Apple Pie Mini Muffins

Apple Pie Muffins

My family doesn't have cable, we don't watch live television and we gave up our home phone years ago. We used to have cable. In graduate school my husband and I would watch horrible cable television while working on papers into the early hours of the morning. Then like a lot of people in our generation we graduated and were struck with the cold reality of a bad economy, aka no jobs. The jobs we did find were in retail, my husband woke up at 3 in the morning to help unload the truck at a toy store. So we did what needed to be done, we moved to a cheaper apartment, cancelled cable and switched to cell phones only. Our friends couldn't fathom not having cable, especially since we only received 3 channels through the regular television. We survived and eventually bought an Apple TV and Roku, which made regular television pretty much useless. The last time we watched live television was so far back I don't remember when it happened. Instead we watch Netflix and Hulu plus, use our computers and save the 130 dollars we paid on cable when we were younger. None of us miss it, we can watch pretty much anything we want between our Apple TV and computer and it gives us more time outside the house enjoying family time. It's also one of the numerous ways that I save money in order to stay at home with my kids.

I have two active and growing boys that eat more food than I would think possible. I shudder to think how much food they will eat as teenagers. I try to keep a variety of after school snacks that they can eat while I prepare dinner. Today I tried a new recipe for Apple Pie Mini Muffins from the November 2013 issue of Parents Magazine.

Apple Pie Muffins

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 36 mini muffins. I made a number of changes to the original recipe. The most obvious being that I made full size muffins instead of mini muffins. I ended up with a total of 12 regular sized muffins and one jumbo muffin I baked in a custard cup. Instead of using a food processor I mixed the muffin topping by hand. I also toasted my own pumpkin seeds since the ones I could find at the store where raw. I found that my total cooking time was slightly increased by approximately 5 minutes. Additionally I rotated the pan halfway through the baking time.

Haunted Tunnel Ironton Ohio

I like that these muffins have pumpkin seeds, oats and apples. It's a nice way to sneak a little nutrition into my kids diets. The batter will be very, very thick when it's prepared. Don't add more liquid, they will cook up fine without it. I did find that the amount of topping was a little short with full sized muffins. You might wanted to double the amount of topping used.

For the recipe go to Apple Pie Mini Muffins. (registration required)

Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes

Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes

I have always hated funerals and graveyards. It has to do a lot with my mother and the child she lost before I was born. He had the same breathing problems that my oldest developed during labor, but didn't have the state of the art NICU that I was fortunate to have 30 years later. When I was a teen my mother decided to try to find his grave. I went with her and quietly held her hand when she found out there was no grave marker. A tiny piece of my heart left me that day to stay with the brother that I was never able to meet. Last week my husband's family experienced a loss. My first reaction was to find a way to get out of it. I was cranky the entire 1 1/2 hour drive to the service. We were late since my youngest son got very sick on the way. I ended up sitting in the back seat rubbing his back the entire time and we arrived 10 minutes before the memorial service ended. After the graveside service the family went back to the church for lunch. As I sat next to my father-in-law with tears in his eyes, it struck me. Just like I sat and held my mother's hand at the cemetery, my husband and his family needed me. When someone passes away those left behind are the ones that need our love and support. It was no longer about me and my comfort, but what I could provide for my family who I love beyond measure.  I hope that I was able to at least bring a little comfort to my husband, kids and the family that even though I am not related by blood I would do anything for. Family is the thing that binds us together in times of grief. Since last week was a long week with a funeral and the first day of school I made sure that everyone ate nutritious breakfasts. I tried a new recipe for Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes from the September 2013 issue of Parents magazine.

Old Building Wayne County, WV

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 12 pancakes. Since I was making these pancakes for my kids I did not make this recipe gluten free. While they will eaten gluten free, they prefer wheat flour and at least once a week I make bake and cook for them with regular flour. If you have never tried making your pancakes on a griddle, I recommend it highly. It is the best way that I have found to have light, golden brown pancakes. I left out the canola oil since on my griddle I never have a problem with things sticking and I like to save a little bit of fat where possible. They still turned out nice and brown without it. Make sure to spread out the pancakes for them to cook evenly. That way there will not be any doughy spots. Additionally, slice the bananas thin so that the bottoms of the pancakes brown nicely without the bananas burning.

