Slow Cooker Baked Beans

I am so sick of spam comments. This week I had two major food sites spam me. I expect spam from small sites, but these were pretty major food selling sites that obviously set up fake accounts to leave fake comments with link backs to their sites. I expect more of larger sites, they should be able to get links without shady tactics. The funny thing is if they had asked for a review I would have done one with a no-follow link. However, PR companies have figured out that they can have follow links on sites by spamming in the comments. I really hate this practice and have thought about emailing the two companies that left their addresses as spam comments. I'm not going to name names, but they are big enough to know better. Maybe I should be flattered that a company that large decided to spam me for a follow link, but I'm not. I'm just annoyed.

On to lighter subjects, food! Last week was very hot so I used my slow cooker most of the week. I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Beans from the May/June 2014 issue of Eating Well Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active, and makes 12 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used dried navy beans, homemade chicken broth, and sweet onions. These are just personal preferences. Additionally I left out the bourbon. I don't keep liquor in the house except for cooking and I didn't want to have to buy a small bottle just for the the recipe. Finally, I found that my beans needed a little longer than the recipe stated. I always let my beans cook 8-10 hours on low, I like my beans very tender and this recipe was no exception.

As with any recipe with bacon in it, my kids loved this dish. The beans were sweet, without being overly so, and with 10 grams of protein per 1/2 cup they were a nice way of sneaking in beans to my family's diet. If you aren't a big fan of maple syrup or brown sugar you could try substituting other sweeteners such as agave etc. and the beans could be changed to great northern or switched to canned and the time cooking time decreased.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Baked Beans.

Quick Shepherd's Pie

I need to add more hours to the day. It seems that I only am able to get half of the things on my to do list done everyday and by the end of the week my list seems to just get longer and longer. I thought that as my kids got older things would be easier, I was wrong. Now I have more dishes, laundry and general mess than I ever did when they were younger. Most days I fall onto the couch exhausted at the end of the day and almost fall asleep watching tv. Weekends are almost worse. With my husband home there are even more cups and bowls to wash and another person to clean up after. My family goes through more cereal bowls that I would ever think humanly possible. Weekdays are easier in many ways since my husband and oldest leave for part of the day. However, my youngest seems to make the mess of three people.

Since I have been short on time the last couple of months I have been looking for recipes that are easy to put together and cook. Last week I tried a new recipe for Quick Shepherd's Pie from the March/April issue of Eating Well Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used baby Yukon Gold potatoes. I find the baby potatoes easier to work with in soups and stews since they can just be cut into fourths. There is only one kind of lamb available in our area, so that is what I bought. Since it was higher in fat I drained the lamb after it was browned and added it back into the pan. I prefer the flavor of higher fat meats, but not the grease so the modification enabled the flavor without the greasiness. Finally, I did not thaw my corn. I threw the corn in still frozen and just upped the total cooking time at the end. Honestly, I hate thawing frozen veggies and rarely do it.

My family really enjoyed this recipe. It is very easy to prep and put together so it's perfect for a busy weeknight meal. Lamb is one of my favorite proteins. A little amount adds great flavor to dishes, I love it. This recipe is also nice since it has 25 grams of protein, which with two growing boys is always something that I look for.

For the recipe go to Quick Shepherd's Pie. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Sage

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Sage Before Cooking

I hate going out on New Years, I always have. When I was younger I normally went to bed far before midnight and on the rare occasion I did stay awake I shied away from parties. It doesn't help that I am not a fan of champagne, it is too dry for my tastes. This year I will probably stay up with my husband watching movies. I like to keep things low key. On New Year's day I will make cabbage soup for good luck and that's it. Nothing fancy, no parties, just my family and a good meal. That's my idea of a great New Year's, simple and no-fuss.

For Christmas Eve I made a number of dishes. My kids and I love Brussels sprouts and I make them every year. This year I tried a new recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Sage from the December 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

Spring Hill Cemetery Huntington, WV

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I followed this recipe pretty close to the original. I used 3 ounce of pancetta since that is the size package I purchased at the grocery store. After 20 minutes the Brussels sprouts were still too crispy, so I allowed them to roast for another 15 minutes.

