August 13, 2010 · 4:35 pm

Lunch Box Ideas

Okay, I know this isn’t technically a recipe, but I am posting it anyways. My oldest asked for more variety in his sack lunches this year. So, I created this list of choices. The kids choose one from each category and then they can help put it together.

Main Course
PB and J
Macaroni and Cheese
Meatball Marinara
Hard Boiled Eggs
Turkey and Cheese Sandwich
PB and Honey
Chicken Nuggets
Cheddar and apple slice sandwich
PB and apple slice sandwich
Cheddar and apple quesadilla
Pasta with Marinara
Bean and Cheese Burrito
Soup/Stew/Chili
Tuna Salad/Chicken Salad with Crackers
Hummus with Pita Chips
Leftovers from the night before
Peanut butter sandwiches using Ritz or Ritz-like crackers

Fruit/Veggies
Apple Slices
Applesauce
Strawberries
Blueberries
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Grapes
Raisins
Pineapple
Mandarin Oranges
Snap peas

Dairy
Yogurt
Cheese Stick
Babybel Cheese
Cottage Cheese

Crackers/ Chips
Pretzels
Popcorn
Chips and Salsa

Dessert
Cereal Bar
Z-Bar
Cookie
Nutella with Graham Crackers
Graham Crackers
Trail Mix-cereal, raisins, chocolate chips
Banana/Pumpkin/Zucchini Bread
Chocolate Chips
GORP
Muffin

Drink
Milk
Water
Juice

Any other ideas are MORE than welcome! 🙂

24 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

August 10, 2010 · 10:08 pm

Cheesy Potato and Rosemary Scones

Sweet or savory…I love scones!

Ingredients:
2 cup flour
1 1/2 c. mashed potatoes
2 T chopped rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 T butter, melted
Parchment paper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, rosemary, garlic and 1/2 cheese.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Mix together egg and milk in a separate bowl and then pour into the well. Mix well. Add potatoes. Mix again.

Transfer dough to a floured board and knead (just a little) with floured hands. Flatten dough to about 1.5 cm in height and cut into about 8 triangles.

Transfer triangles to prepared baking pan, being sure to spread triangles out a bit. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm.

We had these with a simple summer salad of chicken, greens and heirloom tomatoes and some blueberries.

Did I change anything? I didn’t add the rosemary into the batter, I just sprinkled it on top of a couple of the scones since I wasn’t sure if everyone would like the rosemary or not. Then I added the cheese on top of that. I didn’t brush the tops with melted butter, but I wish I would have and that’s why I added it to the recipe.

What did the family think? Hubby liked them, our oldest LOVED them (as I knew he would) and I thought they were just okay. I am going to make these again and add the butter; I think it will make a world of difference.

from Sunita’s World

Leave a Comment

Filed under Bread, Definitely Making it Again, Vegetarian

August 9, 2010 · 10:05 pm

Broiled Broccoli

Super easy way to get some greens…

Ingredients:
3 cups broccoli, cut into small pieces
2 T olive oil
1 T water
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Toss the broccoli with olive oil, water and garlic.

Roast 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until somewhat browned.

Remove from oven and toss with salt.

We had this dish with Chili-Rubbed Salmon, grapes and bread and butter.

Did I change anything? I added the garlic.

What did the family think? Hubby and I liked it, our oldest was so-so on it and our youngest probably didn’t even touch it.

from Real Simple

1 Comment

Filed under Chicken, Salad, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less

· 9:57 pm

Chili-Rubbed Salmon

SO easy!!!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 T chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. salmon fillet
1 T olive oil

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the chili powder, oregano and salt. Pat the spices on the meat.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook about 8 minutes per side or until cooked through.

We had this with Broiled Broccoli, grapes and bread and butter.

What did the family think? Hubby and I both liked it. Hubby thought it would have been better with some sort of dipping sauce though. Aioli, maybe?

from Real Simple

1 Comment

Filed under Easy, Fish, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less

August 8, 2010 · 11:32 pm

Nutella Brownies

You WILL eat more than one! 🙂

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 tspn. vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/8 tspn. salt
1/2 tspn. baking powder
1 cup Nutella
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter on low heat, add in sugar and vanilla while stirring to combine. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well to combine after you add each egg.

Add the flour mixture in, a little bit at a time, to the egg mixture until completely mixed together.

Heat the Nutella in the microwave for a little while until it gets to a runny consistency. Add the Nutella to the batter and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and add to combine.

Pour into a square baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely
before cutting.

Did I change anything? One way you can change this recipe up a little bit is to use 1/2 cup of Nutella and 1/2 cup peanut butter instead of 1 cup of Nutella. I used about 2/3 cup Nutella and 1/3 cup peanut butter.

What did the family think? They are still in the oven, but I am sure they aren’t going to be complaining. 🙂

from Noble Pig

Leave a Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Everybody Ate It

August 6, 2010 · 10:26 pm

Fresh Lime Soda

I used to make this ALL the time when we lived in Arizona…perfect for a hot summer day.

