2 point pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

What part of that post title is not to like?  2 points?  Cupcakes?  Cream cheese frosting?  What if I said the cupcakes take exactly only two ingredients to make.  I'm serious.  Two.  Ingredients.

Now that fall is officially here, I've been starting to get my bake on, and make a double batch of perfect banana bread yesterday.  But fall is  never complete without an assortment of pumpkin baked goods.  When I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it.

The verdict?  Moist, fall-ish, and delish!  And rumor has it, the cupcakes are 2 Weight Watchers points (without the frosting).  A 1/2 cup serving of pumpkin has 5 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, and only 4 grams of sugar. And only 40 calories for a whole 1/2 cup! 0.5 grams of fat, no cholesterol. The list goes on and on.

So what do I need to do, you say?  Buy a box of yellow cake mix, and a 15 oz. can of pumpkin:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Get out your electric mixer, and line a cupcake pan with liners.  I didn't find this recipe made 24 cupcakes, but rather 15 or so ample, fluffy ones.

 

Next, mix the cake mix with the pumpkin. Don't add another single thing.  Whip it together at a nice quick speed to really fluff it up.

 

 

Once its all mixed together and fluffy, spoon it into the muffin liners, 2/3 full.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.  These do not take as long to bake as cupcakes with eggs/oil in them since the batter is much thicker to begin.

 

Once they've cooled, you can sprinkle with powder sugar for more of a breakfast muffin, or frost with cream cheese frosting for dessert (store bought or home made*).  Heck, you could even smooth the batter into a loaf pan and make it into bread.  Or try mini-muffins.

 

 

These taste like cake with a pumpkin flavor to them - not overwhelming in your face pumpkin.  Its sometime hard to stay focused on eating healthy in the fall what will all the thousands of pounds of candy laying around, and the cider doughnuts and the pumpkin spiced lattes and, and, and... 

 

So at least this is one treat you can make for your family that you don't have to feel guilty eating.

 

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.               

Fiesta Pizza - Ole!

I am constantly on the search for recipes I can make that my boys will eat, too. It just makes no sense to spend the money, time and energy it takes to make food we can’t all four chow down on. I refuse to make my children a separate meal, whenever humanly possible. Therefore, this recipe is a perfect solution, combining two of their favorite foods: pizza and tacos. I leave their half more plain, and add lots of fresh toppings to our half. Its adapted from Pillsbury, and can be a main meal or an appetizer.

Fiesta Pizza – Ole!

What you need:

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey… you could even use ground chicken
1 envelope (reduced sodium) taco seasoning mix***
2 (8 oz.) cans reduced fat crescent rolls
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
2 cups low fat shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend

***I don’t like the flavor of store bought taco seasoning, blech.  Instead, I brown my meat and add in some store bought salsa.  Way lower in sodium, tastes much more fresh and doesn’t have that fake/salty Mexican yuck flavor.   Or, you can make your own taco seasoning by mixing together: 1 part chili powder, 1 part ground cumin, 1 part garlic powder, 1 part onion powder, ½ part crush red pepper.

Optional toppings to put on top right before you serve: Diced avocado, black olives, chopped green onions, sour cream, salsa, chopped lettuce.  The beauty is, you can have the “kid half” with none of these toppings, and the “adult half” with all of them.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown ground meat into crumbles, add ¾ cup salsa (or store bought taco seasoning packet) and drain.   (You could even do this in the morning, or earlier in the day, refrigerate and use to top pizza later when you’re ready to assemble it all and bake.  I love meals like this, you can do some of the prep early.)

Unroll crescent rolls into rectangles. Place in ungreased 11 1/2 inch x 16 1/2 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.

Press dough over the bottom and up sides to form crust. Bake at 375 oven for 11 to 13 minutes or just until golden brown.

Microwave beans in a microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes (or until warmed through),giving them a stir.

Spread beans over warm crust creating a thin layer.

Top with cooked meat mixture, sprinkle with cheese followed by tomatoes, black olives and green onion.

Return to oven for 3-6 more minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 main dish servings or can be cut into smaller pieces and served as an appetizer.

Greek Shrimp Tortellini Salad

I hate cooking in the summer.  I've done very little cooking since school let out.  We've been living off of sandwiches, rotisserie chickens, pizza and Thai carry-out, guacamole and a few rounds of grilled steaks and chicken.  I just don't want to be planning meals, shopping for food, and in the hot kitchen.  In the winter, when there is nothing better to do, bring it on.  I'll bake, crock pot, try new recipes and create casseroles.

