Monthly Archives: February 2012

Ellie Krieger’s Terrific Tuscan Vegetable Soup

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Did any of you see this recipe in the Sunday paper?  It caught my eye!  I especially love the fact that there is spinach in it.  For some reason I’ve been on a spinach craze lately.  This soup is easy to make and tasty too!

Terrific Tuscan Vegetable Soup
from CookSmart by Ellie Krieger

1 15.5 ounce can cannellini or other small white beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt,  plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added, with their juices
2 ounces baby spinach leaves (2 cups lightly packed), chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 5-8 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil.  Add the beans and spinach leaves; cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.  Serve topped with parmesan, if desired.  Yields 6 servings.

Per serving: 143 calories, 20g carbohydrates, 8g protein, 4g fat, 5g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 323mg sodium

This soup was healthy, flavorful, and delicious.  It’s perfect with a hearty piece of whole-grain bread.  We had it with tortellini at my son’s request.  However you choose to serve it, this dish is sure to be satisfying!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Easy Fruit Turnovers

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This recipe is so simple, and it’s one my kids love to help make.  If you have refrigerated pastry dough on hand, feel free to use that.  I always make my pastry from scratch – it’s a foolproof recipe from my mom!

Easy Fruit Turnovers
pastry (see recipe below)
1 apple or pear, chopped into small pieces
strawberry or raspberry jelly (I like Smucker’s natural fruit spread – no high fructose corn syrup!)
powdered sugar, for topping

Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
5-7 tbsp water

Combine flour and salt.  Measure canola oil into measuring glass.  Add water, then immediately pour into flour mixture.  Stir with fork until well combined.

For Turnovers
Roll pastry dough to 1/4-inch thickness into a rough 8×8 square.  Cut dough into 4 equal triangles. Place 1-2 tablespoons jelly in the center of each dough triangle and top with a handful of chopped fruit.  Carefully fold dough over filling to make turnovers; press and seal edges and crimp with fork.  Roll out remaining dough and repeat above steps.

 Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until tops are golden.  Remove from oven; let cool.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
We ended up with 4 BIG turnovers, so you could easily get 8 small ones out of this recipe.  This makes for a quick, easy and fun breakfast.  The good thing is you can’t really mess anything up. This makes it a great recipe for kids!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars

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Here’s a recipe I stumbled across in my quest to send good, healthy snacks with the kids to school.  It is from www.katheats.com.  We’re mean parents and only let them buy their snack at school once a week because well, it’s mostly junk food.  Hence the reason for my quest.  And did I mention I love oatmeal?

Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars

1.5 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I actually omitted the nuts because of food allergies at their school)
1/2 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apples, etc.)
1/4 cup seeds (I used sunflower but you can also use pumpkin, flax, or sesame)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Ingredients I added not in original recipe:
1/4 cup wheat germ
3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients.  Mix wet ingredients.  Pour wet into dry and stir to combine.  Pour into a 9×9 baking dish lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool in pan on wire rack, then remove from pan and cut into 9 or 12 squares, depending on preferred size.

I loved this recipe for its simplicity and ease.  It didn’t take any time to throw the ingredients together and pop the pan in the oven.  They turned out beautifully.  I must confess I would like them better with nuts.  Maybe I’ll make a batch just for me with walnuts because I am addicted to walnuts.  But overall, they were great.  The perfect size for a snack, and very packable. They freeze well, too, which is a plus.
If you’re looking for a new snack idea for your little one(s), I definitely recommend that you give these a try!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Homey Mac ‘n Cheese with a Twist

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My sister sent me this recipe for mac and cheese and I have been dying to try it.  There is a special, secret ingredient…cauliflower!  Tasty and easy to make, it is destined to be a hit at your house!

Homey Mac ‘n Cheese
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon flour
1/4 cup nonfat milk
3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons shredded gruyere cheese
1 clove minced garlic
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
3/4 cup cooked macaroni pasta
1 cup steamed and mashed cauliflower florets
1 tablespoon whole wheat bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together butter and flour.  Stir in milk and cook until slightly thickened.  Add in cheeses, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk together until melted.  Stir in pasta and cauliflower.

Transfer mixture to a small casserole dish or divide evenly among 4 ramekins.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

I tried to plan ahead the day I made this, so I cooked the cauliflower and pasta earlier in the day.  I steamed the cauliflower and then mashed it with a fork.  I was out of macaroni, so I used wagon wheel pasta.  Love these!

All that prep work really helped at dinnertime, because the kids were a little cranky and very hungry!  It was very easy to make, and I really liked how I could just put everything in one pot. I did not have any gruyere cheese, so I substituted cream cheese (3 tablespoons) and that seemed to work just fine.  I also only had plain bread crumbs in my pantry.  My sister even went so far as to use whole wheat pasta, which I think is a fabulous idea.

