Figs!

Figs! What do you do with them? Trader Joe's has large plastic boxes of figs replacing the big peach and nectarine boxes as summer fruits begin to fade. I find them very enjoyable and you can, too, with this easy snack or breakfast idea. Just slice a few figs, add a dollop of ricotta (or goat cheese), top with some toasted walnuts and a drizzle of honey. Enjoy!

 

Mini Cornbread Bites

These mini cornbread bites are the perfect accompaniment to chili, as an appetizer alone or as the "bread" for a mini sandwich. The plain cornbread bites are delicious, moist and just a touch sweet.  You can also add some tasty additions to make them a bit more complex. You can toss a few into your kid's lunches or eat them at breakfast with eggs- very versatile!

        Plain                               Jalapeno Cheddar                         Bacon Onion Cheese 

Mini Cornbread Bites
recipe from Martha Stewart

For the batter:
1 cup flour
1 cup medium grind yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Additions:
Jalapeno Cheddar
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno chile
1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese

Bacon Onion Cheese
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1/4 cup grated yellow cheddar


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a  24 mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
Combine buttermilk, egg and oil. Stir into flour mixture until combined. Divide batter into 3 batches (1 cup each) and stir a flavor combination into two of the batches.
Fill muffin tim three-quarters full with 1 batch of batter. Bake until tops are gold and toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Put pan in wire rack for 5 minutes and then turn out muffins from tin. Enjoy!

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Stir Fry Tofu and Vegetables

My daughters adore tofu. For an after school snack, they often saute cubes of tofu in a bit of canola oil with a sprinkling of garlic and onion powder until they are brown and add a dash of soy sauce before devouring the tasty cubes. Today, Madeleine was craving a tofu stir fry with vegetables and found this winner recipe. The sauce was easy to whip together and coated the veggies with a delicious sweet teriyaki flavor. And she discovered a new way to cook tofu--- bake it!

Stir Fry Tofu and Vegetables

Stir Fry

   1 14-ounce package firm or extra firm tofu

   1 cup roughly chopped green beans
   1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli

    1/2 cup roasted red peppers (or fresh peppers to add to the mix)

       1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil for sauteing

Sauce

    1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

     1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

      2 Tbsp brown sugar

      1 Tbsp  maple syrup 

      1 Tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Drain the block of tofu, slice in half lengthwise and place between three sets of paper towels. Then place a weight (like a pan) on top.

2.     Keep the tofu between the towels for 15 minutes  and then cut into cubes or rectangles.

3.      Arrange tofu cubes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for a total of 25-30 minutes, flipping once halfway. If you want the tofu to be tougher in texture, cook for 30-35 minutes.

4.    Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

5.     Add sesame oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add veggies and toss to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often. When the vegetables have some color and have softened a bit, add the sauce and stir. It should bubble and thicken. Then add the tofu and stir to coat.

6.       Cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. When veggies are cooked, remove from heat. 
Serve over rice for a delicious meal!

Baked Wontons

We had left over asian chicken lettuce wrap filling from dinner last night, so I attempted my first try at making wontons. They were so fun and easy to put together, especially if the filling is already prepared. And since they were baked and not fried, they were the perfect healthy afternoon snack for my kids when they got home from camp. My husband enjoyed them as an appetizer before dinner with peanut sauce, too, after I made a second batch!

Baked Wontons

filling of your choice (any ground meat with flavorings you like works!)

wonton skins

Place wonton skins like a triangle on your counter. Put1 scant teaspoon of filling in the middle. Dip your finger in a bowl of water and wet two lower sides of wontons, then pull top down and press together to seal. Pull other two edges together and seal with a little more water on tip.

Spray pan with canola oil cooking spray and after putting wontons in pan, lightly spray top of wontons so that they crisp and brown in the oven. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Serve with peanut sauce, or dipping sauce of choice. Enjoy!

It was fun filling and folding the wontons!

 The wontons are on the foil, ready to bake

Parmesan Rice Cakes

Our family loves to mix an egg with left over pasta in a bowl, sprinkle with parmesan and zap in the microwave for a quick breakfast or snack (see here for how we do it!) My husband gave me a rice cooker for Mother's Day and my daughter made a huge batch of rice last night, so we had lots of leftovers. I thought it would be tasty to make rice cakes in a similar fashion to our egg pasta, but instead of microwaving a bowl, I lightly fried them as little cakes and they turned out great! Perfect way to use up left over rice~

Parmesan Rice Cakes

1½ cups precooked rice

2 eggs

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 green onion, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk eggs in medium bowl and add rest of ingredients except oil. Add 1 tablespoon of oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Add large spoonfulls of rice mixture in pan and press lightly. Cook 3-4 minutes per side until brown. 

Serve with additional green onions and sour cream if desired (my daughter loved eating them with apple sauce, like she does with lattkes!)

Simple Satisfying Summer Snack

Nothing beats juicy tomatoes, ripe avocado and fresh basil atop a scoop of cottage cheese sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper for a satisfying snack. Yay for summer!

