecticut who are facing their first of a lifetime of Mother’s Day without their babies, those taken so tragically out of their lives this past December.

While we hug our children and spend the day with our loved ones, let’s remember how lucky we are,  never forget the victims of Newtown, and those that were left behind.

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Monday Musings: A perfect day for a perfect little girl

6 May
Alexandra had a perfect day for her First Communion on Saturday.

Alexandra had a perfect day for her First Communion on Saturday.

Saturday was our last First Communion. It was a special day for Alexandra, our youngest daughter, the baby of our family.

First Communion is a special day, a rite of passage for those who are Catholic and it’s always an exciting occasion. This time though, knowing it was our last one, it made it seem all the more special, all the more exciting, and for me, a little bit sad that it was our last.

Having three daughters, we do a lot of handing down of items from clothes to shoes to backpacks, from sisters and cousins, but we opted not to hand down First Communion dresses.

After shopping with Caroline for her dress six years ago, I realized it was equivalent to shopping for a prom dress or a wedding gown, in that everyone has their own personalities, likes and tastes, and their dresses reflect those things. Caroline’s dress was so pretty and very “her.”

When it came time for Elizabeth to get her dress, it was so polar opposite of what Caroline had chosen, and it was clearly very much reflective of her personality and style. Gorgeous, and so very “her.”

This time around, shopping for Alexandra’s dress was the same experience. The dress she ultimately chose was so her, even the photographer who did her pictures prior to the event remarked that the dress suited her sweet personality perfectly.

We did our best to keep the experience equal for all three. They all got to go shopping with myself and my mom for their dresses, going out to breakfast first. Having that one-on-one time was an exciting thing that they all looked forward to as their shopping day arrived.

Giving Alexandra her special First Communion bracelet, a tradition we started with Caroline.

Giving Alexandra her special First Communion bracelet, a tradition we started with Caroline.

We also tried to create some special traditions that would go for each of them: they each wore the same head piece, a gift from their godmother. They wore the same shoes, a pair of “high heels” that clicked on the floor when they walked, which is a special sound when you’re in second grade. They each wore a necklace from their great-grandmother, picked out by her for each of them, many years ago, before she died and long before they’d be making their First Communions, and we got them each a special bracelet from us to wear that day as well that had beads of their own favorite color mixed in with the pearls.

So when I came across a unique idea for a cake, I thought right away that Alexandra would love it. It was made out of chocolate cupcakes frosted in white, and it formed the shape of a dress. I think in the photo it might’ve been designed as a wedding dress, but to me it screamed First Communion and it was *so* very Alexandra.

It was perfect.

And yet, I almost didn’t do it.

Not because I’d have to cancel the bakery cake I’d already ordered and paid for, not because I’d have to add in baking a double batch of cupcakes and a double batch of frosting to my already hectic list of things to do for the event, and not even because I didn’t think I was capable of making it look like the picture, although I had my doubts there.

I almost didn’t do it because I didn’t do it for the other two. I instantly felt guilty for doing something so unique and special for her that I had not done for them.

But, I couldn’t get the dress cupcake cake out of my head. She’d love it. I knew she would. She loves chocolate and she loves buttercream frosting, which the bakery cake would not have. In fact, the bakery cake would have the kind of frosting that no one in our house likes. But overall, she’d love that the cake was shaped like her dress.

It took me up until the week before the event to decide that I was going to do something for her that I hadn’t done for them. I let them in on my secret, making it a surprise from all of us, not to be told to her or shown to her until that very moment that we took the lid off the box.

Alexandra's favorite part of her day: the cake. That answer made *my* day.

The surprise cupcake cake, shaped like a First Communion dress.

I instantly felt better. I was excited, they were excited and the guilt was gone. I canceled the bakery cake. I planned out how and when I’d bake the cupcakes (day before) and frost them (fifteen minutes before serving them, since I had no place to store that many frosted cupcakes).

And I have to say, I’m so glad I did it.

Alexandra loved the surprise, and she loved her cake. It wasn’t perfectly like the photo I’d seen, but it was perfect to her, and to me.

At the end of the day, my mother-in-law asked her if she had a good day (she did) and what her favorite part of the day was.

I waited, hiding off to one side in the kitchen, to see what her answer would be.

A list of possible answers ran through my head, thinking like a second grader: the dress, the gifts, the party, the ceremony….what would it be?

Her answer: The Cake.

I almost cried. I literally ran out of the kitchen and hugged her, I was so happy. I think I actually startled her.

As parents of multiple children we work SO hard to keep everything as equal as we can. To them, they may think one gets more than another somehow, or one never gets anything, but we know in our hearts and minds that we work very, very hard to try to offer the same opportunities and traditions and memories to each of them. I never wanted to be the kind of parent who gave their all to their first and nothing to their last. I work sometimes to exhaustion to make that not happen here. It keeps me up some nights.

