Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles

I am so ready for cooler weather. It has been hot, sticky, and nasty humid here for months. Luckily the weather is supposed to cool down into the high 70's next week, which I am so looking forward towards. One thing I do love about summer are the thunderstorms. There is something so refreshing about a great summer thunderstorm. Everything becomes quiet, the temps drop, and for a few minutes everything is still. It's peaceful, calming, and a great refresher during a busy day. Thunderstorms might just be my favorite thing about summer.

With hot weather comes cold desserts and drinks. My kids are in love with popsicles and they are so easy to make at home and cost a fraction of the cost of store bought. Plus you can use whole ingredients making them a delicious summer treat. The following is my recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles.

Adapted from Kroger mymagazine mailer.

Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles

Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles

Recipe Type: Dessert

Preparation Time: 0h, 5m

Total Time: 4h, 5m

Yield: Serves 8

A simple summer dessert using fresh bananas and peanut butter. Only takes minutes to make. 

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Cut bananas into 1-inch chunks. 
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined (do not over mix).
4. Spoon into an 8-serving popsicle mold and freeze until set, approximately 4 hours. 

Tips: 

• If you don't have a blender a food processor would also work. 
• I know a lot of people avoid granulated and brown sugar. I haven't personally tried this recipe with honey, agave etc., but I would love to hear if anyone tries and how it turns out! 
• Run the popsicle mold under hot water to loosen the popsicles and they should pop right out. 
• I have tried this recipe with whole and non-fat milk and they both set beautifully. I have not tried it with soy, almond, or coconut milk, but you are free to try and tell me if it works. 

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

I am a 30 something feminist with a master's degree. I also chose to stay-at-home with my kids. Right now my teenage self is cringing, so are some of the people probably reading this post. Before explaining my main point, a little background info is in order.

I grew up with a mother who was a giant feminist. I'm pretty sure she actually did burn her bras and was very vocal about her opinions. It didn't help that I grew up in Seattle and learned very young that strong outspoken women were awesome and should be appreciated. By the time I was a teenager I had decided that I would go to college, find a great job and excel in my field. This also entailed not getting married or having kids. The thought of being married, much less being a stay-at-home mom was something I thought was the opposite of being a feminist, my mother had raised me to achieve all the things that she hadn't (college, a great job etc). My father thought that I should do whatever I wanted, that no boundaries should stand in my way. I pretty much did exactly what I set out to do. I started a job at 17. It was supposed to be a summer internship, it turned into a 7 year job that helped to pay for school. I went into a field of geography that was dominated by men, I was the only girl in many of my classes. I excelled and was content.

Then I moved to West Virginia and met my husband. He challenged everything. Not only was he smart, but he called me on the things that everyone else was to afraid to. And I started to change. I realized that my life was about choice, my choices not someone else's. Two years after getting married I decided to be a stay-at-home mom when I got pregnant with my oldest. I no longer saw staying at home as something to be settled for, but rather something that I could excel at.  And I'm good at it. I still get people asking me why I stay-at-home with so much work experience and a degree. Don't I feel like I'm missing out on something? Honestly, I don't. I have experienced both sides and decided on the choices that are best for me. And I'm still a proud, smart and overly educated feminist.

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

I am a big smoothie fan, I drink one most days for breakfast. They are a nice way to get protein in the morning and I can drink them on the go to drop my oldest off at the bus. For the last couple of weeks I have been making a new smoothie recipe for  Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothies from Eating Well magazine.

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

This recipe has 5 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time (including freezing), 5 minutes of which is active and makes 1 serving. I did make a few changes to original recipe. First, instead of soy milk I used almond milk. I prefer almond milk and it's the normal milk that I drink. Second, instead of honey I used Stevia. If you find that the smoothie is too thick you can add additional almond milk to make a thinner consistency.

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

I really love this smoothie recipe. The flavor of the chocolate and banana together is delicious. If you aren't a big chocolate fan you can reduce the total amount down to 1 tablespoon. I prefer the recipe as is since I love the taste of chocolate. It's a nice way to start the day with 17 grams of protein per serving!

For the recipe go to Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothie. 

