Mother's Day Fare

I did all of the cooking today but none of the dishes. I can live with that!

Actually I didn't make this. Came down to this lovely breakfast this morning: Berry & Yogurt parfait, toasted Nutella bagel thin, and a mimosa. YUM.

We took breakfast to Mee Maw, Spinach Quiche...

...and kebabs of homemade lemon mini muffins, strawberries, and blackberries.

Then it was home to make dinner for Nana! Frogmore "Stew," salad, & rosemary rolls.

And dessert was super simple: store-bought angelfood cake and some fresh berries. Delish. (accented by the beautiful bouquet Nana gave me!)

Waffles. For dinner, snack, and breakfast.

The other night we had waffles for dinner and we've been enjoying them almost every day since so I need to share recipe and record it for future use. Waffles are awesome! My recipe made 16 round waffles. We had them for dinner that night with other breakfast fare. )Well, Cora and I had them for dinner. Daddy and Leyna like them but weren't in the mood that particular night.) The girls also had them for a bedtime snack that night as peanut butter sandwiches and then again for breakfast the next day with syrup ad blueberries. Plus we have a huge stash of them in the freezer just waiting to be eaten. I just pop them in the oven or toaster to thaw and warm them. Waffles rule!

My setup. Waffle maker, batter, 1/3 cup measuring cup for scooping into the waffle maker, and foil + wax paper for wrapping cooled waffles for the freezer.

Cooling waffles

12 waffles ready for the freezer!

4 dinner variations. Leyna: Just scrambled eggs. Cora: Waffles + bacon. Daddy: Leftover steak + scrambled eggs. Me: Waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Oh, and a bowl of blueberries for everyone to share.

Whole Wheat and Flax Waffles
Adapted from www.food.com

3 C white whole wheat flour
3 T sugar
6 t baking powder
4 T ground flax (we use organic)
1/2 t salt
4 eggs (we use organic)
3 C milk (we use 1%)
1/4 C light olive oil or melted butter

 

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Then mix dry and wet together and whisk until smooth. Pour appropriate amount of batter into waffle iron (mine takes 1/3 C nicely) and follow instructions to know when waffles are ready. Keep warm in a low oven or cool and freeze for later!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Who knew we could even eat festively on Groundhog Day? We had Groundhog Pancakes for breakfast...

 ...and Groundhog Poo for our afternoon snack ;)

Orange Rolls

We were at the store the other day and Leyna saw a package of cinnamon rolls in the bakery section. "Can we get these???" she begged. "How about if I make you some for breakfast tomorrow?" I asked her. Who knows what was in those packaged ones. I'd rather make them myself!
Luckily I found this recipe for orange rolls that looked delicious AND I already had all of the ingredients on hand. So I set to work that afternoon making the dough and getting the rolls ready so I could throw them in the oven the next morning.
I've never, ever attempted any kind of cinnamon or other yeast rolls before because they always seemed so difficult. Now that I've done it I realize it's not too bad and I'll definitely be trying them again! I liked this recipe but wanted it to be a little more orangey and the rolls to be a little more puffy. So, I'm just going to link to the recipe and will post the full details next time after I tweak things a bit.
The girls however were VERY happy with their breakfast and I was told I was the "best Mommy in the whole world." Now that's worth any amount of work it takes to make something :)

Outstanding Orange Rolls from Food.com

My dough was really sticky. Next time I think I'll refrigerate the logs before I slice them so they come out a little more even. This made two entire pans so we sent one over to our neighbors with baking instructions and glaze on the side. They were happy for the "room service." ;)

What to eat before you go bowling...

Bowling ball and pin pancakes of course! We took the girls bowling for their first time ever today so of course we had to have a festive breakfast. I probably could have put a little more thought into the bowling pin pancake but the girls were roaming the kitchen and complaining about starving so I had to pour that batter fast!

Start Your Day Right Smoothies

I'm kind of obsessed with green smoothies right now. I just can't get over the idea of drinking my vegetables for breakfast. Love it! Here's the latest one we tried out, and all liked!

Start Your Day Right Smoothies
1 banana
1 C mango chunks
1 C 100% pineapple juice
1 C baby spinach leaves
1 C torn kale leaves

Blend and enjoy! Oh, and make sure you check your teeth for green specks before you leave the house!

Monkey Pancakes

If this breakfast doesn't make you smile I don't know what will! I found this idea on Pinterest and of course it was a huge hit with the girls. They thanked me several times :)

We used our usual pancake recipe and added a teaspoon of cocoa powder to about a cup of it to make the darker pancake. Mini chocolates chips and banana marshmallows are the finishing touches :)

I also have to note that apparently cold leftover pancakes straight from the fridge make a great bedtime snack for kids. Each of 2 nights this week Cora at THREE cold pancakes before bed! Good to know :)

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

We have a new favorite breakfast and snack around here - Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies. They are miraculous. They're filling, they're healthy, and, most shockingly of all, we ALL like them. Even Cora. If she likes it I'm pretty sure anyone will. Try it!

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

Ingredients
1 ripe banana
1/2 C vanilla yogurt (we use Stonyfield Farm Low Fat French Vanilla)
1/2 C almond milk (we use Silk Original Flavor)
1 T organic creamy peanut butter

Directions
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
*tip - make sure you place the peanut butter near the blade as opposed to the side of the blender so it doesn't stick to the side and fail to incorporate.