Ohio River 

My kids really loved this recipe. They are big Brussels sprouts fans and this recipe was no exception. The pancetta added a nice flavor to the vegetables and the sage was a perfect herb to go with the Brussels sprouts. With a 130 percent of the daily value of vitamin C per serving this recipe was a nice way to get a healthier side onto my Christmas Eve day meal.

For the recipe go to Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Sage.

Oven Fried Beef Taquitos

Oven Fried Beef Taquitos

I can be a very outspoken and stubborn person. Not in a mean or spiteful way, but I grew up with a mother that made it very clear that I was not going to have the life that she ended up with. She spent hours taking me to chess club, dance classes and science camps. I never thought that I couldn't do something, I just had to try a little harder. My mother was one of the smartest people that I have ever known. However, she was also the oldest of 12 kids, so money was always tight and opportunities were few.

Growing up we oftentimes had little money. My dad worked as an aide in a nursing home and my mother sold Tupperware. Neither of my parents were fortunate enough to have gone to college and most of the jobs they worked were minimum wage. There were years my mother cried standing in line at the food bank, but we pulled through.

While I would never wish hardship on anyone, my mother was incredibly strong and passed this trait on to me. I worked my way through college and graduate school, paying my own tuition, rent and traveling to Europe twice. My parents weren't overly gushy with praise, but the day I graduated with my undergraduate degree my dad cried. He didn't have to say anything, I understood. Nine days after my oldest son was born my mother passed away of cancer 2500 hundred miles away from me. I called on the strength that my mother instilled on me to get through some of the hardest weeks of my life.

So whenever my husband jokes that I am stubborn and outspoken, I smile. Those aren't the worst traits that someone can have and I hope that my kids carry on the family tradition.

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to make more oven roasted recipes that use less oil. I try to watch my husband's diet due to health issues that run on his side of the family. That doesn't mean that we don't enjoy the occasional treat, but I try to use recipes that reduce the fat at least a couple of days a week. Last night I tried a new recipe for Oven Fried Beef Taquitos from the November/December 2013 issue of Eating Well Magazine.

Lake Vesuvius Ohio

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. I find it much easier to heat corn tortillas in the microwave with a damp paper towel. I do them in batches of 6 at a time, be careful they are really hot when they come out. The biggest change I made was to cook the taquitos for an extra 5 minutes. At 18 minutes they were still not fully browned.

Lake Vesuvius Ohio

My kids absolutely fell in love with this recipe, they loved it. I served the taquitos with sour cream and salsa, which were great sides. My husband and youngest son ate the left overs cold the next day. They both thought that the cold leftovers were even better than when the recipe was served hot. The one change that I would make would be to increase the amount of salt. As the recipe is written it is under salted.

For the recipe go to Oven Fried Beef Taquitos. 

Oven Fried Beef Taquitos

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

An easy oven fried beef taquitos recipe with 33 grams of protein per serving. Even better the next day!

Preparation Time: 0h, 20m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 4

Chicken Stew with Turnips and Mushrooms from Eating Well Magazine

Chicken Stew with Turnip and Mushrooms

I love fall. Hot weather isn't something I do well with and most of the summer I stay indoors. Growing up in Seattle it was never overly hot and the humidity was low. Then I moved to West Virginia. The humidity and heat almost did me in the first summer. It didn't help that we had a heat wave and the day my husband and I got married it was almost 100 (and yes my husband and I met and got married in only 11 months - sometimes things just fall into place). Fall is a total other story. I love fall in my state. The leaves are beautiful here and the weather is mild. Plus it means lots of soups, stews, and chili. It is by far my favorite time of the year. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Chicken Stew with Turnips and Mushrooms from the October 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

Sculpture Ritter Park Huntington, WV

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 6 servings. I only made a few modifications to the original recipe. First, I used baby kale. I was so happy to have found  washed and ready to eat baby kale at the store this week. It's a new item and I scooped it up. So much easier than washing and cutting regular kale. In order to have the turnips fully cooked it took approximately 10 minutes more than the recipe suggested. I really don't like the texture of undercooked turnips. I served the stew with homemade Irish soda bread.

Bridge Ritter Park Huntington, WV

My whole family enjoyed this stew. The flavor was great and the fact that it had mushrooms was the selling point for my two boys. They are both obsessed with mushrooms. The stew was perfect for a cool evening and serving it with Irish soda bread was a nice combination since the bread could sop up the stew. This is definitely a recipe I would make again. If you aren't a fan of turnips this recipe would also work well with potatoes, sweet potatoes or parsnips.

