Deep Fried Pickles (seriously)

This must be a southern thing, but my oh my, if you've ever had a deep fried pickle have I got the recipe for you. They come out perfectly crisp on the outside and well, pickly on the inside. My dear friend, Amanda, ordered these at Alamo Drafthouse Theater and offered me one. It was hard to stay focused on the movie after that because I could smell the yummy goodness wafting from her basket.  Needless to say, I ordered myself a basket the next time I went and talked myself into parting with one for my cute little 7-year-old (who is the only pickle-lover in our home besides me).  He didn't love it and I cursed myself for wasting such savory goodness on an unappreciative soul. But, I digress.

I was making fried green tomatoes the other day (since my tomato plant suddenly decided to give birth to multiples just in time for the first hard frost) and I had lots of extra breading. So, I decided to fry up some dill pickles and hope for the best. I wasn't disappointed and you won't be either!

6-7 dill pickle spears or a bunch of sliced dill pickles

1 egg

1/4 cup milk (or soy or rice milk)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 quart canola oil for frying

Directions

1. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip pickles into flour to coat. Then dip pickles into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.
2. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place pickles into the frying pan in batches of 2 or 3, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the pickles, they should not touch each other. When the pickles are golden, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels. Serve with ranch dressing, for pete's sake!

White chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies

These. Are. Amazing.  But there's something else I should tell you. They're healthy, too. I know, strange combination, but true.  My kids tend to pick the cranberries out, but that's the beauty of this recipe. You can keep what you like, and get rid of what you don't (for the most part).

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

3 c. old fashioned cooking oats, finely blended in food processor
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. walnuts, finely chopped in food processor
1 c. white chocolate chips

1 c. craisins

1 tsp. salt
1/2 baking soda

Mix above ingredients together, then in a separate bowl mix:

1 c. canola oil (or 1 cup applesauce for even healthier version)
1 c. maple syrup
4 T. water
4 tsp. vanilla

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop spoonfuls on baking sheet and bake 350 for 8-10 minutes. YUM!

Healthy Pumpkin Cobbler and Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving is just two days away and my mouth is watering. Two of my favorite fall dishes are Pumpkin Cobbler and Sweet Potato Casserole, but I have to admit that they both have A TON of sugar. In fact, the last time I ate the cobbler I got a major sugar rush, so I decided to tweak it a bit to make it healthy. Don't worry, it still tastes great! A friend of mine figured you could do the same thing to the Sweet Potato Casserole and it would turn out pretty tasty, too.

Pumpkin Cobbler (Healthy remake)

                           29 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)                     

¾  c. agave nectar or evaporated cane juice (sweeter) or 1 cup pure maple syrup (less sweet)

2 t. ground cinnamon   

1 egg or egg substitute

¼ t. ground cloves

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. salt

2/3 c. almond or soy milk

Mix all ingredients together and place in a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350.

Topping

3/4 c. rolled oats                                   ¼ t. nutmeg

½ c. chopped walnuts                           ½ t. cinnamon

1/2 cup whole wheat flour                      2-3 T. agave nectar

Mix all ingredients well and sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Obviously, if you are making the Sweet Potato Casserole just substitute 2-3 cups mashed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Halloween favorites! Soup, cookies and a craft.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, next to Christmas. I prepare for it months in advance and just can't stop myself from making my kids' costumes every year (or piecing them together from thrift store finds). So, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not posting something for this spook-a-licious holiday.

If you are a soup connoisseur like I fancy myself to be, you'll love this recipe. I found it in a children's newspaper my kids brought home and tweaked it to my liking.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash
1/4 stick butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 T. olive oil
4 c. chicken broth or vegetable broth
4 cloves garlic
3 green onions
1/2 t. each of nutmeg, cinnamon, sea salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper (just a pinch)
1-2 c. plain soymilk, rice milk or milk (to desired consistency)

2 splashes Frank's Redhot (hotsauce)

Cut squash in half and spread most of the butter across the top, then sprinkle with brown sugar.  Place the two halves of the squash on a cookie sheet and bake for one hour or until you can stick a for in it and it is tender.  Allow the squash to cool. Scoop out into a medium sized bowl and discard the seeds and skin. Set aside.  Slice green onions and peel and press the three cloves of garlic.  Place olive oil into a small to medium sized saute pan over medium heat. After warming the oil, place onions and garlic into the pan and stir them until slightly gold.  Add broth and simmer 10 minutes.  Transfer it carefully into a blender along with the squash. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, sea salt and cayenne pepper into the blender or use a hand held blender. Add the milk and blend until pureed. Transfer back to a  medium sized pot and reheat.  I usually taste it here and add more spices!

My kids know that October and December are the only months I make sugar cookies and this recipe is my absolute favorite. One of my dearest neighbors made these every Christmas and we were lucky enough to be on the receiving end. We love to make witches, pumpkins and this year, modified ghosts! (I should have  taken a picture, but everyone loves a good sugar cookie).

