Food coloring?!?!?

I try to keep things funny and light-hearted around here, but today I wanted to ask you to take a few minutes to read this in lieu of reading my rambling stories about my goofy family.

I know that I have been labeled a "health food nut" by most of you, but you don't have to be an extremist like I am to be upset by that information.  I urge you to think carefully about eating and serving food that is chock full of food coloring.  Here are some safer options that I have posted in the past....

• homemade cereal bars
• fruit granola bars
• granola bars
• peanut butter chocolate granola bars
• power balls

And you guys know that I can't leave you without a new recipe for the day, so I thought I would share my new favorite veggie dish with you.

Zucchini and Carrot sticks

• 2 zucchini (sliced into sticks)
• 5-6 large carrots (peeled and cut into sticks)
• sea salt
• pepper
• italian seasoning (or any seasoning of your choice)
• olive oil spray (or cooking spray of your choice)
• olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

2.  Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

3.  Spray waxed paper with olive oil spray.

4.  Put your sliced veggies in a large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil (no need to over-drizzle).  Season with salt, pepper, and seasoning.

5.  Lay out on the cooking sheet.

6.  Cook for about 20 minutes or until golden in color.  Flip the veggies halfway through cooking time. 

Slice your veggies and drizzle with oil.

Season your veggies and lay out on your baking sheet.

Bake until golden.

These veggies are delish!!!  We all loved them!  I particularly enjoyed them the next day along with a cup of brown rice.

Grilled cheeeeeese

One of my goals when I we decided to give up processed foods was to make all of our baked goods.  And I did come up with a delish bread recipe that takes about 2 minutes of prep work.  That being said, I haven't made a loaf of bread yet this summer.  


And it's all because of these guys.


Before I go on, I want to say that I am not paid to endorse Great Harvest Bread Company.  And even though I go there 2 times a week, they have no clue that I am a food blogger that occasionally obsesses over them.  But the reason that I continue to promote, gush, and rave about them is their bread is amazing.  And the fact that the lovely ladies at the counter remember to ask my minis how their new puppy is doing each week is an added bonus.  


I always buy honey wheat bread for my family.  (And I always let my minis have a free sample of the cinnamon roll bread).  But this week I decided to go crazy and try something new....the Dakota bread.


Oh My Goodness.  The Dakota bread is proof that God loves us and wants us to happily eat our whole grains.

I don't even know what all is in the Dakota bread, but I know that I trust my friends from Great Harvest and it is healthy.  And amazingly delish.


I decided to make grilled cheese with our Dakota bread.  In the past I have blogged about grilled cheese on the honey wheat bread, and I do believe I declared it the best school-lunch inspired meal ever.  Well, today I  am going to share yet another best-ever grilled cheese recipe.


Heids McGhee's Grilled Cheese

• bread 
• pesto
• spinach
• avocado
• cheese (I used muenster and goat)
• butter
• olive oil

When it comes to pesto, I am sort of a purist and make basil pesto.  (That being said, someone has suggested to me that I try kale pesto with my overabundance of garden kale.)  You can make (or buy, if you must) whatever pesto you prefer.

1.  Butter one side of each slice of bread.

2.  On the other side of each slice, slather on some pesto.

3.  Layer spinach leaves, avocado, and cheese on a slice of bread.

4.  Top with the remaining slice, butter side up.

5.  If you want to be really bad (and I was bad, but justified it by telling myself I did run 6 miles that morning), heat up a little olive oil in a pan.

6.  Grill your sandwich in the pan until each side is browned.

Slather with pesto.  Lick the knife.

Layer on spinach.  Lots of spinach.  It's good for you.  

(Next time I will also add artichoke).

Cheese.  Muenster for the McGhees.

Slices of avocado.  Save leftovers for guacamole.

Sprinkle some goat cheese.

Grill to perfection.

We ate our grilled cheese with zucchini chips and fresh pineapple.  And it was one of those meals where the food was so good that there was silence.  Well, mostly silent, except for my occasional outburst of "BAM! Mama makes some grilled cheese!"

Record Setting Veggies

Most of you probably know that I am an novice accomplished gardener.   And I always thought that I wanted to start gardening with the hopes of becoming a farmer.  But, after my first summer of gardening I realized that my true destiny is competition gardening.

That's right.  I am about to join the ranks of these guys.

Depending on how well you know me, you may or may not be surprised by my rapid ascent from novice to competition.  But, as they say, the proof is in the pudding.  Well, actually, in the zucchini, in this case.

With literally no special effort, I managed to grow this ginormous zucchini.  Impressive, eh?  I used the first half and made a batch of grilled veggies for grilled veggie sandwiches.  And then tonight, we made zucchini chips for dinner.  What are zucchini chips, you say?  Remember kale chips?  Remember broccoli chips?  Remember brussel sprout chips?  Remember sweet potato chips?