Old Building Wayne County, WV View 2

My two kids were big fans of these pancakes. When my oldest first saw that the pancakes had bananas cooked in he wasn't sure. He was quickly won over by the first bite and ate three. They worked well with either butter or maple syrup. My oldest preferred maple syrup, while my youngest was a fan of melted butter. They would also be delicious with a combination of both. I froze the leftover pancakes and re-heated them in my toaster oven for a quick weekday breakfast. Freezing big batches on the weekend is a great way to save time and is much cheaper than buying pancakes frozen at the store (plus they taste much better!).

For the recipe go to Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes. (registration required)

Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Summary:

A kid friendly recipe for pancakes with flaxseed meal and fresh bananas. Freeze well for big batch cooking.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 45m

Yield: 12 Pancakes

A Great Way to Celebrate Summer Berries: Dark Chocolate and Fresh Raspberry Mix-It-Up Muffins

Gluten-Free Fresh Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

Fresh berries never last long in my household. Between my two boys and I we are able to eat almost our weight in blueberries, blackberries and raspberries during the summer months. Growing up there was a large patch of wild blackberries that we would go every summer to pick. We would collect as many fresh berries as we could carry home and my mother would bake pies and desserts for weeks. I remember being covered head to toe in berry juice and being as happy as can be. My two boys seemed to have inherited my love of all things berries, they will go into the fridge and sneak as many as they can get their hands on. Luckily berries have been inexpensive recently so I have been baking and cooking with them frequently and allowing my boys as many bowls as they can handle (within reason). This week I tried a new recipe for Mix-It-Up Muffins from the June 2013 issue of Parents Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 muffins. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First, I made two batches of muffins, one gluten-free and one regular. I made half the muffins with carrots and raisins (not pictured) and half dark chocolate-raspberry. As I always do when making muffins I used foil liners. They are so much easier to unstick the muffins from, especially when using gluten-free flours. One step that the recipe leaves out is to roll the berries in a small amount of flour before adding them to the batter. This allows the berries to not 'bleed' into the rest of the muffin batter.

My youngest son was a larger fan of these muffins than my oldest. I would suggest a few changes to the original recipe. First the raspberries ended up a little soggy in the recipe. I would cut the overall amount used or switch to using blueberries and roasted cut-up almonds instead. The recipe would also work well with the dark chocolate chips and dried blueberries, cherries or cranberries. This would also keep the berries from making the muffins soggy. The nice thing about this recipe is that it can be modified very easily to suit your tastes and what you have in your pantry. White chocolate chips, nuts, raisins and dried coconut would all work very well with the original recipe.

For the recipe go to Dark Chocolate and Fresh Raspberry Muffins.  (registration required)

Classic Pot Roast

I was so proud of the males in my family tonight. For dessert I made pudding using silken tofu and they all ate their whole servings. I even sweetened it with sorghum and my oldest thought it was delicious. This just goes along my whole opinion that kids will eat a variety of food if you give it to them and don't make a fuss. I still serve sugar, I just limit the amount of granulated sugar and try to use honey, sorghum and maple syrup when possible. My kids have slowly adjusted, so much so that my oldest has been nagging me to allow him to take a packed lunch to school since he loves my food so much. I love that my kids will eat just about anything without complaints, especially if it contains chicken or pork. One of my family's favorite meals is pot roast. There is something so comforting about starting a pot roast on a Sunday and sitting down in the evening for a delicious meal. This week I tried a new recipe for Classic Pot Roast from the February 2013 issue of Parents magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes a total time of 3 hours, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Since I eat gluten free I used cornstarch instead of all-purpose flour to thicken the pan juices. If you aren't a fan of carrots skins than I would suggest peeling them before chopping. The recipe doesn't state this, but I always do it since my youngest isn't a fan of carrot skin. Make sure to let the roast rest. This rest time is very important for letting the juices stay in the roast. If you cut the roast before letting it rest the juices will spill out making for a drier roast. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband really loved this roast. He thought it was one of the best pot roast recipes that I have made in a long time. My oldest was also a big fan, he ate most of the leftovers. The roast was a little on the dry side without the pan juices. I would add additional beef stock to the pan while the roast is cooking to ensure a larger amount of pan juice to serve with the roast.

This recipe is currently not available online, but can be found in the February 2013 issue of Parents magazine. Here is another recipe for pot roast from Parents magazine.

