We love cheese at our house. My husband prefers to eat most of his vegetables covered in cheddar cheese. I, on the other hand, don’t mind just some garlic salt or seasoning on my veggies. So after too many nights of cheddar cheese covered vegetables, I decided to switch it up a bit. Luckily, I found a recipe that had everything I had on-hand.

Creamy Broccoli Casserole

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz) package frozen broccoli, thawed (I’m sure you can use fresh)
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup crushed butter round crackers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place broccoli in a steamer over 1″ of boiling water and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 4-6 minutes. Drain.
3. Melt butter in a large suacepan over medium heat. Stir in salt, flour and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly (*forewarned, this takes awhile*). Stir in cream cheese until melted. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
4. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of crushed crackers over the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Slowly pour the broccoli mixture into the dish and top with remianing crackers.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Top view

Cheesy!

Conclusion: I thought it was so close to being a great side dish. The only thing missing was some taste. It was a bit bland for my husband and I. I think some garlic and seasoning would make this recipe 10 times better. Reading the reviews from AllRecipes.com, many folks say they added garlic salt or some type of seasoning. Even though the taste wasn’t perfect, I still liked this recipe. I loved the crunch the crackers provided and the different type of cheese. I think I’ll make this again but I’ll be adding more seasoning.

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My husband used to cook meals before I entered his life. He was known for throwing together random ingredients and making a meal out of it. His sister (I believe) bought him a four ingredient cookbook. I don’t think he’s ever used it but I’ll admit that I’ve turned to it once or twice. Not all have been winners but some have been easy to prepare. Here’s one of the recipes that I tried from the cookbook.

Yogurt Cumin Chicken

Source: The Four Ingredient Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts (bonless, skinless)
• 1/3 cup Nonfat Yogurt
• 1/4 cup Apricot Jam
• 1 tsp Cumin

Directions:

1. Place chicken in baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
2. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. Mix yogurt, apricot jam and cumin. Spoon over chicken. Bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and sauce is heated.

Conclusion: According to the cookbook, each serving (1 breast) is only 209.6 calories. I guess this is pretty healthy for you but the sauce didn’t hold up well. It just seemed like the sauce wasn’t thick enough. When I spooned it over the chicken, it melted right off into the pan. The taste wasn’t horrible but this isn’t a keeper. While I was happy it was an easy recipe, I won’t be making it again.

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So I typically only see rhubarb in crisps and pies. I decided I wanted something different the other day after enjoying Rhubarb (Insert Fruit) Crunch for about two weeks. I googled “Rhubarb Cupcakes” and a blog posted called “To-Die-For Rhubarb Cupcakes” definitely caught my eye.

Rhubarb Cupcakes

Source: Somewhere in the Middle

Rhubarb Puree:

• 4 cups of fresh or frozen rhubarb (thawed if frozen)

Directions

1. Blend rhubarb in blender. You should have about 2 cups of puree
2. Simmer the rhubarb puree over low heat until it is reduced by half. It should make about 1 cup.
3. Use half in the cupcake batter and half in the frosting.

Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup rhubarb puree
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, and rhubarb puree and mix.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Pour into cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Frost when completely cool.

Rhubarb Frosting: 

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup cooked rhubarb puree, cooled (directions follow)
• 5-6 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Beat together butter, rhubarb puree, and vanilla.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency.

Conclusion: I don’t think I’d die for this “cupcakes”. While they weren’t terrible, they weren’t what I was expecting. First off, the cupcake didn’t turn out to really be a “cupcake” to me. It was very dense and tasted more like a muffin or even bread. I could barely taste the rhubarb in it. Which was fine, I wasn’t expected a bold flavor with pureed rhubarb. However, the dense structure just didn’t work for me. Next, the frosting would NOT stiffen up. It remained pretty runny for me. I used about 7 cups of powered sugar before I gave up. So I frosted the cakes the best I could and immediately put them in the fridge. This step did stiffen up the frosting and kept it from running down the sides. Unfortunately, I had enough frosting lift over to frost a cake! Oh and the simmering of the rhubarb took FOREVER. I’d say about one hour. So needless to say, I will not be making this “cupcakes” again. I’ll have to stick with my crisps and pies for now.

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It’s that time of season again! RHUBARB! I know all year can be rhubarb season by freezing it but I prefer fresh rhubarb. Everyone has their go-to rhubarb crisp and pie recipe. I have my go-to rhubarb pie recipe but didn’t have a crisp one. I went to AllRecipes.com and gave this one a try:

Rhubarb Strawberry Crunch

Source: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix white sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, strawberries, and rhubarb. Place the mixture in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
3. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, butter, and oats until crumbly. You may want to use a pastry blender for this. Crumble on top of the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.
4. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crisp and lightly browned.