Summer At It's Best: Homemade Strawberry Scones

Gluten Free Strawberry Scones

I am attempting to convince my dad to move to West Virginia. If you've read my blog for any given amount of time you will know that I don't talk about my dad often. It's not for a lack of devotion, but more about him being the only parent I have left. My mother died of brain cancer 2500 miles away from me when my oldest was 9 days old. She was only sick for about a year and I was pregnant almost the whole time. The reason I had my oldest son as young as I did was to try to make sure my mother met a grandchild before she became too ill. I strongly believe she lasted until he was born from sheer will power. My dad and I were always extremely close growing-up. He raised me as if I were a boy, we went to sports games, he taught me to throw a punch. I have never really been a girly girl thanks to him, but I am a very strong and opinionated adult woman. In January he went into kidney failure after refusing to go to the doctor for almost 20 years. He spent 2 months in the hospital 2500 miles away from me. I called him 3 times a day and all the hospital staff knew me by name from all my phone calls. He is now home and starting dialysis this week. Since my mother passed away he has lived by himself in an over priced one bedroom apartment. So everyday when I call him I remind him of how great my state is. Yesterday I finally felt a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I mentioned that he could take the train to Chicago and we could meet him and take the train all together the rest of the way. After a pause he said he would look into it. It's a start. My mother loved going to tea and most importantly delicious scones. Thinking of her I made a new recipe for Strawberry Scones from the May 2013 issue of Parade Magazine.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. I takes a total time of 30 minutes, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. I made two batches of these, one gluten free and one regular. I found with both batches that they weren't very sweet. Now traditional scones are meant to not be very sweet. I am spoiled though and love a little bit of sugar in my scones since that is how my mother prepared them. If you are like me I would suggest doubling the amount of sugar to 6 tablespoons. Make sure to watch the scones, they will brown very quickly at the end and then start to burn on the bottom if you aren't careful. With the gluten free scones I would recommend adding even a little bit more sugar if you are using a gluten free all-purpose flour or better yet use coconut flour. Without the added sugar the gluten free scones had a slightly bitter taste. Finally, if you like lots of fruit in your scones I would double the amount of strawberries. I like my scones filled with strawberries so I added a lot more than the original recipe stated.

When these scones were slathered with homemade jam they were great. Without jam I found them a little low on fruit and the gluten free ones weren't sweet enough. If you eat them with jam they have the right amount of sugar though. My kids thought these were a little crumby since they had eggs. Traditional scones just have butter and heavy cream. I would consider these more of a biscuit.

For the recipe go to Strawberry Scones.

Olive Oil for Dessert? A Recipe for Olive Oil Cake with Cherry Topping

Gluten Free Olive Oil Cake with Cherry Topping

 Growing up my mother used a lot of olive oil. Pesto was one of her favorite dishes and I loved the smell and taste of the basil and olive oil together. She did use vegetable oil for some of her baking and recipes, but olive oil was always her favorite. As I got older I thought it was funny that suddenly olive oil became all the rage with foodies. I never realized that it wasn't popular since my mother loved shopping the Italian grocery stores back home and it was always a staple on our table. Now that I bake and cook for my family I have come to realize that not everyone buys the giant size of olive oil at the big box stores and uses it quicker than I am willing to admit. There are few things that compare to a simple dish with the right amount of extra virgin olive oil. Especially in the summer, it just seems natural. While many people know about cooking with olive oil, my mother introduced me to the idea of baking with it as well. It is a great substitute for butter or vegetable oil in many recipes and adds a nice buttery taste to cakes. Today I tried a new recipe for Olive Oil Cake from the July 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 50 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I did make a number of significant changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used a combination of almond meal (flour) and potato starch. I used 3/4 of a cup of potato starch and 1 cup of almond flour. I didn't have whole milk, so I substituted half and half. For the zest I used 1 lemon since I wasn't sure if my kids would be fans of a strong lemon flavor. Finally, I made a topping that the original recipe did not include. I have had frozen cherries in my freezer for a couple of months and I figured that they would be a great accompaniment to the cake. Instead of adding vanilla like the recipe I followed stated I substituted almond extract. There is something about cherries that screams almond extract to me.

