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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Tracey’s Muffin Tin Mini Lasagnas

27 Mar
A new favorite meal for us!

A new favorite healthy meal for us!

My mom found me a new blog and I really like it. It’s called Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and the very first link she forwarded to me was today’s recipe. She sent it to me last Thursday, saying she thought we’d like these,  and I wrote back and said, “I am going to make them tonight, they sound so good!”

Then I realized I’d eaten all the ricotta cheese as my chocolate fix the night before, so I had to go out and get that. And the wonton wrappers. But other than that, I had everything on hand and this sounded really good to me!

The recipe is a simple, easy one, and although it does have a few steps they are not hard steps and they are much easier than making a “real” lasagna. I liked that these were multi-layered, just as a lasagna would be, and I loved even more that they baked in ten minutes. They got four out of five thumbs up at our house, with only Alex not liking them. She liked the inside but not the wrappers. But overall, they were very well received and I’d most definitely make them again.

I am going to post Tracey’s recipe here, and any modifications I made, there weren’t many, but I encourage you to visit her blog because she really goes step by step in her description and it’s really well laid out. Additionally, she has some fabulous recipes on there, so check it out! My lasagnas were slightly more plain than hers as my family doesn’t love a lot of “stuff” in their meat layer, but you can really throw in anything that you like just as you would a regular lasagna.

TRACEY’S MUFFIN TIN MINI LASAGNAS

Dinner prep time often coincides with homework help time. On this night, I was listening to Alex read aloud, everything I always wanted to know about the state of Hawaii. Thank goodness for simple recipes!

Dinner prep time often coincides with homework help time. On this night, I was listening to Alex read aloud, everything I always wanted to know about the state of Hawaii. Thank goodness for simple recipes!

INGREDIENTS

12 oz ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped (I skipped this.)
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I skipped this.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
pinch red pepper flakes (I skipped this.)
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese (I used fat free.)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
24 wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used fat free.)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the ground turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper to a large skillet set over medium to medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, break the turkey up into small crumbles and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey has browned. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, and the red pepper flakes, and stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, the basil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

To assemble: Press 1 wonton wrapper into each well of the muffin pan – be sure to press them into the bottom and sides of the pan. Working with half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the wells of the pan evenly, pressing the ricotta into an even layer. Working with half of the tomato sauce, divide it among the wells of the pan, spreading in an even layer rather than mounding. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the mozzarella over the top of each mini lasagna. Press a second wonton wrapper onto each mini lasagna then repeat the process of layering using the second half of the ricotta mixture, the remaining half of the tomato sauce and finally two more teaspoons of the mozzarella per cup.

Bake the mini lasagnas for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove the muffin pan to a wire rack and let the mini lasagnas cool for a few minutes before removing them. Garnish with fresh basil before serving, if desired.

Makes 12

Two apiece were plenty for us. I did find these softened up when they were left over, but they still tasted good.

Two apiece were plenty for us. I did find these softened up when they were left over, but they still tasted good.

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Strawberry Compote for your next breakfast or brunch

22 Mar
We've made this twice already since finding the recipe in a magazine.

We’ve made this twice already since finding the recipe in a magazine.

Being a breakfast/brunch fanatic, when I saw this compote in a FamilyFun magazine recently, I knew I had to try it.  I love compotes of all kinds.  We already have a great recipe for a blueberry compote and one for a peach compote, but I’d yet to try a strawberry compote.

It was shown over crepes, which we love, but right away I could picture it over homemade waffles, over pancakes, french toast and even as a topping for our healthy mini cheesecakes.

The first time I made it, it was a hit right away. I served it with the mini cheesecakes as a dessert, but I spotted a cute little girl who shall remain nameless to protect her identity, eating it right out of a bowl with whipped topping, spoon in hand, no cheesecake in sight.

It was that good.

The second time we made it, it was for crepes, which we are actually having for dinner. We put out a variety of fillings and toppings, (remember our crepes buffet from a past post?) and this strawberry compote was a perfect topper and even a perfect filler, for strawberry banana crepes. I had a combination of fresh strawberries and bananas along with the compote in mine.

Heavenly.

So, with many people choosing the brunch option for the upcoming Easter holiday meal, I thought I’d post this recipe today, in case you decide to include it in your menu. The recipe is delicious, fast and easy, a check plus in my book. I keep a variety of frozen fruits on hand so we used a one pound bag of frozen strawberries from Aldi’s for this recipe.