Peach+Rhubarb

Conclusion: I know why this is called Crunch and not Crisp. There’s a LOT of crunch to this recipe. If you enjoy a lot of crunch, this is the recipe for you! If you prefer more rhubarb/fruit, skip this one. We really enjoyed it though. I highly suggest putting a few more cups of fruit in though. I honestly didn’t measure but I probably put closer to 10 cups of fruit in the second time around (yes, I made this twice so far). Besides extra fruit, I kept the rest of the recipe the same. Oh and I guess I also used peaches the second time around. Still great, tasting results. This one is a keeper and I’m sure I’ll be making it many, many times this summer.

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Here’s another recipe from: 50 Amazing Weight Watchers Recipes (All Recipes)

Apricot-Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:

Directions:

Conclusion: So I went to make this and realized I forgot the balsamic vinegar which is a MAJOR part of this recipe. I found a ‘replacement’ recipe for balsamic which was 1 tablespoon of red wine/apple cide vinegar + 1/2 tsp. sugar for 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. I thought it would work…it didn’t. My “sauce” turned out to be a tar, sticky mess. It even had a crunch to it. When it cooled, it just sort of slid off the chicken. Not good at all. I loved the taste of apricot with the vinegar but I wish it would have turned out. I doubt I’ll make this again just because I ruined it so much the first time around…

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On my quest to find healthier meals, I stumbled across a website that claimed to have 50 amazing Weight Watcher recipes. It’s a long list including desserts, main meals, and side dishes. So I picked a few out and gave them a try. Here’s the first one a tried.

Alabama Pulled Pork Sandwiches with White BBQ Sauce

Source: 50 Amazing Weight Watchers Recipes (All Recipes)

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Prepare sauce: Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

2. Prepare pork: Cut pork in half lengthwise; cut crosswise into 2 1/2-inch chunks. Combine apple cider vinegar and remaining pork ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Add pork to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender. Remove pork from cooking liquid; shred with 2 forks. Place pork in a serving dish; pour cooking liquid over pork.

3. Prepare biscuits: Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine potato, sugar, butter and milk; stir well. Pour over dry ingredients; stir until a soft dough forms (dough will feel sticky). Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead lightly 5 to 6 times. Roll dough into a 10-inch circle; cut 24 biscuits with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. You’ll need to cut and then re-roll scraps and cut again. Place biscuits on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove biscuits from pan; cool on a wire rack.

4. To assemble sandwiches, place pork and a dollop of the white barbecue sauce in between two biscuits.

Pulled Pork

Smothered in Sauce

Conclusion: This pretty good. I didn’t have regular mayo so I used Miracle Whip (my husband will only eat Miracle Whip). The Whip definitely gave it more of a tang than regular mayo would have. My husband liked the sauce but I think I would have preferred just regular mayo. The pork was delicious and was just a bit spicy. Nothing I couldn’t handle. I did not have time to make the biscuits and was very disappointed I didn’t get to them. I hope to make this again and next time I’ll try it with the biscuits. It was a pretty simple meal and I was able to make most of it while watching Claire get into everything. (She’s crawling now and boy, it is fun keeping her away from things she shouldn’t be in. Whew!) I also had enough leftover for my husband’s lunch the next day.

 

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It may be hard to believe but I do use cookbooks every once in awhile. When I have a quiet moment and a napping baby, I like to prepare my meals for the week. Reading a cookbook is like curling up with a good book for me. I love looking at all the different entrees for the same food, like chocolate chip cookies. It’s amazing how everyone seems to have their recipe they swear by. While making my weekly meal, I ran across an enchilada casserole and I gave it a try.

Enchilada Casserole

Source: Beauty from Ashes, Zion Church Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef, shredded chicken, or black beans (or a combination, I did 1 lb beef and 1 can of black beans)
• 1 onion, or severeal green onions
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup, condensed (I did one chicken and one mushroom)
• 1-28 oz can enchilada sauce
• 1 cup milk
• 1 dozen corn or flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Brown meat with onion (if using green onion, save and sprinkle on top) in large skillet. 
2. Mix all ingredients together except tortillas and cheese.
3. Layer meat sauce, tortillas and cheese in a 9×13″ baking pan. Repeat layers two more times.
4. Bake at 350° from 30-45 minutes.

Note: The tortillas fit really well in round cake pans. For a small family you can divide the recipe between three pans and freeze two (which is exactly what I did).

