Whole Wheat Pasta Frittata Shapes

Shapes are always fun for kids... OK, and for grown ups too! Here's a fast and easy way to use up leftover pasta for a nutritious lunch or dinner. 


Coat a frying pan with a little oil. Toss in pasta. Whisk together about 3-4 eggs, salt, pepper and some parmesan cheese. Pour over pasta and cook on low, covered, for about 10 min. If the eggs aren't cooking on top, I'll also sometimes broil the whole pan for about 5 min. Slide out onto a cutting board and use cookie cutters to make shapes. I like to serve this with tomatoes. It's also great dipped in pesto! Yum!

Chicken Taco Cups

  
Annie just loves to make her own tacos. And she loves little cups. And pink. So what better use for some sale priced silicone muffin cups then some chicken taco ingredients? I got 6 pink and 6 brown cups- perfect for Annie and Max. I filled each cup with a different topper and served with tortilla chips (we are out of tortillas). The kids loved it! 

I think these cups have endless possibilities... perfect for "deconstructed" meals... assembly optional!

Mom's Cooking Night Out!

One of my new endeavors for the year is teaching moms of young kids how to better feed their families with limited time & money while catering to those ever-so-picky eaters. With this in mind I designed a mom's night out to make the learning process fun!

Last night some local moms and I gathered for a little education, meal tips and ideas, recipes and cooking. We all rolled up our sleeves to try out some new healthy recipes for the entire family. All agreed the food was great, the company fun and everyone got to leave with a little food for home, lots of new ideas and a bunch of tips for their feeding kids. 

If you would be interested in hosting one of these nights for your friends, please let me know (the host gets the session for free!). I bring all of the food, wine and education, we just use your kitchen!

Email me at: kbiondolillo@mac.com for more info!

Happy eating in the New Year!

Easter Bread Fun

Happy Easter friends! Today I thought I'd share a special family recipe for our Greek celebration bread. We make this bread every year for both New Year's Day and Easter. 



On New Year's, a tin foil wrapped dime is placed in the bread before baking. Luck for the year is promised to the happy recipient of the slice with the dime. For Easter, red eggs are placed in the bread symbolizing the blood shed by Christ on the cross. 


We made this bread on Friday and I will say it does take a significant amount of time to do, it's fairly easy work and fun for the kids to help with. Plus, it's DELICIOUS! you can make this anytime and freeze extra loaves for later. We eat this bread with holiday dinners, but it also makes a tasty breakfast treat when toasted and topped with butter and honey.


Greek Sweet Bread

Makes 3-4 Loaves

Organic Ingredients

5 lbs Flour

3 Packs of Yeast

½ T Salt

1 ½ Cups Sugar

3 Cups warm milk…  about 125°

1 Cup warm Water… about 110°

1 ¼ (5 sticks) Butter- melted

4 Eggs

1 T Almond Extract

In a large bowl melt the yeast and water.  Add the warm milk and salt.  Stir in 6 cups of the flour (batter will be lumpy).  Cover and set aside in a warm spot for about 1- 2 hours until doubled in size.

Before

After

Stir with a wooden spoon and add sugar, the eggs, & the butter (mix almond flavoring in butter first).  Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Place the dough on a floured surface and knead thoroughly (your arms will be tired!).  Return to bowl and brush surface with butter.  Cover and let rise again.

Lightly knead again and let rest for 10 minutes.  Divide dough into 3 or 4 parts (depending on the size of your loaves).  Divide each of those in three and roll each section into long strips.  Braid and make into a circle to fit into the greased pan (approx 8- 10 inches round).  Let rise again in pan until double in size. 

Braided Dough

In Pan

Before

After Rising Again

Red Eggs

Ready to Bake!

Brush the tops with a mixture of egg yolk and water ( 1 yolk to 1 T water).  You call also sprinkle with sesame seeds, almonds or add a few walnuts to the top. Bake at 350° for about 40-60 minutes or until done.

Baked to Perfection

Enjoy!

Why We LOVE Trader Joe's Broccoli Slaw!

1. It's fun to eat right out of the bag!

2. It's organic.

3. It's broccoli and carrots. Period. 

4. It's great in hot recipes, like sauteed with a little olive oil, garlic, white wine and tossed with whole wheat pasta.

5. It also makes a great slaw! I mix up mayo (1/4 cup), buttermilk (1/4 cup), a splash of white wine vinegar, 2 tsp of honey, salt and pepper.  Toss with broccoli slaw, dried cranberries, diced apples and walnuts. Its awesome!!!

Red Lentils- Super Easy and Healthy!

Here’s a quick, inexpensive and very healthy vegetarian recipe we made earlier this week. In all honesty, I gave it to the kids “deconstructed” with the lentils on the side and the rice by itself. You can even leave out the spinach from the recipe if you want to keep it even simpler.

Red lentils are a great staple to have available in your pantry. They have a mild flavor, cook fast and are full of fiber, folate and iron. 

