Friday, April 30, 2010

Granola Bars

I have reviewed a lot of recipes for granola bars and oatmeal cookie bars on the internet, and finally created a recipe based on what I found. I will continue to experiment with some ingredient changes to make these with a little less sugar, but, for now, this is what I've got. I made this with what I had on hand. You can substitute the dry ingredients for other dry ingredients.

2/3 cup of brown sugar (or natural sugar cane sugar)
3/4 cup of honey
6 cups of dry ingredients...
2 Tbs of butter ( I will try to substitute this one for coconut oil)
1 cup of chocolate chips

For dry ingredients, I used 2 cups of oats, 1 1/2 cup of puffed brown rice, 1 cup of raisins, 1/2 cups of mixed nuts, 1/2 cup of almonds and craisins. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a large glass mixing bowl.

1 Combine the brown sugar, honey, and butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat and cook until it simmers.

2  Pour the honey mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well with a large spoon.

3  Let is cool for a few minutes and then add the chocolate chips.

4  Pour into a 9x13 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Press firmly into the pan. Allow to cool completely. Turn the granola mixture over onto a cutting board and cut into granola bar shapes. Enjoy! Wrap any leftover bars in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Egg Drop Soup

My son is still on a soft food diet for a few more weeks. Thankfully, he LOVES soup. Egg Drop Soup is one of his favorites. My plan was to make homemade dumplings and stir fried veggies to go along with it. As usual, I was aiming too high for a very busy afternoon. We had scheduled to have our photo taken in some local bluebonnets at 5:15. That meant that dinner should have been basically ready to hit the table when we returned.I had prepared the dumplings before we left.You've seen those cute little wantons sealed up and boiled? Well, mine boiled too long and ended up loose in the pot. Bummer! But, the Egg Drop Soup was wonderful! 


Egg Drop Soup - Super Easy!


Chicken Broth (I use the boxed organic kind)
1/2 onion - minced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 Tbs vegetable oil or olive oil 
2 Tbs cornstarch mixed in small amount of cold water
2 eggs


Instructions:
Saute the onions and garlic in a soup pot until soft. Add the broth and heat just until boiling. Add the cornstarch to thicken (if you like your soup a little thicker, just add more thickener - don't forget to mix it in cold water first.) Beat the eggs in a bowl with a whisk until thoroughly mixed. Bring the soup to a small boil. Slowly pour the egg into the hot soup. It will cook instantly and create these beautiful "ribbons" of egg. If you like any other vegetables in your soup, eg. corn or green onions, just add them before the thickener. 

Monday, April 19, 2010

Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate Pudding


This chocolate pudding is adapted from a recipe written on a napkin in my recipe box. Yes, I still have a recipe box, but it is not very full...and I am hoping to go digital this year. Anyway, here it is.


Ingredients:
2 C milk
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3 T flour
2 eggs
1 T butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C chocolate chips


Method:
1 Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Gradually whisk in the milk. Over medium-low heat (4-5 on my stove), bring to a boil whisking constantly. Boil, still whisking constantly, about 4-5 minutes, or until the pudding is thick. Remove from heat.


2 Add the butter and vanilla


3 Beat the eggs in a metal or glass bowl. Very gradually add the hot pudding mixture.


4 Whisk in the chocolate chips until melted.


5 Pour into cups or ramekins. Cover the surface of each with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming on the top.


6 Refrigerate until cold (a couple of hours.)

Monday, April 5, 2010

What's Cooking This Week

So, now that I am preparing extra special meals for my son for lunch and dinner, suddenly the menu just got a little more complicated. Or does it? We have put our food in the blender for him, and it is working fine! Here's what's cooking this week.

Monday - Leftovers (a variety of things left in the fridge)

Tuesday -  Main Dish  Meatloaf
                       Sides  Mashed Potatoes, Carrots and Steamed Broccoli

WednesdayMain Dish  Baked Chicken
                       Sides  Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus

ThursdayMain Dish  Chicken Tacos
                       Sides  Refried Beans and Taco Salad Stuff

FridayMain Dish  Vegetable Soup (with ground meat, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, onions and celery)
                       Sides  Cornbread

Friday, April 2, 2010

A 6 Year old on a soft food diet?

Last weekend, my 6 year old son broke his jaw falling off of a bike. I know, aaaaaaaawwww (and OUCH!) He was not going fast, just landed on his chin. He got a couple of "green stick" fractures in his jaw and broke/chipped several teeth. He will need a cap on two molars - if the worst of the two can be saved instead of extracted. Like I said...OUCH! Now, he can only eat soft food for 2 weeks...doctors orders, not because of pain (remarkably, he is not really in pain anymore)

So, what do you feed a 6 year old that can't chew? We are putting "regular" food in the food processor and hoping that he will eat it. So far, chili went over really well, and he liked spicy refried beans. He has also eaten broccoli and cheese mush and corn mush. Tasty, but not really a texture that most kids would enjoy.

Tonight, we are having spaghetti. I am not sure that pasta will make a good texture. Maybe I will skip the pasta on his serving? I am working on a regular post about what is cooking here at home...I will include what we are feeding our very hungry little boy. I think that he will get tired of peanut butter, pudding and applesauce pretty soon. Besides, veggies are a mush (I mean MUST) in our house!