STRAWBERRY COMPOTE *from FamilyFun, February 2013
INGREDIENTS

1 pound fresh or frozen strawberries, quartered plus more for garnish if desired. (I did not quarter them, as they were frozen.)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Super-easy directions make this a great recipe for a busy day.

Super-easy directions make this a great recipe for a busy day.

DIRECTIONS

1.) In a medium saucepan, stir the strawberries and sugar together. Let the mixture stand until the fruit’s juices release, about 30 minutes. (If you are using frozen strawberries, heat them with the sugar over medium heat until they’re defrosted, about 2 minutes *mine took longer.*)

2.) In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and lemon juice. Combine them with the strawberry mixture. Simmer the sauce on medium-low until it thickens, about 10 minutes, then set aside.

See what kinds of things you can think of to serve this with!

Again, mine took a little longer to thicken, but here is what it looks like when it's done, so cook until it is thickened. You'll be able to tell.

Again, mine took a little longer to thicken, but here is what it looks like when it’s getting thicker, so cook until it is thickened. You’ll be able to tell.

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Light Vegetable Fried Rice

20 Mar
This Vegetable Fried Rice was a huge hit!

This Vegetable Fried Rice was a huge hit!

We all love Chinese food, but it’s not something we get very often. I was thrilled when I recently found a recipe on the Red Barn Blog for a homemade version that was healthy. I actually believe the post was a guest post on the Red Barn Blog by the Budget Gourmet Mom, a blog I also follow.

I decided to try it a couple of weeks ago, although not following the recipe exactly, but rather using it as a guide when making ours. It was such a huge hit, I’ve already made it again. Five thumbs up, both times.

I like this recipe because you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and throw them in. I can foresee using sugar snap peas or pea pods when I have them next, or throwing in zucchini when I make it again.

Here is the recipe as it’s written by the Budget Gourmet Mom on the Red Barn Blog. I’ve made a note of any changes I made. This was great served with Duck Sauce or with Sweet and Sour Sauce on the side, both of which are nonfat.

This Chinese Fried Rice is great as a side dish for any meal. We last used it when we had pork chops.

This Chinese Fried Rice is great as a side dish for any meal. We last used it when we had pork chops.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups cooked cold white or brown rice
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil  (We used olive oil.)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cups fresh vegetables, I used broccoli and carrots
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (We used egg substitute.)
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • DIRECTIONS
  1. In a large skillet preheat oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add in the rice and fry, tossing carefully with wooden spoon. Add the vegetables and continue to cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Push the rice off to the side of the pan and place the beaten eggs next to the rice. Cook, stirring the eggs until firm. Fold into the rice.  (I cooked my eggs in a separate frying pan.)
  4. Add the soy sauce, toss, and serve.

Thanks to the Red Barn Blog and the Budget Gourmet Mom for sharing this delicious dish!

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New cookie recipe: I consider these “Superfoods”

8 Mar

I have a new chocolate cookbook that I received from Caroline for Christmas this year. IMG_0115

It’s fantastic.

I already went through it and tabbed a bunch of recipes, and we’ve already made two of them so far, both were delicious. One of them I am going to share with you today. Elizabeth and I made it together last weekend as a surprise for the rest of the family when they were out.

Overall, many of the recipes in this cookbook are already “healthified,” made with some healthier options. Today’s recipe is one of those healthier option recipes.

In fact, it’s so healthy, I might consider these cookies a “Superfood!”

You laugh (I can hear you) but just look at the ingredients in this recipe, read my post about super foods from last week and read the following blurb that I just read *today* in the March 13 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, that supports my superfood cookie claim:

“When you think ‘superfood,’ you probably picture kale or blueberries. But potent plant goodness comes in liquid form, too. Coffee is the nation’s number one source of antioxidants, accounting for 40% of our overall intake, according to research from the University of Scranton.”

Elizabeth was so excited to be the kid in the kitchen this time around!

Elizabeth was so excited to be the kid in the kitchen this time around!

First, let me just say that reading this thrilled me. I think I probably get more like 50% of my antioxident intake from coffee!

And second, although I’m being humorous, this recipe actually has coffee in it, which is why I drew your attention to that fact.