Baking gluten free can oftentimes be very hit or miss, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this recipe. I was happy when it came out and it had actually risen like a regular wheat flour cake and the crust was nicely browned. My two boys really loved the cake and have already eaten half of it by the time I am writing this. This cake would be great either as written or gluten free and is a nice way to bake with olive oil.

For the recipes go to Olive Oil Cake and Cherry Topping.

Overrippened Bananas Strike Again: Time for Banana Crumb Muffins

Gluten Free Banana Crumb Muffins

I have been shopping our pantry and freezer the last couple of weeks. Every 2 or 3 months I notice all the food bits that we have leftover such as half packages of pasta, condiments, half jars of olives etc. Then I make an effort to use as much as I can of everything before doing another large grocery trip. My pantry and freezer have had enough 'bits' of things to last me two weeks with another week or more of meals to go. We routinely eat leftovers, but the little portions of things I have to make an effort to go back and use every couple of months. So I have had a number of recipe experiments, most of which have gone well, a few not so much. Today my youngest son really wanted to eat the bananas he found at the store last weekend, but the heat had already gotten to them and they had turned brown. So it was muffin time again. Today I made a new recipe for Banana Crumb Muffins from Allrecipes.com.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 muffins. I actually made two versions of this muffin, one gluten free and one as written. The major change that I made to the recipe was to puree my bananas in my blender before adding them to the wet ingredients. I'm not a fan of lumpy bananas, so this step eliminated that problem. For the topping I let the butter sit at room temperature and then rubbed the warm butter into the sugar mixture with my hands. This allowed for larger chunks of crumb on the muffins, which is what I prefer. My muffins took the entire 20 minutes of baking time to fully set.

The tops on these muffins are the best part. The muffins themselves are a little soft, I might suggest switching the butter to canola oil and adding a small amount of cinnamon or nutmeg to the batter. This would help with the flavor and texture of the finished muffins. My youngest son ate the tops off a number of the muffins, since that was his favorite part. The muffins are on the sweet side due to the topping, so if you are looking for a less sweet muffin you might want to leave off the topping.

For the recipe go to Banana Crumb Muffins.

Looking For a Recipe For Your Overripe Bananas? Try Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

My youngest has fallen in love with the library. He has always been a very active child so my husband and I waited until this last weekend to introduce him to our public library. While he has been 4 since December it is only in the last couple of months that he has been able to understand not to break, rip or destroy other people's property. I was a little worried how he would react to the library since he has shown little interest in books despite my best efforts. Apparently the library was the perfect answer. He has asked to go back to the library the last three days. Best of all this afternoon he asked me to read three library books and he is recognizing his alphabet letters with very little help. I love libraries! I try to bake special treats when my children hit milestones or accomplish something new. In light of my son's new love of reading I made a batch of Favorite Banana Chip Muffins from the June/July issue of Taste of Home magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. I made a number of changes to the original recipes. Since I eat gluten free I used gluten free all-purpose baking mix. The baking mix I use already has salt so I omitted the salt from the recipe. I am not a fan of lumps of banana in my muffins, so instead of mashing the bananas I pureed them in a blender. This allowed for a great banana flavor throughout the muffin and no lumps. My muffins took an additional 5 minutes of baking time, for a total of 25 minutes. Gluten free muffins tend to take a little longer to bake.

My husband isn't a fan of gluten free baking, but he loved these muffins. Pureeing the bananas allowed for a great flavor and texture. My youngest son was a fan of the chocolate chips and ate 3 muffins in just a couple of hours. This recipe is definitely kid and adult friendly.

For the recipe go to Favorite Banana Chip Muffins.

