March 18, 2015
by Ashley
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Cuban Pork & Black Beans

I love my slow cooker. I know it isn’t the best way to cook things, but it is really convenient. I found this recipe in my Cooking Light last year, and have made it several times. The kids seem to really enjoy it as well, which is a bonus. I leave out the spicy component so they will eat it and Paul & I spice ours after it is cooked. I usually make this exactly as is seen here, but this time I took some shortcuts to make things go a little quicker. Both are delicious and easy.

Cuban Pork & Beans

4 lb pork shoulder, trimmed off fat
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup orange juice, from concentrate
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (stems & leaves)
1 medium orange, quartered
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 pound dried black beans
1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1/2 cup onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat up a large saute pan on high with high sides. Cook the chopped bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve. Swirl the bacon fat and add in trimmed pork shoulder to brown on every side. This should take about 6 – 8 minutes.

While the meat is browning, add chicken broth, orange juice, cilantro, orange and 3/4 tsp salt & 3/4 tsp pepper to a blender and blend well. Pour liquid through a sieve and throw away the solids. Reserve the liquid.

Once meat is done browning, add into the slow cooker. Pour dried black beans around meat (you don’t need to soak or precook the beans). Check to make sure the black beans don’t have any rocks or pebbles in them. I tend to find one per bag.

Saute chopped onions and garlic for 1 minutes in the saute pan that pork shoulder was removed from. Add in oregano, paprika, cumin and bay leaf and let cook for 1 minute. Pour in the reserved orange juice mixture and bring to a boil. Pour over pork shoulder and cover. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with chop tomatoes, onions and cilantro. I leave these in separate serving dishes so they can be sprinkled on the top according to taste. Serve with white basmati rice.

March 17, 2015
by Ashley
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patricks Day is a holiday I really don’t know much about. Isla had a celebration in her school yesterday…or more like tricky little leprechauns visited her classroom and left it a complete mess. They turned the toilet water green, left little foot prints all over the class, turned the rice in the sencory table green, hung toilet paper from everywhere. They also dumped some toy bins all over the floor. For fun, the kids were asked to bring in a leprechaun catcher to see if they can catch one during the days celebrations.

We used a shoe box and a lot of glitter glue. Instead of just throwing the box away, I decided to leave it out last night to see if we could catch tricky little leprechauns at home too.

It didn’t work, but the leprechans did seem to find all of the green necklaces in the house. All of the green legos were built into a green rainbow (although Finnegan thought that it looked like a leprechans pants) and our crepes were turned green.

All in good fun! Isla was a little hesitant about eating the crepes, but finally tried them. Finnegan told me that he knows it was me that did everything. I just smiled and said “Isn’t this fun?” He decided it was fun, and went along with it.

Have a great St. Patricks Day! Is there anything special you do or have done when you were a kid?

March 16, 2015
by Ashley
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Homemade Yogurt

Homemade yogurt is something we started to do in 2009. I actually bought this yogurt maker for Paul as a Christmas gift, and I don’t think he has touched it. But I sure have made a lot of yogurt for us!

Above I have cleaned and sanitized the jars. This is an easy and necessary step to get a good, clean yogurt.

This is not our own recipe, but this is how we make our yogurt.

Homemade Yogurt

42oz 2% milk
1 tbsp store bought yogurt

Pour the milk into a sauce pan and heat up until bubbling on the sides, right before it boils. It should be 180°F if you check the temperature. Let the milk sit until it comes down to 100°F – 110°F. Whisk in 1 tbsp store bought yogurt. I like LaYogurt lowfat plain yogurt and it seems to work well for me. Once whisked well, pour into a container that has a spout for easy pouring. I like the plastic mixing bowl seen above. Pour the yogurt mixture into cleaned yogurt jars and cover with the top. Let sit in machine for 9 – 12 hours. I make mine over night a lot of times. Put plastic tops on them and put into the fridge for at least 3 hours to cool before eating.

Great will some jams or jellies. Also wonderful with some honey drizzled over the top.

If you like greek yogurt, you can easily do this with this yogurt as well.

March 15, 2015
by Ashley
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Lemon Curd & Blueberry Tart

I recently received my monthly Cooking Light…which I really love. I was quickly skimming through it and found this tart crust. I was planning on making a pie today, as today is Pi – 03.14.15. I thought this sounded like a great alternative to the regular crust that I usually make.

So I made the tart crust, a Quinoa Almond Crust and filled it with my own creation. My lemon curd and a blueberry topping. It ended up being pretty good, and interesting all at the same time. The crust is crunchy and the filling was delicious.

Toasting quinoa & almonds lightly.

Crust pressed into spring pan.

Baked crust, cooling.