What we had for breakfast...

whole wheat pancakes with blueberry sauce :)

Breakfast for Mommy

This morning my sweet Leyna decided she wanted to make me breakfast. I got a peanut butter sandwich! What a little angel :)

We added a little more peanut butter and some strawberry jam and shared it :)

Green Eggs and... Salami

Cora has been demanding that we read "Green Eggs and Ham" at least twice a day every day. She LOVES it! So this morning I surprised the girls with Green Eggs and Salami for breakfast. We didn't have ham :( But even if we didn't I wouldn't have dyed it green!
To make the eggs I pureed about a cup of baby spinach with some water and added it to 4 eggs. Then I beat them up and scrambled them on the stove. It was delish! Leyna had THREE helpings of everything! Cora, who doesn't like eggs, said she liked them (like in the book) but didn't eat them at all. Oh well, it was fun anyway!

Green Smoothies!

I've found a few really good smoothie recipes online lately so I'm going to make a few of them this week. These green "detox" smoothies are supposed to be so good for you and make you feel like a million bucks. I have to say I agree! We all drank them for breakfast this morning and loved them. I am so in love with the fact that we all had spinach for breakfast!

Green Detox Smoothie
from theglitterguide.com

1 cup baby spinach
1 pear, diced
1 ½ C of orange juice
1 frozen banana

Blend and enjoy!

Chocolate Almond Crescent Rolls

We had special guests this weekend and I whipped up a super easy and dazzling breakfast. These crescent rolls, mango chunks, and crispy uncured bacon. Everything was perfect and complimentary. Definitely a "keeper" menu!

Chocolate Almond Crescent Rolls
Adapted from www.odense.com

Ingredients
7 oz almond paste, grated or thinly sliced
2-8 oz packages of refrigerated crescent rolls
4 oz chocolate bar, broken into 1/4 inch by 1 inch pieces (I used Milk Chocolate Hershey's bars but a semi-sweet bar would be good too)
(you can also add an egg wash and sugar to top the rolls with before baking but I skipped this step)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Separate each tube of crescent rolls into 8 triangles. Lay pieces/slices of almond paste over the dough. At the widest end of the triangle lay a strip of chocolate on top of the Almond Paste. Roll from wide end to point.
Place point side down on baking sheet and curve into a crescent shape. If desired, brush crescents with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Devour :)

Muffin Tin Breakfast

(clockwise from top left) Bananas, pure maple syrup, juice, vitamin, homemade heart shaped pancake bites, homemade applesauce from our neighbors

Ramen Noodles? For Breakfast???

The sickies still have a hold on us and last night was really rough. I haven't had such a rough night since I was in labor with Cora. Ugh. Poor Leyna didn't fare much better either :(
This morning I was so desperate to stop coughing that I finally caved and braved the grocery store medicine aisle. While I was at the store I passed the Ramen noodle section and thought - that's EXACTLY what we need to feel better. Yes, I know that stuff is terrible for you and I never, ever buy it, BUT sometimes you just need comfort. I grabbed a Cup-O-Soup for myself and a pack of Chicken flavored Ramen for the girls.
And guess what? They LOVED it. The girls happily slurped and sipped a half package each in near total silence. And I enjoyed inhaling the warm steam off of my cup and the warm broth really did the trick. So there you have it - we had Ramen for breakfast! WEIRD :)

Creativity for breakfast

Giant pancakes + Cookie cutters = Yummy fun!

Pancakes for breakfast, pancakes for lunch

Leyna is going through a growth spurt and Cora is going through a picky phase so it's pretty much impossible for them to agree on a meal these days. Leyna is eating a lot more than usual and Cora doesn't want to eat anything but pretzels, graham crackers, and fruit. So today I was amazed when they both agreed on pancakes for breakfast. I served them with bacon (another food Cora could probably eat ALL day) and they were devoured. Then, I asked "What do you guys want for lunch?" "Pancakes!" was the unanimous response. And I thought if they're both going to fill their tummies then who cares if they eat the same thing all day? So, we had pancakes with mango and blueberries for lunch. Devoured again!

And no, we didn't have pancakes for dinner. But they did both inhale their black bean quesadillas and salads. I can't tell you how good it makes me feel when I know they've eaten well all day :)

Four Day Weekend Food: Day 4 - Happy 4th!

Ah, the last day of our little vacation smorgasbord. Sad but I think we'll be happy to eat a little more healthy tomorrow :) As for today, we really went out with a bang. Here's the low down:

We started the day with Red, White, and Blue Parfaits (vanilla yogurt, blueberries, cherries, and slivered almonds)

Then we headed to a family picnic. Pee Paw's FAMOUS lemonade. Refreshing!!!

This was my plate :)

And this was Leyna's

Cora had her first ever Rice Krispie Treat. It was LOVE.

My cousin Lori's cake. GORGEOUS. And delicioius!

Later we came home and hung out with Conner & Co. This is Aunt Kim's FAMOUS 7-layer dip. Daddy always requests it. Leyna has been eating the olives off of it most of her life but this time she tried all of it and loved it.

Brats & dogs.

Toasted buns, Branzino, and pork shoulder leftover from yesterday. 

What we ate today...

I hadn't planned on it but I did a lot of cooking today! It makes me happy to feed our little family so well. Here's what we ate...

Leyna & Cora's breakfast: Smiley Pancakes with Fruit

Mommy & Daddy's Breakfast: Egg, Salami, Sage, & Cheese wrap

I made a batch of Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa this morning and we snacked on it with chips throughout the day.

Leyna & Cora's Lunch: Turkey, Strawberries, and Carrots with Hummus

Dinner: Cheese Pizza for the girls, Balsamic Strawberry & Basil Pizza for the grown ups - YUM!

And Strawberry Crisp for dessert. I had leftover topping in the fridge from making Peach Crisp so I pressed half into the bottom of this pan, topped it with my homemade strawberry jam, and sprinkled the rest of the topping over it. Delicious on vanilla ice cream!