Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Blueberries.  Is there a more wonderful, kid-friendly fruit?!  I found this cookbook at the library and brought it home.  I'm tempted to buy it, there are so many recipes I love.  This is one of them.  We adore blueberries in our house and if breakfast comes in cake form....well, who can argue with that?!

The recipe calls for an 8x8 square pan but I threw mine out a while ago and haven't replaced it so I used a round cake pan instead.  If you use a larger pan than that it would be fine but with a thinner layer you'd just need to track with the baking time...anywhere from 5-8 minutes less probably.  I have fresh blueberries in the fridge but used frozen ones for this recipe - just threw them in the microwave for 45 seconds to take the chill off. 

Total breakfast success.  100% delish.  And if we'd had more time (or company overnight) I'd serve with yogurt or scrambled eggs and bacon.  And pretty healthy -- high fiber blend of whole grain wheat & oats with antioxidant-rich blueberries.  Your kids will think they're eating dessert!

Mix together in a large bowl:

1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/2 c plain yogurt
3 T butter, melted (I only had 2T so added 1T canola oil)

In a separate bowl blend these together:

1/2 c oat flour (didn't have this so threw some oatmeal in a food processor til almost powdery)
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar (although I think 1/4-1/3c would do)
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Then:

• Toss the dry into the wet & stir til just blended (not too much)
• Add 1 1/2 c blueberries & gently fold them in.
• Spread into a greased (I use cooking spray) 8x8 pan (see my note) then sprinkle with a little cinnamon & sugar on the top....I think I used maybe 1/2 t of sugar....pinch between my fingers & sprinkled over the top.
• Bake at 400 for 25 minutes (may take a few extra minutes to pass the toothpick test).

Note:  Recipe calls for 2T chopped walnuts on top too...I'm allergic to walnuts & couldn't come up with many foods I more intensely dislike the taste of but it would add a protein boost if you like them.  Almonds would be a great alternative.  If you go that route, a little lemon zest in the batter would be fantastic.  And speaking of alternatives....instead of blueberries....raspberries, blackberries, chopped peaches or apricots or pears....all of those would be great.

Source:  Cancer Wellness Cookbook, Kimberly Mathai (2014)

Mexican Quinoa Bake

So this one made it into our weekly dinner rotation.

I didn’t even have a dinner rotation until a few weeks ago when I started making this every Thursday & suddenly realized what was happening.  It was revolutionary.   Ok, it wasn't.  But it was so awesome to find something I wanted for dinner every week that's healthy & creates leftovers & is super easy.  I might go so far as to create a lunch rotation too.  This recipe, on chopped romaine with avocado.  Every day.  Chopped olives & tomatoes if I have ‘em on hand.  Which I usually do. 

Anyway, I’m providing the link cuz the pictures are pretty.  But the below version is really all you need to know.

Stir together in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes:

·         1 ½ c uncooked quinoa (don’t even need to rinse it; at least, I don't rinse it for this)

·         1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

·         1 ½ c salsa

·         1 ½ c chicken broth (water works if you’re out of broth, in which case add ½ t salt)

·         1-2 cloves garlic, mashed & chopped to smithereens (or use powdered in the next step)

·         ¾ c shredded pepper jack

While that’s baking:

In olive oil, saute an onion & whatever colors of peppers you want til you’re happy.  I wouldn't chop them up too much....slice into rings or half rings like you would for fajitas.  You certainly could skip cooking them if you don’t want to, although I think the texture & flavor is better when they’re cooked.  Granted, that’s partly cuz I don’t really like peppers much.  Even just 5 minutes in the pan will put them (me) in a better mood than if they’re raw.  (I did learn a cool trick a few years ago though – when you’re buying them, look at the bottom of the pepper.  3 bumps = better for cooking, 4 bumps = better for raw eating.  More bumps = sweeter pepper.  Who knew?!? Not me!  Actually, I'm not even sure if it's true.  But it's fun to try in the store, makes me look like I really know how to shop for peppers!

Either way, after cooking or if raw, toss them with about a tablespoon of mixed taco seasonings (I use chili powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin; and I use garlic powder if I didn’t feel like doing fresh garlic in the first part of the recipe).

When the timer rings:

·         Stir the spiced up pepper-onion blend into the hot quinoa/beans

·         Stir another ¾ c of shredded pepper jack

·         Add about ½ c more broth/water and stir it in well

Set the timer for another 30 minutes.  Go dance for a while.

Serve with chips, tortillas if you want.  I usually just serve it with my favorite taco toppings:  shredded iceberg or thinly sliced romaine, chopped tomatoes & olives, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, jalapenos.  Lime & tequila optional.  Well, kind of optional.  It depends on the day...