The cookies were a hard, crunchy cookie, which is the kind I prefer. Everyone here loved them, all thumbs up, and I didn’t think twice about offering them dessert, knowing that I was really providing them with daily doses of antioxidants!!

Below is the recipe. Now keep your eye open for all the healthier choices and you’ll see why these cookies were a superfood in my house!

My new superfood cookies

My new superfood cookies

CHOCOLATE & COFFEE WHOLE WHEAT COOKIES
INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine (we used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.)

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg (we used egg substitute)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

scant 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon bran (We took bran flakes and crushed them up in a ziploc bag and took 1 tablespoon from there.)

1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups rolled oats

1 tablespoon strong coffee (I used decaf!)

2/3 cup hazelnuts toasted and coarsely chopped (I skipped this ingredient.)

Using the larger of my two Pampered Chef scoops makes our cookies more uniform.

Using the larger of my two Pampered Chef scoops makes our cookies more uniform.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grease two large cookie sheets (I don’t grease, mine are fine.)

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add the egg and beat well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Then add in the whole wheat flour and bran.

Mix in the egg mixture, then stir in the chocolate chips, oats, coffee, and hazelnuts.

Mix well.

Put 24 rounded tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. (Ours took less, around 15 minutes.)

Remove from oven, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool before serving.

Enjoy!!

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Easy Orzo with Broccoli and Chicken

6 Mar
This meal is a much healthier option for us!

This meal is a much healthier option for us!

As we’ve been going through the process of redesigning our various meals to be a better fit for our diet restrictions, there are some meals that I’ve really been missing.

Sometimes I don’t miss them because I loved them as much as I loved the ease of preparing them on a busy night. Others, I miss because I just loved them.

One of the easy-to-prepare meals that I missed was this one because everyone liked it and it was fast. But, it’s not a good fit any longer.

Since chicken, broccoli and pasta is still one of our favorite combinations, I was looking for a healthier option to make instead.

Recently I’ve seen dishes which use orzo popping up on various blogs, recipe emails and even on Pinterest. We use orzo in our chicken soup, but I never think to use it as a side dish or a main dish, ever. Last night I decided to try. I had half a package left from the last soup Don made, and I had broccoli, chicken tenderloins and chicken broth all on hand.

I did something I don’t often do: I winged the recipe myself. No set measurements, although I used a broccoli orzo recipe from Skinnytaste.com as a guide, along with another orzo recipe on My Soup For You as my inspiration.

That said, here is what I did for a fast, mostly one-pot meal that got all thumbs up:

I keep a lot of the Aldi's Fit and Active chicken broth on hand. They also sell vegetable broth.

I keep a lot of the Aldi’s Fit and Active chicken broth on hand. They also sell vegetable broth.

I started out by thawing six tenderloins.  I cut them up into bite sized pieces and sauteed them in a frying pan with a little bit of chicken broth and garlic.

While that was going, I cooked my orzo, about four ounces of it, in chicken broth instead of water. I cooked it according to the package directions, about 7 minutes, and drained out the broth when done.

I took a steam-fresh pack of frozen broccoli florets out of the freezer and put it in the microwave for about 5 minutes.

Quick, easy and delicious. Love that!

Quick, easy and delicious. Love that!

That whole scenario took about 10 minutes total. The longest part of the meal was thawing the chicken beforehand.

Once the orzo, broccoli and chicken were each done, I put them all into the one frying pan that held the chicken, together, and cooked a few minutes, adding more chicken broth, until it was to my liking.

I served the meal in bowls with the option of adding a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese on top, and my fans at the dinner table went wild. They loved it. I’d definitely make it again, but I’d make more. There was not a drop left.

This recipe was fast, easy and good for you! Give it a try and see if you agree!

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Muffins for your Monday Morning

4 Mar
These muffins were a great healthy start to our day, baked by Don last weekend!

These muffins were a great healthy start to our day, baked by Don last weekend!

If there’s one thing I can say about Don, it’s that he’s a team player for sure. He’ll pitch in and do whatever is needed, whenever he can. Last weekend we had a particularly busy morning and I wanted to make muffins for breakfast–we were both craving homemade muffins–but with all the other things I needed to do, I wasn’t going to be able to get it done, so Don said he’d do it.