Soft Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter or margarine

2 heaping c. powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 (8 oz. sour cream)

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking soda

1.2 t. salt

4 t. baking powder

4 1/2 c. flour

Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Mix and chill for at least 1 hour. Roll dough out and cut into shapes. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 or until golden brown (I take them out before they get golden so they're not crispy, but that's just me).

Frosting:

1 to 2 t. vanilla

1 bag powdered sugar

1 cube margarine or butter

canned milk (just enough to make spreading consistency)

And last, but not least, I had to add a craft. This year I have failed in engaging my kids in any creative activities, but I found these cute Halloween Pals while I was drumming up ideas for my son's Halloween activity at school. The original post where I thought I saw them seems to have disappeared, but there are a ton of cute ideas at http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/10/frankenstein-craft.html  

Basically, take a toilet paper roll (or cut a paper towel roll in half if you are a germ-a-phobe) and allow your child to paint it with craft paint (washable is a good idea here). Let it dry completely and add googly eyes,  bat wings, mummy wrappings, spider legs (with pipe cleaners) or a pumpkin stem with tissue paper, etc. Your kids have great imaginations so let them be creative. Here's what we came up with!

Apple-Pear salad with lemon-poppyseed dressing

  Being over-stocked with pears last week, I put some effort into finding some recipes to use them up before they spoiled. I ran across this salad recipe I ripped out of a Southern Living Magazine several years ago, but never made.  It was so good, it's a shame I didn't make it sooner! I tweaked it using the ingredients I had on hand, which I put in parentheses.

1 (16 oz.) package romaine lettuce, thoroughly washed (I used baby spinach)

1 (16 oz.) block swiss cheese, shaved (I omitted the cheese)

1 cup roasted, salted cashews

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1 large apple, thinly sliced (I used 2)

1 large pear, thinly sliced (I used 2)

Lemon-poppyseed dressing

2/3 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup sugar (I used evaporated cane juice, but you could use honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar)

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

2 tsp. finely chopped onion

1 tsp. Dijon mustard (I used honey-mustard)

pinch salt

Process 2/3 cup light olive oil and remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to one week; serve at room temperature.

Granola anyone?

Recently one of my best friends said I had gone granola.  I take that as a compliment. So in honor of her (love ya Beth!) I'm sharing my favorite granola recipes. These recipes are great for a snack or for breakfast. I usually just add some fresh fruit or raisins!

Granola

10 cups rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

½ lb. shredded coconut

2 cups raw sunflower seeds

1 cup sesame seeds

3 cups almonds, pecans, walnuts or combo of all three (I also added pumpkin seeds to my last batch.)

1 ½ cup brown sugar (or 1/2 t mapeline to avoid sugar)

1 ½ cup water

1 ½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup honey

½ cup molasses (If you sub here add same amount of sugar or honey)

1 ½ t salt

2 t cinnamon

3 t vanilla

Raisins, if desired

Mix first six ingredients.  In another pan combine the brown sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.  Heat until sugar is dissolved but do not boil.  Pour syrup over the dry ingredients and stir until well coated.  Line two to three jellyroll sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Spread granola in thin layer.  Bake 20-30 minutes at 325, stirring occasionally.   Bake 15 minutes longer if you want it crunchier.  This keeps six months.  Makes 20 cups.

Homemade Granola

½ cup shredded coconut

4 cups old fashioned oats

¼ cup wheat germ

1 T. sesame seeds

1 cup almonds

¼ cup sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds)

½ t ground cinnamon

¼ t freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup honey

8 T butter, melted

½ cup golden raisins (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread coconut on top.  Bake until toasted.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 
2. Decrease oven temperature to 300.  Line two baking sheets with parchment; set aside.  In a large bowl, toss together oats, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, stir together honey and butter.  Pour over oat mixture.  Stir well.  Spread onto two sheets.  Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Break up granola, sprinkle with raisins and toasted coconut.

Trail Mix

(This is a yummy snack idea from Rachel Ray)

3/4 cup real maple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla bean, split

1 cup oats

1 cup peeled hazelnuts

2 cups whole natural almonds

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup shelled pumpkin or sunflower seeds

1 cup chocolate candy coated peanuts, or chocolate chips (you can pretty much add anything here - butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, etc, or nothing at all!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place maple syrup on the stove with cinnamon and vanilla over medium low heat to infuse the flavor. Warm syrup a couple of minutes. Remove from heat.

Combine hazelnuts, almonds, raisins, cranberries and seeds in a bowl. Toss with maple syrup and remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Spread the maple coated mixture onto a cookie sheet and roast 15 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven and transfer to another cold pan, tossing the mix to quick-cool it. Once cool, toss with candy.

You can obviously make substitutions here if you don't have all the ingredients - (use normal cinnamon, vanilla or other nuts, such as cashews, almonds, etc.)

Going Meat-less

So, we're going Meat-less, not meatless. Notice the subtle difference. Why?  I'll give you the ten peso version.  I've been having joint pain on and off for the past four to five years, not to mention a few other bug-a-boos that I was way to young to experience. The last six months got a little bit worse and I was sure as heck not ready to start seeing a doctor for some of these issues. I had seen a doctor four years ago and was tested for lupus, but it was negative.  I stopped drinking milk because of my allergies, and when I tried it again my body rebelled.

