Cinnamon Roll French Toast

Don't you just love Saturday mornings when the sun shines in, coffee is hot and the kids slept well. These type of mornings call for something special to eat at the McD house! Normally the hubs is the chef on these mornings but instead I was craving to get into the kitchen after such a busy week.

If I had been able to, I would have had some delicious hot cinnamon rolls to offer but instead had to look to plan B. French toast. But not just the regular way. Nope- I decided to try something new. Cinnamon Roll French Toast! Here's what I did. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

In a small bowl mix the following ingredients.
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
3 tbsp grd flax seeds
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp grd cinnamon
1/4 cup crushed pecans

Beat 4 eggs in a shallow bowl and add 2 tbsp milk.
Cut crust off of 6 slices of whole wheat bread and flatten with a mallet.



Once bread is thinned out dip all four sides into egg mixture and spread small amount of oat mixture over slice. Roll bread up into a loose roll and dip entire piece into egg. Make sure to let the bread soak in egg for about 15-30 seconds, this will help make the inside moist. Once wet, place in well buttered, oiled skillet and cook, rotating as sides get done.




P.S. Don't forget to save your bread edges for the ducks...or compost! My girls love visiting our neighborhood pond and feed the hundreds of ducks that beg to be fed.

Easy, Healthy Dessert- Lemon Yogurt Parfait

A couple days ago I did my weekly visit to Whole Foods and found a beautiful bag of Meyer Lemons on sale. I have been seeing so many yummy recipes using these lemons that I thought I needed to give it a whirl.

Now- I love dessert! I love about anything with chocolate! But I also know that to live a healthy life things have to be in moderation. So when I decided to make a special dessert for the family using these wonderfully delicate lemons, I wanted it to be on the healthy side and easy side seeing that the girls wanted to get outside to play in the nice spring weather.

Easy Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Parfait

Makes 4 small servings

1 large container of plain Greek Yogurt (I love Stonyfield Farms Oikos )
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 1 1/2 Meyer Lemons)
3 tbsp Agave Nectar
1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp powder sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries

Mix yogurt, nectar and cinnamon in large bowl. Spoon out equal amounts of mixture into small dishes. Place equal amounts of blueberries on top. In large bowl combine whipping cream, almond extract and powder sugar. Beat whipping cream with electric mixer until very creamy thick. Place on top of blueberries and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

What a great healthy way to end a delightful meal. Stay tuned and I'll share our special spring celebration meal with you soon!

Shepherd's Pie with Bison

I think I have mentioned before how I try to avoid most meat products in our kitchen. Well, I took a turn to the dark side (haha) and splurged on some grass-fed bison from Whole Foods. It's not something I enjoy cooking but don't mind eating occasionally. Since this past week was St. Patrick's Day, and since my husband is a proud Scotsman, I decided to make one of his favorite dishes, Shepherd's Pie. We usually prefer this as a meatless dish, so definitely not your typical Scottish/Irish recipe but very healthy. I WARN you- if you are looking for the real thing, then turn away. Remember who's blog you are reading, a Health Promotion Specialist who is obsessed with her vegetables.

Shepherd's Pie with Bison and LOTS of Veggies!

1 lb. ground bison
2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
1 tsp butter
milk

1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup corn
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup button mushrooms, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet brown the bison until cooked thoroughly. Remove from skillet and let cool on plate. You can us a paper towel to absorb some of the fat. Peel potatoes and cook until tender, then mash with 1 tsp of butter, 1 tsp salt and enough milk to keep moist. In the same skillet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute onion until tender. Add carrots and broccoli and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour broth and remaining veggies and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add flour worchestershire sauce and tomato paste, whisk until broth thickens. Mix in seasonings.





Stir bison into veggie mixture and pour into baking dish. I like to use my round quiche dish. Spread mashed potatoes over mixture and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 25-30 minutes-until potatoes get slightly brown.

