Search Results for: blog the families cookbook winter 06 le to n

Ask a Food Blogger: Corn Pudding

Question: Do you have any good recipes for corn pudding? I love it but can’t find a recipe I like. When you’re looking into local cuisine on a trip (or in our case in a different neighborhood) it’s good ‘street sense’ to watch where the natives go. For example, when we go into Chinatown we don’t look for a place popular with the tourists, but instead opt to follow the locals down into what seems like a little dive in a hole in the ground for some of the best egg rolls, lo mein around. If it’s good enough for … Continue reading →

Drinkable Yogurt and Peanut Butter Balls

I told you I was on the after school snack bandwagon. This week marks the first week of classes for my kids and with that, I need to start packing snacks. So here is a complete menu of super healthy snacks. But your kids will never know that these are healthy so don’t worry! They’ll eat it. Drinkable Yogurt Drinkable yogurt is pricey and you can make a healthier version at home. What I generally do is buy a large bunch of bananas and whatever doesn’t get eaten before they ripen–I mash and store in plastic bags in the fridge … Continue reading →

Ask a Food Blogger: What Are Free Range Meats?

Question: I keep seeing in my grocery store certain meats being advertised as ‘free range.’ They are much more expensive than ‘regular’ meat. Can you tell me why this meat is called ‘free range’, why it’s so much more expensive, and if it’s better for my health? This is an excellent question! Since you’ve really asked three questions. . .I’ll have to give you three answers. What Is Free Range Meat? Free range meat is a cut of meat from an animal that is allowed to roam in unrestricted pastures. Sort of. The USDA defines the term ‘free range’ such … Continue reading →

Pie in the Middle Muffins

I think my new theme for the food blog is going to be after school snacks. Don’t worry, I’ll get to sharing other fantastic recipes soon enough but it seems that my recipe searches as of late are centered around finding easy to prepare, good after school snacks. I’m also still on the apple theme, probably because we’re looking at going apple picking in a few weekends. This is not my original recipe but rather comes out of one of my Taste of Home magazines. This muffin is labor intensive if you’re chopping the apples and making the apple filling … Continue reading →

The Sneaky Mama’s Chunky Apple Pumpkin Bread

My daughter has recently discovered the joys of pumpkin. This makes us very happy because it adds yet one more color of food to her repertoire. Now she’ll eat orange (pumpkin) and brown foods (fries and chicken nuggets). Actually, as many of you already know, I’m pretty good at sneaking stuff into my kids’ food without their knowledge so she does actually have a diet more broad than brown and orange–she just doesn’t know it. In any case, if you’re looking for back to school snacks this bread wins my vote. It’s bursting with good for you pumpkin and apples … Continue reading →

Two Utterly Useless Kitchen Gadgets

I love kitchen gadgets. Not as much as I love cookbooks, but still I have my fair share of cooking gadgets. In fact my friends know that if they need something a little odd like a spice grater or lemon zester. . .I’m the one to call. I even have a garlic press, all manner of cake and bundt pans, and an old fashioned egg beater. (Which I swear is the safest way to let kids help you cook and mix in the kitchen.) I have two crock pots and several different sizes of muffin pans. (Are you getting the … Continue reading →

Vegetarian Peanut Butter Noodles

I have recently been looking for more vegetarian dishes to add to our weekly repertoire of tasty things to eat. Frankly, meat is just getting expensive so cutting it out a couple of times a week will make my wallet happier. I also figured that adding more vegetables to our diet could never hurt. When I first tried this dish, I really did so under threat of rebellion. (The moral of that story is never let the kids who can read look at your magazines.) One of my children saw the peanut butter noodle headliner and thought that adding peanut … Continue reading →

Maple Oat Scones

I have mentioned before that Sunday morning in our house is ‘baked goods’ morning. I almost always bake something for Sunday morning breakfast. It makes everyone’s life easier because the kids can get up, grab breakfast on their own and then finish getting ready for church. Trying to get seven people out the door is no easy task when you’re on a time crunch. The problem with ‘baked goods’ morning is that it is not exactly the healthiest food in the world. Lately, I have taken to making baked oatmeal Sunday mornings but one of the problems with being an … Continue reading →

Let’s Celebrate Sneak Some Zucchini On Your Neighbor’s Porch Day!

Are you going to do it? The holiday (which is an actual holiday in the sense that people actually celebrate it) was created by Tom and Ruth Roy and is held annually on August 8th. You can probably figure this out, but this is the time of year when zucchini is harvested and depending on your garden you can sometimes have zucchini in abundance. I have read in blogs that some people actually deliberately plant excess zucchini in their gardens for the purpose of celebrating this day. There are some very creative ways that have been suggested to go about … Continue reading →

Cilantro Lime Mango Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

Here is a great recipe to try out using fresh cilantro. Cilantro is a strong herb that lends a distinctive crisp and fresh flavor to whatever it’s in. This is what I call a fancy sandwich. The chicken is marinated, the vegetables are then grilled with the chicken, and you even have to make your own condiments for it. Fancy enough to impress guests, and absolutely delicious; you won’t regret going through all the trouble. I adapted this recipe from a similar one I found on all recipes.com. For the Marinade, you will need: 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro … Continue reading →