But this one time, I took a risk and did something for one that I hadn’t done for the others. I knew that had I found a cake that one of them would just love, at the time of their Communions that I would have done it for them. And I know now, that I have “one in the bank,” if I find something unique in the future that is perfect for them, I can do it guilt free, knowing I already did this for Alexandra.

It’s not about keeping score, and I know that, but it was a big deal for me to do this, and not do *exactly* what I did for them.

Instead, it’s about creating traditions and making memories, and making things special for each of them, just as their dresses are special for each of them. There’s something to be said for being sure that their events are not cookie-cutter copies of their sisters’ events also, that we take the time to make sure their memories are theirs alone as well as being full of shared traditions.

It’s a fine line, but this weekend, I think it we hit a home run.

Celebrating Alexandra's First Communion, our last celebration of this kind.

Celebrating Alexandra’s First Communion, our last celebration of this kind.

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Fun Friday: Blueberry Banana (no flour) Muffin

3 May
These made a great , healthy after school snack!

These made a great , healthy after school snack!

I love it when I find new recipes to try out. I follow so many foodie pages on Facebook that I’m always getting great ideas for new things to try.

A few weeks back, I came across a post from The New Modern Mama blog where she talked about trying some new muffins at her house. They sounded good to me and I had everything for them so the next day I tried them at my house. They were great!

I made them for an after school snack and then there were leftovers for the next morning as well. I made a few changes:

*I used nonfat vanilla yogurt, not greek yogurt.

*I used Truvia rather than Stevia and followed the measurement guidelines on the Truvia package.

*I had both “quick” Steel Cut Oats and the regular kind. The quick kind are softer and I thought they’d blend easier, so I used those.

*Although I used my blender, if I made them again, which I hope to, I’d use a food processor. My blender had a hard time.

They were good, they were something new and different and everyone loved them. This recipe is a keeper for us, for sure. I hope you’ll try it too! I know that you can try other fruits in the recipe besides blueberries, so next time I just might do that!

Thanks to the New Modern Mama for sharing!

Next time I'd try these in the food processor instead of the blender.

Next time I’d try these in the food processor instead of the blender.

Blueberry Banana No Flour Muffins
From The New Modern Mama

Ingredients:

  • 2 overly ripe bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups steel cut oats
  • 1 single serving cup, low fat, greek yogurt {I used vanilla}
  • 1 cup of blueberries
  • 3/4 cups of sugar or stevia
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Put all of the above ingredients into a blender except for the fruit.
  3. Blend ingredients until smooth {you may have to scrape down the sides and do this several times}.
  4. Pour blended ingredients into a bowl and stir in blueberries.
  5. Pour muffin mix into greased tin.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes.

This made exactly 12 muffins.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Cheesy Quinoa and Broccoli Patties

1 May
Although I had technical difficulties with this recipe, I'm glad I stuck it out, they were delicious!

Although I had technical difficulties with this recipe, I’m glad I stuck it out, they were delicious!

This week I was debating what to post for my What’s For Dinner Wednesday recipe when I came across a new one. I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a post on Shop Girl for these Cheesy Quinoa and Broccoli Patties.

As always, I looked to see if I had all of the ingredients and I did. I had just cooked up a batch of quinoa the night before, so that was already done, and I had everything else for them.

In the past we have made Zucchini Fritters and even Potato Latkes, and we love them all. I thought this might be similar and I thought my chance for everyone liking them was pretty good too.

The ingredients for this recipe came together very quickly.

The ingredients for this recipe came together very quickly.

I threw the ingredients together pretty quickly, cooking up the onion, and chopping the broccoli. I used wheat bread crumbs, egg substitute and nonfat cheddar cheese in order to keep within our dietary restrictions.

However, when it came time for cooking my patties, I ran into trouble. It wasn’t trouble from the recipe, it was my pan that was not cooperating. It’s not the best pan and on occasion, things will stick. Today was one of those occasions. Each time my patties would get nice and crisp, when I went to turn it over, the layer of crispiness would stay stuck to the pan.

I was tempted to abandon the whole thing, but these really did look and smell good. I didn’t want to let it go. I gave it some thought, and then decided to remove them from the frying pan and olive oil and place them into the oven at 350 degrees and bake them to finish them off. That worked out great.

However, I still had a batch that hadn’t gone into the pan  yet. By now Don had come home, and to my rescue. When I showed him the leftover batter, enough for about five more patties and too much to throw away, he opted to try using our counter top griddle and grill them. Again, it worked out great. Next time, this would be my method of choice to cook them.

I’m glad we kept to it. The recipe was a hit with four out of five of us and there was not even one left over. Don even tried dipping them in Sweet and Sour dipping sauce, which was a great addition.