Lentil Sliders with Sesame Sauce

 I took the Christmas tree down yesterday and put away all the decorations. As soon as the holiday is over I like to box up all the decorations and get back to normal. I have always been like this. Growing-up my mother would keep our tree up until well into January and it would drive me nuts. I like to get things over with and move on, Christmas is one of those things. Don't get me wrong I like Christmas, but all the dust from the decorations and the lack of space from the Christmas tree drives me nuts. So as soon as Christmas is over I get up the next day and put everything away. My living room is now back to the state that it the rest of the year and I am happy and content. I have survived another Christmas and things can start settling into the cold winter months ahead. Winter to me always means beans. I cook with beans a lot in the winter, I find them filling and comforting when the weather is cold and depressing. Last week I tried a new recipe for Lentil Sliders with Sesame Sauce from the January issue of Parents magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 8 sliders. I did have to go to multiple stores to find all the ingredients, but that is normal when I am looking for tahini. Be very careful when cooking these sliders, they have a tendency to burn if you follow the amount of oil in the recipe. Watch the sliders very carefully and add more oil if necessary. I served my husband and kids portions with pita, but I ate mine with just the sauce since I can't eat gluten. For the lemon juice I used fresh squeezed, the taste is better and lemons are inexpensive. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The sauce in this recipe was too sweet. I think it would be better if the honey was eliminated or there was a touch of crushed red pepper. As the recipe is written the sauce is just too mild and sweet. The sliders on the other hand were delicious and everyone in my family enjoyed them. My husband thought that they were actually better the way that I ate them without the pita.

This recipe is currently not available online, but can be found in the January 2013 issue of Parents magazine.

Gluten Free Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

I am a huge snack eater. Three meals a day has never been something that I could stick to, but instead I eat 6 smaller meals. My two kids are the same way. They pretty much eat from the time they get up to when they go to sleep. Since they eat so often, I make sure that the snacks that I have in the house are healthy and filling. With the fact that I am now eating gluten free it has been trail and error with recipes and making sure that my two sons don't notice the changes. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Banana Peanut Butter Muffins from the October issue of Parents magazine, which looked perfect for snacking and easy to convert to being gluten free.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 30 mini muffins. I made a number of changes to this recipe. First, instead of using whole-wheat and all-purpose flours I used brown rice flour. Brown rice flour is a great gluten free substitute and I use it frequently in baking. Instead of making mini muffins I made regular sized, with the recipe making 12 regular muffins. Finally, I used liners to make the muffins easier to take out of the muffin tins. I chose not to top with jam, my two boys loved them with the peanut butter alone. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These muffins were delicious. The combination of peanut butter and banana was perfect and the recipe held-up well to being made gluten free. Best of all the recipe was easy enough that my six-year-old helped me with the whole thing. A very easy recipe, perfect for snacking or anytime of the day.

For the recipe go to Banana Peanut Butter Muffins. (registration required)

Chewy Granola Bites

I love snacks. Growing-up I ate more snacks than anyone else I knew. I seemed to always be snacking. When I don't snack I get very cranky, not just a little bit but I literally go from nice to mean in a matter of seconds. A lot of it has to do with my blood sugar. When I was pregnant with my youngest son they had me monitor my blood sugar levels and it turned out that my blood sugar crashes relatively frequently. When my blood sugar crashes I turn nasty. So I make sure to keep high protein healthy snacks around to avoid these mood swings. My two boys can be just as grumpy as I can without snacks. In particular my oldest has a hard time focusing on school work and gets in far more trouble when he doesn't eat enough. I am always on the lookout for new recipes and last week I tried a new one for Chewy Granola Bites from Parents magazine, which looked perfect for snacking.

This recipe has 5 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes approximately 30 balls. I made a number of modifications to this recipe. First I am not a fan of regular white rice cereal and my local grocery store didn't have brown rice cereal, so I substituted flax cereal instead. I chose to use almond butter, I prefer the taste and texture in recipes. Finally I ran out of granola (thanks to my husband and two boys eating most of the bag) so I only used a cup of granola and 1 1/2 cups of flax cereal. Instead of making thirty balls, I made my snacks larger and had a total of 15. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved these snacks. They literally ate them all in one afternoon. I like that they are no-bakes and take very little effort to put together. They are so easy that my oldest was able to help me with the entire recipe. Plus they are full of nutrition from the peanut butter and flax cereal.