Right now, just give me some fresh summer produce, fruit smoothies and maybe some Jersey Mike's.  Yesterday morning, I started craving a nice, cold pasta salad.  Something that would make a lot and keep for a few days for us to nibble on during hot afternoons, and before the rush to swim meets. I remembered a Greek shrimp tortellini salad my stepmom makes, and tweaked it just a little (I love artichokes and hate olives, for example).

YUM.  Now we have a huge bowl of cold zesty pasta goodness in the fridge to eat off of for a few days, and its really super easy and delicious.

Greek Shrimp Tortellini Salad

What you need:
1 bag frozen cheese and spinach tortellini (or you can use the Barilla dry tortellini in the pasta aisle)
1 jar roasted red peppers (diced up)
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 can artichoke heart quarters
1 1/2 - 2 lbs of frozen, completely shelled and deveined, pre-cooked shrimp
1/2 jar zesty banana pepper rings, finely chopped
1 12 oz. container of feta cheese crumbles
1 bottle zesty Italian salad dressing.  I am partial to Kraft Roasted Red Pepper, but you could use Greek dressing, Zesty Italian, or any other kind you like.

What to do:
Bring large stockpot of water to boiling, add tortellini.  Cook desired time (8 or so minutes until its floating on top) and then add the cooked frozen shrimp at the very end just to thaw it.   Drain in collander, and then dump into large bowl.  Add all other ingredients and stir well until mixed together.   Refrigerate for a few hours and let flavors mingle.   Even better the next day.  Great for a party, too.  You can easily double and add other kinds of pastas to make it go further.   The other great thing is, you can customize this so many different ways.  Don't like shrimp?  Go meatless, or use grilled chopped chicken.  Add olives if you like them.  You could even use gluten-free pasta, I'm sure it would still be tasty.

Zoofari

We're winding down the school year, and just getting back from a camping trip.  Posting has fallen to the bottom on the list, but I'd be remiss to not post these few photos I took at the Zoofari event I attended a couple weeks back with some dear friends from high school.   

I used to get invited to this event years ago when I worked at an ad agency, and Coca-Cola would sport us free tickets.  Its held every May at the National Zoo in DC, and its at least $200 a head to get into this shindig, but I tell you, its worth every darn cent.

Close to 200 restaurants set up tents throughout the zoo and dazzle attendees with 'free' samples of the finest cuisine to be had in this town.  Add to that assorted live musicians, free beer and wine, and the ambiance of dining among exotic creatures, it truly is a spectacular time.  I am awaiting photos of the four of us who attended together, those weren't on my camera.  But I did get a few shots of the evening.  I think my favorite taste of the evening was a tiny crab meat taco in a blue corn tiny taco shell, almost ceviche-like.   Lots of the the food sampled had lamb in it, and I'm not a fan.  Lots of cold soups including grape soup which sounds wacky but was delicious.  

Yes, it was well worth the two hours it took me to get into DC during prime evening rush hour, to spend quality time with my girlies tasting some most delectable vittles in these parts.   Special thanks to Ronda for taking me as her guest, it was a very special night!

Perfect Banana Bread

Perfect Banana Bread

I buy bananas at least once a week.  Sometimes we eat them, sometimes we just don't get to them until they starting turning spotty.  I'm terribly picky about my banana texture, and once they start growing spots, they're just too mushy for me.  When that happens, I put them aside and when I have an 'extra' hour, whip up this super easy, always perfect banana bread recipe.  Its always moist, always delicious.   Its Dylan's very favorite breakfast with a spin thru the toaster oven and schmear of cream cheese.

This morning, I also had another motive for making this bread.   We roasted salmon and broccoli in the oven for dinner last night, and the house needed a better smell!

What you need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 or so mashed overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray one 9 x 5 loaf pan with nonstick spray, or use two smaller foil loaf pans (eat one now, freeze the other for later!).

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In mixer, add bananas and whip until goopy.  Next, add the melted butter, eggs and brown sugar. Add flour mixture slowly and mix until mixed well.  Pour batter into sprayed loaf pan(s).

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.    Enjoy, so delicious!

