Comfort food for our sick kids.

It all started on Thursday evening when our oldest daughter was hit with a stomach bug just as our youngest was trying to get rid of her cold. Then I woke up Friday morning with sore throat. Needless to say, we spent much of our weekend curled up with hot chocolate, tea, puzzles and plenty of books. Luckily we did get to enjoy the beautiful snow before the weekend came to an end. Since we hadn't had a full meal in a while, I decided to make one of the girls favorites. Even though we live in the South, fried chicken is not something I'm a fan or cooking. So, this is my version. Slightly healthier too!




Honey Mustard Breaded Chicken Strips

Marinade
1 1/2 chicken breast, pounded and cut into tenders
1/4 cup stone ground mustard
1/4 cup agave nectar or honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Coating
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill cornmeal
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill wheat germ
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Mix marinade together and add chicken. Let soak for an hour in the fridge. Once finished marinading take chicken and dredge in buttermilk and then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown in skillet with 1 tbsp of canola oil for 5 minutes on each side. Then transfer to baking sheet and bake
on parchment paper for 15-18 minutes.




Apple Oatmeal Bake
This dish makes a great dessert but is also perfect served cold over yogurt. Wonderful pick me up treat!

3-4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
2 cups Bob's Red Mill oatmeal
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill wheat germ
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, cut into small chunks

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Dice apples and pour into round baking dish. Mix oatmeal, wheat germ, ground flax seeds and cinnamon together in small dish. Pour orange juice and agave nectar into another small dish and whisk together. Add oatmeal mixture to apples and stir. Once mixed pour juice over dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

I mentioned some of Bob's Red Mill products, they did not ask me to add this...they just happen to be one of my favorite companies and you can find these three products in many of my recipes!



And here is a great shot my husband got of one of our "snow angels"

Our soup dinners

My oldest daughter started ice skating lessons earlier this month and is loving each and every minute of the lesson. We signed her up with her two best buddies who happen to be the girls of my best friend too. The lessons start at 6pm so any dinner plans for those nights have to be quick and served early. So what better dish than soup? Luckily, my girlfriend has lucked out and has been able to enjoy a little rink side picnic with me. Wish I had a picture of the two of us with our thermos of soup with napkins in lap and bag of crackers at side. One important thing about cooking for me is the sharing aspect. To know that someone else is enjoying this with me means a lot!

At the beginning of each week, usually on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, I plan our meals for the week and even think of when I have time to cook any meals early. The soups have been made either on Monday while I'm fixing that nights dinner or late Tuesday night after the kids go to bed. I knew I needed a soup that could be a stand alone meal since we weren't going to have time to eat anything other sides. I also knew that the soup needed to have all major, or I should say- McDonald, food groups included. Veggies top that list along with a little protein, carbohydrate/whole grain. I also needed a soup that could heat up really well a day or two after prepared.

Here are some of the ones I have prepared.



Carrot-Ginger Soup
(adapted from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest )

1 tbsp olive oil
2 lbs of carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
3 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup cashews or raw almonds, toasted

In stock pot heat oil to medium high and sautee onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook another 2-4 minutes. Once onion mixture starts smelling “gingery” add carrots and stock. Bring to boil then reduce to medium add spices and cover pot. Allow carrots to cook until tender, about 30 minutes. While soup is cooking toast nuts. -Cashews give the soup a sweeter taste. Use either nut. Both turn out great.
Remove soup from heat and let cool. Using either a hand blender or food processor puree with nuts. If using a food processor, make sure to puree in small batches. Return to soup to pot and either heat and serve or place in fridge. Taste great served later!



Chicken Lentil Stew

2 cups of green lentils rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
½ red pepper diced
1 cup pureed butternut squash
3 cups of broth (I used a low sodium chicken broth)
1 cup of roasted chicke breast, shredded
1 cup of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp of honey or agave nectar
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coarse sea salt
½ tsp cumin
1 bunch of kale cut off stem and washed

Heat stock pot to medium high and add oil. Sautee onion until soft and add garlic. Cook for about another 4 minutes then add red pepper. Once pepper is soft add lentils and broth. Let cook for about 15 minutes on medium, and then add the rest of the ingredients.


Corn Chowder

1 small onion,diced
1 clove garlic,diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper, diced
2 cups corn (fresh or frozen- if frozen do not thaw)
1 carrot, diced
1/2 can hominy
3 cups veggie or chicken broth ( I love using Whole Foods 365 low sodium chicken broth or their veggie broth is great too)
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
pepper to taste

In large stock pot, sautee onion and garlic over medium heat in olive oil. Add red pepper and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Combine the rest of the ingredients to the onion mixture and let cook for additional 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Something spicy for the McD family!

I have never shied away from serving spicy foods for my girls. I didn't give them up while pregnant, even with the horrible heartburn with my first pregnancy, nor with the girls as they were babies. I was adding flavor to their baby food as soon as I could. Who wants to eat that bland stuff anyway! So my girls are accustomed to having garlic, onions and a little more spice in just about every dish. This dish was just a little different using some hot sauce. Of course you can adjust the spice as much or as less as needed.


This recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac




1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, mined
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 can diced tomatoes (Muir Glen Organic fire roasted would be great in this dish!)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken breast (I boiled mine but roasted would work well too)
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 box of whole wheat ziti or macaroni noodles
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

In large skillet over medium high add olive oil and onions. Cook onions for about 4 minutes or until soft then add garlic, carrots, celery and peppers. Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaf and other seasonings and let cook for about 10 minutes. Add chicken and hot sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.

Boil pasta and heat broiler to high. Add cooked pasta to 9X13 inch dish with chicken and veggies spread on top. Evenly spread cheese on top of dish and place under broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese has melted and starts to bubble.

Fun in the kitchen

My oldest daughter has been in the kitchen cooking up messes since she was little over 2. Once she started staying with my mom while I'm away, she had her spot at the counter mixing away. As I've said before, I owe a lot of my cooking habits to my mother. She had me up on a step stool early making Sesame Street Cookie Monster Sugar cookies and watching her whip up dinners from scratch. So you definitely can say my daughter is comfortable at the counter reading the ingredients, telling me what to add and what to take out of the mix- oh and of course trying to sneak a taste of the dough.

We had a nice snowy afternoon, perfect for some baking especially since little one was napping and daddy was cleaning. It was time for some creation from the McDonald kitchen. We needed to whip up a good hearty, healthy addition to our smoothies for Sunday morning so muffins it had to be! I put together the main ingredients but my daughter told me what else we needed to add. See if you can pick her special touches.





Wake Me up Muffins
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
¼ cup wheat germ
½ cup sugar
½ cup honey (or Agave Nectar)
1 cup carrot, grated
1 apple, cored and diced
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup raisins or other dried fruit
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first 8 ingredients together and set aside. In a large bowl mix sugar, honey, carrot, pumpkin, vanilla, egg and oil together. Add dry ingredients small batches at a time. Once mixed together, add raisins. Then scoop mixture into muffin pan. Makes 12 large muffins.

There is NO reason to be scared ...

To cook TOFU! Trust me, I am no chef and do not have any formal training in the kitchen. So when I tell you that you can make tofu taste good- trust me! It's all about trial and error. Tonight's meal was a keeper!

Over the holidays we were so good at sticking with the Meatless Monday theme but now that we are back in the swing of things our Monday's are meatless again. This is a recipe I tried once before but wasn't happy with the sauce recipe I followed so this time I decided to try out my own mix...and found the perfect twist of ingredients.

Tofu stir-fry with peanut noodles

1 firm package of tofu, drained (with a towel) and diced into cubes
Non-stick cooking spray
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chili powder

Spray skillet with oil and keep on medium heat. Add cubed tofu to skillet and brown on each side. As cooking, add spices and toss.

Once tofu is browned, add a variety of veggies. Here's the list of what I used tonight. Sorry to not have a picture. We were so hungry we ate it all before I had a chance to take a shot.

2 carrots, diced- matchstick
2 cups of broccoli, chopped with stalk included
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup of shredded red cabbage (bok choy is good too)
2 tbsp honey drizzled over veggies while cooking

While veggies cook, heat water to boil and add pasta of your choice. I usually use spaghetti but tried ziti this time. We liked the ziti since it held the peanut sauce a little more.

Peanut Sauce
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

Whisk mixture and heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Add sauce to cooked, drained noodles and drizzle over tofu and veggies. ENJOY!

A Creole New Year

Instead of the typical black-eyed peas meal for New Year’s Day, I decided to go for some gumbo instead. My husband is NOT a fan of black-eyed peas nor is he a fan of sauerkraut, so I had to find a plan B anyway. I even tried to add some “hidden” veggies in for the girls…and the adults. Try this out on the whole family since you can adjust the spice for your own taste.

Good Year Gumbo

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot diced
1 green pepper diced
1 1/2 cup carrots diced
1 can diced no salt tomatoes
1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1-2 turkey sausage links (I used a garlic white wine sausage)
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 cup chicken broth
1 cup beer
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or deep skillet. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes at medium heat until soft. Then add the shallot, garlic and green pepper- cook for additional 5 minutes. Cut sausage up into small slices and add to skillet to brown. If your peppers, onion mixture gets too brown remove while cooking sausage. Once cooked, keep peppers, onions and sausage in pan and add remainder ingredients except flour. Mix well and keep at medium to low heat covered for 20-30 minutes allowing all ingredients to cook together. Once all cooked add flour and stir to thicken sauce.

If you have fresh okra available at the grocery then by all means add it too! It was not available at our stores so I opted out and served green beans on the side instead.
Serve with cornbread on the side or place cornbread on bottom of a bowl then add gumbo on top! Yummy!





Casey's Cornbread

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk (skim works fine)
3 1/2 tbsp melted butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together. Make a well in the bowl and add butter, milk and egg together whisking well. Pour into a well greased 9X13 pan and bake for 30mins.