Tomato and Cheese Toast - (Lunch - Day 3)

My kids eat a limited number of veggies. The one they can all agree on is tomatoes. (I know, scholars, it's a fruit, but it's my blog and I can say what I want)

This was really easy to make, but didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. For some reason I have the hardest time getting my food to look pretty. The taste is fine, but it never looks good.

Ingredients

slice of bread (we used whole wheat), slice of tomato, butter, garlic powder and cheese (1/8 lb)- grated


Method to the Madness

1. Spread small amount of butter onto bread and sprinkle with garlic powder.

2. Broil until toast is, well, toasty.

3. Remove from oven.

4. Add tomato and sprinkle cheese on top.

5. Put back in the oven until the cheese melts.

6. Tell your toddler it's pizza so she'll eat it.

The End

Arctic Oranges (Snack - Day 3)

These snacks were a colossal fail. This is the recipe. The idea was to hollow out the inside of the orange and mix it with juice. Blend it and then put it back in the rind. Freeze. Enjoy.

This is how it went: Cut cute little zigzag pattern on top of orange. Try desperately to scrape the inside of the orange out. Look at the destroyed rind and the orange mess everywhere and declare that everyone can just have an orange whole.

Still healthy snack that did not come from a package. Mission accomplished.

Blueberry Muffins ala Paula Deen (Breakfast - Day 3)

This morning it was rainy. And gray. And cold. I almost decided not to make the blueberry muffins. I thought about oatmeal instead. Oatmeal says dreary to me, I don't know why. But, I really wanted to give it a go so I did.

I followed this recipe to a T. No mistakes, absolute perfection on my part.

Okay, you caught me.

The first time I made them I used 4 cups of flour instead of 2 cups. I forgot I was using a 2 cup measuring cup. It was early.

Anyway, I discovered it before I added (and wasted) the blueberries, thank goodness.

I followed the directions exactly the second time.

I expected those little nuggets of perfection at the top of this post.

Instead this is what I got :


The kids were actually a little afraid of them. But, they ate them and stated for the record that they were okay. I personally think Jiffy Blueberry Mix tastes better but that's just me.

Reflections - Day 2

This little experiment has proven to be harder than I thought. The recipes are simple enough, it's the things that I didn't think I would miss. I snuck to the store and bought a soda (shhh... it's our little secret). It was that or down the cooking sherry.

This house was in chaos today.

It's in chaos everyday, but today was a chaotic exception.

I should have known how the day would go when I failed to wake up in order to make breakfast and the kiddos helped themselves to Honey Nut Cheerios. Rather than beat myself up I'm glad that I had a semi-healthy alternative for them to choose from. The rest of the day challenge-wise was great.

The Buffalo Chicken Wraps were "off the chain", by that I mean they were delicious. The spaghetti took a while to make but I think if I go with canned tomatoes next time it will be much better. I know, it's not container-free but not all foods that come from a can are horrible. And sometimes, let's face it, if it's sanity versus convenience I'm choosing convenience (in moderation).

I for one am looking forward to tomorrow and all it's yummy goodness.

Ambrosia- Remixed (Dessert- Day 2)

I found this recipe for Wolf Pack Ambrosia (I still haven't figured out what it has to do with wolves). After reading through it I liked the idea but not the follow through. For one, marshmallows are just empty calories. Also, why used canned fruit when you can used real fruit? So, here is my interpretation.

Ingredients
Whole pineapple, 6 mandarin oranges, 2 bananas, and 4 ounces of yogurt
I used all natural yogurt- no additives or anything. If you go this route you may want to sprinkle a smidge of sugar on it. Real yogurt is tart.

Method to the Madness

1. Peel and core pineapple
(or, if you're not a cheapskate pay the extra dollar and buy one that's already done)

2. Peel oranges.
This is a great job for the kiddos.

3. Peel bananas and slice.

4. Mix in a bowl with the yogurt.

The End

Dessert for champions in as little as 10 minutes.

* I realized after I made this that it lacked coconut. What kind of ambrosia doesn't have coconut? If I were you, I would add coconut. It's really better for everyone involved.