When you add the peppers, you could add leftover steak or shredded chicken or fish or more black beans.  Or frozen corn -- kiddo liked that a lot.  I even thought about finely chopping up kale or spinach & stirring it in -- if the pieces are small enough the kiddo wouldn't ever know the difference, especially if it's with kale.  Or even a sweet potato cut into really small pieces to help cook quickly.  Basically, you can hide all kinds of nutritious stuff in this.  Even from yourself!  :)

If you want to add chicken & don’t already have some here are a couple ways:

• Buy a rotisserie chicken at the store, remove the meat & tear into pieces (sort of a gross process but highly effective), and stir in with the peppers & spices.

• Cut chicken breast into pieces, toss with spices, cook with a little olive oil for 5-8 minutes (til mostly cooked).  Stir into the hot bean-quinoa mixture when you add the peppers.

• OR: the easy version: buy chicken thigh meat pieces (plastic bag in the freezer section) – defrost briefly in the microwave, toss with spices & pan-cook for 5 minutes then stir in with the peppers.  SO much faster than dealing with chicken breasts and it won’t dry out.

Source:  http://pinchofyum.com/easy-mexican-chicken-quinoa-casserole

Ginger & Cilantro Baked Tilapia

I stumbled across this recipe a few years ago and have never looked back. It's fast, tasty, really easy. The hardest part is chopping ginger, but you can buy that in a jar. Same with garlic, although I don't recommend it. If you have a microplane grater (aka zester) both can be easily grated instead of chopped. Which makes the hardest part keeping your fingers in one piece. But it's a handy tool. Especially because my favorite way to cook rice for this meal is in coconut milk with freshly grated lime zest. It's truly a glorious thing to do with white rice! One note...I can't stand gelatinous anything so I always bake it longer.

Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia
Serves 2

1 lb tilapia fillets or other thin fish fillet
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
1" piece fresh ginger, grated (about 1 tablespoon)
1 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped (optional)
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup white wine
2 T soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari)
1 t sesame oil
Scallions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish

Heat the oven to 475°F. Pat the fish dry, season lightly with salt and pepper, and lay in a 9x9-inch or 8x8-inch ceramic or glass baking dish.

Combine the garlic, grated ginger, chopped jalapeño, cilantro, white wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small food processor. Process until blended. (Alternately, you can finely chop or mash the garlic, ginger, jalapeño and cilantro in a mortar and pestle, then whisk together with the liquid ingredients.)

Pour the sauce over the fish, rubbing it in a little. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through. It will be very moist and even a little gelatinous still.

Serve immediately over brown rice or orzo, garnished with the additional scallions and cilantro.

Source:  http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-ginger-cilantro-sesame-baked-tilapia-fish-weeknigh-dinner-recipes-from-the-kitchn-24737?crlt.pid=camp.NfYZifTvo4hD

Ree Drummond's Chili

My grandfather was born on a windy, desolate NE Montana homestead on October 16, 1913 near the town of Plentywood.  He didn't weigh much over 4 lbs and my great-grandmother placed him in a shoebox on the warming oven.  He was one of 8 children and outlived all but one sister.  Five of them died during a 1-year period last year.  They're a tenacious, stubborn lot.  During his lifetime he did everything from building roads for the CCC to farming to wheat inspection to furniture sales to owning a service station to managing rentals.  He tamed and drove horses, animals he deeply respected and appreciated, the work a joy he talked about throughout his life.  At the hardware store in town he bought his mother a gas-powered washing machine with his first CCC paycheck.  He married a girl from Wildrose, North Dakota who hailed from a quiet line of Swedish immigrants.  Their life together brought 6 children into the world including my dad.  They made numerous cross-country moves between the Montana and North Dakota prairies and his brother's Skagit County strawberry farms, where high water floods were the norm and he nearly died from asthma.  In the 1950s they settled in Walla Walla and never left.  Five years after Grandma died he remarried and embarked on a much more relaxed 34-year marriage.  He loved to garden and attributed his long life to garlic.  The day my I took my soon-to-be-husband out to meet them, my grandmother met us at the door and said, "Let me run get George, he's out back digging an irrigation ditch."  He was 89 years old.  He died on his 101st birthday.


At his funeral, my Dad shared stories about Grandpa.  It was the best part of the funeral....stories about a man, told by his son.  The son who had watched the old man's life longer than any other person in the room.  Who knew what made the man tick and honored his wishes even when inconvenient.  Who along with his own wife visited him at least twice daily in his last several years and cared for him literally around the clock in the last weeks of his life.  The stories Dad shared shone through the lens of 5 themes he believed made up the ethic Grandpa lived by:  focus, hard work, tenacity, excellence, kindness.  I have never thought my Dad was much like my grandfather because they're vastly different in some very specific ways and while I loved my grandfather I wasn't especially close to him.  My Dad was much warmer, available, fun.  But I can definitely see now, and appreciate, how the natural inclinations of my Dad's heart and mind were nurtured by the personality and ways of his own dad.  I see those traits flow in my Dad, even glimmers in my own boy's young life.  Where I see inklings of those qualities in me, I will rejoice evermore deeply for the sense of connection and line that I am part of.  We never fall far from the tree.  Even when we don't know it.