Don loves to cook, hates to bake. He likes being able to wing it with his cooking, throwing in this or that, and baking is an exact science. You throw the wrong thing in and that’s the end of your recipe.

So the fact that he volunteered to bake muffins for us, was really great. I gave him a basic muffin recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (pg. 60 if you have their New Cook Book) and showed him all the variations he could choose from as long as we had the necessary ingredients.

The option he chose to go with was an oatmeal muffin and he threw in raisins. He’s always loved Oatmeal Raisin cookies, so this option did not surprise me. I love baking with raisins, they’re so sweet  and I devoured these muffins too. Everyone did, some with jelly once they realized the raisins were not chocolate chips, and some without jelly.

This means Don can no longer claim he can’t bake. The secret is out. Next time I’m in a bind, he’s on.

Here’s his recipe, taken from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I’ll give you the basic muffin recipe first, with our modifications, and the oatmeal variation at the end, just the way the cookbook does.

Muffins
Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour  (whatever the recipe, we do half wheat, half white flour)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup milk (we use skim)

1/4 cup cooking oil (we use nonfat yogurt instead of oil)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt. (Salt is not listed in the ingredients though; I don’t know why.)

Make a well in the center.

Combine egg, milk and oil; add all at once to the flour mixture.

Stir just til moistened (batter should be lumpy).

Lightly grease muffin cups or line with paper bake cups; fill 2/3 full.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or til golden. Remove from pans, serve warm.

Makes 10-12 (we got 12).

Oatmeal variation:

Prepare as above except reduce flour to 1 1/3 cups and add 3/4 cups rolled oats to the flour mixture.

Other variations included: Blueberry, Cranberry, Jelly, Date Nut, Cheese, Banana, Pumpkin, and Corn muffins.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Nicoise Salad

27 Feb
This old favorite has made several recent appearances on our menu.

This old favorite has made several recent appearances on our menu.

About 15 years ago when we lived in New Jersey, our friends Max and Jamie introduced us to Nicoise salad (pronounced Knee-Swah). I remember Jamie telling us that it was kind of a “poor man’s meal” in France when she was studying abroad, and that she and her friends ate it often because as students they pretty much fit into that income bracket.

Poor man or not, we loved this salad, and for the longest time we had it often. It reminded me of the Italian Antipasto salad that we have on big holidays because it has a few of the same items on it, but yet it’s very different.

Then, it seemed like we didn’t have it at all for months and months and months. I guess we just kind of forgot about it! I recently remembered it when I came across another version of it somewhere, and we’ve since had it several times.

The thing I like about it as a meal option is that it’s got many components to it, so you can pick and choose what you do or do not like and leave the rest on the platter. I like every part of it, but my kids each have at least one part they don’t like.

And, being that it’s Lent, this makes a great, meatless meal for those who do not eat meat on Fridays.

Traditionally, at least as we know it, the components to the salad are:

Boiled string beans

Hard boiled eggs

Quartered, boiled red skinned potatoes (*see note below)

Black olives

Tuna

There’s a dressing that you toss on the green beans and potatoes before adding the eggs and olives on the top, and then you can add more dressing to the rest as you like.

This time we grilled the tofu on the countertop griddle, but in the past we have used a frying pan.

This time we grilled the tofu on the countertop griddle, but in the past we have used a frying pan.

*Recently however, we have changed out the potatoes and subbed in sauteed tofu. The reason is two-fold: the first is that my kids don’t eat potatoes hardly ever, so this was not a popular item in the salad. I don’t know why, and it still shocks me that they don’t like potatoes hardly at all, especially since I love them. The second reason is that we’ve been doing our very best to stay as far away from carbs as possible, and white potatoes aren’t the greatest for you. On the flip side, they love the tofu. It made me wonder the other day why we didn’t try tofu sooner, since they all love it. (Except Alex. Shocker.)

I’ve found tofu to be like a cameleon, in that it takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with. That makes it very adaptable and very delicious. When you cook it til it’s crispy, it’s like eating homefries, but healthier.

See, I’m all about potatoes.

So anyway, the photo at the top is the salad with tofu instead of potatoes. You can try it out either way, or try it both ways and see which one you prefer! It’s really a very good-for-you type of meal and it’s light, especially with the tofu. On a day when you might have a big lunch somewhere, this is a nice, light dinner.

