BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, and Cheese Sauce Over Rice

We eat a lot of plain white rice. Mostly because the kids can be pretty fussy and that's one food they eat without complaint. I occasionally try to change it up by adding herbs, broth, or veggies. Today I made a cheese sauce. The baby loved it. She ate seconds and thirds! The other two made faces and fussed. Typical. I really hope my baby breaks the mould because the other two used to be fantastic eaters at her age too. It would be nice if one of the kids didn't complain about my cooking. :P The cheese sauce was awesome, BTW. It was pretty simple, just flour, milk, and real cheese, with a sprinkle of parsley and garlic powder.

Taco Salad

I told you I love my BFSs for lunch! I made a quick chili in my cast iron pan, with ground beef, kidney beans, tomato sauce, and spices. The hardest and longest job was chopping all the veggies. The whole thing took maybe half an hour. I used all the veggies I had in the fridge, except for the sugar snap peas. There's cauliflower, celery, broccoli, cucumber, carrots, onion, green pepper, tomato, and mixed greens. I also mixed cubes of marble cheddar in with the veggies. The salad is then topped off with the warm chili, cold sour cream and salsa, and tortilla chips.

Sweet and Sour Pork

This is not your typical sweet and sour pork. There is no canned pineapple and the meat has not been deep fried or battered. This is a pork stir fry with sweet and sour sauce (like you'd dip your chicken balls into) added towards the end. My kids love raw veggies, but not cooked ones, and I thought they would at least try some veggies this way. Nope! The baby did the best and ate some of everything, but even she wasn't a huge fan. The other two girls wouldn't even eat the meat. I loved it though! My husband and I did find the sauce a bit sweet, so I would change the recipe a little. Otherwise, it was a great meal!

Cream Puffs

These are everything I hoped for. They are crispy on the outside and airy on the inside with a rich filling. The dough and filling create a perfect balance of light and sweet. 

Cream Puffs
Yield ~2 dozen (I made 15 with no alterations to cook time or filling)


1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
2 cups whipped cream (I used a packet of Dream Whip, but you can whip your own heavy cream or use thawed Cool Whip)
1 cup chopped butterscotch chips

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs


 

Whisk together vanilla instant pudding mix with milk. Fold in the whipped cream and chopped chips. Cover and refrigerate.








 
Preheat oven to 425°F. 

In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.


 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centres should be dry. Allow to cool completely.

 
 

When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.




 

These are best eaten fresh. They will keep for a couple days in a sealed container in the fridge, but they will soften a bit. They will also absorb the icing sugar when they sit, so save the dusting till you are ready to serve them.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Alien muffins! That's what my husband called them. They have a strange blue hue because I used frozen blueberries. If you use fresh berries, your batter will be white. My husband said it was kinda cool, especially with the white mold on top... that's actually a crumb topping. lol Trust me, these are good. They are moist and have bits of cream cheese hidden throughout.

This recipe is from Keeping Up Cookbook which I originally found blogged here. Look how purty her muffins are, all white and pristine with fresh bursting berries.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield 16 - 18 muffins (I got 24 average sized muffins)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk or milk

1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, cut into small cube

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line two muffin tins with paper liners, or spray well with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large stand mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Turn mixer on low and slowly add buttermilk until batter just comes together.  Use a spatula to fold in cream cheese cubes, breaking up any large pieces.  Gently fold in blueberries and lemon zest.  Spoon batter into 16-18 muffin cups.  Prepare the crumb topping.

Crumb Topping:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 T cold butter, cut into small cubes

In a bowl, stir together sugar and flour.  Cut butter into mixture with a fork or pastry cutter until it reaches a crumb-like consistency.  Sprinkle generously onto muffins.  

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffin centres spring back when touched.  Serve warm.

Big chunks of cream cheese swirled in with juicy berries

 Crumb topping

Key Lime Bars

My grocery store had bags of key limes and I had to grab one. I wasn't sure what I was going to make, but I knew it was going to be good. These bars are a perfect balance of tangy and sweet. The middle is soft like smooth silk.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart.

Key Lime Bars

Makes about 16

1 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs (I saved some extra to garnish)
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (about 23 Key limes total)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (Canadians: You will want to use two 300ml cans. That is slightly more than called for, but it totally works.)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. (Leave oven on.)