Roasted Peppers, Sausage and Potatoes

I am LOVING Pinterest and all the yummy recipe ideas I've gotten there.  A few have been flops but for the most part, I've added some really tasty recipes to my collection in the everlasting search to keep food healthy, interesting and affordable for our family.

I came across this recipe last week and want to give this blogger full credit for the recipe.  I made a few changes to the recipe and I think it made it even better and easier.

Roasted Peppers, Sausage and Potatoes

Roasted potatoes, onions, sausage and peppers roast in the oven with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and rosemary. Don't you love a meal that only dirties one pan? This is an easy one-dish meal that makes clean-up a breeze, and the smell in your kitchen will make everyone hungry!

This recipe uses a very low fat chicken sausage, with 75% less fat that pork sausage, and it's gluten-free, too.  I bought a garlic flavored chicken sausage but there are lots of different flavors you could try.

This dish was so easy to make.  Instead of mixing it all up in a bowl as she suggests, I just cut up all the ingredients and dropped them right into a Ziplock bag.  Add the olive oil and spices, pepper, onion and potato, seal the bag and shake until everything is coated.   I used red potatoes, and I only used one red pepper (which was plenty)...because they can be so expensive.

Preheat oven to 375.

4 - 5 medium potatoes (I like red)
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper

Chop up these three ingredients and toss into ziplock.  Be sure to cut them the same size so they all cook evenly.  

fresh Rosemary - 1 tsp (you can use dried if you have to)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 TBSP olive oil

Now add those three ingredients to the same ziplock.   Seal and shake to coat well.  

Line a large baking sheet with heavy foil, spray with nonstick spray.  Dump the contents of Ziplock onto cookie sheet.   Roast for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice up chicken sausage and set aside.  After 15 minute timer goes off, add the chicken onto baking sheet, and roast another 35 - 40 minutes.  Your house will smell wonderful!

We loved this meal.  And clean up is so easy, you've dirtied no bowls, and the foil can simply be thrown away. Easy peasy, healthy, tasty and inexpensive.  I can see trying variations of this with different flavored chicken sausages, adding mushrooms, artichokes, asparagus or other veggies, and maybe even squash, with the same method -- chop, coat and roast.   Yummy!

The Three Ingredient Manly Appetizer: Rotel Sausage Dip

My friend Shawn shared this recipe with me a few years ago, and its so super easy.  It literally is three ingredients, you can double up if you're going to a big party or just stick to one of each ingredient if its a smaller gathering.  However much or little you take, I guarantee it will be gone. 

Rotel Sausage Dip

What you need:

• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes (mild or spicy) with green chiles
• 1 pound bulk sausage (regular or spicy, whichever you prefer)
• 1 8 oz block of cream cheese

What you do:
Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.   Crumble the sausage and brown in a skillet, drain the grease once all cooked thru.   Dump the sausage into your baking dish.   Dump the can of Rotel in there (you don't have to even drain it).  Plop the block of cream cheese on top of it all.   No need to mix it up.   Bake in the oven at 375 degrees (uncovered) for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir it all together.  Serve with chips of your choice - Tostitos, crackers or my favorite - Fritos!   You can reheat in the microwave during your party if it starts to get cold.


Everytime I take this to a party, the bowl is licked clean and everyone wants the recipe.  Three ingredients, plus the chips.  You can't beat that!   Just in time for Superbowl.  It may not be the prettiest appetizer you've ever seen but I can pretty much bet you'll be glad you made it.

tasty buddies

We are trying really hard to get more meat into Logan's diet to increase his iron levels to improve his sleep quality.  The iron supplements alone don't seem to be increasing his ferritin enough (although maybe when he gets retested again at the end of Feb we'll be pleasantly surprised), so we've been pushing meat, spinach, dry cereal, and other iron-rich foods on him like crazy.  Sounds easy but you don't know my son.   He would be perfectly content eating nothing but breakfast cereal (with  milk which counteracts iron absorption) for the rest of his life.  Maybe with a side of Sour Patch Kids.

I came across a recipe called Cowboy Casserole on Pinterest (which I am totally head over heels in love with and don't know how I ever lived without it!).   Ground beef, tater tots, cheese, corn (I used mixed veggies).   Sounded easy, hearty and something the boys would at least try.  We've really stopped cooking seperate meals for the kids, they have to eat what we're eating or else there's no dessert and nothing else to eat until breakfast other than water if they get thirsty. We're very strict about it... we've gone years and years of making them 'kid food' and us 'adult food' and honestly I'm just done.   Utterly ridiculous to spend the time and energy, not to mention money, on a whole seperate menu just for them.  The only exception to this rule is if Andrew and I are having something totally wacky, as we will sometimes. But we tell the kids they have to at least eat part of what we're eating, and if they full on try new, adventurous foods they can earn jewels for that too.