For the recipe go to Chewy Granola Bites.

Slowcooker Lemony Lentil Soup

I love fall. The leaves, the weather and most importantly the food. I have never been a warm weather person and I pretty much am miserable all summer with the humidity and the heat. No amount of air conditioning ever seems to cool me down enough. When fall rolls around the the temps start to drop, I love it. The weather hasn't gotten bitterly cold, but is just cool enough to start to enjoy great dishes like soups and stew. Beans are one of my favorite ingredients in the fall. There is something very comforting and delicious about all varieties of beans. Luckily my two boys share my love of beans, with one of their favorite fall dishes being bean soup. They absolutely love it and will eat multiple servings. Last week I tried a new recipe for Lemony Lentil Soup from the September issue of Parents magazine, which looked like a perfect fall dish.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 6 hours of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no substitutions. I know from previous experience that my local grocery and super stores don't carry red lentils. However, the farmer's market in Charleston does, so I always buy a few pounds and keep it in my cupboard. I love that they have bulk beans, they are a great way to save money. Make sure to mince the carrots and onion. The recipe states to chop both of the ingredients, but my husband and I weren't fans of the texture after being in the crockpot. I would suggest dicing both of the ingredients and then sauteing them in a little bit of butter until they are soft and then adding to the crockpot. This would eliminate the texture problem. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love lentil soup. The lemon flavor in this soup was delicious and really brought out the flavor of the lentils. The one thing that I was not a fan of was the texture of the carrots and onion. They tasted almost not all the way cooked and they definitely would be better diced and then sauteed instead of chopped. The leftovers of this soup re-heated well and my two boys ate the leftovers happily.

For the recipe go to Lemony Lentil Soup. 

Slowcooker Asian Beef and Broccoli

I think there seems to be a theme to my blog lately. As you may have noticed I love my crockpot and I use it a ton. While some people may use theirs once every month or two, I normally use mine once or twice a week. It's especially a great tool when I have no time or things in my life have been stressful. With two growing boys that seems to be a frequent occurrence. One food item that I struggle with my boys to eat is meat. Some weeks they love chicken, the next week pork. As you can imagine it can be mildly irritating. The crockpot has been a great tool to encourage my children to try new meat dishes without having to spend hours in the kitchen. Recently I tried a new recipe for Asian Beef and Broccoli from the September issue of Parents magazine, which with only 20 minutes of active time looked perfect for a weeknight meal.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 6 1/2 hours of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. One major change that I made to the recipe was to the sear the beef before adding it to the crockpot. I always brown meat before adding it to the crockpot, it helps to retain the moisture while the meat cooks. Additionally, my two boys broke my fine-mesh sieve so I skipped that step and added all juice from the slowcooker to the pan. If you aren't a fan of  frozen broccoli, fresh broccoli would work just as well. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved the orange flavor in this recipe. I liked that each serving offers 44 grams of protein and was very child friendly. If you aren't a fan of store bought marmalade, home-made jam would work just as well. I have stopped serving white rice and this recipe worked great over brown rice. I think if I made it again I would use fresh broccoli, it would keep the broccoli crisper, which my family prefers.

For the recipe go to Asian Beef and Broccoli.

Slowcooker Mediterranean Chicken

Tomorrow is report card day for my oldest son. He's fine, I'm of course nervous. I know that I shouldn't view reports cards as a reflection of myself, but of course I do. It's as if I am being graded, not him. I know that he is doing great and everything will be fine, but there is something about seeing it in writing that validates all the hours of homework and work books. My plan for tomorrow is to bake gluten free cookies and banana bread. I love to bake and cook and it is one of the best stress relievers that I know. I can literally calm myself down from anything that's bothering me by spending time in the kitchen. The last couple of months have been very busy and as any frequent readers know these are the times that I turn to my crockpot. I love my crockpot and it has saved me so many times. Last week I tried a new recipe for Mediterranean Chicken from the September issue of Parents magazine, which with 40 grams of protein looked perfect for a weeknight meal.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes a total of 7 1/2 hours, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. Makes sure to squeeze the lemon over the finished chicken, if you don't do this step the dish will not taste complete. To serve this dish I placed the vegetables on the plate and topped with the chicken. This looked great on the plate and allowed the flavors to be eaten as one bite. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was very surprised by how great this recipe looked and tasted. Crockpot recipes are often reduced to stews and soups, without a lot of variety. This recipe tasted liked it could have come out of a dutch oven that had been cooking in the oven for hours. The taste is on the mild side, don't expect this recipe to be bold. It tastes like a dish that would come out of a grandmother's kitchen. The meat was perfect and the vegetables were very popular with my two sons. This is a recipe that I would definitely make again.

