Family Bites

What's for Dinner? Meal Planning Monday Help (and a recipe)

This is pasta e ceci soup.  An Italian pasta and chickpea potage, that has been in circulation at our dinner table for no less than six years, which is an eternity when you're always looking for and creating new recipes.  

It first started off as the only soup the kids would eat (thankfully, that has changed) and is now one of our favourites.  It's also ridiculously easy to make and so tasty to slurp. We ate it for lunch on the weekend and will be eating it again for dinner this week, as I didn't meal plan a single thing for the coming week.  I was too busy becoming an aunt as my sister had her first baby! 

It was the most exciting of weekends, but now I'm faced with wondering what I'm going to feed my family this week. Perhaps you can offer me some suggestions and we can meal plan for the coming nights with your ideas?  I have chicken and pork chops that need to be cooked, plenty of rice, beans and quinoa, eggs and lots of veggies.  

So, while I wait for your most excellent meal suggestions, I leave you with my go-to, no-dinner-planned soup recipe.  I think it will become a family favourite for you, too.

Pasta e Ceci Soup

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 3 celery ribs, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon dried sage
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup ditalini (small, tubular) pasta

In a large pot set over low heat, warm the oil.  Add the carrots, onion, celery and garlic and sautee slowly, until soft. Add the chickpeas, salt, sage, rosemary and chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  

Remove the soup from the stove top and puree using an immersion blend.  Return to the stove, add the pasta and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and cook until the pasta is tender.  Stir often to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Thin the soup with more chicken stock or water, if desired and serve.

 

 

The Lunchbox Blues

Did you know that more people suffer from depression in January than any other month of the year? I'm one of those people, but unlike many others, my malaise isn't the result of our dark, dreary, cold and snowy days, but rather the empty lunchbox sitting on my counter.   

At this point in the school year, we've made well over 100 school lunches.  I'm thinking we're almost at 160, to be honest.  For those of you with more than two kids, it's an even higher number. And I don't know about you, but I'm so bored with making the daily midday meal.  The same things over and over. And over.

So, I came up with some ideas on how to shed a bit of light on my lunchbox blues, and was fortunate to share my thoughts over on Simple Bites last week.  Think theme meals and easy planning.  

Head on over and see how we're approaching the remaining six months of school. What are you packing for lunch these days?

Seeded Wheat Bran Biscuits

 

We are in need of something that isn't sweet.  Something that oozes with savoury goodness, something that isn't made with sugar and butter, and definitely something that isn't birthday cake.

So I made these.  Slightly dense and flaky biscuits, filled with good-for-you seeds and nourishing ingredients.  Perfectly sized for the soup-dunking days ahead, I'm quite certain these golden rounds will make many appearances at our table in the coming weeks. 

They're not only great for dinner though.  Slathered with peanut butter, they make for a most excellent breakfast.  Stuffed with some aged cheddar and a few slices of apple or pear, they're a wicked lunch and packed into a brown paper bag, tucked inside a hockey bag, they're the ultimate snack on the go.

It's nice to return to normal after nearly two full months of celebratory days. 

Seeded Wheat Bran Biscuits

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup poppy-seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 cup frozen butter, grated
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flours, baking powder, salt, poppy-seeds, flaxseed and wheat bran in a bowl, and whisk together.

Grate the frozen butter, and add to the flour mixture, tossing it together until the butter is incorporated evenly into the flour.

Combine the milk and honey and add to the butter/flour bowl.  Stir with the end of a wooden spoon to form a dough ball.  Fold over a few times with your hand, catching the loose flour.  

Place the dough on the counter and press into a circle, about 1.5 inches thick.  Cut into wedges or circles and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.

 

 

Surprise! (A Rainbow Birthday Cake)

This simple, decorated cake was a hit.  Six kids, including the two who live here and a handful of nieces and nephews, were thrilled to dig in and discover the interior revealed ...

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This!  A colourful rainbow, so perfectly bright and cheery for a cold and dark January day.  

We hosted a small family party for Jackson's birthday over the weekend.  We served up chips and salsa, chili with all the right fixings, cornbread, salad, and pink lemonade.  I knew that with a Mexican inspired menu the balloons, decor and cake should be vibrant, a la Cinco de Mayo, which led me to making this cake.

It was much easier to construct than you might think.  I took a cake batter than I know yields an ample amount, weighed it, and divided it into six even portions.  Each portion was tinted a colour of the rainbow and then baked individually.  Once they came out of the oven, I wrapped the layers in plastic wrap, and froze them to make for fuss-free frosting.

The day of the party, I placed the bottom layer on a cake board and topped it with 1/4 cup of icing. Then I added a second layer, another 1/4 cup icing and continued until all of the layers had been stacked.