Anyhow, Dylan LOVED the Cowboy Casserole and had two helpings.  Logan, shocker, did not love it.  So we bartered our way thru the meal, with the usual bribes of dessert, etc. until he got a good 12 or 15 bites in him (just eat the meat at least!). 

"Logan, you have five more bites to go, keep eating."

"But Mom, I'm not going to eat the peas!"

"You can't even taste them Logan, they're just mixed in with all the other stuff."

"I can too taste them Mom!  I have different tasty buddies than you!"

Tasty buddies!  I about died.  He has this thing where he'll turn words into other words, or add different endings.  I can't think of any others right now off the top of my head, other than "toppings".   He'll refer to the lid of a soda bottle as the "topping".  Kills me.  But "tasty buddies"... that one takes the cake!

16 Bean and Ham Soup

This is the basic recipe off the back of a bag of dried 16 bean soup mix, with some tweaks I've made to it that I think make it super yummy.  This recipe takes a little commitment and planning ahead.  Its so worth if you have the time....perhaps a yucky, drizzly, cold Sunday when you have three or fours at home before dinnertime.

I imagine you could make this in the crockpot as well, if you have one big enough to hold your ham bone. As I re-read this sentence, its really making me giggle.

A couple quick notes.  We love saving the ham bone when we buy a spiral ham for Thanksgiving and again at Christmas.  Whatever isn't eaten during those holidays gets shoved in a Ziplock bag and frozen until we're ready for this soup.  If you don't happen to have a leftover bone-in ham, you can buy cooked ham hocks at just about any grocery (a couple will do), and then just buy a boneless ham and cube it up.

I didn't plan on doing a recipe post about this until after I had the pot cooking, so I didn't do step by step photos.   Here is a photo of what the bean packaging looks like.  Just go down your aisle that has dried beans and you'll see something similar. 

The beans are gorgeous and look like this.  And best of all, there's no question you'll be meeting your fiber dietary requirements for a few days.

16 Bean and Ham Soup

You will need:

very large stockpot

• leftover bone in ham (with plenty of ham left on it) OR ham hocks with additional boneless cubes of ham (at least 3 or 4 cups)
• bag of dried beans (as above)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 lb of carrots, cut up
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
• 8 cups of water
• box of diced tomatoes (*see note at the bottom of this post)
• fresh greens (I used collards Andrew picked from the garden today, but you could use chopped up kale, spinach, etc.)  (Also, this is optional... I just think it adds a nice flavor and texture to the soup, and more nutrition!)
• salt/pepper to taste

What to do:

First! 

The night before (or very early the morning you want to make this soup) dump the dried beans into a large bowl and completely cover them with water. They need to soak at least 8 hours, and longer than that is fine.   They will expand so make sure you use a large enough bowl.  The bag of beans will likely come with a 'flavor packet'.   Throw it away.  You don't need it, and who the heck knows what's in there anyway.   Trust  me, using your ham bones will give it plenty of great smoky flavor from a much more natural source.

Time to make the soup!

Heat the olive oil in bottom of stock pot and saute onion, garlic and celery until tender.  While you're doing that, drain the beans from their soaking water and rinse them off.  Add 8 cups of clean water to your stockpot, and all of the beans.  Submerge your ham bone (heh heh), or ham hocks, and add all of your cubed ham.  Add your tomatoes, carrots, and greens.   Salt and pepper.  Simmer for at least 3 hours.  When its close to meal time, remove the ham bone and toss.

Okay then.  My Grandpa Unklesbay was a bean soup lover, and to him, no bowl of beans was ever complete without a sprinkle of sugar on top.  Yep, you read that right - sugar.  If you like to mix your savory with your sweet, give it a try.  I happen to like it too.  But if you like to keep your savory with your savory, add a few dashes of Tabasco to your bowl.  That's how Andrew likes his.

This makes a huge amount of soup.   Now, my kids won't touch this with a ten foot pole.  So we usually eat it for a couple of days, and freeze the rest for another time.

