CSN Giveaway WINNER

And the winner is....


Ashley Hewell!!!!!


Congrats to Ashley and thanks to everyone else who entered. You'll start seeing some more giveaways on this blog in the next few months. But don't worry though- I'll still be cooking up good food for your family too!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Scones

Weekends for me start on Friday, as I currently have Friday's off. That will be changing soon as I am starting a new five-day-a-week job. More about that later. Anyway, I enjoy making something special on my "weekend" mornings. Something to start the day off without the rush. Scones have always been a favorite around here, so when I looked in the fridge the other morning and noticed how many extra zucchinis I had, I came up with the idea of mixing them into a scone recipe.

You really can take a basic scone recipe, just like muffin recipe, and add just about anything to it for variety. Some scone recipes can end up being really fattening and high in calories with lots of butter included. I've played around with this basic recipe trying a mixture of cream cheese and butter but have decided if you are going to make it go all the way and use the butter, just not the two sticks that some folks think is necessary.

What are some of your favorite weekend morning treats? Here are some of my favorites.

Wake Me Up Muffins
Cinnamon Roll French Toast

Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Glaze

NOTE: Don't forget to check out the giveaway I'm hosting! You only have until Sunday to win. Click here for your chance to win!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Scones

Makes 12  

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and diced in 1 inch pieces
1 egg
2 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest
2 cups mini- chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In large bowl mix dry ingredients together then cut in the butter and set aside (should be the texture of crumbs) Whisk egg and sugar together in small bowl and then add zucchini, buttermilk, vanilla and orange zest.  Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and gradually pour in wet ingredients. Mix all together, but do not over stir. Spread mixture out on floured surface. Carefully knead while adding chocolate chips in handfuls at a time. You will only need to "press" mixture together for about 3 or 4 times. If you do this too much it will result in tough scones. Yuck.

A My McDonald Meal First: A Giveaway!!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

In our house it's a silent rule that we all eat at the table whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We do this for many reasons, some I'm sure you could guess. We tend to eat our breakfast and lunches at the kitchen table and dinner at our dining room table. Problem is, we're outgrowing our kitchen table and have been trying to figure out what to do. Well, ironically I have been in contact with CSN online stores to host a giveaway and at the same time discovered the perfect place to find a solution with their kitchen tables.

The great folks at CSN stores want to help me offer one of you a $40 Gift Certificate to spend in any of their many online stores! (Note: this is only open to U.S. readers) They have everything from clothing, kitchen gadgets, cookware, home goods and furniture. You will have NO problem finding something to spend the $40 on. Good luck!

Here's how you can win.  All you need to do is one of the following:

1. "Follow" me through Google over to the right and leave me a comment letting me know you did so.

2. "Like" me on Facebook at My McDonald Meal, and leave me a comment letting me know you did so.

3. Leave me a comment with your all time favorite meatless meal. Make sure to leave an email address where I can reach you in case you win!
I will pick a random winner using Random.org and the winner will be notified via email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before I pick another winner.

Contest opens at 8AM..EST on Monday August 23, 2010 and closes on Sunday August 29th, 2010 at 12PM EST.

You can also have multiple entries by doing more than one!  By the way, I was not given anything for this post---no compensation or gifts. I saw this as an opportunity to share some "love" with my readers! Best of luck to you all.

Vegan Applesauce Brownies with Peanut Butter Pretzel Topping

Are you looking for a brownie that doesn't call for a ton of eggs and a lot of oil and leaves it's mark on your hips? Well, look no further! This brownie has that nice cakey but fudgey taste with a lot less guilt! Well, at least maybe before you eat too much of the toppings you see here.

I made these as a treat for the girls at work so I had to add some fun toppings. But, really the reason I went searching for a similar recipe was to get better at making allergy-free foods. I am on a mission! My oldest gal has a few friends that have some pretty severe food allergies and every time we have them over I promise myself I will have some fun treats they can enjoy. So, when I ran across a few versions of this recipe, my wheels started turning. At Whole Foods I found these great allergy-free chocolate chips from Enjoy Life, they are dairy, gluten, soy and nut free! It's amazing all the products available now.

How do you handle your these types of food situations? Do you challenge yourself to find ways to provide food for them, or would you rather have the parent provide the food for them? By the way, before I would ever serve these to my daughters' friends, I would have the parents' approval first.

 Vegan Applesauce Brownies

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly coat 8X8 baking pan with oil.

Mix applesauce, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet and carefully stir until all combined. The texture will seem thick so you will have to spread in pan with spatula. Bake 25-30 min, until center is firm and not sticky. Cool completely before slicing

Peanut Butter Pretzel Topping (Vegan- but NOT nut free)

1/2 cup organic all natural creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup powder sugar

1 tbsp plain coconut milk (I enjoy the SO Delicious brand - soy milk would work too)

1 cup Enjoy Life (vegan) chocolate chips
2 cups pretzel sticks, chopped

Stir peanut butter, sugar and coconut milk together until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Melt chocolate chips and spread on top of PB topping. Sprinkle pretzels on top of the wet chocolate and let cool. Serve and enjoy!