Tonight as I said goodnight to my oldest daughter, I was shutting off her light on my way out of the room, when she called out to me, “Hey Mom….make those broccoli things again from tonight. They were really good.”

That’s a thumbs up, if I ever heard one.

I encourage you to visit Shop Girl’s blog to see the original post so that you can see what *her* patties looked like, since she didn’t have the technical difficulties I had. Her photos are great and the recipe is a good one. For my family, I doubled it, so we had 12 patties, not six. Additionally, my quinoa was already cooked and cooled, this recipe talks you through cooking it first, and letting it cool. Be sure to rinse your quinoa well before cooking it.

Seemed like all was well when I started out, but my pan did not cooperate with me this evening!

Seemed like all was well when I started out, but my pan did not cooperate with me this evening!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
5 large broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 large egg
Salt and Pepper for seasoning
Olive oil for cooking
DIRECTIONS
1. First, cook your quinoa according to the directions on the packaging. I cooked mine by combining 1/2 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of boiling water, then letting it come to a boil, and simmering, covered for about 15 minutes. Once the quinoa has absorbed all the water (this shouldn’t take longer than 15 minutes), put it on a plate and let it cool completely.
2. Next, saute your diced onion until it’s soft and translucent. Set aside and let cool completely. Cook your broccoli until it has softened a little bit, then let it cool as well. Once the broccoli has cooled completely, dice it into small pieces.
3. Now that you have everything ready, in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, leaving the egg until the end. Mix well so you have a smooth, wet mixture that will allow you to make patties that will stick together.
4. Heat some olive oil in a pan, and make your patties. I made each using 1/4 cup of the mixture. Just make a ball out of the mixture, and squash it down a little bit. Cook each patty for about 7 – 8 minutes on each side on medium heat. You want the patty to develop a crust, but not to burn, so watch them carefully. Let cool for a couple of minutes before eating.

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My new addiction: Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake

26 Apr
Nutella is not new, but there's this great little treat that I make with it, which I'm addicted to!

Nutella is not new, but there’s this great little treat that I make with it, which I’m addicted to!

For the longest time, I knew that Nutella existed, but I never bought it.

Yes, seriously. It was not on my all-the-time shopping list.

That was in my old life. My pre-Nutella addicted life.

Recently, Elizabeth came home and said how her good friend had a Nutella sandwich for lunch at school. It got me thinking. There’s so many things you can make with Nutella, and it might be a great treat for the kids’ lunches and mine, on occasion.

Let me just say, it’s a slippery slope, that Nutella. One lunchtime treat has led to many jars of Nutella in my shopping cart.

I love it for breakfast, for lunch, with strawberries, with bananas, with peanut butter and for a late night snack.

I think about it all the time.

And I keep finding bigger jars of it. I first started out with a small jar. I’d buy two at a time. Then I found an even BIGGER jar at Target. I’m on my second one of those. But I hear there’s an EVEN BIGGER jar available at BJ’s. I’m afraid to go see. I’d join just to buy it.

So one day, my friend Paula sends me a link she’d found to a Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake. She found it on a blog called Kirbie’s Cravings.

Four ingredients. One of them being Nutella.

Check.

Check. Check. Check.

I had all four ingredients.

I’ve made a mug cake before from a different recipe for a coffeecake, and didn’t love it. Never posted it.

This, I love.

I think I’ve made it four times in two weeks or so.

It takes all of five minutes to mix up, if that.

It takes all of one minute and 30 seconds to cook in my microwave.

I kid you not.

So today, for my Friday post I share with you my newest addiction: the Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake from Kirbie’s Cravings.  Now pay attention when you read her blog post about this cake. She has taken a lot of ingredients out of her original recipe, which used to be over 1000 calories. Now it’s just over 500 calories. That’s still a lot. But knowing it *used* to be more, doesn’t that make it sound like a bargain?

Yes!! It does!

And she recommends sharing it.

I don’t choose to go that route.

She also recommends waiting to eat it until it cools.

I don’t do that either. I can barely get it out of the microwave and I’m getting my spoon.

I recommend topping it with whipped cream or something like that. My whipped cream is fat free. In fact, most of what we eat is low fat or fat free, so I don’t really feel terrible eating this on occasion.

Multiple occasions.

Here’s the recipe. Try it out!

Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake

from Kirbie’s Cravings

Ingredients:

4 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup Nutella
3 tbsp fat free milk

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into an oversized mug. Mix with a small whisk until batter is smooth. Cook in microwave for about 1 minute. Sharp knife inserted should come out clean and top of cake should look done rather than gooey. If cake is not cooked in one minute, add an additional 20 seconds. Let cake cool in mug completely before eating.

Totally Addicting.

Totally Addicting.

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