Need a Change to Your Breakfast Routine? Try a Recipe For Toasted Muesli

Toasted Muesli Over Greek Yogurt and  Fresh Berries

This has been a day of free in my household. I am cheap. Not in the bad I don't spend any money on things that are important, but in the if I can find free entertainment I jump at it way. My oldest is at my in-laws house for the week so my youngest is by himself and needing entertainment. I am a firm believer in taking full advantage of local events so our day was filled with free or budget friendly activities. We spent time at the play center at the mall (love that place), went shopping for cheap locally produced strawberries, played on a retired train and spent time at the library. Everything except the strawberries was free and my youngest loved it. We also took a nice leisurely drive and talked about the various landmarks in our area. Best of all I discovered that the movie theater is having free movie Tuesdays again this summer, making one more cheap kid activity. My cheapness also extends to food. I love finding recipes that can be stretched to last throughout the week. Last week I tried a new recipe for Toasted Muesli from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes, 5 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. My husband ate all of the pumpkin seeds before I was able to make the recipe, so I substituted unsalted sunflower seeds. I have never been able to find large coconut flakes, so I used the shredded unsweetened coconut I already had in my pantry. My youngest and I enjoyed the muesli over Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries.

If you liked your muesli sweet you will need to increase the maple syrup. I like to be able to add a small amount of sweetener to my yogurt, so this muesli was plenty sweet when added to my yogurt along with sweetener and fresh berries. It also made a nice snack right out of the bag without being used as a topping or stir-in.

For the recipe go to Toasted Muesli.

Recipe for Easy Blueberry Muffins with Banana Butter

Blueberry Muffins

We eat a lot of snacks in my family. My two boys have inherited my metabolism and seem to snack continuously throughout the day. Most of their snacks are healthy and consist of nuts, fruit or veggies. However, once a week I bake a treat for an after school snack. When I first eliminated packaged snacks my kids complained. They have had a couple of years to adjust now and my oldest comes home asking what I made today instead of what I bought. To me that is success, he understands that the food in our house comes from the oven not a box. That isn't to say that they don't get a few treats, a box of cereal a week being a main one. There are very few homemade cereals that can actually be made (and taste good) and there is only so much granola anyone can eat. One of my kids favorite snacks is fruit and once every couple of weeks I make them fruit muffins as a treat. Yesterday as an after school snack I tried a new recipe for Blueberry Muffins with Banana Butter from the May 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients in the muffins and 4 in the banana butter. The recipe takes a total time of 45 minutes, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. I did make a few changes to the recipe. First I forgot to buy bananas, so the banana butter was out. As many of you know I eat gluten free, but I was making these muffins for my kids so I used bread flour. I never keep whole milk in the house to I used non-fat (the only kind we buy). Fresh blueberries are relatively expensive in my area right now so I used frozen instead. I tossed the blueberries in a small amount of flour before adding to the batter to keep the color from turning the muffins blue.

Since I couldn't eat these muffins I had to use my two sons as testers. They must have liked them since they ate the whole batch in less than two days. The muffins cooked up nicely and they smelled great when cooking. My youngest thought they were best with melted butter (he also ate a few with nutella :). It seemed to be a very kid friendly recipe.

For the recipe go to Blueberry Muffins.

Roasted Chicken with Tangerines and Olives

My two sons are really into the holidays this year. Last year my youngest was just too little to really understand what was going on around him and my oldest just wasn't interested. This year is a total 180. They had great fun picking out a little tree that they could place on a table and decorate all by themselves. Granted mommy did have to steer them away from the horribly tacky ornaments and towards a color scheme that would match the rest of my decorations. Then I had the task of explaining that since I was hosting Thanksgiving that the tree would have to wait to be put up until Friday morning. Needless to say that didn't go over too well. I think this might also be the last year for Santa with my oldest. He has made more than one hint that his friends have been talking about who the 'real Santa' is. I am very proud of him though for still keeping up appearances for his younger brother. It's the small gestures like these that make me happy that my kids have each other for brothers. So as Thanksgiving week begins I am very thankful for the fact that my family has each other and that my kids are turning into great little men. However, the one exception to their normally great behavior is food. When they were younger they ate anything. Then about 6 months ago everything began to change. Now they eat more than I would think would be possible for their size, but have also become very, very picky. Luckily they love chicken and it has become my fall back protein choice. Recently I tried a new recipe for Roasted Chicken with Tangerines and Olives from Everyday Food magazine which looked very simple and full of protein.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. It takes a total time of 50 minutes, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. The one big modification that I made to this recipe is to use chicken thighs and drumsticks instead of a whole chicken. I absolutely hate butchering chickens. Any other type of meat I have no problems with, but chicken drives me crazy. Granted it would help if I had more disposable income and could afford the awesome knives that they have on all the cooking shows. As it is I have the knives that I can afford and even when I sharpen them before every use they are still not great for butchering chicken. So I took the easy way out and bought pre-packaged thighs and drumsticks. For the olives I used stuffed green olives. My two kids love pimentos and they are the easiest type of olive to find in my area, so I used them. Honey is a food that I am particular about. I always buy as local of a honey as I can find. My husband and two boys both have nasty allergies and the closer the honey the better. Luckily there are multiple local honey producers in the immediate area that I live, which is great. Finally, I allowed my chicken to cook slightly longer than the final 10 minutes suggested by the recipe. I prefer my skin to be crispy and well browned so I allowed an additional 5 minutes of baking time. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys were big fans of this recipe. They loved the olives and ate the majority of the roasted tangerine slices. I liked that the recipe was very simple and had 53 grams of protein per serving. I try to make most of my family's dinners high in protein so this recipe was a perfect fit. If you aren't a fan of chicken skin this recipe would also work with skinned chicken. I would suggest keeping on the skin until the last ten minutes, then remove it and baste the meat with the honey and tangerine mixture. Overall a simple and sweet roasted chicken recipe.