After cooling in the fridge

Blueberry & Lemon Curd Tart with Quinoa-Almond Crust

Crust
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup almonds
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg

Lemon Curd
See other post for recipe

Blueberry Topping
2 cups frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 lemon, zest & juice
2 tsp corn starch

Preheat oven to 350°F. For the crust, put quinoa and whole almonds in a large pan and toast on the stove, about 10 minutes. Pour into a food processor and let cool a couple of minutes. Process for 2 minutes, until flour like. There will still be whole quinoa throughout. Add in the brown sugar and salt and process. Add in egg and process 4 times to create a wet clump. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch removeable tart pan. I had to use a removeable cake pan, which worked as well. Lightly coat with baking spray with flour. Press the crust into the bottom of the pan and up the sides a little. Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan.

Pour on one jar of lemon curd and spread evenly over the cooled crust.

In a small sauce pan, add in the blueberries, zest and juice of lemon. Bring to a simmer. Add in the sugar and cornstarch and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened. Lightly spoon blueberry topping over lemon curd. Refridgerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

We didn’t have any whipped cream, so I used homemade greek yogurt mixed with a little powdered sugar.

March 14, 2015
by Ashley
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Kale Chips

Many, many years ago we signed up to get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with my brother and sister-in-law. We would get all kinds of interesting vegetables. Some of them we had never come across before and had no clue what to do with them. We didn’t receive any information with the baskets at all. So when we got a leafy green in the basket and had no clue what to do with it, we turned to the internet to look up pictures of all leafy greens to find a match. Well, we found it. It was kale.

I now see kale everywhere! Not only do I see kale everywhere, but we eat it quite often. But since I wasn’t brought up eating it and didn’t have a clue what to do with it that first time, we had to find a recipe that would work. I tried making it like spinach, and was a little put off by the texture (I am a texture person). Then with the next basket of veggies, I tried this recipe and was very pleased with the results.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale
granulated garlic or freshly pressed garlic
olive oil
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash the kale really well and roughly chop it up. Put it on a baking sheet and dry it with a paper towel. Drizzle the kale with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with garlic & salt. Bake for 15 minutes. Check every 5 minutes or so to toss the leaves so they crisp evenly but don’t let them burn.

We haven’t gotten the kids to love this as much as us, but they will come around.

March 13, 2015
by Ashley
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Oatmeal Cakes

I am a texture person. There are certain foods that just get me. Sometimes just looking at something makes me cringe a little. Jello is definately one of those things as well as oatmeal. That is why I shy away from regular oatmeal. For some reason the squishiness is too much. So when I saw a recipe for baked oatmeal, I thought I would try it one morning to see if I could handle the texture. It came out cake-like and I loved it. So I started to make larger amounts for my kids and it has brought me to this recipe. I serve it for breakfast, a snack, or even a dessert…anything that it needs to be. The kids love them! I have tried variations but unfortunately, I can’t play with the recipe much because the kids won’t eat it if there are raisins or blueberries or anything else in them. But I encourage any tweeking of this recipe. Let me know how it goes!

Oatmeal Cakes

3 1/2 cups applesauce
4 cups oatmeal
2 tbsp butter
pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup ground flax seed

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix everything together. Prepare muffin tins with cooking spray. Use 1/4 cup to fill each muffin. Makes about 18 – 20 oatmeal cakes. Place muffin tins in oven for 25 – 30 minutes.

These freeze well and heat up quickly in the microwave on busy mornings.

March 12, 2015
by Ashley
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Lunch Boxes

I have recently found myself searching all over pinterest for the perfect lunches. I try to get ideas from all over the place, and have decided to share some of the lunches not only Finnegan takes for lunch, but ones I pack for Isla and myself when we go on picnics. Picnics are really popular with the kids right now, even if it means eating it at your cousins house….we consider it a rocking, good time!

Broccoli & Pea Bread balls with spaghetti sauce for dipping, cucumber slices, blueberries and a strawberry, carrot sticks and gummies.

Left over pea pizza with spaghetti dipping sauce, two pieces sliced ham, gummies, grapes, peppers & mushroom

Cheese quesadilla, refried beans, salsa, grapes, carrots, cucumbers with two chocolates for dessert

Car picnic –
Pink – apple sauce, cucumbers, fruit bites, prune bars, penguin cheese crackers, string cheese & beef sticks
Blue – half banana, cucumer, fruit bites, penguin cheese crackers, prunes, string cheese, salami

Banana bread balls, grapes, strawberry, kisses, cucumber and cooked broccoli

Banana bread balls, heart marshmallow, grapes, carrots, sweet peas, string cheese and fruit bites

Cheese stick, meat stick, prune bars, oranges & blueberries, carrots & crackers

Carrot sticks, blueberries, veggie stick chips, fruit leather cutup (in container), string cheese, Carrot & Zucchini Balls

March 11, 2015
by Ashley
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Vegetable Stir Fry

Sometimes we are just in the mood for vegetables. My kids do a pretty good job eating vegetables, but sometimes I just feel we need more. So I usually make a version of this recipe (depending on the vegetables we have on hand) and give them their favorite chopsticks to eat dinner with. They have fun eating their vegetables and I love that they are eating.

