A Little Cuisine... Healthy, Home-made Kettle Corn

I love kettle corn, but I could do without the sugar.  Enter this... the best popcorn you will ever make.  It's healthy too (serious bonus)!

You will need:

• Popcorn
• Canola oil
• Agave nectar
• Sea salt
• Coconut oil

Here's what you do:

1. Heat the canola oil in a heavy stock pot until you see steam rise.
2. Put in about 3/4 cup of popcorn kernels, cover.
3. Move the pot around over the stove.
4. Take off the heat when it stops popping.
5. Place the popcorn in a large bowl
6. Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil, toss.
7. Drizzle agave nectar (to taste)
8. Salt to taste.

And there you have it.  Now curl up by the fire and watch your favorite chick flick.

A Little Cuisine... Homemade Potato Chips

America Now, hosted by Leeza Gibbons and Bill Rancic, is a news magazine show offering you a daily dose of compelling stories, news, lifestyle info and advice from around the country on topics that are relevant and useful. Not only can you find the latest info on health, personal finance, technology, fashion and fitness, but you can also find everyday tips and recipes that will help you eat and live better.

Here is a recipe you can really use – homemade potato chips – from our Food Pro Devin Alexander.
To get started, thoroughly wash the potatoes (“russett” or “baker” potatoes work best) and set them aside to dry. The drier the potatoes, the crispier the final product.

Once the potatoes are dry, slice your potatoes as thinly as possible (about one-sixteenth of an inch).

Then put your sliced potatoes into a resealable plastic bag. Add a small amount of extra-virgin olive oil, a half-teaspoon for every eight ounces of potatoes, and add any kind of seasoning you like (salt, pepper, garlic powder etc). Seal the bag and toss, making sure the oil permeates the raw potatoes.

Prepare a piece of parchment paper on a microwave-safe plate. Lay potato slices flat on the parchment paper and pop them into the microwave for five to seven minutes. When they become crispy, you’ve got a delicious batch of chips for a fraction of the cost and calories!

Devin Alexander, best known as author of New York Times Bestselling series “The Biggest Loser” cookbooks, is a veteran in the fight against obesity who offers a unique approach to healthy cooking. She has maintained a 55 pound weight loss for over 15 years and lives by her message: you don’t have to deprive yourself to be fit and healthy. Now you can catch her on America Now, with hosts Leeza Gibbons and Bill Rancic.

For more tasty, healthy recipes and tips from Devin and the America Now team, check here to find out when America Now airs in your area.

A Little Treat...Homemade Popsicles

Blog Post as seen on PinchingYourPennies.com

Summer, how I love you! Hot weather means cool treats! There is something so satisfying about making popsicles from scratch. Not only are they inexpensive – made from pretty much anything you can freeze into a popsicle, but they can be a healthy alternative to some of the more sugar-filled choices at the store. Here are a couple of healthy, delicious posicle recipes. Please post your favorites in the comments.

And, don’t you just love this cute “shooting star” mold from Amazon? I do!


Grapple Popsicles - Mix together 3 C applesauce with 1 C grape juice & freeze!

Layered Juicy Pops – Pour a favorite juice into 1/3 of the mold, put in freezer until just firm (about 30 minutes) then pour another fruit juice and let freeze, rinse repeat (make sure to put your stick in after your last layer)!

Melon Pops – Puree watermelon (good for those going a little mushy) mixed with white grape juice.

Green Popsicle – Combine 1 ripe banana, 2 C strawberries, 1 C almond milk, loose handful of baby spinach in blender. Freeze! You can’t even taste the spinach!

Jelly Juice Popsicle- When the jelly jar is running low, fill it 1/4 full of very hot water and swish around. Pour jelly water into popsicle mold.

Yogurt Popsicle- When yogurt begins to get a bit runny, pour into a greased mold (Pam spray before).

A Little Snack Time…Play With Your Food!

My 5 Year Old:  Mom, I’m HUNGRY!

Me:  Eat an apple.

My 5 Year Old:  I HATE APPLES.

Sound familiar?  For the record, he doesn’t hate apples, he gets bored with the same old snack routine.  He just doesn’t know how to tell me that yet!  So, here are a few ways that I like to revamp snack time so that it is totally awesome (and mostly healthy) and no longer LAME!

