Chicken Apple Bites

Baby food isn't always just for babies. Well, this isn't exactly baby food but I did find this recipe in my baby food cookbook, First Meal by Annabell Karmel. What started out as a great finger food for Roman when he was little, has morphed into one of my favorite freezer cooking meals. I love anything in meatball form for freezer cooking because they are easy to make in a large quantity, freeze easily, and can be reheated all at once or in small batches. The original recipe suggested frying the bites, but to save time and to make them a little healthier, I've decided to bake mine in the oven.

The apple in these bites might seen add when paired with chicken, but trust me when I tell you it is delicious! The apple gives the chicken a subtle sweetness that is tasty, and ensures that even the pickiest eater will gobble these up. My only suggestion? Keep a close eye on your bites because mine tend to disappear from the cooling racks...

Chicken Apple Bites
1 large apple, grated
1lb ground chicken
1/2t onion powder
1T minced parsley
1 cup panko
1T chicken stock (water also works)
1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t salt
1/4t pepper

Mix all ingredients together and form into balls using a small ice cream scoop. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.

To Freeze: Bake as directed and allow bites to cool completely. Flash freeze and transfer to a freezer bag.
To Serve: Thaw and reheat in the oven or microwave

I love these for supper but they are also great for lunches. They are quick and easy to reheat which makes them perfect for getting food into a screaming toddler as fast as possible. Not that I would know anything about that...

Banana Nut Oat Bran Muffins

I love muffins. The problem I have is that most of the muffin recipes I love to gobble up are basically cupcakes, and usually have more chocolate than flour in them. As much as I try to convince myself that I'm making a smart choice by snacking on a muffin, I know I could do better.

This muffin recipe is loaded with good-for-you food and gives me the satisfaction of a muffin, without all the stuff I don't need. As an added yum factor I added a few tablespoons of the Epicure Cocoa Crunch Whole Food Sprinkle to the batter. You could also add mini chocolate chips or leave it out all together.

Banana Nut Oat Bran Muffins
2 1/4 cups oat bran
1T baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 bananas, mashed
1 egg
2T honey
1/8 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat over to 425. In a medium sized bowl, stir together oat bran, baking powder and brown sugar. In a smaller bowl, mix together bananas, egg and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Fold in the walnuts and transfer batter to paper lined muffin tins. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

The density and the crunch of the walnuts make these muffins extremely satisfying. I love the Cocoa Crunch Whole Food Sprinkle from Epicure. They give the muffins just a hint of chocolate without completely overdoing it. There are also chia seeds in the sprinkles so even more added health benefits!

I also made some mini loaves for Roman and Bianca to snack on. Bianca can grab one and snack away, and they are the perfect snack size for Roman. Sometimes with regular muffins he eats half and is full. I feel bad for throwing out half a muffin so I become the garbage compactor. I will compact no more!

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Fall is the season of pumpkins! Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin cookies; really I could go on forever. But all of delicious treats have on thing in common. Pumpkin, specifically pumpkin puree. Your first instinct is probably to pick up a can from the grocery store, but why not set your pumpkin masterpiece apart by using fresh pumpkin!

 Pumpkins are readily available right now and very inexpensive. I promise this isn't as scary or difficult as it might sound! You want to choose a pumpkin a smaller pumpkin as the larger jack-o-lantern pumpkins can be a little off in texture.

The first step, and the nastiest in my opinion, is to cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all the guts. I tried to enlist Roman's help on this one but he wasn't having it. If you can't cut the pumpkin in half you can just chop it into a few pieces, it's all going to be blended anyway. Place your pumpkin pieces skin side down on a parchment lined baking sheet, and pop them into a 375° oven for 45 minutes.

Let the pumpkin cool slightly before cutting the flesh away from the skin. Or ignore this step and burn your hand like I did, it's really a matter of personal choice. I like to live on the wild side. Toss the pumpkin into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You may have to add a little water to get it to blend well. Of course Roman was more than happy to help with this part.

Now that you have your pumpkin puree you can do one of three things with it;1. Use it immediately, 2. Transfer the puree to a freezer bag and freeze it for later use, or 3. transfer it to an airtight container to use in the next few days. I decided to use some mason and jam jars to hold my puree until I can get around to making some muffins with it. I didn't have any lids kicking around so I used a layer of tin foil under the collar to seal it up.

See, that was pretty painless! Now you have some delicious, homemade puree to use in your Thanksgiving pies, tarts, cheesecakes, cupcakes, muffins, brownies, cookies.....Well, look at the time! Time for me to hit the kitchen and make some muffins!

Ham & Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

Bringing back some nostalgia for you aren't I? In elementary school I loved having pizza pops for lunch. Hot, cheesy, meaty, and fast. All the requirements for a great school lunch. A few years ago I saw that friendly box in the grocery freezer section and decided I needed to experience the joy one more time. The unfortunate part is that those pizza pops didn't taste the same as they did all those years ago. That, combined with what I now know as an adult about healthy eating, made them a huge failure.

