Meatless Monday: Mexican Lasagna

This recipe was inspired by a joke cookbook that my husband and I got for our wedding called Mini Mart a la Carte. The cookbook’s premise is recipes that you can make while shopping only at a convenience store. In general, the recipes are things that I (or most anyone else) would even dream of making, but the one for “Lowrider Lasagna” actually looked pretty good. I tweaked it a little and the result is below. It’s a big hit at my house and it’s something I can whip up even if I don’t have a lot of time to cook or badly need groceries.
Mexican Lasagna Recipe
1 can refried beans (I like the ones with green chiles you could also use pinto beans)
1 large can diced tomatoes drained
1 cup frozen corn (or a can of corn)
1 cup shredded cheese
6 whole wheat tortillas

Cooking with the Kids
The kids can:

• Spread the refried beans on the tortillas
  
• Sprinkle the cheese, tomatoes and corn

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 2. Rip half the tortillas into pieces so they cover the bottom of the baking dish. Any size is fine. I usually do 2 whole tortillas and then rip a third into a few pieces to fill the gaps. Spread half of the refried beans on half of the tortillas and arrange half in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom. Top evenly with half each of the corn, tomatoes and cheese. 3. Cover the rest of the tortillas with the remaining refried beans and layer  on top and cover with the rest of the corn, tomatoes and cheese 4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes longer.

Per 1/4 lasagna: Calories – 387, Carbs – 57g, Fat – 12g, Protein 18, Fibre – 12.

Spinach and Pickled Green Beans Dip

I’m starting to think that I need to go out for groceries more often because a lot of my recipes seem to be related to not having a lot of groceries. I had steak that I defrosted in the fridge but I couldn’t figure out what to serve with it. I was super low on groceries but I did have spinach so someone suggested making spinach dip and serving it on toast. I thought that was perfect and so this is what I came up with. I had spicy pickled green beans in the fridge (who doesn’t?) so that’s what I used but pickled asparagus or the more typical choice of marinated artichokes would also be great.
Spinach and Pickled Green Beans Dip Recipe
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp of butter or olive oil
1 cup hot and spicy pickled green beans chopped
1 box frozen chopped spinach defrosted
2 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp cream cheese
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper


Directions
1. Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until softened.
2. Add the green beans, spinach, mayo, cream cheese and lemon juice.
3. cook for about 5 minutes, until hot stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve over toast, with bread or your favorite chips.
Per serving (1/4 of the dip): Calories – 116, Carbs – 6g, Fat – 9g, Protein 3, Fibre – 3.

Whole Grains: Brown Basmati Rice

Whenever I can I try to use whole grain products this has always been easy for me with bread and since I switched to whole grain pasta, I’ve never looked back. Rice on the other hand… It’s just not the same. The texture is so different, so much chewier. And, although he didn’t realize it, my husband complained every time we had it.

That was, until I discovered brown basmati rice.  The texture is so much softer. It’s slightly chewier than white rice, but not by much. It substitute for white rice in a way that regular brown rice just can’t.

I was having a little bit of trouble with it having excess liquid when I followed the instructions on the rice which is probably related to Calgary’s high altitude.

There’s three ways to go when this happens. You can either cook it longer, at a higher temperature or decrease the amount of liquid you put in. I thought that the rice seemed cooked enough so I decreased the 2 cups of water (for 1 cup of rice) to 1 and 2/3 cups and it was perfect.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Cheese Soufflé Recipe (Usborne First Cookbook)

For some reason that I do not really understand I decided to try making a cheese soufflé for my second recipe from The Usborne First Cookbook. I’m not sure what possessed me to try something that ambitious. Gordie and I were both not feeling well and loud noises make Gordie cry so I beat the egg whiles by hand instead of using a mixer. I do not recommend this. Especially not using a fork. At least use a whisk. In the end though, it actually turned out pretty well.

If you missed first recipe I tried - Baked Egg Tomato Cups make sure it check it out.