1.  Relax.  I never stress out about my kids eating habits.  One day they will be so hungry that I feel like I’m in the kitchen non-stop.  The next day they barely eat enough to keep a bird alive.  It’s fine.  They eat when they are hungry and with kids, sometimes they don’t really need much to maintain.  When you stress about food they will too and that can create a larger problem for them down the road in the form of an eating disorder, overeating, emotional eating, etc.  If you are ever really concerned with their appetite or lack of one, talk to your doctor to make sure everything is okay.

2.  Art/Fun.  My kids love when I put a spoonful of peanut butter in the center of a plate with apple slices all around it like a flower.  If I stick a carrot on my kids’ plates they will maybe eat it.  But if I give them tiny carrot circles with a toothpick for stabbing they get really excited!  It takes some extra work with cutting but my kids totally eat it up.  Pun intended!

Source: meetthedubiens.blogspot.com via Briton on Pinterest

3.  Lax Rules.  Let them blow bubbles in their milk.  Let them build a tower of crackers and cheese.  It’s just snack time.  Sometimes I’ll put my kids’ snack in a dog dish (specifically purchased for snacks, no dogs have used them) and let them eat like puppies.  Who needs manners?  We save them, and the silverware, for dinner time!

4.  Choices.  Raisins or Craisins?  Apples or Oranges?  Carrots or Celery?  Yogurt or String Cheese?  Chocolate Chip Cookie or Toast with Nutella?  If they choose it, they will be more apt to eat it!

I don’t do the artsy and fun stuff all the time, just every once in a while, to keep them guessing! 

What are some of your kids’ favorite snacks and/or how do you get them to eat up?

A Little Food...Four Keeper Recipes!

This year one of my goals has been to get out of my recipe rut.  So I have been faithful over the last 12 weeks in making anywhere from one to four new recipes each week.  Some have been revolting, some so-so, but others have been great.  I thought I would share my four favorites in case you need a push out of your own same ol' same ol' routine!  Click the title for the full recipe if it isn't listed :)

Tortellini Gratinata with Mushrooms and Parsnip “Bechamel”

This recipes sounds like a doozy and it is has a lot going on so it takes awhile but it is WORTH IT!  It took about 2 hours start to finish, including baking and cooling time.  I was a little worried about the parsnip 'bechamel' because parsnips are so sweet and sometimes make a savory dish a little weird for me.  It ended up being great at cutting the strong flavors from the Gorgonzola.  (I used normal Gorgonzola instead of Gorgonzola Dolce because I'm normal and shop at regular grocery stores!)

Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps

This is really simple and you can throw it together in a few minutes if you have everything on hand.  I didn't measure, just started mixing and eyeballing it until is looked and tasted right!

Romaine Lettuce
Croutons, Cut in Half
Caesar Dressing
Bacon Bits
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cooked, Cubed Chicken
Tortillas, Pitas or Wraps

Mix the lettuce through chicken in a bowl.  Spoon into tortillas, pitas or wraps.  Enjoy!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

MAKE THESE.  They are delicious.  I half-heartedly looked for fleur de sel (see recipe) but didn't see it so I just served these up with my sea salt grinder.  These are really good with that tiny bit of salt but also fine without it...the next day for breakfast. 

I did a water bath when I baked mine.  The recipe doesn't say to but I've heard it really helps with even baking.  I placed a large dish towel in a jelly roll pan, placed my unbaked cheesecake on it then slowly filled the jelly roll pan about half full with water.  Be careful not to get any water into your cheesecake.  I also rotated the pan several times while it baked.  Again, I've heard it helps with even baking so I figured, why not try it?  I baked it for 10 minutes, 1/2 turn, 10 minutes, 1/2 turn, 9 minutes, 1/2 turn, 9 minutes, done!  I didn't have a single crack and it was perfectly creamy.

Sticky Toffee Banana Pudding

My favorite thing about it is the toffee sauce.  It is perfectly caramelized and brown and buttery.  It would be heaven on vanilla ice cream...

Do you have any keepers you'd be willing to share?  Leave them in the comments!

