Filed under: Kid Friendly Food
While researching food/restaurant trends for 2011, I came across an interesting trend that some restaurants across the country are already starting to offer — Meatless Mondays. Believe it or not, there is even a Meatless Monday website. Check out meatlessmonday.com — their goal is to help you reduce your meat consumption by 15% in order to improve your personal health and the health of the planet.
I am always looking out for easy and tasty ways to eat healthier (see prior quinoa blog). Don’t get me wrong — I really enjoy a great cheeseburger or steak — but I also know that incorporating more fruits and veggies into my diet is essential. After successfully trying Meatless Mondays, I found it very easy to eat this way a couple times a week – Hello Tofu Tuesdays!
Incorporating meatless meals into your family’s diet is also very economical. A big bowl of pasta with veggies, bean and cheese enchiladas, and stir-frys are my favorite quick and easy meatless go to dishes.
For a flavorful quick and easy pasta recipe try Great Caesar’s Ghost Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti. Serve with your favorite salad and warm crusty bread – your family won’t mind veggin’ out!
Vegetarian Fun Facts
–Has anyone ever told you that they are a “flexitarian” or “flexible vegetarian”? This term refers to anyone who eats mostly plant-based foods but occasionally eats meat, poultry and fish.
–Beans are full of fiber (~ 8 grams of fiber per half cup), rich in nutrients (folic acid, iron, and magnesium), and high in protein.
–For a delicious meatless appetizer try Tomato Caper Bruschetta (if bringing to a get together — toast bread and package separately from the bruschetta topping — assemble at the party).
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November 4, 2010
Versatile, sweet, savory, decorative – Pumpkins truly represent the fall season and holidays. A member of the gourd and squash family, the pumpkin dates back to 7000 – 5000 BC with pumpkin like seeds that were found in Mexico. Today, eighty percent of the US pumpkin supply is available in October. Recently, the largest pumpkin world record was broken on October 9th by a Wisconsin grown pumpkin that weighed in at 1810.5 pounds!
Most parts of the pumpkin are edible – flesh, seeds, leaves and even the flowers. Out of all the ways to use pumpkin, the most popular dish has to be pumpkin pie. The infamous pumpkin pie originated when Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices, and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in hot ashes. A great way to get pumpkin pie taste without having to bake is Pumpkin Pie Dip. This is my friend Rachel’s signature dish for fall potlucks. A creamy blend of pumpkin, cream cheese, and spices, this dip has all the taste of pumpkin pie without all the fuss. For dippers, Rachel suggests butter cookies, vanilla wafers, or gingersnaps to replicate pie crust.
My signature fall dish is pumpkin cake roll. Check out TSG Pumpkin Roll for a quick and easy version. For presentation, I like to leave the cake roll unsliced — plate it on a festive platter – dust powered sugar on top and complete the look with a couple mini gourds or pumpkins.
Pumpkin Cake Roll
For your next get together try Pumpkin Ginger 3 Layer Loaf Cake and make it your fall signature dessert!
Pumpkin Fun Facts
- The top pumpkin production states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.
- The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.
- Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
- Nutrients found in Pumpkins – Beta-carotene, Fiber, Vitamins C and E, Potassium, Magnesium
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October 28, 2010
With Halloween right around the corner, I wanted to share some spooktacular party ideas. Hosting a Halloween party doesn’t have to be scary. Keep it simple by having a dessert only menu — indulging in sweets is what this time of year is all about!
Halloween Dessert Bar Menu
Devilishly Delicious Fondue — 2 Ways
–Offer two types of fondue – a dark chocolate and a white chocolate tinted with red food coloring for a ghoulish effect. For dippers try salted pretzel rods, marshmallows, bananas, brownies cut into bite size pieces, or cubed pumpkin bread.
My Devilishly Delicious Fondue
Monster Paws
–Clear plastic gloves stuffed with popcorn and candy corn “fingers” – a big hit with kids of all ages and it also makes a great centerpiece!!