Cheese Soufflé Recipe

3 large eggs (room temperature not cold)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup grated cheese
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Put your oven rack into the middle of the oven and preheat to 375F.
2. Grease a 1 quart round ovenproof dish.
3. Separate the egg whites into one bowl and the yolks into a different medium bowl. Beat the yolks.
4. Make a white sauce: melt the butter into a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour a bit at a time. Cook for a minute and then stir in the milk a little at a time. Turn up the heat and stir constantly. When the mixture boils turn the heat down and continue to stir until thick and creamy.
5. Add the cheese, nutmeg, egg yolks and a pinch of salt and pepper to the white sauce.
6. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks when you lift the beater. (or whisk. But use a beater, really your arms will thank you)
7. Use a metal spoon to stir in a spoonful of the white sauce and then fold in the rest slowly and gently.
8. Pour the mixture into your greased baking dish and put it in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes. It should be golden brown and puffy when it is ready. Don't peek!

Serve immediately as it starts to sink as soon as you take it out of the oven. I used a 1.5 quart dish so the presentation wasn’t quite as nice as it could have been.

So, Did They Eat It?

This was actually pretty good. The nutmeg added a really nice tone. Gordie and my SN brother loved it. My husband didn’t get any because we ate it all before he got home.

Per 1/4 Soufflé: Calories – 262, Carbs – 12g, Fat – 19g, Protein 15, Fibre – 0.

How becoming a mother made me less judgemental

It seems everywhere I turn I see things suggesting that motherhood turns women into ‘mompetitors’: women who are strongly critical of each other and their differing parenting decisions. For me, I think it has been the opposite. Becoming a mother has helped me become much less judgemental and more able to see that even if it is not a choice I’d make or a method I would use, it can still be a good choice. 

I have always tried to see things from other people’s perspectives but it’s not always easy. Before I was a mother, I didn’t understand why you wouldn’t want to breastfeed your baby. Now that I have had to deal with the frustration and the sleepless nights - I get it. I may not understand why you wouldn’t want to, but I certainly understand why you would choose not to or why you would stop. I was fortunate enough to have had a year of maternity leave and my son never had a drop of formula. But I couldn’t even imagine going back to work when my baby was 6 weeks old and continuing to breastfeed. Where do mothers find the energy? I applaud anyone who is able to manage that, but I really don’t think I could.

My son is now almost 2 and is now a pretty decent sleeper, but it has been a long and painful road. I didn’t want to use methods that involved crying it out when I felt he was too little to understand. Slowly, with a good night time routine and a healthy respect for the importance of naps, his sleep has vastly improved. This worked for us, but it was often difficult. At his worst my son was waking up every hour. Looking back, I’m not sure how we all made it through that alive. Despite deciding not to sleep train, I completely understand why other parents choose to do it and I respect that choice as well. Being sleep deprived is hard on your mental, physical and emotional state and for some people sleep training is definitely going to be the best option for them.

Being able to view these things with more empathy and understanding than I previously had has made me take a second look at things I have taken for granted in other areas of my life as well. It has helped me see that situations are often a lot more complex than they see at first blush.

I still have my own opinions and the way I want to do things, but I’m now much more accepting of people who make choices that are different from my own. Although something might be the right choice for me, it’s not necessarily the right choice for someone else.

Cola Marinated Steak

I made this steak for my husband for valentine’s day. I had heard of using cola to marinate steak but had never tried it before. It was good and I really enjoyed trying something different but I don’t think it’s going to become a staple.

Cola Marinate Recipe

4 marinating steaks (I used eye of round)
1 can coca-cola
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic cloves
salt and pepper

Directions

Put Steak and marinate ingredients in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate for about 6 hours. My steak probably could have used a longer marinating time, but if you are just flavouring a grilling steak you could go for a shorter period of time.