If you haven't realized it, Heids McGhee likes to coat veggies in oil and cook them at a high temperature and call them "chips"!  And if you actually try my recipes, you'll realize that all these veggie chips are pretty darn delish!

Zucchini Chips

• zucchini, sliced thin
• oil (I used part olive, part canola)
• seasoning salt (or sea salt, I used a combination of the two)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  (I got impatient and cranked it up to 400F after 10 minutes).

2.  Slice the zucchini very thin.

3.  Toss with olive oil until zucchini is coated.

4.  Sprinkle with salt. 

5.  Arrange slices on a tin-foil lined cooking sheet.

6.  Bake until brown and crispy....probably about 15-25 minutes.

Slice your zucchini thin.

I just wanted to show you again how big this zucchini is.  Surely, she'd bring home a blue ribbon from the County Fair.

Arrange on a sheet.  Season with salt.

Cook until crispy.

Delish.  Even my tiny mini loved them.

Now, I've started thinking....what other award-winning veggie should I grow and use to make chips?

Summer BBQ

Mr. McGhee and I love to entertain.  Nothing makes us happier than being surrounded by family and friends in our home, with the swimming pool, swingset, and backyard full of activity.  To us, summers are backflip and cannonball contests off the diving board and dance parties around the siwmming pool.  And that's just the adults I'm talking about!  


And, of course, nothing makes me happier than having a backyard full of people that need to be fed.  

I always tell guests that want to bring something to bring snack food or dessert.  I'll take care of everything else.  This is my go-to BBQ meal....spicy honey chicken, grilled veggies, and fruit salad.  The fruit salad is easy.  Cut up some watermelon, berries, grapes, and any other fruit you like and toss it all in a bowl.  That's it!  The spicy honey chicken takes a bit more work.  

Spicy Honey Chicken

Chicken Rub

• 2 tsp granulated garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

Glaze

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

1.  Mix all spices together.
2.  Drizzle oil on chicken (I use a mix of breasts and thighs) and rub the chicken rub onto the chicken (how's that for obvious?)
3.  Grill chicken until no longer pink in the middle.
4.  Warm honey and add vinegar.
5.  Pour honey/vinegar mixture on chicken.  Grill an additional minute.  

6.  Pour any leftover honey/vinegar mixture on chicken when serving.

Can I give you a tip?  Make a huge batch of the chicken rub and store it in a glass jar in your spice cabinet.  Make extras for all your friends to take home that night.  They'll be asking for it and call you to thank you every time they use it.  

I always serve this chicken with grilled veggies.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing my hungry guests chow down on vegetables.

Grilled Veggies

• assortment of veggies (get an assortment of your favorites...here's what I used)
• 3 summer squash, 3 red bell peppers, 3 zucchini, 1 eggplant, mushrooms, and a bunch of asparagus
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 cloves fresh crushed garlic
• fresh basil 
• fresh rosemary
• fresh italian parsley

1.  Slice the veggies lengthwise into about 1/4 inch slices.
2.  Brush each side of the veggies with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.
3.  Grill the veggies on each side until tender and slightly charred.  Don't move the veggies around on the grill too much, you want those black grill marks!
4.  Mix 4 tbsp olive oil with 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar.  Add garlic and fresh herbs.  I make this ahead of time and let it sit so the flavors can blend together.
5.  Once the veggies are grilled, put them on a platter and brush the oil/vinegar/herb mixture all over the veggies.

Here's the herb mixture.  As you can see, I use a lot of herbs.  They're the star of the show.

This is what I like to call Holy Grilled Goodness.  My prep + Mr. McGhee's cooking = Heaven in the mouth

The minis fight over this asparagus.  Let me repeat that.  The minis fight over this asparagus.

If you're a local reader, don't be surprised if the McGhees invite you over for a BBQ and serve you this meal.  If you aren't local, fire up your BBQ and make this meal.  Channel your inner McGhee.  You'll have a blast, I promise.

Convenient dinner for busy families

Someone tell me that I am not the only mom running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Before I continue, I want to make it clear that I am.not.compaining,  I am blessed to have active minis, and I truly enjoy and embrace this stage in our family's lives.  However, between end of the year school projects, concerts, performances, baseball practices, swim meets, doctors and therapy appointments, golf lessons, birthday parties, etc etc etc.....the McGhee house is insanely busy!  I mean, I am so busy I haven't even had time to worry about the current mad cow crisis in California.