Ghoulishly Good Cookie Bon Bons
–Crush one package of chocolate sandwich cream cookies – mix with 8 oz softened cream cheese – roll into walnut size balls – place in fridge on wax paper covered cookie sheet for ~15 minutes – melt one package almond bark (be careful not to scorch!) dip cookie balls into melted almond bark – press in mini chocolate chips for “eyes” – put back on cookie sheet and put back in fridge to let almond bark set
Creepy Cupcakes
–Make your favorite cupcake recipe – line muffin pan with Halloween themed cupcake liners – frost with orange frosting – top cupcakes with assorted black plastic creepy crawlers
Beverages
–Make sure to have assorted beverages on hand – coffee, tea, milk (try tinting with red or orange food dye), and soda
A huge hit at my last party was the cocktail I served in a “blood rimmed” candy coated wine glass (pictured below). For instructions on how to make these check out – Vampire Style Martini
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October 21, 2010
Now that autumn is officially here, I thought this would be the perfect time to showcase my favorite fall fruit – the apple. Although apples are available year round, they are truly at their peak from September – November. Across the country from Washington to Maine, fall harvest and apple festivals are popular weekend activities. If you are lucky enough live in an area close to an orchard, apple picking is an annual tradition for many families. I am very fortunate to live down the road from an apple cider mill which dates back to 1883. My tradition is to visit this historic mill on the 1st Saturday in October and indulge in their hot spiced cider and apple cider doughnuts. What makes this experience unique is that you can actually watch the apples being made into cider by a press that is powered by the engine of a 1950’s tractor. With your treats in hand, you can walk outside in the cool crisp air and sit around the bonfire. What a great place to relax and enjoy your cider and doughnuts while having friendly conversation with other apple enthusiasts. When I return home, I am always inspired to start my fall baking with the delicious apples from the orchard.
One of my favorite apple desserts starts with preparing TSG Apple Cake Mix as directed (2 eggs, 2 cups chopped apples). Once cooled, I cut into squares and serve with vanilla bean ice cream topped with TSG Incredible Creamy Caramel Sauce. I just served this last weekend and there were no leftovers! This delicious mix has become one of my favorite pantry staples. It is a very versatile product that can be used to bake a coffee cake for breakfast or a tasty after school snack for kids by adding their favorite fruit. You can even use this mix to make cookies or a fruit crumble. Check out the TSG Apple Cake recipe box and locate a consultant to get your fall baking started.
Fun Facts
–9/30/10 is National Mulled Apple Cider day (It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider). Try this delicious TSG Spiced Cider Recipe. And to warm your home, light a Spiced Cider candle…
–Two pounds of apples make one nine inch pie… if you don’t feel like baking but want to scent your home like freshly baked dessert, light a Just Desserts 3 Wick in Apple Pie a la Mode and indulge without all of the calories….
– A medium apple has about 80 calories and is fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.
–Americans eat 19.6 pounds of apples every year.
–Apples are a member of the rose family.
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September 30, 2010
So I was thinking, what is good as we go back to school and get into a routine now that summer is winding down, and fall is just around the corner.
September is back to school!
Apple harvest (that’s another blog)
September is also:
1. National Chicken Month
2 . National Potato Month
3. National Rice Month
So what does that tell me as a “foodie”. Everybody is going back to their boring but easy routine. Now it’s time for a blatant commercial. Two Sisters Gourmet Seasoning Blends can shake you out of the boring routine.
If you are about to fry, bake or roast a chicken – sprinkle on your favorite flavor. A little Outrageously Garlic goes a long way.
If you have just pulled out the baked potato – in addition to your butter or sour cream – sprinkle on a little Tearless Onion and Chive for a tasty spud.
If you are serving rice with your fresh fish – blend in some Lemony Fresh Dill Blend or Over the Edge Herbed Spinach and bring back some springtime flavor.
Having pasta? Mix your favorite seasoning with olive oil and dip in your fresh bread for a yummy treat!
Kids won’t eat their vegetables – let them select and sprinkle their favorite flavor and brighten their day!.
Friday evening football watching? Have some new Brazen Buffalo Blue Cheese Dip to light up your Friday night lights.
Don’t let September send you back to the boring old routine – pull out those Two Sisters Gourmet Seasonings and give your day a lift.
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September 2, 2010
OK – by now you are bored with my constant stream of fresh food and healthy eating. Life just isn’t like that. It’s the middle of the summer, we’re on vacation, it’s hot and we’re lazy. So today, I celebrate July 21 – National Junk Food Day!!
I think like many people, my food junk food intake has a strong correlation to my mood – one extreme or the other and I am all over junk food! In our family it takes many forms. A stressed day at work brings on my secret delight – a bag of crunchy Cheetos! My husband is mint chocolate chip ice cream hand packed from the local creamery ( you know that has more fat). My daughter would be mac and cheese and my son would be pizza.
