Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bread

When I saw this Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bread recently, I thought it would make a great after school snack. I decided to make mini loaves because they bake up a little bit faster and also because then everyone can have their own little loaf- no fighting over the end pieces or the one with the most chocolate.

My kids absolutely loved these. I would say that it tastes more like a muffin than a cookie, but it really didn't matter. I liked this bread because it wasn't overly sweet and it felt like a healthier option than a cookie.

My son declared that this was the best snack ever. That means it will reappear sometime in the near future.

Here is the recipe for Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bread
* I used low-fat buttermilk because that is what I keep in my fridge
* I forgot the sugar sprinkle on top



I also made these from the same blog, on a Sunday afternoon when we all wanted a treat and have no photo as proof because we gobbled them up quickly.

BLT (Bacon, Lemon & Tomato) Quinoa Salad and Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies

This recipe popped up on facebook the other day and I figured it would be a good meal for dinner on a Monday night. I happened to have everything on hand that I needed for the recipe and that made it a lot less stressful to get dinner on the table.

My dad loves a good BLT sandwich and he grows tomatoes in his garden, so BLT's were always a lunch staple of his in the summer. I personally didn't really like bacon or mayo (I still don't) back then, so I always just watched my dad put these sandwiches together and remember hearing about how good they were.

This salad is really good and the interesting thing is that it really tastes like a BLT. Somehow, the combination of the ingredients, makes you feel like you are eating a sandwich. I know that is crazy, but it's true. In this salad, the lettuce has been switched out to lemon, which adds a brightness to the salad, in color and flavor. I added black beans for fun and roasted some broccoli in the oven to round out our dinner.

That same night we still had lots of lemons and the kids wanted me to make a quick cookie. I found this one on myrecipes and decided it would be easy to throw them together at the last minute. My kids really liked these. They reminded us of these Cornmeal Lime Cookies in taste and texture.

Here is the recipe for BLT Quinoa Salad
* I cooked my quinoa in chicken broth to add more flavor
* I added drained, rinsed black beans
* I tossed my salad with a little bit of olive oil, along with the lemon juice and vinegar

Here is the recipe for Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the cookie dough, after mixing in the flour mixture

Panko Crusted Salmon

My husband came home from work the other night with wild caught salmon from Alaska. He explained that one of his patients had gone on a fishing trip and decided to share the catch. He handed me a bag that contained vacuum packed servings of the beautiful salmon and I tried to keep from jumping up and down with excitement.
Salmon can get a little bit pricey sometimes, so I was more than grateful for this lovely gift.

I have been wanting to try this particular recipe for quite a while, but salmon has been too expensive. This recipe is so easy, but so delicious. A few ingredients really gave this salmon great flavor. You mix panko crumbs, lemon zest, fresh parsley, and a little salt and pepper and then brush the salmon with dijon mustard. The panko mixture is pressed onto the salmon and it is cooked for a few minutes in a little bit of hot oil. The salmon is than transferred to the oven where finishes cooking to perfection. My entire family loved this dish. It was soo good.

Panko Crusted Salmon from The Barefoot Contessa's How East Is That?
2/3 cup panko
2 tbsp. finely minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. lemon zest
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
3-4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
4 (6-8 oz.) salmon fillets, skin on
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. In a small bowl, combine the panko, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly coated; set aside.

Place the salmon fillets skin side down on a work surface. Generously brush the top of each fillet with the mustard and then season with salt and pepper. Press the panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each fillet to help the panko adhere.

Heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet. When the oil is hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes without turning to brown the skin.

Transfer the pan to the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, until the salmon is almost cooked through and the panko is browned. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes. Serve warm with fresh lemon wedges.

S'mores Popcorn

The other day, I thought that S'mores Popcorn sounded like a fun treat and of course, if I thought of it, that definitely means someone else out there has thought of it too. I googled the idea and found a recipe/idea that I wanted to try. I decided to pop my own popcorn on the stove (because that is what I do these days) and buy a box of Golden Grahams, so that we could try this yummy treat.