Great served with cornbread, if you're so inclined.  Its super delicious, you won't be disappointed.  And, you won't have to cook again for a couple of days!

*************************

*I recently read a scary article about canned tomatoes, so I'm now trying to buy them in a box, like these.  You can find these right next to all the jarred tomato sauce, and they sell them this way at Trader Joe's as well.

Happy cooking!

farm fresh cinammon apple bread

Today is a teacher work day, so the kids are home from school.  The weather is depressingly blah.  And other than booking our summer beach vacation this past weekend, we really haven't done anything exciting lately.  Today is no different, except Dylan is at an all day birthday party/playdate, so its me and Logan and a whole day to conquer.

We've been crafting all morning, and then all of the sudden (being that his attention span is well, comparitive to that of a fruitfly), he announced he would like some apple bread.  As if that's just something I have available in the pantry.  A pantry that is pretty well stocked mind you, but no, I didn't happen to have any freshly baked apple bread.

I've never made my own apple bread. I make banana bread ALL the time, whenever we have bananas going bad, and throw the loaves in the freezer. Its one of Dylan's favorite breakfasts.


So Logan said we should look up how to make it on "The Google", and that's what we did.  I came across a few recipes that sounded good and narrowed it down to one I had all the ingredients to make.  I knew I could put him to work cutting the apples into pieces while I rounded up the other ingredients. I made a few changes to this recipe (added more cinammon, omitted the walnuts since my kids don't like them, etc.) and it came out DELISH.  I mean truly, this isn't really bread, lets be honest.  Its well within cake realm.  But Apple Bread makes it sound as if it  has a few less calories, right?  Its not overly sweet, but it is super moist and full of yummy cinammon flavor.  Don't skimp on the apples, throw a ton of them in there.
 
As an extra bonus, this makes your house smell INCREDIBLE.  Which was an added bonus of making this today, since we roasted broccoli for dinner last night and the house is a bit smelly.

Here's my little helper, chopping apples.

And taking an early 'test' lick.  Notice the flour on his forehead.


Farm Fresh Cinammon Apple 'Bread'

What you need:
3 cups all-purpose flour (I like to use unbleached)
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 TSP baking soda
1/2 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups white sugar
1 eggs beaten
1 TSP vanilla extract
2 cups apples - peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped (I used Granny Smith, I think they hold up best when baking)
chopped walnuts (optional)



What you do:
Spray your loaf pan(s) generously with nonstick spray.  In bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, place oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and apples. Stir into flour mixture. Pour mixture in to one large loaf pan, or you can divide mixture between two greased smaller loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack before removing from pan.  Note:  If you opt for one loaf in a larger loaf pan, it might take another 15-20 minutes to bake evenly all the way through - be sure to do the 'toothpick' test (or use a butter knife if your pan is too deep.).  If your loaf doesn't fall easily out of your pan when you turn it upside down, just use a butter knife to gently separate it from the sides of the pan, and wiggle..it will come out.

cravings

We've been cutting back on dining out lately, and thus I've been cooking much more.  I've had a few successes with new recipes, like this and this (amazing!).   This one wasn't a keeper (too bland).  And tonight, we had some pretty pitiful sloppy joe sandwiches and half burnt/half soggy sweet potato fries.

Its January 16th and I'm already tired of casseroles, chilis, soups and roasts.  What I'm really craving, as the winds blow a blustery 20 degrees and there's not a fresh vegetable in sight, is some fresh tasting food.  I miss the fresh flavors of summer so much.  Sigh.

Its going to be a while, so here's some food porn to hold us all over.

Yea.  I'm pretty sure I just made it worse.  C'mon May.

Chipotle Grilled Skirt Steak Salad

This is one of my favorite salads because the flavor is just incredible.  The key to this recipe - canned Chipotle Adobo peppers.   They're pretty darn spicy so don't use the whole can.   But don't skip using them either or else you'll lose the whole point of the salad.  Look in the Spanish aisle of your market.   Whatever peppers you don't use, you can freeze for next time.  Or even better, puree it all up and freeze the sauce, using a little to flavor chili's, soups, etc.   Its a wonderful, spicy, smoky flavor.

I can't take credit for this recipe.  A couple of years ago, we had a can of these peppers in the ole' pantry and were trying to figure out what to do with them.  My husband started looking online and found this recipe.  We tweaked it a bit to our tastes and now, when the weather calls for grilling, this is a go-to for us.  The weather has been so mild for January, we're making this goodness tonight.  The dressing is absolutely to die for. 