Enter my friend Elaine. I knew she and her family ate very little meat and dairy so we discussed some of the reasons and she told me about The China Study. 

The author of the book grew up on a dairy farm, and fully expected a career in science devoted to extolling the virtues of a high protein, animal-based diet. After working in the Philippines with children dying of liver cancer, he unexpectedly found a link between the disease and high intake of animal-based protein.  As his research grew, everything he thought about nutrition began to crumble. He studied many different counties in China and compared them to each other and the Western diet. What he found is that certain diseases don't really exist in China, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and several autoimmune diseases.  The main difference in diet is the amount of animal-based protein consumed by the different counties and cultures.

I was so impressed by the data and research that I decided to make a huge change to our family's diet. We were eating meat at least twice a day every day. We started with baby steps and the kids aren't always thrilled with it, but I do allow them small amounts of cheese and one meat-based meal every week. So far, they've enjoyed most of our meals and they love green smoothies (a daily treat).  Even though the book suggests cutting animal based food out completely, we prefer a more moderate take - and it is working well for us.

Two main questions people ask are, "Where do you get your protein?" and "What do you eat?"  Protein can be found in beans (we love black beans and garbanzo beans), greens (spinach and kale) and whole grains (wheat, brown rice, couscous, and quinoa).  There are a lot of great recipes on http://www.nutritionwise.org/ and you can always adjust recipes you already eat. We love tacos with brown rice, black beans, tomatoes and corn. Spagetti and pizza are great without all the added grease from meat (we use a little cheese). 

The basic premise of the book is that as long as you are eating a large variety of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, your body will get what it needs. That's not to say it's easy, especially for kids, but I can tell you my entire family can tell a difference in how they feel (my 2-year-old stopped having diarrhea after cutting out milk completely), and they are learning they actually like a lot things they didn't think they did. I have been amazed at how far they have come in just a month! If you decide to go completely meatless, you should take a vitamin B12 supplement. Almond and rice milk are great milk substitutes. We haven't tried soy because I am allergic to it.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

Lentil Burgers (from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook) - a little time-consuming, but grocery stores carry black bean and veggie burgers that taste good too.

2 1/2 cup water

1/2 chopped onion

1/3 cup brown rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup lentils, rinsed and drained

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup regular rolled oats

2 slightly beaten egg whites

1/2 cup snipped fresh basil or 1 1/2 t dried basil, crushed

1 T worchestershire sauce

2 dashes bottled hot pepper sauce

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds, toasted

8 whole wheat hamburger buns

1. In a medium saucepan combine water, onion, uncooked brown rice, and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Add lentils. Cover and simmer 25 minutes more or until rice and lentils are tender. Remove from heat.

2. Add garbanzo beans to saucepan; mash the mixture. Stir in oats. Let stand 5 minutes.

3. Combine the egg whites, basil, Worchestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional); add to mixture in pan, stirring to combine. Stir in nuts.

4.  Using about 1/2 cup of mixture for each, shape into eight 1/2 inch-think patties.  Spray a 12-inch skillet with nonstick spray coating. Cook the patties over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes or till light brown, turning once. Serve the patties on buns. Top spinach, lettuce, onion, ketchup, mustard, etc.

Potato wraps

1 package spring roll wrappers (found in the asian section)

5-7 potatoes

1-2 carrots, grated

garlic salt

canola oil

Preheat oven to 475. Clean, cube and boil potatoes until tender.  Mash potatoes and add 1-2 teaspoons garlic salt.  Put 1/2 -1 inch of warm water in a dish large enough to fit spring roll wrapper. Place a wrapper in the water 5-10 seconds, then carefully spread a large spoonful of potatoes on wrapper. Sprinkle grated carrot on top and roll like and egg roll (directions on package) and place on an oiled baking sheet.  Repeat until you have enough for your family (2-3 a piece).  Lightly brush with canola oil and bake until golden (do not burn). It should take between 5-10 minutes, just watch them.  We like to dip them in sweet and sour sauce, but they are good plain also.

Black bean and Fire Roasted Tomato Burritos

1 T canola oil

1/2 diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (canned tomatoes have a high salt content so I try not to use them often, but the flavor makes the whole dish!)

1 can corn, drained and rinsed (my kids don't love corn so we leave it out).

1 t cumin

1 t. chili powder

whole wheat tortillas (If you are lucky enough to live near an HEB their fresh whole wheat tortillas are amazing!)

guacamole (see my recipe in earlier posts)

Saute garlic and onion in canola oil for a few minutes. Add black beans, tomatoes, corn (if desired), cumin and chili powder. Heat through.  Serve on tortillas with guacamole. I usually let my kids have a little shredded cheese with this one.

 Tasty brown rice

Brown rice tends to be a turn off for the kids, but this is a way to add some flavor.

1 1/2 cups brown rice

3 1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon (or sub some water for vegetable stock- watch the sodium content)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 diced onion

1 can diced green chiles

Add all ingredients to a large pot and boil until done.

Hopefully these will become some of your family favorites!