Wordless Wednesday

Baked Egg Tomato Cups Recipe (Usborne First Cookbook)

 

Gordie got The Usborne First Cookbook this year for Christmas so I thought I’d test out a few recipes. The first such recipe is “Baked Tomatoes”. It looked fairly simple and I was pretty sure that it would be a hit for Gordie since he loves tomatoes and begs me every day to “cook eggs”. I made them for breakfast on a Monday morning and served them with toast.

Baked Tomatoes Recipe

4 Large tomatoes (the biggest you can find)
salt and pepper
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Grease a shallow baking dish.
3. Slice off the top of each tomato and put the tops aside. Scoop out the insides with a spoon. Seriously, use a spoon, don't try to use a knife like I did.
4. Put the eggs into the baking dish. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Crack an egg into each tomato and then sprinkle the eggs with salt, pepper and parsley.
5. Put the tops back on the tomatoes and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the yolks are set. I found my yolks weren't even close to set after 10 minutes and in the end I might have over cooked them a little. I recommend poking one of the yolks to test. It can be hard to eyeball because of the extra moisture from the tomato.

So, Did They Eat It?

Predictably Gordie enjoyed it, but he did find it necessary to eat the tomatoes and the eggs separately. My husband who is not the biggest fan of tomatoes thought it managed to make two bland foods better, but suggested maybe cooking it with some lemon pepper next time to perk it up. My SN brother seemed to like them but he didn’t eat a ton. I thought they were good, but they seemed to be begging for some bacon.

Per Tomato Cup: Calories – 103, Carbs – 8g, Fat – 5g, Protein 8, Fibre – 0.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

This is a super easy, delicious appetizer with a surprisingly low calorie count considering how decadent they taste. It’s still probably a good idea to go easy as their salt content is fairly high. This is best with thick asparagus stalks because the prosciutto can cook longer without turning the asparagus to mush, but still delicious with thin asparagus.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Recipe
1 bunch of asparagus
1 or 2 packages of prosciutto (I used 1 but only wrapped half of the asparagus)

Cooking with the Kids

The kids can:

• snap the asparagus ends off (this is kind of fun)
• wrap the prosciutto  

Directions
1. Heat up your indoor grill to it's highest setting.
2. Wash the asparagus and snap off the woody portion of the stalk. If you try to bend it, it should naturally snap in two pieces. Discard the base.
2. Wrap each stalk with half of a slice of prosciutto if you have thick asparagus and less if it's thin. I used half a slice for thin asparagus and it was a little bit too much.
3. Place a few of the wrapped asparagus on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes for thin asparagus and 7 minutes for thick asparagus. The asparagus should be bright green but still crunchy and the prosciutto should be crispy.

I expect these could be made on a BBQ but I’ve never tried it.

Per Asparagus Spear with half a slice of prosciutto: Calories – 23, Carbs – 1g, Fat – 1g, Protein 2, Fibre – 0. (5.5% recommended daily intake of sodium)

Whole Grain: Farro & Balsamic Farro Salad Recipe

I’m a sucker for trying different kinds of whole grains. So when I saw a bag of Farro when I was at Costco the other day even though I had never heard of it before I didn’t hesitate to pick it up. It turns out that Farro is an ancient type of wheat that is now regaining popularity in Italy and with health conscious cooks. It’s great in soups and salads and can be used in place of barley or rice. This was my first attempt at cooking Farro. I found that there was still quite a bit of water left in the pot when I cooked it according to the package directions (3 cups water to 1 cup Farro for 15 minutes), so I cooked it a little longer and ultimately drained it. After some internet research, I found out this is actually normal. Unlike rice all the water is not supposed to be absorbed when it’s finished cooking. It’s chewier than rice but it did soften a bit after the salad had sat in the fridge overnight. Trying a grain all by itself is kind of boring so I put together this salad which I think is pretty good.

