Waffles on Wednesday

Wednesdays are one of our busiest days of the week. The older girls have school then we have about 1.5 hours to change out of uniforms, do homework, eat dinner and go to church. By the time we get home it's time for a small snack, showers and off to bed. Trying to get so much accomplished in such a little amount of time makes me really glad that I always have tons of frozen waffles on hand. I think kids are drawn to breakfast for dinner because it almost feels like your doing something naughty (mind you I don't by into the concept that you should have pizza for breakfast either lol) I have a very yummy basic waffle recipe that you can add just about anything to it. Most popular in our home are Cinnamon, banana, peanut butter & blueberry waffles. I have even started making cheese waffles that are yummy for sandwiches. I have also discovered Organic batter blaster that I like to keep on hand for the rare times that we have no waffles. It's super easy and makes a really fluffy waffle. Making pancakes with it however was a bit tricky because its so light and fluffy then burn quickly. Waffles are great because they have no rules, they can be breakfast with some fresh berries, a sandwich for lunch, A comforting dinner or even desert with whip cream & honey. My 5 year old likes to eat them frozen right out of the freezer (I think that is crazy but she loves them that way lol)

Waffles (and yes works for pancakes too)
1 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (I use a fine grain sea salt)
4 Tbsp Raw organic sugar (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)
2 large eggs
3 cups milk (you can use any kind of milk I generally use 2% or homemade almond milk)
2/3 cup butter or oil
(add fresh berries, chocolate chips, mashed bananas, applesauce, peanut butter etc)
Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl, Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients careful not to over mix them. Fold in any extras to your batter mix If you are adding fresh berries do not mix them in you will simply toss a few berries on top of the wet batter after your pour it into the waffle maker (trust me on this one)


you will want to take note of the cooking recommendations of your waffle maker. For mine I use 1/3 cup of batter and cook on medium heat for about 3.5 minutes each. You may need to butter your iron or use a cooking spray if your waffle maker requires you to do so. mine recommends it only with you are using fruits and sweet batter because the sugars/juices will make them stick.
This will make about 16-20 waffles

Now as a part 2 to this recipe a new waffle sandwich was born (due to low pantry supplies and over ripe bananas for lunch the other day. We call it the "WWED? Waffle Sammie" (wwed?=what would Elvis do)

WWED? Waffle Sammie
Using the above recipe mix in 1/2 cup of sun-butter or nut-butter of your choice (we used sun-butter) and 1 ripe banana mashed into your batter.
Take 2 cooked waffles and spread Sun-butter over it and top with thinly sliced bananas. And you have a nice healthy Waffle Sammie. We would like to think that if Elvis where alive today he would enjoy this lunch treat.
Enjoy!

Chicken Ravioli Bomb Bomb Bomb Casserole

I was inspired by watching "Good Eats" on food net work this evening Alton was making some very random casseroles. All I could think is BEEN THERE DONE THAT You can go a few ways here from elaborate homemade raviolis and sauces to store bought.. I admit I usually don't have that kind of time. So feel free to use the easy version if you like! this is a crowd pleaser! And According to my 8 year old who is the pickiest kid in my kitchen its "Bomb Bomb Bomb"

Ravioli Bomb Bomb Bomb Casserole
1 8oz package Frozen Cheese Ravioli (we like Rising Moon Organics)
2 cups steamed broccoli (you can use frozen if you like)
Alfredo Sauce *you can use jarred we use Simply Organic mix which you will need milk, butter & Parmesan cheese*
1 1/2 cups cooked cubed chicken
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Cook Ravioli according to package directions and drain. Combine Broccoli, Alfredo sauce & chicken in a large mixing bowl and toss in carefully Ravioli. Transfer mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes, Then top with mozzarella cheese and cook for additional 15 minutes or until cheese is nice and melty.

We serve this with a nice salad & Garlic bread

Taco Tuesday!