Dressing

3 to 1: Olive Oil to Balsamic Vinegar (You can increase this to however much you’d like.)

Equal parts honey and Dijon mustard. (We do about a teaspoon of each.)

Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil.

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A Great Friday Snack: Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

22 Feb
The simplest things, like these Mardi Gras masks can provide hours of fun on a week like this one!

The simplest things, like these Mardi Gras masks can provide hours of fun on a week like this one!

Happy Friday everyone!

I hope you all had a great week! We’re finishing off February Vacation week here and it’s flown by, despite the fact that we had no set plans really.

We got to see real, live raptors VERY close up on Wednesday afternoon at the library. Very. Close.Up.

We got to see real, live raptors VERY close up on Wednesday afternoon at the library. Very. Close.Up.

We had a great week it turns out, thanks to the Cranston Public Library. We went there on Wednesday to return our books and realized that there were lots of great programs lined up for this week: a great Raptor program from a local wildlife preserve (Born to be Wild Nature Center in Bradford, RI) and the showing of a movie we had not yet seen, were the two things we took advantage of.

Little things like that give the kids something to look forward to and make the week go by.  And, it gives them the chance to take out new library books. We came home Wednesday with a new slew of books for them to read. Gotta love that too.

Best of all, those activities are all free, from the reading to the raptors to the movie.

Gotta love that even more.

They sounded like rock stars on Tuesday afternoon!

They sounded like rock stars on Tuesday afternoon!

We also had the opportunity to participate in a fun recording session at Reel to Real Recording Studio right here in Cranston. The girls were singing like rock stars for the whole afternoon on Tuesday. If you’ve never been there, it’s great fun so check it out!

We had a great time talking all about our trip and showing lots of photos and memorabilia.

We had a great time talking all about our trip and showing lots of photos and memorabilia.

And finally, we made a visit to Grandma Grello’s assisted living facility, where we got the Mardi Gras masks and matching bead necklaces too, and where Caroline presented her power point presentation about the Kids State Dinner trip.  It was her second such presentation in one week’s time and she did a great job with it, as usual. Reliving that trip is always amazing for us and the audience really enjoyed the presentation. Even better, it sparked some great conversation from the residents about their memories of Washington DC., some dating back to WWII. Living history: a privilege for us to be a part of.

Below is a great Friday recipe for you, taken from the blog, The Girl Who Ate Everything.  We made this on Valentine’s Day but it makes a great after school snack and actually we had leftovers and my kids put it on their homemade waffles this weekend too.

We had barely any of the awesome fruits they have in their recipe below, but we made it work anyway. I used a red apple, a green apple and a green pear and they ate it right up. It’s super colorful, and I always love colorful foods.  I think it’s a plus when you can adapt a recipe to suit what you have on hand and it still comes out great.

So whether you are looking for something for an after school snack or something for vacation week’s end, this is a great choice for you!

This was a great, healthy snack. We used fat free tortillas and sugar free jelly.

This was a great, healthy snack. We used fat free tortillas, fat free cooking spray and sugar free jelly.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients

    • 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
    • 2 Golden Delicious apples – peeled, cored and diced
    • 8 ounces raspberries
    • 1 (16 oz) carton of strawberries, diced
    • 2 tablespoons white sugar (more or less to taste)
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar (more or less to taste)
    • 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I used strawberry)
    • 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
    • melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray
Cinnamon sugar:
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
  2. It didn't matter that we didn't have the exact fruits listed in the recipe. We used what was on hand and it was great!

    It didn’t matter that we didn’t have the exact fruits listed in the recipe. We used what was on hand and it was great!

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray again with cooking spray (not necessary if using melted butter).
  4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. This salsa can also be served with cinnamon graham crackers or cinnamon pita chips. Best when made and eaten the same day otherwise the fruit gives off too much juice and it gets runny.

Notes

Source: Allrecipes

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Cream of Broccoli Soup

20 Feb
This soup is perfect for a cold winter day!

This soup is perfect for a cold winter day!

We have had some pretty chilly days this winter. Some days there’s nothing that hits the spot like a hot bowl of soup, and I’m a huge fan of creamy soups, which is why today’s post is a favorite of mine.

The other reason it’s a favorite is that it brings back memories, and I love recipes that remind me of the past.

This recipe is from my college roommate Karen, from the cookbook she made for me when we graduated.  The thing is, I can distinctly remember a time when we were roommates that I had a terrible sore throat and laryngitis.