For the recipe go to Mediterranean Chicken.

Banana-Quinoa Waffles

So my breakfast adventures continue. You might have noticed a pattern in my posts in the last couple of weeks. I am determined to fix my breakfast issues. For the longest time I have fought the idea of adding more whole grains and reducing the amount of refined carbs that I consume. This change has been in part due to  my husband deciding to start a new slow carb diet. At first I thought the whole thing was a little crazy. After two months he has lost a large amount of weight and is doing great. My two boys and I are not following in his dieting footsteps. However, I have started adding a lot more whole grains into our diet, especially at breakfast. Gone are white rice, regular pasta and I have limited the amount of baked goods such as bread that I make with white flour. I have discovered that I love white whole-wheat flour. It is great to cook with and my kids don't notice that they are eating whole-wheat. Last week I tried a new recipe for Banana-Quinoa Waffles from Parents magazine, which looked easy and perfect for a family breakfast.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 10 waffles. I was rushed for time when I made this recipe so I omitted letting the quinoa sit in the fridge to chill for an hour or more. Instead I let it sit for approximately 10 minutes and then followed the recipe as written. To make one cup of mashed bananas it took two ripe bananas. I topped the waffles with maple syrup and no berries, since my two boys raided the fridge and ate all the fruit before I had time to make the waffles. They were delicious even without any additional fruit.

These waffles only lasted a day in my house. My two boys went back for seconds, thirds and then ate the last two waffles within the day that they were made. I really liked the banana taste in the waffles and the quinoa was great for nutrition and produced a great texture. Overall, a recipe that I would definitely make for breakfast again in the future.

For the recipe go to Banana-Quinoa Waffles.

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.

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.

Parents Magazine BBQ Pulled Pork

Every year for Easter I make a big spread. There is always ham, multiple vegetables, rolls, desserts, you get the point. I cook a lot for the holidays. This year I decided to think outside of the box and make things easier on myself. One of the recipes from my menu plan for the week before Easter didn't get made so I was left with all the ingredients for BBQ pulled pork. So I decided that instead of the big spread this year I would just make pulled pork. My mother-in-law stepped up with her fabulous rolls and macaroni salad, and I made deviled eggs and a delicious carrot cake (recipe to come). All-in-all it was a great non-traditional Easter. The main course of the meal was the recipe for BBQ Pulled Pork from the April issue of Parents magazine, which takes a while in the oven, but worth the wait.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes a total time of 7 to 12 hours, 20 of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I let the mixture chill overnight for the flavors to fully saturate the meat. For the sauce I made a few modifications. My husband prefers a tangy Carolina type BBQ sauce, so I made a few changes to the sauce ingredients. I added an additional tablespoon of apple-cider vinegar and approximately a 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke. For the rolls instead of whole-grain I used Sunny Buns, my family loves these and won't eat BBQ any other way. The sides of my baking dish burnt, so instead of tossing the pork once it was pulled with the cooking juices, I topped it with the sauce. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As a main dish for Easter this was perfect. Everyone loved it and it made a great impression on a platter on the center of the table. It made more than enough for four adults and two kids with plenty of leftovers. I normally make pulled pork in the crockpot, which I love, but I liked how great this turned out in the oven with a lot less time than the crockpot requires. A very easy oven pulled pork recipe.

For the recipe go to BBQ Pulled Pork. (registration required)

Parents Chipotle Sweet-Potato Pigskins

I'm not a huge fan of regular baked potatoes. When everyone else at a restaurant is ordering a baked potato I am eating a salad. Growing up my mom never really made potato dishes. It was my dad who would wake up early on Sunday mornings and prepare a huge breakfast with a large helping of fried potatoes. I still love those fried potatoes whenever I go home. While I might not love regular baked potatoes, I do love sweet potatoes. I could devour pretty much any dish or recipe utilizing sweet potatoes. The February issue of Parents Magazine had a recipe for Chipotle Sweet-Potato Pigskins which promised to be low in fat and have a smoky heat from the chipotles.