For the recipe go to Chicken Stew with Turnip and Mushrooms.

Chicken Stew with Turnip and Mushrooms

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A filling chicken stew recipe with baby kale, turnips and mushrooms. Perfect for fall and winter!

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Cooking Time: 0h, 30m

Total Time: 0h, 45m

Yield: Serves 6

Perfect For Summer Grilling Season: Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad Recipe

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad

There are weeks I love complex meals. I will spend hours in the kitchen making the perfect recipe. Then there are days like today where I want simple comfort food. Hence why I currently have pinto beans in the crock pot and I will be making cornbread later in the afternoon. There is something about the beginning of summer that makes me want to have something warm and comforting one more time before the weather and humidity make me want nothing more than cold iced tea and lemonade. To me pinto beans are not only part of what I love about West Virginia, but they make me remember what I love about food and cooking, sometimes the simplest of dishes are the best. One simple dish that I love in the warm summer months is salad. Cold side salads are such a great option, they are cool and refreshing. Last week I tried a new recipe for Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad from the June 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make changes to the original recipe. First since I have three males to feed I doubled the recipe. One chicken thigh for each person just wouldn't have cut it. I think I may be the only food blogger that does not have a mortar and pestle, so for the garlic paste I used the side of a knife. I use this method frequently and it is a perfect substitute. My outside grill is still out of commission so to cook the chicken thighs I used my indoor electric grill. It would also work well under the broiler.

To me the star of this dish was the cucumber salad. It was light and the perfect palate cleanser for the chicken thighs. The flavor of the rub on the chicken was great and would work well with other cuts of chicken (such as breasts) or even fish. At under 2 dollars a serving this is an inexpensive meal option for summer.

For the recipe go to Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad.

Recipe for Fresh Oregano and Chive Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish

Fresh Oregano and Chive Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish

I love strawberries. Berries in general are high on my list of favorite foods, but strawberries are at the top. Since they are now available frozen year round I am able to enjoy my strawberry smoothies even in the dead of winter. However, there is something so quintessentially summer about eating fresh strawberries. I love using them in desserts, but they are equally great for adding a hint of sweetness to savory dishes. Whatever the preparation method, any dish with strawberries rarely lasts more than a few hours. Last night I tried a new recipe for Herb Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish from the June 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 1/4 hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. Since my herb garden is finally thriving I was able to use fresh oregano from my garden. My 4 thighs weighed exactly 2 pounds and I served the dish over white rice. I added 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar since it has great flavor and I love using it with strawberries. Make sure to buy a high quality balsamic vinegar, there really is a difference between the cheap low-quality brands and the top-shelf varieties.

The relish in this recipe was delicious. It had even better flavor after sitting in the fridge overnight. Combined with the herb crusted chicken the flavors made a nice sweet-savory taste. My kids loved the relish, so the recipe is a nice option to get kids to eat fruit in a new way.

For the recipe go to Herb Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish.

Crock Pot Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno Corn Dumplings

Crock Pot Pinto Bean Stew with Gluten Free Jalapeno Corn Dumplings

Beans weren't something my mother prepared very often when I was growing up. She made terrific pasta and meat dishes, but beans were only a sometimes food. When I decided to become a vegetarian in high-school my stomach went into shock due to the sudden increase in bean consumption. Luckily I got used to it and to this day I eat a substantial amount of beans every week. My husband was born and raised in West Virginia and pinto beans were always a stable in his house. When we got married I had to learn to cook with pinto beans since I had only eaten black, white and navy beans previously. Now days we eat pinto beans regularly and my kids love them. This week I tried a new recipe for Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno Corn Dumplings from the April 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 20 ingredients. It takes 9 hours in the slow cooker, 30 minutes of prep and makes 8 servings. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I allowed my beans to soak overnight. The overnight soaking method is the way that I prefer since it takes less active time than quick soaking on the stove. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice four instead of the all purpose flour called for in the dumpling recipe. For the topping I let off the sliced radishes. My kids do not like them and my local grocery store didn't have them in stock. I let my beans cook on high for 8 hours and then another hour with the dumplings. I always allow my pinto beans to cook for at least this long. Beans in the crock-pot take a will in order to come out soft and flavorful.