Karen made me this soup. I can picture myself sitting at our kitchen table that day, eating her soup. Every time I eat broccoli soup actually, I think of that day.

And a few weeks ago when I made the soup, I thought once again, of that day.

This was the first time I actually made the soup. I’ve never been very brave with soups before, I’ve mostly left them to Don other than a basic chicken soup. But since my friend Paula’s My Soup For You blog has been in existence, I’ve gotten very brave and I’ve since made several soups. In fact, she and I each made a version of a cream of broccoli soup within a day of each other and we didn’t even know it.

As far as my family goes, Caroline and I loved this soup the most. Between the two of us, we enjoyed it over several days’ time, and she liked coming home and having a mug of it after school on cold afternoons.

Here is the recipe for Karen’s Cream of Broccoli Soup. I hope it warms you up on a cold winter’s day!

I used fresh broccoli for my soup.

I used fresh broccoli for my soup.

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP
INGREDIENTS

6 cups chopped broccoli

3 and 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup flour

2 cups skim milk

1 tsp. butter

8 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed (I used fat free cheddar, shredded.)

Although I used a blender for this, it was definitely more of a food processor recipe, and I didn't use ours!

Although I used a blender for this, it was definitely more of a food processor recipe, and I didn’t use ours!

DIRECTIONS

Simmer broccoli in chicken broth until tender.

Remove bulk of broccoli and in blender or food processor, process the broccoli, onion and celery until smooth. Set aside.

Combine milk and flour in a separate container until dissolved.

Slowly add to broth, stirring until it begins to thicken.

Add puree, butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Stir until it begins to simmer.

Add cheese and stir until melted.

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Bonus Post: Continuing the Celebration for Chinese New Year: Alex’s Sunshine Salad

7 Feb
This salad was so delicious and Alexandra was so excited that it was her recipe!

This salad was so delicious and Alexandra was so excited that it was her recipe!

We have the tiniest kitchen, and there are five of us, and every single one of us likes to cook and be in the kitchen. Oftentimes I try to limit it to one daughter at a time helping out in there, just because of space limitations.

This week, Alexandra got her High Five magazine in the mail and immediately looked in the Table of Contents to see this month’s recipe.

“Oooohhh this looks good!!” she said.

Sure enough, the recipe did look good, a recipe for an oriental salad which they called Sunshine Salad. We actually had everything for it, even the Chinese Noodles, which we normally would not have on hand.

So that night, it was Alexandra’s turn in the kitchen. Everyone else, step away.

She wanted to be here today when I typed this, but I said she would be at school so she said to be sure to let everyone know that the salad included a homemade dressing.

That she made.

By herself.

This salad was great, and we’d definitely make it again. Everyone loved the addition of the noodles and the mandarin oranges, which they all love. It was quick and easy to make. I chopped the lettuce up for her, but she put everything else in the bowl and made the dressing.

Our nifty container for the dressing is from The Pampered Chef and we use it for all our homemade dressings. It has a pour spout and a whisk at the bottom, helpful for mixing up those oils and vinegars.

Here is the recipe for Alex’s Sunshine Salad from High Five.

Enjoy!

Ingredients were appropriately placed in Dora, Little People and Strawberry Shortcake bowls for easy management.

Ingredients were appropriately placed in Dora, Little People and Strawberry Shortcake bowls for easy management.

SUNSHINE SALAD
INGREDIENTS

4 cups mixed lettuce greens (we use Romaine)

11 ounce an of mandarin oranges (we opened and drained three little cups of them)

1/4 cup crispy rice noodles

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (I skipped this. All we had were the ones in the shells and I was not going to sit and open up a quarter cup of them one seed at a time, but they would be a great addition to the salad.)

DRESSING

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil (we used olive oil)

A very easy salad to prepare, and very quick too!

A very easy salad to prepare, and very quick too!

DIRECTIONS

Wash and dry lettuce greens.

Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces.

Put the greens, rice noodles, almonds, oranges and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.

Put the brown sugar, rice vinegar and oil into a jar.

Shake or stir to mix the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the salad. Use tongs to gently toss the salad.

So proud! Enjoy your salad and Happy Chinese New Year!

So proud! Enjoy your salad and Happy Chinese New Year!

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