This Side of Sunny

Just another night at our house

With Jake gone most nights, I've had to adjust how I do things because there's only one of me and three of them! However, last night the stars all aligned and the night turned out great.

The other night, Coleman had started chanting "Salad, salad!" for dinner ideas so I thought I better go get some lettuce. Got take advantage of that while I can! He did a lot of the work, with me helping- I even let him use a sharp knife!

Right now he's peeling a carrot.

We got this picnic table handed down from some friends, so the boys wanted to eat outside.

Then it was storytime. Amelia was having too much fun looking at pictures though.

 

I love it now that Coleman is starting to read to me. He needs a little more confidence but he's working on it. He's the type of reader to read by sight and doesn't like to sound out words. I figure the more we read, the more words he'll know!

He's reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault. It's the first book he wanted to have in his hands and read to us.

  

 

 

Recipe Review :: Turnip Gratin

I ended up making Turnip Gratin. The recipe was simple enough- layer bread, onions, turnip slices and top the whole thing off with Gruyere cheese.

Into the oven...

Out of the oven...

Well the bad news is that the onions were still crunchy and the turnips were over blanched (fancy word for a short boil time). The good news was that the flavor was delicious, but anything topped with cheese usually is.

However, my kids didn't really eat it, even with the cheese on top. Only with my threat of denying dessert did they take a bite. The rule in our house is they at least have to try it before they can say no. And no they did! The turnips acted a lot like potatoes, but with a slightly sweeter taste.

If I were to make again:

• Make sure I don't over blanch the turnips
• Sautee the onions before putting them in the baking dish
• Leave out the bread- it was a little weird
• Keep the cheese topping, it added great flavor, and we all know everything is better with cheese

My favorite part of dinner...

the citrus pork chops! Yum!

 

farm to table

Coleman came home with these from his recent field trip to a farm:

Huge turnips! I have never cooked with them before and of course, I will have to now. So I was thinking of this, something for the grownups or this, of course anything 'fries' is good with the kids. We'll see how it turns out... I'll let you know!

Reminds me of this story:

 

 

Recipe Review :: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Looking for a good way to use up the rotisserie chicken you have in the fridge? Try some delicious, easy, healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup. This recipe was given to me by my dear friend Carrie, who introduced me to edamame beans and who at one time helped me devour a whole box of Ding Dongs in our dorm room. Ah, memories.

This is soooo easy-peasy and definitely gets a thumbs up for being a one handed meal- as in, you can have a baby on a hip and still get the soup simmering on the stove! Not to mention it's a hubby-friendly soup in our house.

Ingredients

• Favorite salsa (mine was 16 oz.)
• Chicken broth- either from liquid, cubes or paste- double the amount of ounces of salsa, for instance mine was 16 oz. so the liquid broth I had on hand was 32 oz.; you can also use water to make it vegetarian
• Leftover chicken- shredded, I recommend only half a rotisserie; or use three kind of beans for vegetarian version
• Corn tortillas- 6-8 cut into strips, these will dissolve when soup simmers
• Various garnishes- shredded cheese, limes, avocado, plain yogurt

{All ready to go}

Directions

• Dump in salsa in large soup pot
• Dump in broth double that of salsa amount
• Shred chicken, dump in
• Start simmering
• Cut tortillas into strips
• Dump tortilla strips in
• Check in 15-20 minutes
• Eat!

It's seriously so simple that I almost think I'm forgetting a step.  This was delicious and my two critics thought so too...

Tips

• Don't do what I did and shred the all the white meat rotisserie chicken- because we ate the soup quite a bit later than I made it, it simmered down quite a bit and was thick. Next time I'll do one half.
• For some reason, all my soups reduce down quite a bit, leaving them thicker than I would like. Probably has something to do with the fact that I'm cooking while juggling a three ring circus. So for myself, I would add more water right from the beginning, making the ratio 4:1 water to salsa.
• Most important- make a double or triple batch because it was awesome!  The salsa is great because you don't need to add any spices at all.  You can also customize it for a vegetarian dish or hide add more veggies in.

Nutritional Facts

This can vary based on your actual ingredients but mine was as follows:

Calories: 193

Carbs: 24

Fat: 3

Protein: 18

Thanks, Carrie!  This one is a keeper.

How to... make an Army birthday cake

The firstborn had his birthday party today.  Coleman planned the guest list, menu and games.  I usually make a cake- so far I've made a #1, #2, a car, a racetrack #4, and a baseball cake turned army men hills.

So this year I was prepared to buy a cake and stick some army men on it.  But then Coleman and I started looking at cake ideas online and I remembered I already had the chocolate cake mix. 

Sigh.  I have not had the best luck with cakes.  The #1 cake kept crumbling in the icing because I didn't know to freeze it first (thanks Carrie for the tip!) and then it got smooshed in the car on the ride over to the park.  The baseball cake had two halves that couldn't be stuck together because my icing had turned to liquid goo (in the Philippines, frosting in the tub is hard to come by and I was having a hard time getting the homemade to stay thick). 

