Pretty Princess Parfaits

We had a knights and princesses party here for the Personal Assistant and Mr. Baby's birthday. It was super fun. The menu was pretty easy, but I did make a few special treats. Like these yummy parfaits. Mmmmm.

 

(Healthy) Sugar cookie dough

I love cookie dough. It probably should have killed me years ago in college when the cookies never quite got baked. But here I am, still loving cookie dough from afar. Until now.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios

I promise this is easy.

 

Sweets for my Sweeties: CSID Valentines Marshmallows

This Friday is Mr. Baby's first birthday. It is also my Personal Assistant's very first school party. I asked him what snack he wanted to take and he asked for his favorite-marshmallows. After some discussion, we decided they should be strawberry heart shaped with sprinkles. Yum!

(And since these are sucrose and starch free, as well as peanut, egg, dairy and gluten free, they are a great option for safe sharing at school parties!)

 

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Just a year ago we got the news that my kiddo could not digest sugar or starch. I always wanted to be the Mom who made hot cocoa with marshmallow and cookies on a snowy day, and I really thought that would never happen.

I have learned a lot this past year. Like never say never, and do not come between me and a good cookie.

Today we had an impromptu sledding party. After, we roasted hotdogs on the fire, ate homemade sucrose free marshmallows, drank peppermint tea and homemade hot cocoa, and had warm cookies fresh from the oven made with normal ingredients from the pantry.

 

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes

I like pancakes. I really really like pancakes. But I am allergic to eggs. This is well documented at this point. The personal assistant as CSID (I should maybe explain that one of these days) and cannot eat sugar (sucrose) or "too much" starch. But I still really like pancakes.

Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad Wrap (CSID lunch)

We are on week 3 of the induction diet for CSID (Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deffiency). One more week and we can start Sucraid and will have more food options. But in the meantime, I am getting bored serving the same lunches over and over. Today I wanted eggless chicken salad (I am allergic) and came up with Avacado Ranch Chicken Salad Wrap. It was really tasty!

Garlic Potato Leek Soup (No Cream!)

I love all holiday type foods, but I am tired of making fussy dishes for the moment.  It is snowing.  I opened a bottle of wine, and I need to make something easy.  I love Smitten Kitchen's Baked Potato Soup and I just received the last delivery from my winter CSA, so I'm flush with garlic and potatoes.

Zen Entertaining and the art of faucet repair.

I hosted my first Christmas this year for my family, because my brother just wanted everyone together, and I am too pregnant to travel comfortably. It was going to be great. Perfect. Beautiful. The menu was set, much was preped ahead of time so I could relax instead of cooking, the decorations were beautiful, the house was clean, so what if the paint wasn't all touched up, and the closets completely cleaned out, faucet was a little loose, it's an old house. I could get to all of that later.

Sweets for my sweet, sugar free chocolate cheesecake crepes

As some of you know, The Personal Assistant is not allowed to have any sugar. None. Zip. Zelch. But... 'tis the season of cookies, and pie, and candy canes, and hot chocolate. And he's two, so it is extra hard to watch him forgo all of the sweet treat fun. And as a bonus, I am allergic to eggs, so breakfast casseroles are also out. Oh, and I am hosting this year, so I probably shouldn't just serve toast and cereal.

But I think I found a solution...for Christmas breakfast we will be dining on Chocolate Cheesecake Crepes! They are divine, and easy, and make ahead and freeze-able, and totally egg and sugar free, but no one will know but you and me.

Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

As you know by now, my son eats very little variety, and I'm working on not being crazy about that.  One thing he never fails to eat is mashed sweet potatoes.  While my Cooks Illustrated recipe was delicious, I've been tinkering with a way to reduce the massive amount of heavy cream in that (admittedly heavenly) recipe. What I've come up with is incredibly decadent tasting, but much lighter.  And the best part is, my son has no idea that I've changed anything!

Curried Greens

If You Give a Mama Some Greens

The CSA is filled with greens.  When she picks up the greens she gets chilly.  When she gets chilly she wants some curry.  When she wants some curry she'll need some garam masala.  After she's made some garam masala, she'll need some naan to go with it.  After she eats her curry and naan, she'll need to go back to the CSA to get more greens!

The Perfect Tomato Pie.

Tomato pie really is one of the best things on earth, and chances are, you are missing out. Part savory cheese cake, part pie, part galette, part BLT, all deliciousness. It is creamy, crunchy, ooey-gooey and juicy all in one bite. Just thinking about it makes my eyes roll involuntarily, and I already had two pieces tonight. And at the height of tomato season. When my kitchen is over flowing with tomatoes and I am running out of ways to eat them, I can't seem to get enough of tomato pie.

Did I mention my recipe starts with bacon? And butter? No? Well it does.

Potluck...with allergies.

Potluck dinners are so fun! It's like domestic dietary anthropology and a party, all mixed up! At least it used to be...before I knew I had an egg allergy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal.

Quick & easy, Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal is a mostly healthy breakfast a toddler will actually agree to eat. A real stick to your ribs, protein packed hot breakfast in under 5 minutes. And it tastes like a cross between a Reese's cup and a chocolate no-bake cookie. Yum! You will need a few basic things:

Antique Strawberry Preserves II - The Recipe

This is the recipe I use.  I keep it just like this because I'm sentimental.  My grandmother, who tells stories of making this with her grandmother, Pearl, wrote it for me one hot afternoon. 

Leftover meal - Pasta

Please imagine Don Lafontaine's voice here: 

 

In a world :

...where your dream was to buy a new home...But the previous owners left crud in the refrigerator.  All of your groceries are wrapped in bags, safe from mysterious crumbs and stains.  Most of your pots and pans are buried under books and toys in the garage.

 

...which box is it??!! 

It is dinnertime!

 

In your  desperation you have located one pan and one pot.  You have located the runty stubs of several type ingredients.  You WILL survive!  You WILL make dinner!

 

Yogurt, take 2.

In case you missed the original yogurt post, you should take a minute to check that out and get caught up. Because today, I am going to talk advance yogurt making. As in what to do with all that yummy homemade yogurt when you want something a bit different.

Potato Kale Curry

We used to live in Minneapolis.  We adored the place.  It was far from family but it was alive, it was busy.  It was full of people and colors and ideas that were exciting to two corn fed hicks like my husband and I.  Let's not forget the people...we made our family of choice there.  We quickly became used to our limitless choices.  For us, it was a virtual Eden of entertainment, and delicious food.  Unfortunately, five years ago we had to leave everything and move to a rural New England town for my husband's job.  We went from:

 To:

Easiest Cookies in the World.

Oh my gosh Mommy. Oh my gosh.

My personal assistant and I love to make cookies. The measuring and dumping is just so fun. (We sing a song about it. We enjoy it that much.) Sadly, it turns out my life long digestive issues are due to an egg allergy. Surprise! And I am beginning to suspect he has one too. So I am learning how to bake all over again. Lucky for you, I invented a two ingredient cookie recipe that you can whip up in ten minutes flat. Even with your personal assistant helping.