Taco's and pretty much anything Mexican gets lots of cool points for mom around here. Taco's are quite versatile and give kids lots of choices for their fillings. Cady (21 mts) is happy with just beef, sour cream and pico de gaio (no shell) Morgan (5 years old) pretty traditional soft taco, beef, cheese, lettuce, sour cream & taco sauce, Aria (8 yrs old) is all about hard shell with beef or chicken with cheese & sour cream. Erynn (11 yrs old) Beef, beans, cheese, lettuce & ranch. I always give lots of topping options and not always beef, ground turkey & chicken. Sometimes even Mexican rice & guacamole make it to the "Taco Table" as the kids call it. My one major gripe with tacos is the mess. Anything to avoid messes gets an A+ around here. So we came up with mini taco pizza's.

Mini Taco Pizza's (makes 12 mini pizzas)
1 Package whole wheat English muffins
1 pound ground beef (chicken or ground turkey are good as well)
1 package taco seasoning (we like simply organic)
Salsa (you can make your own or we like Newman's Own Salsa)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (we like extra sharp)
sliced black olives (I leave these off mine I am not an olive lover but all my kids adore them)
toppings of your choice such as guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, beans etc.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350, brown meat and follow directions on taco seasoning.
Split English muffins and spread about a table spoon of salsa over them, then cover with beef, then cheese & place olive slices on top. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese in well melted. Then add what ever toppings you like. By placing the cheese over the beef you cut down on pieces of greasy meat hitting your nice clean floors.

With out additional toppings added you can freeze these and you can pop them in the toaster oven for a nice afternoon snack. Or even defrost and warm up in the oven on a cookie sheet. My kids like these as is with out the extra toppings. I like to double or triple most of my recipes so that on nights when we need something quick I have a few go to favorites on hand.

Spicy Sunday (Jambalaya Rice Cakes)

When cooking for my crew I have a lot of different needs to meet. Their is always one kid in the bunch it seems that is really picky and doesn't like anything or like to try new things. We call her Aria lol. She does love Jambalaya so we make it often. However giving rice to a 21mth old is asking for a huge mess of rice everywhere. I had to think on this. How can I make this family favorite with less mess for mom to clean up after wards. And then it hit me and Jambalaya rice cakes where born. These are by no means mess free but it's much easier to clean up little chucks of rice cakes then individual grains of rice. This recipe is so loved though most of it goes from plate to belly which makes me a happy mama.

Jambalaya Rice Cakes.
You Can use zaternas however its loaded with sodium and other unhealthily additives. Or you can use your Favorite Jambalaya recipe

1 pound smoked sausage or kielbasi sliced and cubed (you want small pieces that are toddler friendly)
2 green peppers diced
1 onion diced
3-5 garlic cloves minced (depends on how much you like)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1TBSs chili powder
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
5 whole bay leaves
1 can tomato paste (small can 6 oz I think?)
1 cup uncooked brown rice (you can use if you like)
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth (more inf needed to thin out some)

in a large skillet over med heat cook sausage, onion, peppers, and garlic (do this until sausage is starting to crisp and onions are translucent)
stir in remaining ingredients except for broth, rice & tomato paste simmer with lid on for about 15-20 mins. then add tomato paste, rice & broth and simmer for 20 more minutes you may need to add more broth to thin out you don't want it to be 2 wet though..

Now for cakes
you will need to allow your rice to cool a bit (I stick it in the freezer lol)
for this part you will need 2 slightly beaten eggs & 1/2 cup bread crumbs, and oil to cook (we use whole wheat bread crumbs)

simply mix in the eggs and bread crumbs into the rice. heat some oil on med/high heat in the skillet use a 1/4 measuring cup to form rice cakes. this is the perfect size for the cakes and simply brown each side for 2-3 minutes. Jambalaya of course is fine on its own but this is a little twist on it that kids love because you can just pick them up and eat them.

this makes about 12-14 cakes and they do freeze well so I generally will double or triple this recipe.

enjoy!

**also you can reduce the amount of spices to 1/4 tsp if you have milder taste buds, my 21 month old loves these as is but not all toddlers have the same likes**