Yummy Summer Goodness

We had this pie for the first time over Memorial Day Weekend in Chelan. We were celebrating my dad's birthday and strawberry pie is standard. But, this was not the pie that my mom normally makes for his birthday.

{Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie}
from Becky Rands
3 1/2 C chopped strawberries
3 1/2 C chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 C sugar
2 T corn starch
2 T tapioca
dash of salt
2 pie crusts

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix. Stir in strawberries and rhubarb. Let sit for 15 minutes. Pour into pie crust. Place remaining crust on top and slie to vent. Brush crust with milk, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Begin checking after 20 minutes, and place pie ring when edges begin to brown.

This Week's Dinner Menu

Let the summer begin! This week, as we approach the Fourth, we Washingtonians can depend on nice weather. This week truly marks the beginning of summer for us. We thought it appropriate to kick off the summer with a backyard BBQ with friends.

Sunday - Asian Beef Skewers, Tuxedo salad, grilled asparagus, fruit, Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Monday - Baked Ziti with Hearty Meat Sauce (recipe to follow), rolls, salad
Tuesday - Dad's Birthday Enchiladas
Wednesday - Shredded Chicken Burrito Salads
Thursday - "Meal Swap" Night
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Fourth of July menu to come

Father's Day Menu

We had a fun filled day of spoiling the Dad at our house. I let my three-year-old plan the menu. The night before we talked about what to make Dad for breakfast in bed - popcorn, of course. When I asked what we should make for dinner he said, "I don't know." I suggested that we make something that he really likes, because I bet Daddy would like it, too. "Pizza!" he exclaimed.

And, since I am sure that everyone is wondering about how to make their own wonderfully balanced menu with these foods, the recipes are below.

{Dad's Eggs Benedict}
This one is a little different from your traditional Eggs Benedict. But, you can find my instructions here. The last time I made this, my husband said, "Whoever thought to make eggs benedict on bran muffins is a genius."

{Chocolate Frosting}
Recipe from Sheila Campbell
3 sticks of unsalted butter (room temp)
3/4 c cocoa
1 t. vanilla
4 c powdered sugar
4-5 T whipping/heavy cream

Cream the butter. Add the vanilla. Beat in the cocoa. Then add the sugar a little at a time, alternating with the whipping cream so it doesn't get too hard to work with. You might need more cream, depending on how soft your butter was when you started, etc. Anyway, I get to about 2 1/2 c of sugar and do the rest by taste. The nice thing about using cream instead of milk is it never gets too runny if you're a little heavy handed with the liquid, it'll just get more fluffy.

{Love PB&J}
This one isn't too hard, and technically you don't have to put quite as much "love" into yours. You see, the secret is in the homemade jam. (Pick the berries, wash the berries, make the jam - you get the picture, right?) Then, cut out the center with a mini heart-shaped cutter.

{Award-Winning Pizza}
Adapted from Giorgio Giove
1 pizza crust, uncooked
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 ounces mozzarella knots, shredded
6 thin slices pancetta
1 (2-inch) piece zucchini, thinly sliced
2 ounces herbed cream cheese

Place a pizza stone on the floor or the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Roll out your pizza crust. Spread on the heavy cream. Place the pancetta slices on so there is pancetta on each slice of pizza. Place the zucchini slices all around. Drop chunks of cream cheese evenly over the pizza. Finally topp with mozzarella. Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake for 8 minutes.

{Tri-Colore Orzo Salad}
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Finally, my "secret" will be out! Here is exactly how I make this a salad.
1/4 C orzo pasta
1 bag fresh spincah (about 1/3 - 1/2 lb)
3/4 C crumbled feta cheese
1/2 C craisins
12 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1/4 C toasted pine nuts
1/8 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper, plus a pinch more

Cook pasta according to package's al dente instructions. Toast pine nuts, well, until the flavor truly comes out. Place spinach in a bowl top with cooked pasta, pine nuts, feta, craisins, and basil. Mix remaining ingredients together, and shake to combine. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Mmmm!

This Week's Dinner Menu

Sunday - Father's Day Extravaganza! I let my three-year-old plan the menu for Dad today.

Popcorn
Eggs Benedict
Graham Cracker and Chocolate Frosting Sandwiches
"Love" PB&J
Homemade Pizza - Award-Winning and BBQ Chicken
Tri-Colore Orzo Salad

Monday - BBQ Chicken Salad Stackers (No, we don't eat them every week, but I keep forgetting to defrost the puff pastry.)
Tuesday - Orecchiette with Broccoloi Rabe Pesto
Wednesday - My Birthday! Perhaps, I'll just eat all my favorite foods.
Thursday - Baked Chicken Taquitos (I will be missing my "Meal Swap" friend.)
Friday - Tuxedo Salad
Saturday - Leftovers - no fun on a Saturday, but we'll see where the week takes us!

This Week's Dinner Menu

Okay, I just looked bak at last week's menu and we were really bad this week. So, there will be A LOT of make-up this week. Sorry!