Spaghetti with Homemade Meat Sauce (Dinner - Day 2)

When I first had this idea to go "boxless" homemade spaghetti sauce was the first thing on my list I wanted to try. I looked over the Internet and found none that suited my fancy (I have a very weird fancy).

So I combined a lot of fabulous ideas and came up with this. I have to warn you, this sauce did not turn out "pretty", it was not "to die for" or "the best sauce I've ever had" but it was passable. There are a lot of things you could do to change it to your own fancy.

Ingredients
20 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 onion, 1 head of garlic, various spices (rosemary, basil and oregano were my choices), red pepper flakes, Kosher salt, pepper, and sugar

All amounts are at your discretion. Only you know what you like. Start by adding a little and taste, taste, taste until it's how you want it.

I also wanted to use red wine, but since I can't seem to keep a bottle around I used cooking sherry
(not a great substitute)

Italian sausage
( I prefer the mild variety but when your making your own you can do what you want)

Method to the Madness

1. You have to peel the tomatoes.
I read many an article on it, got frustrated, and did my own thing. It worked out great. I'll tell you how at the end of the post.

2. Chop onion and peel garlic.
(I left my cloves whole, but that's mainly because I don't like crunchy spaghetti - I pick the cloves out at the end).

3. Chop up herbs if you are using fresh ones.

4. Add a little olive oil to a skillet and heat.

5. Dump veggies in the skillet cook until they are tender and brown.

6. Put tomatoes into large stock pot and add liquid (wine, cooking sherry, tequila- whatever you have lying around). Use very little. The tomatoes are very juicy.


7. Add skillet contents and herbs to the pot.

8. Cook on medium heat.

9. Bring to a boil and let some of the liquid "cook out".

10. Add salt and pepper. Taste. Add more salt and pepper. Taste. (you get the idea)

11. If it tastes too tomato-y add a smidgen of sugar, that will cut the tomato taste a little.

12. Continue to simmer while you cook the sausage.
And, as a friend of mine's mom in law likes to point out, be sure and cook the pork all the way through.

Really?
Who likes pork medium well?



13. Add sausage to the pot. Continue to cook on low until desired consistency.

And while you are doing all that... you need to cook some spaghetti. We used whole wheat linguine noodles, but this sauce would work well with pretty much any noodle.

"You're a noodle". "That's what she said said"

I digress, anyway...



Peeling Tomatoes for Dummies
(present company included)

- Boil water
- put tomatoes in boiling water
- boil for around 30 seconds (you can see the peel beginning to come of)
- place tomatoes into ice bath (bowl of water with ice)
- wait until cool and skins will slip right of
- cut tomatoes in half, squeeze out the juicy insides (to discard) and throw into pot
Easy, cheesy.

As I said, there are many ways to make this your own. Add mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, the list is endless. It also freezes very well (I've heard) so you can make a big batch and have some for later.

BTW: This recipe made just barely enough for seven. It would generously feed 4-5.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps (Lunch - Day 2)

These are my own invention, so no recipe link. They are SUPER easy and SUPER delicious. This was the first time we tried it and I have kiddos asking for seconds.

Ingredients

1/2 pound grated cheese (any kind, I used cheddar because it's what I had), baby spinach leaves (fresh), sliced tomato (small), and this nectar of the gods...
and chicken, I used 2 boneless chicken breast and it made 8 wraps.


Method to the Madness


1. Heat skillet, spray with non stick spray

2. Slice chicken long ways, should get about 4 or 5 good slices

3. Dump chicken into pan and stir around.
(I'm not a very patient person, so I tend to continuously stir thinking it's cooking faster)

4. When chicken has begun to brown drizzle hot sauce on it. Use a little or a lot it's up to you.
5. Your chicken should be done after about 10 minutes.

6. Layer tortilla with 1 chicken strip, spinach, tomato, and cheese.

7. Add extra hot wing sauce if you want (read: if you're not a wimp)

8. Enjoy.

I gave the kids these with apples because that's what they wanted, but I think celery would make a good veggie side for this meal.

Rugrat Rating : 5 stars