We received the “boy” chopsticks as a gift for Finnegan from some of our friends. Isla, of course, needed some as well. She got her “girl” chopsticks in her stocking last year. They have so much fun trying to use these.

Chopping up all of the vegetables in the house for a stirfry. Paul & I made Ma Po Tofu for dinner as well, but I don’t feel the recipe is worth sharing yet until we perfect it. This, however, is delicious.

Vegetable StirFry

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup vegetable (or chicken) broth
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dark sesame oil
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 zucchini, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small bites
1/2 large onion, sliced
4 small sweet peppers, slicd
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
2/3 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half
1 cup canned corn (optional)

Whisk cornstarch, broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and dark sesame oil together. Drizzle a little vegetable oil on the bottom of a large saute pan with high sides. Heat up pan on medium-high heat and add in the vegetables. Let cook for 3-5 minutes just to saute a little and then add in the liquid. Cover the pan and bring the heat down to low and let cook for 10 minutes or until veggies are cooked and sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

Based off of a recipe found on myrecipes.com

March 10, 2015
by Ashley
Comments Off on Making Pizza Dough

Making Pizza Dough

Needless to say, everyone loves pizza. We especially love homemade pizza. It is hard for us to actually go out for pizza anymore, since we can make it so easily at home. It just takes a little prep work when you have time, in order to have the crusts ready to go. I make my crusts ahead of time and freeze them, so dinner is quick and fairly easy.

I found this recipe 5 years ago here. I double the recipe each time I make it so I have enough for two meals and some lunches. The recipe says it only makes two pizzas, but I usually get four pizza crusts per batch. I like the thinner crusts and how the crisp up nicely on the pizza stone.

Brick Oven Brooklyn Pizza Dough

1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
1 cup cold water
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour

Warm up water and sprinkle yeast over it. Let the yeast proof for 5 minutes. Put 3 cups bread flour and salt in large bowl. Pour in cold water and yeast mixture into flour and mix. I use a stand mixer with a hook attachment and let it knead for about 5 – 8 minutes. If you do this without a mixer, mix until dough comes together, and turn out to a floured surface then knead with your hands for 10 minutes until it feels smooth. Cut dough into four even pieces and make each piece into a ball. Put the dough into a large container greased with olive oil, and also pour a little oil on each ball. Cover dough with a lid or plastic wrap and put into the fridge overnight. I use a large plastic container because I usually double the recipe.

When you have time the next day, wrap each dough ball in syran wrap and put into a plastic bag. Freeze until you are ready to use them. If you aren’t freezing, leave out 1 hour before you intend to roll out the pizza. If you froze the dough, bring out of the freezer the morning you want to use them. If you forgot to defrost the dough, you can use your microwave on defrost. Just keep checking the dough to make sure you aren’t cooking it.

To make pizza:
Preheat over to 500°F. Put all oven racks as high up in the oven as possible. Put your pizza stone on the bottom of your oven. If you can’t put your pizza stone on the bottom, put it on a rack as low to the bottom as possible.

Flour your work surface and dough. I usually use the counter. Roll out dough with a rolling pin to desired thickness. I pull and stretch the dough as well. Place on a pizza peel or similar pan and top with your favorite toppings.

The possiblities are endless. I will post our creations as time goes on.

Each crust, before toppings have been put on, are 9 points per pizza.

March 10, 2015
by Ashley
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Maple Scones

We love scones. I used to think of scones as an English breakfast or something you grab from a coffee shop. I decided to make them for a party I was hosting and they became a quick favorite. Usually I make these on a weekend so we can enjoy them warm out of the oven. Then we can eat the leftovers all week for those busy mornings that I don’t have time to make anything. The kids really love these with my homemade jams and I love these with lemon curd.
The Grade B maple syrup is a new addition to these scones. I find that it really gives the scones a nice maple taste.

Maple Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold butter
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp Grade B maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix together dry ingredients. Add to it the cold butter sliced thinly. Use a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.

The butter should be pea sized with finished. Mix together the milk and syrup. Pour over flour mixture and mix together. If dry, add a little more milk. Place on silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Use a biscuit cutter to get even biscuit shapes, or cut triangle shapes. Work quickly so butter doesn’t melt. Bake in preheated oven for 16 minutes.

These do freeze well and can be taken out and warmed up quickly in the oven or microwave.

Based off of a recipe on myrecipes.com

6 smartpoints per scone