A Little Sweet - Valentine Treats

Love, love, LOVE researching for holiday treats! My favorite holiday for treats? Valentines Day of course. Here is what I'm looking to make this year. (Again, picture are thanks to their respective blogs and websites)

Darla at Bakingdom came up with these darling raspberry meringues filled with chocolate. I love the color and tiny size. I am planning on making these to fill cellophane bags for teachers and friends. And a bowl for me. Wouldn't these be great for a bridal or baby shower party anytime? So darn cute!

Sugar Cooking who loves sugar AND cooking (heh!) baked up Red Velvet Cupcakes. My Firstborn loves red velvet cake and his birthday is the first week of February. I'm going to bake a batch of these and secretly invite his friends over. He'll love it.

I found this recipe for Strawberry Napoleons over at Cinemon Girl. I've been making these for years. Its my go-to dessert when I have unexpected guests during the summer. I always keep strawberries (or blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) and puff pastry on hand. The one thing I do differently: I drizzle chocolate on the bottom pastry, top with berries and cream, then drizzle the top pastry layer with more chocolate.

Okay, I will admit that America's Test Kitchens recipe for Triple Chocolate Mousse Torte is a little bit labor intensive. Sooooo worth it! It makes a gorgeous presentation that just begs for a dinner party. Do not be intimidated. It isn't hard, just takes effort.

A Little Dinner... Cabbage and Straw

This dinner is pure delicious comfort food to our family.  We have it a couple times a month.  I came home from work today and smelled it in the kitchen and was so happy!  (My husband is awesome).  I may or may not have had 3 helpings.  Seriously.
It is starchy and delicious and my kids gobble it down.  My sister-in-law found this recipe originally and tried it because her husband would not eat cabbage... and guess what?  He loved this.  We do too.

Our crib notes:  We cut down the total butter amount a bit and use half olive oil/half butter.  We add lots of extra garlic because it is divine.  We use dried sage if we don't have fresh.  You can get a big wedge of pecorino romano cheese (the cheese used in this recipe) at Costco for a steal and it says fresh in your fridge for a long time.  My husband likes to serve grilled or fried chicken on the side, and my sister-in-law adds ground turkey to the recipe.  Me?  I like it sans meat.  Just good old cabbage and straw. And sometimes with grilled mushrooms.  Yum.
Enjoy.  We sure do.

Reposted here for ease:

Cabbage and Straw by Rachel Ray

Ingredients:

• Salt
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
• 1 pound fettuccine or pappardelle pasta
• 1 small head Savoy cabbage (about 1-1/4 pounds)—quartered, cored and shredded
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 garlic cloves—smashed, skins removed and cloves halved
• 16 fresh sage leaves, 6 whole and 10 thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 1½ cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Add the potatoes and cook for 7 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and cook for 5 minutes.
2. While the potatoes and pasta are working, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and whole sage leaves. Cook until the sage is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the garlic and sage leaves to a small plate.
3. Add the sliced sage and ground pepper to the skillet; just before draining the potatoes, pasta and cabbage, add 2 ladles of the starchy cooking water.
4. Drain the potatoes, pasta and cabbage and add to the skillet. Stir it all together, adding the Pecorino Romano as you work to get a cheesy, buttery coating. Adjust the salt and garnish the pasta with the reserved whole sage leaves and garlic.
   
   

A Little Cuisine...The Perfect Gingerbread Man/Cookie

(editor's note:  my apologies for not posting this before Christmas, but who doesn't want a delicious gingerbread recipe for New Years... or all year long, right?  I, for one, love gingerbread and can't wait to try this.  Thanks Dawn!)

Who doesn't want the perfect man for Christmas? A strong edge, a soft heart and sweet as candy. Here is the recipe!

"Not my gumdrop buttons!"  he he he

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 c. molasses
1 tsp. vinegar
2 eggs beaten
5 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix sugar, butter, spices and molasses. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Add vinegar and eggs. Mix well. Add sifted flour and soda blending to a smooth dough. Chill in the fridge. Roll out on floured board and cut with a 4 or 6 inch cookie cutter. (I like to keep them 1/4 inch thick to keep them soft.) Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 10 minutes.