I decided to make the mac and cheese in individual ramekins because my children always love it whenever I make mini-chicken pot pies in them.  So, that was definitely a hit.  No one could guess that the secret ingredient was cauliflower, not even my husband, who I thought had seen me mashing it up earlier.  My children ate their mini-mac-and-cheeses heartily!
Now, I will readily admit that I am not a huge mac and cheese fan.  Something about all the cheese and pasta together just is not that appealing to me. But I LOVED this mac and cheese! The cauliflower taste is very subtle, but I think what I really liked about it most was the texture. It was absolutely delicious!  Somehow knowing that it was healthful too made it even more so. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Balsamic Roasted Carrots and Brussels Sprouts

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If any of you have been on Pinterest lately, you may have seen this recipe.  I love brussel sprouts and am always looking for new ways to cook them.  I’ve made one of Martha Stewart’s recipes before that involved hazelnuts, and they were out of this world.  I think it was the gorgeous pictures on La Petite Maison Verte that really convinced me to make these, though. That and the fact that it sounded unbelievably easy!

Balsamic Roasted Carrots and Brussels Sprouts
1/2 pound brussels sprouts, stem ends trimmer and sprouts cut in half
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Toss brussels sprouts and sliced carrots with the balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil directly on the baking sheet, making sure each piece is coated in the oil and vinegar.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for 25-30 minutes until sprouts and carrots are golden, flipping the pieces and stirring 2 or 3 times during cooking to ensure even browning so they don’t burn.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Oh my!  These were so good I nearly ate them all before my husband could even try some! Roasting the vegetables gives them a natural, simply delectable sweetness.  I loved the texture of the vegetables; they were not too mushy and were still ever so slightly firm.   This is one recipe I will definitely be keeping in my arsenal!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom
P.S. Did you know that one serving of brussels sprouts has 120% of vitamin C?!?

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Traditional King Cake for Mardi Gras

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Happy Mardi Gras!  Otherwise known as Fat Tuesday.  Anyone having pancakes for dinner tonight?

You can go on the internet and find all kinds of lore on the history and tradition of the King Cake. Here’s a good summary that I found.  This was a really fun cake to make, and it’s a great one for kids to get in on the action too!

King Cake
1 16-oz container sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 packets active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour

Cinnamon Sugar Filling
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Spread butter evenly on rolled-out dough.  Combine cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on dough.

Cream Cheese Filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients together and spread evenly on rolled-out dough.

Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons milk
Mix all ingredients together until desired consistency.  Put glaze in a ziploc bag.  Snip off corner of bag and glaze your cake!

For the cake
Cook first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts.  Set aside, and cool mixture to 100 to 110 degrees.

Stir together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a 1-cup glass measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes.

Beat sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until smooth.  Reduce speed to low, and gradually add enough remaining flour until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).

 Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.

 Cover and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.

(Look at how high my dough rose!)

Punch down dough and divide in half.  Roll each portion into a 22 x 12 inch rectangle.  Spread filling evenly on each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border.  Roll up each dough rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at the long side.  Place one dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bring ends of roll together to form an oval ring, pinching edges together to seal.  Repeat with second dough roll.  Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 375 degrees  for 14 to 16 minutes until golden.  Slightly cool cakes on pans on wire racks (about 10 minutes).

 Drizzle glaze over cakes; sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors and forming bands.  Let cool completely.

WOW.  This was quite an undertaking for an ordinary Saturday, in my opinion.  It was fun, but it was also one of those days where I felt like I never left the kitchen!  So, prepare yourself for that.  Since the dough has two rises, you do have to allow adequate time.   Miracle of all miracles, my dough actually rose A LOT.  It was beautifully soft and smooth!  And my kids had a blast with the sprinkles.

The cake itself was delicious.  I did one cake with the sugar and cinnamon filling and the other with cream cheese filling.  According to my son, the cake tasted like “one big cinnamon roll!” How can you go wrong with that?

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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New Orleans Beignets

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In honor of Mardi Gras, I decided to make some beignets over the weekend.  Of course, anything french is appealing to me, and beignets are basically square doughnuts.  So, I gave these a try and they were scrumptious!  Good for you?  Not really.  But still scrumptious.  And hey, it’s not so bad if you only eat them once a year, right?

New Orleans Beignets
1 package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (11o-115 degrees)
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
4 1/2 cups self-rising flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add the milk, oil, sugar and egg and 2 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).  Do not knead.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Punch dough down.  Turn onto a floured surface; roll into a 16 inch x 12 inch rectangle.  Cut into 2 inch squares.

In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees.  Fry squares, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.  Roll warm beignets in confectioner’s sugar.

Yield: 4 dozen

I just love dough recipes that rise overnight in the refrigerator!  And this one is super easy – it took less than 15 minutes to make the dough.

