Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

I hope you did something green today (and every day!). Ben and I made eco-friendly gloop to play with...as you can see from the picture above, he had a fab time. Want to know how to make your own eco-friendly gloop? Read on.

Eco Friendly Gloop

Ingredients:
Water
Cornstarch
Non toxic dye (recipe below)

Assembly:,
Mix equal parts water and cornstarch until smooth. Add dye, if desired.

Really, that's it. You can store in an airtight container and use a little water to refresh, or you can be like me and Ben and dump it all over the floor and have none left over!

If you're interested in making dye, you can use things like coffee (for brown), blueberries (for purple), etc. I chose to not make a dye because I couldn't guarantee that Ben would stay in the kitchen with the gloop, and I really didn't want stained carpet.

I got this recipe from my Moms in Madison Yahoo! group, which linked to the article above (click on Eco Friendly Gloop to read). There are some other fun "recipes" in that article that I'm looking forward to trying, too!

Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon Salt

It's taken a while, but Matt and I are quickly learning that buying a whole chicken is a lot cheaper than buying just chicken breasts...or wings...or whatever. I don't have a lot of experience cooking whole chickens, though, so I'm always on the lookout for an easy chicken recipe. I ran across this recipe - and it had three of my favorite things in it: lemon, rosemary & salt. It had to be good, right?

Chicken with Rosemary & Lemon Salt

Ingredients:
1 chicken, about 4 lbs

Seasoned Salt:
2 tbsp very finely minced lemon zest
2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
2 tbsp sea salt
Several grinds of black pepper

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 - 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 1/2 lemons, cut into chunks

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, if you do not have a convection fan. If you do have a convection fan, preheat to 425 degrees. (A convection oven will produce a crispier skin - we used a regular oven & the skin turned out just fine.)

Rinse the chicken inside & out; dry well.

Make the salt: In a bowl, combine the zest, rosemary, salt & pepper. Mix well. Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil, and then rub with 3 tbsp of the seasoned salt. (You can save the rest of the salt for oven fries, another chicken, or even lamb. It'll keep in the fridge for a while, or in the freezer for a month. Or you can be like me and use ALL of the salt on one chicken.)

Tuck the rosemary sprigs and lemon chunks into the chicken cavity. You do not need to truss the chicken.

Place on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temp by 75 degrees and continue to roast until the juices run clear with a thigh is pierced with a skewer - about 50 - 55 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let rest 15 minutes before carving.

Note: Typically, I use a citrus zester to zest lemons. However, the recipe states if you use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest (yellow part only) from the lemons, and then mince finely, you'll get a drier result, which is better for the salt rub.

We had this with some veggies & mashed potatoes - and it was fab. You could even use the leftover chicken in a salad for lunch...or eat it cold right out of the leftover container!

Crayons!

It's been a while since I've updated with a new recipe...and I have several to share (Mac & Cheese, Rosemary Lemon Chicken & Stuffed Green Peppers, to name a few), but I thought this one was fun, and I wanted to share. I made some crayons for Ben's birthday party favors - they turned out great & I wanted to show off what I did ;)

It's not really a recipe...and it's not hard...but it's cute, and with Easter coming up, it might be something you could put in an Easter basket! It's also a great idea to use if you have a ton of broken crayons sitting around!

Crayon Tarts

Ingredients:
Crayons

Really, that's it. Just make sure they don't have any wrappers on them, anymore & break them up so they fit into a muffin pan. (We found a cheap muffin tin at Marshall's to use for.only.crayons, but you could use any muffin tin you've got lying around...just use cupcake liners if you plan on reusing it for food.) If you hunt around, you can also find cool shaped muffin tins (or silicone ones). Ikea has a ton for $.99/each!

Assembly:
If the crayons are new (like they were in my case), tear off all the wrappers. This is easiest if you score the wrapper and peel it off.

Break the crayons so they fit into your chosen pan.

Pop in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes (about 5, give or take a few).

When melted through, remove from oven. If you want a swirly effect, take a toothpick and swirl through the melted wax before it cools.

Let cool in the tins, pop out, and package cutely.


You can personalize these crayons several ways - you can use cool shaped muffin pans to make fun shapes for holidays or special occasions (I know Michael's has Easter Egg silicone pans that would be super cute!). You can mix like colors (reds & purples, blues & greens, yellows & oranges), or mix them all up (like I did).

It really is a lot of fun to do (except for the peeling the wrappers part...that was not fun) & it's a cute way to repurpose crayons. Try it!

Vodka Sauce & Pasta

You, too, can make homemade pasta sauce! How, you ask? Easy! Just follow this super simple & fast Vodka Sauce recipe - people will love you forever!

As an aside, I have no recollection of where I got this recipe, so I don't know who to credit. Sorry!

Vodka Sauce & Pasta

Ingredients:
1 box pasta (penne, mostaccioli or rigatoni work best)
2 15oz. cans of Hunt's Tomato Sauce
2T minced garlic
1/3 C vodka (I use Absolut, but you can use any kind)
2/3 C heavy cream
1T dried parsley
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan (to serve)

Assembly:
Put the water on to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, in a different pot, heat some olive oil. Fry the garlic on high heat until it is golden brown.