I decided to make ours kinda like Rice Krispy Treats, but with popcorn instead of rice krispies. I melted the marshmallows with a tiny bit of butter and then mixed in the popcorn and Golden Grahams. I spread that mixture out on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and then spread melted chocolate on top. The result was a very interesting, chewy, chocolate-y, popcorn treat. Fun for kids and adults!

Here is the recipe for S'mores Popcorn
* I popped my own popcorn on the stove
*I melted my marshmallows with 2 Tbls of butter and then mixed in the golden grahams and popcorn

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

I saw these cute little Baby Bok Choy's at Trader Joes a couple of weeks ago and remembered a fun recipe I had seen recently, so I bought these little guys immediately. I have an indoor grill that I can use anytime of year and that is what I used to grill these. They only take a few minutes on each side to become nice and tender and then you drizzle a delicious vinaigrette over top. My kids decided this was a dish that did not require silverware and happily ate these with their fingers. If you spot Baby Bok Choy at a local farmers market or grocery store, buy them and give this recipe a try!

Here is the recipe for Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Asian Sesame Vinaigrette from Aggie's Kitchen

Carrot Soup with Animal Croutons

My husband doesn't really enjoy soup, especially in the summer. I think soup is delicious anytime of year, but I try to stay away from it in the hot summer months. When school starts, for some reason I feel like it should start to cool down outside. But, here in Georgia, it doesn't really work out that way. It is still in the 90's during the day. It's wierd. For me, summer and school don't go together.

Besides all that- I saw this cute soup in a magazine I have had for years and decided it would be a fun one to try on a night when my husband wasn't home for dinner. Nothing too complicated at all going on here. My kids helped me make the croutons and were nibbling on them before we sat down to eat. They tasted really good in the soup. This was a yummy tasting soup with lots of flavor. My kids and I loved it. My husband didn't realize that he ate the leftovers because I turned them into pasta sauce. Nothing compares to making 2 dinners out of 1!

Carrot Soup with Animal Croutons adapted from Good Things for Kids from the editors of Martha Stewart Living Magazine

1 Tbls unsalted butter
1 medium leek (white and pale green parts), rinsed well and finely chopped
12 medium carrots (about 2 pounds) peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 cups homemade or reduced-sodium chicken broth
ground nutmeg
1/2 loaf rustic bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices (about 5)
2 Tbls olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup greek yogurt

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, broth, and a pinch of nutmeg; bring to a boil over medium high. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut out bread using small animal shaped cookie cutters; transfer to a baking sheet. Brush both sides of bread with oil. Bake, turning croutons, halfway through, until golden brown, about 9 minutes.

3. Working in batches, transfer carrot-broth mixture to a blender or food processor; puree until very smooth. Return to saucepan; season soup with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls. Spoon greek yogurt over top; swirl into soup. Top with animal croutons.

Cooking School- Steamed Eggplant and Mushrooms with Peanut Sauce

Two months ago, I had zucchini and summer squash coming out of my ears and now it is happening with the eggplant! This photo is not very pretty- I apologize, but if you look at the picture with the recipe, it looks quite a bit more appetizing. I had to share this one, even if the photo wasn't the greatest, because I had some helpers putting it together and because this is the first time that my son has actually LIKED eating eggplant. I will repeat that, just in case you didn't have the chance to process it. My son ENJOYED eating eggplant the night we made this. He consumed it with no complaints, no fake fainting, no tears, no endless questions of why must we eat this- he just ate it. And then he even said that he liked it. I couldn't believe it. It must have been the peanut sauce or the mushrooms- I don't know exactly, but I was so happy.

So, if you have an eggplant hater in the house, this recipe might be the ticket to a happy night around the table. Oh, and I got so sidetracked about my son, that I forgot to mention that this dinner is also a good one for kids to help prepare because it is really simple and shows the technique of steaming veggies (I used my steamer basket) the the dressing is quick to measure and mix together.


Here is the recipe for Steamed Eggplant and Mushrooms with Peanut Sauce
* I served this with quinoa instead of brown rice, but I wish I would have used brown rice, so that there would have been something a little bit more chewy to contrast the veggies

Turkey Burgers and Hummus

Isn't it funny how photos turn out when you let your kids help you out? This turkey burger looks like a creature with two eyes- please don't let that distract you from trying it out!

