Category Archives: In the Kitchen – Recipes

Let the Eating Begin! {Personal Post}

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My boy is growing up so quickly! I just started him on his first delicious food; avocado. Today is day 1 out of 10. Yes, 10 attempts altogether. I know it may seem like overkill but I just recently attended a seminar with Dr. Alan Greene speaking about first foods and he strongly suggested that every food gets 10 attempts consecutively and there will be an 85% chance they’ll like the food by the end. I want this boy to love a wide variety of foods so I will be doubling my usual 5-days of 1 food to see if it helps!!

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Fresh Plum & Blueberry Tarts {Healthy and Delicious Dessert}

In the Kitchen - Recipes 1 Comment

Delicious. That about sums up these light & fruity treats. My friend/neighbor has a giant plum-tree in her yard and gave me a bag full of ripe plums to do with as I please. After making some plum & mixed fruit popsicle for the little one (which were a huge hit!) I decided to make a quick and easy dessert that kept the plums in their most natural state possible; individual tarts.

Ingredients (serves 12):
1 package – Phylo Dough
8 fresh Plums
1/2 cup Blueberries
Zest of 2 Limes
1/2 cup Blackberry Jam ( Sub any preferred jam )
1 Egg – beaten
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Let the Phylo dough thaw out completely as it is quite fragile and will crack easily. Once it is thoroughly thawed, roll it out flat. I wanted these tarts to be thick so I used all of the layers. I cut up the dough into 12 squares – as close in shape & size as possible. This left about 1/4 of the dough as extra because the piece was too narrow to use.  In order to keep each of the dough layers intact I melted the butter and brushed a small amount in-between each layer for each square. Place all 12 squares on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Warm the jam (it helps to thin it and make it easier to brush on) and brush a small amount onto each stack of dough sticking to the center and leaving about 1/4″ of dough around the center without the jam.

Slice the plums into 6 wedges each. You want them thick enough to bake well and soften but not too thin that they just become mush. Put at least 4 slices on each tart – more if they’re small slices. Rinse & dry the blueberries and place around the plum slices making sure that they’re on the jam in order to keep them in place. Zest 2 limes and sprinkle on top of each tart.

Beat the egg and brush on the edges of the tart. Sprinkle the sugar on the sides on top of the egg.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. You want the sides to be a nice golden brown, puffy, and the fruit to have softened a bit.

 

These delicious tarts are perfectly yummy as they are, however, you could definitely compliment them with a little vanilla ice cream a la mode if you desire!

Enjoy!!

xo

ER

 

Brown Rice & Red Quinoa {A new favorite side-dish}

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Thank you, Costco, for carrying this bag of fabulousness! Poppy has a new favorite side dish for her lunch & dinners now – and admittedly, I do, too! And the best part, it just has to be kept frozen then heated up when ready to serve. And, it’s healthy!
STRONGLY recommend!

Enjoy!!

xo

ER

Whole Wheat Sugar-Crusted Raspberry Muffins {Sweet Treat}

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I cannot take credit for this recipe. It’s all thanks to Real Simple – one of my favorite magazines. I had a big container of fresh Raspberries I needed to use up and this recipe was so simple & perfect. The only substitute is that I used Whole Wheat Flour instead of AP Flour.

They turned out DELICIOUS! And, I find that they’re perfectly suitable for breakfast or a snack. I am also pregnant so that may have something to do with it… you be the judge!

Whole Wheat Sugar-Crusted Raspberry Muffins

Enjoy!!

xo

ER

Toddler Recipes {Delicious Delights for Little Ones}

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My daughter has not always been a picky-eater. Really. I made all of her food since she was 6-months old and I had her try just about everything out there. She loved things that even I didn’t love; kale, cod, legume, barley, and a few others. I didn’t start seasoning her foods until about 8 months old and soon realized that she loved seasonings & spice. I didn’t, however, ever touch her fruits; those remained naturally sweetened. And than  she hit 11 months and was done being fed with by me thus was done with anything other than finger-foods. This is where the difficulties began. I managed to get her fed for a few months on some staples like peas, ground turkey, yogurt (which I could actually feed her) and a few other things. That brings us to 15 months old and another food-protest. I’ve come up with a few recipes for her and so far she likes them all. I always supplement with her favorites like steamed peas, blueberries, low-fat string cheese, applesauce, etc.

Here are the recipes, steps, and pictures. Poppy doesn’t eat red-meat so you’ll notice I make a lot of ground turkey, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. You could always substitute various ingredients based on what your child likes and what you have on mind. Be sure to keep in mind that Poppy likes spice, seasonings, and meals with multiple components. I realize not all children may be the same so, again, sub as necessary.

Mini Shell Pasta with a Vegetable Sauce

1-2 Cups Mini Shell Pasta
1/2 Medium White Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Cup Mushrooms
1 Carrot (I used about 12 small carrots)
1 TBLSP Minced Garlic
1 TBLSP EVOO
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chop all of the vegetables in a mini chopper (or Cuisinart) and get them to a really fine chop, borderline puree. While you’re chopping the vegetables boil your pasta (any shape is fine) according to package directions.
Saute the pureed/chopped vegetables in a sauce pan with the tablespoon of EVOO. You’ll want the sauce to all combine, thicken, and reduce almost by half. I brought the sauce to a boil than let it simmer for about 8 minutes or so.
Once the pasta is done, drain it, than toss it in with the sauce. Stir gently and leave them on medium heat for a few minutes to make sure it is all combined and heated through.

My hubby was home (we had our 20-week appointment for baby Hudson) and he said it smelled good and tasted it and loved it! I agreed. Poppy will have some as soon as she wakes up from her nap.

Vegetable, Quinoa, Cheese & Turkey Meatballs

1 Green Bell Pepper – Chopped
1/2 Medium Onion – Chopped
1 Carrot – Chopped
1/4 Cup Quinoa
1/2 Cup Mushrooms – Chopped
1/8 Cup Panko Crumbs (you can use bread crumbs)
1/2 TBLSP Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
1 TBLSP Parsley – Chopped
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1LB Lean Ground Turkey
1 Egg
Salt & Pepper to taste

Chop all of the vegetables (by hand or mini chopper). Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Form into meatballs of your size preference. Place on baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let them sit out for a few minutes once you take them out of the oven to make sure that they keep their juices and stay moist.
Poppy LOVES these. And I find them quite tastey, myself!! These are a staple for her meals.

Cheerio Crusted Chicken Tenders

2 Cups Multigrain Cheerios – Crushed
1lb Chicken Tenders
1/4 Cup Panko Crumbs
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Egg
Salt & Pepper

Use 3 different bowls for the flour, the egg, and the crushed Cheerios which I mixed the cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper into. Dredge the chicken into the flour, than the egg, than the cheerio mixture.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Poppy loved these! They were so tastey and had a little sweet crunch & a slight spice to them.

Enjoy!

xo

ER