Chipotle Grilled Skirt Steak Salad

For the Steak

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of skirt steak

1/4 cup lime juice (fresh if you have it, bottled if not)

3 TBSP canola oil

3 - 4 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

red pepper flakes, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

Smokey, Creamy Chipotle Dressing

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup buttermilk

1/8 cup mayo

3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce (see photo above)

1 small white onion, chopped small

1 garlic clove, chopped

pinch of sugar

For Salad

fresh salad greens (I like Romaine, but you can use whatever greens you prefer)

tomatoes (either sliced, or grape tomatoes)

1 avocado, sliced

corn (optional)

1/2 half red onion, slivered

olives (optional)

What To Do:

Add the ingredients under "For the Steak" in a ziploc bag, and marinade the steak for at least 2 hours, if not longer. 

In a bowl, add the cream, buttermilk, mayo, cilantro, white onion, garlic, salt, pepper, pinch of sugar and two of the chipotle peppers with Adobo sauce to your food processor or blender.  Puree until smooth and creamy.

Grill your steak to desired doneness (we light medium rare), approximately 5 minutes per side.  When steak is done, set aside covered in foil, until you're ready to slice and put on top of salad.

Prepare salad plates with greens, tomato, corn, onion, avocado, olives.   Top with slices of steak, pour dressing on top.

Delish!

slow cooker pork carnitas

One of my goals this year is to post more recipes on my blog. We're still adopting a whole new approach to food in our family, and a huge part of that is cooking whole, healthy and delicious foods.  I really enjoy cooking, but for me it has to be practical.   This means relatively simple, not a huge amount of time, and something my kids will eat (or at least eat a version of).  Extra bonus if cooking yields leftovers we can enjoy for another dinner, or a lunch.   This recipe falls into that category.  In fact, it  makes so much you can freeze half of the meat for another meal in a few weeks when you're hankering it again.

To say I love my Crockpot is an understatement.  Andrew got me a fancy new one for Christmas and I've already given it a whirl.  If you don't own a Crockpot, what are you waiting for?  Its the best $40 you'll ever spend.  Whip up dinner in the morning while you sip your morning coffee and be done with it.  I seriously use mine at least twice a week.  They could not be easier to use.  Two rules:  nonstick spray, and use enough liquid.  Years ago I forget what we were trying to make, but we forget to add the broth and by the time we got home from work the beef that had once been a lovely robust roast was shriveled into something I could have used to patch my car tire.

There is nothing worse though, than spending all the time and energy on a new recipe, only to sit down at the table and have it turn out to be a bust.  One family of food which is always a hit when we're dining in or out is Mexican.  My kids love beans, tortillas, cheese, sour cream...   So even though they might not be daring enough to try this delicious pork filling (yet), we can whip up a side of black beans and cheese quesadillas with ingredients we already have out for this meal.

Pork Carnitas
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (3 or 4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth
2 limes

What to do:
Spray Crockpot with non-stick spray. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.

Cover and cook on low for about 8-10 hours. When the pork is tender, shred using two forks. The cooking liquid will moisten the meat perfectly. Squeeze fresh lime juice over shredded meat.  If there seems to be a lot of liquid don't worry, you'll want to store the leftovers with the liquid so the meat stays moist.

Delicious Toppings:

• fresh sliced avocado
• sour cream
• shredded monterey jack cheese
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• marinated red onions (cut red onion into slices in the morning once you've got the crock pot going with the meat.  Place in shallow dish and soak in red wine vinegar until dinner time).  YUM.  To me, this makes the whole meal.

Place some of the shredded pork, and whichever of the above toppings suit your fancy, into a warm flour or corn tortilla and bite into heaven.

Serve with black beans and while you're at it, sprinkle a little diced onion and sour cream on those too.

a whole new approach

Recently at Casa Lopresti, we've been making some big changes to the food we buy, cook and eat.  It can be very overwhelming (not to mention expensive) to make a lot of changes at once.  Especially when you're used to grocery shopping on a budget, as we are in our household.  There is a lot of confusing information out here, thousands of books, articles and websited dedicated to the subject of healthy food and healthy living.

