Add any toppings you like. I tried some with meat substitute but nobody liked it so I stopped. I also put shredded cheese on half of them since M hates melted cheese.
Yesterday I made them with 1 sliced jalapeño (jarred) on each of mine. I then sprinkled taco sauce on top of that. Yes, that thick nasty taco sauce you get at Ralph’s. I don’t care!! I love it!! Spicy ketchup!!
Bake for 5-7 minutes. Won tons should be getting browned at the edges. Once you figure out how your oven works (I use the toaster oven to avoid heating up the house in the summer!) you can decide how many minutes.
There is always that tenuous moment when you present new food to the kids. It definitely helps if they haven’t snacked since lunchtime though.
She LOVED them!
Bea didn’t like them until I broke hers up. I don’t think she has enough back teeth to really chew them. Now she loves them! (Bea not pictured.)
M thinks she has long black hair when she wears this hat.
You know those nights you’re so sick of serving pasta with jar sauce? Yet, you know you’ll still be serving pasta out of some weakness of character? This is the recipe for you!
Our friend, Liana, made this over vacation. It’s the perfect meal for a large crowd – especially a large crowd who just hiked for several hours at altitude carrying toddlers. When we got home she threw this together & everyone loved it!
It’s so easy & satisfying.
You need:
INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb dried pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces (I use the stems too – peeled & sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes
a couple of handfuls of baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese
OPTIONAL: crushed red pepper to taste
Heat water in large pot for pasta. When water has started boiling, add salt & pasta.
Heat your oil in a large skillet. I only have a medium sized skillet. But if I had a large one, that’s what I would’ve used!
Add garlic & cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally.
Add broccoli & stir to coat with oil.
Cover & lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test a piece of broccoli – it should be just tender but still have some crunch.
Remove lid & add tomatoes. This will give it some “juice” too!
Top with a couple of handfuls of spinach, stir to combine & turn heat up to medium.
Meanwhile, cocktail hour Legos.
When spinach has just barely wilted, remove from heat.
When pasta is done, drain & drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking.
In a large bowl or pot, combine pasta & veggies. Adjust salt & pepper to taste.
Serve with sprinkled parmesan cheese!
Either my kids loved this or they were starving to death.
Quick & tasty pasta/veggie dish sure to please a big crowd!
Ingredients
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb dried pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces (I use the stems too – peeled & sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes
a couple of handfuls of baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese
OPTIONAL: crushed red pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat water in large pot for pasta. When water has started boiling, add salt & pasta.
Heat your oil in a large skillet. I only have a medium sized skillet. But if I had a large one, that’s what I would’ve used!
Add garlic & cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally.
Add broccoli & stir to coat with oil.
Cover & lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test a piece of broccoli – it should be just tender but still have some crunch.
Remove lid & add tomatoes. This will give it some “juice” too!
Top with a couple of handfuls of spinach, stir to combine & turn heat up to medium.
When spinach has just barely wilted, remove from heat.
When pasta is done, drain & drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking.
In a large bowl or pot, combine pasta & veggies. Adjust salt & pepper to taste.
Serve with sprinkled parmesan cheese and/or crushed red pepper if you like it!
Some call this the “Shrek” smoothie. Since my kids don’t know Shrek as well as Kermit I called it a Kermit smoothie.
They LOVE it!
INGREDIENTS:
1 frozen banana
1 c frozen peaches
1 c frozen mango chunks
2-3 c cold almond milk
2-3 ice cubes
2 handfuls spinach
OPTIONAL: splash lemon or orange juice
Honestly, I don’t measure this stuff! I put about half the frozen fruit into the blender & 1 c of the almond milk & blend. Then add the ice cubes. Blend. (Add as much more almond milk as you may need.) Add the rest of the fruit. Blend. Then add the spinach. Blend. As you can probably tell, I don’t have a powerful blender. If you have a Vita Mix or whatever you can probably toss it all in at once!
Start out using less almond milk until you get used to it. It’s easier to thin the smoothie out than it is to make it thicker.
I love to add a few ice cubes and 2-3 TBSP lemon juice since it’s a sweet drink and needs a little acid.
You can’t taste the spinach at all! My kids LOVE this! They have had variations on this one for the past three days. What’s the spinach for? Spinach is SOOOOOOO full of vitamins!! And it makes a crazy bright Kermit green smoothie! (Unless you add blueberries & strawberries, in which case it makes a gnarly brown smoothie that is still delicious.)
There’s my other “smoothie” on the left. A STRONG coffee.
The kids drink it from those plastic cups you get at restaurants.This one is from Benihana’s. And the beer cozy (koozie?) is courtesy of a pre-kid weekend up at the Tuolumne River. Classy!
Maddie wants to call it “Frog Pillow Smoothie” after a particularly filthy little someone special to her.
London. 1994. I was sleeping on someone’s floor that summer. We decided to go see “Reservoir Dogs” at the cinema. (Yes, I called it “cinema” to get you in the frame of mind.) I ordered popcorn. Crammed a large fistful into my maw. What the WHAAAAT??? Sweet? It was sweet. AND savory. Mmmmmmm…like an adult’s Cracker Jack.
People were smoking cigarettes in there. The good old days!
Last week, a new friend was telling me how to make microwave popcorn in a brown paper bag. (Thanks, Kristy!) I remembered seeing something about it on Pinterest so I decided to give it a whirl.
Today I got a hankering for the sweet version so I looked up some recipes. Most of them called for what most Santa Monica moms consider the devil of all sugars: corn syrup (which makes a mean pecan pie) but I thought I could find something more “natural.” It came out real nice. REAL nice!
Btw: if you’re interested, here’s what’s in Pop Secret, Premium Popcorn:
POP SECRET, PREMIUM POPCORN, 1-STEP WHITE CHEDDAR
INGREDIENTS: Popcorn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Modified Cornstarch, Maltodextrin, Natural Flavor & Artificial Flavor, Lactic Acid, Monosodium Glutamate, Color (Yellow 5 Lake & Yellow 6 Lake), Nonfat Milk, Freshness Preserved by Propyl Gallate.
That isn’t sooooooo bad. But check out this one!
ORVILLE REDENBACHER’S, MICROWAVE SHAKEABLES, REAL RANCH POPCORN
INGREDIENTS: Popcorn Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, Freshness Preserved with TBHQ and Citric Acid. Pouch Ranch Seasoning, [Buttermilk, Salt, Tomato Powder, Monosodium Glutamate, Cornstarch, Sugar, Whey, Sodium Diacetate, Onion Powder, Citric Acid, Garlic Powder, Spices, Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Lactic Acid, Natural Flavor and Artificial Flavors, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Canola Oil, Artificial Color (Including Titanium Dioxide, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Blue 2 and FD&C Yellow 5) Maltodextrin, Disodium Phosphate, Less Than (2%) Silicon Dioxide Added as an Anticaking Agent], Buttermilk Powder, Salt, Onion Powder, Natural Flavoring, Modified Cornstarch, Tomato Powder, Citric Acid, Spice and Herb, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Spice and Coloring, Artificial Color, FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Red 40.
[from
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 c popcorn kernels
1 TBSP olive oil
salt to taste (1 pinch up to 1/4 tsp)
brown paper bag (OR a vented lid which can be laid across a micro safe bowl – prolly more eco friendly)
First I’ll show you how to make the straight up kind, then I’ll share a couple of variations.
Combine kernels, olive oil & salt in a small bowl.
Unceremoniously DUMP into a brown paper bag (or your bowl – incidentally, I plan on using a bowl with a vented lid as soon as I GET a vented lid.) But hey, I had a package of brown paper bags from 2009 – when I was teaching 6th grade.
Some recipes advised STAPLING the bag. Listen, I used to bus tables at The Old Heidelberg in Naples, FL and will never forget the sparks that flew when I put a wicker bread basket with staples in the micro. Nor the ass-chewing I got from the cooks.
I folded my bag.
Unsure of how long to microwave it, I pushed the “POPCORN” button.
Then, b/c I missed the heavenly trill of the smoke detectors, I pushed it again.
Dad-blame it!!
So I tried it again. This time I just pushed the popcorn button once. When I heard the popping slow down, it happened to turn off. I suggest you stand right by your microwave and when the popping slows down, turn it off since all microwaves tend to have different POWER.
The second time it came out perfect! I added a little salt.
Now for the flavors.
1. SPICY. Add a tsp of spice rub to the kernel/oil/salt mixture. I used Tony Chachere’s spice rub.
Tasty!