Balsamic Farro Salad Recipe

Dressing
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
1 tsp. dried thyme
pinch salt
freshly ground black pepper

Salad
1/2 cup mild onion diced (red onions, shallots, chives, green onions)
1 yellow or orange pepper chopped finely
2 medium tomatoes chopped and seeded
1 diced avocado (coat in lemon or lime juice if you’re not using the salad all right away)
1 cups farro (Cooked barley or brown rice can also be substituted.)

Cooking with the Kids

The kids can:

• Pour the Farro and water into the pot
• Scoop the avocado out of the peel (if you halve and score it first)
• Put the chopped vegetables into the bowl
• Measure and pour
• Mix the salad ingredients together (using your hands is fun)

Directions
1. Cook Farro according to package directions (they should be al dente when done)
2. Chop onion, tomatoes and peppers.
3. Add all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
4. In a small bowl mix dressing ingredients.
5. Add dressing ingredients to the salad ingredients and mix well.

Per serving (1/8 of the salad): Calories – 172, Carbs – 23g, Fat – 7g, Protein 5, Fibre – 4.

Tomato and Ground Beef Slumgullion

Slumgullion is a name for a cheap stew made by boiling. In this recipe, only the pasta is boiled, but cheap (and easy!) it is. I’m almost embarrassed to call this a recipe because it’s so simple. But it is one of my go to dishes when I need something fast and healthy that everyone will enjoy. I’d be lost without it, so I thought I’d pass it along. My mom made almost this exact dish while I was growing up so it’s a comfort food for me too. One of the best things about it, is that if you cook and freeze some ground beef (I like grabbing a giant pack of lean ground beef from Costco) you can have all the ingredients on hand. Then, when you don’t really have time to cook, or haven’t managed to get to the grocery store, you don’t have to get take out. And it’s a lot less messy than spaghetti!

Quick and Easy Slumgullion Recipe
200g lean ground beef cooked (more or less is fine)
1 package whole wheat macaroni (I’ve tried other pasta, macaroni is best)
1 large can of diced tomatoes
salt and pepper

Cooking with the Kids

The kids can:

• Pour the macaroni in the pot 
• Pour in the ground beef 
• Pour in the tomatoes
• Stir the slumgullion
• Sprinkle the salt and pepper

Directions
1. Cook the macaroni according to the package directions.
2. It's best if the ground beef is warm when you add it to the pot so, cook, defrost or warm the ground beef as necessary.
3. Drain the macaroni in a strainer and put it back in the pot. Add the warm ground beef and the can of tomatoes (with the juice).
4. Mix well and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can also just add the salt and pepper to the individual servings instead.

This recipe makes about 6 servings, so you could halve the recipe if you don’t need that much. We usually keep the leftovers for lunches. I prefer it fresh, but Gordie and my special needs brother are quite happy to have it the day after. I often fill up some ziplock containers and stick them in the freezer so Geoff has lunches ready for the whole week.

Per serving (1/6 of the slumgullion): Calories – 313, Carbs – 46g, Fat – 7g, Protein 16, Fibre – 7.

Parchment Paper

I’ve recently become enamoured with parchment paper. Before, I thought parchment paper and wax paper were the same. Growing up we hardly used wax paper and I had never even seen parchment paper so somehow I got the idea that they were just different names for the same thing. While attempting to follow a recipe that asked for parchment paper, I did some uh… research that demonstrated this not to be the case.
Wax paper and parchment paper are both used because of their nonstick surface. I had just used wax paper to make something in the microwave (which is totally okay and often better than saran wrap) and I think I even said to my husband as I put the wax paper in the oven, “There shouldn’t be a problem with this, if it’s okay in the microwave it should be okay in the oven right?” Now why this seemed reasonable, I’m not sure. There are many plastic dishes that do just fine in the microwave but wouldn’t last very long in the oven, but that’s what I was thinking at the time.
So here’s the thing, wax paper is coated in – wait for it – wax, which smokes if it is exposed in the oven. You can use it in baking, for instance to line a cake pan as long as it is completely covered by the food. Otherwise, smoke, smoke, smoke.
If you’re looking for something to line a baking tray, parchment paper is your best bet. I’ve used for the three dishes you can see on this page, just in the last week. It’s perfect for anything that you want to bake or roast on a nonstick pan that may otherwise gunk up and stick to it (even though it’s supposed to be a nonstick pan). It has really improved my roasted butternut squash since I started using it. Anyway, if you haven’t before, give it a try!