For many good reasons, we've decided to stop buying so many processed foods, foods with food dyes, foods with high fructose corn syrup, and we're rying to eat more organic, whole,natural foods.  We've talked to the boys about these changes and I think its going to take some getting used to.  The bottom line is, if we don't teach our kids how to eat the right things, who will?  Its true, we are what we eat.  And we love food at Casa Lopresti.  We love shopping for it, buying it, cooking it, and we certainly love eating it.  We love growing it too (or at least Andrew does) so we're off to a good start in that department.

What I've learned very quickly is you can spend a fortune eating everything organic.  If you walk through any normal grocery store (other than Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) you'll quickly notice all the products on sale are the junk food.  PopTarts, 2 boxes for $5!  Doritos, Buy One Get One Free!  I used to know better than to buy that stuff.  But something happened along the way of having kids.....kids who in certain food phases have been known to only eat a total of five foods.  Plus, its confusing when you go the grocery store right?  All natural, low fat, low cholesterol, no triglycerides, grass fed, organic, with natural ingredients... what does it all mean?  It means in order to grocery shop and buy the 'right' things, you have to read the labels. And to read the labels, you can't have any children with you.  Not an easy task for a stay at home mom who is trying to get the hell out of the grocery store without any fruit snacks in the grocery cart before the five year old hits the wall and throws himself face down in the middle of the aisle.  I have been that mom at the grocery store, throwing the Pringles into the grocery cart just to silence the whining.  

I have at least managed to stand my ground on some things... we have never allowed sodas, we insist they drink a lot of water, and we enforce a fruit with every meal. They love sweet potatoes, and carrots with dip, and black beans and fruit smoothies.  Dylan prefers to pack his lunch (which I do for him still, so its healthy), and Logan doesn't eat lunch at school yet.  I do pack him a healthy snack everyday...applesauce, fruit leather, fresh fruit, etc.  So we're not HORRIBLE eaters, but we could sure make better choices in a lot of areas.  We have a lot of things going for us. Andrew loves to grow food and we have an amazing garden, thanks to him.  We both enjoy cooking, and we truly enjoy a variety of healthy, great foods.

We're hoping one benefit to these dietary changes, of course, will be that we all feel better.  There have been a lot of studies regarding kids, behavorial issues, and food dyes, like this study.   If removing some of the chemicals can help all of us, including Logan, we'll never go back again.  And by the way, have you tasted organic milk?  Its totally delicious.  I'm not a big milk drinker but this could change all of that for me.

So we're trying to go back to the basics.  Healthy, all natural, nothing BLUE.  Are we going to let our kids trick or treat?  Are we going to enjoy ourselves at Disney in two weeks?  Yes. The book I recently borrowed from my friend Jersey Baby, "The Unhealthy Truth" has a ton of great information not to mention a realistic attitude towards it all.  If you can try to live an 80/20 lifestyle, you're doing pretty darn good.   80% natural, healthy, whole foods.  I think we can do that.  Also, the book scared the crap out of me about the amount of toxins and chemicals in our foods.  So we're starting to go organic with our dairy products and thanks to my sister-in-law, this great list of the "dirty dozen" fruits and veggies to try and buy organic.  Eventually we'll probably try and buy more organic meats too.

I'm thinking I'll be posting quite a bit about this new adventure with food.  As we try products that are new to us, or as I make recipes that are a hit with our family, I'd love to share them here.  Fortunately I have a lot of friends who are already helping to educate me on what's healthy.  Its not like I didn't know this, but somehow I've forgotten it seems.  I'm a little late for this party, but better late than never.

The good news is, we're living in a time of huge variety.  You can buy Gatorade with no artificial flavors or colors.  Chances are, you have a farmers market near you where you can buy straight from the source.  If you read and educate yourself, you can easily make the choice between say.. a box of fruit snacks which are nothing but corn syrup and food dye, and the delicious, all natural Wegmans Fruit Flats. 

Speaking of which, our kids are big on snacks.   They do, fortunately, like plenty of healthy snacks -- fresh fruit, cheese, popcorn, dried fruit, yogurt.  But if given the chance, they will also choose junk if its in the pantry.  I went through our pantry this week and threw out a ton of stuff I'm putting on our 'no' list.... microwave popcorn, fruit snacks, flavored chips, soups and breads flavored with high fructose corn syrup, Pop Tarts and  Toaster Strudels (yes, I'm embarrassed to say I had those things.  When you have picky eaters like we do, you'll resort to desperation sometimes just to see them eat something.)   Thanks to my friend Jersey Baby who told me about this oh-so-fun old-fashioned stove top popcorn maker.  Its in the mail already and we can't wait to cook up our first batch. 