For the recipe go to Roasted Chicken with Tangerines and Olives.

Alpine Muesli

As I've stated in a few of my previous posts I am determined to be better about eating breakfast. My son starts school in two weeks and with the start of school my eating habits go quickly down-hill. I am great about making my two sons eat a healthy breakfast, I just don't follow my own advice. Honestly, I have never been great about eating breakfast. Growing up my dad worked nights and my mom left for work before I went to school. So when it was time for me to eat breakfast my dad was getting ready to bed for the day and I would literally eat peanut butter out of the jar. My mom tried really hard to get me to eat, she even left pre-made breakfasts for me. It never worked. I preferred the peanut butter on a spoon. If given the choice now and if my metabolism was the same as when I was younger I would still be eating jars of peanut butter a week. I love peanut butter. I know better now, but it is still a daily struggle with myself. Last week I tried a new recipe for Alpine Muesli from Martha Stewart Living magazine, which I was hoping would help to encourage me to eat breakfast.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 50 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients for this recipe at my local grocery store and I made no modifications to the ingredients. For the chopped fruit I used plums and for the sliced fruit topping I used strawberries. I had planned on also using raspberries, however, my two children ate almost all of the fruit out of the fridge before I had the change to make this recipe. Luckily I had just enough fruit. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As written this recipe needs some work. First, I was not a fan of the fresh orange juice. My two boys refused to eat their servings due to the overly citrus taste. If I was to make this again I would make the following changes. I am not a huge fan of citrus, but if you like the taste of fresh oranges, then I would use vanilla almond milk instead of cows milk. The low-fat cows milk and the orange juice did not work well together. Almond milk would solve this problem. Personally, I think the recipe would be better without the orange juice entirely. I liked the whole recipe, except the citrus taste. So leave out the citrus and add a little more honey and this recipe will be a great way to start the day.

For the recipe go to Alpine Muesli.

Sweet Whole-Wheat Couscous with Dried Blueberries and Almonds

With my oldest son starting school in two weeks I am dreading the daily breakfast struggle. My son is great about getting up and taking a shower, but horrible when it comes to his breakfast habits. He will waste a ton of time not eating and then minutes before we have to walk out the door want to have something to eat. It can be very frustrating. This summer I have been working on making quick and easy breakfasts in the morning to keep my two boys happy and full. While they would be happy with eating pancakes every morning, I have been trying to introduce more whole-grains and protein into their diet and breakfast provides the perfect opportunity. This weekend I tried a new recipe for Sweet Whole-Wheat Couscous from Parents magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 3 cups. I did make a few modifications. My two boys aren't big fans of shredded orange peel so I left it out of the recipe. For the milk I used vanilla flavored almond milk, my boys prefer almond milk over soy so I prefer using it for drinking and baking. In addition to the dried cherries I also added dried blueberries sprinkled on top. I love just about any type of dried fruit and add it to a variety of breakfast foods. The leftovers re-heated very easily in the microwave the next morning so don't worry if you don't eat everything in one sitting. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I really liked this recipe. I liked that it has a great taste and uses whole-wheat couscous which I was recently able to find at my local farmer's market. My two boys were a little more skeptical. They picked around their bowls, finally trying their servings. I wasn't sure if they would finish their bowls so I was surprised when my youngest ate his whole bowl and and then half of mine. Overall, this recipe is a great way to get protein and fiber into your diet and was very child friendly.