Wordless Wednesday

Meatless Monday– Spinach and Baby Potato Spanish Frittata

A Spanish tortilla is an ‘egg pie’ made with potatoes which are traditionally sliced. The recipes can be kind of time consuming so I came up with this fairly quick frittata version, it’s not the same, but it’s still good. I left the skins on to up the nutrient content, but you could peel then if you’d rather. I also found I had a few too many potatoes, so I reduced the recipe by a 1/4 of a pound.

Spinach and Baby Potato Spanish Frittata Recipe
3/4 lbs baby potatoes (cut into at least 6 pieces each)
1 Tbsp olive oil
small onion chopped (a leek or shallot would work too)
3 cups fresh spinach (or 1 pkg chopped frozen spinach)
8 eggs beaten
salt, pepper and ground nutmeg

Cooking with the Kids

The kids can:

• put the potatoes in the pot 
• help beat the eggs (Gordie loves to do this with me)
• older kids could cut the potatoes

Directions
1. Preheat the broiler to 375F. Make sure you have an oven rack close to the broiler.
2. Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Cube the potatoes. Sauté the onion in an oven proof pan with some olive oil over medium heat. After the onions have started to soften add the spinach and wilt.
4. Add the potatoes and evenly distribute the vegetables in the pan.
5. Pour the eggs over the vegetables and coat as well as you can.
6. Sprinkle the eggs with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
7. Cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes. The frittata should be mostly set but the top will still be runny.
8. Place the pan in the oven for 2-4 minutes until the oven is set.

If you don't have an oven proof skillet, you can use a lid to set the top of the eggs or you can slide the frittata onto a plate and then flip back into the pan to cook the other side.

Per serving (1/4 frittata): Calories – 270, Carbs – 24g, Fat – 13g, Protein 15, Fibre – 3.

Baby Smashed Potatoes

I’m starting to think that just about every vegetable should be roasted at 400F for 30-60 minutes with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. This is now my third recipe in a row that follows this logic. You’d have to really hate potatoes to not like these. I liked these so much I made them for Christmas dinner last year – there wasn’t a single one left over!. They also provide a lot more nutrients than a lot of potato dishes because you leave the skins on. They take a little bit more time than some methods, because they are boiled and then baked but the result is amazing. If you want, you can boil and smash the potatoes ahead of time just refrigerate until you are ready to use them.

Baby Smashed Potatoes Recipe
2-2.5 lbs baby potatoes
2 TBSP oilve oil
salt, pepper and rosemary (I use dried but I’m sure fresh would be lovely)
2 garlic cloves minced (shortcut – buy pre-minced, look in the refrigerated section by the salads as they are much better than the shelf stable variety you get by the spices)

Cooking with the Kids

Like most oven recipes, this is a great recipe for the kids to help with because all of the work is done before it hits the heat. Squishing the potatoes is also pretty fun.
The kids can:

• put the potatoes in the pot 
• squash the cooled potatoes 
• .paint the potatoes with olive oil
• flip the potatoes
• sprinkle the salt, pepper and rosemary

Directions
1. Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. When the potatoes are tender, drain the pot and let the potatoes cool (if you are in a hurry you can grab the potatoes with a tea towel and smash them while they are still hot).
3.Preheat the oven to 400F
4.Get a (clean!) tea towel and put it on the counter. Place the potato on top. Fold the tea towel over and press down on the potato with your palm.
5. Place the smashed potatoes on a baking tray.
6. Brush each potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Flip the potatoes and repeat on the other side.
8. Add a couple pieces of minced garlic to each potato and sprinkle with rosemary.
9. Put the tray in the over and flip the potatoes after 15 minutes. Continue to bake for 15-20 minutes more. When they are done the skins of the potatoes will be brown and crispy but the centre will be soft.