The Enchilada Sauce

Conclusion: Not bad. This made a LOT of enchilada sauce but I loved the idea of putting it in cake pans and freezing it. I now have two meals in the freezer with one going to my brother. I thought the recipe was a little weak so I added olives and some peppers, just to beef it up a bit. I also didn’t use all 12 tortillas. I had three layers in three pans so I had a few tortillas left over. If you do make this, put a pan underneath so it doesn’t drip into your oven (like mine did). The taste was fine. Nothing amazing but satisfactory. My husband however really liked it and I’m glad he did since I have another meal in the freezer.

Claire also hopes you all have enjoyed the nice weather, FINALLY!

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I tend to let me cupboards get down to the bare bones before I go grocery shopping. I am also a HUGE fan of breakfast foods. I love my bowl of cereal in the morning. That is always my first choice. If I’m out of milk or cereal, then I have oatmeal. I typically don’t make a huge breakfast for my husband and I. I’m hoping this is something I change as Claire gets older, but right now she gets to enjoy a bowl of oatmeal with her mommy.

So I NEED my breakfast in the morning, well one morning I was very low on supplies. I went through the cupboards and I had very little on hand for breakfast. Luckily, the internet is full of one cup recipes and I found one that had everything I had on hand!

French Toast in a Cup

Source: Prudent Baby

Ingredients:

• 1-2 pieces of bread
• 1/2 Tbs butter
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbs milk
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• drop of vanilla extract (optional)
• syrup

Directions:

1. Cut bread into cubed pieces.
2. Melt butter and let it coat the entire cup. Place cubed bread into cup and compact it down a bit.
3. In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Pour over cubed bread. Allow it to soak in for a minute.
4. Place bread cup in microwave and heat for one minute, adding 20 seconds until it is no longer runny.

Conclusion: Meh. I think I prefer my cereal. It was just a little too eggy for me. The bottom was also very mushy. The syrup is what kept me eating this meal in a cup. It wasn’t terrible, just not great. I’ll just make sure to keep my cereal on hand, always!

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I have never heard of spaghetti squash. While I was picking up Claire’s squash the other day, I ran across this little guy. I was wondering while it was called spaghetti squash. After some research  I found out why. It looks like spaghetti noodles once cooked and supposedly tastes like it. In our attempts to eat healthier, I gave a squash recipe a go.

Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Source: The Comfort of Cooking

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. First, prep the squash. Cut spaghetti squash in half using a large sharp knife, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet covered with water. Bake until tender, about an hour.
3. As an alternate way of baking: Poke a few holes deep into the whole squash with a paring knife. Bake for 60 minutes, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes before slicing in half with a large serrated knife. Scoop out the seedy inside leaving the spaghetti strands.
4. Once squash is cooked, use a fork to gently scrape the “spaghetti” strands into the center.
5. For the sauce, melt butter in a small pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, cooking for another minute while stirring. Whisk in milk until no lumps remain. Once hot, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.
6. Spoon sauce equally into each spaghetti squash half. Gently pull up the spaghetti strands to coat as much as possible with the sauce. (This is where I then added the chicken) Top with extra Parmesan and place under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
7. Top each half with a pinch of red pepper flakes and fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Serve hot.

Before the sauce.

After!

Conclusion: I was nervous my husband would not eat this meal because he’s not a fan of squash. But to his and my surprise, it was actually quite good. The “spaghetti” has more of a sweet taste and crunch to it then regular spaghetti noodles. The sauce may have been just a bit too thin for my tastes but still didn’t taste bad. It was a bit of a mess though. Next time, I plan to take the “noodles” out of the shell and mix it all together in a bowl. This way I can conserve more sauce and add more ingredients like veggies and meat. But the spaghetti squash has won my husband and I over and will likely be a new staple on our menu.

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Claire has been enjoying her first foods…well kind of enjoying. She hates bananas, avocado (plain) and sweet potatoes (plain). She loves her oatmeal and can tolerate apples. She also loves squash. This surprised me since my husband and I rarely eat squash. When I was researching baby food, I came across the website Wholesome Baby Food and loved it. It has a LOT of great information on when to introduce foods, what to introduce and how to make it! There are a lot of recipes for each stage of development. One of the stage one foods was butternut squash. I read the directions on how to cook and prep it and was surprised at how easy it seemed. The next time I went grocery shopping, I picked up a squash and made it the next day.

Butternut Squash for Baby

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut Squash

Directions:

1. Cut squash lenghtwise with a sharp knife. Keep knife away from baby
2. Scoop out seeds from round end.
3. Lay squash face down or meat side down in a baking sheet with 1-2″ of water in it.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until shell looks puckered and turns a darker tan.
5. Scoop at meat the place in food processor.
6. This step you could add liquid if needed. I did not and didn’t really need to.
7. Using ice cube tray, place pureed squash in cube. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in freezer.
8. Once frozen, transport squash cubes to freezer bag.

Baked!

Ready to puree

Smooth

Ready for the freezer…that was easy!

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