After I came across the recipe for the Creamy Chicken Pockets, I finally came up with a way to have my delicious pizza pops from the past in a more grow up, and slightly better for you, way! The trick to making these amazing is obviously the filling. Building flavour by allowing each ingredient to caramelize a bit before adding the next ingredient, really sets this filling apart from other fillings. The tender crescent rolls are delicious but the crumb topping provides some texture and takes it right over the top. Well, now that I'm drooling and kinda wish I was making these for supper, on with the recipe!

Ham & Pepperoni Pizza Pockets (Makes 4)
1T olive oil
3/4 cup diced onion
1 green pepper, diced
2t garlic
1/2 cup diced, cooked ham
1/2 cup diced pepperoni
28oz crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese #1
2 pkg. Pilsbury crescent rolls
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese #2
1/4 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix together panko and parmesan cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat and saute onions, green pepper and garlic until the onions start to brown ever so slightly. Add the ham and pepperoni and continue to cook until the meat begins to brown. Remember, brown is flavour! If you notice bit starting to stick to the bottom of the pan that's fantastic! So the next time someone says "Hey! You're burning supper" your response should be "No, I'm developing flavour". Stir the crushed tomatoes into the pan and heat until it starts to bubble up. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in cheese#1 until it is completely melted. Set the filling aside to cool completely.

You want the filling to be completely cool because if it's still warm it will start to melt the butter in the crescent rolls, and then you'll have a heck of a time trying to roll them up. Trust me. You also want to keep the crescent rolls in the fridge right up until you are ready to use them, or you risk softening them too much and it will make using them very difficult. Again, trust me. Aren't you glad I make mistakes so you don't have to?

Separate the crescent rolls into 4 rectangles and slightly spread them out using your hands. Place a good size mound of filling in the centre of the rectangle, about 3-4 tablespoons, and top it with a good sized pinch of cheese #2. To close up your pocket, bring the corners of the rectangle into the centre, opposing corners at a time, then bring up the side to meet in the middle. Very gently pickup your pocket and place it seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. If your centre seam splits, don't panic! You can try and pinch it back together, but if that doesn't work don't worry about it. It will bake up just fine, it will just be slightly open faced. Sprinkle the panko and parmesan mixture over each of the pockets and baking at 375° for 11-13 minutes. I like to turn on the broiler for a few minutes too just to crisp up the top, but keep an eye on it or you'll have black pockets.

To freeze: Bake as directed and allow to cool completely. Flash freeze pizza pockets on a parchment lined baking sheet, then transfer them to a freezer bag once frozen.
To serve: Place pizza pockets on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Chicken

This recipe is right up there with the Creamy Chicken Pocket recipe I shared a few weeks back. You NEED to try this recipe! I particularly like this recipe for our busy soccer nights. I pop them in the oven, have them cooked before we leave, and when we get home the just need to be warmed up quickly before we can eat them and jump right into bed time routine.

Don't let the jalapenos scare you. The flavour of the jalapenos is very present but there is no heat from them once you remove the seeds. The cream cheese filling in the chicken is amazing and I would actually dip chips or bread into it and eat it just as a dip. It's that good!

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 1/2T oil
1 diced jalapeno, seeds removed
4t minced garlic
8oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Butterfly the chicken breasts by running a sharp knife, parallel to the cutting board, through the centre of the chicken breast without cutting all the way through. Set aside.

Cook jalapenos and garlic in oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add cream cheese and cheddar and continue to heat until the cheese is completely melted. Allow to cool. Spoon the mixture into the centre of each chicken breast and close with toothpicks. *NOTE: I never have toothpicks in the house so I just close them up and it has worked well for me. Arrange chicken on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.

To Freeze: Arrange chicken on a parchment lined baking sheet and flash freeze. Transfer to a freezer bag.
To Serve: Thaw chicken and bake as directed.

I found this recipe somewhere on the interweb but for the life of me can't find it now. If I track down the original I'll link it here.

Broccoli Tots

I think vegetables are the bane of every parent's existence, at least when it comes to feeding their kids.  Whether you have a picky eater or not, plane ole steamed or boiled veggies get old fast.  I'm always on the hunt for a veggie recipe that is tasty, easy, and if I can freeze it, even better!

I came across this recipe from Gimme Delicious (love the name!) on Pinterest.  Broccoli and cheese are obviously a classic pairing so I had a hunch it would be a winner, and boy was I right!  I love these for a quick and easy side or snack.  I've been known to have them as a meal dipped in a little tatziki or ranch while I bounce a fussy Bianca.  Delicious, healthy, and portable!

Broccoli Tots
2 cups broccoli
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup diced onion
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup Panko
1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs*
2T parsley
1t salt
1t pepper

*Don't have Italian breadcrumbs?  Just use Panko instead.  I've done it and they are just as delicious!

Blanch broccoli for 1 minute, then shock with cold water.  Set aside.
Chop broccoli finely and mix with egg, onion, cheese, Panko, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper.
Scoop mixture with an ice cream scoop and form into the shape of a tater tot.  Or if you're lazy like me, just leave them in the ball from the scoop.  Plus it's cleaner!
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 400° for 18-24 minutes, turning hallway through.

To Freeze: Allow to cool completely.  Flash freeze on the baking sheet and transfer to a freezer bag once frozen.
To Serve: Reheat in the oven or in the microwave.