Leftovers can be eaten cold straight from the fridge or reheated in the oven or toaster oven.

Per serving (3 potatoes): Calories – 78, Carbs – 11g, Fat – 4g, Protein 1, Fibre – 2.

Roasted Butternut Squash

I took another crack at the butternut squash today. It turned out quite a bit better than the last time. I think the problem before was that the squash wasn’t as fresh as it needed to be. Not that it was bad, it just didn’t have the right consistency anymore – it was a little too mushy around the edges. So if you (like I usually do) buy pre-cut cubes (Costco’s are great) make sure you get the furthest away best before date and check to make sure they are nice and firm when you go to cook them. If they’re not, maybe make soup instead.
This isn’t the lowest calorie vegetable dish you can make but it’s a crowd pleaser and makes a nice side dish for special occasion dinners (or just for snacking!) Unless your kids are going through a really picky stage, they’ll like this dish. And you will like making it! The prep work is minimal and once it’s in the oven you don’t have to do a thing.
Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Recipe (based on this recipe)
2 lbs butternut squash cubes (shortcut – buy pre-cubed)
2 TBSP oilve oil
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (or white cheese blend)
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves minced and 2 Tbsp parsley chopped (both optional)

Cooking with the Kids

This is a great recipe for the kids to help with because all of the work is done before it hits the heat.
The kids can:

• put the squash cubes in the bag
• measure and pour
• mix the ingredients in the bag (even the littlest kids can do this).

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Put all ingredients into a large resealable plastic bag and combine (you can also mix in a bowl).
3. Spread evenly on a single layer on a shallow baking dish. I've found that lining a cookie tray with parchment paper works really well. The cubes pop right off. Whatever you do, don't put them directly on the cookie tray – trust me it will never be the same. 
4. Cook for 40-50 minutes. The edges should be carmelized and golden. You can flip one of the cubes over to check the bottom, but otherwise leave them alone.

I completely forgot the garlic, but they were still great. Adding the parsley makes for a nicer presentation, but I was all out.

If you have leftovers, you can mash up the cooked squash with some pasta water to thin it out and use it as a pasta sauce.
Per serving (1/8 of the recipe): Calories – 94, Carbs – 13g, Fat – 5g, Protein 2, Fibre – 2.

Making Icky Food Good: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

My mother-in-law is a big fan of Brussels sprouts and they are chalk full of vitamins but she wasn’t making any converts at home. I figure that just about anything can be appealing if you cook it the right way, so I set out to find something that everyone would enjoy. This is what I came up with.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe
1.5 pounds Brussels sprouts (shortcut - buy prewashed and bagged)
1.5 tablespoons oilve oil
1 teaspoon  salt (do not skip the salt, you need it to counteract the bitterness of the sprouts)
0.5 teaspoon pepper

Cooking with the Kids

This is a great recipe for the kids to help with because all of the work is done before it hits the heat.
The kids can:

• put the cut sprouts in the bag
• measure and pour
• mix the ingredients in the bag (even the littlest kids can do this).

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375F (you can do 400 if you are in a hurry but you'll need to watch it near the end)
2. Wash and trim the Brussels Sprouts if necessary. Cut each Brussels sprout in half.
3. Place the Brussels Sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Seal it up and mix well. (Obviously you could also use a bowl if you'd rather).
4. Put the Brussels spouts on a baking tray and bake for 40-50 minutes. Turn them every 7-10 minutes so they cook evenly and don't char.
5. When they are finished they should have a nice brown color but still have some green visible. The loose leaves may be blackened but nothing else should be.

