Foodie

Food is a necessity. Our fuel.

Apparently I like a lot of fuel! Ah well, that's a whole other discussion better left unsaid at this point.

Creating dinner sometimes behoves me. There are days when I enjoy trying out a new recipe and others when I wish I had a personal chef to delight our palates and clean the kitchen .

One friend was serving her boys pizza pops and fries for dinner on a busy night and said she thought of me during this meal. Which was funny because I'm sure my family had packaged fish and chips the day before! So, there are moments when it's not all home-cooked here even though I do stay at home. The sins of a stay at home mom!

Here are some of the recipes we've been enjoying as of late.

Favorite Husband's Favorite Chicken

Package of skinless, boneless thighs...my Favorite husband is a thigh guy.

1 190z can chunky diced tomatoes

generous sprinkle of Italian or Pasta seasoning (I use VE Pasta spice)

grated mozzarella cheese

Place chicken in sprayed 9x13 pan. Pour tomatoes on top. Sprinkle spice. Top with grated cheese, enough to fully cover top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 min. Until bubbly with melted cheese and chicken is fully cooked.

This is so easy and super tasty. B gives compliments every time I serve it.

Yogurt Cheese

Plain yogurt, gelatin free such as Astro original Balkan Style yogurt. Gelatin free is the key to good separation of the whey.

Place in cheese cloth lined strainer over a medium size bowl. Leave on counter for about an hour then transfer to the fridge overnight. Will have a cream cheese like consistency.

Again, super easy 'cause I'm all about being easy!

This YC discovery is all courtesy of Clean Eating by Tosca Reno.

I used this in place of cream cheese on a Cool Veggie Pizza. Our guests loved the "pizza" and asked for the recipe even.

I love it! I use it in place of mayo (add a splash of lemon juice & pinch of dry mustard), cream cheese, and even for icing. Regular yogurt, un-cheesed, is used in place of sour cream at our house. I've broke up with mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese. All cheese. As W needs to be cassein free. One would think this break up would diminish the size of certain parts of my anatomy....not so! Ugh. Hmmm...maybe I should break up with McDonalds too?!

For Bup's birthday cupcakes, I used:

YC Icing

1 cup YC

1/2 tsp peppermint flavoring

1/2 cup icing sugar

Super! Light, thick, tangy and the kids loved it too!

And then there's this super spinach dip a friend, we shall call her Thelma, introduced me to. It's a Weight Watcher's recipe. It's yummy! And...I'm not breaking up with store bought spinach dip.

Spinach Dip

4 cup(s) spinach, fresh, chopped (about 2 oz)
1/2 cup(s) light cream cheese
1/2 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup(s) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup(s) chives, fresh, minced, divided
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp table salt, or less to taste (optional)
Instructions
Place spinach in a small saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then cook for 1 minute; drain well.
Place spinach, cream cheese, sour cream, feta cheese, 2 tablespoons of chives, lemon juice and pepper in a blender; puree. Taste dip and add salt if desired. Spoon dip into a serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of chives. Yields about 3 tablespoons of dip per serving.

*Note* I didn't use the blender & I substituted green onions & bottled lemon juice. Just as tasty!

Gluten Free

We are playing with going Gluten Free. I need to bite the bullet and do it. It'll be better for W. We've introduced rice pasta, use this Gluten Free cookbook and quite enjoy it, Rice Milk, and are fairly close to being cassein free. Remember I broke up with cheese although we still use plain yogurt.

Bup's birthday cupcakes were gluten free and tasty! I simply substituted Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Mix Gluten Free in place of flour, eliminated the baking soda, baking powder as they are in the mix and used a regular chocolate cake recipe. I also added some cherry pie filling just to make them extra tasty, baked them in flat bottom cones and topped them with the YC icing. The kids devoured theirs as did the Little Ones at playgroup on Wednesday.

That's our food revelations for now. Other than I have discovered how W breaks into the pantry to raid the hidden stash of marshmallows and Kraft caramels for Christmas baking. They're now in the garbage and W stands on the freezer handle, then stands on the pantry door handle to reach up and unlock the lock at the top of the door jam. Determined, fearless and successful. Until the mother clues in and throws it all away.