For the recipe go to Sweet Whole-Wheat Couscous.

Nectarine Pancakes

This summer has flown by. I didn't realize how quickly until I found out that my oldest son starts first grade in two weeks. Two weeks, I can't believe how fast time has gone. Since I only have a couple more weeks with both of my sons home everyday I have been trying to bake and cook with my oldest son as much as possible. He absolutely loves spending time in the kitchen with me and I use the time to teach math and reading skills. One dish that we make frequently together is pancakes. I love how easy it is to make a great homemade breakfast with only a few ingredients. However, I haven't always loved pancakes. As a gift this last Christmas I received a new griddle/grill. I was very hesitant to use the griddle part since every pancake I had made previously either burned or was raw in the middle thanks to my disco era stove. All that changed the first time I used my griddle, pancakes are pretty great. There are so many ways to make pancakes and when they don't burn or end up raw they are a great breakfast food. This last week my oldest son and I decided to try making the Nectarine Pancakes recipe in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 10 pancakes. Since I was making the pancakes on a griddle I chose not to use the 1 tablespoon of butter. I try to reduce fat in recipes if it is unnecessary and the butter didn't seem to be needed. With the first 4 pancakes I put the sliced nectarines on top as stated by the recipe. My boys weren't huge fans of the nectarines baked in so for their servings I served the nectarines on top after the pancakes were cooked. For kids I would recommend cutting up the nectarines and actually putting them directly into the batter.This could also work well for adults who are texture sensitive. I used my griddle on 400 degrees and my pancakes took longer than the suggested 3 minutes per side, I would say approximately 5 minutes each side. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love recipes that are easy to put together on a busy weekday morning. This recipe fits that description perfectly. It was very easy to put the ingredients together and cook and it was nice having breakfast done in only twenty minutes. I liked that the pancakes were very fluffy and sweet and the nectarines were a nice way to add fruit to a breakfast recipe. Overall, a delicious way to start the day.

For the recipe go to Nectarine Pancakes.

The Best Blueberry Muffins with Applesauce

I love fresh fruit. This is my favorite time of the year when there is a large variety of fresh fruit both at the grocery store and local farmer's markets. Of all the fruit available my favorite by far is blueberries. I love blueberries by themselves, with cereal, in baked goods, pretty much anyway they can be used in relation to food. My two boys have also fallen in love with all types of berries and will literally eat pounds every week. I have to hide berries that I buy for baking or they will be eaten within a day. This week I was pleased to find a great batch of blueberries at my local store and was excited to find a recipe for The Best Blueberry Muffins in the July issue of Parents magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. I did make a few modifications. First and most importantly I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Since I used applesauce my cooking time was increased by approximately 8 minutes. I also turned my muffin pan 90 degrees halfway through the baking time to promote even browning. Instead of using a ice-cream scoop to fill the muffins I just poured it straight into the pan. I don't have a dishwasher so I try to save time on dishes as much as I can and the ice-cream scoop seemed more work than it was worth. Finally, I chose not to use paper liners. I know a lot of people love them and they look great on a plate. However, I prefer to just put the muffins straight into the pan. My two boys eat the majority of the muffins that I make and would just rip the liners into shreds. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this recipe. They didn't notice that I used applesauce instead of oil and the taste of the fresh blueberries was delicious. These were great for breakfast for my kids and I. By cutting down on the oil they make a great way to get more fresh fruit into my family's diet without being overly high in fat. Overall a delicious way to use fresh berries.

For the recipe go to The Best Blueberry 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.