If you have leftovers you can put them in a container in the fridge and eat then reheated in the oven/toaster oven or I actually like the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge. They store best if you let them cool down to room temperature first.
1/6 of the recipe: Calories – 79, Carbs – 10g, Fat – 4g, Protein 4, Fibre – 4.
You could lighten the recipe up by using a cooking spray or olive oil mister to coat the Brussels Sprouts instead of the olive oil.

Cooking Failure: Butternut Squash

I wish I had more insight into why this turned out so poorly. It’s not my first time making Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash. Far from it. But instead of the delicious crisp caramelized edges, I have a charred mess.

Lemon Pepper Mushrooms

If you had told me a couple years ago that I would be sharing my favorite mushroom recipe, I would have said you were crazy. Mushrooms have not historically been my favorite food. And most of the time, I’d still happily do without. But one day my husband whipped up these lemon pepper mushrooms and much to my surprise, I really liked them! I like using Cremini mushrooms over white button mushrooms because they are higher in nutrients but they’ll both turn out just fine.

Lemon Pepper Mushroom Recipe

Ingredients

1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms (whatever fits nicely into your pan)
Lemon Juice
Lemon Pepper
oil or cooking spray (optional)

Cooking with the Kids

This is not the best recipe for cooking with kids because all the work is done in a hot frying pan.
Older kids can:

• slice the mushrooms 
• help sprinkle on lemon pepper
• squirt in the lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat your pan over medium-high heat. You can add oil or pam if desired but if you have a nonstick pan, it's not necessary.
2. Add your mushrooms and the juice from a lemon (or a couple squirts of your bottle of lemon juice).
3. Sprinkle with the lemon pepper. You should be able to see the pepper specks throughout, but it shouldn't coat the mushrooms. Go gently at first and try as they are cooking you can always add more.
4. Saute until mushrooms have browned on the outside and are cooked through but still firm.

A quick and easy healthy snack or side dish.

Per half cup mushrooms (assuming you don’t use any oil): Calories – 12, Carbs – 2g, Fat – 0g, Protein 1, Fibre – 1.

Wordless Wednesday

Hard Boiled/Devilled Eggs

I used to be able to cook a hard boiled egg properly. Then one day I couldn’t. I’m not sure what happened. I was using the same recipe I have used since I was 12.

Whatever the reason, after much frustration I finally figured out how to prevent them from being a disgusting ooey mess. The key was just turning up the heat a little when it was simmering.

How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

1. Fill a pot with cold water to just cover the eggs. Bring to a boil. If you manage to remember that you are cooking and notice when they first start to boil you can avoid getting that grey skunge around the yolk by turning the heat down right away (make sure it is just above low).
2. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on and then run cold water over the eggs. Its best to peel them while they are still a little warm and if you roll them in your hands before you start to peel, it’s even easier to get the peel off nicely.

Since we’re talking about Hard Boiled Eggs I might as well share my Devilled Egg Recipe too. My family loves them. I’m pretty sure if I showed up to a family function without them I would be asked how long it was going to take me to go pick up the eggs that I obviously forgot at home.

Devilled Eggs

12 Hard Boiled Eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp vinegar
paprika

Cooking with the Kids
This is a great recipe to make with kids because there is so much they can help with.

The kids can:

• roll the eggs to get ready to peel (peel if older)
• pop out the yolks 
• measure and pour 
• mash up the yolk mixture
• spoon the yolk mixture into the egg whites
• sprinkle the paprika

Directions:

1. Scoop the yolk out of each egg and put into a bowl. Mash up with a fork.
2. Add the mayo, mustard and vinegar and mix well.
3. Put a big scoop of the egg mixture into each egg half and sprinkle with paprika.

Per Devilled Egg Half: Calories – 52, Carbs – 1g, Fat – 4g, Protein 3, Fibre – 0.

In case you were wondering, no I do not own a deviled egg tray. I own four. Seriously. I typically have to bring 3 or 4 full trays to a family party – they are that good.