Pomegranate Power Smoothie: A POM Wonderful Treat

I don't know about you all but these hot summer mornings make me want to have something cool for breakfast, and around our house smoothies are usually the answer. Isn't it fun how you can add so many healthy items in the blender, then push the button and voila you get a thick creamy cold treat.

I was contacted a by POM Wonderful to try their 100% pomegranate juice. So ever since the delivery, my girls and I have had lots of fun figuring out different ways to enjoy their product. I have to say, compared to the "so called" pomegranate juice that I've had before, this one was very pleasant. Not too sweet and not to zing the back of your cheeks kind of sour either. I also have to admit that the bottle is too darn cute with it's curvy figure.

Proof that the smoothie is kid approved!

Pomegranate Power Smoothie

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup old fashion rolled oats

2 tbsp wheat germ

1 cup plain fat free yogurt

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup ice cubes

In a blender, add above ingredients and blend for a 30 seconds and then scrape down sides. Continue to blend again for another minute in order to create volume to your shake. Add more ice if you like a really thick shake. Note: the oats should process nicely and taste perfect with the other flavors.

By the way, what do you think of my new "look"? I'm in love. Still trying to find my way around here myself- so be patient with me while some areas are under construction.

Fresh!

It's like a hot shower, or the feeling after a nice nap. Similar to the effects of a summer rain when the flowers have all perked up.

This is how I feel after having The Frilly Coconut give my blog a "fresh" new design. I knew that if I wanted to really jump into the blogging world I better get a more hip look.

Okay-- what do you think?  

My First Blog Award!-- The Versatile Blogger

I'm pretty excited to have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award from Melissa at The Hungry Artist!

Let me give you a little background behind my connection wtih Melissa. See, the blogging world is very small. A few months ago I was on Twitter and ran across a tweet from one of my all-time favorite cookbook authors and chefs, Mollie Katzen. In this tweet she mentioned Melissa from and her cute post on Popovers she had made with her son. Well, I saw this and was inspired to give these a try with a new twist. Of course I had to visit her site and comment on her blog! (Remember- that's the nice thing to do. Wink, wink!) She is an amazingly cool mom in New York with special talents in the kitchen and with her beautiful illustrations---she's also an illustrator of children's books!

The cool part of receiving this award is that you are challenged to share seven random things about yourself and then present the award to seven other bloggers who mean a lot to you.

1. I am 6'0" and yes, I married a tall guy too. He's 6'4".
2. Our first house was built in 1908. But it was in a very hip area of Portland Oregon and the kitchen was the largest room in an otherwise tiny house! Our third house, the one we are in now, the kitchen is the smallest room in the house. Hence, we are interested in moving sometime soon!
3. I have never cooked pork or lamb and probably never will, unless I am in culinary school and have to for a grade. Don't eat it either!
4. Our dog, Jetta, is named after one of my favorite Volkswagens!
5. If I have homemade chocolate chip cookies anywhere close to me... I will eat them all!
6. My father is a woodworker. Has made my dining room table, buffet, pantry and much more. You will see more of his work in an upcoming post!
7. I never really saw myself as a mother, but once I felt the first kick from my oldest daughter, I have never looked back and could never imagine my kitchen without the pitter-patter of feet running about begging for a taste.

And now I'd like to give this award to these inspiring bloggers. Some foodies, some mommies, some both, but all have helped me along the way.

1. My sister-in-law, Andrea over at Texas Macks.
I owe the whole blogging idea to her. She started her obsession before mine and finally showed me how I could take my "obsession" of cooking and turn it into something real. (Thanks my dear. You are amazing.) By the way, Andrea really needs some lifting up. Her sister has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and recently found spots on her lungs too.

2. Lori, at Fake Food Free.
Long story short... Lori is a friend of a friend who happens to live in the bluegrass state too. We have very similar thoughts about the foods eat. And we both love gardening! I also have to give a lot of credit to Lori for teaching me a lot about food blogging.

3. Ann, at Healthy Tasty Chow.
A very cool mom with another on the way. She's been with me almost the whole time I've had my site. Ann- you're great. Thanks for all the support.

4. Trina, at O'Boy! Organic.
I think just by visiting her site you'll see why I would pick her! We've had lots of fun tweeting about gardening with our kids this summer.

5. Michelle, at Find Your Balance.
A health food nut just like me who has found her passion!

6. Traci, at Burnt Apple.
Another foodie mama aiming to feed her family one healthy bite at a time.

7. Danielle, at A Day in the Life.
I don't know too many foodie mamas in this area of Kentucky but sure was glad when Danielle and I connected. What a beautiful family! Congrats on your new baby boy!

Thanks again to Melissa for this award! This blog has become one of the best things that's happened to me. I am very glad I took the plunge a little over a year ago. Woohoo!

Now back to the kitchen.