A Little Cuisine... My Favorite Potato Cheese Soup Recipe

My husband printed out this potato cheese soup recipe, and it quickly became a family favorite.

This soup is not as heavy as some potato cheese soups, and has GREAT flavor - the key is the swiss cheese (added last) and the pepper.

One change I would make:  use 1/2 tsp instead of 1 tsp. of pepper. Also, once I used whole milk (because it was all I had at home) and it made it creamier but less flavorful overall. I prefer to use skim milk - it brings out the flavor and it is less fattening!  Win, win.

Serve with crusty rolls and you have a quick and easy dinner to keep you warm on a Halloween (or winter) night.

Yum.  Enjoy!

Recipe reposted here for easy viewing:

Ingredients
4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, vegetable broth and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender. Do not rinse: mash mixture slightly. Stir in milk.
In a small mixing bowl, blend butter, flour, parsley, and pepper; stir into potato mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat: add cheese and stir until cheese is almost melted. Let soup stand for 5 minutes.

A Little Cuisine... Pumpkin!

The weather is finally starting to feel like Fall and with that I start craving pumpkin! Pumpkin rolls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin shakes etc! Here are a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes:

(I've tried to give credit where credit is due!)

PUMPKIN BARS

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe Blog

4 eggs

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

15 oz. can pumpkin

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

ICING

8 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine softened

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

PUMPKIN ROLL

Recipe from the Libby's Pumpkin can

picture from allrecipes.com

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup Libby's 100% pure pumpkin

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 TBS. butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 15x10 inch jelly roll pan. Line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle dish towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts (if you choose to add them).

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting from narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

Beat cream cheese, powered sugar, butter and vanilla in a small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

PUMPKIN LAYERED PIE

Recipe from my friend, Kesha

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 TBS. milk

1 TBS. sugar

1 1/2 cups cool whip (will eventually use all of the 8 oz.)

1 graham cracker crust

1 cup cold milk

1 can 16 oz. pumpkin

1 large package vanilla instant pudding

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

Mix cream cheese, milk, and sugar in a bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Fold in 1 1/2 cups cool whip. Spread in crust. In bowl, pour in milk, pumpkin, pudding and spices. Beat with wire whisk until combined. It will be thick! Spread over cream cheese mixture in pie crust. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Put cool whip on top when ready to serve.

A Little Delicious... One GREAT cookie!

For those of you that are like me I LOVE Girl Scout Cookies. I love purchasing that first box of Samoas... it's never my last box. I was grocery shopping the other day and saw these on the shelf. I thought what the heck I will try them out. ALMOST as good as the real thing!

And for those of you that LOVE Thin Mints try these:

A Little Health... Super Foods

I'm a firm believer of "moderation in everything". I try to make healthy choices when eating, as well as eat a well balanced diet. Which means, I indulge in the "good stuff" too. The following is 10 "super foods" that will help you achieve your healthy eating goals. They are packed with nutrients and will help you live longer.

1. Low Fat or Fat-Free Plain Yogurt. Yogurt has a higher concentration of calcium than other dairy products and contains a lot of other important nutrients including protein and potassium. Yogurt also has probiotics, which help your gut maintain a healthy balance of bacteria. I like to eat my yogurt with some fresh fruit for a healthy mid morning snack.

2. Eggs. Eggs contain 12 vitamins and minerals and are a great source of protein. And studies have shown that if you eat eggs for breakfast, you'll eat fewer calories during the day. My favorite way to eat them is scrambled.

3. Nuts. Nuts are packed with protein, heart-healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants. They key with nuts is in portion control. Mixing nuts into a salad is an easy and tasty way to get your recommended servings.

4. Kiwis. Kiwis are one of the most nutritionally dense fruits. Just one large kiwi can supply your daily requirement for vitamin C. Additionally, it is packed full of antioxidants and is a good source of potassium and fiber. Kiwis are great on their own or as part of tasty dessert. Yum!

5. Quinoa. Quinoa is a lesser known whole grain, but one of the best you can eat, because of it's high protein, fiber, and iron content. Quinoa can be cooked just like rice and served with vegetables. I've actually never had it, but plan to add it to next week's menu.