Once the rainbow was assembled, I applied a quick crumb coat to the entire cake to seal it all in. The cake went back to my outdoor freezer (the front porch) until it was ready for the final frosting.

I usually like to make a smooth finish on my cakes, but in this case I wanted something thick and billowy to conceal the interior colours.  I applied a heavy layer of icing to the cake, and then swirled it around with the back of a spoon to create a wispy effect.

A few simple sprinkles and nine (9!) candles finished it off, and no one knew the surprise that was hidden inside.  My niece's reaction to the cake was worth every second it took me to make it, and the birthday boy was happily impressed as well.

 Rainbow Birthday Cake

Cake, slightly adapted from The Barefoot Contessa:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour six 9" cake pans (or 1 if that is all you have, and work in batches).

Cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated, then the sour cream and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Enusre the batter is well mixed. 

Weigh the batter, and divide it into six even portions (my batter total was 64 oz, and I made 6 - 10oz cakes). Pour into individual bowls, and tint each portion with 1/4 teaspoon colouring gel.  Mix well to ensure the colour is evenly distributed in the cake batter.

Bake each cake for 12-13 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature, remove cake and repeat if you're using less than six baking pans.

Once the cake has cooled, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. 

To make the frosting: Cream the butter on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the powdered sugar, and mix well.  Add the milk to thin out the consistency and blend until light and fluffy.

Assemble the cake: Place the bottom layer of the cake on a cake board, and top with 1/4 cup frosting.  Top with another layer of cake and repeat until all of the layers have been used.  Spread a thin coating of frosting all over the cake and place in the fridge or freezer until frosting has set.  Apply another thicker coat of frosting to the entire cake and completely conceal all of the colours.  Using the back of a spoon, drag it over the icing in a zig zag pattern to create a ripple effect.

What's for Dinner? It's Meal Planning Monday

Happy Monday!  Today is Rob's birthday which means we get to head out for dinner tonight.  Hooray.

We're off to our local pub, which is warm and cozy with a fun selection of non-traditional pubby foods (think warm quinoa salad, chicken tikka masala, homemade soups and bison burgers).  Perfect for a ridiculously cold, late January day, don't you think?

Jackson's birthday is also this week, and he loudly insisted that he, too, should get to go out for dinner on his birthday as well.  So that's exactly what we're doing which means we'll be dining out twice this week. What a treat.

The rest of meals this week will be filled with homemade soups and roast chicken. How about you?  What are you dishing up this week?

Monday - Rob's birthday - out for dinner

Tuesday - Southwestern bean and sausage soup with avocado salad

Wednesday - Jackson's birthday - out for dinner

Thursday - Squash and apple soup with homemade bread and salad

Friday - Mustard and tarragon roast chicken, baked potatoes and broccoli

PS - The chili in the bowl above was from dinner last night.  Yum, yum.

Creamy Cauliflower Risotto

When I'm feeling completely uninspired in the kitchen, I consistently fall back on one simple dish: risotto. I know what you're thinking.  Risotto and simple don't really belong in the same sentence, but I'm here to assure you; they really do.

While risotto is a tad bit labour intensive, with it's need for constant care and attention, it's hard to muck up (once you have the method down pat) which is why I consider it to be a simple meal.  It's also made with ingredients I typically have on hand (rice, stock, cheese, butter, onions, garlic and WINE), and it's the perfect vehicle for sneaking in less than favourable vegetables.  Or any vegetables for that matter.  It's a dish that works for every season, and almost any occasion, and pleases practically anyone you might have to feed.

I almost always make a veggie based risotto, although you can see from the photo above, that a tiny bit of bacon does occasionally make it's way onto the plate.  This weeks version made use of some cauliflower desperately in need of attention, not unlike my ten year old and his sudden interest in learning all that he can about girls (someone help me, please).  

I used this Jamie Oliver recipe for what you see above.  I didn't change a thing about the recipe, except for the topping, so I don't feel right reproducing it here. Head that way, print it off and treat yourself to a simple dinner this weekend.

 

Kids-Choice Breakfast

                  
 

Do you ever let your kids decide, on their own, what to eat for breakfast? 

We've been doing this for about a year now.  Every Wednesday morning in our house is known as "Kids-Choice Breakfast".  The boys choose, and make, whatever they want to eat. 

Do they always make good choices?  No.  Do they always eat what I want them to eat? No.  Do they enjoy being allowed to have a say over what they eat once a week?  Yes! Do I see improvements in what they're choosing for breakfast? Yes! Do I have a hard time keeping my mouth quiet, and my opinions to myself,  when they're making their own morning food?  YES!