Make filling: Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. 

Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating dish halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Cut into 2-by-2-inch bars. Put cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime.

I actually couldn't wait for them to fully chill so my edges are a bit smooshy. :P

Chicken Fried Rice

My oldest is so silly sometimes. She can convince herself that something is going to taste awful and there is pretty much nothing we can do to teach her otherwise. This night she actually went to bed hungry. She fussed at the smell when I was cooking and refused to even sit at the table with us. I was disappointed, but also a bit relieved. See, my 2 year old wants to be like her big sister and I know that she wouldn't have even tried it if my fussy 5 year old was squirming and whining in her seat beside her. My 2 year old and 14 month old both cleaned their plates. The funny thing is, the only "stinky" thing had to be the sesame oil I drizzled on at the end. Everything in this rice is stuff my 5 year old loves. But put them together and "Ewwww!" *sigh* I can't wait till that phase is over. We just stick with it! If it's something my husband and I love we keep it in the rotation and the kids will eventually expand their tastes.

Homemade Pizzas

I rolled out individual sizes for the kids and let them top their own. They actually had more interest in devouring the toppings than building a pizza, but the pizzas made it to the oven eventually. :P

And this is a grown up version - pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, red & yellow bell pepper, and onion.

I will share my go-to dough recipe with you. It's for the bread machine, but you can do it by hand too. I ended up doing just that because my machine is pretty much dead.


Pizza Dough (Bread Machine)
Yield: 1 large or 2 medium pizzas

1 cup beer (you can use water, but beer is best for flavour)
1 tbsp shortening
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups white flour (bread or all-purpose)
1 1/4 tsp yeast
OPTIONAL: 2 tbsp cornmeal

Measure first 6 ingredients in order listed into Baking Pan. Set bread machine to Dough setting. When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle.

Grease two 12" pans or one 14" pan, and sprinkle with cornmeal (optional). Roll out dough and place on pan or pat in pan. Top each pizza with sauce and toppings. Bake at 425°F for 15 to 25 minutes or until done. Pizza is done when edges of crust are golden and cheese is bubbly.

Pulled Pork Buns with Waffles

I am not new to the breakfast for dinner club. I am also not afraid to turn typically sweet pancake-y foods into something savoury. One of my favourite dishes is Beef and Mushroom Crepes. (Mmmm must make those again soon.) I contemplated using the waffles in place of buns and turning the whole thing into a sandwich. I actually didn't care how we ate it, I just had a wicked craving for barbeque pulled pork with coleslaw AND waffles. My husband gave the final vote and so we decided to have them on the side. It brings back memories of our hometown, going out for lunch and ordering the Hoito burger with a side of Finnish pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries. Ah, good times.

Trail Mix Salad

One of my favourite things for lunch is a BFS (Big Fat Salad). I had extra trail mix leftover from granola bars, which I planned on purpose because I love nuts, seeds, and dried fruit tossed in salads. This salad is filled with all kinds of yummies and dressed in a garlic balsamic vinaigrette.

Steak Dinner

With loaded baked potato and sauteed asparagus.

Nachos for Dinner

 Homemade Nachos

 Chicken, bacon, green onion, tomato, and cheddar cheese

 Homemade guacamole

My plate

Granola Bars

These are so easy to make and they freeze well. I make a double batch, and then individually wrap half of them in plastic wrap and store them in a bag in the freezer to make it easy for packing school lunches.

You can customize them all you like! The one on the left is peanut-free for school lunches. It has chocolate chips and yogurt raisins. The one on the right is filled with a mix of nuts, seeds, and raisins.

Granola Bars
Makes 24 bars

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ (I used whole wheat flour - if you don't have either of those, just add an extra 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins/chocolate chips/nuts/whatever you like!
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the centre, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. It will seem as if it will never come together, but keep mixing because it will eventually. Wet your hands with cold water and press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. 

 Chocolate Chips and Yogurt Raisins

 Nuts, Seeds, and Raisins

I cut the school-friendly ones to fit in my daughter's lunch container.

Soft Tacos

Beef Soft Taco

Chicken Soft Taco

Spaghetti

Homemade spaghetti meat sauce on bowtie pasta.