This recipe has six ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 40 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active, and makes 8 servings. There are very few ingredients in this recipe and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. Make sure to pick small to medium sweet potatoes in order for them to fully cook in the amount of time suggested. If your sweet potatoes are on the larger side it could take up to a half hour longer than the suggested time. Additionally, be careful when you are scooping out the sweet potatoes to not scrap all the way through the skin or they won't hold up to be re-stuffed. For the potatoes for my two kids I   left off the onions and Greek yogurt since they can be hit or miss on what they will eat. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written. 

The chipotles in this recipe create a delicious smokey flavor, with a little bit of heat. Sweet Potatoes are a great source of vitamin C, which is great for this time of year when everyone seems to be fighting off some sort of cold or sickness. My husband loved that these sweet potatoes had a different type of taste than your run of the mill variety from steak houses. Overall, an easy recipe with great flavor.

For the recipe go to Chipotle Sweet-Potato Pigskins.

Parents Magazine Pork and Potatoes

If you've read my blog for any given amount of time you know that my family loves pork. My husband and two boys could only eat bacon for a week straight and be perfectly content. Growing up my mother rarely prepared pork, we were more of a beef and chicken type of family. My father never cared much for pork since my mother really only prepared pork chops, so it wasn't until I moved out on my own that I started trying new ways to prepare pork. After getting married to my bacon loving husband I learned quickly that there was much more to pork than the pork chops I had grown accustomed to growing up. One of my favorite cuts of pork is tenderloin, it's delicious. It's a very versatile cut and can be used in numerous ways. Recently the January issue of Parents Magazine had a recipe for Pork and Potatoes, which cost less than ten dollars for four servings and looked very child friendly.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes approximately 50 minutes to prep and cook and makes 4 servings. All the ingredients are very basic and I either had in my pantry or I was able to easily find at my local grocery store. To secure the pork tenderloin I used kitchen twine, since I find it much easier to work with than toothpicks. I did make a few changes to the mashed potatoes. Instead of using chicken stock I used butter and buttermilk. I prefer the taste of the buttermilk and will sacrifice the calories for the better flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this pork. I liked how easy the dish was to prepare and that it had few ingredients. My husband felt that it needed more flavor. The applesauce and raisins didn't produce a very strong taste to the pork. I think that the adding HP Fruity Sauce or a chutney would add to the overall flavor of the pork. Overall, a very kid friendly recipe that is very easy on the family budget and perfect for a busy weeknight meal.

For the recipe go to Pork and Potatoes (registration required).

Parents Magazine Chili Con Carne

As I've stated numerous times before my family loves meat. If given the choice my husband would eat only bacon and pork with every meal. Since this wouldn't be the healthiest option I try to incorporate as many beans and other non-meat proteins as I can. I still serve meat I just make it an ingredient as opposed to the center of a meal. Recently, the November issue of Parents Magazine had a recipe for Chili Con Carne with 25 grams of protein and only 9 grams of fat, which looked like perfect combination of beans and meat for my family.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes approximately 20 minutes and makes 4 to 6 servings. All the ingredients I either already had in my pantry or were easy to find at my local grocery store. I ground my own beef since I believe it tastes better and I can control the amount of fat. Make sure to adequately rinse the canned beans or the taste will effect the taste of the chili. I chose to leave off the optional corn chips or brown rice and chopped cilantro. I followed the remainder of the recipe as stated.

With 25 grams of protein this is a very filling dish. Both of my boys ate their whole servings and it made more than enough for a meal for my family of four plus leftovers. I liked that the chili had both beans and meat for protein and was full of flavor. Overall, a very family friendly recipe.

For the recipe go to Chili Con Carne.

