Garden Recipes

With all the things we've been harvesting from the garden, I've been researching new recipes to try and use them up. I didn't have to look much further than the Food Network website.

First, I made this delicious Sausage-Cauliflower Spaghetti. I had made this once before, but this time I got to use my very own homegrown cauliflower so it was even better. This is a kid friendly dish in my house because the kids love spaghetti and sausage so I'm only throwing in one ingredient they might not love. I just cut the cauliflower nice and tiny and hope some ends up in their mouth. D has recently decided that he does like cauliflower but I'm still working on Cali.

My next challenge was to figure out what to do with my surplus of radishes, especially since the one person who eats the most radishes had been out of town. I really don't like them much at all, but I do like growing them because they are so easy! Plus I found some really pretty mixed color ones (pictured here). The kids eat some radishes, but still we had a surplus. I thought it would be fun to try these Quick Pickled Radishes by Bobby Flay.

Here is my version of his recipe, his called for an entire quart of vinegar & 4 bunches of radishes... I didn't want that many pickled radishes.

Pickled Radishes

3/4 cup salad vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp pickling spice
1 clove smashed garlic per jar
Sliced red onion (optional)

Clean radishes and cut to desired size. Combine ingredients of pickling liquid in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Arrange radishes, garlic and onion in jars. Pour boiling liquid over radishes and put on lids. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.*

*This is what I did, but as I re-read the recipe I see that Bobby says to pour off the liquid and serve when it is cooled. Maybe that is why mine were SO powerful by dinnertime. Funny enough, I made everyone else try them first (since I don't even like radishes) and they said "Whoa these are strong!" Well I happen to LOVE vinegar so I actually did like them! Also, the original recipe called for Champagne vinegar which I didn't find, maybe it isn't as strong as what I used.

Finally, I found a delicious new use for cabbage! I do like coleslaw, but figured by the time I bought carrots and purple cabbage to mix with my own cabbage that would defeat the purpose of using what I have available. I found a recipe for Grilled Cabbage in a Taste of Home magazine.

Here is my version...

Grilled Cabbage

2 small cabbages, washed and cut into wedges
5 strips center cut bacon
1 tbsp butter, softened
Sliced red onion, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Start cooking bacon and preheat grill. As bacon cooks, arrange cabbage wedges and sliced onion on a large sheet of foil, spread with butter, sprinkle with pepper to taste. When bacon is done place on top of cabbage and drizzle bacon grease on top. Wrap tightly in foil and place on the grill. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

Dave and I really enjoyed this recipe and ate a great big helping of it. I left out the salt and reduced the butter since I added bacon. The kids nibbled the bacon but said they didn't like "cooked lettuce." Cali said she would eat cabbage if I didn't cook it next time.

Make Wonton Chips

You Will Need:

wonton wrappers (found in produce section)
various cooking oils
spices/seasoning mixes
cookie cutters
pastry brushes

We used the following combos of flavors:

• olive oil and garlic bread seasoning
• meyer lemon oil and parsley
• canola oil and Ranch dressing powder
• canola oil and cinnamon with a pinch of sugar

1. Cut individual wontons with cookies cutters, to your heart's desire. You may want to cut scraps into simple shapes also.
2. Combine small amounts of cooking oil and seasoning in a shallow bowl and use pastry brush to coat one side of each "chip".


3. Arrange "chips" on a baking sheet and bake at 400*F for 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy!



We had a lot of fun with the process, but the chips themselves were just "ok".... the kids wanted to eat them when they were fresh out of the oven but the novelty wore off by the time I had the kicthen all cleaned up. I would recommend this as a great sit-down activity and not for the quality of the end product.

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

I made this special treat for my friend Vanessa's birthday.

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

1 box fudge brownie mix (regular size)
1/2 pkg peanut butter chips
1 pkg (13 oz) miniature peanut butter cups
2 cups cold milk
1 pkg (5.1) oz instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

Bake brownies according to package and stir in the peanut butter chips. Bake at 350* until done (consult the box for times). Cool completely and cut into small cubes.

Cut peanut butter cups in quarters and set aside a handful for garnish.

In a large bowl whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set. Add peanut butter and vanilla, mixing well. Fold in half of the whipped topping.

In a trifle bowl, layer 1/3 of the brownies, 1/3 of the peanut butter cups then top with 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat until you end with pudding mixture on top. Spread remaining whipped topping on top and sprinkle with extra peanut butter cups for garnish. Refrigerate until chilled. Enjoy!