I made both of these recipes for our dinner with friends a few weeks ago and wasn't planning on sharing either of them at the time. But then, we tasted them and everyone raved and I figured it wasn't fair not to share the goodness. The turkey burgers were so good. It must have been the fresh herbs and the little bit of olive oil mixed in. They were so flavorful and not dry at all.
The hummus had a great consistency and was just really good. Both of these were perfect to serve at a family friendly gathering. I look forward to making them both again!

Here is the recipe for Turkey Burgers as seen on Annie's Eats
* I used fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano
* I used 94% lean ground turkey

Here is the recipe for Homemade Hummus

and the recipe for Herbed Hummus
* I used chives

Summer Pea, Watermelon and Farro Salad

This summer, I've had the opportunity to reconnect with a dear friend from my freshman year of college. She and her husband + 5 kids are living nearby for the summer and we have been getting our kids together weekly for swimming, sleepovers and tons of fun. Our kids have never met before this summer, but they have become fast friends. It has been an absolute blast.

Last week, we were throwing together dinner for the kids- we ended up making sprinkle pancakes, steamed broccoli, corn on the cob, turkey sausage, and watermelon- and I had torn out this recipe from the most recent issue of Cooking Light. I had all the ingredients, so I decided to make a little something special for the adults. This recipe was under the 5 ingredient section of the magazine and took about 30 minutes to throw together.

For the amount of time it took and the small number of ingredients it contains, I would have to say it is pretty good. I added some olive oil just because I felt it needed a little something and next time I will add some fresh lemon juice. It was almost too sweet for me, with the peas and the watermelon, I would have liked some feta or something to cut the sweetness. I prefer my salads to be on the savory side, but it was enjoyed by all of us and a nice change for a quick summer meal.

Here is the recipe for Summer Pea, Watermelon, and Farro Salad from
Cooking Light August 2011

* I added a little bit of olive oil to the salad and I think lemon juice would be a great addition too
*I used shaved Parmesan cheese

Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

I have to apologize for the fact that my blog has been taken over by zucchini and summer squash, but when you pick at least 5-6 a day out of your garden, you kind of have to eat them fast and in everything. I have been using a small zucchini in my breakfast everyday, sauteed/ on the side of my eggs, but I still have to incorporate them into our dinners.

When I saw this recipe over at Ezra Pound Cake, I knew it would be a great one for a summer night. Light and quick. Lots of veggies. bright flavors. This dish has it all. I wasn't sure if my kids would enjoy the yogurt/lemon sauce since it was tart and well, quite lemon-y, but they gobbled this one down. And, I used grapes tomatoes from the garden. Nothing tastes as good as a home grown tomato. Nothing at all.

Here is the recipe for Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce
* I didn't cook my tomatoes, I just tossed them in when everything was mixed together

Tuna Melts with Avocado

We used grape tomatoes from our garden on these delicious tuna melts!! And that was very exciting. I didn't follow the instructions exactly, but these were a really great dinner after a long day of swimming. Filling and delicious. I really like the combination of tuna and avocado and so did my family.

Here is the recipe for Tuna Melts with Avocado from Cooking Light
* I used a whole wheat baguette instead of french bread
* I didn't read the instructions all the way through, so I put the tuna mixture on the bread, then sprinkled the cheese and then broiled them

Cucumber and Celery Salad with Tuna

This was the second salad I made with my daughters when we were discovering more about salad. I chose this salad because it didn't contain lettuce or greens of any kind, so we talked about how many different choices there are when it comes to making salad. We threw this together quickly, on a Sunday afternoon, right as we walked in the door from church and it was ready it just a few minutes.

My daughter measure the ingredients for the dressing and stirred it all together. She loves to chop, so she did that too.

I would have preferred that this salad contained less sugar in the dressing, but that is probably because I don't really care for sweet dressings.

We decided to serve this salad on top of some red leaf lettuce leaves from our garden. It was very good and quite refreshing.

