Ask Jamie: Toddler Friendly Lunch Ideas

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Jamie

Typically, I answer a reader’s question and then throw it back your way. Today, I have a question for you that I hope you can help me out with!

I am trying to compose a list of toddler friendly lunch ideas — preferably easy to prepare and healthy. Please leave your ideas in the comments and I will move them to the body of the post for everyone to read and share.

1. English Muffin Pizzas (Serves 2)
Split two whole wheat English muffins. Top each half with 2 Tbsp of pizza sauce, 2 turkey pepperonis, and enough mozzarella cheese to cover. Broil at 350 for 5 minutes. Serve with a side of steamed broccoli and fruit for dessert.

2. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (Serves 2)
Heat soup – we prefer Amy’s Organic Creamy Tomato. Butter one side of four pieces of whole wheat bread. Take a Kraft single and place one between each piece of bread (I like the Fat-Free singles). Grill on the stove.

Friday’s Feature at Sticky Feet Part Deux is Ask Jamie. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any question you would like for me to answer. Anything is fair game!

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Lemon Broiled Fish

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Jamie

Last week, I made this simple and quick fish dish for our family. The flavor of the fish is phenomenal and this recipe is Bo-approved!

The first step is to mix up the sauce. I used the juice from one fresh lemon, 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, a bit of pepper.

I used frozen fish fillets that I quickly thawed under running water. I used both tilapia and orange roughy so we we would be able to compare the flavor of both types of fish. I covered a cookie sheet with foil, placed the thawed fillets on top, and coated them liberally with the sauce mixture.

Voila! The completed dish. The front piece of fish is the tilapia and the fish in back was the orange roughy. We enjoyed the tilapia more than the orange roughy, but both types were very good. I served the fish with broccoli and brown rice. Yum!

Lemon Broiled Fish

6 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. butter (melted)
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 orange roughy fillets

Combine the first four ingredients and mix well. Spray a baking pan with PAM and place fish in pan. Liberally coat fish with sauce mixture. Broil for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Quick, easy, and great with brown rice and broccoli for a healthy dinner!

POM Pork Medallions

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Jamie

Recently, POM sent me a case of pomegranate juice to taste test. I tried the juice plain and it reminded me a bit of cranberry juice, but I have to admit, it isn’t something that I would drink regularly. I also tried adding the POM to seltzer water, which was fine, but not wonderful.

I went searching for healthy recipes using POM and found this recipe for pork chops with a pomegranate marinade on one of the blogs I frequent — Green Lite Bites. I modified the recipe slightly and we were thrilled with the results. This dish is healthy and tastes great!

Ingredients:

8 oz. POM Wonderful juice

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. basil

2 lb pork tenderloin

1 vidalia onion

salt and pepper

Whisk together the POM juice, honey, garlic, and basil to make a marinade. Trim the tenderloin (one of my main beefs with pork is it can be fatty so I like to trim off all of the fat) and cut into medallions. My tenderloin made 10 medallions — that’s a lot of pork! Slice the onion.

Layer the pork, onions, and a bit of marinade several times in a Ziploc bag. Place in the fridge and marinate for at least 12 hours. Each time I opened the fridge I mixed it around a bit to make sure that all of the pork was coated.

Fire up the grill and grill the onions and medallions until your desired doneness (I prefer all of my meat extra well done). Please ignore Mikey’s disheveled appearance — this was on Sunday evening after walking, biking, weeding, mowing, planting, etc. Mike had a busy and productive day and was in need of a shower! 😉

The pork has an amazing flavor and is definitely a recipe I’ll make again. I was really impressed with the flavor but it was not overwhelming. The vidalia onions are a must and give a wonderful, sweet, crunch. I served the pork with green beans and new potatoes. Delish!

This recipe has been cross posted at my review blog http://www.stickyfeetreviews.com/.

Chocolate Mini-Muffins (Low Fat and High Fiber)

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Jamie

Well, it seems I’m bailing on Tuesdays with Dorie. It’s been weeks since I’ve managed to actually make one of the recipes and I just can’t seem to find the time to do it with the way my schedule has been lately. I love to bake, and I’m sad to see it go, but it’s time for a change around here.

