A while back, we bought some granola bars to help tide us over for the long car ride home from wherever we were. Jonathan LOVED them. A bit later, we bought some CLIF bars to have on hand in case of 'emergency' (needing to leave right away and realizing we'd forgotten breakfast, or to help tide through an extra long meeting, etc.). Again, the one bar Jonathan had, he loved. And obsessed over. Nearly daily, he begged that his snack/breakfast/lunch/dinner/whatever could be a CLIF bar. This was getting out of hand! I decided that if he loved granola bars so much, I'd rather make them and know exactly what was in them.
Read moreEgg Fried Rice.
My first real date with Chris was to a school dance. We went on a double date with mutual friends, and we left the pre-dance dining choice up to them. They chose a local Chinese restaurant that I enjoyed and had been to many times with my family. Unbeknownst to me, at this time, Chris hated Chinese food. He was, (and still sometimes is), a notoriously picky eater, and didn't know of a single dish he enjoyed there. He wanted to impress me though, and didn't protest the restaurant choice (especially after I made known that I enjoyed going there).
Read moreBagels.
Bagels are a lovely thing. Made well, they are chewy, lightly browned, with a lovely light texture. Poorly made, they are so tough your jaw may just wear out before you finish eating them. Now, I do not claim to be a bagel connoisseur, I have not had the famed H&H bagels or anything like that, but I do know that I do not want to wear my jaw out on food that is supposed to be tasty. On top of all that, store bought bagels, the ones that are usually the worst offenders of the toughness issue, are much too expensive per bagel for me to justify buying regularly.
Read moreRatatouille.
This is NOT a traditional ratatouille recipe. If you think I could get eggplant in any form past my guys, you don't know us very well. :) Still, this is a delicious sauce-like creation to serve over pasta, that changes it just enough that I'm not bored, and is similar enough to other pasta dishes that my guys will still eat it. Jonathan even agreed to eat one of the tomatoes! (After which he promptly declared he still doesn't like tomatoes.)
Read moreCoconut Whipped Cream.
This isn't so much of a recipe as a suggestion. If you like coconut, and want to try it in a completely different way, try this. You must start with full fat coconut milk, the light has too many additives that interfere with this process.
Read morePeanutty Chicken and Pasta.
Lately on my son's and my regular date to the library, I pick up a couple cookbooks to browse though. Usually I find one, maybe two recipes I'm truly interested in making, and I usually don't get around to making those. This cookbook, though, the Southern Living Kids Cookbook, has so many post-its sticking out of it now I hardly know where to begin. Jonathan even helped me choose which recipes to make, though I suspect he was just having fun sticking on the post-its to as many pages as possible. I know for a fact he wouldn't eat the chicken salad he picked out.
Read moreCornmeal Breakfast Pudding.
Soon after I got married, my mom called me and said she'd found a couple of my grandma's cookbooks, and did I want them? I, who nostalgically cherishes almost anything that has belonged to my ancestors, and would collect cookbooks until my shelves were full of them if I could, of course said Yes! As soon as they were in my possession, I scoured them for recipes I could easily create. This recipe was one I made almost as soon as I saw it. (I believe I found the recipe and had it made within that hour.)
Read moreBroccoli with Toasted Garlic.
Lately I've been trying to incorporate more vegetables into my family's diet. I'm slowly expanding the palates of my husband and son in this area, my latest acheivement being that my husband now eats carrots. :) One standby though, if I know its not a day to press my luck in the vegetable department, is broccoli. Chris and Jonathan love their broccoli. Consequently, this recipe was an instant hit. I usually add an extra clove or two of garlic, as we love garlic here, but the recipe as is is delicious.
Read morePlaydough.
When I was little, my mom used to keep a big bag of playdough in one of the lower cupboards so that my siblings and I could play with it in the kitchen while she cooked dinner, did dishes, etc. We sat in the booth in the breakfast nook and squashed it out across most of the table, cutting it with cookie cutters, shaping it into animals, and just generally making a mess and having fun. I still remember fondly the time that a friend and I dared each other to try a piece. Awful, salty, disgusting. The playdough was homemade, completely 'edible', but no one would actually want to eat the stuff.
Read moreCowboy Steak with Coffee and Ancho Rub.
This is yet another recipe from the lovely and talented Ellie Krieger, from the book The Food You Crave. I knew when I saw this recipe that the combination of the espresso, chile powder, brown sugar and other seasonings would be a hit with my husband. The flavor was amazing, though the texture was a bit strange to me, as the coffee grounds, though finely espresso ground, are still very present. Still, this is definitely a recipe we'll make often through grilling season.
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