I knew this was going to be a winner when John was stealing tots while they were cooling on the stove.  Luckily Roman LOVES broccoli so it didn't take much convincing to get him to eat them.

Greek Chicken & Lemon Rice

Holy chicken recipes Batman! I didn't realize how many of our favorites these days are chicken. But I guess that's what happens when you don't want to fight with a threenager about eating his supper. Why can't we go back to the days when Roman would devour anything I put in front of him. On an unrelated topic, the legend of the threenager is not a legend, it's truth! I know! I've seen it!

Roman liked this dish, but John LOVED it. He says it tastes just like Greek take-out! I love finding recipes that replace take-out and can be frozen. It gets rid of all the excuses for picking up food or having it delivered. Unless of course you forget to take it out in the morning and it's still frozen solid one hour before supper time. Not that I would know anything about that happening....

 

Greek Chicken & Lemon Rice
5-7 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-2 lemons, zested and juiced
1T oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced

Rice
1/2T olive oil, separated
1 small onion, diced
1 cup long grain rice
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup water
1T oregano
1t salt
pepper

Combine chicken, lemon zest & juice, oregano and garlic in a freezer bag. Place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

Heat 1/2T oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook chicken, reserving marinade, until golden brown on both sides and set aside. Add onion to the pan and cook until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and reserved marinade. Let the liquid simmer for 30 seconds. Divide the mixture between two 8x8 pans, top with chicken thighs and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered.

To Freeze: Bake as directed and allow to cool completely. Cover with foil and freeze.
To Serve: Defrost and reheat in the oven or microwave. If reheating in the microwave, be sure to scoop it onto a microwave safe dish first! No sparky sparky!

Originally posted on Recipe Tin Eats.

Peanut Butter & Banana Baked Oatmeal

Pinterest for the win! For me, trying recipes I see on Pinterest is always a game of Russian roulette. Sure the pictures look amazing, the comments say it's "super easy & delicious" but you never really know what you're getting yourself into. I mean, there is a reason #pinterestfail exists right? But I find that when you can find a good recipe on Pinterest, it's usually amazing, which kinda makes up for having to eat all the fails.

I could literally live on this oatmeal. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, snacks, middle of the night craving, just because; whatever the occasion, this oatmeal is the food answer. If I was going to die tomorrow, this very well may be my last meal. It's THAT GOOD! Even if your kids don't like oatmeal I bet you can get them to eat this. If you don't believe me, try it!!!

PB & Banana Baked Oatmeal (Serves 8 or 1 Kendra)
3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup flaxseed
2t baking powder
1/2 cup honey
1 cup milk
2T melted butter
1/2 cup peanut butter, melted
2 eggs
2t vanilla
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 chopped walnuts

Mix oats, flaxseed and baking powder together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine, honey, milk, butter, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla and bananas. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and add chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until well combined. Divide mixture between two 8x8 pans and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

To Freeze: Bake as directed and allow to cool completely. Cover with foil and freeze.
To Serve: Defrost and reheat in the oven or microwave. Be sure to remove from the tin pans if using the microwave. No sparky sparky!

 

If you happen to forget to add the milk to the oats before you bake it, don't panic! I may have done this very thing and it can be saved! If you add a bit of milk to the oats after you reheat it, it will soften right up and be just as delicious!

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Everyone knows that food tastes better when it comes in pocket form; pizza pocket, pocket pies...or maybe that's just me... Roman loves chicken, broccoli and cheese, and I clearly have a thing for food in a pocket, so this recipe was sure to be a hit! I found the original recipe on Once A Month Meals, but changed it up just a bit.

These pockets have become a go to recipe in our house lately. Because the pockets only have to be reheated on serving day, it make them a great choice for busy nights when Bianca won't let me out of her sight for longer than two minutes, or the nights that I completely forget about supper. Ooops! They would also be great to take to work/school for lunch and could be eaten cold or warmed up in the microwave for a few minutes. And because it's in a pocket form you can just pick it up and eat it! See, I told you food in pocket form was amazing!

Creamy Chicken Pockets (Makes 8)
2 2/3 cup chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1 cup finely chopped, cooked broccoli
2t minced garlic
1T butter, softened
4oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4t salt
2T milk
1/4t pepper
8oz crescent rolls* (1 pkg.)

Topping:
1T butter, melted
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

*These are the regular crescent rolls. You can use the Grands crescent rolls, you will just have 4 really large, meal sized rolls instead of 8. Obviously you will need to adjust the baking time accordingly.

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add chicken, garlic and broccoli to cream cheese. Stir in salt pepper and milk, set aside.

Separate rolls into triangles, (*Tip - I like to flatten mine out and stretch them out a bit so I can pack more filling into them and they are easier to close) and place a good sized scoop of filling into the centre of each triangle. Fold the corners of the triangle into the centre to completely enclose the filling. Place the pockets on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 375° for 11-13 min.

To Freeze: Bake as directed and allow to cool completely. Wrap each pocket with plastic warp, place in a freezer bag and freeze.
To Serve: Defrost pockets and reheat in the oven or microwave.