However, I figured even if it came out ugly, we could cover it completely with army men and noone would know.  Luckily, this was one of my best cakes yet!

Step 1: Get a trusty helper.  Have him smoosh chocolate graham crackers in bag for "dirt".  You can see the frozen cakes next to him.  I did two rounds and a small loaf pan with one whole box of cake mix.

Step 2: Get white frosting and color with Wilson colors, like these.  It's the only way to get true colors to come through.  I've done too many attempts getting a real green with food coloring. 

Step 3: Arrange cake pieces to resemble mountain.  I froze these but they weren't rock hard.

Step 4: Frost whole thing in main color.  This is an actual darker brown but my kitchen lighting is terrible.  Here it looks like peanut butter!

'

Step 5: I added the green plants (with the help of a decorator cake tip), grass and lake after that.

Step 6: My trusty helper washed and put on all the army dudes and tanks.  Then he sprinkled the "dirt" on.

Step 7: I found some chocolate rocks at the party store, so we added those. 

Step 8: Eat and enjoy!  It was fun to make and eat.

 

Ultimate Cookie Photos

So my last post was about the ultimate cookie but forgot the photos!  My brain must have still been thinking about wine, I mean, my girls-only weekend (more on that another time)...

Seriously, I thought about not adding them because I really didn't need to but then I remembered this one:

That is my goof ball, adorable hubby who loves baking more than I do.  He likes to take over help me with any kind of cooking, especially cookies, in the kitchen.  He's the comfort food cook and I'm the healthy cook (usually!).

Then of course, another "helper"...

All he really wanted to do was lick the spoon though!

Now... the stars of the show:

Do you like my creative cooling rack?  One day, I'll get a real one but this worked just fine because those cookies didn't last long! 

The Ultimate Cookie Recipe

With a little help from Sesame Street's Cookie Monster, my hubby and I have perfected a decadent cookie recipe. 

Here's the backstory:  I chose an online chocolate chip cookie recipe from a website I go to frequently for recipes (can't remember which one though).  I had tried it but the cookie dough had separated from the chips while cooking, leaving a liquidy mess and little piles of chocolate on the pan.  It was not pretty.  My hubby thought I had made a mistake (not unlike me) and cooked from the same recipe a few days later with the same results.  Looking and comparing recipes, this one called for baking powder rather than baking soda, which might be to blame.

Ever since the failed cookie attempts, we had been on the hunt for the perfect cookie recipe.  I wanted something simple that would give me moist, chewy cookies.  I don't like crunchy cookies!

Since online hadn't been trustworthy, I hit my cookbooks.  Out came this one:

We had baked from this before with good results, so I was confident the Cookie Monster wouldn't let us down.  I've been watching this guy eat cookies since I was little...

On page 14, there's a recipe for All-American Chocolate Chip Cookies which provided the inspiration for our own recipe (we've changed enough to make it our own recipe now)...

The Ultimate Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (that's how we knew this was a winner)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Mediterrean salt or sea salt)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla (I use high quality vanilla, not imitation)
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

I really don't measure the chips, but always make sure there's more white than dark chocolate.  My favorite to use is Gheridelli chips, they also make 60% dark chips that would provide more contrast to the sweetness of the white chips.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

2.  Mix together butter, brown sugar and regular sugar in a large bowl.  I prefer to use the flat beater attachment at medium speed in my Kitchenaid mixer, mixes the dough great and less mess than the wire whip. 

3.  Add in eggs one at a time and then vanilla.  Add flour to mixture and beat until dough starts to get sticky.

4.  Hand stir in the chips or set at low speed.  My kids loved to do this part, mostly because they like to eat some too!

5.  Hand form the balls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Depending on the size, 8-12 cookies can be made per batch. 

6.  Bake for 5-7 minutes.  Keep a close eye on the cookies- the trick is to take them out just before they are truly done because they will keep cooking after you take them out of the oven.  When cookies are cool, transfer them onto a wire rack, or in my case, a broiler pan to cool completely.  Makes roughly 3-4 dozen.

Watch how quickly these disappear!  I think I'm going to grab a glass of milk and a few myself, yum!

 

Pizza Snakes

I got this recipe from my good friend Sheila when we lived in the Philippines.  This is basically a calzone with a twist- into the shape of snake, or the letter 'S'.

Step 1: Spread the flour (it's a brave move, I know).

Step 2: Roll out the dough.

Step 3: Add the fixins- sauce, mozzerella cheese, pepperoni, olives, etc.

 

Step 4:  Take picture with your snake.

 

Step 5: Clean shirt.

There's nothing like making the food together as a family and then eating it!

To create your own Pizza Snakes/Calzones:

1.  Make/buy pizza dough

2.  Shred/buy mozzerella (all four snakes took a one package of cheese)

3.  Make/buy sauce (most of the time I just blend some tomato and spices in the blender)

4.  Buy fixins- try sausage, pineapple, whatever you put on pizza but keep in mind it has to be cut into smaller pieces

5.  Face fixins- olives for eyes, carrot cut for tongue, yellow pepper for nose (Coleman wanted a nose)

6.  Bake according to dough directions and enjoy!  Make sure to let them cool enough, the dough may be warm but the inside of the snake can be too hot for little ones mouths.