Pizza Roll-Ups

I am always looking for tasty dinner recipes that can also be used for a simple lunch the next day. You can tailor this recipe to your family's tastes, is easy to prepare and works great the next day! I made two versions for our family- BBQ Chicken Pizza rollups, which channel the flavor of California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken pizza and my kids' favorite, Mozzarella and Bacon. Serve each with a dish of sauce on the side and a hearty green salad and you have yourself a tasty dinner!

BBQ Chicken Pizza Roll-Ups

BBQ Chicken Pizza Roll-Ups

1 ready made pizza dough *
1/2 cup shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken is great for this recipe)
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup shredded momozzarella
2 tablespoons shredded red onion
15 cilantro leaves

Roll out pizza dough on floured board until dough is about 1/2 inch thick and rectangular in shape. Spread BBQ sauce on dough, then sprinkle with mozzarella and top with chicken, onion and cilantro. Roll up length wise and cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 17-20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Serve with a dish of BBQ sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Mozzarella and Bacon Pizza Roll-Ups

Mozzarella and Bacon Pizza Roll-Ups

1 ready made pizza dough *

1/4 cup pizza sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

5 pieces cooked bacon, chopped

Roll out pizza dough on floured board until dough is about 1/2 inch thick and rectangular in shape. Spread pizza sauce on dough, then sprinkle with mozzarella and top with bacon. Roll up length wise and cut into 3/4 inch slices. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 17-20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Serve with a dish of pizza sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Study Break Snack Second Edition--- Easiest Pretzel Bites Ever!

The boys were back at the books together again and loved these pretzel bites hot out of the oven. They are the easiest pretzels I've made because they don't require rising or boiling. They would be a great after school snack, too! 

Study break time!

Easy Pretzel Bites

1 package dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

course salt and cinnamon sugar, for topping
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 425°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Let sit until the yeast dissolves (about 2-3 minutes).
Stir the sugar into the yeast mixture until dissolved.
Add the flour and salt. Stir to combine. The dough will be crumbly. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead with floured hands until smooth.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg. Set aside.
Divide the dough into 5 portions. Working with one at a time, roll the dough balls into ropes that are about 1 inch in diameter. Use a sharp knife to cut 1 inch lengths of dough.
Drop each of the dough pieces into the beaten egg and immediately transfer to baking sheet. Place them about 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle with course salt or cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Repeat process until all dough has been cooked.
Optional: melt butter and brush on pretzels and add more salt or cinnamon sugar. Enjoy!


Recipe from Sarah's Cucina Bella

Homemade Chex Mix

My husband's grandma Nellie is legendary in our family as the matriarch of "Nuts and Bolts", a homemade Chex Mix that was THE BEST!! She baked each batch separately, never doubling, and every year made unbelievable numbers of batches for all her family (her three kids, her grandkids and their growing families) plus many friends. We were always very excited when we got our zip lock bag of Chex Mix in the mail every Christmas from Granny in Kentucky. It was the saltiest, moistest (with butter and oil), and most delicious Chex Mix you have ever tasted. We rationed it and tried to make it last as long as we could!

I have included Granny's original Nuts and Bolts recipe below as well as my version that is not quite as salty and much less oily. I essentially double the amount of cereal and use Crispix cereal instead of Chex because you get both the rice and corn flavor in one bite and just have to buy one box of cereal. Using a mix of corn, rice and wheat Chex is tasty as well. I usually don't add nuts because my kids prefer it without.

Perfect study snack during finals~

Granny's Nuts and Bolts

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup mixed nuts
2 cups bite sized shredded rice cereal
1 cup Cheerios
1 cup thin pretzel sticks
2 teaspoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt

Melt butter with oil and Worcestershire sauce in microwave. Pour over nuts, cereal and pretzels. Sprinkle with garlic and seasoned salt.  Mix well. Pour into 9 x 13" shallow baking sheet.
Bake at 300° for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes.

Joy's Flavorful Chex Mix (Big Batch!)
* I like to make a big batch so I have lots to share!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup avocado oil
10 cups Crispix or a mix of Rice, Corn and Wheat Chex  (4 cups rice, 4 cups corn and 2 cups wheat)
3 cups Cheerios
3 cups pretzels (sticks or mini pretzels)
1/4 cup Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder 
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Lawry's seasoned salt

*add mixed nuts if you like

*pita chips or bagel chips make a nice addition, too

Put butter and oil in glass measuring cup and add garlic powder, onion powder and seasoned salt. I like to add the salt into the sauce because it dissolves and seems to get distributed over the dried cereal better. Melt sauce in microwave, stir the liquid mixture well, add Worcestershire sauce and stir again. Pour small amounts of liquid over the cereal and pretzels in large bowl while stirring to distribute the sauce all over the dry ingredients.   Pour into two 10 x 15" shallow baking sheets.
Bake at 250° for 40-45  minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Adding nuts and pita chips makes it extra!