The possibilities for fillings are endless! You could swap in any kind of vegetables with the chicken, or just skip the chicken and make a veggie and cheese pocket! I'd love to hear what you come up with!

Mini Dijon Mustard Meatloaf

I know most people aren't overly excited about meatloaf, but oddly enough it's something that I really enjoy. I still remember Mom making meatloaf when I was a kid and seem to remember enjoying it.  Mom might have different recollections of these memories but we'll go with my side of the story for now.

The best part of meatloaf is always the crunchy bits you get along the sides where whatever you've put on top of the meatloaf has caramelized.  The combination of the ketchup, Dijon mustard and cheese on this meatloaf creates the most perfect crust on top of each of the loaves.  The cheese inside keeps the meatloaf super moist, and let's just be honest, everything is better with cheese! This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found online but apparently I forgot to Pin it so I can't even give the original poster credit.

 

Mini Dijon Mustard Meatloaf (Makes 4 mini loaves)
2T Dijon mustard
2T ketchup
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup Panko
1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
1/2t salt
1t pepper

Mix together mustard and ketchup in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl combine beef, egg, Panko, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Form mixture into 2"x4" loaves and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush loaves with the ketchup and mustard mixture and top with the remaining cheddar cheese.  Bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

To Freeze: Allow loaves to cool completely.  Wrap each loaf in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag.
To Serve: Thaw loaves and reheat in the oven.

John could probably eat these meatloaves three times a week and I doubt Roman would mind. The pair of them gobbled up every bite of their meatloaf and John even went back for more, which Roman promptly tried to steal. I know a meal is a winner with Roman when he starts offering up compliments on my cooking without John having to tell him too. He was only a few bites in before he exclaimed "this is really good mom!".

How To: Meal Planning

I love meal planning because I just love planning things in general, but also because it saves me time and money. There is nothing more frustrating that spending one hour and $200 at the grocery store only to have "nothing to eat" in the house three days later. When I don't meal plan I end up with a house full of food but nothing to make a meal with, and a ton a spoiled veggies.

I started meal planning long before it became a necessity and have had plenty of time to master my system. I feel like meal planning is a very personal process. Certain things I do may not be necessary for you and you might have faster way of getting the job done. This is definitely not the only way to meal plan, so take this concept and tweak it so it works for you!

What you'll need to start meal planning:
          - notebook
          - recipes
          - shopping list pad
          - meal planning pad (optional)
          - a killer pen that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside......I have a bit of a pen obsession....

In true Kendra fashion I get most of my supplies from Dollarama/Dollar Tree. Why spend $5 on a notebook when you can spend $1.25 for basically the same thing? Personally I like keeping all my recipes written down in a book because going online to look at them all the time gets on my nerves. A binder with everything typed out (and maybe a photo of what each recipe looks like) would also be pretty stellar if you have the time to put it together. In the top left corner of each page I like to give each recipe a short, one word, review so that I know for next time if I should bother with a recipe or not. I secretly hope that one day Roman and Bianca are fighting over these recipe books because they are filled with all their favorite meals.

Finding good recipes is obviously key to meal planning and freezer cooking. If you're new to freezer cooking I suggest checking out a website like Once A Month Meals. For a small annual fee you can subscribe to their website and get access to tons of recipes as well as prep, freezing, and thawing directions for each recipe. Once you get the hang of freezer cooking you can pretty much figure out how to turn any meal into a freezer meal.

I LOVE making lists so I have a ton of these note pads kicking around the house. In fact, Santa even dropped some off in my stocking at Mom & ad's house at Christmas time.  Santa is a smart dude, he really gets me. If you don't have a meal planning pad, you can also use the same list pad that you use for you shopping list. I came across this one on Zulily but I know you can also find them at Chapters.

The number of recipes you select is going to depend on how many days you want to prep meals for and how much time you have to cook. I freezer cook every two weeks, so I try to have enough meals to cover suppers for each of those days. Obviously there are going to be leftovers, which are great for lunches, but they will also likely cover 1-2 suppers, which means I have extra meals that will carry over to the next week.

On my meal planning pad I write down each recipe I want to make and all the ingredients I need to make it. *TIP: if you also write down the amount of each ingredient you need you can be sure to buy the exact amount you need. This saves on having a bunch of leftover ingredients and having them spoil, or not having enough ingredients because you only bought 3 peppers when you actually needed 7. Once I have all my meals and ingredients written down, I head into the kitchen to see what I have. There is no point in buying more garlic powder if you have an entire bag of it already.

The last step is to make a grocery list of everything that you need to make your meals, as well as anything else you need to pick up (obviously). If you've read my "Tips for shopping at Superstore" post then you're familiar with my system of writing my grocery list. I always wright down what I need in the order I encounter them so I don't have to run all over the store looking for things, and I don't have to scan my entire list every time I go to a new area of the store.

Tuna Cakes

Roman loves tuna and has since he was little.  He would quite happily demolish his tuna straight out of the can with a spoon, but something inside tells me I shouldn't feed my son this way.  Probably because it reminds me of feeding cats straight out of the can.  That being said, it would save on dishes....