The dumplings in this stew are the stars of this dish. The stew tasted like any other vegetarian chili and didn't leave a lasting impression. I thought that the pinto beans would be better cooked with a ham hock with the dumplings served on top. Pinto beans cooked in the slow cooker are delicious and the dumplings would work well with them as a topping. My two boys liked the chili (I seeded the jalapeno and used mild chili powder so it wasn't too spicy). They ate their servings and most of the leftovers.

For the recipe go to Pinto Bean Stew.

Chocolate Avocado Shakes

Chocolate Avocado Shake

I made cookies of the first time in almost a month today and the males in my house ate them within a couple of hours. It always amazes me how they claim that they don't really like sweets and then eat a ton of them. I have been attempting to limit the amount of sweets that my family eats and I have been successful except for the whining. The last couple of weeks I have heard a lot of whining including my oldest telling me that I didn't love him as much anymore since I hadn't made him cookies as an after school snack. Instead of cookies and baked goods I have been trying to make sweeter snacks that are healthy as well as delicious. I absolutely love avocados and recently have read a number of sweet recipes that incorporate them. Today I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Avocado Shakes from the April 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 2 servings. For the milk I used vanilla almond milk, maple syrup for the sweetener and dark chocolate chips for the chocolate. If you wanted to make the recipe vegan you could use nondairy chips. I used the ice setting on my blender to blend everything up since I wanted to make sure that there were no large ice chips.

These shakes were a little too adult tasting for my kids. My husband and I really enjoyed them, but my two boys thought that they tasted weird. That was fine by me since it meant that there were more for me. I like that this recipe is high in potassium since my potassium got dangerously low last winter so I make sure to eat a large variety of high potassium foods. It is also full of healthy fats; avocados are a great way to add healthy fats into your diet and this recipe is nice since it is also sweet.

For the recipe go to Chocolate Avocado Shake.

Healthy and Low-Fat Southwestern Vegetable and Chicken Soup

I have a horrible habit of trying to eat healthy and then falling off the wagon. Don't get me wrong the majority of the time I eat very healthy, but making big changes in my diet always seem to take a number of failures before they are successful. In college I ate a ton of restaurant food. There were always cheap places to eat and I rarely made food at home. Eventually it caught up with me when I realized that I never seemed to have any energy and I generally felt run down. I vowed to change my habits and I did until I started graduate school and then I was back to my old habits. After getting married I vowed again to start eating healthier, then I got pregnant and the smell of meat made me sick. To compensate I ate a ton of ice cream and peanut butter. After my first son was born I reformed and gave up pretty much any bad food while I breastfed. Then I became pregnant again and my bad food habits quickly came back. So over the years I have started and stopped a lot of healthy eating plans. Luckily since having my youngest and starting this blog my eating habits have leveled off. 99 percent of the time I eat healthy and the other 1 percent I remind myself that I'm human. Since my husband's dad had heart surgery last year I have been determined to make my husband healthier. He has lost 30 pounds in the last year and a lot of it has had to do with dietary changes. This week I made a new healthy recipe for Southwestern Vegetable and Chicken Soup from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 1 1/2 hours of total time, 1 hour of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the recipe. First I made my own chicken stock from scratch. It really does taste better and is a great way to save money. Second, instead of diced canned tomatoes I used one fresh tomato. I am trying to use more fresh ingredients and rely less on canned goods. Plus the price of fresh tomatoes is lower than canned currently. Finally, I also used fresh spinach and I cooked my own beans.

I love that this recipe is high in vitamin C and only has 5 grams of fat and 199 calories. It has great flavor and the lime juice makes the soup delicious. I tasted the soup before adding the lime and the lime makes a tremendous difference. Make sure to salt at the end, especially if you are making your own stock or using low sodium store bought. This recipe could easily be modified to being vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using vegetable stock instead of chickens stock.

For the recipe go to Southwestern Vegetable and Chicken Soup.

