My Very Own Amazing Recipe

I've been really enjoying the use of pocketless pitas for meals lately.  They're pretty versatile and fun.  Last night I used them for pizzas and they were very good.  The last couple of days I've been making my very own amazing recipe.  My husband went to barber school with a Bulgarian man who would bring crepes filled with sour cream and feta cheese.  They were pretty good and I thought I'd add a little more of my own flare to it.  Seeing as we have a ton of cucumbers growing in our garden, I have to use them up.  My husband isn't a big fan of cukes, but he loved this dish!

To start add a little olive oil to a pan and heat over high heat.  Add the pita cook it until it starts to get crispy.  Place the pita on a plate.  In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup sour cream to 1" cube of feta cheese that is crumbled. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.  Spread the sour cream & feta mixture over pita.  Top with very thinly sliced cucumbers and generously sprinkle salt over each cucumber slice.  Then garnish with dill and you have a very delicious lunch!

Cooking with Kids

My girls have been watching a new little show called Tasty Time with Ze Fronk online on Disney Jr.   It's a cute little cooking show of healthy snacks that kids can make pretty easily.  So far they've made the Banana-Strawberry smoothie, Coconut-Banana wheels, British Tea Sandwiches, and Pita Pizzas.  I have to admit they are pretty tasty!  Here are some pics of Angelina's endeavor with making the Coconut-Banana wheels & British Tea Sandwiches.

Then I made these little snacks for the Kid's Club that my husband and I teach at our church on Sunday mornings.  I wanted to make blueberry muffins, but wanted them to be a little more fun than just a muffin.  I also didn't want to use up all my good blueberries, so I cheated and got some Jiffy muffin mix and then topped off each one with a blueberry and a drop of frosting.  Make the muffins just like the instructions say except use ice cream cones.  I put the cones in my mini-muffin pan, but found the middle ones didn't bake well because they were too close together.  So, I think next time I'll use my regular muffin pan.  Oh well, they still turned out good and the kids really liked them. 

High Tea

Today I bought all kinds of delicious fruits and really wanted to enjoy them all.  What better way than in a fruit tart?  On a whim, I threw this together and hosted an impromtu high tea for my girls, my Mom, and my Grandma who's visiting from FL.

I'm calling it a high tea because we should have had dinner at 5:30pm instead of this, but sometimes it's fun to change things up a bit.  I bought the sponge tart crust at the store and filled it with lemon curd that I also bought.  Then I sliced up some peaches, plums, strawberries, kiwi, and added some blueberries.  Then I heated a couple of tablespoons of strawberry jam in the microwave to brush over the top for the glossy look.  Voila!  A lovely tea! 

Another big event took place in our house: Lucy is in a high chair!  Yes, she sat in her little chair and enjoyed herself during most of our tea.

Tirimisu

I found a very inexpensive and delicious recipe for Tirimisu using Bellino Lady Fingers Savoiardi that does not require rum.  These are $1.99 per package at my grocery store.  I use one package of the lady fingers and the recipe is on the back.  However, I found this blogsite that used the same recipe.  Although I made mine in a square cake pan and I just pour the coffee over the biscuits.  I've layered this recipe but in the photo I put both layers of biscuits on the bottom - pour coffee over each layer individually.  My husband likes having a thick layer of the custard.  Either method works and tastes amazing.  I found that I can make this for $8!  That's pretty good in this economy!   This recipe is also really easy and fast too. Enjoy and be inspired!  

Tropical Sandwich

My sister sent this sandwich recipe of Grilled Chicken with Mango, Bell Pepper, and Avocado from Whole Living Magazine from Martha Stewart.  She absolutely loves it and I have to say I agree.  It's very good and fresh.  This was our dinner tonight along with a side of Veggie Stix.  I was pretty impressed to have such a fresh, healthy meal for my family and they ate it all!

I made some changes to it to work with the ingredients that I had on hand.  First, since I no longer have a grill (boo-hoo) I poached chicken breasts to use and have on hand for the rest of the week.  I use this recipe a lot and have many compliments on the chicken.  I use it in salads and sandwiches.

 Also, I sliced a white onion really, super thin - almost shaved - because I didn't have red onion.  It was much more bearable and good this way.  Then I used boston lettuce leaves. 


My sister told me that she started a mango plant from the bean inside it.  I've never ventured into the hard core of the mango, so I thought I'd check it out myself.  My mango was really ripe and I think this bean is ready to sprout soon, so I'm also giving it a go at growing one too!  We'll see whose starts first and lasts the longest.  Although she's in CA so she may have an advantage!

Disney Recipes

I'm always looking for fun new recipes, so one of the first places I look is on Disney Junior.  I don't care what some may say, Disney may seem hokey to some, but if you've ever been there, they do everything top notch!

 Anyway, I found this fun healthy recipe for "Spaghetti & Meatballs".  I use quotation marks because there is nothing spaghetti or meatball about it, but it turned out pretty good and my girls enjoyed it.  The "spaghetti" is zucchini and summer squash julienned and the "meatballs" are made from sweet potato and other veggies.  This is called Goofy's Spaghetti & Meatballs at Disney Junior.

I will say there is nothing like a "spicy meatball", (say this with the crazy Italian accent) but this is a very nice, healthy alternative. 

Now on to a not-so-healthy snack:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches

But, hey, after a really healthy dinner like that, you can afford to splurge a little!  Figures, as soon as I started my healthier lifestyle (I'm not going to say diet) my friend sent this recipe to me.  I just couldn't fight the urge to try it!  They're sooooo good!!!!  Apparently you can get these at the Disney Parks, but seeing as I'm not going to be getting there anytime soon, I had to make these. 

Go ahead - indulge a little.  These are so worth it!!!  YUM!!

Garden Treasure Mac-n-Cheese

I consider myself very fortunate to have children who love vegetables.  I don't have to hide them - they ask for them!  As with most munchkins, mine also thoroughly enjoy Macaroni & Cheese.  So, here is my latest concoction of it.  I used the Betty Crocker recipe (well, I don't really follow it anymore, but it's the one I reference) and then added the latest treasures from the garden: tomato, green bell pepper, and zucchini all diced into small cubes.  I added a little parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce since the veggies thinned it after the water released in them with warming. 

If baking it, I would have topped it with panko crumbs mixed with Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.  Another fun variation would be to crunch up some Goldfish crackers on top and garnish with several whole ones. 

Anyway, this was delicious and a hit at my house!  Enjoy!