Public Stoning

Back to reality today!  So the McGhee family has had the last 9 days off for spring break.  I had plans of having a nice and relaxing week at home, which we did not.  We were on the go for 9 straight days, spending over 30 hours in the car.  And we fell off the wagon.  Like, really fell.  Fell off the wagon and rolled over the cliff.  In the last 9 days, the McGhee family has eaten

• McDonalds's (more than once!)
• carry out pizza (twice!)
• movie theater popcorn
• Dairy Queen
• wheat thins
• twizzlers
• honey nut Cheerios

I think this calls for a public stoning.  

The good news is we all feel terrible.  No, really, we literally feel terrible!  At some point in the week, at least one of us had a tummy ache from all the junk we were eating.  Needless to say, everyone was quite agreeable when I said we are getting back on track.  Starting today.

Breakfast was eggs and pancakes.  I made myself a quick scramble, by wilting some spinach in a skillet, adding eggs and goat cheese.  Once it was done, I topped it with peppadews.  An absolutely delicious way to start the day and it got me through a killer workout at the gym.  I even managed to workout on the stairclimber without falling off.  I'll credit the spinach for that as well.  

Yeah for spinach scrambles!  I guess Popeye knew what he was talking about.....although canned spinach.  *gag*

Today's lunch was fruit and veggies.  The minis got peanut butter to dip the fruit in and hummus to dip the veggies in.  For those of you that worry that I am starving my minis, I did pack peanut butter sandwiches on bread.  I can almost certainly guarantee those will be returned this afternoon without a bite taken.  My minis prefer fruits and veggies.  They eat like birds.  But birds are cool, so I'm okay with that.

Tonight's dinner will be deli-style.....egg salad and tuna salad on homemade honey wheat bread, quinoa salad, and to drink...shamrock smoothies.

Honey Wheat Bread

• 1 1/8 cups water
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon dry milk powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Whole Wheat setting, and then press Start.    

Tuna Salad (my bestie made up this recipe)

• canned tuna
• capers
• olive oil
• onion, diced
• salt and pepper
• fresh dill

I realize I didn't give you measurements.  She didn't give me any either.  But, I am assuming you all  know how to open a can of tuna, put in a little olive oil, some capers, diced onion, salt and pepper, and fresh dill.  Put in a lot of the stuff you like, a little of the stuff you don't.

Egg Salad (from Pioneer Woman)

• 8 whole Hard Boiled Eggs, Peeled
• 2 whole Avocados, Pitted
• 4 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
• 3 teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Sald
• Black Pepper To Taste
• 1 teaspoon Chives, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

1.  Combine all ingredients (scrape avocado from skin) except for chopped chives in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, scraping the bowl once or twice if necessary. Continue pulsing until salad reaches the consistency you want: chunky or more smooth!

2.  Remove blade from bowl and stir in chives. Check seasoning and adjust as necessary.

3.  Serve on a sandwich (spread bread with a mix of Dijon and mayonnaise) or serve on a thick slice of tomato as a cool salad. 

The best part about this egg salad recipe is this review that someone posted on her blog.....

DEAR PONIES. I love eggs. I love avocado. I love salad. This recipe is a wet dream for me!

I don't know who this person is, but I would love to track her down and beg her to read my blog and leave comments like that for me.

Give leftover avocado to your mini.  It will make them happy.  It will make you happy.  The world will be perfect.

International Quinoa Salad (from Fat-Free Vegan blogger....this made me laugh really hard.  I am pairing a recipe from a fat-free vegan with a recipe from pioneer woman that includes eggs and avocado.  Ah, ying and yang!)

Quinoa:

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed very well
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

Vegetables:

• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 2 medium-large tomatoes, finely chopped
• kernels of 2 ears of cooked corn (about 1 cup)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup parsley — minced
• 1/3 cup fresh mint — minced
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced (reserve a few slices for garnish)

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (NOT lemon)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable broth or bean cooking liquid (Sorry Fat Free Vegan, I will totally be using olive oil instead!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper

1.  Cook quinoa following directions on the package.  (I am going to try adding the garlic to the cooking water).
2.  Cool quinoa.
3.  Combine all of the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the quinoa and mix well.
4.  Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Mix well and refrigerate until chilled. Taste before serving, and add more lime juice as necessary (you want it to be tangy). Garnish with avocado slices and serve. Makes about 8 servings.


EDITING TO ADD:  I was not crazy about this quinoa salad.  I thought it was really bland.  I didn't add the jalapeno peppers since my minis aren't a fan of spicy food, so maybe that is where I went wrong?!?!


