DIY Cooking at Home

We are regular smoothie drinkers around here, but I usually just use milk, frozen berries and bananas. So for something different today, I made smoothies that tasted just like a creamsicle. The girls really liked them and I did, too, because they got tons of vitamin C and calcium out of 'em. Here's how: Creamsicle Smoothies Ahead of time, fill an ice cube tray with orange juice and freeze. When you're ready for your smoothies, blend the orange juice cubes with 1 c. vanilla yogurt, 1 T. honey and 2 T. of orange juice concentrate. Makes about four six-ounce smoothies. Enjoy!!

Stop the presses, I've discovered another recipe our whole family loves! And this is the really amazing thing: it's vegetarian! I'm not kidding when I tell you that I could eat these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not get sick of them... they're that good. I could continue extolling their virtues, but I think I'll just give you the recipe and let you decide for yourselves. Tasty Two-Cheese Tostadas Corn tortillas 1 can of refried beans (vegetarian or regular) 1 small to medium-sized zucchini, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium-sized onion, chopped 12 oz. small Portabella mushrooms, halved Sliced or shredded pepper jack cheese Shredded cheddar Taco sauce Cilantro Sour cream Preheat the oven to 400° Toss the zucchini, red pepper, onion, and mushrooms in 1 to 2 T. olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Roast the vegetables for about 15 minutes or until soft, stirring once. Meanwhile, spread as many corn tortillas as you want wi...

Woo-hoo! I love this recipe concocted from a basic plan I found in Parents magazine and my own additions. It's easy, healthy, can be made-ahead (Todd, are you reading this?) and tastes like takeout. It's a trifecta perfecta! Here are the star ingredients: And here's the recipe: Heat 2 T. peanut oil in a large skillet and add 3 – 4 c. cooked brown rice that’s been chilled a few hours. (I make the rice the night before, cover and put in the fridge.) Once the rice begins to brown, add 1 c. chopped cooked chicken (I like to poach several chicken breasts at once, wrap individually and freeze for recipes like this and 1 c. frozen peas. Stir in 2 T. light soy sauce and 1 T. dark sesame oil. (I have also added some chopped green onion at this stage, too, but you don't have to. It's good either way.) While this mixture is heating through, whisk one egg then add to the skillet, stirring constantly so that the little scrambled bits get incorporated. Fortune cookies opti...

I love reinventing leftovers into something entirely different from what we had the night before. It's not always possible, of course, but sometimes it works, and when it does I feel so thrifty and sensible! So the other night we had Greek tacos. Never heard of 'em? Well, no recipe is required...here's how you make the swap: Greek Tacos In place of ground beef, use ground chicken In place of taco seasoning, brown the chicken with a little oregano, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. In place of shredded cheddar, use feta In place of taco shells, use pita pockets In place of sour cream, use a dollop of Greek yogurt Sprinkle with tomatoes and cucumbers, and serve with a side of garlic and olive oil-flavored couscous. Now here's where it gets interesting. I had seen a recipe for baked couscous in a magazine, Family Circle I think, and had a mental note to serve it as a re-invented side. It called for a little mayo as the binder. But when we have Greek Tacos, there...

...I'm sharing two new recipes with you today that are fun for kids on a cold day. If you're having a holiday party this year, you might consider serving one of these for the kiddos while the adults have their cocktails. We've tried both and loved 'em! Hot Vanilla from Family Fun Magazine (pictured above) Candy Cane Milk from Parents Magazine

Do you get in a breakfast rut in your house? For our kids, it's oatmeal or cereal almost every morning. But when we make these yummy pancakes (they taste SO good this time of year, especially with maple syrup), we have a quick go-to breakfast or even lunch that feels special because it's out of the norm. Plus, the whole wheat flour and pumpkin are very healthy. This recipe makes a TON of sand-dollar sized pancakes, so after they've cooled, I plastic wrap them--2 cakes per package--and freeze them in a freezer bag. When we want 'em, we just unwrap them and reheat for 30 seconds per side. Pumpkin Pancakes In large bowl, whisk together: 2 c. whole wheat flour 1 ¾ c. white flour 5 ¼ tsp. baking powder 3 tsp. cinnamon 1 ¼ tsp. allspice 1 ¼ tsp. ginger ½ tsp. kosher salt and 1/3 c. brown sugar In a separate bowl, whisk together: 15 oz. canned pumpkin 6 eggs and 3 c. whole milk (I used buttermilk the last time and it worked just fine) Slowly pour liquid mixture into dry m...

I'm so proud of my latest concoction, mostly because it met with approval from our 4-year-old! But it's also easy, healthy, and uses up zucchini from the garden. I only wish I'd taken a picture for the purposes of HMM, but (will wonders never cease?) there was none left. Ok, so I was making BLTs tonight to use up some tomatoes. (Ok, one tomato. But that's one less to attract fruit flies on the counter!) Anyway, I needed a side dish, so I pulled out some of that frozen, shredded zucchini I told you about with plans to try Disappearing Zucchini Orzo . But silly me, I had no orzo (duh), no parmesan, and no onions (how does that happen? I always have onions). So, as millions of you fellow moms do at 5:00 every day, I punted. I swapped couscous for the orzo, feta for the parmesan, and garlic for the onions and voila! My zucchini side dish did its own disappearing act. Zingy Zucchini Couscous 2 cups thawed, shredded zucchini (you can use freshly shredded, too) 3/4 c. dried, ...

My blog posts have turned from decorating to cooking lately because that's where my attention is. It's that time of year when neighbors and friends (God love 'em) have been bringing us the bounty from their gardens. It's no coincidence that Mother Nature blesses us with all of this produce--peaches, tomatoes, squash and corn are my faves--just as we begin to sense the impending change of seasons and summer's last gasp fades us into fall. I look forward to fall--welcome the cooler weather, love the crunch of leaves, soup on the stove and Buckeye football Saturdays...but I'm sad to see summer go, too. Anyway, I'm noticing that (thanks to above-mentioned friends who garden), each year I've been freezing a bit more, and a bit more. I keep vowing to learn how to can--particularly tomatoes--but for some reason the process intimidates me. I've checked out library books on the subject and read the same chapters over and over again with the hope that I'll...