Cheesy Chili Mac

So sometimes you just crave some good old comfort food, especially in the winter. I grabbed a magazine from Whole Foods awhile back called "Skillet Suppers" that was put out by America's Test Kitchen. It was an impulse purchase at the time but it has produced some new, easy family favorites for us and the beauty is all the dishes are cooked in ONE POT. Fewer dishes=Happier Mama. I hesitantly decided to try this recipe for chili mac. . .the boys love their mac n' cheese so add meat to it and you've got their dream come true in a bowl. It hit the spot for my entire family. Everyone down to the baby gobbled it up and it was so easy and pretty cheap to make. I made a few modifications.

Cheesy Chili Mac

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
Salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar or maple syrup (heaping)
1 lb lean ground beef (I used grass-fed 85% lean beef)
2 cups water
1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's Organic)
8 oz elbow macaroni (I used De Cecco)
2 cups shredded italian cheese blend (I used Trader Joe's Three Cheese blend)

Directions:
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat for a minute or so. Add onion, chili powder, cumin and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in water and tomato sauce, then add pasta. Cover, increase heat to medium-high and cook stirring often until the pasta is al dente. It should maintain a vigorous simmer.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese. It may seem a little too "saucy" at this point but don't worry it'll thicken up as it sits. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remaining cheese. Cover again until the cheese melts and let stand, off heat for 2-4 minutes. Serve.

Apple-Cranberry Crisp

Directions:

3 cups cubed Granny Smith apple (about 1 pound)
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
Butter for greasing the baking dish

Topping:
1/3 cup sprouted wheat flour
1 cup regular oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar or sucanat
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Preparation

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; Spoon into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish coated with butter. Lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, sugar, and butter, stirring with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the apple mixture. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly. Top with vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Harvest Party 2011

This year William insisted on being a pirate for Halloween (which he calls "Cowloween" even though he know thats not right). He has never seen a movie with a pirate in it besides the Jonah movie by Veggie Tales and we have no pirate books. It is a mystery to me really. I wanted Ruby's costume to go along with Will's so he was a pirate/Captain Hook and she was Tinkerbell. . .even though they've never seen Peter Pan. In the end they were cute and hilarious and I wanted to gobble them up.

Dirt Dessert in Mason Jars

Ok, so I am a little anal/ocd/obsessive about food so this is a crazy recipe for dirt dessert that uses only real sugar. It is obviously no where near healthy. I will be the first to admit it is way more complicated/expensive than just buying jello-pudding and oreos. . .but it helps me sleep at night knowing what I am feeding my children and other people's children. haha (I say this but the cupcakes I served were totally from Sam's Club. . .and they were delicious. . .so I am a walking contradiction) I made these for Will's birthday party and had lots of inquiries about the recipe. I sort of made it up as I went along but here is a basic recipe as far as I can remember making it.


Dirt Dessert in Mason Jars

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Trader Joe's Jo Jo cookies (I used chocolate but you could use either type)
2 packs of Organic Chocolate Pudding Mix ( I bought Dr. Oetker brand at Whole Foods)
1 carton Truwhip
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
2-3 containers of Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate Pudding (or you could buy another pack of pudding mix and prepare it. I just ran out of time so I went the fast route!)

Directions:

Process cookies in batches in food processor until cookies are crumbs, or place cookies in food storage bags and use a rolling pin to crush.

Prepare pudding according to package directions; fold in Truwhip topping. Combine butter, sugar, and cream cheese in another mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until smooth. Fold into the pudding mixture.

Spoon crushed cookies into the bottoms of the mason jars (you could also use little flower pots), next spoon in pudding mixture, another layer of crushed cookies and then finish with belgian chocolate pudding or box pudding.


Enjoy & then slip into a sugar-induced coma. (:

Will's 3rd John Deere Tractor Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Will's birthday with our sweet family and friends today. It was insanely windy and pretty chilly but the sun was shining. Will loved it and went to bed wearing his green bandana.



The spread included a vegetable garden, chicken wings, feed, pigs n' a blanket, haystacks and of course. . .



CUPCAKES!



Maybe I ate the rest of this once I got home. . .



We sent guests home with dirt desserts and little tractor boxes filled with goodies.



Cousin love



Watching trains



Ruby verses Tractor (the tractor won)



How cool is this corn pool? As long as you don't mind finding corn in your pull-up, diaper, pockets, neck rolls, etc hours later.



Happy Birthday to my sweet, hilarious, kind, creative, loving, crazy boy! I love being your mama. I love the joy you bring to our family. You are the best. Seriously, the best. Kiss, hug, high-five, pound. XOXO

Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge

A friend of mine gave me this recipe a few weeks ago and I finally got around to making it. Wow. So, so good! The textures and flavors go so well together and it is great for this cool Fall weather. You can use whatever type of milk and sweetener that you like, I just like to use whole milk and natural sweeteners. If you are a Trader Joe's lover like myself then know that they have all the ingredients for this recipe in their store including organic red quinoa. I cannot stop making this!


Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk, organic/raw preferred
1 cup water
1 cup organic red quinoa, rinsed (*If possible it is best if you soak the quinoa in 2 cups water + 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk, kefir or whey for about 12 hours. Give it a good rinse after soaking. This will make the quinoa easier to digest.)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pecans, chopped and toasted*
Maple syrup or raw honey for drizzling on top

Directions:

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle with maple syrup or honey before serving.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.