Sunday - Grilling with friends - Salmon, BBQ Chicken, Tri Colore Orzo Salad, Sweet Potatoe Fries
Monday - Crockpot Green Chili Chicken with Blue Corn Tortilla Crumbles (I will probably add some toppings - black beans, corn, tomatoes, green onions, olives, etc.)
Tuesday - Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce with Fresh Pasta, asparagus, rolls
Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Salad Stackers
Thursday - "Meal Swap" Night
Friday - Work BBQ for the family, yeah!
Saturday - Homemade Pizza, salad

Baked Chicken Taquitos with Dipping Sauce

Let me preface this post with the fact that my husband does not like CORN TORTILLAS. I know, the man is crazy. But, never the less, I keep trying and this time I found success. We had Baked Chicken Taquitos this week. The recipe is originally from Our Best Bites by way of My Kitchen Cafe, and "adapted" by me.

I served the taquitos with two dipping sauces - Chipotle Ranch and Avocado Cream.

{Chipotle Ranch}Mix on packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing as instructed. Add in 1/2 - 1 1/2 tsp minced Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce.

{Avocado Cream}Mix 1 avocado with a few tablespoons of sourcream and a splash of lemon or lime juice. Season with salt & pepper to taste. It's like a lightened guacamole!

What's In This?

Yes, I am not a mother who is above tricking my children into eating vegetables. I was meaning to post something else tonight, but I found this picture "from the past" and decided to post about it instead.
Sometimes, when you find yourself or your children in a food rut, you just have to take matters into your own hands. So, that's mac n' cheese with butternut squash puree, zucchini bread with cream cheese (the batch pitured also had shredded carrots, as I recall), and "ants on a log" (celery, peanuts butter, and ANTS!).

My Pizza Crust Recipe

{Basic Pizza Dough}
(Half Recipe)
3 C hot tap water
2 T honey
3 C whole wheat flour
Mix to a paste, and add:
1 T SAF instant yeast
1 T real salt
Add flour 1 C at a time, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead for 5 minutes - all white flour
8 minutes - half/half
10 minutes - all wheat flour
During the last 2 minutes of kneading, add:
1 T dough enhancer

Preheat a pizza stone to 500 degrees. Roll crust to desired shape and size. Add favorite toppings. Bake for 7-8 minutes on stone. (Without a stone, it will take longer for the dough to bake through, probably 12-14 minutes.)

***This recipe makes 3-4 full size pizza crusts. I like my pizza crust thinner, so I cut the yeast about in half. Also, I normally cut the "half recipe" in half for my family, divide it in half and get 2 pizzas.

The Baby Eats a Vegetable, Again!

Okay, calling this a vegetable may be a little bit of a stretch, but he ate it and technically there was a vegetable in it. I finished this bread on Monday afternoon. The kids both had a slice for breakfast today. The baby was loving it. The toddler and I had this conversation.

Mom: Do you like it?
Toddler: Mmmm. It is good.
3 minutes pass
Toddler: Uh, Mom, what are these green things?
Mom: Just part of the bread.

I had a Church dinner tonight for Home, Family and Personal Enrichment. And, upon returning home, I was informed that the baby ate two slices of zucchini bread for dinner. Apparently, my husband was so overjoyed that he a something green, he thought that sufficed as healthy.

{Zucchini Bread}
Adapted from Stephanie's Kitchen
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar

Mix together in a bowl until well combined, and create a well.

1 large egg
1 T water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 teaspoon grated lime peel

Mix together well. Add to dry ingredients, and stir to combine. This will take a little work. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

This Week's Dinner Menu

Sunday - BBQ with my cousins, I'm taking a vegetable tray with Dill Cottage Cheese dip
Monday - BBQ Chicken Salad Stackers (These have become a favorite of ours!)
Tuesday - Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce with Fresh pasta, asparagus and rolls
Wednesday - Baked Chicken Taquitos, rice, beans, salad (?)
Thrusday - "Meal Swap" Night
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Homemade Pizza (who knows what kind - we'll see where the week takes us)

SuperNoots for Super Eaters

We tried it and it is great! We have been using the SuperNoots chart for about 1 month now. My three year old is not a very big eater, but it seemed like everything was "sprinkled with sugar." If you know what I mean. I had limited fruit snacks to one package per day, but how do you explain that you are not "required" to eat that one package.

When SuperNoots arrived, we unpacked it together. I really talked it up, saying how fun it would be to make a list for shopping and move his magnets with each food he ate. And, you know what it worked. When he ask for a snack, I can say, "What would be a healthy choice?" and he will check his board to see what he still needs for the day.

The best part about it, other than limiting to one "treat" per day, is that I discovered many more fruits and vegetables that my three year old is willing to eat. We definitely have our favorite things to eat, but we are woeking some variety in as well. And, SuperNoots is helping me build a foundation of understanding the different food groups and eating a balanced diet even though my kids are little. I can't wait to get the "How 'Bout Me" Pack for the next little one and start him on a path to healthy eating as well!

Try it yourself, I promise you'll like it!