14 of 52 & Island Vacation Mix

A multi-tasking post for you today... my weekly photo plus a recipe all in one!


Island Vacation Mix
disclaimer: this is more of a "treat" than a healthy snack

2-1/2 cups Corn Chex
2-1/2 cups Rice Chex
2 cups macadamia nuts
1/4 cup butter, cubed
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 6oz pkg dried pineapple, chopped
1 cup white chocolate chips

FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY (I didn't!)
In large microwave safe bowl, combine cereal and nuts ONLY. In small microwave safe bowl combine sugar and butter, microwave uncovered until melted and sugar dissolves (1-2 minutes on HIGH). Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir to coat. Cook cereal mixture on HIGH for 2 minutes, stirring once. Now add the coconut, microwave on HIGH for 2 more minutes, stirring once. Spread onto waxed paper to cool. Once it is completely cool you can stir in the pineapple and white chips. Store in an airtight container.

Strawberry Spider Treats

You will need...

Fresh Strawberries
Pretzel Sticks
Chocolate, melted

Wash strawberries, dry thoroughly, remove tops and cut each berry in half. Have your assistant arrange pretzel sticks in groups of 4 on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Dip the flat cut side of a strawberry in melted chocolate and set on top of pretzel sticks, centered so you now have 8 legs (4 sticking out on each side). Repeat until you use up all the strawberries. I had to use a fork to do this part well. If you have extra chocolate enjoy at your leisure :) For the eyes we used black writing frosting and some round flat sprinkles. You could also use mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate for a bit to harden the chocolate, and enjoy eating your delicious spiders!

Pancake/Muffins

One of those... why didn't I think of that? ideas. Read this in the paper yesterday.

Scoop your usual pancake batter into muffin cups. Bake at 350F 10-15 min.* They don't really brown up like they would on the griddle but taste pretty good just the same. Serve favorite syrup on the side for dipping.

*I used a mini-muffin pan and baked for 10 min.

You could easily make a large batch and freeze them for quick an easy weekday breakfasts.

Seafood & Corn Chowder

I can hardly wait until dinnertime to try this, and its going to be so easy to make. I enjoy fish, but never ever like leftover fish. This is going to be perfect to use up my halibut from last week.


Seafood & Corn Chowder

The original is from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals and she calls for her leftover Herbed Fish Cakes but also says you can use leftover halibut or flounder and I'm going to throw in some tiny shrimp too.

2 tsp olive oil
2 leeks (white part only) rinsed well and chopped (my store had no leeks so I'm using shallots instead which is totally different but should be good)
3 leftover Herbed Fish Cakes, crumbled (or your own fishy substitutes)
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 - 14oz can creamed corn
2 bay leaves
3 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups low fat milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until softened about 3 minutes. Add fish cakes, corn and bay leaves. Pour broth over fish mixture and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in milk and simmer until hot, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Banana Gingerbread Muffins

Add an easy, festive twist to your usual banana muffins...


Banana Gingerbread Muffins

1 box (14.5 oz) gingerbread cake and cookie mix
2-3 ripe bananas
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup water
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan. (I use a mini muffin pan and bake about 10-12 min)

Darn Good Chocolate Cake

That's really what it's called and I'm sure you will agree. My wonderful Granny Blanche gave me this cookbook a few years ago called The Cake Mix Doctor, there are several versions out now and I'd highly recommend any of them. All recipes start with a cake mix and you'd be amazed the variety of things you could make and the compliments you will get! People will swear you made it from scratch. I made this one for D's birthday last year and when my friend Dana started mentioning it recently I knew I wanted to surprise her with one for her birthday.

DARN GOOD CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 package (18.25 oz) plain devil's food or dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 box (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350* spray pans and dust with flour. You can choose any pan you like - 2 round pans, cupcake pans, bundt pan, etc. Just adjust baking time according to cake mix package directions.

Mix all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a large mixing bowl with electric blender on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl, increase speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes until batter is thick and well combined. Fold in chocolate chips, making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour batter into prepared pans and place in oven.

Bake according to directions on package for pan size you are using. When done it should spring back when lightly pressed with your finger and is just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks 20 mins. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen it from the pan, invert onto rack and cool completely. Or serve it warm.

I like to pair it with this easy and delicious frosting...

WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

6 oz white chocolate coarsely chopped (use bar chocolate, not chips)
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, room temp
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, room temp
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Melt white chocolate over low heat in a saucepan or in a glass bowl on medium in the microwave, stirring often. Beat cream cheese and butter on low speed until well combined, add melted white chocolate and blend on low 30 seconds. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and blend on low speed, once combined increase speed and blend until frosting is fluffy, about 1 minute more. Frost cake and store frosted cake in refrigerator until serving time.

For simple garnish/decoration I use my Olive Garden-style cheese grater to turn out the tiny little chocolate shavings. Also, I always use light sour cream and 1/3 less fat cream cheese and no one notices the difference.

Pear Sauce (version 2)

A while ago we made Pear Sauce and it turned out really yummy. Today I had two pears and one apple that really needed to be used so I came up with this version.

1 apple peeled and chopped
microwave on high two minutes with a splash of cranberry juice
peel and chop 2 pears, sprinkle generously with cinnamon
mix with apples and microwave on high 1 more minute, smash & mix it up
you can eat it warm or cooled off

I have a microwave steam cooker from Pampered Chef that I use.

Wontons & Pineapple

Tried two new recipes for dinner. Loved them both (and the kids did too!) so I wanted to share. I absolutely love this Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals cookbook my brother sent for my birthday. I've tried so many recipes already and dog-eared about half the pages for others I still want to make.


Wonton Soup

6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 cup shredded coleslaw mix
1 cup shredded leftover pork (or other meat you have handy)
1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
24 wonton wrappers
1/4cup chopped scallions

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, add coleslaw mix and stir 1 minute. Add pork and soy sauce, stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. For each wonton wrapper put 1 tsp filling in center, wet edges of wrapper with finger dipped in water and pinch together forming a "beggar's purse". Once wontons are made, bring chicken broth to a simmer, add wontons and cook about 5 minutes until wontons are soft and translucent. Top with scallions.



Brown Sugar-Glazed Pineapple w/ Toasted Coconut
(you can probably make this faster than you can say it)
Measurements depend how much you're making so I'll just give you the basic idea...

place slices of canned pineapple rings on a baking sheet
sprinkle with brown sugar
top with sweetened coconut

bake at 375*F for 10 min

top with cool whip or vanilla ice cream

Muffin Tin Monday - Circus

Look, I actually did our muffin tins on a Monday! And I used the theme (somewhat), by throwing in some Circus-type snacks (popcorn & hot dogs), wild animal spoons, and frosted Circus animals for a treat.

Homemade Chicken Soup

I'm positive that if you asked 100 people how to make chicken soup, you'd get 100 different recipes. Here is the version I came up with today. I have been trying to channel thoughts of cooler weather, despite it still being at least 100*F every single day.

Chicken Noodle Soup

3 large chicken breasts (with skin & bone)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh oregano
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh sage
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2-3 large cloves garlic, crushed
reduced sodium chicken boullion
1-2 tbsp olive oil
12 oz package egg noodles
2 cups shredded zuchinni

Fill large stock pot with enough water to just cover chicken breasts, simmer on low 20-25 minutes. Do not let the chicken boil, this will make it tough and chewy. Toss in half of the herbs and cover. When chicken is done, remove and let cool. Reserve stock in a large bowl or measuring cup, remove herbs and skim off any grayish scum that rises to the top. Coat bottom of stock pot with olive oil, and cook onions until softened add crushed garlic and stir for about 1 minute before adding chicken stock back to the pot. I then added about 8 more cups of water to fill the pot at least 2/3 full. Toss in the carrots and add bouillon to taste, typically you would add 1 Tbsp per cup of water but stop and taste it along the way. Add in the other herbs and salt & pepper to taste. Let simmer 2-3 hours. At ten minutes 'til dinner time add in the egg noodles (check exactly how many minutes to cook your noodles) and heat soup to a boil. Meanwhile remove skin from chicken and pull away from the bones, cut up the chicken and add to the soup in the last minute or so of the noodles cooking. Add the shredded zuchinni at the last minute too. Make sure you have room in the freezer for leftovers!!

Muffin Tin "Monday" x 2

Saturday while I was making the Caribou (yes, Caribou) roast ready for the Crockpot ,Cali came in the kitchen three times to ask if I could make their lunch in "those heart-y things." So I did. Nothing too exciting, a lot of the usual.


Today I looked up the theme, this week was "faces/people". We were having chicken noodle soup for dinner... when I was growing up, every time we had a pot of chili or chowder Mom made a plate of apples, cheese & crackers on the side. So instead of a plate I used one muffin tray to contain the kids' sides. Then asked them to make faces while the soup cooled off.


