Playdate Cupcakes

This afternoon, my son had a friend over to play. With 2 5 year old boys, I should have expected anything. And I did, mostly. But I was thrown for a loop when they asked if we could bake something. Really?

My mind immediately registered the fact that there was not a single egg in the house, and I'm not exactly well versed in vegan baking, so I had to improvise. Meaning, I called my mom to jog my brain.

She reminded me of any easy-peasy way to make cupcakes using soda. Yup, soda. So simple. Which is the only criterion I had at the moment. And since it's St. Patty's Day, I threw in a little food coloring for festivity.

I highly recommend keeping the few ingredients required on hand (hey, you probably do already), just in case a similar situation, or some other last minute baked good need arises. No, it's not capital H Homemade with freshly milled flour and eggs from your chickens in the backyard, but even Martha Stewart needs something in a pinch (OK, maybe not, but us normal people do). This whips up fast and delights all.

Playdate Cupcakes

1 Box Cake Mix (Choose your flavor)
12 oz. Soda Pop (I tend to go with a clear soda like 7Up or Sprite, but colas work well, too, especially in darker cake flavors)
1 Tub Frosting

Blend the cake mix and soda until combined. Fill muffin tins and bake according to the directions on the box. After cooling, let the kiddoes go to town with the frosting.

1 Can of Pumpkin - 2 Recipes

I love pumpkin. Pie, of course. But there’s a lot of baking that can be done with pumpkin, which adds moisture and fiber while cutting out some of those pesky calories. I’m not saying it makes a baked good particularly slenderizing, but it might just help the guilt factor of eating that second serving.

Many times, I’ll make a recipe that uses part of a can of pumpkin. Sure, I could freeze the remainder, but I have a very bad habit of freezing little bits and then losing them to the freezer monster (also known as forgetting it was ever there in the first place, at which point I open a fresh can, have another leftover, lather, rinse, repeat). So I gave myself a pat on the back for figuring out this way to make 2 tasty treats, use the whole can of pumpkin, and everybody wins.
-Julie

Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

½ cup pumpkin
1 cup applesauce
½ cup milk
¼ cup oil (or substitute another ¼ cup applesauce)
1 egg
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour*
½ cup wheat flour*
1 cup oats
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon

Mix pumpkin, applesauce, milk, oil, sugar, and egg together until combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until batter is formed. Fill muffin tins halfway. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes approximately 36 mini muffins or 18 regular sized muffins.

* Use any combination of flour that yields 1 ½ cups.


Pumpkin Bread

Remaining pumpkin (about 1 ½ cups)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg white1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla yogurt – just adjust the next ingredient down a little)
1 cup flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine sugar and egg whites completely. Add pumpkin, applesauce, yogurt, and vanilla and mix to combine. Add remaining ingredients and mix into batter.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes until it can pass the toothpick test.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

First, let me apologize for how horrible this picture is. I am a terribly food photographer. I’m working on it. If it means I need a fancy new camera, then so be it. That’s the lengths I will go to for you people. I’m just that generous.

College cafeterias are supposed to be miserable, right? Poor quality, high calorie, all seemingly designed to accelerate the addition of the Freshman 10 (or 15 or 20) to the fastest rate possible. Mine was no different. Although, I will admit, after a little awhile, I developed a sort of Stockholm syndrome and actually started liking the food. It is with a heavy heart (among other heavy things) that I make that admission.

One of my favorite meals was stuffed bell peppers. I’m sure they were just mass produced Stouffers numbers, but Stouffers knows how to make nicely edible comfort food, so points to the cafeteria for knowing what works.

I wanted to make this dish at home, but the versions I’ve always had included cooked rice, which I usually did not have on hand, and I didn’t want to add extra time to a dish that already needed a fair amount of oven time. By then, my husband’s beloved Giada (his foodie princess) showcase a recipe that didn’t use rice. Yay for no extra carbs! Plus, ketchup! I always have plenty of ketchup (say what you will about the carbs there, but I don’t care)! Win win!

So I’ve tweaked the plan a bit, and this is how I make it at home. Feel free to make a Mexican version with salsa as a topper (as said husband does even though I’ve already made it with slightly Italian leanings).

Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 large bell pepper
½ lb. lean ground sirloin or ground turkey (or ground chicken, it’s versatile)
1 egg
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup (or whatever good amount you like) grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Dash of dried oregano and parsley, unless you have fresh, then go for it
Diced tomatoes or bruschetta topping

Cut the bell pepper in half and remove seeds and ribs to create a small pepper boat. Mix the remaining ingredients (expect for the tomato topping) gently until combined. Fill each pepper boat with stuffing and top with tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange in a casserole dish and bake in a 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
-Julie

Help for the Hungries

I know this blog is where you come for new food ideas, but I’m in need of some help this time around. My son is starting a pre-K/young 5s program next week to which he will be taking his lunch every day of the week. In addition to that, I, in the role of Mom of Student, get the extreme privilege (as far are privileges resemble scheduled responsibilities) of providing a classroom snack a couple of times each month. Both of these requirements have caused my brain to turn completely off.

As far back as I can remember, my school lunches consisted of a triad of components: a sandwich (usually meat and condiment on white bread, unless I was graced with a cheese single in there as well, or PB&J), a bag of chips (the Frito Lay variety pack was big in our pantry, and am I the only person on earth who thinks nacho cheese Doritos are vile?), and a dessert (typically a Little Debbie selection, and boy howdy, so I still love me some Swiss rolls). Occasionally a warm thermos of something would make its way into the rotation, but this was the mainstay, at least on days when I didn’t bring my crumpled up dollars for my school’s Item of the Day. We didn’t have a cafeteria, so over the years, the school would contract a local eatery of sorts to provide items in bulk for our sustenance, should we choose to indulge. These included hamburgers, burritos, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, and cheese pizza, as well as hot dogs lovingly boiled, bunned, and packaged by an industrious group of moms on a weekly basis. So I don’t have a lot of experience in the lunch diversity department. I could use some quick and easy ideas, and extra points if they work in fruits or veggies without being messy or requiring super-defined motor skills (he’s 5, y’all).