Parents Asian Burgers with Pineapple-Mango Salad

In the last couple of months I have made a large amount of soup and stew recipes. While, my whole family enjoys these dishes, I figured it was about time for a change in my menu plan for the week. My oldest son has been going through a fruit stage where he is literally obsessed with any and every kind of fruit that he can find at the grocery store. I'm proud of his love for fruit, but my husband has less of an enthusiasm for getting in his daily fruit requirements. I fall somewhere in the middle of the debate. I grew up in Washington state and never understood that apple prices at the grocery store could be high until I moved to West Virginia. I remember picking wild blackberries by the community college in our area and eating a large amount of locally produced fruit. I never really thought about whether I liked or didn't like fruit in general. As an adult I haven't been as vigilant about making sure that I eat my daily requirement of fruit, so I recently have begun to try to find recipe using fruit as an ingredient, in an effort to make my family healthier and my oldest son happy. Recently, the September issue of Parents magazine had a recipe for Asian Burgers with Pineapple-Mango Salad, which looked like a perfect way to increase my family's fruit intake.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It serves six and takes approximately 15 minutes. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store, with the exception that I substituted an English cucumber for the seedless variety specified in the recipe. I ground my own beef so that added 15 minutes to my overall preparation time. I chose not to add the parsley to the salad, my children can be picky about parsley in dishes and I knew that without it they would eat the fruit without complaints. I followed the remainder of the recipe as stated.

The fruit salad was the most popular part of the recipe for my two boys. My husband and I loved the flavor of the burgers, but felt that they were very dry. I would suggest adding the hoisin mayonnaise from this earlier blog post of mine. I think the combination of the flavors would be delicious and add greatly to the overall recipe. With the stated modifications I think this could be a great dish.

For the recipe go to Asian Burgers with Pineapple-Mango Salad.

Parents Pork and Spinach Meet Up with Sweet Potato Fries

As I've stated numerous times before my two boys and husband are pretty much obsessed with pork. Just about any dish containing pork they eat wholeheartedly. Fresh vegetables on the other hand are hit or miss. My five-year-old loves just about every vegetable and will try almost anything once. However, my two-year -old is a snacker and I have a hard time getting him to eat a balanced meal. Recently, I have been trying to incorporate more vegetables as side dishes in addition to an ingredient in main dishes. The June issue of Parents magazine had a recipe for pork and spinach meet up, which made a perfect combination with homemade sweet potatoes fries.

This is a very easy recipe and only contains 7 ingredients. The prep and cooking time is under 20 minutes, including the time for the rice to cook. I followed the original recipe as stated, not the two suggested modifications. The recipe states to use low-sodium soy sauce, however, I used the soy-sauce I already had in my fridge, which was not low-sodium. Finally, I used peanut oil because it was the easiest to find at my local grocery store. As a side to the stir-fry recipe I made oven baked sweet potato fries. My two boys actually like these more than regular french fries. All that I do to prepare them is to cut two sweet potatoes into wedges, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and put into the oven at 375 degrees.

This recipe went over well with my whole family. The pork was very tender and moist. I liked that the regular soy sauce added a little more saltiness to the flavor, which I prefer. Of course, the biggest hit with my two boys were the sweet potato fries, as expected. A great, quick stir-fry recipe that is very kid friendly.

This recipe is not currently available on-line, but can be found in the June 2011 issue of Parents magazine.

Parents Easy Gazpacho

During the winter months I prepare a large amount of soups and stews. However, as the weather turns warmer and my kitchen turns into a sauna, my motivation to prepare hot soups dwindles. I still love preparing soups even when the temperature spikes into the 90's, so I make cold soups during the summer. The August edition of Parents magazine had a recipe for Easy Gazpacho, which looked cool and delicious.

This recipe contains 10 ingredients and takes very little to prepare. The majority of the prep work is done in the food processor, with little chopping required. I lucked out that I had heirloom tomatoes available to use.

The two varities of heirlooms I used were Mr. Stripey and Cherokee Purple. The recipe calls for 4 cups of cored and chopped tomatoes and the two heirlooms were exactly four cups. I followed everything as the recipe stated with no other modifications. I let the soup cool for about an hour before serving.

This recipe was very easy to prepare and was a great way to utilize heirloom tomatoes. As stated the recipe was good, but needed an additional flavor. Adding cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper would add to the depth of the tomatoes and help bring out the taste of the soup overall. My two boys were unsure of the idea of cold soup, but my husband and I enjoyed it. The only downside my husband found was with the texture of the chopped tomatoes. With some additional seasoning this soup would be a great cold summer soup, and perfect for fresh garden tomatoes.

For the recipe go to Parents Easy Gazpacho. (registration required)