Many moons ago when John and I were living in our first apartment we went through a crab cake phase.  We ate those darn things at least once a week and because of that I was a little leery to try this recipe.  I was presently surprised because these cakes aren't fishy at all, they are actually quite delicious! I even fought off Roman to have the last tuna cake for leftovers a few days later!

Tuna Cakes (Make 6 cakes)
12 oz. solid white tuna (3 - 120g cans), drained
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup Panko
2t Old Bay seasoning
3 eggs

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Measure out 1/3 cup patties and cook in a small amount of oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side.

To Freeze:  Allow cakes to cool completely.  Flash freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag.
To Serve:  Reheat in the microwave or oven.

So it's probably not the most complicated recipe I've ever shared, but I promise that it is super tasty!  Easy recipes like this are awesome for freezer cooking days because you can make a lot of them in no time flat.  Your house might smell like a fish market, but your freezer will be full of delicious food!

These would be super easy to send with the kids to school or even to cut up and throw on top of a salad for a little extra protein.  This time I decided to serve them with a side of asparagus and a little tzatziki for sauce. Like most kids Roman loves sauce, specifically tzatziki, so adding a nice dollop on his plate always ensures that a good portion of his meal will be eaten.

Greek Meatballs

I stumbled upon this recipe in one of the most unlikely places.  I was watching LisaSZ09, one of the beauty gurus I follow on YouTube, but this particular video was one of her vlogs.  As soon as I saw this recipe (Originally from Rachael Ray) I knew I had to give it a shot because I'm always interested in trying a recipe that makes chicken interesting.

Meatballs are one of my favorite freezer meals because they are super quick and easy to make on my cooking day, and they reheat super fast.  It's also nice to have the option to just pull out a few meatballs if I'm scrambling for lunch for Roman.

Greek Meatballs
1T olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 pkg chopped spinach, defrosted and water squeezed out
3/4 cup crumbled feta
1 lb ground chicken
1T grill seasoning*

*I use Clubhouse LaGrille Chicken seasoning but Montreal Steak spice, of whatever you have on hand would work just fine.

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.  Form into meatballs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes.

To Freeze: Prepare as directed. Flash freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag.
To Serve: Reheat in the microwave or oven.

Easy, peazy, lemon squeezy!  I like to use an ice cream scoop to form my meatballs.  This was each meatball is the same size which is good for my OCD but it also helps the meatballs cook evenly.  Plus you don't end up with nasty chicken hands!  I like to serve these meatballs with tzatziki and broccoli.  If you're feeling really fancy you could make your own tzatziki, but I prefer to buy mine, it's just easier.

Raspberry Cheesecake Bites

Even though cheesecake is a classic dessert I have never actually made it myself.  In our family Selby as always been the cheesecake master so I've never really had the opportunity to make it.  Well that changes today!  I came across this recipe and thought it was a great way to make cheesecake fun.  Plus, who doesn't want a delicious frozen treat at the end of a fantastic backyard BBQ meal?!

The best part of all is these scrumptious morsels can be made days in advance since they can be stored in the freezer.  This makes these bad boys perfect for large parties because it's one less thing you have to prepare the day of!

Raspberry Cheesecake Bites (Makes ~15 bites)
1 1/3 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2T sugar
1t lemon zest
1 cup cool whip
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 crackers crushed up)

Whip together cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest with a mixer.  Add raspberries and stir allowing the berries to break up and combine with the cream cheese.  Add the cool whip and stir until combined.  Place the bowl in the freezer for about 2 hours for the mixture to set up.

Place graham crumbs in a small bowl.  Using a small ice cream scoop (mine was about 2" in diameter) scoop out a ball of the cream cheese mixture.  Roll the ball in the graham crumbs until completely coated, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Pop the tray back into the freezer for the bites to set up.  Once they are frozen, allow them to thaw for 5 minutes before serving, or store them in the freezer in an airtight container.

Spring Baking Series 2015

Welcome to my Spring Baking series!!  I've had the urge to bake lately so I headed to the Internet to see if there was a weekly baking challenge that existed that I could recreate.  I couldn't find one so I thought I would just create my own.  I was making a list of recipes I've always wanted to try when an advertisement came on the Food Network for their Spring Baking Contest.  In the advertisement they mention that all the recipes would be related to weddings, birthdays, picnics and all things spring and summer.  So I decided I would take this idea and spin it into my own weekly baking challenge.

Every Tuesday for 9 weeks starting on May 12th I will post a new recipe that I've tried out.  Each recipe will be easily portioned and transportable to your picnic, BBQ or family get together.  I've never made any of these recipes before so all the posts will be my first go at them, meaning you will get to see them whether they turn out exactly like they should, or if they become a Pinterest fail meme.

Below is a list of the recipes that I will be making.  As I post the recipes I will link them back to this post so that all the recipes are easily accessible.

 

Raspberry Lemonade Bars

Cherry Pie Pops

Raspberry Cheesecake Bites

Lemon Meringue Pie Bites

Funnel Cakes

No Bake Strawberry Lemonade Bites

Classic Greek Baklava

Homemade Cream Puffs

Classic Èclair

 

If you decide to take on this Spring Baking Challenge I would love to see how your dishes turn out!  Be sure to post pictures in the comments of your creations!

