Yesterday I had 11 girls in the kitchen and we made fruit smoothies. I always keep yogurt sticks and fruit in the freezer for quick and easy smoothies, then you do not need ice. I gave each girl a yogurt to open and put into the blender. When everything was placed in the blender, I turned the blender on and watched the expressions on their faces, pure delight and anticipation to taste the yummy smoothie. The younger girls always put their hands over their ears because of the sound of the blender. A beautiful sight with wonderful girls, big smiles, and a very tasty, healthy snack!
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FRUIT SMOOTHIES
Serves 6 full cups/12 small cups
- 10-12 frozen yogurt sticks
- 2 cups frozen fruit (we used strawberries with juice)
- 1 to 2 cups orange juice (can use other jucies)
- 1 tablespoon honey (or more to taste)
Place yogurt and fruit into large blender. Add 1 cup of orange juice and the honey. Start the blender. Blend for a few minutes. Stop the blender and push the fruit and yogurt down into the juice. Add more orange juice as needed to make the smoothie blend. This makes a thick smoothie. You can add more juice to make a thinner smoothie. Enjoy!
If I have protein powder, I add a couple of scoops into the blender. My girls ask, "What is the powder?" I tell them it's vanilla flavoring...:-)....they say, "Oh!"...Yum!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
As I promised, attached is my Eggplant Parmesan recipe. I rarely use recipes for dishes like this because I am a “freelance cook”-- just throw things together, a little of this, a little of that. I learned by watching by Mom preparing this without a recipe and my son learned by watching me. Everyone has been asking for my recipes, so I made my eggplant a few weeks ago and wrote down everything as I prepared it. This recipe is heartier than my Mom’s as I prefer the diced tomatoes to a thinner red sauce. I also use less mozzarella, which really brings out the eggplant flavor. My tasters were my peers at work. They loved it! This is a great recipe where kids can help dredge and layer. Have them also count how many pieces of eggplant and how many stacks and layers. This gives them a little “secret” math in the kitchen too. It’s a hearty dinner and a great vegetarian recipe too. Enjoy!
(I did not salt my eggplant to release moisture and make it tender. I purchased medium eggplants fresh from the farmers' market. Fresh eggplant makes a big difference. If you use large eggplants or older eggplants (with dark seeds), you might want to salt prior to frying. Sprinkle some salt on each slice of eggplant. Set aside for 15 minutes. Rinse well and dry.)
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EGGPLANT PARMESAN
Serves 6 large – 12 halves
Ingredients
2-3 medium eggplants (2-2 ¼ lbs. – you need 18 slices)
½ cup flour
4 eggs, beaten, add ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, mix
1 ½ cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
Vegetable or Canola oil to fry eggplant. Enough for a large sauté pan for oil to be ½ deep.
Tomato sauce
1 ¾ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut eggplant into 1/2 “ round slices.
- You will need 3 deep plates or wide shallow bowls. (Pie pans work great for this).
- Place flour in one plate, egg into another, and bread crumbs with parmesan cheese and garlic powder into third plate.
- Dredge each slice of eggplant into flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture. Set aside on a baking sheet.
- Heat oil until it shimmers. I test by putting a small amount of the bread crumbs into pan.
- Fry eggplant in batches and don’t over crowd them. Fry each eggplant slice until golden brown, about 3 minutes, and only turn each once. Place on a baking sheet covered with paper towels to absorb oil. You might need to add some more oil after a few batches. Bring oil back to a shimmer before cooking next batch.
- In a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish, spread 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom f the pan. Top with 1/3 of the eggplant slices. Spread ¼ of the sauce on top of the eggplant. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the sauce. Make another layer of eggplant, sauce and cheeses, then another layer. You will end up with six large, three layer pieces.
- Bake 30 minutes until cheese melts. If cheese starts to brown too quickly, place a foil tent over baking dish.
HEARTY TOMATO SAUCE
Yields: 5 ½ cups
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, small diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
Dash black pepper
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes (with juices)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (with juices)*
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
Preparation
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a heavy saucepan.
- Stir in onions and cook until transparent.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in basil, oregano, salt, sugar, and pepper.
- Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate everything.
- Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until sauce thickens, about 15-20 minutes.
*You can add tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes if you like a thinner sauce.
Recipes courtesy of: Tricia's Home Plate, LLC, http://www.triciashomeplate.com/
Monday, January 2, 2012
Kids in the kitchen with Taco Salad
Happy New Year!
Start the year off with getting the family into the kitchen and creating family dinners such as this Taco Salad. You can prepare all of the ingredients the night before and just before serving the next day, reheat the taco mixture, and put together the dish. You can have quality time and fun with your family, while enjoying a nutritious one-dish dinner with little fuss. The kids love to crunch up the torilla chips.
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TACO SALAD
Serves 6 to 8.
Equipment:
10-inch skillet
Large spoon
Colander
Can opener
Skillet lid
Cutting board
Knife
9x13 baking dish or large platter with a high edge
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning mix (1 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 bag tortilla chips (14.5 oz)
8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
8 to 16 oz shredded iceberg lettuce and spinach leaves
2 to 3 tomatoes, diced
Method:
1) Cook meat thoroughly in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain. Return meat to skillet.
2) Stir in taco seasoning mix and diced tomatoes with juice. Cook uncovered over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside and cover skillet.
3) Crunch the tortilla chips and place in the baking dish.
4) Spread taco mixture evenly over the tortilla chips.
5) Sprinkle cheese over the warm meat. The heat melts the cheese.
6) Spread lettuce/spinach mixture evenly on top of the cheese.
7) Sprinkle tomatoes evenly over the lettuce.
8) Serve and enjoy!
Options:
1) Serve with salsa and guacamole.
2) You can use ground beef or ground chicken instead of ground turkey.
3) Use your favorite flavored tortilla chips.
4) Use your favorite lettuce or mixed greens. Lettuce is low calorie and rich in iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. The darker green leaves contain the most nutrients.
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