Category Archives: kid-friendly

Thanksgiving Leftovers Soup

I stood in front of a fridge packed full like a kid’s closet.  A couple of times I opened the door and a bottle of sparkling cider, wine or a boursin would fall out and hit me in the shin.  I cursed this fridge, full of leftovers from Thanksgiving.  Pies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, casserole, vegetables, strudels, and a hundred different types of cheese.  I couldn’t find anything, I couldn’t put anything new in there and damnit, I was sick of the same leftovers and I wasn’t going to eat it anymore!

So I decided to make a dish out of my leftovers that didn’t taste like giving thanks.  As someone who doesn’t eat turkey, google searches for leftovers were a wash, so I had to get creative.

I decided on soup.  And o.m.g. I’m glad I did.  It was delicious…thankfully.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Soup

No recipe, but here’s what I did.  I heated some frozen celery leaves I had saved from a stalk a few weeks ago with “no-chicken” broth in a pot and added some Sunny Paris seasoning from Penzey’s and let that heat up.  Tossed in some rustic truffled mashed potatoes (chunky, with skins) and some cheesy corn casserole.  Added black pepper, crushed red pepper and salt.  And boom! Soup!

We had this soup as a side last night with a vegetarian Reuben and it was amazing.  What a hearty, winter meal!

Kristel’s Gourmet Popcorn

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Love popcorn? Me too!
Love artificial coloring and flavoring? Me neither!

So leave the microwave bags alone and save some money and some calories by making your own.

I love making popcorn at home and we used to do it all the time with my dad when we were kids. We had one of those stand-up air poppers that had a little tray to melt the butter so you could pour it over top at the end. We’d make it before watching a movie or for Braves games and we’d all giggle as a few rowdy kernels would pop over the bowl and onto the floor for one of our pets to snag as a rare delight.

As lovely as these memories are, and as much as eating a bowl of popcorn during a movie takes me back, I also remember that the butter we poured made half the popcorn soggy and the half that wasn’t soggy had never even found the butter. With three kids and a dad fighting for the best kernels, you’d better believe this was quite the quarrel.

I made popcorn at home on a recent whim, and I now declare this problem solved! And now…I’m sharing it with you. So go heat up the stove, pour yourself an old-fashioned soda and turn on a movie. It’s time to create some memories.

Kristel’s Popcorn

3 tbs canola oil (or other high-heat friendly oil – coconut oil works well)
1/2 cup white corn kernels
2-3 tbs real butter
Garlic salt
Sugar
Paprika
Onion powder

Put oil in large non-stick pot. Add 3 kernels and turn heat to medium. Cover with lid.

The second the first kernel pops, remove from heat (don’t turn off the stove) and add rest of popcorn kernels followed immediately by butter. Replace lid and swirl pot to melt butter and coat kernels with yummy deliciousness. Place back on heat.

As soon as popcorn begins to pop, swirl kernels again and do so every 20-30 seconds until it makes more sense to shake the pot. (Hold down the lid though, silly kids!) Every now and then, lift the corner of the lid to let out steam. That’ll keep it from getting soggy.

When popping slows and there are 2 seconds between pops, remove from heat and shake pot again, holding down lid. Remove lid.

In separate bowl, mix 1-2 parts garlic salt to 1 part sugar and 1/2 parts onion powder and paprika. Sprinkle half of mixture onto popcorn, replace lid and shake. Repeat with other half. Serve. Enjoy!

It may take some practice to get the heat and timing exactly right, but keep working until it’s just right for you.

Leftovers?  Disperse into paper lunch bags and take to work or send to school as snacks.  Also great to take on road trips – just fold over the paper bag and staple a napkin to it, holding the bag closed; write a person’s name on each bag!

 

Casual Food for Families

I get a lot of questions from moms, whether at work, on Twitter or in person.  They want to know what they can have for dinner that is simple, quick, healthful and delicious.  But just as importantly, they want to know that their kids will eat it. I may make a few suggestions, but they are usually followed by a million objections, such as “That’s too complicated” or “That looks expensive.”  But the truth is that a lot of delicious food is not complicated at all, but in fact quite simple.  And it’s often not that expensive at all, if you shop in the right places.  So let’s take a quick look at a couple of options for your dinner table that you will find decadent but easy and the kids will find interesting but not scary.  Hell, maybe they’ll even help you make it!