French Macarons

I think macarons come across as a very intimidating item to bake.  When I first decided I wanted to attempt these a few years back I prepared myself for the battle of a lifetime.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.  If you can use a stand mixer you can make these cookies!

When I started thinking of fun things to make for Valentine's Day, one of the first things that came to mind were macarons.  There is something so fancy about these beautiful little cookies.  In the spirit of the special day I decided to color the macarons pink and fill them with buttercream frosting.  A red macaron filled with a chocolate ganache would also make a stunning cookie.  These macarons have just the right amount of snap on the outside but are still gooey and delicious on the inside. 

French Macarons
1 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup almond flour*
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

*If you can't find almond flour you can use ground almonds and force them through a fine mesh strainer to break it down into a flour like consistency.

Sift together icing use and almond flour.  Preheat oven to 325°.  Using a mixer whisk egg whites on medium speed until they start to form soft peaks.  Add in sugar and whisk on high speed until spiff peaks form.  Fold icing sugar and almond flour into the egg whites.  If you want to color your macarons this is the time to add a gel color, folding the color in until it is evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Transfer better to a pastry bag and with a round tip pipe 2 inch rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Lightly drop the baking sheets on the counter to release any air bubbles from the cookies.  Let the cookies stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes, rotating the tray half way through.  Allow cookies to cool on the baking trays for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack.  Once the cookies are completely cooled, pipe or spread filling onto the bottom of one cookie and sandwich with another.

Believe it or not, macarons are extremely freezer friendly!  I would suggest baking the cookies and then freezing them before filling them.  Then thaw and fill when they are needed.  Just make sure to store them in a solid container in the freezer as they will crush if something is set on top of them.

A Weeks Worth of Meals Without Groceries

In our house we budget to buy groceries every other week, but sometimes I like to see if I can stretch it another week to save money and use up some of the odds and ends left in the fridge.  Inevitably we end up with those weeks where there is little to no food left in the house but it isn't time to buy groceries yet.  The easy solution would be to do a small grocery run and pick up some items, but sometimes I like a challenge!

Often the meals that come out of this week aren't necessarily balanced between protein, starch (we often have meals without a starch anyway), fruits and veggies, but it is food none the less and it needs to be used up.  I hate throwing out food but the only thing I hate more than that is having a freezer full of stuff and thinking there is nothing to eat.  In a recent post I cleaned out and organized our freezers, so I was well aware that there was a ton of food in there that should be used.  That's when I decided this week would be a week worth of meals made from what we already have!

For breakfast I usually have oatmeal and Roman will alternate between oatmeal and waffles that I batch cook and freeze.  Luckily we have a decent supply of frozen blueberries so I put those on top of his waffles.  Lunch is usually sandwiches, grilled cheese or leftovers from supper the night before.  Lately Roman has been loving smoothies for snacks so that will be a great use for my frozen fruits, including my massive supply of frozen bananas.  Now let's get to the suppers!

Monday
On my trip to the freezer this morning a package of pork ribs were speaking to me so I pulled them from the frosty box.  I will be the first to admit that I don't really know how to cook ribs; John would be the second to admit that I don't.  Obviously John couldn't cook the ribs this time since he was at work so it was left to me.  I decided to rub Steeped Tea's Smoky Tea-aki Rub all over the ribs then seared them quickly in a lightly oiled, hot pan.  I sliced up an onion and placed the slices in the bottom of a baking dish, then sat the seared ribs on the onions and dumped a good amount of BBQ sauce over top.  I used a mixture of Kraft Hickory and a Budweiser sauce since that's all I had in the fridge.  I baked the ribs at 375° for 45 minutes, flipping the ribs every hour or so.  I made some home fries in my Actifry and for Roman I heated up some frozen veggies in the microwave.

When all was said and done the meat fell off the bone no problem *phew*.  I thought they were pretty decent but apparently I underestimated the power of my ribs.  John went on and on about them for over 2 hours.  Apparently he is no longer cooking the ribs, I am.  I guess this meal kinda back fired...

Tuesday
Pizza is always a great meal when you're running out of groceries because you can put anything on a pizza and it's delicious!  I always make sure to pick up naan or pitas if I see them on the discount rack in the bakery because they freeze well and then I always have pizza crusts on hand.  Today I decided to top our pita crusts with crushed tomatoes, sliced artichoke hearts (which I found in the freezer), onion, pepperoni (also discovered in the freezer), and of course cheese!  I had originally planned to cook the pizza toppings in a pan before adding them to the pizza but I lost track of time so they had to go on raw.  Luckily Roman was nice enough to help me slice up the onions so the prep went much faster!  *NOTE: Don't panic he has a butter knife and I'm pretty sure it couldn't cut Jell-O.

Interesting fact, the key to a happy marriage in this house is making sure you burn a small pile of cheese on the baking sheet for John to scrape off and eat! 