Now, remember how we just talked about things we said we would never do as parents?  Well, one thing I always said I would never do it over-schedule my minis.  I think kids need a stress-free life where they have copious amounts of time to explore, play, and enjoy being a kid.

Well, wouldn't you know it....I have minis that want love being in scheduled activiites.  And because of this, my minis are pretty darn over-scheduled.  The problem is my minis love sports.  In fact, their back up plans to their dreams of working in a smoothie shop and living in an RV are to be a professional baseball player and an Olympic swimmer.

My oldest mini has therapy appointments, yoga, weight-lifting, golf, and swim team.  He's a one legged swimmer who beats two legged swimmers.  Ask him about it, he'll happily tell you.  He also has plans for smashing all  of Michael Phelp's records.  And who am I to stop that from happening?

My middle mini is in soccer, baseball, and swim team.  He wants to grow up and play in the major leagues.  He is concerned that if he gets drafted by a team other than the Chicago Cubs, that Mr. McGhee won't cheer for him.  We have assured him that his team is our team.  He has assured us he will be so good that the Cubs will be begging him to play for them.

Thank God, I've got this mini, who currently excels at maintaining her hair, painting her fingernails, and keeping mommy company.

(Photography from Jeff Anderson)

Needless to say, dinner has been difficult lately, and it won't get any easier until school is out for the summer.  Getting home at 6:30 with three hungry minis to feed, do homework, bathe, do therapy stretching and bracing, and get into bed in an hour is tricky.  So, I have been working hard to come up with dinners that can be made very quickly or even prepared ahead of time.

I find that baked pasta is an easy dish to prepare ahead of time and something that everyone in our house will eat.  I combined two recipes to come up with my own.  I want to say this about this recipe....it's nothing fancy and impressive, but it is a convenient dinner on a busy night.  If you're having company over for dinner that you want to impress, don't make them this pasta bake.  Unless you're a terrible cook, then make the pasta bake because you don't want your guests leaving hungry.

Step one is to make your pasta sauce.  You can omit this step and buy a jar of pre-made pasta sauce.  Nobody will judge you if you do that.  I make huge batches of this sauce and then freeze it, which saves me lots of time.

Pasta Sauce

• 1 lb sweet italian sausage (my local market makes their own, which on one hand is repulsive, on the other pretty cool)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2-4 cloves minced garlic
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (Remember a while back when we talked about tomato packaging....try to stick with the brand names I suggested.  For the sake of honesty, I have to tell you, I didn't have the time to make an extra trip to an additional store, so my pasta sauce was made with tomatoes filled with BPA.  Sad, I know.  The good news is I am too busy right now to worry about it.)
• 12 oz tomato paste
• 13 oz tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp white sugar (I forgot this, oops!)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice the sausage into 1 inch slices.  I removed the casings from each piece.

2.  Cook the sausage and onion in a pot over medium heat until browned.  Drain fat.

3.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce.  

4.  Mix in seasoning.
5.  Reduce heat to low and simmer an hour, stirring occasionally.  

Now that you've got your sauce done, you are ready to assemble your pasta bake.  This can be done ahead of time, say at 5 am when you are up packing lunches before you sneak out for an early morning spin class.  Or, you could easily do this the night before.  Just remember to stick it in the fridge overnight.

Pasta Bake

• one box of pasta (I prefer organic, whole grain penne)
• one jar of pasta sauce (store bought, or homemade)
• 2 cups frozen vegetables (I used peas, you could easily throw in spinach or zucchini)
• gruyere cheese, shredded

1.  Cook pasta in salted water until cooked al dente.  Drain, rinse with cold water.

2.  Put pasta in a large bowl.  Add pasta sauce and frozen vegetables.

3.  Spread in a baking dish and topped with shredded cheese.

4.  Cook at 400F until cheese is melted.  Or, stick in the fridge until you are ready for dinner.

I tried gruyere cheese on the recommendation of this recipe.  You could easily substitute mozzarella cheese.

I served my pasta bake with zucchini tots.  We have been eating zucchini patties for years, and I have been trying to come up with a way to make them easier and quicker to prepare, so I tried baking them in mini muffin tins, and voila!  It totally worked!

Zucchini Tots

• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I was way fancy and used fresh mozzarella)
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil (if pan frying, not needed if baking in muffin pan)

1.  In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.

2 (option #1).  Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.

2 (option #2).  Fill greased mini muffin tins with zucchini mixture and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, until brown.

Now, you're probably reading the ingredient list and thinking, "wow Heids, that's a lot of shredding and prep work".  I am blessed to have this amazing new food processor, so all that prep work literally took me about 90 seconds.  I chopped the onion, changed the blade, shredded the zucchini and mozzarella, changed the blade, grated the parmesan, threw in the eggs and flour.  Done.  So, if you don't have a food processor, I highly recommend getting one.  Tell your Mr. it will make your life easier.  A smart Mr. knows what makes his Mrs.' life easier, makes his life easier.  Happy wife, happy life.