Pizza

Everyone loves pizza, especially kids.  But don’t think Papa John’s, think homemade with good-for-you ingredients.  Pizza night is a weekly thing in my home.  Granted I have no kids, but I’m pretty sure my boyfriend and I could count if you wanted us too.  We like fun food, we love classics and we also want things to be healthy and cheap.  So every week, we buy a couple balls of dough from Pizza Tonight (our personal favorite and only $2.50/ball, but there are numerous options at Whole Foods and the like as well) and have pizza time.  We roll out the dough, often competing to see who makes the prettiest pizza canvas, and then each add toppings to our pizza as we like.  After they’ve cooked up, we let them cool on a rack for a few minutes and then share them between the two of us, with leftovers for the next day.  It’s fun because we can be hands on, it gives us something to do together and we can try some new things.  And I bet your kids would like the opportunity to be creative with their food and you’ll still be able to enjoy a fancy, gourmet pizza that is healthy and inexpensive.

taco pizza

Jay's Taco Pizza

Some of our favorites are:

Shrimp and roasted brussels sprout pizza with olive oil, herbs and garlic

Taco pizza with whatever fun, applicable ingredients we picked up at the farmer’s market

Margherita pizza with homemade tomato sauce (super easy, recipe to come shortly)

Leftover pizza with whatever bits and pieces are left in the fridge from previous culinary adventures

Tacos

Another thing that we make a lot at home are fish tacos.  Sometimes we make shrimp tacos or grilled zucchini tacos or use a bag of Morningstar Farms mealstarters with our own taco seasoning blend, but I know my favorite are the fish tacos.  Again, fun for kids and creates an interactive dinnertime.  The fish taco is more sophisticated than a standard ground beef taco (and better for you) but it isn’t so far off that your picky princess will run crying from the dinner table.

fish tacos

Fish Tacos

You can marinade your choice of white, meaty fish in a number of things, but my favorite is simply olive oil, lime, ancho chili powder, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro.  After it’s had a chance to marinate in the fridge for 15-30 minutes, toss on the grill or sear in a pan until just cooked and tender.  Throw them on lightly grilled corn tortillas and top with a tangy cabbage slaw and some cantaloupe or shredded lettuce, homemade tomato salsa and sour cream.  The options are endless so let everyone customize their own!

Dinner parties with kids?  Coming soon!

In the meantime, what do you make at home that feels

more dressed up than chicken nuggets

but that the kids still enjoy?

Trimmed artichoke ready to be steamed

Steamed Artichoke

Trimmed artichoke ready to be steamed

Sitting around the kitchen table with my family eating steamed artichokes is absolutely one of my favorite childhood memories.  From what I can tell and have heard, this is very much a “California thing” and since that is where I was born, I guess it makes sense!  These are such a fun, sociable treat for a dinner with friends and I highly encourage you to learn how to steam artichokes if you don’t already know how.  Most people are familiar with the canned or bottled artichoke hearts you might find on the Jason’s Deli salad bar, but that’s nothing compared with a steamed artichoke.

Artichokes are very healthy and they contain cynarin, which supposedly lowers cholesterol and is good for the liver and gallbladder.  Steaming, rather than boiling, uses little water so the artichoke retains more of its nutrients.
Here’s how it’s done…

Start with a beautiful (preferably organic) green artichoke.  Cut off the top inch, cut the excess stem, and then proceed to trim the tough tips off of all the leaves, pulling off smaller outer leaves at the bottom.  Rinse and clean the artichoke under cold water.  Place, tips up, in salted water (add a lemon wedge if desired to help keep the green color) for steaming and let steam for 30-40 minutes or so.  Let strain upside down.

Ready to be steamed!

You will know your artichoke is ready when the base is tender and the leaves pull off easily.  You will be scraping the petals on your teeth so if it scrapes easily, you are ready.  To eat, pull off a petal, dip in aioli and scrape soft side down along teeth.  Discard leftover petal.

Steamed artichoke with aioli

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