I thought it was fitting that Roman ate his pizza off a Ninja Turtles plate tonight.  Roman loved the pepperoni slices on his pizza which surprised me because half a slice had my throat burning...  *TIP - If there is one thing you ever teach your little ones, teach them to sit in a designated spot when you open the oven!  I'm so glad I taught Roman this.  Now all I have to do is open the door and he immediately sits in his spot.  Makes it so much easier to cook when I don't have to worry about him getting into the oven.  Now if only the dogs listened that well...

Wednesday
I came across five chicken breasts on the verge of being freezer burnt so I thought I had better use them up.  There was also some asparagus in the fridge that were starting to look a little haggered so I decided to stuff those bad boys into the chicken along with some cream cheese that I found in the back of the now empty cheese drawer.  To spice up the cream cheese I added some minced garlic, tarragon and coriander.  I also spiced the outside of the chicken with salt, pepper and coriander. 

This one might actually turn into a full recipe post because it was that good.  Roman ate an entire chicken breast himself, along with 1/4 cup of peas, and some of John's chicken.  Either my chicken was that good or I forgot to feed him lunch...

Thursday
Tonight is a leftover night.  We already had a few things left in the fridge before this week started so it was time to clear some of it out before it went bad.  Plus we had company today and I didn't have a lot of time to cook.  Tonight we finished up some beef with egg noodles that I made after reading a post on Organize Yourself Skinny.  I didn't have all the ingredients for the beef so I made it up as I went.  Roman absolutely gobbles this stuff up so I kinda wish I wrote down how I made it.  Might have to give it another go and post it so I don't forget in the future.

Friday
The final day of cleaning out the fridge and freezer!  Tonight wasn't anything super creative.  I decided to pull out some sausage from the freezer.  It's the Kirkland mild Italian sausage and honestly it's the best sausage I've had in a long time.  Even though it's mild Italian it still has some good kick to it.  I decided to pair it with the last of the asparagus, which I roasted in the oven with a little olive oil and some salt, and leftover mashed cauliflower that was in the fridge.  It's basically the same as my Healthier Bangers & Mash recipe but with different veggies.  Roman loved the sausage and inhaled an entire link along with the veggies!  I don't know what we're going to do when this kid gets older.  We'll have to buy stocks in veggies and a small herd of cattle just to keep him fed.

A week without groceries wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.  Actually if I really had to I could probably stretch it for another 3-4 days.  Those meals wouldn't be very exciting but it's still food!

I'm about to get a little deep here so bare with me!  Think about the amount of food that we just had sitting in our house, that is still in the house, and one week ago I thought we needed groceries because we didn't have anything to eat.  It really makes you realize how fortunate we are to have access to quality, nutritious food and that we don't have to worry about where our next meal is going to come from.  I do understand that there are people in this country that aren't as fortunate and I think we should really be doing more to correct this problem before we try to solve the hunger problems of other people around the world.  Yes I'm aware that statement may be a little controversial but I'm willing to stick my neck out on that one.  Next time you walk past the Food Bank Donation bin on your way out of the grocery store, consider tossing in an item or two, every little bit helps!

Freezer Organization - Save Money & Lose Weight!

I don't think I'm alone when I say that my freezers are like two black holes.  Food goes in but if/when it ever comes out it never really looks the same because it's been in there so long.  Every day when I open the freezer door to stick Roman's supper in there to cool off, I'm reminded that I really need to do something about that disaster.  So, today is the day my freezers are going to get a good clean out!

For the most part I'm a very organized person so the disarray of my freezers can drive me bananas.  Speaking of bananas, I have a massive amount of bananas in my freezer.  I think I might need an intervention.  But I digress.  Keeping an organized freezer not only saves you money because you can see what you have and use it before it turns into a giant ice ball, but it can also help you lose weight!  By strategically placing you're frozen treats, cookies, muffins and other tasty goodies you can save yourself some serious calories!  Or maybe I'm the only person that has so little self control that I shovel in a few frozen cookies while I'm taking out something for supper...

Let's tackle the fridge freezer first because it's smaller.  This poor freezer becomes a trap for partial bags of everything that just get tossed in when I don't want to go into the garage to put it back in the big freezer.  I found a few large freezer bags that only had a muffin size serving of rice left in them, which of course was so freezer burnt because the bag was left open that I could barely tell what it was.  These of course went straight into the trash, along with a bag of shrimp that was equally as freezer burnt.  I did however find some good things, like raviolis I made awhile back and a few partial bags of frozen fruit.  The amount of bananas I found was shocking!  I now have a bin in the freezer specifically designated for bananas because I have so many.  I really need to get baking!

Once I sorted through everything and decided what was staying and what was going, I organized the remaining food into categorical lines.  One for breakfast foods, fruit, veggies, and meat.  I just kept a few things in the freezer that we use regularly and the rest made it's way out to the chest freezer in the garage.  Luckily I'm almost out of Christmas baking so I have one lonely Hamantashen cookie and one piece of Puffed Wheat Cake left (Those have long since been devoured).  If you're trying to watch what you eat make sure to hide these bad boys behind the veggie or fruit lines.  The farther you have to dig for them the less likely you are to eat them!  In the door I store a few homemade squeeze pouches for Roman, a few stray popsicles, and all my herbs that I froze from my garden this year.