Shamrock Smoothies  (Now, before I post this recipe, I need to say something about these smoothies.  I get emails every single day from readers about every single recipe I post...who likes it and who doesn't.  Do you know the ONE recipe I haven't gotten an email about is my shamrock smoothie?!?!?!  What is wrong with you people?  This may be my yummiest recipe yet and NOBODY has tried it?!?!?)

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, frozen
• 2 HUGE handfuls spinach (you won’t even taste it)
• 1 cup milk (almond, soy, cow, etc)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend until mixed. Serve in tall glasses and enjoy.

So we're back on the wagon!  Join us.  And for crying out loud, make the shamrock smoothie and email me about it!

A dinner for the minis

Mr. McGhee will not be around this week, as he is busy working.  And, while he's working, I am stuck at home with the 3 mini McGhees....and to be honest, there is no place I would rather be!  I don't know about you guys, but I am a homebody and I've got 3 minis that still argue over who gets to sit on my lap.  I have got to make sure I enjoy these years, right?!?  So, this week, while the minis are in school, I will be working hard in the kitchen to make "kid choice" snacks, dinners, and treats. 

Here's the thing, cooking for kids is a balance between giving them healthy options, but also giving them options that they will actually eat.  I was blessed with minis that eat fruits and veggies first.  Our struggle with the minis is getting them to eat meals.  This week, I am hoping to rework some meals to make them appealing to the minis, but still nutritious enough to satisfy me. 

First up is bread.  I have heard that my readers' minis are resisting the original honey wheat bread recipe that I posted.  I have to admit, I kind of get where your minis are coming from.  Because I am determined to make my own bread, I decided to try a new honey wheat bread recipe that I found on allrecipes.com. 

• 1 1/8 cups water
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon dry milk powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Whole Wheat setting, and then press Start.               

OK, now don't anybody go and have a stroke, but I didn't use 3 cups of whole wheat flour.  I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour and one cup of bread flour.  Bread flour on the left, milk powder on the right.

And, the shortening.....yes, I used shortening even though I am morally opposed to anything with the word hydrogenated on it.  I think shortening is gross and has absolutely zero nutritional quality to it.  However, if it can do something to the texture and flavor of the bread to make it more palatable for the minis, I will give it a try.  I do plan on reworking this recipe and trying to substitute coconut oil for the shortening, but for this round....I did use shortening.

You should have seen me in the store buying shortening.  I did one of those look both ways, make sure nobody was looking, sprint down the aisle, grab the shortening, shove it in the cart behind the swiss card, beets, and organic apples and pray to God that nobody sees it moves.  Honestly, I was waiting for an announcement to be made over the PA system at the grocery store, "Heids McGhee is a fake, she has just been spotted with shortening". 

I can't bear to look at the label to see how many ingredients are in the shortening, but I promise you it's processed.  Hydrogenation is a process in which the food industry adds hydrogen to unsaturated fats to make saturated fats.  You want to avoid hydrogenated food as much as possible. 

So, the verdict is....the bread is yummy!  Even though, nutritionally, I am not thrilled with the trade-offs I had to make, the minis love it.  In fact, the oldest mini said, "Mom, this tastes just like Great Harvest bread.  Mom!  Mom!  Mom?  Why are you crying.....?"  Yeah, I totally had a moment.

I also wanted to have a delish snack ready for the minis when they came home from school today, so I made a couple batches of muffins.  I followed this recipe. 

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1.5-2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted slightly)
• 1 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl mix flours, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin, oil, applesauce, coconut oil, and honey.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well. Mix just until the dry ingredients are absorbed. DO NOT OVERMIX.
5. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
I didn't add the pumpkin in step 2.  After step 4, I divided the batter into 2 bowls.  Into one bowl, I added pumpkin, into the other bowl, I added mashed bananas.  I also added chocolate chips.  See?  I totally know how to kick back and let loose. 

And, for dinner tonight we had taquitos.  In our house, taquitos are definitely a "kid choice" dinner.  I had an unfortunate experience with taquitos when I was pregnant with my oldest mini, so I really do not enjoy eating him....yet, he loves them?  That doesn't make sense to me?!?!?  I followed a recipe from our best bites. 

Creamy chicken taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

1.  Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

2.  Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

3.  Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

4.  Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

5.  Then roll it up as tight as you can.

6.  Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

7.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

A word of advice....DO NOT forget to sprinkle the kosher salt on top.  I have forgotten before, and there really is a difference in the flavor. 

I served it with a side of black beans.