Cali said the two cheese cubes on the sides of the face are the "cheeks." D kept telling me his was "not ready" so I just sat down to eat.

Biscuit Pizzas

Had this idea all week, just waiting for Friday to make it for our usual Dinner Movie Picnic (they get to watch a movie and eat on a picnic blanket in the living room).

You will need:
a roll of biscuits (we used a short can to make 5 mini pizzas)
your favorite pizza toppings (olive oil, sauce, garlic, meats, veggies, cheese)

1. Let the kids roll out each biscuit nice and flat and round. We sprinkled ours with dried garlic bits.

2. Place on a pizza stone (or baking sheet) and bake at 350*F for 5-6 minutes until just solid and no longer gooey.

3. Move each "crust" to a cool cookie sheet and let cool a bit while you set up the toppings.


4. Let the kids brush each crust with olive oil, spoon on some sauce, add toppings then cheese.


5. Move the pizzas bake to the hot stone and bake another 5-6 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbly. Enjoy!

Muffin Tin "Monday"

I have yet to accomplish this on an actual Monday, but here is our muffin tin this week. Cali was excited as soon as I got the "tins" out and she wanted to help put it all together. Since there was no theme I just grabbed whatever I saw first.


We had yogurt smoothies, octopus hot dogs, cheese, steamed edamame, half a banana, and frosted animal cookies for dessert.

Cali, being my good listener, ate every bite of her meal before she touched the cookies. D's cookies mysteriously disappeared the minute I turned my back. They both LOVED their "octopus" which I'd never made before. D even told me after he was finished and cleaned up, "I like yummy octopus, Mommy."

Muffin Tin "Monday"

This week's theme was Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Wasn't too creative on this one, but I kept the theme in mind as I made...


Tortilla chip "boats" with salsa & sour cream dip, bits of turkey, applesauce w/ cinnamon, carrot sticks, and cocoa roasted almonds (as a nod to airline peanuts).

Pear Sauce

Ever since Cali saw them make applesauce on Sid the Science Kid last week she's been asking me if we could make some. Well I happened to have some pears that needed to be eaten so we did this instead...

Pear Sauce
(serves 3)

3 very ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
cinnamon
sugar

Place the chopped pears in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste. Microwave on high about 2 minutes. Let your child mash the warm pears (be careful if the bowl is hot). Let cool. Can be served warm or cold.

Muffin Tin Meals

I ran across this fun idea quite awhile ago, but just made my very first muffin tin meals for the kids' lunch today. First I had to find the right muffin tins. I only had the 12-cup kind and really needed 6-cups so each kid could have their own just the right size. Lucky me, I found two heart shaped silicon muffin "tins" on clearance a while back, but still hadn't used them. Today was the day. Here was my creation and yes they thoroughly enjoyed this great "surprise". The hardest part was keeping them out of the kitchen long enough so I could actually surprise them with it. They were in the dining room trying to guess "is it cupcakes? is it cake? is it pie?" Although it was none of the above, they were still excited for their special lunch and dove right in.

From top right: grapes, cheese cubes, crinkle cut carrots w/ Ranch, Wheat Ritz, ham, Yoplait yogurt w/ sprinkles

Make sure you visit Her Cup Overfloweth for the official Muffin Tin Monday and see all the creative ideas from other Muffin Tin Moms.

Chicken Enchilada Bake

This was so delicious, so easy to make, and the kids even helped with the whole thing. I will give you both the version I made (to feed us 3) and the original.

Chicken Enchilada Bake (small version)

1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 can green enchilada sauce
1/3 cup sour cream
4 wheat tortillas cut into 1" x 1.5" strips
1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
5 green onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 375* and grease a 9" pie plate. Combine tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and sour cream. In the pie plate layer chicken, sauce, tortillas, and cheese. Top w/ green onions. Cover and bake for 20 min. Uncover and bake 10 more min or until golden & bubbly. Let stand 15 min before serving.


Chicken Enchilada Bake

4 1/2 cups cooked chicken
1 can (28 oz) green enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cups sour cream
9 tortillas cut into 1" x 1.5" strips
4 cups shredded cheese

Use a 13x9 baking dish. Layer half of chicken, sauce, sour cream, tortillas & cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake 40 min at 375*, uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Let rest 15 min before serving.