Now let's head out to the garage to tackle the real disaster!  I always have great intentions when it comes to the organization of this freezer but it never seems to last long.  If I'm in a rush things just get tossed in and then when I need to find something I have to rummage through it all and things get even more messed up.  The solution?  Diaper boxes!  If you have kids then you have a ton of diaper boxes, unless you managed to use them all when wrapping Christmas presents.  If you don't have diaper boxes, find a Mom, I guarantee she'll be more than happy to unload some on you!  I managed to fit in three diaper boxes in the bottom of the freezer, one for meat, one for freezer meals and one for fruit/veggies/random items.  Right now I don't have any meals in the freezer so this box is just holding some meat.  In the space towards the front of the freezer I have all my bread items, and on the bench in the corner I have some peach crisps.

So where are all the cookies I shovel into my face?  When presently all the good ones (in my opinion) have been eaten, but there is a bag of jam filled cookies hiding in this freezer.  I try to hide my treats amongst the bread so they aren't as noticeable.  Most of my trips out to this freezer are for meats and veggies for meals so by hiding the treats with the bread, I likely won't even seen them when I'm in the freezer!  I also try to position them away from the loaves of bread since that's the most common bread item I pull from the freezer.  Granted there is no stopping me when I really want a cookie.  Those bad boys could be nailed to the ceiling and I'd find a way to get to them!  Obviously Roman feels the same way as me because he couldn't contain himself when we found the peanut butter marshmallow squares.  Oddly enough he also felt the same way about a package of frozen pork chops...

So there we have it, my freezers are organized!  There is something so freeing and calming about a clean freezer.  It's similar to the feeling you get after you clean out the junk drawer in your kitchen, like a weight has lift and the fog cleared.  At least that's what it feels like to me.  Now that I can see what I have in my freezer I think it's time to use some of these items up!

Mushroom Chicken

When John came home and sat down for supper I was excited to see what he would think of my creation.  I was shocked at the reaction!  He couldn't stop saying how delicious it was between mouthfuls of chicken.  There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that something that started out as a throw together meal is now a holy grail recipe.  Immediately after finishing his second plate John informed me that I must post this recipe, even it was only to save it for our future use.  He's always keeping the best interest of his stomach, I mean the blog, at the front of his mind.

I feel like chicken thighs have a bit of a bad rap.  Sure they are a little fattier than the breast but they also have a ton of fantastic flavor, especially if they have the bone in and skin on.  Thighs are also a lot less expensive than breasts, especially if you can get them 30% off at Superstore like I usually do.  When I see those glowing pink stickers in the meat case I make sure to stock my freezer!  Buying reduced meat is a great way to save money on groceries as long as the meat still looks good.

Mushroom Chicken (Serves 4)
8 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
salt & pepper
2t coriander powder
1T butter
1 pkg mushrooms
1 cup chicken stock
2t mustard powder
2T flour

Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper and coriander.  Heat pan over medium-high heat and place chicken in skin side down.  Cook chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side until the chicken is cooked through.  Set the chicken aside.

Melt butter in the same pan you cooked the chicken in and add mushrooms.  Sauté until the mushrooms have reduced in size and are nicely browned, about 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock and mustard powder to the mushrooms.  Whisk in flour to slightly thicken the sauce.  Return the chicken to the pan (skin side up) and bring to a simmer.  Serve with mashed potatoes, cauliflower or roasted vegetables.  In this case I decided to serve the chicken with roasted beets, brussel sprouts and onion.

Why not turn this delicious chicken into a freezer meal!
To freeze: Cook as directed.  Place chicken in a 9x9 tin pan and top with sauce.  Cool completely.  Cover with foil, label and freeze.
To Serve: Reheat at 350° for 30 minutes or until chicken is warmed through.

Italian Meatball Cookies

I promise this will be the last cookie recipe for the year!  I came across this recipe on Allrecipes.com when I was searching for recipes for John and I's first Christmas together.  Now the idea of a meatball cookie might not initially seem like a great idea, but the name comes from the way the cookie looks and now from what is it made of.

This cookie has everything you would want in a holiday cookie!  Cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg spice this cookie perfectly and make it sing with the flavors of the holidays.  The cocoa and glaze gives this cookie the perfect amount of chocolatelyness, and the walnuts give it just the right amount of crunch.  I might be crazy, but to me that sounds like a whole barrel full of Christmas!

Italian Meatball Cookies (Makes 30 cookies)
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2t vanilla
3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2t baking powder
1 1/2t baking soda
1t salt
1t cloves*
1t allspice
1t cinnamon
1/2t nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
Glaze
2 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk

* If you don't have cloves, like I never seem do, you can omit this and the cookies will still be delicious!

Preheat oven to 350° and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until the flour is completely combined.  Stir in the chopped walnuts by hand.

Form dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.  Cookies should be fairly firm but still have some give to them.  Do not over bake them. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly before glazing them.

Whisk together icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk until smoother.  Dip the top of the cookies into the glaze and place on the cooled parchment lined baking sheets to set.  If the glaze in the bowl begins to set up before you are done the cookies, whisk in a little more milk to soften it.

 

These cookies freeze extremely well so get them in there fast or I will not be held accountable for what happens if you don't!