7.  Have kids wipe table.

8.  Rewipe table because it has dried flour streaks on it.  Wash shirt.  Call it a day!

Tips- prepare stuff ahead of time in small bowls so kids can put them on easily, make dough ahead of time (I have done it by hand and with my Kitchenaid, machine is soooo easier on the muscles, but both dough versions turned out well)

Recipe Review :: Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

I was looking for cheap, easy, vegetarian meals to help stretch my budget.  I found the recipe on a blog, but then cooked it from this recipe.  They're called Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos and they live up to their name!

This was the second time I have made the recipe and these sweet potatoes were HUGE!  Over an hour at 400 degrees in the oven to cook them.

Once cooked, you mash them up in the bowl-

Think of them as your refried beans, smooth and creamy, a good base to start piling on the good stuff.

Now, the secret to this recipe lies in the seasoned beans.  The recipe calls for mashed kidney beans but I followed the advice of the reviews and used black beans.  They're so small I don't even bother mashing them. 

The seasoning can seem pretty heavy- 3 T of chili powder, plus cumin, mustard, soy sauce, and a pinch of cayenne.  You can probably cut this down to taste, but I used it as is and it was awesome.  Of course, if your chili powder comes out in huge chunks like mine did, that could change things a bit too.

My special touch to these burritos is I make them smaller so I can wrap them up and quickly brown them on a griddle or fry pan.  Makes the tortilla crisp on the outside, like the grilled stuffed burritos.  Talk about yummy!  I would've had a picture but I was too busy stuffing my face!

Price breakdown-

• 4-5 lbs. of sweet potatoes  $5/ 1.00 per lb.
• 2 cans of black beans  $2 (I didn't really need 6 cups of what the recipe calls for)
• 12 pk. tortillas  $2.50 (last for the two meals)
• 8 oz. cheese  $2.50 (lasts for the two meals)
• Onion/garlic  .50 cents
• Seasonings/oil  .50 cents

Recipe total: $13, could be more or less depending on sales. 

However, this amount made more than enough to feed a family of four twice- we had dinner and lunch.  Both the hubby and I didn't stop at one burrito either... hey, in my defense I did make them small!

The first time we had these, I loved them.  They were sweet and tangy at the same time.  The second time they weren't as sweet.  I thought it might have been the extra chunk of chili powder that fell into the pan, but we figured it was just the sweet potatoes weren't as sweet.  I still liked them but better the first time.  My theory is that the HUGE sweet potatoes weren't as sweet as the smaller ones I got the first time.  I guess I will just have to make them again to find out!

Hell's Kitchen Finale Dinner Challenge pt. 2

The dinner challenge was definitely challenging!  First, we watched Chef Ramsey cook his Beef Wellington on You Tube.  Then we read and reread the recipe from here.  

I'm pureeing the mushrooms and my bro is trimming the filets.

Searing the steaks.  We had to check how long to sear them.  Chef's video didn't say.  We did our best.

Meanwhile, Chef Ramsayisms are coming out in full force- "You cook like a donkey!", "It's raw, I can't believe it's raw!".

Painting the filets with British mustard, as Chef Ramsay said in his video, "You wouldn't think of putting Dijon on it, would you?"

 

Putting it all together.  One layer of prosciutto covered with mushroom pate (did not look good), then wrapped around the filet. 

 

Apparently Chef has a larger roll of plastic wrap than we do because we couldn't twist the ends without the help of...

Good 'ole duct tape.  Worked like a charm.  

While the filets were in the fridge, we were busy preparing for the risotto, recipe found here.  We were a little taken back by the size of the fava beans- they were huge!  More Chef Ramsayisms- "You need to season your risotto, aren't you tasting your food?"

We were ready to roll the filets onto the dough, which was made up of very thin layers.

Needless to say it was difficult "painting" the egg yolk on but made for a lot of laughs.

 

Notice how we are eating without the Beef Wellington.  It came out- you guessed it- raw!  It had to go back into the oven to cook a bit.  The risotto was good, but see the fava beans are pushed to the side.  Nobody but my three year old ate them.  He was downing them like peanut M&M's.  Go figure.

The money shot.  Not sure if it would make it to the pass though.

It was a great meal.  Wouldn't do it again for at least a while though for a few reasons. 

1.  It was a lot of prep and cooking.  My dad had to go to four different stores to find all the ingredients and prep the rice the night before.

2.  It was expensive.  See list below.

3.  The grill can cook a filet just as good and way easier/quicker.

The Grocery List

• Steaks- $82
• Mushrooms- $8
• Proscuitto ham- $10
• English mustard- $3
• Puff pastry- $8

Beef Wellington total- $111

• Risotto rice- $8
• Chicken stock- $4
• Fava beans- $4
• Peas- $3
• Parmesan- $4

Risotto total- $24

Overall, it wasn't about the food or the money it took to buy it, but creating something together as a family.  Food, family, fun... what more do you need?