Kids Making Dinner! *Homemade Pizza*

 Homemade pizza is so yummy! And really, very easy.  My kids always ask to help, so today we made a community-effort dinner!

 I use the Betty Crocker recipe for pizza dough for quick pizza.  It's a simple one (water, yeast, flour, oil, salt).  I used mostly whole wheat flour today.  It's more nutritious and it's also more filling (read: crazy appetites of growing kids!). I still have a few jars of homemade spaghetti sauce left from last summer's garden, so we used that for sauce.

On this recipe, you mix the ingredients and let it rest for 20 minutes.  Then you're ready to start rolling!

The kids rolled out the dough, with a little help.  They elected to curl their crusts back over so they could have "pizza bones". I also oiled the baking sheets and sprinkled them with cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking. Then, the crusts went in the oven for 10 minutes at 425.

They each spread the sauce out on the pre-baked crust...

And sprinkled on the cheese.  My kids are boring in the pizza category, they just want cheese!  We did serve veggies with the pizza tonight, but what they didn't know is the sauce is packed with garden veggies.  (Sneaky Mommy!) Now, back in the oven for about 10 minutes...

And VOILA! Individual pizzas!  The kids are impressed because they "cooked" and it made dinner fun!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Healthy Banana Muffins

Happy New Year's Day 2013!  In celebration (and appreciation) of New Year's and the resolutions for healthier eating that no doubt go with it, here's a recipe I played with this morning.  The kids have tested and approved it!

Healthy Banana Muffins

1/2 c honey

1 c unsweetened applesauce

2 large eggs

2 mashed ripe bananas (approximately 1 c)

1/2 c milk (I used whole, but whatever kind you have!)

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour (I used hard winter wheat)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 raw sunflower seeds

3 heaping tsp flaxseed meal (optional)

2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix honey and applesauce in a large bowl.  Stir in eggs until well blended.  Add bananas, milk, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, seeds, flaxseed meal, and cinnamon until just moistened.  Pour into muffin cups (I've had better luck using silicone baking cups, the muffins seem to stick less than paper liners.  And no oil is needed like when you use plain muffin pans.).
3. Bake 25-28 minutes until muffins pressed lightly bounce back or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool slightly before attempting to pop out of muffin cups or half of the muffin will stay in the cup! (Seems to be a hazard of baking without oil/butter).
4. Enjoy!  Each muffin has approximately 116 calories and 3 grams of fat (which appx 2 g of is unsaturated, mostly from the sunflower seeds.)

Two of my New Year's Resolutions are to blog more and read my Bible more!  I have started a one year reading program in my Bible to help with the latter... ;-)

Granola Energy Bites

 This is a really easy recipe I found on The Marathon Mom 's blogsite.  She's got a much better pic of the end product...my batteries were dead on my camera, so all my pics came from my phone. Sorry!  Start out with 2 cups of oats and toss them in a large mixing bowl (you'll need the room to smush it all together in the end!)

 Have your lovely (little) assistant help by adding in 2 cups of coconut flakes and 1 cup ground flaxseed.

 Now, 1 cup of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but you could probably sub in any kind you like!)

 Ok, lovely assistant, now gently pour in 1 tsp cinnamon.

 Now, gently stir it all to combine...

 Next, add in 2 tsp vanilla and 1 cup peanut butter (or sunbutter/other nut butter).

 Add in 2/3 cup of honey (I used raw, but regular would work just fine!).

 Here's the fun part.  Smush it all together to mix well.  You can use a spoon, but bare hands really work better to evenly distribute the peanut butter and honey.

Then, form them into balls of whatever size you like and store them (covered) in the fridge.  I ended up with about 4 doz small-ish bites.  My kids are younger and it's easier for them to eat.  (Don't try to count them from the picture....not all of them made it to the fridge, lol...yum!)  Check out the blog linked above, the commenters really played with this recipe and have several variations that sound so good!

Here it is a little more consolidated:

Granola Energy Bites

2 cups oats
2 cups coconut flakes
1 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add in wet ingredients and smush (that's a technical term!) to completely combine.  Shape into balls and store, covered, in the fridge.

Fancy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Grab your ingredients, it's gonna be yummy!  You'll need some good whole grain bread, raspberry preserves, thinly sliced pear, sliced muenster cheese, and a little cooking spray.  Ready?

 Spread both slices of bread with raspberry jam, pile on the cheese and pear slices, then pop the other slice on top (jam to the inside!).  Spray your warm pan and place your delicious-to-be creation in it.

 Use some top weight to get the sandwich warm enough to melt the cheese, I just use a plate to be simple.

 Flip it over when it's nice and toasted (I'd keep your heat to med-high, so the pear and cheese can warm all the way thru before you incinerate the bread).

Using a spatula, remove sandwich to serving plate and slice in half (well, you don't HAVE to, but it looks so pretty...).  And, EAT! (You probably didn't need me to tell you that ;-)

This sandwich is a healthier version of the Bacon, Pear, and Raspberry Grilled Cheese from the Tasty Kitchen website.  I didn't actually MEAN to make it healthier, per se, I just forgot in the rush to get dinner on the table to add the bacon inside and the butter on the outside.  But 'cha know what?  Everyone liked it, kids included!  So there ya go, forgetting can be healthy for you! Enjoy!

Kale Chips

Kale washed, dried, and chopped

Kale Chips ready to be tasted!

I made kale chips tonight for a snack, so yummy!  Much better than the other concoctions I probably would've come up with after the kids went to bed, haha.  They're very simple to make.  The recipe I use is a spin-off from my friend's recipe at her blogsite All About Home.

The recipe is simple, here are the ingredients:

1 bunch kale
Cooking spray
2-3 pinches of Redmond's Real Salt

1- Wash and dry the kale, chop or tear into bite-sized pieces (I prefer to remove the stems).
2- Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, then spread the leaves out evenly.
3- Spray the leaf bites with cooking spray and lightly salt them.
4- Bake at 350 for about 10-12 min or until crispy.
ENJOY!

Note- My kids love and fight over these things, really!