6. Beans. Beans are great for your heart, because they are loaded with insoluble and soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber helps lower your cholesterol and soluble fiber fills you up. Try my favorite beans, edamame (soy beans). You can get them at Costco in the freezer section.

7. Salmon. Salmon is packed full of omega-3 fatty acids, which help protect your heart. Salmon is low in calories and packed with protein and iron. Recommendations suggest ingesting fatty fish twice weekly. I also buy my salmon at costco. When I get home, I cut it into small fillets and freeze it. Then, when we want salmon, I just pop it out of the freezer and we are ready to cook.

8. Broccoli. Broccoli is a rich source of vitamins, A, C, and K. And as everybody knows, broccoli is packed with fiber. I'm all about easy meals, so when it comes to broccoli I get the Steam Fresh packs. In 5 minutes or less I have deliciously steamed broccoli to serve with any meal.

9. Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are the leaders in vitamin A content. Most people may think only of Thanksgiving when considering sweet potatoes, but I enjoy them year round in a variety of recipes from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious Cookbook.

10. Berries. Berries are packed with antioxidants, water and fiber, and have the added benefit of being low in calories. Blueberries lead the pack, but any berry will provide positivce health benefits. 

Happy and Healthy Eating!

A Little Cuisine...Bake Salmon Potstickers

photo:  culinaryanthropologist.com

Okay we had a yummy (and healthy) dinner the other night and all my kids loved it, so it’s worth sharing. Like all healthy meals, it’s pretty simple. Here is what you will need:
Note: one thing you should know about me is that I don’t really follow recipes and I make things up all the time – sometimes they turn out and sometimes they don’t and this one was a hit with the whole family.

Ingredients

A package of round wraps
One 7 oz can of boneless/skinless Atlantic salmon, drained (give the juice to your cat – they will love you forever)
Dash of Worcestershire sauce (reduced sodium)
Some lite mayo made with canola oil (use just enough to stick it together)
Fresh chives from the herb garden (I use scissors and cut them into little pieces) – probably 2-3 Tablespoons
Minced garlic - probably 1-3 cloves
Finely chopped white onion (about ¼ cup)
Egg white slightly beaten (optional)

Instructions

I mixed it all together then fill the wrapper (it doesn’t take much) then seal them in a half-moon shape with a little water to stick the dough together. I cooked them on 375º F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. I serve them with Kikkoman Sweet & Sour Sauce (go easy – it’s high sugar – but so yummy). Really you may not even need sauce at all – they are pretty tasty by themselves. I served this with steamed peas and sautéed mushrooms (high in zinc and vitamin C etc…) and milk.

Health benefits of fish (specifically salmon):

Fish is known for its heart health benefits and Salmon is no exception. Salmon is low in calories but packed with protein and omega-3 essential fatty acids with can help reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy immune and circulatory system. Salmon is also an excellent source of the antioxidant selenium, niacin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin B6. Many of these B-vitamins have been know to help lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease.

Enjoy!

Love, Lora


To learn more about health visit: http://www.blonderunner.com

A Little Tip... Pure Maple Syrup

by Corinne

I love the idea of all natural pure maple syrup... you know, it's pure and all (instead of high fructose corn syrup and the like). It makes me feel better about feeding my kids pancakes for dinner when they have "natural" sugar in pure maple syrup instead of processed sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in the more inexpensive (unfortunately) and more popular brands. I know this sounds pretty ridiculous but bear with me! Pure maple syrup is becoming more and more popular, and you can get it at Costco now in a huge container (and we all know that means better savings!)
Here is why I love the "idea" though... because pure maple syrup doesn't taste as good to me as the cheap stuff I was raised on. (boo hoo!) But then one day I came across Target's brand of pure maple syrup (somewhat reasonably priced btw) and they had a Cinnamon flavor too, and all they had done was add cinnamon sticks! I came home to my pure maple syrup that I was struggling to make myself love, added a couple cinnamon sticks, and viola! Delicious cinnamon pure maple syrup. Problem solved. You're welcome.
I guess you could just add cinnamon sticks to any maple syrup for delicious cinnamon maple sugary goodness. Cinnamon just makes things taste better! I add powdered cinnamon to my pancake batter as well, with mashed bananas. Delish!