Apparently , according to Nielsen, Oklahoma City has the highest per capita rate of junk food consumption. Food Network came up with an odd but delicious assortment of 30 ways to top a hot dog, but most surveys agree that America’s top three items are
1. Chocolate
2. Pizza
3. French Fries
4. … in fact fried everything.
If you are YouTube, you can find videos for fried ice cream, pizza, Snickers, hamburgers but the most popular seems to be the ubiquitous fried Oreo!
What’s your favorite junk food?
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July 21, 2010
Fresh fruit in summer makes me drool! Week after week we have been picking fresh strawberries at a nearby farm. Blueberries are starting to come in – and peaches in the south. I always have fruit in my shopping cart in the summer. It’s the perfect thing for the heat. But then I have a dilemma – too much fresh fruit!
There are plenty of ways to use of fruit – TSG Summer Fruit Crisp with anything you heart desires, pies, fruit soups, and in our house grilled – but my favorite for breakfast, lunch or dessert is smoothies!
The basic concept of a smoothie is simple – approximately equal amounts of fruit and “liquid” (be it yogurt, milk, juice or ice) – and a blender, food processor or milk shake machine to mix it up until it is a frothy light confection. If it’s too watery, add fruit – too thick, add some juice – it’s how you like it that counts. In fact, as soon as I finish this, my reward is a woodland fruit smoothie with strawberries, blueberries and a banana, with ice this time to keep the calories down and the refreshment up!
Experiment with what you have on hand. My typical is with low fat plain yogurt and fresh fruit with a little ice. The kids will think they’ve fooled you allowing them too much sweet – but you will know the truth.
Drink up!
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July 1, 2010
All around this weekend the barbeques were lighted and the scent of dogs and burgers filled the air – along with major squeals from happy family get-togethers. We happened to be down the street from my brother and sister-in-law who had a healthy 26 for the weekend. We expanded with the kids home to a happy foursome – six if you count the dogs. And they should be counted for slider night.
As you well know, I love the kids coming home for all the usual reason, but also because they cook for us. With several new food magazines for inspiration – they couldn’t decide how best to celebrate the holiday. There were too many recipes for burgers to choose from, so they decided on a variety of sliders – you know –mini hamburgers so you can eat more than one without guilt!
Amazingly, a year ago, my daughter didn’t even eat hamburger (we’re talking age 20), but now she is in pursuit of the ultimate burger! Who says they don’t grow up? We all sat around discussing our favorite flavors and decided on four different varieties of burgers to try.
Burger Basics
Burgers are easy to customize with a little imagination. Just take high quality ground meat, add seasonings cut finely to mix well, some sauce or egg for binder (so it doesn’t crumble on the grill) and voila!
The men decided bacon was a must to add, that combined with barbeque sauce was one for the grill. Another version went Florentine with spinach, garlic and cheese. There was also a Mexican version with chili powder, Jack cheese and a little salsa. Or you can try the Mango Peach Salsa Sassy Burgers. Finally, there was the mushroom and cheese burgers with chipotle mayo – as you can tell we are largely a cheeseburger kind of family. We each had four tiny samples, but all were delicious!
Burger Tips
When making burgers use the finest quality meat, add finely diced herbs or other ingredients, add a binder such as egg, sauce or breadcrumbs to keep it whole on the grill. Taste test! Make a tiny burger of your favorite combination and grill first for flavor check – start light! You can always add more, but it’s harder to take out or add more meat to compensate.
Burgers Don’t Have to Be Beef
For all those years my daughter didn’t eat ground beef, that didn’t mean she didn’t eat grilled patties in a bun. Turkey burgers were a weekly staple in our house with mustard, onion and parsley for flavor. We also had our fair share of salmon burgers with mayo and dill. If you still crave meat, but want something with a little less f at, you can always use bison with a heartier flavor which is increasingly available in grocery stores.
If you can grind it, mix it and grill it – you have a burger for a holiday feast!
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June 23, 2010
I admit it – this is one area where I have learned a lot in the past year. I thought I made pretty good ribs, but I didn’t understand what an art it really is. Now we think barbeques is the realm of the US, but I learned my lessons from the British born boyfriend of my daughter, Tom – OK, he is an American citizen now, but he still has a cute accent.