Cucumber and Celery Salad with Tuna
Everyday Food, June 2011

2	teaspoons poppy seeds
3	Tablespoons rice vinegar
1	Tablespoon sugar
2	Tablespoons olive oil
2	cucumbers, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch moons (6 cups)
3	celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, inner leaves reserved
2	cans (5 ounces each) solid white tuna in water, drained and flaked coarse salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, stir together poppy seeds, vinegar, sugar, and oil. Add cucumbers, celery, and tuna; season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Sprinkle with celery leaves and serve immediately (or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 day).

Spicy Cucumber and Blueberry Salad

I know it really isn't "technically" summer yet, but guess what- at my house, it is. When you are dealing with mid 90's, no school, swimming, sun and fun- that is summer.

I' m all about the fresh and quick salads right now. I saw this in a magazine and decided it would be a fun twist on 2 of our favorite ingredients- blueberries and cucumbers. Plus, I love spicy, so this was a fun one to try.

Colorful, light and easy. I really couldn't ask for anything more on a hot summer day.

Spicy Cucumber and Blueberry Salad from Everyday with Rachael Ray
2 lbs. english cucumbers, halved lengthwise
salt
1 large jalapeno chile, seeds and ribs discarded, finely chopped
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbls olive oil
1 pint blueberries
1 cup cilantro leaves

1. Thinly slice the cucumbers into half-moons, about 1/8-inch thick; season with salt.
2. In a large bowl, combine the jalapeno, lime juice, garlic and cumin; whisk in the olive oil. Add the cucumbers, blueberries, and cilantro and toss to coat.

Guacamole Hummus

My daughter has really taken interest in helping me in the kitchen. She has always wanted to help, but now she really wants to get her hands dirty and do it all.
This was the perfect thing for her to help me with. You just dump the ingredients in the food processor and in a few minutes you have a smooth, creamy, delicious dip. It tastes like guacamole, but it acts like hummus. What does that mean? I'm not sure, but it is good.

My hubby doesn't like guacamole, but he really loved this dip. It would be a great spread for a taco, breakfast or sandwiches/wraps too. We enjoyed it with pita chips, bell pepper strips, and carrots.

Guacamole Hummus-Everyday Food

In a food processor

combine 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 cups fresh cilantro leaves, (I used half fresh Italian parsley)

1 garlic clove, chopped,

and 1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped.

Process until finely chopped.

With machine running add 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a slow, steady stream and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, then add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is smooth. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper. (I added a dash of cumin)

Strawberry Cake

Last week we made one last trip to the local strawberry-picking farm. I went once when my Mom was here visiting, but my 6-year old missed it and she didn't let me forget that she wanted a chance to pick strawberries too.
The strawberries were about on their last leg out there. Very ripe and I knew they weren't going to last in the fridge for more than 24 hours.
That is where this cake came to the rescue. I needed something quick to take to someone and this was the perfect thing. Super simple to mix together the cake, the strawberries are dotted on top and it bakes up like a charm.
My daughter and I had to sneak a little slice and boy was it delicious. Just like strawberry shortcake, but actually way better and in cake form. I whipped up some strawberry whipped cream to top it.

My hubby ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day and loved it.

Here is the recipe for Strawberry Cake from Martha Stewart

Open-Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwiches

My 4 year old daughter was sitting on my lap when I was editing this picture and she said "Oh, that dinner was scrumptious! Do you know what scrumptious means?" That just about made my day. And the other thing that made my day, in fact made my week, is that School's Out!!

Our Summer Break has officially started! I'm so excited I can barely stand it. The kids can stay up late and sleep in and we can do whatever we want to! (After we do our daily chores and reading/writing journal practice, of course!) We will be spending a lot of time in the pool and there are a few other activities that we are really looking forward to.

Now, back to the food.
I found this recipe in the latest issue of Cooking Light and I already had a bag of tri-color coleslaw mix in the fridge. Not because I use it to make coleslaw, but because it is a good filler for lots of different sorts of dishes. Soups and stir-fries, or those nights when I just make a hodge-podge mixture of veggies. My family loves fish and I love blackened fish, so I grabbed the few ingredients that we needed, including some fresh catfish. Can I just say that fresh catfish that has never been frozen is soo good. This was the best catfish I have ever had.