Mix in a pitcher:
3/4 cup squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes)
3/4 cup honey syrup* (more of less to taste)
4 cups club soda or sparking mineral water

Serve chilled or over ice.

*To help honey mix with cold drinks, make the honey syrup by mixing:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup boiling water

Stir until honey liquifies.

Did I change anything? This is a great recipe if you want to make some just for yourself or if you have a lot of people to serve; the recipe can easily be doubled or cut in half. Also, I have never made the honey syrup. I just make the drink at room temperature, add the honey and taste as I go along until I like the sweetness and then add the ice.

What does the family think? I have never made it for them. It’s a “me” drink. 🙂

from Simply Vegetarian

Leave a Comment

Filed under Beverages, Definitely Making it Again, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

August 5, 2010 · 11:18 pm

Apricot Chicken

It’s apricot season!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. fresh apricots, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup sugar
2 T cider vinegar
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt
4 T olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 T chopped, fresh rosemary
1 tspn. cinnamon
2 tspn. Tabasco or other hot sauce

Instructions:
Place the chopped apricots in a bowl. Stir in the sugar and the vinegar. Let sit while the chicken cooks.

In a large and deep saute pan, heat 2 T olive oil over medium-high heat. Place chicken in pan…as it is cooking, sprinkle with salt. When the chicken is cooked through, remove from heat and place in a bowl. Set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute the onion. Once the onions have browned, add the chicken broth to the pan and turn the heat down to medium.

Put about 2/3 of the apricots in a blender along with about 1/4 cup water and blend. Pour blended apricots into the pan with the broth.

Add the cinnamon, rosemary and Tabasco. Bring to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.

Put the chicken and remaining apricots in the pan and simmer for ten minutes.

Serve over rice.

Did I change anything? I didn’t change anything, but if I made this again, I would leave out the onions and the rosemary, especially the rosemary. It just didn’t go with the apricots at all. I did not add Tabasco since I didn’t have any, so I added crushed red chili peppers instead.

What did the family think? Hubby ate it, but would probably be really happy if I didn’t make it again. Our oldest liked the chicken, but not the apricots and our youngest…well, you know the story on that one. It wasn’t my favorite dish either, but I think if you take out the rosemary and the onion it would be much better. I don’t usually add recipes to MommaCooks that no one likes, but I think this one has promise.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Chicken

· 2:25 pm

Frozen Lemonade Pie

A great dessert for a hot summer day…

Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
7 T unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
2 cups heavy cream
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
6 oz. can frozen lemonade OR limeade concentrate (do not thaw)

Topping:
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
2 tbspn. sugar
1 tbspn. fresh lemon juice

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs (you can either buy the crumbs or just put whole graham crackers in the food processor), the sugar and the melted butter. Press firmly and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake for seven minutes. Let cool for about 15-20 minutes and then sick in the freezer to really cool it off.

Make the filling: In a cold large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, stir together the condensed milk and the concentrate. Gently fold the lemonade mixture into the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the crust and freeze overnight.

Make the topping: About an hour before you serve the pie, toss the berries in a medium bowl with the sugar and the lemon juice. Set aside until ready to serve.

Set the pie out for about 10 minutes at room temperature before serving. Top each slice with berries.

Did I change anything? I didn’t make the berry part of the recipe because I knew that it would take us several days to get the whole pie eaten. Also, I used the lemon concentrate, not the lime although I think the lime would taste fantastic. Lastly, when I make this again next time, I am going to use a little less whipped cream and more concentrate.

What did the family think? I really like it and I think I would love it with the berries. The boys also love it. We even had a guest taster, my friend Christie, who gave it a thumbs up as well.


from Food Network

Leave a Comment

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Make Ahead of Time

August 2, 2010 · 10:17 pm

Nutella, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

They are cookies with Nutella in them…GENIUS!!!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup Nutella or other chocolate spread
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 – 1 cup rolled oats
1/2 – 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, Nutella, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

What did the family think? Cookies don’t last long around here and these were no exception.

Recipe from my good friend, Dana

Leave a Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Desserts, Everybody Ate It, Uncategorized

· 10:08 pm

Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce

I love pasta sauces that are both tomatoey and creamy at the same time, so I thought I would give this one a try…

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 lb. spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup whipping cream
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 T dried sage
3/4 lb. fettuccine
1/2 grated parmesan

Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until they begin to soften. Add sausage, breaking it up into smaller bits, until cooked through. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes Add tomatoes with juice and sage. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Return pasta to pot and add tomato sauce. Toss over medium heat until the sauce covers the pasta. Add reserved liquid a little bit at a time if mixture seems dry. Add salt and pepper to taste. Tranfer to bowl, sprinkle with parmesan and serve.

What did the family think? Hubby really liked it. The kids liked it too. I was so-so on it. I wanted the sauce to be thicker or creamier or something and it just didn’t happen.

from Simply Recipes

Leave a Comment

Filed under Everybody Ate It, Italian