Goat Cheese Hummus

We invited some guests over the other night, which--if I haven't mentioned--is something I love to do! I had everything put together for the main course and dessert, but needed something to serve as an appetizer. I wanted something fresh, fast and healthy so I looked in the fridge and pantry and saw the following: 1 can of garbanzo beans, 1 lime and a nice round of goat cheese. Surely I could do something with these ingredients. Oh, and I had already had a small loaf of Irish Soda Bread in the oven so a spread would work perfectly.

Surprisingly this turned out great! Now, you need to remember that goat cheese a pretty strong flavor so switch it out with another soft cheese if you need.

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (I love Whole Foods salt free canned beans!)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 clove garlic
2 oz. goat cheese

Place beans and oil in food processor and process until blended. Add following ingredients and mix well. Check to make sure it's wet enough--if not, add 1/2 tsp water. Serve with bread, veggies or crackers. Works well warm too! Yum!

Quick and Easy Quinoa Black Bean Patty

Quinoa...a blast from the past. A favorite protein source that I used A LOT when I was living a vegetarian diet. This is one of the coolest foods/grains out there. And it's quite a bang for your buck! You have a complete protein, meaning you get all amino acids chains meeting nicely to give you the proper nutritional punch. In my opinion, it has a strange flavor by itself, but takes on pretty much any flavor you mix with it.

As you might have already picked up, I like to serve my girls a variety of foods! I usually tend to stick to a vegetable source for their protein. Luckily they do not mind beans and most veggies. This recipe meets all of our needs and I find that they eat most anything when it's in a patty or pancake form.

Quinoa Black Bean Patty
based on recipe by Prevention Magazine

1 1/2 cup of cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen- thawed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp salsa, mild or medium
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp corn meal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour





Cook Quinoa accordingly and allow to cool. Mince garlic and chop cilantro. In a large bowl add Quinoa and next eight ingredients and mix. Make well in bowl and add egg and mix thoroughly. Add corn meal and flour and stir. Scoop 1/4 cup of mixture and make patty. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in skillet and add patties. Let cook about 5-8 minutes per side.

My girls like this with a little salsa served on the side. You could also make a yogurt sauce or a little sour cream can work well too. I have served these patties with a chili lime marinated Tilipia and grapes but you could have this be the main dish for lunch or dinner since it's full of all important ingredients!

Our Cooking Birthday Party!

When my oldest gal said she wanted a cooking party for her 6th birthday I was thrilled! (We are definitely from the same mold. Gotta love her!) So this past Friday evening I hosted 11 little cuties and tried my best to show them a fun foodie time.

We started the party with the girls making some cute salad boutiques with wooden skewers and a variety of veggies and fruit. Note to self, 5 and 6 year olds might not have the best coordination/strength to do this food craft. We had one sweet gal poke her hand with one of these darn weapons , I mean skewers. It was still cute and they enjoyed drizzling some homemade dressing on top of the veggies and popping off the grapes.




Then on to the rolling of the dough and dressing up their pizzas. The only part I made ahead of time was the dough. I left the rolling and decorating to the girls. I spent time on Friday morning mixing up enough of the McPizza Dough recipe for 13 mini-pizzas. The veggie lover in me had to make this a veggie night! So they had spinach, mushrooms and peppers to use for decorations. Funny thing though, I had a few girls want to know where the pepperoni was- so I sweetly said- “thought we’d do without tonight and go for the veggies instead”. NO ONE complained! See, you only give them healthy choices and they do great. I really think the highlight of the night was rolling out the dough! Like I said earlier, I made enough for each gal to make their own pizza so they had their ball of dough in a baggie ready to roll out. We placed some plastic wrap, easy clean-up, and flour on the table and they began to roll away! But it wasn’t the dough that caused the best look, it was knowing that they were using their own new rolling pen! My father, the wonderful man and woodcrafter he is, made each gal their own rolling pen! He turned them out in his workshop and my mom painted the handles a nice sweet red. The girls couldn’t believe they got to use them that night.