I didn't put the full amount of the blackening seasoning on the kids fish because I thought it might make it a tad too hot. My husband and I got the full seasoning and it was good.
I don't usually have sourdough bread on hand, so I bought a fresh loaf of that too, and discovered another thing that my children like. I don't really like traditional coleslaw because it either contains mayo (yucky) or too much vinegar for me to handle. I like that this coleslaw-type topping used plain yogurt with a little lime juice, honey, and cilantro to give it some flavor.
It was perfect.



Here is the recipe for Open Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwiches from Cooking Light

Green and White Bean Salad with Tuna

I love eating fresh salads all year round, but they just seem to fit in with the weather better right now. We have enjoyed a couple of months of beautiful weather and after a pretty hot week last week, this week it seems that the weather has decided to cool down quite a bit. This type of weather makes me want to load up on fresh fruits and veggies and to make lots of cool salads.

This salad has a double dose of beans- green beans and cannellini beans, which loads up this salad with lots of fiber and protein. It also has sliced pepperoncini, which I have really grown to love in the past couple of months. They give this salad a nice little zing. This was a quick dinner that I threw together the other night, after we got home from a baseball game. I'm actually eating the leftovers for breakfast right now. :D


Green and White Bean Salad with Tuna from Everyday Food
3/4 pd green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbls white wine vinegar
2 Tbls olive oil
1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 can (5 oz) solid white tuna, packed in water, drained and broken into pieces
1/4 cup thinly sliced pepperoncini (about 9)

1. In a medium pot of boiling salt water, cook green beans until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cool water to stop cooking, and pat dry.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add green beans, cannelini beans, onion, tuna, and pepperoncini and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Fresh Fruit Pizza with Lemon Curd

We had our family Easter dinner a week early this year. Grandma had to work all of Easter weekend (bummer) and some family members were going out of town, so we just decided to move it up a week.

I decided to make this Spring dessert to take to our Easter dinner.
I had some Meyer Lemon juice in the fridge that I had squeezed from my leftover meyer lemons, so I made the curd with that the night before.
I had some of my favorite sugar cookie dough in the freezer, so I knew that this would be easy to put together after we got home from church.
I did things a little bit differently than the recipe suggested. I used a square cookie sheet to bake my cookie dough. I cut the cookie into squares and topped each cookie square with the lemon curd individually. Then I placed a few berries on top.

I have made Lemon and Lime curd many, many times and I was surprised that this version from Cooking Light had just as much flavor and great texture even though it was a little bit lighter. It was fabulous.
This dessert disappeared very quickly. It was the perfect thing to celebrate Easter and Spring!


Here is the recipe for Fresh Fruit Pizza with Lemon Curd from Cooking Light
* I used this sugar cookie dough, because I had it in the freezer
* I didn't use a plum or the sprinkling of sugar at the end of the recipe
* I spread a little bit of blackberry or blueberry Simply Fruit
on top of some of the squares, before adding the lemon curd

Here is the recipe for Lemon Curd
*I used Meyer Lemon juice instead of normal lemon juice

Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is a family favorite around here. We love it roasted, blanched, steamed, stir-fried- really, we love it anyway it is prepared.
I saw this soup and thought it would be an interesting way to find out if we like asparagus pureed.

The verdict- we do!

This soup is quick and easy to make and it is very filling. Cannellini beans and a little bit of plain greek yogurt are the secrets to getting that thick and creamy texture without the added fat.

I don't particularly like bacon or cooking it, but I have come to appreciate the crispness and flavor it can add to a dish in small amounts. As the garnish here with the asparagus tips, it is wonderful.

This soup just screams Spring to me. It's beautiful color and light flavor really hit the spot.

Here is the recipe for Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the soup, since I added some lemon zest
* I didn't add the cayenne to the soup, I sprinkled it on top of the adult portions
* I added a garnish of lemon zest on top

Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones

You should make these beautiful babies as soon as humanly possible.

Go now and gather the ingredients. Throw them together and you will not be sorry.
Especially if you enjoy grapefruit and/or scones.
You will not find another scone that is this light and full of flavor. These things are perfection.

Just ask my brother who devoured 1/2 of them in a matter of minutes.
They really are amazing.

That is all.

Here is the recipe for Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones from Joy the Baker

* I used 0% Fage Greek yogurt