Mango Quinoa Salad

Original Recipe HERE

Not much to say about this other than it was easy and refreshing, and it tasted even better the next day.  A good meal for a hot day, and it can be served as a side dish or as the only thing you're eating for dinner.  I didn't have the quinoa, so I used Trader Joe's Harvest Blend.  I imagine Israeli couscous would work as well.  This made enough for all of us to eat some at dinner, as well as enough leftovers for me to have a hearty lunch

Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa (or any similar blend), room temperature or chilled
1 14-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium mango, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 Tablespoons lime juice
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
(1) Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add mango, red pepper, green onion, and black beans.
(2) In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice. Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad. (3) Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill at least one hour before serving.

Notes: A greater variety of diced vegetables could be added, as could some frozen corn or maybe canned pineapple tidbits.

Kid Participation: Nothing besides mixing everything together, since that's about all you do with this recipe anyway.

Cinnamon Bubble Buns

Original Recipe HERE: I can't find a direct link to the article (which included helpful step-by-step photos), but it's from Flo Baker and was featured in the April 2011 "Family Fun" magazine.  I googled and found plenty of blog posts by people who were inspired by the same one, and some of them took photos as they made the recipe.

"Buttery cinnamon and sugar make these pull-apart treats irresistible."  With an introduction like that, how could one resist trying this recipe?  But the three magazine pages it took up made me put this off until I had a weekend afternoon to devote to the multi-step process. It's not difficult or really all that time-consuming, even though the total "hands on time" is (generously) given as 1 hour and the total time needed is 2 hours 20 minutes.  You can do other stuff during the two rising intervals and the baking period.  And anyway, they were worth the extra time and effort over the store-bougth "pop the container and disassemble the log of pre-cut cinnamon rolls" kind.  They were delicious, and I could see them becoming a traditional "______ [insert holiday or celebration or event of choice] breakfast."  Likely with making them the day before, because if I served them as breakfast, I'd have to start making them at 5am.  Not my idea of how to start off a holiday.  This makes 12 large buns.

Ingredients

Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sour cream [I used light]

3 Tbsp sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for kneading

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Cinnamon-sugar coating:

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

Vanilla glaze:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 Tbsp milk, preferably whole

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

(1) In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over water; let it stand until bubbly (5-10 minutes).

(2) Stir in butter, sour cream, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

(3) Beat in 2 cups of flour, salt, and baking soda until incorporated.  Add remaining flour; continue mixing until a smooth, soft dough forms.

(4) Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and reserve the mixing bowl.  Knead until smooth (about 3 minutes).  Add more flour if dough is sticky but do not exceed 2 tablespoons.

(5) Place dough back in mixing bowl; cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

(6) When dough is ready, lightly coat 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or butter.  Flour the cups; tap out excess.

(7) In a small bowl, blend sugar and cinnamon for coating.

(8) Melt butter for coating in microwave in a small, shallow dish.

(9) Gently punch down dough to deflate it.  Form it into a long cylinder & divide into 12 equal portions.

(10) Using kitchen shears or a dough scraper, divide each portion into 6 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball.

(11) Coat 6 balls with melted butter.  Roll each in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

(12) Arrange 5 balls in the bottom of a muffin cup.  With fingertips, make a small "well" and press sixth ball into center.  Repeat with remaining dough until 12 buns are ready.

(13) Loosely cover buns with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled in size (about 40 minutes).  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

(14) Bake buns on center rack until golden, 20-22 minutes [mine were done by 20].  Transfer pan to a wire rack; cool 5 to 8 minutes.

(15) Tilt pan and gently tap on countertop to release buns [use a knife to carefully remove them from pan if needed].  Place buns on wire rack.  Slide a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil underneath the rack.

(16) In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients; stir until it's smooth.  If needed, thin glaze by adding water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

(17) Brush or drizzle each bun with glaze.  Serve immediately or at room temperature [we ate some the next day and they were just as good].

Notes: I need to watch the baking time more closely because a few buns had slightly crispy edges - set the timer for 18 minutes and then be vigilant.  A note included with the recipe said "To make the dough in advance, follow directions through kneading.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Chilled dough should sit at room temperature for 1 hour before handling."  I don't know how long it can be in the refrigerator, but it may not save much time anyway because it still has to sit out for a long time before proceeding to the next step.

Kid Participation:

* Adding ingredients to mixing bowl

* Combining cinnamon and sugar

* Punching dough

* Rolling dough into balls (if possible)

* Rolling balls in butter and coating (if you don't mind a giant mess)

* Applying glaze (because it doesn't really matter what it looks like; it all "melts" together on the buns' surface anyway)

Lentil Soup

Original Recipe HERE

Ingredients

1 cup dry lentils

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

4 cups beef broth [can substitute chicken or vegetable]

15 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 pound fully-cooked smoked sausage links, sliced [can substitute chopped ham]

1 to 2 cups ditalini or other small pasta [optional]

Directions

(1) Rinse lentils; set aside.

(2) Add olive oil to medium pot.  Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until tender but not brown.
(3) Add lentils, broth, undrained tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, thyme/oregano, pepper, cumin, and bay leaf to pot. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

(4) Add carrot and celery. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 mins or until lentils and veggies are tender.

(6) Prepare pasta if using.

(7) Stir meat into soup; heat through. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Notes: I didn't like the particular sausage I used and would use ham - or no meat - next time.