Now, there aren’t a lot of restrictions on the classroom snacks, other than they be healthy and not include strawberries due to an allergy. OK, that’s more than enough restrictions. If it’s not store bought, I have to include a list of ingredients. So, if anybody out there has some tips or tricks for me to satisfy 12 little kids, please let me know. Thanks in advance for the inspiration.

I'll be back with some food thoughts of my own, as soon as I can find all of the utensils that have been spirited away from my kitchen by very short people.
-Julie

Orzo with Tomatoes

I’m always on the lookout for easy side dishes that are out of the ordinary. This came from a desire for something Italian that wasn’t the same old spaghetti marinara. And it was a way to incorporate some of the basil growing on my windowsill.


Orzo with Tomatoes

1 cup orzo pasta
½ small onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
Chopped basil, to taste

Boil pasta until al dente. As the pasta cooks, combine the flour and oil to make a roux over medium heat. Grate the onion and garlic into the roux and cook for 2-3 minutes until fully incorporated and beginning to cook through. (Alternately, add finely chopped onion and garlic to the roux and cook for a bit.) Stir in the tomatoes and cook until the sauce thickens (5-8 minutes). Add the drained pasta and basil and toss together. Top with grated cheese as desired.
-Julie

Grilled Corn on the Cob

I’ll admit it, I’m not usually a big fan of corn unless it’s in chip form. I don’t mind it in things, like soup, but as a side dish, meh. If there’s canned corn in my house, it’s likely the first thing I’ll donate to the food pantry.

Grilled corn on the cob is the big exception. And now that spring is here, beautiful cobs are starting to show up at the markets for reasonable prices. I grabbed a few ears and slathered them up for the grill. By the end of dinner, not a kernel was left. We did have to do a lot of flossing though.


Grilled Corn on the Cob

1-However Many Ears of Corn
½ Tbsp. Margarine or Butter (per Ear)
Seasoning to Taste (see below)


Shuck the corn, leaving the stem in place for easy handling. Remove the silks by rubbing a toothbrush along the kernels in the opposite direction (tip to stem). This will remove most everything, and anything left will burn off from the heat of the grill.

Now for the messy part: use your hands to rub the butter all over the ear of corn (make sure you washed up first!). Sprinkle on your seasoning of choice. Recommendations: dill, cumin, or my personal favorite – Cajun spice.

Place on your grill over medium high heat until the kernels start to blacken. Alternatively, you can roast the corn in an oven (400◦ for 30-40 minutes). If you don’t like the blackened grill marks, either wrap the corn in foil or shuck the corn without removing the husks (bend them back) and fold them back over after the corn is buttered and seasoned. The husks will blacken and burn, but the corn won’t.

Jambalaya

I asked my husband for a new dinner idea, and one of the things that popped out of his mouth was jambalaya. Knowing that our freezer was stocked with sausage, that sounded like a fine proposition. So after a little research and a little tinkering, this is what I devised. Most jambalayas include shrimp, but since we didn’t have any, I omitted it and we didn’t miss it at all. Feel free to add shrimp, or even chicken, if you like contrast in your protein. It’s a quick, one pot meal that will definitely go into the dinner rotation around here.

Jambalaya

1 lb. sausage, cut into slices (smoked works well, but go with your favorite)
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cups beef stock
½ cup water (as needed)
14 oz. diced tomatoes (1 can)
8 oz. tomato sauce (1 small can)
1 cup rice (brown or white)
1 tbsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (use more if you like a little heat)
¼ tsp. salt

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté sausage and onion until sausage is cooked through. Add stock, water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, and spices. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until liquid is mostly absorbed and rice is fully cooked.

Curried Chicken Salad

Hello, I'm Julie. My charming sister-in-law invited me to join in here at the FC and share my thoughts on the great landscape of culinary splendor. Or maybe just to talk about how much I love food.

I'm a big fan. Of my sister-in-law and of food. I eat practically every day. And if it involves chocolate, bonus points. My husband, Chris, and I (and the kiddoes) have logged many hours watching the Food Channel and aspire to visit as many restaurants profiled as possible. I try to take a little of what I see there, mix it with what I've learned from the great ladies in my family, and have a little fun in my kitchen.

So here's my first entry. Please enjoy. (Sorry, Mom, I know you're allergic. I'll work on something for you really soon.)

I love going to high tea. Partly because you get to spending afternoon eating tiny little girly food you didn’t have to prepare yourself. In courses. Fun.

It sounds high-falutin', but it doesn't have to be. The teas I’ve attended are not the fancy-schmancy types with linen napkins and perfect pinky position. I don’t need to be more wound up than the caffeine makes me.

One afternoon with my best girlfriend, we were served 4 bitty sandwiches of different varieties. My favorite was what was obviously chicken salad, but like no chicken salad I’d ever had before. This was sweeter and spicier and chunkier. It took me awhile to discern the flavors, but this is my version of that salad.

Curried Chicken Salad

1-1 1/2 cups chopped roasted, grilled, or baked chicken (cooled)
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped apples (choose your favorite variety)
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tbsp. yellow curry powder

Mix all ingredients together. Use more or less mayonnaise to reach your preferred consistency.