Barbeque in America is big business! Everyone thinks the BBQ from their region is the best – Texas, Memphis, Kansas City, Carolina. There are barbeque festivals in almost every state in the union – over 500 and counting! At the Memphis in May International Barbeque Festival people compete for over $100,000 in prizes. There are sites dedicated to ribs! And party people who specialize in grilling, roasting and smoking!
Silly me, I just used to slather ribs with sauce and throw them on the grill for a nice char – boy was I mistaken. To do really great ribs, they need to be slow roasted for several hours and just finished on the grill.
How to Make Great Ribs – Easy but NOT Fast
Again there’s a lot of regional lore about what’s best. Some people recommend boiling them to cook them, but generally that leaches out the flavor. In our house you rub the ribs lightly with oil. Sometimes we then pat on a dry rub of our favorite spices. Then you can put them in a crock pot smothered in your favorite for several hours on low or wrap smother them in sauce and wrap them in foil in the oven for several hours. The key is low slow cooking about 225 degrees, until the meat starts to separate easily from the bone. You can use either TSG Raspberry Grilling Sauce or try this recipe with Sisters Southern Sweet Barbeque Sauce – or a combination of both! Here a link to the TSG recipe that’s a little faster.
Then onto the grill for that caramelized and crispy finish.
Easy Grilled Corn Too!
If you don’t want to cook inside, I recommend BBQ roasted corn for a perfect picnic. Just take your corn in the husk – soak it in water for about an hour – then drop onto the grill. The corn will cook inside in about 10-15 minutes. Or if you like a little char and don’t have the hour, take off the husk, brush with olive oil and drop directly on the gril.
Keep all the mess outside with almost no clean up after – that’s my idea of a summer vacation! Even better, Tom is coming for the weekend and he’s going to do the ribs!
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June 17, 2010
OK – you’re going to get tired of my grilling blogs over the next couple of months, but really, what’s better than some fresh local food grilled and shared in the back yard on a warm summer night?
Kids Love Grilled Vegetables
For those of you who lament every getting your children to eat vegs – this has to be the answer. Take just about any fresh veg you can find, slice it, spray or brush lightly with it with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and it’s guaranteed to vanish! My family generally moans when I ask what vegetable they want with dinner, but in the summer I have to grill three times what I think is the correct amount because it is stolen before it ever hits the table.
For a family, you can make it a fun day if you start at the farmer’s market in the morning where everyone can pick “their” vegetable to include. Maybe you can make it a game to add one “new” variety each week. This way each child has a vested interest in trying their new vegetable!
Easy Grilled Vegetable Recipe and Variations
My husband, – you know, Mr. BBQ – and I have different opinions about the best, easiest, and tastiest methods for grilling vegetables but the result is the same. I like to slice my vegs in pretty large pieces and put them straight on the grill for those nice markings you get in restaurants. I like yellow squash (it seems to hold up better than zucchini) red peppers, onions, asparagus, eggplant (for me- just the little ones) , onions and mushrooms (they go fastest). Really simple oil, salt and pepper is great, but you can add a little extra flavor by marinating with balsamic vinegar – and for a little extra flavor you can add fresh basil, rosemary or oregano – depending on your taste! If you are short of time you can use TSG Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette, Vermont Maple Dijon, or Island Ponzu Sauce.
By the way – those mushrooms and tomatoes seem to grill best on a skewer – they’re a lot easier to handle en masse! For the onions and asparagus, it helps to have a smaller vegetable grill to put on the barbeque so they don’t fall in. Here Rick and I differ – I think they should still be metal for texture in the barbeque – and not coated. He likes some of the “basket” styles better, but I think they come out more steamed than grilled. And a little “spritzer” is handy to get the oil/marinade on the flip side when you turn them over.
Either way – when they are finished don’t put them in the oven to keep them warm – they get mushy. Besides, if you leave them out on a nice platter – everyone who goes by steals some and they’re one of the healthiest snacks you can find! Eat up!
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June 10, 2010
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While researching food/restaurant trends for 2011, I came across an interesting trend that some restaurants across the country are already starting to offer — Meatless Mondays. Believe it or not, there is even a Meatless Monday website. Check out meatlessmonday.com — their goal is to help you reduce your meat consumption by 15% in order to improve your personal health and the health of the planet.