Gluten Free Pomegranate Muffins

Baking is one of my favorite activities and I find it very relaxing. There's something about baking that is different for me than other types of cooking. I love the whole process and bake something at least twice a week. Mostly I bake bread and sweets, but every once in a while I make muffins or other breakfast baked goods. A couple of months back after I made spelt pancakes, I was left with a large amount of gluten free ingredients to find a new use for. I figured muffins would be the easiest use for the white rice flour so I prepared a double batch of Gluten Free Pomegranate Muffins.

This is a very easy recipe. The original recipe I found used dried blueberries, which I can never find at my local grocery stores, so I modified with dried pomegranates. The recipe is as follows for 12 muffins:

• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Milk (can also use water or juice)
• 4 Tbsp. Sugar
• 4 Tbsp. Oil ( I use vegetable, my husband isn't a fan of canola oil).
• 2 cups White Rice Flour
• 4 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup dried Pomegranates

Combine all ingredients until well mixed. Pour into a greased muffin pan (or use muffin liners). Bake 25-30 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven. Allow to cool before removing from pan.
These muffins are very easy to prepare. A couple of helpful hints. The batter is not thin like many muffin recipes, but instead more the consistency of a biscuit. Second, these muffins go stale very quickly. I recommend eating them hot or within a day. Any longer and they may become tough. My husband ate these muffins with no complaints about them being gluten free and my boys ate multiple servings. A quick easy gluten free recipe.

Recipe adapted from the back of the Bob's Red Mill White Rice Flour package.

All You Fruit and Nut Granola Bars

Since my oldest started kindergarten last week, I've been working on finding after-school and breakfast snacks. Most days he comes home ravenous and wants to eat everything in site, so I've been searching for high protein snack options that will tide him over until I finish dinner. Most of the recipes that I have come across have been high in sugar, with little fiber or protein. I was pleased when the August issue of All You magazine had a recipe for Fruit and Nut Granola Bars, which had both fiber and 6 grams of protein per serving.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. I actually ended up making the recipe twice. The first time I followed the recipe as stated and was disappointed by how dry the granola bars turned out. For the second attempt I modified the recipe. Instead of using a 1/3 cup of maple syrup, I substituted a 1/2 cup of honey. This allowed the granola bars to bind together better in the pan and made for an overall crunchier bar. Additionally, no one in my household really appreciates walnuts, so I substituted pecans. Finally, I ran out of dried apples in the second batch, so I used both golden and regular raisins instead.

My second attempt at these bars turned out really well. The substitution of the honey was delicious and helped the bars to bind together much more effectively. These granola bars would work well with a variety of dried fruits, such as cranberries or blueberries or even chocolate chips. This recipe is a great after-school snack, that would work well with a number of different ingredients.

For the recipe go to All You Fruit and Nut Granola Bars.

Better Homes and Gardens Fish Tacos with Melon Salsa

Pork is a stable in our household and the three men in my house could practically eat it three times a day. However, I'm more of a fan of seafood and chicken, so our normal compromise is tacos. The whole family loves tacos and they are delicious whether made with pork, chicken or seafood. My two boys love any type of fish tacos, so I'm always on the hunt for new recipe involving fish or shrimp. The August issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Fish Tacos with Melon Salsa, which looked promising.

The fish taco portion of this recipe has 9 ingredients and the salsa has 8. The salsa goes together quickly, I prepared mine in the morning and left it in the fridge to chill. The fish tacos take very little time to prep and prepare, the whole recipe start to finish takes approximately 30 minutes. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and had all of the spices already in my pantry. The fish that I used was tilapia, since it was the only one of the choices available where I shop. Finally, I used frozen corn, because I already had it in my freezer. I made no other modifications and followed the recipe as stated. As a side I served the creamy macaroni salad from my previous post.

The best part of this salsa to me, was the melon salsa. The actual fish tacos, were basic and needed more flavor. I think they would benefit from the addition of more chili powder or adobo sauce. The melon salsa on the other hand was popular with everyone in my house. My boys love anything with fruit and thought the idea of using cantaloupe in salsa was great. The salsa helped to add flavor to the fish, which without it would have been pretty bland. With some modifications the fish tacos could be improved or the melon salsa could easily be used in other recipes.

For the recipe go to Better Homes and Gardens Fish Tacos with Melon Salsa.