But if I don't let them do it, how will they ever know how to make good food choices on their own?  If I always make them eat what I want them to eat, will they learn to eventually eat that way on their own?  Or will they run out and eat the first not-so-good-for-you foods they can find, because they've never been allowed the freedom of choice before?  I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I do know this is working well, at least for now. 

Besides, how else would I ever learn that eggs, cheese, ketchup, salsa and peanut butter makes for an excellent sandwich filling.

PS - I want the breakfast above.  A granola parfait, enjoyed outdoors, in Paris.

Peanut Butter and Roasted Banana Muffins

We needed something sweet in the house.  A little comforting treat to go with the copious amounts of tea and hot cocoa we consumed over the last few days, in an attempt to warm our slightly frozen fingers and toes. 

Nothing too sweet though, as we're also in the midst of celebrating 75% of our household's birthday this month, not too mention a few extended family members as well.  Which means there will be lots of cake over the next thirteen days.

Jackson and I sat down last week and wrote out the month of birthdays as we know it,  and when we combine friends and family together we have someone celebrating on the following days: 4th x 2, 9th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 22nd, 24th x 2, 26th, 28th x 2 and 31st.   Add to that my sister's wee one, who should make an appearance any day now (is there anything as exciting as your own sibling having a baby?) and we have quite the celebratory month.

So, while we didn't need anything really decadent we did need something.  And these roasted banana and peanut butter muffins were it.  I'll classify them as somewhat healthy, with the addition of yogurt, flaxseed and whole grain flour, but really, they're still a sweet muffin.  And when topped with the glaze they make for an almost dessert. 

But best of all, they taste amazing with the hot cocoa they've been paired with, which is good, because I see a lot of that in our future.  That, and birthday cake.

Peanut Butter and Roasted Banana Muffins, adapted from Cooking Light

• 3 bananas, unpeeled
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the bananas on a rimmed baking sheet and cook until the skin has blackened and juices are starting to drip out, approximately fifteen minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Peel the banana and place into a large mixing bowl.  Mash it together with the yogurt, peanut butter, oil and eggs until well blended.

Combine the flours, flaxseed, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in another mixing bowl and whisk well.  Add to the banana mixture and beat until just blended.

Pour batter into a lined muffin tin, filling 2/3 full, and bake for 18-20 minutes.  Remove from oven; allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.

To glaze the muffins, combine the powdered sugar, milk and peanut butter in a small bowl and drizzle over the muffins.

Makes 18 muffins

What's for Dinner? Meal Planning Monday

                                    

I have two words for you this week.  Crock.  Pot. It's true.  We're busting out the slow cooker, and using it as our main method of dinner preparation for the next few days. 

I've always had a crock pot, but haven't taken to using it too much.  I love the idea of it, but I also really like to cook, and have always felt that using my counter-top-plug-in oven wasn't really cooking.  Am I wrong?  I hope so, because I feel like I can get on board with filling a ceramic vessel with a bunch of good-for-you-foods and then heading off to work for the day, knowing that dinner will be ready upon our return.

Monday - Creamy chicken and peas, baked polenta, roasted broccoli

Tuesday - Crock-pot cassoulet with white beans and pork

Wednesday - Baked potato and leek soup, baguette and radish, apple and celery salad

Thursday - Cauliflower risotto with a chili-breadcrumb topping

Friday - Homemade pizza Friday

What are you putting on the table this week?  Any slow cooker meals?  What do you like to use your crock pot for?

Jam-Jar Breakfast (Cranberry-Granola Parfait)

Friends.  Can I just tell you how happy I am that today is Friday?  My gargantuan pile of laundry is equally as ecstatic. And so is my empty fridge, my lonely dog and the messy house, not to mention the four people who live here.  It's been one mentally exhausting week, and we're so ready for the weekend.

But before we get there, here's what I've been eating every morning this week.  It's my jam-jar breakfast. Layers of plain yogurt, homemade granola and a simple cranberry sauce/compote layered in between.  

To make the cranberry mixture I simmered 2 cups of cranberries with 1/2 cup of maple syrup, a teaspoon of vanilla and some orange zest, for about 30 minutes.  I let it cool and then I mashed the cranberries with the back of a fork.  I stored it all in another jam jar in the fridge and have used it all week for my breakfast.  

There hasn't really been time for me to eat with the kids, but once I'm parked at work I'm quite happy I took the 45 seconds I needed, to make this.  And if you're not sure what to feed your family for breakfast this weekend when you're loading up the car bright and early to hit the ice rink or the ski slopes this might make for a fun on-the-road meal.

Happy weekending!