I'm quite certain Grandpa never ate this chili -- I don't think I ever saw him eat a kidney bean in any form, but to get this recipe he or my grandmother would've had to have accessed the internet, and while she's ok with email, I'm pretty sure he never touched a keyboard in his whole life.  But my sister and I made it for the family gathering held at her house the night after his funeral.  We did it as part of a baked potato bar but it's great with cornbread or tortilla chips.  It is hands down the best chili I have ever had or made.  You can make it a day or two ahead, it'll keep fine in the fridge.  We re-heated it in a crockpot.  I admit that in the flurry of activity that morning I grabbed the paprika instead of the chili powder but with some serious tweaking later it worked out just fine.  You won't do that because you'll be paying at least a modicum of attention and that's about all you need.  The most labor-intensive part of the whole recipe is chopping garlic.  The rest of it's pretty much dump and pour.  I recommend adding canned crushed tomatoes.


Here's the link to the recipe.  Cheers to grandfathers!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/simple-perfect-chili-recipe.html

Mom's Mashed Potato Casserole

My mom used to make this when I was a kid and it was always one of my favorites.  It's super easy and makes great leftovers.  Comfort food that's relatively healthy.  Serve it with a green salad.  Or chocolate.  :)

1/2 to 1 lb ground beef or turkey
12 oz pkg frozen cut green beans
15 oz can tomato sauce or a jar of Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce
Potatoes (3-6, depending on size)

Brown the meat in a skillet.  Place a colander in a bowl in the sink and pour in the cooked meat.  Let it sit there draining.

Place the green beans into your skillet.  You might want to microwave them for a minute first to take off the chill but it's fine if you don't.  Pour the tomato or spaghetti sauce over the top and stir.  Add the meat back to the pan and stir to mix.  Add more sauce if you want it saucier.  I don't usually let it get to saucy but it's a personal preference thing.  Then pour the mixture into a baking dish and spread evenly.

Pour the drained meat fat from the bowl into the empty can or jar & toss in the freezer for a while so it solidifies before you throw it in the garbage.  If you use spaghetti sauce you don't need to do that, just screw on the lid, toss it in the trash & call it good.

Cut your raw potatoes into chunks (smaller cooks faster), place in water & bring to a boil.  Let them cook until they're soft.  Use the colander to drain them, them put them back into the skillet and heat them for several minutes until they're pretty dry.  Use whatever you have (hand mixer, fork, ricer) to mash them up.  They can be smooth or rustic....whatever you prefer.  Spread them on top of the meat mixture.  Bake at 350 for a half hour or until it seems heated all the way through.  If you have a lid or tin foil on the top of the pan, you could leave it in the oven longer....last night I left them in there for an hour and a half and they were just fine.

Note on the tomato sauce -- if you use plain sauce you might need to add seasonings.  I used a can of sauce & about a cup of spaghetti sauce, and seasoned with black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried dill.  You could also always sauté fresh onion and/or garlic in the pan after cooking the meat but adding before the beans & tomatoes.  You could also add other vegetables -- mushrooms, carrots, peppers.

Lentil Soup

1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 small package frozen chopped carrots
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1 package pre-cooked, vacuum-packed lentils from Trader Joes
2-3 cans low sodium chicken broth
1/2 T Kitchen Bouquet
1/2 t powdered garlic
1/2 t powdered onion
1 t red chili flakes

Saute onion in a little olive oil until it starts to turn brown, then add carrots, parsley, and spices.  The carrots don't have to be thawed.  Pour in the chicken broth, lentils, and Kitchen Bouquet.  Bring to a boil.  Serve.

Options:
Saute some chopped celery before adding the carrot
Chop up some fresh spinach & throw it in your bowl then ladle soup on top
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
Add cooked meat (ham, bacon, sausage, etc.)

PS....Kitchen Bouquet is a strange substance that I use in all kinds of things but especially brothy soups.  It can add depth of flavor to the most bland of concoctions.  You can get it at any grocery store, comes in a little dark brown bottle with a yellow label.  Ask the clerk.  I make sure I never run out of it.  Ever.
PSS....you can buy chopped onion in the frozen food section but I don't recommend it.  I'm good with some other vegetables frozen, but I think an onion should be chopped fresh.  Always.

Serve with:
Cornbread -- buy a pkg of Bob's Red Mill cornbread mix.  Fool proof.  Not the best on the planet but I like it well enough when I'm in a pinch.