While stirring the garlic, reduce the heat a bit and pour in the tomato sauce, a large pinch of salt & some liberal shakes of red pepper flakes. (I made the mistake once of putting in TOO MUCH red pepper...don't be afraid to taste this as you go and season accordingly.)

Let the sauce come to a bit of a simmer, and then add the vodka. Reduce the heat until the water for the pasta is ready.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. About two minutes before the pasta is finished, pour in the heavy cream and parsley into the tomato sauce mixture. Stir well from the bottom of the pan.

Drain the pasta. Return to the pot. Pour the cream sauce over the pasta & combine well (or, if your sauce pot was larger, pour the pasta in there...whichever). Keep the heat on low and stir another few minutes until the sauce thickens up and clings to the pasta more.

Serve in bowls and top with parmesan.

I've made this with turkey meatballs, and it's super good. It's good by itself. It freezes pretty well. You can't go wrong! It's really yummy.


And, I wanted to show off Ben's pasta tonight, too! I cut up a few noodles for him and mixed it with some carrot puree. He loved it, and it let me use up some of the purees I have in the freezer for him.

Ben's "Vodka Sauce & Pasta" - Pasta and Carrot Puree

Doug's Beer Dip

I got this yummy (and I do mean YUMMY!) dip recipe from my friend, Doug (also known as Albert Clifford). It's really easy, too - and you know I'm all about easy recipes!

Doug's Beer Dip

Ingredients:
2/3 C beer (I used New Glarus Spotted Cow)
16 oz cream cheese (two blocks)
1 package dried ranch dressing
1/3 C shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

Assembly:
Beat the beer, cream cheese & dried ranch with mixer until smooth. Stir in the cheese.

That's it. Really. I topped it with some parsley, just for some color (for the picture). Serve with chips, pretzels, crackers, veggies...whatever! I really liked it with Club crackers, and Matt liked it with pretzels.

Super good - super easy - and made from lots of Wisconsin products, like beer and cheese. Can't really go wrong, now can you?

Buying & Eating Organic?

or⋅gan⋅ic /ɔrˈgænɪk/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [awr-gan-ik]

–adjective

noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon.

***

I've started making Ben's baby food - it's a lot cheaper, and it's really fun. I asked for (and received - thanks to my fab in-laws!) a Magic Bullet for Christmas. I'd heard it was a great tool to have in the kitchen, and I knew it would be a big help in blending up fruits and veggies for Ben. I've made quite a few things for him: carrots, avocado, green beans, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, bananas, mango (one of his new favorites), and apple juice ice cubes. (I've made him more, but I can't remember it all!) I steam or bake each fruit/veggie, then blend it & put it in ice cube trays to freeze. Once it's frozen, I put it in labeled Ziplocs for storage. It's so easy - and like I said, much cheaper than buying Gerber, Earth's Best, or any other packaged baby food out there. (And less waste, too...though I do like those cute little glass jars...)

Because of my new-found domestic goddess-ness in the baby food making department, I've started to really pay attention to where the food I'm making (for all of us) is coming from & what is being used on them. (Sidenote: I'm super excited to get to the Farmer's Market here in Madison this summer and buy some locally grown, organic items.) Unfortunately, organic items are not always the most economical option (yesterday, we saw Roundy's Organic Milk for about 3x the price of regular Roundy's Milk).

I found this great list online of items you should buy an organic version of, and items that don't need to be organic. It's a list I am planning on bringing with me next time I go to the store - to help avoid the yucky stuff, and to save money. Click on the heading of each list to read the entire article, which describes why you should buy organic of certain foods.

Top 12 Foods to Buy/Eat Organic
1. Meat
2. Milk
3. Coffee
4. Peaches
5. Apples
6. Sweet Bell Peppers
7. Celery
8. Strawberries
9. Leafy Greens
10. Grapes
11. Potatoes
12. Tomatoes

10 Foods You Don't Have to Buy/Eat Organic
1. Asparagus
2. Avocado
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Clean Cabbage
6. Kiwi
7. Mango
8. Onions
9. Papaya
10. Pineapple

Also, if you're looking for more information on homemade baby food, check out Wholesome Babyfood. This website has a lot of great information & recipes - it has been a great resource to me!

Happy (organic) eating!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I'm not a baker - really, I'm not. It's because I don't like to measure when I cook, so the whole exact measurements of baking are kind of hard for me to wrap my head around...I always want to add "just a bit more," which, of course, doesn't work.

However, I have found a cookie recipe that I really like, and that I haven't screwed up...yet. And it was on the back of a flour bag.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 C butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (we used 8 oz. semisweet baking chocolate bars, cut into chunks)

Assembly:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir sugars, butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Stir in flour (I add it in gradually), baking soda and salt. The dough will be stiff. Stir in chocolate chips/chunks.

On ungreased cookie sheets (we use AirBake), drop dough by rounded
tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown - the centers will be soft. Cool slightly & remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Yield about 3 dozen cookies (or if you make them as big as we do...about 18 cookies).

Good stuff, I tell ya.