Taste of Home Raspberry Onion Relish and Mango Cuke Relish

Growing up hotdogs were a summer food in our household and normally included ketchup and mustard. It wasn't until I moved to the state of West Virginia that I found out that hotdogs were a whole meal onto itself. People here can get very opinioned about the right hotdog stand and way to make the perfect hotdog. After eight years I am slowly accumulating to this new hotdog state and have come to appreciate a well made hotdog with 'slaw and sauce. Recently, the June/July issue of Taste of Home magazine had a recipe for Raspberry Onion Relish and Mango Cuke Relish, which I thought would be got accompaniments to brats and a new twist on my family's hotdog routine.

These two relishes are very easy to put together. The raspberry onion relish prep time is literally a couple of minutes. The mango cuke relish, takes about twenty minutes of prep due to the fruit and vegetables needing to be chopped. I had no problem finding any of the ingredients for either relish and had more than half the ingredients already in my pantry. I followed the recipes as stated with no modifications. I used the relish on stadium brats which I grilled on my indoor grill and used Heiner's sunny buns. My husband and two boys insist that sunny buns are the best buns locally available.

These recipes were a huge hit in my household. My two boys love fresh fruit and were enthusiastic about the raspberry onion relish. My husband liked both relishes, but preferred the mango cuke relish. I liked how easy these relishes were to prepare and they were a great summer spin on a traditional brat.

For the recipe go to Mango Cuke Relish and Raspberry Onion Relish.

Family Fun Orange Cornmeal Cakes

My husband is a big fan of anything with orange flavoring. He was not pleased when a certain national coffee chain decided to get rid of their Valencia flavoring. This is the same man that waits until the day after Christmas and buys every single chocolate orange clearanced at the store. My boys share his love of anything orange, but I have never been as big of a fan. However, I decided recently that I needed to try baking more orange flavored treats for my family and have been looking for new recipes to try. The December/January issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Orange Cornmeal Crisps, which looked perfect for my family and their love of anything orange flavored.

The cookie in this recipe has 10 ingredients and the glaze 4 ingredients. Most of the work is done in an electric mixer, with the majority of the prep time coming from the time waiting for the dough to freeze. I followed the recipe as is, with no modifications to the ingredients. However, I did find that my cooking time was slightly longer than the 10 to 12 minutes recommended. Additionally, I added more orange juice to the glaze in order for it to be the right consistency.

My two boys really enjoyed these cookies. I was suprised how much I liked these cookies when I don't normally liked orange flavored sweets. The first day my husband thought the cookies were a little gritty from the cornmeal, but he was impressed how well the cookies stood up over time and by the third day he really liked them. These cookies are a wonderful blend of crispy and sweet and would go well on any cookie platter.

For the recipe go to Family Fun Orange Cornmeal Crisps.

Everyday Food Pork Loin with Pearl Onions and Apricots

We eat a lot of pork in our house. My two sons and husband absolutely love the meat and if it was up to them, we would eat it at almost every meal. While I enjoy pork, I do not have the same absolute necessity that they have, so I am always experimenting with new recipes to appease everyone's tastes. A recent issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Pork Loin with Pearl Onions and Apricots, which looked like a recipe which would work well for my family's varied taste preferences.

This recipe has 11 ingredients, all of which I was easily able to find at my local grocery store or I already had in my pantry. I found my pearl onions hard to peel even after sitting in warm water for ten minutes, I don't know if I got a harder to peel batch or if my water needed to be warmer. This recipe is a little more time consuming, with an hour of total time, 25 minutes of which is active.

My family had mixed feelings about this dish. The dish looked great on the plate and in photos, but it contained a couple of problems. I don't know if it was the cut of pork I was able to find at my store or what, but I found my pork to be dry. The dryness would have been less of a problem if there was more sauce. I would suggested doubling the amount of liquid in order to have enough sauce and not letting the sauce thicken as much as the recipe suggests. Additionally the sauce lacked flavor, it needs more spice of some kind, either an increase in the coriander or another spice added. All-in-all this recipe has potential, but needs some further tweaking in order to be great.

For the recipe go to Everyday Food Pork Loin with Pearl Onions and Apricots.