Since my mom’s stroke, we’ve all been making a conscious effort to eat better and that definitely impacts the goodies I am motivated to bake each week. Also, despite the fact that I’m currently pregnant with twins and actually encouraged to eat a high fat, high protein, high calorie diet, I know that after the girls are born, there will be some major lifestyle changes for all of us in the Sticky Feet household (not limited to lack of sleep). We all need to be more healthy and I am so ready to reclaim my body after years of infertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and now more pregnancy and probably breastfeeding. I know it isn’t going to be easy — especially with three small children, but hopefully posting about it here and finding healthy recipes will help.

And that isn’t to say you won’t see a few Tuesdays with Dorie posts from time to time — or high fat recipes for chocolaty goodness. I’m all about indulgence. But you’re probably going to start seeing more alternative recipes instead of the classic, rich, and fattening fare.

I had a random craving for these “healthier” mini-muffins last week so I whipped up a batch. I actually find they are great for a quick chocolate fix and they are extremely quick and easy to make — which is the type of recipe I’m going to need with three children under 2 at home! The result is very rich and brownie like — not to mention low fat and high in fiber.

Even Reagan was interested…

Chocolate Mini-Muffins

1 box devils food cake mix
1 can pumpkin
½ cup chocolate/butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium mixing bowl combine cake mix and pumpkin – batter will be very thick (sometimes I add a dash of Diet Coke to thin the batter a bit) . Divide into 24 mini-muffin cups. Add 3 to 4 chocolate/butterscotch chips on top of each. Bake for 15 minutes. 1 WW point each.

French Chocolate Macarons with Peanut Butter Filling

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Jamie

Susan from She’s Becoming Doughmesstic originally posted about her French Chocolate Macarons in July. I’ve been craving them since that day and have had the recipe starred in my Google Reader all of this time!

Sometimes, I wonder about myself… What on earth took me so long to actually make these cookies? I’ve even eyed purchasing some macarons online numerous times. But the $3-$6 per cookie always stopped me in my tracks.

Last week, Susan made another flavor of macarons and over the weekend, Tania from Love Big, Bake Often, made her own macarons as well. I knew it was time. I had to make them!!

Yesterday evening, while my mom was here to play with Bo and my lasagna was in the oven baking, I finally tackled the macarons. I used Susan’s recipe for French Chocolate Macarons and then made my own peanut butter filling.

My cookies did not achieve the smooth tops that other’s macarons have and I think that is mostly due to the fact that I couldn’t find my piping bag and had to use a Ziploc bag to pipe the cookies. (Other theories are welcome.) For my first attempt, I think they are delicious and I was thrilled with the results. I’ll definitely be making these again! Actually, I think I’ll go have a few for breakfast.

Peanut Butter Filling
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
4 Tbsp. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk (I used whole)

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter, approximately 1 minute. Using a whisk, add the powdered sugar and milk and whisk until smooth. Yum!

Tuesdsays with Dorie: Blueberry Crumb Cake

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Jamie

I actually had another recipe all geared up and ready to go for this week — but then I realized that this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie was the Blueberry Crumb Cake, and I had to make it. Yesterday morning, when I should have been grading papers, I made cake. 🙂 If you would like the full recipe head over to Walking in the Rain.

The first step is to make the crumb topping in the food processor. I did this and placed it in the fridge while I prepared the cake.

I used frozen blueberries and tossed them with a bit of flour. This is suppose to help keep the blueberries from sinking in the batter.

Then it was time to prepare the actual cake batter — lots of yummy ingredients – butter, buttermilk, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, flour. All the good stuff.

Then I folded in my blueberries.

I spread the batter in the buttered 8×8 pan, sprinkled it with crumb topping, and popped the cake in the oven.

My cake smelled done, but there was still a soft spot in the middle of the cake, so I baked it a few minutes longer. That made it extra crunchy on the outsides, but still pretty soft in the middle. I think next time, I would put a little less butter in the crumb topping.

And here it is, the finished product. I enjoyed a piece as an afternoon snack yesterday and served the cake for dessert last night. It was a hit all around – Mike, my mom, and Bo all enjoyed the cake. This one’s a keeper at Chez Sticky Feet.

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Porcupine Meatballs

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Jamie

This week, instead of writing about another random baked good from Tuesdays with Dorie (head over and check out this week’s yogurt cake), I thought I would share with you one of my favorite meatball recipes. As I mentioned yesterday, Bo and I are staying at the in-laws house for a few days, so all of these pictures were taken in their kitchen. They have much better lighting than I have at home! My father-in-law, Jim, actually made these meatballs. I planned to make them, but he dubbed himself my “sous chef” and did it himself. Jim was really into helping to ‘set the scene’ for my photos, which was quite cute. I’m trying to convince him to start a food blog, but so far it’s a no go…

It’s a pretty simple meatball recipe. Really easy to prepare and perfect for a weeknight supper.