Flavorful Quick 40 Minute Pasta Bolognese

I have been in the mood for comfort food this week. There is something about fall and winter that make me want to bake and cook foods that feel warm and like home. Since I can't eat gluten I have had to re-learn a lot of my favorite comfort foods that my mother made growing up. The dish that I struggled with the most making gluten free was macaroni and cheese. Every time I tried making it the flavor and texture was off. After approximately 10 tries I finally discovered a baked macaroni and cheese that even my husband enjoyed. The trick with a lot of gluten pasta recipes is to bake them in the oven or add a lot of spices. Now that I have baked a number of gluten free pasta dishes I love them and make pasta once a week. Last week I tried a new recipe for Quick Pasta Bolognese from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few modifications to the recipe. First I used gluten free pasta instead of whole-wheat. My husband and two boys love meat so I used a whole pound of lean ground beef. After the pasta was done cooking I added it to the sauce, tossed and continued cooking until the pasta was fully done. I cook my pasta until al dente and then finish cooking in the sauce. I prefer this method for pasta, it ensures that the pasta doesn't over cook and that the sauce is fully incorporated. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Increasing the meat in this recipe worked well. I would suggest using whole tomatoes instead of diced and crushing the tomatoes by hand. To crush my tomatoes by hand I place them in a Ziploc, seal it and then crush it between my fingers. The diced tomatoes had a texture that my husband and I weren't big fans of, but could be easily remedied by using whole tomatoes instead. Make sure to add salt before serving, this dish needs to be salted adequately for flavor.

For the recipe go to Quick Pasta Bolognese.

Flavorful Low Fat Moroccan Lentil Soup

My youngest son went the dentist today and for the first time he had a cavity free appointment. While this is routine for my oldest son, my poor youngest son has had serious problems with his teeth since they came in. He never drank cows milk and still had to have two dental surgeries before his third birthday. Since then he has had fillings every six months. My dentist was determined that it was the food that he was drinking, but has finally been convinced that is has to mostly be genetics. My youngest eats healthier than any other child his age that I know and drinks a ton of water, very little carbs and a high protein diet. Luckily our pediatrician agrees with me and thinks it's 100 percent genetic and not my fault. I still hate the mommy guilt when he has to have another filling. I decided to make one of my son's favorite meals this week in order to calm him down before the dentist. My youngest absolutely loves soup, chicken noodle, vegetable you name it. This week I tried a new recipe for Moroccan Lentil Soup from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 18 ingredients. It takes 1 1/2 hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. Since vegetable stock is so expensive pre-made I made my own. It costs a lot less money and tastes so much better. I used fresh spinach since the taste of frozen spinach always seems off to me. Thanks to my forgetfulness I failed to add the lemon and cilantro to the finished soup. I did add it to the leftovers and the flavor was delicious. I added a little more time to my overall cooking time to ensure that the lentils were fully soft. For soup I prefer my beans very soft, I find the texture more pleasing when eaten. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love that this soup is only 152 calories and 1 gram of fat per serving. Since it is full of vegetables and lentils it is filling and can either be used as a side or a main dish. I served it as a main dish and it was a perfect option for our vegetarian meal night. My youngest loved the cauliflower and ate all the pieces out first. This soup also makes a large batch so their are plenty of leftovers.

For the recipe go to Moroccan Lentil Soup.

Coconut-Carrot Morning Glory Muffins

 I have been in the kitchen literally all weekend. My youngest is in a massive growth spurt and as soon as he has finished one meal he is ready for the next. He also doesn't just eat little meals or sandwiches, he wants full on pot roast or burgers. I think that he gets this from my husband. On Friday I made a pasta dish with chicken sausage. Today I found out that after dinner my husband went in and made himself turkey sausage as a snack since the meal didn't have enough meat. Some days I think that it might be easier to have girls instead of a house full of three males. I don't even want to think about how bad it will be when they are teenagers. Since I am being eaten out of house and home I have been baking and cooking a ton. Last week I tried a new recipe for Coconut-Carrot Morning Glory Muffins from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. Since I eat gluten free I did make a number of modifications. First instead of using wheat flour I used all-purpose gluten free flour. The flour that I prefer has coconut flour as a base and works very well. I also use foil muffins cups. I would highly recommend these if you haven't tried them before. The muffins never stick and they come out so much easier than the paper equivalents. Best of all the generic brand is only 59 cents at my local grocery store. I did find that I had to bake my muffins for slightly longer than the 35 minutes suggested by the recipe. This might have been due to the gluten free flour. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These muffins weren't sweet enough for me. It might be that I like my muffins almost as sweet as cupcakes, but even my husband who prefers things not sweet thought that these needed more sugar. I also thought that there were too many shredded carrots. I would reduce the total amount of shredded carrots, as written the muffins taste too much like carrots and not enough like raisins or coconut. Increasing the amount of raisins would also help the sweetness and flavor of the muffins overall.