She also is has a friend who writes a great blog called Sweet Peas and Pumpkins, written by an Ohio mom who strives to cook healthy, natural, wholesome meals for her family including her self-proclaimed two picky little boys.  Her site offers a wide selection of healthy, kid friendly recipes and its organized really well.  Lots of great photos and all around great tips for healthy eating.

I made this delicious white chicken chili earlier this week, yummy!  We topped it with fresh chunks of avocado, lite sour cream and cheese, and fresh chopped cilantro.  Logan still wasn't eating anything due to his sore throat, but Dylan did try it.  It wasn't his favorite but we'll keep trying.

This afternoon, I made Sweet Pea Chef's homemade hummus and everyone agreed, its a hit.  I can't believe how fresh, easy and inexpensive it was to make it.  Sure, a jar of tahini is about $8 but once you buy it you can make many, many batches of hummus over the months.  A couple cloves of garlic, juice from one lemon, one can of chick peas, 1 TBSP olive oil, and a decent food processor.  Coupled with Stacy's Naked Pita chips...its a delicious, natural, healthy snack perfectly fit for an afternoon of football watching.  Best of all, the kids love it, and its a much better snack choice than neon colored chips.

I may sound like I'm flipping out.  I'm not going to buy a cow or raise chickens in the backyard (not that it wouldn't be cool).  I'm not going to churn my own butter or make my own yogurt.  Well, maybe someday it would be fun to try!  But I am going to start making better choices about what foods I buy, starting now.  The light NON-GREEN mint chip ice cream for my boys, with a short list of ingredients I can read, instead of the neon green ice cream with an ingredient list a mile long.  No high fructose corn syrups in our bread or cereal.  No more sugary coffee creamers. We've changed to these sugar free syrups for our coffee, and half and half.

It really just boils down to making better choices.  Avoiding preservatives, additives, and chemicals whenever possible.  Teaching our kids how to make good choices about what they put in their bodies.  Food has gotten so convenient and processed during my lifetime.  What will food be like twenty years from now, when our boys have to shop for their families?  Its a little scary to think what people could possibly be eating by then if we all don't make some changes now.

I'm looking for any and all food ideas, recipes, products and information to embrace this healthy food overhaul.  If you're reading this and would like to share anything your family loves food-wise, please do. I've gotten so many great ideas already from friends and family.  We all want to feel good about what we eat, and we want to feel like we're making the best choices for ourselves and our families. 

I know I'll be spending a lot more time in the aisles of Wegmans reading labels, researching recipes, and bringing more whole foods back into our lives.  Life is sweet, life is short, and we are what we eat.

tasty cakes

My first ever, homemade, from scratch cupcakes (the cake and the frosting, totally from scratch). 

Happy Birthday to my bro and my Mom!  Love you both!

Its Paula Deen's recipe.  Yum!

Tropical Shrimp Ceviche

I'm getting a little impatient waiting for warmer weather.  Oh well, just because it isn't summer yet doesn't mean we can't eat like it is!

Saw this in a magazine last week, and adopted it a little to our tastes.  I snuck a little taste and can't wait to chow down on this for dinner.  The fresh flavors of the islands, right on your plate!  I'm serving it with basmati rice, with a little coconut mixed into it.  Delish!


Tropical Shrimp Ceviche

1 lb shrimp, cooked, deveined and peeled
2/3 cup fresh OJ
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 cup diced jicama (photo below if you don't know what this looks like)
1/2 small red onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, peeled and diced
2 TBSP olive oil
sea salt
pepper

The white round vegetable on the left is jicama that has been peeled.  It resembles a potato at the store with a light brown peel.

I like to use these Wegman's Shrimp from Belize. They've been cooked, peeled and deveined already and they're delicious.

First, cut shrimp in half and place in a medium size bowl with lid. Stir in all fruit juices. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour (longer is okay too).

About 1-2 hours before you want to eat, add cilantro, onion, jicama, salt, pepper and olive oil.

The original recipe called for mango, but I totally forgot to put it in.  Next time I will!

This is a very healthy meal.  A one cup serving is only 155 calories, and 5 grams of fat.  It will make you wish you were dining next to the sea!