What makes these meatballs so special? Well, you see those white spots? That isn’t fat, it’s instant rice! Hence, the porcupine part of these meatballs. They are practically a full meal in and of themselves.

Jim decided to make a double batch of meatballs. In back is the first batch that is finished and the second batch is in front, just beginning to brown. I think he is afraid I’m going to starve to death. Just because technically I’m three people right now, doesn’t mean I’m eating for three full-grown adults. At least not yet… 🙂

The final step is to add the sauce ingredients and simmer. Here is one batch of our meatballs simmering away. These are definitely meatballs that you want to cook slowly. If you have the pan too hot, they tend to fall apart, which isn’t quite as tasty.

And the finished product, steaming hot meatballs, ready to eat. 🙂 We had these with peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, and a piece of sourdough bread for a filling and yummy meal. Bo was a big fan of the meatballs too (he ate leftovers). I think I may have to call him my little carnivore!

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/3 cup uncooked brown rice

1 slightly beaten egg

1 Tbsp. parsley

1 Tbsp. onion powder

Dash of salt and pepper

1 10 ¾ oz. can condensed tomato soup

1 tomato soup can of water

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine meat, rice, egg, parsley, onion powder, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of the condensed soup together in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and form into 1 to 1 ½ inch balls and place in a skillet. Mix remaining soup, water and Worcestershire and pour over meatballs. Bring to a boil; reduce heat: cover and simmer 40 minutes, stirring often. Makes 4 servings.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

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Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Cup Custard

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Jamie

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I tried to experiment with natural light for a few of these photos… Obviously, I need to experiment some more. 🙂

This a simple dessert to make and did not take many ingredients. I started with some “Bo milk” (whole milk) and boiled it with some lemon zest. I’m not showing you my lemon zest. Of all of the kitchen tools I own, I do not have a zester. So I had to attack the lemon with a cheese grater. Let’s just say, it was a mess. Will someone please buy me a zester??

So anyway, I boiled the milk and the zest and let it seep. Then I mixed together the eggs and sugar.

Then it was time to temper the two mixtures together and pour it into a water bath to bake.

I ended up baking my custards a little longer than the original directions stated.

The end result was a very eggy custard. It was fine but tasted more like a lemon flan than a lemon custard to me. It was fine, but probably not something I would go out of my way to make again. Mike didn’t try it but Bo was a fan. 🙂

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Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Crunch Bars

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Jamie

I’m back at it, after missing two weeks in a row, I managed to bake my Tuesdays with Dorie recipe this week! Woo hoo! Thanks to Whitney of What’s Left on the Table? for choosing this week’s recipe – Caramel Crunch Bars.

First, I blended the sugars and butter and put the dry ingredients in a separate bowl to add in just a few minutes.

Meanwhile, Mike got busy chopping the 9 oz. of bittersweet chocolate required for this recipe. That’s a lot of chocolate!

I added the dry ingredients and the chocolate and ended up with this beautiful shortbread dough.

I spread the dough in the pan and patted it down with my fingers.

After the shortbread was baked, I added the chocolate on top, stuck it back in the oven to melt and spread it across the top of the bars. We could not find toffee bits so we crunched up Heath toffee bars and I sprinkled those on top.

The resulting bars were very rich and chocolaty but won a thumbs up from around the table here at Chez Sticky Feet.

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Tuesdays with Dorie: World Peace Cookies (And Beta #)

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Jamie

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is for World Peace Cookies chosen by Jess of Cookbook Habit. You can click over to her blog for the full recipe.

With a name like “World Peace Cookies” I had to try these. I started by creaming the butter and adding the sugar. It whipped up nicely.
The next step was to stir up the dry ingredients and add them to the butter mixture. After the butter and dry ingredients were combined I added chopped pieces of bittersweet chocolate.

Then I separated the dough into two balls and rolled them into logs. Mike didn’t find the logs of dough too appealing…

After refrigerating the rolls of dough overnight, I sliced and baked the cookies.

Beautiful! The cookies were quite good. Mine didn’t look done at all when I took them out of the oven but quickly became quite crispy. Be sure not to over cook them. 🙂