1/2 medium sized onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBSP olive oil

1, 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup water

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp salt

pinch cayenne pepper for a little heat

1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add your onion and saute for 3 minutes, until beginning to soften and turn translucent.
2. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Stir in your black beans along with the water.
4. Add your cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, and cayenne. Stir, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer the beans for at least 15 minutes, but up to 30 minutes

Looking forward to this week!  I've got some neat things planned that I am hoping the minis love!  And, for those of you worried about Mr. McGhee, I will make sure I find a way to get him my delish home-cooked food, no drive-through for him!

A full day of cookin'

Today was a busy day in the kitchen.  I started out making a batch of yogurt, I will know tomorrow if it was a success.  I also made a loaf of honey wheat bread in my breadmaker.  I got the recipe from 100daysofrealfood.com, and she claims it tastes just like the bread from Great Harvest Bread Company.  Not sure if I believe that, but I will let you know tomorrow when we eat it!  I also made two batches of granola today, bars and crumbled. 

So, you're probably thinking, "Heids McGhee, you are a rockstar.  Sit down, take a load off, buy a new handbag online."  Listen readers, I am just getting started. 

For dinner tonight I had stuffed bell peppers planned.  I was planning on following a recipe from a new cookbook I got and then it dawned on me, Heids McGhee, you are a blogger with readers and followers.  You don't need a recipe, you need to make your own recipes.  So, I did just that.  And not to toot my own horn, but if there are single ladies out there hoping for a proposal....I promise this meal will get you one.  And if it doesn't, you need to move on.

Heids McGhee lamb, spinach, and goat cheese stuffed roasted bell peppers (I know!  I rock!)

• bell peppers, I used a yellow, red, and orange
• olive oil
• ground lamb meat, 1 lb
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• spinach, 2 handfuls
• salt and pepper
• goat cheese

1.  Roast your bell peppers.  I started doing this years ago following directions from allrecipes.com.  Here's what you do.

Coat bell peppers generously with olive oil.  Put them on a baking sheet and broil them under flame until they begin to turn black.  Turn peppers until each side has been blackened.  Remove from baking sheet and place in a bowl.  Cover bowl with saran wrap. 

Let the peppers sit for a while, at least 30 minutes.  Take peppers out of jar and pull stem off.  Dig inside of pepper and remove the seeds.   

Carefully peel the outer skin off of the pepper.



After peppers are all peeled, set aside.  Resist all temptation to eat them.  They're worth the wait.

2.  In a pan, heat a small amount of olive oil.  Add garlic and spinach.  Cook in oil until spinach is wilted.  Take spinach/garlic out of pan and set aside.  If you're lazy like me, wipe pan with a paper towel.  If you're ambitious, wash pan with soap and water.

3.  Cook ground lamb in pan.  Once lamb is cooked and crumbled, add spinach/garlic mixture.  Add in goat cheese (depending on your taste, add as much or little as you want) and some salt and pepper.  Add in any other spices you would like.  Get creative.  I think next time I will add some thyme. 

4.  Stuff the meat mixture into the peppers.  Tell yourself you are amazing, because, really, you are.

Delish.  I never said these puppies were pretty.  Delish, yes.  Pretty, notsomuch.

We had ours with zucchini, squash and onion.

1.  First slice veggies.  You'll want to slice the onion too, I just hadn't gotten there yet. 

2.  Heat up some vegetable oil (cringe, I know!) in a pan.  Add veggies and saute to your personal prefered tenderness.  Then drizzle soy sauce over veggies.

Delish.

And for dessert, we had homemade graham crackers.  I told ya, I hit it out of the ballpark today!  I got the recipe from the kitchn.com. 

• 1/2 cup white flour
• 2 cups cup graham flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1/4 cup water

1.  Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the texture is dry and crumbly. (Also, you can do this in a food processor; just blend the butter in short bursts.)

2.  In a small bowl, mix the honey, molasses, and water. Toss this with the dry ingredients until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl with your fingers and form the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

 

 

3.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough out on a counter or on wax paper, sprinkled with whole wheat flour. Use a pastry scraper or an index card as a guide to cut the dough into small rectangles. Poke each cracker with a fork, then place them on an ungreased baking sheet.

 

**sidenote** My dough was really crumbly so I drizzled a couple more tablespoons of water in it.  And my pastry scraper was a pizza cutter, worked perfectly. 

4.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. If stored in an airtight container these will keep for a couple weeks.

 

 

**sidenote**  This graham cracker dough is perfect for little ones who love to help.

 

That's it for today!  Happy cooking!