For the recipe go to Coconut-Carrot Morning Glory Muffins.

Lemon Thins

As most of you know I have a major snacking habit. The thought of eating only three meals a day puts me into a panic. I need my snacks and bake almost everyday. However, I am also realistic about my snacking and try to make sure that I have a balance between healthy and indulgent. If I make a batch of brownies one day the rest of the snacks that I prepare for the week are nuts and healthy granola bars. I believe food and health in general is all about balance. I have a tread mill that I use for an hour each day. This hour of exercise makes it possible for me to sit and watch my favorite TV shows in the evening and enjoy the time just sitting and relaxing. Cookies are one of my favorite snacks. I could literally eat cookies for every meal, they are delicious. Since I love cookies so much I try to make cookies occasionally that are lower in fat and calories. Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Lemon Thins from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. I made a few changes to the recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free all-purpose flour instead of wheat flour. I also found that you need to make sure that the cookies are completely flat. If you don't roll out the cookies very thin they will not taste good. I actually used the side of the cup to roll the cookies after rolling the cup in granulated sugar. This method worked very well and I would recommend it. Additionally I allowed my cookies to bake for the full ten minutes to fully brown. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With only 60 calories and 2 grams of fat this cookie is a snack that is healthier than many other cookie recipes. Plus they were a nice snack with a cup of coffee as a morning pick-me-up. The taste was not overly lemony, which was nice. I would say that they were a little dry. To me they tasted like they needed more fat. This could be partly due to the fact that I made them gluten free. Either way I would suggest increasing the amount of butter or using all butter instead of canola oil, which would be higher in saturated fat, but would vastly improve the texture and taste. The batter definitely needs more liquid, either with lemon juice or an increase in butter.

For the recipe go to Lemon Thins.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte with Pumpkin Whipped Cream

My kids are able to make huge messes. As I sit here writing this post my living room floor which I have picked up 5 times today is once again full of toys. I think I might pick up the same toy over and over again everyday. My husband doesn't seem to be much better than my kids. I think he believes that his socks will actually walk themselves to the hamper. They don't. When I was gone for a week this fall my husband didn't pick-up any of his dirty clothes and dishes and was genuinely confused how nothing was clean or put away. Part of it has to do with my expectations of cleanliness. Growing up my mother had a lot of stuff. Not just a few things, but literally our house and then apartment were full of stuff. Nick-knacks covered every available space and there was always stuff everywhere. I am the opposite. I like everything put in its place. My living room is decorated, simply with everything having a spot. It drives me crazy when things are cluttered. Christmas has a tendency to stress me out not for the reason that most people deal with, but for the clutter. As soon as my kids open their gifts I am going around organizing. One way that I keep myself sane is chocolate. I love chocolate and it has an immediate effect on my anxiety. This week during the craziness of the holidays I made a Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte with Pumpkin Whipped Cream from the December issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 4 hours 50 minutes of total time, 50 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did not line my pan with parchment paper and I had no problems taking out my torte, so I don't believe that the step is necessary. For the whip cream I chose to just make a straight whip cream without the pumpkin puree and with just a small amount of vanilla. Finally I let the torte firm up overnight before serving. I think this helped it to firm up completely. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys and I really loved this recipe. I like that it only has 11 grams of fat per serving, which is much lower than most dessert recipes. The taste isn't overly sweet, but still has a nice chocolate flavor. I did not drizzle the top with melted chocolate, but I think it would be delicious if you wanted to add this step.

For the recipe go to Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte with Pumpkin-Whipped Cream.