1 cup dried red lentils (can use canned too- just skip the lentil cooking part below)

1 tbs olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of chopped organic tomatoes

1 cup chopped frozen organic spinach (defrosted)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs turmeric

Splash of red wine vinegar

1. Cook the lentils over medium heat with 2 cups of water for about 10-15 minutes.

2. While lentils are cooking, sauté the garlic in the olive oil on low heat.

3. When lentils are just tender, add them to the oil and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, spinach and spices. Let simmer for a few minutes until heated through. Stir in the splash of vinegar right before serving.

4. Serve over brown rice, whole wheat cous cous or quinoa.

Enjoy!

What We Ate For Valentine's Day

Yes, the thought did occur to me that not everyone really cares what we had for our family Valentine's Day dinner, but it was really good. Seriously. So here it is... I included the recipes for this kid and adult friendly meal!

Pretzel Crusted Chicken

Butternut Squash Soup

Mixed Greens Salad

Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits

Pretzel Crusted Chicken


2 cups whole wheat pretzels
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
4 organic skinless boneless chicken breasts


Put the pretzels into a large plastic bag and crush them using a rolling pin or other blunt object. Get the kids involved in this part- its a ton of fun for them! Add the cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to the bag and mix. In a separate bowl beat the eggs lightly. Dip each chicken breast in the eggs then in the pretzel mixture and place in a baking pan. Pour any remaining crumbs on top.


Bake for about 35-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Slice and serve!


I used Giada De Laurentiis' Butternut Squash Soup recipe...  I still had some leftover squash from our mac and cheese last week. Instead of the fontina cheese crostini, I just toasted some wheat bread and melted a bit of brie on top (yes... still trying to use up the brie too!) I put the brie side down in the soup for presentation purposes. 


The mixed green salad was just some organic red leaf lettuce tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt. 

For the parfaits, I used this chocolate pudding recipe and this vanilla pudding recipe and layered the two in a little cup placing a raspberry on top. As you can see, they aren't "picture perfect" but they were tasty!


This meal isn't too hard to do... the pudding and soup can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge.


Enjoy!

Feeding Kids is Not Always Easy!

Sometimes it’s actually downright hard to keep your kids eating healthy. They have minds of their own... each with individual preferences, tastes and opinions. And they can be stubborn. Very stubborn.

Last night I made chicken tacos for the family. We had corn tortillas, shredded chicken breast, tomatoes, cheese, rice, black beans and yellow peppers. Plus I made some softer veggies for Max since the raw ones are too hard for him.

This is what he thought of it.

It’s very frustrating because I’m really ready to stop nursing and transition him to whole milk. I’d like him to be eating more solid foods to ensure he’s getting a balanced diet. But last night he had plans of his own. It was so tempting to just keep giving him shredded cheese so he'd be quiet during dinner. But we didn’t…we just sat and listened to him whine and whine and whine.  Ugh.

It’s tough no doubt, but starting good habits early is essential. Here are a few tips to keep your kids eating well:

• Have them eat what you eat… and you need to set a good example! I’ve mentioned this before, but my kids eat what we do. Period. If they don’t eat they don’t get anything else. Don’t worry, they will make up for it with other meals.
• Be consistent with meals. Have snacks and meals at about the same time every day. Kids like to know what to expect and thrive on structure.
• Be mindful of snacks and milk between meals. Snacks are OK, but they should be just that- a snack. Too much food or drink between meals will keep kids from eating at mealtime. The majority of calories should come from the family meals, not from snacks.
• Food is for hunger, not boredom. Don’t use food as a way of keeping kids quiet. I see it all of the time in church, the store, the car etc… This teaches children that mindless eating is ok and that food is an acceptable cure for boredom. A habit like this can get particularly destructive into adolescence.
• Let them try sweets. I’ve seen parents that never let their kids have any sweets when they are young and once they are over at a friend’s house… they can’t stop with the cookies! Sweets are good every now and then. It teaches kids to appreciate food (we bake with Annie) and understand that sweets are a “sometimes food, not an always food.”

Feeding kids is certainly not easy, but remember food is fun! Teach kids about cooking, baking and the joy of eating. It all helps create a healthy relationship with food for a lifetime!

Daddy Daughter Pretzel Day

Kudos to Alton Brown. And even more kudos to my husband.

Alton for creating such a delicious pretzel recipe, Oscar for having the energy and patience to make it with our almost three year old. And not just once, 4 times already. It has become sort of a "daddy-daughter-pretzel-day" tradition when I have a wedding shoot and am gone all day. I love that Annie has a ton of fun helping and rolling out her own little pretzel. Its also great to come home to one of these soft-baked treats!

Here is the recipe for those of you interested in trying it... we sub half of the flour for whole wheat flour. I also like to top them with cheese and melt under the broiler. It's a little piece of twisted heaven!

How We Celebrated Chocolate Cake Day!

We made chocolate cupcakes, of course!

Started with some good chocolate and tasty ingredients...

Lots of mixing...

Smelled the vanilla (yum).

Tasted the batter.

Made a little mess filling the cups.

"Betty" came out for the frosting.

Frosting in process...

Tasting the frosting.

Max even tried a little.

Spreading the frosting...

Annie's final product: 

30 for our friend's bake sale:

It was a ton of fun, but I really don't want to clean this up...!

Kelley