This is how it looked when I put it in the refrigerator.

And here’s how it was the next morning!  Not much rising going on, as you can see.  Still made a ton of doughnuts though!

It rolled out very nicely!

Look at how cute these little guys are!

Mmm…just waiting to be fried up!

I don’t have a deep fryer or anything like that, so I cooked them in a pan with about an inch or so of canola oil (BAD, I KNOW).

They cooked very fast!  As soon as they were done I sprinkled powdered sugar all over them and they were instantly devoured by my children.  Or should I say inhaled?  (We don’t eat doughnuts much around here.)

Bon appetit!
Muncho Mom

Apple & Honey Whole Wheat Bread

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When I ran across this recipe on the internet, I just knew I had to make it!  It comes from Zoe Singer, a freelance writer and co-author of The Flexitarian Table.  You can find the original recipe here.   Although the directions may seem long, don’t let that keep you from trying it.  This really is a simple recipe, and the end result is so worth it! 

Apple and Honey Whole Wheat Bread
2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil, plus additional for the bowl and pans
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup chopped dried apple

In a small bowl, combine the yeast with 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water and let sit for a few minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, and the salt.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour along with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water and the honey and oil.  Mix with a wooden spoon to combine.  Stir in enough of the remaining all-purpose flour to create a rough dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes.  Knead gently, adding more of the remaining flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is soft and smooth, about 5 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough, turning to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Lightly oil two loaf pans.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide in half.

Set one piece aside and gently stretch the other half into a rectangle (about 8-by-12 inches).
Scatter half the dried apples over the rectangle.

Roll the dough up from the short end like a jelly roll.  Tuck the ends of the roll under and place the dough, seam side down, in an oiled loaf pan.  Repeat with the second piece of dough and remaining dried apples.  Cover the pans and let rise until dough has risen just past the top of the pan, about 30 minutes.

(As you can see, my loaves did not rise above the pans.)

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  When the loaves are ready, bake them for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until loaves sound hollow when tapped, about 35 to 45 more minutes.  Tip the loaves out of the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

(Why does that one loaf look like it has a sad piranha face?)

This bread was so soft and moist, and the dried apples give it a wonderful flavor and texture.  I absolutely loved it.  For the second loaf I added raisins and walnuts in with the dried apples.  Delicious!  I think it would make a wonderful breakfast bread.

My daughter, who I thought might be picky about the fact that apples were in the bread, scarfed down a whole piece.  Then my son – who I really thought would like it – said he wished it was just plain.  What?  This comment from my avid apple eater?  As for me, I will definitely be making it again.  I’ll just have to buy more dried apples.  Because I think I’ve eaten the whole bag.

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Banana Pancakes

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Can you tell I had some ripe bananas to use up this week?

I found this recipe at www.dessertsforbreakfast.com.  It was an easy recipe, and the pancakes were delicious!

Banana Pancakes
1 cup buttermilk
2 extra-ripe bananas
2 eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat flour for half of this amount)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Combine buttermilk and bananas in a bowl.  Mash and whisk until incorporated.  Add eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth.  Batter will be thick.  Lightly butter griddle before cooking pancakes.

Caramelized banana sauce
4-5 extra ripe bananas, cut into slices on the diagonal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
juice from half a lemon
butter, for pan
pecans

In a bowl, lightly combine chopped bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and lemon juice.  Set aside.  Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add bananas and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the liquid has reduced to a thin caramel consistency.  Remove bananas from pan, arrange over pancakes, pour sauce from pan on top, and garnish with pecans.

I made these for breakfast last weekend and my children gobbled them up!  Even my daughter, who normally does not waver from her standby chocolate chip pancakes, ate them heartily.  They were very filling, and we all agreed that the cinnamon flavor was the best we had ever tasted in a pancake.

As for the sauce, I must say I was skeptical.  Lemon juice in a caramelized banana sauce?  But, it must have been there for a reason, because everything tasted wonderful together.  My sauce came out a little thick, but it was still good!

Overall, I give these pancakes a thumbs up.  If you just happen to have bananas laying around, this one is definitely a kid pleaser!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Chocolate-Banana Muffins

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These muffins are quick, easy, and scrumptious.  The recipe was given to us by our childbirth instructor many moons ago.  We took a natural childbirth class for the birth of our first child, and she brought these muffins to our very last class.  When I made some the other day, they were just as good as I remembered them!

The only change I have made to the recipe is substituting whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour.  It definitely makes for a heartier, healthier muffin.

Chocolate-Banana Muffins

¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons buttermilk (I used fat-free)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ripe bananas, mashed

Combine first 6 ingredients and make a well in the center.  Combine bananas with remaining ingredients.  Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Yields 12 muffins.

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom