Butter

Roasted Poblano and Cheddar Mac

May 13, 2014 by Dana

My husband brought home a poblano pepper that I didn’t use in chili, so I challenged myself to coming up with a new recipe to use the pepper in. My kids request mac n cheese every time I ask them what they want for dinner, so I combined the two and it turned out to be a great twist on mac n cheese. It was really delicious with just a hint of spice. This side could easily be turned into a main dish by adding some extra veggies and seasoned black beans. If you are tired of the same old mac n cheese, I would highly recommend trying this recipe!

Ultimate Oven Fries with Sour Cream and Onion Dip

May 8, 2014 by Dana

There are a few secrets to the best oven fries. First, use butter! I only used two tablespoons for a whole batch of fries so a little goes a long way. Second, boil potatoes first, then bake. This will give you a really soft center and crunchy outside. Third, SEASON correctly. Potatoes don’t taste like anything so you need to season them nicely if you want them to turn out good. I do use a secret ingredient as well, and it is Bragg’s Sprinkle. It contains 23 seasonings and spices and it can turn anything into a delicious masterpiece in seconds! Here is the link to the seasoning. These fries would also make an awesome side a party topped with cheese and served with the dip in the middle of a tray!

If you don’t have the seasoning you can mix something similar up using a combination of equal parts rosemary, onion salt, garlic powder, thyme, basil, and parsley. Obviously those are only a few of the spices included in the seasoning but I feel those are the major flavors.

“Ditch the Campbell’s” Fish and Noodle Casserole

April 30, 2014 by Dana

I have a confession… I HATE canned soups! What I hate even more is browsing Pinterest and viewing recipes that are using the slogan “Healthy” only to click the link to find it is actually just another recipe using cans of 98% fat free cans of soup and adding extras. Yes these recipes may be low calorie but they aren’t low sodium or by any means “healthy” due to the fact that your getting a whole lot more then just mushrooms and milk. Here are the ingredients in a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup:

WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.

What these ingredients tell me is that Campbell’s wants to make their soup out of highly refined soybean oil instead of real cream or milk because it is cheaper for them to produce. Then to make you think you are actually getting cream they add some fillers to thicken it up as well as two forms of MSG and “flavoring” (whatever that means). Obviously this soup can stay on the shelf because there is nothing remotely “healthy” about it.

That was the bad news. But now I have some good news to tell you. You can make a fresh, creamy mushroom sauce in about the same time it would take you to open that can and heat it. It isn’t much more expensive either because other then buying the mushrooms, which run in the $1.78 range, you probably have the other stuff on hand. I know the classic “Campbell’s Tuna Casserole” recipe that everyone is familiar with also includes canned tuna, but since canned tuna contains soy and “chicken broth” we stay away from that as well. The chicken broth is a huge unknown because the ingredients in the broth are not labeled.

I know the process of making this is not that picture worthy but these pictures basically spell out the steps. Melt the butter while cooking the mushrooms, add flour until gritty, add milk and stir until it thickens and THAT’S IT! If you have other recipes that include canned soups you can easily switch the ingredients up to copycat the canned version. If you aren’t using mushrooms just melt butter, add flour, add milk. Super easy! As I mentioned I don’t use canned tuna so I baked some wild caught Flounder and topped the pasta with the fish. Alternatively, you could break it up in the mixture (my kids like it that way). I called this a “casserole” even though I didn’t bake mine but you could throw it in the oven for a few minutes if you wanted to and top with some sharp cheddar or homemade bread crumbs. That would be even more delicious!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Tarts

April 21, 2014 by Dana

Yesterday was Easter so we had a big celebration at my sister-in-law’s house. It was a wonderful day! We had beautiful weather here in Pennsylvania and a delicious meal. They grilled some fresh salmon and we had a really nice variety of side dishes to go along with it. For someone trying to eat unprocessed food there were lots of options and it was nice to see a meal without all the additives at someone else’s home!

I made some mini-desserts to take… including these delicious Whole Wheat Chocolate Tarts. I had a very hard time finding a recipe with whole ingredients so I adapted my own using this recipe from Martha Stewart. They turned out fantastic! As with all of my dessert recipes, I like to mention sugar is still sugar! Although this is a less refined version that doesn’t mean I’m going to go crazy with it because I think that it is “better”. I switched out the all purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour and the regular sugar for a pure cane sugar. I also used a higher quality cocoa powder as opposed to the standard Hershey’s brand. Sometimes you get what you pay for and in this instance I would rather support a company that doesn’t use a ton of additives and unknown ingredients in their products. Although Hershey’s cocoa powder has only one ingredient, the rest of their products are all filled with questionable ingredients. Here are links to these products.

I also used this wonderful mini-tartlet pan to get a really nice looking shell. It is super easy to use and your end product looks like something straight from a professional bakery. If you have ever wondered how specialty bakeries make their mini products so eye appealing, it is the use of pans like this one.

I filled these chocolate tarts with Mascarpone cheese. I did two varieties of Mascarpone in the shells, one was plain and the other had a hint of coffee in it. The Mascarpone really helps make these delicious because it is creamy and smooth without the use of any additives or extra flavorings. It is simple and allows for the chocolate and fruit to shine and really make this dessert. Sometimes less is more when it comes to sugar in desserts and this is one of those instances.

Easiest 5 Minute Flounder

April 18, 2014 by Dana

I often hear from busy families that they don’t have time to cook dinner every night. I understand this is a concern when trying to get homework done, change diapers, wipe faces, and get someone to baseball practice all at the same time! I use the phrase “I am only one person” a few times a day myself! On busy nights I know I can make this flounder quickly because there is very little prep time and it doesn’t take long to cook. I also know my kids will always eat it and I can leave one section unseasoned to give to the baby. You could also use other fish varieties as this recipe is pretty basic. Make sure when choosing fish you select a wild caught variety. Fresh or frozen work just the same so we usually buy them frozen because it is a bit cheaper.

This recipe is also really helpful to people who have been purchasing pre-seasoned frozen fish. I was visiting my mom one day and I was going through her freezer to help her weed out the highly processed junk disguised as health food. When we came to the fish she said “Well that’s just Tilapia.” I thought the same thing but when I read the ingredients I realized you can never assume anything is healthy until you actually read what it contains. Here are the ingredients listed in the Gorton’s Signature Grilled Tilapia:

Ingredients: Tilapia, Water, Canola Oil, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Spices, Paprika, Red Bell Pepper, Modified Corn Starch, Dehydrated Onion, Yeast Extract, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Parsley, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Natural Flavoring, Ascorbic Acid, Natural Smoke Flavor, Carrageenan, Yeast, Corn Syrup Solids, Onion Juice, Sodium Tripolyphosphate (to Retain Fish Moisture), Propyl Gallate and Tocopherol (to Protect Flavor).

I bolded anything that is a questionable or unknown. Here is what you should know about these ingredient:

Canola Oil is highly processed and not an oil I would be using on fish at home
Yeast extract is just another way to say Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Natural Flavoring could be literally anything, we have no idea what that means
Carrageenan is controversial because it may cause cancer
Corn Syrup Solids are very much like High Fructose Corn Syrup.. Highly processed and lacking any nutritional value

So it is clear that making your own is a much better option, and I promise it will only take a minute or two more then just taking something out of a box and putting it in the oven!

Toddler Lunch: Day 2

April 16, 2014 by Dana

Fish is one of those hit or miss items with toddlers. I served these “fish bites” to my toddler and sure enough he gobbled them down without question. I used flounder for these which is the perfect fish for bites because it is slit right down the middle and great for cutting into chunks. It has a light texture and great taste. These fish bites are a great alternative to frozen fish sticks that kids are more commonly served because after reading the ingredient list on a package of Gorton’s Crunchy Fish Sticks I would never consider eating them myself or serving them to my children. These are the ingredients in the frozen product:

INGREDIENTS: Minced pollock, enriched bleached wheat flour (flour, niacin, iron, thiamn mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (canola and/or soybean), water, yellow corn flour, modified corn starch, sugar, salt, dried yeast, whey (milk), dextrose, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), caramel color, hydrolyzed corn gluten, monosodium glutamate, colored with paprika, annatto and turmeric extracts, autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, natural flavoring, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, sodium tripolyphosphate (to retain moisture), TBHQ added to protect flavor.

Not only do they contain hydrogenated oils (trans fats!), they also have enriched flour, caramel coloring, MSG (monosodium glutamate), autolyzed yeast extract (another form of MSG), preservatives, and a bunch of other stuff that I can’t pronounce. Not exactly the “healthy” fish consumers may think they are purchasing. The good news is the “fish bites” in this toddler lunch are 100% natural and super easy to prepare in only a few minutes. I paired the potato wedges with this fish and yes, I served ketchup with them because I can’t deny my children ketchup on occasion! We are choosey when it comes to ketchup and do not purchase the conventional ketchup that contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. I also served this with fresh mango (my favorite fruit!!!), blueberries, and apples.

For the potato wedges, all I do is cut the potatoes, pre-boil, season, and bake. The key to a crunchy wedge on the outside and soft on the inside is pre-boiling. Essentially I cook the potatoes almost the whole way by boiling (about 15 minutes), then transfer them to a baking sheet and bake to get that crunchy shell. If your kids are used to frozen French fries at home this is a great transition to an unprocessed version.