The girls also got to decorate their aprons. I had already stenciled on their names but they got to use different fabric paints, stencils and sponges and let their creativity run wild. This was probably one of the few quiet moments of the evening other than when they were eating.



I think the party went really well. The girls were so polite in thanking me and the birthday gal for having such a fun party. I even got comments that I should turn this into a business…hmm…not a bad idea. Not for the money, but for the pure joy of the kids really experiencing food. Not just eating it but learning how the whole process works and the fun of healthy eating. As the girls were sticking their fruit and veggies on the sticks I took the time to quiz them on the veggie they had in front of them. I am very proud to say that most girls knew each food! Now…I did not say that they liked them all but they did know the names, I did get a some “yucks” and “I’m not going to put that on MY pizza”. But hey, it is a step in the right direction.





No need to worry, I am not crazy enough to have this many kiddos in my own kitchen. Instead our church has this great room ready for large, messy gatherings (it has a sink in the room) and they have the perfect kitchen with multiple stoves to bake our goodies all at once! I also had asked for some helpers to stay and party with us.

What fun! Consider this for your child! I promise they will remember each moment and love it all.

Adopt-a-Blogger #4 Intro

Back in January I made a goal to improve my blog so my readers could get more from my posts and resources, so, I took a leap and asked to be selected for the Adopt-A-Blogger #4. Kristen over at the lovely DineandDish has put this cool program together to bring those experienced bloggers who have been maintaining an active food blog for over a year to adopt a newbie like me who have been blogging for less than a year. It is designed to help us “newbies” gain more knowledge in the whole blogging process. I was contacted by Kristen to let me know I was selected and paired up with the “SWEET” CB from iheartfood4thought and iheartcuppycakes.

Clara and I have been emailing back and forth since February and so far she’s already given me great tips and leads for graphic help. She’s the one that finally got me to add a “contact me” note under my “about me” section. Not realizing that there are folks/readers out there who might not want to leave a comment but instead email a question or thought privately. How clever- wink, wink!

We thought it might be nice to do an introductory interview for our blog readers. You can read my answers over here.
Let me officially introduce Clara (also goes by CB).

1. Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Clara. I live in Orange County, CA. Please don't say The OC. That bugs the crap out of me! It's just OC. Got it? :P I'm an independence baby. Born on the 4th July. I've been married to my wonderful husband for 2.5 years. We don't have any kids unless you count Andorra, our very spoiled (by her father) Great Pyrenees.



2. What food do you NOT eat?
I am a self proclaimed banana hater. And consider myself a carrot dislike-er. I don't mind raw carrots but cooked carrots are nasty. Both are a texture thing for me. I don't do mushy.

3. What is your comfort food?
Sweet: cheesecake or creme brulee or cupcakes. Salty: pizza or kettle chips

4. What is your go-to cookbook?
I adore cookbooks. There's nothing like having something tangible to open and read but if I'm being honest. If I'm looking for a recipe, I usually end up at my computer first. Food Blog Search is one of my favorite sources for recipes.

5. What is your favorite spice? Least favorite?
I love the warmth and smell of cinnamon. I'm not a big fan of nutmeg. It's not very forgiving. Use too much and it ruins the whole dish for me.

6. Name 10 things in your frig RIGHT NOW.
(1) 80 cal string cheese (60 cals doesn't even taste like it was made from milk!)
(2) strawberry jam
(3) pedigree chicken and rice dog food
(4) 5 lemons
(5) whole wheat tortillas
(6) 5 dozen eggs
(7) 1/2 used bottle of ketchup
(8) extra firm tofu
(9) 1 carton organic fat free milk
(10) bacon ranch dressing

7. Why did you start a food blog?
At first it was just a place to keep recipes that I found via the internet or food blogs but as I started getting more and more into blogging, it has turned into much more than a placeholder. More than even a hobby. Now it’s my creative outlet.