Butternut Squash and Tomato Posole

My blog readers are probably getting tired of me expressing my love of butternut squash, but I am going to do it again. I love butternut squash and fall cooking in general. As I have stated before the flavors of fall are comforting and delicious when the weather gets cold. Butternut squash to me is one of the staples of fall cooking. It is extremely versatile and can be used in pastas, soups, stews, chili and baked goods. It is also a great way to hide vegetables for kids in muffins and breads. Stew is a staple in my house during the fall and winter. I am always cold once the weather gets cooler so I make a lot of hot stews and soups in order to stay warm. When I first started cooking stews for my family we all fell in love with posole. It is a satisfying and delicious dinner and I make it frequently. Last week I tried a new recipe for Butternut Squash and Tomato Posole from Eating Well magazine, which looked like a great new vegetarian posole recipe.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 5 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I normally buy whole butternut squash, but my store was out so I bought already cut butternut squash. The recipe suggests breaking up the tomatoes by hand, I find this messy. The method I always use is to place the tomatoes in a Ziploc bag, squeeze out the air and then crush the tomatoes by hand in the bag. Much less messy and an easy clean-up. I let my posole cook slightly longer than the recipe suggested. At 30 minutes the squash was more firm than I like. Make sure to fully rinse your canned beans. If the beans are under rinsed they will have a metallic taste, which is unappetizing. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With 10 grams of fat and 9 grams of protein this is a satisfying meal without being high in fat. The fresh avocado and cilantro on top gives the posole a nice well-rounded flavor. I will say that this recipe isn't overly spicy so if you like spicier posole I would suggest adding a small amount of cayenne. This recipe in addition to being healthy is also inexpensive, costing less than two dollars a serving.

For the recipe go to Butternut Squash and Tomato Posole.

Creamy Turnip Soup

I love soup. There is something very comforting about sitting down with a nice hot bowl of great homemade soup. Growing-up my mother made a ton of soup. As I have talked about before we never had a lot of money so my mother did the most with what we had. We were always getting garden vegetables from friends and my mother would make delicious soup from them. While most kids would turn up their noises at turnips and parsnips, I feel in love with these root vegetables. My mother could turn a hated vegetable into something spectacular. A basic great soup is something to be savored. I am lucky that my two boys will pretty much try any type of food I put in front of them. I started giving them all the foods that my husband and I eat when they were still toddlers so they have never had a fear of new foods. I think this is an important way to teach your kids not to be afraid of trying new foods and new experiences in general. Recently I tried a new recipe for Creamy Turnip Soup from the December issue of Eating Well magazine, which looked like a great winter soup.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total time of 45 minutes, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. The turnips sold at my grocery store don't have the greens attached so I followed the suggestion in the recipe and used spinach. I found that when I tried to use my immersion blender on this soup the turnips were not soft enough. They needed to either by sliced much thinner or cooked longer than the time suggested. I let my turnips cook ten minutes more and then used my blender to puree the soup fully. This methods worked much better. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I loved how creamy this soup turned out. The salad topping was the best part of the recipe. It allowed the soup to be less bitter and bring out the flavor of the turnips. Make sure to fully salt the soup at the end. It needed a good amount of salt to taste correct. If you want to make this soup vegetarian you could substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock. I frequently substitute broths in recipes especially if I am cooking for vegetarian/vegan friends and family.

For the recipe go to Creamy Turnip Soup.

Chipotle-Orange Broccoli and Tofu

My father was a huge meat eater growing-up. If there wasn't meat at every meal, he would make it known by complaining endlessly. It was never obvious complaining. He would ask my mother if part of the meal was missing or if the tofu was a starter course and the main meat part of the meal was coming later. This was the same father that ate 5 bologna sandwiches for lunch when my parents first met and was skinny as a rail. My favorite thing was going to a buffet with a salad bar with my parents. I would always get a large salad with maybe a little amount of bacon bits and some nuts. My father on the other hand would put no greens and all the real bacon that he could find. To this day he never goes to the doctor and health wise is in better shape that anyone else that I know. I hope that I inherited those genes, because the man never ceases to amaze me. Due to my dad's obsession with meat, I of course went the opposite extreme and decided to become a vegetarian in the beginning of high-school. It drove my dad slightly nuts. He would always ask me if I could have a little bit of meat and still be a vegetarian. To him small amounts of meat wouldn't really count as being a meat eater. Tofu was a battle I tried very hard to win my dad over to the side of eating. It never really worked. He would eat it when we ordered Phad Thai, as long as there was another dish with meat. Luckily I married a man that is willing to at least eat one dinner a week that is vegetarian. Granted he starts to get a little grumpy when he goes more than two days without meat, but he at least puts forth some effort. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chipotle-Orange Broccoli and Tofu from the September/October issue of Eating Well magazine, which looked like a quick and healthy weeknight meal option.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. However, I did change a few of the recipe steps. I let the tofu drain between layers of paper towels and a weighted plate for approximately 30 minutes. This step allows most of the water to drain out and ensures that the tofu will get a nice brown outside layer. Additionally, I ended up adding cornstarch to the orange juice mixture in order to thicken the sauce. Without the cornstarch, the orange juice sauce was too thin for my tastes. Make sure to allow the tofu to form a nice brown layer before turning it. This step will make the tofu evenly browned and have a better texture. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was unsure if this recipe would taste decent after I was halfway through the steps. The orange juice mixture was too thin and it didn't seem like there would be enough ingredients to have much flavor. However, after adding the cornstarch to thicken and the addition of the cilantro (and lots of salt, you really do need to add salt for this dish to taste adequate) this recipe was very delicious. My two boys thought it was a tad on the spicy side, so if you are making this for kids I would suggest seeding the chipotle pepper. Overall, a healthy vegan meal that is a great way to add more meatless meals into your diet.