Kid Participation: None.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Original Recipe HERE

I'm saving this recipe solely for the dressing that comes with it.  While I made the accompanying coconut chicken, it wasn't anything special and won't be repeated.  However, the vinaigrette was good and can be either a typical salad dressing, tossed with vegetables, or used as a dipping sauce for meat.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon white or balsamic vinegar [I used balsamic] 

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Directions

Thoroughly whisk all ingredients together (preferably several hours before).  Heat in the microwave to serve warm.

Notes: Perhaps a finely chopped shallot added next time.

Kid Participation: None...I don't like mixing children and olive oil.

Couscous & Feta-stuffed Peppers

Original Recipe HERE

I was nervous about this dish because I don't always like cooked peppers.  Roasted, yes.  But so often they're served as part of something else and are mushy, limp, and almost bitter.  I'm pleased to announce that this dish has assuaged my fear and will be made again.  I assume the trick is to use sweeter peppers instead of green.

*J* ate the filling but didn't like the pepper shell, which was not a surprise.  What did shock me was how much *N* loved the entire thing, even asking for seconds.  I was so excited that she was eating peppers for once, instead of fastidiously picking them out of her meal, that I even let her use a "grown up knife" (under eagle-eyed supervision) to cut the pepper into bite-size pieces.

Ingredients
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 1/4 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
2/3 cup couscous
4 extra-large or 5 large bell peppers [red, yellow, or orange]
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 zucchini or yellow squash [or a combination of both] peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced across thinly
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half [or one large tomato, diced with seeds removed]
15 ounces canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray.
(2) Bring the broth to a boil in a small pot.  Add the couscous; cover and remove from the heat.
(3) Cut stems and top half inch off peppers.  Scoop out seeds and membranes.
(4) Place peppers upright in the baking dish.  Roast for 15 minutes or until they soften.  Remove from the oven.
(5) Heat oil in a nonstick skillet. Add onion, zucchini, squash, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
(6) Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, chickpeas and tomato paste. Scrape the couscous into the skillet and toss with the vegetables. Stir in crumbled feta.
(7) Fill peppers with the couscous mixture. Bake 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
 
Notes: Only change I would make is to make the tomato flavor more pronounced (via pasta sauce or more tomato paste) to fit my personal preference.
 

Kid Participation: None.

Bulgur Pilaf

Original Recipe HERE

Not much to say about this besides it being a quick and easy side dish that can be easily transformed into a full meal with the addition of various spices, grated cheese, spinach, tomato paste, shredded chicken, sauteed vegetables, and so on.  Let your imagination run wild.

Neighbors stopped by unexpectedly, so I wasn't able to be as attentive to the preparation as I'd have liked.  The end result was a bit clumpy because I let it sit, covered, too long.  The serving size seemed pretty accurate - I had a bowl of it for dinner, and the two kids ate three small bowls between them.  There was plenty left for Husband to eat for lunch.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter

1 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups chicken broth [can substitute vegetable broth]

1 large onion, diced

salt, pepper, or garlic salt to taste [optional]

1/4 cup pine nuts

Directions

(1) Melt the butter in a medium pot. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

(2) Add the bulgur and toast for 1 minute. Pour in the broth and seasonings.  Stir and cover.  Simmer for 15 minutes (do not remove the lid).

(3) Remove the pot from heat and set aside, covered, for 10 minutes.

(4) Toast the pine nuts in a skillet (add butter if desired) for a minute or two until fragrant, stirring frequently.

(5) Fluff the bulgur with a fork.  Divide into serving dishes; top with toasted pine nuts.

 

Notes: Just to experiment with add-ins.

 

Kid Participation: None.

Eggplant Parmesan

Original Recipe HERE

I hadn't made a successful eggplant parmesan meal until this one.  The eggplant is either too tough or too mushy, the sauce lacks flavor, the cheese gets crusty, and so on.  However, this will now be my go-to eggplant parmesan recipe after I enjoyed it and Husband gave it rave reviews.  Neither kid liked it, but I've never had luck getting them to eat eggplant, so it wasn't a surprise.

I'm sure this could be made much healthier by baking the eggplant instead of frying it, but ehh...I was in the mood for some oil-drenched comfort food.

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
olive oil
2 cans (14.5 oz each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 to 2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
pasta [optional]

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a large baking dish.
(2) Heat 1/4 cup oil in large pan on medium-high heat.
(3) In a small bowl, combine eggs and pepper well.
(4) In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs and one teaspoon garlic powder.
(5) Dip eggplant slices into egg and then breadcrumbs.
(6) Add eggplant slices to pan in several batches; brown on each side (adjust heat level as needed).
(7) Remove to plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Wipe most of oil out of pan with paper towels when done.
(8) Add tomato sauce, onion, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, basil, and oregano to pain.  Heat to boiling, then simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.  Stir in butter until melted.
(9) Lay eggplant slices in baking dish (preferably in one layer).  Pour sauce over eggplant.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and Mozzarella.
(10) Cover with foil.  Bake 20-30 minutes.  Remove foil; bake 5-10 minutes longer.  Serve with pasta if desired.

Notes: Husband remarked that the sauce had just the right amount of saltiness, but the recipe could be short-cutted by just using jarred sauce.

Kid Participation: None...including consuming it, apparently.