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!

Inspired by Television

This is what happens when I watch shows about cooking.  I've been watching the TLC show, Take Home Chef with Curtis Stone, on Netflix while feeding the baby.  I've been getting all kinds of good ideas and finally decided to try some out.  I decided to surprise Jeremy with a gourmet meal.  Although he knew I was making a nice meal, he didn't know what it would be.  I made the girls fish sticks for dinner and he thought that was it!  Ha!Ha!  I would think that after 12 yrs. of marriage he would know me better than that, but I guess he just had no idea what I had up my sleeve.

Since he really likes bruised tuna steak with wasabi and I really like shrimp and scallops (which he is allergic to), I made us each a really good meal.  This is our alternative to going to a restaurant and very economical.  The girls ate their dinner in their playroom with a new movie and we got to eat a peaceful dinner.  It was very nice!  So, without further ado, here was our dinner:


My entree was Venetian Shrimp & Scallops by Rachel Ray with Red skinned mashed potatoes.  Thanks to our non-gourmet local grocery stores, I didn't get to use the saffron strands and they didn't have any fresh basil in stock.  However, it was really good anyway and I used flat-leaf Italian parsley.  YUM!

Just to set the record straight - that is Merlot Sparkling Grape Juice - no alcohol.   Just in case anyone was wondering. 

Jeremy's entree was an 8 oz. yellow-fin tuna steak pressed in black & white sesame seeds then seared in toasted sesame oil. I served it with a side of wasabi sauce.  I roasted carrot strips in Hoisin Sauce & fresh grated ginger and served it along side red-skinned mashed potatoes.

For dessert I made chocolate boxes filled with chocolate mousse and topped with raspberries.  I had the girls share one and it was still pretty intense!  It's alot of chocolate.  I would recommend adults sharing one.

Our candlelit dessert:

 Chocolate covered kids!

Angelina

 Aubrey

Overall a successful, economical gourmet dinner at home!

Good Food & Kid Friendly Recipes with a Side of Entertainment

Although I haven't been posting much, I have been cooking and making some pretty great creations.  I'm not sure how it's happened and it certainly doesn't happen every night, but I've found a couple minutes here and there.  I've been finding recipes that are fairly simple for obvious reasons.  Here are a few:


These are Eggs Benedict with tomato and avocado slices with the Happy Hollandaise Sauce.  Yum!  It's not often I get to make myself a really good brunch, but it happened this day.

Then one day I made myself a Greek Salad and my own dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and oregano.

Then there have been times that Jeremy makes us dinner.  He makes really good homemade pizzas!  We use my friend Jeanne's pizza dough recipe - it works great everytime!

1 1/2 c. warm water
1 TBL yeast
2 TBL sugar (or honey)
Mix together and let sit for a minute or two.

Add:
1 1/2 c. white flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour (or you can use all white)
1 TBL salt
2 TBL olive oil

Add the flour,salt and oil. Mix well.
Add up to one more cup of flour to make soft dough. Knead for 4-5 minutes. . Let rise for 30 - 40 minutes.

Punch down and shape. Will make 1 thick 16" crust or 2 fairly thick 12" crusts.

The girls enjoyed getting their hands all buttery to squish the Rice Krispy Treats into the pan.  

I never watched the TLC show, Jon & Kate Plus 8, when it actually ran.  So, during my many hours of feeding the baby, I caught up on all 5 episodes.  I've found several great recipes, including Monkey Munch and Chicken Cheese Steak.  This was the granola recipe that they made with Emeril.  It's so easy and so good!

 We made Peanut Butter Cookies too.  The girls LOVE to press them with the fork for the design.  I use the good, ole Betty Crocker Recipe for this one.

I found this recipe for a Hootenanny Pancake on a blog I follow.  It was really simple and fun to watch.  It was pretty good too, although certainly not the healthiest thing you've ever had.

I just started following another blog and found this fun jello recipe.  I used melon flavored jello for it instead of lime.

With watching the shows of Jon & Kate Plus 8, I found some good ideas for kids.  One of which was a creative way to get out their energy in this snow covered paradise we live in.  We took them to a Jump House place and it was worth every penny of $5 each for an hour!  They had so much fun.

Then some good old-fashioned fun was in order since we had so much snow.  Thank goodness the girls have a very creative Daddy!