For the recipe go to Chipotle Orange Broccoli and Tofu.

Apricot Wheat Germ Muffins

This week I have been visiting family in the mountains. My two boys have been busy playing and adventuring while my mother-in-law and I are cleaning up my in-laws house. It has also allowed me to catch up on all my blog posts, which often get placed on the back burner and get forgotten. As you may have noticed in my recent posts I am working on my breakfast routine. My two boys are doing great and have cut down dramatically on their sugar and white flour consumption. They have also been drinking more water and  complaining less about the change in their diet. So how am I doing? I have been eating breakfast everyday for the last couple of weeks. When I first started I thought that it would be horrible, but I am feeling better and drinking more water, feeling more energetic and my weight is down to what it was before I had my first son. It may only be a few pounds, but I am very happy. A couple of weeks back I tried a new recipe for Apricot-Wheat Germ Muffins from Eating Well magazine, which looked perfect for a healthy breakfast.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time, a half hour of which is active and makes 12 muffins. For the orange juice I squeezed my own. Oranges are cheap right now, much cheaper than the price of orange juice and fresh tastes so much better in recipes. Instead of using brown sugar I used splenda brown sugar for baking. The finished product does have a slight splenda taste, but it was mild enough that my two boys did not notice. I did chose to leave out the grated orange zest. I had grated the orange peel to use and put it in the fridge. However, my youngest child decided to dump it on the floor, so I left them out of the recipe entirely. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These muffins were very popular with my two boys. They liked that they had apricots and didn't notice that they also were packed with wheat germ and whole-wheat flour. I ate a number of these muffins as soon as they came out of the oven. They are filling, without being heavy and are a great combination of taste and nutrition. Overall, another great breakfast muffin recipe.

For the recipe go to Apricot-Wheat Germ Muffins.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie

One day in middle school I decided that I was going to be a vegetarian. I grew up in Seattle and it seemed that in the 90's everyone was turning away from meat. So I jumped on the bandwagon. Only problem was that both of my parents still ate meat and I had no idea what to eat. I would love to say that I was great about eating beans and a variety of healthy foods. That would be a lie. I was horrible with my diet. I was heavily involved in swimming and dancing in high-school and I lived on yogurt and fake meat products, and cheese. A lot of cheese. There was one other food that I feel in love with and still use frequently today, tofu. I love how easy and versatile tofu is to use in baking and cookies and my oldest son loves it! I eventually gave up on being a vegetarian after over ten years. I was a horrible vegetarian to begin with and I became very anemic. I didn't give up tofu though and I love to use it in recipes. This week I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie from Eating Well Magazine, which looked very easy and delicious.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 2 1/4 hours of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I did make a few modifications. First instead of semisweet chocolate chips I used dark chocolate chips. I'm a big fan of dark chocolate and use it frequently in recipes. For the raspberries I used frozen, the fresh raspberries at my local supermarket were less than stellar so I passed. Since my kids were going to be eating the majority of the pie I substituted a low-fat graham cracker crust instead of a regular. My blender had a horrible time with the tofu, I would suggest using a food processor instead. My pie came out much more purple than the magazine photo, but it was still yummy! I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With my oldest home for summer break we have been going through a ton of food. I literally have been baking twice a day to keep up with my two growing boys. I love that this recipe uses tofu in a dessert. The texture was delicious and both of my boys absolutely loved this recipe. I will definitely be making this again!

For the recipe go to Chocolate Raspberry Tofu Pie.