I made my zucchini mixture ahead of time and stored all day in the fridge.  

option #1, the patty

Option #2, the mini muffin pan.  Tell your kids they're tator tots.

Enjoy your easy, prepare-ahead dinner with your amazing family.  Encourage your minis to talk about their dreams at dinnertime.  There's nothing that makes the heart swell more than hearing the dreams of your minis.  Especially when all you can do is sit there and think, "maybe, just maybe, one day".....because dreams do come true!

Random assortments

Mr. McGhee is cheating.  Now, before you get all huffy and start tsking my man....Mr. McGhee is not cheating on me.  But, he did give the kids lollipops.  They came home from school on Friday, giggling and full of laughter.  I assumed it was because of me and a home full of the scent of fresh whole wheat banana muffins.  Then tiny mini McGhee proudly announced, "daddy gave us lollipops" and stuck out her green tongue to prove it. At this point, I just gave Mr. McGhee my blank stare.  In our marriage, that means pick your poison, buddy.....a butt-chewing or the silent treatment.  Mr. McGhee claimed it was a lapse of judgement.  I pointed out that it was sugar and food-coloring on a stick.  That's a pretty big lapse.  Then, he grinned and said he did it to give me material for the blog.  Being a new blogger and all, I realized, he did have a point.  So, I dropped my blank stare and dropped the subject.  See, I really am a treehugger and don't like to fight.

Yesterday, one of my readers emailed me and said her husband told her that the banana muffins tasted like sticks.  That was a little harsh and I hope she gave him a blank stare.  You know, the "pick your poison" blank stare. 

That being said, I do want to accomodate my readers....so, I hit the kitchen this morning to come up with a new recipe.  And, I promise, this one is fabulous tasting, but slightly less healthy than these muffins.  One of my best friends from high school was visiting today and she told me these pumpkin muffins were really good.  And I believe her.  She would never lie to me.

Pumpkin Muffins (based on this recipe with some changes)

• 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've gotten a few emails about hummus, so I thought I would share how I make hummus.  It's super easy, and you can follow a recipe like this or you can do what I do and just dump stuff into the food processor. 

• 1 can of garbanzo beans (slightly less than 2 cups)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cloves garlic

1.  Drain garbanzo beans, keep liquid separate.
2.  In a food processor, put beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and garlic.
3.  Blend using liquid from beans to thin hummus, if needed.

I would recommend not putting all the tahini and lemon juice in right away.  I would add half of them and blend.  Then taste and add more, based on your personal preference.

And, because I know someone is going to want to know what tahini is, here's a picture. 

Ever have one of those nights where everyone is tired and lazy and you don't feel like making dinner?  That was the general mood at the McGhee house tonight.  I would have loved to have ordered a pizza and I'm pretty sure my kids would have sold their souls for some cheetos and a chicken nugget.  But, since we have given up processed foods, we opted for a dinner of a random assortment that made no sense at all......kale chips, zucchini and squash, and chicken breasts.  OK, after I read that it doesn't seem so random, but for some reason it sure felt it.  Kale chips, you already know the recipe and I've gotten great feedback on them.  I am happy to be part of the green leafy revolution that is going on amongst the minis of America.   

Zucchini and squash

• oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• sliced squash and zucchini

1.  Heat oil on stove.
2.  Add garlic and squash and zucchini slices.
3.  Cook until brown on both sides.

Remember when I said I wasn't promising you perfect pictures.  Um, yeah, I think it was this picture I was referring to.

I had leftover dressing from last night that I drizzled over the slices and then threw it on some spinach leaves. 

For the chicken I used this recipe from Our Best Bites.  I got this recipe from my friend Jami that lives in Seattle, which makes her way cooler than those of us stuck in "the middle".  I like to channel my inner Jami when I am shoe shopping and when I cook spicy honey chicken. 

Chicken Rub

• 2 tsp granulated garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

Glaze

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

1.  Mix all spices together.
2.  Drizzle oil on chicken and rub the chicken rub onto the chicken (how's that for obvious?)
3.  Grill/pan fry chicken until no longer pink in the middle.
4.  Warm honey and add vinegar.
5.  Pour honey/vinegar mixture on chicken. 

Just at tip....you can make a huge batch of that chicken rub and store it.  It makes life much easier on those "I would so much rather order a pizza tonight" nights.

And that is it for today.  I've got to get moving and get some menu planning done for the week.  Enough of these random, shameful dinner nights!