8. How did you come up with your blog name?
I'm a word nerd. And my favorite category on Wheel of Fortune is "before and after" where you take 1 phrase and use the last word of that phrase as the first one in the 2nd phrase. In my case: I heart food + food for thought. See! I told you. Me=Nerd.

9. What is your favorite can’t-live-without-it kitchen gadget?
Definitely my empire red Kitchen Aid Mixer. (Thanks MIL!) It’s my pride and kitchen joy. I named her Ginger Spice. Sometimes when I walk by her in the kitchen I can't help but reach for a hug.

10. What are your short term goals for your blog? Long term?
My short term goals are to continue blogging and building relationships with my readers through my stories, recipes and photos. I am also focusing on improving my food photography too. (DSLR for Dummies anyone?) While I love the cooking+baking part of blogging, the writing is what I enjoy the most! So my long term goal is to someday take that leap from hobby to author. Who wouldn’t want to make money from something they love right? I want to wake up every morning and say “I LOVE my job!”

11. When and why did you start cooking?
Don't ask me why. Blame it on the domesticity bug but I wasn't interested in learning to cook or bake until after I got married. All the sudden something clicked. I wanted to learn to cook for my new husband. Two and a half years later, my blog is my proof to my MIL that her son isn't eating blue box mac & cheese or ramen anymore. HA!

12. What is one dish you would love to learn to cook?
Coq Co Vin. The word just screams foodie sophistication to me. And I hear all the cool cooks are doing it. :P

13. How do you see yourself in the future? Still blogging?
Definitely. I don't mind the small blog operation I've already got going but I wouldn't mind expanding to a blog empire like Pioneer Woman either. Hey! You gotta dream big or go home right?

14. What is one food you hated as a kid but love now?
Broccoli. I use to hide it under my rice so my mom wouldn't see it but now it's my veggie of choice for any dish.

15. How have you gotten the word out about your blog?
I believe that joining a baking or cooking group is a great platform to meet people and exchanging blog links. I've met some amazing people from Daring Bakers and Tuesdays with Dorie. Also don't underestimate the power of just commenting on blogs you read already. I know that when someone leaves me a comment on my blog, I am more likely to go to their blog and leave one too. I am also a proponent of social networking sites like Twitter (or Facebook). But I recommend you don't use twitter just to pimp out your blog. At least for me, I'm apt to follow someone that is a real person rather than a twittering advertisement for their blog.

16. Does your husband like to cook? If so, does he have a special dish?
I think he would cook more if I would let him in my kitchen. I tell him that the only reason he should be in my kitchen is to wash the dishes. HA HA! Although when we were dating, he used to make a mean spaghetti. You can see the sauce recipe (here) from his mom.

17. When you go out to dinner what would be your favorite type of cuisine?
I love Asian foods especially Vietnamese but I never say no to Italian either. While my Hubs loves Mexican food.

18. If you could go anywhere to study the foods of that country, where would you go?
Vietnam. It would serve dual purpose for me. I would love to learn how to cook authentic Vietnamese food+desserts and become fluent in the language too. I think my parents always regretted not teaching me when I was younger. I can understand if you speak slowly but I have no reading or writing skills. Unfortunately taking classes in college doesn't really allow you to pick up the language unless you are immersed in it. But I wouldn't turn down a free trip to Italy or Paris either. ;)

19. What's one of the favorite meals you grew up eating?
First thing that came to mind... McDonalds. No joke! I know it's not a prepared meal. But when I was little, my Daddy would pick me and my little brother up from school every Friday and take us to McDonalds. It was like Daddy Day. Maybe that's why I have such fond memories of McDonalds. I don't go there for the food (ok maybe I have a little Big Mac guilty pleasure). It's for the memories. But if we're talking about a meal my mom cooked for me. It would definitely be her eggrolls. I could eat them every day, any day, all day. Amen.

20. What is one food item you make that is most requested from your family and friends?
No doubt. Cupcakes.