2. HERB/PARMESAN. Add a few sprigs of fresh herbs to the kernel/oil/salt mixture. I used rosemary & thyme.
Make sure the herbs are coated in oil so they don’t burn. You can also mix them in the oil/kernel concoction for about 5 minutes prior to nuking so they can infuse the oil.
Sprinkle fresh parmesan on top of the popped corn. YUM!
(I forgot to take a picture of that.)
3. SWEET. This is my favorite. Add 1-2 tsp of maple syrup to the kernel/oil/salt mixture. You still need the salt!
Because of the sugar it seems to burn but it might be just caramelizing. Just pay extra attention to cooking time.
It looks burnt but it’s not!
Macro feature really can’t make my fingers/nails look dirty enough!
Quick & easy snack. Sooooo much healthier than the store bought microwave popcorn!
Ingredients
¼ c popcorn kernels
1 TBSP olive oil
1 pinch salt (you can always add more later)
brown paper bag OR microwave safe bowl with vented lid (lid can be bought separately)
OPTIONAL:
creole spices
sprigs of fresh herbs
fresh parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp maple syrup
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine popcorn kernels, olive oil & salt.
Pour mixture into a brown paper bag.
Fold bag several times.
Microwave using “Popcorn” button. If you don’t have that button, try 2 minutes on HIGH but be ready to shut it off when the popping slows down!
Notes
To add flavors:
1. SPICY: add spices directly to bowl of oil/kernels/salt. Continue as you did with the plain.
2. HERBS: add sprigs of fresh herbs to the bowl of oil/kernels/salt. Allow to infuse for 5 minutes. Continue as you did with the plain.
3. SWEET: add 1-2 tsp of maple syrup to the bowl of oil/kernel/salt. Continue as you did with the plain.
2.2.1
Finally, the one con to making popcorn this way: there tend to be a lot more unpopped kernels than you’d get in the pre-made microwave popcorn bag. I’ve yet to find a solution to this problem but am interested in hearing if anyone out there has?
My friend, Olivia, put me onto this! Why didn’t I think of it??
All you need:
3-4 TBSP miso paste
roasted seaweed, cut or torn
16oz firm tofu, pressed & cut into small cubes
8 oz soba noodles
OPTIONAL:
green onions, sliced
shiitake mushrooms
baby spinach
crushed red pepper
Knowing how those soba noodles like to be babied, I looked at a few recipes to check on the order of things. Those of you who have cooked soba noodles know they have to characteristics that make them distinct from, like, spaghetti.
1. They expand QUITE a lot during cooking.
and
2. After cooking, they need to rinsed with cold water to avoid unsightly CLUMPING.
My advice: follow the package directions to a T. (Tee or T? I dunno!)
Here’s what I did after reading several recipes:
1. Press tofu. Also: I think FIRM tofu would be best for soup. I had extra firm so I used that.
2. Start your water for the soba. Use a medium or large saucepan since the soba will expand. Follow package instructions. I know I already suggested this. I can’t stress it enough because of my own failure to follow package instructions.
3. While that’s boiling, cut the seaweed into strips of whatever size you’d like! I used kitchen scissors.
I cut some of the strips into thirds afterwards. By the way, what’s Monkey Binky doing on the floor?
4. Drain your noodles, rinse & set aside. Do NOT skip the rinsing or you’ll have a giant clump o noodle.
5. Set 4 c of water to boil. This will be for your broth. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 or 4 TBSP miso paste with some of the hot broth water. Then add that mixture to your broth water & stir to combine. This supposedly helps avoid clumping but you can try skipping this step & just add the miso paste directly to the boiling water if you’re feeling adventurous (i.e. short on time.)
Add the seaweed & tofu to the broth and let it sit for a few minutes.
Ready to serve!
Drop some noodles in your bowl:
Ladle some broth over the noodles.
YUM!
DISCLOSURE: My broth isn’t as purdy as it could be because I was trying to save on dishes/energy use. I decided to reserve 4 cups of the noodle water to use for the broth. (Instead of tossing perfectly good hot water & starting over again.) The results tasted excellent but looked sort of murky.
Next time I’ll add shitake mushrooms & green onions.
Btw: both kids showed their usual level of disinterest in it the first night but I now realize they are not big dinner eaters. They eat most of their food during the daytime. The next day they scarfed down 2 bowls each! Which tells you the leftovers are great too…
(I tried it with vegetarian ground “meat” but I didn’t care for it so ignore that in the photo!)
